Adrienne Thompson's Blog, page 65
April 25, 2012
Writer Wednesday with Author Tivona Elliott
Thanks for dropping by! Feel free to read about this week's guest, Author Tivona Elliott.
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"I have a voice that I want people to hear."
What inspired you to become a writer? (Tivona) My Grandmother, she raised me to be anything that I wanted to be. She encouraged me to write down my feelings, by giving me a journal and she told me to write what I felt.
What books have most influenced your life? (Tivona) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. That was me..
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? (Tivona) James Baldwin, he is another writer that writes about powerful things that are true in the ghetto life. Like Go Tell It On The Mountain, strong and powerful.
What makes you unique as a writer? (Tivona) I am versatile and just love to write. I will write whatever my heart is feeling, no matter if it's urban lit, street lit, romance, drama, mystery or thriller. If that is what my heart is feeling then that is what you will get from me. I am a freestyle writer.
Do you see writing as a career? (Tivona) Of course. I have a voice that I want people to hear.
What is the title of your latest book and how did you come up with the title? (Tivona) The Unmarritable... Life experience.... Trouble with men....Talking to women and their bad relationships, made me take a look at myself.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life? (Tivona) Real Life..... I live most of the things that I write about. My friends and family help with what they go through. But I witness things in my own relationships that made me research deeper and this is a book that I know many women will relate to.
In 5 words, tell the readers why they should buy your book: (Tivona) Try it you'll like it....................
Please share an excerpt from your latest work:
Tyrone pays the bill and we head out and take a stroll, walking hand in hand. I am loving the fact that he wants to do anything and everything for me. He shows me that I am the one that he wants to spend the rest of his life with. I still can't stop questioning what it is that I am missing. Maybe this is the reason why I am the unmarritable. I am blocking myself from true love because I keep waiting to find the flaws. Instead of just loving this man the way that he is presenting himself to me.
Final Words: (Tivona) Continue to follow your dreams and never allow anyone to tell you what you can't do. You can do anything you set your mind to.
To learn more about Tivona, visit the sites listed below.
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Website link: http://www.fastlife.biz/
Blog Link: http://livinthefastlife-fastlifemanagement.blogspot.com/
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HYHCKG
Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/livin-the-fast-life-tivona-elliott/1030780240?ean=2940012649713
Facebook Link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Livin-the-Fast-Life/113643488649550?bookmark_t=page
Thanks Tivona and thanks readers!! Until later...be blessed!!
April 22, 2012
Sample Sunday 2 - When You've Been Blessed...
Today I've posted another sample from the forthcoming When You've Been Blessed...enjoy!!
I stepped out of the car and walked up to the white-washed stone building. Etched into the glass entry door was an illustration of Kwame Kane, sitting Indian-style with his eyes closed. His hands were clasped in front of him. He wore an Arabian tunic and a turban. Underneath the logo were the words, “Swami Productions”. I rolled my eyes and thought, so this man is gonna produce a gospel album, huh?
I followed a young intern through the building to a small waiting area. He assured me that Mr. Kane would be right with me and then left me to wait alone. I sat on a sofa and took in my surroundings: plush white carpet, old Hollywood-style white cloth couches and chairs, mirrored tables, platinum and gold album plaques and framed magazine covers lining the walls. It wasn’t flashy or gaudy as I’d expected. On the contrary, it was rather elegant.
I sat there for a few moments and then picked up a magazine and began to thumb through it. I sat there long enough to read through three magazines, check my messages and emails on my phone and use the restroom twice. I was fast losing my patience with Mr. Kwame Kane. After all, it was him who wanted to work with me. I pulled out my phone and dialed Palmer’s number.
“Tonya! How’s it going?”
“Well, it’s going great if the company wanted me to be able to describe Mr. Kane’s lobby in detail.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that this guy is so darned busy that he had an intern greet me and stash me in his lobby. I’ve been here for hours and I haven’t even met him, yet. You can just tell A&R or whoever else at the label that I don’t care how they feel about this guy, I’m not gonna sit here and be treated like this!” I was into a full-on rant.
“Okay, okay, calm down. Let me check into this.”
“Yeah, you better check into this. I flew all the way here, to some little fishy-smelling town that I didn’t even know existed, and for what? To sit in the lobby like I’m on an audition? I already have a record deal, or doesn’t Mr. Kwame ‘The Swami’ Kane know this? I’m not some young desperate girl willing to take any and everything for a shot. I’m a legend. I have earned some respect!” I could feel my temper and the volume of my voice rising.
“Tonya, just take it easy and let me check on this.”
“Take it easy? How can—” I was interrupted by a tap on my shoulder. I spun around with a frown and was face to face with none other than Mr. Kwame Kane...
That's it for now! Until later...be blessed!
April 18, 2012
Writer Wednesday with Fantasy/Sci Fi Author Merita King
My Blog guest for this week is Fantasy/Sci Fi Author, Merita King. I think you'll enjoy reading about her!
"I write because my characters demand that I write their story."
What inspired you to become a writer?
I've always wanted to write a book. I've always loved reading and knew that there were brilliant plots and storylines inside me but I never had the ability to write them down well enough. Then in June of 2011 I started to write a short story for a bit of fun and it just grew to the point where I thought, "hey this could be a book if I just keep going and see where it goes." I kept going and my first novel was the result.
What books have most influenced your life?
Science fiction, fantasy and horror are the books I've always loved to read. Because I have a very vivid and active imagination these genres really capture me. They have influenced my life by feeding my imagination and inspiring my own writing.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
James Herbert has always been one of my favourites. I like his easy style and uncomplicated plots. They're easy to read and get into and his descriptions really bring it to life.
What makes you unique as a writer?
I think the answer to this is my spirituality. My stories all have a strong spiritual thread that some describe as paranormal. I'm a psychic medium and so spirituality is very important to me and people have often said why don't I write a spiritual type book. Well I have, but I've clothed it within a science fiction/space fantasy plot line.
Do you see writing as a career?
I'd love to be able to just write and not have to go out and do a day job but I didn't start writing to get rich and I doubt that it will ever make me rich.
What is the title of your latest book and how did you come up with the title?
