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| Deidra Green ..Author |
I
met Deidra on the internet. That is where we all met these days. It is the age
of the internet you know and I had observed her posts and became interested in
wanting to know more. Now in a very fortunate way I got to read one of her stories
and was blown away. When I received the book , I cursorily opened the first
page and that was my mistake. I will tell you why in a minute, but I have the
pleasure to welcome a very special guest on Center Stage today. She is an
author, and poet Ms Deidra Green
I would like to share with you my very first reaction to
the book FROM THE OUTSIDE IN
When I received the
book , I cursorily opened the first page and that was my mistake. In the early
hours of the morning, tears streaming from my eyes I finally laid the book
down. I was done. My heart was sore from pain and I was awed by the writer. It
will take such fine writing to make me get so involved in a book. Mercifully
Deidra did not torture me, but in very clinical detail grabbed me by the
throat and told a story that kept me tossing and turning long after my tears
were spent.
Every mother should
read this book. In fact all who carry gifts of true humanity should make every
effort to get a copy of the book.
In simple straight
words we learn of the murder of a five year old by the lover of the mother. There
are enough hints about the mother to show we were dealing with a woman who was
very sick and dangerous to herself as well to society. We are shown Rachel, the
mother of Bridget, as cold and unfeeling monster who should have been locked up
rather than be allowed to be a mother again. I was relieved in learning that
the other child she had was also taken from her. We tend to learn lessons the
hard way.
Deidra wrote from the
society she lives in and I was mollified that there was still some level of humanity
in that society that promptly brought the culprits to book. I wish the same
society had thought of picking up Rachel's father for I personally think he was
the one who first murdered the innocence and trust of his wife and daughters
and had the monster of Rachel wreak her pain, fury and hate on the society
through Bridget. From my own world view and my corner of the world he would be
called an abomination.
From the Outside In had a lot of meaning for me, in its
social messages, the sick humanity that we grapple with it. However I wish to
thank the author for this rare opportunity to see into the fine workings of her
mind. It was an introduction that will ensure I will be on the lookout for any
book of this sazzy lady from now on. Thank you for the gift of love and
congratulations!!
1
.Congratulations on the book Deidra, Please tell us more about yourself.
2.
From what I have read of you , you seem to be one single powerhouse of the
Muse, churning out books on a regular basis, what is the total output you have
to date.
First
let me start off by saying thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate
you extending such a courtesy and meeting you on facebook. To answer your
question, as of this date, I have seventeen projects under my primary name
Deidra D. S. Green, and another 8 projects under two pen names. If all goes according to schedule, I will
have another 7 projects completed and published before the end of the year.
3.
I have read some blurb about some of your other books like A Letter to My
Mother, which makes me to think you are interested in human stories that
explore the deeper, darker side of human existence. Will that be right?
That
would be exactly right. It’s interesting how things play out. I spent nearly 20 years as a social worker;
working with some of the most systematically disenfranchised and need people in
my community. I saw so much being on the
front lines of child welfare; but like many social workers, I wanted to save
the world even if it was one child at a time.
Eventually I became disillusioned with the politics and red tape of the
bureaucratic system that continued to allow and place so many children at risk
of further home so a few years ago I walked away for good. I took my early retirement and walked away.
When
I decided to take my writing seriously, it wasn’t the happily ever after
stories that would wake me out of a deep sleep demanding to be written. It
wasn’t love stories and intriguing romances that kept me up into the wee hours
of the morning. What drives my pen and
what propels me to write are all the stories of the children that I worked with
that otherwise may go unheard. What
prompts me to keep writing even when I am discouraged are all the victims of
violence – from strangers and family members.
These are the people, in my opinion that have the most compelling
stories and they deserve to be given a voice.
Not all my stories are based specifically on one individuals’ experience
but more the collective pain that I witnessed and felt as a result of spending
so much time with those going through daily struggles of just trying to
survive.
4.
What genre of writing do you favour most?
Wow,
that’s a hard one. Right now, I would
have to say psychological thrillers. I
am fascinated by the human psyche and find myself continuously drawn to new
ways to examine this fascination through my writing.
5.Let
us return to Bridget and the trauma of what has happened, what will be closure
for the author?
