Diversify! - [Author Pack] Delilah S. Dawson

Welcome to the second (very belated) installment of Diversify! If you aren't sure what is up with the flaring capes, legendary names and razor-sharp wit, click here to see my official announcement for my new blog series (the long and short of it: a celebration of the people who make diversity possible in this industry and are working toward change).

Today's post is special, as a) it is a Tuesday, and b) it is this particular heroine's book birthday, which is a very lovely and momentuous occasion indeed and deserves all the bombarding of social media. So Diversify and I are striving to do our part.

Please note: I'm adding a minor warning here because Delilah does discuss abuse and assault in her past. Just keep that in mind. 

Delilah S. Dawson
Author of Servants of the Storm
 
ATK 100 + a book birthday boost of 50
DEF 100 + a book birthday boost of 50

Power Up Items: Coffee and cake

At arms, if you dare. Delilah's armed with wit, charm and experience in fencing and muay thai - and she's not afraid to use them.

Delilah S. Dawson's power as an author rests in compassion and the need to offer teen readers a different point of view.

"Writing diversity is an effort to show a world beyond my own, beyond the default that's surrounded me all my life. Not that it's been an easy life. As a kid, I lived with alcoholism and domestic abuse, and as a teen, I survived rape and suicide.


I found comfort in fantasy and horror fiction, in worlds that showed the secret darkness I was living while the outside of our house looked All-American and happy. And as an adult, I want to reach out to a wide range of teens and reflect what they're living or give them an escape of their own."

 Because she's a woman, Delilah is aware that some enemies will think they can get the jump on her under the assumption that she'll just hang back and let them hit first.It's why the Unexpected Flurry Attack is her special technique, in writing as well as fencing and muay thai.

Think she'll let you get the better of her?

You'd better have an ice pack or two ready for when she wipes the floor with you.

If Delilah and her protagonist, Dovey, had to pair up and take down the forces of evil, their main strategy would be to "shoot anything with fox ears". 

Delilah's past, and her exterior appearance, are another reason why writing diversely appeals to her.

"As my picture will tell you, I am not particularly diverse on the outside. I'm a married, suburban white mom. More distinctly, I'm a Southern mutt, with no family traditions, histories, or origins. We don't even know where my ancestors came from. Basically, it's boring white people as far as the family tree can drop us. I've always been jealous of people with deep ties to place, with culture, with roots, with more than jeans and an American flag t-shirt as our national costume. My parents valued being normal and conservative and close-minded. And I didn't."

Delilah sees her writing diverse characters as important, particularly after having a lack of diversity in her first two titles pointed out by a reader.

"I realized I hadn't even noticed it. So I started finding ways to incorporate a more diverse cast. It's a great way to rebel while doing something useful. My readers deserve a world that reflects them."

Servants of the Storm, which releases today, is described by Delilah as "a paean to friendship and fighting for what's right as much as it is a creepy Southern Gothic story about demons in Savannah. I hope readers will appreciate Dovey's tenacity and loyalty to Carly and enjoy her adventure."

More power to you, Delilah. Keep up the good fight!

 Be part of the change we need. Be a hero. Diversify.

Diversify! - [Author Pack] Ellen Oh

Welcome to the first installment of Diversify! If you aren't sure what is up with the flaring capes, legendary names and razor-sharp wit, click here to see my official announcement for my new blog series (the long and short of it: a celebration of the people who make diversity possible in this industry and are working toward change).

Since my last post on my involvement with the #WeNeedDiverseBooks team, our little campaign has sprouted legs and run off with farther results that we'd expected or even hoped for. It's been wonderful to see submissions still pouring in, people touched by the campaign and reaching out to support, and a general sense that yes, diversity is needed, and we can all make it happen.

With that in mind, I thought it'd be perfect to kick off Diversify! (and postpone my rather dry FAQ I've been preparing until the end of the week) with a real-life hero that is rocking your social media.

Ellen Oh
#WeNeedDiverseBooks Team Leader

Author of the Prophecy series (HarperTeen)

ATK 100
DEF 100

Power Up Items: Donuts, French Fries, steak, chocolate or cake 

The brains behind the #WeNeedDiverseBooks initiative, Ellen combines her smarts with a deadly knowledge of the art of pointy stick warcraft.

 (Hide your toothpicks.)

Ellen Oh is a force to be reckoned with.

A self-described "bull headed Taurus", she admits that when someone tells her she can't do something, she sets out to prove them wrong.

"The importance of diversity was programmed into my DNA, I think. I've always been about equality and justice - it's why I became a lawyer. As a lawyer, I saw so much sexism in my professional life that it was galling. And racism was something I had dealt with all my life. So how can I not stand for diversity?"

If your strategy for battle is to wait it out until a hero gets tired, you'll be waiting a long time on Ellen.

"People always ask me, "Don't you get sick of getting up on your soapbox?" And I say "No matter how old and infirm I get, I'll still roll my wheelchair up on that diversity soapbox. Until the day I don't need to do it anymore."

Ellen has another personal incentive for fighting for diversity: her daughters.

"I'm Korean American and I have three daughters who are also Korean American. Diversity became a huge issue for me when my first daughter was born and I went looking for kids' books that she could relate to and came up short."

Times are changing, and with every step Ellen takes in the battle for diversity and representation, she hopes they are for the better.

"When I was young, finding a strong girl hero was really difficult. But times have changed in that respect. Now it's up to us to do the same for authors of underrepresented groups that have long been marginalized. And I won't stop until progress is made!"

Don't get on her bad side, folks. Her attack level won't fall until change happens, but yours might.

Be part of the change we need. Be a hero. Diversify.