JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Zonie Felder, author of January Jackson and Friends:The Premiere
(iUniverse)
Beautiful women can—and will—stoop to ugly acts in the name of love, lust, and power.
In the face of unspeakable erotic betrayal, no one is safe. Behold how lust and passion can quickly cloud judgment—and how wrong choices will forever change a friendship. These lifelong friends will soon learn that beauty is truly only skin deep as the true ugliness of their souls is revealed by the most horrific of acts and emotions.
As young girls, January, Jasmine, Monica, Charlene, and Terry vowed to be friends forever. As teens, their emerging passions began to test the bonds of their friendship. As adults, lust, deception, and treachery cause their lives to come crashing down. Can their friendship survive the ultimate betrayal?
Their passion for life is what connected them as friends, but now this same passion threatens to break them apart. When the dust settles, who will be left standing and able to pick up the pieces? Can friendship triumph over betrayal?
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write January Jackson and Friends:The Premiere?
Zonie Felder: Well, the Big three-five was quickly approaching, and I started to reflect on my life. I started to question some of my life choices as well as my relationships. Am I living my life to the fullest or have I just chosen to settle? I had an awesome childhood, loving parents, girlfriends, a husband, a house, a cat and a dog, and was basically living the American dream.
Unfortunately, living the American dream meant having debt…a whole lot of debt and working two jobs to attempt to maintain this dream. Everybody I knew, including myself, was going through something. Then, one day at work, I saw a co-worker sneaking to read an erotic novel. If caught, she could have gotten written up or possibly even fired.
This got my wheels to turning, she would risk losing her job for a book? Humm…maybe I’m not doing what I suppose to be doing. Maybe I should be looking into this writing thing.
JP: What sets January Jackson and Friends:The Premiere apart from other books in the same genre?
ZF: My novel is Erotic Fiction with a much stronger storyline and substance than reader’s are accustomed to. My book is much more than sizzling sex scenes. It’s dramatic, thought-provoking, and suspenseful.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to January Jackson and Friends:The Premiere getting out to the public?
ZF: My upbringing and the lessons I learned from my parents developed a strong sense of self-determination in me. This was crucial in my creation and completion of my first work. With a limited knowledge of the industry, I decided to self-publish through iUniverse.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish January Jackson and Friends:The Premiere?
ZF: First, I came up with character names. Then I began assigning personality traits to these particular names. At that point the characters began taking on a life of their own, they would literally speak to me in my dreams. I would have to get up and continue writing. And oh, dare I not forget the glasses of wine and old school music that I would play on my tape player.
It took me 8 months to write my novel and another year to edit it, so in total eighteen months. I didn’t have the funds to dish out for a content editor, so I revised it myself. I let a childhood friend who was an English major review my initial edition while my husband constantly reviewed my revised editions.
JP: What’s next for Zonie Felder?
ZF: Well, I just started writing the second installment of my trilogy. I hope to have it out by Christmas. This summer, I plan to attend some book fairs and continue to hold as many book signings as I can handle. I believe my novel would be perfect for a movie or cable television series, so I’m looking to shop the idea around.
http://zoniefelder.authorsxpress.com
http://twitter.com/ZonieFelder
This book has hot sex scenes, great dialogue, and characters that anyone can relate to. You’ll definitely get your money’s worth in purchasing my novel. It’s available online in paperback, hardcover, and e-Book edition.
~ Zonie Felder
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