LaToya: Hi Adrienne, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Adrienne: Hey, thanks so much for this opportunity!
I was born in Ohio, the second and last child of my parents’ marriage. I was raised in Arkansas and currently reside there. I’m the divorced mother of 3 grown people, the grandmother of 2 little ones, a music fanatic, art lover, Christian, avid reader, and storyteller.
LaToya: What are your ambitions for your writing career?
Adrienne: To be able to write for a living for the rest of my life.
LaToya: Which writers inspire you?
Adrienne: Alice Walker, Bernice L. McFadden, the Apostle Paul, Zora Neale Hurston, Maya Angelou, Terry McMillan, Langston Hughes
LaToya: What are you working on at the minute?
Adrienne: I’m working on several projects right now, including a sequel to my novel, See Me, and new installments for my Bluesday and Been So Long series.
LaToya: What genre are your books and why?
Adrienne: I mostly write Women’s Fiction and Edgy Inspirational Romance, but I’ve also written African American Fiction, Multicultural Fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. I just go wherever the story takes me, but I have a heart for broken women, so my work usually centers around them.
LaToya: In 10 words or less can you create a quote that describes you and your writing?
Adrienne: Honest, open, vulnerable, visual, emotional, raw, and real.
LaToya: Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?
Adrienne: Hmm, that would be Joy and Pain. Gosh, I’m bad at this. I usually don’t use actors or models to visualize my characters because they are real people to me with their own unique features.
LaToya: When did you decide to become a writer?
Adrienne: I like to say writing actually found me in 2009 after my all-time favorite singer, Michael Jackson died. I was seeking my true purpose in life and stumbled upon a long-forgotten talent for writing.
LaToya: Do you write full-time or part-time?
Full time, thankfully.
LaToya: Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
Adrienne: I schedule my days on my calendar and on any given day might be marketing or blogging or engaged in the business side of things. I try to write a little something every day. My goal is 500 words per day. Sometimes I write less, sometimes more, depending on how the story is flowing.
LaToya: Do you aim for a set amount of words/pages per day?
Adrienne: 500 words/day is my goal but I usually just write until I get to a good stopping point.
LaToya: Where do your ideas come from?
Adrienne: Life, music, people, anywhere
LaToya: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?
Adrienne: I am allergic to outlines, lol. I let the story lead me.
LaToya: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
Adrienne: I definitely think I have grown as a writer and a creator as I’ve grown as a person. I think with anyone who is creative, as we mature, so does our work, and as our point of view shifts it affects our work.
LaToya: What is the hardest thing about writing?
Adrienne: Actually sitting down and writing and finishing. Ideas are easy to come by, executing them takes dedication and perseverance. But once I get started on a story, it’s usually easy to keep going.
LaToya: What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?
Adrienne: Accepting the final word count. I wanted it to be a bit longer. The story disagreed with me, lol.
LaToya: What is the easiest thing about writing?
Adrienne: Coming up with new ideas and watching them take flight.
LaToya: How long on average does it take you to write a book?
Adrienne: It would depend on the subject matter. If it is a very intense story, it can take months. If it is lighter and flows well, maybe a month or less.
LaToya: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
Adrienne: Hopefully more financially stable.
LaToya: What advice would you give to your younger self?
Adrienne: You, alone, are enough. Never stop believing in yourself or trusting in God.
LaToya: Which famous person, living or dead would you like to meet and why?
Adrienne: Michael Jackson with the hopes of some of his genius rubbing off on me.
LaToya: If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?
Adrienne: The Color Purple because it truly changed what I believed a book could be and told a story from an under-represented segment of society, which is what I strive to do in my work.
LaToya: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Adrienne: Never give up and always strive to be authentically you rather copy someone else’s style.
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