If I could hug you for just a moment,
all worries would melt away. . .
(I I Could Hug You/Poetry from the bottom of my heart by Vincent Alexandria)
Yes, ladies there are still men out there who are not afraid to bare their souls to you, and ooh, doesn’t it sound so good? Well I won’t keep this gentleman to myself, I’ll share him with you.
Let me introduce you to Vincent Alexandria, a real down home, southern man. I am not saying that because of the beautiful words he wrote about women in his book, but because I had the pleasure to share a table with him at the Homewood Book Fair this past May.
Vincent is a gentleman in every aspect of the word. He willingly volunteered to assist the lady authors with the set up of tables and carried their chairs, all done with an incredible smile, and a genuine hearty laugh. Each person he met that afternoon, was offered a smile and a great conversation. It was a though we all had been friends of Vincent's all our lives. He truly made the day memorable. My thought immediately was, I must interview him and share this wonderful man and his his books with the Soul Pitt readers.
SP Bonita: You’ve written several murder mystery books involving the character Detective Joe Johnson (Black Rain, Postal Blues, If Walls Could Talk) how did his character evolve?
Vincent: Joe Johnson is the name of my brother who died of walking pneumonia. I wanted a way for his name to live on forever and I loved murder mysteries, so I decided to make him the main character in my book. His partner Vernon Brown was named after my best friend in college Steven Brown. So both characters have significance in the naming. Both are very special to me.
SP Bonita: Do you have any other mysteries in store for Detective Johnson? When will they be released? Black
Vincent:Heat is due out in spring of 2008 and Black Vice is due out in the winter of 2008. Both Postal Blues and If Walls Could Talk the start of the series will both be re-released and be out in 2009.
SP Bonita: How did you get from writing murder mysteries to baring your emotions in Poetry from the Bottom of my Heart?
Vincent: I wrote the entire poetry book while I was going through a divorce. The poems where written to a fictitious woman that I imagined would be the woman of my dreams. I had all these emotions inside that I needed to get out. It was everything a man should say to a woman, but didn’t.
SP Bonita: How did you get from being a self-publisher to signing a contract with Harlequin/Kimani Press (BET)?
Vincent:Time, effort, and energy. You have to understand your dream, sleep it, dream it, write it down as your goal and work towards it, understanding that everyone is not going to believe in you or your dream. Not even sometimes your family, but you have to stay steadfast and put in the discipline and work to make it happen. Hard work pays off. You also have to align your self with positive people that believe in you and your dream. Every body loves you when you make it. You’re real friends are the ones buying your book and getting their friends and family to buy your book, when you were self-published.
SP Bonita: Being a writer is only one small part of your gift, you are also an actor, producer, director, composer, screenwriter, vocalist, and a musician. How do you find time to do all those things, and do them well?
Vincent:Practice, practice, practice. (LOL) You have to be diversified and find what makes you happy. I’ve
always been a multitasked person. My girlfriend has to remind me sometimes to stop it. (Smile) I’m from a family of fifteen, so I spent a lot of time with my brothers and sisters and learned a lot from them and loved a part of what they loved. So I took time to learn a bit form each of them.
SP Bonita: Besides writing I heard one of your books, If Walls Could Talk, was being considered for a movie, is that deal still in progress? And do you have plans to turn additional books into movies?
Vincent: I am still shopping If Walls Could Talk. I wrote the script as well. I have signed an option for my second book Postal Blues and it should be in production later in the year. I’m really excited about it. I signed with White Stone Entertainment, and being represented by Airleaf Publishing.
If Walls Could Talk
In this book is the actual case of a Kansas City Murder in which a mother kills her children, this is the first time anyone is walked through the actual events of the crime scene. I was the person that found the children and I let you see, what I saw. (aalbc.com)
Click on book cover for Page 2
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