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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Yvonne N. Pierre, author of The Day My Soul Cried

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JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Yvonne N. Pierre, editor of The Day My Soul Cried
(Zyonair’s Unlimited, LLC)

Yvonne Pierre’s journey from the depths of despair to an awakening of soul and spirit has been a long and difficult one. From sexual abuse, excessive drinking, failing in school, having a child while still a teenager, being unable to get a job, having a second child with Down syndrome, gaining excessive weight and allowing herself to no longer care about how she looked – the painful pattern of all types of abuse seemed endless.

Until one day, when Yvonne’s soul cried. She began to see that how she perceived her life and the attitudes she had, were crippling her as much as all her bad habits and the ugly things that happened to her.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write The Day My Soul Cried?

Yvonne N. Pierre: Wow, the inspiration to write this book stemmed from me trying to figure out why I was always piling projects on my plate and never completing them. One of my projects was to write a book, but could never complete it.

While I was soul searching, trying to figure out why I was afraid of something as simple as completing projects, The Day My Soul Cried, came to me. It wrote itself, so to speak.

JP: This memoir brings the beauty and the ugliness that life can deal and sit them side-by-side for the reader to decipher. How did you struggle past the discouraging thoughts that raced through your head as you created what became The Day My Soul Cried?

YNP: Oh yeah, the discouraging thoughts. About seven or eight years ago, I wrote a book called, Phoqus. I proudly contacted a local publisher and setup a meeting.

That’s a long story, but I met with him and presented my book. He laughed and said he loved the concept. He said that he would only publish it was if I “removed myself from it”. I kindly stood up, smiled, shook his hand, thanked him and left.

Without realizing it, I was discouraged. Years later, I posted snippets of my story online and received many emails from women and young girls telling me that they were inspired by my story.

As I was writing, The Day My Soul Cried, those negative statements kept replaying in my mind. I learned to use negativity and discouraging thoughts as motivation to press on.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to The Day My Soul Cried getting out to the public?

YNP: Joey, there were two things that hindered me initially from getting my book out of my computer and onto print: overcoming fear and finding my voice. I had to learn to get out of my own way. My fears had me at a standstill. I was afraid of failing AND of success, which I talk about in the book.

My editor, Ann Fisher, told me that “letting go of the book is like sending your child off to college.” Finding my voice was another obstacle, which I personally think was connected to the fears. Once I found my voice and overcame my fears, getting it out was so much easier.

Fear is natural and the only way to overcome it is to figure out where it’s coming from and then pushing through it. I had to learn to just be ME!

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

YNP: I had to visualize it first as if I were writing a movie. It took about two months, but most of that time was spent finding my voice and overcoming my fears. Excluding that, it probably would have only taken me a few weeks.

I started with the title and an outline. Then, I designed the cover. I know that’s a little backward but I needed a visual. I marked the days on my calendar that I would only focus on writing. I put together a music playlist of songs that “put me in the mood” to write and wrote the book.

JP: What’s next for Yvonne Pierre?

YNP: There are two things I am very passionate about: inspiring others AND advocating for special needs. I am working on another book called, Beyond Measure that I plan to release toward the end of the year.

It is an inspirational, heart-felt letter to my youngest of two sons, Zyon, who has Down syndrome. Presently, I host a Blogtalkradio called “The Yvonne Pierre Show” and I have a social network for special needs parents.

Joey, thank you so much for this opportunity to talk to you and your readers about my book. I truly appreciate it! God bless!

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Darine Davis, author of Bayou Drama

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JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Darine Davis, editor of Bayou Drama
(PHE Ink Publishing )

Bayou Drama is a collection of five short stories that deals with the all too familiar issues of unsolicited drama we all tend to encounter. These stories will make you laugh, cry, and in some cases, make you a bit angry at the actions these characters take in certain situations.

When all is said and done, Bayou Drama will make you look at your own situation and how you handle your own drama in your current situations.

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

Darine Davis: Bayou Drama was inspired mainly out of the joys and woes of relationships I had previously encountered. Although fiction, I was able to put a little bit of me in each story.

