Omar Tyree - Author Spotlight - Interview

Author OMAR TYREE is a young writer on a mission. He wants to create the "urban classics of Omar Tyree." The 33-year-old writer's goal is to build "a whole shelf of Omar Tyree classics, and that way you'll never be able to ignore what I've done during this period."

It would be difficult to not notice the best-selling author of Flyy Girl and Just Say No! He has earned a reputation for creating smart, tough, and believable leading characters. Married and the father of two young sons, Tyree grew up in Philadelphia. A Howard University journalism graduate, he initially studied pharmacy--his mother is a pharmacist--but found he had "no passion" for that discipline. His passion was in writing, and by the time he graduated from Howard, he had already finished two books, including, Flyy Girl, one of his best-known books. With help from family and money he saved, he self-published his books and began to distribute them at local bookstores and book fairs. In 1995 he was signed to a publishing house and has released a new book every year since.

In his ninth novel, LESLIE (Simon & Schuster, $21), he offers a 19-year-old protagonist, who is the intelligent daughter or a wealthy, Haitian father. When the father loses his job, plunging the family into poverty, Leslie responds violently. The book is a modern horror story with social commentary on the effects of poverty. But it's not horror with special effects, it's real. "The classic horror is about how real life can be," he says. "That's what really freaks people out."

EBONY: Do you have a set time to write?

OT: I'm a morning person. I take my sons to school and get back about 9 a.m. I answer e-mail and then I jump right into work and work until I have to pick up my sons. If l feel energetic and the ideas are just flowing, I'll get back on the computer about 10 p.m. and work another

couple of hours.

EBONY: Do you write in longhand or do you use a computer?

OT: I always use a Macintosh computer. I use the new G4 Mac. I jot down notes and outlines by hand, but then go back to the computer and punch it in there.

EBONY: What's your favorite of your own books?

OT: My favorite is always the newest one, because I put my heart and soul into everything that has my name on it.

EBONY: What is it about the character Leslie that made you want to write this book?

OT: I had the idea since 1995. I wanted to write a story about a dysfunctional family and poverty and stress and a girl who snaps out of it all. I wanted to talk about Black girls and the effects of poverty. Leslie is an intelligent daughter, but she's just at the end of her rope. Once she starts to respond, it gets addictive. Black girls don't get the basketball, football, rap and boxing contracts. Even the drug dealers are mostly men. You don't hear about women selling drugs. For the most part, they are the ones stressed out on drugs and in poverty. Women are taking the worst end of this situation, so I said let me take this Leslie character and see how dangerous the situation will be if we don't deal with it.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group