My major influences were my parents and family.  My parents took me to art museums and poetry readings as a child frequently.  Also I loved learning and still do.  The book African Venus started when I saw the Charles Cordier exhibit at the Dahesh Museum of Art in New York City.  I was absolutely intrigued by the piece.  I stared at it and walked around her and wanted to know more about her.  No information was revealed about her name or where she came from.  I was disappointed it bothered me; she was so beautiful and faced extreme stress as she was described as a slave sold in Guadeloupe purchased by a rich French colonist.  This book is a endeavor to celebrate her, where she came from and the time in which she lived.  My research started slowly but each step of the way I got affirmation that I was headed in the right direction.  Example being that the New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, owns a African Venus.  This is her image on the cover of the book. I also learned of the French Abolitionist Victor Schoelcher who was very important to ending slavery in the French west indies.  The story took shape and I am proud of what I have accomplished.