Conversations w/ Marie Antionette

1.TELL OUR READERS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU

I’m the girl who, if you’ve know me since I were a kid you look at me today and say Wow… I’m proud of you! I say that because this is what people who’ve known me since I was a child say to me today. My name is Marie Antionette. I’m a native Jersey girl born and raised in Trenton, NJ a 39 year old mother of two boys (Day’Quan age 16 and Messiah age 8) full time government employee, and self-published author. I initially stepped onto the literary scene back in November 2006. That’s when I made the mistake of dealing with a subsidiary publisher, also known as a vanity press. A Girl Named Job went on sale on November 17th, but it didn’t do nearly as good as I had hoped. So I had to do some homework, homework that I should have done in the first place. I joined a literary networking group named ASA~ Authors Supporting Authors, and with the support form others, I learned I needed to know so that I could revise and re-publish my title, via my own company, Cauzing Elevation Publishing, LLC.


2.HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING

Ha, Ha.. I believe I’ve been writing ever since I could hold a pencil. I use to watch my mother write all the time, in countless notebooks and pad. They were all over the house but I never knew what was in them. I later realized that I did the same thing. I wrote notes, and letters and stores constantly, but I always hid them from everyone. Afraid to let others see or read my thoughts…I began taking my writing serious once I inherited my grandfathers WWII journal. A keepsake he maintained while in the war. Once it was handed over to me, I realized my hobby, may have been more then just a phase…


3.WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR INSPIRATION

Life! Life inspires me to write. Life with all of it’s ups and down, twist and turns, injustices and prejudices, laughs, giggles and smiles… Life is always the motivation behind my pen. I can write for hours about real life experiences. I can doctor them up to take the focus off of myself and use my story as a general lesson or I can give someone the raw truth and hopefully, scare some sense into the. In any event, life is always my inspiration…



4.TELL OUR READERS ABOUT YOUR LATEST NOVEL

My current title is actually a Memoir titled A Girl Named Job. (Job as in the biblical character not ones employment.) I revised it in 2008 and re-released it in March 2009 as a birthday present to myself. A Girl Named Job has 407 pages of reading, broken down into 22 chapters. Between the covers of the book I divulge common and un-common circumstances that any man, woman or young adult can understand and relate to. Each chapter of A Girl Named Job could be a book in itself. I reveal my uncertain fate and the irony of my failed adoption. The desire to know the identity of my father after being told so many times that I didn’t have one. I draw readers into the typical life of how beautiful young women grow up way too fast, and how learned behavior and fear can trap you in abusive cycles that repeat themselves in more ways then one. Then in part two, I try to provide readers with a different angle of the same picture. The miracle birth of my first born son caused me to willingly turn over a new leaf. Responsibility was no longer an option, it was a must, and that meant making wiser and smarter choices. However old habits die hard and my loyalty to others, cost me, my son, and my unborn child our lively hood, our home, our everything…I’d hit Rock Bottom, but was Saved By Grace and with a priceless Lesson Learned, Marie Antionette became, A Girl Named Job “Control your circumstances, never allow them to control you!”

5.HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR CHARACTERS
My characters are all real, but the fiction names I chose for them fit their real life character. Pharaoh at the time, reminded me of Pharaoh and Moses. Solomon was very wise, easy to be with, and reminded me of Solomon from the Bible. Generous was just that, a generous man and Nazi… Well, she was always so hateful towards me for no reason or not fault of my own, she reminded me of Hitler. So thus, I named that person Nazi.

6.WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MAIN STRUGGLE IN WRITING THIS NOVEL
My main struggle with my current release was to keep details in chronological order, and be sure to mention only tings that I felt could be a lesson to others. I’ve endured a lot, but not all of it was worth mentioning, or at least not in this book. So I had to maintain my focus on writing a piece that was encouraging and not lean towards the dramatics.


7.WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH THROUGH YOUR WRITING
Short term, I want to encourage and inspire our youth the most and hopefully some adults as well, since we all com upon stumbling blocks every now and again. Long term, I want to leave a legacy behind once my time here on this earth is up.


