JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Imani True and Dreama Skye, author of Strawberries, Stilettos, and Steam
(NCM Publishing)

Strawberries, Stilettos, and Steam is collection of hot erotic stories. These stories are for the grown and sexy – a little something for the people who are willing to explore their fantasies or at last peak through the cracked door. Just understand, a quick peak may not be enough.

If you’re bold enough to step inside, you’ll watch as Leilani gives the private dance of her life. You’re cheer for Nika as she gets her candle blown out on her birthday. You’ll find out the consequences of disturbing the peace. And You’ll satisfy your craving for “Chocolate”.

This is just a taste of what’s on the other side of the door. So, go hard, dive in and get yourself wet with Dreama Skye and Imani True!

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Strawberries, Stilettos, and Steam?

Dreama Skye: I was writing erotic themed poetry and Imani was writing erotic themed blogs. It was kind of like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups…Chocolate meets Peanut Butter. It just fit. We decided to combine our different writing styles together. Inspiration came from books I’ve read with same type of themed stories. We wanted our book to be different.

Imani True: I was writing erotic blogs and Dreama was writing erotic-themed poetry. We decided to mix our styles, and the result was Strawberries, Stilettos, and Steam. It turned out to be the perfect combination. My inspiration came from reading erotic novels and realizing there was so much room for different themes, stories, characters and scenarios. I wanted our stories to fill some of that void.

JP: Are all of the stories in Strawberries, Stilettos, and Steam collaborations, or are there some that are solo efforts? How did you go about deciding which way to go with the different stories?

IT: Most of the stories are collaborations. My solo stories are “In the Judge’s Chambers” and “Turned On, Turned Out”. I think the collaborations are our best work. Sometimes, we knew going in how we wanted the story to go. But most of the time, the characters, their personalities and the situations determined where the stories went. Other times, we decided the direction of the story as we were writing it.

DS: Most of the stories are collaborations, there a few that are solo projects. My solo story is “The Best Chocolate I’ve Ever Tasted”. Sometimes, we have an idea how we intend for the story to go. Other times, the characters lead us in the direction they want to go. There are times, that we have no clue until we’re half way done writing the story.

JP: As a newly published author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Strawberries, Stilettos, and Steam getting out to the public?

DS: My story “The Closer” is going to be featured in the erotic collection Between The Sheets published by Delphine Publications. The book release date is a week before ours. The keys to our success so far would be networking, determination, timing and having an awesome publishing company. Shout out to NCM Publishing.

IT: My story ‘Just a F–k’ will be included in Between the Sheets published by Delphine Publications. This book is set for release about a week before our book hits stores. The keys to our success so far have been networking, confidence, being in the right place at the right time and having an experienced publisher, Ms. Ni’cola Mitchell, who believes in our work as much as we do.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Strawberries, Stilettos, and Steam?

IT: Generally when I write, I can start with an idea, a character name or a title. Then I brainstorm about it, maybe even actually start writing it. For this book, I would run it past Dreama, who jumped right in. The Internet played a big part in how we wrote this book. We used Skype, Yahoo, text messages and phone conversations to work on the stories. On most of the collaborations, we worked line-by-line until the story was done. For the rest, we sent the story back and forth via e-mail until it was finished. I don’t have a certain routine, time or place to write as part of my “process”; I write in the car, in bed, by the pool, wherever. I’m always jotting something down that could eventually be my next book.

DS: I lock the door to my bedroom, lay in my bed and listen to some old school slow jams. Sometimes I write in my car, at the park or on my lunch break. Basically, any spare time that I have available. I really don’t have a set writing step-by-step process. Everything starts as just an idea. At some point, the plot kicks in. My characters get their personalities, and I work on the twist in no particular order. With the collaborations, the writing process was basically the same. Once we had the idea, we used Yahoo, Skype, e-mail, and texting to work and complete it. It took us about a year to finish this collaboration.

JP: What’s next for you?

DS: I’m currently working on a book of erotic poetry and a novel called Caught Up. It is a story of a threesome gone bad. Imani and I are also working on another collection of steamy stories. We don’t have a title yet.

IT: I’m working on a novel entitled A Little Sumthin’ Sumthin’, which should be done in early 2011, and a crime mystery series, which is still untitled. I’m also working on several screenplays and webisodes with my son, who is studying Film/Film Production in college. And of course, Dreama and I are gearing up for a second collaboration. We want to have that ready sometime late next year.

www.ncmpublishing.com
www.trueskyemedia.com

truerotica.blogspot.com
http://skyeserotichaven.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/ImaniTrue
www.facebook.com/dreamaskye

www.twitter.com/dreamaskye1
www.twitter.com/ImaniTrue
www.twitter.com/trueskyemedia

www.myspace.com/whoistrue
www.myspace.com/trueskyemedia

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