Brownstone Women's Spotlight: A Profile of G.S. Wolff

G.S. Wolff is the author of a refreshing new novel, The Girlz of Galstanberry. Wolff got her inspiration to write by listening to the girls of her mentorship program and focusing on their unheard voices. They were tired of reading books that just did not relate to them. In addition to writing, Wolff holds a bachelors degree in Neuroscience and a Master of Science. She is a Mathematics professor and resides in Detroit, Michigan.

Martine Rouzan (MR): Can you tell our readers about your book, The Girlz of Galstanberry, and what inspired you to write it?

G.S. Wolff (GW): I have a mentoring program for girls and the girls I work with expressed that current books did not accurately reflect them. Books like Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars, only focus on one type of girl from one geographic area of the United States. I was inspired by the unique voices of girls and the differences among girls that were not being addressed. Expressing different cultural & socio-economic backgrounds was important to me.

MR: I noticed while reading excerpts from the book that all the girls are from difference cities across the U.S. and they all wear different shoes to reflect their various personalities. How did you decide on the different cities and traits for each character?

GW: If you take a look, the book it has a horizontal cover. You have to turn the cover to look at each girl. An example of the cover is on the website. The poses, facial expressions, shoes and skin color among each girl are all different. They all wear the same uniform which enforces that they follow the same rules and traditions but never lose sight of their individuality and unique personalities. For example, the fan favorite, Brandi is wearing ballerina slippers to spotlight her interest.

For the cities, I wanted each part of the US to be represented in some capacity. I have characters from the South, Southwest, Midwest, East Coast and West Coast. I love Atlanta because it has one of the largest populations of Black professionals. The Midwest was important to me because I am from the Midwest and I wanted the auto industry to be represented. As for the East Coast, in books we usually see wealthy, Caucasian girls representing this area, however the East Coast is very diverse and deserved to be represented in a different way. My East Coast character is Puerto Rican and from the Bronx. The West Coast character is funky and free-spirited, so San Francisco was the perfect choice for her. This is opposite of the “typical” way Asian girls are represented. Readers usually never see a red head girl represented in books, most likely you will see a blonde or a brunette. The red head character is from Texas which has their own culture and own accent that has been incorporated into the book.

MR: What were you like as a teenager? Are any of these characters modeled after you and your experiences growing up?

All my readers tell me I look like Brandy. I don’t necessarily agree, but the one thing we do share is our hair. I have really big hair and I wanted Brandy to also have big hair. Each girl is an aspect of my personality. Some reflect friends and some are even named after girls I know. Lillian is spunky and Fei is very independent which are both reflective of my personality. I was bullied growing up and it was important to me to incorporate that into the book as well. People often stand by, watch and don’t do anything while others are being bullied. I wanted to address this issue because it was something that was so close to home for me.

MR: I love the Galstanberry Motto: "May all Galstanberry Girls pursue their dreams, stand their ground, persevere though obstacles, and live without regret." How do you incorporate this motto into your life?

GW: The motto comes from 1926 chapter. It is a reflection of my own life. I really want girls to persevere through their obstacles and approach life with a zest. Don’t let anything stop you because you are scared. It may be pretty heavy from a middle school girl to think about but it’s important to know this early so you live life to the fullest. The stand your ground comes from bullying which reflect my own experiences growing up. I wanted something deeper for middle school girls to ponder so they wouldn’t only consumed by gossip and materialism.

MR: What obstacles did you overcome in publishing your book?

GW: I started writing in May 2010 and it just poured out of me. Writing a book for girls was natural because I have a program for middle school girl. Everything I do I think of them in the background. I didn’t know of literary agents, which are like sports agents for authors. I submitted about 20 query letters about my book and received rejections from all of them. This was really disappointing because this is a book about real girls rather than sci-fi vampires or really rich Caucasian girls from the East Coast. There is no ethnic diversity in the books currently available for my market. All the books in Borders are the same. The rejection was difficult, but I realized f I really wanted this to happen, I had to do it myself. I’ve had my mentoring program for 10 years and I knew how to register a name and the other paperwork involved in starting up a company. I took the money I made from my fellowship, hired a team to draw the girls, found an editor and someone to manufacture the book.

I then pitched the the book to Detroit Public Library, who pre- ordered 100 copies due by October 13th. That along with two scheduled book signings meant I had to work on a fast timeline. I now have my own publishing house and my book is the only one. I sacrificed my summer for my book; I would work in the lab from 9-5, come home and write all night. I wrote everyday at every moment where I had free time and it was well worth the pressure.

MR: Can we expect more books from you soon?

GW: Yes!!! Definitely the series will continue. I want to hear what girls want. I will probably start writing the next one soon to come out next year.

MR: Thank you for your time, I look forward to checking out your book and I hope our readers do to!

-- Martine Rouzan
Brownstone Team