How do you feel the heat of the Jamaican sun, when you live in a land of snow and ice?
Patrice Gopo is the child of Jamaican immigrants and was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is an award-winning essayist and author of multiple picture books, including Beyond Alaska’s Window, Ripening Time (recipient of a North Carolina Book Award), and All the Places We Call Home. When she’s not writing, Patrice hosts the podcast Picture Books Are for Grown-Ups, Too! because she believes in the power of stories to help build connections between people. Patrice lives with her family in North Carolina, where she enjoys walks just after dawn and thinks a perfect day ends with ice cream.You can learn more about her at her website or follow her on Instagram or Facebook.
BEYOND ALASKA’S WINDOW is a picture book about a Jamaican family living in Alaska. It’s a beautiful lyrical text that follows the family through different Alaskan seasons, all while trying to keep their Jamaican culture alive and well with weekly traditions.
Welcome Patrice!
Me: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey? How has that brought you to this book?
Patrice: Absolutely, Jena! I’m happy to share. But first, thank you so much for the warm invitation to be part of this lovely series on your blog. Although I no longer live in Alaska, I was born and raised there, and it is always such a joy to connect with other creators from my home state! So much gratitude! On to your question . . .
My writing beginning is characterized by the power of constraints to reveal a new direction. In 2009, I was living in Cape Town, South Africa, after marrying my Zimbabwean husband and moving to where we had met. I couldn’t secure a work visa, so I couldn’t pursue employment in my field, nonprofit management and public policy. This constraint became the very thing that ushered me toward a different path. As I began building a life in another place, I kept thinking about my Jamaican parents moving to Alaska before I was born. Pregnant with my own child in a new country, I found myself dwelling on how growing up in Alaska as the Black American daughter of immigrants shaped me and shaped my family. I had stories to tell, and the personal-essay form swept me into the writing life. Writing, reading, studying the craft. Repeat. I quickly discovered the beautiful notion that writing is a muscle we can grow.
A decade later, in 2019, I was rereading the essay “Before” in my first essay collection, All the Colors We Will See. That essay describes a moment when I put my oldest daughter down for a nap in rural Zimbabwe. That act reminded me of a nap I had once taken as a small child in rural Jamaica. As I reread, I thought, “This could be a picture book.” That was the beginning of steeping myself in learning the art and craft of writing picture books—because it’s not the same as writing an essay! Eventually, that thought emerged as my debut picture book, All the Places We Call Home. In the process of writing and eventually launching All the Places, I discovered that I loved writing picture books just as much as I loved writing essays. Beyond Alaska’s Window is now my third picture book.
Me: What a unique story set in Alaska! I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite like it. What gave you the idea for this story?
Patrice: Awww, thank you so much, Jena! While my picture books are officially fiction, they’re heavily inspired by my own life. It’s an honor to draw on my experiences and create stories that increase representation in KidLit! So, to fully answer your question, let me return to that beautiful notion of the power of constraints. In 2021, my publishing team for my debut picture book suggested All the Places We Call Home as the title. A book based on my family. A book about Zimbabwe and Jamaica, about South Africa and the US. A gorgeous title. So lyrical. Truly perfect for that book. And I was struggling, struggling, struggling with that absolutely beautiful suggestion for a title.
Why? Because I didn’t mention Alaska, my first home, in that book. I couldn’t have a book called All the Places We Call Home that didn’t mention Alaska! But I knew the title was right. So, I told myself, “Well, Patrice, you’re just going to have to write a picture book about your family’s connection to Alaska.” Because Alaska is one of the places I call home. And that was the start of Beyond Alaska’s Window.
The constraint birthed the idea, but I still needed to write the manuscript. And this is where experimenting was so helpful. At the time, I was really intrigued by picture books that revolved around set structures such as numbers, letters of the alphabet, colors, days of the week, etc. I was trying to write a book for nearly every structure I could think of, and the seasons of the year felt like the perfect fit for this story set in Alaska. (As an aside, that experiment yielded some lovely results; my second picture book, Ripening Time, is also inspired by an aspect of my Alaskan childhood and is structured around the days of the week.)
Me: I love how lyrical your story is! Did this story go through many revisions to get to this finished state? Or was it actually a gift from the Muse that was written in one draft?
Patrice: Thank you, Jena! Such kind words. Regarding your question, I think this was a mix of both! The Muse was definitely there in that first draft—it already contained much of the lyrical language and the structure that creates this story. However, when I look back in the drafts folder for that manuscript, I see a bunch of additional drafts!! Even when much arrives already formed, I still find much that needs to be deepened and further developed and revised. I’m grateful for the input my fabulous critique group offered.
Me: What is one thing that surprised you in writing this story?
Patrice: How the manuscript had the power to make me cry (the joyful tears kind). And how much the words would remind me of a poem.
Me: I love that. Can you talk about how the book came to be published with Viking Books? Did you send it out to multiple publishers before it was accepted there? Or were they your only submission?
Patrice: My agent sent the manuscript out to a handful of editors (I unfortunately can’t remember the exact number now). Viking loved it and gave this story such a wonderful home!
Me: The illustrations by Monica Mikai are delightful. I adored all the colors and activities. Were there any illustration surprises for you? Any favorites?
Patrice: Monica is truly amazing!!! I’m glad you enjoyed the illustrations. Each time I look at them, I feel a rush of deep gratitude at how she brought this story, so precious to me, to life. I adore the illustrations. I would call them all my favorites. But the one that surprised me most is where the girls (my sister and me) watch the salmon swimming. The first time I saw that illustration, I remember thinking, “That is exactly what it was like. How did she know?”
Me: Any advice for other new picture book writers?
Patrice: My brief answer: Keep reading, keep writing, and keep studying the craft of creating picture books! And expanded a bit: keep reading picture books because you can learn so much about how the form works. I often borrow a stack of picture books from the library and read them with sticky notes nearby so I can note beginnings and endings, transitions, how the images and text work together, etc. Then I experiment with what I learned in my own work. Keep writing: I think we learn as we create. I participated in 12 x 12 for a couple of years, and while I never wrote 12 books in one year, I did write a lot of manuscripts. The writing process can be an amazing teacher! Writing multiple manuscripts also helps you become less tied to one particular project. Finally, keep studying the craft of writing whether through classes, webinars, books, etc. There is always so much to learn or relearn to help you strengthen that picture-book writing muscle! If it helps, I keep a list of writing resources on my website with a section specific for picture books.
That is wonderful advice Patrice! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today.
Dear readers, this book publishes next week. It’s a wonderful glimpse into life in Alaska told with poetry, heart, and a personal touch. Trust me when I say, you won’t want to miss it!