Tomorrow, April 24, is Release Day for my first children’s book, The Magical Red Kimono. An author waiting for a book release is like a child waiting for Santa to come on Christmas Eve!

How to pass the time, how to pass the time? How about I give you a little background on the book?

I first started writing it in 2013, shortly after the publication of my historical fiction, The Red Kimono. (University of Arkansas Press, 2013) The Magical Red Kimono is based on the following scene from The Red Kimono.

Jubie folded her hands in front of her. She looked down and closed her eyes. Her skin was about as far away from white porcelain as the number one was from a thousand. Still, she reminded Sachi of the geisha dolls she left in California.

Sachi began to hum “Sakura”—the cherry blossom song. Her voice quivered with nerves. At least Mrs. Franklin and Auntie Bess didn’t know what the song was supposed to sound like, and wouldn’t know if she mispronounced some of the words. She took a deep breath. “Sakura, sakura . . .”

Jubie raised her arms, exposing the kimono’s long, flowing sleeves. She tilted her head up, as if gazing at cherry blossoms on a tree. Mama’s kimono must have cast a magic spell on Jubie’s skinny, awkward frame, because she was prettier than Sachi had ever seen her.

Jubie swayed her arms back and forth, dipped and rose, then turned around.

Trying hard to make her tune match the beauty of Jubie’s dance, Sachi continued to sing. “Yayoi no sorawa.”

Mrs. Franklin and Auntie Bess watched from the sofa. Their eyes glistened with tears.

Jubie turned slowly, holding one arm up, and sweeping the other behind her. She looked at Sachi with a twinkle in her eyes. When the song ended, she returned to her starting position and again, closed her eyes.

For a moment, the room was silent. Then, Auntie Bess cheered and clapped her hands.

Mrs. Franklin wiped a tear from her cheek. “Oh, baby. That was so pretty. So pretty.”

Sachi clapped too. “You looked just like a geisha.” She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. “Well, almost.”

Jubie ran her hands over the long, silk sleeves. “It musta been your mama’s kimono. Dancing just felt right today, like magic.”

Why did it take me so long to finish the book? The art work. I love art, but I wouldn’t consider myself an artist. Halfway through the book, I had a difficult time deciding how to create the remaining artwork.

Then, early this year, I found an artist I liked. When I asked about his availability, I learned he wouldn’t be available until June. I thought, “Well, heck! I can finish the artwork before June!” I guess that was the kick in the pants I needed to get off my “you-know-what!”

I was thrilled when Solander Press accepted The Magical Red Kimono for publication. Visit the website for an excellent selection of books!

Many of you who have read The Red Kimono know that Sachi is based on my mother, who was an internee during World War II. What you may not know is how Jubie came to be, and it’s one of my favorite stories of the writing of the book.

Jubie was born out of necessity. Over the 3-4 years I was writing The Red Kimono, I was a member of a fantastic critique group in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Without the members (many who remain dear friends), I would never have completed The Red Kimono, and therefore, neither The Magical Red Kimono.

One night during critique, my friend, Patty, after months and months of weekly readings of The Red Kimono’s draft she said, “Oh my gosh, is there ever anything happy going to happen in this book?” (Only the best of friends can be so honest with each other!) So, the dilemma was, how does one add happiness to a story of a family’s internment?

Enter Jubie Lee Franklin, a little Black girl who lived in the town in Arkansas where Rohwer Internment Camp was located. Sachi and Jubie meet and become instant friends. They are different in many ways, but it is their similarities that bring them together.

Jubie is a compilation of the sisters of the White family, who lived across the street from us while growing up in Fairfield, California. Two of the sisters were good friends of two of my sisters, and they would often come over. Being rather shy and reserved as a child, I loved their openness and freedom to “be.” I still remember envying those characteristics and created Jubie in their memory.

To this day, she remains my favorite character to write.

In The Magical Red Kimono, you’ll discover the friendship of two very different girls, and you’ll learn what magic can happen when they discover each other’s differences.