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Kisha Green’s interview of Joey Pinkney for WritersVibe.com

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Reprinted with permission by Kisha Green
Originally posted on: http://www.writersvibe.com/whogotnext.htm

Kisha Green: Who is Joey Pinkney?

Joey Pinkney: Joey Pinkney is a man on a mission. The mission changes and gets refined with the times. I’m currently looking to expose authors to people in a way that is not being done in a consistent manner. I’m also looking to write and publish the books that are begging to get out of my head.

My love for reading and writing will not allow me to live a regular life of working and sleeping. I have to apply a significant part of my “down time” to reading, writing, reviewing, interviewing, editing, myspacing (is that a word?), thinking and plenty of other i-n-gs to keep me sane.

KG: Three words to best describe yourself

JP: Introspective, obsessed and determined.

KG: When did you first start reviewing books?

JP: My first attempt at reviewing books was around July/August 2006. At the time, I was writing for a now defunct African-American weekly newspaper called The Urban Journal in Nashville, TN.

The publisher wanted me to be a type of journalist that hit the streets and cover things like school board meetings, crime scenes and various boring things that was happening around Nashville.

I couldn’t do just that. I pitched an idea to the publisher where I would review books by black authors. I think he allowed me to do it just to humor me. I contacted a bunch of publishers and authors. I read and reviewed the books I received. I had to beg and plead to get the reviews in the paper. He let a couple run in the paper, but he simply wasn’t interested in anything that didn’t happen in Nashville.

I stopped trying to get the publisher to work with me. I kept getting great books to read.

KG: Have you ever had to post a bad review? If so, how did you break the news to the author?

JP: Writing reviews for Urban Book Source allows you to tell the whole truth, straight up with no chaser. You can browse through my reviews to see the one I had to “keep it real” with. I tried to contact the author for a subsequent, but he (or she) never got back to me.

Luckily, I really haven’t had books to read that are poor in quality. It amazes me how many talented writers there are out there that don’t seem to get the light of day because that are self-published or published by one of the smaller houses.

KG: Who are some of your favorite authors?

JP: Moses Miller. The Trifling Times series he is taking the genre of Urban Fiction to new heights and levels. Keisha Ervin. I really like her book entitled Torn. It’s Urban Romance at its finest. I was recently impressed by Jessica Holter’s Verbal Penetration. That book will broaden your horizons as to what can be done in the Erotica genre.

KG: Tell us about your book How to Get Rid of Bacne Super Fast ?

JP: This is really an ebook. It’s only in PDF format. It’s very simple in format: 10 chapters, 10 questions, 10 answers. I tried to pull together the information that’s hiding and spread out all over the place and bring together in a short, easy to read book.

KG: What made you write a book about Bacne?

JP: That’s a weird subject, right? The idea for this book came from my website, JoeyPinkney.com. Before focusing on the book industry, I was publishing a bunch of articles on almost everything. Acne prevention was one of the subject I covered. I noticed that the information concerning bacne drew a lot of attention.

I took the ten most popular keyword phrases that people googled to get to my site and did the research. I used to charge for the book. Now it’s a free download because it’s a great resource, not a get-rich-quick tool.

KG: Do you plan to write any more books?

JP: Yes, I plan to write many books. Plan in the active sense of the word. Like I said earlier, I have to get these books out of my head or they will keep pestering me. I’m writing the outlines, so my research will go smoother.

KG: Did you self publish or go the tradtional route of submitting your mansucript to various publishers?

JP: That ebook was self-published. I do plan on submitting the manuscripts of my upcoming to the correct publishers.

KG: Which title do you enjoy more author or reviewer? Why?

JP: I like being an author more because I control the creativity. It’s solitary. Writing a book is really a situation of self-discipline. You do it; it gets done.

But being a reviewer is much more fast paced. It’s more fluid. It’s like going to another city or even another country. You get the see your experience through the experiences of others. I hate having to chase authors down to give them free publicity.

KG: What do you say to people who say that reviewers are people looking for free books?

JP: Some people might be. I am. I am not going to pay for a book that you want me to read and write a review on. Just because you sent me a book really is not equal compensation for me to read and write something significant about it. Your book costs $15 and shipping is $5. I put roughly 5 to 8 man hours reading and reviewing. That’s comes out to be $2.50 an hour. Two dollars and fifty cents an hour? My time is worth much more than that, and my relationship with the authors who send me books is much deeper than that.

Getting the book in my hands is as far free goes. I don’t just want your book for free to add to my book shelf. I buy books for that… Once I get you book, I want to read it and know it. I want to gain an experience from it that will make me richer than the $20 I didn’t spend on getting the book. I want to write about it, and I want others to know about it.

Right now, I have about forty to fifty books I haven’t had the chance to read yet. And “yet” is the operative word. I will read each and every book, no matter how long it takes. That’s where the word obsessed came from earlier. I didn’t accept all of those books just to have them. Although I got in over my head, I’m going to read and review each book.

Free is not free.

