Interview with Author Callie Browning

Welcome Back Booklovers!

And let's kick off Caribbean Heritage month by discovering a new author. Her name is Callie Browning and she's from the beautiful Barbados. You can follow her online on Instagram and Twitter @bajancallie. I highly suggest following her on IG. She posts the most vibrant photos of her island home.

What part of Barbados did you grow up in?

I grew up in St. Michael which is one of the more southern parishes on the island. I remember going to the beach and Queen's Park very often so I would say in some ways I had what some people would consider being a quintessential island childhood.

What has your publishing journey been like?

For me, it's been a lot of extreme emotions, primarily because I don't think I ever really considered travelling the traditional publishing route. The downside was that I had no self-publishing blueprint to follow so it's all been about patience and trial and error. The flip side is that the smooth parts of the journey have been extra gratifying so it balances out.

What inspired your story?

One day, a very interesting, very cranky old lady and her story popped into my head and I thought she would make a great short story. But I kept writing and writing until I became obsessed with learning more about this lady named Susan Taylor. After I realized that she wouldn't remain a short story I started looking at what her life would have been like in Barbados between 1950 - 1967, a time when the country experienced some incredible political and cultural shifts. While it's not a book about politics, we realize that politics heavily impacts our daily lives: things as simple as how we eat and how we go to school are all affected by our countries' politics. I was also very interested in Susan's love life - readers have described her main love interest as "perfect and precious".

What advice do you have for other Caribbean authors?

To not be hemmed in by what they think the world thinks. Create stories that inspire them because those stories can shift narratives.

I've seen a lot of praise for the vivid imagery you use throughout the book. How important was it to describe the food, sights, and sound sounds of the island?

Thank you! I didn't think of it as important when I was writing. Those parts came the easiest because they're a part of my Barbadian experience. At the same time, I think a story told in a time and place that many people have never experienced benefits greatly from having vivid imagery. Island life has a different flavour to it, a colour and resonance that is so beautiful that I believe that's what makes readers identify with it so effortlessly.

Were you cautious about writing something so political?

I wasn't when I was writing but I was when I was publishing! Only the dates of major events like our country's Independence are true, everything else is bathed with a whole lot of creative license. The main scandal of the book never actually took place and no whistle-blowing writer like Susan ever existed even though I've had A LOT of readers DM to ask if she ever came back to Barbados. I have to let a lot of them know that all of these characters existed in my head. That's actually a huge compliment when people adore the richness of my book to the point where they are invested in the characters and believe they're real.

Since some of this story takes place in the 60s, what was your research process like?

It was loooong. I was born in the 80s so these things happened in a time that I had no reference point for. I went to the museum, read old articles, watched Barbados' flag-raising video from 1966, went to the library. I spent about 6 months researching the facets of Barbadian life so I could write as authentically as possible.

Do you have any favorite Caribbean authors?

I still go back to my school literature days and identify those books by Caribbean authors as my favourites. I've recently started reading V.S. Naipaul who's Trinidadian and I'm enjoying that thus far.

Do you have any new works in progress? And if so are you able to give us any info?

Yes, I'm currently working on two books. One is a suspense novel based on actual events of 1980s Barbados and the other is a middle grade book which has been getting amazing beta reviews. I'm hoping to launch both of them this year. Also, if you follow my Instagram you'd see that my stories are FULL of my cooking escapades. Lots of people have asked me to put out a cookbook but for now, I'll include my fishcake recipe at the back of the suspense novel. I also did a 1-minute video on it for Read Caribbean which is in June so you can look for Callie's Fishcakes on YouTube to get the recipe.

Do you have any tips for self published authors to market their book online?

Be fearless! What works is so dependent on the genre and your audience, but you'll soon figure it out if you try different things. Have a good book, have a good cover and take pictures.