Well my latest book is still being written. It's the third instalment of my space fantasy series and it will be titled The Lilean Chronicles - Changing Faces. My series is The Lilean Chronicles and this book contains a character that is a shape shifter, hence the title Changing Faces.
My first novel is titled The Lilean Chronicles - Redemption and I gave it this title because the story is about a man's redemption, and through his actions, the redemption of a whole race and a whole planet.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?
Well I don't really regard them as challenges. Writing is a total joy for me and the good thing about space fantasy is that you can just make stuff up. I always make sure though, that all my inventions have a researchable and plausible basis in current known physics, engineering, medicine etc. There've been several times when I've needed to know about the workings of different areas of the brain for instance, so I google it and make sure that what I'm writing has at least some basis in what is known now. I think this makes everything more believable for the reader and makes them more comfortable with the story.
In 5 words, tell the readers why they should buy your book:
A spiritual space fantasy epic!
Please share an excerpt from your latest work:
From chapter 14 of The Lilean Chronicles - Redemption.
King Lomas paced around the obs deck, hands behind his back. He was a patient man but this business was so important that every second of time wasted could cost so much. He was pleased beyond belief that Farra had safely delivered the evidence package to Donaldson but worried about how events on Terramora Prime had taken an unexpected turn. Questions raced back and forth in his mind and he had answers to none of them but they still raced anyway and as he paced, he fretted. Who had tried to assassinate Donaldson and most of all, why? Farra had saved him from the assassin’s gun but the man himself was still at large according to the message she had sent them. Was she in danger? He wanted most of all for her to be safe but she had made a specific point in her message of saying they must focus on getting Vincent to safety first and he knew in his heart that he couldn’t let her down. If they failed to find Vincent and secure his return to Terramora he could never be granted his freedom and the stain would never be removed from his record. He knew Farra would never forgive him if he caused that to happen so they had raced across the galaxy as fast as the battle cruiser would carry them, heading for the Vinbuk System to rescue Vincent. They were finally almost there and Lomas paced with rising agitation as he waited for his officers to report that they had arrived.
“Your Majesty, we are arriving at Vinbuk 3 now Sir.”
The intercom buzzed and Lomas raced to the bridge of the vessel without bothering to reply. At last, at long last they were here and if luck would smile on them today, they would secure Vincent and be away within hours.
Final Words:
When I started writing my first novel I was so optimistic. Once it was written and out in the world the optimism died pretty quickly and it was a shock to find out how competitive and cut throat the writing community can be. Help and advice is very hard to find and unless you know the right people or have a lot of money to throw around, you're really on your own. Marketing is a nightmare and I've found that being an unknown writer with no money to pay for marketing, people just don't want to be bothered to take a chance and read my work. I still love writing and will still continue; I write because my characters demand that I write their story. It is their story not mine, for I don't plan or manage the creation of the book much at all. I just start to write and within minutes the characters are by my side building it up and I just write what they tell me to write. It's a very intuitive process for me; my characters live and communicate with me in a very tangible way and they take the story off in directions I could never think of. They throw stuff in spontaneously just when I think I know where it' going and at other times I think of putting something in and they refuse it. I trust them completely, they know this and we work together very well. They are my friends now.
To learn more about Merita and her work, visit the sites below:
Website link: http://www.thelileanchronicles.com/
Blog Link: http://thelileanchronicles-redemption.blogspot.com/
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Lilean-Chronicles-Redemption-Merita-King/dp/0957052006/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328093570&sr=8-1
Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/the-lilean-chronicles-redemption?keyword=the+lilean+chronicles+redemption&store=allproducts
Smashwords Link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/112074
My first novel, The Lilean Chronicles - Redemption is now available
http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-lilean-chronicles-redemption/18167636
Live the journey, for every destination is but a doorway to another!
Thanks, Merita and thanks, readers!! Until later, be blessed!!
April 15, 2012
Sample Sunday - When You've Been Blessed...
Today's sample comes from my upcoming third novel, When You've Been Blessed...Feels Like Heaven. Enjoy!
I lay asleep, secure in my husband’s arms, when his cell phone rang. By then, I was used to late night calls from church members reporting that a loved one was sick or had entered the hospital or had passed away. I even kept an outfit hanging in the closet in case Apollo and I had to make an unexpected trip in the middle of the night. But the calls usually came to the house phone. Only church officials or family members had his cell number. I lifted my head up from his chest and shook his shoulder.
“Apollo, your phone’s ringing,” I said.
“Hmm?” he responded groggily.
“Honey, your phone’s ringing. You want me to get it?”
He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “No, I’ll get it. No sense in both of us having to break our rest.”My rest is already broken, I thought.
Apollo kissed my forehead then sat up on the side of the bed to pull on his boxers and a t-shirt as he answered the phone.
“Hello?” he said. He listened to the caller for a moment and then said, “Alright, hold on a minute.”
He stood and left the room. I lay back down and closed my eyes but found it impossible to fall back to sleep. My mind was reeling, wondering who was on the phone and what had happened. Finally, I sat up on the side of the bed and wrapped my robe around the fleshy curves of my body. I ran my hand through the soft twists on my head and slid my feet into my slippers.
I headed out of the room, having decided to get a glass of water from the kitchen. I walked down the hall towards the winding staircase and as I passed our son AJ’s room, noticed that his light was on. I guess he finally made it home, I thought as I peeped through the slightly open door. It was Apollo, not AJ, who was in the room. Apollo was sitting on the side of AJ’s bed with his back to the door having a rather hushed conversation on the phone. I stood there for a moment and then told myself not to eavesdrop. He’ll tell me about it when he hangs up. He always does.
I continued to the kitchen, fixed a glass of water, and headed back up the stairs. This time when I passed by AJ’s room, I could hear Apollo raising his voice. I stopped by the door and listened.
“Don’t you ever call me at this time of night again, you understand? And you sure as hell better not come to my house. We’ll deal with this later,” he said in a harsh whisper.
I raised my eyebrows and wondered who he was talking to and what he was talking about. I stood there for a few more seconds, but he lowered his voice and I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Not wanting to get caught eavesdropping, I headed to the bedroom and settled back into the bed. A few minutes later, Apollo returned to our bedroom, climbed into the bed, and spooned himself behind me.
“Who was that?” I asked.
“Nobody, one of the deacons about some program. Go back to sleep, baby.”
