www.debbierigaud.com

My sister Golda has always had my back. When we were growing up, she’d dive in front of any verbal bullet fired at me. My mom nicknamed her Hurricane Golda for her quick temper and warrior spirit. But her compassion is just as strong. For my sweet sixteen, 12-year-old Golda managed to throw me a surprise house party, complete with a bonafide DJ from the neighborhood. And most recently, after a phone convo with my “Debbie Downer” altar ego, Golda spent that night creating a special PowerPoint presentation of motivational messages and look-alike images just for me.

So, it’s no surprise that, after learning about my campaign to get readers to post PERFECT SHOT reviews on amazon.com, Golda went right to work. As of today, hers is one of two reviews up there. Yes—she’s the reviewer who shares a last name with the author and who gave PERFECT SHOT five stars. And? Whoever has a problem with that will have to take it up with Hurricane Golda.

(Like her son in this photo, I often feel like wrapping my arms around Golda and laying a zerbert on her cheek.)

Thank you, Golda. I love you “as big as the sky!”

And speaking of awesome supporters, I’m so grateful for the feedback I’ve been getting from folks online. Thank you for all who have stopped by this blog and posted comments here and elsewhere. And thanks in advance for posting your PS review on amazon.com. Ms. Doret, the Happy Nappy Bookseller herself, wrote a glowing review of PERFECT SHOT, plus recently featured me on her blog. Please, please, please check out this interview, which is broken into two parts. Doret cracked me open and got me talking about the Haitian Revolution, among other things. The second part of the interview is posted on Color Online.

In honor of Black History Month, The Brown Bookshelf has selected me as one of the 24 authors spotlighted in their annual “28 Days Later”

AND TODAY IS THE DAY MY SPOTLIGHT IS BEING FEATURED!! So, run—don’t walk—over to The Brown Bookshelf to read the interview.

There’s even an official poster to go with this awesome event, and it features all 28 author and illustrator photos.

As you can tell, I’m super excited about this honor. I’ve learned so much from the past “28 Days Later” campaigns, and I still can’t believe that I’ve been selected. Yay!

Ever since the earthquake hit Haiti on January 12th, my weeks have been a blur. Partly because of the shock of it all, and partly because of my involvement with organizing fundraisers to support local registered Haiti relief charities.

A little back story: My parents and their relatives left Haiti in the 1960s. Most of the relatives in my generation–born in the 60s, 70s and 80s–were born in New York City, and sadly, have never visited Haiti (including myself). But we speak the language, eat the food, dance to the kompas music and adore the culture. I mean, in the not so distant past, you could catch us at Brooklyn’s West Indian Day Carnival Parade, adorned with the Haitian flag and dancing all the way down “de Parkway” in celebration of our culture. One year, my cousin Jessica went all out and got a flag as large as a cape. Check her out! (Even though she doesn’t look it, I think she was about 18 years old at the time!)

So outside of one cousin, I don’t have any close relatives in Haiti. I am deeply grateful that my father wasn’t in Port-au-Prince at the time of the horrific event. He visits often, and and this past December, he booked a ticket for the Friday after the quake!

For the first week after the disaster, my family had not heard from my cousin Martine. We were especially worried because she has small children—including an infant. It was a huge relief when she finally called. I am happy to report that she and the kids are safe. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for other distant relatives. Jessica lost her uncle on her father’s side; another cousin lost his sister-in-law; and my great aunt in Brooklyn has so far counted 100 people that she’s known who have perished—including her own sister-in-law.

Times like this, it’s nice to be around family. But with no immediate plans to travel home, I discovered the next best thing. A church in Bermuda organized a prayer evening after the tragedy, and there, I met other Haitians on the island! I had only known of two Haitians around—one of whom was my French teacher—but six of us showed up! We were so thrilled to meet each other (and hear some good ole creole) that we snapped a quick group shot after the prayer service.

