Urban Reviews: Tell our
readers about The Other Side of Paradise.
M. Chelley Laurenz: Well, The Other
Side of Paradise is about a young West Indian woman's
return to her island home to visit as well as to attend to her
aging parents. It is her intentions to tour the island and see
it through the eyes of a tourist. So, she takes along her wild
and carefree, sister-friend to ensure they have a blast. But
while there, this young woman discovers that her parents'
problems are now her own and there are real problems in
paradise. She is thrusts into a battle to save her family's
rum & wine distillery business from a sinister, sugar producer
who is engaged to her half-sister. She realizes that coming
from a mixed race parents have caused resentment within her
own family and the age long color, class and status issues
resurfaces and are very much alive in modern day Jamaica.
Armed with a few supporters, and an enigmatic old flame she
has come to begrudge, she is forced to take the helm of her
father's failing business and attempt to rescue it from the
sugar baron who would do anything to get his way.
Urban Reviews: How did
you come up with the idea for this book?
M. Chelley Laurenz: I was on a flight
home and realized some of the stereotypes and generalization
of West Indians...specifically, Jamaicans and I wanted to
dispense some of these generalized stereotypes by writing this
novel. In some of my travels, I have heard the most absurd
stereotypes relating towards West Indian culture. For that
reason I wanted to give them an alternative view of another
kind of normalcy about 'the Island'. I thought that writing
this book would be another way to show them what life can be
like among the island socially wealthy and upper class.
Besides reggae music, dance hall, and jerk foods, we have a
rich history of running businesses and we are a myriad of
people and of unique individualism.
Some of us aren't coming from poverty stricken
neighborhoods; some of us were not raised in ghettos as
depicted in documentaries or music videos. Contrary, many of
us are from conservative backgrounds, and some of us have
family history equating to sugar production and other viable
industries that have flourished on the island. How else would
we have self-sustained ourselves since our independence from
Great Britain? My grandfather, though on a small scale, had
his own sugar mill and produced sugar. My mother's family had
close connections with those of the fairer persuasions and the
issues that came of her being married to my father are just
examples of what I strung together to write this book. The
Other Side of Paradise takes on several issues that are
swept under the rug in my community while still showing the
positive side of a Jamaican family.
Urban Reviews: When did
you know you wanted to be a writer?
M. Chelley Laurenz: I knew
I wanted to write in high school but did not envision it then.
I was what you would call a day dreamer and was always
interested in English B... that's English Literature. I had a
few of my teachers being totally titillated over my stories.
But it was not until college when several of my professors
complimented me on "my way with words" and the interesting
tales that I wove. So, they encouraged me to write more. I
decided to write a novella, but did not quite finish the
story, which had my sister, who was an avid reader, salivating
for more and fuming that I not concluded the story. At the
expense of my sister's anticipation, I found that I wanted to
be a writer because it was something I absolutely enjoy doing.
Whenever I write, I never become stressed or pressed to prove
anything beyond creating characters and going places in my
mind.
Urban Reviews: Looking
back, is there anything you would have done differently in
regards to The Other Side of Paradise?
M. Chelley Laurenz: The title should not
be confused with other titles of the same name; this one is
written by me, M. Chelley Laurenz. Would I have done anything
differently with this novel? Not really...except that the
cover is a little deceptive because it depicts a romantic
scene of two lovers in an embrace and a plantation style house
looming in the background. But this novel is so much more that
that as I have mention before. I want readers to see beyond
the cover. It is a well written novel with serious issues at
times, humor, mystery, adventure and of course romance. But
that goes to show, you can't judge a book by the cover!
Urban Reviews: What are
your ultimate goals as a writer?
M. Chelley Laurenz: Besides churning out
great novels or as my slogan goes, 'books that feed your minds
and take you places, ultimately, I would like for readers to
discover that my novels are not just black fictional stories,
but that they are stories that everyone can relate to. I want
to be able not just to entertain, but to also present positive
characters and images about our people as a whole. African,
African American, West Indian characters that are strong and
would enrich anyone that read about them. My novels are
written to be also set to 'the silver screen' with characters
that are believable and some that bring to mind the fantastic
action filled movies of Indiana Jones, but only they happen to
be Black..
Urban Reviews: What's the
best literary advice you've gotten from another author so far?
M. Chelley Laurenz: It was my writing
teacher who is also an author. I had wondered if I had what it
takes to be a writer. Was it something that was inherent like
a singer who had that particular gift? He told me that I had
to believe in what I am doing or no one would. And even if I
thought I did not have that raw talent, I should continue
writing the written words and all that skill will be developed
in due time. As it turns out, he was right.
Urban Reviews: Do you
have any other projects that we can look forward to?
M. Chelley Laurenz: I have another novel
out, Oracle of the Sun Gods. And in keeping with the
combination of adventure, romance, mixed with a gentle flavor
of mystery, I am currently working on my third novel.
Urban Reviews: Do you
have any favorite authors or books?
M. Chelley Laurenz: My favorite writers
are Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Chinua Achebe, Maryse Conde,
and Maya Angelou and one of my favorite books is The Woman
and the Ape by Peter Hoeg.
Urban Reviews: What do
you like to do outside of writing?
M. Chelley Laurenz: I am actually an
Accounting Manager and I work with a very worthy
not-for-profit organization in New York City. I like to assist
others with their personal finances and when time permits I
enjoy reading a good book. I love to travel and hope to do
more of that in the future. I also run Scribes-Smith
Publishing.
Urban Reviews: Is there
anything else you would like to share about yourself or your
novel?
M. Chelley Laurenz: I believe that The
Other Side of Paradise is a fresh, new novel which tackles
issues that have not been addressed by others given stories in
the same context as how I have presented it in this novel. The
story line is unique and once you read it...you will thirst
for other stories that I have written. |