I frowned. “A deacon at this time of night? Which deacon?”
“Yeah, I’m gonna have a talk with him in the morning.” He only half answered my question.
He snuggled closer to me and kissed my shoulder. I opened my mouth to reply but then decided against it. I was pretty positive that Apollo was lying, but I didn’t want to argue. We never argued, and I liked it that way. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but couldn’t. That phone call and what I’d heard Apollo saying to the caller was all I could think of. I lay there wide awake for what felt like hours listening to Apollo’s breathing and finally, having waited as long as I could, slipped out of the bed and quietly walked around to pick Apollo’s phone up from the night table.
I tipped out into the hallway. I shook my head and thought, Lord, I can’t believe I’m checking his phone. We’ve been married for twenty years, and I’m checking his phone like some kind of jealous crazy person.
“I’m not doing this,” I whispered to myself.
I turned back towards our bedroom door but couldn’t make myself move. Okay, I’ll just check it and see that it was one of the deacons like he said, and then I can get some sleep. I took a deep breath and then clicked the button on Apollo’s phone until his call log popped up. The last call received did not have a name programmed with it, but for some reason, it looked familiar to me. I stood there for a moment—then it dawned on me where I’d seen the number. I quickly walked down the stairs and into the living room. I picked up a piece of paper from the coffee table. On it was Lisa Donley’s number from our counseling session earlier. I closed my eyes and then held the paper up next to the phone. Just as I’d suspected, the numbers were the same.
Why was Lisa calling him in the middle of the night? Better yet, what was she doing with his personal cell number? And why had Apollo lied about who was on the phone? I stood there for a minute or so and tried to decide whether or not I should confront Apollo about the phone call. As it turned out, I didn’t have to. As I stood there contemplating my next move, Apollo’s voice shocked me out of my thoughts.
“What are you doing down here? I missed you.” He asked in his booming baritone voice.
I spun around, still holding his phone in my hand. I stood there and stared at him, but did not answer his question.
“And what are you doing with my phone?” he added with a frown.
“What were you doing on the phone with that girl?” I countered.
“What? Who? You been checking my phone, Tonya?” Apollo said, raising his voice a little.
“Answer the question, Apollo. You know what girl I’m talking about. I know this is her number because she gave it to me when she was here.”
He shook his head. “I can’t believe that after twenty years of marriage, you are actually checking up on me. Come on, Tonya. This is ridiculous.”
I shut my eyes tightly. “Well, you put me in this position. Why did you lie about who was on the phone? How did that girl get your number?”
“Tonya, is this for real? You think I got something going on with that girl? You know better than that. Come on and let’s go back to bed.” He reached for my arm and I snatched away from him.
“Apollo, you haven’t answered one question. Why did you lie?!”
“Okay, okay. She got my number from her mother. She needed to talk about her trouble, so I talked to her. That’s all.”
“Then why did you tell her not to call you or come by here?”
“I never said any such thing.”
He was lying. I couldn’t believe that he was standing there looking me straight in the eye and lying! He’d never lied to me before, had he?
“Oh my G—you’re lying! You said it. I heard you, Apollo.”
“What?! Now you’re eavesdropping on my conversations? What’s gotten into you?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Maybe the better question is, ‘Who’ve you gotten in to?’Are you her baby’s father?”
He laughed. “What?! Are you serious? Didn’t we just make love a few hours ago? Did that feel like I’ve been with someone else?”
I dropped my eyes. Apollo’s lovemaking always made me feel like I was the only woman he wanted, like he’d bottled up all of his passion and only released it when I returned home. Even after twenty years, he couldn’t seem to get enough of me.
“Did it?” he repeated.
I shifted my weight on my feet and then looked up at Apollo. “Well, no, but why lie? You’ve never lied to me before.”
Apollo moved closer to me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “She asked me to keep it confidential. She told me who the father was, and I knew if I told you she’d talked to me, you’d want to know what we talked about. I was just trying to respect her privacy,” he said softly.
I shook my head and sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s going on with me. I guess I’m out on the road so much; I just worry about things between us sometimes.”
He smiled down at me and then kissed me softly, sending a spark through me. It was amazing that he still had such an effect on me. “I love you, baby. There’s no one else I want in this world. Now come on back to bed. We got church in the morning.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
As we began to walk back to our bedroom, Apollo’s phone rang again. I had forgotten that I was still holding it. I looked at it for a moment and then handed it to him. He looked at the screen and frowned.
“I don’t know this number,” he said. He pressed the button, accepted the call, and cautiously said, “Hello?”
I watched as he listened attentively to the voice on the other end. His eyes widened as he nodded and repeatedly said, “Okay.” Finally, he hung up and then turned to me. “Well, it seems that our son is in jail.”
I gasped. “WHAT?! What happened? Is he okay?”
“The officer said something about an assault and battery charge. I’ll get dressed and go bail him out.”
“O…okay. You want me to come?”
“No, stay here. I’ll be back with him as soon as I can.”
“Okay.”
Ten minutes later, Apollo left for the police station and I sat in the living room with my Bible open. After reading a few scriptures, I knelt down in front of the sofa and began to pray for my family.
I hope this sample piqued your interest! Until later...be blessed!
April 11, 2012
Writer Wednesday with Author Jacqueline Gum
Today's Writer Wednesday guest is author and...ahem...slut, Jacqueline Gum. Check her out!!
"I bring a fresh and candid voice from a woman who has traveled the inside track of corporate America."
What inspired you to become a writer?
[jacquelinegum] Since I can remember, I've always been a voracious reader. I found myself able to go many places through the words of beautifully written prose. I began writing quite young; keeping a diary and writing letters, and found the process very fulfilling.
What books have most influenced your life?
[jacquelinegum] Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand changed my life. I read it for the first time at age 16 and make a point of reading it every two years. My leather bound copy is quite worn. :)
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
[jacquelinegum] Ayn Rand naturally, and so many others in so many genres...Jane Autsten, original women's fiction author; William Shakespeare for his poetic prose, wry wit; Sylvia Plath for the ability to articulate such raw emotion; Nelson DeMille who can weave such jocularity into a plot driven tome with well-developed characters; Robert Hicks, whose Widow of the South blew me away with the originality of story combined with beautiful writing; Philippa Gregory is unmatched for historical fiction…I could go on and on. Laugh!