The following week, the Premier of Bermuda, Dr. Ewart Brown, invited all Haitians on the island to meet him. My supportive hubby came with. It was a cozy, informal meeting and the Premier offered us his condolences and his support. At times, the Premier was even moved to tears. He then invited us to share our thoughts and concerns, which we felt comfortable enough to do. I was especially touched (and a bit teary) when one Haitian man named Samuel stood up and said in a creole-kissed accent, “I used to always think, No one cares about us; no one cares about Haiti. But now I see the whole world cares about Haiti.’” He ended with a rousing message about building the country back up, “We can do it,” he chanted louder and louder, his fist pumping. “We CAN do it. WE CAN DO IT!” Wow.

Apparently there’s like 10 or 11 Haitians on the island! One of us, Wesly, was in Haiti at the time on a (heroic!) mission to evacuate survivors from Port-au-Prince and bus them to his unaffected hometown. Leyde, another member of our newfound community was planning to leave to Haiti the following week. Here we are at Camden House, the Premier’s official residence.

By the way, I adopted “We can do it” Samuel as my uncle. Here I am with mon oncle Samuel (a real-life Haitian Uncle Sam).

Eager to assist in the island’s relief efforts, we joined philanthropic Bermudians who have been active in Haiti for years in their work to bring medical relief to Port-au-Prince and neglected provinces outside of the capital. We formed an organization to recruit volunteers. And within a week, we held our first fundraising event in support of local registered charities Haiti Village Health and Feed My Lambs Ministry. Here’s a photo of one enthusiastic Bermudian volunteer who went above and beyond by decorating a poster for her Tag Day collection site. It’s incredibly heartwarming to see how everyone is pitching in the best way they can.

Thanks to all who have reached out to ask about my family. Please continue to keep Haiti in your consciousness as the struggles there have just begun. For ways in which you can help, please visit my Help for Haiti post.

The GCC author release dates keep on comin’! So do the GCC author accolades. Last week I was bigging up  Carrie Jones for making the NYT Bestseller List. Today I’m excited to extend a big congrats to Suzanne Young’s two-book deal for A NEED SO BEAUTIFUL. That means it’s time for Suzanne to do her book-deal dance (She has one, you know.). Head over to her blog to check it out.

I wonder if she has a book-release dance? Tomorrow kicks off  Suzanne’s  THE NAUGHTY LIST series, so beware cheaters everywhere. That means you, too, John Edwards! blech! Here’s why philandering boyfriends should be afraid…very afraid:

About The Naughty List:

As if being a purrfect cheerleader isn’t enough responsibility! Tessa Crimson’s the sweet and spunky leader of the SOS (Society of Smitten Kittens), a cheer squad–turned–spy society dedicated to bringing dastardly boyfriends to justice, one cheater at a time. Boyfriend-busting wouldn’t be so bad . . . except that so far, every suspect on the Naughty List has been proven 100% guilty!

When Tessa’s own boyfriend shows up on the List, she turns her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as all the rest, or will Tessa’s sneaky ways end in catastrophe?

The Naughty List. Is your boyfriend on it?

Suzanne’s productivity as a writer is truly impressive. I couldn’t wait to pick her brain. Here’s what she had to say:

DR:  What’s your favorite stage of your work process?
SY: I think I like drafting the best. It’s like a first date—exciting, thrilling, scary. And you just don’t know how it’ll end.
DR. How do you get over a major bout of writer’s block?
SY: I usually go to the movies or take a quiet drive. My brain sometimes gets overwhelmed. And I definitely get off the internet. 
DR: What bad habit are you desperately trying to break out of?
SY: Other than biting my nails, I’m trying not to doubt myself so much. It’s such a
subjective business and I don’t want goodreads to take over my life. lol
DR: Think back to your sophomore year in high school. What were you like at
age 15?
SY: I was really into theatre/plays. I also loved reading—so yeah, pretty exciting, right?
DR: In PERFECT SHOT, London steps out of her sporty comfort zone to
participate in a modeling contest. When was the last time you ventured far out of your comfort zone?
SY: My comfort zone constantly changes. Going to the LA SCBWI conference for the first time was really scary for me. I didn’t know anyone and I was new to the business. Luckily, it turned out all right. Now I love the conferences. My new fear: book signings.

Thanks for chatting, Suzanne! Keep dancin’!