Joey Pinkney is “Your Favorite Reviewer’s Reviewer” – Period. His hard work has garnered awards and accolades for his reviewing and interviewing skills. Even more, Joey Pinkney has the respect of authors and readers alike. They respect Joey because he helps to find a reading audience. I talked to Joey about building an online presence and engaging the audience.

If you want to be a reviewer, author or get web traffic, dig into the interview.

UM: Introduce Yourself.

JP: My name is Joey Pinkney. My real name is Joey, not Joseph, just for letters. I am married to my college sweetheart for close to seven years. We have three children, one 18-year-old son and two daughters, 13 and 2. Two of my children are from my wife’s previous marriage, the youngest one by “the old-fashioned way”.

Outside of family and work, I do a lot of work promoting authors and their books through author interviews and book reviews. My author interview series “JoeyPinkney.com’s 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…” has been going on since August 2008. It has featured authors ranging from the relatively unknown to New York Times and Essense Best Sellers, and even a Grammy Award Winning recording artist.

My website http://joeypinkney.com has been nominated for various awards, still waiting to win one. There has been a level of consistency has not only brought these authors closer to people who are thirsty to know about new author and books.

I am also an award-winning author. I co-authored The Soul of a Man Anthology, which won 2009 Best Short Stories/Best Anthology at the African American Literary Awards. My short story “Like Father, Like Son” introduces Terrence, his wife Mary and his step-son Andre. I am currently working on a novel based on the lives of those characters due to be released later this year.

UM: You are passionate about books. How did you become involved in books by AA authors?

JP: I am definitely passionate about books. Aside from what I do with my website, I also collect books. I’m not passionate, actually. I’m addicted. Seriously.

I became involved with AA books through wanting to review them for a larger audience. From what an average reader has access to, most of the AA books they come across are either in the major chain book stores or in the library. There are so many small publishers and self-publishers that release tons of great AA books that fall through the cracks or stay under the radar.

I use http://joeypinkney.com as a platform to inform readers about new and interesting books. This is not only to bring attention to the book, but also the back story. The journey an author takes from taking an intangible idea to a physical product is so interesting. I have had many readers actually tell me that they have been inspired to throw their hat into the book publishing arena based on an author interview they came across on http://joeypinkney.com.

UM: Your favorite book genre? Why?

JP: Urban Fiction, hands down. Although I have my criticisms and feel sometimes it’s a guilty pleasure, I love the guns, violence and sex. A well written Urban Fiction novel also includes a well thought out plot and interesting characters. I like to reference that in terms of movies. I like the same qualities in movies. I really like Urban Fiction for its entertainment qualities, and I read non-fiction if I want to learn something. Just like with movies, I fall asleep when the part comes where morals are being taught.

UM: At what point did you decide to start www.JoeyPinkney.com? How did you increase visitors/audience?

JP: When I first started www.JoeyPinkney.com in mid-2006, I just had to have something on the internet. It was early in my addiction. Slowly, I gravitated to my passion: books. I started asking around for books to review, and even approached a couple of websites.

After getting about a book a day coming to my mail box, I got the idea to to the JoeyPinkney.com 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… author interview series. That aspect has really taken a live of its own. I’m proud of that.

As far as increasing my audience, first and foremost I try to remain as active as possible in posting new stuff on my website. Then I do as much promotion as time will permit. I heavily use social media networks to keep people abreast of what new on my website. I also converse and interact with many people. I have gained a lot of online friends that way.

UM: Your audience has grown by leaps and bounds. What are three steps a book reviewer can take to develop an online audience / presence?

JP: 1) Be as honest as possible with your reviews. 2) Post your reviews in as many places are you can find. 3) Repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as you can.

UM: What has been your biggest misconception about the publishing industry? Has it changes since you became an author?

JP: My biggest misconception has been thinking that everyone works together for the common good. Just like any other large group of people, it’s politics as usual… The cool thing is that one good person in the book industry outshines ten or more bad people.

In terms of a shift in my perspective since become an author, I now understand. There is plenty of stuff that you read or hear about from seasoned authors that sound good that doesn’t resonate until you go through it. “Writing is the easy part. Promotion and marketing is the hard part.” So true… Anybody can put some words together. Getting somebody to buy your collection of words, or even getting people to know that your words are for sale, is the true challenge. Now I know.

UM: What prompted you to become involved in the industry as an author? How would you describe the experience?

JP: I’ve always toyed around with the idea of being published. It really is an extension of reading so much. Now that I know the whole process and how much it includes, I’m excited to see what will happen with my novel.

UM: Paid reviews or No paid reviews? Why?

JP: Should a person pay just for a review? No. Should a person pay to have a review done by an entity that will promote that review in many different places and get it seen by many different groups of people? Yes. Book reviewers can be a great marketing tool if chosen correctly.

