Category Archives: 5 minutes 5 questions with

5 minutes 5 questions with, african american author, african american authors, african american book, african american books

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Vanessa Richardson, author of Love Found Me

29 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Vanessa Richardson, author of Love Found Me
(GSH Publishing)

(One of the first ten people to comment on Vanessa Richardson’s author interview will win a FREE copy of Love Found Me from JoeyPinkney.com)

Mike Montgomery once lived the American dream: gainfully employed, beautiful home and a wonderful loving wife. His source of strength was the fact he grew up in a loving family with unbreakable faith. Mike’s faith would one day be shaken after losing the love of his life in an unexpected tragedy. Mike thought he would never love again until he meets Sheila Lawson. Everything about Sheila made him want to love again. Could he risk his heart again?

Sheila Lawson, a woman’s health advocate, was strong and independent. Yet something was missing in her life. Immersing herself in her work, she vowed off any relationships. Sheila would find her self-made decree shaken when she meets tall, dark and handsome Mike Montgomery. There is an evil lurking in the shadows. Mike and Sheila will have to unite to overcome evil forces trying to keep them apart. Will their love be enough to see them through the testing of their faith?

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to wrote Love Found Me?

Vanessa Richardson: The idea to write Love Found Me came when I was writing one of my many short stories. The concept of “The New World Order” came to my mind, and the characters develop from that. I found they would not leave me alone. They wanted their stories told, and I obliged them. The story of how these wonderful characters are affected in some way by this phenomenal theory—and them overcoming their own personal turmoil was born.

JP: What sets Love Found Me apart from other novels in its genre?

VR: Love Found Me is filled with many ingredients that will lead to a zesty taste into the hearts and mind of readers. This is an inspirational suspense with elements of love lost, found, and redemption–with some mystical elements to it.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Love Found Me getting out to the public?

VR: God and faith. Faith to write it. Faith to promote it. Faith readers will love it. It is s given that word of mouth is the best of advertisements. Also, having a Plan B is a phenomenal plan to have! Many times our Plan As can go awry. Plan B is simply being prepared for the unexpected.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Love Found Me?

VR: I am an early bird. It is in the early morning, I find that I am able to write clearly and freely. It took me a year and a half to complete, Love Found Me. Due to my busy schedule and life unexpected interruptions. Hopefully, Love Lifted Me, the second in the series, will not take as long.

JP: What’s next for Vanessa Richardson?

VR: In addition to my being an author, I am also an inspirational playwright. I am currently working on the stage production version of Love Found Me tentatively set to be performed in December 2010. We are currently in production with God Knows My Heart! Please, check out the Youtube clip on my website http://www.vanessarichardson.net/. In addition, I am also frantically working on the next installment of my “Love” series titled Love Lifted Me to be released in 2010. This time, the wait won’t be as long.

http://www.vanessarichardson.net/
http://thecertainones.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/soulful_words

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html.

Please click on the banners to learn more about each JoeyPinkney.com sponsor:










You need to advertise with JoeyPinkney.com! (Click here for more information.)
5 minutes 5 questions with, african american author, african american authors, african american book, african american books, amazon.com, interview

Book Review – Begonia Brown: A Philadelphia Story by Julia Press Simmons

8 Comments

Begonia Brown: A Philadelphia Story
by Julia Press Simmons
(Queen Midas Books)
5 out of 5 Stars

Julia Press Simmons has really hit her literary stride with “Begonia Brown”, the second installment in her “A Philadelphia Story” series. Pulling no punches, Simmons has skillfully penned a heart-wrenching saga following the lives of Begonia Brown (age 17) and her two sisters Violet (age 16) and Daisy (age 6). The souls of these girls are as beautiful as the flowers they are named after, but they are planted in a North Philadelphia neighborhood that offers very little to nurture their souls.

The girls’ mother, Doreen, is present physically, but has lost the mental and spiritual battle to a crack addiction is primary to her existence. Shortly after the girls’ grandmother passes away, Begonia finds herself in the center of utter chaos: her mother is another ghost of the streets, Violet is naive to the streets and Daisy is a baby that contends with juvenile diabetes and a lack of medical supplies. Begonia takes the initiative to do absolutely any- and everything to keep her sisters together and alive, even if it means kicking her mother out of the abandoned house they live in. That’s enough to make a grown man cry or a young girl grow up quick and “make it happen”.

