JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Lorraine Elzia, author of Mistress Memoirs
(Peace in the Storm Publishing)
What kind of woman becomes a mistress? Someone who has no regard for the unspoken cardinal rule among women of “Thou shalt not covet another woman’s husband?” Certainly not Kahla Thompson; or so she thought.
Kahla is beautiful, single, and independently successful, possessing all the material goods a woman could desire. Her life is surreptitiously turned upside down when she meets Kevin Eckhart, a married man with a million-dollar smile and a seductive charm she falls prey to. The two have a magnetic, compelling attraction for each another and begin a relationship under the guise of friendship.
Kahla struggles to suppress her hunger for Kevin, but soon finds herself in a paradox: fighting her natural propensity to avoid an affair versus her lascivious desires for a married man and all he represents.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Mistress Memoirs?
Lorraine Elzia: There is one thing that women do. They share their feelings with family, friends and via the internet. Over the years my “sistergirl” conversations seemed to have a recurring theme, and I began to recognize that a lot of women were sharing men. That observation intrigued me to delve in a more detailed level into the mindset of a woman who had placed herself in the position of “the other woman”.
JP: Do you think that it will be hard for your readers to sympathize with a main character who 1) is in love with another woman’s husband and 2) smart enough to never have gotten caught up in the first place?
LE: I think the topic of my book is profusely more rampant than women want to publicly acknowledge or admit, yet it is a topic that readers will be able to either empathize or sympathize with. Mistress Memoirs is that dirty little secret in the closet that is interesting to most women even though it may be a topic people may not want to openly address.
We live in a day and age where the African-American male to female ratio is slightly to the advantage of men. There simply are more women then there are men. Add to that ratio societal plagues against our black men, and the pool of potential mates becomes smaller and smaller. This has caused some women to reconsider their options of either sharing a man, remaining alone or going outside of their race.
Today, more than ever, women are realizing that a good black man is a precious commodity. That has left a portion of black women finding themselves in situations they may otherwise not have been involved in. That fact alone makes my book a bit of insight into the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of affairs.
JP: What have you learned from your past publishing experiences that you were able to apply to this project to make it better?
LE: In writing for anthologies, I had to tailor the pieces to the needs of the publisher and adhere to what they were looking for. In doing so, I lost a little bit of me as a writer in the process. The anthologies gave me the foundation, experience and much needed exposure that a writer wants and needs. It also muzzled on my individual form of expression.
Readers like a good story, but they also like one with some pizazz, a feeling that the author put every bit of themselves into what they are reading. That’s what I was able to bring to this project that I think is better than previous publications I have been in. Less restriction has bred more creativity.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Mistress Memoirs?
LE: I began writing this book about 5 years ago, writing a chapter here and there as I was inspired to do so. Then I put the manuscript up on a shelf in my closet where it sat for a couple of years until I was encouraged to publish it. Once I was serious about giving life to the book, I blew the dust off. It took me about 5 months to complete.
JP: What’s next for Lorraine Elzia?
LE: Right now I am ghost writing. Because of the need for anonymity, it doesn’t allow for my name in lights or for personal publicity; but it is something I enjoy doing. Eventually, I’d like to publish a book that encompasses my ADQ’s (A Deeva Quickies), which are short antecedents of motherhood and family life. It’s kind of like an ongoing sitcom of words, just without the actors. I have been writing my ADQ’s under the pseudonym of “A Deeva” for years. One day I would love to have them published into a coffee table type book so that others can smile, relate and release.
www.lorraineelzia.com
www.Myspace.com/adeeva4real
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