Carlisle Richardson is the author of the new novel The Soft Underbelly. His other books include the children's picture book Rose Grows Veggies. He is a former diplomat who served as ambassador of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations.
Q: What inspired you to write The Soft Underbelly?
A: I’ve always wanted to write Caribbean crime novels. My favourite genres are crime fiction and spy novels, but growing up, there were very few, if any, novels in these genres with Caribbean protagonists. There were none that I could point to as an example from the Caribbean.
While I enjoyed what I was reading, I knew that there was so much material about the Caribbean and its people that could be used in these novels. I wanted to see my reality reflected as well. I wanted to write like John le Carré and Robert Ludlum, two of my favourite authors growing up, but with a Caribbean perspective.
So, I started writing down my thoughts based on news headlines, or observations I had throughout the years. I would write them down and file them away.
Working in international relations helped because I observed the intrigue taking place just below the service. Also, reading about and researching events taking place around the world helped me to frame different ideas into a Caribbean context.
Eventually, the various thoughts started forming into one story, and the outline for The Soft Underbelly was drafted.
Q: How was the novel’s title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: When I lived in New York, I was riding on the Long Island Railroad in New York going home after work one Friday evening. I liked to read different news magazines on the commute and on this occasion, I was reading an article about corrupt politicians in another country and how they were destroying the potential of that country.
I started reflecting on how important it was for political leaders to inspire their countries to be great rather than tapping into the lowest impulses to get elected and stay in power.
It was at that point, like a lightbulb, the phrase “The Soft Underbelly” came to me. All the thoughts I had been jotting down had not fully formed in my head yet. But as soon as I wrote down the phrase, I started constructing the outline, based on the various things I had written down.
The Soft Underbelly signifies how corruption at the highest level starts seeping into the very fabric of a society, and eventually destroys everything. So, I wanted to show why it was so important for persons in positions of power to inspire their populations to maintain a high moral standard.
Q: Did you know how the novel would end before you started writing it, or did you make many changes along the way?
A: For this novel, I did not know how it would end. I began with a few of the main characters and decided to let them lead me to the conclusion based on their personalities, motives, and the way the story unfolded.
I did make changes to the ending a few times, but that was after I had embarked on the journey to that point and wanted a fitting conclusion that would satisfy me and the readers who would potentially embark on this journey.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the book?
A: That the Caribbean is much more than what they traditionally read about. It is a complex, fascinating place, much more than a tourist destination or hurricane zone. Also, that it is not a place where only bad things happen to the locals, who then want to flee to other countries.
I hope readers who are not from the Caribbean want to learn more about the region and read more books by native authors. I want them to demand authentic representation about the region and its people, and not have it only as the background or its people as the supporting cast.
I hope readers appreciate that stories of international intrigue can be based there, featuring characters from the region, and be just as entertaining as those based in other countries.
For persons from the Caribbean and other island nations around the world, I hope they feel seen and accurately represented. I hope they feel proud that someone with a similar background to theirs wrote this book and I hope they feel inspired to write their own stories as well.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I am writing my second political thriller which I hope to complete next year.
I have also recently published a children’s picture book on sustainability called Rose Grows Veggies. It is the first in a series I call The Sustainability Series. I am currently finalising the second book in that series and drafting the outline of Book Three.
Q:
Anything else we should know?
A: To learn more about the launch of The Soft Underbelly, my publisher Hansib Publications is available to provide information. Their website is www.hansibpublications.com, and the email is info@hansibpublications.com. The book will be available on June 1, through Amazon, independent bookstores, in ebook format, and with other online sellers.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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