UM: How can people learn more about your services or upcoming writing projects?

JP: Email me at joey.pinkney@gmail.com. Thank you so much for your time, QB and www.UrbaniaMag.com. I really appreciate the experience and attention you have provided to me and www.JoeyPinkney.com.

“Dear Dad” by Ky-Mani Marley

c.2010, Farrah Gray Publishing $14.95 / $18.95 Canada 244 pages

From the minute that child came into the house, you knew you were in trouble.

You never asked for a brother or sister, but there you were. And from then on, you had to share toys, Mom, everything.

But it wasn’t all bad. With a sibling in the house, there was always somebody to play with. It pretty much doubled your toys. And best of all, you knew, down-deep, that somebody would always have your back.

But what if you were kept from your siblings and denied your birthright? Who would have your back then? Ky-Mani Marley says he loves his family, and he wishes for the closeness they should’ve had. In the new book “Dear Dad”, he explains.

Born in Falmouth, Jamaica – the place most of us think as paradise – Ky-Mani Marley says that his family was dirt-poor. Nine people lived in a two-room shack then, and the building had no kitchen or bathroom. Still, he had an idyllic childhood and he remembers being happy and completely cherished.

Ky-Mani always knew that he had “royal lineage”: his mother, Anita, was a championship table-tennis player and, during a tournament, she met a fan named Bob Marley. Ky-Mani says that Anita pretended indifference to Marley’s attention, but the connection was there and it endured. After Ky-Mani was born, the King of Reggae spent lots of time in Falmouth, and was said to have been looking for a house for his family when he died of cancer in 1981.

A year after Marley’s death, Ky-Mani’s grandmother decided to move the family to America, the land where everybody got a “pot of gold”. But as far as Ky-Mani could see, poverty was worse and drug-dealing was the only thing profitable. At ten years old, he was selling weed as easily as some kids sell lemonade.

By the time he was an adult, Ky-Mani Marley had seized control of his legacy and started making music and writing songs. So that his life would always “mean something”, he started his own non-profit foundation (www.LoveOverAll.org). And about the family he loves? He has some painful things to say…

While I was dismayed to see the “controversy” explained so late in this book (nearly a quarter into the story), though he tends to belabor several points (often for many, many pages), and though he tends. To. Write in. Slang and. Annoyingly. Short. Sentences, author Ky-Mani Marley has a voice that lifts his readers straight onto the sands of Jamaica.

Marley describes incredible poverty amid sand, sun, and love. He personifies the “it takes a village to raise a child” saying perfectly in this book. His stories are funny, much like those that you’d hear at the table of an old friend. This abundance of good canceled out what annoyed me, and I ended up liking this book quite a bit.

If you’re a fan of either Marley musician and you’re in the mood for a quick read, grab a copy of “Dear Dad”. For you, this is a book to bring into the house.

“Simeon’s Story” by Simeon Wright (with Herb Boyd)
c.2010, Lawrence Hill Books
$19.95 / $21.95 Canada
144 pages, includes index

Reviewed by Terri Schlichenmeyer

You’ve been doing it since you were a teenager, maybe before.

A certain look sideways, eyes lowered. Unconscious flex of muscles beneath a flashy t-shirt. A smile, a glance, a wiggle of hips or lips or brows.
Where would you be without a little flirting? Married? Hooked up? Maybe not. But attracting the opposite sex is how our species perpetuates.

Flirting is fun.

You would never in a million years think it could get you killed.

But in the new book, “Simeon’s Story” by Simeon Wright (with Herb Boyd), you’ll read about a wolf whistle heard ‘round the country.

Growing up in Mississippi in the Jim Crow era, Simeon Wright knew that there were certain things a black person never did; specifically, he was never remotely disrespectful to anyone who was white. Sassing “Mr. Charlie” was a good way to get in trouble.

Wright learned from his father that some white people could be trusted, though. Mose Wright was a sharecropper. He knew who was fair and who wasn’t, and he wouldn’t work with dishonest landowners.
Simeon Wright indicates that he had a good childhood, despite Jim Crow laws. His parents loved him and he had a big, extended family. In fact, when cousins were scheduled to visit Mississippi from Chicago, Wright “was so excited that I didn’t know what to do.”

One of those cousins was fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, a big-for-his-age boy, almost the size of a grown man. Everybody called him Bobo and he was fun-loving, but Wright remembers that “he just didn’t know the rules.”
On the afternoon of Wednesday, August 24, 1955, Bobo’s lack of knowledge sparked a movement.

After a long day of work, Wright, Bobo, and three other boys went to a nearby store for some refreshments. For about a minute, Bobo was alone in the building with a white woman and as she stormed out, he brashly whistled at her. Days later, as Wright slept next to his cousin, two white men entered the family’s house and snatched Emmett “Bobo” Till.
In his foreword, Wright’s co-author Herb Boyd explains that this story almost didn’t see publication. Simeon Wright was tired of people taking artistic license with the story of his cousin’s murder. There were things that Wright didn’t care to remember, but he eventually agreed to lay some nasty myths to rest.

And with crystal clarity and blistering prose, Wright does just that.
Recalling a somewhat carefree childhood, Wright tells of youth interrupted by something so horrific that it hurts to read about it. He speaks of his father’s dignity and bravery, and of deep disappointment that was eventually soothed.

About those myths perpetuated by journalists, Wright has a few choice words. With anger apparent, he advises that “anyone planning on working in the communications field… go to the primary sources. They know what really happened.”

Surprisingly, you’ll probably find this book in the YA section of your library
or bookstore, but don’t let that deter you from this powerful, important memoir. “Simeon’s Story” is a story you must read.

Jihad is a writer and motivational speaker. Early in his life, Jihad embarked on a life of crime, which landed him in prison for seven years. He was shot on several occasions and in a car accident, which left him paralyzed.

Miraculously, Jihad regained usage of his legs. He also discovered his love of books and for writing while in prison. Jihad’s books include the autobiographical novel entitled “ Street Life” which was written in 1998.

Jihad has since written five other novels. Jihad’s most recent release is a book of non-fiction entitled “The Survival Bible 16 Life Lessons for Young Black Men.” For more information about Jihad’s works, check out www.jihadspeaks.com.

In addition to his writing, Jihad is also an inspirational speaker and a real estate investor. He is the founder and CEO of the non-profit organization The Wake-Up Everybody Foundation. This company is dedicated to “positively and proactively re-awakening the African-American psyche through self-realization and re-education.”

We interviewed Jihad his work and his ideas for helping and encouraging young people. As far as his novels go, Jihad explained that he gets his ideas from major emotional experiences in his own life. He explained, “I could be running at the gym, and I’ll have a thought that develops and won’t go away. That thought usually comes from something I see or hear that I am a very passionate about.”

Jihad’s new book “The Survival Bible 16 Life Lessons for Young Black Men” has some truly insightful ideas. One of the most important points he strives to make is that youngsters need to intentionally seek out books written by people who share the same cultural identity.

Jihad explained during our interview, “In life, all of our formal education comes from either books or scholars that are teaching from the people and the books that they were taught from. These may not be books or schools of thought that have your best interest in mind, being that you are black and only have the identity that others have told you. So, you have to READ books about your yesterday written by people who look like you and have your best interest at heart. You have to do that in order to establish your cultural identity. This is a must in understanding how you got to be where you are. By studying your ancestors, you can see how to avoid their mistakes and understand how they achieved their successes.”

Jihad goes on to explain, “Your identity is your foundation. There is nothing
that can stand through rough weather or turmoil without a foundation. That
is why our people are in the condition that we are, most of us have no
foundation. See, knowing the past is knowing the future…. Everything in
life revolves, the earth, our bodies, our story. There is absolutely nothing
new under the sun, so knowing your past in essence is knowing your future,
because with knowing your yesterday, you can map out your tomorrow. In
essence, this is what they mean by Know thyself.”

Jihad’s work is self-published. Overall, he feels this experience has been very challenging. He explained that as an independent publisher he never had the same distribution outlets as the major publishers. “It’s like a grass roots movement for life being independent, at least until the media or the people really latch on to your work.”

As far as suggestions go for readers looking to become writers and follow a similar path to success, Jihad’s main words of advice are “ READ, AND JUST DO IT. Begin at the beginning of your thoughts and just write
what’s on your mind, and don’t worry if you are an avid reader, the story will come to you as you are writing.” He explains that it is important for new writers to realize that the hardest thing to write is the first page.

Jihad’s inspiration for new writers is as follows, “How many times do you see a movie that you know you could have done better or a book you could have wrote better? Sit down and just do it… everyday if it’s one word, one sentence, write… and most importantly read. Other books are your school. Don’t worry about stealing anyone’s ideas, as I said before there is nothing new under the sun, so how can you steal what never belonged to the author in the first place… It’s all about your twist on one of the few stories that have been done a million times a million ways.”

Of course, in addition to his books is his motivational speaking career. Jihad described a recent experience at one of his live events. “It was beautiful. The young King had never read a book before but his mother made him read The Survival Bible while he was grounded… After reading my book, he told his mother that The Survival Bible was the greatest one gift he’d ever received and he was going to change the world and make her proud. I spoke with the young King and told me that he was selling his PS3 to help his mother buy books from a reading list put in the Survival Bible. He is 13…. That one King’s words are worth more than any amount of money I could be paid to write.”

Next from Jihad is the sequel to “Preacherman Blues.” He not only plans on writing more novels, but also many more self-help books. In fact, the next self-help book on the horizon is “The Survival Bible: 16 Life Lessons for Young Black Women.”