Category Archives: urban lit

5 minutes 5 questions with, african american author, african american authors, african american book, african american books, amazon.com, interview, urban lit

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Michael McGrew, author of My Kinda Girl

September 6, 2009 Joey Pinkney 26 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Michael Mcgrew, author of My Kinda Girl
(Good Game Ent.)

(One of the first ten people to comment will win a copy of Michael McGrew’s My Kinda Girl).

Congratulations to SiStar Tea for winning a FREE copy of My Kinda Girl!

Bobbi Williams dreamed his way to the top not taking â€œNoâ€ for an answer. From street hustler to a successful conman, he finds himself lost and confused when his best friend/sister is murdered in cold blood.

Now doing a six year bid for a string of robberies he is friends with his late-sister’s boyfriend James. They plan their way back to the top together. When Bobbi is released from Atlanta State Penitentiary with a lot to prove and a legal hustling game plan, his life begins to take a successful turn for the worst.

Starting with Jamesâ€™ fiancÃ©, Jennifer, recognizing that she is his kind of girl. Bobbi has it all: the money, fame, a fantasy and a family until his past and a little karma catches up to him. My Kinda Girl is a tale that travels deep in the mind of a man with secrets that manifest into problems, too hard to live with, and death is the only way out!

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write My Kinda Girl?

Michael McGrew: I got the idea for my novel one day when I was accompanied by a close friend of mine. He happened to invite me to the beach with some lady friends of his. After a couple of drinks and a lot of socializing, I became interested in one of the women whom seemed to be my buddy’s girl. It was something about her that captured me. With my standards, feelings like that were rare.

I am a man of principle. With that being said, I battled with myself temporarily because I was tempted to come on to her anyway. Fortunately, I chose to abide by my principles and decided to honor my friendship but always wondered how far could I have went with her before I got caught!

JP: What sets My Kinda Girl apart from other novels in its genre?

MM: Well, a lot of male authors try to write from a woman’s perspective, and I think that’s great. On the other hand, women are captivated by a man’s point of view and need to understand that we are logical thinkers and not emotional. I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel but only elaborate extensively and creatively with my gripping and unique style of writing.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to My Kinda Girl getting out to the public?

MM: The keys to my success is the passion that I have for my lifestyle. I wouldn’t call what I do a hobby or craft but just what it is, and that’s a lifestyle. I understand that hard work is involved in every success story. I plan to continue my social networking and bookmarking. I have been running my website and selling my novel with the intentions to discover an agent to represent me with hopes to sign with a major. I am a hard worker and look forward to the opportunity to prove myself

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

MM: It took me four months to write my first novel and three months to write my second. I also wrote a movie script in two months and I’m getting better as I come along. I would say that my estimated time to complete a novel would be two to three months.

JP: What’s next for Michael McGrew?

MM: Next I plan to complete my third novel by the end of the year at least, if not earlier. I also start school in July for film production. Networking with the right people will ultimately land me where I need to be. My only motivation is being a role model for my son. I have tremendous plans, and all I need is the opportunity.

http://www.myspace.com/jaylazy1
http://twitter.com/michaelmcgrew

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Randy Thompson, author of Ski Mask Way

August 30, 2009 Joey Pinkney 1 Comment

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Randy “Ski” Thompson, author of Ski Mask Way
(Flowers In Bloom Publishing)

Isiaah “Ski” Thompson is a young man who plans to get his family out of the hood with his basketball skills. When tragedy strikes, he trades his hoop dreams for street dreams. He and six of his childhood friends form a robbing crew and begin pulling heists all across New York State.

After a botched robbery claims the life of one of his best friends and he finally finds true love, Ski vows to change his life and return to school. Making fast money comes with a high penalty. He soon realizes that once the streets get a grip on you, its’ hard to break loose.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Ski Mask Way?

Randy “Ski” Thompson: Originally, I began writing Ski Mask Way on a dare from a couple of my peoples. In the beginning, my inspiration was to prove them wrong. The more I kept writing, the more I fell in love with it.

