Derrick Ferguson: Who is Seven
Steps?
Seven Steps:
Seven Steps is a original story teller. She writes Science Fiction,
Contemporary and Urban Romance.
DF: Where do you live and what do
you tell the IRS you do for a living?
SS: I live
in New Haven, Connecticut. According to the government, I am an electronic
health record specialist. But in my heart, I've always been a writer.
DF: Tell us a little something about
your background.
SS: I was
born and raised in Queens, New York and have two brothers and one sister. New
York in the 80's and 90's was an awesome place to grow up. The fashion back
then was a trip. There are many photos of me floating around in neon colors, or
with fanny packs, or skorts. I had the typical blue collar family. My father
worked full time, while my mom stayed home. We went on family vacations every
year to Disney. And, like everyone else in the 90's we video recorded
everything. That's not always a good thing. There are some VHS tapes out there
that I wouldn't mind setting fire to. But it was all fun. I had a pretty good
childhood.
DF: What were you like as a child?
SS: I like
to call myself a rebel bookworm. I cut school to hang out at the library. I
must've read a book a day back then. In addition to being a book worm, I was
also a theater geek and starred in several plays in high school. My parents
were very involved in my life. My dad took me to Waldenbooks (an old school
book store) and we hung out there for hours just reading. My mom was very invested
in my education and made sure that I was an A student. In addition to all of
this, I was a daydreamer. My head stayed in the clouds.I distinctly remember
walking around the streets of New York with no shoes (gross, I know), my jeans
on backwards and a flower painted on my face. Looking back, I wish someone
would have stopped me, but I was being me, so it's okay. I was, and still am,
very into music. My father and younger brother are both bass players and
singers, so music was very big in my house. Especially Motown music. I enjoyed
that music growing up, but once I hit the teenage years, I was big into rock
music. Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Aerosmith, Linkin Park. I'm sure my parents
thought that something was wrong with me, but, again, I was just being myself
and finding out who I was. So socially awkward kid + theater geek+ book worm =
one weird but interesting child.
DF: Do you feel that the adult you
is still in touch with that child? And does that child still influence your
writing?
SS: Definitely.
I can be a dreamer a times, but fortunately my husband reels me back down to earth.
He's very grounded, and I'm always in the clouds, but we compliment each other.
Growing up, I kept diaries, which I still refer back to from time to time. I
don't want to lose touch with who I was. A big chunk of writing is longing. The
main characters long for things. You long to move your readers’ heart. There is
a lot of longing involved. As a child, I longed for things. Acceptance,
friendship, to be part of the in-crowd. I make sure to tap back into that sense
of longing when I write, and I hope that that translates to my readers.
DF: What writers have influenced
you?
SS: Octavia
Butler's book, “Kindred” really spoke
to me. The notion of black people in science fiction was not really something
that I saw before I started reading her. I liked that I could see myself in her
story, as opposed to someone who didn't look like me. Also, Orson Scott Card's
Alvin the Maker series was influential. I love fanciful books, and his work
really fulfilled that within me. I read a lot of Shakespeare and a lot of
classic books. Doctor Doolittle, The Wizard of Oz series, Goosebumps. Anything
that sparked my imagination, I read.
DF: Are you interested in
professional and/or amateur criticism of your work?
SS: Yes. I
love all criticism of my work. It means that people are reading it.
DF: What audience are you trying to
reach with your work? Is there an audience for Seven Steps?
SS: In a
perfect world, I would love everyone to read my work. I think that the people
that would relate most to it are people who like things a little different. Not
your normal stories, that novels that spark something in you. Novels that make
you think differently. That's what I write.
DF: In what direction do you think
your work is heading?
SS: Onwards
and upwards. I would like to make writing my full time career one day.
DF: Tell us about THE SLAVE PLANET.
SS: THE SLAVE PLANET is set on the
colonized planet Venus in the distant future. Men have allowed themselves to
slip into slavery through centuries of bad decisions. After that, its left to
women to take over. The planet really flourishes after that. With men out of
the picture, women bring technology, government and education to new levels.
The drawback is, women have become more brutal, more heartless. Within all of
that is Nadira and Kiln. Kiln is Nadira's slave and, over the years, they've
fall in love. Due to the constraints of society, they have to keep their love a
secret. Eventually, they are discovered by Nadira's mother, an inter-planetary
ambassador. After that, its all down hill. Death, political intrigue, forbidden
love, defiance and redemption makes this a book that everyone should check out.
THE SLAVE PLANET is the first in a
trilogy. The first book is available on all platforms. The second book is due
to be released this summer.
DF: Tell us about BEFORE I WAKE.
SS: BEFORE I WAKE was fun to write. It is
made up of two short stories. When I got back into writing a few years ago, the
first thing that I wrote was “Playthings”.
It's based on true life events, believe it or not. One day, me and my husband
were in the supermarket, and he went to get produce while I went to get cereal.
In that split second when he disappeared around the bend of the aisle, I
thought to myself, what if he was never there at all (didn't I tell you that I
was prone to flights of fancy?). “Playthings”
is the story of, what if he was never really there at all. Its a great story.
Very much like The Twilight Zone, Unsolved Mysteries, and The X Files.
“The Cottage” was the second short story that I
wrote. I was listening to “Ordinary Day”
by Vanessa Carlton and this story just came to me. What if all of these crazy
beautiful things happened, and it was all just a dream? “The Cottage” is a beautiful period piece and I am very proud of it.
DF: You’ve got a story in the A
DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE STORY anthology. Tell us about it.
SS: A DIFFERENT KIND OF LOVE STORY was
put together by writer\publisher Riiva Williams. I networked with her on
Facebook and was so happy when she put out the call for this anthology. I
donated an expanded version of “The
Cottage” to this anthology.
DF: Where do you see Seven Steps in
five years?
SS: With
twenty (20) or more books under her belt and going strong.
DF: Any projects you’re working on
that you can tell us about?
SS: Yes. I
am working on THE CIVIL WAR, the
sequel to THE SLAVE PLANET. That is
coming out at the end of the summer. I also have THE LAST ROCK KING releasing this fall. It is a contemporary rock
star romance.
DF: What’s a typical Day In The Life
of Seven Steps like?
SS: I like
to joke and tell people that my middle name is struggle. I wake up around 4:30AM
and write. Around 6 or so I wake up my daughter and get her to school by 7:30.
I then try to do some more writing until 8:30. Then I'm at work at 9:30. After
work it's all family stuff, dinner, that kind of stuff. Its definitely a grind.
One day, I hope that I will be able to write full time.
Derrick Ferguson: Anything else
you’d like to tell us?
Seven
Steps: I am active on social media. You can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com\SevenStepsAuthor
or on my website at www.sevenstepsauthor.com. I enjoy linking up with new
people, so let's connect. The link to my book is:
https://www.amazon.com/Slave-Planet-Sci-Fi-Interracial-Romance-ebook/dp/B01DWC4HZ6