“Begonia Brown” is written in a way that any reader will be emotionally drained as they share in Begonia’s struggle. Although Begonia is an artist at heart, her skills as a painter takes a backseat to the skills she uses to survive in her poverty-stricken Philadelphia neighborhood. From robbing and stealing to performing sexual favors, Begonia reluctantly buries her morals to the side and conceals her regrets in a thick soup of justifications, liquor and cigarettes. The way Begonia deals with the curve balls that life throws at the Brown family had me at times forgetting that Begonia is 17-years-old and not 34.

Violet is highly intelligent, and she is not satisfied with being impoverished. Only one year younger than Begonia, Violet is still innocent. Violet’s story intensifies at just the right point in the story to balance out Begonia’s one-woman-show. Violet goes from books to cooking crack cocaine for the neighborhood crook. She finds herself trying to balance the line between getting her tail beat by Begonia and losing what she feels is the love of her life. Violet’s love for the “corner boy” Kyle makes her blind and sheds light on how good girls can find themselves with the worst people and the worst situations and stay.

Simmons fine-tuned Begonia Brown, both as a book and as a character. To say there is never a dull moment is an understatement. Simmons grabs the reader by the hand with a painful grip and never gives the reader a chance to pull away. “Begonia Brown” transcends Urban Literature in a way that paints a realistic portrayal of a struggle that is universal and brutally honest.

Instead of giving the reader luxury cars, couture from international designers and an infinite supply of drug money, Simmons gives you bra straps, bathroom beat-downs and sexual predators who think nothing of paying minors for instant gratification. What makes “Begonia Brown” such a compelling read is Simmons’ ability to show the vulgarities of inner-city struggles without being vulgar.

[include file=current-advertisers.html]

5 minutes 5 questions with, african american authors, african american book, african american books, amazon.com, interview

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Marian L. Thomas, author of Color Me Jazzmyne

30 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Marian L. Thomas, author of Color Me Jazzmyne
(LB Publishing)

(One of the first ten people to comment on Marian L. Thomas’ author interview will win a FREE copy of Color Me Jazzmyne from JoeyPinkney.com)

Color Me Jazzmyne is the tale of Naya Mona. Raped by her father and abused by her friends, Naya is struggling not only to live, but she must learn to live for herself. She is in fact, a reflection of many women today who have been a victim of abuse, and life in general.

The spiral of events that becomes her life also becomes her voice as she steps onto the stage as Jazzmyne-the jazz singer. Naya Mona takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster filled with drama, romance and the passion to push past the pain.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Color Me Jazzmyne?

Marian L. Thomas: There are many aspects of the main character that are a reflection of my life and the lives of so many others. It is the struggles and journeys of the women I have known that created the desire to develop the character and personality of Naya Mona.

JP: Incest is present but, for the most part, swept under the rug in the African American community. Why did you choose to reveal the emotional dysfunction of this situation?

MLT: Reality is something we all must face. Reality is a part of our every day lives. Whether we choose to stare at it or deny it exist, the problem is still there. The topics in Color Me Jazzmyne represent the reality of our society.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Color Me Jazzmyne getting out to the public?

MLT: Persistence, even when tears are shed. Realizing that there will be ups and downs, but the strength of your belief in your story carries you through. Knowing that what you have to offer is something that any woman can read and enjoy.

When you begin to write, you believe in yourself. When you publish your heart you begin to believe in your story.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Color Me Jazzmyne?

MLT: I drafted my first expression of Naya Mona when I was in high school, referring to it as What Color is Jazzmyne. Twenty years later I finally stared at a finished version that I refer to now as Color Me Jazzmyne.

My process was more focused on creating a story that was a reflection of reality. This meant that I would re-read each paragraph and chapter before proceeding to write the next. If I didn’t believe it could be real—no one else would.

JP: What’s next for Marian L. Thomas?

MLT: I am currently working on my second novel which I hope to have released by the summer of 2010.

http://www.facebook.com/MLT.ColorMeJazzmyne
http://www.marianlthomas.com
http://www.lbpublishingco.com
info@marianlthomas.com

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html.

Please click on the banners to learn more about each JoeyPinkney.com sponsor:











You need to advertise with JoeyPinkney.com! (Click here for more information.)