babygirl publishing | JoeyPinkney.com

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
The Pathfinder, author of Fair Game
(Babygirl Publishing)

Nineteen-year-old Dana Estick flees her privileged lifestyle for the bright lights and big city promises of New York in search of a new beginning and to bury a past filled with physical and sexual violence. What she finds instead is the beginning of a downward spiral filled with recruitment on the internet, drugs, sex for hire, and betrayal at every turn.

Confronted with her own sexuality, trust, friendship, love, remorse, death and her inevitable confrontation with her molester after five long years, Danaâ€™s decision making will expose the readers to her plight and the side of a young woman battling a myriad of inner demons.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Fair Game?

The Pathfinder: The main character Dana was initially one of three characters from a short story I had written several years ago. I was looking through some of my old materials when I picked it up and began reading. There was something about Dana and some of the choices that she made which had a lasting impression on me.

The many risks she took in order to survive displayed a lot of qualities which so many of us wouldn’t dare take. I wanted to show that sometimes when we are confronted with adversity depending on how we approach it, it can make us stronger if we have a plan and stick to it. So I thought, why not give her a voice. Her story was compelling. Her character had a lot of potential for growth.

Once I began writing I couldn’t stop. I can’t explain to you how that felt but it was a wonderful feeling. I also wanted to highlight the fact that sexual abuse is something that some of us do not like to talk about, especially when the perpetrator is a family member.

The hurt, pain, shame and guilt that come with this stigma have ruined many young lives. However, I wanted to not only highlight the mind set of the victim but the perpetrator as well. Danaâ€™s journey is one that I felt needed to be heard, but I wanted to do it with an urban twist.

JP: What sets Fair Game apart from other novels that feature a “good girl gone bad”?

TP: She wasn’t complacent in her â€œgood girl gone badâ€ situation. She understood that it would take some time before she could ever become the person she was before the abuse. Most â€œgood girls gone badâ€ aren’t from a prominent family where both parents are well educated and a staple within the community. Most urban fiction books that I have read the main characters are from low income backgrounds and uneducated.

I wanted to take the genre in a different direction. I wanted to bring both worlds together and see how it would play out. Moreover, I wanted the readers get their monies worth. This is not a novel that glorifies any of the situations and circumstances that Dana experienced, but the novel is a means by which numerous lessons can be learned.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Fair Game getting out to the public?

TP: Marketing, word of mouth, talking to people and going to places and putting up with situations that you wouldn’t normally put up with. Itâ€™s about getting on the grind twenty-four eight.

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

TP: First, I decide on who my main character is, and then I go from there. Every other character or characters are given life depending on where my main character takes me.

I always allow my main character to dictate each sentence, paragraph and page based on what the other characters bring to the table. Honestly, I completed Fair Game in a month, maybe that was an aberration. I don’t know but I wrote every day for a month.

JP: What’s next for The Pathfinder?

TP: Well, my latest release Deadly Consequences will be out later this year. I recently completed the sequel to Fair Game entitled False Pretense. I also have three completed manuscripts, A Rainy Affair, Cruel Shame and City of No Return.

I self-published Fair Game, and I guess I will do the same for Deadly Consequences. Hopefully, the readers will love my work as I continue to grow. I see great things ahead in 2009 and beyond. My faith and belief in God are what keeps me going.

http://www.myspace.com/babygirlpublishing
http://www.blackplanet.com/booksta

I can be contacted at (718) 724-3766 and babygpub@aol.com

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