Eric Jerome Dickey... His characters sing with realism. —USA Today
Photo by Curtis Wilson
Praise for PLEASURE
“Steamy…catchy narration…delivers its message that saying ‘yes’ to pleasure can also lead to self-enlightenment.” —Publishers Weekly
“A sizzling, sexy, thriller.”
—Ebony
Will leave you hot and bothered…” —Kirkus Reviews
“hot and emotional journey of one woman’s search for true pleasure and freedom.” —Romantic Times Book Review
Travel, lots of work result in 'Pleasure' for author
By MELISSA WALKER, Star Tribune
April 11, 2008
Author Eric Jerome Dickey rarely stops moving. He churns out books faster than his followers can read them, and is almost constantly on book tours. Rich character development and a finger on the pulse of pop culture have helped Dickey develop a faithful following of mostly female readers. His holiday book "Naughty or Nice" has been optioned for a movie. He says it's currently in the "hurry up and wait" stage.
Known for his steamy love scenes, Dickey doesn't disappoint in his new book, "Pleasure" (Dutton, $24.95). The syrupy-sweet erotic tale follows Nia Simone Bijou, a woman torn between her own needs for sexual freedom and what society deems appropriate. We caught up with Dickey by phone while he was in Jacksonville, Fla., on tour.
Q Usually your books start off with a "wow" factor, but this one seemed to start a little slower. Were you trying something different?
A It's a different story and this is the approach I took to tell this one. This is a character that you're getting to know. We're just in this place where everyone is into immediate gratification. ... This is an erotic novel, there's a lot of sensual moments, a lot of self-discovery.
Q How have you come to be so in tune with the female mind, feelings and intuition?
A I know my characters. I create them, their backgrounds, their motivations, young, female, old, hit man or accountant. It's akin to like when you're an actor. They tell you to do your homework. Once you understand your character, you understand why he or she responds this way and feels this way.
Q How do you do your research?
A It's a combination of everything -- magazines, movies. I just think, how can I spice it up? I'm always doing research. I'm a CNN junkie right now and what I'm watching, my characters will talk about at some point.
Q Your books come out at a fast and consistent pace. Do you work on multiple novels at once?
A [Publishers] will work you until you fall over. Every time I'm on tour, I take notes. I ride around and I have my notepad and I write what I see, what things smell like, what the weather is like. Then it's just fill in the plot. Due to deadlines, I have to go from one project to the next.
Q Are your well-traveled characters born on the road with you?
A Yes, I travel so much and sometimes I just want to go home to L.A., although I'm not sure I know how to be still. I have to travel because just using the Internet doesn't work for me. To know your character, you have to do the groundwork. I've been wanting to get to Minneapolis; I need to see some new places.
Q How do you keep your work fresh?
A For me, it's just trying not to repeat myself. I have to keep it fresh for me. You never know how the reader's going to respond; you just hope that the magic works.
Q You've evolved from a software developer to comedian to writer. Do you think of doing more with your comedic gift?
A I've been offstage for so long. It takes a while to get an act together, so I just like to sit back and appreciate others.
Q What can we expect from the next book: more eroticism or more crime?
A It's going to be another crime novel. I'm trying to keep this balance. Both genres keep me creative.
Melissa Walker • 612-673-4461
Adult fiction author to visit PX Posted on: Friday, April 11, 2008
By Desiree Johnson
Killeen Daily Herald
Solidifying his place on the short list of famous black male writers, Eric Jerome Dickey has made a name for himself in the publishing world.
With 16 books, short stories, a comic series and a movie under his belt, Dickey is giving Central Texas residents a reason to be excited when he makes an appearance at the Clear Creek Main Exchange on Sunday to sign his latest release, "Pleasure."
Dickey has touched on every subject – from gritty, edgy works to relationship-oriented novels – and he says taking the focus off himself and his experiences is what opens him to the most topics.
"You're looking for a script or story, not yourself," Dickey said in a telephone interview. "You find something that is challenging and so not you and ask yourself, 'Can I step into their shoes and make it work?'"
As a major movie buff, Dickey relates writing to casting actors in a movie. The process of imagination becomes the process of "casting your book," and auditions are the way an author writes and rewrites a character. During that process anything can change, from a character's sex to occupation to personality, until the character is right for the story.
"All this comes together and that's what makes a story sing. No two books should sound the same," Dickey said. "Each character comes from a different place and has his or her own background. I find a character, create his or her background and that background determines how they put words together, how they think, even whether or not the character drives you or drives you crazy.
"Every little thing you do can completely change the way people perceive the story."
The process leads Dickey to many different places to research his characters, including picking up a psychology book from time to time to understand more fully how the human mind works. It's a system that works: His characters are multi-faceted and drive his narrative to keep readers flipping pages.
