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Urban Reviews: Tell our readers about Pecking Order.
Omar Tyree: Pecking Order is like an updated Wall Street movie. But when
I began to work on this book in 2007, a lot of folks were not
interested in talking about handling your own business and moving up
the ladder to own the business instead of simply work for the
business, but now that year 2008 and the presidential election has
been all about the personal, national, and international business
world and the state of the economy, once again I seem to have
written a book that reestablishes my pen on the pulse of American
culture. So folks who are reading Pecking Order now are really
enjoying my perfect timing!
Urban Reviews: Where did the idea for this novel come from?
Omar Tyree: Well, I had been thinking about my personal issues in business
long before the economy went south this year. In fact, I have always
thought about moving ahead in creative business and
entrepreneurship. So Pecking Order deals with the journey of "Ivan
David" to move up the ladder of business execution just like I've
been thinking about. In fact, we all should be thinking about how to
earn and control our own dollars now. And if the economy has not
shown you how important it is to count your dollars and cents, then
you must be one of the rich who sit at the top of the ladder.
Urban Reviews: You recently mentioned that you were going to retire from urban
lit? With the recent explosion of popularity surrounding street
fiction, why would you choose now to walk away from it?
Omar Tyree: Basically, I’ve been writing urban adult fiction on every
possible subject for sixteen straight years now. And when the well
runs dry, the well runs dry. But many readers have only read three
or four of my sixteen novels. So they still have plenty of catching
up to do if that's the content that they like. And maybe, by the
time that most readers are caught back up with me, I’ll finally have
a few of these feature film deals that I'm presently working on in
the can to inspire me to write some new urban stories. But I never
wanted to find myself boxed in as a writer, so it's time to find my
creative hustle elsewhere.
Urban Reviews: Do you think there was added pressure for your novels after
winning the NAACP Image Award? Was the pressure coming more from
your publisher, yourself, or a combination of both?
Omar Tyree: I didn't
feel any added pressure after winning the NAACP Image Award, I felt
added pressure after hitting the New York Times bestsellers list in
year 2000. And the pressure was all my own. Because once I hit the
list at #14, as a natural competitor, I wanted to move up to #9 to
#5, and eventually #1. But it was not to happen. Urban fiction can't
get you that high. You still don't have the readership to do it. So
I'm still the highest urban fiction writer in hard back on the list
at #14, and I had at least 3 other titles in the top 30 . But yeah,
once I hit that NYT list, I became numbers crazy for a few years. So
I had to just forget about that list all together and continue to
write books that were fresh and original.
Urban Reviews: What does the future hold for Omar Tyree?
Omar Tyree: Well, I'll be
writing more books, including children's books now, starting with 12
Brown Boys from Just Us Books in New Jersey. I'll be performing
business seminars with Pecking Order and The Equation, my new
business book from John Wiley & Sons. I'll be promoting literacy
through my nonprofit Urban Literacy Project. And soon I'll finally
be producing feature films, along with a lot more entrepreneurship.
So I'm not going anywhere, I just may not be in the urban fiction
department any more.
Urban Reviews: Who are some of your all-time favorite writers?
Omar Tyree: My #1 is
Richard Wright, the real "Godfather of African-American fiction." My
#2 is Chester Himes, the man who told the truth even when it hurt.
My #3 is Iceberg Slim who first made me feel what it really means to
break down what street mentality is all about in a book. My #4 is
Toni Morrison who will not compromise her work for so many readers
who don't like to think when they read. My #5 is Walter Mosley, one
of the sharpest and most talented writers on the planet. And my wild
card is Octavia Butler (RIP) for having the courage to write
something totally different with her black science fiction. And she
did it well too!
Urban Reviews: If there was one thing you could have done differently at the
beginning of your career, what would it be?
Omar Tyree: I would invested more of my money better and taken advantage of
more big bang opportunities in business (smile).
Urban Reviews: Are there any new authors that have caught your eye as having the
potential to be a great writer?
Omar Tyree: To be honest with you, I look more at writers now from a
business perspective than just writing books. So I look at Vickie
Stringer, Zane, Carl Weber, Teri Woods, Relentless Aaron, Miasha and
folks like that who have learned how to develop a business model out
of books instead of just putting out another title. So those are the
folks who I have my eye on now to see how far they can take the
business of black books. I mean, that's just where my mind is right
now.
Urban Reviews: With so much knowledge of the business, are there any words of
advice to those starting out in the business?
Omar Tyree: Well, I'm also giving one-on-one publishing consultations now
for serious authors who are trying to break into the industry. I
have Publishing 101 for beginners, and The Master's Degree for those
who are ready for the next level. And you can learn more about it by
e-mailing me @
Omar8Tyree@aol.com or checking out my web site @
www.OmarTyree.com.
Urban Reviews: Name one thing the world doesn't know about Omar Tyree...the
person?
Omar Tyree: Well, I really do care about each person's elevation in this
world. That's why I refuse to write what everyone else writes.
Because if I can't bring a totally new perspective to the field,
then what's the point in me having a different name?
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