Corner-Books: An interview with author Sharon Flake

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In 10 years, Sharon Flake had published six award-winning books, mostly for teens. Writing came naturally to her, as did the stories about young African-American girls and boys facing challenges in navigating their teenage years.

And then she developed writer's block.

"It was the first time I ever had writer's block. I had it bad," Flake said in a recent interview from her Pittsburgh home. "Part of the problem was that, for 10 years, people had been asking me, 'How do you write like that?' And I would tell them that I have no idea, that I always have very little idea of where I'm going when I write a book. ... It's something intuitive and beyond me."

Suddenly, however, Flake found that she couldn't get past page two of the book she was working on, never mind get to page 250.

"I was thinking that I had lost my gift," she said.

So she decided to put aside the book she was trying to work on, and instead concentrated on writing a book of short stories and poems about the lives of pre-teen and teenage African-American boys. The result is "You Don't Even Know Me" (Jump at the Sun/Hyperion, $16.99, ages 12 up), a collection guaranteed to grab the attention of teenage readers, no matter what their gender or race.

Available in bookstores on Feb. 16, "You Don't Even Know Me" features an appealing photographic cover of an African-American teenage boy. Using poetry and short stories (some of which are written as diary entries or letters), Flake offers readers some candid, riveting portraits of pre-teen and teenage boys. In several of the stories and poems, she also concentrates on the key but complicated bond between boys and their fathers or stepfathers.

While her stories and poems specifically focus on African-American boys, mostly in urban settings, Flake's book nonetheless has universal appeal. Her brief, evocative poem titled "Sixteen," for example, could apply to any 16-year-old boy:

"My ride

My boys

My game

My girl

My world."

Other characters wrestle with dilemmas that, if not necessarily typical, still are variations on the fierce teenage desire for both independence and love, as well as the mistakes teenagers inevitably make as they grow toward maturity.

For example, in a short story titled "Scared to Death," 16-year-old Tow-Kaye marries his childhood love, who is pregnant with their child. But he has immediate regrets about the marriage despite his new father-in-law's words that "... all the support you need, all the love you want is here. You're with family. And family's always gonna find a way to make sure you're okay."

In "My Hood," 13-year-old Eric tests his wings by disobeying his stepfather, a police officer, and heading off for a wild day of fun in his crime-ridden Philadelphia neighborhood. And in "Infected," La,Ron develops HIV after ignoring his uncle's warnings against unprotected sex; he's so ashamed that he can't talk to his uncle and instead reveals what's happened in a letter.

The tone of "You Don't Even Know Me" is set by the title poem, which opens the book:

"You know,

I've been wondering lately,

Trying to figure out just how it could be

That you can see me so often

And still don't know a thing about me."

Flake said her goal was to "take African-American boys out of these boxes we have them in."

"I'm trying to show their humanity, not just the struggles but also the laughter," she added. "All of them have an inner core. ... I think that we all struggle with moral issues. ... We really do all have common ground."

Flake, 54, never thought she could be a writer. Growing up in Philadelphia, she thought she would become a pediatrician. Instead, she graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with an English degree and worked for years doing public relations for the university before her first novel, "The Skin I'm In," was published by Hyperion in 1998 and won the prestigious Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent.

The book has become a modern teenage classic and jump-started Flake's writing career. Most of her subsequent books -- "Money Hungry," "Begging for Change," "Bang" and "Who Am I Without Him?" -- also are aimed at teens. She's written one novel, "The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street," for younger readers, ages 8-12.

Flake now is working on a new book, but will say only that it is "something that is really not me." And she's also contemplating a possible sequel to "The Broken Bike Boy."

Best of all, she feels blessed to have gotten past the writer's block.

"I not only got past it, but I think my writing is sharper," Flake said.

(Karen MacPherson, the children's/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.Macpherson(at)gmail.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com)

CHILDREN'S CORNEREditors: La,Ron is CQ