Joey Pinkney

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Salim Amir, author of Get In Get Out
(Mitanni Entertainment)

(click on the pictures to buy this book from Amazon)

Get In Get Out chronicles the life of Marquise Jackson - son of a hustling father, his tumultuous trek into manhood and the journey of a soul that is torn between what is right and what is necessary. In choosing the same life that took his father, he soon realizes that once a person is in the game it’s never as easy as one wishes to Get In Get Out.

This is the introspective story of a young man. Marquis Jackson is forced into manhood prematurely because of a tragedy that threatens the life and welfare of his family. He finds himself trying desperately to get out of the life before he’s claimed by the same fate that claimed his father.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Get In Get Out?

Salim Amir: I got the idea and inspiration from my life experiences and the unfortunate death of my comrade Kareem Williams.

JP: What sets Get In Get Out apart from other urban fiction novels where the main character is torn between crime and love?

SA: In order to big my project up without belittling other urban authors, I’ll tell you what makes this book special. The characters have depth, and they’re real. Not every hustler pushed keys. Some people hand-to-hand their entire drug career. My characters reflect that realistic polarity of the game. You’re in their minds as they contemplate life. When they cry, you’ll probably cry or come close to it. I also focused on making sure my narration could be distinguished from my dialogue. I think that’s an important thing for street lit authors to do.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Get In Get Out getting out to the public?

SA: Studying your market. Anything you get into you should study. It’s like the stock market. You don’t just buy a stock without first researching the company whose stock you’re about to buy into. You learn all the tricks of the trade. As an author and CEO of my own publishing company, Mitanni Entertainment, I feel it’s imperative to learn everything Random House, St. Martin’s Press and other major publishing houses know and use to stay on top of this game. Especially considering the top is my destination.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Get In Get Out?

SA: My writing process varies. Sometimes the thoughts and ideas come scattered like a collage and I put the pieces together like a puzzle. Other times it just flows. Get In Get Out took almost 2 years to perfect because I was new to writing. But I have a novel called Politics as Usual that took all of two months in the hole up state to write. So it all depends.

JP: What’s next for Salim Amir?

SA: Dying To Live! The sequel to Get In Get Out.

Website link: www.mitannient.com

Myspace link: www.myspace.com/salimamir81

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P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joeyDOTpinkneyATgmailDOTcom or myspace.com/joeyreviews

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Wakiem Freeman, author of Down Low Sistahs
(Apricot Books International)

(click on the pictures to buy this book from Amazon)

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Down Low Sistahs?

Wakiem Freeman: The idea came from an ex-girlfriend who confessed to me that she was sleeping with her cousin who was a female. Years later, I was going through old photos. I ran across her picture and was inspired to tackle the touchy subject.

JP: What sets Down Low Sistahs apart from other urban fiction novels?

WF: Down Low Sistahs is innovative. It stands alone with a unique twist.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Down Low Sistahs getting out to the public?

WF: Discipline, distribution and word of mouth. I’m focused and screaming “they on the down low and you don’t even know, they on that lo-lo” every time I hit the streets of N.Y.C. The public has spoken. I’m on my ninth print run.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Down Low Sistahs?

WF: First, I pick a topic. Then decide if I want my brain to tackle the topic. Next is research, which can take any where from 2 to 4 months. Next is designing a book cover. Then I write my outline of all chapters, which takes about two weeks. I finished Down Low Sistahs in 4 days.

JP: What’s next for Wakiem Freeman?

WF: The re-release of Down Low Sistahs, re-edited, with a NEW cover, summer 2009.

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P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joeyDOTpinkneyATgmailDOTcom or myspace.com/joeyreviews

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Essence Best Seller debut novelist T. Benson Glover, author of Sister
(Amaiya Entertainment)

(click on the pictures to buy this book from Amazon)

In Sister, T. Benson Glover takes you on a journey to “the Badlands”, a notorious North Philadelphia ghetto plagued by drugs and violence. It’s a place where love doesn’t exist inside The City of Brotherly Love. This is the neighborhood that the character Sister calls home.

