Award-winning author Sharon Flake wants you to know that she grew up in a castle. Oh -- and she's also a queen.

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Some people might question Flake's sanity, given the inner-city Philadelphia neighborhood in which she was raised. But in her new book, "The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street" (Hyperion, $15.99), Flake makes the point that castles and royalty can be found anywhere -- you just have to believe in them.

"Kids get it when I talk to them," Flake, who now lives in Pittsburgh, said in a recent interview. "They start to see that they can think differently about who they are, and where they live ... People are always talking about getting out of the inner city, but not everyone can get out or wants to.

"So I want kids to see that royalty can be found in the most unexpected places. We need to encourage kids to expect it to be there."

Flake's entertaining, thought-provoking new book revolves around Queen, a hugely self-confident girl who takes her name seriously. The tiara-wearing Queen may live in the inner city, but she considers herself royalty and sees her row house, which is located across from a housing project, as a castle.

But Queen, a fifth-grader, hasn't yet learned to temper her sense of entitlement with compassion. Instead, she tells people exactly what she thinks of them, figuring that's what queens can do. Things begin to change, however, when a boy named Leroy moves nearby and becomes one of Queen's classmates. Leroy's clothes smell, and he rides a broken-down, rusty bicycle. When Leroy tells Queen he's actually an African prince, she's outraged at such a big fib and tries hard to persuade others that he's just a liar.

Queen's parents, however, take a shine to Leroy, who becomes an ad-hoc member of their family. At first, Queen is angry and upset, but then Leroy introduces her to an eccentric man named Cornelius. Queen's world turns upside down, and she discovers that even queens have some limits.

"The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street" is Flake's first novel for "middle grade" readers, those age 8-12. It's also her first book written in "standard" English. All of Flake's previous books, including her award-winning debut novel, "The Skin I'm In," were aimed at teens, and written in dialect.

Flake, 52, first got the idea for "The Broken Bike Boy and the Queen of 33rd Street" when she was writing "Bang!," a gut-wrenching tale of the consequences of gun violence.

"Usually, I have just one idea at a time. But that book, 'Bang,' made me cry as I wrote it. So, in the middle of 'Bang!,' I started writing about Queen. It's the only time I've ever started writing a book in the middle of another book."

Flake still revels in the fact that she writes books for a living. Growing up in Philadelphia, Flake never thought she could be a writer; she wasn't good in grammar or spelling -- and still isn't.

Still, Flake did like to write. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with an English degree, she worked for a few years as a youth counselor, and then switched gears and spent many years doing public relations for the University of Pittsburgh.

But Flake also continued to write, encouraged by friends. In 1998 "The Skin I'm In" was published by Hyperion and won the prestigious Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent. The book, which has become a modern classic and is used in middle- and high-school classrooms nationwide, jump-started Flake's career as a popular writer for young adults.

Since then, she's written several more critically acclaimed books in addition to "Bang!": "Money Hungry," "Begging for Change" and "Who Am I Without Him?" Flake currently is doing revisions on another teen novel, scheduled for publication next year, and she's mulling the possibility of another middle-grade novel starring Queen.

Flake is particularly gratified by the fact that she can tell the stories of black children, whose stories otherwise might be ignored. If we want black children to read, she argues, "I think a good place to start is to show them a world where their stories are being told."

Meanwhile, Flake was able to become a full-time writer three years ago, and she still revels in her good fortune.

"This is the best gig in the world!" she exclaimed, adding that she sometimes autographs copies of her books this way: "Sharon G. Flake -- having the time of my life!"