Jennifer: Which scene of the book was your favorite, and which one was the most difficult to write?
Jewell: I think one of my favorite scenes is when TaShon and Lanesha are playing with Spot. Spot is this mongrel that they’ve rescued, and Spot is dirty and frisky and bouncy. And they have the hose out and they’re trying to give the dog a bath, and it’s just for me a lovely sense of joy. All the people in the community stop and they too are enamored. Sometimes life is just that wonderful: giving a dog a bath, getting wet underneath the hose. So I loved writing about that; that was so much fun. And I love animals. I don’t think I could write a book for children without an animal. So that was the most fun.
The most difficult scene to write was when the water is rising. They’ve survived the hurricane and everybody seems to be okay, and then Lanesha starts noticing the water’s coming in, not draining out, and not only that, it’s rising up the attic steps. And that’s when she realizes that something else has gone wrong, that potentially the levees have broken, and so that the danger is not over. And I think in that sense we all expect, you go through this great adventure, you have the danger, you thrive, you survive, okay, I did it, I made it! And then for it to be, not yet—that was very tough to write emotionally.
Jennifer: Well, Jewell, I just want to say that I couldn’t be more proud or honored by this book and I have absolutely loved working with you, and I just wanted to say thank you. And thank you everybody for listening.
Jewell: Oh, thank you, and thank you everyone! Enjoy Ninth Ward.
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