Meet the Author Monday: Lawrence Jean-Louis

It’s Meet the Author Monday! Each week we meet a new author and get to know a little about them, their writing process, publishing experience, and tips for other writers. Today we’re talking to Lawrence Jean-Louis, author of Drunken Philosophy, Poop! Random Words, Musings and Insight, Color Your Word! A Creativity Outlet for Nerdy Adults, That’s Just My Baby Daddy! 12 Men Who’ve Contributed Greatly to Society, and She Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Biographies of 12 Entrepreneurial Women.

About Lawrence Jean-Louis:

Born in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, with a fondness for both breaking things to see how they work, Lawrence is a founder, a maker, and working towards building a money management firm by 2030. 

Her favorite artists include Jackson Pollock, Piet Mondrian, Vincent van Gogh, Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo, Alexander Calder, Johannes Vermeer, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

About She Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Biographies of 12 Entrepreneurial Women :

Along what is now part of the Jurassic Coast, there lived a girl named Mary Anning who inspired not only the title of this book, but the tongue twister of the same name. She was born in 1799, and grew up collecting fossil specimen along with her father and older brother. Mary Anning would be credited with the discovery of the first complete ichthyosaur fossil and the first pterodactyl found in Britain.

In She Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Biographies of 12 Entrepreneurial Women, the second installment in the Notable People in History series, you’ll not only learn more about her life… but also the lives of Annie Turnbo Pope Malone, one of the first black women millionaires; Madam C.J Walker who started as a sales agent of Malone’s Poro haircare brand and would go to build a beauty empire; Olive Ann Beech, the first woman to receive the National Aeronautic Association’s Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy for her contributions to the aviation industry. There’s Josephine Baker, Amelia Simmons, Frida Kahlo, Lorraine Hansberry, Hetty Green, considered the single biggest financier in the world among 19^th century tycoons such as Andrew Carnegie, JP Morgan, John D. Rockefeller. You’ll meet Maggie Walker, Mahalia Jackson, and Helena Rubinstein.

While That’s Just My Baby Daddy! 12 Men Who’ve Contributed Greatly to Society, celebrated on the lives of Archimedes, Galileo Galilei, Albert Einstein, Ctesibius, Heron of Alexandria, Stefan Banic, Chiune Sugihara, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett… She Sells Seashells by the Seashore: Biographies of 12 Entrepreneurial Women pays its respects to 12 inspiring women.

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Author Interview with Lawrence Jean-Louis:

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1. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

I was young and I told someone that I was famished, because I didn’t think saying “hungry” was descriptive enough.

2. What is the most surprising thing you discovered while writing your book(s)?

The most surprising thing that I learned while writing is that I could actually do it! I wanted to write since elementary school, but never knew how to go about doing so. A few years ago, just decided to try and go for it. Tried and tried again since then. And the next one, expected to be published in 2024, will put my heart into it and hope it’s my best yet.

3. Who is your favorite character?

I’m not sure if he’s my favorite character, but I’ve been thinking about Of Mice and Men lately. Day dreaming of one day living off the fat of the land. Lenny comes to mind with the mouse that he’d petted, how awkward he was and how he accidentally killed Curlie’s wife.

4. Tell us about the process for coming up with the cover.

I normally have the idea for the cover when I have the title. For That’s Just My Baby Daddy… I’m a big fan of Einstein, so I always pictured him pushing e=mc2 in a baby carriage. For She Sells Seashells by the Seashore, I wasn’t too sure about that one… I knew I wanted entrepreneurial women, then it finally dawned when I reached out to the illustrator that I wanted Mary Anning selling her fossils and Josephine Baker making a purchase. My next book, assuming everything goes according to plan, is to publish Don’t Cry for Me, Alexandria in 2024. I don’t have an idea for that cover yet. Just know that I want to write about the city, its library… bring up characters like Archimedes, Cleopatra, write about the food, the music, the people. Looking forward to it, but it’s also intimidating because I don’t want to wing it.

5. Who is your favorite author and why?

I’m not sure that I have a favorite book, but I really like The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel really impacted me after I’d read it.

6. What are you reading now?

I’ve been listening to Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson (over and over, to be honest). Have a few books on investments too in preparation of working towards the goal of starting a money management firm by 2030.

7. Favorite quote (doesn’t matter the source)
   • “Be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others are fearful.” -Warren Buffett
   • “Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly.” -Frida Kahlo

8. If you could ask one successful author three questions about their writing, writing process, or books, what would they be?

I can’t think of who to ask, but have been thinking about character development, plot, creating an impactful beginning, climax and end. Writing a memorable book that will leave you hooked from the first page. Writing this answer made me think of The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber. So I should start by asking him.

9. Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any you’d recommend?

I have three biographies by Walter Isaacson. Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and Leonarda da Vinci. Really loved Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens. Have Ray Kurzweil’s The SIngularity is Near, but haven’t finished it yet.

10. If you could cure a disease, what would it be?

It’s not a physical ailment, but poverty and homelessness are diseases. I would cure those. So is war, so is discrimination. Physical ailments, I’m not sure. HIV, cancer.

To learn more about Lawrence Jean-Louis, here’s where you can find her:

Website: www.lawrencejeanlouise.com
Twitter: @girlfromhaiti

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