Urban Reviews - Inside Out - Crystal Perkins-Stell

Crystal Perkins-Stell is mother, an educator, and author. She was born April 5 in Newark, New Jersey and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She has always been a blissful dreamer who has never accepted defeat. As a child, she vowed to her mom that one day she would do big things in life. A few decades later, she is making her dreams a reality.

Crystal is a five-time Who’s Who inductee. She completed her undergraduate degree at Langston University with scholastic honors. She obtained her Master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She is a proud member of the Urban League, the Oklahoma City Urban League Young Professionals, SWASAP, TRiO, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., a 2004 honorary inductee of Tau Beta Sigma National Band Sorority, and an affiliate of several professional literary and educational organizations. She is also an advocate for HIV and AIDS Awareness.

In 2001, Crystal was inspired to give back to individuals less fortunate. She started working on her novel entitled Soiled Pillowcases: A Married Woman’s Story. In 2002, she organized Crystell Publications, Marketing and Distributions, Inc., a sole proprietorship, and is now on a mission to touch lives by donating scholarships to first-generation and low-income college students.

Her second novel Hood Rich is a 2005 Essence Magazine Bestseller. The sequel Big Tymers and her daughter's novel Jazzy Little Five-Year-Old is due out in 2006. All of Crystal's novels are guaranteed to hit home for some and play on the emotions of others. Her third novel, Never Knew A Father's Love, is christian fiction at it's best and is available today. She currently resides in Edmond, Oklahoma and is on a 56-city tour promoting literacy in our communities.

Excerpt of Hood Rich (Click This Link)

Author's Site: http://www.crystalstell.com

Author Email: cleva@crystalstell.com

Urban Reviews: Tell us about Hood Rich.
Crystal Perkins-Stell: Hood Rich is far more than a hip-hop title. It’s a great urban tale that exposes the reader to the daily task of surviving in the ghetto. It’s a compelling thriller that provides readers with a taste of ghetto reality and the daily struggle that goes along with being economically deprived. Hood Rich exposes the true consequences of making poor decisions and forces one to see the realities of materialism, foolish loyalty, marginalization, and womanizing in a language of the streets. It’s a story that probes family values and social issues in a fascinating way. Hood Rich is a powerful tale that realistically depicts how far misguided youth will go to maintain their loyalty to street life. It reveals some valuable lessons about how one can truly flourish from their hard knocks, and how overcoming various obstacles contributes to them becoming 'Hood Prosperous,' which in turn makes them “Hood Rich.”

Urban Reviews: What inspired you to write Hood Rich?
Crystal Perkins-Stell: I sat down with a few males who were torn between being Men of Standard vs. True to the Game and looked at 200 lifers in Michigan’s penal system. After showing them what life could be like for them should they chose not to change their ways, I discovered that out of the 200 lifers we looked at, 105 started serving life sentences before their eighteenth birthday. I was heartbroken and felt compelled to write a story that inspired readers and street grit lovers to Read, Reflect and Realize that Life has Real Purpose.

Urban Reviews: One of the themes of Hood Rich is how one can get railroaded in the judicial system. Why did you decide to incorporate this into the story?
Crystal Perkins-Stell: There are several innocent black men serving time. However, most of all, there are many guilty black men serving harsh time for petty crimes. It’s a sad thought, but it’s very true. Our people need to know that time in DOC for some can and will be a Life Time Commitment just because their black; therefore I want to encourage them to take heed of the opportunities they can gain from the hood and strive to make more than jail time happen in their lives. Like Prince, most felons don’t realize their worth until they lose everything. With Hood Rich, it’s my goal to force the young and misguided to see their real potential before they become lifers in a system that was created to strip them of everything, including their humanity.

Urban Reviews: Hood Rich is published under your own publishing company Crystell Publications. What made you want to start your own publishing company?
Crystal Perkins-Stell: After hearing Tom Joyner deliver the commencement address at Langston University in 2001, I was inspired to give back to low-income and first-generation college students. (First generation meaning that the student’s parents did not graduate from college.) I was desperate to come up with something that would aid in earning money for me to grant students with course book scholarships, so I started working on my first self-published novel, and the rest is history. In 2002, I sold my car and donated my tax return to fund and support my cause. At that time, I organized Crystell Publications, Marketing and Distributions, Inc. and due to my obedience, I have been blessed with the funds to change students' lives academically and financially, which makes me very proud.

