Caribbean Beat — November/December 2019 (#160)

“I’ve been
given an extra
serving of
passion for life”
courtesy jeanelle frontin
Jeanelle Frontin grew up in San Fernando,
south Trinidad, in a Christian home. Family
discussions were unfailingly profound and
intense across a multiplicity of concepts, she
remembers, whether concerning current affairs,
education, strategising for the future, or the
advancement of the globe.
She was always an
avid reader, but Frontin
came to fiction-writing
relatively late. In 2016,
she began to imagine
the character of a
girl named Yara, who
knows nothing about
her past — found as a
baby by strangers and
taken to a village where
she was raised. Years
later, as a sixteen-yearold,
Yara begins hearing
voices that cause her to question her identity,
as she seeks to uncover her true purpose in life.
The story of her journey begin in The Unmarked
Girl, winner of the 2019 CODE Burt Award, and
continues in two sequels: The Eld Queen and The
Melded Truth, forming what Frontin calls the Yara-
Star Trilogy.
When did you first want to be a writer?
I can’t say that I considered becoming a fiction writer before 2016, when the
story of Yara first entered my soul. Fantasy is one of my favourite genres, so I
wasn’t surprised that the story had that nature. At that point in time, however,
I hadn’t decided to target a younger audience. Only when I knew the age of
my protagonist — sixteen years old — did I know my market for this series.
What would you do differently with these books, if you had the
chance?
I’d stick to my commitments-to-self and timelines — as much as is humanly
and divinely possible — and avoid the consequence of a very intense year of
creation.
But, you know what? I don’t think I’d do many things differently if I had a
second chance. I learned so much over the two years before I began the first
book, post-synopsis, all of which influenced my writing. I can only accept the
lessons and do better next time.
Which character in your book would you say is similar to you?
Oddly enough, three characters are similar to me: an extremely brave and
loving eight-year-old called Mila — my inner child; the spiritually guided
mother of the protagonist, Maia — my connection to spirituality; and, of
course, the series star, Yara. Yara is the culmination of what it means to
battle for an identity without understanding what it means to have one. I
believe this is a common challenge for all humans.
What was your biggest obstacle in life, and how did you master it?
I have many passions. For example, I’m a science and technology fanatic,
and I loved my engineering degree just as much as I loved writing, music,
and creative arts. However, I once believed that I needed to narrow down
my pursuits to be a more “responsible” adult. In an attempt to streamline,
all I ended up reducing was my fire. Going after “too many” things, or even
being “too much” as a person, is relative to what someone else feels comfortable
or fulfilled pursuing. Accepting that perhaps I’ve just been given an
extra serving of passion for life was liberating.
What’s something about yourself that you want to improve?
I’d say that when I am near to the finish line, after a long period of labour, I
push myself so hard that I burn out after I cross it. But the race isn’t finished
then. Getting to the finish line — deadline or goal — is one thing, but a new
“race” begins right after: nurturing painstaking quality into whatever you’ve
produced. Post-production is a concept that’s adaptable to any endeavour,
and I prefer to use that term than to call it “editing.”
54 WWW.CARIBBEAN-BEAT.COM