Follow Sister as she winds her way into the depths of a world shrouded in darkness, clouded by murder, riddled by lust, consumed by greed, and overrun by envy and betrayal. In Sister, Glover makes it clear that beneath every inner city there’s a place where’s there’s no love lost, even the City of Brotherly Love .

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Sister?

T. Benson Glover: I got the inspiration to write the novel Sister out of necessity. I felt that there was need to assess how drastic and violent the situation has become for our young black women to grow up in the inner city minus their fathers. And the character Sister is just an example of what can happen to a young sister growing up in urban America.
JP: What sets Sister apart from other urban fiction novels set in Philly?

TBG: What sets Sister apart, is that it is not only set in Philly, but also Pittsburgh, and Fayetteville, NC.
JP: As a debut author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Sister appearing on the Essence Best Seller’s List?

TBG: I would say that it’s the constant grind: going to the book signings, the Harlem Book Fairs, communicating with your readers online, etc. All of those things, on top of having a good product that’s both credible and real, are keys to gaining that position. Key number 1 has got to be that your readers have to feel where you’re coming from. Shout out to Essence for recognizing my hard work.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Sister?

TBG: Actually, I start by developing my lead character and his or her voice. Once I nail that down, I finish the storyline. It took me maybe nine months, off and on, to finish Sister.
JP: What’s next for T. Benson Glover?

TBG: Next up for me is the sequel to Sister. Cash should be in stores by December 2008. Thanks for your time.

JP: No problem.

www.amiayaentertainment.com

www.myspace.com/benniebricks

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P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joeyDOTpinkneyATgmailDOTcom or myspace.com/joeyreviews

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…

Barbara Grovner, author of Even Numbers
(Third Eye Publishing)

(click on the pictures to buy this book from Amazon)

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Even Numbers?

Barbara Grovner: The inspiration to write Even Numbers came from a very close person in my life who had gone through a very similar experience. I actually wrote the book for her.
JP: What sets Even Numbers apart from other urban fiction novels?

BG: Even Numbers is written in narrative form because it was the type of story that had to be told. I found it extremely difficult to give James a voice. It seemed to give him too much power. For a pedophile, power is the one thing we do not want them to possess.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Even Numbers getting out to the public?

BG: I have been trying to target single mothers who date in an effort to hopefully alert them to some of the red flags. Those red flags may make them take a closer look at the men they bring home to their innocent and unsuspecting children.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Even Numbers?

BG: I am a bit Old School when it comes to writing. I prefer to write in a notebook. Then I transfer everything to my computer. My thoughts flow better when I am physically writing. Even Numbers, although a very short book, took about a year to write from start to finish. There was a lot of research involved. Also the topic of child molestation was difficult to write. I found myself having to take breaks from thinking of the horrors some women have endured.
JP: What’s next for Barbara Grovner?

BG: My next novel We Belong Together is scheduled to release in December. It’s a “who-done-it” mystery beginning with a senseless murder of a nurse. The characters are colorful, and the dialogue is off the chain. Nothing at all like Even Numbers, which is a narrative and extremely thought provoking.

At this time, I am working on the sequel to We Belong Together which is also a “who-done-it” mystery as well. I hope to have that book out sometime next year.

I am also offering editing services at the lowest rate in the business. In fact, I am offering first-time authors who are enrolled in school an incredibly low low rate for a limited time. I can be reached at bgrovner@hotmail.com for inquiries.

Thanks so much for the interview. Hope to interview again when We Belong Together drops in December.

JP: I look forward to the opportunity

www.thirdeyepublishing.org
www.myspace.com/barbaragrovner

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JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…

D.I., author of Frost Bite
(Madd Mindz Publishing)

Humble, charismatic, charming and determined are characteristics to name a few when speaking of the rookie of the year Author of urban-street novels, D.I. Considered by many as the Steven King of urban-street fiction, no genre or entity can captivate ones mind as D.I. when indulging in his movies on paper. As vivid and raw as a bloody crime scene, D.I.’s no-holds-barred style of writing begs a read to question: are these masterpieces real and titled fiction in efforts to elude possible conviction? Or are these masterpieces truly fiction but just so well written that it leaves the reader astounded to one’s imagination of how he depicts the severity of the street life.

