Interview: Kimone Antoine – Beyond the Sea
MTC: Kimone thank you so much for agreeing to this interview with My Trini Chile.
KA: Thank you for having me! It’s my pleasure to speak with you
MTC: Congratulations on your first book Beyond the Sea!
KA: Thanks so much! It’s certainly been a process.
MTC: Can you tell us a little about yourself first?
KA: Sure. I’m originally from Arima, where I still currently live and right now I work in the financial industry, where I have been for over 5 years. I’ve always dabbled in writing from since Primary School but I started getting serious about it some years ago and I have written several screenplays since then.
MTC: What inspired you to do a children’s book?
KA: I actually write more adult themes but I got an inspiration for this particular story and I just went with it. It was written as a screenplay first, as it was supposed to be a cartoon series, but the investment for a cartoon was very steep, both time and monetary, so I decided to rewrite it as a book.
MTC: What age range is the book targeted to?
KA: The book is targeted towards 3-8 years old but older kids can read as well.
MTC: How did you pick the theme? Have you always been interested in recycling?
KA: So incidentally, when I was in secondary school, I had detention for being late (which was pretty typical) and we had to write a 700-word essay titled, “The Day in the Life of a Drop of Water”. While everyone else groaned about the assignment, I wrote an entire adventure around it and even went over the word limit. I was able to keep the story and submitted it to the Junior Express where it was published! Fast forward to several years later and the story came back to me, just more enhanced. I’m also an avid supporter of sustainable initiatives.
MTC: I see that it says Volume 1 of Recycle Adventures?! Do you know when you are bringing out your next book and how many volumes are you planning?
KA: Hopefully I’ll be able to bring out Book 2 this year. I’m currently working on it. There are 6 books in this series.
MTC: Do you know the characters in the adventures that are coming up? Can you share their names with us or is it a surprise?
KA: Yes, I can definitely share their names. You’ve met Leon and Krystian already and you’ll certainly meet them again in the different books. You’ll also eventually meet Ezekiel (Zecky), Alisha and Note. You can try to guess what kind of materials each of them will be.
MTC: Who did the illustrations for the book?
KA: A really, really talented guy from Ukraine, called Ilya Fortuna. I tried to get someone local but it wasn’t working out, so I went on a site called Upwork and found Ilya. Upwork is a global freelancing site which facilitates shared services and collaboration remotely. It connects individuals with people all over the world where you can either offer your skills or request particular skills.
MTC: Why should parents buy this book for their children?
KA: The story is very captivating. It allows kids to expand their imagination (can you envision a water drop talking or a glass bottle for that matter)? The book also teaches current and relevant valuable lessons, while teaching kids about recycling in the process. Also, the illustrations are truly beautiful!
MTC: How long did it take you to write and publish the series?
KA: The actual write-up didn’t take that long. Once I sat down and committed to finishing the project, I was able to knock it out in a couple of weeks. To get to the point of finally being able to publish, however, took significantly longer. I originally completed the screenplay in January 2016, then rewrote it as a book in February 2017. After a few hiccups, delays and challenges, I finally was able to publish February 2019.
MTC: What has been the most challenging aspect of publishing this series?
KA: Besides finding persons with the right skill set to work with, I would say that the most challenging aspect was finding persons who were accountable and were actually going to commit to the project and respect deadlines. I decided to move forward with a book as opposed to the cartoon because things were taking too long with the animator and the characters didn’t capture the essence of the story. Then after I finished the book and got it edited, I was having a really difficult time finding an illustrator. I got a few recommendations and connected with a few persons, but nothing took shape. So late last year, I decided that I was going to finally get the book completed and I went on Upwork, after speaking to another local author about her experience on the site, and it really worked for me.
MTC: I know we can purchase your book on Amazon. Are they also available in local book stores?
KA: Yes. They’re available at R.I.K. Bookstores, all locations.
MTC: Are you involved with the NGC Bocas Lit Festival?
KA: No, I’m not but it seems to be a great initiative and I’d love to get involved.
MTC: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
KA: Yes. There’s a Beyond the Sea Colouring and Activity Book that is coming out soon. There’s also a Japanese translation to Beyond the Sea available on Amazon (ebook only). Spanish translation due to be available soon. Also, look out for Book 2 of the Recycle Adventures series and see where Leon ends up next!
Also, please follow my pages, Kimone Antoine-Author on Facebook and @kimoneauthor on Instagram to get updates and information on book readings. You can also DM if you’d like to schedule a book reading.
