Tag Archives: joeypinkney.com

5 minutes 5 questions with, african american author, african american authors, african american book, african american books, amazon.com, interview, the soul of a man

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Eddrick Dejuan, author of The Birthday Gift (The Soul of a Man Edition)

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… (The Soul of a Man Edition)
Eddrick Dejuan, author of “The Birthday Gift”
(Peace In The Storm Publishing)

“The Birthday Gift” is a purely fictional story that was written because of the need to show that there are black men out there who accept the responsibility of parenting and choose to play an active role in their children lives. Even though I do not have any children, I felt as though the story needed to be told from the perspective of someone who is fatherless.

I was not fortunate enough to have my father in my life. I do believe that I have turned out OK, but the trend of leaving women to be single mothers must stop. This story puts the shoe on the other foot and shows the woman leaving the man as a single parent.

In “The Birthday Gift”, it’s Allen who has to deal with the struggles of being a new single parent with a spouse who walked out. He has to feel the pain of being left all alone, and he has to show how strong his faith in God is. I hope this story sheds some light on what it takes to be a single parent and also show how honorable it is to take responsibility for ones family, actions and commitments.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write “The Birthday Gift”?

Eddrick Dejuan: I wanted to highlight the fact that there are men out there that don’t get the credit for being a struggling single dad. Most of the times its the single mom that gets the attention.

JP: What has been your personal experience in being a part of The Soul of a Man Anthology?

ED: I enjoyed being apart of a strong and deep cast of brothers. I felt as though I grew as a writer and man.

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?

ED: I am humbled that readers came away with the fact that in the midst of turmoil and despair, someone is always praying for them. If they just hold on, better times are ahead.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish “The Birthday Gift”?

ED: When I begin to write, I outline first and then add scenes. I have a very systematic approach to writing. It took me about 15 days to write “The Birthday Gift”.

JP: What is your book, Madam Eve, about? And what has been your journey with that book?

ED: Madam Eve is a romance novel. It deals with Revenge vs. Forgiveness. Evelyn was married to a football player who cheated on her. She got a divorce and decided to take revenge against him and her friends cheating husbands.

As a side note, I have ventured into comic books. You can check us out at http://www.e2comics.com/. I have a very active imagination and I feel as though comics give me the freedom to do whatever as far as story goes.

http://www.eddrickdejuan.com/
http://www.e2comics.com/
http://www.myspace.com/eddrickdejuan

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5 minutes 5 questions with, african american author, african american authors, african american book, african american books, amazon.com, interview, the soul of a man

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Joey Pinkney, author of Like Father, Like Son (The Son of a Man Edition)

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… (The Soul of a Man Edition)
Joey Pinkney, author of “Like Father, Like Son”
(Peace In The Storm Publishing)

“Like Father, Like Son” follows the trials and tribulations of Terrence Greene, his wife Mary and his step-son Andre. In addition to dealing with teenage sex, drug use and criminal behavior from his teenage step-son, Terrence is also dealing with navigating step-fatherhood and gaining proper respect from Andre.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write “Like Father, Like Son”?

Joey Pinkney: The foundation of “Like Father, Like Son” came from my personal experiences as a step-father. There are a lot of mixed emotions and thoughts that swirl around a man’s head when attempting to father a boy who is not your own. One major hurdle is trying to bring a boy into his manhood properly and to your best abilities, since parenthood is a never-ending learning experience. On the other hand, the child has to be given room to figure out his place in the world in the context of a missing father and a stepfather.

As I dug deeper into the characters and their various motivations, they began to take a life of their own. In some ways, Mary has the same attitudes possessed by my wife in terms of their firstborn son. But truthfully, Mary and my wife are far from being the same person. As Terrence’s story began to come forth, I felt his pain but questioned some of his methods. Andre was easy to flesh out hard to read and re-read.

I wanted “Like Father, Like Son” to give the life of a step-father some airtime. Many times, we don’t see the man who takes care of a child who is not his own. Many times, we don’t question a mother’s enabling behavior in terms of her young man’s growth into adulthood. In this short story, I set out to make sure there was another side of the story to not only step-fatherhood but also step-parenthood.

