L. Farrah Furtado is an award-winning author living in Taiwan since 2002. First generation Canadian, her parents immigrated during the 1960’s to British Columbia to escape poverty and the Salazar fascist regime. FURTADO is a nominee for the Camoes prize, viewed in some countries as the equivalent to the Nobel Prize in literature.
Furtado, whose sister is the Canadian singer/songwriter Nelly Furtado, will be attending the Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) from Feb 5th~10th, 2014. Her books will be available for purchase at stand “A804”.
In her book HER APPARITIONS & OTHER HUMAN LONGINGS’ Fatima is an artfully bedraggled young woman who strikes out on her own in the wild world, hoping to re-unite with Laurence, a married American world-class photographer twice her age who is working in Saigon. While obsessively looking for this man she finds herself in never-ending, surreal backpacking adventures throughout Asia. Both a disturbing and uplifting story, this tale has no end of surprising turns, and unveils the mysteries in the human spirit.
Furtado’s Her Apparitions and Other Human Longings is available in English, simplified and traditional Chinese, and can be purchased through Bangkok Books[Edit: link to Bangkok Books no longer works 2015/1/15], and a signed copy obtained by contacting the author at lisa.tribe.furtado@gmail.com
THE WILD EAST: WHAT DO YOU WRITE?
Furtado: I write allegories and contemporary fiction based on true stories.
HOW HAS TAIWAN INFLUENCED YOUR WRITING?
Furtado: I have lived in Taiwan for over 10 years so this has had a big impact on my work. As an expat living in tropical Kaohsiung, I believe this is the perfect place to be a writer. Living and traveling throughout Taiwan also gives me a plethora of interesting characters from different countries, settings and scenarios to choose from.
CAN YOU TELL ABOUT YOUR LATEST WORK THAT YOU’LL BE PROMOTING AT THE TIBE?
Furtado: POP-ROCK-COP, my latest project was a huge risk. Nevertheless, I wrote it because I believe in justice and equality. This story required thousands of hours of my time in research and writing and re writing. I pulled out the best gems from heaps of first-hand accounts, court case reviews, video and audio files and one-on-one interviews with the Amaro family in their home in Hamilton, Ontario.
A story like this can shake people up to their core so I was even more attracted to it. I’m drawn to be somewhat of a rebel. No matter how many people told me that I should not write it because it seemed implausible and far-fetched I still believed in this story. My hard work has paid off because POP-ROCK-COP is what received a nomination for the Camoes prize at The Beijing International Book Festival in September 2013.
At only 22, Jessica Amaro was both an international pop rock performer and the youngest police officer in Canada. On television, she received a government award for her accomplishments for being the youngest and most driven member in the force in Canada in 2006.
Shortly after, two disorderly police officers falsely accused Jessica of several charges in an attempt to have her be a part of their plan to have a detested female sergeant, Annabelle, fired from the force.
Jessica’s court case continued for 6 years. The police department spent over 1 million (USD) in taxpayer funds to have Annabelle fired through Jessica’s “testimony”. Jessica and her family never quit, and instead fought for the truth and did not give into their threats. In fact, Jessica continued to entertain and inspire the public through her incredible live performances and original songs! Her story is quite an inspiration and demonstrates the strength of her family, her strong morals and desire to make the world a better place.
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You do understand that Jessica was convicted and sentenced for the crimes she DID commit. She is a liar and it was proven in a court of law. Its astonishing that she duped you into writing a book. This is actually very comical that you have wasted so much time and resources on this!
Jessica Amaro was wrongfully accused and justice will be served. Much like other similar court cases regrading, “the innocent underdog against the giant-corporation” it usually boils down to money. Long story short, Amaro had a computer expert who should have won this case hands down with the evidence but he submitted a shoddy report. That report was poorly written and did not even cover the content Amaro needed to win her case. The crown then deemed this expert not credible in court and Amaro’s chances were shot. This family, first generation Portuguese-Canadian immigrants did not have the resources to fight a huge case like this. They would have lost their home, life savings and precious time away from having any kind of peaceful and happy life if they continued to fight it, could have been several years, ALL in; with no return! What would you do in her situation? The Hamilton police institution spent several years and hundreds of thousands of dollars, wasting tax payers money on this to protect their reputation. The Amaro’s would have lost everything to try and win this case. So it was easier, final, more economical and her lawyers suggested she would not be punished by prison time or given fines if she decided to plead guilty.
…she has fans?