Category Archives: african american authors

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… Saleem Little, author of Black Girl, White World: Crossing the Line

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Saleem Little, author of Black Girl, White World: Crossing the Line
(Mitanni Publishing)

Black Girl, White World is one woman’s quest for an identity in a world in which she feels like a stranger; a world in which, as Toni Morrison put it, “American meant white and everyone else had to hyphenate.”

Dahlia is exposed to injustices at a very young age; from the false imprisonment of her father, to the slap on the wrist received by a man convicted of molesting twelve boys and girls at the shelter she was forced to reside in after losing her mother and father.

By the time she reaches college, she fully understands racial discrimination and the effects of it and finds herself in the middle of a racial riot on her college campus. In the end, Dahlia’s tale is one of self-awakening as she struggles to turn her tumultuous black and white world into one of color, full of love and understanding.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write “Black Girl, White World: Crossing the Line”?

Saleem Little:  I was inspired to write Black Girl, White World from an internal disdain for the trivial things that men deem worthy of warring or fighting over. Also the realization that most prejudice, and most misunderstandings, stem from ignorance. More often than not people seem unable to escape the matrix that conditions their ideas and systematically helps to form their habits and coerces their decision-making. Continue reading 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Saleem Little, author of Black Girl, White World: Crossing the Line →

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… Vern E. Smith, author of The Jones Men

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Vern E. Smith, author of The Jones Men
(Rosarium Publishing)

Set in 1974, Lennie Jack and Joe Red, two ambitious young heroin dealers launch a bold plan to control Detroit’s drug trade with a daring robbery of the biggest kingpin in town, ex-cop Willis McDaniel.

With the clock ticking on an all-out war, Lennie Jack and Joe Red race to set up their takeover plan while trying to stay a step ahead of McDaniel’s deadly hunters and a squad of police detectives lead by Big Al Lewis. The book unfolds in cinematic chapters at an astonishing pace that places the reader at the center of the action.

“A large accomplishment in the art of fiction.” — New York Times Book Review.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write “The Jones Men”?

Vern E. Smith: The Jones Men grew out of my work as a journalist. I was a bureau chief and national correspondent for Newsweek, and before that a newspaper reporter in California.

I reported a story for the magazine that turned into a piece called “Detroit’s Heroin Subculture,” in which I first used the term “jones men” to describe the players in that world. Continue reading 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Vern E. Smith, author of The Jones Men →

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Nicole Dunlap, author of Shattered Imperfections (Shaw Family Saga Book 4, The Finale)

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JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Nicole Dunlap, author of Shattered Imperfections (Shaw Family Saga Book 4, The Finale)

Nobody is perfect. Through the scandalous family lies that bind them all together, the Shaw women have triumphed. Four generations of women have tackled ups and downs. Now, Annette is perfectly comfortable with her life. Charlene has tasted the bittersweet notes of success. Raven is preparing for the wedding of a century and a life rich in love afterward. Beautiful, young Royael has all the pleasures of a princess…

While Dallas is in uproar over a gruesome rape-homicide, a lead Detective transforms into the ultimate stalker. A hitman lurks nearby. And death will surely come. The list of those wanting vengeance has reached its peak, but the Bible says that “God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.”

Take one last roller coaster ride with the Shaw and Devereux families. Will there be rest for these souls?

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write “Shattered Imperfections”?

Nicole Dunlap: The entire series is based on dysfunctional families that I’ve counseled, bringing up the controversies of young teens dealing with depression, neglectful mothers, and more. As a family saga, these stories take on a mother-daughter relationship over the better part of a lifetime. Continue reading 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Nicole Dunlap, author of Shattered Imperfections (Shaw Family Saga Book 4, The Finale) →