Carole Boston Weatherford and her son Jeffery Boston Weatherford are both amazing artists in their own right, Carole focusing on the written words and Jeffery on illustration. This has allowed them to work separately as well as together.
We asked them how they do it.
Booking Biz: What does your average day look like?
Carole: In addition to being an author, I am a full-time college professor. So, a typical day involves a lot of juggling. I write most when I start early in the day. A good day is one where I draft a new manuscript, or at least part of one.
Jeffery: Outside of the realm of children’s book, I am a lifestyle manager for independent musicians. My day consists of research and networking. I am constantly in search of new ways to help my fellow artists grow. I am also working on multiple book projects, so I do a lot of juggling in terms of my daily routine.
Booking Biz: When you’re not writing, what do you like to do best?
Carole: I am a foodie and love dining at local restaurants. I also enjoy travel, especially to the beach. Dinner at a seaside bistro? Heaven!
Jeffery: I am an autodidact. I love to learn new things, especially knowledge that will help me enrich my lifestyle and the lifestyles of those around me.
Booking Biz: Where do you get the inspiration for your books?
Carole: I get inspiration from educators, family, my hometowns, my travels, the media and even music. I was moved to write BY AND BY: CHARLES A. TINDLEY, THE FATHER OF GOSPEL MUSIC after having listened to his hymns in church. After my teenage children took me to a hip hop concert, I conceived THE ROOTS OF RAP: 16 BARS ON THE 4 PILLARS OF HIP-HOP.
Jeffery: I get my inspiration from my past experiences. This includes the places I visited as a child with my family like museums, historic sites, and even vacations. My experiences growing up in the south, experiencing racism and xenophobia also shaped the perspectives I brought forth in books like YOU CAN FLY: THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN.
Booking Biz: Did you always want to write books for children, or was there another career you wished for as a child?
Carole: I always wrote (from age six) and first saw my work in print in second grade. My father was a high school printing teacher. Back then, I had no clue that writing could be a career. I wanted to be either a librarian or a fashion design. I was so nerdy that I glued card pockets in my own books for circulation cards. I learned to sew as a girl and sold original designs while in college. I called my business, “Ragpie,” after an old doll.
Jeffery: No I didn’t! As I child I wanted to be a scuba diver until I saw Jaws.
I began to see children’s books as a career path when we got our first contract for YOU CAN FLY. Since then, it has been a wonderful, exciting journey.
Booking Biz: What’s it like being part of a mother-son duo?
Carole: I find our creative exchanges stimulating and rewarding—in more ways than one. After the debut of YOU CAN FLY: THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN, we presented together in West Africa and the Middle East. We rode a camel in the desert!
Jeffery: Being able to work with my mom is a blessing. We have had a very nurturing experience together thus far. We have gone on international tours as far as the United Arab Emirates and Africa.
There is a lot of freedom to be myself in all aspects of my life as a direct result of the freedom of occupation I experience working as her protege.
Booking Biz: If you ruled the world, what would it look like?
Carole: More women would be in charge. There would be more equality and less of a wealth gap. Policies would value children, the elderly and people of color. The Golden Rule would rule. As for me, I’d be living in a house on a hill overlooking a river.
Jeffery: If I ruled the world, the tax system would be reversed and the government would pay the citizens extra money on top of their paychecks instead of having money automatically taken out.
Schooling will be tailored to passion rather than having cookie cutter curriculums that don’t truly prepare kids for future success.
There are so many things about the world I would change, but I’m going to leave it there so this doesn’t sound like I’m running for President.
Booking Biz: Yes! Carole and Jeffery for President!
Read more about their books and presentations on the Carole Boston Weatherford and Jeffery Boston Weatherford speaker pages.