Category Archives: The Writer’s Life

The Writing Life: Giving Thanks

19 Sunday Nov 2017

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Happy Thanksgiving 2017

At the end of May 2017, I received an unexpected request by e-mail from Vitor Rafael Siqueira de Araújo, a young poet, literature teacher, and freelance Portuguese/English translator in Roraima, North Brazil. His first poetry collection is due for publication in 2018.

With a bachelor’s degree in English and Portuguese literature from the University of Roraima, Vitor is currently enrolled in a postgraduate course in Translation Studies. Specializing in the translation of short stories, Vitor sought permission to translate one of my short stories.

I selected my most popular short story, The Ole Higue, published in July 2008 in the Guyana Journal (New York/USA). Considering that my short story contains dialog in Caribbean Creole English, Vitor’s project was very ambitious.

With its origins in West African mythology, the ole higue is an evil spirit that takes the form of an ugly, repulsive old woman that sucks the blood of her victims. She’s a witch and vampire wrapped in one package to scare disobedient kids like my seven-year-old character, Sammy. Some children have to feel before they listen.

For my Brazilian and other Portuguese language readers, Vitor’s translation, A Bruxa Velha is now available on his blog. Enjoy.

This Thanksgiving, I give thanks to Vitor Rafael Siqueira de Araújo for this unexpected present.

A happy Thanksgiving Day to all my American readers!

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On the Making of My Convent Novel

14 Sunday May 2017

Posted by in Guyana, The Writer's Life

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When my friend and poet, Angela Consolo Mankiewicz, told me that my second novel had to be about my life in the convent, I balked at the idea. To embark on a journey back to a time and place that caused me grief would require some meaningful purpose. The 2012 documentary film, Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, exploring the first known public protest against clerical sex abuse in the US, gave me the impetus I needed.

My convent novel, inspired by real events that took place in Guyana in the 1970s, had to be relevant to the present. To bash the nuns and priests would be unjust. Most religious men and women that I lived and worked with had devoted their lives to their God and strove to live according to His teachings. I have long forgiven those who had betrayed or abandoned me when I needed them most. Continue reading →

Celebrating the Small Fruits of Our Labor of Love

09 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by in The Writer's Life, United States

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Cover of The Things that Fly in the Night by Giselle Liza Anatol

Book Cover: The Things That Fly in the Night by Giselle Liza Anatol
Photo Credit: Rutgers University Press

Rejections are an integral part of the writing life. The record of best-sellers initially rejected confirms the writer’s scourge. But this is of little consolation when you open your electronic mailbox to find another rejection letter from a literary agent. It read:

Thank you for your inquiry. We are sorry that we cannot invite you to submit your work or offer to represent you. Moreover, we apologize that we cannot respond in a more personal manner. We wish you the best of luck elsewhere.

That the literary agent responded to my query letter is highly commendable. Some agents don’t respond.

For the remainder of that day and during the following days, I struggled with the toxic fallout: Your work is not good enough. You’re wasting your time. Then…a discovery restored my battered self-confidence as a writer. Continue reading →

Writing Emotionally Charged Scenes

12 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by in Guyana, The Writer's Life

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Caution Writer at Work

Caution! Writer at Work

On Friday evenings when I draft my Sunday’s blog post, I usually don’t have trouble switching from writing fiction to non-fiction. This weekend was different. I had originally planned to write an article on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s official visit to the United States on June 29-30, 2015, but my head was in another place and time. Continue reading →

On Blogging: Finding Inspiration & Much More

22 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by in About Me, Relationships, The Writer's Life, United States

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Very Inspiring Blogger AwardVery Inspiring Blogger Award

 

When one’s day starts with news of terrorist attacks and more war, it’s good to receive unexpected news that makes one smile and warms the heart. I received such news recently from blogger, Dr. Gerald Stein, a retired psychotherapist in Chicago. His candid blog posts on our relationships are well articulated, insightful, and knitted together with engaging humor and honesty. In his latest post, he surprised me with the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.

