Meet Laurinda D. Brown




Intimate Conversation with Laurinda D. Brown
Publisher/Author/Playwright/Producer




“When you do what your passion is - your passion being what God gave you the zest and talent to do - the rest falls into place.”

Divine destiny is what motivates mother, daughter, author, playwright Laurinda D. Brown to do what she does - write novels and plays that portray real people in true-to-life situations no different than your average neighbor next door. Brown explains, "Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, and graduating from Howard University in Washington, DC, exposed me to the varied and diverse sides of human nature. It also gave me the opportunity to observe people and their situations and try to discern what made them do the things they did. I realized that people are people. My writing helped me work through my own issues, emotions and circumstances. Writing expresses my take on the world."

Brown's take on the world expressed itself in a different fashion in 2006 when she dared to combine literary orgasmic experiences with theatre. The result was her critically acclaimed and highly touted production "Walk Like A Man - The Play." Based on her recent national best-selling novel, Walk Like A Man, from Q-boro Books/Kensington Publishing, "Walk Like A Man - The Play" uses spoken word and dramatic monologues to educate audiences on issues, labels and stereotypes faced in the lesbian community while driving home subtle yet solid lessons in diversity.

The book, according to the December 2006/January 2007 issue of “Black Issues Book Review Magazine,” was the #1 selling fiction paperback among independent African-American bookstores and is consistently ranked within the top four lesbian short story best sellers on Amazon.com where it has been ranked most frequently at #1 since its release. "Walk Like A Man - The Play" is once again directed and produced by its playwright, Laurinda D. Brown. (See http://www.walklikeaman.net/ for more details.)

Before "Walk Like A Man - The Play," Brown began her literary journey with Fire & Brimstone, the 2005 Lambda Literary Award finalist for "Best Debut Lesbian Fiction", followed by UnderCover and Walk Like A Man, the 2006 Lambda Literary Award winner for “Best Lesbian Erotica.” Walk Like A Man also received “Honorable Mention” at the 2007 West Hollywood Book Festival. Laurinda is a featured writer in the Nghosi Books anthology, Longing, Lust, and Love: Black Lesbian Stories, and in Zane’s Purple Panties. Her others titles include Strapped and The Cathouse.

Laurinda resides with her two daughters in the greater Atlanta metro area where she is celebrating the August 2008 release of her highly anticipated, explosive piece of historical fiction, The Highest Price for Passion (Strebor Books/Atria/Simon and Schuster).


Laurinda was kind enough to grant us an Intimate Interview, please continue to find out what makes Laurinda the bestselling author that she is.


I am Powerful because..... I am powerful because God has given me a tremendous talent that, without much effort, has been able to touch the souls of many.


EDC: Where are you from?
LDB: Although born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, I currently live in the Atlanta metro area.




EDC: Who are your two main characters, your book The Highest Price for Passion and what do you like most about them?
LDB: I have several characters who share the spotlight, but my favorites are McKinley and Risella. Despite the fact he is an abusive slave owner, he has a softer, more gentle side that pulls at one's heart strings. Surprisingly, his feelings throughout the story are genuine. Risella, Passion's part Hispanic grandmother, is my favorite because she is strong and loves unconditionally.


EDC: What makes your book stand out and would make a reader pick it up?
LDB: The Highest Price for Passion stands out because it's different. Not often do African-American authors journey to a historical place where the sexual deviances and attitudes of today are explored. The cover of the book speaks volumes with just enough eroticism (chains and buttocks) and cultural controversy (the Dixie flag) to make one pick it up. At book signings, it actually grabs the attention of the White men and women.



EDC: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book, The Highest Price for Passion?
LDB: I want readers to gain from my novel that passion comes in so many forms and fashions. I also want them to realize that I am a writer of fiction and not merely a writer of gay fiction.


EDC: What is the one most surprising thing you have learned in creating novels?
LDB: The one most surprising thing I've learned in creating novels is the number of people who are able to relate to what I've written.


EDC: What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer? How did you do it?
LDB: My most significant accomplishment as a writer was winning the Lambda Literary Award for my book Walk Like A Man. Winning the respect of my peers with words I chose to not sugarcoat meant a great deal to me.


EDC: What advice would you give a new writer? Would you change anything about your journey?
LDB: My advice to a new writer is to be patient. None of what has happened to me came overnight. I had anxious days - many of them, but I took that time to prepare myself mentally for whatever was to come.


EDC: Tell us about your passion for writing and what readers can expect from your books.
LDB: The Highest Price for Passion reflects one hundred years of the most volatile era to divide American soil, interspersed with the uncontrollable fervor from the most unlikeliest of sources -- when both master and mistress vie for the affections of a slave too beautiful to destroy, with a quiet intelligence neither can outwit. Discover a time when the concept of family paled against the principle of human bondage.

Fight for the cause. Die for the freedom...to live, to choose, to love.

Unyielding. Uncompromising. Undeniable. These are the qualities that make The Highest Price for Passion...unforgettable.

I love to write about most anything. Rather than do the norm, I like to create stories that make you sit up in bed in the middle of the night and go, "Hmmm." Writing fills my lungs with pleasure and that is how I breathe.


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Author Laurinda D. Brown, is available for book signings, panel discussions, literary events and interviews. If you would like to host a telephone conference with the author, please email Ella Curry, the founder of EDC Creations to arrange the interview. Email: elladcurry@edc-creations.com.


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