This is Male Author Mondays. I have the pleasure of having Isiko Raymond on my channel today. Please welcome Isiko.
- Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? My name is Isiko Cooks. I am President of Peter Mack Presents, LLC. I’ve been writing for ten years now with 25 books in print and recipient of a PEN America Center book prize for my memoir, FILTHY: Innocence Lost. I am currently incarcerated in California.
- What do you do when you are not writing? Catching up on my favorite authors and magazines.
- Do you have a day job as well? Writing is my lifestyle. No job.
- When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book? I began writing after an arrest for trafficking drugs. My first novel, HoodSweet, was completed while in solitary confinement.
- How did you choose the genre you write in? My first novel came to me in a series of dreams. People say my writing defies genre.
- Where do you get your ideas? I get my ideas from trending topics and topical situations.
- Do you ever experience writer’s block? Nope.
- Do you work with an outline, or just write? I work from an outline.. But this outline morphs as i write.
- Is there any author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult? Walter Mosley is my mentor.
- Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published? There were no challenges. I endured alot of rejections before I was awarded my first contract. I’ve had four contracts on my career.
- If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published that you would change? Nope.
- How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre? I use all avenues. Print. TV Media. Social media. Radio. Reviews. Word of mouth. You. Etc
- Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published? Nope.
- Can you tell us about your upcoming book? My new book is POWDER. It is a sort of finale for every series I’ve written.. Powder features reader favorite characters like Ayana and Prada.
- Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination? Its all based on real life. Putting it together is my imagination.
- What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why? I love the entire process of writing.
- How did you come up with the title? My book designer came up with the POWDER title. For PRISON I thought it should be straight forward.
- What project are you working on now? POWDER.
- Will you have a new book coming out soon? Yes. POWDER. Dec 1.
- How can your readers find you? www.PeterMackPresents.com
Contact Information: Isiko.raymond@gmail.com
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