Welcome, B. Lynn! We are so delighted to chat with you!    

At what point in your life were you drawn to the world of writing?    

My mother used to tell a tale of when I was very young. I had presented her with a story. She said she looked at it, but it made no sense. Not wanting to discourage me, she asked me to read it to her. I proceeded to read the coherent story that I’d written, from the bottom of the page to the top, from the right to the left. When my book won the 2023 International Book Award, she’d crowed,  “This gurl was writing even before she knew how it was done!”  She’s entombed that scrap of paper in one of her many photo albums. I plan to look for it one day.

​So, this is a long-winded way of saying that I have always been drawn to the world of writing. Actually, I think it’s the  ‘words’  that I’m drawn to. I like how you can arrange them like music and express them like lyrics. If you knead and coax your words, just so, they paint artful pictures in your reader’s mind.  

What inspired you to write your novel, Jus Breathe?

Like many novels, Jus Breathe is loosely based on my own life experiences, tinted by the sepia-colored overlay of time. I hate to reveal this here because writing and publishing these days is a young person’s game. But I came up in the 60’s and 70’s. It was the quintessential  “youth generation.”  And yes, we do  ‘age’ ––but we never  ‘get old.’  

Like Dawn, my heroine, there was a period in my life when I was a nomad, sofa-surfing, seeking the music of home. Like Dawn, I was there when the streets of Harlem ignited following the assassination of Dr. King. I was there on the CCNY campus when we students shut it down. The stories screamed to be written.

So,  I gave Dawn’s story a catalyst. She was five:  “Look at her! She ain’t mine! You named her  ‘Dawn.’  You shudder named her Midnight!”  Then Dawn’s Daddy was gone, for good. I gave Dawn’s trauma a name (Midnight Duckling,) gave it a face in the mirror. Her trauma was personified, a living breathing thing that took up residence in her chest and controlled her ability to breathe. I gave her Danny, beautiful, mysterious, complicated  ––toxic. But I also gave her music; and a  ‘superpower,’  the ability to recognize  “leaving time.”

As characters do, my characters took over. They stirred events and emotions into a perfect soup. But I’m sure that it was the benefit of retrospection, the unique ability to look back and breathe, that inspired me to write this book.  

What lasting message do you hope your readers will take away with them after they have read the final page?      

I hope my readers will come away with the understanding that  ‘home’  and belonging are not simply physical places or tidy family histories, but practices of breath, music, and chosen love  —  the quiet, daily work of remembering, forgiving, and asserting oneself. Dawn’s journey shows that even with inherited pain (the  “Duckling”), judgment, and uncertainty, a person can learn to  “master”  their own mind, can breathe through fear, and make life sing. Love  —  there’s the life she imagined, the way she reclaimed her self-respect in the end. The memory of Momma’s voice and her grandparents’  music become the transforming forces that turns a meager dwelling into a home. In short: keep breathing, claim your voice, and let love (not circumstance) make a home.

Was there a moment in the book that challenged or changed you while writing it?  

In 1972, I earned a BA in creative writing from The City College of New York. (CCNY) In 2022 Jus Breathe was launched. In between there was life, family. My husband and I were co-founders in Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School in the South Bronx. The school is still standing and doing well. I retired from teaching in 2010.

Jus Breathe was my Debut novel, but it wasn’t the first book I’d written. It took time and a lot of breathing before I was ready to revisit that period in my life, let alone share it with the world. It certainly was a challenge. And thinking about it now, it seems the bigger challenge was pulling together the courage to actually start sending it out.

With anything that we set out to accomplish in this life, sometimes doubt will barge in on us. In the midst of your journey to writing this book, did you have any self-doubt and how did you overcome?  

Yes, of course there was self-doubt. At times I was tormented by the thought that no one  ‘today’  would be interested in a story that happened as they say,  “back in the day.”  But it turns out there’s a name for it  ––historical fiction. Who knew? I always thought   of historical fiction as tales from many, many years ago. But that wasn’t my only concern. My story—would anyone be interested in the story  I  had to tell? I think every writer suffers these doubts at some time.

In my case, I had a lot of support. My husband, who cooked while I wrote, was my personal cheerleader. The writing group I’ve worked with for years were always there with honest critiques and generous affirmations. It is said that writing is a lonely undertaking. I disagree. In my experience it takes a village. I highly recommend seeking out talented people that you trust and respect and who trust and respect you.

Congratulations to you!! How does it feel to have won The 2023 International Book Award, among other awards for the work that you’ve published and put so much effort into?    Does it feel surreal?  

Surreal doesn’t begin to describe my shock. I didn’t even know I had won! Apparently I’d missed both the email and the phone call informing me of the win. Thinking it was a scam, I probably didn’t pick up. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that it occurred to me that the date of the announcements had passed. So I went online to find out who had won because I like to buy the books of the winners. You could have knocked me over with a paper clip when my name appeared at the top of the list. I made my husband assure me that I was seeing right. It was my name! I contacted the sponsors and learned that I’d missed all the festivities, press releases, announcements etc.  ––c’est la vie!

Where can we purchase your book?    

My book can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Bookshop and most places where people by their books. The audiobook is on Audible.    

When it comes to self-care, what are some of your favorite ways to recharge, stay grounded, and pour back into yourself?  

I am highly motivated by the insanity happening in this country. I try to get involved and volunteer wherever my contribution is helpful. My husband and I go to the gym. We regularly walk in the vast Van Cortlandt Park woods, down the block from us.

I also love playing Bridge. It keeps me sharp. Of course I am active with my writing group. But mostly I like to kick back, with two cats crowding my lap, Hubby at my side, and binge on some mindless series on Netflix or Hulu or some other app  ––and Jus Breathe.   

Thank you so much, B. Lynn!

Be sure to grab a copy of Jus Breathe here:

https://www.amazon.com/Jus-Breathe-B-Lynn-Carter/dp/1958901032