I had the privilege of reading Jeff Rivera's latest novel "Forever My Lady," and I came away with a deep understanding of his perspective and his versatility. Jeff's book is being released today. Black Political Thought interviewed Jeff on the eve of his book release and I came away with a deep appreciation for an African American who has beaten the odds.
QUESTIONS:1.) Your novel is so much more than you would imagine on the surface. It deals with serious issues but at the same time has a way of capturing your heart. For those who have not read Forever My Lady what is it about and why has it struck a chord with so many?
Forever My Lady for me is almost a letter to the reader in many ways. It's like a message to everyone letting them know that we're all alike no matter what our economical, racial, social class backgrounds. We all have common ground, common issues, common feelings. In it my main character, Dio grows up thinking no one loves him. He turns to a life of a juvenile delinquent when his own mother kicks him out of the house at 13 but there is one girl in particular that never judges him and loves him unconditionally and that is, Jennifer. He ends up making some wrong decisions and lands in prison boot camp and they promise each other they'll never leave each other. However, when Dio finally gets released after turning his life around for Jennifer,he finds out from a mutual friend that Jennifer is about to marry another man. In it though, Dio experiences and is forced to face so many issues that we all deal with in terms of racism, in terms of insecurities and in terms of finding who he really is and what makes him tick.
2.) You have an interesting mix of diverse characters a Black American drill instructor, a Latino gang member, a biracial boot camp trainee. Was that a conscious choice to have so many races represented in your novel?
Very much so. I mean, creatively speaking I wanted to make sure that first and foremost the characters had universal stories to tell; that no matter what they looked like on the surface it was something that all people could relate to. But then, yes. It was a conscious decision to make sure that as many races were represented because you don't see enough of it in the world of art. I didn't want this book to only be a love story, or a drama, or an urban story or a this or a that. I wanted it to be a powerful story that people could relate to.
3.) Did you face any challenges of acceptance being a Black American writing with two lead Latino characters?
I was so frightened when I was writing this story that I would not be accepted by the Hispanic community. That really was something that I fought over internally. So, I enlisted the help of the online community for feedback and dear Hispanic friends to give me their honest opinion and help me authenticate the characters through believable Chicano slang and whatnot. I was shocked, and incredibly touched by the amazing support that rallied behind Forever My Lady by not only the Hispanic community but the Black American and general mainstream communities as well.
4.) What challenges did you find as a writer, who happens to be someone of color in migrating through the book publishing process? What challenges do you still face?
You know the whole process of getting published can be challenging as it is. And, I think people, especially people of color will sometimes use their color as an excuse not to succeed in the medium. They'll blame their supposed lack of success on racism or "the man" when in reality perhaps their story is not ready or they have not chosen a genre that is particularly marketable. I think it worked for me because I saw a tremendous opportunity for this story I was so passionate to tell to break some ground. And also, very much because my mother always taught us to be a great human being first who happened to be someone of color. To embrace our culture and our ancestry but all of it, the Black American, the Native American, the European ancestry, all of it and to be proud of it but to not use that as a crutch not to succeed. So, instead of thinking of it as a challenge, I thought of it as an opportunity. My Anglo writer friends have the same challenges getting published as the my writer friends of color.
5.) Your novel deals with serious racism issues with a character who is almost a white supremacist and a Latino gang member. Why did you think it was important to address these types of issues in your book?
It is such an important issue to deal with because it's reality but even with the incredibly racist characters I made sure that you saw a real human being not a cartoon cut out. I also like to show the sometimes subtle racism (sometimes not so subtle) that people of color give to Anglos and more importantly to ourselves in our own community. It was interesting for me as a writer to step into the shoes of all these characters to see their mentality and to almost become a racist in my own mind in order to think, act and speak as that character in the novel. It forced me to face my own issues of prejudice (and we all have them).
6.) What is your message to any young person who wants to become a writer or a novelist?
It's funny you would ask me this because I'm getting ready to do some extensive volunteer work helping young novelists here in New York City. I think I would tell them what my father told me a long time ago, which was so simple yet profound. "Be the best." You have to be better than anyone out there because you're competing not only with unknowns but also the the big boys, the Michael Crichton's, the Danielle Steele's, the Toni Morrison's, the John Grisham's. I would also tell them to find a mentor. I didn't have any formal training but I surrounded myself with older mentors who did have that training and took me under their wing. And last but not least, write, crank out those pages.
7.) Who had the most impact on your life and your choice to become a novelist?
When I think back I think that one of the very biggest impacts I had to become a novelist was my third grade teacher at David Hill Elementary in Hillsboro, Oregon, Mrs. Gardner and also my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Wetzler. Mrs. Gardner recognize I would say my interest more than my talent at that age and put me in a gifted class for writers and my fourth grade teacher used to read books to us aloud such as Where the Red Fern Grows. Those two people helped me make me the novelist I am today.
8.) To end, what's next for Jeff Rivera in this journey?
My next stop, as my friend and author Ivan Sanchez says would be to continue to write for Young Adults. I want a legacy of writing a body of work people can look back on and appreciate.
9.) Where can my readers pick up a copy of Forever My Lady?
In addition to http://www.jeffrivera.com/ you can pick up a copy of Forever My Lady at bookstores everywhere and of course, Amazon.com.
I encourage all my readers to support Jeff and pick up a copy of "Forever My Lady," today. It is a riveting novel. As an added bonus, for the first five readers who post a comment, you can win a copy of "Forever My Lady." Send an e-mail with your name and address to: blackpoliticalthought@gmail.com.
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