Author of the Month - Frederick Smith

Frederick Smith

Well folks, it's time to do something a little different here at datSPOT, we have decided that we want to broaden horizons...open the imagination, and at the same time support our Black Authors. So we will begin featuring a new author at least once every month. We will do this more often if we come accross books or authors that we feel you would or should be interested in. Frederick Smith is the selected author for July. His new book Down For Whatever was released nationwide on Tuesday, July 5, so...go on down to your local bookstore and pick up a copy...or better yet, for those of you who do not want to leave the house...we have provided a link over on the right-hand menu which will link you directly to Barnes & Noble to pick up the book. Fred was kind enough to answer a few questions about the book for us. The only thing we still want to know is whether or not he is single! http://www.fredericksmith.net or www.simplyfredsmith.blogspot.com (yes he has a BLOG!)

Q & A with Frederick Smith

What was your inspiration for the book? How did you come up with the story?

DOWN FOR WHATEVER started as a short story for a fiction class I was taking. My teacher, Kerry Madden, and my small group loved the story wanted to know more. The inspiration for the short story wasn’t that profound. I wrote a scene I’d observed a million times between friends and acquaintances – the competition for dates, the repetitiveness of the club scene, and the countless resolutions to oneself to slow down and settle down. My teacher and classmates wanted to know more about Keith, the character who was the focus of the short story, and these other friends mentioned in the story. So I decided to expand the story and wrote out character biographies for Keith and his friends, Rafael, Marco Antonio, and Tommie. Once I wrote the biographies, the stories just came. It was like they spoke to me and told me what they wanted to get out. Living in L.A., you can’t help but be immersed in the multiple cultures, ethnicities, and realities people have, and I knew I wanted to write a story that included all people in a realistic, yet fictional, way. All my characters are culturally and personally aware, proud, and empowered, though they may exhibit this in different ways in their interactions. And since I’ve had seven years of formal instruction in Spanish, and live in Southern California, I knew I’d want to use some of my knowledge of the language and cultures that speak it.

So what is DOWN FOR WHATEVER about? Is there a message?

In a nutshell, can four twenty-something friends find true love in a city where Black, Latin, and Gay Pride collide? Though all four characters – Keith Hemmings, Marco Antonio Vega, Rafael Dominguez, and Tommie Jordan – have equally important and self-supporting storylines, Keith is the glue of the group. Keith grew up in Detroit with Tommie, who sang at Keith’s father’s church. Keith and Marco Antonio met while freshman at Stanford. And upon moving to L.A., Keith and Marco Antonio pick up Rafael along the way to complete the clique. All four are gay, bi, down, same-gender-loving, take your pick. All four encounter the L.A. scene in a way that makes their humanity shine and you realize their stories are human stories, only supplemented by the labels they choose to identify as. As for a message… self love, education, safe sex, family, and ethnicity, class, and gender are all part of DOWN FOR WHATEVER, and it’s still a fun read. Think of it as a vitamin-enhanced dessert.

Have you ever been involved in any situations like your characters?

Yeah. Which situations? I’m not telling. But honestly, the novel is fiction and I wrote it based on my observations and reactions to things I have experienced or friends and family have experienced. And though some of the locations are real, the situations and characters are all made up. I guess you could say I have an active imagination and love to ask the question, “What if?” and then write about the answers.

How long did it take for you to write DOWN FOR WHATEVER?

It took about a year to write the first draft of the novel. I joined two writers workshop groups for feedback and critiquing, which helped move the novel from something with potential to a publishable piece. The re-writing process was about another year. I shopped it around to literary agents and some small publishers. After a few rejections, I lucked out. John Scognamiglio, Editorial Director at Kensington Publishing, heard about my work from a writer friend of mine named Denise Hamilton. He requested the manuscript and two weeks after sending it to him, he called me at work – yes, I have a day job which is very fun and rewarding – to say he wanted to buy it for publication. That made my day. And my literary agent, Nicholas Roman Lewis, was pretty thrilled too.

What was the most challenging part about writing the novel?

Figuring out how I wanted the story to end. I could have written five hundred more pages, I’m sure, but I imagined some young man or woman on-the-go wouldn’t want to haul around such a fat book on the subway or to the gym or beach. But bringing the novel to a close was hard. Do I go for the happily-ever-after ending? Do I go for the Miranda from Sex & The City sarcastic/keep-it-real ending? Or a happy medium? I wrote two endings. When you read the novel you’ll see the ending I chose. Other than that, I used my time wisely and wrote daily. As soon as I got feedback from my workshop members, I worked on revising immediately. I was so enthused and stoked about writing that I didn’t let anything come between me and the characters.

Which of the characters do you most relate to?

Well, I identify and relate to all of them for different reasons. I can tell you that Rafael was the most fun to write for. There’s tons of stuff he did, or could have done, that didn’t end up in DOWN FOR WHATEVER. He’s the bad boy you just love to have around and wish you could be—then again, maybe I am that bad boy. Hmmm… Tommie and the basketball player, Tyrell, were a fun challenge for me – writing about these smart, closeted, men in a loving relationship really made me think. Keith was fun to write smart-ass remarks and dialogue for. I had to put myself in the shoes of a smart person with a smart mouth, but who did it with class and in a subtle way. And Marco Antonio helped me learn and appreciate the life of Mexican immigrants and the tight family bonds that make survival possible in this country that’s not always kind to its citizens.

How did you balance writing this book with work, family, etc…?

There really wasn’t a major balancing act. I knew I wanted to write a novel and just prioritized for everyone and everything, including myself. I wrote before and after work (sometimes during work, but don’t tell my boss ☺, a joke!). I still hung out with friends and family for drinks, dinner, and good times. I didn’t really tell people I was writing a book, because you know how people can get when you share your dreams but they don’t know how it would happen or how to give support. They just give you that blank look that says, “Great. And everyone else is writing one too.” So I just focused on the end product, drove myself to complete it, took classes, met great people who understood the writing life and helped me meet the right people, and then I shared with everyone once I sold the manuscript.

What are you working on now?

My mind is always racing with ideas and I’m working on two projects. We’ll see which one I finish first. One is kind of a continuation, but not really a sequel, of DOWN FOR WHATEVER. Some of the characters from DFW appear, but they’re not the only focus. The other is more of a college, coming-of-age story. Both have multi-ethnic, multi-gender, multi-class casts. All are set in L.A. It’s what I know, and it’s what I’ll keep writing about.