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We recently caught up with author Antwuan Jackson to talk
about his new book, The Price. Currently broken down into
two parts, The price follows Dwight, who is questioning his
current relationship because of mounting issues related to
family, gossip, and much more. Come along as we chat with
Antwuan about this story, how it so closely relates to his
own life, and how he was able to overcome it all.
Urban Grandstand Digital: How are things going with the
book right now?
Antwuan Jackson: It’s going pretty good. I’m getting very good
feedback. I appreciate you guys for having me as well.
antwuan jackson
Antwuan Jackson: That’s the one thing I tried to do, moreso
than anything, was figure out what I needed to do once the
project was finished. The press releases, so on, and so forth. A
lot of times, we have good product, especially as black people,
but don’t know how to promote it. I made sure I researched
that all from day one.
Urban Grandstand Digital: What has promo been like for
you, given the fact you are self published?
Antwuan Jackson: I did a lot of reading up on it. I mailed my
books out to a lot of people. You don’t want to depend on
doing everything via email. You want to get that hard copy out.
I did both.
Urban Grandstand Digital: Has it been difficult for you, being you’re doing it on your own?
Antwuan Jackson: In a sense of not having the connects in the
beginning, you’re hungry for it to really get out there, especially
when you know you have a really good story. The storyline for
me, I wrote from personal standpoint.
Urban Grandstand Digital: I definitely want to get more
into that personal aspect and how your life plays into the
story. One of the key things to note is that it really is a
good story. How does it all reflect on your life?
Antwuan Jackson: The reflection of it is what I saw once I was
mature enough to understand. When you’re young, you don’t
really pay attention to your girl like you should. I couldn’t tell
you birthdays, favorite colors, or anything. I didn’t pay attention to that stuff, but one thing I saw they all have in common
was the need to vent to family and friends. They don’t realize
it makes the relationship that much more difficult. They was to
give you input even though they’re not in it. My main pet peeve
was whenever something was going on in the relationship, my
girlfriend would go back and tell family members, but then
want to invite you to family functions and it felt like an all eyes
on me situation. It was embarrassing.
Urban Grandstand Digital: That’s universal for a lot of guys.
Do you think it’s realistic that younger guys are going to be
that serious in a relationship anyway? Like this is all kinda
normal, unfortunately.
Antwuan Jackson: You’re right, it is normal, which is sad. The
girls mature faster than us anyway, and we’re not ready. It’s just
kinda how we’re all programmed and built, you know, from a
male vs a female. It was weird, that it was back to back girls I
was meeting, and thinking the next girl wouldn’t be like that. A
year and a half later, they would be doing the same things. As I
got older, I realized they were all alike, and I just needed to find
one I was willing to put up with.
Urban Grandstand Digital: But obviously, that’s the cycle
though. How do you escape that, or get away from that?
Antwuan Jackson: I think it’s just about finding one you love so
much that you’re willing to deal with it. Many times, you’re in a
relationship and she’s telling all the business, but she’s lacking
in other areas. It’s like you got to pick a struggle (laughing). I
based the book around a storyline that I felt was really