A Literary moment in time that is ETERNAL

Today represents a moment in time for the project that has become to be known as From Rum To Roots.

We sold our first book.

When the idea was born in 2002, I saw the story told in a cinematic form. Forced to abandon the project, the idea remained in the realm of my subconscious until 2006.

During this time my parents passed away. It was a moment that is frozen in time just like the bodies we leave behind. A real memory. Yet, as time has passed, despite being indelibly etched in my memory the technicolor memories  of their death have, mercifully, faded into black and white.

A year after their death this idea resurfaced. The story kept nagging me. There was no real plot. It had no name, nor characters. I decided I would write a book. I started by going to the library and checking out and reading over 30 novels in 6 months while still in Arlington Virginia. I needed to study the form, to see how others approached storytelling in the novel.

My family moved out here in 2006. I can still remember sleeping on a mattress on the floor three days before our furniture arrived on a truck from the East Coast.

May 7, 2007: After many false starts, I begin a character sketch about a young woman, Daisy in Kingston. This, another moment I will never forget, was embarking on a task that would occupy me totally for the next six years.

I never stopped working. There were many difficult moments, but all of them have been forgotten. They all led to today’s moment when I received an e-mail that Paypal had just processed an order for my first sale as an author.

Indeed this moment will be eternal.

This entire post is dedicated to Anthony Agarrat and Seraiah Avalon. I love you both.