Dickey says even the staunchest movie fan will enjoy the simple pleasure of reading one of his novels.
"The thing about movies are, somebody had to write it," Dickey said. "Denzel (Washington) doesn't just show up somewhere and say, 'I think I'll be a rogue cop today.'"
Dickey says the people who still like to read are still reading and says they're part of a "little cult thing."
But books have a long way to go before they're pushed off the shelves, and creating them is something any writer – with plenty of discipline, of course – can be a part of.
"Lots of people think you just wait for inspiration, but that's not what you do; it's a proactive thing," Dickey said. "You don't wait for something interesting to happen and then say, 'Oooh, now I have something to write about.' I spend a lot of time just sitting in a chair in front of a computer and reading any material I can learn from to better develop my characters."
If "Pleasure" doesn't have readers flipping pages, nothing will. Dickey describes the captivating novel as "a steamy erotic book with a complicated character."
"She feels confined by the rules of society, and she's getting over heartbreak, which is a big motivator for the way she behaves and sees the world," Dickey said. "She's asking herself, how do I get the pleasure without going through any of the s--- that gives me pain?"
Grab a copy of "Pleasure" and have it signed by Dickey at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Clear Creek Main Exchange on Fort Hood.
Best-selling writer Eric Jerome Dickey specializes in action. Action in the bedroom. Action with a gun. USA TODAY spoke with Dickey, 46, about his new novel, Waking With Enemies (Dutton, $24.95), a sequel that stars a hit man named Gideon. He's on the run in Europe — with plenty of sexy women after him.
You've written 14 hit novels. What's your secret? Conflict. If you don't have conflict, you don't turn the pages. … My characters are troubled souls with a lot of inner struggle and outer struggle.
Your earlier books Sister, Sister and Milk in My Coffee were more relationship-oriented. Are you getting more gritty? I don't read just one genre, and I don't want to have to write just one genre. … I used to write gritty short stories before I was first published.
What writers do you like?I just bought these books: The Stolen Heart by Joyce Carol Oates (writing as Lauren Kelly); Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer and Quiet Days in Clichy; William Henry Lewis' I Got Somebody in Staunton; Sarahbeth Purcell's Love Is the Drug; and Kathryn Harrison's Envy.
Do friends or family ever say your books shock them? They might have thought that, but no one has said it to me. It's like picking up Playboy and complaining about the centerfold.
On the Line with Radiah of Urban Reviews
Click the PLAY button to listen to the Interview.
Praise for Waking with Enemies
"There's a lot of fun to be had in watching Gideon work his brutal trade.the high octane narrative will have readers burning through page after page." —Publishers Weekly
"Multifaceted." —Kirkus
Fans of ten-time New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey can breathe a sigh of relief-just four months after leaving readers with the heart-stopping cliff hanger in April's Sleeping with Strangers, the "king of African American fiction"* is back with the highly anticipated sequel. In WAKING WITH ENEMIES (Dutton; August 7, 2007; $24.95) Dickey picks up right where Sleeping with Strangers left off, taking readers on an action-packed ride, filled with twists and turns that will keep readers mesmerized until the very end.
—Entertainment Weekly
Praise for Sleeping with Strangers
"fast-paced thriller.the plot is taut, fast and bold-total blockbuster entertainment, replete with an abundance of sex, violence and James Bond touches. A tense cliffhanger caps a wild ride." —Publishers Weekly Starred Review
" Suspenseful right up to the cliff-hanger ending, gritty, graphic, and often gory, best-selling Dickey's latest high-tension tale is a serendipitous mix of lust, longing, and murder.the pacing is amazing; action scenes are often broken down into rapid-fire one-sentence paragraphs, and the essence of each character is captured in a few brief sentences. Not only will Dickey's many readers be thrilled to see a new novel,
this one is also sure to create new fans." —Booklist Starred Review
"Dickey seamlessly blends a dynamic character with a faced-paced, compelling plot and exotic international settings for an unforgettable and addictive read. The electrifying cliff-hanger of an ending leaves readers wondering if Gideon will find love or the death he brings to others." —Library Journal Starred Review
"Dickey is good at details and makes the reader a part of Gideon's roller-coaster life, filled with twists and turns that will keep you glued to the pages." —Associated Press
"fast-paced.irresistible.the author combines his trademark blend of sex, lies and suspense.
one of Dickey's most satisfying reads yet." —Essence Magazine
"Warning: Cell phones, BlackBerries, and possibly your work, will become mere distractions when you begin reading Eric Jerome Dickey's latest novel, Sleeping with Strangers, an action-packed classic noir thriller that draws you in from the first page..with its crisp Raymond Chandler-like dialogue and colorful writing, Strangers literally leaves Dickey fans wanting more." —Ebony Magazine
Dickey once again displays his rare gift of keeping readers engaged. Sleeping with Strangers is a true page-turner, you won't be able to wait for the conclusion." —Bookpage
May 8, 2007: Bestsellers (Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN)
May 6, 2006: Bestsellers (commercialappeal.com, TN)
May 6, 2007: Pageturners (Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX)
May 5, 2007: Bestsellers (Times Herald-Record, NY)
Chaising Destiny selected as Black Expressions 2006 Book of the Year!
