Q: How did Elijah of Buxton come about?
A: Elijah of Buxton came to me very easily — in a way that was far different from any other book I have written. From the word “go,” Elijah and I became close friends. When I’d go to the library to write, it was as if he were anxiously waiting for me, waiting to tell about his life, his worries, and his adventures. I knew I wanted to write something about slavery, but I can’t think of a more difficult subject to write about. When I write, I like to put myself in the place of a character and try to imagine what that person’s life would be like. But I’m just not able to imagine what it would be like to be a slave, to be completely dehumanized — and even worse, to have to teach your children that they too have to give up their humanity.
Q: What made you decide to set Elijah’s story in the Buxton Settlement?
A: Actually, the first chapter I wrote ended up being one of the last chapters of the book, and at the time, I didn’t know it was going to be set in Buxton. Once I found out more about the characters I’d created and about the community in Buxton, which I’d visited, the idea of setting the story there just grabbed a hold of me. Buxton is about forty miles from Detroit, in Canada, and about two hundred descendents of the original settlers still live in the area. It was a terminus of the Underground Railroad, so many former slaves settled there after escaping from the U.S. By setting Elijah’s story there, and by making him the first child born free, I was able to look at slavery without being actually in it.
Q: Was it difficult to write this book?
A: You might think it would have been, but Elijah just spoke to me and it took me about six months to finish. That’s a very short time for me.
Q: What is your writing schedule like?
A: I still get up at five in the morning every day — I always worked an early shift at the factory, and I can’t seem to break the habit of waking up before everyone else does. Early mornings are my editorial time. From five until about eight, I take whatever I wrote the day before and try to beat it into a story. From nine until noon, I go to the Windsor Public Library and write. That’s my creative time, where I just let the story go. A lot of what I write won’t end up in a book, but it gives me a little background on what I’m writing about. I can tell that I’m getting the story right when the editorial part becomes much shorter than the creative part.
Q: Do you plan to write another book about Buxton?
A: Buxton has such a rich and fascinating history that there are surely hundreds more stories to tell. I hope to tell a few more of them myself.