FEATURED AUTHOR: David Rivera

David begins and ends his days with one prayer:

May the evil man be good.
May the good man find peace.
May he who finds peace be free; and,
May he who is free make others free."

David Rivera Jr., has been writing short stories for his own entertainment since high school. He has been inspired by the writings of the contemporary black male writers that have emerged in the past few years.

His first book, Harlem's Dragon, has been met with great enthusiasm by other writers – most notably by Zane, as well as literary critics. In a recent interview, David admitted that the sex scenes depicted in his writings are taken from some of his personal experiences and enhanced for the entertainment of his readers. He enjoys the erotic writing of Anne Rice and hopes to master a full spectrum of writing genres just as she has. As a man of color, David has taken on the task of showing African American men in a more positive light in his writing. He believes that every black man has the responsibility of contributing something of worth to his community. The proof that he is doing his share becomes apparent in his writing.

David, the youngest of three siblings, was born in the old Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx on January 14, 1965. He grew up in the South Bronx and graduated from Norman Thomas High School located in midtown Manhattan in 1982. David has lived in Harlem for the past 20 years. He holds a Bachelors degree in Sociology and a Masters of Science degree in Public Administration.

PLAYING IN THE DARK:

Beautiful women, seductive men and saged priestesses are intriguing characters used to spin this urban legend of seduction, sex and suspense. Return to Harlem, NYC to experience Playing in the Dark, The Emptiness that Love Brings -- another must read erotic thriller by David Rivera, Jr., author of Harlem's Dragon and The Street Sweeper.

The irresistibly sexy, Chemah Rivers is in pursuit of a ruthless killer whose sole purpose is to destroy the highly celebrated NYC detective. The ensuing chase blazes an international path of deception and destruction strewn with broken bodies and souls. There are no limits to the quest for ultimate possession, including using those Chemah holds most dear as pawns in this deadly game of cat and mouse.

From the opening seduction to the final love scene, Playing in the Dark is a cover-to-cover read - sure to keep new readers up well past their bedtimes and draw avid Chemah fans deeper into the Dragon's den

What would you like your readers to take away from your book?

I want my readers to feel like they’ve just returned from a mini-vacation – relaxed and generally in a good mood. Although you can find different meanings in my stories, I write purely for entertainment purposes. I want my stories to give readers with a good excuse to kick back, take a deep breathe and live vicariously through normal people placed in very abnormal situations. I want my readers to have a cathartic experience – having the opportunity and space to laugh out loud, cry tears, and most importantly want to make love.

Can you tell us about Chemah Rivers and what inspired him?

Chemah was inspired by my desire to recast men of color in a positive light through urban literature. I was careful not to make him “a dream” or “perfect” – because, as men … we just aren’t. Although he struggles with age-old issues of manhood, fatherhood and brotherhood, he’s innovative in his thought and approach to these issues. He’s a 21st century superhero – fighting bad guys at all hours of the day and night, while finding time to brush his daughter’s ponytails, be a role model for his son and a sensitive partner to his lady.

What did you learn while writing this book?

In my previous books, I didn’t do a whole lot of research. With this book, I spent a lot of time researching various aspects of the story. I was very deliberate in my attempt blur fact and fiction as much as possible. The results of the research greatly enhanced the overall imagery in the book.

What is the hardest part about the writing business?

Maintaining the creative edge – although the genres stay the same the challenge is to remain relevant to everyday life which changes constantly. What’s funny today may not be funny tomorrow.

What one thing about writing do you wish other non-writers would understand?

Writing is a process – it’s not as easy as it looks.

What marketing have you found that particularly works well for you?

Word of mouth

Book Club Discussions and Appearances – I will readily visit any book club that invites me.

What are three things you wish you’d known before you reached where you are now?

I really didn’t know anything about the business of writing so I am still on a really steep learning curve. If I have to narrow down to three things, they would be:

1. Fortune does not come with fame – I’ve been a lot of different places where people recognize me, ask me for my autograph and even take pictures with me, but I haven’t made any money yet.

2. Writing for publishing purposes is a purely entrepreneurial undertaking and should be approached with the same level of professionalism and effort as managing and operating your own business.

3. Each project feels like your definitive work – while you’re working on it. When the project is finished, then you feel as though you could have done better and that you will do better the next time. There’s always “the next time.”

This month our theme is Men In Fiction. Can you give us five male authors you read?

Walter Mosley, Paulo Coelho, Stephen King, Dan Brown, John Grisham

Do you have any advice for the aspiring writer?

Writing is a creative process that takes extraordinary discipline. Set aside one hour a day and do nothing but write. Be exact about what time you will begin and end – if you go over the time, that’s fine. You should write without any expectations, sometimes you won’t get what you want – you might only get a sentence, you might write 20 pages, but end up with only three sentences, but those may end up being the most important three sentences in the book.

If you don’t write something, you’ll always have writer’s block.

How can readers get in contact with you?
Direct email address: setodavid@aol.com

Website: davidriverajr.com