JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
C.M. Jones, author of He Left Me
(HortonJones, Inc.)
He Left Me, like all of my work, is a Christian-based, short novel. This book is about a family from Ghana, West Africa, with a lot of family secrets and issues that have plagued their family for years. No one wants to talk about it – not the grandparents nor the parents.
However, the children are different. They want to move on and pursue their dreams and love, among other things. Because of the weight of the family secrets, they are having a hard time.
When one of the parents gives his religious beliefs all of his attention, he finds out that what the family thought were just secrets are actually generational curses. He decides to do something about it.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write He Left Me?
C.M. Jones: All of my work is inspired by my relationship with Christ. I write to entertain people and at the same time teach people, through fiction, how to deal with real life problems. This book is no different.
JP: What sets He Left Me apart from other books in the same genre?
CMJ: He Left Me is set apart from other Christian fiction books because it discuss real issues that people actually deal with everyday, only through the lives of fictional characters. It shows you that there is a solution to the problem.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to He Left Me getting out to the public?
CMJ: Persistence and reader feedback are the keys to my success. I am determined to succeed, and it’s not always easy. There have been times when I felt like giving up. When I put my work out to the public and then reached out to them for feedback, it kept me going.
I found out that I had a fan base that loved my work, which was encouraging. When I felt like throwing in the towel, I kept going just because I didn’t want to disappoint them.
Also, I had to be willing to be my own publicist, manager, agent, etc., because I realized that writing a book is only the first step. The next thing that I had to do was market myself or all of my hard work would have gone down the drain.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish He Left Me?
CMJ: My writing process begins with divine inspiration. It usually starts in church during the sermon. It’s probably something that my Pastor says and then I write it down, or I could be in the midst of prayer. (That probably sounds corny but it’s true.)
After that, I begin my outline of the story. I do go back and change things on my outline as I write, but I must have an outline to guide me through the process. While in the middle of writing, I get started on marketing materials and get the buzz going for the book.
After a few rounds of editing, it’s publishing time. It took me fifteen months to finish this book. It has never taken me this long before, so I can’t wait to hear what the readers have to say.
JP: What’s next for C.M. Jones?
CMJ: Right now, I am in school pursuing my Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership. I will not be writing another novel for a few years. At least, that’s not my intention.
I will, however, continue to tour and promote the three books that I already have. I am also compiling a book of poems that I have written over the years. As far as my publishing company goes, I have three new authors that I am working with to try to help them release their books soon.
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The main character in He Left Me is Tete Abula. She is a beautiful Ghanaian woman who married her husband young and had five children. She still maintained the spark and love in her heart that she had the day that she fell in love with her husband.
When her husband leaves, her she feels abandoned. She becomes a bitter woman, but he does not realize it. Eventually, Tete unconsciously makes everyone around her miserable and has to figure out how to change that.
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