While doing family research, I discovered documents which inspired me to write the book “Hidden Freedom.” The book is a fictional novel based on true accounts of free Blacks living in the early South. It exposes seldom-seen petitions in the courts to uphold their rights on land grants, wills and court cases throughout the South.
Based on findings in my research, I had begun to wonder if there had ever been an affair between the wife of a plantation owner and a slave. The story developed as I wrote, curious to know what would happen to the two main characters Beth and Troy. In thinking of how I was going to present it, I knew the television show “Law and Order” was popular, so I decided on that format. I also remember the founder of “60 Minutes” said, “It’s important to tell them a story,” so I made the documents a story.
The book took 10 years to develop. I found writing it to be almost as rewarding as painting, and somewhere during the writing it became an option of creating. I discovered something important in writing: I had to stay authentic, which is something I now apply to my paintings. I don’t attempt to make it like someone else’s work. After I did the research, people began saying it should be a book and I should write it. Surprisingly, the characters where easily developed because I had an abundance of research. I got a lot of help from many people. I just started writing and it flowed. Julie Bateman was the typist. I noticed as people proofread, they were more into the stories which caused me to develop it more. I made a ton of proof books to let people read to find mistakes and typos; some thought it was the finished book. A teacher at my school had recently written a book, so I asked her if she knew an editor. She referred me to Valerie Utton, who was excellent. She took it to the next level in many ways.