JP: You mention Carl Weber and Zane as inspirations. Their works are both entertaining and real. How do you ride that fine line between entertainment and realism for the short stories that appear in Bayou Drama?

DD: Now that’s a good question! I try to put realism in what I write. It is hard for a reader to grasp your message in a story if they can’t relate to it. I try to insert everyday situations and topics to allow the reader to grasp the meaning by the end of each story.

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

DD: The one major key to my success in the publishing of this book is faith. I had to have it in order to achieve it. Plain and simple.

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

DD: Originally, Bayou Drama was a novel called Take Care of House and Home in which it took me a year to write. However, when we moved to our new residence most of the transcript was lost. I was able to recover some of the stories and compile them into a neat package known today as Bayou Drama.

JP: What’s next for Darine Davis?

DD: I have a novel that is soon to be released called When A Good Man Goes Bad. This is my baby, my very first novel. I am excited about this book from beginning to end.

I have also been graced with an opportunity to engage in an anthology with several other authors: TL James, Jean Holloway, Ja’Nese Dixon, LM Blakely, JA Adams, and the fantastic Deilra Smith-Collard. The book is called Coffee Confessions and it is going to be awesome! It is a must read! This is to drop May 2010.

My final for the year will be a book called The Soldier, my first sci-fi. Hopefully I can make a splash in that genre!

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

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Allysha Hamber, author of Unloveable Bitch: A Hoe is Born

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JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Allysha Hamber, editor of Unloveable Bitch: A Hoe is Born
(CreateSpace)

Meet Dream, a young, bright eyed girl growing up in the slums of St. Louis. Unlike most girls in her neighborhood, Dream has the luxury of growing up with something most of her friends don’t have, a father. But when tragedy strikes her life at the age of eight, Dream’s perfect world comes crashing down around her.

Soon, she finds herself thrown into a life of horror and pain. Forced from the only home she’s ever known, she learns the hard way that the only thing she has of value is her body and the only way she can survive is to use it. With a vicous pimp on her heels and no where to run, Dream is forced to adapt to a life on the streets in one of the worlds most dangerous cities.

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

Allysha Hamber: Unlovable Bitch was the hardest book I’ve written to date because it’s personal. The first six chapters are my life as a child and my own personal trials and tribulations. I wanted to reach women and young girls all over in a way that they could understand. I wanted to let them know they were not alone…

JP: What sets Unlovable Bitch apart from other novels in its genre?

AH: It’s real. It’s spoken from my heart and from my own experiences. I couldn’t bring the real and raw emotion if I hadn’t gone through it. That’s what makes it connect to the readers the raw emotions.

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

AH: I push it and try to advertise alot on my own. I’m a firm believer in “you get out what you put in.” So whether it’s mass emails or airtime on the radio, I do whatever I can to get my book out there.

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

AH: I really don’t have a specific writing process. It comes to me in spurts. When it flows, it flows and I take full advantage of it. When it’s not there, I don’t try to force it because it won’t be genuine. I just go with the flow.

It took me about a month to write Unlovable Bitch once I started and that was because it was inside me for so long. It was yearning to come out.

JP: What’s next for Allysha Hamber?

AH: Unlovable Part II and Mika Avenue. My clothing line, PHEM is schdule for release Spring of 2010, and I’m setting my sights on screen writing The NorthSide Clit into a movie.

More about Allysha Hamber:

Allysha began her writing career behind the walls of a Federal Prison.  It was inside the solitude of the institution, that Allysha began sharing her past of emotional, physical and sexual abuse with the women of the institution.  It was her fellow inmates that both encouraged and inspired Allysha to share her testimony with the world through writing.

Allysha began writing plays of both raw and uncut abuse stories for her fellow inmates to perform.  The reviews were so intense and demanding, in 2002, the Camp Administrator authorized Allysha and an inmate production crew to perform a play for the Warden, staff and their families and outside guests, the first in the facility’s history.

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