Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Interview with Johnnie Renee Perez

Interview:

What inspired you to write Living in My Father’s Dream?

I simply looked into the eyes of a dead rapper.  His picture, featured on a website, I don’t remember which one, seemed to me to be hiding beyond darkness of unknown distance. Every time I clicked on his name, his picture re-appeared, before fading away, again and again. I spent most of the day clicking on his name, gazing at his eyes, while his picture faded away before my eyes. It was weird. The silence was surreal, yet it appeared to me that he was trying to tell me something.  I don’t know what. Then one night (I remember), I woke up, but I just laid there. I could see the moon peering through my blinds. I got up, headed upstairs to my computer, started writing, and never stopped.  During my journey of writing this story, other things in life added to the storyline. Like when those drug dealers (in real life) shot a six month old baby in head. This is when I decided to have Shawn (my main protagonist) bury Richard (a drug dealer in the story) alive in his own front yard. I guess you could say I took revenge for the killing of that baby’s innocent life. No, I didn’t know the baby. It just hurts me to see children dying for no obvious reason, other than drugs. Drugs are a killer. Our at-risk youths need to understand this, and this is my main inspiration for writing Living in My Father’s Dream.

How long did it take you to write your book?

Well over nine years, but during that time I also worked on a manuscript for middle grade readers, and a manuscript for picture book readers.

How long have you been publishing your work?

It’s been four months for this project, and I tell you, it’s much easier to write. Marketing is hard, very hard.

What does your writing environment look like?

It won’t end. I have two more adult fiction manuscripts I want to write, one YA, and several children book manuscripts to complete.

Do you have any routines to help you write?

Yes. I get up every morning and pray my hubby would hurry on out the door to work so I can work on my writing. However, I’m on my way back to work soon, so I will definitely need to work out a routine.

Author Bio:

Ms. Johnnie Renee is a first-time author of Street Life fiction, and a writer of children’s fictional books. She loves children, believes at-risk youth can be mentored to make better choices in life. And she is an advocate for senseless pain in a mother’s heart.

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