JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
LaToya S. Watkins, author of In Love With Losers
(Peace In The Storm Publishing)

Women just love men. Some like ’em tall, others like ’em buff; some women even like ’em chubby. As three friends, Zora, Donisha, and Chelle, journey through life, each fights her own battle of love. Yet, they must all wrestle with determining whether or not the men in their lives are losers or lovers; real or fake.

As the truth slowly reveals itself to each of them, they start to realize what love and relationships are really made of.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write In Love With Losers?

LaToya S. Watkins: A male cousin and I were sitting around complaining about how women get caught up in relationships that they should have seen as bad from the very beginning. I always call this particular cousin a male chauvinist (because he is). Of course, he made his normal negative comments about women.

But this night as he commented, and the wheels turned in my head. I was surprised when he looked at me seriously and said, “You should write something to help them see what they doing wrong, Toy.” I completed the first three chapters that night.

JP: What sets In Love With Losers apart from other novels that deal with the difficulties of finding that perfect, stable relationship?

LW: The characters we meet in In Love with Losers step outside of themselves and are forced to take responsibility for the faults and failures their relationships. This pushes them to evolve into beings who are more capable of understanding others. They become more accepting the reality of their situations, which enables them to move forward and love in a manner acceptable to God, themselves and their significant others.

In a sense the characters have to go through the process of weeding out the inner-loser in order to decide if the lovers they have chosen are losers as well.

JP: In In Love With Losers, which character is most like you? And why?

LW: I can identify with all of the characters in the story. I think I just so happened to drop remnants of myself in each of them. If forced to choose, I would say that Zora is most like me. Zora is strong but human. She is wounded but knows where to go to gain strength and forgiveness for herself and others.

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

LW: I always laugh first when asked about my writing process. Usually a good stall to make up one. No, really, I just write. I write about what I’m feeling or what I’m thinking and even what I’m seeing. The best time for writing–for me–is when I’m at the peak of a certain emotion. If I’m real pissed off, I can write. If I’m real happy or sad, I write. So when it comes to defining my writing process, I guess there really isn’t a way to, but even having no identifiable process-is a process, right?

I started In Love with Losers in May of 2005 and had it put in my stack of “things I’m done with” by August of the same year because my summer break from school was up. Once I get started on a piece, I don’t breathe until it’s done. But in my mind, it’s never done. I’m always going back and making adjustments, so I guess, even though “I’m done” with In Love with Losers, I’ll never really finish it.

JP: What’s next for LaToya S. Watkins?

LW: Well, I’m working on a few novels for Peace in the Storm. I’m extremely excited about my next novel, Dorothy, which will be released in early 2010. I am falling in love with the characters in this story, and I’ve actually shed a few tears for them myself.

I am also working on about a dozen short stories right now, which are becoming my little masterpieces in their own rights. I can see God’s hand in my work more and more as each day passes. I know that one day I will disappear from what he creates completely. If I continue to follow him, I go from here is wherever he takes me.

http://www.latoyaswatkins.com/
http://www.myspace.com/latoyaswatkins

LaToya is also the author of the blog, Loser Chronicles. These chronicles are designed as a sort of personal how-to-guide for women (and men) to spot and recognize the losers in their lives.

http://latoyaswatkins.wordpress.com/

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html

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

Please click on the banners to learn more about each JoeyPinkney.com sponsor:

You need to advertise with JoeyPinkney.com for just $20! (For more information click here.)