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

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… The Pathfinder, author of Fair Game

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JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
The Pathfinder, author of Fair Game
(Babygirl Publishing)


the pathfinder fair game on amazondotcom

Nineteen-year-old Dana Estick flees her privileged lifestyle for the bright lights and big city promises of New York in search of a new beginning and to bury a past filled with physical and sexual violence. What she finds instead is the beginning of a downward spiral filled with recruitment on the internet, drugs, sex for hire, and betrayal at every turn.

Confronted with her own sexuality, trust, friendship, love, remorse, death and her inevitable confrontation with her molester after five long years, Dana’s decision making will expose the readers to her plight and the side of a young woman battling a myriad of inner demons.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Fair Game?

The Pathfinder: The main character Dana was initially one of three characters from a short story I had written several years ago. I was looking through some of my old materials when I picked it up and began reading. There was something about Dana and some of the choices that she made which had a lasting impression on me.

The many risks she took in order to survive displayed a lot of qualities which so many of us wouldn’t dare take. I wanted to show that sometimes when we are confronted with adversity depending on how we approach it, it can make us stronger if we have a plan and stick to it. So I thought, why not give her a voice. Her story was compelling. Her character had a lot of potential for growth.

Once I began writing I couldn’t stop. I can’t explain to you how that felt but it was a wonderful feeling. I also wanted to highlight the fact that sexual abuse is something that some of us do not like to talk about, especially when the perpetrator is a family member.

The hurt, pain, shame and guilt that come with this stigma have ruined many young lives. However, I wanted to not only highlight the mind set of the victim but the perpetrator as well. Dana’s journey is one that I felt needed to be heard, but I wanted to do it with an urban twist.

JP: What sets Fair Game apart from other novels that feature a “good girl gone bad”?

TP: She wasn’t complacent in her “good girl gone bad” situation. She understood that it would take some time before she could ever become the person she was before the abuse. Most “good girls gone bad” aren’t from a prominent family where both parents are well educated and a staple within the community. Most urban fiction books that I have read the main characters are from low income backgrounds and uneducated.

I wanted to take the genre in a different direction. I wanted to bring both worlds together and see how it would play out. Moreover, I wanted the readers get their monies worth. This is not a novel that glorifies any of the situations and circumstances that Dana experienced, but the novel is a means by which numerous lessons can be learned.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Fair Game getting out to the public?

TP: Marketing, word of mouth, talking to people and going to places and putting up with situations that you wouldn’t normally put up with. It’s about getting on the grind twenty-four eight.

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

TP: First, I decide on who my main character is, and then I go from there. Every other character or characters are given life depending on where my main character takes me.

I always allow my main character to dictate each sentence, paragraph and page based on what the other characters bring to the table. Honestly, I completed Fair Game in a month, maybe that was an aberration. I don’t know but I wrote every day for a month.

JP: What’s next for The Pathfinder?

TP: Well, my latest release Deadly Consequences will be out later this year. I recently completed the sequel to Fair Game entitled False Pretense. I also have three completed manuscripts, A Rainy Affair, Cruel Shame and City of No Return.

I self-published Fair Game, and I guess I will do the same for Deadly Consequences. Hopefully, the readers will love my work as I continue to grow. I see great things ahead in 2009 and beyond. My faith and belief in God are what keeps me going.

http://www.myspace.com/babygirlpublishing
http://www.blackplanet.com/booksta

I can be contacted at (718) 724-3766 and babygpub@aol.com

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

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

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Jeremy Williams, author of Detroit’s Black Bottom Community

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JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Jeremy Williams, author of Detroit’s Black Bottom Community
(Arcadia Publishing)


jeremy williams detroits black bottom community on amazondotcom

Local historian Jeremy Williams combines careful research with archived photographs for an insightful look at Black Bottom’s early beginnings, its racial transformation, the building of a socioeconomically solvent community through various processes of institution building and networking, and its ultimate demise and the dislocation of its residents.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Detroit’s Black Bottom Community?

Jeremy Williams: It started many years ago when, as a child growing up in Detroit, I often heard stories about the glorious days Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. I really took interest in learning about the history of this small black community when a friend took me to an Eastside neighborhood bar called Black Bottom.

When I entered college several years later, I took a Detroit African American history seminar with Dr. Richard Thomas where the idea took shape and form. I eventually entered graduate school hoping to turn my research essay into an MA thesis.

JP: What sets Detroit’s Black Bottom Community apart from other biographies of African-American communities of the past?

