JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Vanna B, author of Fancy
(Hope Street Publishing)
Maribel “Fancy” Alvarez is a trendy socialite who has it all: enviable looks, popularity and a closet full of designer threads. She lives an amazing life. At least that’s what she’s led everyone to believe. Fancy goes to great lengths to keep up a façade of perfection, but when a series of unfortunate events rattles her world, everything begins to fall apart.
She’s always been taught to use what she’s got to get what she wants. Deep down inside, Fancy knows there is truly more to her than just a beautiful face and perfect body. Will she abandon the superficial lifestyle she’s come to know or succumb to the temptation of the almighty dollar?
Fancy chronicles the life of a woman torn between the person she is and the person she wants to be. This iconic story will resonate with readers who, like Fancy, have battled issues within, as well as outside influences, while struggling to find themselves amidst a world of chaos.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Fancy?
Vanna B.: I fashioned the premise of Fancy and character Fancy around the concept of people being fraudulent and trying to depict themselves as someone they are not. Everyone has that one friend who likes to project themself as being popular, successful, happy and affluent even though that is very far from the truth.
We also see this going on every day on the various social networking sites. My main character, Fancy, is definitely one of those people who wears a façade to mask the real her. We see two totally different and contrasting images of her. She maintains a very glamorous image in public, but behind closed doors we get to see exactly who she really is.
JP: What sets Fancy apart from other books in the same genre?
VB: One of the things that sets Fancy apart from other urban fiction books is that there is a message in it. I wanted to make sure readers were not only entertained and fell in love with the story, but that they also took a meaningful and empowering message from it.
Another thing that sets it apart is that you won’t find it ridden with typos and errors. That’s probably the #1 complaint I hear about urban books, so I definitely wanted to raise the bar as far as quality is concerned.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to Fancy getting out to the public?
VB: I just try to get as much publicity as I possibly can. Any magazine, radio show or website that wants to feature Fancy or interview me, I will work with, because no matter how large or small their audience may be, I’m still reaching people I otherwise may not have had the opportunity to reach.
Another thing that is very important is getting out and talking to people. Nothing beats that face-to-face interaction. The more I am out and about, networking, mingling and spreading the word about Fancy, the more books I sell.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish Fancy?
VB: I do most of my writing at night after my son goes to bed. I like it very quiet, so I don’t have anything distracting me. It took me about a year to finish Fancy because I was also writing and recording music at the same time. But once I started writing the book, there was no turning back because there is way no way I was going to let the time and effort I had already put into it go to waste!
JP: What’s next for Vanna B.?
VB: Because of the crazy ending, Fancy readers are anxiously awaiting its sequel, so I’m working on that to ensure it’s just as great as the first one. The Fancy sequel will be the last installment of the series, and then I’ll move on to the next project. Stay tuned!
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Thank you to all my readers and supporters. I appreciate the love you’ve been showing me! And thank you, Joey, for the interview.
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