A Girl Named Job By Marie Antionette
Available at:
http://www.mzmarieantionette.com

Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Named-Job-Marie-Antionette/dp/0982363303


Marie Antionette In Action!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYZNlShmxCw

Marie Antionette~ MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/mzmarieantionette

Marie Antionette~ Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/people/Marie-Antionette/639923503

Coversations w/ S. Dodson

1. TELL OUR READERS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOU
S. Dodson is originally from Arkansas and currently resides in Northern Virginia. She is the author of A Diamond for a Diva. She is currently pursing her doctorate degree in Education specializing in Adult Learning and Higher Education. She also has a MA degree in counseling from Dallas Baptist University and a BA degree in Psychology from Grambling State University. She is a columnist for Writers POV online magazine. She is a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority incorporated. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, cooking, and spending time with loved ones.

2. GIVE THE READERS A SYNOPSIS OF CHEATING ON MY MISTRESS
Carmelo Miller is a retired NBA player who has game on and off the court. He has a large appetite for women, and the means to satisfy his hunger. He is often envied by the average man because unlike them he is able to juggle three ladies. Cynthia: His high school sweet heart. She was with him before he had a pot to piss in. On their first date, he knew she was the one. She was the finest girl in school. She had it all 34-26-60 just the way he likes it. Monique: A young vixen with the dreams of one day making it big and becoming a video girl. She lap danced her way right into his heart. This is how he fell in love with a stripper. She is currently the reigning 2008 Miss New Booty of club MO Booty aka the hottest strip club in the south. Augustine: An old school cutie. She is a flight attendant who believes a woman should always cater to her man. Her favorite saying is, "Whatever you like." If this sounds border line impossible, Carmelo can teach you the game inside Cheating on my Mistress because nothing is out-of-bounds for this baller.

3.WHAT WOULD YOU TELL OTHER ASPIRING YOUNG WRITERS
My advice would be to follow your dreams and to have thick skin. Being a writer, means the world will be judging your work. Some people will love it and some will not.

4. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR INSPIRATION
My inspiration has been life. I believe it is important to follow your dreams because tomorrow is not promised. Sometimes in life you only have one shot at it.

5. DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN THREE WORDS
Hardworking, optimistic, and reliable.

6. DO YOU HAVE ANY UPCOMING PROJECTS
Yes, I’m currently working on a motivation book and the sequel to Cheating On My Mistress.


7. WHERE CAN READERS FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU www.cheatingonmymistress.blogspot.com.

Conversations w/ Chemistry

Q."Tell us a little bit about yourself?"
1. Well I was born and raised in Alabama. I am a divorced mother of two girls ages, 12 & 13 years old. i am also the fifth child of six siblings, consisting of 3 boys and 3 girls.

Q. "How Long have you been writing?"
2.I have been writing for the past 4 and a half years. I have always wanted to write, but just couldn't get up the courage to do it at the time, but the imagination was always there..

Q."Tell us a little bit about your latest novel?"
3. MY latest novel is called "Sexual Repercussions" and it is about two best friends that learn the true meaning of trust, love, revenge and the consequences of one's actions. Its based the struggles two women go through in life to achieve their goals and the heartache and hard lessons that come along with it.

Q.'What is your inspiration to write?"
4I have many inspirations when it comes to writing. It actually does not take much to influence my pen to write to paper. I can get an inspiration from a thought, a action or even a notion. Whenever it hits me i jot it down. i never leave home without pen and pad.

Q."What was your first book?"
5. My first book was "Almost Doesn't Count". It was a short story about a woman in abusive situation who finds solitude in the arms of her abusers best friend, that helps her find a way out of this situation through a self-defense murder plot. I came up with this title because in this particular relationship she was almost loved, almost got married, but almost just doesn't count.

Q."Other then writing what is one of the things you love to do?"
6. I love to sing and read other authors books.

