eNTER THE WORLD OF JAVAN SHEPARD

by La-Tessa Montgomery

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Name:    Javan Shepard

Date of Birth:    7/27

Occupation:   Information Systems Consultant

City of Residence:   Long Beach, CA

A BIT ABOUT YOU

1.    How long have you been writing?  Seven years.

2.    What convinced you to get started on your first book?  Were there any challenges that almost prevented you from going ahead with it?  I wrote VAMPIRE OF GOD for a web site (I forgot the name) that allowed people to post short horror stories. But as I continued to write, I came up with more ideas for the main character. The next thing I know, I’m 300 pages into the story. My biggest challenge was finding time between work and my other responsibilities to write the story.

3.    Did you ever imagine that you would become a published author?  What did you do when you found out that you had been picked up? (I’m sure some major celebrating went on J)

The thought of publishing this story never crossed my mind.  I was a part of an online writing group called the Midwest Black Writers Association. Members of the group critiqued the work of other writers via email.  Unbeknownst to me one of the members was a full time writer and editor, Deatri King.  She sent me an email telling me she thought my story could get published (with a lot of editing of course J).   First I acquired an agent, Janell W. Agyeman.  She sent my manuscript to several publishers.  All of them rejected my story.  A little more than a year ago, Parker Publishing picked up my manuscript.  I was ecstatic!  I called my parents first and then celebrated with my good friend, who’s always been there for me, beer.

4.    What are some of your favorite authors, genres, and/or books? My favorite types of books are suspense, thrillers, fantasy and espionage books.  I try to incorporate aspects of all those types of books in my writings.   For instance, VAMPIRE OF GOD is a mainly suspense story, but it has espionages aspects that make it like The Bourne Identity.

5.    What do you do in your down time, (assuming you have any J)? When I’m not writing or working, I like to lift weights and jog along the coast.  I like to watch sports, huge football fan.  I love to travel.  It’s exciting to meet people who speak different languages and experience different cultures.  Places I’ve been to in Europe ignite my imagination and I incorporate the locations in my stories.

ALL ABOUT VAMPIRE OF GOD:

6.    What inspired you to write VAMPIRE OF GOD?  I really enjoyed your story and the freshness you injected into the plot.  Originally I came up with the idea to separate my story from other vampire novels.  It’s almost impossible to come up with completely original ideas because countless fiction stories have been written.  The best thing a writer can do is put an original spin on an existing idea.  As the main character, Simone, went on her journey it became more of a philosophical question for me.  Why are vampires perceived as evil?  Because they kill to survive?  Most life, including humans, kill to survive.  Also, in church I was always taught that God loves all his creations in spite of their sins.  Would vampires not be embraced by an all-loving God?  Another thing I noticed was the lack of action packed thrillers with African-American women as the main character.  I would say that author L.A. Banks is one of the few authors who writes books with a lot of action that has a black woman as the main character. 

7.    I am a big fan of sci-fi and really enjoyed your spin on vampire lore.  How did you come up with your concept?  A little of it came from the Bible.  In the book of Revelation there are vampire like references (“she was drunk with blood”).  Also, in the Bible angels do some cruel and wicked things.  You might even call them evil at times.  It occurred to me they might create creatures to do some of their dirty work.  An ancient form of out-sourcing if you will.

8.    Do you have any favorite characters or scenes that you wouldn’t mind sharing or providing a little more insight on?  My favorite character is Tarik.  He gave me a reason to do a lot of research on black Muslims in medieval Europe because Islam and its history had so much to do with his character.   He is unlike any vampire character I’ve ever read and he brings hope to the main character’s (Simone) seemingly hopeless situation.   And it was also nice to portray a Muslim not as terrorist.  The most significant and terrifying scene in VAMPIRE OF GOD is when the main character is mugged.   VG is fiction, but the assault is very graphic.  It’s something that happens all too often in our society and a very real threat women face.  There were times I thought about taking the scene out.  However, it was essential to the plot and the character’s development.

9.    Did you face any major challenges writing this particular story?  If so, what were they?  Coming up with a satisfying ending.  When I write, it is easy for me to come up with the beginning and exciting scenes for the book.  But reaching an ending that would satisfy the reader was by far the most difficult thing.   I wasn’t looking for an ending that answered all the readers’ questions.  Indeed, you don’t want to necessarily do that with a book.  You want them to come back for more J.  The ending of my story had multiple revisions ‘till I finally came up with the one you read. 

10. Do you have a planned follow up to VAMPIRE OF GOD? I, for one, am very interested in reading more about Simone, her new path, and her new family.  I am working on a sequel.  When you create a character and a world you love they become real to you.  A writer wants and hopes readers want to revisit the character and his/her world again.  The sequel answers some questions that were not answered in VAMPIRE OF GOD.

ALL ABOUT THE FANS:

11. What’s next for you?  Do you have any upcoming releases or projects you are working on?  As I stated before, I’m working on a sequel to VG.  I also have a screenplay in the works.  An action packed fiction story set in the future.

12. Do you have any reader events coming up (book signing, tours, etc.)?  As of this writing, I don’t have anything coming up?

13.  How can your readers stay in touch with you?  I can be reached via my Web site www.javanshepard.com or www.vampireofgod.com.

14.  What advice or encouragement do you have for aspiring authors?  They’ve probably heard this before, but I’ll say it again, just write.  Don’t worry about how your story will end or if it will be long enough to be a novel.  Get the ideas and stories on paper. I’ve written stories that I’ve never finished or that were not long enough to become novels.  But I was able to take my favorite scenes from those stories and incorporate them into VAMPIRE OF GOD.  There are no wasted writings.  If nothing else you learn to be a better writer.  In addition, make sure to get a ruthless editor!  One who doesn’t hold back.  Chesya Burke (www.chesyaburke.com) was my editor.  After her first revision, she sent me 4 ½ pages of what was wrong with my story.  I thought she hated it!  But at the end she told me she thought my manuscript was very strong and entertaining.  I was like, huh?  I realized her job was to make my novel as strong as it could be and she did a great job.  If you can’t afford an editor find a friend who reads many books or does a lot of writing for his or her profession.  My friend Tiffany Latta is a journalist from Ohio.  She was kind enough to proofread my book before I sent it to my content editor.   I would not be talking to you if it weren’t for the help of these two women. 

Also, don’t be married to any scenes in your book.  I had scenes in the original draft that I loved.  But that had to be taken out so the story flowed better.  Remember, you’re writing the story for someone as much as you are writing it for you.  Finally, join a writer’s group.  Find people who you can bounce ideas off of and suggest ways to improve your stories.