Congratulations to Black Expressions 2006 Book of the Year Winners:
1. CHASING DESTINY - Eric Jerome Dickey (Dutton)
2.G-SPOT - Noire (One World/Ballantine)
3.EVERY THUG NEEDS A LADY - Wahida Clark (Dafina/Kensington)
4.GOD DON'T PLAY - Mary Monroe (Dafina/Kensington)
5.A PIECE OF CAKE - Cupcake Brown (Crown)
6.SO YOU CALL YOURSELF A MAN - Carl Weber (Dafina/Kensington)
7.DIRTY RED - Vickie Stringer (Atria)
8.CARAMEL FLAVA - Zane (Atria)
9.DIARY OF A MISTRESS - Miasha (Touchstone)
10.PAYBACK IS A MUTHA - Wahida Clark (Dafina/Kensington
Review by Terri Schlichenmeyer, www.bookwormsez.com
“Genevieve” by Eric Jerome Dickey
One of the best advantages, I think, of being an adult is that we can be who we want to be. We can dye our hair, get plastic surgery, become The Life of the Party or the quiet wallflower. Call is escapism, call it a desire to run, call it whatever you want to call it, but when we grow up and step out on our own, we can easily become the person we saw ourselves being, instead of the person our elders said we’d become.
So what kind of secrets do you hide? In “Genevieve” by Eric Jerome Dickey (c.2005, Dutton), a husband deeply in love with his wife wonders if he’ll ever truly know the woman he married.
He knew that her birth name wasn’t “Genevieve”. He knew that she remade herself when she moved to California, and that this name, Genevieve - said the French way (ZHAWN-vee-EV) – indicated the sort of woman she wanted to be. She was a doctor now, with a surname taken from a magazine. People know her as Dr. Genevieve Forbes. She is his wife.
He wants so much from her; love, children, companionship. He wants intimacy. He wants to love her, satisfy her and consume her. He wants her to have the same kind of passion for him that he has for her. He loves her, loves to watch her and loves to touch her hair and body. She’s sometimes cold to him and doesn’t respond in the way that he wants her to respond to his caress. They argue a lot, and old hurts surface.
It bothers him that she never tells him of her past. He knows only that she lost her parents, that her mother was murdered. He lost his own mother to a car accident when he was small, so he knows the pain that Genevieve feels, the pain of being an orphan. He aches to know more about this woman to whom he’s married.
When a phone call comes from near Birmingham, Alabama, he and Genevieve must travel to the funeral of the woman who raised her. On a rainy night in a genteel Alabama hotel, he meets her sister, Kenya, who gives him what Genevieve can not: intimacy. Passion. And more unanswered questions, causing him to look deep inside his own secret life.
“Genevieve” starts out with an explosion and goes uphill from there. Genevieve is hiding something shameful, and while you feel bad for The Husband (he never really gets a name), you know that his frustration is going to make him do something he’s going to regret. There were times, however, that I thought he complained too much, but just before I got completely tired of his whining, author Dickey gives his character a nice little twist that hands The Husband reason to snivel.
There is explicit sex in this book, but that’s no reason to keep it secret. No matter who you are or who you want to be, “Genevieve” is a good read.
My name is Shene Peoples hope you like the poem
I wrote it just for you lol.... just kidding
I wanted ta tell u that i just finished your book "Genevieve"
And my gosh you are a talented man wow!!!!!
Cant wait ta read the next 1...... oh and i live in Fresno calif
Beautifully he lies beside me
Rubbing against my African tanned
Physique
Gripping my urban curving waist
Kissing my
Coffee colored face
Do u feel the ripeness of my breast?
Taste
The succulence between my legs
Nectar dripping from the middle of me
Running down my legs like
Sweet honey
I touch what u see
Do u ever wonder what its like to be me?
