JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Stun Easley, author of The Shake
(iUniverse)
The Shake is a riveting novel that gives you an in depth look into a college world that consists of star athletes, interracial relationships, fraternities, politics and heated sexual relationships. Just when you think you will be able to predict what is going to happen next, you will be surprised on the ride that this novel takes you on.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write The Shake?
Stun Easley: When I was in college, there was an incident that happened on campus. Two black baseball players got into a fight at a traditional white fraternity house. In response to the fight, some black students had a sit-in at the administration building. I remembered that when this was going on. I was thinking to myself that this would make a good story. The Shake is loosely based on this event.
JP: What did you learn from getting No Guarantees published that you were able to apply to The Shake?
SE: I knew that it was going to be hard to get a big time publishing company to publish me. When I was trying to get No Guarantees published, I had sent letters to over 50 publishing companies and 25 literary agencies. I had no luck. I did the same for The Shake. I still had no luck, so I published through iUniverse.com again.
JP: The common denominator between your two novels is the college settings. Was that by design?
SE: I actually started writing No Guarantees when I was in grad school and living on campus. At one point I was living in the fraternity house, and I would walk around with a notebook writing the book. No Guarantees is actually very loosely based on something that happen to me in college.
Once I finished No Guarantees, I already knew what my second book would be about. It was going to be about something that happened while I was still in college. I felt like I needed to tell that story, so that is why my second book was about college as well.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish The Shake?
SE: I try to write a little bit a day. I am a very patient writer. By that I mean it may take me a while to finish a novel, but I will keep writing a little at a time until the story is told.
JP: What’s next for Stun Easley?
SE: I have completed two children’s chapter books. They are about 130 pages each. They are not published yet. I just finished the second one, so I am in the process of editing both books. Then will try to get the books publish by a mainstream publishing company.
As for as in the future, I have about 6 stories in my head. Half of them are children books and half are grown folk books. I am not decided yet on which direction I want to go with.
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