JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Eyone Williams, author of Secrets Never Die
(DC Bookdiva Publications)

Secrets Never Die is the first of a few novels that I have written that are based on true stories. I pride myself on writing real street fiction and urban tales.

The storyline for Secrets came from a female friend of mine that went through some very trying events in her life where she lost everything close to her and had to find a way to make it, living one day at a time in the D.C. streets.

The main character’s name is Niya, she young, smart, and at some times naïve. However, she finds herself caught up in a world where no one is to be trusted and even the one or two people she thinks she can trust turn out to be questionable. The weight of the world is on her shoulders as she is forced to take care of herself while trying to get her mother out of prison and find the person that murdered her sister.

Over all, this book is about a young girl growing into woman and learning everything the hard way along the way. No one is to be trusted freely.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Secrets Never Die?

Eyone Williams: Honestly, I have a friend that really went through most of the things that became the plot of this novel. The things that she told me about her life were amazing. I couldn’t believe that this young female went through such things and lived to talk about it. If I didn’t know her personally, I wouldn’t have believed any of it.

At first, she wanted me to write a true story about her life so she could share her pain with other young women that had been through the same things growing up in the hood, but after some thought I decided that it would be better to fictionalize the events. It was too many serious situations in her story to talk about and some of them had a lot to do with things that would send people to prison.

I didn’t want anything to do with putting people’s real names and real life crimes out in the open. In the end, I still used a lot of her story to craft Secrets Never Die.

JP: What sets Secrets Never Die apart from other books in the same genre?

EW: The most notable aspect of Secrets Never Die that sets it apart is the fact that it is mostly a true story—with minor changes. It is a street story that shows just how foul things can be when one is caught up in a game that has no rules or limits. I really did my best to tell a real street story with a lesson in it that couldn’t be overlooked at all.

I did it in memory of a friend of mine. It’s a book that means a lot to me because of the way the story really unfolded in real life. Aside from those things, Secrets Never Die is also a story that does not focus on the cars, clothes, diamonds, drug dealers and those sorts of things, although those things are in the story. The story is really about the things the main character goes through as she grows into a woman alone in a mean world where trust in not something a person can extend to all.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to Secrets Never Die getting out to the public?

EW: Working hard. Rewriting the story until it was exactly the way I wanted it. Making the right moves with my publisher to give the book the best chances in this crowded market they we are in. Also, not being afraid to try something different as far as my writing goes. Not one of my books has the same plot.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish Secrets Never Die?

EW: My writing process is like losing weight, for lack of a better term. I work at my projects until they are done, until they are just the way I want them. Sometimes I write a little bit some days; sometimes I lock in and knock out chapters at a time. As far as Secrets Never Die, there was a lot going on in my life at the time so this book took about a year to finish and perfect.

JP: What’s next for Eyone Williams?

EW: At the moment, I’m focused on my next book, Money Ain’t Everything. I will be releasing that under my company, Fast Lane Entertainment. It should be ready for all urban fiction readers by this summer. I’m feeling real good about Money Ain’t Everything because it should open up a lot of doors for me as a writer.

It is another story based on a true and before I put it in novel form a few people were already checking for the movie rights behind the story so I see big things coming with the next book as well.

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I’m nominated for Male Author of The Year by AAMBC, to vote please visit http://bit.ly/zHBG99

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