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Have you ALWAYS wanted to be a writer? No. I always associated ‘writer’ with poverty and exceedingly poor taste in fashion (think sweats of the non-Juicy Couture variety). No, really, I’m not that materialistic… just practical. A planner, as opposed to a ‘pantster’ (i.e. fly-by-the-seat-of your-pants type of individual). Which is why I ended up in accounting. I thought tame-the-beast-of-which-you-are-afraid (and I call myself a writer???) and you can tackle anything. I am an opinionated sort of person, consider myself a total bookworm, and wrote my first actual story (meaning it had a beginning, a middle, and an end) at the age of five. It was about a fish (that’s all I can remember – sorry). My mother thought she’d given birth to a child prodigy. Immediately, she went out and bought me a spiffy notebook, which I would henceforth use to transmit my literary genius to the rest of the world. I filled it with Crayola™ renditions of princes and princesses (mainly princesses) instead. The writing bug didn’t bite again until I moved to the Cayman Islands and found myself with oodles of free time to spend on hobbies like reading, writing, fashion sketching, and baking under the hot Caribbean sun (in between the obligatory stint at the office of course). Is Fashionably Late autobiographical? No. You wouldn’t have made it past the first page if it were. While I did stick to the adage ‘write what you know’ for the setting of the novel, the occupations of the characters and some of Ali’s emotional baggage (think immigration experience), this remains a work of fiction. People’s lives are seldom that interesting. (Sorry.) C’mon – you went to Cuba with girlfriends, you’re an accountant, and a Muslim Canadian-Lebanese immigrant. Who are you kidding? Okay, okay. As a setting, Cuba was a huge inspiration for FL, which is really not surprising since it has cast its spell on many well-known (notably Hemingway) and lesser-known writers. I used my experiences as an office drone to poke innocent fun at an industry that, in my humble opinion, takes itself way too seriously. Finally, Aline Hallaby first came to be as Vicky Villeneuve, a thoroughly Canadian girl… but she felt more like a cardboard character than a real person. I was encouraged to infuse the novel with details and insights about the immigrant experience, especially as seen through the eyes of a deeply misunderstood minority group (Arabs). Ultimately, it was the multicultural aspect of the novel as well as the unusual setting that appealed to agents and editors. Is Cuba really as touristy as you describe in the novel? Cuba welcomes about 2 million tourists to its powdery white beaches every year, from countries as diverse as Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Venezuela, and many, many more. The core of old Havana – Habana Vieja – has been entirely restored to show off its old glory ever since the neighborhood was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982. Varadero, in the province of Matanzas, is currently the most established and popular resort town in the country but other destinations are popping up all over the island. The hotel chains that operate in Cuba are mainly European, such as Meliá and Iberostar. Sandals also operates in Cuba albeit covertly – it goes by the name of ‘Beaches’. But isn’t Cuba still a police state? Sadly, yes. The locals’ concern with police raids and inspections is an unfortunate reminder of this. It doesn’t mean that people live in constant fear of the state, in fact many live very comfortable lives and not just those affiliated with the socialist party either. But contact between locals and tourists is controlled in as far as it can be, and Cubans enjoying the company of a foreigner, whether for profit or not, will constantly be looking over their shoulder. Why would you want to go there then? Because it’s a piece of living history, for one thing. No one can predict what will happen in the next few years. For better or for worse, the country seems frozen in time and experiencing this first hand is an exercise in world travel as it was meant to be. While you may not be able to get your McDonald’s fix in Cuba, you might find yourself hooked on ropa vieja, platanos maduros, or even rice and beans (yes, you can get that in Miami, but can you get it the same place Hemingway might have gotten his, or, more importantly, can you get it all for under five bucks?). And for all the hullabaloo this tiny island nation generates on the news, it remains one of the safest tourist destinations in the Caribbean. How’s the shopping scene in Cuba? As good as you would expect it to be in a socialist country that has endured a half-century long – and counting – US embargo. Pretty crappy. But the club scene…now that’s another story. (The $1 beers and $3 rum-soaked drinks alone make clubbing and barhopping worthwhile). But that doesn’t mean you should go home empty handed… Things you shouldn’t leave Cuba without…
What the heck is an Arab and how do you pronounce it anyway? Anyone familiar with the Latino vs. Hispanic, tomato-tomaato debate will get this one. (Arab, btw, rhymes with cherub. Please, whatever you do, do not say ay-rab). An Arab is basically anyone who speaks Arabic (easy to spot) and who identifies with Arab culture (not so easy to spot). Iranians fall short on both of these points (they speak Farsi and identify with Persian culture) making them not apt to like you very much if you called them Arabs and shrugged “tomato, tomaato” at them if they tried to correct you (see recent Oscar winner Crash. That’s Farsi they’re speaking.). Just like Latinos (or Hispanics, if you prefer) can be black, white, or anything in between, so can Arabs. The term is used as a cultural reference, not in reference to race, religion or nationality. |
