“It all started with the rain…”

This phrase is the beginning of the newly released book The Weight of Blood, published by Tiffany D. Jackson. 

On Thursday, December 1, 2022, Jackson spoke in the PAC to Judson, Wagner, and Veterans students about her experience as a writer and how it transformed her life. Jackson is an eight-time published author and has been doing these school tours yearly since 2017. 

Jackson began her career in the entertainment industry where she worked with various networks such as Roc Nation, BET, and BBC AMERICA, with many greats such as Jay-Z and J.Cole. However, she always knew she was meant to be an author, so her journey began in 2012. 

“I’m really excited to work and do something I’ve always wanted to do. From childhood, I knew I would be an author, I just didn’t know how long it would take me to get here,” Jackson said. “I love coming to do school visits because I get to show you all what an actual author looks like.” 

Jackson explained that when she was younger, she never was able to see an actual author. She believed most of them were either old or dead. In addition, the books she read never tackled harsh, or controversial topics that are in our reality. She believes that harder conversations are helpful for teenagers so they’re aware of what this world is truly like. 

“The biggest reason I tackle hard topics is because I never heard, or saw these conversations in books when I was growing up. I never saw books that represented what us Black girls go through. I never saw books that answered questions of what I personally was dealing with,” Jackson said. “They never want to talk about these hard things with teenagers, but I believe we underestimate what teens can handle and what they should know about. My goal is to revise that.” 

Jackson’s books cover topics such as the safety issues that Black women have to deal with, the dangers of grooming and the day to day thoughts of being a young adult. She writes in the thriller and mystery genre, where she’s worked with other well known authors such as R.L Stein. Jackson writes her books with brilliant storytelling, while still uncovering real-world issues. 

“I want teens to know these things because at the end of the day, you all are the future and are the people who will change the environment,” Jackson said. “The more you read these types of stories, I’m hoping it will expand your empathy muscles, and compassion for your fellow man.”

In addition, Jackson expressed that she visits schools to show students that no matter what dream you have, if you put in the work, it will come true. She never thought she’d be standing on stage telling her life story, but there she was, book in hand with a smile on her face. 

Be on the lookout for the book Blackout,  co-written by Jackson with Angie Thomas, Nic Stone, Nicola Yoon and many others, which will be adapted into a movie and series for Netflix, produced by the Obamas in the near future.