I
don’t know if I will ever have complete closure with this situation. I loved
that little girl so much and to have her taken from me so abruptly in such a
vile way makes my heart ache every time I think about it. Even now, all these years later, when I think
about my daughter my mind frequently returns to Bridgette. Every birthday my
daughter has I calculate how old Bridgette would have been if she had lived. She was a sweetheart and in many ways she was
my first little girl. Closure right now seems impossible; however, in penning
her story, I do feel as though I paid homage to her brief legacy and for that I
am grateful.
6.When
you explore human emotions in your stories like Twisted Sister, A Letter to My
Mother and in this particular, what were you trying to portray?
Through
all of the characters I create in these stories and in many others, I want real
human characteristics to be portrayed no matter how pleasant or ugly they may
be. I want the readers to be able to
connect with these characters on some basic level and as the characters go
through trials, tests and tribulations, the reader can vividly experience these
circumstances with them. I want readers
to laugh, cry, become angry and even cheer for these characters. But more than
that, at the end of the story, I want the reader to walk away not only being
satisfied with a great read but also being challenged to think about things
differently and maybe even from a different perspective.
7.
Share a typical writing day
Much
easier question…(lol). I write seven days a week. Every day I am up by 6 a.m.
at the latest 6:30. On days my children attend school, I act as their taxi
driver – taking my children and my niece and nephew to school. Once my puppy is dropped off at doggie
daycare, I am back home by 8 am. I try
and attend to any business I have before I began writing – whether it is lining
up subcontractors, speaking with literary clients for ghostwriting or other
literary services, or answering email correspondence. Once I have posted for the morning on the
social network sites I use, I tend to start my writing day by 10 a.m. 10:30 at
the latest. I write non-stop, in as much
as possible, till it’s time to pick everybody up again from school and extracurricular
activities around 4:00 p.m. Then it’s time for mommy duty; cooking, homework,
getting the children prepared for the next day etcetera. I do my best writing in the mornings, but I
try to get in a few more hours in the evening.
I tend to shut my computer down from writing and everything else by
10:30 p.m. Prior to going to bed, I still focus on the writing by completing
character outlines, working on cover design, reviewing edits, etc. By midnight,
I try to get some rest so I can start all over again the next day.
8.I
want to bring you to the current debate that seems to occupy the writing world,
self- publishing and traditional publishing. Please weigh in on this, is
traditional publishing dead, and has self- publishing become the only way authors
can get read?
I
don’t think traditional publishing is dead by any means and those who chose to
pursue that route are finding some success.
I have not completely ruled out traditional publishing as a viable
option; however, for me and where I am in my writing journey, self- publishing
is the preferred option. I want to be
free to write what I want to write when I want to write it. I’m not sure if that will change any time
soon but for now it works for me.
9.
There is a scene in the book From the Outside In that as an African I found
very electrifying, that was when Bridget came to you to plead for her mother to
let her go, out of body experiences, is taken naturally in my part of the
world. How well did that go with your readers in your country?
I
don’t think that was much of a leap for many of my readers. Although not frequently spoken about I think
many people believe in final visits from those who have passed on.
10.What
have been the influences on your writing?
So
many things influence my writing; life experiences, things I see, hear
observe. I never close myself off to the
possibility of being inspired by everyday occurrences.
11.
You explained at the beginning of the book what made you write the book and why
you have cloaked the characters to protect them. Did you feel that Bridget got
fair justice?
I
can say without equivocation that she did not.
Without spoiling things for future readers, let me just say this: what I
wanted for her killers and what they actually received were miles apart.
12.
Now in hindsight what would the storyteller wished to have done differently if
the tape of life was rewound and corrections could be effected?
If
I had one regret it would be that I didn’t start writing seriously earlier in
my life. I started taking my writing
seriously in 2011 when I penned From the Outside In. Everything that has been produced to date,
with the exception of my children’s books and the two books of poetry I wrote
previously, has been done since 2011. It
would be interesting to see where I could have been if I had started earlier.
But I must say that God’s timing is perfected and because I know that my
writing is a gift from the Creator, he determines when and how it will be
exercised.
Thank you for
coming on Center Stage.
