Category Archives: interview

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Dwayne P. Carter, author of My Ideas & My Opinions, Your Decisions

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Dwayne P. Carter, editor of My Ideas & My Opinions, Your Decisions
(Lulu)

I’m Dwayne P. Carter, an inspiring poet who resides in Greenwood, South Carolina. I enjoy writing, reading, traveling, movies and spending time with family and friends. My life has been filled with joy and pain from childhood until now that is being expressed through poetry.

I simply have a love for seeing people enjoy all the parts that life it has to offer. In order to do my part to make people feel good and smile, I write beautiful heartfelt poetry to show others that I experience many of the same things they do and how much more alike we are than different.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write My Ideas & My Opinions, Your Decisions?

Dwayne P. Carter: The idea and inspiration for My Ideas & My Opinions, Your Decisions originated over a period of time from childhood until the present moment. Life has taught many lessons that I could not keep inside my mind just for me to live with.

With these thoughts, I decided to write a book to let the world know how I feel about the many different situations that we face daily. I used poetical form to express my ideas and opinions.

JP: What sets My Ideas & My Opinions, Your Decisions apart from other collections of poetry?

DC: What sets my poetry apart from other collections of poetry is the fact I write about every topic imaginable. For example, I write about the thoughts I have pertaining to world peace and how to get there, world corruption, life, death, love, fantasy, family, events, art, the universe and more. I think this gives me an identity among millions who have expressed there experiences through poetry.

JP: Who were the poets that inspired you and shaped your style?

DC: Poets who inspire me and shape my style are Joshua McCarter Simpson, Gwendolyn Brooks, Maya Angelou, Tupac Amaru Shakur, James Baldwin and many more. There are too many to name at the momen,t but all have been great influences to my gift of poetry.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish My Ideas & My Opinions, Your Decisions?

DC: My writing process is very spontaneous, but my poems have a rhythm to them. First, I think of exactly how I want to place my thoughts on paper so that the reader will get a feel for what I am trying to express. I am inspired by so many things of simplicity that my writing process actually never ends.

As long as I’m able to think, at any moment I may decide to write about something in poetical form. It took about two months to start and complete My Ideas & My Opinions, Your Decisions which is a collection of poems over a three year period.

JP: What’s next for Dwayne P. Carter?

DC: Next, I plan to continue thinking of ways to create poetry that will last for centuries to help humanity, and I enjoy the life I live along the way. Thank you.

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html.

Please click on the banners to learn more about each JoeyPinkney.com sponsor:















You need to advertise with JoeyPinkney.com! (Click here for more information.)

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Pauline R. Evans, author of Winter’s Kisses

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Pauline R. Evans, editor of Winter’s Kisses
(Pink Peach Publishing)

Winter’s Kisses is a novel that entails a heart-capturing and soul-comforting tale of two lovers that were on the verge of a destructive marriage that could only be saved through determination and a new outlook, and of course the help of good friends.

Certainly, it’s a book that values the moments of time and the essence of true love, no matter the outcomes. Many of characters, who grew up together from the days of high school in the suburbs, are personified as first loves, crushes, and the once daydreamed. Each search for fulfillment of love. Their consciences were never settled, but the principle was always the cornerstone of their very existence.

The novel is indubitably unique which brings the soap opera right at your eyes. Each chapter gives a first-person, first-hand account for each of the characters experiences, thoughts and feelings. It allows the readers to see the scenes magically before their eyes.

Though the dramatic, the sensual and the playful, Winter’s Kisses gives the synopsis of the everyday life of marriage and the thoughtful moments that couples should have and be aware of in order for the union to be blessed and flourish. Life is certainly a challenge, but with goodness and with love, even the very impossible in life can be a miracle.

Behold, in the blue skies, the passion that burns deep, but ousted. Yet, the colors of the garden will come again, and her name shall no longer be of season. Winter said she will never change.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Winter’s Kisses?

Pauline R. Evans: One morning in June of 2009, I stood in my bedroom after my morning’s devotion and reflected intensely. I was contemplating on what purpose life has for me, after being laid off from my job. I remember I asked the Lord what’s next.

Emotions were running wildly, and yet, with all control, I decided to sit by my laptop. After I reminisced for a few hours, I started typing. After a while, my typing became words that reflected on two important virtues that mattered to me greatly: love and relationships.

At first, it was just 106 pages of something. Having realized the coherence of my thoughts, I called it progress and named it a story. After weeks of writing, reviewing, re-writing and editing, with the help of great and true friends, it resulted in the composition of my first novel, Winter’s Kisses.

JP: What sets Winter’s Kisses apart from other novels hinged upon love lost and torrid affairs?

PE: What sets the novel as a cut above the rest is the idea of scope: how a story is viewed and how far the story can go. While other stories allow the reader to see the events like a window shopping experience, Winter’s Kisses allow the reader to “walk in an feel what the store has to offer”.

Opening the book invokes a panoramic experience to the reader, as the emotion and texture of the feelings of each character intensified with every flip of the page. Each chapter has its own character speaking. Each chapter has its own expression.

What sets the book above the rest however is with each ups and downs of relationships, there was always someone to offer guidance. This brought great resolve and a conscious realization that true love can take anyone anywhere.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Winter’s Kisses getting out to the public?

