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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Essense Best Seller Big Boom, author of How to Duck a Suckah

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Essence Best Selling Author Big Boom, author of How To Duck a Suckah: A Guide to Living a Drama-Free Life
(Fireside Books)

big boom headshot how to duck a suckah book cover

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

Big Boom, a.k.a the “Bodyguard to Women’s Hearts” hit a nerve with his straightforward advice in If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start with Your Legs (June 2007). Big Boom returned in the same vein with raw, uncensored advice in his new book How To Duck a Suckah: A Guide to Living a Drama-Free Life.

In How To Duck a Suckah, Boom explains his controversial past and why he has decided to take a stand against suckahs by guiding women out of the “sitting duck syndrome”. Boom says, “Men are always looking for something to catch or shoot and if you aren’t careful you will be their next target”. A relationship book designed specifically to empower women and safeguard them physically, mentally and emotionally, How To Duck a Suckah helps women duck that potentially hazardous relationship.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write How to Duck a Suckah?

Big Boom: The idea to write How to Duck a Suckah came from my first book If You Want Closure In Your Relationship Start With Your Legs. I felt like I had more to say and wanted to get women out of that ‘Sitting Duck’ syndrome and influence their decisions to lead a healthy, rich, drama-free lives. I decided to express that sentiment in How to Duck a Suckah.

JP: What sets How to Duck a Suckah apart from other novels in its genre?

BB: How to Duck a Suckah is nonfiction. From what I’ve been told, women love the truth whether they can handle it or not. This is what sets my books apart from other titles on relationships. I try to be as honest as possible, but I try to do it with love and support. It’s the culmination of my life experience, common sense and its coming straight from the heart.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to How to Duck a Suckah getting out to the public?

BB: Wanting to make a change and help one woman to have a happy, loving life. Believe that your book will help, inspire, motivate and change someone. I believe I have an authentic message that needs to be told, and I try to do that publicly.

A good marketing and publicity plan (lectures, book signings and interviews), promotional material to hand out to the public and never assume that everyone already knows about your books.

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

BB: My first process, I put all my information on a hand held recorder. Second, I get my ghost writer to transcribe it into a book form. Third, it’s read to me over the telephone. I make changes via telephone even while traveling! Six months later I have a master piece. Not bad for a man with no formal education…

JP: What’s next for Big Boom?

BB: Since I’m known for telling the truth, my next book is going to tell women what men really want them to know about themselves. This a danger zone! Somebody must do it! What better person then me, a person that cares and has a proven track record of delivering with sincerity.

www.bigboombooks.com
www.bodyguardforwomenhearts.com
www.myspace.com/bigboombooks

If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start with Your Legs and How to Duck a Suckah are both Essence Best Sellers.

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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 http://myspace.com/joeyreviews

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… New York Times Best Selling Author Kimberla Lawson Roby, author of Sin No More

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
New York Times Best Selling Author Kimberla Lawson Roby, author of Sin No More
(William Morrow)


kimberla lawson roby headshot sin no more 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 Sin No More?

Kimbery Lawson Roby: Sin No More is actually the fifth title in my Reverend Curtis Black series, which centers on problems and corruption within the church. I was inspired to write about this issue because of so much that I’ve seen and heard about for a great number of years.

JP: What sets Sin No More apart from other novels in its genre?

KLR: Sin No More focuses on reality—not any specific real-life issues—but it does focus on what can and does happen on a daily basis throughout this country. I don’t try to sugarcoat anything that I write, and more important, I try my best to show what happens when we don’t follow God’s Word or treat people the way we want to be treated.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Sin No More getting out to the public?

KLR: The two most important things are writing and building a marketing/publicity plan and making sure to interact personally with your readers on a regular basis, both by email and at speaking and book signing events all year long.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Sin No More?

KLR: Once I decide which topic I’m going to center my story on, I create all of my characters and then outline the entire novel. After that, I write a minimum of one or two chapters per day until the first draft is finished. Then, I revise and edit. The entire process from start to finish normally takes me about three months.