The idea for the book actually came from my own past experiences. It’s loosely based on my life story, and it was almost like therapy writing it.

JP: What sets Ski Mask Way apart from other Urban Lit novels?

RT: What I think sets the Ski Mask Way apart from other Urban Lit novels is that it’s based on my life story. It’s told from a perspective that makes you feel like you’re riding shotgun in the getaway car. I’m sure that there have been other novels about stick up kids pulling heists but I don’t think that there’s ever been a book so vivid. I’m really taking the reader along on a robbery.

Another thing is you actually see the characters grow up together and how their bond gets stronger. The book is more than a book about about robberies. It’s about a young man dealing with his morality during in his journey in the street. It’s about friendship, loyalty and how one choice can change your life forever. At times you’ll laugh with them, cry, cheer and at other times you’ll curse them for their ignorance.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Ski Mask Way getting out to the public?

RT: I think the keys to success for promoting Ski Mask Way is number 1 separating my book from K. Elliot’s book of the same name. A lot of readers get the two confused, think they already read it and that the book is out under a different cover. K. Elliot did his thing. I respect his work, but our books are completely different. That’s our biggest challenge right now.

I believe once we establish that, that the sky is the limit because my work speaks for itself. Good old fashioned grinding will do it every time. If I’m at McDonald’s, I’m passing out bookmarks and business cards and trying to sell books. Someone who is less talented but a harder worker will go further than a talented person with poor work ethic but if you have both the possibilities are endless.

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

RT: For me, I have to have the book in my head before I write a paragraph. Once I have the beginning, middle, end and characters, then I begin to format the scenes. And, for me that’s the easiest part. Ski Mask Way took me three months to write, and I would say that’s about average for me if I’m completely absorbed in it.

If my heart isn’t racing while I’m writing it, then I know the readers heart won’t be racing. Ski Mask Way 2 took me a little longer because I knew I had to come with it, but I got it together.

JP: What’s next for Randy “Ski” Thompson?

RT: What’s next for me is promoting Ski Mask Way and its sequel. I have another book titled Gang Green that is a heater, and I’m also trying to expand out of Urban Lit and go mainstream. I have two novels that I’m working on titled If It Ain’t White, It Ain’t Right and Unevenly Yoked. So you’ll definitely be hearing a lot from me in the near future.

http://www.flowersinbloompublishing.com

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Book Review: Her Little Secret by T. Freeman, Jr.

August 15, 2009 Joey Pinkney

Her Little Secret
by T. Freeman, Jr.
(Sleepy Eye Publishing)
5 out of 5 Stars

T. Freeman, Jr’s Her Little Secret is a masterpiece which encompasses gritty situations, the perfect use of slang and picturesque scenes from the roughest hoods to the absolutely luxurious locales from the East and West Coasts. Freeman invades the mind of his readers with the sometimes harsh but thoroughly adventurous life of Lerrez Crawford. Born in complete squalor to two drug-addicted parents, life deals Lerrez a bad hand from the very beginning. Dark-skinned, thick and undeniably beautiful, her life would be anything but sweet as she struggles to escape the grips of the cold streets of inner-city Camden, NJ.

Lerrez’s attempt at elusiveness is met with the domino effect of tragedy after tragedy. Before she can reach 18-years-old, she gets shuffled off to a foster home, thrust onto the streets, housed in juvenile detention and taken by her long-lost grand mother. During this whole ordeal, she experience sexual and drug abuse, murders and misadventures that are not too uncommon for people surviving in inner-cities across the nation. A chance meeting with a big-time producer from L.A. proves to be the ticket to stability. Just when she finds solace with the love of her life, all of the dirt she did in Camden threatens to snatch away her fairytale ending.

What really makes this novel pop is T. Freeman’s effortless use of slang and location. Being the perfect guide, he puts foreign slang words in context. He also gives you a street-level view wherever his characters are. Her Little Secret takes you from the crowded projects of Camden to the city blocks of New York City to the socio-economic extremes of L.A. Freeman doesn’t just reference a location. He gives you street names and landmarks in a way that perfectly complements the wicked plot twists.

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