Following up on the 11K views milestone, EA: Creatively Creative, in the first of back-to-back interviews, sits down with best-selling author Sam Hunter.
EA: When did you discover your desire to become a writer?
SH: I always liked the idea of writing but it wasn't until after my master's degree, in about 2008, when I was stuck by an idea I just couldn't drop. It consumed me and it wasn't like ideas I'd had in the past where I'd lose interest. So, I set about completing it. And published Book One, the first novel in the Makaveli's Prince series, in 2012.
EA: Are there any authors who influenced you?
SH: I don't know about being influenced, but as a kid I enjoyed quite a few classic books like Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson. Well, maybe they did influence me - I've always fancied being shipwrecked on a tropical island. I've moved on a bit since then but probably still favour the more classic books, at least at the top of my favorites list. I love Alex Haley's work. Malcolm X is a great book and the story of how he collaborated with Malcolm X to write it really inspires me to work with other authors. Roots is great too, but Queen captured my imagination just a little bit more.
SH: So, it's based on the idea that Tupac had a daughter that no one knew about, not even him. The story charts her journey of self discovery, mirroring many things about him, until she finally discovers her link to him. Meanwhile, forces are at work to silence her. She finds herself caught up in the same conspiracy that ended his life. She ends up fighting for her own survival and to get the truth out.
SH: I love urban fiction and fell into it because I'm a big fan of Tupac, and more generally hip-hop. My master's thesis was on hip-hop's historical origins as a culture. But, I'm also into military and tech thrillers, as well as a bit of sci-fi. Once I wrap up the Makaveli's Prince series I have a few ideas I'm working on and might draw in a few ideas from those other genres. For anyone into sci-fi, I recommend the Doc Harrison series by Peter Telep (of the Tom Clancy books). I was lucky enough to have him ask me to do the final proof on the first book and I really enjoyed the story.
EA: Would you say that writing a novel is easy?
SH: No. Ideas can be easy. But the commitment required to do everything needed to complete your story and then publish a book - well it's tough. My first book took four years to get right. I'm now on year five since that got published and I've not yet completed Book Two. Okay, I've written three novellas in the in-between, but what I struggle with is getting it just right. I feel I owe something to the story, to the characters to tell it just right. But to anyone out there doing it, or thinking about doing it, keep going. The satisfaction alone is worth it.
EA: Describe the feeling of being a best-selling author.
SH: The few times my titles have hit the top ten of various Amazon categories, I've always been pleased. For me, though, the best feeling comes from interacting with people who are reading my work. Particularly the few who live tweet me - a lot - during their reading. That's always a laugh. It's great to know what I've written has brought enjoyment to others.
EA: Tell us about your website urbanfiction.org, and what it has to offer.
SH: I want there to be a space where urban fiction authors and readers can get together, collaborate, and generally grow the genre, and each other. You see some space for this on the main social networks, but everything else there is so distracting. UrbanFiction.org is a space dedicated to urban fiction and its advancement as a genre.
I see so many authors out there trying to make it work, they hustle hard, and I just thought if we could come together in a more focused way, we could help each other to achieve more. The urban fiction genre is on the cusp of doing to reading what hip-hop did to music.
Maybe it sounds a little idealistic, but that's just me all over. If anyone comes to me for help, I'm going to try to give my all to them. I won't turn anyone away. Right now, for example, I'm working with Kim Carter and in turn Robert Booker Sr. He's been incarcerated for years but is determined to turn his writing into a career when he gets out. This is a guy who writes with paper and pen because he has no other choice, and literally cuts and pastes his work in the edit. So look out, we've got a review of one of his books dropping on the site soon, and also an exclusive interview with him. Fingers crossed for more exciting stuff in the pipeline from him.
UrbanFiction.org also has a community forum where all sorts of things can be discussed. Right now we have a writing competition going with two prizes up for grabs. A $50 Amazon voucher and a book deal. It's free to enter: https://www.urbanfiction.org/writing-competition
SH: Don't quit on your dream. Dream big and come on over to urbanfiction.org!
EA: Finally, tell the readers why the Makaveli's Prince series is a must read.
SH: It's got thrills, action, conspiracy, drama, and romance. But most of all, it's fresh and socially conscious. Looking at what's happening with the rise of the political right at the moment, this story is relevant. At the time I wrote Book One President Obama had just been sworn into office and the world had a hopeful outlook. Book One ends on a dark note and while I've been working on Book Two things have only got darker in the real world. It's been one killing after another of innocent black people by police. The election of a racist president. And his support for the Nazi terrorists running people down in the streets. I worry about the outlook and that probably comes across.
I plan on releasing Book Two soon. I hope that the fictional series (yes it is fiction - a few people have asked me that) helps people see, understand, process what is really going on in our world today.
Epilogue
Wow. I'm not particularly a fan of hip-hop nowayears, but I enjoyed the old school rappers, such as the one I'm about to mention shortly. Sam's mentioning of police-- basically thugs with badges and guns-- gunning down unarmed people of dark (or lighter) hue, reminds me of something KRS-One said in a chorus: "You were put here to protect us, but who protects us from you?"
However, I prefer to save that for my social/political commentary in my Social Eyes View blog, where I discuss these types of issues in full length. I do agree that accumulating ideas for stories is easier than trying to get it down on paper or a computer. Like confidence, not giving up on whatever it is you aspire to do is a key element.
I would like to thank Sam for speaking with me. For more on Sam, check out his profile on his website at www.urbanfiction.org/community/profile/sam.
No comments:
Post a Comment