BrownGirl Speaks

Last month I read and reviewed Children of the Waters, the second novel by Carleen Brice. The story examines the idea of race in terms of identification and romantic relationships using adoption as a vehicle. As promised, Carleen Brice has been so gracious as to be interviewed by BrownGirl BookSpeak.


BGBS: What prompted you to write a story not only on adoption, but also one that crosses color lines?

Brice: Children of the Waters is partially based on a true story. My former sister-in-law is biracial and was put up for adoption because her birth father was black. In real life she was adopted by a white family so when she met her white birth sister, race wasn't really an issue. I started thinking what if she had been adopted by a black family? What if she hadn't even known she was adopted?

Also, I am intrigued by stories that include people of different races because that's the life I know and lead. I know many people in this country rarely interact with people outside their same race and class lines. But there are plenty who do--plenty of interracial families (our president being a prime example) and it's the life I know and lead. I grew up playing with white kids, black kids, Native American kids. I have another sister-in-law who's Latina. My husband is white. I wanted to write about the world as I experience it, where things aren't so, pun intended, black and white.

BGBS: It's refreshing to read a novel featuring a pair of successful, educated, and cultured Black parents. Why do you think this image is often lacking in the literary landscape?

Brice: I wish I knew, but I truly don't understand it. Again, I am trying to show the world as I know it. I know plenty of dysfunctional families of all races and plenty of together people of all races. It's important to me to show the variety within the black community. Just like any other group, we have it all.

Mostly I write what I do because they say write what you want to read.  So I write about people and situations that are interesting and important to me and hope they will be to others.

BGBS: In Children of the Waters, you delve into a hodgepodge of cultural and spiritual beliefs-Christianity, African ancestral spirits, etc. that add beautiful layers to the characters. Why was it important to include those characteristics?

Brice: At the risk of repeating myself, it was important because these are all beliefs that I know people have and are beliefs that I respect. My grandmother has been a member of the same church for over 70 years. Yet, I myself, am not a church-goer. I like seeing and showing the diversity of beliefs. I love that my grandmother has had the comfort and support of her church her entire life.  I love that Michelle Obama has a cousin who's a rabbi! Back to the rich diversity that I see within our community and outside our community.

BGBS: One of your blogs is called "White Readers Meet Black Authors". Would you explain a bit about your mission with this blog?

Brice: My mission there is to help black authors reach a wider readership. Too often black authors are marketed only to black readers, and it can hurt our careers. I'm trying to get readers, booksellers and publishers to broaden their ideas about who the target audience is for a book. So readers who like mysteries, for example, should be hearing about ALL the mystery writers there are, not just white readers hearing about white mystery writers and black readers hearing about black mystery writers. That's such a limited and limiting way of perceiving the world.

BGBS: What literary endeavors are up next?

Brice: I'm working on my third novel. My working title is Calling Every Good Wish Home. We don't have a release date yet, but I hope to firm things up enough this year to know what will become of it. I'm having a lot of fun with these new characters. It's about a woman who's estranged from her father and becomes close with his wife.

BGBS: Anything else you'd like to add...

Brice: I'm so excited that my first novel Orange Mint and Honey has been made into a movie called "Sins of the Mother"! It stars Jill Scott and will air on the Lifetime Movie Network, LMN on Sunday, February 7th-Super Bowl Sunday!


There you have it folks! The fabulous Carleen Brice has a new novel in the pipeline, a movie adaptation of her first novel- Orange, Mint, and Honey, and she's spreading the gospel of Black authors to the masses. And Browngirl BookSpeak sings her praises!

Keep up with Carleen Brice:
www.carleenbrice.com
White Readers Meet Black Authors
The Pajama Gardener

Update: Since this interview, the air date for Sins of the Mother has been changed to Sunday, February 21 on Lifetime.

Today, I'm delighted to share this Q&A I did with the author of Megan's Way, Melissa Foster. You may remember I reviewed her novel a few weeks ago. so, let's see what Melissa had to say about her book and being a writer.

BGBS: Megan's Way is brimming with so much emotion. It really had me engaged because of its realness. Did you revisit past experiences to achieve this or solely rely on imagination ?

Melissa Foster:That's a great question. I pulled from all aspects of my life. In fact, when writing, I had to act out a few scenes (weird, I know), to make sure I was writing everything I felt the character would feel. Olivia's emotions were raw and I pulled some of that from the episode with my mother's surgery, even though I wasn't a teen at the time, but I also pulled a lot of the push-pull from my experiences with our teens.

BGBS: Spirituality is almost like a fifth character in the novel as we see it expressed through Megan's connection to her daughter, a ritual, meditation, etc. Why was this element significant to the story?

Melissa Foster: When Megan came to me, she had this connection already in place. It surprised me as much as everyone else, I think, but it wasn't something I could dissolve - it was too strong. In fact my editor, Dominique, who I adore, wrestled with me about taking it out and I felt it was too powerfully a part of Megan, that it had to be kept in. I think the connection made Megan's relationships even stronger-it gave piece to her friends after her death-just by her wisping by, touching an arm, her smell lingering. It gave them comfort.

BGBS: In the book, Megan has a near epic friendship with her best friend Holly. What inspired this sisterly bond?

Melissa Foster: I have six brothers and no sisters! I had a best friend when I was growing up, and many really close girlfriends that I grew up with who were almost best friends, but there's always that one that knew all (or most) of my secrets. I loved that relationship, the security of it, and the comfort of knowing that I could turn to her for anything. As a grown woman, our lives have taken us in different directions, although we do keep in touch. As a grown woman, I have a few close friends that I feel just as close to, even though we don't have the same history. I wanted to let Megan have the carry-over and security of that one sister-like friend who would always be there.

BGBS: Many first time authors are opting to self-publish. How has that experience been and will you choose this means of getting published for any future work?

Melissa Foster: The experience has been interesting and a learning process. I chose to self-publish because the publishing industry as a whole had cut back due to the poor economy, as did most businesses. I wanted to get Megan's story out there for readers and move on to my next book. The publishing part of the process was actually not difficult, though when you self-publish, you climb mountains rather than hills. Around every corner is a face of doubt because self-publishing has had such a negative stigma associated with it in the past. I am a strong-willed woman and believe in the power of Megan's Story, so rather than shrivel away, I push forward and show people Megan, I ask for comments and feedback, and welcome both negative and positive. Marketing when you are self-published is a battle in-and-of itself, and I'm not sure how self-published authors who don't have that skill succeed. I am a marketer by trade, so to me, this is another chance to succeed-and hopefully my readers will feel as if they've gained something valuable by reading Megan's Way.

That being said, although it's enjoyable having full control over my writing, distribution, etc., I do very much hope to be picked up by a literary agent. There are many more readily-available opportunities for agented-writers.

BGBS: What can we expect from you in the future?

Melissa Foster: A lot! I am currently working on rewriting my second novel, The Knowing. It is a mystery with a paranormal twist (of course!) about a seven-year-old girl who is abducted. It is set in the small town of Boyds, Maryland, and during the search, long-held secrets of residents are exposed.

I really appreciate your time Melissa and look forward to what you bring us in the future.

Melissa is more than happy to respond to any future questions my readers may have. So, just leave a comment and I'll make sure that she provides a response.