Lawrence Christopher, is the new literary voice of cozy urban mystery writing, an accomplished fiction writer who has independently published his Mick Hart Mystery novellas. All About Mary is a romance/mystery is the debut in the series of Mick Hart Mysteries. As a follow-up Lawrence Christopher takes a metaphoric bite out of crime and mystery with his offering Dog 'Em: A Mick Hart Mystery. His novella is provocative, entertaining, intellectual and written to the best stark reality. The anticipated sequel to All About Mary is Mary's Little Lamb: A Mick Hart Mystery, will release in 2003. But don't expect to read just mysteries from this novella author, and long time online fiction writer on TimBookTu. He likes to think of his stories and future works as "Snippets of Life," a working title for a compilation of short stories.

Question: When and why did you begin writing? When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Christopher: My art teacher (Mr. French) at Fulton Elementary school asked me to write a poem about a drawing of a pregnant woman sitting in a rocking chair. The woman looked sad, so I wrote the following: "I bet you don't know, that the man you love, is the man you hate. I bet you don't know that the man you are crying for, is the man you don't even know. I bet you don't know, that the man who gave you your first baby, is the man that is gone." To my knowledge that was the first creative thing I wrote. From there I went on to write more poetry and won school held poetry contests. I suppose the award recognition then and the encouragement of my teachers saying that I had a vivid imagination validated that I had a talent for writing.

Christopher: Jeffrey Knuckles, to my knowledge has written only one book. Private Conversations (Holloway House) was his book, which is no longer in print. I believe I have owned a half dozen copies of the book and allowed others to read it, never to see them again. It is a paperback with 158 pages and it tells four stories within those few pages. It's awesome for a novella.

Christopher: Walter Mosley for sure because of his Easy Rawlins Mysteries. Then there is Tony Lindsay who wrote One Dead Preacher and Prayer of Prey. But if I were to name one of my favorite books, it was one I received from the author on exchange for one of my books. It was Expect Sunshine by Betty L. Bush. I reviewed it as an African American classic.

Christopher: I'm not sure it's something I always wanted to do. It is something I always liked doing. As I said, I wrote poetry when I was in grammar school. The passion for creative writing came when I began writing love letters to girls I liked and slipped the letters in their desks.

Christopher: Life. I see and hear story ideas every single day. Conversations I overhear on the street or at lunch. I don't intentionally eavesdrop but it seems that sometimes I hear just what I need to complete a scene or create a character.

Christopher: Mainly, I watch sports and listening to music. During a baseball, football or basketball game, I can be entertained while working. When I need a break, I just divert my attention to the game.

Christopher: Instrumental jazz is best for me to listen to while writing because I don't have any lyrical influences. Then if I have a need for a mood scene, I will find the appropriate music, which fits best. This could be anything from gospel to hip-hop or any other type of music there is.

Christopher: It depends on how the male writers approach their stories and write their characters. I don't believe in pandering to female readers by writing nice guy characters all the time. I have some bad boy characters that I think some women will find appealing, such as Jehovah Joe. The truth is to write the truth. On the other hand, women find it welcoming to read stories told from a males point of view, which makes it all the more important to write honestly.

Christopher: No. I don't write their kinds of stories. I really can't say that though. I've only read Walter Mosely of those you named.

Christopher: I just wanted to write a short story defining kickin' it versus a committed relationship between a young woman and an older guy. After writing the short story "Kickin' it with Mary" and posting it on the Internet, there came a lot of responses to the characters. So I wrote another installment, "Kickin' it with Mary, Again". The second story brought more responses and more questions. I wrote a third installment, "Kickin't it and Screamin' with Mary." It wasn't enough for my online readers. Since they (my readers) wouldn't let the Mary character die - I killed her.

Christopher: I chose the Mick Hart Mysteries to debut and hone my writing talent. The Mick Hart Mysteries are cozy romance/mystery novellas in an urban setting.

Christopher: I mainly like writing mysteries, and of course, romance is a part of life. Oooo, I like that answer. I'm going to have to write that down. J

Christopher: It would have been easy to write a female love interest who was pretty in the face and slim in the waist. I chose to write Mary, nice to look at and also phat (pretty, healthy and tempting) to help dispel the myth that a woman has to be a wafer to be attractive.

Christopher: Yes and no. The truth is, some men have a sensitive side. I write the truth. I don't write any of my male characters to purposely appeal to female readers.

Christopher: On average, about six or seven months. I write any time between "5 p.m. to 9 a.m." and weekends when I get off from my "9 to 5" and on weekends.

Christopher: There are a number of reasons. A lot of my co-workers say that they don't have time to read. So, I write short but complete stories to give people a quick literary escape who don't have the time to get away. The obvious difference between a novella and novel is the number of descriptive words. The example I sight at my book signings is this; I tripped walking down the street one day. As a novella writer, I would write, "I fell." A novel writer would write, "I had an incident involving a fall."

Christopher: I'm in love with Lastasha, Mick's wife. Obviously, since she's taken, I have to back off. Reverend Isaac M. Lowdown is next in line. Through his character, I'm able to speak God's word.

