Writing Background
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| I need my hair to be ultra wild to balance my big cheeks. No, I will not straighten my God-Given NATURAL hair. Black people ask me everyday more than anybody else to straighten or weave it. Black prejudice! |
My mom says I have been a writer since I was 4 years old, and I have been writing ever since. I told my 4th grade class I was going to be a journalist, and I did become one for 5 years in the military. I was glad to have my dream and it was time to go bigger. My dream was so big I lived in LA for 5 years just to be around others with my dream. I recently left to be back in my family's hometown in the deep south.
Well, 39 years later of non-stop writing, and no 'bigger than life' story came yet. That was until I saw the announcement of Leo O'Brien's untimely death online. I had to see which character he played on "The Last Dragon" to see his updated photo. That's when I first remember his character's brother, Bruce Leeroy. I googled Bruce Leeroy and saw all the martial arts photos, Facebook and Twitter.I believe about a day thereafter, it hit me. I had been obsessed with the 1800's novels and particularly Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I've have been watching the movies in different versions, listening to the audiobook and just knew it was waiting to be rewritten with the 21st century as a backdrop. Then it just clicked when the two were together. Taimak Guarriello (Bruce Leeroy) and Mr. Darcy! 35 years of writing and for the first time I had a muse. I was able to write "My Black Pride & Prejudice" in a 24-hour period with a clear picture of Mr. Darcy re-imagined in black society as Mr. Washington. I never had done that before. My record is two pages per hour when I was writing my 400-page family
epic I self-published for my family.
The 2005 P&P is the best adaption in my opinion
here is when he can no longer hide his feelings for
someone "inferior" to him. Ugh! If you don't know
this story, he actually proposes this way listing also
that against his family's wants he chooses her.
I rewrote "Pride" from scratch in exactly 7 days thereafter.
It all started with my own prejudice against men with Taimak's composure. I thought, "He would never even think of a girl like me as an equal for a mate - natural hair, own mind, black, non-model like female - I would never show up on his radar."
To be fair this prejudice is not make believe in my life, but from real life. I had an experience earlier this year straight from the movies. This guy was a runner, vegetarian, Dragon etc just like Taimak, not to categorize him (I have permission from his publicist to post this so no offense taken), but just to show why it was easy to see this story in my head with him as my muse. My attraction had always been to white men, and this guy had attraction to mainly white women. Let's just say this guy was looking for a wife and his father had came to me and said he had observed me over the holiday week and thought I was perfect for his son and he would be honored to have me as a daughter-in-law. I had the impression his son had asked him to approach me because our shared faith doesn't allow dating, and parents or church leaders choose spouses (not Mormon). The guy was tortured by a divorce and his ex-wife, who was white, utterly betrayed him with another woman whom she is still romancing with his kids. Even though I was not interested in this guy whatsoever, I gave it a shot. Even reporting and asking our mutual pastor if it was God's will. This divorcee showed interest in me, but when confronted about what his father said, he was appalled to think we were equals as far as marriage, and he had someone who was 'higher' in other's eyes as he told me he asked many people who knew her and thought well of her. When someone chooses a person because they know everyone has a high opinion of that person, alarms should go off! I hung out with too many cool real black men and other races of men including Indian who could careless what others think about me in public, even on my worst hair days, to take up with that kind of low thinking.
Months later, that 'higher' girl didn't think the same of him either when he approached her for a relationship. His prejudice against black women, because of his strong black mama with whom he always clashed (his father told me this), made him despise black women who had a say. Anything I said, made him mad, offended him or he devalued it as ridiculous and laughed at what I had to say most of the time in front of others. We never dated we just hung out and talked often - Thank God. I guess my black pride couldn't get over the experience of being looked so far down upon and thought of as less just because of his black mama issues which he perpetuated onto me.
Mr. Darcy and ElisabethThis reminded me of Mr. Darcy and Lizzy to the tee from Jane Austen's delicious tale. I had to get the anger out about this type of black man's prejudice about a black woman. One who thinks that I wasn't intelligent, I was combative, not pretty enough unless I try to look like Gabrielle Union or Megan Fox.
Sounds like a movie doesn't it? You have no idea how much the original story of Pride and Prejudice fits my, a single black female, 39-year old lifestyle, and possibly your own if you are over 30 and single. I feel as if Jane Austen herself helped co-write this story with me using her English accent.
Black Women Prejudice
Then I thought of what I personally hear black women say of Taimak's type, "Light skin, curly hair, that look is so 1980's". I think the hidden prejudices we have as black men and women is so deep it has to be talked about at least.
Even though the original novel is based in England around the English and set in the 1800s, it was very true to the situation of black men and black women: From the standpoint of two black leads whose characters both do not choose black counterparts as their mates until each of them meets. Exciting? The rewrite is left to be desired because I have so many layers and work to be had, but this is the novel I prayed about at as a little girl to receive.
Will it offend?Possibly. But it is called Prejudice, be forewarned.
Black men shouldn't take offense. I know this is just a section of the population. I just want to get to the bottom of it in a way by bringing it out to the forefront. The couple to the left are Arianne and Amir who experienced love at first sight and married after a respectable relationship. I myself like every race of man that will respect me and treat me as I deserve and let me treat him the same. In other words, a man, not a boy. Did anyone see "Something New". My Colombian friend introduced me to this movie; all women across the races demand the same thing. That movie is a dream for some of the women I know because we don't see black women portrayed nearly as delectable on screen as other races and with this movie we are finally seen as desirable and worthy of respect.
I am like Lizzy even though I am a black female, I read, read and read, and I used to be called "Miss Proper" all through grade school and then called "Valley Girl" in high school, because of my perfect dictation. Unfortunately, I turned to broken English :(. If it was up to me I would speak just like Jane Austen's character, and was happy to have a chance to do so through the rewriting of her tale. I guess you can say that like Lizzy, I break what is the normal prejudice of a black woman and like Lizzy, even though Mr. Darcy had seen her as inadequate and of lower birth, but he quickly sees she had more class and intelligence than the women of his own caliber.
What will I do with it?
Well, I think this novel is like a newborn to me. My Black Pride is my first baby and literally only a few days old. I have to incubate it and take care so he will grow stronger before I show him to the world. When that chance comes, I have four choices: wait for buzz to catch up to it, place him on Kickstarter, rewrite it as a screenplay for the stage, or self-publish it on a whim.
Well, that is mostly what I want to reveal of the story for now. I am a new mom with a very precious baby that I don't want to reveal too much, but hopefully there will be some fun on the blog and some interest in the topic while we wait for my little one's release.
No matter what, it will be released sometime next year if no one answers this post or buys the book or not. Enjoy!
Loved & Signed,
Denise Rochelle M.
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