Q:Valerie, Your novel Ti Marie is romance, adventure and history in the 18th century Caribbean. It features black and white lovers during the time of slavery. Quite a lot there! What motivated you to write this novel?
A: I always loved to escape into lovely “feel good” fairy tale romances, and I wanted so badly to read one which featured my own Caribbean island country of Trinidad, which is, of course, so beautiful, so romantic and has such exciting history.
Q: So does that mean that you see Ti Marie as just a “feel good” novel? A: Would you believe that was my chief aim! I really set out to write an “as you like it novel” – a book that focused on romance, on being entertaining, perhaps because this is so unusual among West Indian writers with our ‘high literary’ tradition. At the same time, since I was writing it for myself to read, I knew that this was my chance to include all the things I always wanted to find in such novels, too. So you might say, it changed from a mere “as you like it” to an “as you would prefer it if given the chance,” novel.
Q: Are you implying that it’s in some way, a bit “corrective”? A: In a way, yes! But hopefully, imperceptibly so.
Q: What were you trying to change? A. While appearing to reproduce a version of the typical romance. I wanted to write one that did not make me feel like I had to conspire against myself as a woman, a conscious humanist, or as a black person in order to enjoy it.
Q: Can you explain this in a little more detail? A: Sure. I basically set out to write in the great historical romance tradition, but I also had some niggling grouses with that tradition. For example, I wanted a plot that was not driven by silly misunderstandings, I wanted lovers who had “game-free” relationships who were not “star-crossed” because of stage-managed,miss-clues, or easily solvable problems, I wanted my hero and heroine to be people with self respect, people I could truly admire, etc. etc. I wanted a fast paced, sensible story, one that didn’t draw out little mysteries for no reason, one that was well tied up, that sort of thing, as well. And most of all, I wanted to show respect for the thoughtful reader by giving the romance a serious base. Whatever would influence the escapist, surface action had to have depth and substance, which didn’t have to be readily apparent, mind you, because, to me, that’s what makes for a meaningful novel – its many layers.
Q:Are you trying to say then, that the novel can be appreciated from both a light and a serious point of view? Doesn’t that put it in the same “scholarly” realm you were trying to avoid? A: Yes, to both questions. One might say that Ti Marie is "interpretable", but happily, this does not lessen its entertainment appeal!
Q: Is this responsible for your very unusual “Author’s Afterword” in this first American Edition?
A: In a way. People who read with the head and not just the heart are mostly the ones who need a few clues, but my Afterword is really for everyone with a little curiosity because no one really reads the book without realizing there was more to it than met the eye.
Q: But to return to the question of the horrors of slavery, how did you reconcile this with the “feel good”, fairytale intention of Ti Marie? A: By making my main characters genuinely sympathetic to the horror of the age rather than contributors to that horror and thus making them alter egos of my readers. So it is as if I am placing a modern person with our modern humanistic sensibilities in that awful time. The reader doesn’t have to forget him/herself or conspire against who she/he is in reality in order to identify with the story. This makes it set in the past, but very relevant to modern readers.
Q: Would the horrific aspects of the era overwhelm the reader though? A: They are not meant to! Some events occur which bring tears to ones eyes, but then stirring up a variety of emotions is all part of a what makes for a great read, isn’t it?
Q: Mixed race lovers are featured in Ti Marie, did you chose this so as to better explore the race question? And has this created any controversy for the book? A: Oh my, yes, some controversy, much to my surprise! But let me clarify that my sympathetic treatment of the white hero does not imply exoneration of the many horrendous white slave masters of the era! In truth my white hero and my mulatto heroine and their circumstances are meant to be exceptional for the times. I took advantage of the unique liberalism of the island, which facilitated such exceptions, to set up a situation which I consider genuinely romantic. What could make for better star-crossed lovers than differences in race at a time when the races were miles apart? The prime intention was not an exploration of race but one of romance, romance, romance!
