Writer Stacey Marie Robinson is fulfilling her lifelong dream as an artist and writer. Her most recent novel, Video light is a part of her Urban Toronto Tales series, a collection of books centered on urban culture, which has created a critical and commercial buzz across the city.
"This recognition is great," says Robinson. "The feedback has been wonderful. People come up to me and tell me how much they love the books. Young people, who normally wouldn't read find me and tell me they read my stories. Hearing this feedback makes me really happy."
Robinson's ability to connect with young readers has allowed her to penetrate a difficult market. Competing with video games, online social networks, sports and other extracurricular activities, her novels are set apart by the recognizable and realistic Toronto characters and landmarks which appear in her stories.
"If you don't live in Toronto, you may not understand the book," Robinson says. "It takes place at Caribana and the language, feel and characters reflect Toronto. The story is real - I'm mentioning places like Scarborough and Mississauga so readers can relate to this Toronto experience."
After years of energy spent struggling to gain recognition in the world of traditional publishing, Eventually, she realized the only way her work would be read was to self publish. Robinson is pleased with her choice, which has ultimately allowed her Caribbean-Canadian focused story to become available to her readers.
"There were a lot of rejection letters piling up," she says. "Publishers said my work didn't fit their mandate and style. I'm not sure what the issue was - I think maybe the subject matter seemed superficial to those who didn't get it or perhaps it didn't seem like it would reach a big enough market. So I realized that the best thing for me to do would be to create my own opportunity and self publish."
Robinson's book reveals her love of Toronto and its dynamic cultural mosaic. For her, the novel is a unique Toronto story which deserves to be told.
"Video light is a Toronto story," she says. "It has Caribbean-Canadian characters and is an urban romance story with a bit of a Toronto flair. The young people who are reading this book can relate to what's happening in the story because it truly is their experience. Video light is a combination of people that I see every day. I'm so proud that young men are reading the book and young girls love it and can't put it down. People come up to me and say, 'I never read books, but I read yours.' I'm just happy I can get people interested in reading."
Due to the success of Video light, Robinson plans to release new material in order to satisfy the literary hunger of her growing legion of fans. To find out more about Robinson's work or to purchase books from the Urban Toronto Tales Series, visit: staceymarierobinson.com.
Jon Sarpong is a diversity consultant. He provides independent diversity training and consultation for various organizations. To suggest a story idea for Panorama, e-mail jsarpong@hotmail.com