Tag Archives: urban christian publishing

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… Sherri Lewis, author of Selling My Soul

April 15, 2010 Joey Pinkney 18 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Sherri Lewis, author of Selling My Soul
(Urban Christian)

When Trina Michaels returns from her two-year mission trip in Mozambique, other than longing to see her mother and her best friend, her heart aches to fly back to the place that now feels more like home than anywhere sheâ€™s ever lived and to the man whoâ€™s stolen her heart. Her dreams are short-lived when learns that her mother has been diagnosed with cancer, and the cost of treatment is expensive.

Sheâ€™s forced to return to her career in public relations and is assigned a damage control client â€“ the bishop of a mega-church where an associate pastor and deacon were accused of sexually abusing young boys. One of the young boys has grown up to become her best friendâ€™s husband and a popular gospel recording artist.

Representing Bishop Walker could cost Trina her most valued friendship, her reputation and a future with her new love. As she plows deeper into the scandal and the bishop blackmails her to cover the churchâ€™s secrets and lies, Trina realizes it could cost her soul.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Selling My Soul?

Sherri Lewis: Selling My Soul is actually a sequel to my debut novel, My Soul Cries Out. In the prequel, Trinaâ€™s best friend Monica comes home to find her husband, the minister of music in the church, in bed with another man. She discovers that heâ€™s been struggling with his sexual identity ever since he was molested by two deacons in his church as a young boy.

The Bishop of the church attempted to cover it up because he built his church on the anointed praise and worship of Kevin, Monicaâ€™s husband. The Bishop canâ€™t afford to lose his mega-church status over such a scandal. Readers enjoyed My Soul Cries Out immensely and in every email I got about the book, they asked for a sequel.

Selling My Soul was written at their request and dealt with all the issues they felt needed to be dealt with after the first book. In Selling My Soul, all the pressing questions are answered â€“ what happened to Monica and Kevin? What happened to their best friends and Trina? And what happened to the Bishop and those dirty deacons?

JP: What sets Selling My Soul apart from other novels in its genre? Continue reading 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Sherri Lewis, author of Selling My Soul →

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

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Ashea Goldson, author of The Lovechild

November 10, 2009 Joey Pinkney 4 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Ashea Goldson, author of The Lovechild
(Urban Christian/Kensington)

The Lovechild provides a riveting ride through the life of Makaeli Lovechild Hunt, a successful fashion designer who struggles with her biracial identity and her spirituality. Born into a dysfunctional family and enduring many hardships, she eventually becomes estranged from them.

She escapes to Italy where she dives into her career and masks her resentment for her family, for God and for herself. Finally a family emergency forces her to face her tumultuous past.

In seven life-altering days, she discovers what firgiveness really means. Amidst crises painful enough to make her turn her back on God forever, she learns what it means to be God’s lovechild.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write The Lovechild?

Ashea Goldson: The Lovechild grew in my spirit from the notion that nothing can separate us from the love of God, no matter what it looks or feels like. I was inspired to write a story of an emotionally wounded person and their journey to deliverance and redemption. Although the characterâ€™s experience doesnâ€™t parallel mine, I too have been delivered and redeemed.

JP: What sets The Lovechild apart from other novels in its genre?

AG: Not only is the novel different in that it has an international setting, but unlike so many books in this genre, it is neither a love story nor a best friends story. It also adds a fast paced element of mystery.

JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to The Lovechild getting out to the public?

AG: One of the greatest keys to my success is my faith, knowing that nothing is impossible for God. Therefore, I pray, do what I must do in the natural and donâ€™t give up when situations seemingly donâ€™t work out my way.

Other keys to my success are dedication and determination. Iâ€™ve always been a believer in doing what I need to do in order to accomplish whatever is needed. Even though my schedule is often hectic with the full-time business that I run, family and ministry, I am dedicated to my calling. I continue to push myself forward. Not writing is not an option.

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

AG: It took between two and a half to three years to finish The Lovechild because I was studying the craft of fiction writing during those years and. As I learned, the story kept changing, hopefully becoming better. I didnâ€™t have a formal process at the time. I just wrote and edited as I went along.

