JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… (The Soul of a Man Edition)
Marc Lacy, author of “Bottomed Out”
(Peace In The Storm Publishing)
“Bottomed Out” is a fiction short story about a lower middle-class African-American family living in Indiana whose focus is to make sure their son, J.R., is raised correctly and learns wholesome life values. Unfortunately, J.R. is caught up in the hype of peer pressure and feels he has to “dress the part” by going through his teen life with pants sagging off of his behind.
Because of this habit, J.R. suffered an embarrassing moment on the basketball court. Thus, he was kicked off of the team and suspended from school. To teach J.R. a lesson, his father Buford put his own career and family reputation on the line in a very crucial fashion to prove a point.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write “Bottomed Out”?
Marc Lacy: The inspiration to write “Bottomed Out” came from noticing how the “sagging pants” issue is more prevalent now than it has ever been all over the country and the world. The points of emphasis are geared toward those youth who want to be somebody but are unfortunately unable to understand the importance of professionalism.
JP: What has been your personal experience in being a part of The Soul of a Man Anthology?
ML: My experience has been wonderful. Everything from meeting the faces behind the writing, to meeting the masses who have been positively impacted by The Soul of a Man Anthology.
JP: What is your most memorable moment of The Soul of a Man Anthology in terms of what has been expressed of you by someone who has had a chance to read
this book?
ML: I was at a book signing for another publication when someone came up to the table (who apparently already read Soul of a Man) and started bragging to a customer about how they enjoyed the book and that they encourage everyone to pick it up and read it.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish “Bottomed Out”?
My writing process for short stories is to go ahead and write it out as if I’m about to send it to the editor. After the raw/rough draft, I go in and apply as many fine-tuning waves as possible. “Bottomed Out” took roughly a day to write the draft.
JP: What is your latest short story collection, Wretched Saints (with Assuanta Howard), about? And what has been your journey with that book?
ML: Wretched Saints is a fiction short story book that highlights the fact that even when so-called “good people” do wrong, bad things can and will happen. When a person is up to no good…it is what it is, whether they are a preacher, drug dealer, or homeless hobo. But they have to recognize when God gives them the opportunity to recover.
Thus far, the book has been well received by various walks of life. Mainly the religious and non religious, the churched and unchurched, so on and so forth have been enamored by it. Wretched Saints has been great during book reviews/discussions.
Awards Recognition:
- Marc Lacy (“The Looking Heart”) won the Poet of the Year Award(Disilgold.com)
- Marc Lacy (“The Looking Heart”) won the Self-Published Poet of the Year Award(Aspicomm)
- Marc Lacy won “Poet of The Year” – 2005 (C&B Books Distributors-NYC)
- Marc Lacy won “2006 Poet of The Year” – via Memphis Black Writer’s Conference
- Charles Owens won an Independent Producer of the Year Award for his masterful production regarding the CD REFlux (Disilgold.com)
- 2007 Distinguished Alum Award for S.R. Butler High
- 2007 Nominee for “Poet of the Year” along with Nikki Giovanni (Open Book Awards, for Rock & Fire)
http://www.marclacy.com/
http://www.avopublishing.com/
http://twitter.com/marc_lacy
http://www.facebook.com/marclacy
http://www.myspace.com/mlacy
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