Russel Vann, today's featured guest, was born in the South Bronx in the late sixties to a drug-addicted mother, who didn’t know who his father was. Russel's writing journey began as a form of therapy, but evolved over time to convey this concept to the world:
The current situation neither determines nor defines the final destination - you do.
Regardless of what a person has been through, or where they came from, Russel found that all of us are haunted by fears and worries, are longing love and acceptance, deal with heartbreaking disappointments and have mountainous challenges to climb. He hopes that his memoir series will help readers through their various challenges. Find Russel on Facebook, and Amazon or drop by his main website: http://wwwghettobastard.com
A: My wife is very supportive and has been since the start. I have three grown children who still have to experience life so sometimes the truth is hard for them to bear. On the surface it seems like they were accepting and supportive but I know subconsciously, they hold resentments about truths that were told about family members. Therefore, to create pure transparency, I have to break a few eggs.
Q: Do you have someone to go to for advice or comfort when you are stressed? (mentor, life or business coach, friend)
Q: Do you have someone to go to for advice or comfort when you are stressed? (mentor, life or business coach, friend)
My wife and I have our "safe space" where any and everything is discussed. I've been with her since I was 15 years old and I am 55 years old now. I trust her advice, her criticism and her character.
Q: What conflict resolution tips can you pass on to our audience today?
A: That seems like a hard question but I've learned with time and experience to try as much as possible to stay away from all negative people. When it's absolutely necessary to be in their presence, try to have the least amount of interaction with them as possible. I don't argue with people. We can have a discussion and exchange opinions however, any time an interaction between two people turns into verbal disrespect, you should would walk away. One thing people fail to understand is that everyone has a right to say what they want to say as it is granted to them in the constitution, but you don't have to listen.
Q: What do you want to accomplish with your books?
Q: What do you want to accomplish with your books?
A: I would like to humanize the aftermath of the 70% of "out of wedlock" births in the Black community. In the urban communities they are called Ghetto Bastards, which is the title of my book. What I want to bring attentionn to is that a vast majority of our fatherless children wind up in the prison industrial complex system, drug addicted, dead before their time, or are destined to repeat the cycle of creating more fatherless children.
Q: Do you feel that feeling emotions on a deep level helps, or hinders, writers?
Q: Do you feel that feeling emotions on a deep level helps, or hinders, writers?
A: Yes, it helps because my books are memiors. When I write, I have to draw from my past. I understand what I was feeling but, by putting it down on paper, I have to understand what others were feeling with the wisdom that I have now.
Q: Do you write only non-fiction? Or are you delving into fiction, poetry ...other genres?
Q: Do you write only non-fiction? Or are you delving into fiction, poetry ...other genres?
A: As of now, everything thus far have been memiors. Once I complete writing Ghetto Bastard 4, The American Dream, that will be the end of my memiors. Ghetto Bastard 5, Godly Man, will be a spiritual perspective on the previous four books. My last book, which will be my first novel, will be called Ghetto Bastard 6, What If, which will encompass the first four books with a "what if" twist. This book will delve into consequences of if I had made different or bad decisions that would have totally changed the direction of my life.
Q: What keeps you writing while getting rejection letters, a poor review or literary criticism?
Q: What keeps you writing while getting rejection letters, a poor review or literary criticism?
A: What keeps me going is that I am not doing it for financial gain. For me it has been a form of self help. For those who have purchased my books and the feedback I've received, they have received some type of therapeutic relief as well. Therefore, if it can help people, great, but I'm not looking for approval, I'm just trying to bring things to light.
Q: How did you handle uncomfortable emotional responses during the writing of this book/series? (getting through awakened trauma, feeling pain - depression)
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Q: How did you handle uncomfortable emotional responses during the writing of this book/series? (getting through awakened trauma, feeling pain - depression)
A: Well, as the saying goes - "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." - As I look at my past and the harm that has been done to me, I grow stronger because I've survived. I understand that all things had to happen for me to be in the position I'm in now.
Q: How many unpublished or half-finished writing projects are sitting on your "to-do" shelf?
Q: How many unpublished or half-finished writing projects are sitting on your "to-do" shelf?
A: As I mentioned before, I'm in the process of wring Ghetto Bastard 4, The American Dream. I'm about 50 pages into it. But for the last two, Godly man and What If, I actually have them laid out in my mind. God willing, when it's time, everything will be put forward.
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Thank you for sharing some of your experiences with our readers, Russel :)
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