When I started my blog over three years ago, inspiring others was far from my mind. As a newbie novelist seeking to have my work published, I started my blog as a means of building my author’s platform.

After learning that I was working on a novel set in Guyana, a friend sent me the link to the Guyanese Online Blog as a source of information. The blog, published by Cyril Bryan, went far beyond a resource hub. It connected me with the Guyana Diaspora, strengthening my frayed link with my native land. What’s more, in reblogging my posts, Cyril Bryan has expanded my readership.

Other bloggers inspire us with their life stories and vision of our world. As an Award recipient, I share the Very Inspiring Blogger Award with two such bloggers:

Bruce Witzel, a carpenter, lives on Vancouver Island, Canada. His self-constructed, off-grid home – powered by clean energy and integrated with a waste disposal system for maintaining a kitchen garden – gives me hope for our sustainable future. His down-to-earth spirituality expands my vision of life.

John Castellenas is a Vietnam veteran who found healing through poetry. The honesty of his prose and poetry touches my soul. His stories of saving himself from alienation and self-hate and finding love speak volumes to our nation engaged in never-ending wars.

In accepting the Very Inspiring Blogger Award, I’m also required to answer seven questions.

  1. Who is your favorite public figure?
    Senator Elizabeth Warren
  1. What do you like most? (I presume this refers to Question 1.)
    I admire Senator Warren’s political courage in defending consumers against the Too-Big-To-Jail financial institutions that decimated middle-class America.
  1. Do you follow trends?
    I follow trends that jeopardize our security and survival: changing job market, criminalization of the poor, militarization of the police force, privatization of prisons, growing income inequality, perpetual wars, and climate change.
  1. What do you do when someone gets angry?
    With strangers, I get out of their way. With bosses, I let them let off steam before I open my mouth. With close relations, I go with the flow.
  1. What have you loved most?
    My sons are my greatest treasure.
  1. Do you have causes?
    I support the following non-profit organizations:
    Feeding America (feeding the hungry)
    Public Citizen (getting Big Business out of politics)
    350.org (saving our planet for future generations)
  1. What quality do you admire most?
    Integrity: much needed to curb inequality and end wars.

Through blogging, I’m reminded that we all share the same humanity.

“Under the Tamarind Tree” Shortlisted for the Dundee International Book Prize 2014

18 Wednesday Jun 2014

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Bestselling Author Neil GaimanBestselling author Neil Gaiman
Among judges of Dundee International Book Prize 2014
Photo Credit: BBC News

 

At last, a window has opened for my yet-to-be-published first novel, Under the Tamarind Tree. After receiving rejection letters from literary agents – of the kind that said, “While your project sounds interesting, I don’t think it is right for my list at this time” – a friend suggested that I should also consider participating in book contests.

In February 2014, I learned about the Dundee International Book Prize through Caribbean journalist and author, Tony Williams. Tony offers informative information for writers through his Caribbean Book Blog. I set to work.

  • What is the Dundee International Book Prize? Check.
  • Who qualifies for entry? Check.
  • How do I submit my novel? Check.
  • When is the deadline for submission? Check.

Continue reading →

On the Road to Santa Cruz

26 Sunday Jan 2014

Posted by in Guyana, The Writer's Life

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Road through jungle - Barima-Waini Region - GuyanaRoad through the jungle – Barima-Waini Region – Guyana
Photo Credit: It’s Always Sunny in Guyana Blogspot

 

I have started work on my second novel. It’s a journey back to my final year as a high school teacher at the Mabaruma Secondary School in Guyana’s northwest region. Whenever I think of that year, I relive the days I walked alone with God along the red dirt road through the jungle to and from school. At the time, I lived in Santa Cruz (fictitious name for the indigenous Amerindian settlement) located on a hilltop some five miles distant from Mabaruma, the administrative center of what is now called the Barima-Waini Region.

