Name: Deatri King-Bey

Occupation: Fiction Content Editor

City of Residence: Joliet

3 Favorite books: Indigo (Beverly Jenkins), Archangel (Sharon Shinn), Villains By Necessity (Eve Forward)

1. How long have you been writing?  Is it what you always wanted to do? I have always loved to write stories, but the first time I wrote something longer than a short story was in 1993. I wrote a screenplay that was AWFUL. I’d wanted to write novels at the time and thought writing screenplays first would be easier. I was scared to actually get serious about writing until a few years later.

2. How easy or difficult was it for you to become published? My main block to becoming published was me. I have five manuscripts that people from the industry have been pushing me to submit for years, but I wasn’t ready emotionally to be published or go through the process.

3. Is being a published author everything you thought it would be? Since I work in the industry, I had an idea of what being published would be like, but actually living it is unexplainable. This is great! I should have done this years ago (SMILE).

4. What made you decide to write romance over the other genres? Though CAUGHT UP has a romance in it, it is not a romance.  I read and write in all genres, but all of my novels will have romance elements in them.  I want a romance, love story, in my novels because I love falling in love. Through writing romance, I can fall in love over, and over, and over again.

5. Tell us a little about CAUGHT UP.  Rosa Bolívar discovers the man who raised her is not her biological father. Before she has a chance to recover from shock, the DEA comes to her with allegations that the man she loves as her father, Ernesto Bolívar, is actually the number two man in the largest drug cartel in the world.  Though disappointed with Ernesto, Rosa knows he is a changed man and sets out to prove his innocence. She enlists the help of DEA agent Samson Quartermaine and soon finds herself falling for him. Torn between loyalty and love, Rosa must weave through a tangled web to discover the truth… a truth that could lead to her murder.

6. How did you come up with the idea for CAUGHT UP? I wrote a romance titled WHITE ROSE where the heroine knew her family was heavy into the drug world, thus she was trying to distance herself from their activity. Cheryl Ferguson, my writing coach at the time, was giving me pointers on how to fill the holes in that manuscript. That got my juices to flowing, and the next thing I knew, I had another novel in my head, yelling at me to write it. CAUGHT UP is the result.

7. Who is your favorite character in CAUGHT UP and why? David, Rosa’s biological father. He is who he is and isn’t apologetic about it.  He’s the head of the largest drug cartel in the world, a real jerk, arrogant—an all around bad man, yet he’s the only one of Rosa’s parents that actually figured out that love is self-less, not selfish.  

8. Are there any authors that have inspired you? If so who and why? Every time I read one of Beverly Jenkins’ historical romances, I am inspired. I see how she weaves history with a fantastic fictional plot and am in awe. I’ve written three historical novels that I won’t dare submit because I know they are no where near ready. I have soooooo much more research to do. But I know I can do it.

9. What are your goals as a novelist? To be an inspiration to other authors some day.  

10. What do you do in your spare time? Harass my children and hubby, read, go to church.

11.  What’s next from Deatri King-Bey? Ebony Angel (February 2007, Genesis Press Inc.) is an interracial romance set in Chicago and probably like no romance you’ve ever read. Was that enough of a tease (Wink). Beauty and the Beast (March 2007, Parker Publishing LLC) is my contemporary romance version of the classic love story.

12.  What message do you have for inspiring writers? Don’t be SCUUUUUUUUUUUURD! The writing community in general is very open and giving. We nurture each other, support each other. Learn the craft and find a mentor. Don’t give up.

13. How can your fans communicate with you? On my website I post my appearance schedule, workshops, short stories, contest, contact information… http://www.deewrites.com. Or you can always email me at deatri@deewrite.com.