Love Pour Over Me by Denise Turney
Publisher: Chistell Publishing
Release date: March 2012 Website: http://www.chistell.com
Purchase Link: http://www.chistell.com/order.php
Interview with Mocha Girl Denise Turney
MGR: Thank you Mocha Girl Denise for taking a minute to sit and chat with us. Can you tell us about your book.
DT: Love Pour Over Me (http://www.chistell.com), a story about restored love amid heart wrenching contrasts, recounts Raymond Clarke’s tumultuous, yet triumphant life experiences. The cradle of Raymond’s life is steeped in unpredictability. His father struggles with alcoholism. His mother abandoned him when he was two years old. Raymond’s track and field successes make him one of America’s top middle-distance runners. His athletic exploits also earn him a scholarship to a prestigious university, where Raymond meets a motley sort of friends, some famous, some from other countries, each with an intriguing story of his own. But, just when Raymond thought he was free from his alcoholic father, he finds himself pulled into an unresolved murder. His efforts to go unscathed by the pull and tug of intimacy also threaten to keep him from the one woman he’s ever truly loved, the woman he was born to love. The book is available at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Pour-Over-Me-ebook/dp/B007MC0Z2C), B&N (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-pour-over-me-denise-turney/1109600654), iTunes, bookstores, libraries, etc.).
MGR: What was the inspiration for this book?
DT: The story came to me, as some stories do, out of the blue. I was driving home from Pathmark, a grocery store on the East Coast, when the idea about a story that shared the complicated relationship between a father and son popped into my head. However, the friendships, murder mystery and romance the book’s main character, Raymond Clarke, experience developed as the story unfolded.
MGR: What were some of the obstacles you encountered with this book?
DT: At times it was emotionally difficult to write about some of the hardships Raymond endured as a child. I also wanted Raymond to open up to Brenda’s love more readily. I don’t want to give the story away, but Raymond and Brenda’s relationship is rarely seen in real life or in many novels I have read. I appreciate what they share; it’s beautiful.
MGR: Are there things in this book from your life? Family? Friends?
DT: Although I didn’t set out to include bits of my own life (or from the lives of people I know) in Love Pour Over Me, there are some similarities between events from my life and events that occurred to people in my family in the book. The same happened with my first novel, Portia. For example, Raymond, the main character in Love Pour Over Me runs track; I ran track in high school. Raymond’s also from Dayton, Ohio (my hometown). But that’s where the resemblances end, for the most part.
MGR: What are you working on now? Can we get a sneak peek?
DT: I’m writing on my 7th novel, Gada’s Glory (working title). The story is set in Chicago in the 1940s, a time I romanticized for some reason. Gada is 20-years old, regularly bumps heads with her mother, is stubborn as she pleases and had a terrible habit of attracting the wrong men. Her habit, which she learned from her mother, doesn’t bite back as much down South in Louisiana where Gada is from, but it costs her big in Chicago. Gada’s also a world-class singer and entertainer; that bit of info comes to light early on as the story unfolds.
MGR: That sounds interesting. I would love to see what happens with that story. What are you reading now?
DT: I am slowly (smile) reading Every Day in Tuscany by Frances Mayes. I love her style, pace and voice. I’m reading the book slowly because I’m writing for clients (non-fiction work), working on my next novel and promoting and marketing Love Pour Over Me.
MGR: Who are some of your favorite authors?
DT: Jamaica Kincaid, Gloria Naylor, Joyce Carol Oates, Bebe Moore Campbell, James Baldwin, Bernice McFadden, Langston Hughes, Maxine Thompson and Nicole Titus.
MGR: What a great list of authors! Can I ask…how did your family react to your title of published author?
DT: Because I had been writing since I was 10 years old, they were proud and tickled but not shocked, except for my paternal grandfather. He was so incredibly excited when he held my first published book – Portia.
MGR: AWW!! That is too sweet. Finish this sentence…If I had to do this all over again, I would…
DT: Market and promote each book diligently for at least six months before it was published. I did this with my first book and it really paid off. I’m going back to that strategy. It takes time to get a book in front of enough readers to create a big momentum.
MGR: That is great advice. What do you do for fun Mocha Girl Denise?
DT: I enjoy taking walks outdoors. I also love to listen to jazz and to travel.
MGR: What’s your guilty pleasure?
DT: Sleeping in on weekends (sometimes).
MGR: Can I get an AMEN!! on that one? What is your favorite line from a book?
DT: Wow! Interesting question. Hmmm. You know, nothing comes to mind. However, my favorite quote by an author is “And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to bloom.” Anais Nin is the author of that quote. I love it! It’s so true!
MGR: I never heard that one. Excellent. When I was a kid I wanted to be a(n)…
DT: Nurse then a police officer then a business owner (I am a business owner today) and a writer (I’m a full-time writer).
MGR: And 5 years from now I…
DT: Want to be earning at least a deep six-figure salary completely from the sales of my books.
MGR: I know that is right! One more AMEN! What is your favorite Holiday? And why?
DT: Christmas. I love getting together with family and friends, shopping and being surprised as I open presents.
MGR: Thank you so much for spending a few minutes with us.
DT: Thank you for this opportunity! Please grab and enjoy a copy of my latest book, Love Pour Over Me at http://www.chistell.com, Amazon.com, B&N, iTunes, bookstores, libraries, etc. Many Thanks!!
Mocha Girl Denise will be giving away not one but two e-copy of Love Pour Over Me to one lucky winner. This giveaway is open Internationally and to anyone over the age of 18 years old.
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