Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Matches, I loved matches…and fire as a child and if it’s any consolation to my neighbors back then, I am sure you consider yourselves lucky now- thank the stars…and the gods. To say it was an honor growing up on an island in the Caribbean is an understatement. The treasure trove of folklore and community bacchanal makes for darn good writing. Trinidad was and always will be home – no doubt about that. When someone from the Caribbean speak of colorful times, believe them- its no embellishment.
Happy-go-lucky! That’s what I am! Bloody Murder was completed while I attended Junior High. It was when I realized the bug, that pesky little writing bug had bitten me. During my first year of college I penned a second novella, Murder or Masquerade. Times were different then; writers had no outlets available to share his or her work so, I simply put it all away.
In 1999, I migrated to the United States. That year I dabbled in screen writing. Quick, Break, Barracuda, and Devil’s Wood Yard were the result. In 2000 I wrote the short story, The Three of Us and Mrs. Booker – part of the upcoming Krik Krak on A Monkey’s Back collection. In 2006, I started working on Things Happen, my first collection (published in 2013). By then I had joined the Observer Magazine as a consumer columnist. After the publication of my first collection I excitedly got to work. In March of 2015, Unraveling Of a Strand was released and the first installment of The Gardener’s Wife followed in the summer. A Tale from Under De Pecan Tree and The Longest Train Home were published in TimbookTu’s 2015 Fall edition. Life is good. I currently reside in Phoenix, Arizona with my family and our three dogs.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Ah yes! The Gardener’s Wife, such a long time in the making. It’s currently being published in five installments. I had been experiencing a stretch of writers block and the idea came to mind late one evening while watching an Alfred Hitchcock marathon. The book was shelved four times until August of 2014 when I wrote ‘Little Tommy Tucker,’ a Halloween short story for children. A crucial moment in that story ignited my interest in The Gardener’s Wife once more.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Yes! I am not at all methodical. I write anything, and I do mean anything- no genre left untouched. I never plot, everything is right up there in my head and never gets scrambled – strange huh? For every scene I listen to a song to suit the mood. Then I play through it – does that make sense? (Laughs) I know – I’m weird.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Definitely H.P. Lovecraft, he was such a brilliant mind. A ghoulish part of me contains a little Stephen King, a few of my stories were influenced by his advice. Agatha Christie! What a woman, what a magnitude of range; in my earlier years I studied her style and found myself as a mystery writer.
What are you working on now?
At this very moment I’m working on several projects. The release of Meeting at Mystic Canyon is upon us. It’s the conclusion of the short story, Friends. Final Burn also due out in 2016 is the conclusion of Burning Inquisition. The second installment of The Gardener’s Wife is due for release in late summer 2016 and of course the Thriller, ‘Black’ is due some time in 2017.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In! Social media is a wonderful invention.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Be yourself, be brave. Take risks, without it we are simply a slave to what the world wants us to be. Remember, a writer writes an editor edits.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
My Grandmother was a woman of the soil, she believed in planting seeds to grow ones own food. She told me to do the same. I did just that and then some. I type. I scribble.
What are you reading now?
I despised English classes in high school and couldn’t stand book reports, fortunately a few weeks ago I remembered one I had done on C. Everard Palmer’s, The Wooing of Beppo Tate. Oh! What a book!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Anything. Changing with the times is crucial for the medium we work in. To me, versatility is the key.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
This would be easier with music! (Laughs) okay, lets see, Definitely Agatha Christie’s And Then There were None, spectacular in every way! Stephen King’s Misery, need I say more? All Short Stories by Edgar Allan Poe, especially the Tell-Tale Heart. A collection of H.P. Lovecraft.
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