Christopher: Without a doubt, it's Latasha and Mick, with her son T.

Christopher: Each novella will definitely have a message for the reader. Hopefully they will find the solution I've written to my characters dilemma or drama as one that they can apply in their lives.

Christopher: That's a tough one. Each one has a passionate influence on me. Mary's Little Lamb ranks high on my list because of the collaborative effort and influences I received in writing the story. The artist David Patterson captured the image of the main character perfectly. Just as important to me did two poetesses; Uyladia "Ladi" Jarmon and Valerie Respress gave the written voice to the Sapphire character.

Christopher: In a word, life. My imagination makes it a story.

Christopher: I like the short stories. I like getting an idea and being able to quickly write it into story form and get it out there for others to enjoy while it's fresh.

Christopher: Doing . . . being alive. Hearing . . . good news. Reading . . . I don't read a lot, aside from magazines.

Christopher: Whew! There will be more writings of course. I'm constantly coming up with story ideas, from short stories and other novellas. There are at least two more Mick Hart Mysteries to come; entitled Blood Related and Name that Kill. I have a children's book series in mind, the Tickle Fingers. More short stories will appear on the Internet.

Christopher: No. I have a backlog of ideas for romance/relationship novels.

Question: What is the greatest challenge you face as an author?

Christopher: My greatest challenge is finding the time to devote to writing. Writing isn't my bread and butter. It's my jam.

Christopher: Be encouraged. Within days of one another, I have received acceptance letters and rejection letters for the same manuscript. I met my personal editor through a rejection letter. There is always some good with the bad.

Christopher: Do whatever it takes to get your work out there. Online sites like MyHiddenTalent.com, LiterateNubian.com and TimBookTu.com are excellent spring boards for getting published and feedback from readers. You have ePublishing, where you can download stories and novels for pages or chapters at a time. The publishing industry is forever changing, so the traditional route to getting published is just another option, not the only option. Writing and getting published can be a crazy business, so seek help. I like that. I'm going to have to write that down.

Christopher: Once again, be encouraged. Getting published can be an arduous task. It depends on what level of being published the writer is looking for, that will determine how to accomplish that goal. At first, I submitted articles to the major black magazines at the time (Black Enterprise, Ebony, and Essence). Rejected. To be honest, I wasn't a polished enough writer when I approached them. After honing my writing skills and writer's professional etiquette, I realized these magazines weren't about publishing the best work. Some accepted work from only in-house writers, others magazines only are interested in publishing recognizable names.

That's when I stopped taking the rejection letters personally. Why should I? The rejection letters weren't personal. I accepted being published in any way it came. My first published writing appeared in a company newsletter. For my first paid article was for $50. My first nationally published piece appeared in an adult men's magazine. I have had letters to the Editors published on numerous occasions. I claim even them as an accomplishment. I would suggest submitting to local newspapers and local magazines, neighborhood publications even. Get acceptance anywhere you can, then branch out.

Christopher: Yes, but not through a vanity press. Look at the classified ads in a mainstream magazine and then look in a magazine targeting African-Americans. In the latter, there is at least one ad from a Vanity Press, trying to solicit black money. There are plenty of how-to-books on the subject and the process of becoming your own publisher. Secure the capital to fund the project so you won't have to answer to anyone except yourself.

Christopher: Control, empowerment and giving birth. It is your project from beginning to end and you have the final word within the boundaries of the industry. The whole experience I liken to giving birth. The writing is the conceiving, the initial orgasmic pleasure of spewing out your thoughts on to paper or into your computer.

You then go through the labor pains of nurturing those thoughts into a little bundle of joy. Once it has been molded (edited, typeset and made camera ready) it leaves your hands to become a book. But you are still responsible for its promotion and distribution. I just pray that post-pardum depression doesn't set in. I might end up ripping the pages out of my book. J

Christopher: It has been a matter of communications both personal and professional. As far as on the personal side, it has been word of mouth, letters and e-mails to friends and acquaintances. At the same time, you have to approach those same folks professionally to let them know that this is also a business for the writer. Everyone whose family or friend thinks they should get a free copy of your book. If they don't want a free copy, they want the first copy. Everyone can't get the first copy.

The professional approach has been working with talented people who know how to put together press releases and promotional kits. Networking has proven to be most important. I have been working with other authors who have self-published and we exchanged our "lessons learned." Helping others help themselves.

Christopher: Speed. Everything from sending artwork to my graphics guy to promotion was done in a few clicks of the mouse.

Christopher: I have nothing but the utmost admiration and respect for the writers I have met through TimBookTu.com. I have equally networked with the up-and-coming along with the accomplished. The contributions of both levels have been invaluable.

Christopher: This is to accomplished and best-selling writers. Whenever asked and if it is possible, help an up-and-coming writer. The idea here should be to help others help themselves. Simple hun? One other thing that comes to mind is this, reading and writing should be fun and mental. Get it, fun-de-mental. J