Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Derrick Lafayette. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Derrick, thanks for joining us today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

I never planned to be an author. Initially, I wanted to be a screenwriter. Back in my late teens/early twenties, this seemed impossible. I tried to enter the Sundance Writers’ Institute, but they passed on my script, and I wrote a few more before pausing in my late 20s. By luck, an old friend from High School was returning to our home state, New Jersey, and had been eager to produce short films. We linked up, and I started writing screenplays again.

The process was grueling. We made three films, which I was mostly proud of, and embarked on a new series that would require a lot of work. The scripts became a hassle because other members of the staff kept asking for rewrites. Overall, I ended up with about fifteen drafts. Completely frustrated, I started writing fiction as a way to feel in control. Out of that frustration came about twenty pages of a novel that would eventually be called Ashovania’s Demon.

The film project fell apart, but I had this building manuscript sitting around. My wife showed me the correct format; the twenty pages I had was seventy. I knew I had enough ideas to make it a novel. So I did, and I self-published it back in 2016. The response from the world was receptive. Most people outside my core friend group liked and finished the book. After that, I became relentless and wrote more novels and a massive amount of short stories, which were quickly published in small to medium publications throughout the United States and France.

One publication, The Fictional Cafe, liked my short stories so much that they invited me to be their Writer-In-Residence. I was honored and started a long-lasting friendship with their Editor-In-Chief, Jack Rochester. By this point, I had self-published three novels and about ten short stories and was featured in two anthologies and in Suspense Magazine. Jack and I discussed publishing a book with The Fictional Cafe. I put together some shorts and a novella, which turned into my first traditionally published book, Kaleidoscope. We went to the Coco Bookfest that year in April and sold out.

From there, with Jack putting the battery in my back, I began searching for an agent. Through some mutual friends, I managed to get in contact with a woman who worked for Tor as an acquisition editor. I had this literary sci-fi novel, which I thought would be my masterpiece, ready to go. However, during the meeting, the story was very far from reaching competitive standards in terms of not only query but content. Disappointed but still determined, I shelved the book and started another one.

Now, the next book came to me by fate. While I was promoting Kaleidoscope by going to local bookstores, I randomly found myself next to a book fair with author panels taking place outside. I struck up some conversation with the people there and kept being told that pirates were the next wave. I knew nothing about pirates, but I figured since there are no black pirate fantasy books, why not write one?

About six months later, I did. I took my time with the query, and though I’ve had a bunch of rejections, I got an offer for a partial, and I’m still waiting for a response from a publisher who wanted more time to decide. And that’s my story as of now. I write every day. I have one more short story about to be published by a publisher in California, and I have already written two more novels just in case the pirate fantasy doesn’t work out.

I’m inspired mainly by filmmakers with high versatility, such as the Cohen Brothers, Christopher Nolan, and Quentin Tarantino. But on the author’s side, I was blown away by the works of David Mitchell, Vladimir Nabokov, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and George R. R. Martin. Japanese animators and manga artists like Hideaki Anno, Satoshi Kon, and Hajime Isayama. And that’s my story. Send me good vibes. I’m going to need it. The publishing industry is brutal!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I answered most of this in the previous section, but I fell into writing fiction due to the frustrating process of writing screenplays. As far as craft goes, I set out to write in a different tone/prose/style/genre with every piece of work. My goal is for my signature to not have a signature. I want people to be surprised that such vastly different stories could come from the same author.

Know that when you read a Derrick R. Lafayette story, expect the unexpected. Even within the genres I’ve returned to, like sci-fi or fantasy, its from a completely new angle. I also consistently write everyday and I take grammar lessons. The goal this year is to improve on structure and brevity.

My most proud moments include a published story called The Witness, which deals with surrealism. I find surrealism to be the hardest genre to crack. I’m also immensely proud of my latest black pirate fantasy book, because it hits every beat of a journey. But truthfully, everything leading up to this point. My residency at The Fictional Cafe, selling out at my first book fest, and the seemingly endless ideas that I put on the page.

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I started, but the response has kept me inspired that I might be able to land that agent or book deal with one of the Big 5 publishers.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I have a few, but I’ll narrow it down to three.

The first was a publication I won’t name, which completely ripped one of my earlier sci-fi stories to pieces. They literally told me it wasn’t sci-fi enough, although it took place on a distant planet. It caused a fire in me. Out of spite, I wrote one of the craziest stories I could muster at the time, and ironically, that same publication published it. From then on, I knew that the competitive spirit would work in my nature, and I always keep that fire alive.

The second was when my third self-published book, which I thought was my masterpiece, Moby Dick, epic odyssey, failed to perform. It was the longest book I’d written at that point, over one-hundred-thousand words. The few who read it loved it, but it garnered less attention than the previous ones. The main reason why it was such a huge endeavor is because, at the time, I was working with someone from the Midwest who was looking to create a platform where subscribers could purchase chapters of a story at a time. He asked me to write ten thousand-word chapters that were hooky and thriller-like. I did just that, but the platform went bankrupt. When I combined all of them together, it came out to be nearly five hundred pages.

The third came when I was on an author high. My first traditionally published book was out, and I had this literary sci-fi novel in my back pocket that I thought was truly brilliant. Then I got the chance to work with an editor who’s been in the business for over ten years. Thinking this was my launch point, I went in waiting for praise but was met with “… this won’t sell.”

Mind you, I went absolutely crazy writing this book. I had sleepless nights, a million drafts, and banged my head against the wall, and for nothing. I shelved it and moved on, deciding that if traditional publishing was the goal, I’d have to come up with something new. It was a painful process.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Right after the disaster of my literary sci-fi novel, I felt lost. It was also hard promoting my traditionally published book, and I thought I needed to be better. I had to sit myself down and ponder the idea that I may have peaked. Maybe this was it. I thought I exhausted my beta readers to the point where they wouldn’t want to read anything more from me. I was pumping out drafts and stories at a high level, except in the back of my mind, I kept going, “Who really cares?” It’s just a dream. Relax, revel in your accomplishments, and realize that everything isn’t for everybody. Maybe you’re not who you think you are. You may be average, and that’s ok.

But that competitive fire wouldn’t let me go. I went back to the drawing board and pumped out another novel, and that one tested well. However, in fear that even that one would fail, I wrote another two. My skill grew immensely, and I’m so glad I didn’t quit at that moment because the new novels are worthy of competing in the traditional field. Now, I’m just waiting for the right people to come get me. I’m ready for the work.

Contact Info:

• Website: drlbooks.com
• Facebook: Derrick Lafayette
• Twitter: KaleidoscopePen

Image Credits
The first photo was taken by my friend Reecie.