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What we read cannot help but influence what we write...not in a copycat way, but as inspiration that sometimes is so subtle we may not even realize it.

Me and Becky quit playing hangman when Al, that crazy boy my cousin Connie has a crush on, stands up in the back of the school bus, pretending to be James Brown. He acts out like that every day, right when we get to that same corner. The other kids have eyes on Al, too. I don’t know why anyone would want so many people watching them, but you can tell he loves it.

Libby had never seen a Negro in the Chamber before. Could this be the man the Chamber Board fussed over accepting? Mama had told Uncle Nelson that many members were fuming, her boss, especially, that a colored man might be allowed to join.

At the end of the day on the bus, Libby quizzes Mama about the Black man she's just seen at the Chamber. But she has to be careful how she asks.

Libby eagerly awaits Mama’s return from a Saturday movie with her friend Miss Cheryl. They finally arrive, laughing and chattering about Sean Connery. The mood shifts quickly, though, with the the unexpected arrival of Mama’s new acquaintance.

With their guests gone, Libby is curious about her mama’s new friend. Noticing how different he is from all the people she knows, she watches him and Mama closely, her mind filled with questions. Only a few does she dare to ask. Explore Chapter 5 of Dancing at The Royal Jade, a Beaucatcher Chronicles novel, set in the 1960s in Kent Creek, North Carolina.