Bailey-Williams, Nicole 1971–

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Bailey-Williams, Nicole 1971–

(Ivana B. Rich)

PERSONAL: Born 1971, in Philadelphia, PA; married Gregory (attorney), 1997; children: one daughter. Education: Hampton University, B.A., 1993; Temple University, M.Ed., 1995. Religion: Presbyterian. Hobbies and other interests: Travel.

ADDRESSES: Home—Mercer County, NJ. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Harlem Moon, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

CAREER: Writer, educator, and radio host. WDAS-1480 AM, Philadelphia, PA, cohost of "The Literary Review," 1998–; Ewing High School, Trenton, NJ, instructor in English. Presenter of educational workshops and participant in scholarly seminars.

MEMBER: National Association of University Women; Jack and Jill of America; Delta Sigma Theta.

AWARDS, HONORS: New Jersey's Governor's Award, 2002, for teaching excellence.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

A little Piece of Sky, Sugarene's Press (Elkins Park, PA), 2000, Harlem Moon (New York, NY), 2002.

Floating, Harlem Moon (New York, NY), 2004.

OTHER

(As Ivana B. Rich) The Gold Digger's Guide: How to Marry the Man and the Money, Daflna Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to books, including Gumbo, Harlem Moon (New York, NY), 2002; Brown Sugar 2: Great One Night Stands, Plume (New York, NY), 2003; Proverbs for the People, Kensington (New York, NY), 2003; and Notable Black American Men, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI); also contributor to periodicals, including Publishers Weekly, Black Issues Book Review, and Quarterly Black Review.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A Daughter's Revenge, a novel; a nonflction book about father and daughter relationships; a semibiographical work of fiction.

SIDELIGHTS: Nicole Bailey-Williams has developed a successful career as a high school English teacher and cohost of a monthly radio show. In 2000 she also became an author when she self-published her first novel A Little Piece of Sky. A self-described "sensitive person," the author, in an interview with the Ewing Observer Online, said the experience of publishing the book herself allowed her to "get a thicker skin." Eventually, the novel was picked up by the Harlem Moon imprint at Random House and re-released, becoming a popular choice for both high school and college classrooms across the United States.

The protagonist in A Little Piece of Sky, Song Byrd, is a young, abused African-American girl who lives in an impoverished neighborhood. Her mother is an alcoholic prostitute who, before leaving the house at night, locks Song in a bathroom infested with bugs. Song uses her imagination as an escape, while her other siblings resort to drug addiction, delinquency, and nomadism. After her mother is murdered, Song is sent to live with her father in an affluent neighborhood, where she slowly begins to heal with the help of Miss Olga, an old neighbor, and Anthony, a male friend. Robin Green-Cary, writing in the Black Issues Book Review, called the novel "a welcome addition to contemporary African-American fiction." Other critics responded with equal approbation. While Cassandra Spratling for the Detroit Free Press found that Bailey-Williams's "only problem is that she occasionally has Song lapsing into language that is unlikely to be used by an elementary-age child," she concluded that the author "offers an eloquently told story of a young girl who shakes off the garbage of her life and shines." Reviewing the book for Library Journal, Ellen Flex-man maintained that the story is "a seamless portrait of survival and healing."

Bailey-Williams's second novel, Floating, was published in 2004 and is set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The protagonist, Shanna Washington, is the product of the failed marriage between her white mother, who comes from a wealthy family, and her African-American father, who was raised in a working-class community. When Shanna's mother abandons the family, Shanna is left in the care of her emotionally distant father. Years later, a bad love affair and a tragic car accident reunite Shanna with her mother. Although a Kirkus Reviews contributor called the novel "overwrought and unconvincing," a reviewer for Publishers Weekly noted that "Bailey-Williams paints a knowing picture of the City of Brotherly Love."

In the Ewing Observer Online interview, Bailey-Williams commented on her passion for writing: "For me it's like I have something to say, and it's not life shattering, but it's heart-opening and mind-opening. Writing is like breathing for me."

Bailey-Williams told CA: "I've always written. As someone who is, although no one ever believes it, shy, writing is a way for me to be introspective yet make a statement.

"Real life, my students, and family history all influence my work. I think that when I'm finished writing, whenever that will be, my readers can put together a composite of me because there is a little of me or my experiences in each of the female protagonists.

"I hand write everything in longhand in a notebook first. Book clubs and other organizations give me these absolutely lovely notebooks/journals, and that's where I write the first draft of each book. Writing in longhand allows me to do an initial editing sweep as I toy with the language, searching for the right words. Then, as I type or have a former student type, I do another editing sweep. Then, my mother, who is always my first reader, reads for me before I do a third sweep. Then, I might have another reader go through before finally sending it to my editor at the publishing house.

"The most surprising thing that I've learned as a writer is that people expect me to be witty on a regular basis. Sometimes, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. In fact, sometimes the blade is just pretty darn dull.

"I love all of my books for different reasons. I think that I love A Little Piece of Sky because it's been with me the longest, and the writing was just so sparse and pure. (It was written during my lunch break at a summer job while I sat in the sun, so it might have just been lightheadedness at work.) I adore Floating because I can see my growth in the writing. My third book was actually written under the pseudonym Ivana B. Rich. I get a hoot out of that book because it's funny, cute and a complete departure from my more serious literary fiction pieces."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, November-December, 2002, Robin Green-Cary, review of A Little Piece of Sky, p. 30.

Detroit Free Press, November 15, 2002, Cassandra Spratling, review of A Little Piece of Sky.

Kirkus Reviews, luly 15, 2002, review of A Little Piece of Sky, p. 970; February 15, 2004, review of Floating, p. 143.

Library Journal, September 1, 2002, Ellen Flexman, review of A Little Piece of Sky, p. 210.

Publishers Weekly, luly 23, 2001, lohn F. Baker, "Self-Published Black Writers Soar," p. 14; August 26, 2002, review of A Little Piece of Sky, p. 38; March 22, 2004, review of Floating, p. 61.