❤Author Interview: Drama Author Damone Bester

Damone Bester was born and raised on Chicago’s Southside to blue-collar parents who were married 49 years, and one older brother, whose backyard scuffles taught Damone one lesson: “Never quit.” He wasn’t just a student at Mendel; he lived and breathed “Blue Smoke,” the mantra of his track team brethren. A brief conversation with another Mendel alum stoked the fire to pen his first novel about the school he so loved.

Damone is an author, poet, aspiring screenwriter, and voiceover artist. He has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Illinois State University and has spent most of his profession in the Social Services sector. He currently lives in the Twin Cities area and enjoys fishing, bowling, basketball (watching, not playing), bean bags, and bragging about his nephew and nieces.

You can visit his website at www.DamoneBester.com or connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Thanks for stopping by! What attracted you to the drama genre? 

My book is a coming of age, young adult fictional story but the genre is Drama, for sure. I guess I’ve always loved seeing many different ways to

overcome adversity. I think its relatable as every person alive has had to deal with some sort of “drama.” And, we’ve had to discover a way to live through it, tackle it, succumb to it, whatever we do or don’t do with it, drama is here to stay. All we have to do is live long enough.
Drama will find us.

Do you write in any other genres? 

Drama is my favorite. Yet, I do also like and write Action and Supernatural Thrillers. I want to try my hand at Comedy someday, but it scares the life out of me.

What inspired you to write MENDEL? 

I love track and field. And, I love movies.

The inspiration for Mendel came about after one of my best friends from high school and I were reminiscing over our “glory days” running track together. We discussed how there were so many movies and books about baseball, football, basketball, even hockey, but there weren’t any that we could think of about track. One of the most popular sports on the highest stage of the Olympics was track and field and we couldn’t readily name one movie or book about it. The closest we could think of was the awesome film, Cool Runnings that had a sliver of track scenes. So, from that conversation, the idea of Mendel came about in the year of 2009.

Can you give us your book blurb so others can find out what your book is about?

Imagine the mid 1980’s, last day of school, summer break. A teen rushes to meet his mother, who is being released from the hospital after cancer surgery. When the teen arrives, he finds out his mother is dead, but his ex-gangbanging dad, who has been in jail the last seven years, is at the hospital ready to take the teen home.

Mendel, is a coming-of-age story about a senior at Chicago’s legendary Mendel High who must learn how to forgive as he navigates life without his mother. Things come to a head when the teen accidentally finds his mom’s diary. In the journal, he discovers his mother’s dreams of becoming a collegiate track star were derailed due to getting pregnant with him. To honor his mother, he joins Mendel’s track team and excels, but before he can cash in on any scholarship offers, his father’s thuggish past catches up with them when a gun toting nemesis comes seeking revenge. The
teen must decide between saving his own life or sacrificing it all to save his
estranged father.

How can readers discover more about you and your work? 

You can visit me at.... www.damonebester.com

Where can readers buy your book? 

You can pick up a copy of my book at... www.damonebester.com, www.amazon.com,
www.barnesandnoble.com, www.indiebound.org, www.target.com,
www.bookdepository.com, www.walmart.com. Can also be picked up as EBook on Kindle. And, Mendel the audiobook will be coming out soon. Read by the author.

Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview. What’s next for you? 

I will be working on the sequel to Mendel.