An example of D.I.’s writing prowess is the ninth chapter of Frost Bite. As the Venoms (a murderous female killing crew, led by Shanda) plots on Ghost, (Americas living nightmare) D.I. depicts a brooding scene of carnage as victims fall for the deadly Venoms’ stunning and angelic looks. It shows how there’s no one role a woman or man could play, whether being the villain or victim.

Joey Pinkney: Where did I get the idea and inspiration to write Frost Bite?

D.I.: I was actually writing a poem to my mother, while I was in the ‘box’ aka OBCC’s solitary confinement on Rikers Island. I received a letter from her, and she asked me how did I get to the point where I’m facing 12 ½ - 25 years in prison. It was suppose to be a simple answer which I was setting up as a little poem called ‘Son of a Stranger’. I started writing the poem. I was just thinking of all the stuff I was exposed to while in the streets and what I’ve done or saw first hand. From those past thoughts I realized that question couldn’t be answered with a simple poem. Six hundred plus pages later I gave you Frost Bite.

JP: What sets Frost Bite apart from other urban fiction novels, where the main character is torn between crime and love.

DI: Well first let me answer the second part of that question. The main character is torn apart between crime and love because he is a street monger, just like many other brothers raised with no other choice but the streets. He chases whatever brings him the quickest dollar whether its robbing, drugs…even murder. He does what he feels he has to do in the company of his child hood friend, Fam, at his side at all times.

Then by fate, he comes across a beauty and an ex-street tough turned business mogul which both show him a new way of life. That new way of life is the way he wants to live but because the loyalty and the brotherly love he has for Fam, he’s stricken to choose who to go with and who to leave behind.

The twist is, if he goes with Fam, that new way of life which will bring him sure fortune and a honest living will be just a memory of what he could’ve or possibly achieved. But if he goes with Lisa and all that comes with her, he’ll have to turn his back on Fam, who’s a homicidal maniac. Crossing him can more the surely end with a deadly result.

What puts Frost Bite in a league of its own? Well it’s not the same recycled story of a drug king pin or how someone came from nothing, got it but lost it all in a hail of gun smoke. It’s not a story about some chick chasing some drug dealer or rapper to gain a come up to do whatever she thinks is best for her.

Frost Bite is what I’d consider a bitter street-love story with the main character sacrificing himself to protect those he consider dear to him. With the intertwined connection of the characters, it gives the reader a humorous but shocking cliché on how small the world is. Yes it’s filled with violence, sex, lies, betrayal and all those good elements which one would consider is an urban fiction, but the bottom line is that those elements don’t short change the reader into another too short, undisrupted, and unrealistic street tale. Truly you can kick up your feet and watch this movie on paper unfold in your mind as you read Frost Bite.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Frost Bite getting out to the public?

DI: Well that’s on you and the general public to realize a diamond in the rough, lol! But seriously, some would consider Frost Bite is a reflection of the life I once lived. Of course some areas were exaggerated but for the most part it’s so easy to identify with because you can envision it to be someone’s actual life. The public is tired of make believe stories. They’re tired of people going school, becoming CO’s then proclaiming to be a gangster. You can dissect Frost Bite for what it is and do your homework on me and what I’ve been through, and realize the authenticity in it and come to just two conclusions. This has to be based on him or he’s one hell of a writer, lol. But if you go to one of these other urban fiction writers and do the same, it just doesn’t add up when you do a background check on that individual author. Yeah they’ve been locked up or what have you, but they go to jail for credit cards but write about drug kingpins.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Frost Bite?

DI: Well, when I wrote Frost Bite I was incarcerated. I had nothing but time and hardly any distractions. So it took me about 8 months to pen out. I take it old school with writing: Intro/Body/Conclusion. I start with the beginning, the middle, and ending, then fill in the in between. I do that so I’ll know the middle of the story when I start just as well as how it’ll end. I use that format because I’ve realized how descriptive I can be. Description takes up a lot of space. If you’re zoned out your story can go anywhere, and I don’t want it to lose the reader.

JP: What’s next for D.I. and Madd Mindz Pubishing?

