Category Archives: african american book

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… Stacey-Deanne, author of Melody

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Stacey-Deanne, author of Melody
(Strebor Books)


stacey-deanne headshot melody book cover

(click on the pictures to see this book on Amazon.com)

Full of forbidden desire and unwavering strength in the face of danger, Melody is a chilling tale that will leave readers breathless as they navigate all the plot twists and turns. Struggling to survive until the end, the diverse cast of characters will be left questioning their loyalties, their passions and how far they might be willing to go to protect the ones they love.

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

Stacey-Deanne: For some reason, I wanted to write a sexy thriller. I kept getting the vision of a strong, young woman who wanted to save her sister from something tragic. I soon developed the idea where Melody would begin to distrust her sister, Sarah’s latest boyfriend. At first I had it where Melody simply disliked him, but since I wanted this to be a thriller, my ideas heightened and I turned the boyfriend into a challenging menace. It became a race of good versus evil with Melody as the good and Keith (Sarah’s boyfriend) as the ultimate evil. But that wasn’t enough. I wanted something else to go on despite the main story. Soon, the second plot of the book, the serial rapist was born. From there my ideas naturally flew and I was hooked LOL.

JP: What sets Melody apart from other murder/mystery novels currently on the market?

SD: A lot! I think that most people who read it will agree that Melody is unlike any other novel ever written because of its distinction alone. Melody is one of few mysteries on the urban market these days. It is also one of few whose main character is a Latina. It is one of very few stories that can be defined in many different genres including, romance, mystery, thriller, suspense, women’s fiction, detective and crime fiction and chick lit. A big difference is the variety of spicy characters.

Melody has a racially diverse range of characters. The main characters, Melody and her sister Sarah are biracial. They are half-Latina and half-white. Melody also focuses on an interracial love affair between the two detectives in the story, Brianna and Steven. She’s black and he’s white. Keith and Lucas, Sarah and Melody’s love interests are white. There’s a minor character that’s gay. Another difference is that Melody is a two-plot story. You get two stories in one. While Melody races to save Sarah from Keith’s clutches, there is a serial rapist in the city preying on black women (two who are main characters). As a thriller, Melody holds numerous twists. There’s a lot going on in this book.

JP: As a best selling author, what did you learn from previous novels that you were able to apply to Melody?

SD: I’ve learned that I enjoy putting minority characters in positions they aren’t usually shown in. I strive to make my characters stand out and not be wooden based on stereotypes. My books are for everyone and what I’ve learned is that I enjoy writing a novel with diverse subjects and that it turns out, audiences appreciate this as well. Comparing this to my previous work showed me how great it works out to have such a diverse story as Melody. It fits in many genres and has characters of so many different races that its audience is endless.

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

SD: I’m a fast writer unless something gets in the way. I first wrote Melody eleven years ago so I don’t remember just how long it took (laughing), but usually it takes me around three to four months to write a book and probably a month and a half to edit it. But it all depends on how things are going and whether my process is interrupted or not.

JP: What’s next for Stacy-Deanne?

SD: Many, many things! I have finished many novels and plan to publish them. I am excited that I’ve begun a series that stars the detectives from Melody. I already have two books from the series completed and I will be starting a third soon. I’ve also got other novels I’m editing. If things work out as planned then my next release will be the first installment of my cop series. I am very excited about this. I fell in love with the officers in Melody and there is so much I wanted to do with them.

Website link: http://www.stacy-deanne.net
Myspace link: http://www.myspace.com/stacydeanne

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P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joeyDOTpinkneyATgmailDOTcom or myspace.com/joeyreviews

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 Claude Beauregard, author of The African Rises

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Claude M. Beauregard, author of The African Rises
(AuthorHouse)


claude beauregard head shot the african rises book cover

(Click on the pictures to see this book on Amazon.com)

The African Rises is a fictional story drawing on past and present historic material. It takes a unique approach to examining how power is used by a minority to maintain their control over the vast resources of Africa in the post modern world. It does so using a modern interpretation of the trilogy of Ausar, Aset and Heru sometimes referred to as the Ausarian drama and the struggle for power between Ausar and his evil Brother Set in ancient Egypt.

The African Rises expands on the trilogy and uses it as a base to tell the story of an African male living in the United States who returns to Africa seeking to unify the continent. The story details the challenges faced by this individual to achieve that goal and the attempts by foreign powers to stop him.

The main character Sekhem must also deal with his own internal conflict and the great power he possesses on his own quest for spiritual freedom. The only question is will he complete his task in time and defeat a great and ancient evil that has also been watching his movements and waiting for a time to reveal its ultimate horror for humankind?

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write The African Rises?