KG: What makes a review by Joey Pinkney different?

JP: One thing that makes my review different is that I read books from the first page with the copyright information to the order form in the back.

I write about it from the sense of knowing it. I take the time and consideration of using the right words. Sometimes my humor spills out, sometimes my frustrations come through.

Reading and reviewing a book is like the dating stage. My relationship with the book is intense and short. I take it to work. I take it to bed. I take it out of town. (TMI alert!) I take it to the bathroom. Me and the book is “going with eachother”.

I scribble notes. I re-read. I cuss at the books gramatical error. I think of ways I would change it. Once I’m finished, I start writing. I usually can’t stop until I’m finished. That means that the night I start writing the review is the night I finish the review. I’m likely to pull an overnighter until it “feels right” when I read it. If I got to go to work the next day, too bad for me…

If the book came from Urban Book Source (TheUrbanBookSource.com, shout out to Senior Editor Abeena Paige), they will publish my reviews. If the book came from C & B Books Distribution (CBBooksDistribution.com, shout out to Carol Rogers). Plus, the review gets published on three different websites: JoeyPinkney.com, ReppingBeantown.com’s Reviews Section (shout out to Angella) and OneCliqueOnline.com’s Book Reviews section (shout out to Me!ah). Three different websites, the different crowds.

I also post the reviews on Amazon.com for good measure. My thing is, I want as many people to know about the book as possible. I don’t just read the book, write the review and tell the review be fruitful and multiply. I actively seek outlets for the review.

KG: You recently started ” 5 Minutes, 5 Questions” series, what prompted you to start a clever concept such as this?

JP: The “5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…” series really spawned from me being overwhelmed by the number of books sent to me by different authors across the nation. I’ve gotten to a point where I can’t accept anymore.

One day, I looked in my closet and saw all the books that my wife was fussing at me about. I have to take a picture for you to truly understand. I was like, “How am I going to read all of these books?”

I was on MySpace, and Essence Bestseller T. Benson Glover messaged me about sending a book that same day. While I was typing to turn him down, the proverbial light bulb lit up above my head. I asked if he would be down for a mini-interview. It was on from there.

As people asked to send books, I was like, “Sorry, but let’s do this…” I started publishing the interviews in the order that they came to me.

My first interview was published on 08-25-08. During the following September I got the great idea to post them every other day. Man! Talk about overworking myself. That was way too hectic. Along the way, Me!ah and Angella gave me the opportunity to contribute to there websites.

I had to slow down, so in October I tried to publish on every day that was divisible by three (3rd, 6th….30th). It’s still a hectic grind, but it’s so enjoyable. As of the day I’m answering this interview, I have 27 interviews published, and I’m almost booked through December 2008.

Although the questions many times are the same, the answers given by the authors are as different as snowflakes. The “5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…” series gives authors a chance to let the potential reader know who they are and what their books represent.

Reading about the personal story behind the books’ idea or the amount of time it took to complete the books gives it a life beyond the paper and the glue it takes to put it together. The diversity I have in this series is also powerful. Poetry, urban lit, non-fiction, science fiction…

Most of my interviews are of African-American authors. That’s very important to me. If “we” don’t shine light on “us”, who will? That’s why I like to include a picture of the author and the book cover. The author looks like us, our mother’s, our uncles, our neighbors.

KG: What is next for Joey Pinkney?

JP: I’m looking for more outlets for the “5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…” series. I would like to have a column on more websites. I really would like to get a column in a newspaper. If you’re reading this and got some info, go to my website and contact me.

I’m also going to read those books I mentioned one at a time until I finish. That’s very important that I finish what I started.

Hopefully, I’ll find some time to squeeze a book out and get that published, too. Speaking of that, I am going to be published in a book entitled The Soul of a Man: A Triumph of My Soul Anthology (shout out to Elissa Gabrielle/Peace in the Storm Publishing) right before father’s day in 2009. Google it.

Thank you so very much for taking the time to interview me Kisha. Although I gave lengthy answers, they were straight from the heart. Continue reading Kisha Green’s interview of Joey Pinkney for WritersVibe.com →

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Jennifer Knox, author of Mama Never Said

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Jennifer Knox, author of Mama Never Said
(All Boys Publishing)


jenifer knox headshot mama naver said book cover

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

Dinah Daniels, CEO of Daniels Animal Treatment Center, wife of nineteen years to Kevin Daniels, Attorney at Law, and loving mother. They were an eminent African American family, living the American dream. Life couldn’t be better for Dinah. Until she discovers that everything she’s ever known is a lie.

A life full of scandal and deceit would surface and destroy her perfect family. She didn’t understand how you go from being on top of the world to being stretched out under it. She was used to a world blinded by financial and social status. She had to face the fact that she could not buy her way out of this one.

Driven by Big Mama’s sayings, and her best friend Gloria at her side, Dinah would prove that she is truly a fighter.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Mama Never Said?

Jennifer Knox: I actually had a dream with a certain part of the book in it. It all happened from there. I had no intentions of writing a book. When I woke up I had this overwhelming urge to write about it, so I did.

