Name:       Christine Townsend       

Birthday:    July 1

Occupation:  Executive Director, Nashville Business Incubation Center 

City of Residence: Nashville

Favorite Books:  Here is my list. You’ll notice my favorites list spans many decades and many genres.

1.    A Love So Fine by William Banks. It was one of the first romance novels I ever read that featured African American characters. I read it first in my teens and again last year when my daughter gave it to me for my birthday. I enjoyed it as much this time as I did the first time.

2.   Praisesong for a Widow by Paule Marshall. The scene that stands out in this novel is the main character’s visit to an island off of South Carolina. The island is so isolated that the inhabitants have maintained many of the cultural characteristics of their pre-slavery, African ancestors. Yet, their customs were familiar to the African American woman who visited them. It made me think about some of the customs we practice, but we have no idea of their origination.

3.   Sarah’s Psalm by Florence Ladd. This is a story of a young woman feeling disconnected from her African American heritage. However when she goes to Africa, finally feels at home. This novel made me wonder if there is, perhaps, a genetic coding inside of us that links us to the Motherland.

4.   Topaz by Beverly Jenkins. I also would add Vivid and Indigo are great too. However, Topaz was the first of her books that I read. These books are wonderful because they give African Americans a place in history and show us as courageous, loving, intelligent folks.

5.   When Death Comes Stealing and anything else by Valerie Wesley Wilson. Her books are entertaining and engaging. Tamara Hale is someone that I felt a great affinity for. I just love them. 

1. What inspired you to write?

I write because I love words. I am amazed by the power of words. They can be used to uplift or destroy. Words can cause wars or end wars. They can create love or hate. I hope that my words capture the imagination and present an idea that the reader can embrace.  As a writer, I want to inspire readers to reach beyond their boundaries, to reach for and achieve great things.

2. Tell us a bit about SWEET DESIRE?

SWEET DESIRE is the story about how two very good friends, Regina Lovejoy and Thomas Simmons, fall in love.  Regina is a country music songwriter and Thomas is the head basketball coach at Renaissance University.  Both are single parents of young boys. She is confident that she can provide her son with all the emotional and financial security he needs. She does not want anyone interfering in how she rears her son,

Thomas is haunted by his past and is unable to overcome the guilt he harbors related to his young wife’s death. He tries desperately to resist his attraction to Regina, but they are constantly thrown together. His son craves the cuddling and affection that Regina gives him so freely. Her son is drawn to the high testosterone environment he finds with Thomas.

They succumb to their mutual attraction, but have to deal with many issues that threaten their relationship. In spite of all the odds against them, the miracle of their love is sustained and grows stronger.

3. Do you have a full-time career outside of your writing?

Yes, I ‘m employed as the executive director of the Nashville Business Incubation Center. We house twenty-two start-up businesses, counsel them and provide them with technical assistance up to five years. It is a great job for me because I love the creativity of entrepreneurship, but don’t desire the financial risks involved.

I also teach one class a semester in the business school at Tennessee State University.

4. When you're not writing, what do you like to do in your spare time?

When I’m not writing, I’m reading. I read magazine articles, newspapers, novels and nonfiction books. I love to read anything. My favorite place to go is to my neighborhood library. I also enjoy live theatre. I try to go to as many plays as possible at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. I always try to see Porgy and Bess and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company when their tour comes to Nashville. 

5. What is something about you that your readers would be surprised you do?

I’m geographically challenged. I get lost very easily. If I go into a store at the mall, I have to think hard about the direction in which I should continue.

6. What do you enjoy most about writing?

I enjoy the developing my characters. They start out flat with only a name. I imagine what they eat, how they walk, how they dress and all kinds of things. By the time I have to write dialog, I know exactly what each would say in various situations.  

7. How did you feel when you got THE CALL?

Elated.

8. How did you get started writing your novel?

A newspaper article piqued my interest. I wondered how the circumstances affected the person’s family. As I thought more about it, I started writing my ideas.

9. What process do you use in writing your novel?

First I write a two page narrative so that I will know exactly what I want to happen. It’s not quite a synopsis because it is not that polished. Next I fill in a storyboard. Those are just little blocks that I write in so that I can map the sequence of events. Finally I start the tedious process of writing. Writing is like painting a wall to me. Just as a good paint job often requires several coats, so does the writing process. The first layer is edit free. I don’t think hard, I just let it flow. After that layer, I add the second coat. That’s when I go back and take out things that are improbable or those things that make me uncomfortable or just don’t fit. There may be several more edits after that. Finally I read for grammar, content and style. I re-write those first three or four chapters several times because those are the foundation for my whole story. Once I’m comfortable with the foundation, I zoom straight ahead.

10. How long does it take you to complete a manuscript?

It took me three months to complete the first draft. It took several more weeks to edit it and to get it clean enough to show anyone.  I work a very demanding full time job. My writing is limited to nights and weekends. I write from 8:00-10:00 three nights a week and as long as I can on Saturdays and Sundays.

11.  How easy or difficult was it to become published?

I sent a query letter, synopsis and first three chapters to Arabesque in May. They wrote in August asking for the complete manuscript. I believe I got the call that my manuscript would be published in February.

12. Is being a published writer what you thought it would be like?

Yes, I think so. I did not have any preconceived ideas in that regard. I only wanted to write and to have others read what I had written.

13. What do you feel has been your greatest accomplishment as a writer and why?

So far, it has been to have others enjoy my work.

14.  Give us a sneak peak at your next book(s).

My next book, PASSIONS PROMISES, will be published in November 2004.  Have you ever asked a loving married couple how they met? They’ll look at each other, smile, and take turns telling their story. Well, if you ask Jet and Cara St. John Stevens how they met, you’ll see the same smiles of affection. They’ll tell you that they met over a piece of prime real estate that Jet was trying to buy from under a public housing project. But Cara wouldn’t let him. She is one of those tough, take charge sisters who won’t accept foolishness from anyone.  No one is going to sweep her off her size eleven feet. Tall, voluptuous and the color of freshly brewed coffee (without cream), her mind is set on preventing the displacement of the residents of the DuBois Homes housing project.

Her one problem is, Jet Stevens. She is instantly overcome with desire for this big chocolate colored man with broad shoulders, muscular thighs and bedroom eyes. When he strolls into her office, she gets weak in the knees.  A former wide receiver from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now CEO of a Fortune 500 company, he is used to setting goals and steamrolling ahead to achieve them.  He never allows anything or anyone block his success.

The physical attraction between them is strong, but can it withstand accusations of environmental racism and betrayal?

MATTERS OF THE HEART continues the story of Cara and Jet. At the end of PASSIONS PROMISES, they marry and Cara moves to Miami to be with Jet. In MATTERS OF THE HEART, is working for Jet’s company. When he overrules one of her decisions, she resigns in a huff and accepts a job in Washington, DC. Jet is tied up trying to prevent a hostile takeover of his company. They can’t seem to get the love they once had back on track. They don’t realize what they have is special until they almost lose it forever.

14. Do you like communicating with your readers?

Yes! In what forms.  Face to face, e-mails, phone calls, letters. I love it all. That’s why I write. I enjoy sharing my ideas with others. It’s wonderful when I express a concept and the reader gets it.  And how can a reader contact you?  I may be reached by e-mail at christinetownsend615@yahoo.com. My mail address is: P.O. Box 330555, Nashville, TN  37203.  I hope to have a schedule of booksignings soon. I will let you know where I will be. I have friends in many different cities and I have asked them if they would host a sigining in their home town for me. We’ll see how that goes.

The staff of ROMANCE IN COLOR would like to wish Ms. Townsend the greatest of success!