Pump Up Your Book Chats with Alretha Thomas

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Alpubphotoedit An author, playwright, producer and director, Alretha Thomas is making her name through her pen. Award winning plays and wanting to help her community, Alretha’s background is as diverse as her personality. She started at the age of ten, when her 5th grade teacher picked and read her short story assignment in front of the class – that simple, loving act empowered a new writer. Continuing in high school, her numerous original oratorical conquests on the Speech Team led her to a journalism concentration at the University of Southern California. Upon graduating, Alretha soon realized that her interest in journalism was not heartfelt. While at the taping of a live sitcom, the producer noticed her and encouraged her hand at modeling. Modeling didn’t mean much to her, but it did lead her to acting and a NAACP Theatre Award Nomination (1993) for BEST ACTRESS. She feels that this acting stint gave her more fuel to write, and particularly, a better understanding of character development.

Alretha left acting and began to write full time. Her church gave her an outlet to fulfill her writing desires through their Liturgical Fine Arts Department wherein Alretha penned twelve theatre pieces – the community response was overwhelming. This led to full length plays outside of the church including Alretha’s play, Sacrificing Simone (2007) which had a successful run at Stage 52 in Los Angeles and was called “an inspirational crowd pleaser” by the Los Angeles Times and her most recent work, the ground breaking OneWoman, Two Lives, starring Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show), directed by Denise Dowse, which garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences. In between plays, Alretha’s first novel Daughter Denied was launched in 2008.

You can find out more about her and her book at http://www.Dancingherdreamsaway.com.

On Writing Dancing Her Dreams Away:

Q: Can you tell us why you wrote your book?

The readers who fell in love with my debut novel “Daughter Denied,” a story about a precocious seven-year-old girl named Tina who grows up with an abusive stepfather, inspired me to write my second novel “Dancing Her Dreams Away.” Now, if you told them this, they would probably give you a blank stare, because they actually wanted me to write the sequel to “Daughter Denied.” “Daughter Denied” was loosely based on my childhood, and the cover of the book features me as a little girl (in my mother’s lap), my sisters, and my mother. Trust me, I believe in giving my fans what they want, and I attempted to write the sequel, but I wasn’t feeling it. The concept for the sequel was all in my head and there was nothing in my heart. I actually completed the sequel and titled it “Daughter Denied Again.” It was over 300 pages, but 300 pages of heartless prose. A writer’s group that I belong to confirmed my suspicions, and I ended up trashing the entire book. I was devastated to say the least. I was beginning to feel like a one-book-wonder. I stepped back and meditated. Inside I knew there was a second novel just waiting to be born.

Then it hit me. My new protagonist was not Tina, but Shelia. Where did I get Shelia? That was my nickname twenty-five years ago when I was a young, aspiring actress. I just felt the name “Shelia” had a lot more pizzazz than “Alretha.” Shelia, like me twenty-five years ago, would need a night job so she could audition during the day. And like me, she would get a job as a dance hostess in a taxi-dancing club. Taxi-dancing clubs were very popular in the 20’s and the 30’s. It’s a club where men pay by the minute to dance and talk with young, pretty women. There’s no alcohol, drugs, nudity, or touching allowed. The clubs still exist in downtown Los Angeles, and I recently read that one of the clubs was busted for allowing prostitution. Back in the day, when I worked there, if the girls were involved in prostitution, it wasn’t on the premises. Anyway, Shelia is happy she lands the job, but when her acting career seems to be going nowhere, she fears she’ll end up stuck at the club “Dancing Her Dreams Away.” So when her agent tells her about a part that would require her to go topless, she ignores her grandmother’s teachings and accepts the role. I was also offered a role wherein I would have to go topless, and like Shelia, desperate to get my SAG card, I took the part. Do I regret it today? If I had to do it all over again, I probably would not have taken the part. Shelia gets the part, falls for the producer, and he falls for her. Finally, her dreams are coming true, but is it all too good to be true? You have to get the book to find out! LOL.

Q: Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

The most difficult scenes to write in “Dancing Her Dreams Away” were the scenes that involved Shelia being abused. As a woman, I felt guilty about putting a female character in peril, but I knew I had to be true to the story. Initially I held back and was careful about how far I would go, but then I realized the readers, when reading those sections of the book, would get a feeling that I was restraining myself. When I write, I have to write from my heart and soul, and I pour that energy into the book. I believe that readers can feel my energy and connect to it. If I’m bored, if I’m tired, or even hungry, that energy will seep into the heart of the book. So I willed myself to let go and let Shelia go through what she had to go through.

Writing the aftermath of Shelia’s experience with the producer was also very trying. I won’t get into details about the aftermath, because I would spoil it for the readers. However, I went through a similar experience and it was difficult reliving certain incidents. I also had trepidation about revealing too much. What would people think? The way I describe the incidents is so real readers would surmise that I had firsthand knowledge about what Shelia goes through post the producer. My goodness, what would they think about me? Did I really want to put something like that out there? I decided I would, because I believe I can help other young women who find themselves going down a similar path. Now I know readers are scratching their heads and saying, “What is she talking about?” I don’t want to give it away. I want readers to experience what I’m talking about fresh and firsthand.

