JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Tiffany Christina Lewis, author of Inside Out
(Steamy Trails Publishing)
“Inside Out” is about 3 things: A delusional killer; a determined, handsome, outstanding detective who is on the killers trail; and the sexy, strong and smart woman who brings him peace. All of that culminates in a fast paced, slightly gruesome tale of attraction and dissection.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write “Inside Out”?
Tiffany Christina Lewis: The inspiration for “Inside Out” just fell on me. Literally, I just woke up one day and started to write this book. Michael Taylor just came to me. I’m a natural daydreamer. Because Michael is based on a celebrity, my mind just created this form of that celebrity. I molded the world in the book around the way I thought he would behave and how I wanted him to behave.
JP: What sets “Inside Out” apart from other books in the same genre?
TCL: My main character is African American! That makes me excited! I’m not blaming anyone, but the stereotypes surrounding Black people in crime fiction are not all pretty. The stereotypes surrounding black characters in many genres are negative, actually. My characters, regardless of ethnicity, break stereotypes. Leaders in “Inside Out” are Black and Hispanic. My Black characters are smart, studious, willing to try new things, honest, responsible and etc.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to “Inside Out” getting out to the public?
TCL: The keys to my success are hard work mostly. Ask anyone close to me. They will tell you I bleed on my keyboard. I put everything into my stories: writing, editing, editing and editing. Aside from that, I know what I want and I go for it. I develop positive relationships and use that to my advantage. After I’ve created great literature, people are motivated to work with me and support me as an author.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish “Inside Out”?
TCL: My writing process used to be to just jam it out, burning up my keyboard, but in higher education I learned the value of an outline! I know, that must be a foreign concept to some authors, but outlines keep you on track. I use them to keep notes and what not. My memory is not that great, so I like to put concepts on paper in the form of outlines and notes. It took me about 2 or 3 months to write “Inside Out“. It just flowed out of me, seriously. That is not a common timeline for me.
JP: What’s next for Tiffany Christina Lewis?
TCL: I’m going to start a miniseries on my blog. That’s exciting because I’ve never done anything like that and people often ask me if I’d like to write for TV, and I would. Writing a series is kind of like writing a soap opera. While I do that, I’m going to be working on Michael Taylor 2 (which is only a working title for the 2nd in the series), which will be a full novel, and an unrelated Novella which I may or may not release before MT2. Gotta see how much the fans crave the sequel!
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