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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… Ladessa, author of I Can’t Live Without My Radio

June 22, 2009 Joey Pinkney 2 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Ladessa, author of I Can’t Live Without My Radio
(What She Say Publications)

Brooklyn “Willow” Waters is a small town girl from Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, with big, big dreams. The world beyond her hometown is bigger and badder than she’d ever imagined – a place where souls are traded for fame and fortune as quickly as you can turn the dial on the radio.

I Can’t Live Without My Radio traces a young woman’s journey from her sheltered life as the daughter of a preacher to the lure of the Big City, where it’s sometimes hard to tell the difference between glitter and pure gold.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write I Can’t Live Without My Radio?

Ladessa: I have wanted to be on the radio since I was a little girl. It was so amazing to me that one person could speak to so many people yet still have a one on one conversation with an individual. I procrastinated for years with my dream of being on the radio. Finally, I took a broadcasting class and hosted my first show August of 2003 on KBCS 91.3 FM, a public radio station.

After years of hosting my overnight show and getting “Willow” my radio alter ego ready for the next level, I couldn’t break into the commercial radio market to save my life. When the lack of response from commercial stations got to me, I finally said to myself, “LaDessa ‘aka Willow’, you can be on whatever radio station in whatever top rated market you want to be in! You can be the voice everyone tunes into everyday with no one telling you no or ignoring your air check and resume. All you have to do is sit down and make it happen.”

With that being said, I took my freelance writing experience and my God given talent as a writer and brought Willow to life, through this fictional tale. Despite still not being on commercial radio, just as the title of my books says, I Can’t Live Without My Radio and because of this book I won’t ever have to.

JP: What sets I Can’t Live Without My Radio apart from other novels in its genre?

L: I Can’t Live Without My Radio is a hybrid of sorts. There’s the coming of age aspect. There’s the beauty and a thug element to the main character’s romance experiences. Because I grew up in church, there was no way I could leave out the Lord chastising those He Loves.

I could be wrong because the Urban Lit genre is growing by leaps and bounds, but I don’t think a story about the radio business has been told like this before. While the story is being told by a “newbie” and the reader will clearly know I worked hard to set myself apart from other novelists, I made sure not to disrespect the fundamentals of the genre.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to I Can’t Live Without My Radio getting out to the public?

L: Trusting and believing I had a story people would enjoy. Watching, learning and listening to the people who are the best at whatever they are/were the best at. I’ve worked in various facets of the entertainment industry. I have had my taste of its bitterness, but I never let it rob me of my passion and drive.

This book has been the perfect vehicle to use everything I’ve learned about the art of self-promotion. Now that the book is out, I plan on using the “Tech N9ne” blue print. If anyone ever wanted to know how to make “that thing” pop, whatever that thing is for you, research this man’s hustle. One word says it all: “FLAWLESS!”

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish I Can’t Live Without My Radio?

L: The first thing I did to start the process was, I asked my two daughters to believe that my shushing them and isolating myself for hours at a time would turn out to be something they could be proud of. I made notes about everything. I incorporated some of my experiences from the business, and I learned how to see a story in the smallest encounter.

Last but not least, I am a Seventies baby, so I’m from the school of writing out your rough draft on notebook paper before typing it out. (Thanks Sis. Green, my sixth grade teacher at Zion Preparatory Academy; she’s the only teacher I knew that graded your rough drafts.) From start to finish, this book took me about a year.

JP: What’s next for LaDessa?

L: I’m still hoping to land a gig in commercial radio. In the meantime, I will continue to try my hand at writing books. Right now, I am working my on next novel Don’t Touch That Dial.

http://www.whatshesay.com/

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Cherilyn Vonn, author of Weekly Wisdom: 52 Ways to Live a More Fulfilled Life

June 17, 2009 Joey Pinkney

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Cherilyn Vonn, author of Weekly Wisdom: 52 Ways to Live a More Fulfilled Life
(Aminia Books and Publishing)

Weekly Wisdom acts as a mirror reflecting those images that we often avoid looking at because it reveals the truth about ourselves that we often try to disguise or avoid all together. As women we are taught to be strong and never reveal our insecurities are fears and yet in trying to be everything to everyone we often loose ourselves in the process. This book serves as the foundational platform that allows you to be stress free, drama free and debt free in order for you to live your life to the fullest by:

Drawing you desire
Getting unplugged
Releasing your past

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Weekly Wisdom: 52 Ways to Live a More Fulfilled Life?

Cherilyn Vonn: Pain was the guiding force that paved way for the conception of Weekly Wisdom. I finally got to a point in my life where I was “sick and tired of being sick and tired!” I knew GOD had a larger vision of me than I had for myself. I found myself on an emotional merry-go-round of complacency, failed relationships and negativity. It was honestly draining the life out of me.

I believe we all come to a point in our lives in which we question our existence. For me I knew there had to be more to life than merely working a j.o.b. that I hated, living paycheck to paycheck and spiritually exhausted! I started a journey of understanding and forgiveness that allowed me the opportunity to find myself and embrace the essence of who I am and not the illusion of others perception of who I was or should be.

I released self-loathing for self-love, self-sabotage for self-acceptance and self-criticism for self-knowledge and forgiveness. I wanted to help others. Weekly Wisdom is a life-enrichment tool that has information and insight for everyone who are ready to release the shackles and be free!

JP: What sets Weekly Wisdom apart from other motivational books?