JP: What’s next for Kimberla Lawson Roby?

KLR: I released a novella entitled One in a Million this past June and my twelfth book, The Best of Everything, will be released on January 13, 2009. Currently, I’m working on a second novella for the fall of 2009.

www.kimroby.com
www.myspace.com/kimberlalawsonroby

Kimberla would love to hear from you at: kim@kimroby.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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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Seth Ferranti, author of Street Legends Volume 1

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JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Seth Ferranti, author of Street Legends: Vol 1
(Gorrilla Convict Publications)

seth ferranti headshot street legends book cover

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

Joey Pinkney: Why were you inspired to write Street Legends: Vol 1 about these famous drug dealers even though they are household names in the hood right now?

Seth Ferranti: I’ve been doing stories for Don Diva since the jump, like 2000 or so. I was doing little pieces about dudes in prison for the Behind the Wall section. In 2004 I was transferred to FCI Gilmer in West Virginia, and Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff was there. He was corresponding with Don Diva regularly about possibly doing an interview or story with them.

Through our mutual acquaintance with Don Diva, we hooked up and started hanging out. By the time he was indicted on the Murder Inc. case he had decided to let me write the piece about him for Don Diva, so I did. That was my first cover story. From there I just ran with it doing several more cover and feature stories for Don Diva and other magazines.

I was always intrigued by all that gangster stuff and the mystique surrounding these guys. As I looked around I found that a lot of these dudes’ co-defendants, homies and relatives were all around me. So it was almost like a natural progression for me. I want to do for these dudes what the writers back in the old west did for Billy the Kid and their ilk because for real these guys are heroes in a way, outlaw heroes. America has always been fascinated with its outlaw-heroes, just look at Pablo Escobar and John Gotti.

JP: How are you able to get up close and personal and secure what seems to be incriminating information about people who are well connected?

SF: I’m in prison and have been for the past 16 years. I know a lot of dudes, dudes who were down with these legends and come from the same hoods they do, the same eras. I get most of my facts, if you want to call them that, from court records and newspaper articles. But I don’t just write the mainstream media side, I go to their homies, co-defendants and partners to get the real story.

I want to portray these street legends in a human light, to look past what the government says about them and what was proved in court. I want to give an overall picture of the person and their circumstances. I cover the story from all angles and tell it from the criminal side, and I always seek to get permission or get as close to the source as possible. Like I said, I know Supreme he is a personal friend of mine and some of these other dudes I know their co-defendants or dudes that ran with them on the streets.

JP: It’s been said that Life is stranger than fiction. Will Street Legends: Vol 1 hold true to this statement?

SF: Definitely, some of the stuff in this book you will not believe. I give it to you raw and uncensored, live from behind the wall. These dudes are all real life movie stars. They are modern day Billy the Kids. F*ck Frank Lucas and American Gangster, these guys are the real O.G.’s.

JP: How long did it take you to gather and compile the information that became Street Legends: Vol 1?

SF: Not long, maybe about a year. I just reached out to dudes I know and got it all together. They either wanted to be a part of the project or not. I’m in here, so dudes know I’m not out to exploit them or twist their words I’m here to cement their legends. This is history. This is no different then all the Italian mafia stuff and Colombian cocaine cartels stuff. These dudes were real legit ballers who played for keeps. They are legends, and I am the gangster chronicler. I do it like Don Diva, Street Elements and Feds, but I go deeper and provide the whole story for readers.

JP: What’s next for Seth Ferranti?

SF: I am working on Street Legends Volume 2 and a Supreme Team book. I have a street lit book, Murder Capital that I am putting the finishing touches on also. I’m trying to build my name and my brand from the penitentiary. Order my books and check out my blog at www.gorillaconvict.com.

Thank you.

www.gorillaconvict.com
www.myspace.com/gorillaconvict
www.myspace.com/soulmanseth
www.prisoner083.com

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

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