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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… M. Raye Turner, author of Pretty Monster

April 30, 2009 Joey Pinkney 9 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
M. Raye Turner, author of Pretty Monster
(Faith Works Production, LLC)

Experience tears and laughter walking through the life and times of Tangie Waters, a resilient daddy’s girl who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. Pretty Monster is an attention-grabbing tale of a young woman’s determination to survive that leaves one questioning their own maturity.

Despite her monstrous ego, Tangie finds humility through her faith in God and the wisdom of her grandparents as she struggles to be at peace while overcoming constant setbacks, family woes, and the complexities of being a single mother pursuing higher education. Pretty Monster is powerfully portrayed story told with raw honesty and love.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Pretty Monster? Is Tangie Waters you?

M. Raye Turner: Pretty Monster fell into my spirit as I was on the way to buy a cup of coffee one morning. The introduction just came to me: “I want to paint you a picture and write you a song about the love below…” I rushed home to write that down. The flow didn’t stop until I had outlined a whole book that had no title. I didn’t decide or plan to write a book.

It was just the next logical step with the purge that I began to share with others. I eventually bought into the idea to go for it and turned it into a tribute to my deceased parents.

Tangie was created to be a rare breed with a masculine appeal to male readers and from the daddy’s girl perspective. Misunderstood and envied by most women who can’t relate to her deep faith and free spirit tendencies. Tangie could very well reflect my alter ego and the twin I wished for but never had.Also, in retrospect I give some credit to Outkast and the movie Idlewild as it sparked something-something.

JP: What sets Pretty Monster apart from other novels in its genre where the protagonist is a single mother struggling with survival in the inner-city?

MRT: It’s succinct and lacks product placement/free marketing… It’s suburban, country, faith driven, intellectual and raw as hell. My readers say its real and that they can see and feel the movements in the literature. They laugh out loud, tears up and get mad based on the way the story pulls them into the characters.

Tangie is never a victim of her circumstances; she has book and street smarts. She knows what she wants and knows how to get it. She learns from the mistakes of others as well as hers and keeps moving.It has been compared to Lackawanna Blues.

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

MRT: Time and chance, Mr. Pickney. Word-of-mouth and public speaking opportunities have been awesome venues with positively powerful results. I have been blessed by people God has placed in my path that want to share the light and actually push me to the front of the stage and out of my comfort zone behind stage.

I was encouraged to publish my mental purge, harassed into self-publishing and delighted by the way Pretty Monster has begun to create its own following, interest and success.

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

MRT: (Smile) I like a quiet workspace or a place of beauty (a beach or nature trails). I only write when I feel like it which means I might jump up at 2 or 3am and write until I get it all out of my head. I may not revisit that piece for days or months. I started Pretty Monster in October and finished it in January. The story took 3 months at best.

The revision process came as people showed interest in publishing my work. Months and months later, I found myself making notes to add comedy sketches, Gullah vernacular and the things I love about Chicago to the emerging list of revisions, time lines and the themes of the book.

JP: What’s next for M. Raye Turner?

MRT: I have 3 books outlined. I don’t feel compelled or inspired to move on those at this time. My focus is to take Pretty Monster to the next level, which to me means stage and film plays.

www.mrayeturner.com
www.myspace.com/prettymonster2008

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Book Review: From the Soul of a Woman by Valorie N. Parker

April 26, 2009 Joey Pinkney 1 Comment

From the Soul of a Woman: Love Shouldn’t Hurt
Valorie N. Parker
(Vision Press Publishing)
4 out of 5 Stars

Valerie N. Parker’s From the Soul of a Woman is much more than a woman escaping abuse. It was much more than the pain she endured. This book details Parker’s journey into and out of a major trial in her life, her marriage to an abusive preacher. She details how her growth is Jesus while still a child gave her the strength and direction to come out on the other side with a prosperous career and four beautiful children.

Parker first heard the voice of the Lord at about five years old. She didn’t know where it had come from; her cousin had to tell the source. Later in her teenage years, God would again visit her while she was sinking in a drunken depression. The shock of the Lord’s presence woke her from her stupor.

Again, the Lord spoke She shared her joy in the Lord and was able to claim her little brother as her first convert based on faith. Parker spent the next few years doing the Lord’s work and getting closer to God. It would be years before she was actually Saved. At 19, she found the Lord while anxious to leave a New Year’s service.

Her next stage in life was 19 years of marriage. Parker knew the preacher who would become her husband. He grew up near her grandparents. Their marital bliss came to an abrupt halt when he slapped her in the face in front of another couple who went to her church. From there, she endured verbal and physical abuse while giving birth to and raising four children. While fronting like the perfect Christian couple at church, Parker fell into a deep depression that would have taken the unbeliever.