Q: Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

Yes. Shelia talks a great deal about wanting to be somebody and this comes up quite a bit in the book. It’s my hope readers come away from “Dancing Her Dreams Away” knowing and embracing the fact that as human beings we have intrinsic value. When you think about the miracle of life, and that we were born, and we exist, that’s a very special thing. Out of all of the hundreds of thousands of eggs, ours was chosen and fertilized. I don’t believe it was an accident. We are here because we are special and yes, we are given talents, and we must use those talents to better mankind, but those talents are not who we are. Unfortunately, we are socialized to begin achieving at an early age and our intrinsic value is overlooked. Just think about parents who already have ideas about what they want their child to be when they grow up. The child is still in the womb and parents envision, a football player or ballerina. It’s difficult for the parent to imagine the child just being. Just being. No, the child has to be “somebody.” It can’t just be. And if a child is born into an abusive situation, like I was, you grow up not only believing you are a nothing and a nobody, you grow up hating yourself and seeking validation on the outside of yourself.

On Writing:

Q: Do you remember when the writing bug hit?

I knew I wanted to be a writer in the fifth grade at the age of ten. My teacher assigned the class a short story assignment and I wrote about a young girl who falls in love with the box boy at her neighborhood supermarket. The teacher loved my story and read it aloud to the class. Hearing my story read and seeing the reactions on the faces of my classmates sent me to the moon. At that moment, I realized the power of the written word and the rest as they say is history.

Q: What’s the most frustrating thing about becoming a published author and what’s the most rewarding?

I can’t tell you the most frustrating thing about becoming a published author or the most rewarding thing about becoming a published author, but I can tell you the the most frustrating thing about trying to become a published author and the most rewarding thing about deciding to and becoming a self-published author. The most frustrating thing about trying to get published is that the majority of publishers will not accept materials directly from writers. You have to have an agent and that’s definitely easier said than done. The market is so inundated with writers and there are only so many agents. And in order for an agent to take you on, your story idea and novel have to make him or her jump out of their seat and cheer. Discovering you and your work has to make that agent feel like they’ve found a way to solve the national debt problem, and you have to do this with a one-page letter called a query! What are the odds that a stranger, hundreds of miles away, that’s never heard of you, that’s being stalked by hundreds of other writers, and that probably has very little in common with you, is going to want to represent you? Take it from me, a writer who was rejected by over three-hundred agents, not very good!

The most rewarding thing about becoming a self-published author is that you finally get validation that you’re not crazy. You get confirmation that your story idea and writing actually can interest readers. This has been the case for my new novel “Dancing Her Dreams Away” that was kicked to the curb by countless agents. The readership for “Dancing Her Dreams Away” is growing and the reviews are glowing!

Q: Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

Write from the heart. Don’t base your story idea on the latest literary fad. Don’t write what you think my be a commercial success. Be true to yourself, because at the end of the day, all you have is your own truth.

On Family and Home:

Q: Would you like to tell us about your home life? Where you live? Family? Pets?

I live in Covina, California. It’s a small suburb about forty minutes East of downtown Los Angeles. It’s very quiet and a great place for a writer to live. I am married to a wonderful man who I believe is the world’s greatest piano player. He’s loving and supportive and my best friend. I have stepson, but no biological children of my own, and that wasn’t by choice. It’s just how things worked out. I guess that’s why I’m so passionate about my books. They’re my babies. My husband and I both love dogs, but we’re away from home too often to have a dog. We decided to get pets that were self-reliant. We have dogs, bears, lions, a pig, turtles, rabbits, a monkey, and a turkey. Some of their names are Virgil, Red, Purple Girl, Lionaversary, Dirty Drawers, Monkey Shine, etc. My husband and I do love to travel and shortly after we married we went to Dakar, Senegal in West Africa. It was a life-changing experience.

Q: Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

I write in the family dining room/hang out room. My computer is up against a wall and it’s my special place. Whenever my husband wants to get my attention, he’ll leave a note on my keyboard knowing it won’t be missed! He calls it my home within the home. Lol!

Q: What do you do to get away from it all?

There’s a park about fifteen minutes from my house with an area for hiking. I go there and sit on a large rock and meditate.

On Childhood:

Q: Were you the kind of child who always had a book in her/his hand?

Books were my life and when other kids in the projects were running after the ice cream truck, I was running after the book mobile. I grew up with a very abusive stepfather and I walked on eggshells. Books took me out of that world and gave me hope.

Q: Can you remember your favorite book?

I loved the books about Pippi Longstocking. What I enjoyed most was Pippi’s feistiness. I vicariously lived her carefree, high-spirited life. I felt empowered by her.

Q: Do you remember writing stories when you were a child?

I wrote a lot of short stories, wherein I fantasized about having a life like Marcia, Jan, and Cindy of the Brady Bunch.

On Book Promotion:

Q: What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

The first thing I did was have a website built, so readers would have a place to go to find out about “Dancing Her Dreams Away.”

Q: Are you familiar with the social networks and do you actively participate?

Yes. I use Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Goodreads, and Minglecity.com.

Q: How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

No longer does an author have to fly across the country promoting their books. Don’t get me wrong, I love to travel and promote my book, but when things are tight, it’s nice to have technology to help get the word out about your book, and I believe the social networks are going to continue to be and even become a larger factor in book promotion.

On Other Fun Stuff:

Q: If you had one wish, what would that be?

That “Dancing Her Dreams Away” would be made into a major motion picture.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

On vacation in Hawaii with my mother. My mom died when she was 36 and I was 14 and she never had a vacation.

Q: Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer. Who would you thank?

GOD!!!

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

-- Sheila Roberts, Author of Winter at the Beach