On the Road to Santa Cruz, my working title, is a story about jealousy and betrayal. Attractive, twenty-six-year-old Sister Barbara Lovell, the only child of an Afro-Guyanese father and Indo-Guyanese mother, is a teacher of the religious community, Sisters of Christ the Redeemer. When conflict erupts with Sister Frances Stang, a German-American missionary who also teaches at the Mabaruma high school, Sister Barbara’s life is turned inside-out. Her adversary is a powerful force. The surrounding forest offers no refuge.

The story is set during the period 1979 to 1980, covering events leading up to the assassination of Walter Rodney on 13 June 1980. Betrayed by a man in whom he trusted. Wrenched from us at 38 years old. The Guyana-born scholar and historian, a frontline leader of the political group, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), had become a threat to the dictatorship government.

Following his return to Guyana in 1974, Walter Rodney succeeded in bringing together racially divided blacks and Indians at his public meetings.

“For the first time they were listening and looking at each other as brothers, comrades, that there was some common bond,” writes Abbyssinian Carto, a WPA activist in the struggle and civil rebellion during 1979 to 1980. “We come from different religious and different races and stuff like that, but we really are not different.” (Walter A. Rodney: A Promise of Revolution, edited by Clairmont Chung, 2012.)

The research process in novel writing is vital not only for historical accuracy, but also for developing complex, authentic characters that readers will love and hate. Influenced by Dr. Rodney’s teachings about self-emancipation, Sister Barbara’s conflict with Sister Frances takes on other undertones.

Betrayal can be a devastating experience, as it was for Sister Barbara that year in Santa Cruz. Sometimes, we may never recover from its effect on our lives. But, I believe it’s a valuable learning experience. People we think we know well are not always what they appear to be. To make matters worse, the people with power over our lives do not always have our interests at heart, though they claim to be.

Walter Rodney was prepared to risk his life to free his people from ignorance and fear. Did he die in vain?

Treading Unknown Waters of America’s Book Industry

20 Sunday Oct 2013

Posted by in The Writer's Life, United States

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Books by Authors of the Greater Los Angeles Writers SocietyBooks by Authors of the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society (GLAWS)
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books – University of Southern California
April 2013

 

As a newbie to the book industry, I learned early that there is much more to the writer’s life than writing a book. The creative process, the fun part, is only the first of three phases of producing a book. With my manuscript completed, I must now navigate the business side of writing: publication and promotion.

Book production has its own business model and specialists. One such specialist—I’m happy to note—is the literary agent. In an article published in Poets & Writers 2012, literary agent Rebecca Gradinger of Fletcher & Company defined her role, as follows:

The agent is the writer’s sounding board, creative adviser, business partner, and advocate. The agent negotiates the best possible deal for the writer and then stays in regular contact with the editor, who becomes the cheerleader in-house, working with marketing, publicity, sales, and everyone else who has a hand in getting the book out into the world…

Contracting the services of a literary agent comes with its challenges. With so many great writers vying for representation, the demand for agents is highly competitive. One agent equated the process to applying for a job (Writer’s Digest, October 2012).

With so much at stake, a simple letter to a literary agent, known as a query letter, becomes almost as important as one’s manuscript. I had to get it right. Here are the jottings I made of advice from literary agents—published in the Writer’s Digest and Poets & Writers magazine—on how to grab their attention.

  • Address query to one specific agent;
  • Limit letter to one page;
  • Be as professional as possible;
  • No spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors;
  • Style is important, but clarity is key;
  • Identify book by genre;
  • Sell the work, not yourself;
  • Short tease of the plot—identify main characters, include only the most important conflict and action points;
  • Indicate you’re familiar with agent’s client list, books he or she represents;
  • Brief background of writing credits.

Due to thousands of query letters they receive monthly, literary agents cannot respond to them all. On the agency websites I’ve visited, several of them advise that failure to receive a response to one’s query letter within four to six weeks indicates that they are not interested in the project.

Rejections are inevitable. Patience and persistence are a must.

Regardless of how special my book may be to me as its creator, it’s a consumer product that must be marketable. Does my mainstream/literary, multicultural novel have the literary qualities and marketable ingredients for attracting a traditional publisher? Will I find a literary agent to champion my novel? Without the willingness to tread in unknown waters, I will never know.