This week On The Same Page has the pleasure of interviewing new author, Nina Foxx, author of first novel, Dippin' My Spoon, a book which is blowing up the charts and making bestseller's lists as a self-published novel!
M.T.: How did you come up with the idea for your novel?
N.F.: The idea for Dippin' came to me on the LifeCycle. I was training to ride in a 2 day bike race when I should have been writing my dissertation. My sister used to tell me that I had a way of attracting frineds that weren't
friends, like Che, and the "What If's" began.
~~~
M.T.: What genre would you say your book would be categorized in?
N.F.: Dippin is a psychological thriller.
~~~
M.T.: You have an interesting cast of characters. Are they based on anyone
you know?
N.F.: Maybe all me. There is some of me in all of the characters (not Che though
:-), ) Che comes from all the people I have seen in that kind of
relationship, that is, friends with people they don't really like.
~~~
M.T.: What was the significance of the snake in the dream sequence?
N.F.: The snake symbolizing comes from African based religions that believe that
there a diety, Elegba (Santeria, Yoruba) or Legba (Vodun) that is the
keeper of the crossroads, messenger of the other dieties (Orisha). He
carries offerings to them and is the policeman of Yoruba cosmetology.
Sometimes he is sometimes depicted as holding up the earth and coiled
through it, a snake. He hold as all things together and guides us
through life. For Amber, her family is this way. She is trying to avoid
going home, avoid the things her family has taught her, not realizing that
they made her what she is today. They come to her in her dreams because
they are a part of her, to guide her if she will let them. Like that
inner voice I believe we all have that we don't listen to until it is too
late. Part of maturing is learning to listen to this voice, just as Amber
has to learn to revere and respect where she has come from.
~~~
M.T.: Was Che the antagonist, in that she wasn't really a friend to Amber?
N.F.: Amber had to learn to trust her instincts, and Che was one of the people
that helped her to learn that. She was the main antagonist.
~~~
M.T.: How did you go about publishing your book?
N.F.: I made a checklist and followed it from A to Z. If I didn't know, I asked. I also enlisted the help of a consultant to guide me through, another voice to make sure I was
getting close to "right".
~~~
M.T.: How have you gone about promoting your book?
N.F.: Internet, radio, TV, booksignings. I even gave out chocolate dipped spoons. Everything I could think of.
~~~
M.T.: Are you working on another book?
N.F.: Yes. I plan to be done by December 31. Its fun, different. Che's back. No more hints.
~~~
M.T.: . What advice would you give a new or aspiring writer?
N.F.: RESEARCH AND READ
~~~
M.T.: Thanks for your participation! It was a pleasure meeting you on the
cruise.
Please visit her site at www.ninafoxx.com