JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Stephanie Acon, author of Escape from a Nightmare
(Priority Books Publications)
Escape From A Nightmare is a most-unique blend of love, hiphop, and premonition.
The star character, Gabriana, is not your average chick. She is a dreamer. She has dreams of living the good life on her terms, and then, there are the “other” dreams – the disturbing omens that come while sleeping, whispering the conflict of everything. That’s a problem…and that’s where it all starts.
Not only does the dreams crack at her sanity, they also speak horrible warnings concerning her newly famed boyfriend Scholar; the one whom she worships like he’s a god. She literally bows down to this guy. He is her everything – until Gabriana meets Khali Simone.
That’s when the rollercoaster jumps the track, and it gets crazy. This is a beautiful and closely real urban story about one woman’s heartache behind the dark side of love, hiphop, fear and premonition – and ultimately the fate behind it all! This book is a page-turner for everyone.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Escape From A Nightmare?
Stephanie Acon: I wrote this book specifically as a means to reach my generation – the lost generation. When I was out here as a female emcee (known as NinaRaw), the hiphop world proved itself dark on many levels.
It was alluring at first, but I soon learned that the machine behind the motion wouldn’t and couldn’t allow me the freedom to speak on certain things. But on the literary field, I can be ALL the way honest and inspire the same urban group that many urban authors mimic but refuse to inspire. I came here to plant jewels.
JP: What sets Escape From A Nightmare apart from other books in the same genre?
SA: I write urban outside the cliché. My book, and books going forward, are written realistically, but cleverly. I’ve dealt first hand in an urban world where the scenes and situations can get so perplexing, complex, intriguing, and real – that I HAVE to represent and represent right!
I write to display hidden and forgotten messages. I want to bring a point to the chaos. Many urban books sit in a box because they lack truth. Our urban ways of living are much more diverse than drug-selling and sex.
We go through so much more than the majority of what’s being categorized as street literature today. I’m ready to bring the real game forward under the disguise of “fiction”. Escape from a Nightmare is written in a way that already has my readers’ questioning that very term. That’s how much they relate – both females and males.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to Escape From A Nightmare getting out to the public?
SA: Prayer…faith…truth…and word-of-mouth!
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish Escape From A Nightmare?
S.A: It didn’t take me too long to get the draft done. I’m a writer, and while dealing in the music game, I learned from a friend to just “write”. That’s the way to prevent writer’s block and procrastination is to just go hard. Then go back and tweek it, craft it and buff it.
It only took me about two months to get the story out but a few additional ones to meditate on the point of it all. From there, I rebuilt it – right.
JP: What’s next for Stephanie Acon?
SA: The sequel, Secret Sky! This first book has such a crazy cliff-hanger, I had to go in and work the second book. It’s going to blow and shock some minds for sure. But it’s a very beautiful story, guaranteed to plant seeds within the readers.
I’m looking forward to sharing more of my writing. Again, my goal and objective is to reach the lost generation. You know, help them step outside of themselves to see themselves.
http://facebook.com/StephanieAcon
http://twitter.com/1queen1nina
First, I frequent Facebook, but I want to warn people regarding my Twitter account. I just started using the network, so I’m a little behind. I’m an “in” the streets kinda girl…not in a bad way, but a positive one. I like being amongst the people, so I was kinda slow to the Twitter thing, but I’m definitely checking for it now.
Also, I can’t stress it enough. I left the hiphop world to come here into literature for a few reasons. I love to read, and I love to write. But mostly, I’m here to drop jewels and stomp the stigma on the urban fiction genre lacking substance. There should definitely be something special to each experience we encounter, even reading, so I take that seriously. I pray everyone welcomes me.
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