Nah'Sun: I’m a hater and proud to admit that. It’s hard to impress me. If you can impress me with whatever you’re doing consider that an accomplishment. I automatically think you suck until you prove me otherwise. I make no apologies for thinking that either. Oh yeah, I love cooking to get my mind off sex. I can hook up a mean curry salmon dish. Straight up.
If I wasn’t writing books, I would’ve done porn under the name King Horse. But that’s for
another interview.
Sistahs on Lit: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Nah'Sun: This girl I was seeing in high school lost her virginity after reading a few of my
poems. I wrote rhymes and cartoon episodes since elementary school. Writing them was cool, but
for a young lady to give me her innocence on the strength of my writing is something else. That was when I knew I was on to something. That happened years ago, but selling my first novel back in 2009 officially solidified me as an author.
I also wanna write something that’ll make people scared to put their books next to mine,
or afraid to come half assed when it comes to approaching a project. No amount of
money and fame is worth more than forcing authors to step up their pen game or
else they’ll find themselves obsolete.
Sistahs on Lit: How did you come up with your titles?
Nah'Sun: I’m a lyricist first and foremost. So I like to use wordplay for my titles. The
original title for my first novel Thick When the Chances are Slim was either going to be Thick is the New Thin or Thick and Sexy. Those titles are lame for various reasons.
I walked aimlessly around New Yorkand played alphabetical gymnastics with words I can use until I put the main plot and the title together. The story is about a skinny woman who wants to put on size, and I knew I wanted Thickand Slim in the same title. I played around with a few words until I came up with the title you now see.
“Fat Chance” is a popular saying, so I put Chance in the title. That’s why it’s Thick When the Chances are Slim since the main character’s name is also Chance.
Sistahs on Lit: What inspired you to write your first book?
Nah'Sun: Watching Back to the Future put the battery in my back to write and release a bo
At the end of the movie, George McFly told his son, Marty, after receiving the Sci-Fi novel
he’d written in the mail, “Like I’ve always told you, you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.” I took heed to that one trillion percent.
The funny thing is that a lot of people had doubted I was coming out with a book when I told them I was writing one. Then again, I don’t blame them. Everybody and their mamas tell me, “I wanna write a book,” but when it’s crunch time, they airball and miss the shot. Talk without action is a tragedy. Straight up and down.
Sistahs on Lit: When writing this story how did you come up with the concepts of the story?
Nah'Sun: A lot of people don’t know about the population of skinny women who secretly and outwardly dream of living thick. Just like how you got white folks darkening their skin by tanning. The first novel in the 3-part THICK series is Thick When the Chances are Slim that shows the heart and soul of a woman who wants to live thick.
I also think about a lot of stories and concepts that haven’t been touched on before. I don’t believe in the “there’s nothing new to write under the sun” nonsense. The mind is too powerful for that belief. That’s just a lame duck excuse for authors to not dig deep to find stories and concepts to write about.
I don’t put a cap on my creativity. I can write a story about the life of a Coke bottle and make it meaningful and entertaining.
Sistahs on Lit: What books have most influenced your life?
Nah'Sun: Comic books. Comic books saved my life. Real talk. I used to collect comic books as a shorty. They opened doors in my brain to write creatively. I wouldn’t be nearly as good of a writer if it wasn’t for comic books because they gave birth to a wild imagination I have now.
Sistahs on Lit: What would you say to someone who is on the fence about purchasing your books?
Nah'Sun: I’m not the type to convince anyone to buy my books. People already know when they want something the minute they know about it and the second they see it. I give a person my sales pitch and take it from there. If they wanna cop my books, that’s all good. I’m grateful for that. If not, I go on to the next person who may be interested.
I don’t put energy into the uncertain. Life is too short for that. You either want what I have to offer or you don’t. Simple as that.
Sistahs on Lit: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
Nah'Sun: Not really. Then again, that’s an unfair question to ask me because I really don’t read fiction anymore. They don’t do anything for me. The books I did read from new authors were carbon copies of the past. I might as well read from the masters instead of the students if that’s the case.
Everything is the same nowadays anyway. Reading other authors’ fictional work is just gonna plant the seed in my brain to subconsciously write what they’re writing. I’ll talk about how reading fictional books had damn near ruined my writing process later in this session. Overall, I read to learn, not read for entertainment.
I’m a fan of non-fiction books…something that’ll raise my mental bar high enough where angels
gotta surf my brain waves and hope they don’t wipe out.
Sistahs on Lit: What are your current projects?
Nah'Sun: I just finished the sequel to Thick When the Chances are Slim entitled Thick
in the Nick of Time. You can check out the synopsis and excerpts for both books @ www.nahsunblaze.com. I’ll save the “it’s a classic,” “it’s my best project,” “I took this one to the next level,” “it’s a rollercoaster,” and any other clichés you’ll hear from authors for a later date.
Just see for yourself and tell me whether you love or hate the book @ www.nahsunblaze.com
Sistahs on Lit: Do you see writing as a career?
Nah'Sun: Writing is already my career. It’s a profession, not a hustle. I’m 4 years deep with no
sleep and still counting. I’ve been writing since rockin’ hand me downs and eating government cheese. There’s no cheese like welfare cheese. Real talk.
Anyway… the only reason why I turned my talent into a business is to capitalize on the God’s gift
I’m blessed with. Whether rich or poor, I’m gonna write until I return to the essence.
Sistahs on Lit: What do you like to do when you are not writing?
Nah'Sun: I love people watching. Watching people is my favorite sport. That’s one of the ways I come up with certain mannerisms for my characters. I draw them from strangers I see everyday. You’ll be amazed at what you can learn from people once you find the time to sit back, observe, and analyze how people move around and interact with each other. And in some cases, interact with themselves.
Sistahs on Lit: Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?
Nah'Sun: I don’t have a favorite author. I’m a fan of books. But the one guy who stands out to me the
most is Seth “Soul Man” Ferranti. I pretty much have all his non-fiction titles from his Gorilla Convict label. I faithfully read the blogs and articles from his Gorilla Convict website, too. Good stuff.
Soul Man wrote books about the Supreme Team street organization outta South Jamaica, Queens, and other joints about real life gangsters and criminals. I like his writing style because he doesn’t bore the hell outta me. He’s good at digging for info. His work ethic is crazy because he still manages to get info about certain people and events regardless of being locked up in a federal prison.
Now that’s what I call grindin’.
If you would’ve asked me this question around 1999-2001, I’d say Donald Goines and Eric
Jerome Dickey.
Goines because of his description and grittiness, and EDJ because his books are entertaining as quick reads.
Now back to my reading fiction issue…the reason why I fell back from reading fiction is because I tried copying Goines’s and EDJ’s styles when I first started writing stories. My stories sucked because of that. They really sucked. I mean hot trash sucked.
What’s wild is that the students in the writing workshop courses I took in college loved those stories. That puzzles the hell outta me to this day. I guess those stories sucked so bad that they were good.
Sistahs on Lit: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
Nah'Sun: It doesn’t take a full moon for the beast to come out. And with that said, you can order
any of my THICK books @ www.nahsunblaze.com Or you can just hit me up @ www.facebook.com/nahsun1 to chop it up with me. It’ll cost you nothing.
Peace and Afro Grease
Nah’Sun the Great