with Valerie A. Withers

Valerie A. Withers is a single mother of two daughters. She lives on the South Side of Chicago, and currently works for a major telecommunications company in a northwestern suburb. In her spare time, she enjoys reading a good book. Some of her favorite authors include: John Grisham, Dean Koontz, Eric Jerome Dickey, Omar Tyree, Zane, and Anne Rice, just to name a few. 

She is a member of the Local School Council at her daughters’ school, where she has held several positions for the last three years. When time permits she loves to travel. One of her favorite vacation spots is Hawaii, where she celebrated her 35th birthday. This is Valerie's first attempt at fictional writing. It took her 3 years to complete 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S. & The Choices That We Make'. She has completed her 2nd novel, and about to begin work on her 3rd.

Ms. Withers has a wealth of story ideas that are brewing inside her creative mind and she is enthusiastically empowered to travel the literary road to success. She hopes that you will join her for the ride! You can learn more about Valerie A. Withers from her website at www.ValerieWithers.com
 

Urban-Reviews.com: Can you enlighten us on your book F.R.I.E.N.D.S & The Choices That We Make?
Valerie A. Withers: F.R.I.E.N.D.S & The Choices That We Make is the story of 7 women. Felicity, Rachael, Ione, Evelyn, Nina, Denyse, and Synthia. The book explores the lives of each woman and their relationships with their loved ones, i.e., their children, their spouses, their parents, and their significant others. Each story is intense and extremely thought provoking because one can find a little bit of herself in each woman.

UR: How did you become a writer?
VW: Well, I don’t think I ‘became a writer’; I think ‘writing becomes me’. And what I mean by that is when I write; I don’t necessarily put a lot of thought into what I’m going to write. That is a little technique that I learned during my brief stint in college. I had an English Lit professor who gave the class a special assignment one day. He instructed us to take out a blank piece of paper and a pen, and told us to just write. ‘Don’t think about a title, a subject, or the characters; just write for 45 minutes’, is what he said. Well 45 minutes later I had a 5-page essay. I wrote a story about a little girl whose family moved around from one city to the next because her father was in the service, and he was always being transferred from one base to another. The little girl found it very hard to make friends. She was an only child, and low self-esteem soon became her catalyst because she could never establish a long lasting friendship with anyone. The professor was so impressed that he gave me an A+ on that paper, and he was the one who told me that I had a knack for telling a story, and that I should stick with it. That’s when I realized I had something special going on.


UR: Why did you decide to self-publish your novel?
VW: Initially, I wanted to do like so many other authors who have written their first novel, and that was to be represented by an agent, and hopefully picked up by a major publishing house. But a really good friend thought that I’d benefit much more from doing it myself. That way I could keep my creative control of my book, and really get a chance to do what I want to do. Not to mention I would retain 100% of the profit.

UR: Would you ever consider going to a major publishing house in the future?
VW: Yes I would. Because in all honesty, as rewarding as self-publishing can be, it is a lot of hard work. And unless you come from a publishing background, it can be quite overwhelming at times. Although self-publishing is a learning process, having the representation of a major publishing house could open doors that would otherwise be closed.

UR: In F.R.I.E.N.D.S..., the characters are from different backgrounds and locations such as Philadelphia and Atlanta. What type of research did you have to do to familiarize yourself with these places?
VW: I have a couple of friends who live in Atlanta, and one who lived in Philly. I merely asked about some of the happening spots in those cities. I visited Atlanta once, and found the city to be quite fascinating, and a lot of fun, and I knew it would be a good backdrop for a storyline. Everything else, I made use of the good old ‘web’.

UR: Are any of the characters based on real people?
VW: The characters of F.R.I.E.N.D.S.... are products of my imagination, but were inspired by my relationships with my ‘real-life’ girlfriends.

UR: What are you working on now and have you considered a sequel for F.R.I.E.N.D.S...?
VW: Currently I am focusing on promoting F.R.I.E.N.D.S..., and making as many people as I can, aware of its existence. I have completed another novel entitled, ‘Ghetto Love Zone’. It is the story of two protagonists who are dead set on meeting ‘Mr. & Ms. Right’. They both go thru a series of ‘dates gone bad’ on the Internet and phone dating services. Just when they’re about to ‘throw in the towel’, they find their way to one another. The story is split up into 3 sections: His Story, Her Story, and Our Story.

I haven’t considered doing a sequel to F.R.I.E.N.D.S... because I didn’t want to have one of those books like I have read in the past where the stories and characters just seem to go on, and on. I have, however, decided that because the protagonists of F.R.I.E.N.D.S... are extremely strong, and totally independent of the others, I’m going to do 7 additional, self-titled books. But not right away! LOL

UR: In the novel the story is told in a conversational tone with each woman telling her own story. What made you decide this method instead of the conventional third person approach?
VW: I chose the ‘conversational tone’ because I wanted the reader to feel like they were actually having a face-to-face or phone conversation with each woman. Thereby, allowing the reader to better relate to what they were reading, and thus leaving him or her feeling as though they experienced what each protagonist’s did.

UR: How long did it take you to write this novel and what "legwork" did you have to do to get it published?
VW: It took me 3 years to complete the novel. After about 12 chapters, there were long periods of time where I wasn’t feeling motivated enough to continue writing. But once I got the old creative juices flowing, I was able to crank out the remaining 31 chapters within an 8-month period of time.

As far as legwork goes, I basically did everything inside the book; everything from the first page to the last. I found a website that offered instructions on how to type set the pages for different sized books. I had to apply for the ISBN and bar codes, as well as the copyright. I had to apply for an Employer Identification Number in order to establish a business. I couldn’t afford an editor this go around, so I did all the editing and proofreading myself. I had a local artist do my book cover, and a graphic artist put it all together. I made use of the Internet for just about everything I needed. I have spent countless numbers of hours researching different publishing and printing houses from here to the East & West Coast. I comprised a list of all independent publishers worldwide, and had actually considered going with one. But when I sat back and realized how much more I stood to gain by doing it myself, I chose not to go that route. I spoke with numerous authors whom I was introduced to, and who gave me names of printers that they had used in the past. After getting price quotes from each, I ended up going with one in downstate Illinois. There is a bountiful world of information on the Internet. You just have to be patient and diligent in your search.

UR: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself or your book?
VW: Wow! Never ask me to talk about myself, because I can go on and on. But I guess to simplify it; I love to write. And I have many more novels that are just sitting in the crevice of my mind, waiting to emerge. So be on the lookout.

As far as the book goes, it’s funny, it’s serious, it’s sexy, and more than anything else, it’s real. I ask that your readers do me the honor by ordering a copy, and by checking it out for themselves. It’s hot!!!!!!!

Order it directly from Valerie A. Withers!

  Don't forget to check out the review of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. And The Choices That We Make.