Instead of relying on a publisher, creative talents Virginia Bailey and Sandy Lomax bypassed traditional media gatekeepers and published children’s books on their own.
“Trinity: A Changing World: The First Black President” is the second book in Bailey’s Trinity series, a collection of stories for children. The setting of the book occurs in a library on Nov. 4, 2008. Books come to life and debate if the election of Barack Obama counts as a modern or historic event.
Bailey, the audiobook’s writer and voice actress, grew up in Gary where she studied ballet. “Trinity: A Changing World: The First Black President” is a sequel to her book “Trinity Learns to Love Her Natural Hair,” a story about self-acceptance inspired by Bailey’s cosmetologist mother. Currently, Bailey is a real estate agent, writing teacher, media production teacher and an author.
Originally written as a play, Bailey is excited to release her new story in a format more like an audio play than a regular audio book.
“Just hearing the audio and hearing the color within the characters and their voices and inflections and things like that, I think just bring the characters to life,” Bailey said.
The book is not only a play. It is a musical.
“I just absolutely love musicals, so I of course wanted this to be a musical,” Bailey said.
To incorporate the musical elements, Bailey worked alongside Indianapolis musician and longtime collaborator Sandy Lomax. Lomax is an accomplished jazz, scat and swing musician, who has performed all over the world and is currently known for her band, Sandy Lomax and Friends. Bailey developed a title and theme of the song, and Lomax created the lyrics and music. Even though they live states apart, Bailey, who lives in Illinois, and Lomax frequently work together. Most often, Lomax illustrates Baily’s children’s books, including the cover of “Trinity: Changing World: The First Black President.”
Bailey and Lomax are collaborating on another eBook in the Trinity series, “We’re Having A Wedding,” a book about blended families that should be out around Thanksgiving.
Contact staff writer Ben Lashar at 317-762-7848 or @BenjaminLashar
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