1. Where are you from?
I was born in Compton, CA and I was raised in a small town called Pasco located in the eastern part of Washington. I currently live in Southern CA.
2. Tell us your latest news?
Portia my oldest daughter has just graduated from Georgia State University and I am very proud of her.
On the writing front I am currently writing Big Boy Pond 2 and that should be out sometime early next year.”
3. When and why did you begin writing?
Since I was a child I’ve loved to tell stories and throughout high school, I wrote stories that were mostly adaptations of biblical tales that I had been told by the elders of my parent’s church.
4. When did you first consider yourself a writer?
During my high school days people would tell me that I had a knack for storytelling. I thought about pursuing writing as a career, but at that time I was chasing another dream of becoming a Professional baseball player.
5. What inspired you to write your first book?
I started to write Big Boy Pond over 32 years ago… during the early eighties, when I was very interested in the real estate market in Southern California. But then I got married and I turn my attention to taking care of my family.
6. Do you have a specific writing style?
My goal is to bring interesting stories to the public with some real historical fact sprinkled in them.
7. How did you come up with the title?
My career allowed me to interact with lots of corporate executives and during those meetings the older men would always say to the young men; welcome to the Big Boy Pond. Are you ready to swim with the sharks?
8. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Yes, people have both good and bad in them. No one is a saint sometimes good people have to do bad things.
9. How much of the book is realistic?
The book is very realistic. The events, such as the collapse of the Santee real estate market and the development and modernization of San Diego’s downtown, did happen but the characters in the story are all fictional
11. What books have most influenced your life most?
I am a fan of Harold Robbins I love his international stories and I also love Eric Jerome Dickey especially his Gideon series.
12. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Eric Jerome Dickey, I love his style of writing. He doesn’t right in a bubble, he has a writing team.
13. What book are you reading now?
Resurrecting Midnight
14. Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I am old school I like stories that take their time to build up there characters. And I haven’t found that in the novels that are being written. But I haven’t given up. So right now I am sort of a freelance reader moving through the material that is out there looking for an author who captures my attention.
15. What are your current projects?
Besides completing the two remaining books in the Solomon Black series, I’m working on the next book series called I Thaddeus. It’s the story of a young man who has lost his memory about his younger years. He can’t remember anything about his family. He joins the military where he becomes a sniper and doing one of his missions he learns that his past is connected to people who work for the very people who are trying to destroy the American way of life.
16. Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
I have a lot of support and to name one would be a disservice to many who helped me on this journey. Betsy Allen is a longtime friend who supported my writing when it was in its infancy and of course Dr. Glenn Kamper who insights into my stories have truly brought them to life. And Antionette Allen who has provided her artistic abilities to the stories
17. Do you see writing as a career?
Yes, my dream is to have my books make enough that I can get them out to the readers world wide.
18. If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book? No
19. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I would say when I use to sit in Sunday school and hear the elders tell biblical stories. I love that part of church.
21. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
I love for my stories to have depth so the characters have to have many personalities to them. It takes a lot of work and mapping out the stories to keep all the different sides of the characters connected to the over all story. Sometimes I will get to write a scene and go off on a tangent. But then my pre production reading team will point out my mistakes and get me back inline.
22. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Eric Jerome Dickey and it would be his method of creating stories and settings. How he immerses the reader into the various local cultures of the book.
23. Do you travel much promoting your book(s)?
No I haven’t started that part of my marketing
24. Who designed the covers?
Sha Cole is the cover designer for Snow Publishing who I am signed under
25. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
The beginning of the book, I create an outline for every one of my books but what I have found is that once I began to write the book I will wonder away from the outline. Sometimes this will enhance the story so then I have to go back to the outline and see if what I wrote still meshes with the rest of the story.
26. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Dr. Glenn Kamper has added some African America historical facts that I was not aware of.
27. Do you have any advice for other writers?
To always remember that if you are not doing this for the love of writing then maybe you should pick another career.
28. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Thank you for taking a chance on a new writer and stay tuned because the stories will get more better.
Who's Who In African American Literature 