![]() ![]() Alston: You're a multi-passionate creative, correct? How do you juggle being interested in so many things that require creative energy? Gregory Hedgepeth: I had to learn to say no to certain things and assign certain work for certain days. If anyone deserves some success, it’s you because of the way you persist and don’t give up.ĭ.A. If it makes you feel better, I’ve received around 600 rejections for my short stories. When you talk about your rejections, do you mean for your book or do you mean something else? Four hundred rejections for my short stories. I also don’t like most stories that are written these days, particularly in the exalted New Yorker magazine. I stopped counting rejections when I reached 400 and that’s when I thought, well, maybe I’m not a writer. From personal experience, I can tell you it’s very tough to be a writer. The book never really went anywhere, I think I sold three copies. A few people paid me some compliments, but that’s about it. What makes you think you don’t have any talent? If I had any talent, I would’ve been successful. Besides, I didn’t think I had any talent and I don’t. Life interfered with my ambition to become a writer like marriage and children, and I couldn’t afford to quit my day job to write full time. I have always loved reading and wanted to make a living out of my writing, but I didn’t write any fiction until much later in life. Number 5: When did you know that you wanted to be a writer? About in the 1960s. The amount of creativity inside of us is astounding-we just need to write it down. Our ancestors wrote conceptually about science and religion, and had stories passed down that would align with our views on science fiction. What do you hope readers will take away from this story? That science fiction is a genre Black people belong in. I’m not sure if “changed” is the most accurate word, but a lot of the characters evolved for sure. Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from the first draft to the published book? ![]() It could not be rushed and it forced me to pull from my imagination in ways I did not know I could. It gave me so much anxiety that I had to leave it alone for over a month and come back to it. ”Belly,” by far, was the most difficult story as a whole. Which scene was most difficult to write and why? She went through so many emotions and still figured things out. If I had to choose one, it would be “LaKiera Jones” and her character reconciling with her transition. This is a tough question, because there were so many. Which scene or chapter in the book is your favorite and why? Compton was difficult, because I was writing from the perspective of someone who had experienced 100 years of depression. Mawusi was difficult, because I was writing from the perspective of a 12-year-old. ![]() Most of the characters had an element of my personality, but the two who were furthest from my personality were Mawusi and Compton. Which character was the most challenging to create and why? I got the opportunity to ask her a few questions that dig a little deeper into the book itself as well as some of the thought processes behind each story. Within a few months, we were blessed (no pun intended) with the opportunity to publish Journey To Ghana and Other Stories and I am truly honored that she trusted me to help bring it to fruition. As far as the book itself, Chi included so many fascinating characters and captivating elements in these stories with six thought-provoking protagonists who each bring a different component to the overall narrative in a reimagined, post-apocalyptic world. When we first discussed the premise over the phone, I was completely blown away and couldn’t wait to put my eyes on it-and once I finally got the chance, it was even better than she initially let on. Luckily, we were able to connect through a friend of mine (another huge fan of hers) who mentioned Vital Narrative Press when Chi mentioned that she was looking for a Black publishing company to release her first book. When I found out she was working on a book-a science fiction book at that-I couldn’t wait to hear the details. Through her Chi The Woke Ratchet platform, which has almost 15,000 followers on Facebook, I’ve been a big fan of Chi’s for a couple years now.
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