We put the spotlight on Author, Keba R.
Cairo in this issue. She discusses her journey to becoming author , her book and
more!
Q: What was your life like before becoming
an author?
A: Before becoming an author, I worked in
the marketing/community outreach industry for over 10years for various companies,
such as: MTA Capital Construction, NYC
Department of Health, Power105.1 FM and
E! Entertainment to name a few.
Q: What inspired you to write the books?
A: After having to explain the tragedy of
Sandy Hook elementary school shooting to
my then 8year old son, I wanted to establish grounds that he can feel comfortable
alerting me of potentially dangerous situations that make him feel uncomfortable.
Q: How did you start writing?
A: I first drafted the message I wanted to
convey to children.
Q: How personal is your writing?
A: I then decided it was necessary for all
families to establish this kind of communication with their children, and that is what
inspired me to write this book.
Instinct by Bishop T.D. Jakes, to The 5
Love Languages by Gary Chapman, to
Push by Sapphire, to Dancing in the Wings
by Debbie Allen and Kadir Nelson (to my
daughter).
Q: If you could have dinner with an author,
dead or alive, who would it be and why?
A: Not sure!
Q: What sparked the idea for your novel,
Don't Snooze on Clues!
A: The idea of the book was sparked out of
necessity for educating children on safety.
Q: What was your favorite part of the book?
A: My favorite part of this book is empowering children with a code word that allows
them to alert adults of strange and suspicious activities.
Q: What was the hardest part to write in
the book?
A: The hardest part of writing this book
was to condense such a large topic into
something simple and brief that kids can
understand.
Q: What did the author wish was different
about the book?
A: I love it!! nothing needs to change.
Q: Which comes first? The character's story
or the idea for the novel?
Q: What will the reader gain from this
book?
A: I wanted all kids to understand and to
grasp the message of "speaking out". Once I
had the text, I began to work on illustration.
A: Children readers will gain confidence to
"speak out" and parents will gain a common
language with their kids to be alerted of
danger.
Q: What are your favorite authors/books?
Q: Where can we find your books?
A: My taste for books spread very wide,
from Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, to
Writers’ World Newspaper—June/July 2014, Volume 4
(cont’d on page 7)
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