Author Interview with Bish Denham

The DMS was lucky enough to interview Bish Denham. Fairday reviewed her book Anansi and Company: Retold Jamaican Tales, and we are excited to learn more about this story. So, without further ado... take it away, Bish!

What inspired you to write the Anansi and Company: Retold Jamaican Tales?

Kind of a long story. A few years BEFORE Hurricane Marilyn tore through the Virgin Islands in 1995, my sister gave me for safe keeping, our old book of Jamaican Anansi stories. It was compiled by Martha Warren Beckwith who went to Jamaican in the early 1920s and recorded people telling Anansi stories. She then faithfully transcribed the stories in their original Jamaican dialect and published them in 1924. Hurricane Marilyn torn the roof off the family home and most of my sister’s books were destroyed.

It seemed serendipitous to me that the old brittle-paged book survived because I had it. So I began to try to read the stories, with the idea of translating and/or retelling them. They proved difficult to read; almost like reading a foreign language. But I persisted.

How long did it take you to write Anansi and Company?

A long time. First I had to decipher them, then pick a few, and rework them. Most of them are more like fragments of a few hundred words or less rather than real stories. They don’t have a true beginning, middle and end. From my first attempts to read the stories to this published addition, I’d say it took at least 12 years.

What were some of the tools you used to research the folklore for this book?

Lucky for me I had the source on my bookshelf. I found all of these stories in Martha Warren Beckwith’s collection, Jamaica Anansi Stories. Having grown up in the U. S. Virgin Islands I can “speak the lingo,” so writing the dialog in a modified dialect wasn’t hard.

What are some of your favorite books from childhood? Were there any specific authors who inspired you?

There will always be a very special place in my heart for the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. My mother read them to my sister and me which brings up many fond memories. As for authors who inspired me… the first author whose words made me cry was Jack London. I was about ten when I read Call of the Wild and the last few paragraphs of the book just made me sob. It still does. It was at that moment I realized the power words can have. Another inspirational author was John Steinbeck.

If you could live anyplace real or fictional, where would it be?

Why? Well, if I couldn’t return to the Virgin Islands as they were in 1950s and early ‘60s I think I’d want to live in Oz. Why? Because it’s the only true American fairyland. Besides, who wouldn’t want to be best friends with Ozma of Oz and Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and Tin Man? PLUS, there are just so many wonderful places to explore. It’s a land of infinite possibilities.

If you could befriend a character from your book, who would you befriend? Why?

It would have to be Anansi. He’s just so spontaneous, and clever, and mischievous. He’s unpredictable. You can love him and hate at the same time.

What is your favorite Anansi tale? Why?

I like them all because each is so different. If I have to choose it might be “Miss Ophelia’s Daughter” because I can so relate to having a mosquito buzzing in my ear. Or maybe it’s “Eggs and Scorpions” because Anansi get’s taught a lesson. No wait, it’s “The Pea that Made a Fortune,” because we get to see Anansi in a different light – working hard to achieve a goal. Oh, heck, I can’t choose!

If you could transform into any kind of animal for a day, what would you want to be?

This one is tough. But, I think I’d want to be someone’s beloved dog.

Are you currently working on a book? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?

Yes and yes! Once I make Anansi available in print I’ll be working on publishing A LIZARD’S TAIL.

From the moment he hatches, Marvin P. Tinkleberry knows he is destined for greatness. For one, he has a marvelous, well-groomed tail. For another he can puff out his throat pouch in the most spectacular way. Maybe the other lizards in his colony don’t take him seriously, but he knows the truth. It lives in the marrow of his bones; he’s going to be a hero.

When a feral cat threatens the lives of all who live at Stone Wall in the Garden by the Sea, Marvin knows it’s HIS destiny to get rid of the fearsome beast. Travelling Over the Hill to find help should be as easy as snapping up a sleeping moth. But it doesn’t take long for Marvin to see that the world beyond Stone Wall is not the same as his pampered life back at the garden. From the deadly Sucker Cactus Forest to deadly mongooses, danger lurks around every corner and Marvin will have to decide if he’s willing to be the hero he’s long bragged about being.

Connect with this author!

 ☞ preview the book on Amazon 

Read the reviews!

Enter the e-book Giveaway: 

1) Follow Fairday's Blog with GFC or Bloglovin
2) Leave us a comment: 

What is your favorite folktale? 
3) Fill out the Rafflecopter form below

*Answer to Anansi's riddle: 
My father has a thing in his yard. The more you feed it the hungrier it gets. What am I? Answer: Wood stove/ fire ; )

Giveaway ends Sunday, February 16th
(Open to US & International) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway Follow my blog with Bloglovin