Dominican journalist publishes her first novel

Dominican Journalist and News Producer, Shermain Bique-Charles, isn’t just about interviews and sticking her nose into matters that don’t concern her. The 40-year-old, who is also a news presenter at Observer Radio in Antigua and Barbuda recently published her first romance novel ‘JASMINE’ which is available in paperback and on Amazon Kindle.

Completed in December 2019, the novel was an off and on focus for Bique-Charles, who said she had to juggle between her fulltime job, taking care of her family, ministry work and running around the house behind her toddler.

“I love writing that’s no surprise but I never thought I’d write a novel, far less to have it published. I just didn’t have the time,” she admitted.

Bique-Charles said she decided to post the first few chapters of her book on an online website and could not believe the feedback.

“I think I just did it for fun in the first instance. I went online and posted the first 9 chapters I believe and I had 3.5 K reads in just over two weeks. It was unbelievable. I said to myself well people were bored, under a lockdown and they had nothing else to do,” she told our news desk.

That went on for months and according to Bique-Charles, “readers kept messaging asking where’s the rest of the novel. They wanted to know what happened with JASMINE. Most of the inquiries were from the US and Canada”

It was then, she decided to put some time and work into the novel and finally have it published.

“I have a close friend who motivated me a lot where this project is concerned. I struggled with a cover because most photos were copywrite. I had to use a female’s face. She had to be beautiful but mysterious as well.  He suggested that I use my face. I laughed at the suggestion because I didn’t think I looked mysterious or even beautiful. After much convincing, I decided to take the advice,” she said.

Since the book was published about a week ago, the author said a number of people have already purchased it, both in Kindle and paperback.

“My friends bought copies and a few people whom I don’t know. I will buy myself a copy at some point. Although I write news every day, a novel is a bit different. All this is new to me,” she said.

The story follows the events surrounding the life of a young woman who was laughed at in school and considered among the unpopular. In a series of intriguing developments, a young man teamed up with his friends to violate her. Instead, he fell in love with her, putting aside all his wealth, pride and ego to gain her trust and love.

“The story draws you in through soaring hopes for the main character and balances that with a series of setbacks that keep you constantly wondering. JASMINE is quite romantic but also hilarious. Sometimes I read the book and can’t believe I wrote these things. Some parts of the book actually happened but it is mostly fictionized,” she confirmed.

As a journalist of 20 years, Bique-Charles is quick to clarify that she has no intentions of making a career change.

“Not a chance,” she says. “After all of these years, I still love my every job and cherish the people we serve”.

Bique-Charles is originally from Dominica but has been living in Antigua and Barbuda for over five years.

She said writing novels will remain her nighttime and weekend focus. JASMINE was edited by Editor Paul Quinn.

“When I received the manuscript from Shermain it took me a while to get to it but once I started reading, I honestly couldn’t put it down. She has a way with words. The plot was exceptionally put together. This book had me on a rollercoaster ride. I absolutely loved it,” Quinn said.

JASMINE is available on Amazon both on kindle and in paperback.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=JASMINE+SHERMAIN+BIQUE&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_2