Change For A Dollar author Aaron Verblekent Bebo

I do not think that I am alone when I say that there is nothing more sexy than a well read man, besides a man that also writes. I once heard that black men don't read and for the longest I thought that stereotype was true because I never met a man that enjoyed the written word as much as I do. That is until I broadened my circle and met men that not only read, but also men who write.
In today's blog I bring you the man with a pen, author of urban fiction hit, Change For A Dollar, Aaron Bebo!

First things first where are you from?
I am from New York, I lived in the Capitol until around age fifteen then moved to The Bronx.

Who are some of your favorite authors?
I have a lot. I am a fan of Sidney Sheldon, Jackie Collins, Iceburg Slim, Alice Walker, Rayven Skyy, Donald Goines, Fabiola Joseph, Nikki Turner, Treasure Blue, Al Saadiq Banks, Walter Mosely, K’wan Foye, Julia Press Simmons. I like a lot of authors I am a love of reading before I am an author.

How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing all my life. I started writing poems and short stories at a young age, I had a huge imagination. I eventually started writing song lyrics; and need a larger forum for my over-all expression led me to writing novels, along with the spark that was brought back in to urban fiction while I was going through this transitional faze, the books were so closely related to the lifestyle I was writing about for music it was almost a smooth transition.

What prompted you to begin a literary career?
Well once I begin writing and completed my first novel I reached out to someone in the industry, and was met with warm reception, once that happened I started getting more serious about learning craft so I could improve on my writing.

What is one of the most suprising things about the literary world?

This is solely my opinion. I think that the comprehensive component is lacking from both the readers and authors. I grew up reading all types of writing, I think that a large portion of the literary community were swept in on a wave of trend for the genre, I’m not saying these people weren’t readers before the urban fiction craze picked back up in the late nineties, but I am saying they weren’t reading as much and certainly not the content that they are reading now. In that it is my opinion that it makes them subjective as readers, because they are only searching for a certain type of content when they read, as oppose to reading for the purpose of pleasure, they moreso pleasure reading, looking for hot spots in books that contain the content they’re most intrigued with. It takes away pieces of substance to the academics of reading. Concerning the authors I am not sure at times if authors don’t know or just don’t care about craft. Because a genre allows you to bend the rules of writing to a small degree of expression it is not to be taking out of context, some books in the genre are just written in a manner as if there is a conversation going on curbside in front the corner store! I am by no means perfect, but I am learned and show great signs for growth. To me books and writing is about education if you are going to offer the people something in that arena at least first be educated on what it is you are presenting. I think that writers should stretch those laws but not so far as to the point that they can’t be put back in place when presented to another audience. I apologize for being long winded here, but really the things I described above really surprise me especially in an industry whose root is based around education.

 Why did you choose to self-publish?
Well once I learned about self publishing I figured it would be a better route to get to the major companies by having a finished product to show them. My debut ‘Change For A Dollar was only supposed to be printed to shop around, but I used createspace and they automatically upload for sale once you approve your proofs. It started selling and I just ran with it, also publishing had began changing and ebooks were becoming more popular, opening up the market for the independent to reach the same masses as the majors through web channels. So it became a question of do I really need the majors to achieve enough success to constantly build. I’ll always self publish even if I was to sign a major deal, I would never allow them to take away my right to self publish.

What is one thing that you would change about the literary world and why?
I’d just want to see more unity and structure, because without it there will be chaos. I will say before the ebooks there were many more guidelines in place. Structure.

So I've heard some rave reviews about your book Change For A Dollar can you tell us a little about it?
CFAD is a story about transition and the way it effects a group of individuals living in the street life. It is a real serious tale that is told in true fashion of the streets in vivid detail without all the over the edge props it’s just a real story. I would suggest all that love the genre go out and get it so they can really see what I’m talking about.

 What is next for Arron Verbalkent Bebo?
My next immediate release is Author Wives is a fictional look at urban fiction and really just the AA role in publishing on a whole, the FB interaction, the blog talk shows, the different personalities. It was just something I came up with after seeing all the hype for the reality shows and viewing the structure in our industry, there is something in there for anyone that is a part of this community authors and readers alike. Although the title is Author Wives it is not concentrating on any one relationship as much as the characters and the industry they are in.

Where can readers find your books?
My titles are Change For A Dollar, Boo Thang (collaboration with LaTonya West), Areas of Grey, On The Green, Accidental Nut, Mischievous. They are all available @ amazon.com

Thank you Aaron! If you would like to connect with Aaron via Facebook
click the following link: http://www.facebook.com/AaronVERBALKENTBebo