Situations: A Book of Short Stories. - book review

Black Issues Book Review, July-August, 2002

by Lunise "QueenPen" Walters QP Publications, January 2002 $15.00, ISBN 0-971-42460-8

From hip hop to "reality" fiction

A collection of eight urban stories, Situations is the kind of real-life account that many readers can relate to. "Even though my stories are considered fiction, life inspired me to write. [There's] so much that comes with life, I can't help but write about it," says Walters.

Once she came up with the idea to write short stories, it didn't take long for her to make the decision to self publish. "I wanted the control," QueenPen says of her decision to publish Situations on her own. "I knew how it was in the recording industry, and I wanted to manage this part of my career myself."

Walters printed 5,000 copies of Situations, then she began marketing and promoting her book just about everywhere--from beauty salons to speaking at women's organizations to traditional bookstore signings. And it worked. Out less than a year, Situations is already in its second printing.

A mother of three, Walters is currently working on her first novel, tentatively titled Turmoil "It's about street life from a female perspective."