Slyce: Brothers and Sistah’s, please welcome our sister Vanessa M. Kirby to “The Interrogation Room”!! Welcome my sister :-). Are you ready?… 
VK: Yes! Good evening Marilyn Brown and the Slyce family. Thanks for having me in “The Interrogation Room” once again.
Slyce: What inspired you to become an author?
VK: My love of books began right before I went into high school. Both my mother and grandmother were avid readers. When I would be on punishment I would write stories if I didn’t have a book to read. When I began to share them with classmates and their older siblings they enjoyed them and encouraged me to continue. They were my first test readers so to speak. Their encouragement early on along with further encouragement once I began to pen my first novel gave me the courage to pursue my dream of becoming an author.
Slyce: What is the name of your publishing company?
VK: I am published under Nu Class Publications, LLC under CEO Tammy Capri located here in Philadelphia.
Slyce: In what genre do you write?
VK: I consider my genre Urban fiction, Women’s Lit, Romance and some of my work falls into the Young Adult or Family category.
Slyce: Have you ever penned under another name?
VK: Prior to marrying my work, I was published under Vanessa M Harley.
Slyce: You wrote a book title “Jealous and Crazy”. What was this book about?
VK: I will include the synopsis but to sum it up, “Jealous and Crazy” is about an obsessive lover who drove his high school sweetheart away with his controlling ways and overbearing love for her. She disappears for 5 years but circumstances bring her back to their hometown. Once he realizes that she has returned he will stop at nothing to win back her love. Unfortunately, she and her love are no longer available, but he won’t accept that and go to drastic lengths to change her mind.
“Jealous and Crazy” Synopsis – After a three-year relationship high school teen Rayne Strickland vanishes one day without a trace. Although she is only one state away from her former love Maxwell Johnson she has managed to stay off his radar for the last 5 years. She took every precaution to make sure that he never knew where she was or the secret she took with her. Circumstances in Rayne’s new life forced her to move back to her hometown of Philadelphia. When Max realizes she has returned he believes he’s been given a second chance. Max soon learns a lot has changed in her five-year absence, and the spot he once held was now filled. He quickly slips back down his path of destruction and mayhem, which sent Rayne running in the first place. Rayne’s inability to resist a love that once meant more than her next breath while trying to convince Max that love no longer lives there only fuels Max’s obsession to have her. Maxwell Johnson is determined to rewrite their ending… No matter the cost!
Slyce: Is this book a series or a standalone?
VK: This book is a standalone. I have a few series so I decided not to go that route with this one.
Slyce: How important are interviews?
VK: I believe interviews are very important. They allow you to reach an audience that is not in your immediate vicinity. It allows people a chance to ask questions about you or your books that they may not otherwise have a chance to do. Interviews are just another way of touching your audience.
Slyce: How important are reviews?
VK: I think as an avid reader, it is great to have a way to let an author know how you feel about their work whether it is good or bad. As an author, I found the reviews helpful going forward on my next project to know if there is something I can do better.
Slyce: What does the term “Building a Brand” mean?
VK: To me building a brand means how you want yourself and your projects to be seen out in the world. As a member of Nu Class Publications, my brand is attached to how my publishing company is viewed as well. People will buy my product based on how I present myself and the quality of my work but coming from a good company also plays a big part in it as well.
Slyce: What steps are you taking to build your brand?
VK: Prior to this year, I didn’t make it out to many events for health reasons. This year, I’m trying to do better and get out there and meet the readers and other authors I communicate with on social media and the ones who have supported me for years. I want them to see the face behind the name and get to know me personally. By the end of 2017, I want the readers to know who Vanessa M. Kirby is!
Slyce: Do you feel a new author should have a “Team”?
VK: As an author who started out on her own as a self-published author, I made many mistakes that may have been avoided if I had a team to work with. I believe having a team will make a big difference for a new author who isn’t familiar with the industry and its rules. Going in the right direction from the beginning is so much better then failing and then learning along the way but either way the experience itself is a big help to any author. What I’ve learned has definitely shaped how I do things now ten years later.
Slyce: What advice can you offer to those aspiring to become an author?
VK: Whenever aspiring authors contact me and ask how do they begin, I tell them to just write. Once you feel as though the story is the way you want to present it to a publisher then move forward to the next step of doing your research to contact a company that will have your best interest at heart and show you the way to become a successful author.
Slyce: What goals do you wish to achieve as an author?
VK: To make that New York Times Best Seller list. To be the author readers recommend to any and everyone. But most importantly, I want to be the author that consistently tells a great story and leaves the readers wanting more. I want to leave a legacy behind for my granddaughters.
Slyce: Is there anything else cooking in the lab for Author Vanessa M. Kirby?
VK: Currently, I’m working on the finale to the “London Series” which began with the “Sibling Rivalry Series”. I’ve been asked to do a collaboration for 2017 with an award-winning author, Ben Burgess Jr. and I hope to bring one of my stories from my self-publishing days out in an updated version for my readers who weren’t around during that period of my career.
Slyce: What authors past and/or present had an influence on you?
VK: My favorite author of the past that influenced me was Terri Woods. I loved “True to the Game” so much I named my first male character after her character, “Quadir”. I even sent her a message telling her so, lol. To this day I still go back and read that series. Omar Tyree, Shannon Holmes, Eric Jerome Dickey and Michael Baisden were also some of my favorites along with Nikki Turner and Wahida Clark. The authors of today that influence me are of course my Nu Class ladies, Tammy Capri and Verlonda Jackson. I love E. L. James and her “50 Shades Trilogy” along with Ashley & JaQuavis just to name a few.
Slyce: Name three authors you’d love to work with?
VK: I’d like to work with Nu Class’s newest author Shataya Simms, Author Kennedee Devoe and E. L. James so I can turn one of these books into a multi-million dollar movie.
Slyce: Do you write for the passion or the profit?
VK: It has always been about the passion for me. In the beginning, I loss more than I ever made. Then I began to see a profit when I joined Nu Class but the driving force has been my love of a good story and most importantly the readers love of the characters and what I do with them.
Slyce: How can our viewers contact you?
VK: The readers/viewers can contact me on Facebook under Vanessa M Kirby. I also have an author page under Vanessa M. Kirby, Author. My Instagram page is @authorvanessa. My Twitter is @AuthorVMKirby and my website is www.fabulous-fiction.com where the readers can get a 3-chapter sneak peek of all of my current titles and also join my mailing list.
Slyce: I’d like to thank guest Vanessa M. Kirby for joining us in “The Interrogation Room”!! Thank you my Sistah. You were wonderful!!
Everyone please go purchase “Jealous and Crazy” by Vanessa M. Kirby. Also, remember to check out her page on Facebook at: 
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