Pamela Samuels Young's Page

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Meet Author Pamela Samuels Young

Pamela Samuels Young is a practicing attorney and author of the thrillers, Murder on the Down Low, and the Essence bestsellers, Every Reasonable Doubt and In Firm Pursuit. A desire to see engaging African-American and female attorneys depicted in today's legal fiction prompted her to begin writing despite a busy legal career. Every Reasonable Doubt won the Black Expressions Book Club's Fiction Writing Contest and In Firm Pursuit was nominated for Best African-American Novel of 2007 by Romantic Times Book Reviews. Pamela is an adjunct professor at the University of Redlands School of Business and a graduate of the University of Southern California, Northwestern University, and the University of California Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. The Compton native and former journalist is the legal columnist for Global Woman magazine and served as legal consultant to the Showtime television series Soul Food. She is a frequent speaker on the topics of writing and self-empowerment. Visit Pamela's website at www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com.


Pamela brings BAN inside a writer's world...

Welcome book lovers! The Black Authors Network has been blessed with an interview with bestselling author Pamela Samuels Young. Pamela shared with us her writer's journey, her favorite things and tips for new authors. BAN members and book lovers, read on for the latest news from one of today's brightest literary stars!

Ella Curry, producer of the The Black Authors Network Radio Show
Visit us 3 times per week at: http://www.edc-creations.com/banhome.html

BAN:: Pamela, tell us what motivated you to write your new book Murder on the Down Low.

( Listen to an audio introduction of Murder on the Down Low here )

==I often have a hard time recalling exactly when or how the idea for a particular novel originated. For the most part, the ideas simply pop into my head from some unknown place. That's not the case with Murder on the Down Low. I have a crystal clear recollection of watching an Oprah show featuring J.L. King, author of On the Down Low. As I listened to his insider's account of the mindset of men on the down low, I was completely stunned. My emotions went from shock to anger to fear. The next day, while driving to work, the concept of a killer who targets men on the down low, popped into my head.

Writing Murder on the Down Low gave me an opportunity to both entertain and raise awareness about how HIV/AIDS is impacting the African-American community, African-American women in particular. While African-American and Latina women make up 24% of the U.S. population, we account for more than 80% of the total AIDS diagnoses for women. It's my hope that Murder on the Down Low helps people understand that HIV is not a gay disease. Until we take our heads out of the sand, it's going to continue to devastate our community.


BAN:: Pamela, let's get a little history on you. Where are you from? What is your favorite book? Introduce us to Pamela, the person beyond writing.
==I grew up in Compton, California, which gave me a very grounded perspective on life. When I mention my hometown, people automatically assume that I dodged bullets on the way to school every day. But it was nothing like that. I had two strong, hard-working parents, who still live in Compton today. The foundation they laid – faith in God, hard work and education – is responsible for who I am and what I have achieved.

I'm an avid reader who enjoys reading both commercial and literary fiction. I enjoy a broad spectrum of writers, so it's impossible for me to pick a favorite book. But if there's one book that impacted me more than any other, it would have to be Claude Brown's Manchild in the Promised Land. I can still remember stumbling across a copy of the book at my aunt's house when I was about twelve. It was the first book I remember reading that had African-American characters and I was thrilled to be reading about people who looked like me. It was also a very gritty and graphic coming of age story. I promptly "borrowed" the book without asking for permission for fear that my aunt would think I was too young to be reading such a sexually graphic book. After that, I developed an insatiable appetite for African-American fiction. That led me to James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Richard Wright, Toni Morrison and many, many other great writers.


BAN:: How did you feel when you saw your book on the shelf for the first time?
==I still have a very vivid memory of seeing Every Reasonable Doubt on the shelf at the Barnes and Noble near my home in February 2006. I went to the store on the book's scheduled release date, not really expecting to find it. My stepson and I searched the shelves but couldn't find it. I was about to leave, but decided to, ask for it at the reception desk. To my delight, the clerk found it and led us to the book. I just stood there staring at it. So much blood, sweat and tears led me to this point. My stepson took out his cell phone and snapped a picture of me holding the book. And just as I started to started to tear up, he promptly warned me not to embarrass him by crying in the store.

BAN:: Pamela, what is your proudest writer moment?
==Getting unsolicited praise for my novels. More than a few friends have met others who raved to them about my books, not knowing that they knew me. For example, a friend was talking to someone she'd just met at a bar and the subject of good books came up. My friend was about to tell the woman about my book, but the woman beat her to it.


BAN:: What's the best advice you were given about writing?
==During my pre-published days, a writing instructor told me to outline a novel like mine and study the story structure. That significantly improved my writing. I outlined John Grisham's novel, The Firm. I immediately understood how the story came together and could see the work that my novel needed in terms of story structure.


BAN:: What business challenges have you faced as a writer?
==I spent way too much money on printed promotional materials for my first book. All you really need are a great website, some nice bookmarks and, if you can afford it, some posters for bookstores. I would love to do more travel to meet with more book clubs and readers. But unfortunately, I only have so many frequent flyer miles.


BAN:: Pamela, how do you spend your free time?
==Free time? What's that? Writing is how I spend my free time and I love every minute of it. I still work part-time as a lawyer and when I'm not at work, I'm usually someplace writing – be it at home, the library or the nearest Starbucks. Sometimes I write early in the morning before work, other times I'm up until one or two in the morning typing away on my laptop. My most productive writing time is when I can get away from home and lock myself in my timeshare in Palm Desert for a weekend. When I'm in that environment, the writing is non-stop. When I'm writing, I'm happy.

Pamela thank you for taking time to share with the BAN members. Good Luck on the new book promotions. You bring the African American literary community a new style of books to get our voices heard. I want to tell you that BAN appreciates all that you do to show the AA writer in a new light. We look forward to meeting you on the air!

Ella Curry
Founder of the Black Authors Network Media Group-- eTV, Internet Radio and eMagazine
Explore The Black Authors Network for more literary news!



Purchase your copy on Murder on the Down Low Today!

Watch the Book Trailer for Murder on the Down Low

Read excerpt of Murder on the Low
http://www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com/book-mdl/index.html