Interview: Deanne Heron

Pardner Money Stories is a tribute to the West Indian people whose everyday stories are rarely told. It’s not the story of the original Windrush generation, but the stories of the later generations who are now well and truly settled in the UK, in this instance, in Manchester. Told in a chatty style, it is like listening to a good friend update you on what has been happening with her family and friends. These are lively stories, telling in comic and uplifting ways of fun, love and comradeship in a northern English community.

What made you decide to write these stories?


I wanted to capture the unique sense of humour of Jamaican people, the situations they get into, their unique take on issues  and the stories they tell when they get together as an extended family, whether it’s for a wedding, or funeral. Also wanted to highlight the value of the extended family, promote Jamaican patois and show it in a positive light.

Why did your family decide to settle in Manchester?

I was born in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica where my mother was working, but my family are from Portland in the north east of Jamaica. As a single parent, my mother was given the opportunity to come to England and make a better life for herself when she was ‘sent for’ by my aunt who had married and was living in Manchester. My mother left me with my grandmother when I was three years old and I came to Manchester to join her at the age nine.

Tell us a bit about the history of people in Manchester?


I don’t know a lot about the history of Jamaican people in Manchester except that many Jamaicans along with other West Indians and other people from Commonwealth countries came to Britain during the Second World War to fight for  the 'Mother Country’. There were black people even before this some of whom were undoubtedly Jamaicans, mainly sailors. After the war the black people who had been in the armed forces were sent home on leave and many returned in 1948 on the ship The SS Empire Windrush which docked at Tilbury Docks. Many people from the West Indies were invited to come to Britain after The Second World War due to a shortage of labour to work in the transport industry (British Rail and the buses), also in hospitals and factories. The reception they received after 1948 was very different from that of the war years and faced with racism they had to band together for support and to develop ways to survive. One of those ways was to bring with them the saving system of The Pardner which enabled them to save for large items when they had no bank accounts.

You chose to write the Jamaican accent as it sounds, and using the sentence structure of the way that Jamaican’s speak, is that how you have always written?


I have only used Jamaican patois in the Pardner Money Stories and a couple of poems because I felt it was appropriate. I usually write in standard English and have written a science fiction novel and dozens of poems in English.

What did your publishers think about this?


Hansib Publications specialise in Caribbean literature and I think that was what they particularly liked about the stories. The first story in the book has also been published by United Press as part of a collection of short stories which they did a couple of years ago. They liked the incorporation of patois in the story which I think makes it more interesting and gives an insight into Jamaican culture.

Your stories share the camaraderie and humour of a big family, nothing political or about the social issues, was that a conscious decision to exclude those?


On the contrary my stories, especially the latest ones which I hope will be published as volume two,  subtly tackle very topical issues, including religion and politics (A Little Knowledge is A Dangerous Thing and Ole Age noh Nice) and social issues such as skin bleaching in Browning, one of my latest stories. The Family has their finger on the pulse and have very strong opinions on many issues which come up in the black community. These issues are often discussed in the stories which have a moral element.

What has been the reaction to the book in the UK?


The book has proved to be very popular and is selling well. People have said that they find the stories easy to read and they like the humour and the fact that they show Jamaicans in a positive light. They can identify with the situations and the characters who remind them of their own families. I have had a number of invitations as a result of people reading the stories, to tell stories, give motivational talks etc. to different groups within the local community. I also had the pleasure of being invited to present a copy of the book to the right honourable Mr Anthony Johnson, the Jamaican High Commissioner. This resulted in The High Commissioner’s office putting an article about me on the Jamaican Information Service website – JIS.com. The Guardian newspaper and The Voice also did an article on the launch of the book at Hansib Publications 40th anniversary of publishing at the Hilton Hotel in London last November.

Is the book going to be available in Jamaica?

My stories including the stories in the book have been published by The Jamaica Observer since December 2008. Obviously their readers must like them because they have published over 20 stories to date. In February The Sunday Observer did a review of Pardner Money Stories and the books are now available in Jamaican bookshops.

I love the story of your Uncle Zeb and his partner Mary deciding to get married after 63 years together, and a family clan of over 50 people across 4 generations. 


I think at this point I must point out that the characters in the book are not real. These stories are fiction. They are very loosely based on a mixture of real characters from my family and my friends’ families and real events with a lot of artistic embellishment from my over active imagination.  Many people say the stories are so real they thought I was writing about real events in my own family. I do borrow a lot from my own family and there are many similarities but the characters are very much imaginative.

Do you plan to do more of a Pardner Money Stories series, or do you plan to do fiction?


I have enough completed stories at the moment for another volume and about half a dozen stories in draft form.  Writing is my hobby and I will continue to write for The Observer and for local radio as well as family and friends. I have written an epic science fiction novel which I hope to get published and dozens of poems.

How long was it from writing this book to getting it published?


I wrote my first short story, Aunty Dar’s Funeral in 2008. I did not begin to write with the intention of getting published but simply to amuse myself and record something very unique about my culture and the extended black family when I became aware that something very precious of our culture was dying. I was completely taken by surprised at the reaction of people who read the first stories. A friend in Jamaica sent me the email address for the Jamaica Observer after reading Aunty Dar’s Funeral and suggested I send it to them. To my surprise I got an immediate response saying they wanted to publish and asking if I had any more. Last year I was encouraged by another friend to send some stories to Mr Colin Robinson of The African Language School in London. Colin in turn was impressed and sent them to Mr Arif Ali of Hansib Publications who liked them and wanted to publish a collection.

Did you study creative writing?

