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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Tamara Angela Grant, author of The Cooling Board

December 24, 2008 Joey Pinkney 1 Comment

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Tamara Angel Grant, author of The Cooling Board
(Peace in the Storm Publishing)

Only one thing could drag the worldly Jhonnie Bell Devereaux back to her birthplace of Regal City, Louisiana. When she hears news of the impending death of her mother, Jhonnie Bell rushes to her mother’s side. In the process, finds herself getting reacquainted with the small town, rural life on the bayou of the hometown she anxiously left behind years ago.

LuluBell Darling Devereaux’s passing leaves her family without the matriarch they all look to for advice and guidance. Staying true to her role as the family’s glue, Mrs. ‘Bell, even in death, won’t let the grave get in the way of her job of holding her family together. She has left each immediate family member a letter that details her words of wisdom, but with one catch…no one can read her Last Will and Testament until they heed the admonishments from her last words to each of them.

Shock, joy and panic encompass the family’s emotions. But does all hell break loose in the interim? Will Mrs. ‘Bell’s letters bring the family together as she intends or will it push them all further apart?

There’s a thin line between love and hate. Tamara Angela Grant pens an intriguing and heartwarming tale of a family who loves each other despite the fact that they may not always like each other.

Enchanting and enlightening, The Cooling Board is an entertaining and strikingly clever, witty, and honest look at the way a family copes with the devastating loss of a loved one.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write The Cooling Board?

Tamara Angela Grant: My grandfather passed away at 90 and mom passed away from Leukemia in 2006, six months apart. The way that family reacted to handling the funeral and just dealing with the death of a loved one was amazing to me. Some became territorial. Some began to act like someone owed them something. Some began showing their greed. At any rate, the funeral made some relationships and lack there of apparent. I began talking to people about my experience. It came to light that many people have bizarre or crazy things happen with their families at the death of a loved one, so I decided to write about it.

JP: What is a “cooling board”, and what is its significance to the title of this book?

TAG: A cooling board is the slab that you would be laid out on when you passed away back in the day. Think pre-morgue time in the country or in rural areas where they couldn’t necessarily prepare a body for burial the way you do now. The body was kept on a cooling slab in the barn until the ground unfroze from the winter or until a proper burial could be arranged. The book is about the death of the matriarch in the Darling-Devereaux family. It’s a catchy title that makes you want to know more about the story.

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

TAG: I self-published my first book and The Cooling Board has found a home with Peace in the Storm publishing. This time around, I’ll be doing plenty of marketing and have the luxury of having a publishing company have my back and give me a little extra push!

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? What did you learn from the experience of getting Promises Made, Promises Kept finished and published that you implemented when writing The Cooling Board?

TAG: I write as the creativity allows me. When it’s not flowing, it’s not flowing, and I don’t push it. I try to write something daily whether it’s on the laptop or with pen and paper. I’m much more savvy this time around. I’m prepared to set up pre-press for The Cooling Board and begin promoting before the book comes out which is a luxury that I didn’t have when I published Promises Made, Promise Kept.

JP: What’s next for Tamara Angela Grant?

TAG: I’m looking forward to promoting The Cooling Board in 2009 and continuing to build my business Especially Yours Events, which coordinates literary events and provides literary publicist services to new authors. I’m working on some short stories and building the concept for my third book, Charm City.

Website links:

www.tamaraangelagrant.com
www.eventsbyespeciallyyours.com
www.tamaragrant.blogspot.com

Myspace link:

www.myspace.com/maraangel

Awards:

Nomination for Publicist of the Year with AAMBC book club
Nomination for Best Newcomer with Southern Allure book club

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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 lit, urban/street lit

5 Mintues, 5 Questions With… Angel Mechelle, author of Another Man’s Husband

December 18, 2008 Joey Pinkney

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Angel Mechelle, author of Another Woman’s Husband
(Shannon Holmes Communication Media)

Bree Michaels is young, sexy, single and raising two children alone. As if being single was not bad enough, Bree has a problem: she misses having that special someone in her life. It’s been a while, but Bree isn’t desperate or even looking for love when things jump off.

She never wanted to be someone’s slide and definitely never wanted to be the other woman . In Bree’s mind, she was a catch, wifey material. It was when she met Dre, her fine and married neighbor when all her self-control and morals flew out the window.

