Title: I Called Him Dancer
Cover blurb: For a moment, Michael danced on top of the world, but one bad choice turned his life upside down. The once promising Broadway star now washes windows for tips and lives among the homeless. When his former dance partner recognizes him behind the fray of whiskers, shame drives him away from her. Angry at God and the world, the Dancer refuses to allow anyone into his life. When everything is stripped away, three things remain: faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love.
I Called Him Dancer is a story about how one woman's enduring faith and unconditional love drives her to reach out to a homeless man who has given up on life.
1) How did this story come to you?
Tralena Walker and Tom Webster spoke at the Atlanta Writers Club in September of 2009 to talk about song writing. I almost didn’t stay for their segment. In fact, I was walking down the hall to leave and said to my wife, “Let’s go ahead and stick around. Maybe it will be interesting.”
I’ll spare you the details of their talk, but they performed a song titled, ‘I Always Called Him Dancer.’ At the end of the song one of them said, “I’ve always pictured this as a good idea for a book. We’ve been trying to get someone to turn it into a novel.”
My head exploded at those words and the plot of ‘I Called Him Dancer’ unfolded in an instant. I spoke with them after the meeting and we’ve been working together since 2009 to sharpen the manuscript and tell the story both of us envision for the song.
2) Tell us about the journey to getting this book published.
My journey is part of the reason for starting my publishing company. Most agents and publishers liked the story, but don’t think this type of genre can sell in today’s market. I’ve been in contact with 43 agents and publishers. The ones who showed interest wanted to change the story are add things that go against my vision of having a Christian-friendly story. Plus, I wanted this to be a testimony that would appeal to non-Christians as well.
I came to the conclusion that my vision was not the same as our current market driven industry, so I researched the pros and cons of self-publishing. I finally decided that if done right, independent authoring was a good option. Time doesn’t permit me to give the reasons for and against, but in the end, I decided launching a business was the best platform for launching my book.
3) Tell me three things about yourself that would surprise your readers.
I’m dyslexic. But remember, slysdexics are teeple poo.
I hated writing until I was in my thirties.
I never read fiction until I started writing it. I read over a hundred novels and a dozen books on the craft of writing to get a feel for fiction and good story telling.
4) What are you working on now and what's next for you?
I have another completed first draft manuscript. I actually wrote it before ‘I Called Him Dancer’, but put it aside until I finished this book. I have four more books outlined, and have started writing one of them. Plus I’ve published a technical book about designing a hosted WordPress site.
5) Parting comments?
A band of Contra Rebels kidnapped my dog. They said they would only release him if my book becomes a bestseller. I’m depending on you to help rescue my poor dog.
6) Where can fans find you on the internet?
http://www.eddiesnipes.com/
Twitter @eddiesnipes
Facebook – eddiesnipes
Linked in, you guessed it - http://www.linkedin.com/in/eddiesnipes
