Category Archives: love

Book Review: Good to the Last Drop, by Elissa Gabrielle

Good to the Last Drop
by Elissa Gabrielle
(Peace in the Storm Publishing)
5 of 5 Stars

book review good to the last drop elissa gabrielle on amazondotcom

There are three kinds of books. There is the book with a plot you can predict. Then there is the book where you can’t figure out the plot, but you end up shaking your head in disgust as the scenarios unfold. Finally, there is the book that is totally unpredictable yet is able to provide thoroughly amusing surprises. Elissa Gabrielle’s debut novel falls into the third category. Good to the Last Drop contains a world as strange as the secret lives we lead–all the way to the end.

Good to the Last Drop follows Amber through the first couple of months after her marriage to the love of her life Khalil Devereaux. Khalil cheated on Amber numerous times while they were in college. The fun stops when he meets up with the shameless Shayla McNeil. His involvement with the insatiable Shayla is both intense and inexcusable. His moments of infidelity result in a daughter, Lexis, and a mentally annihilated Amber.

Since that incident, Khalil is a man trying his best to live down the embarrassment of his indiscretions. The distance he keeps from Shayla makes her eternally bitter and perpetually available to Khalil’s sexual advances.This voracious vixen is the type that unknowingly lives up to the phrase “you can take the rat out of the hood, but you can’t take the hood out of the rat”. That same distance makes Khalil a long-distance phone call father; one that Lexis couldn’t identify in a police line up if Khalil’s life depended on it.

Shawn is a college buddy  to both Amber and Khalil. He is really the glue to Khalil’s relationship with both Amber and Shayla. Shawn is the voice of reason when Khalil fails to guide himself. He was the shoulder to cry on when Amber was devastated by Khalil indiscretions. Shawn not only convinced Amber to take Khalil back; he stays in contact with Shayla and even visits Lexis on Khalil’s behalf.  He finally finds the love of his life with Aaliyah, a beautiful model that has a mysterious past.

Gabrielle’s cast of characters are rounded out by Amber’s friends Keisha and Scott. Keisha is a close friend from Amber’s job at a convalescent home. She is a dark skinned bomb shell that works as hard as she kicks it. Scott is the flamboyant diva that has no shame in his game. He is classy in style and quick with the quips. Both friends subconsciously fight for Amber’s attention and time. When in each others presence, they shoot the dozens like nobody’s business.

Gabrielle’s writing style is multifarious. She can make her readers cry just as easy as she can elicit laughter. Sometimes she is able to get the reader to do both at the same time. For example, the scene where Amber visits Khalil’s mother for the first time since being married is classic. Written from Amber’s perspective, this scene was funny and touching at the same time. Amber’s dislike for Khalil’s mother only rivals in hilarity Amber’s apprehension towards Khalil’s fast-talking, crack head sister.

Gabrielle took a very interesting approach to telling the story of Amber Devereaux. Although Amber is the central character, each chapter is told through the perspective of the characters who are closest to Amber. Gabrielle was able to keep each character’s voice distinctive and true to their way of thinking regardless of character’s sexual orientation or gender.

Gabrielle’s characters and their situations will come alive in front of your eyes. The synergistic effect of letting each character tell their portion of Good to the Last Drop was very powerful. The characters’ individual stories gave Good to the Last Drop a totality that simply can not be achieved by the voice of Amber alone. With their stories combined, the characters of Good to the Last Drop created an intoxicating world of inhibitions, intimacies and ironic incidents.

Reviewed by Joey Pinkney

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Multi-Platinum Singer Faith Evans, author of Keep the Faith: A Memoir

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Faith Evans, author of Keep the Faith: A Memoir
(Grand Central Publishing)

faith evans keeping the faith on amazondotcom

R&B sensation, Faith Evans, gives us a first person account of life from Newark, New Jersey to the highest echelons of the music industry.

Keep the Faith: A Memoir is Faith’s first person account of life at ground zero of hip-hop’s greatest generation. She’ll share the truth about the love affair that changed her life and the innuendo that rocked the hip-hop world to its core. From her passionate and tragically short life with Biggie, Faith will finally lay the true story on the line.

