Q: What inspired you to write “The Charlotte Cartel: Scats and Demons?”
DR: I was inspired to write this book by some of my close associates who were writing urban novels at the time. The energy was crazy, so I picked up my ink pen and got busy A-S-A-P. But aside from that, there was a character in my Ecstasy series that deserved his own story, so I created the Charlotte Cartel – Scats and Demons.
Q: Can you share some insights into your writing process, especially how you managed it while being incarcerated?
DR: When you’re incarcerated, you have a writer’s greatest asset, which is time. So incarceration actually works to a writers’ advantage, especially when one is disciplined and focused. So with the time on my hands and a story seething from my soul, I just bring it to life.
Q: How have your personal experiences influenced the narrative and characters in your novel?
DR: I take the reality of urban situations and circumstances that I have either witnessed or experienced, in one way or another and put it into my work product. That way what I am creating is authentic. Readers of street fiction can feel the realness in my books.
Q: What do you hope readers take away from the world you’ve created in “The Charlotte Cartel?”
DR: I want readers to see that innocence can be taken away form the youth in the blink of an eye. And when that happens, it leads to a dark reality that’s painful, and it all keeps spinning and spiraling until it’s out of control. I want readers to know that there are consequences for every action. Some decisions affect generations to come.
Q: Who is your favorite character in the novel, and why?
DR: Angel. She’s my favorite. I love her desire to be independent.
Q: Your book has been described as a “pulse-pounding urban novel.” What do you believe makes a story genuinely thrilling for readers?
DR: The worlds that I create…damn…it’s like I write to rhythm, and pace, and I know when to climax a story. It’s like you wanna get there, but you don’t want to. That’s the thrill, being on a ride you don’t want to ever end.
Q: How did you conduct research for your story to ensure the details were authentic to the setting and the world of organized crime?
DR: Unfortunately, I’ve been around criminals much of my life, I once had a criminal mind, and I know first hand how the world of organized crime operates.
Q: What were the greatest challenges you faced while writing this novel?
DR: Having to go into my shell, and disconnect from the people I love and deal with on a day-to-day basis.
Q: Could you describe the role of the setting in your story? Why did you choose Charlotte as the primary location?
DR: Charlotte, North Carolina is a beautiful city, and it deserved a hood book of it’s own, but the characters are always on the move, and the mission is far beyond the boundaries of Charlotte.
Q: How do you feel your book contributes to or differs from other works in the urban fiction genre?
DR: This book is like a single brick that keeps the genre all together. Like a brick home is built with a multitude of bricks. That’s what The Charlotte Cartel is about when it comes to the urban fiction genre.
Q: How do you feel your book contributes to or differs from other works in the urban fiction genre?
DR: You know Donald Goins influenced my style of storytelling…the godfather of urban fiction.
Q: Your characters are caught in a web of power struggles and survival. How did you balance the action elements with character development?
DR: In an urban world, you have to make snap judgement decisions, about the people you encounter, words you use, and your actions, and that’s the same with urban fiction. The characters develop over time. But just when you think you know them, you find out that you never did.
Q: The title “Scats and Demons” is very evocative. Can you explain its significance in relation to the story?
DR: You will have to read the book to figure that out. I don’t want to spoil it. (laughs)
Q: Urban fiction often confronts real societal issues. Are there any themes in your book that you feel particularly passionate about?
DR: I am passionate about life in urban communities. I’m not promoting violence, but I am promoting awareness. You got to know what the f*ck is going on out there. To be green, is to be a target. So when you read the Charlotte Cartel, it takes you to a world where we are living in now. You can be in the streets through this book right in your living room, or wherever you read books at. Be entertained, but learn too. I’m a passionate teacher.
Q: What can fans of “The Charlotte Cartel” expect next from you? Are there any plans for a sequel or a new project on the horizon?
DR: You can expect the dopest articles that I write in Urban Drip Magazine, and of course there is a sequel in the works. Scats and Demons is just the start. Plus, I just dropped a new book a few days ago called: Daddy Come Home…I wrote that for the ladies. This concludes our interview with best selling author Donald Reynolds and Urban Drip Magazine…the official magazine for all of the convicts, hustlers and go-getters! —
Donald Reynolds
Urban Drip Magazine
P.O. Box 1146, Robbins, IL 60472
www.urbandripmagazine.com