JP: What has been your personal experience in being a part of The Soul of a Man Anthology?

JP: Participating in The Soul of a Man Anthology has increased by desire to be published and get my stories out. I can’t begin to tell you how many books I’ve given away to people who smile wide smiles and have the sincerest admiration for a book housing 13 African-American men of various backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints.

We call ourselves The Soul Brothers collectively, and Elissa Gabrielle is known as the Soul Mother. I think the names fit because we communicate and even meet up for joint ventures. I have also personally brushed shoulders with the likes of Marc Lacy, Brian Ganges, Alvin Romer and Maurice Gray, Jr. in addition to having many thought provoking conversations with K.L. Belvin and Elissa Gabrielle. I really do enjoy the cohesiveness of our group.

I have had the opportunity to travel around The South supporting The Soul of a Man Anthology both by myself and with The Soul Brothers. The Phenomenal Women Book Club of New Orleans, LA, made me feel so special when they invited me to their book discussion. Their no-holds-barred discussions brought a life to my characters that I didn’t know exist.

The Ladies of Flavor Book Club of my beloved hometown Memphis, TN, stands out in my mind for various reasons. One, it was co-founded by one of my high school buddies. That brought our relationship full circle. Most importantly, my mother and my brother got a chance to see me in action. The enjoyment my family got from seeing me interacting with a group of highly intelligent women because of something I created was priceless.

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?

JP: One day, I was doing a radio show to promote the book, and the host asked me to read an excerpt of “Like Father, Like Son”. I love my story, so I got wrapped up in the emotion of the dialogue. I read the section where Terrence admits his “hate” for Andre and his reasons why.

When I finished with my section of the story, the host had an epiphany. The show went in a different direction, and I was no longer the focus. She began to tell me how she always shielded her son from her boyfriend, no matter the circumstance. She then told me that now she sees why her boyfriend got so mad at her for doing that. That small part of “Like Father, Like Son” made her realize how hard it is to raise a boy as a step-father when the mother is over-protective.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish “Like Father, Like Son”?

JP: My writing process for “Like Father, Like Son” was simple. The characters talked; I listened. Different things were revealed to me as I drove to work or showered or talked to my wife. When I say the characters really took a life of their own, I mean it. It’s funny how family members read the story and think that they got an inside scoop on my family. Instead of getting frustrated, I began to take that as a testament of how realistic that short story actually is.

JP: What is next for Joey Pinkney?

JP: The response from readers of The Soul of a Man Anthology has been inspirational. They want to know more about Terrence, Mary and Andre. I am in the process of writing a full-length novel based on those characters to give people more before/during/after in dealing with this blended family. I have half of the novel done, and I need to find the time to get the rest out of my head, edited and printed for the world to digest.

Joey Pinkney is an award-winning author (The Soul of a Man Anthology, 2009 African American Literary Award for Best Short Stories/Best Anthology) and an award winning blogger (2010 AAMBC Book Reviewer of The Year).

http://joeypinkney.com/
http://twitter.com/joeypinkney
http://www.myspace.com/joeyreviews
Facebook: Joey Pinkney

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5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Jarold Imes, author of I Used To Love H.E.R. (The Soul of a Man Edition)

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… (The Soul of a Man Edition)
Jarold Imes, author of “I Used To Love H.E.R.”
(Peace In The Storm Publishing)

About “I Used To Love H.E.R.”: Calvin Rice must find a way to move on after learning that the love of his life has had an affair and is leaving him for another man. Will he stay true to his faith in God or will he succumb to the temptation of the flesh to get revenge.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write “I Used to Love H.E.R.”?

Jarold Imes: I have been wanting to write a book about “The Street Disciples Ministry” and its members ever since I got saved five years ago. I feel like this was an assignment from The Lord, and I have been blessed to see some books and some of the short stories about the members come to light. This story allowed me to focus on a character many of my readers love and oft times, love to hate.