Q.'What other projects are you working on currently?"
7. Currently I have a e-mag online called Go Getta's Magazine, by women for women. I am the president of Southern Allure Book Club andf course working on a new novel

Q."How can our readers contact you?"
8. You can go to my website at www.chemistryslife.webs.com and send me an email:chemistryslife@gmail.com of course working on a new novel

Q."How can our readers contact you?"
8. You can go to my website at www.chemistryslife.webs.com and send me an email:chemistryslife@gmail.com

Conversations w/ Donniel D. Jackson

1. Tell us about your debut novel Chante's Song?

A: In life we all have all meet a man who we want to be the one, yet for whatever reason he is just not the one for you. Then you meet the man who is everything you want and need in a man and he wants to love you, yet he isn’t the one you truly want. You know he’s a good man so you entertain him. When thing are going good between you and your new boo the one you really want resurfaces, coming to claim what’s his and claiming to have changed.
What do you do? Do you follow your heart and go with the one you really want? Or do you follow your brain and stay with one who is right for you?

Chante’s Song is a testimony of the main character, Chante Chambers and her quest for love.

2. Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Chante’s Song?

A: I started writing Chante’s Song in 2000, while I was at work. The night before I was on the phone with a good friend of mine and she was singing Chante’s Got a Man, and her name is Shauntae. I liked how it sounded. Took the concept and ran with it. As I wrote, I put the feelings that I was experiencing at the time, and the story just developed.

3. What sets Chante’s Song apart from other novels in its genre?

The way the story is told. I tried my best to be as descriptive, candid and realistic as possible. I think we all have read a “Chante’s Song” before, yet we have never read the story being told in the manner in which I tell it. That’s what sets my novel apart from other novels in genre and same subject matter.

4. What made you want to become an author?

I was born to be a writer. As a child into my early adult years I loved to be in la la land and writing put me there. Writing allows me to create a fantasy life and do it up big or small. I get to be a different person and do things Donneil would never do. I love entertaining others through my writing.

5. As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Chante’s Song?

In a perfect world, I set the atmosphere, slow music, the computer and me. Prior to my eight year old going to bed, its me, the computer and my munchkinneck asking me fifty million questions. It works. For the most part, I have something on paper and I can always go back and tweak it. I also get a lot of writing done at work (don’t tell my employer-LOL).

Chante’s Song was started in 2000. I finished it in 2004. I transitioned a lot since I first began writing Chante’s Song. I went from living with my mom, to living on my own, to becoming a mom and just being a full fledge adult. During that transition, Chante’s Song sat on the shelf for a while. But once I picked her back up, there was no stopping me from seeing it to a finish product. And although it took 4 additional years to get it out, its out!


6. What are some of your all-time favorite books and authors?

My top three favorite authors are: 1) Terry McMillan 2) Sheneska Jackson 3) Lolita Files. Terry McMillan is my writing idol. I aim to be as successful as she is.

My favorite book is Lil Mama's Rules by Sheneska Jackson. This book exposed me to a different style of writing. It was the tone of the book that did it for me. It showed me that my frankness (is that a word?) is ok. I love Getting to the Good Part by Lolita Files. Honestly, I love that whole series.


7. What’s next for Donneil D. Jackson.

Only greatness! I want my name to be a name that will be around for a while, if not forever. I want to be up there with the Terry McMillians’ and Jackie Collins’. I know I am not on their level yet, however, my goal is to one day be where they are.

Currently, I am working on my second novel, Foolish. Foolish is set to be release Fall 2009. It’s somewhat of a sequel to Chante’s Song. I am also getting my thoughts together for my third novel. I haven’t decided on a title yet. I have but I don’t think I am going to go with Fairytale Bullsh*t. It’s a book about a scorned woman’s broken heart and her need for revenge.

Bonus Question

Is there anything else you'd like to share about yourself or your books?

Chante Song is a good, humorous page turning novel. You will not be disappointed. The character is realistic. You will laugh with her, cry with her, want to smack the mess out of her and in the end only want happiness for her. If you haven’t read Chante’s Song you should go out and get it and find out did she follow her heart or her brain.

Visit Donniel @ www.pureblisspublishing.com

Chante’s Song is only the beginning for me. As long as people will read I will write.