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

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Stun Easley, author of The Shake

June 10, 2009 Joey Pinkney 1 Comment

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.

http://www.seasley.net/

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5 minutes 5 questions with, african american author, african american authors, african american book, african american books, amazon.com, interview, virtual blog tour

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Dr. Vivi Monroe Congress, author of Manna for Mamma

June 10, 2009 Joey Pinkney 6 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Dr. Vivi Monroe Congress, author of Manna for Mamma
(Little Light Production, LLC)

Manna for Mamma: Wisdom for Women in the Wilderness, a Dallas Morning News #1 Bestseller, is a non-fiction work that parallels the journey of the Israelites (from captivity in Egypt to the Promised Land in Canaan) with the ten (10) most common experiences women face today during their personal seasons of wilderness.

The book’s driving purpose is to respond to those seemingly barren and uncomfortable situations in a woman’s life and reveal that Jesus is her manna, available to not only meet her “wilderness” needs but to bring her out. Manna for Mamma will inspire women to move into that place where His promise for her life has already been fulfilled and is awaiting her arrival.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Manna for Mamma?

Dr. Vivi Monroe Congress: I’d encountered a season where I was drawn, if you will, to the plight of the Israelite people; I read everything I could about them, couldn’t get enough, in fact. During that same time, women (some I knew, some I didn’t) would communicate to me how they were “going through” one thing or another and my thoughts would pair these women’s challenges with an Israelite wilderness experience that I’d read about. The resemblance between the two was so uncanny and undeniable. I began to pray for direction and answers as to why God was showing me all this, and even more, what He wanted me to do with it.

I believe it was His way of inspiring me to present Him as The Unchanging Hand to a population of women who were being tested and transitioned, looking for and in dire need of something new—like manna was to the Israelites. Hence, Manna For Mamma.

JP: What sets Manna for Mamma apart from other self-help books based on Biblical scripture?

VMC: Manna for Mamma is a book to, for and about women and our journey through this oftentimes tricky thing called life. Manna for Mamma is a different self-help book in that its not preachy, but teachy. Some self-help books point a ‘ Here’s-where-you-went-wrong ‘ and if you’re really lucky, a ‘ Here’s-how-you-need-to-fix-it ‘ finger in reader’s face(s)–at least I’ve felt that way after reading some. But I truly believe that Manna for Mamma points that same finger away from the reader and in the direction of God to show that no matter who, what, when, where OR why, He’s got you and it’s a done deal.

Manna for Mamma incorporates the stories of key Biblical she-roes, some real divas, showing them at both high and low points to remind women that there’s absolutely nothing new under the sun. If its happening to you today then, sweety, it surely happened to your foresister(s)! So, read about their losses, take your lumps and LEARN; look only to yesterday for the beauty of the lesson but set your sights on today so you can LIVE. And true living, abundant and free, IS the land of milk and honey.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to Manna for Mamma getting out to the public?

VMC: Well, truthfully speaking, the keys to getting Manna for Mamma or any book out into the public eye–or hands–has far less to do with my being an author at this point. Because I’m still relatively new in the literary game–okay, maybe not new, but let’s just say I’m not a heavy hitter or shot-caller–I don’t have the luxury of simply making it happen on the laurels of my good name alone–at least not just yet (smile).

Success in this industry, as with any other, still has alot to do with what you know and who you know. It definitely takes a certain tenacity to push and keep pushing your book(s) out in front of others, but I guess I’m old school and believe in timing and favor as holding the keys to the success I’ve had so far. Plus, being in the encouraging company of some truly anointed and self-less authors (my Anointed Authors on Tour sisters), has a lot to do with much of Manna for Mamma‘s success. Love you, ladies!

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

VMC: I’m an inspirational writer, seeking to motivate others, so I position myself to BE inspired before I can write and feel good about what I’ve done. I wish I could say that I’m disciplined and write twenty-five pages a day on schedule, but the plain truth is I write when “it” hits me. That “it” factor can be a simple phrase that comes to mind or sometimes “it” can be several pages in a couple hours. No matter what “it” is, I write it then wait for the pieces to come together and when they do, it’s always a fit.

But to answer your direct question, Manna for Mamma probably took somewhere between three and five months to completely pen.

JP: What’s next for Dr. Vivi Monroe Congress?

VMC: Still waiting to find out myself (smile). I’ve written with such a vengeance since 2001, and I do mean constantly plugging away at it! And because writing can be such a solitary undertaking, its easy to become somewhat reclusive. Of course, I’m writing, but a large chunk of my existence is now devoted to living and enjoying not just writing and promoting; I’m working to find that ever so delicate balance (smile). So, I’m trying my hand at something a bit different–a novel–and allowing life, up close and unedited, to inspire me.

http://www.myspace.com/DrVivi
http://www.shoutlife.com/DrVivi
LittleLightProd@aol.com

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Matthew Aaron Goodman, author of Hold Love Strong

June 9, 2009 Joey Pinkney 4 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Matthew Aaron Goodman, author of Trouble In My Way
(Simon & Schuster)

Born to a thirteen-year-old in the bathroom of his family’s small apartment, Abraham Singleton enters a world laden with the obstacles inherent in an impoverished community. In spite of the crack epidemic and the HIV crisis that ravages his neighborhood, his family, the Singletons-cousins, an uncle, and aunt, Abraham and his mother-are held together by Abraham’s heroic grandmother, whose deep faith and stoic nature have always given them a sense of wholeness and hope. But when the family goes through seveal harrowing losses, not even his grandmother may be strong enough to lead them through.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Hold Love Strong?

Matthew Aaron Goodman: I wrote about the people I love and the people who love me. I wrote about friends and family, coworkers and students, and the men and women I worked with who had just been freed from prison. I wrote about the people in my life, those I grew up with, those I spent brief but intimate time with, those I cried, laughed, and broke bread with.

I wrote out of respect for their lives and for my own. All of these people influenced and were the inspiration for Hold Love Strong. I wrote for them to express my love, and the impact they’ve had in my life.

JP: How can a Jewish man tell the story of an African-American boy and his experience with clarity and truth?

MAG: The same way James Baldwin wrote Giovanni’s Room and Chester Himes wrote Yesterday Will Make You Cry. The same way Abe Meropol wrote the poem that became the song Strange Fruit. Clarity and truth are not possessions, objects to claim and own. They are interpretations, products of meditation and dedicated, unwavering effort.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Hold Love Strong getting out to the public?

MAG: Dedication, patience, and, at least while I am writing, a total disregard for haters.

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

MAG: Monday through Friday, I wake up every morning before the sun and write. From start to finish, it took me seven years.

JP: What’s next for Matthew Aaron Goodman?

MAG: To continue being human, to get better at being so. To continue writing, to get better at the craft.

http://www.holdlovestrong.com/

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