JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Kareem Tomblin, author of Death, No Exception
(PriorityBooks Publications)
It was one thing for William Earl Holly, an ex-con four months fresh out of State prison, broke and hungry for a quick major come up, to strong arm rob Queen City dope girl on the low, Monica Sparks, taking her coke, cash and chromed out 190 Benz. But it was altogether something different when William put his hands on her child in the process.
In the eyes of Monica and her thugged-out associates, it was a fatal mistake – one in which they all were determined to have William answer for. But first, William had to be found. Follow Monica as she demonstrates in no uncertain terms what being motivated by an unhealthy emotion called revenge can do.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Death, No Exceptions?
Kareem Tomblin: The idea and inspiration to write Death, No Exception actually came from my personal experiences in the streets “thugginâ€. The fruit never falls too far from the tree that births it. I wanted to create a story of uncompromising revenge but also a story of uncompromising forgiveness.
My main character, Monica Sparks, is out for revenge. Not only was she robbed at knife point of her coke and a major lump sum of cash, but in the process of her hesitating to give up what the robber knew she possessed, her child suffered. Furious about her son being scarred for life, it’s a must she finds out who this dude is as well as who hipped him to her.
When this information is discovered, all hell breaks loose and it’s Death, No Exceptions for the corporate. Well…at least that’s the plan and attempt.
JP: What sets Death No Exceptions apart from other novels that detail murderous revenge set in the inner-city?
KT: When Monica’s robber, by the grace of God and a bit of theatrics on his part, survives a murder attempt, all he wants from the point of his recovery is to pay Monica another visit somehow, and kill her. But after listening to a pastor early on a Sunday morning preach an unusual sermon about how crazy and violent people in this world are, he decided, after that sermon had sunk deep into his soul, that perhaps after much thought it would be more profitable to consider “changing his life than putting more blood on his hands”.
I think this is what makes Death, No Exception a little different from most murderous revenge set in the inner-city. Most of the time with thugs in the streets, if you hurt or harm in anyway a thug or gangsta or what have you, retaliation is the norm. If your retaliation attempt fails, then the person who you tried retaliating against will now seek to find you until someone is hurt severely or killed.
It stops when someone in the streets who has been scarred by another in the streets decides to say “You know what? I’m alive and over time scars can heal. So I’m going to use better judgment and deny my PRIDE and let the matter go. I’m going to let it go, because there’s a possibility that if I go and do something foolish, I will regret it later. The prisons and graveyards are full of individuals who aborted exercising common sense because their PRIDE got in the way or whatever…”
JP: How did you get hooked up with Prioritybooks? How instrumental has this publishing company been to getting your story out to those need to read it?
KT: I got hooked up with Prioritybooks through an ad I discovered in the East St. Louis Monitor Newspaper. Prioritybooks Publication was accepting manuscripts. I decided to send them the first three chapters of Death, No Exceptions along with synopsis and brief bio of myself and what I was trying to do through writing my books.
All I wanted was an opportunity to deliver positive messages while at the same time not watering it down or sugar coating it. One thing I knew personally from thuggin in the streets at a young age was that the streets will light your *ss up with all type of negative bullsh*t. It will have you living a life that God didn’t intend for any of His children to live. Oh yeah, there’s a lot of fast money that can be made while in and off the streets. There are a lot of promises that so-called friends will make you. Promises that they will be loyal to you if sh*t ever hits the fan.
I learned the hard way that everything that glitters isn’t gold, and sometimes that hand you shake and even eat from in the streets is the same one that will bite you when you need them the most. Prioritybooks Publications is giving me the opportunity to give it to my readers the way it is. I really appreciate Mrs. Beavers, the CEO, for that.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Death No Exceptions?
KT: As an author, I just let the Spirit guide me into my next story or whatever. That’s how I end up coming up with stories. If the Spirit or the inspiration isn’t there, nothing really can be produced worth reading, right? Hip Hop music helps me in many ways to write.
There are so many different issues facing the youth today, such as HIV/AIDS, obesity, gang affiliation and incarceration. I consider these plagues and under the inspiration to speak on it through my books, I just get a typewriter and let it flow. It took me a couple of months to write Death, No Exceptions. It was my first. The story was in my head. The problem was getting it on paper. I didn’t have any help, so I just did the best I could as a young author.
JP: What’s next for Kareem Tomblin?
KT: What’s next for Kareem Tomblin? Well, I completed a novel not long ago which will soon be released called Father Forgive Me and Her. It’s about a Federal Inmate who falls for this very sexy and beautiful Federal employee. The problem is, she’s married. Like the young man, he’s going through a lot being locked up with his hormones running crazy. He wants her badly.
It will be a pretty good read. It’s a different take on a love story. I’m working on other projects as well. God bless you and thank you for taking the time to interview me. I pray that you enjoy reading Death, No Exceptions! Be on the looked out for the sequel. You definitely will not want to miss it.
http://www.myspace.com/kareemtomblin
http://www.priopritybooks.com/
http://www.prioritybooks.com/kareem.htm
Kareem Tomblin a.k.a Soojah is currently incarcerated in a federal correction institution located in Bennesville, South Carolina. He has been incarcerated since 1992. He has never allowed his present confinement to stop him from accomplishing his dreams of bringing the ghetto gospel of truth to those who have eyes to read and ears to hear.
Kareem lets readers know, in his first street story, that the warning he is ultimately delivering is simple, whatever decision one chooses to make in life do it with wise direction. Because in this world of sin, motivated by dividends, one slip, or wrong turn could lead to Death, No Exceptions! Bottom Line.
Kareem Tomblin #10119-058
Federal Correction Center
Post Office Box 52020/Unit B-2
Bennettsville, SC 29512
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