| Interview with Derrick Barnes |
First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My
name is Jen, and I'll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out of
your writing schedule—which I'm sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.
Let's get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you wanted
to be a writer?
When I realized I didn't find too much interest or fulfillment doing anything else. The problem was, I didn't
know anyone that made an actual living as an author. It's not a very lucrative job in the beginning, but
eventually things could change. And now, I can't imagine putting the amount of time, interest and energy that
I do into my writing into anything else.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
My first real job out of college (Jackson State University) was with Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, MO as a
creative writer. I met a lot of talented visual and literary artists during my three-year stint there. I connected
with my current agent through a painter/illustrator named Gordon James while at Hallmark. I sent her a short
story collection I was working on at the time, and we signed a deal within weeks. I landed my first two book
deals the very next month!
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
At the core of my latest release, "The Making of Dr. Truelove", I think what makes this book a must read and
must purchase is that the protagonist is a teenage boy that is such a romantic and puts himself in such a
vulnerable position in the name of love. Plus it's filled with "boy-speak" on every topic pertaining to love
under the sun; 'boy-speak" that most girls are not exposed to when they're not around us.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My eldest son, Ezra. I love him so much. He's been with me from the genesis of my publishing career and
he's been my number one fan.
Let's hear about your family, who I'm sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I am married to my college sweetheart, Dr. Tinka Barnes and we have three gorgeous sons; Ezra-6,
Solomon-2, and Silas-3 months. My boys are so young, they couldn't care less what it is I did for a living,
although Ezra's starting to understand and he thinks it's pretty cool. But my wife has been here for me from
the smoky jazz/spoken word clubs that I used to perform in to now. It's been a heck of a journey.
Now for some fun facts. What's your greatest comfort food?
I guess it's not really food but drink---DIET MOUNTAIN DEW! I can't get enough of it. I may have a Diet Dew
fountain installed in the crib if this writing thing really takes off.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
1) Kiss my wife and kids, 2) Make breakfast for everybody, 3) Check my official "The Making of Dr. Truelove"
MySpace page.
http://www.myspace.com/drtruelove
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what's the one thing that would surprise me
the most?
I have tons of photos, albums (not CDs but albums). I fancy myself an amateur photographer and music
collector.
Everyone asks the question about "if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?" so I want to know: If you
could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Dark brown.Rich, deep, delicious, chocolate brown. Who doesn't love chocolate?
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
My favorite cartoon character is an old school pup named Droopy. But the character that is most like me is a
mixture of both Samurai Jack and Sunny Bridges from the new Cartoon Network series Class of 3000.
They're bot ultra cool,laid back and super creative.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world ("Beam me up, Scotty!"), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
Probably during the 50's, right at the beginning of the civil rights movement. I would have loved to work side
by side with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
So what's your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you're
writing?
I love hip-hop and jazz. I am a true hip-hop head. My favorite musical artists are John Coltrane, Stevie
Wonder, Bob Marley, Roberta Flack, D'angelo. I listen to jazz when I'm working, but when I'm in a groove I
listen to a CD entitled Voodoo by D'angelo.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you
saw at the theater?
I'm a huge NFL fan. I don't watch a lot of sitcoms. The movies I watch over and over again are School Daze
and The Wiz. The last movie I saw in the theaters was probably Cars...yeah, it's been a minute.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
The common answer would be to simply read everything you get your hands on, but I would say to try to read
things that you wouldn't ordinarily have any interest in. We have a tendency to read only the books where we
can identify with the stories or the characters. Step outside of your literary comfort zone every once and a
while.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
There are two more books in the "Truelove" series. Be on the look out for those,as well as a chapter book
series for younger readers coming in the fall of '07 or spring of '08 entitled "Ruby and The Booker Boys". I'm
also working on a middle school novel entitled "We Could Be Brothers"
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
name is Jen, and I'll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out of
your writing schedule—which I'm sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.
Let's get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you wanted
to be a writer?
When I realized I didn't find too much interest or fulfillment doing anything else. The problem was, I didn't
know anyone that made an actual living as an author. It's not a very lucrative job in the beginning, but
eventually things could change. And now, I can't imagine putting the amount of time, interest and energy that
I do into my writing into anything else.
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
My first real job out of college (Jackson State University) was with Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, MO as a
creative writer. I met a lot of talented visual and literary artists during my three-year stint there. I connected
with my current agent through a painter/illustrator named Gordon James while at Hallmark. I sent her a short
story collection I was working on at the time, and we signed a deal within weeks. I landed my first two book
deals the very next month!
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing
about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
At the core of my latest release, "The Making of Dr. Truelove", I think what makes this book a must read and
must purchase is that the protagonist is a teenage boy that is such a romantic and puts himself in such a
vulnerable position in the name of love. Plus it's filled with "boy-speak" on every topic pertaining to love
under the sun; 'boy-speak" that most girls are not exposed to when they're not around us.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
My eldest son, Ezra. I love him so much. He's been with me from the genesis of my publishing career and
he's been my number one fan.
Let's hear about your family, who I'm sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I am married to my college sweetheart, Dr. Tinka Barnes and we have three gorgeous sons; Ezra-6,
Solomon-2, and Silas-3 months. My boys are so young, they couldn't care less what it is I did for a living,
although Ezra's starting to understand and he thinks it's pretty cool. But my wife has been here for me from
the smoky jazz/spoken word clubs that I used to perform in to now. It's been a heck of a journey.
Now for some fun facts. What's your greatest comfort food?
I guess it's not really food but drink---DIET MOUNTAIN DEW! I can't get enough of it. I may have a Diet Dew
fountain installed in the crib if this writing thing really takes off.
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
1) Kiss my wife and kids, 2) Make breakfast for everybody, 3) Check my official "The Making of Dr. Truelove"
MySpace page.
http://www.myspace.com/drtruelove
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what's the one thing that would surprise me
the most?
I have tons of photos, albums (not CDs but albums). I fancy myself an amateur photographer and music
collector.
Everyone asks the question about "if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?" so I want to know: If you
could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Dark brown.Rich, deep, delicious, chocolate brown. Who doesn't love chocolate?
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
My favorite cartoon character is an old school pup named Droopy. But the character that is most like me is a
mixture of both Samurai Jack and Sunny Bridges from the new Cartoon Network series Class of 3000.
They're bot ultra cool,laid back and super creative.
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world ("Beam me up, Scotty!"), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
Probably during the 50's, right at the beginning of the civil rights movement. I would have loved to work side
by side with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
So what's your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you're
writing?
I love hip-hop and jazz. I am a true hip-hop head. My favorite musical artists are John Coltrane, Stevie
Wonder, Bob Marley, Roberta Flack, D'angelo. I listen to jazz when I'm working, but when I'm in a groove I
listen to a CD entitled Voodoo by D'angelo.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you
saw at the theater?
I'm a huge NFL fan. I don't watch a lot of sitcoms. The movies I watch over and over again are School Daze
and The Wiz. The last movie I saw in the theaters was probably Cars...yeah, it's been a minute.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
The common answer would be to simply read everything you get your hands on, but I would say to try to read
things that you wouldn't ordinarily have any interest in. We have a tendency to read only the books where we
can identify with the stories or the characters. Step outside of your literary comfort zone every once and a
while.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
There are two more books in the "Truelove" series. Be on the look out for those,as well as a chapter book
series for younger readers coming in the fall of '07 or spring of '08 entitled "Ruby and The Booker Boys". I'm
also working on a middle school novel entitled "We Could Be Brothers"
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
| Visit Mr. Barnes on MySpace! |