Monday, April 23, 2007

FEATURED AUTHOR: William Fredrick Cooper


SORMAG: Please give the reader a brief bio of the person and writer.

William Fredrick Cooper:
I’m just an ordinary guy. By day, I’m a legal assistant at a law fir, basically advising attorneys on the process of law. My weekends consists of spending time with my daughter, being a teen mentor with a program in Harlem and going to church.

My writing? Well my first novel, Six Days In January, published in 2004 by Strebor Books/Atria, told the story of William McCall, a man battling his insecurities and vulnerabilities in an effort to figure love out. Between novels, I was in a series of Erotic Anthologies for Zane.

SORMAG: Tell us about your current book.


COOPER:
There’s Always A Reason is a Black Love Story, simple as that. It’s the return of William McCall. Six years later, he returns to the literary scene battling more serious, life-altering issues. It takes a woman of enormous strength to pick him up, brush him off and renew his faith in love and life, a very emotional story.

SORMAG: What would you like readers to take away from your novel?

COOPER:
LaShaunda, all I’m hoping the readers see is that WE NEED EACH OTHER. You know, I grow weary of all the negativity when it comes to love from both sexes. Too many defense mechanisms disguised as poor attitudes. The novel puts on a display two emotionally scarred people who been through it all, and are trying to restore faith in themselves. In the clearest possible form, I wanted to show that love can really overcome obstacles, if you believe.

SORMAG: Tell us about your publishing experience.

COOPER:
An interesting journey, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Was told my writing was to emotionally sensitive for a brother, received over seventy rejection letters, slept on office floors when I had no computer at home, caught Zane’s attention with my first book when it was self-published, and went from there to being a contributor to EBONY MAGAZINE and a MAIN SELECTION for Black Expressions. A mustard seed of faith can go a long way.

SORMAG: Do you have a hard time letting go of a character after the novel is finished?

COOPER:
This one was very difficult, for many reasons other than the characters. Personally, I almost lost everything, and all the while, I kept my dream alive to be a multi-novelist. At winter’s end, there was a lot of tears shed.

SORMAG: What one thing about writing do you wish other writers would understand?

COOPER:
Learn the craft and stop focusing so much on selling a book. That’ll come, provided the writing is good. I really believe that. A lot of writers today are not developing plots, learning the nuances that would improve skills. Many are just writing to have a book out. The readers…No, our community suffers when our intelligences as African-Americans is not maximized. Crazy stuff.

SORMAG: How would you introduce your book to a new reader?

COOPER:
To be honest, I haven’t figured this one out yet. Can’t really describe There’s Always A Reason because it came from a deep place. Its an intense heartfelt love story that puts on displays of the many strengths of the human spirit.

SORMAG: Spring is here, what fun activity do you do in the spring time?

COOPER:
Playing basketball, listening to music at Central Park.

SORMAG: What was the last book to keep you up at night reading it?

COOPER:
Can I Get an Amen Again, the novella collection by Janice Sims, Natalie Dunbar, Kim Louise and Nathasha Brooks-Harris.

SORMAG: What resources do you use on the net?

COOPER:
ESPN.com, Amazon, and Yahoo. That’s about it.

SORMAG: How can readers get in contact with you?

COOPER:
Readers can reach me at my MySpace address: www.myspace.com/wfcooper or my email addy – Areason006@ yahoo.com

I really hope they enjoy There’s Always A Reason, as it comes from my soul.

2 comments:

LaShaunda said...

William, so good to see you back on the literary scene. SORMAG doesn’t feature too many brothers, so it always a pleasure to introduce our readers to one.

Your book sounds good looking forward to reading it. Many blessings to you and your work.

PatriciaW said...

William, your fortitude is admirable. Haven't had the opportunity to read your work but it sounds very interesting. Intriguing.

Good interview.

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