INSPIRE AUTHOR SERIES SPOTLIGHT: Author: Dr. Sharon J. Willis

Featured Author: Dr. Sharon J. Willis
Author of Vine City Blues

About the Author

Dr. Sharon J. Willis is a distinguished composer, author, and educator whose career spans music, literature, and cultural preservation. She served as Chair of the Music Department at Clark Atlanta University and Morris Brown College before retiring and is the Founding Director of Americolor Opera and Theater Arts, now celebrating more than 25 years of successful productions dedicated to preserving Afrocentric and American history through the arts.

She is also the owner of W. Sharokee Music Publishing Company, having published nine of her own books and works by other local authors. Her honors include Distinguished Composer by the National Association of Negro Musicians (2022), the Kuumba Award of Arts and Letters, the Atlanta Music Legends Award, the Trumpet Awards’ Spiritual Enlightenment Award, and multiple national recognitions for composition and music education.

Dr. Willis holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Georgia, a Master’s in Church Music from Scarritt Graduate School, a Master’s in Music from Georgia State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Clark College (CAU).

What inspired you to become a writer?

One could say necessity—but I would add my love for creativity, helping others, and African American history, which I’ve loved since elementary school. Our history wasn’t just celebrated for a week or a month; it was taught all year long.

Our teachers were deeply invested in who we were and what we accomplished as a people. That inspired me to keep researching, and research turned into writing. Writing turned into skits, plays, narratives—and music. Twenty-five years ago, I founded Americolor Opera and became its principal composer, librettist, and producer. Writing sixteen original works inspired by African American culture and history allowed me to combine all of my gifts in one basket.

Can you share what your latest book is about?

Vine City Blues is fictional history. It centers on growing up in Atlanta’s Vine City neighborhood in the 1950s, although I didn’t move there until 1960. My grandparents and cousins grew up in Atlanta, but my father—a World War II soldier—refused to submit to deep-South segregation and chose Cleveland, Ohio instead.

Eventually, my sister and I came to Atlanta and were raised in Eagan Homes in the Vine City community. Life moved at a slower pace then; there wasn’t much difference between 1955 and 1960. Only in late adulthood did I realize how meaningful, blessed, and culturally rich that time was.

I wanted to capture the legacy of Vine City and show how racism impacted Black communities across Atlanta—whether in Collier Heights or Vine City—and seal that experience in a book.

What message or feeling do you hope readers take away from your work?

This book reveals details of African American life that could never be found in traditional history books. It highlights our cultural richness: community cooperation, Black-owned businesses on Hunter Street and Auburn Avenue, the central role of the Black church, the influence of Atlanta University, and more.

Describe your writing process.

My high school English teacher always said, “Write what you know.” While academic structure matters, the best writing comes from inspiration paired with extensive research. Writing what I know—combined with diligent research—has served me well as a writer of both music and words.

Where can readers find your work and follow your journey?

My books are available on Amazon and at local book signings (TBA).

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