Introducing Najee Jamerson, author of the acclaimed novel Sweet Malevolence. Check out as she breaks down her writing style and latest novel Wet.
When did you first make the decision to pursue a career as an author? I’ve always liked reading since I was a little girl. In high school I started writing because of my friend Kimberly Pruitt. I became known as the girl with the stories. Once I started seeing people’s reactions to my stories I was like hey I can do this. At fifteen I started sending my manuscripts to different publishing homes. The rest was history. There’s nothing else I would rather do with my life.
Name some of the authors who have influenced or inspired you. I was fourteen when I first read Flyy Girl by Omar Tyree, before that book I never even heard of African American fiction. Since then all I started to read was AA fiction. Authors who have had the biggest influence on me have been Omar Tyree, Noire, Zane, and Eric Jerome Dickey. I’ve laughed, cried, and yelled at all of their characters at least once or twice. I want my readers to feel the same way about any novel I write. I want my readers to relate to my character just as I relate to the authors characters.
How do you describe your writing style? To be honest I don’t feel like I have one. I like to write different genres and I don’t want to be known as only a street lit author. I’m the type of author who can write a gangster book one day and write a sci-fi book the next day.
What separates you from other authors? What separates me from other authors is I’m going to make every reader feel my passion for writing and telling a story with each page they read. They’re not going to feel like I cheated them out of their money by buying my books. I can write in both male and female perspective equally. I won’t ever give you the same story line and just throw different names in the book. My books will always be a page turner because their unpredictable. You’ll never know what’s going to happen until you read the last page.
Tell us about you forthcoming or current novel. Wet takes you into the lives of Karmil Strong and Aja Woods. Karmil embraces her sexuality. She knows she’s a beautiful woman and she uses it to her advantage. Aja feels like her sexual ways are ruining her life so much she decides to pack everything and move to Las Vegas for a fresh start. She vows to stay away from men but all that changes when she meets Karmil’s husband Barrett Strong.
What do you hope people take away from the book? I hope women in general learn that it’s ok to embrace their sexuality. It’s ok to tell your mate what you want or need in the bedroom. In general I want my readers to learn not to take the people in their life for granted. Know that one day a person will wake up and know they deserve better and they’ll go find better with someone else.
Does this story relate to you on a personal level? If so, how? No, this story doesn’t relate to me. As an author I’m always studying people and I’ve come to find out you have women who embrace their sexuality and then you have women who are too timid to go out there and explore. In Wet I decided to explore both sides.
What advice do you have to offer aspiring writers? My advice to aspiring authors is if this is really what you want then go for it. Never give up until you reach where you want to be in this industry. Make sure you do your homework on publishing and if you sign with a publishing company make sure you do your research before signing on the dotted line. Utilized the people around you, everyone has a friend or family member who can test read your manuscript Last but not least PROMOTE PROMOTE PROMOTE!! Authors don’t get a day off.