We’ll get to see the good, the bad and the ugly side of the music industry. She shared with us how she worked her way to the top without ever sacrificing her morals. Faith also give us a first-hand account of how she managed to steer her God-given talent into a platinum-certified career.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Keep the Faith: A Memoir?

Faith Evans: For many years, people have always suggested to me that I sit down and set the record straight on a lot of things that went on in my life. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that, but there have been so many stories told ABOUT me. At some point, you have to decide to tell your own story. No one can give my truth but me, and that was my inspiration for deciding to tell my story.

JP: As a songwriter, you were able enter snippets of your emotions and experiences in the various songs you have written. Were you intimidated by a work of this length, and how was the experience?

FE: I wasn’t intimidated at all. I was ready, and I was prepared to do it. I had just had a baby. The collaborator I worked with had also just recently given birth, so it helped that we were both juggling newborns. It was intense. I definitely had to revisit a lot of painful memories, but in many ways it was therapeutic for me. I’ve learned from everything I’ve gone through.

JP: What did you want to achieve with this book?

FE: I wanted to set the record straight on a lot of issues. I wanted to connect with my always loyal fans and give them a piece of me that I haven’t shared before. I wanted to have a record of my life so far, for myself and for my children.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Keep the Faith: A Memoir?

FE: I got serious about getting started in May of 2007. I would speak with my collaborator a few times a week. We would trade notes back and forth. I would also enlist my friends and family to help me remember when and where certain things happened. The book came out in June of 2008, so it was just about a year from start to finish.

JP: What’s next for Faith Evans?

FE: I’m already working on the proposal for my next book!

About the Author: Faith Evans started her music career as a songwriter for artists like Hi-Five, Mary J. Blige, Pebbles, Al B. Sure, Usher, Tony Thompson, and Christopher Williams. In 1994 she met producer/impresario Sean “Puffy” Combs, who signed her to his Bad Boy label. In 1995, Evans released her debut album, Faith, which went platinum.

A high-profile career in R&B has endured, with several platinum-certified albums and appearances in films such as The Fighting Temptations, with Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding Jr and Beyonce Knowles.

Faith lives in California with her husband and four children.

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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… Essence Best Seller Keisha Ervin, author of Finding Forever

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Keisha Ervin, author of Finding Forever
(Priority Books)


keisha ervin finding forever

Once teenage sweethearts, Whitney and Koran are vastly different people now. Whitney’s working on her master’s degree and has a new lease on life, while Koran is a drug dealer riding around in expensive cars and living in a big house. Is it possible for Koran to change his lifestyle and for true love to return?

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

Keisha Ervin: I’ve always wanted to write a tragic love story. I’m a huge soap opera fan, so I think that is where my flair for the dramatic comes from, lol. Also I love the movie A Walk to Remember. That movie also inspired this story.

JP: How is Finding Forever different from the other love stories you have composed over the years?

KE: This one doesn’t end with my typical happily ever after ending. Although my characters come full circle they are forced to kind of do it own their own and without the love and support of their significant other. Also, this story focuses on an illness that is plaguing us as women.

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

KE: My process for writing a story is first coming up with an idea. I then figure out my outline in my head. I rarely ever write anything down. All of my stories scenes and ideas from start to finish are stored in my mind. Due to the fact I was under a deadline it took me almost three months to write Finding Forever. I’m not a quick writer. I like to take my time with my stories. With this one I still felt rushed. Some of my readers felt the same way.

JP: This is your sixth novel, but your first book on Priority Books. Why did your switch from Triple Crown Publications?

KE: I did this book with Priority Books because it is a home based publishing company. I have to help and support my city St. Louis. Also Rose, the owner, is such a sweet and genuine woman. I would work with her anytime. To make things clear, I am not signed to Priority Books or TCP.

JP: What’s next for Keisha Ervin?

KE: I am currently working on my seventh novel and a short story for an anthology. To all of my fans and supporters you can contact me at www.myspace.com/keishaervin or http://www.webjam.com/grayrosez

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

This Post is Sponsored by:

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