Intimate Conversation with Suzetta Perkins
A native of Oakland, California, Suzetta Perkins resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She has two grown children, Teliza and Gerald, and two granddaughters she adores. Writing has always been in her blood. While a senior in high school, Suzetta realized her first published work in her high school yearbook, in which she was co-editor.
Suzetta penned her first novel, Behind the Veil, in 2000, and it was published in 2006. Since then, she has published eight more novels that include A Love So Deep, Ex-Terminator: Life After Marriage, Déjà vu, Nothing Stays the Same, Betrayed, At the End of the Day, In My Rearview Mirror, and Silver Bullet, which will be released April 2014. Suzetta is a contributing author of My Soul to His Spirit, an anthology that received the 2006 Fresh Voices Award and was featured in the 2005 issue of Ebony magazine. Besides writing, Suzetta’s other passions are reading and scrapbooking.
Suzetta is the President and co-founder of the Sistahs Book Club and is a member of New Visions Writers Group in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is also Secretary of the University at Fayetteville State University, her alma mater.
BPM: What inspired you to sit down and actually start writing this book? Why now?
As a woman who’s over the half-century mark, I thought it would be great to write about women like myself—single, married, widowed, divorced, who are in that place in their lives when they wonder if they still have it going on. I want readers to know that life isn’t over; it’s only the second round and you can still be fabulous, fierce, sexy regardless of who you are and how old you are.
BPM: Does your upbringing, prior relationships or life experiences inspire your writing?
Life experiences have certainly prompted several of my stories. My first three novels were forms of therapy, as Behind the Veil was written during a turbulent time in my marriage, A Love So Deep was written after the death of my dear mother, and Ex-Terminator: Life After Marriage helped me get through a few rough pages. But I love those novels. They set the tone for the rest of my writing.
BPM: Where do your book ideas come from? Are your books plot driven or character driven?
Book ideas are constantly swimming in my head. Some come from experiences, others current events and social issues. With an idea, I usually come up with a title first. While I believe my stories are plot driven, a developed character will tell me what to do and say.
BPM: Introduce us to your current work. What genre to you consider your book? Is this book available in digital forms like Nook and Kindle?
Silver Bullets is women’s fiction and available in all digital forms. Silver Bullets is about four women, best friends, over 50 years of age, who will go to any length to spice up their love lives, whether its using whips and chains, getting a tattoo, or preparing dinner in nothing but a pair of stilettos. Queenie Jackson is insecure in her relationships and doesn’t realize she doesn’t need a man to be happy. Emma Wilcox has been married for 26 years to her now retired husband who does everything for her to include frying chicken every Wednesday, although their love life is stale. Connie Maxwell is on the verge of turning 50 and is still waiting for the man of her dreams to pop the question, even after three years of being together. And then there’s newly divorced Yolanda Maxwell Morris, Connie’s sister, who is done with men—it’s her and Jesus—until she meets the fine Mr. Illya Newsome. This cast of characters will have you laughing and crying with some of their crazy antics.
BPM: What topics are primarily discussed? Did you learn anything personal from your writing your book?
In writing Silver Bullets, and I’m sure I didn’t just discover it, I’ve become astutely aware that I’m not defined by any man or relationships. I love the person I am and that I can accept someone else into my life on my terms.
BPM: What defines success for you as a published author?
Success is to love what I do. I’d love to eventually write screenplays.
BPM: What are your expectations for this book? What would you like for readers to do after reading this book?
I hope readers will see that although one may have hit the half-century mark, life isn’t OVER. It may mean spicing up a marriage or trading in a loser for one who’s attentive. It may mean taking out more time for yourself to do you and just have fun.
I hope readers will tell all of their friends about my book as well as have an open dialogue about what life really means to them and what they’d like to achieve during the balance of their lives.
BPM: Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?
I’d like to thank my publisher, Zane of Strebor Books/Simon & Schuster, for giving me the opportunity to share my work with the world. I’d like to also thank my agent, Maxine Thompson, for believing in me and directing my literary journey.
BPM: How can readers discover more about your work?
Readers can connect with me on my website at: www.suzettaperkins.com; Facebook.com/Suzetta Perkins. Fan Page: Twitter.com@authorsue
Silver Bullets by Suzetta Perkins
In this sizzling, exciting novel, four women show that age is just a number by seeking out new forms of pleasure, love, and romance.
Whether it be getting a tattoo, using whips and chains, or preparing dinner in nothing but stilettos, four divas—all best friends and over fifty years 0ld—decide that they need to spice up their love lives. And they’re willing to go to any length to achieve it.
So Emma, Queenie, Yolanda, and Connie set out to get the pleasure they crave. For Emma, that means rekindling her sex life with her doting husband, who she decides to take care of for once. Yolanda, who is still turning heads and could have anyone she wants, finally meets a man who suits her tastes—but can she suit his? Queenie, who is fifty-eight and divorced, entertains her on-again, off-again male friend, sometimes preparing him a meal in nothing but a pair of four-inch heels. And Connie, who has never been married, is in love with a man who won’t put a ring on her finger. Will she be able to convince him to marry her?
As things start heating up, the ladies’ lives get sexier…and more complicated. And the four divas soon face more drama than they bargained for.
Silver Bullets (Zane Presents) by Suzetta Perkins