However, now that I have completed more than one manuscript, my process involves doing a character analysis, research, a plot outline, then a complete rough draft before I start â€œfixingâ€ the story. The entire process now takes me a few months instead of a few years.

JP: What’s next for Ashea Goldson?

AG: I will be promoting my story, â€œThe Kit Cat Trialâ€ in an anthology entitled Pets Across America which was just released in October 2009. The proceeds will go towards pet activist organizations.

My next Christian fiction novel, Joy Comes In The Morning, will be released in July 2010. I am currently working on the sequel to this which is Count It All Joy. I will be re-releasing a non-fiction work entitled Resurrecting Vision in January 2010 through my own publishing company, GoldWrite Publishing. I also have plans to publish a few other works as well.

http://www.asheagoldson.com/
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ashea-goldson
asheagold@yahoo.com
(678) 510-6941

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html.

Please click on the banners to learn more about each JoeyPinkney.com sponsor:

You need to advertise with JoeyPinkney.com! (Click here for more information.)

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

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Vanessa Miller, author of Through the Storm

June 4, 2009 Joey Pinkney 6 Comments

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Vanessa Miller, author of Through the Storm
(Urban Christian/Kensington )

Isaac Walker was once a heavy-handed drug lord, who was proud of the fact that everybody feared him. But after dedicating his life to Christ, Isaac begins snatching wayward souls out of darkness and into God’s marvelous light. That is, until the day the people Isaac ministered to start coming up missing and someone begins terrorizing him and his family.

Before giving his life over to the Lord, Isaac would have handled this situation with a Glock. Now that his only weapons are his Bible and prayer, he is counting on God to send His angels to help him fight this battle.

Iona Walker is successful, beautiful and every bit as cold-blooded as her father, Isaac Walker once was. As a lawyer, she represents some of the most unsavory criminals in her city. Guilt or innocence doesn’t matter to Iona; cash is what counts.

Iona is on her way to achieving wealth, and she doesn’t care that she had to turn her back on God to get it. When both her parents are put in life threatening situations, Iona discovers that all the money in the world won’t help her get a prayer through to God.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Through the Storm?

Vanessa Miller: Through the Storm is the fifth book in the Rain series. I already had the characters in mind for this book, and I knew I wanted it to be suspenseful. To me, suspense is at is best when people are getting knocked off and others are trying to stay out of the way. The premise for Through the Storm was born from that concept.

Then I attend this thing called a Prayer Journey at my church. It was such an awesome experience that I knew I wanted to share it with my readers. And that’s why the book also deals with the power of prayer.

JP: What sets Through the Storm apart from your other releases?

VM: The suspense is non-stop, and the reader will have a hard time figuring out who the villain is. It’s a definite thrill ride.

JP: What have you learned from getting your previous book published that will help Through the Storm be better than the rest?

VM: One thing I’ve learned is that at promotion is key. You can’t simply write a good book. If you want people to know about it, you have to get out there and promote it.

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

VM: I treat my writing just like a job that I would go to outside the home. I begin my work day at about nine in the morning. I write until about 4pm.

Because I work from home, it’s harder to turn work off than if I worked somewhere else. So I usually check emails and work on marketing ideas in the evening. I write about ten pages a day.

I do not stop to edit my work while I’m writing. Once I’ve finished the book, I print it out and then cut it up. I then sit back in front of my computer and do my re-writes.

Through the Storm took about three month from beginning to end.

JP: What’s next for Vanessa Miller?

VM: My new book released in October. The title is Forsaken. It is the story of a fallen preacher’s journey back to God. I really believe this book is going to speak to the hearts of its readers.

http://www.vanessamiller.com/
http://www.myspace.com/vmiller1

Former Rain & Rain Storm have been Essence Bestsellers. I can also be found on Facebook. Just search Vanessa Miller.

P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html

P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joey.pinkney@gmail.com or myspace.com/joeyreviews

Please click on the banners to learn more about each JoeyPinkney.com sponsor: