Black Pearls Magazine Interview Dr. Maxine E. Thompson
Dr. Maxine E. Thompson is a novelist, poet, columnist, short story writer, book reviewer, an editor, freelance writer, ghostwriter, Internet Radio Show Host, and a Literary Agent. She is the author of The Ebony Tree, No Pockets in a Shroud, A Place Called Home (A Short Story Collection), The Hush Hush Secrets of Writing Fiction That Sell, a contributor to bestselling anthologies Secret Lovers, All in The Family, and Never Knew Love Like This Before, (Also a Kindle Bestseller), Proverbs for the People. Hostage of Lies is her latest fiction novel, was voted a Best Book of 2009 by EDC Creations.
BPM: Tell us about your passion for writing. Why do you write? What drives you? What impact do you want your book to make on the readers?
I write to leave a record of all the untold stories of my ancestors. I like to talk about the things that the news don't tell us about-such as the wholesale murder of young black men in our cities. (I address this in my upcoming novel, LA Blues.)
BPM: A Legacy is something that is handed down from one period of time to another period of time. Finish this sentence-
My writing offers the following legacy to future readers... my novel, Hostage of Lies, offers a peek inside the lives of Black people in this country since slavery up until 1993.
BPM: Give us the synopsis of Hostage of Lies.
Nefertiti "Titi" Godbolt's been a captive of her family's secrets her whole life. Now, as she returns home after seven years, she's ready to confront her family and finally get some answers. It's her father's seventy-fifth birthday celebration, but she's not there to celebrate a man who always seemed to favor her siblings Josh and Cleo, while he, along with Titi's mother, treated Titi as the black sheep in the family-even before she got pregnant and they forced her to give up her daughter. But when Titi's father and his brother have it out during the party, some long-buried family secrets pop to the surface, and Titi realizes there may be some truth to the stories her great-grandmother told her when she was a child after all.
BPM: Introduce us to your book's main characters.
Hostage of Lies has a host of characters. The protagonist, Nefertiti, the prodigal daughter of Reverend Godbolt, who has come home to Shallow's Corner, Michigan after a 7 year absence. Her ex-husband, Isaac Thorne, is trying to woo her back. Her first lover, Pharaoh, who fathered her oldest child when Nefertiti was 15 years old, is trying to woo her back. She unknowingly is the center of a controversy, which started before she was born. Nefertiti is a modern, working Black woman who has just opened her own book store in Los Angeles . She is a foil to her mother, Miss Magg, who as First Lady, was always a housewife.
BPM: Who were your favorites in Hostage of Lies?
My favorite characters are Nefertiti and Calissa, who left her husband, Deacon Thorne, back when it was a disgrace to leave your child with the father. She was a woman ahead of her times.
BPM: Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
No, they are composites of people I've met and known through the years.
BPM: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? Who are your mentors?
I really hate to take credit for something that came from my parents and the speech of the people I grew up around. I'm only recording and giving witness to what I learned growing up, which has stayed with me. If I must give it a name, my power comes from my ear for dialogue. I can write down different A.A. speech patterns from Gullah, to street, to Ivy league sounding Black Speech.
I am also a poet, so I often introduce poetry into my prose.
My power as a person is something I stumbled on after being a social worker for 23 years. It comes from my sphere of influence as an editor for many best selling A.A. authors. I act as a literary agent who is opening doors for underrepresented authors. Also, I was one of the first African Americans to host an Internet radio show in March 5, 2002, which opened doors for many self-published A.A. writers.
My mentors are Toni Morrison (from afar), and Dr. Rosie Milligan (http://www.milliganbooks.com)
BPM: A legacy is something that is handed down from one period of time to another period of time. Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
My writing offers the following legacy to future readers....the ability to visit worlds past that show another side of what Black people were like in slavery, what they really felt, and how Black people talk to each other, love each other, and fight with each other, behind closed doors.
BPM: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
I gave each character a major quest. Nefertiti's quest was to find her daughter she gave up for adoption. Pharaoh and Isaac's quest was to get back Nefertiti.
BPM: Take us inside the book, Hostage of Lies. What are two major events taking place?
The two major events are some of the family secrets, which unfold while Nefertiti is on her adoption search for her daughter. The climax where a big family secret about the question as to Nefertiti's parentage comes out.
BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
I'd like to reach women who like to read about family dynamics and one coming into their own, meaning overthrowing the tyranny of family. The message is that the truth will set you free. There is no gain in hiding the truth. Family secrets can be devastating.
BPM: How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
They will learn about slavery, about the Vietnam War and Blacks, about the LA and Detroit riots. They will learn about the dynamics of family and the Black church's system. They will learn of the power of a mother's love.
BPM: What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
Teen pregnancy, family secrets and lies, historical information that is often not passed down. In our quest to move up, many upwardly mobile African Americans failed to hand down history, which could prevent the younger generation from making the same mistakes.
BPM: What was the most powerful chapter in Hostage of Lies?
I think when Nefertiti recalls her daughter's birth, which she had repressed, since she was forced to give the child up for adoption.
BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book.
I want them to realize how complex our love is, yet feel good about being a human being.
BPM: What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
It's more insightful as to how a birth mother feels about giving up a child for adoption. It also shows the different world view that A.A. have regarding adoption, since we are the descendants of people who had our children forcefully taken from us.
BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
Hostage of Lies was a bestselling book on Bookspan.com in December, 2009. In January 2010, it was voted a Best Book of 2009 by EDC Creations.
BPM: How can our readers reach you online?
Share with us your online contact information only. They can find me at twitter @safari61751 or www.maxinethompsonbooks.com.
Contact Dr. Maxine E. Thompson
http://www.maxinethompsonbooks.com/
Maxine Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