What makes you unique as a writer?
[jacquelinegum] I bring a fresh and candid voice from a woman who has traveled the inside track of corporate America.
Do you see writing as a career?
[jacquelinegum] Absolutely!
What is the title of your latest book and how did you come up with the title?
[jacquelinegum] Confessions of a Corporate Slut. The title is actually what I called myself when I gave up my career to help my husband forge his. Having been a long time career woman, I found myself a bit thrown when asked, "What do you do?" Because enabling success for another is an unpaid position, I came up with a title I thought funny. And it always got a laugh.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?
[jacquelinegum] Feeling a bit stupid after the walls came crumbling down, I started to share my story with a few women. I had a suspicion, but wanted affirmation, that other supposedly smart women had made bad choices as well. They started coming out of the woodwork. It's difficult to admit that one is complicit in their own demise, yet there is comfort in numbers and hope in the resurrection of one's self.
In 5 words, tell the readers why they should buy your book:
[jacquelinegum] It's entertainingly educational. :)
Please share an excerpt from your latest work:
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PROLOGUE
Over the course of my sixteen-year marriage, I'd entertained thousands, hosted hundreds of dinner parties, kissed countless asses, brokered untold deals and colluded with dozens of employees to assure the growth of my husband's company. But the day my marriage ended only my ex-husband, our attorneys and I, bore witness to the death of this corporate wife. The settlement had been negotiated out of court and our final meeting was a formality required by law. My maiden name restored, my severance package finalized, I was moving to Florida to begin a new life at age fifty. I had paid a high price in terms of pride and self-esteem, and my recompense was less money per year than I would have earned had I not left my own career to better my husband's.
I was sitting alone in my car in the garage under the Milwaukee County Courthouse, my head against the headrest, seemingly glued there. My arms, wrists bent backward as my fingers grazed the leather of the steering wheel, weighed a hundred pounds each, and my legs felt like cement pilings driven deep into the ground. I was convinced the level of Lake Michigan had risen at least an inch with the volume of tears I'd shed in the last fifteen months—tears of anger, frustration, sadness, madness, gladness, and humiliation, and some triumph mixed in, too. Today my eyes were dry. My eyelids, suddenly heavy, involuntarily closed and images started rolling through my head like a bad 16 mm movie reel.
There I was serving dinner to ten company executives while convincing a desirable job candidate that he would be better appreciated and encouraged to grow at my husband's company. After dessert he accepted the offer.
I was organizing a luncheon for potential customers and then planning a welcome party for the new employee and his wife. Secretly meeting with the executive vice-president, I was showing him a new approach to gain approval from the CEO, my husband, for a project that had previously been rejected.
I was shocked to hear my own laughter reverberate around the car, a repetitive echo bouncing from surface to surface like a ricocheted bullet. Could my life really have become such an appalling cliché? I had carefully crafted and culled my uniqueness from a very early age. Exactly when, and how, did "unique" sour like outdated milk and curdle into "cliché?" My laughter, changing key, took on a slightly maniacal pitch. What the fuck? How had I let this happen?
That very moment, I reluctantly began to unravel the basket of my life with John Wendall, reed by reed. I had to…before I found myself in a home for abandoned corporate wives/corporate sluts, weaving real baskets for retail. There had to be millions of us out there…walking clichés dumfounded by the absurdity of it all, hunting like scavengers for the distinctiveness we had branded since our childhoods. We were proven frontrunners in innumerable fields who had given up working for recognition and singular achievement. Our livelihood now centered on propelling our husband's success, we had merely traded careers.
When you are a woman without children, the social expectation is that you have a career, or at least a job. Being a corporate wife doesn't qualify as a career. Most people can't comprehend the difficulty or complexity of the task. Not exactly the same as a woman who works and supports her husband while he attends dental, medical or law school, a corporate slut actually has intimate knowledge of the business and works to better her husband's company and his image. In my case, I created an illusion. I reinvented my husband and managed his life, our lives, and his company while remaining resolutely behind him, thick curtain between us, insisting the spotlight shine solely on him. At the height of my career, my initiatives were so cleverly couched that my husband supposed he birthed all the ideas alone.
Though I had years of experience as a business owner, an entrepreneur, a top salesperson, and a corporate manager, when I sold my company and married John Wendall I became one thing only: a corporate slut. My self-appointed title always got a laugh. "Domestic Diva" was a pretentious title I couldn't abide. It connoted a spoiled, kept woman, languishing in luxury. Contrarily, a corporate slut is a working woman, albeit an unpaid one.
I've always thought of a slut as an unpaid prostitute. Prostitution by definition is the action of selling one's talents for a base purpose. For sixteen years I poured the best of myself—my talent, my ability, my brainpower, even my body—into creating and sustaining a successful man, a successful business, and a successful marriage. It worked for a while, but in the end I was rewarded by being surreptitiously terminated with no notice. There was no remuneration for my services.
It was my ambitiously driven nature coupled with John's mounting demands that created a very successful manufacturing company and produced sixteen years of pyrotechnics glimpsed from a roller coaster moving forward, then backward, and ultimately reeling out of control.
Final Words:
[jacquelinegum] For those who choose to read my work, I most humbly thank you and sincerely hope you enjoy the read. But whether you connect with the novel…or not…I am ALWAYS mindful of your investment of time; it moves me deeply and my gratitude is boundless.
To learn more about Jacqueline, visit the sites below:
Website link: www.jacquelinegum.com
Blog Link: http://jacquelinegum.com/blog
Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/confessions-of-a-corporate-slut-jacqueline-gum/1100372538?ean=9781434344915&itm=1&USRI=confessions+of+a+corporate+slut&
Thanks, Jacqueline and as always, thanks, readers! Until later...be blessed!!
March 25, 2012
Writer Wednesday with Author/Poet Tremayne Moore
Today's guest is Author/Poet Tremayne Moore. Read all about him!!
"As the years progressed, people were touched by what I would write and I just kept going from there."
What inspired you to become a writer?
Truthfully, I never intended to be a writer. I used to keep to myself a lot, and would write poems to express what was in my heart. As the years progressed, people were touched by what I would write and I just kept going from there.
