Intimate Conversation with author Marlon McCaulsky
Marlon McCaulsky, originally from Brooklyn, New York, is the best-selling author of The Pink Palace and the novella Love & Life and contributing author on the anthology Romance For The Streets. His goal is tell entertaining stories and to become a full-time novelist. His new book From Vixen 2 Diva is his second full-length novel. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
BPM: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? Who are your mentors?
Wow… I’m not sure I’ve reached the level of being called a powerful writer yet. But I do have a unique voice and point of view when I write and I try to express that with every story I create. The author I think I look up to the most is Eric Jerome Dickey. I admire his work and his career as an author.
BPM: A Legacy is something that is handed down from one period of time to another period of time. Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
My writing offers the following legacy to future readers... of my generation. I mean my generation wasn’t really thought to read books for enjoyment. That’s why we had TV, video games, and movies. There weren’t to many books that spoke to us or that we could relate to so we didn’t read. People say to me “I don’t like to read books” but that’s not true. They just haven’t found something they would enjoy reading. And I hope with my books I can relate to not just book lovers but folks who have never considered reading a book for enjoyment.
My new book “From Vixen 2 Diva” is what I consider to be a Hip-Hop love story. It stars Beata Douglas an up and coming video model from Harlem with desires to get into the music industry. She runs into a familiar man from her past called Kane who’s trying to get a record deal. Because he’s not already successful Beata disrespects and dismisses him until he actually gets a record deal and becomes a multi-platinum rapper. Beata tries to seduce Kane in order to get a record deal but ends up getting played. Without giving too much away she finds away to get on and now these two music stars are on the same label and can’t stand each other.
BPM: Who were your favorites? Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
Beata was my favorite character to write. She was based on a few people like Ashanti, Karrine Steffans, and Beyonce. But I also gave her, her own flavor. Beata being a video model automatically makes folks judge what type of person she is and in some ways she does live up to those stereotypes. But I also wanted to dig deeper into her character and show she has layers like an onion that you have to peel away to see the real person she is. She really grows a lot from the little girl she is in the beginning to the grown woman she is by the end of the story.
BPM: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
The situation that prompted me to write “From Vixen 2 Diva” happened while writing “The Pink Palace”. Beata and Kane had a small part in that story and I knew that they had a story to tell as well. Plus I always wanted to write a story that had Hip-Hop as a backdrop and FV2D provided me with that perfect setting.
BPM: Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place?
The first major event is the murder of a main character by Beata’s ex boyfriend Roc. Roc is also a friend of Kane who becomes an unwilling participant and witness to the crime. This starts a rift and rivalry between them that plays out until the end of the book.
Another major event that takes place is with Beata making a sex tape with her boyfriend that comes back to haunt her later on. I think a lot of young women do things when they’re young and don’t think about what the long term affects of their actions will be on their lives.
From Vixen 2 Diva by author Marlon McCaulsky
EDC Book Review Rating: 3.75/ 5 stars
Purchase the book today from Amazon
Contact info: mccaulskymarlon@yahoo.com
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