NEO•GRIOT

Crime Fiction Authoress

Persia Walker

Dishes Out Advice

Ms. Persia Walker studied drama at the High School of Performing Arts in New York City and all kinds of good stuff at Swarthmore College. She spent a year at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism to emerge with a master’s degree.

She has worked for The Associated Press in Arkansas, Washington, DC, and New York. She has also written for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc., (RFE) in Munich.  Outside of that she has worked as a freelance book editor and done cultural reporting and voice work for European publications.  This native New Yorker is fluent in German, and claims to be breathtakingly disorganized, and is often sporadically inspired to cook. She enjoys Indian and Thai food for dining, romantic thrillers and detective stories for reading, super-hero movies, and television programs about desperate housewives and true crime.

Her perfect Sunday morning includes a lengthy and lazy browse through The New York Times. I have provided the link to the excerpt, Black Orchid Blues below!http://persiawalker.com/books/black-orchid-blues/excerpt/.

I like you!  Thank you for this wonderful interview, Persia.

OTR: Tell us about your novels

Persia: My three novels, HARLEM REDUX, DARKNESS AND THE DEVIL BEHIND ME, and the newest, BLACK ORCHID BLUES, are all set in the 1920s against the glittering backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance. They’re mystery novels that each explore a different facet of the era. In HARLEM REDUX, criminal defense attorney David McKay reappears after a mysterious three-year absence to investigate his sister’s suicide; in DARKNESS AND THE DEVIL BEHIND ME, society reporter Lanie Price uncovers the conspiracy that led to the disappearance of a beautiful young pianist during a stormy night in Harlem; in BLACK ORCHID BLUES, Price witnesses the brutal kidnapping of sexy singer who has a dark and secretive past, then becomes involved in the race to save the singer’s life.

OTR: How and when did you first become a self-published authoress?

Persia: I first self-published HARLEM REDUX upon the advice of my literary agent. She had submitted the book to multiple publishers and each had turned it down. So I self-published it and marketed it to book clubs. One book club in particular was very supportive, the Go On Girl! Book Club. Members chose it as their book of the month. My agent conveyed this information to Simon & Schuster and Random House. The two publishers swiftly changed positions about the book and each made an offer. I eventually went with S&S.

OTR: How long have you been writing?

Persia: I’ve been writing since elementary school. I always knew I wanted to be a storyteller. However, when I was growing up, well-meaning people always said that no one makes a living as a writer. So I went to school, studied hard, and wrote in my spare time. Eventually, I  got a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Columbia University. I then worked as a news writer for The Associated Press here in the States and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Europe. In the mid-1990s, RFE/RL laid off many of its workers, including me. For the first time in my adult life, I was unemployed. I decided to use the time to write novels.

OTR: Do you have plans of becoming a traditionally published author?

Persia: I’m already traditionally published. 

OTR:Who inspires you as a writer?

Persia: Somerset Maugham, Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Alfred Hitchcock.

OTR: What makes you stand out as a writer?

Persia: I hope that the originality of my mysteries and my style of telling them do, but I think readers might be in a better position to say  than I am. I know that I try to make my stories entertaining and well thought out. I believe in the intelligence of my readers and play fair with them. I give them a puzzle and the clues to solve it. But naturally, I make sure that my detectives are always one step ahead.

OTR: Where do you see yourself within the next several years?

Persia: I expect to have several more novels out, each one better written than the last, and I hope to have a wider readership.

OTR: What else do you do besides write?

Persia: I create digital art. I started with it as a means of creating portraits for my characters, then fell in love with the process. If readers visit my Facebook Page (http://facebook.com/author.persia.walker), then they’ll see some of the character portraits I’ve created. I’m working on a gallery to display on my main website, http://PersiaWalker.com.

OTR:  Why did you decide to become a writer?

Persia: No one in their right mind would decide to become a writer. You don’t choose writing; it chooses you. Many of us try to ignore it for as long as possible, but answering the call, as problematic as it may be, is the only route to happiness. For me, writing and editing are my only discernible (i.e., marketable) skills.

OTR: Who are your favorite authors?