What books have most influenced your life?
When I was little, simple books like Where The Sidewalk Ends and the Encyclopedia Brown books influenced me.
As an adult, books like Rich Dad Poor Dad, Three Feet From Gold, and See You At The Top have influenced me.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Now my favorite author would be Robert Kiyosaki because he makes information so simple that anyone can understand it. Considering I'm an accountant by profession, he gives me a different perspective on how I educate others in the financial arena.
What makes you unique as a writer?
When I write a poem or a story, I write it with a stage play/screen play in mind.
Do you see writing as a career?
Initially I saw it as a hobby. Now I see it as a career.
What is the title of your latest book and how did you come up with the title?
Take It From Him: From Men of Standard & The Women Who Love Them. As my editor was reading the poems for the book, she actually came up with the subtitle. Take It From Him is actually the third book in the You Can Take It Series.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?
For this book, this was relatively easy, especially since I'm a man. I will admit, the challenge was writing from a devious man's perspective. The research aspect was easy, all I had to do was stroll through the mall and observe men and watch TV.
In 5 words, tell the readers why they should buy your book:
Men have issues like women!
Please share an excerpt from your latest work:
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You Are
To love you the way I do is more than you'll ever know
I pray that our love for each other will truly grow
You are that missing angel from heaven who's worth dying for
You are worthy of honor and so much more
Whenever I need you, you're always there for me
I don't ever want to take you for granted, that's how true love should be
You are everything to me, and there's no need to pretend
For you are my significant other, my spouse, and my best friend
You bring out the best in my gifts and talents, no one compares to you
No one else on earth can love me like you do
You are the essence of God's love; it's evident when you smile
More than your smile, it's your lifestyle that makes my accolades valid and worthwhile
You are the backbone to my life; I'm nothing without your support
I will cherish you 'till my life is over so we'll never need a divorce court
You are everything to me, and there's no need to pretend
For you are my significant other, my spouse, and my best friend
Final Words:
If you don't fulfill your God-given talents, you're robbing others, as well as God and yourself.
To learn more about Tremayne and his work, visit the following sites:
Website Link: http://www.maynetre.com
Blog Link: http://mayneman.blogspot.com
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Take-Him-Standard-Women-Love/dp/0615458416/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327796411&sr=1-5
Barnes and Noble link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/take-it-from-him-tremayne-moore/1101135531?ean=9780615458410&itm=2&usri=tremayne+moore
Smashwords Link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/79721
I'd like to thank Tremayne for being my guest this week, and as always, thanks, readers!!
Until later...be blessed!!!
March 20, 2012
Writer Wednesday with Author Jerold Last
There was a brief hiatus from Writer Wednesday last week, but it's back and here goes! This week my guest is Jerold Last, author of The Ambivalent Corpse. Read all about him!
"My interest in writing mysteries came from reading the masters"
What inspired you to become a writer?
My interest in writing mysteries came from reading the masters and from a Freshman seminar I taught for many years at the University of California at Davis on California Mystery Novels. The setting for my novels thus far has been South America, especially Uruguay and Northwest Argentina, both places we lived during a sabbatical I took several years ago. I've been back to Montevideo and Salta several times since then for collaborative research and teaching programs there, so I know the locales, the food, and the people I use for the books. Novels to come will be set in Chile, Peru, and Brazil, all places I have spent time in thanks to the various scientific collaborations that began during our sabbatical leave.
I try to write books that are fast moving and entertain the reader, while introducing the readers to a region where I've lived and worked that is a long way from home for most English speakers. Montevideo, Salta, Machu Picchu, and Iguazu Falls are characters in these books, and the novels will have succeeded for me if some of you say that you'd like to visit these places because they seem so vivid and real.
What books have most influenced your life?
If we think only about fiction and reading for pleasure here, my lifelong hobby has been reading mystery novels, especially the California mystery novels of my favorite authors, Raymond Chandler, Ross MacDonald, Michael Connelly, Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins series, and Robert Crais, and wandering out of California, Robert B. Parker's Spenser series and James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux stories.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Probably Ross MacDonald (Kenneth Millar). He was the first mystery writer I know of to combine the hard-boiled California P.I. genre with the deep psychological insight that came from his own analysis to elevate the genre to a place on the New York Times Bestseller List. His characters have a depth and complexity that makes his books worth reading for much more than the body count. If you read the series, you get an insight into California's growth and changes over a generation or two that makes the location into an important character in the novels.
What makes you unique as a writer?
I have absolutely no goal to write "The Great American Novel" or even literature. I believe my strengths are in inventing interesting plots, paying attention to story details, and entertaining the reader. The science I sprinkle into the books is authentic; I have a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry and am a Professor at a large university medical school. The locales are authentic; I've either lived in or visited all of the places my characters visit.
Do you see writing as a career?
Writing as a career in the sense of being a way to put food on the table, No. I have a full-time job teaching and doing research. I enjoy writing, and it is a serious hobby. My Type-A personality forces me to do it as well as I can. Selling books and getting royalty checks is a neat feedback mechanism to motivate me to write the next book.
What is the title of your latest book and how did you come up with the title?
The premise of my latest book is that our heroes Suzanne and Roger find parts of a dismembered corpse on a rocky stretch of beach in Montevideo, apportioned equally between the Memorial to a German cruiser sunk in World War II and the Memorial to Jews killed in the Holocaust. Because of the murder victim's strategic location shared between two antithetical monuments, the Uruguayan press names her "The Ambivalent Corpse". I actually got the idea for "The Ambivalent Corpse's" book title and basic premise when my wife and I took a walk in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1999 and we saw that strange juxtaposition of the two monuments.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?
It took a while for me to find the time to sit down and start writing the book. In this case "a while" spanned 12 years. The major challenges for me are finding the time to write and the discipline to edit the dialogue and descriptive passages over and over until things feel right and pass my wife's critical evaluation. I haven't needed to spend much time on research as yet, since I've lived in the locations that the books have been set in. That may change in the future, but the next book in this series, which should be published on Amazon and Smashwords some time early in 2012, is set in Peru and Northern Chile, again places I have spent a good bit of time in. The next book, "The Surreal Killer", has a title that is intended as a pun on the theme of the book, the search for a serial killer.
