Twenty Questions for the Author
Q - What does your writing process look like?
A - Wine, laughter, and my dining room table.
Q- Do you have any strange writing habits (like standing on your head or writing in the shower)?
A- Not really. I ask my characters questions (aloud) and I like for my friends to read my manuscripts out loud to me.
Q- What book do you wish you could have written? A- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. But, Carson McCullers beat me to it.
Q- Just as your books inspire authors, what authors have inspired you to write?
A- I hope I've inspired someone. Toni Morrison, Harper Lee and Bernice McFadden. There are so many more authors I've been inspired by.
Q- If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?
A- Whoa, I hope this is an exercise in manifestation. Cami would be played by YaYa DaCosta and Ali would be played by Jesse Williams from Grey's Anatomy. I actually used a picture of the Premier Soccer League player, Glenn Johnson when writing about Ali, but I don’t think he acts.
Q- How important are names to you in your books?
A- Very important. I choose names for my characters much like the way I chose names for my own children. The names are usually connected to other meanings, things I like and or family members.
Q- If you were granted one wish for something you could use in your day to day life, what would it be for?
A - Champagne. Good champagne! I’d like to drink a glass EVERY SINGLE DAY! I love the stuff.
Q- What do you consider to be your best accomplishment?
A- My firstborn. He's such a great person. I chose him, because he's closest to adulthood. The other two are still in the making.
Q- Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
A- Sittin' on the dock of a bay, writing something funny and provocative.
Q- Are you a plotter or a pantster?
A- I'm a pantster. I've toyed around with plotting and planning, but I tend to get overwhelmed by my ideas.
Simply put, a plotter is someone who plans out their novel before they write it. A pantser is someone who, “flies by the seat of their pants,” meaning they don’t plan out anything, or plan very little.