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When
did the "writing" bug bite you?
When
I was kid about eight years old.
What's
your writing process? Do you jump in and just write, or do
you like to outline and do character sketches?
It
depends on how long the piece is; if it's a novel, I do a
tentative outline knowing full well it is going to change a
billion times.
I outline to help me focus to stay on track, and yes, I do
character sketches - they are the skeletons of characters; the
meat comes once I start writing.
For short stories, once I get the idea, I sit down and
write.
In
25 words or less, sell us your latest novel, URBAN AFFAIR.
Urban
Love, in all
its stages, from puppy love to full grown drama and the life
of a schizophrenic prostitute who wants more and willing to
kill to get it.
One
of the subjects threaded through URBAN AFFAIR is mental illness.
Did you do any research to help you prepare to write not only
about a character with mental illness but to also understand the
effects a mentally ill person may has on his or her loved ones?
Wow,
you read the book; ok - the quick answer is I worked as a mental
health counselor for twelve years.
The not so quick answer is I have family that suffers
from schizophrenia.
In
your creative process, what was the spark that had you creating
this work?
I
wanted to show people surviving despite where they were in
society.
One of my favorite sayings is “If you can look up, you
can get up.”
Sharon
becoming Maxine is all about that saying. By societal
expectations, Chance should not have made it to success; he evens
feels that within himself that he shouldn't be where he is in
life, that he is undeserving of success even though he has
achieved it.
Many of us have problems embracing the success we have
earned; it's like some little voice is in our heads, telling us
that we are supposed to be poor and the bottom of the ladder,
just something I have observed among us.
You
have written several books prior to URBAN AFFAIR. What, to
you, have been some attributes of your growth as a writer?
I
have learned to slow down in my writing; there is a story in the
details.
Who
inspires you as a writer?
I
try to bring about change; sounds lofty I know, but dig, with Chasin'
It, my main inspiration was to change the way some
friends of mine view drag queens. Now
keep in mind these friends have vices, plenty of them, but they
still managed to look down their noses at the young queen that was
out on a corner hustling.
I knew the queen, and I knew her not to be none of the
things the people in the car were calling her, so I wrote Chasin'
It, and three of the four guys that were in the car read it,
and I can honestly say I changed their thought a bit, a small bit,
but the thoughts were changed.
I feel that we as a minority in this country cannot
afford petty divisions; we are too few.
Picture
this, you're about to sit down to write...describe the setting
that creates the perfect mood conducive to great writing for you.
A
bowl of something good to eat, preferably some kind of beans and
rice, kids gone, wife gone, dog outside, no appointment scheduled,
no place to be, and money in the bank from last book to add a
feeling of security.
If
you were not a writer, what would be your dream career?
To
get paid for reading.
What
projects are you working on now? Are there any conferences or book
signings in the near future?
Getting One
Dead Lawyer published; it's the follow-up to One Dead
Preacher, and I am currently working on a piece that I know
will lift some eyebrows.
It makes me blush while I am writing it.
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