I started a creative writing course many years ago but didn’t finish it because I found it too restrictive and not geared to writing for or about black people. I didn’t find it particular helpful and decided just to develop my own style.

Tell us about the publishing process – how did you get on with your editors?


The publishing process wasn’t difficult in any way. Mr Arif Ali is a very charming man and the staff at Hansib are helpful and pleasant to work with. They asked me to do something, I did it. There was a breakdown in communications at one point which left me a bit concerned as to whether the books would be available for the launch in Manchester but it was all sorted out.  Ideally I would have liked a book deal where a publisher threw thousands of pounds at me for me to allow them to publish my book. I don’t think that happens these days unless you have a famous name. I had to pay towards the cost of publishing the book and buy 400 of the 1000 books which were printed initially at half price which I have to sell to recoup what I spent. I have sold nearly all of these. I am told if enough books are sold and we have a second print run then I may begin to see a small percentage of sales. It is true apparently that no-one gets rich from having one book published. I am doing my part to publicise the book. The thought of being a bestselling author and making millions is very appealing but I am just happy and extremely grateful to the people who have helped me to see my work in print.

Did you think about self-publishing?


Yes I did but the process seemed so complicated and time consuming, as well as costly. I am a full time foster carer and work part time teaching counselling. I don’t have much spare time and what little I have I like to spend writing. It is something I may consider in future when I can afford to pay someone to do my ironing.

The book is out shortly, what do you have planned for promotion?


The book is available now from me via ebay or directly from Hansib Publications. It will be available from Tesco in March and from Amazon in April. It was launched in Manchester in October 2010 and in London in November 2011. The Guardian and The Voice have done articles on me. I am on a number of websites and was shocked recently when I Googled my name to see how many entries there were. I did an illustrated Christmas story on Youtube, I use Facebook and my own website for promotion. I have attended book fairs. I read my stories on local radio and have been interviewed by Heather Stott of Radio Manchester, Dotun Adebayo of Radio London and Kemet Radio in Nottingham. As a result of sending The Jamaica Observer a copy of the book, they did a review in February.  I ideally I  would like to attract sponsorship from someone like Usain Bolt who is mentioned in one of the stories or Levi Roots of whom I am a big fan since being given one of his cookbooks as a present.  All the stories centre around the family sharing meals so I thing Pardner Money Stories and Levi Roots cookbooks would be a good marriage.

What book has most inspired you?


I don’t think there is one particular book that has inspired me. I like science fiction but I have read Alice Walker, Maya Angelou and Iyanla Vanzant which I think are all inspirational in their own way.

When did you know that you were going to be a writer?


I still don’t know. It hasn’t sunk in yet that I have a published book. I don’t see myself as a writer. I have always written to unwind and I am just happy that people can get pleasure from what I write. If I can make some money from it as well so that my children will put me in a nice old people’s home… that’s just icing on the cake.

What keeps you writing?


Life and the amazing sense of humour of black people, especially the older ones.  I go somewhere or my family come to visit and something happens that amuses me or I listen to one of our elders talking about something from their youth and I’m off, scribbling on any bit of paper I can find.

What is your daily writing routine?


I don’t have a daily writing routine as such. I just write in my spare time, usually at night because I rarely watch TV. My own children are grown up and no longer at home. I settle my foster children in bed make a cup of coffee and switch on the computer.  I could write all night and really have to discipline myself so that I get enough sleep.

What are reading at the moment?


Ugly by Constance Briscoe.  I joined a black women’s reading group last year because I found I wasn’t making enough time to read. We meet monthly to discuss a particular book and this month it’s Ugly.

Who would you say are your literary influences?


No-one immediately springs to mind. I like classics like Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland, Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Charles Dickens. I’m a romantic at heart and don’t like much modern writing because I find it either too sexually explicit, or too much violence and horror and not educational or inspirational for black people.

Which book do you wish you’d written and why?


Don’t know if there is a book I wished I’d written but after reading books by the science fiction writer Janny Wurts I was inspired to write my science fiction novel because I wanted the same ability to be able to create a world and characters that just drew you in and felt real.

What would you recommend for The Black Reading Group book club?

Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Lime’s March 2011 theme question: March 8 is the Global Centenary of International Women’s Day - who are your personal most influential women of the last 100 years and why?


Mary Jane McLeod Bethune who was born in1875 and died in 1955. She first struggled to educate herself and then educated others. She was a civil rights leader best known for starting a school for black girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, that eventually became Bethune-Cookman University and for being an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Her school’s quality far surpassed the standards of education for black students at the time  and rivalled those of white schools. Bethune worked tirelessly to show what educated black people could do.

Dr. Maya Angelou at 82 still travels around the world and is an inspiration and role model to all black people but in particular black women. She is a poet, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, playwright, civil-rights activist, producer and director. She captivates audiences of every race with her words of wisdom.

Lime’s March 2011 theme question II: This is our annual Goddess issue – where do go in London to make yourself feel special and like a Goddess – be it pampering, relaxing, fine dining etc.


I am a Mancunian and don’t visit London often. I must admit with all the things I do I have very little time for pampering. One of my resolutions this year was to make more time for myself. I do have a friend who is a beautician and works from home so occasionally I make an appointment and go round for a cup of coffee, a facial and have my eyebrows done. I do have plans this year to book myself into a Champney’s resort for a pamper weekend, possibly for my birthday in November.


What question should I have asked you? And what is the answer?


Maybe… where do I see myself in five years time?
Answer:    A best- selling author with a house over- looking the beech in Jamaica, working on volume 3 of Pardner Money Stories.

An edited version of this interviews appears in the March 2011 edition of Lime magazine.