Last month Anthony Maillard launched his book, The Killing of the Flamenco Dancer, at The Big Black Box on Murray Street, Woodbrook.
The launch was a unique experience as the author transformed the venue into a Spanish-style café and enlisted the services of many local artisans to re-enact several passages of his book. Among his guests were acoustic guitarist John Hussain, Nikolai Salcedo, dancer Nalini Akal, comedienne Philo and parang group Los Hombres Sexuales.
Maillard is a writer, photographer and musician. His third book, The Killing of the Flamenco Dancer, is a fictional love story based in Boston, Massachusetts.
Once again, he displays his ability to document the emotion of his characters with intense dialogue and detailed narrative, producing a provocatively-sensual romance novel.
He is also the author of (Not So Idle) Thoughts and Questions, Third World Café, and If Yuh Int’rested, published in Total Caribbean News magazine.
Married and the father of three children, Maillard is currently managing director of a company which provides service and support to the financial sector through the Caribbean.
He spent the last 14 years in Trinidad having resided in Canada previously. He also worked with a prominent bank as an IT specialist.
“Writing has always been a positive pastime for me,” said Maillard.
“I love writing poems and short stories. Writing a 39-chapter novel was certainly a challenge. It started as a short story; however, the characters were so complex... I just kept writing to see how they would grow and where they would end.”
Maillard continued: “The Killing of the Flamenco Dancer is my third book.
“My first—(Not So Idle) Thoughts and Questions—is a compilation of self-penned mind-tickling quotations on subjects such as Fear, Ego, Life, Relationships, Children, God, and Work, to name a few.
“The book challenges the stereotypical view of today’s society and entices the reader to embrace ‘The Love System.’ Over 40 photographs accompany the text and help bring a sense of realism to the quotations.
“The Killing of the Flamenco Dancer is a story about strangers who meet and ‘fall in love’ overnight. Today, it is common that people become blinded by passion, establish relationships and sometimes get married to someone who they think they know—only to have their worlds collide several months or years later.”
He added: “This book is about two ‘opposites’ who are physically attracted to each other. One is a marketing executive, the other a struggling artist.
“Marísa Conchita Arelis Villanueva was born in Alcobendas, Spain, drives a Mercedes Benz and theoretically has her pick of any man in Boston.
“Reginald Stanfield hails from the Bahamas, and is a divorcee and father of one girl. He strives to ‘make it’ in the art world. Their desire to find love while fulfilling their sexual fantasies ignites their passion over the next three months when their world implodes.
“As Marísa and Reggie set out on this collision course of a tangled love affair and an upcoming art exhibition due to open in three months, they face tough challenges that will test their relationship. Can love and passion save them?”
Once a resident of Diego Martin, Maillard and his family moved to the east. He explained: “Diego Martin was too noisy for me upon my return, so we found a quiet spot out in Arouca.”
So, what does an author do in his spare time? Maillard replied: “I am an avid musician, music collector and photographer. I play the flute and sax and led my own band in western Canada.
“I had the privilege of leading the back-up band for Crazy and Baron on several occasions.
“Since returning to Trinidad, I’ve been low-key as far as the music is concerned.
“I arranged for a small steelband in my first year but that proved to be too stressful. I played with the Latin Band Pal Destino for a while and I now spend more time with my family and writing, while I play flute in a parang band, Los Hombres.”