Persia: I love mysteries and thrillers, so I’ll say Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Gar Anthony Haywood, Walter Mosley, Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, among others. When I’m in a less dark mood, I enjoy J. California Cooper, Ernest J. Gaines, Bernice McFadden, Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston, and Somerset Maugham, for example.

OTR: What are your favorite books?

Persia: Too many to mention.

OTR: What is it that you most people do not know about you?

Persia: Unfortunately, I have no interesting secrets.

OTR: Tell us what influences you to write the stories you write?

Persia: The film noir of the 1940s. As a child, I was very sickly and stayed home from school a lot. I used to watch a lot of those old black-and-whites movies and I suppose I internalized their kind of storytelling. I love elegance in a plot and economy in language. I’m attracted to stories about difficult choices, psychological puzzles, intrigue and betrayal.

OTR: What are/is your biggest pet peeve(s)?

Persia: It alternately makes me smile and grit my teeth when people who don’t read suddenly decide to write a book. Too many have no idea of the craft or of the hard work that goes into building a novel, and they don’t want to learn, either. They’re proud of their effort — as they should be — but they’re not dedicated and don’t realize that the work has just begun.

OTR: When aspiring authors/poets approach you about getting their book published,  what do you usually tell them?

Persia: I tell them that writing is a craft; publishing is a business. I tell them to (a) take acting lessons and (b) join an established mainstream writers organization. The acting lessons will help teach the craft of writing — how to develop a story, write dialog, and create vibrant characters who live and breathe well past the last page. Joining an organization puts you in contact with the major players, the writers, the agents, the editors. You get to know them; they get to know you. You attend conferences and learn the business. In between, you do your homework. There are good websites that will tell you how to select an agent and write a query letter. Other sites will show you how to self-publish for free using Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Still others will tell you how to get your own ISBNs and set up your own imprint. None of this information is hidden, anymore. It’s right out there. There’s no reason not to be able to learn about this business, really none at all.

OTR: What is your advice to authors who are struggling with getting their book out to their target audience? Which innovative marketing ways would you suggest to new authors?

Persia: First, I’d like to congratulate any author who really knows who his target audience is. I mean that seriously. Very often authors (and publicists) will think that a book is perfect for one particular group and are surprised to see the book appeal to a whole different readership. So I suppose, my first thought would be that authors should be open as to who they think might like their work. Second, I would suggest using cooperative online advertising. What do I mean by that? I mean joining group blogs of authors who write in a similar genre. Instead of trying to go it alone, work together with fellow authors. Do joint signings and joint tours. Someone who comes to see your fellow author might also like your work and vice versa.

OTR: What do you think catapulted your success as an author?

Persia: What a kind question! I work hard and that’s the most common characteristic I know among successful authors. We’re a hardworking, dedicated bunch. We also try to support one another. And we write and rewrite and keep trying, despite discouragement. We often want to give up, but we somehow never do.

OTR: Do you have plans to open your own publishing company?

Persia: I already have my own publishing imprint. It’s called Blood Vintage Press. I used it to publish DARKNESS AND THE DEVIL BEHIND ME. The focus is on historical or vintage era mysteries.

OTR: Which well-known author(s) would you like to network with?

Persia: Hmmm. Well, I’ve been pretty lucky. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America (MWA), I’ve been privileged to meet a lot of talented people — agents as well as authors. It’s a great organization for sharing information and meeting top-notch (i.e. best-selling) authors. Who have I met so far? I’d rather not say, but take a look at the cover of BLACK ORCHID BLUES and get an idea. I’d still like to meet Alice Walker and Terry McMillan. I don’t expect to find them at an MWA meeting, of course, but yes, I’d really love to meet them. About networking, I’d like to give one last bit of advice: Be yourself and don’t try to use people. I know a lot of writers and they’re wonderfully generous people. They help and share because of their innate kindness, but they can spot a user a mile away. So be genuine; be serious about your craft and knowledgeable about the business. Impress them with that and you’ll make friends.

OTR: What is your advice to budding authors?

Persia: See above.

To find and Connect with Persia and read her novels, check out her websites  below

http://PersiaWalker.com
http://Facebook.com/Author.Persia.Walker
http://twitter.com/persiawalker