Calvin is one of my most unique characters because he’s made appearances in several of my teen novels, most notably Worth Fighting 4 and Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number. He is also finally getting his own teen book called Nothing Is 4 Nothing.

“I Used to Love H. E. R.” allowed me to explore his life as an adult, especially given the situation he found himself in at the end of Worth Fighting 4. I also wanted to tackle the subject of love and divorce from a male’s point of view.

Most importantly, I cover divorce from a spiritual point of view. I feel like every time a divorce happens, the male’s voice is always silenced or the male is made into some evil monster. Men are never shown to be victims of infidelity, abuse and other domestic issues; even though it happens more times than we want to admit. I wanted to show his frustrations and vulnerability.

JP: What has been your personal experience in being a part of The Soul of a Man Anthology?

JI: I have been blessed to be part of both The Soul of a Man and its predecessor The Triumph of My Soul. I got joy in being able to tithe my talent and my time to write stories that give glory to Him and show real people struggling with real issues and their faith and how He pulls them through.

Being part of these anthologies have also motivated me to write my first Christian fiction novel and given me a platform in which to share my God given talents and to write more spiritual based fiction in not just in my Christian fiction works, but in all the genres I write in.

JP: What is your most memorable moment of The Soul of a Man in terms of what has been expressed of you by someone who has had a chance to read this book?

JI: I’m always asked if Calvin is going to get his own book or if he is going to have other opportunities to tell his story. The short answer to the question is yes, he will. A lot of readers who enjoyed the story liked the fact that I tackled divorce from a man’s point of view and the conflict he had with getting a divorce and his faith.

JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish “I Used to Love H.E.R.”?

JI: As I’ve grown as an author, I find that I am apt to apply different writing processes to different novels, depending on the genre I’m writing at the time. Outlining and doing story boarding works for some of the novels I write. For others, I have a vision or a sequence of dreams, and I write down what I see and hear. I’ve written down outlines I haven’t touched in years, and I have taken chapters, thoughts, opinions I’ve written years ago and found ways to improve and incorporate them in other bodies of work.

Short stories that are 2,000 to 15,000 words are usually written off the top of my head and completed in a few days to a week. With “I Used to Love H.E.R.”, this story was written in two parts. The first four chapters were written in three days and submitted first, and the second four chapters were written in a week about a month or so after wards. So my story was actually two submissions (thank you, Elissa).

JP: What is next for Jarold Imes?

JI: I’m looking to take my literary career in a different direction. I’ve spent most of the last four years publishing and promoting young adult books and Christian fiction. I still want to do that, but I have interests outside of these genres that I have begun actively exploring as well.

Right now, I’m working on two books that will most likely be the very last Jarold Imes teen novels, The Thing About Love and Nothing 4 Thing. Most of my Jarold Imes teen novels deal with social issues and are primarily geared to young men.

I am currently working on a set of teen books under a pseudonym that will be geared to both male and female readers. At this moment, I am not one hundred percent sure what the new name will be that I will write under. My street themed Christian fiction titles are being republished under the pseudonym Isaiah David Paul.

As I am finishing Street Disciples, which will contain my story “I Used to Love H.E.R”. I am also redoing parts of He Changed The Game, so I can release a new version with new and expanded chapters. I hope to start seeing my Christian fiction work back on the market late 2011 or early 2012.

http://www.isaiahdavidpaul.com/ – My Website/Blog for my faith based works.
http://www.ourteenvoices.com/ – My Young Adult Literary Blog
http://www.abednegosfree.com/ – My publishing house where I publish young adult and contemporary adult fiction of many genres.

http://www.myspace.com/jaroldimes
http://www.myspace.com/isaiahdavidpaul

http://www.facebook.com/jaroldimes
http://www.facebook.com/isaiahdavidpaul

http://www.twitter.com/ourteenvoices
http://www.twitter.com/jaroldimes
http://www.twitter.com/isaiahdavidpaul

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