2,000 Views Edition: Interview with Author Parker Nash

Last month was a busy one as the EA: Creatively Creative blog seen its page views sky rocket. A quick review: my interview with DeLisa Brown became my first blog to reach over 100 and 200 views; my interview with Elvira Guzman became my second blog to have 100 views, my third with 200. My interview with Lisa Bailey Bastian became my third with 100 views, second to 200, first to over 300, 400, and 500!

My interview with Jacqueline Rainey is my fourth with 100 views, and my most recent interview with Patrick Johns is my fifth with 100, fourth to 200, second to 300, 400, and 500, the first to reach over 600 and 700 views, and is on its way to 800!

These blogs/interviews alone are responsible (so far) for 1,915 of my currently 2,815 page views! This is my third Blogger page to reach 1,000 views, and is the first of my four Blogger pages to reach the 2,000 views milestone, and is well on its way to 3,000! A quick thanks and acknowledgement to those authors who allowed me to interview them.

Still, there's more to come, and to kick off this month, the author spotlight shines on author Parker Nash.

EA: From your experience, describe the process of writing a novel and character creation.

PN: The process for me was a roller coaster, to say the least. It was not very cohesive at first. Just creating the characters, brainstorming, trying to figure out personality traits, how you want them to be portrayed, whether they are protagonist or antagonist, deciding what names to use because you want the names to fit the personalities.

There's so much that goes into it. Then of course, along with that comes you doubting yourself, whether or not it's going to be good enough. I definitely would say it was roller coaster ride emotionally, mentally, and when it came down to plot development, just tying the character development and the plot all in together. It was definitely a challenge.

EA: Would you say that the process is easy?

PN: I think that once the concepts came together, from character to plot, and started to flow, and it started to make sense, and it started to get some twists and turns. You had your laughter, and might've had a couple of tears, and then you had your 'Oh my gosh' moments. I think that's when it got easier, when it drew me in as a writer, and when I felt like it may draw other people in as well.

EA: Were there any authors or writers who inspired you growing up?

PN: I'd have to say definitely Eric Jerome Dickey. I started reading his books at a very young age-- probably shouldn't have been. Omar Tyree, I remember reading him maybe as early as 7th grade. When I was in the 10th grade, I read my first Zane book called Addicted, and my mother was slightly perturbed, but I had gotten to that book because it was a very adult book.

She definitely inspired me, not necessarily because of the erotica that she writes, but because of the passion that she uses in her writing, and I wanted to portray that in my stories, and I have been able to do that in a non-sexual way, but that's definitely something she inspired. As I got older, when I got to college-- actually, I was a freshman in college-- and I discovered Marcus Major.

He is probably undoubtedly the most underrated writer. His books are extremely relatable. They are comfortable. They are enlightening. They are heart-felt. They're free and easy; they're light, but there are emotional moments that kind of take you there. I love, love, love Marcus Major. All of the ones I've named have inspired me, but I would probably say Marcus Major is my favorite out of all the writers I've read.

EA: What or who inspired you to write Certified Pre-Owned ?

PN: Well, a couple of different things inspired me to write Certified Pre-Owned. I always wanted to write romance and love stories. Although I'm single, I am a hopeless romantic. I love love. I love everything about love. I think love is beautiful when it's pure, when it's right, and when it makes sense.

That being said, I remember talking to a few young men who I'm kind of close with. They were talking about how they were ready for wives, but their preferences were virgins or women who had "low miles," whatever that means. I thought that was interesting because some of these men had been with tons of women, some had only been with a few. They all had very different personalities, but the consensus was pretty much the same amongst them all.

They all wanted women who were as pure as could be, whether that being one guy, two guys, or ten guys. I thought, you know, that's kind of funny how sometimes men expect from women what they can't give. While I was trying to convince them that how many sexual partners a woman has had should not determine whether or they choose to move forward, that was when the idea came up-- just kind of inspired the idea. That was the inspiration behind Certified Pre-Owned, so thank you to some guys who I will choose not to name at this time, but you guys know very well who you are.

EA:  If it makes the transition to a movie, what celebrities would you pick to play the characters in the story?

PN: My book transitioning into a movie...I mean the thought of it is so surreal. It's not even something that I could phantom at this moment, because not many people have read it, so I'm trying to get it out there, hopefully it will gain some popularity at some point. Maybe people will love it as much as I love it, but we shall see.

Anyway, to answer the question directly, I only have three characters who I know that I want people to play. For Wyatt, I can see Christian Keyes playing that role. Christian can just embody all of the characteristics of Wyatt. His counterpart, Melanie, I see Gabrielle Dennis playing that part. Gabrielle is who I can imagine playing Melanie (from my book).

