Connections and Inspiration

Published on by Danielle.McClean Category: Literary Festivals, Speaking Engagements
Danielle Y. C. McClean, Author

 I can’t say enough about how much I needed the recently concluded NGC Bocas Lit Fest 2023 in my life. Yes, it’s always such a joy to be back home in Trinidad, to hug up my mummy and brother, to link with other family members as well as my day ones, and to just have my feet on the soil where, as longtime folks would say, my navel string is buried. But being there for this year’s Festival, which returned in person after four years, also filled my writer’s heart and creative soul.

It was a beautiful space to connect with fellow literary creatives who assembled in Port of Spain in recognition and celebration of Caribbean literature and other forms of creative expression. From discussions on wide-ranging themes such as love, family, identity, and loss; panels on poetry, memoirs, and short stories; showcases featuring new authors and phenomenal young storytellers; to films, a kiddies carnival jump up, an ole mas competition, and a riveting award ceremony, there was so much to take in — and all of that in addition to the absolute pleasure of presenting on writing for children and then having a roundtable discussion during the Children’s Lit Fest with Alake Pilgrim, Lisa Allen-Agostini, and young authors Coryn Clarke and Isaac Price. 

So, thank you to Bocas Lit Fest and all the planners, coordinators, executors, participants, and attendees with whom I had the privilege of engaging over those three enriching days. The experience was spectacular!

You can view pictures from the Festival on my Photos page. 

Hello there, 2023

Published on by Danielle.McClean Category: Random Thought of the Day

 Well, it’s the start of another year, and although my head and heart are still processing Rollercoaster 2022 with its joyous highs and painful lows, I look forward with hope to the many potentially good things that this coming year holds for us all. I am thankful that we are here to welcome 2023 and, as always, pray that our happy moments far outnumber the sad in these next 365 days. Stay well, friends, and move through this year with your personal brand of magic.

Peace and love, 

~ Danielle 

Happy News!

Published on by Danielle.McClean Category: Awards, The Whisperer's Warning

Fren and I are celebrating! The Whisperer’s Warning has won the 2022 Bocas Lit Fest Children’s Book Prize, and there are lots and lots of thanks to be given: To the Wainwright family for their generosity in sponsoring the prize, Bocas Lit Fest for supporting and championing Caribbean writers and the literary arts, the prize judges–Joan Osborne, Janet Smyth, Imam Baksh, and Josse Franco–for their deliberations and selections throughout the process (tasks that could not have been easy!), CaribbeanReads Publishing, illustrator Rachel Moss, readers and reviewers of The Whisperer’s Warning and the Secrets of Oscuros series, Caribbean Books Foundation and Les Belles Mots: Dixie-Ann Belle for their interviews, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Authors Guild, book stores and sellers that carry the series, and of course, as always, my wonderful family and friends for all their love and encouragement. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🙂

Here’s a link to the announcement from Bocas Lit Fest: T&T Writer Wins Book Prize. 

Peace and plenty love, 

~ Danielle

Reflections on Release Day

Published on by Danielle.McClean Category: Book Launch, The Whisperer's Warning

Yesterday, January 31 2022, was the book birthday for The Whisperer’s Warning, and it’s a feeling not quite like any other to see one’s goal finally make the leap from, in this case, the white board to bookstores. As we all know, the last two years are marked by their unique struggles, and I am certainly not alone in having had to realign my expectations with the reality of current times. I have found that the challenges, however, have also brought with them lessons in patience, grace, flexibility, and persistence, and I am grateful to the team of persons who helped make The Whisperer’s Warning’s birthday a reality — from the publishing end at CaribbeanReads right through to my family, friends, readers, and writing communities whose love and support have been palpable throughout.

When we dream, we tend to zero in on our destination and think of the journey to get there as an unavoidable inconvenience. In hindsight, though, we can often recognize that the journey is as valuable as the accomplished goal. So, for myself and all of us, let’s dare to look forward to futures brimming with more journeys taken and dreams fulfilled! 

Peace, love, and take care.

~ Danielle      

Book Release Update

Published on by Danielle.McClean Category: Book Launch, The Whisperer's Warning

Hi everyone. Unfortunately, the wait for The Whisperer’s Warning is going to be a little longer as its release has been pushed back to the end of January. Yes, the delay is disappointing, but one silver lining is that all of this waiting and anticipation will only make release day, January 31, 2022, so much sweeter, right? 😉 To those who have already pre-ordered copies, thank you, thank you, thank you, and I can’t wait until they’re in your hands!

As always, peace and love, and keep well out there. 

~ Danielle 

 

JV’s Adventures Continue

Published on by Danielle.McClean Category: Progress, The Whisperer's Warning, Writing

Hi everyone! For those of you who have been waiting, asking, and were probably tired of hearing me say, “I’m working on it” or “It’s almost done” (the author guilt is real, y’all!) I am excited to finally tell you that not only have I finished writing the second book in the Secrets of Oscuros series, but it has been submitted to CaribbeanReads Publishing and we have signed the contract for its publication! This is one rung in the ladder, but I’m so happy that The Whisperer’s Warning is a step closer to joining The Protectors’ Pledge on those physical and online shelves.

As always, thank you SO much for all your love and support. Keep well, and be kind to yourselves and one another. 

~ Danielle 

To Much-Maligned 2020:

Published on by Danielle.McClean Category: Random Thought of the Day

Well, you certainly made and left your mark, didn’t you? You were a year that threw us off balance and pushed our limits. You caused us to question, to reassess, to pivot, and propelled us to make difficult decisions. You tested our patience, humanity, empathy, resolve, and relationships, and true to your contradictory nature you simultaneously brought us together and pulled us apart.

You claimed way too many of us. 

But amidst the loss, uncertainty, and instability, you demonstrated over and over again that the human spirit is one of hope and resilience; that faith in what we are capable of and what we can achieve is not easily extinguished. 

So good-bye to you, 2020. So long. A new year and all the good that it potentially holds is in the wings. Peace out!

– Danielle

The Write Away! Y.A. Literature Project

Published on by Danielle.McClean Category: Random Thought of the Day

Bocas Lit Fest Donates 325 Books to Schools (Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, 30 October, 2020)

I’m so pleased that The Protectors’ Pledge is among the books being used in T&T secondary schools as part of Bocas Lit Fest and Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago’s The Write Away! young adult literature project (Virtual creative writing workshops accessible through the T&T Ministry of Education’s School Learning Management System). More information about this fantastic initiative facilitated by the amazing Lisa Allen-Agostini can be found here: The Write Away Young Adult Literature Project