Urban Reviews: What is the biggest challenge that you have faced in self-publishing your novel?
Crystal Perkins-Stell: Finding distributors that I can trust and getting the word out about my material. Promotional items are very expensive, and buying ads can literally cost you body parts with some magazines. Fortunately, I was blessed with a great friend in the business that has kind of taken me under his wing and has spoon fed me to some extent on various things I need to know about distribution, marketing to the masses, and book store contacts. Many authors aren’t sharing, so he’s been a real angel in my life.

Urban Reviews: You raise money for a scholarship fund for students. Can you elaborate on this?
Crystal Perkins-Stell: Working in Higher Education has exposed me to several needs plaguing our minority students. I have set up a fund in my daughter’s name for continuing college students. What Crystell Publications does is purchase course books for students in need. I realize that our kids can’t be academically successful if they don’t have course books or money to buy them. That is one of the reasons I made the requirements for the M. Alexis Stell Scholarship so reachable. Those interested must be low-income or first-generation, have a 2.9 cum GPA, and be a U.S. citizen. Any interested college student or parent can go to my website for application information at http://www.crystalstell.com

Urban Reviews: Any upcoming projects?
Crystal Perkins-Stell: Big Tymers is the highly anticipated sequel to Hood Rich and it drops March 2006. I’m also currently on tour with the Divine Literary Tour, which consist of African American authors who are affiliates of the divine nine black Greek letter organizations. For more information, please check out our website at http://www.thedivineliterarytour.com. Finally, my five-year-old daughter and I are working on a children’s book, which is a series that falls under Tink-Tink Creations. Her first title, Jazzy Little Five-Year-Old dropped in December. She has three new titles coming out this spring, Tink-Tink goes Hip-Hop, Tink-Tink in the Time Capsule, and Jazzy Little Six-Year-Old, which drops in May on her birthday. For me it was so important that I teach my child about the spirit of giving back, so with a percentage of the revenue earned from her book, she too will be doing a scholarship for one incoming first-time freshman each semester.

Urban Reviews: At what moment did you know that you wanted to become an author?
Crystal Perkins-Stell: I’ve been writing since I was young. Since it was one thing I thought I did pretty well, I knew I could use that skill to fund my scholarship ministry. Right after Tom Joyner said, “Make a difference in someone’s life,” I knew I was going to step up to the plate. Days after I had time to think about my talents, I couldn’t get the thought of becoming an author off my mind, so I ran with it.

Urban Reviews: Did you do any type of research in regards to the penal system for Hood Rich?
Crystal Perkins-Stell: When I first graduated from college with my undergraduate degree, I worked for the Department of Corrections; therefore my research of the intake process and prison life was minimal. My cousin, who’s like a brother to me is serving a life sentence now in Texas, I sat down and talked with him about his feelings upon sentencing, his thoughts during his initial ride to quarantine, and his regrets. Because of the love I have for him, I felt his pain. Realizing the affect it had on me, I was motivated to make my readers feel that same kind of pain for Prince as well. Now to get those Michigan prisons down to a T, and give Hood Rich that real effect, I contacted a friend that had served over 20 years in Michigan’s penal system. He vividly described each prison in Michigan that Prince toured, and gave me the various operation details that go on from day to day within the correctional facility. The area in which the shanking occurs with Big Man is a real curve near the chow-hall that has experienced its fair share of stabbings. Obviously, my research and detail of each prison mentioned was quite adequate because some of the correctional facilities in Michigan won’t let Hood Rich in. They return it to my company, listing all the violations in their inmate handbook that my book breaches.

Urban Reviews: At the end of the day, what do you want people to know most about Crystal Perkins-Stell...the person?
Crystal Perkins-Stell: I want everyone to know that I love people and I am a people’s person. I never meet a stranger. I’m fun, silly, very approachable, spirited, and truly a living example of my brother’s keeper. I want people to know that my drive to sell books is not about me or getting rich, yet it is about ensuring that I’m able to do for the many college students that seek help from my organization. If I’m not selling books, then I can’t execute my vision; therefore opportunities such as this interview provide me with a golden opportunity to tell the world what I’m really all about. Lastly, I want people to know that it’s very important for me to tell and write great stories that empower readers to know that the true comprehension of a good book can make the ultimate difference in ones life.