Intimate Conversation with Harold T. Fisher

Harold T. Fisher  is a broadcaster and author. He is currently the host of the news/talk program, “The Daily Drum” on WHUR-FM in Washington, DC. He is a native Washingtonian and earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore. Harold is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.

He worked as a TV news anchor and reporter in several U.S. cities. He has written African-American lifestyle articles for The Baltimore Sun. The title of his recently published romance novel is “Two Weeks Until The Rest Of My Life.”

BPM: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
I am an extremely passionate and romantic person. I wear my passions on my sleeve and I don't mind if others see them. To see my passions are to see and experience me. When I write, I am emoting. I am filled with the moments I create. I'm no longer sitting at the computer, clickety-clacking away at the keyboard. I am there in the world I am creating. I am a voyeur. I am in the room where my characters are. I am on the street where they walk. I am eating with them in the restaurant. I am breathing the same air. In the truest sense, my characters aren't characters. They are real, at least to me they are. I birthed them and gave them lives, loves, faults, dreams and fates. I tried to make them living beings.

BPM: Introduce us to the main characters in Two Weeks Until The Rest Of My Life.
Denise Younger is a 35-year-old federal government manager. She's a native Washingtonian, single, intelligent, educated, attractive and self-confident. She's close to her widowed father and misses her mother. She's friendly, kind and compassionate.

Tyriq Austin is a 23-year-old native of New Orleans. He's recent college graduate who manages a an upscale lingerie shop in the Garden District of New Orleans. He is handsome, fit, elegant and emotionally intense, but very calm in his demeanor.

BPM: Who were your favorites? Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
Denise is my favorite because she is feminine, confident, somewhat aggressive, but very introspective. Only one character is based entirely on a real person. Denise's best friend Saundra is based on my mother's best friend.

BPM: Take us inside your Erotic-Romance. What are two major events taking place?
The first major event is the conference that brought Denise to New Orleans. It is how she meets Bonnie, her new "ride or die" friend, and Tyriq, her new love interest. The second event is the faster-than-light relationship that explodes within hours of arriving in New Orleans. It is a roller coaster of passion, emotion, sex and second guessing.

BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
I want to reach single black women for two key reasons. The first reason is that they believe love lives and is possible. It can come from the most unexpected places, when you least expect it. Sometimes it's right in front of you, yelling and shouting and jumping up and down. Other times, you have to just be still and allow it to wash over your like a warm tide wash ashore on a sandy beach. Even if you fight it or question it, it will still find you if it's real.

The second most critical, social issue in this book is how we deal with sex and how our carnal desires can make us forget common sense. This is particularly true when addressing safe sex. African-American women continue to be one of the highest risk populations for HIV. Popular culture conversations suggest that educated, middle or upper class, single, professional black women are having safe sex. The numbers don't bare that out. As a result, I strongly believe this: What your closest friends say about sex and what they are actually doing are often two different things. There needs to be a very frank discussion about sex, love and sex and how we (men too) are dealing with these issues.

BPM: What was the most powerful chapter in Two Weeks Until The Rest Of My Life?
Chapter 53 is most powerful because one of the key characters dies suddenly. It is not just sudden for the character, but it is also sudden for the reader. It is a very intense jolt for the reader. It has prompted very strong, penetrating, emotional reactions from every reader I've spoken to.

BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
I want the readers to believe in love again, if they've ceased to believe. I want them to understand that passion in its purest form is not only possible, but VERY likely. You have to let it happen! You have to let it exist in your heart and in your very being. Loving is not just something that happens, it is an act. This book shows it in many forms.

BPM: What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
The most unique thing about this novel is that it is written in first person from the woman's perspective. I am heterosexual, but I thought it would be interesting to get into the head and heart of woman to see what she sees, feel what she feels and related those emotional experiences to the reader when she completely wraps herself up in the love of her life.

BPM: How can our readers reach you online?
http://www.rosefogg.com/  or  http://www.haroldtfisher.com/

I answer all email and, if invited, will be happy to attend your book club meeting or event.


Please share this discussion with your network too! Leave your thoughts below.Return to Black Pearls Magazine Online