I had the privilege to meet Minnie on Twitter over a year ago, in response to a blog post she'd written about dealing with the negativity family/friends can have towards your writing. Since then, we've become friends and have encouraged each other along the way. I've had the opportunity to read her first novel, Sinner's Ride, and I have to tell you, that was a different type of story, nothing like what I've read before! I like different, something that steps outside the 'box' and breaks the rules, because it's what I do with my writing as well. December 12th was the release of her second novel, Divergent Lives, and let me tell you, it too is different! Next week, Minnie will be dropping by again to talk about her new release, so for now, I'll let her tell you about herself!
Welcome, Minnie!
What inspired you to write?
I have always been
an avid reader and I still have books I purchased as a teenager. In fact, I was
a member of the Doubleday Book Club as well as the Book of the Month Club since
I was about thirteen until my early forties. I still have books I purchased
that way. I absolutely love the smell of a new book as you crack its spine.
My father passed
away in 2005 and I became increasingly despondent. Four years later, after
enduring a really bad break-up that left me in the hole for thousands of
dollars, I still wasn’t any better; in fact, my depression became worse. I was
broke and couldn’t afford therapy and a friend suggested I keep a journal to
pour my feelings into. I didn’t want to do that because if anything happened to
me, I didn’t want anyone to know what I was really thinking or feeling. I put
on a smile and every day I went to work.
The fact that
there were constant terror alerts in the neighborhood where I work – Times
Square – didn’t make it any better.
While sitting on
the train one day, I glanced over at the woman sitting next to me who was
holding a book opened to a chapter entitled When
Dreams Die and I had an epiphany. I desperately wanted to know what she was
reading but didn’t want to intrude.
As I walked to my
office from the train station, I asked myself “What if dead dreams could be
resurrected?” and Resurrection of Dead
Dreams was born. That was on May 13, 2010, a week before my father’s
birthday.
I began writing
in earnest that day, at my desk, at my day job.
What genre do you write? Did you choose it, or did it choose you?
I’ve created my own genre: the
Pink Diamond Genre! I am often asked that question and frankly, I don’t like
being boxed in. Labeling myself feels claustrophobic to me. That is why I enjoy
being an Indie Author. Both Sinner’s Ride
and Divergent Lives are psychological
thrillers. My Resurrection of Dead Dreams
series is urban fantasy.
As a newbie author, I want to try
different things. I do have a dark imagination so I will probably write more
books like my two previous works, but I would also like to try my hand at
erotica … oooh. That didn’t sound right! Ah! Double entendres!
What you probably won’t see from
me – I won’t say never because never is a long time – but it is unlikely that
I’ll be doing love stories with any happily-ever-afters. Call me jaded, but I
can’t relate.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
I have a very demanding day job
where the hours tend to be long. I’m usually up between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. when
I automatically reach for my phone and go through emails, tweets, blog posts
and Facebook postings. I then physically get out of bed around 6:15, perform
morning prayers then get ready for work.
My commute is between an hour and
an hour and a half long, so I usually read from an eBook or research I may have
printed previously. If I don’t have lunch plans – which I rarely make – I write
or research during my lunch hour and then I read some more during my evening
commute.
When I get home during the week in
the evening I do the social media thing for about an hour, exercise a bit and
then I prepare to do it all over again the next day. I’m usually in bed by 9
p.m.
Weekends, I don’t leave the house
unless it is absolutely necessary. A couple of times during the month I’ll hang
out with my daughter and her family or I’ll have my grandson over. When I don’t
have plans with them, I will leave my office Friday night and not leave my
apartment until Monday morning because I’ve been writing or researching.
Since I’m just recovering
financially, when I take vacation time, I stay close to home and spend 90% of
that time writing. I am my most productive when I know that I have a big block
of time that I can dedicate to writing.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I can only write in complete
silence because I am living what I write. I become my character. Also, I don’t
drink alcoholic beverages when I’m writing and my best writing is done at
night.
Are you a pantser or plotter?
I am more pantser than plotter
though I have begun to list the issues I need to address in my manuscripts.
With Divergent Lives I did use the Marshall Plan to flesh out the
characters but I couldn’t get into planning every little detail of the story.
Whenever I tried to stick to the plan, the characters rebelled and went their
own way. When I allowed them to take over, the story flowed and evolved
organically.
I’m thinking I might try Scrivener
for Resurrection of Dead Dreams
because it is a much bigger, more complex story. I’ve put together a masthead
for the characters already created along with background information on each,
psychological profiles and their connections to each other.
Are your stories based on experiences based on someone you know, or
are events in your own life reflected in the characters/stories you write? Can
you share and example?
All of my stories have a grain of
truth in them. They all contain an experience, a feeling – something from my
own life that I engorge with fiction.
For example: Like Adina and RJ
from Divergent Lives I was born of
immigrant Puerto Rican parents in the dead of winter in the middle of the
night. I grew up in East Harlem in the late 60s and 70s -- just like Adina.
RJ grew up in Lebanon,
Pennsylvania where I have cousins.
I live near Riverdale.
I actually frequent the Thai
restaurant Qi -- the place where Adina has a major event.
Do you have any suggestions to help new authors become a better
writer? If so, what are they?
Write, research and write some
more. Never stop looking at the world around you. Let your imagination roam
freely. Don’t be afraid to fail. Not everybody will like your work, but don’t
stop writing.
MJ: Wonderful advice and oh so true!!
Are you self-pubbed, indie pubbed, or traditionally pubbed?
Sinner’s Ride was published by a vanity press. Divergent Lives is published under my own banner Lahongrais Books.
I love the creative control I have
being a self-published author. I love being able to see in real time how my
book is doing. I love choosing my own team. I don’t love the expense, but I
love what I do and I know I will always find a way to make things happen.
What are your current projects?
Right now I’m focusing on
marketing and promoting Divergent Lives.
Soon, I’ll revisit the eighteen chapters I have completed in Book One of my
series Resurrection of Dead Dreams. I
have a list of things I need to research before I can begin thinking about how
this story is going to play out.
Blurb:
Divergent Lives is a psycho-thriller with decidedly deviant twists to a sociopathic theme. It tells the story of RJ and Adina who enter the world as fraternal twins, one raised by old-world, controlling immigrants in El Barrio, the other sold into a religious home filled with lies and scorn. Both are sociopaths.
Turns out, RJ’s got a secret that enrages him with the flip
of a switch. Adina uses her sexual power to dominate every man in her life.
They are on a mysterious trajectory to cross paths in New York City, where the
end of their lives culminates in an apex of horror and carnage.
Links:
Check back next week for a guest post by Minnie sharing more about her current novel, Divergent Lives!