In 5 words, tell the readers why they should buy your book:
Entertainment, Travel, Suspense, Whodunit, Thriller.
Please share an excerpt from your latest work:
Chapter 1. The Ambivalent Corpse Appears
We found the corpse on a rocky stretch of beach in Montevideo, about a mile east of the harbor. Pieces of the body were apportioned equally between the Graf Spee Memorial and the Holocaust Memorial, which are side by side on a grassy knoll overlooking the Rio de la Plata shore facing Buenos Aires to the south. Because of her strategic location shared between two antithetical monuments, one to the German warship scuttled near Montevideo Harbor in 1939 and the other to the victims of Nazi genocide in World War II, the Uruguayan press named her "The Ambivalent Corpse" ("El Cadáver Ambivalente"). But I'm getting ahead of myself in telling this story.
Early the morning after Suzanne and I arrived in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, we began a long run to start adjusting to the 4-hour time difference from California. Hopefully, the run would help us make up for only 4 hours of sleep. When dinners end at midnight as is typical for Uruguay, people sleep as late as they can the next morning. Thus the streets were mostly deserted. I better understood why the tradition of the siesta, or noon-3PM nap, became institutionalized in Spain and Latin America hundreds of years earlier.
After walking south and east from the hotel to the Rambla as a warm-up we ran east towards Punta Carreta at a pretty fast pace. Traffic at this hour was light. The Rambla was deserted at this hour except for a few older folks walking their dogs. Since everybody in Montevideo lived in an apartment, the dogs were small. So were most of the people at the end of the leashes.
Our run lasted only as far as the park with the lake on our left and the Maritime Museum, the Graf Spee Memorial, and the Holocaust Memorial on our right. Beyond the Museum was the Rio de la Plata. Far out of sight across the river was Argentina. Suzanne and I were the only live people visible anywhere in this area. It was impossible not to see the pieces of dead body lying by the two Memorials so we stopped and checked things out. Pieces of body were apportioned half and half between the Graf Spee Memorial and the Holocaust Memorial. The victim was a young woman who had almost certainly been murdered.
The Graf Spee Memorial features a six-inch cannon salvaged from the wreck and an explanatory plaque. The body parts were carefully placed around the concrete base the cannon is mounted on. Beside the Memorial was almost half of a dismembered corpse: a jean-covered leg beside an arm covered by the sleeve of a sweater, and the top half of the torso minus its head. The half-body was dressed in what was left of a turtle-necked sweater and obviously had belonged to a woman. She looked to have been young and in pretty good shape. There was very little blood visible, just the body parts.
The Holocaust Memorial is a large inscribed chunk of rock sculpture pulled away from a 350-foot long wall. The rest of the body parts were placed symmetrically around the base of the plaques. Next to the Memorial was the remaining half of the dismembered corpse: the other jean clad leg, the other sleeved arm, and the bottom half of the torso from the waist down to the groin area. This half-body was dressed in what remained of her jeans and matched the top half in gender and size. The parts would fit together like the pieces of a life-sized jigsaw puzzle.
Lying precisely between the two halves of the corpse was its head. The victim had long dark hair and was mid-20s to 30-ish and good looking. From the overkill brutality it seemed that the murderer was really pissed off at her.
Despite my years as a homicide detective in Los Angeles and the many dozens of murder scenes I've investigated the brutality and the cold-blooded theatricality of this murder scene caused my stomach to lurch. Years of training kicked in to make me seem a lot calmer than I actually was.
Suzanne turned a pale shade of green. I turned her gently away until she was no longer looking at the body.
"Take a couple of deep breaths," I said. "Her suffering is finished. Think of it as if you were taking your old gross anatomy lab. What can you learn from what you see? Let your brain take over. You can handle this."
She buried her face in my chest and trembled for a few moments while I held her tightly against my body. Then she tilted her head back and looked up at me.
"I can do that," she said in a barely audible whisper, took a deep breath, and said again, this time in her normal voice, "Yes, I can do that."
We had to find a telephone and call the police. I flagged down a passing empty cab from the wide boulevard by the Rambla. Fortunately the driver had a cell phone and contacted the police almost immediately. The first police car was there within 3 minutes. Within 20 minutes a crowd of cops was standing around staring at the remains. Suzanne and I stood out of the way and waited for the detectives. I looked at the scene carefully and observed all of the details I could.
Things were much too clean for this to have been the site of a bloody dismemberment. Obviously the body parts had been moved here after they were cut into seven different pieces. They were carefully arranged and displayed to send someone a message. The killer, or more likely killers, obviously thought their message was important enough to take some serious risks. Transport of body parts and setting up the display was very risky because the nearest place to park a car was at least several hundred yards away. I guessed that forensic evidence would be non-existent.
I couldn't see any obvious wounds. A pathologist would have to determine cause of death. Drowning was a possibility, but no shark or marine animal could have dismembered a corpse so neatly. Time of death might also be difficult to determine if the body had been in cold water. The clothing looked wet. Either the corpse had been in the river or the clothes were wet from early morning dew. Forensic analysis of whether the water was brackish or fresh would decide this since the Rio de la Plata at Montevideo is a tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It fills with fresh water when the tide goes out and becomes a mixture of fresh and salt water when the tide comes in.
The detectives got there several minutes later and we became the guests of honor.
Final Words:
I'd love to see those of you who like a good mystery novel pick up a copy of the book to read and enjoy it, recommend it to your friends, and write a good honest review that you publish wherever you purchased the book. It's also OK to try the book if you are just curious or haven't read a mystery before.
To learn more about Jerold, visit the following sites:
Website link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ambivalent-Corpse/280629318645699
Amazon Link:
Barnes and Noble link:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/the-ambivalent-corpse?keyword=the+ambivalent+corpse&store=ebook
Smashwords Link:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/100325
Thanks, Jerold and as always, thanks, readers!!! Until later...be blessed!
March 6, 2012
Writer Wednesday--Words of Wisdom from Author C.M. Barrett
Today's guest is C. M. Barrett, author of Big Dragons Don't Cry and Gone to Flowers. I think you'll enjoy her post.
You Don't Have to Know What's Wrong To Make It Right
The other day I was trying to fix a page on one of my web sites. (I do my own html coding.) No matter what I did, the correct version of the web page wouldn't upload. It was getting towards the end of the day, so, despite my temptation to beat this problem to the ground, I left it for later.