JW: I think it connects the history of black American struggle to the larger one (even at the diaspora level) rather than separate. There were many Black Bottom communities throughout the nation which were connected by origin, racial and economic structural similarities.

One of the interesting things I learned about Detroit’s Black Bottom community is that originally the name had nothing to do with color. The name was given by French settlers in relation to its rich soil, just as the many other Black Bottom communities were given their names under the same circumstances. That’s why I decided to dedicate the first chapter to the community’s first inhabitants – European immigrants.

The thing that might perhaps set this book aside from others is that it is the first book on Detroit’s Black Bottom community, and it is loaded with great archival photos depicting black and white life in Black Bottom. There certainly are other books on Detroit history that looks at black Detroit history from various angles. Richard Thomas, Elaine Latzman, Herbert Metoyer and Peggy Moore, Ernest Borden, Thomas Sugrue, and many others have written extensively on Detroit’s black history.

I think David M. Katzman’s book, Before the Ghetto: Black Detroit in the Nineteenth Century is perhaps the first critical work on black Detroit history, but I could be wrong. All of these books looked at the black community as a whole rather than study Black Bottom as a black community. I think that is what sets this book aside from other attempts.

JP: What did you learn as a historian that made you a better author while writing Detroit’s Black Bottom Community?

JW: Well, my old college professor, Dr. Christine Daniels, once told me, “If you want to understand history, follow the money.” To really understand what happened to Black Bottom and the constant shifts and changes occurring in the lives of those living in Black Bottom, I had to understand the complex economic interplay between race and politics. Even the violent Jim Crow racism that the Black Bottom community experienced was somehow inextricably tied to money.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Detroit’s Black Bottom Community?

JW: I researched this book for about 3-4 months. I wrote it in about 3 months. After spending about 2 months in Detroit conducting research, I went to Arizona and began the arduous task of sifting through notes, images, and notepad drafts. I found a nice little café, loaded up my laptop and went to work.

JP: What’s next for Jeremy Williams?

JW: I am going to finish writing a historical novel titled A Tunica Sunset, and I’m working on another novel tentatively titled, Denicio Barbier is a Lesbian. And I’m going to go to San Francisco!

http://www.pushnevahda.com/books.html

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5 minutes 5 questions with, african american author, african american authors, african american book, african american books, amazon.com, interview, street lit, urban fiction, urban lit

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… B. Lisa, author of You Know Better

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JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
B. Lisa, author of You Know Better
(Xilbris)


b lisa you know better on amazondotcom

B. Lisa takes you into the lives of four people dealing with the ups and downs in their relationships and friendships caused by love, lies and lust. You Know Better is not a typical story but a story anyone could relate too. It is written similar to Waiting to Exhale, where friendships and relationships are put to the test  and mixed with elements reminiscent of Afterburn where true love is found.

You Know Better is an erotica mixed with urban street lit that tells the story of four friends who are either being mistreated for loving, scared to love, vows never to love and who wants to share their love. Because of the betrayal, deception and unfaithfulness that are going on in their relationships and friendships, will they have a chance at love?

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write You Know Better?

B. Lisa: The inspiration came from a challenge from my little sister to write a better story than the book we both were reading. The idea that sparked You Know Better came from a conversation between a friend and I. My friend was going through some craziness with her boyfriend, and the things she was allowing him to do to her made me think she should have known better.

JP: Why did you decide to mix erotica, urban lit and romance to tell the story in You Know Better?

BL: After reading many erotica books and many urban lit books, I wanted my first book to have all the key ingredients to makes me want to read it in a day. With the combination of erotica, hot and steamy sexy sex scenes mixed with urban lit, very explicit and strong language, to me, it’s the perfect recipe of an interesting page-turner.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to You Know Better getting out to the public?

BL: Besides word of mouth, book signings, family and friends, facebook, myspace and twitter, people like you, Mr. Pinkney, that offers interviews on the author and their books.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish You Know Better?

BL: This started out as a joint venture between my little sister and me. I was to start it, and she was to finish it. I end up writing the entire story. Because I was working two jobs, I wrote You Know Better in about nine months.

My writing process consists of watching people, listening to everyday conversations and writing down phrases of what people are saying if I think it is something I may want to put in my book. I also listen to music and just using my imagination.

JP: Whats next for B. Lisa?

BL: I’m in the process of finishing up my third novel, One Love One Addiction: The Alicia Coles Story. I’m having my second novel, La Femme Nikki, professionally edited. I’m still promoting my debut novel, You Know Better.

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

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