Bree surprises herself by her willingness to compromise her soul to be with Dre. Things get hectic when Dre’s wife Neecy begins to suspect the true nature of the friendship between Bree and Dre. Neecy goes crazy when she learns the truth. Neecy vows not to let Bree break up her family or take her man not without a fight.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Another Woman’s Husband?

Angel Mechelle: Another Woman’s Husband is inspired by actual events. I knew that many women were in similar situations, and I wanted to share this story.

JP: How is novel different from other urban fiction that deal with adulterous situations in the ‘hood?

AM: I feel that Another Woman’s Husband is written from such a real perspective. The story connects with most readers on a personal level. They can relate in some way. Readers feel like they are actually reading about someone they know. Another Woman’s Husband is not just a story…it is someone’s life.

JP: How did you hook up with Shannon Holmes publishing company?

AM: I hooked up with Shannon’s company through MySpace. He was calling for submissions to the Anthology Hood2Hood. I submitted a short story and, to my amazement, it was chosen. He also read a little about the book on my page and was interested in reading the entire manuscript. Thankfully, he enjoyed it and offered to publish it. That was a complete blessing that hanged my life.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Another Woman’s Husband?

AM: I really try to write the most at night. That is when I feel most relaxed. Sometimes I write a little during downtime at work, and I absolutely have to have music! I usually pop in a CD according to my mood, slide on the headphones and let the story come. Lyrics inspire me tremendously. Another Woman’s Husband took a little over a year to complete. I re-read and re-wrote that story over five hundred times…easy.

JP: What’s next for Angel Mechelle?

AM: Ohmygoodness! So much. I’m excited about the future. I have a short story featured in the upcoming Anthology Flirt. I’m also working on a couple of projects right now related to Another Woman’s Husband. Women wanted a sequel, and that is definitely coming. Before I do that, I’m working on sort of a prequel. You wanted to know all about Bree and her life and what made her make the choices she did, and I’m going to tell you. Readers want to know Neecy’s side of the story too. The possibilities are endless, for Another Woman’s Husband.

http://www.myspace.com/writeordiechic

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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… Toni Coleman, author of Blood Money

December 9, 2008 Joey Pinkney

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Toni Coleman, author of Blood Money: The Beginning
(Seraphim Publications)

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

When Jameelah gets a hunch that her man, Michael Mines, CEO of L.A.’s hottest new record label is on the creep, she decides to do some creeping of her own. While paying him a surprise visit, she learns what it really means to be a ride or die chick! She unknowingly becomes involved in a sinister plot of backstabbing betrayal, greed, and murder that exposes her to the darkest side of the music business, and herself.

Jameelah is thrust into the center of power and position, which nothing could have prepared her for. Her swift rise to the top takes her from the streets of South Central Los Angeles, to the boardrooms of Beverly Hills, from sleazy strip clubs to shady business partners. She learns the hard way that all money ain’t good money, and that even good money, can be BLOOD MONEY.

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

Toni Coleman: The idea and the inspiration to write Blood Money: The Beginning, came from seeing that the music business was far different from what the public sees. By being a songwriter, I would hear stories and see things. If people only knew some of the scary things that happen behind the glitz and glamor, they would think twice about wanting to be a part of it all.

JP: What sets Blood Money apart from other novels in its genre?

TC: Really, I think that my writing style sets Blood Money apart from other urban fiction novels and the fact that it’s about a world that people want to be apart of instead of a world that people are trying to escape from.

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

TC: Perseverance was definitely the most important thing. A lot can be said about not giving up. The second thing was just me really believing that the story was something that people would want to hear.

JP: As a person intimately involved in the music industry, were you afraid that you may be singled out for exposing too much of how some record companies operate?

TC: No, because I didn’t focus on the labels themselves too much. I focused more on the artists and the situations that some of them finding themselves in when they gain fame and fortune. You have only to listen to some of the music or watch some of the movies about the business to know how cut throat the business is. Some artists expose it themselves subtly.

JP: What’s next for Toni Coleman?

TC: I’m currently working on my second novel and I’m continuing to write songs, but next, I want to take on the film industry with Seraphim Film Production.

www.seraphimpublications.com
myspace.com/seraphimpub
toni@seraphimpublications.com
seraphimpublications@yahoo.com

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

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