I'd like to see Ronreaco Lee play Dylan. I kind of imagined Dylan looking a little bit different from the way he's described in the book, looks different than how Ronreaco looks as a character, but I think that what I'm trying to accomplish as far as him being a man, his personality traits, his characteristics, and mannerisms, I think that he could portray that well. I do have Zoe Saldana kind of in mind for a supporting character. Out of the main three characters I just named, those are the only three that I have dead set that I would really want to play these roles.

EA: Is there a sequel in the works?

PN: There is absolutely a sequel in the works. I'm only about six chapters into it. You know, writing can be a very difficult thing to do, especially when you have other responsibilities, lots of other distractions, but because it's what you love to do, you always go back to it. It's kind of like a drug, but it's a good thing that you could be addicted to because it's therapeutic, it's comforting...well, in my opinion.

To answer the question, yes, a sequel is in the works, and I think that you guys who read Certified Pre-Owned, or who plan to read it, I think the sequel...it just opens up a lot of new dimensions. In the first book, I really laid the ground work for the characters. and the plot, and of course with book No. 2, we can kind of take it up a notch.

And you're going to see very different decisions from the characters, probably decisions they never would've made in the first book. It's going to be interesting, I've gotten some really good feedback so far, from the people who have read what I've written so far for part two. I'm looking forward to continuing to bring stories that people love, so look out for that sequel.

EA: What's your vision as an author/writer overall?

PN: Oh man, this is a difficult question. My vision as an author or writer is just to really bring people good, clean entertainment. It's really difficult to compete against major writers who are extremely talented, but who can write about pretty much anything. They can take a one night stand and make it sound so erotic, and so passionate, and it draws you.

A lot of people like that level of entertainment because a lot of times that's not our own reality, so that's why we like what's written in books. I know for me, that's true. Unfortunately, I can not write these things, and that's okay, but what I can bring is characters that you love, characters that you are just drawn to because their personalities are extremely distinguished in my stories.

The plot development is great; you will never be able to guess what's going to happen. I've had one person guess what's going to happen in my book. I changed the whole thing. She was the only person that figured it out, and I changed the whole thing. The good thing is that the book has not yet been finished.

When I changed it, she said she never would've guessed it, and I was like, 'sweet.' So although relatable, not very predictable, which is a great thing. The overall goal is to bring good, clean entertainment to people who are looking for excellent stories, excellent characters, but maybe not all of the freakiness that just gets your womanly or manly juices flowing.

Just something that you can read and truly, truly enjoy, and genuinely say, 'If I met those people in real life, I probably would like them, or I'd probably really hate them.' To provoke or invoke those emotions that sometimes may lie dormant that you just need a little push to kind of get you over the edge. So, that is my goal. Of course, I'd like to be rich, but that's highly unlikely, and that's okay because I love to write regardless of if it pays financially. It's still something I love very much to do.

EA: Finally, tell readers why Certified Pre-Owned is a must read.

PN: Certified Pre-Owned is a must read because I think it's something that anybody from any ethnic background, any age group, and level of maturity, any career, I think it's something that can be enjoyed by all. I think it's something that is going to be inspirational to some who may be struggling with life issues and love.

I think that for those...and I'm speaking specifically to those who have Melanin skin, who they call black people (black men and women), I think it's something that will definitely inspire us into how we can better appreciate each other. I think it will let people know that good black men do exist, they're not all hustlers, thugs, gangsters, killers, and cheaters.

There are some black men who are genuinely looking for true, pure love, and there are genuinely women who are still wanting to be women, and play a role that doesn't make them feel oppressed or less because they are willing to humble themselves and truly be submissive to a good man.

I think these are things the book shows, and you can appreciate, love, and it will give a kind of different perspective of everything else that's out there right now. So that's why I think it's must read, and I hope that you do read it, and if you read it, please review it. I'd love to know your thoughts. Thank you so much, Mr. Edward, for giving me the opportunity to do this interview with you. It has truly, truly been a pleasure, and hopefully, we have many more to go.

Epilogue

I agree and can relate to her assessments on the writing process. It's a little rough in the beginning at times, but once you start to put all of the elements of the story together, and everything starts to flow and make sense, the creation process of the story becomes a little easier. I'd like to thank Parker for taking the time to speak with us. Check out her novel, Certified Pre-Owned on Amazon.com here.

Follow Parker on Social Media:
Facebook: Parker Nash