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I am a black woman, and my experiences would not be what they are if I wasn't. I'm so happy to share those experiences for other people to be able to learn from them.

I write the black experience in America, and contained within that experience, because it is a human experience, are all the universalities.

In my time since moving to the United States, I've found that there is a dearth of great writing for black people. There are stories that depict us in a way that isn't cliched or niche, and that a white person, a Chinese person, an Indian person can watch and relate to. Those are the stories I want to be a part of telling.

I wanted to identify that the black experience is American experience.

I don't think there's enough breadth to the stories told about African-Americans.

Somehow, I realized I could write books about black characters who reflected my own experiences or otherworldly experiences - not just stories of history, poverty and oppression.

I did a book in 1996, an overview of black history. In that process I became more aware of a lot of the black inventors of the 19th century.

As a child, I experienced black culture as many people did in America: on the TV, radio, and stages.

In a typical history book, black Americans are mentioned in the context of slavery or civil rights. There's so much more to the story.

I was raised in Harlem. I never found a book that took place in Harlem. I never had a church like mine in a book. I never had people like the people I knew. People who could not find their lives in books and celebrated felt bad about themselves. I needed to write to include the lives of these young people.