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INTERVIEW DONE FOR WAX ROMANTIC
Q:Valerie, Your novel Ti Marie is romance, adventure and history in the 18th century Caribbean. It features black and white lovers during the time of slavery. Quite a lot there! What motivated you to write this novel?
A: I always loved to escape into lovely “feel good” fairy tale romances, and I wanted so badly to read one which featured my own Caribbean island country of Trinidad, which is, of course, so beautiful, so romantic and has such exciting history.
Q: So does that mean that you see Ti Marie as just a “feel good” novel?
A: Would you believe that was my chief aim! I really set out to write an “as you like it novel” – a book that focused on romance, on being entertaining, perhaps because this is so unusual among West Indian writers with our ‘high literary’ tradition. At the same time, since I was writing it for myself to read, I knew that this was my chance to include all the things I always wanted to find in such novels, too. So you might say, it changed from a mere “as you like it” to an “as you would prefer it if given the chance,” novel.
Q: Are you implying that it’s in some way, a bit “corrective”?
A: In a way, yes! But hopefully, imperceptibly so.
Q: What were you trying to change?
A. While appearing to reproduce a version of the typical romance. I wanted to write one that did not make me feel like I had to conspire against myself as a woman, a conscious humanist, or as a black person in order to enjoy it.
Q: Can you explain this in a little more detail?
A: Sure. I basically set out to write in the great historical romance tradition, but I also had some niggling grouses with that tradition. For example, I wanted a plot that was not driven by silly misunderstandings, I wanted lovers who had “game-free” relationships who were not “star-crossed” because of stage-managed,miss-clues, or easily solvable problems, I wanted my hero and heroine to be people with self respect, people I could truly admire, etc. etc. I wanted a fast paced, sensible story, one that didn’t draw out little mysteries for no reason, one that was well tied up, that sort of thing, as well. And most of all, I wanted to show respect for the thoughtful reader by giving the romance a serious base. Whatever would influence the escapist, surface action had to have depth and substance, which didn’t have to be readily apparent, mind you, because, to me, that’s what makes for a meaningful novel – its many layers.
Q:Are you trying to say then, that the novel can be appreciated from both a light and a serious point of view? Doesn’t that put it in the same “scholarly” realm you were trying to avoid?
A: Yes, to both questions. One might say that Ti Marie is "interpretable", but happily, this does not lessen its entertainment appeal!
Q: Is this responsible for your very unusual “Author’s Afterword” in this first American Edition?
A: In a way. People who read with the head and not just the heart are mostly the ones who need a few clues, but my Afterword is really for everyone with a little curiosity because no one really reads the book without realizing there was more to it than met the eye.
Q: But to return to the question of the horrors of slavery, how did you reconcile this with the “feel good”, fairytale intention of Ti Marie?
A: By making my main characters genuinely sympathetic to the horror of the age rather than contributors to that horror and thus making them alter egos of my readers. So it is as if I am placing a modern person with our modern humanistic sensibilities in that awful time. The reader doesn’t have to forget him/herself or conspire against who she/he is in reality in order to identify with the story. This makes it set in the past, but very relevant to modern readers.
Q: Would the horrific aspects of the era overwhelm the reader though?
A: They are not meant to! Some events occur which bring tears to ones eyes, but then stirring up a variety of emotions is all part of a what makes for a great read, isn’t it?
Q: Mixed race lovers are featured in Ti Marie, did you chose this so as to better explore the race question? And has this created any controversy for the book?
A: Oh my, yes, some controversy, much to my surprise! But let me clarify that my sympathetic treatment of the white hero does not imply exoneration of the many horrendous white slave masters of the era! In truth my white hero and my mulatto heroine and their circumstances are meant to be exceptional for the times. I took advantage of the unique liberalism of the island, which facilitated such exceptions, to set up a situation which I consider genuinely romantic. What could make for better star-crossed lovers than differences in race at a time when the races were miles apart? The prime intention was not an exploration of race but one of romance, romance, romance!
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