JP: What sets Mama Never Said apart from other novels in its genre?

JK: Truth. I write about what’s real. I mean, It’s fiction, but it’s real life issues that many face everyday. On the outside looking in it may seem that some “have it going on”, but you just never know what people are facing. My writing offers that inside glimpse.

JP: As an author and self-publisher, what are the keys to your success that lead to Mama Never Said getting out to the public?

JK: Doing my research, knowing everything first hand for myself. The learning process never stops. I know things now that I didn’t know when Mama Never Said was released. Never giving up, and knowing that I am the key to making whatever I want to happen, happen.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Mama Never Said?

JK: Me personally, my thoughts just flow. I hardly ever have writers block. It took me about 2 1/2 years to write Mama Never Said only because I had no idea what I was doing! (laugh) It was a kind of a touch and go type process.

JP: What’s next for Mama Never Said?

JK: The sequel to Mama Never Said will be released in April 2009. I am looking to do a stage play based on a combination of the two in mid to late 2010.

Website link www.allboyspublishing.com
Myspace link www.myspace.com/allboyspublishing

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://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

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Interview: Adin Kachisi, author of Keys of Destiny

This is a followup interview I did with Adin Kachisi after reading and reviewing his book Keys of Destiny. The book review can be seen here:

http://joeypinkney.com/criticism/book-review-keys-of-destiny-by-adin-kachisi.php


adin kachisi headshot keys of destiny book cover

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

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Keys of Destiny?

Adin Kachisi: After a nonfiction book I wrote called Beyond the Talented Tenth I felt that I had a lot to say about society especially on issues of culture, history and spirituality. I felt that if I wrote a fiction book, I could probably reach out to a larger audience. I decided to write a fictional book expressing my opinion, experiences, and vision of present and future society. I decided to use the theme of Mayan prophecies and 2012 because I that it was a subject containing elements of truth and fiction with possibilities of being taken in any direction.

JP: Kazra’s wife played a small but powerful role as a person who is not equally in tune with Kazra’s perception of the world. Why did you decide to give her that type of character instead of one who could fully empathize with Kazra’s dilemmas and yearnings?

AK: Besides my intension to put Kazra in an environment of struggle and bring domestic conflict, which is good for fiction, I wanted to illustrate a scenario many people can relate to. Many marriages are usually characterized by one partner’s failure to see the other’s vision. Even though in this case, it’s the wife pulling the husband back, sometimes it’s the husband who pulled down the wife.

Here is my subjective opinion on the black family:

On a subconscious level, I was probably expressing my opinion of how I look the typical Black family and community. In my observation the most difficult person to fix or transform is usually the young female about 22 to 35, she is usually more caught up in the drama and illusion of society. She is followed by the male counterpart who is more easily changed by the female partner, unless he has been criminalized.

Then comes the adult male above 40 whose role is usually not too clear. He is basically unavailable. Finally there is the adult female above 40 who is the most enlightened and most powerful of them all, she is the mother and grandmother.

In the book you will notice that I use the elder female as the wise shaman who helps the seeker find the way.

JP: You have 10 books listed in the biography. How did you come across these books?

AK: I basically came across the books in my research. I am a very serious researcher especially on the subjects of alternative history and spirituality.

Judging by the quantity and quality of the information each scholar and shaman covered, do you have an extended biography of sorts that you drew from when writing this book?

AK: Yes, I have a more extended biography of research books, but most of the information is knowledge I accumulated through interactions with people of all sorts over several years.

JP: Your use of English in Keys of Destiny is precise. How did your birth in another country affect your career as an author?

AK: My English writing is probably influenced by my British based education growing up in a British colony. My birth in another country has helped me view every issue with fresh eyes or from a different perspective. I am able to put a different value system in my writing and that makes the work unique when I combine it with my Western experiences.

JP: This is your fourth novel. What did you learn from your experiences with producing the other novels that you applied in the production of Keys of Destiny?

AK: I have grow in style and character as expressed in words. I have learned that there is no feeling better than producing good quality work you can be proud of. Written work has the capacity to influence people, so its better to write meaningful things.

JP: The detail in which you used to write about the different locales was remarkable. Did you travel to these places as part of your research?

AK: Being born in Zimbabwe I was able to write realistic and factual things about that culture and location. I have also traveled to Korea and could also portray a realistic picture about it. As for the other places I had to do serious research on every single detail of the country. Even more, I had to interact with people from those countries. I have also had the luck of living and interacting with many people of different cultures so I have a wide knowledge of world cultures.

JP: What’s next for Adin Kachisi?

AK: I am in the processing of rewriting Keys of Destiny. The revised book will include a few more chapters at the end. The story goes to years between 2024 and 2029. The global elites control the world and are involved in serious genetic engineering projects creating strange creatures and mixing humans with animals. The New Book will be called Tablets of Destiny: Rise of the Anakim and will probably be out beginning of 2009.