The following morning I fixed the problem with no difficulty. I never figured out out what technical problem had caused it to not work the day before, but I decided it didn't matter, as long as the issue was resolved.
Now I have to learn how to apply the same casual attitude to life's problems.
Maybe because so many of us are indirectly influenced by Freudian thought, we believe that in order to solve a problem, whether it's physical, mental, or emotional, we have to burrow down to the deepest roots and discover the what, when, and why of the original problem.
Sometimes that's a good idea. A person who becomes traumatized every time she has to drive on a bridge will most effectively overcome this issue if she can discover and dissolve the original trauma.
When I'm writing, and it isn't going well, I do need to figure out why. If the dragon who stars in my A Dragon's Guide to Destiny series won't talk to me, I have to ask him why. If one of the many cats in these stories starts growling, I need to make amends. In my mainstream fiction, when a plot collapses, or a character suddenly starts acting out of character, I have to tear things up to get to the root of the problem.
But when I'm thinking "Problem, problem, problem," it gets much harder to think "solution."
Thinking "problem" in our personal lives can have even worse effects. Rooting around in the past and reliving just how awful it was can have a negative effect on our ability to create in the present and the future. I've known too many people who decided they were so irreparably damaged that no amount of self-help, rehabilitation, or positive thinking could pull them from the quicksand of personal history.
To get stuck in such beliefs robs us of our creative abilities. It says that forces outside ourselves have greater power than we do. It stains the bright colors of possibility with the dark hues of what was.
I don't recomment pretending the past never happened, but letting it pull us back prevents the future from pulling it forward. Don't let the past overshadow the promise of what is to be. Yeats said it far better than I could in the poem, The Two Trees:
"Gaze no more in the bitter glass
The demons, with their subtle guile,
Lift up before us when they pass,
Or only gaze a little while."
(The complete text of this poem is at http://www.poetry-archive.com/y/the_two_trees.html)
Gaze instead into that which inspires and encourages you. Again quoting Yeats:
"Beloved, gaze in thine own heart."
At any time, we always have two choices: fear or love. Fear shreds our ability to joyously create. Love is the great enhancer of all creativity.
What are you choosing today?
C. M. Barrett writes the series, A Dragon's Guide to Destiny. The first two books, Big Dragons Don't Cry and Dance with Clouds are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Kobo.
She has also published Gone to Flowers, the novel of a commune in the Vietnam era, available at Amazon and free March 15-16.
Her blog is http://www.dragonfirethecreativespark.blogspot.com and her website is http://www.adragonsguide.com
Thanks, C.M. Barrett and thanks, readers!! Until later...be blessed!!
February 29, 2012
Writer Wednesday with the Assiduous Aliyah Burke
Today's interview is with Author Aliyah Burke! Check her out!
"We all have our own voice, and that's what makes a similar storyline come out so different. "
What inspired you to become a writer?
I don't believe there is any one thing which did. It was a culmination of many. Mostly I'd say was the urge to write and make the voices in my head happier.
What books have most influenced your life?
This is a hard one. I read so much and am infulenced in some way by everything I read. Probably Chronicles of Narnia, Little House on the Prarie series, Shakespeare, Bible and other stories I was read as a younger child. My parents would read to us every night and encouraged us to read anything and everything. They taught me a love for a wide variety of genres.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
I don't have a favourite author. I read such a wide variety of books from childrens, YA, romance, military fiction, and more I have numerous authors I really have as my "go to" authors. It all depends on what I'm in the mood to read.
What makes you unique as a writer?
I believe every writer is unique. We all have our own voice, and that's what makes a similar storyline come out so different.
Do you see writing as a career?
I most certainly do. I write at least 8 hours a day, sometimes (okay, often) more. I have my calendars near with all stories to be worked on, word counts needed, amounts to do daily, and all of that. I treat it like a business and do my best to keep to my schedule.
What is the title of your latest book and how did you come up with the title?
Talios is the title of my latest release. It's a co-written story with Ms. Taige Crenshaw. We came up with the title once we decided it was going to be a series (Kemet Uncovered) about Egyptian gods/goddesses. We are using the name of the god/goddess as the title for each story in the series.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?
Research is always hard for me. I tend to get lost in it and find more than enough information. Especially when doing a shorter story, then I have to decide what stays and what's not going to make it into the story. But I do love researching, love to surround myself with books and my notebook as I seach for what I want. Writing with another author can be difficult. Taige and I, however, have worked on other stories together and so that's not such a hardship. You do have to coordinate times to do edits and talk about where you see the story going, compare visions, and work it out to where you're both good with it.
In 5 words, tell the readers why they should buy your book:
Never should. Hopefully they want.
Please share an excerpt from your latest work:
"I'm here looking for Candace Jermaine," Talios said.
"Who are you?"
"Talios Ellis."
The man reached beside him to a black phone on the wall and punched in a number. He spoke to someone at the other end, all the while keeping his gaze on Talios. After he hung up, he unlocked the door and waved him in.
"I'll take you to her," he said, relocking the door behind them. "Follow me, please."
Talios never said he knew the way, just allowed the man to lead. Eventually, they paused at a door and the guard swung it open. "She's inside."
"Thank you."
The guard said nothing else. He waited for Talios to enter the room, then closed the door and walked away. Talios scanned the room. This wasn't her usual room, and it was packed full of tables and shelves, all of which had tagged items on them. Music played and over the strains of Ne-Yo he could pick up on voices. One belonged to his Candace and the other…was a man's.
"Be careful, Keaton, it won't fit there. Angle your hips that way… Yes, like that. Perfect, now slide it in. Slowly."
Talios wanted to roar in fury. He flashed and appeared at the end of the row the voices had come from, all ready to tear this man limb from limb. He froze. His skin prickled with energy and he saw red, the animal in him rising, swift and furious.
Keaton stood there and, past his hips, Talios saw Candace's bare legs sticking out, her slip-on shoes the only article of clothing he could see. The man's face was taut with strain and sweat moved down the sides of his face as his body seemed to press forward. He recognized him, just hadn't put the face to the name when she'd left him to answer this man's call.
