Shades of Brown
By Cassietta Jefferson
INTERVIEW:
Crystal: Today as part of this Write Now Literary Book Tour, I have the opportunity to ask Cassietta Jefferson a few questions. Welcome Cassietta, I'm so happy to have you here today. Would you share a little bit about yourself with us today?
Cassietta: I was born in Las Vegas, but I’ve been fortunate enough to move around a lot and I’ve lived in some pretty amazing places. I’m married to a fantastic man who is extremely supportive of my work and what I love to do. I am the youngest of 10, I have 7 brothers and 2 sisters; and yes, the family that I write about in the Reigns Family Series is loosely based on my own family. I also have great God parents and siblings, and I’m so close to my husband’s family so all of those personalities and relationships wind up in my books and they all make me who I am. I love love. I love a great love story so everything I write will ultimately be about someone falling in love or staying in love, but mostly my goal is to showcase the love the God has for us.
Crystal: Where did you come up with the idea for Shades of Brown?
Cassietta: I was at breakfast with a couple of my girlfriends here in Las Vegas, circa 2007 (there’s actually an acknowledgment to them in the book) and we were sharing and talking and laughing…all the things that girlfriends do when they get together. I remember having the thought, man, I wish I could bottle this [feeling, friendship, love] and keep with me. On the drive home I thought more about our friendship and thought, how fabulous my little circle of friends was. I started to consider how we were all different we all were in terms of our lives, the things we brought to the table, our physical appearances…how we were all different “shades of brown” yet we managed to gel. I didn’t use any of our specific issues for the purposes of the book, but I did use the way we handled our issues. How we shared them, prayed for each other, offered advice and council; I took all of that and Shades of Brown was born.
Crystal: What are you currently working on?
Cassietta: I’m actually working on the follow up to my first novel. It’s going to be the second in my Reigns Family Series. As all of my books are, this one is a love story and my intention is for it to illustrate how important it is to seek God in the choices that we make. I hope my readers will get from it how the choices we make every day can effect our lives and the lives of those around us is some ways we may not expect.
Crystal: Do you have any special routine that you follow when you are writing?
Cassietta: I don’t have a special routine that I follow, the only thing I routinely do is pray prior to writing.
Crystal: Did you have to do a lot of research this book or any other?
Cassietta: In this book these characters deal with HIV, Diabetes, and certain injuries, so there was a fair amount of research involved. Then there’s always some research when you’re writing about certain careers or occupations, but a lot of that I glen from just talking and listening to people and visiting different places. I people watch a lot so and for me, that’s research.
Crystal: Who are some of your favorite authors that you like to read?
Cassietta: I love so many different authors, but my all time favorite is the late Francis Ray. I also love Brenda Jackson, Jodi Picoult, and James Patterson just to name a few.
Crystal: Is there a genre you haven't written that you would like to try?
Cassietta: I think I would like to try my hand at writing Crime Drama or Psychological Thriller. I love shows like Criminal Minds and Scandal; I think they’re brilliant. The characters are so complex and the writing is so smart. I would love to be able to insert my characters into that genre and see how they fare.
Crystal: Do you have a favorite scene you would like to share with us?
Cassietta: I love this scene because it’s true for most of us. Sometimes we feel like our lives are falling apart. Crumbling in our very hands, but the reality is that we’ve forced a lot of life’s “pieces” in where we think they should go. Ever notice how things come together when we stop trying to fix them? This scene was written to remind us (me too) that when life seems to be falling apart, we should allow God to put the pieces back where He wants them.
****Excerpt From: Cassietta Jefferson. “Shades of Brown.” *****
“Remember when we used to work on puzzles together?” Sienna grinned.
Morgan swallowed the bite of the sandwich she was chewing and nodded. She and Sienna would spend hours on end surrounded by thousands of puzzle pieces. They would patiently separate the pieces and painstakingly construct the puzzle.
“I remember that huge one...the City Skyline puzzle we got our hands on.” Morgan smiled. “Remember that?”
“I do!” Sienna chuckled taking a bite of her sandwich. The summer before she and Morgan entered high school, Morgan’s mother bought them a 6000 piece puzzle of the New York skyline. Sienna always suspected it was to keep them busy and out of her hair. It worked. They spent every waking hour working on that puzzle until it was complete.
“Remember when we dropped it trying to move it from the kitchen table?”
“Oh my goodness,” Morgan gasped, “yes! We were heartbroken...remember?”
“Yep.” Sienna laughed. “Lord, you would have thought it was the end of the world.”
“Shoot, it was!” Morgan laughed.
“But we put it together again.” Sienna grinned. “And we realized we had a whole section forced into the wrong place. Remember that?”
“I still don’t know how we managed that.”
“Me either.” Sienna smiled. “Remember what your dad said?”
Morgan took a long swig from her bottle of water then smiled at the memory. Her father didn’t say much but when he did, she listened.
“Girls...sometimes things fall apart.” Morgan said in her best imitation of her father. “You just gotta...pick up the pieces."
Sienna finished her sandwich and crumbled up the wrapper to toss in the trash can. She could not have worded it any better.
“Listen Mo, maybe God is actually shaking up your life so He can put the pieces back into place as they should be.”
Morgan popped the last bite of the sandwich into her mouth and stood to dump the wrapper into the trash. She leaned against the sill and considered Sienna’s puzzle analogy.
“Time to pick up the pieces, Mo.” Sienna smiled. “But don’t try to force them into place. Wait and see where God wants them to go.”
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About The Book:
These women soon learn that although life brings its share of storms, it’s what they do in the midst of those storms that define their character. While navigating the worst storms of their lives, these captivating women discover the true meaning of friendship, faith, and family.
What will they do when faced with devastating life situations that shake the very foundation that their lives are built upon? Follow this group of audacious women as they stare down the most tumultuous year they have ever had to face.
Genre: Inspirational/Christian Fiction
Paperback: 182 pages
Publisher: Virtuous Ink Publishing LLC (April 29, 2014)
ISBN-10: 0988625903
ISBN-13: 978-0988625907
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About The Author:
Cassietta earned her Bachelors of Applied Science in Business Administration from Wayland Baptist University and after traveling the country currently resides in Las Vegas Nevada. She is married to a proud retired United States Air Force Master Sergeant and together they have raised three children. Cassietta the youngest of ten siblings; seven older brothers and two older sisters who in addition to her wonderful parents help to shape her life.
In 2012, Cassietta published her first novel, Be Still & Know and published a novella, Timing is everything, the following year. Her latest book, Shades of Brown, is now available in print and ebook versions. To find out more about Cassietta Jefferson, visit www.virtuousinkpublishing.com/author-cassietta-jefferson.html.
Social Links:
Email: CJefferson@virtuousinkpublishing.com
Website: http://www.virtuousinkpublishing.com
Twitter handle @MsSetta
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirtuousInkPublishing
Buy Links:
Amazon: ebook: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JGUPNJS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B00JGUPNJS&link_code=as3&tag=revibycrys-20&linkId=TAFYDZUPALEKMXDX
Amazon: paperback:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JGUPNJS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=B00JGUPNJS&link_code=as3&tag=revibycrys-20&linkId=TAFYDZUPALEKMXDX
Tour Hosted by Write Now Literary Book Tours
Author Tour Schedule: http://wnlbooktours.com/cassietta-jefferson/
Thanks so much for having me Crystal!
ReplyDeleteNice interview, thank you for sharing.
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