PE: The keys to my success are based solely on interaction and referrals. I would, for example, send my book to various book clubs for their review and suggestions for future books. My friends in different states would spread the word about the novel and would also be involved in handing out book markers and flyers.

With daily interactions and communications online, I would make referrals to my book on my website www.paulineevansonline.com, as well as various social networks online such as Facebook with a fan page specially created for Facebook users to join and to be updated with the latest in sales, contests and announcements and MySpace.

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

PE: My writing process starts with inspiration and reflection. I will think on what life has been like for me and how life has contributed to my growth and development as a woman. Then the process is extended into writing these experiences and memories down.

Personifying the experiences is the next step, thinking of characters that may match the dispositions displayed throughout the entire story line. The final step is now building the scenes around the character which enhances their personalities effectively. It took me a couple of weeks of writing, changing, editing and re-editing.

Though I may think of and jot the ideas, I didn’t write from an outline. I, however, wrote from my heart and about the things that the Lord pours inside me at night when I lay in bed.

JP: What’s next for Pauline R. Evans?

PE: I am almost finished with the sequel to Winter’s Kisses, which I am anticipating as the readers are anxiously waiting to see what happens next. I will promise this much: I will continue writing as God grants the strength, wisdom and opportunities for the books to be a success and an inspiration to many.

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html.

P.S.S. Pauline R. Evans and Pink Peach Publishing have paid to advertise with JoeyPinkney.com. Pauline R. Evans and Pink Peach Publishing have provided JoeyPinkney.com 10 books to give away to its readers.

Please click on the banners to learn more about each JoeyPinkney.com sponsor:















You need to advertise with JoeyPinkney.com! (Click here for more information.)

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Sandra Peoples-Gates, author of Foolish

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Sandra Peoples-Gates, editor of Foolish
(BlackBerry Fields Press)

Excerpt from Foolish: Sharee` stepped back away from the Escalade, watching as the shiny black beauty rolled around the circular driveway and out to the gated entrance. She waved goodbye, hugging herself tightly as the SUV disappeared into the slowly setting evening sun.

She turned, making her way back up the perfectly manicured lawn and onto the pebble stone sidewalk which would lead her to the front door. She took her cell phone out of the leather hip case and pressed the number one, then held the phone up to her ear. One ring. Two rings.

“Hello,” The sexy masculine voice answered on the other end.

“Hey baby, it’s me,” Sharee` began, stepping inside the house and pulling the front door closed behind her. “You can come over now. He’s gone.”

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

Sandra Peoples-Gates: When I first started working on Foolish, the plan was for it to just be a more in depth retelling of a previously published work.

After I experienced some things in my marriage, I decided to incorporate those experiences into the book. I included some information for women and men that may be in an abusive relationship, no matter to what degree.

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

SPG: Foolish is fiction inspired by actual events that either I or people that I know have experienced. It is different because usually you have a man that is cheating. In this book it is the woman.

Usually, a woman does not become involved in an affair where she ends up being abused. Also, there is a section that tells what to look for in an abusive relationship and how to tell if you are with an abusive partner.

JP: Foolish deals with economic abuse. Could you explain what that is and its importance to people who may be oblivious to its existence?

SPG: Economic abuse is when a person basically is only with you for your money and what you can do for them. They don’t want you to do anything with your money without them having approved it, even when it comes to paying bills and taking care of the household.

If the abuser wants the money for some other purpose, be it for drugs, alcohol, or even some other person, the victim will either have to give up the money and risk losing everything, or risk enduring verbal, mental and even physical abuse.

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

SPG: I like to write and listen to music generally after the little ones are asleep. My MP3 is loaded with all sorts of music from T.I. to Justin Timberlake, Keyshia Cole to Deitrick Haddon. It took me about a year to finish Foolish.

JP: What’s next for Sandra Peoples-Gates?

SPG: The sequel to Foolish is in the works. I am also going to be doing more writers workshops and speaking to groups and organizations about economic abuse.

Economic abuse was something I didn’t even know existed until I endured it. Now, I want to educate as many people as I can. I have a lot of things I am working on to help writers and entrepreneurs get their voices heard.

http://www.bblit.info/
http://www.myspace.com/bblit
http://www.trulydiamonds.ning.com/

About Sandra Peoples-Gates:

I work as a business and publishing consultant. If you have any questions on starting a business or publishing your own book, email me at bblit@hotmail.com. I welcome your questions. I am also a contributing writer for brass magazine, which is a magazine for entrepreneurs.

I publish ‘Blueprint’, formerly Urban Voices Magazine, which is an online magazine with a focus on entrepreneurship on every level; from writers to barbers and beauticians, to musicians and web designers. If a person is an entrepreneur the magazine serves as a motivational vehicle for them.

Previous issues can be viewed at http://www.freewebs.com/bblit. Go to the ‘links’ section. I am also the host of the blogtalk radio show, ‘My life as an Entrepreneur’. Archived shows can be heard by going to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mrssgates. Follow me on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bblit.

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html.

P.S.S. Sandra Peoples has given a copy of Foolish to JoeyPinkney.com to give away to one of its readers.

Please click on the banners to learn more about each JoeyPinkney.com sponsor:















You need to advertise with JoeyPinkney.com! (Click here for more information.)