Today we’d like to introduce you to Cori Sykes.
Cori, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started writing when I was a little girl. I’d write short stories on the back of my old school notebooks in the summer and then toss the entire notebook. Many writers say they always knew they wanted to be a writer, but that wasn’t necessarily the case for me. In my naivete, I didn’t even know that writing could be a career choice. In fact, I wanted to be a pediatrician because I had a younger brother that died when he was an infant. That idea lasted up until high school.
Fast forward to 2006/2007. I’m in college for my accounting degree and instead of taking notes, I’m writing the next chapter in my novel. Except back then, I didn’t realize I was writing my first novel. I was just writing a story, similar to the stories I’d write on the backs of my notebooks. But this time, the story didn’t end. I wrote and wrote and wrote until I ran out of paper. Once I realized I’d written a book I tried to go the traditional publishing route, submitting my novel to various literary agents. No one took the bait. No one gave feedback as to how to make it better.
I felt lost and somewhat defeated so I gave up on it ever being published. It wasn’t until 2011 that my now husband suggested that I self-publish my book, which I had titled, “The Red in Her EYES.” I did a little research and found a self-publishing company and in November 2011, my book was released. I was officially living the dream.
“The Red in Her EYES” was followed up in 2015 by the release of my second novel, “Nothing She Imagined.” The years after that were rough so I basically stopped writing. I’d gotten married, met my birth father and biological brothers, miscarried a baby, birthed a baby, worked through postpartum depression, my dog died, and I also lost my mother unexpectedly.
The death of my mother was what sparked me to start writing again because I felt like I had to tell her story. I took a month off of work to complete the process, often venturing to different places to write. But none of them felt right. They were either too drafty, the seats were too cold, there was too much noise, or the ambiance wasn’t right. So I set out to open a writer’s space, Write and Vibe, that would open in 2020. We all know why I, obviously, did not open my writer’s space in 2020.
However, I did pivot that idea later in the year by deciding to publish a book by my friend, Valencia Joy. That could be done safely and so it was a win. Her book, “I Met a Guy,” was released in December 2020 and my publishing company was born. Since then, five more books have been released under the Write and Vibe imprint and I am thankful to also, still be writing.
I later removed “The Red in Her EYES” from publication, rewrote the plot, gave the characters some depth, and released it with a new title, “Just Like Old Times.” That title is the first book in The Dalton Family Series and it won 2nd Place in The BookFest Awards for Urban Romance and was a finalist in The Best Book Awards for the same category. If you love spicy books that showcase Black charismatic men and successful women, you won’t be disappointed. As I like to say, I write real life with a scoop of spice. I also removed “Nothing She Imagined” from publication and am rewriting that. It will be the second in The Dalton Family Series. Lastly, you can read “Sync” only on Kindle Vella. It’s an episodic series you can read for free. It has MUCH more spice and the characters include an ex-husband, a man named Law, and a woman trying to find herself.
I also write children’s books under my late mother’s name, Karen Mae. Currently, there are two books, “Curiously Cara Meets Pharaoh Hatshepsut” and “Curiously Cara Meets Queen Amanirenas.” The book on Hatshepsut placed 3rd in The BookFest Awards for Children’s Nonfiction-People and Places.
It has been an extremely long journey, one that was most likely in progress before I was born, but it is a journey that had to be taken in order for me to become a true writer whose books win awards! I still can’t believe I can say that.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I don’t believe any journey goes along a smooth road. If it does, can one appreciate it? I’ve gone through personal struggles during my journey that caused me to just breakdown. I’ve gone through creative struggles where I questioned my talent. Because, if talent is judged by how many books I’ve sold or how many people loved my book, and I’ve sold less than 100 books and am making pennies from each sale, does that mean I am a bad writer? And if I am, should I keep inputting effort?
There were also industry struggles where I wanted nothing more than to be signed by a big publishing company because that would mean I could say, “Mama, I made it.” But there were more restrictions keeping talented Black writers out of these companies than anyone could recognize.
Singularly, any of those struggles is enough to make anyone quit. Put them all together and you can understand why it is difficult to be a writer. But writers persevere. We’re the ones that make people love or hate movies. Our words are why people can quote the lyrics of a song twenty years later. Writers are magical and if we see ourselves as such, and remember the magic in the journey, then we can view the bumps along the way as things that make our stories even more incredible.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My answer isn’t necessarily about me and what I do, but rather the writer as a whole. Writers work extremely hard to create stories out of thin air. It can take months or years to create a work that is only sold for $15 or $20 and on top of that, we can spend upwards of $1000 to create it. Please support your author friends. Share their posts. Buy their books for a friend if it’s not a good fit for you. Sometimes authors want to see their books on the big screen but we can’t do that without grassroots movements from friends and family, especially if we don’t have the backing of big time publishers. Believe me, a little support goes a long way and is appreciated more than you know.
What do you think about luck?
I don’t believe in good or bad luck. Sure, I’ve had bad times, but those times have made me into the person I am today. I do believe in divine intervention and following what God tells me to do, though. That has led to me being in the right place at the right time, which has led to the publication of my books and the introduction of Write and Vibe. Without everything in my past, I’d have nothing.
Pricing:
- Write and Vibe Books start at $7.99
- Used Books start at $5
- Apparel starts at $18.99
- Accessories start at $14.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.
chichimacherry.com - Instagram: instagram.com/
chichimacherry and instagram. com/author.chi - Other: https://writeandvibe.
com
Image Credits
Lamar Sykes