Claude M. Beauregard: I got the idea for the book while learning how to read Hieroglyphs. I was always fascinated by the culture of Nuba and Kemet. But a lot of people especially African Americans seem uninterested in learning about this history as a whole. So I thought why not spruce it up and make it more interesting by incorporating this information in the form of an adventure story while also including some of the modern problems facing the African Diaspora.

JP: What sets The African Rises apart from other novels in its genre?

CB: It takes information from an ancient history and presents it in a form that as more appealing than simply reading dry facts. That can become boring very quickly. It also incorporates a lot of the religious beliefs of those ancient cultures.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to The African Rises getting out to the public?

CB: Just being tenacious and not giving up.

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

CB: I really don’t have a process. I kinda of let the story flow based on how I wanted to present the facts that the story was based upon. I know from experience that a lot of readers have had problems with chapter 3 of the book. It’s so in your face. We don’t like hearing the truth about how we screwed ourselves over.

JP: What’s next for Claude M. Beauregard?

CB: Business success in both marketing my patents and commercial real estate.

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P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joeyDOTpinkneyATgmailDOTcom or myspace.com/joeyreviews

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

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With LJ Miller, author of This Game Has NO Loyalty

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Questions, 5 Minutes With…
L. Miller, author of This Game Has NO Loyalty
(Pilot Publishing Group)


lj miller headshot lj miller book cover

(click on the pictures to see this book on Amazon.com)

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write This Game Has NO Loyalty?

L.J. Miller: The idea to write This Game Has NO Loyalty came to me when my first daughter was born. I was in the game deep before her birth. At the time I was reckless because I was only responsible for one life…my own. While she was in the womb, I had a revelation. I decided I didn’t want my seed to see me as a hustler, visit me in jail, or look at my remains in a casket… I’d seen too many of my comrades go through that.

My inspiration to write This Game Has NO Loyalty came from the brutal murder of one of my closest friends. I was making my exit out of the game and was turning my life around in hopes of becoming successful legally. I planned on bringing my true homeboys into the fold. During this time I received a phone call that he was missing. Once they found his body, I heard so many different stories about how and why he was murdered that I knew I couldn’t trust anyone around me… There was so much disloyalty. I knew throughout my days of hustling that loyalty was hard to come by and usually camouflaged as friendship. I realized it more through the death of my homie.

JP: What sets This Game Has NO Loyalty apart from other urban fiction novels where a drug dealer gets caught up in the game?

LM: I think what initially sets my story apart from the typical ‘drug dealer getting caught up’ story is that my story is real. The characters are not invented they are real people that you identify with if you are from this environment (or know people who are). This story takes you into when the crack epidemic came into full swing. This is when every young black male found out they could make large sums of money if they sold the product. You don’t get the glorification of selling drugs in this book. You actually learn subliminally as you’re being entertained and kept glued to the pages by the continuous action and nonstop drama.

The story even stays consistent with the old school hustle mentality, lingo, gadgets, and apparel. If you are a reader who remembers these times, the story takes you down memory lane. If you are not from this era and don’t remember, it is written so vividly you will be drawn into that era. For instance, in the late 80’s everyone didn’t have cell phones. Beepers were how you were contacted. You had to use a pay phone to return calls.

The fact that the characters are not inflated with delusions of grandeur is another important factor that separates this book from other urban stories. The people in my novel are making money but not Bentley money. They aren’t flying off to exotic islands in their G4 where a passport and ID is required to gain access into the country. Finally, this novel also weaves in characters that are directly related to the main character and show how and why they are relevant and important in the story. It will definitely leave you wanting more.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to This Game Has NO Loyalty getting out to the public?

LM: As an author, my keys to the success of This Game Has NO Loyalty is to get the respect of the streets by making the book available to all street vendors nationwide. This book is written about the streets with unadulterated truth. It’s only fitting that it receives the thumbs up from the fans from the streets.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish This Game Has NO Loyalty?

LM: To be honest, I started this book years ago but never finished it. When I picked it back up it took me about 6 – 8 months to have it publishing ready.

JP: What’s next for L.J. Miller?

LM: I have the sequel to This Game Has NO Loyalty finished. It should be released by the end of the year or beginning of next year. Right behind that, I have another story that should show my maturity as a writer-a novel that is very different but also real in its content. Then the final part of This Game Has NO Loyalty will be dropped the following year. During the release of the sequel and the third novel, I will be promoting literacy by having educational seminars in different cities for the youth. I will offer creative writing classes so the youth can learn to utilize their brain power for something other than reaching the next level on a video game.

www.myspace.com/blackandwrite

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P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joeyDOTpinkneyATgmailDOTcom or myspace.com/joeyreviews