Beautifully we lye next to one another
Exploring each others ancient land
Close my eyes and hold your
Hand
Embrace your masculine Watch u wrath me Lock my eyes in place
I’ll never take them off u not even if u wanted me to
Mr. Dickey,
I am a 17 year old black student who loves literature, and this novel gave me more of an urge to read everything. I am really enjoying milk in my coffee, not only because of the well manner in which the story is written, not only because of the daring plot twists and page turning drama, but because you have written about what we as a society tend to avoid, but generally think about, and in several cases, become consumed in. I myself have fallen for white women on way more than one occasion, both in the United States and overseas, but I had my first open mixed relationship with a woman in Israel, and that was the first of many. The thought of a racially mixed relationship is nothing new to Israelis because all of their citizens are composed of more than one nationality. I thought nothing of dating outside of my race, but an American friend of mine that was on the trip with me found it disheartening. I met and danced and flirted with girl after girl overseas, but none of them came even close to being my color. In fact, I firmly believe that they found it more attractive and intriguing that my skin is so dark. My friend decided to call me "Jungle Fever", but not in a way with intentions of hurting me. In retrospect, those relationships that I created with those women overseas became the high points of my trip, insults or not. And right when I come back to America, I saw this book in the bookstore and became enthralled in it. It has yet to cease to amaze me at how I found this book after stepping out of a few mixed relationships and stepping into one more, almost. I just wanted to tell you that milk in my coffee is a gem, and I find it arresting that your writing style is so fluid and smooth and it continues without losing a single speck of its edge, and I want to thank you for conceiving such a novel.
Sincerely,
Jacob Stephan Wells
Rochelle & Edvadio
Two Lives
Two Hearts
One Love
How We Got Engaged:
Edvadio had always made it clear that he wanted me to be his wife but had never really proposed. We had our wedding date, reception site and church location when I said to him, 'You know you have to propose before we get married.' On July 15, 2005, he came home from work and he recited the most spectacular and creative poem. My favorite writer is Eric Jerome Dickey, so he incorporated all of Dickey's works into the poem. He said......
'You 'DRIVE ME CRAZY' and I love you with all of my heart, my mind, my body and soul. A lady that is so multidimensional and complete that you are the woman and there is no need for 'THE OTHER WOMAN', as you fulfill all of my hopes, dreams and erotic desires. We have become 'FRIENDS & LOVERS' and enjoy acting 'NAUGHTY AND NICE'. 'BETWEEN LOVERS' I want to say that when I think of you I feel like I am far far away, in a romantic little town called 'GENEIVE', holding your hand and running through an endless natural playground and dining at Cafe Noissette without a worry in the world. You are the driving force in my life and have stuck by me through thick and thin. I promise to never become a 'CHEATER' or engage in any sort of 'LIAR'S GAME'. 'SISTER SISTER' after being with you, a beautiful African Goddess, I do not ever want any 'MILK IN MY COFFEE', or any other brand of coffee for that matter. As the natural high I get from you can never be duplicated or imitated. We have stolen each other's heart and turned our surroundings into a 'THIEVES PARADISE''.
I just kept saying 'Ask me, Ask me?' Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was so genuinely beautiful and heartfelt. That's why I said 'Yes'.
I wanted to let you know what a wonderful writer you are. Your first book I read was The Other Woman, and since then (last year) I have read all your books. The characters are easy to get into and make me laugh, get angry, and cry. And you always have a few messages in your stories that are deep intellectually to make a person stop and think, not to mention the hot sex scenes – whooo!
I just finished Genevieve. At fist it was hard to get into because it reminded me of me and my ex and I didn’t even want to go there! But I had to put myself out of the story and read it for what it was. I was crying at the end! Wonderful story. You did it again! I also like your Acknowledgements - it's like you're writing to a friend. They always make me laugh. Other authors' Acknowledgements are distant.
When are you coming to Seattle?
Sherri Rew
Wed, 8 Jun 2005
Bedroom window cemeteries
Eric...
Interesting that you included this in your book.
This practice of burying the dead outside your home is not unique to Alabama.
It happens a lot in rural North Carolina near the Outer Banks where I live.
While looking for a home, I found a beautiful brick ranch house for sale. It sat in a lovely elusive setting...not a trailer at all...not a dismal scene of poverty. But, right at the east end of the house, there sat a well-kept family cemetery...complete with tall headstones that looked as if they dated back to the 1800's.
I couldn't buy this house...I couldn't even walk into it to see the house. My mind was made up on the spot - RUN AWAY!
But, this practice is not unique to the South. I used to be married to an African and it is very common for family members to be buried right on the property where they live in Africa. When I asked why, he said it had something to do with keeping the spirit of their loved one alive...forever. Keeps them a true part of the family...forever.
So, it's not a black thang...it's not a white thang. It's just a tradition thang.
A bit morbid to me...But, who am I to question tradition?
And I see you didn't either by including this traditional practice as part of your book. And what an integral part it was.
Genevieve was definitely a masterpiece. And I certainly hope you're not done writing. I've read all of your work...It's hard to believe you've written so many in what seems like such a short time. I've kept up with you since your first novel came out. I'm still anxious to see what you do next. If you decide you're done writing today, I would truly be sad, but oh so satisfied. I still read them all over and over and over again. You've left your mark in the world...that's for sure.
A fan for life...even after you've stopped writing...which I hope never happens in my lifetime.
Trina Harris
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Rochelle & Edvadio