I didn’t really know much about book genres or categories; I just knew I had this story about this Black queer kid growing up.

Looking back now, it made sense, because I have always shown love to Black children, especially Black queer kids and Black girls, who are thrust in a world to face so many forms and oppression at such a young age.

You know, the world doesn’t give Black people empathy and so I could have written about all the wrongs my dad did, but I’d rather write about how he and other family members were trying to do the best they could with the tools they were given.

“All Boys Aren’t Blue” would always be timely, but looking at Black queer children such as singer Lil Nas X and Zaya Wade, along with adults such as Billy Porter, who have been mistreated by the public for stepping outside of the hetero norm, this book is even more critical.

But I also want to say that this book is more than just pain, because white people love reading about Black trauma and often shun Black joy, so I wanted to show all the sides of my life because I had and have happiness and lean into mine as much as possible.