All About Race

Black Voices Matter: Chatting with Tia

This is our first interview, and we had it with the lovely @TiaWhiteDower, author of Dark Galaxy: Emerge , in my pyjamas at 1:30 in the morning (for me, anyway!). We hope you enjoy getting to know this awesome writer.

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Hello, and welcome! I'm Al, and I'll be interviewing you for this issue's topic: Black Voices Matter. We're excited to have you here!

So our readers know how to refer to you, why don't we start off with your name, pronouns (he/she/they/ze/etc), your Wattpad username and a little something about you.

My name is Tatiana White-Dower, my nickname is Tia. Something about me is that I am professional dancer turned stay at home mom.

Nice to meet you Al by the way!

A professional dancer, sweet! I bet you and your kid(s) can dance up a storm.

Before we move on to this weeks topic, tell us a little about your writing. What do you write, what's your favourite genre and care to share a title and a blurb to your favourite piece?

I only have one kid. She's 2 and she's super sassy and energetic. I haven't taken dance class in about a year and it kills me.

In regards to my writing, my current preference and love is young adult and fantasy. Those genres have always been a favorite of mine because being a teen is such a pivotal moment in someone's life. Finding out who you are as a teen is an adventure in itself, adding on fantasy make it even more enticing. I also think there is something romantic about being in between because you are fresh faced and doing things for the first time. Life is so much more open with a plethora of options as teen. An example would be first loves. nothing ever touches them because it is the first time, so a person falls in love whole-heartedly, throwing everything they have in without guards. You become confined as an adult in some way whether it be by work, relationships, class, physical expectations. But the bottom line of it, is that it all comes down to our mentality. We can do whatever we want if we put our minds to it, we just become prisoners of the concept of growing up. Cue, my love for J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan.

I'm a huge comic fan. I love DC and Marvel. I was always inspired by X-men as a child whenever I felt alone as an outcast. I always wanted to know about the teens at the school. there were comics about the young mutants but I found they weren't exactly to my preference so I decided to start writing fan-fiction. That soon evolved into something inspired and yet original in its own way over the last 15 years. That something became my novel, Dark Galaxy: Emerge.

Is there a particularly desired length for the blurb? I have a lot of favorite parts but the first chapter is best to use because it doesn't give anything away.

Due to length, I've added the first chapter as an external link. When you're finished, please have a read!

I love you drew your inspiration for your work from comics, a common relief for us little weirdos out there that don't fit into cultural norms. I think it's wonderful that your love of YA has to do with the adventures of youth and self discovery, the outcast meets acceptance and adventure.

This issue's topic is all about the importance of black writers in fiction. How does this issue relate to you, your writing, and your sense of identity as a YA and fantasy writer?