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Julia Press Simmons is an award winning spoken word artist and playwright. Born and raised in Philadelphia Pa, she achieved critical acclaim with her debut novel Strawberry Mansion: A Philadelphia Story and is now celebrating and promoting her sophomore novel, Begonia Brown.
We were named for the flowers in Grandma's Garden. Begonias, Violets and Daisies, and much like those flowers, we were showered with a love that rivaled sunrays. We knew nothing of pain, or sorrow, or just how cruel the world could be until the day God saw fit to call Grandma home. Her heart stopped two weeks after Daisy was born. My mother smoked us homeless two weeks after that. Now with Grandma gone and mommy on a constant crack high it's up to me to keep our little family together, and you best believe I'll stop at nothing to do just that…
Begonia’s carefree world has been turned upside down. Forced to become the head of her household she has to trade her paintbrush in for a switchblade, and her love of art into a love affair with the hood. Lying, stealing, and turning tricks, Begonia will do any and everything she can to protect her sisters from the ugliness of the world. However, it just isn’t enough… When her younger sister Violet, desperate to escape the hell her life has become is seduced by an up and coming Corner boy, and their baby sister Daisy is riddled with disease that could be fatal if not cared for, Begonia is caught between the hard knocks of the streets and the nightmare of her home life.
From the critically acclaimed author of Strawberry Mansion comes the tale of Begonia Brown. Raised in the unforgiving streets of North Philadelphia, Begonia Brown is undoubtedly a product of her environment, young, ruthless, and criminally minded.
AAH: How would you describe your writing style?
JPS: I am and have always been an outliner (lol) I need to know the who, what, why, and what's going to happen in the end! I find it very hard to write at home, but I will do it when facing a deadline. After my outline is done. I tend to write in burst - taking on big chunks of the project for days at a time and then walking away when the flow is cut off or I get impatient with the story.
AAH: Tell us about your current release.
JPS: Well, Begonia Brown is the second installment of the "Philadelphia Story" series and it was released in October. Begonia Brown was hell to write. It didn't flow out of me like Strawberry Mansion, every word written was a result of some midnight struggle over coffee and borrowed cigarettes. My imagination got the best of me and I had to constantly pull back and make Begonia real. The story is about a young girl who is forced to become the head of her household after her mom's crack addiction spun out of control. It was that simple premise that made Begonia's story so hard. I had plenty of opportunities to make Begonia larger than life, but I wanted her to be real - a representation of the children that I grew up with who faced the same sad circumstances.
AAH: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
JPS: Yes I do. lol WRITE everyday! Push yourself and your craft to the limit- and when it's all said and done and you are sitting with a completed manuscript in your hand - study every book ever written on the publishing industry before you make a decision on what publishing road you will choose!
AAH: What are you reading right now?
JPS: I just Finished "Hold Love Strong," by Matthew Aaron Goodman Hands down the best book I've read this year!
AAH: What can we expect from you in the future?
JPS: A little bit of everything. A blog talk radio show, an ezine on Health and Weight loss,. a documentary on my journey as a self published author, a national tour, and -last but certainly not least- DRAMA! You can always expect heart wrenching tails of life's many trails and tribulations!