CV: Motivation, ugh! I always cringe when I hear that word. Weekly Wisdom is not a motivational book. Let me explain my reasoning; to me motivation is based off your feelings and emotions. We’ve all been to a seminar or read a book that motivated us to change. Just as quickly as the motivation came, it quickly left. Nine times out of 10, the urge to change did too.

Weekly Wisdom: 52 Ways to Live a More Fulfilled Life is a blueprint for making the necessary changes to be stress free, debt free and drama free. It’s an owner’s manual that never loses its value or importance. The wisdom embedded throughout this book is what I have used to transform my life as well as others who have used these very principles and are now reaping the benefits of living authentically and purposefully!

Many “motivational” books out today offer a sugar rush without giving you the “meat and potatoes” that will sustain the readers. It’s like eating dessert without the main course. This book is the dinner that gives you the valuable nutrients needed to live a healthy life.

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

CV: Commitment, faith, discipline and obedience!

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

CV: Writing the book didn’t take very long at all. The real work, or shall I say process, started after I wrote the book. There’s more to writing a book of any genre than merely putting pen to paper. There is a lot of behind the scene work that is involved. My writing process was simply making a commitment to write no less than a chapter a day!

There were a few days the chapters sort of spilled forth effortlessly, and there where other times that a chapter was all I could do. My commitment was no less than a chapter a day. Within a month’s time, I had completed my first draft of Weekly Wisdom!

JP: What’s next for Cherilyn Vonn?

CV: I am currently working on my second book entitled Unveiling the Mask as well as a few other projects in which I am contributing too. Weekly Wisdom has become a movement which includes workshops and tele-seminars as well as coaching process! I’m thankful for the favorable responses since it’s release!

http://www.unveilingthemask.com/
http://www.myspace.com/unveilingthemask
http://www.twitter.com/cherilynvonn
http://www.facebook.com/
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/unveilingthemask

Featured in the St. Louis American “People on the Move” section of the newspaper.

Featured as the Inspire Me Today Luminary, an honor that has been given to many of the motivational gurus such as Les Brown, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and other inspirational greats. Go to: http://www.inspiremetoday.com/ and enter my name Cherilyn Vonn

Featured on the television show: Pathways to Healing as 2008 Most Phenomenal Woman

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… LaToya S. Watkins, author of In Love With Losers

June 15, 2009 Joey Pinkney 2 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
LaToya S. Watkins, author of In Love With Losers
(Peace In The Storm Publishing)

Women just love men. Some like ’em tall, others like ’em buff; some women even like ’em chubby. As three friends, Zora, Donisha, and Chelle, journey through life, each fights her own battle of love. Yet, they must all wrestle with determining whether or not the men in their lives are losers or lovers; real or fake.

As the truth slowly reveals itself to each of them, they start to realize what love and relationships are really made of.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write In Love With Losers?

LaToya S. Watkins: A male cousin and I were sitting around complaining about how women get caught up in relationships that they should have seen as bad from the very beginning. I always call this particular cousin a male chauvinist (because he is). Of course, he made his normal negative comments about women.

But this night as he commented, and the wheels turned in my head. I was surprised when he looked at me seriously and said, “You should write something to help them see what they doing wrong, Toy.” I completed the first three chapters that night.

JP: What sets In Love With Losers apart from other novels that deal with the difficulties of finding that perfect, stable relationship?

LW: The characters we meet in In Love with Losers step outside of themselves and are forced to take responsibility for the faults and failures their relationships. This pushes them to evolve into beings who are more capable of understanding others. They become more accepting the reality of their situations, which enables them to move forward and love in a manner acceptable to God, themselves and their significant others.

In a sense the characters have to go through the process of weeding out the inner-loser in order to decide if the lovers they have chosen are losers as well.

JP: In In Love With Losers, which character is most like you? And why?

LW: I can identify with all of the characters in the story. I think I just so happened to drop remnants of myself in each of them. If forced to choose, I would say that Zora is most like me. Zora is strong but human. She is wounded but knows where to go to gain strength and forgiveness for herself and others.

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

LW: I always laugh first when asked about my writing process. Usually a good stall to make up one. No, really, I just write. I write about what I’m feeling or what I’m thinking and even what I’m seeing. The best time for writing–for me–is when I’m at the peak of a certain emotion. If I’m real pissed off, I can write. If I’m real happy or sad, I write. So when it comes to defining my writing process, I guess there really isn’t a way to, but even having no identifiable process-is a process, right?

I started In Love with Losers in May of 2005 and had it put in my stack of “things I’m done with” by August of the same year because my summer break from school was up. Once I get started on a piece, I don’t breathe until it’s done. But in my mind, it’s never done. I’m always going back and making adjustments, so I guess, even though “I’m done” with In Love with Losers, I’ll never really finish it.

JP: What’s next for LaToya S. Watkins?

LW: Well, I’m working on a few novels for Peace in the Storm. I’m extremely excited about my next novel, Dorothy, which will be released in early 2010. I am falling in love with the characters in this story, and I’ve actually shed a few tears for them myself.

I am also working on about a dozen short stories right now, which are becoming my little masterpieces in their own rights. I can see God’s hand in my work more and more as each day passes. I know that one day I will disappear from what he creates completely. If I continue to follow him, I go from here is wherever he takes me.

http://www.latoyaswatkins.com/
http://www.myspace.com/latoyaswatkins

LaToya is also the author of the blog, Loser Chronicles. These chronicles are designed as a sort of personal how-to-guide for women (and men) to spot and recognize the losers in their lives.

http://latoyaswatkins.wordpress.com/

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