DI: Well the next stop is ‘Black Dayz ‘The Filroy Black Story’. Then I’m putting out ‘The Code’. After that, ‘Frost Bite 2’ will be unleashed. I have quite a few novels already done, about 6 in total. I’m working with other writers as well, which will be released under Madd Mindz Publishing. I’ve been talking to a few people about a possible movie on Frost Bite.

www.maddmindzpublishing.com

www.myspace.com/frostbitebook

www.blackplanet.com/frostbite_

D.I.@MaddMindzPublishing.com

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P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joeyDOTpinkneyATgmailDOTcom or myspace.com/joeyreviews

Congratulations to Mari Walker for her novel debuting at no. 3 on the Essence Best Sellers List for August! Pretty good for her first time being published. Check it out.

Check out my book review and my interview of the novel Never As Good As the First Timeand Mari Walker on Urban Book Source’s website. We get pretty deep.

Urban Book Source posted Part I of my two-part interview with the prolific Erick S. Gray. To see what he’s contributed to the literary world check out my previous post.

We actually talked for almost two hours! He had a lot of good information to give. I wish I had the space to give it to you. I mean, this guy lives his profession.

It was an honor to have spoken with him, and I hope to build a friendship with him. In Part I, he really goes deep into where his latest offering Crave All Lose All got its energy from.

I hope you like it. Let me know what you think.

I had the pleasure of interviewing three great authors who have written three very different urban fiction books.

Erick S Gary has been on the scene since the early 2000s with Money Power Respect, Ghetto Heaven, Flexin & Sexin: Sexy Street Tales Volume 1 (Sexy Street Tales) (Sexy Street Tales), Nasty Girls: An Urban Novel, Booty Call: Who Would You Call?, Booty Call *69 and It’s Like Candy: An Urban Novel. His latest offering Crave All Lose All follows the hard hitting trend that his fans have come to enjoy.

Relative newcomer Gary Ford took Milwaukee by storm with his debut novel Give Me Mine. We get to speak about his recently released autobiography Touched and the impact Give Me Mine still has two years after being released.

Many know Conrad Glover for his work in the movie industry with straight to video releases Bottom Out, Woods of Evil, Maya’s Soul and Street Revenge. I get to speak with him about his urban fiction debut King of Stowevillage as well as future projects in film and literature.

I’m in the process of transcribing the interviews. You’ll be the first to know when the interviews are posted on UrbanBookSource.com.

Stay tuned.

Jonathan Cunningham wrote an interesting article about the (disputed) queen of Urban Lit, Vickie Stringer a couple of years ago. (via jewel’s vox blog)

I enjoyed this article because it got past the glitz and glamour of the drugs to jail to top of the urban lit industry, international publisher, rags to riches story that everyone pumps.

Don’t get me wrong, it covered that ground as a prelude to the Vickie before that time.

Did you know:

• She wouldn’t curse as child. (Way different from now)
• She used to carry a bible in her backpack everyday.
• She went to college and never went to a single class because she fell in love with a drug dealer.
• She’s from Detroit? (I thought she was from Ohio…)

On the flipside, her life makes for a good story but not a good experience. A lot of time stories like these makes people believe you have to have a terrible life to be validated in the Urban Lit industry.

I would go as far as to say that Urban Fiction is like that rap game: you have to be hood to be good.

In that regard, Ms. Stringer is like my boy O’Shea Jackson. Who? Oh, my bad… Ice Cube. He had both parents, grew up in a middle class household, gang free, blah blah blah… But look at him now. One of the kinds of gangster rap. Go figure.

I digress. It’s good to know that Vickie Stringer is human like the rest of us and has turned lemons to a big tall glass of million dollar lemonade.

The Mari Walker interview can be found here.

Urban Book Source sent me Never As Good As the First Time, and I thought it was going to be just another romance story. I was wrong as couple be since this book was anything but typical.

After UBS published my review of the book, Mari Walker actually sent them some kind words in my regards. Fast forwards a couple of weeks, I interviewed this very talented author.

Ms Walker is a very giving person, and you will be able to tell that in the interview. This informative interview couple help many authors who desire the inside track on getting published by one of the major publishing companies.

Read Mari Walker’s interview. Come back and tell me what you think.