Instead of succumbing to her husband’s ignorant ways, she was able to overcome the fear and doubt that she had for her own abilities. Although she had the gift to preach and minister into the souls of man, she chose to stay in her husband’s shadows.

That same voice that had been with her since kindergarten gave her will to strike out on her own and make a better life for her children. A chance meeting with Les Brown allowed her to use her God-given gift to the fullest, and From the Soul of a Woman glows because her testimony.

Valerie N. Parker has provided a sermon that will summon your soul to the summit of sweet victory. From the Soul of a Woman is not about being abused; it’s about how Jesus will help you turn that trial into a triumphant testimony. This book should be required reading for anyone who is truly ready “Let Go and Let God”.

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Darnyelle Jervey, author of If You Understood My Past, You Would Understand My Praise

April 24, 2009 Joey Pinkney

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Darnyelle Jervey, author of If You Understood My Past, You Would Understand My Praise
(IOE Publications)

When you look back over your life, do you get caught up in praise or hang your head in shame? Have you been there, done that and gotten the souvenir t-shirt for all of the mistakes that you’ve made? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired of getting the short end of the “love” stick?

Welcome to my world. Trenton and I had a tumultuous relationship. I thought that he was all I deserved and that he owed me the life I wanted because I had made sacrifices to be with him. It became crystal clear that he wasn’t ready to give me what he owed me when 3 months before our wedding he dropped a bomb on me that blew a whole in my world.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write If You Understood My Past, You Would Understand My Praise?

Darnyelle Jervey: My inspiration for If You Understood My Past is life and a mandate from God that it was time to tell my story. My debut is a memoir based on a true story. You know, we all have a story, but we are not all ready to share it. I became transparent and real for my readers on purpose.

I had reached my breaking point of being sick and tired of being sick and tired after my fiancÃ©’s confession 3 months before our wedding. Sadly, I had watched this movie play in relationship after relationship and enough was enough. I realized that you cannot conquer what you are not willing to confront, so I had to go back to my past and deal with my issues. When I decided to conquer my past, I confirmed my future.

I found my praise (self-love, self-worth, confidence, passion, abundance) and decided to share my story in a vividly authentic memoir that would read like a well written novel and hinder readers from being able to put it down.

JP: What sets If You Understood My Past apart from other novels in its genre?

DJ: I am different, uniquely talented and called to empower others. With that alone, I and my literary works are set apart. If You Understood My Past is the truth; the names of the characters have been changed to protect the not so innocent (smile). For anyone who wants to read a real life story of courage and resilience, my book is the one. Its back drop is the relationship that changed my life, but it is more about how I transformed than it will ever be about the catalyst for the change. What happens in the story will keep the reader hooked until the last word has been read.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to If You Understood My Past getting out to the public?

DJ: I have an extensive background in marketing and I am using my skills to the fullest to market myself. I sought advice and assistance from people who were where I want to be, and I have threw fear away and went for it. I wrote an incredible book, and I believe in it and my success. I am aligning myself for the growth that I know is on the way.

I entered the literary world in the fall of 2008, and I have already sold over 3,000 copies of my book. That makes me very proud and excited. The keys are simple: be authentic and original, be willing to take risks, don’t compare yourself to others, run your own race, maximize exposure opportunities by speaking, radio interviews, etc. establish a presence on the internet.

And most importantly, dream so big that only God can make it happen.

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

DJ: As a writer, I make it my business to write something everyday. A lot of my books come straight from my true source of inspiration: God. He speaks to me in dreams. I have authored four books so far, mostly self-help/empowerment works that have not yet been widely released but are available on my website.

When I am writing, I sit at my laptop with appropriate mood music for whatever I am writing. I started If You Understood My Past in April of 08 after asking myself , “Why not me, why not now?” When I couldn’t think of a good reason not to just do it, I went to work and it was finished in late June 08 (Yes, just two and a half months later.) It was released in September 08. I have recently started my first fiction novel, A Quick Work, which I am projecting for completion in late 09. It will probably release in early 2010.

JP: What’s next for Darnyelle Jervey?

DJ: What’s next for me? Well, I am an empowerment speaker, so my goals and books are centered around my company mission: to Define the Incredible in You. I am working on four books simultaneously, three of which are self-help/empowering in nature and one fiction book, A Quick Work.

I have plans to write another fiction work sometime next year. I am traveling to speak at several conferences in 2009 as well as I have my own empowerment series in Delaware aptly entitled, The Incredible You.

http://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com/
http://www.twitter.com/darnyellespeaks

If You Understood My Past, You Would Understand My Praise was nominated for Best Book by a Delaware Author in 2008.

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