"Candace," Keaton said, breathless.
"One more moment. I just need to…almost…reach…yes! God, I got it."
"What the hell is going on here?" Talios thundered.
He fairly flew down past the final object between them, the one that kept him from seeing Candace's full body. Keaton looked at him and smiled. The man's dark skin still shone with perspiration and all it did was fan the flames of Talios's rage even more.
"Get off of her." Talios bit off each word as he stepped around the cabinet. Glancing down, he froze again, but this time for a different reason. Candace's brown eyes stared up at him. He knew he'd just made a huge mistake.
Final Words:
Thank you so much for allowing me to be featured. I am honoured to be here. I would love to thank everyone who stopped by to check out my work.
To learn more about Aliyah, visit the following websites:
I love to hear from readers so feel free to contact me: http://aliyah-burke.com/blog/contact/
I also am on Facebook (both an author page and a normal one) and have a yahoo group.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aliyah_burke/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aliyah-Burke/283998078320168 (author page)
https://www.facebook.com/people/Aliyah-Burke/100000592826953
Website link: www.aliyah-burke.com
Blog Link: www.aliyah-burke.com/blog
Book Link: http://www.total-e-bound.com/authordetail.asp?A_ID=29#booklist
Thank you Aliyah and as always, thank you, readers!! Until later...be blessed!
February 22, 2012
Writer Wednesday with the Prolific PaPa Sak
This week's featured author is Novelist PaPa Sak. I think you'll find him very interesting. Read all about him!!
"Coming from the streets I remember saying to myself, 'You can write books like this?'"
What inspired you to become a writer?
My father was a writer so my mother would always suggest it. I fought the idea for years until one day after a bitter divorce I decided to take writing serious. I dabbled for a little bit and wouldn't write seriously but it was something that was calling me for a long time. I finally answered after doing some serious reflecting and I haven't stopped since.
What books have most influenced your life?
I have a number of favorite books for certain eras in my life. When I was in my late teens I was a big fan of VC Andrews and her 'Flowers in the Attic' series. I also was first introduced to Donald Goines as a teen and I was hooked after reading 'Whoreson'. Coming from the streets I remember saying to myself, 'You can write books like this?' In my early twenties I started reading more books that were nonfiction like 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X' and spiritual books like 'Sex, Family and the Woman in Society' by Torkom Sayradarian and 'Mastery' by Hazrat Inayat Khan. After awhile I had to learn how to balance my reading with some knowledge books and other books for pleasure and that is what I do today. Big influences as of today would be '33 Strategies of War, Star Wars-Darth Bane series, Kindred, Fledgling, Wild Seed and the Art of Seduction' to name a few.
Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
My authors of today are Drew Karpyshyn, Octavia Butler and RA Salvatore to fix my craving for Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fiction. I like Iceberg Slim and Donald Goines and Eric Jerome Dickey.
Drew Karpyshyn and RA Salvatore both have brilliant narratives and they pay attention to sensory detail. If their character smelled something foul they made you feel like you smelled it too. I like the way Octavia Butler's imagination is so vivid. She knows how to draw you in with personal narrative as though she is talking to you personally but at the same time making you feel the emotion of her character. As for Eric Jerome Dickey, he wrote a novel entitled 'The Other Woman' that was so powerful. He was the first male writer I've ever read that told the story in first person and his main character was a woman. To me that was taking your writing to another level.
What makes you unique as a writer?
The same thing that makes every writer unique in their own way. I have my life to live and the characters, places and experience shapes me into the unique writer that I am but I think that applies to everyone. I remember a guy was so frightened about someone stealing his novel idea and that was crazy to me. Only way someone can steal your idea is if they steal the manuscript so you should protect that. However, if someone steals a title, concept, idea or character delineations it doesn't matter because they will never tell the story like you would tell the story and any person that has to steal a story is not truly committed to writing and storytelling. We all write stories through our own eyes and experiences so that shapes us all into being unique.
Do you see writing as a career?
Emphatically YES!!! I always wonder what took me so long to do my lifelong calling. I guess I was building up life experiences.
What is the title of your latest book and how did you come up with the title?
THE HUB CITY HOODLUM. I grew up on the East Side of Compton, California. Every city has a nickname and our city nickname is 'the Hub City'. It's a lot of hoodlums in my home city so I decided to write a story about where I come from.
What were the challenges (research, literary, psychological, and logistical) in bringing it to life?
I was always reluctant to write about where I came from because I didn't want people to think that I would write about it with a certain bias. I didn't want any of my characters to have anything to do with how I was as a person. I always wanted to tell other people's life story in a fictionalized way. The challenge was to remember that the character isn't you even though he is where you come from. In fact, he isn't anyone in particular but perhaps different qualities from different people in one character.
In 5 words, tell the readers why they should buy your book:
Narrative, Plot, Characters, Human and Street
Please share an excerpt from your latest work:
In the hood you go through stages when you are in the streets. The first stage is being introduced to the game. Whatever attracts you to the game is what makes you want to be in the game. Some niggas like squeezing triggers so the thrill of shooting a gun seduces them. Then you have niggas that want to make money. A sound hustler can make serious money in one night if it's a good night. Some people that get in the game love having homeboys around that they can kick it with. Whatever it is that makes you become a part of the streets you hold on fast to that and it is what keeps you going. The next stage is the pain stage of the streets. That's what tests who you really are in these streets. It could be prison, getting shot or stabbed or stomped on by an enemy that starts determining your character in this concrete jungle. Compton is a city that will show you the most brutal and violent things the street has to offer. A man will be tested on what he says he is at some point in the Hub City and I'm no different.
Final Words:
I'm grateful to Adrienne Thompson for giving me this interview. This is a long road to building a career in writing and you appreciate all the help you can get. To fellow writers, respect your craft by constantly studying it and keep your discipline.
To learn more about PaPa Sak and his work, visit the following links:
Website link: www.ensbooks.com
Blog Link: http://ensbooks.blogspot.com or www.ensbooks.ning.com
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Hub-City-Hoodlum-PaPa-Sak/dp/097044950X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327573878&sr=8-1
Smashwords Link: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/83098 for another novel 'Kings & Pawns'
I want to extend a huge thank you to PaPa Sak and my wonderful readers!! Until later...be blessed!
