.@JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Faydra D. Fields, author of The Pride

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Faydra D. Fields, author of The Pride JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Faydra D. Fields, author of The Pride (Sola Mente Publishing) Four women have two things in common. They're all mothers, and the father of their children is the same man. Although Emmanuel does everything he can to provide for his own household, and four others, it's just not enough to keep the mothers of his children from just scraping by. Xavari convinces Denise, Angela and Romina that the four of them must pick up the slack where Emmanuel is unable. Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write The Pride? Faydra D. Fields: I was watching "The First 48″ on television one evening, and they were looking for the killer of a young man who was the father of seven children. It turned out the young man had children by three women. I remember thinking, "Goodness, what's going to happen to those children and their mothers?" They didn't say whether the young man was providing for the children, but I wanted to believe he was, since they mentioned that he had all these children. JP: What sets  The Pride apart from other books in the same genre? FDF: First and foremost, the book is designed to offer a blueprint for another way to handle a similar situation in the African-American community. Also, all the men in my book are positive characters. I'm not saying they don't make poor decisions, but they're not purposely irresponsible or worthless or criminal-minded. JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to  The Pride getting out to the public? FDF: I want readers to have a chance to "try before they buy," so the first 10 chapters of the book can be read free. See sneak peeks. My thinking is that if readers can enjoy a good portion of the book for free, then they'll feel more comfortable about investing in the cost of the final project. The eBook version of the book is $2.99, and the physical version is $11.99, which includes the cost of shipping. Even though the print edition will be pocket-sized (8½"x5½"), another unique feature of The Pride (and this will be true for the physical copies of all my future books) is that it will have a spiral binding. Readers don't have to crack the spine of their books to get them to open wider or to lay flat. If a person is reading on a plane or train, or on some other form of public transportation, or just waiting in a long grocery store line, then it'll be easier for the reader to manage the book one-handed while dealing with all their other items. In a rush, a spiral-bound book doesn't necessarily require a bookmark. You can quickly put it into your satchel, briefcase, backpack etc. and pull it out to the same page you were reading when you put it away. JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish The Pride? FDF: Normally, my writing process is just to have an idea in my head and start typing. Somehow the story begins to unfold as I type, and I'm usually amazed at how it falls in place when I'm done. I actually started writing The Pride about a year ago, and then I put it to the side because I needed to meditate on it for a bit. I liked the direction it was going, but something was telling me to do a few things differently. Once I got those things worked out in my head, it was time to get back to the book. JP: What's next for Faydra D. Fields? FDF: I've already got a journaling series in play, so I need to release the next volume of that. The Pride will be continued in another book called The Village, and I'm also working on another novel called  The Harvest, which is kind of a science fiction joint. I plan to offer several sneak peeks of all my upcoming books before I release the entire novel. http://solamentepublishing.com http://faydra.com http://www.facebook.com/faydra_deon http://twitter.com/faydra_deon The Pride is available in print directly from Sola Mente Publishing, and the eBook version is available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. Check out Faydra's profile on Amazon.com's Author Central. P.S. To join the JoeyPinkney.com Newsletter, click here. You can click on each banner as it scrolls by to learn more about each sponsor!