I wanted to be writer at age fourteen after reading that famous book by Russian author Vladmir Nabakov. The book was Lolita. I remember my first encounter with the novel in the fiction wooden stacks at the Brooklyn Public Library. It was cold day in December, a school day no less, but school was the last place I wanted to be on account of the fact that the students and not teachers ran the school and, being an immigrant child from the Caribbean with a strict Christian upbringing, I didn’t fit in.
I had read lots of book back home , but nothing like Lolita. The scintillating imagery, the spellbinding word play, the playful thematic canvas of myth and magic, all read, ultimately, like a childhood tale made to appeal to adult readers.

I believe all good stories contain a thematic seed of the tales we grew up reading. Such stories as Jack and the Bean Stalk, Little Red Riding Hood, The three Little Pig and I dare say, The Holy Bible. As a reader, I am attracted to these stories for the way they speak to my deepest yearnings of my subconsciousness to know—who am I? and Why am I here?
In a sense, I write to answer such question. To discover the truth within. What does it mean that the world is word made of words. For one, everything has a name. Or as King Salomon stated “…there is no new thing under the sun.” My work then is mostly old tales in modern clothes. I hope you enjoy reading.

I was born in Trinidad and moved to New York, Brooklyn, at age 12. I have taught high school English at various school in the New York City school system for more than twenty years. I love books and reading, both which saved me in more ways than one.

Ultimately the holy bible is the beginning and end of all stories. Period. Read it!

Joel Samuel McQueen
“Trust in the Lord and lean not in your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6