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UnCharted Path Productions - CEO/Founder debut novel: Red Line District
Updated: Aug 22, 2022
UnCharted Path Productions
Spotlight on our Founder & CEO,
Charlotte Swann's Debut Novel,
"Red Line District".
July was my birthday month (woooooo.....) and I am incredibly proud of myself for so many reasons. I try to pat myself on the back ever so often. But most importantly, for my soon to be launched debut novel titled, “Red Line District”. It’s taken me two and a half years of research and focused writing to align all of the pieces together but I did it!
Through tears, I wrote!
Through reliving pain, I wrote!
Through reliving past experiences through the fictional characters that I created, I wrote!
And through that process over the years, writing has become a kind of therapy for me. Before I could write the first page of my novel; I had to embrace my love for writing once again. I sat my pen to paper down more than 20 years ago to be the best mom I could be to my 4 children. Once they got older, I went on a journey of self. In that search, I read a quote that Oprah Winfrey made, "Look inward - the loving begins with you."
The first book that I ever wrote is still on a floppy disk - all 400+ pages.
Writing is much easier with my laptop, however I still like to write with pen to paper every now and then.
If I had to summarize Red Line District into a few words or into a log line when adapting it to a screenplay, it would be:
"A city within a city, hidden in plain sight, by a red line."
Redlining now known as Housing Inequality or Housing Disparity has not only affected me from the stories that my mom has shared from my childhood about her attempts at wanting to live in a certain area outside of where we were currently living at that time which was 118th and Central Ave in South Central Los Angeles, California. In many areas, she was not allowed to live.
We ended up residing in the city Compton, CA on Kay Street, across from Lueders Park. From Compton to Baltimore, these areas were predominately non-minority until the late 1960s heading into 1970s. A term called Blockbusting was when a community of non-minorities were convinced that the area was becoming negatively affected by certain minority groups, in turn convincing them (non-minority) to sell their property dumping those that were minority in those areas specifically. Very similar to redlining but different. Thankfully my mom didn't move to a Sundown Town such as Hawthorne or Glendale at the time.
Not only Southern California but Northern California as well was affected by Redlining and Blockbusting. Most cities across the country were affected by redlining from Seattle to Brooklyn, NY to Atlanta and Macon, GA.
Red Line District is about the life of the residence that grew up in areas such as Blockbusting and Red Lined areas, deemed 'hood, ghetto, or minority' today. Most of these neighborhoods were filled with nothing but people who fought to make life as easy as possible for themselves and the people around them, while being giving opportunities that were less than optimal for anyone non-minority.
The twist for this story is that it is written for the present day not centered around 1970. Many individuals can relate to the characters in some way, shape or form.
I am thankful for the talks that I have shared with my mom. That story however triggered me to create this fictional story around the lives of folks who want nothing more than to have the same liberties and freedoms that everyone non-minority get. The caveat to this story is that the culture has a strong ally who is a non-minority, named Cassandra Boucher. Her nickname is Zandra to friends and Zanni to her inner circle. She is a Caucasian mid 40s woman, who grew up in Red Line District, due to unforeseen circumstances from her parents. This is where she meets her best friend, Sariah DuBois. They become true sisters in the sense that Zandra becomes privy to many situations where she is given better treatment than Sariah. Those instances of unfair behavior, lead her to use her privilege to become one of the most powerful ally that Red Line District has experienced.
This book is about two childhood friends now in their 40s, who work for the same organization that assists underserved communities on the surface but holds a secret that will test the loyalty of one and honor of the other.
Get ready for this commanding, persuasive, illuminating, revealing, and insightful page-turner - filled with dramatic twists and eloquent turns of every kind.
I cannot wait to share this imaginative, intriguing story with you and the world.
About the writer:
Uncharted Path Productions, LLC's Founder & CEO, Charlotte Swann has been with the company since its inception. Over the past 20 years, she has always been passionate about writing and storytelling.
UPP is centered around creating Short films, TV series and Film focusing on psychology, the black therapy community, as well as, young adults - specifically geared towards young men.
The main reason for creating UPP was driven by her eldest son, Derrek who recently passed away in 2021. Derrek was a vibrant, adventurous, and animated young man who looked a challenge in the eye and ran towards it. He would set out on a course into uncharted territories without fear, that lead him from one coast to another, hence the name chosen for my company. After years of going undiagnosed, he succumb to those mental illnesses that plagued him for years. In her own words, "This is my why..... This is for Derrek!"
With her vivid imagination, led her to create numerous stories as a child, sharing them with anyone who would listen. Since then, she has developed quite a bit in both storytelling and writing, but her thrill of creating characters, places, dialects has remained unchanged. She has always been passionate about writing and storytelling for over 20 years.
Her writing style can be described as intellectually curious and playful, with a desire to explore different themes and motifs. She is the Creator & Writer of the upcoming debut novel: "Red Line District" as well as Creator and Co-writer of the upcoming TV series based on the novel, "Hidden District".
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