Charles Waters

Charles Waters, co-author of Can I Touch Your Hair?, describes how being strong means never giving up.

“Strong girls are the heartbeat of our world.”

Tell us about a time when your strength was tested.

When I moved to NYC to further my acting and poetic career because cutbacks at Disney World meant I was without a job. Multiple jobs in positions I did not like AT ALL, auditions, rejections, in both acting and poetry. However, I didn’t quit. I realized I’m made of tough Pennsylvania fiber. 🙂

What is your favorite book about a strong girl and why?

ROLLERGIRL by Victoria Jamieson, this Newberry Honor/NY Times Best selling graphic novel is about not giving up, making mistakes and learning from them. I felt like the main character, Astrid, was my pal. There’s no better compliment I could give out. I related to her journey. Never read a graphic novel before, so this was a case of going outside my comfort zone and being rewarded for it! https://www.amazon.com/Roller-Girl-Victoria-Jamieson/dp/0803740166

What is it about the main character(s) of your story that inspires you?

Astrid is a person who doesn’t give up, even though there’s a lost friendship, multiple failures is learning roller derby, navigating junior high school, she does not give up on her goals.

What is the best piece of advice you were given as a child? As a writer?

You don’t have to talk all the time. I was a human chatterbox as a kid, much to my detriment because it would get annoying. Listening instead of saying whatever flashes in your mind is a good rule to live by. However, people now pay me money to talk, so the irony is not lost on me.

As a writer, the best advice I got was making sure no matter what obstacles are in your way, make sure the main thing, aka whatever goals you have, stays the main thing, no matter what.     

What’s your superpower, or what’s your Patronus?

My superpower is reading a room and knowing when I’m performing if the audience is understanding the show I’m doing, are they bored, happy, focused, etc. My Patronus is probably the tortoise. It may take me awhile to reach my goals, but eventually I’ll reach them, in my time, not anyone else’s. And I cannot stress that enough.