Bursting the White Bubble on Race and Relationships in 1960s Mississippi

Interview in the Mississippi Free Press published today:

“Bursting the White Bubble on Race and Relationships in 1960s Mississippi.”

Here’s a short excerpt:

Mary Margaret’s family are never painted as overtly racist, never fly any Confederate flags outside their well-kept Belhaven home, but their quiet disapproval of Mary Margaret’s progressive thinking about race relations speaks volumes and gives way to the deepest tension of the novel, tethering Mary Margaret to the possibility of having a comfortable life without the complication of empathy, which would be required for her to carry on her youthful relationship with John, who experiences pain that she never will due to the color of his skin.

P. S. Those are my granddaughters in the photo at the top of the page. I dedicated my novel JOHN AND MARY MARGARET TO THEM:

For my granddaughters:

Grace Anna, Gabby, and Izzy.

May the world embrace you with

love and kindness.