Q1. Hello, please introduce yourself.
Hello, I’m Ronald Hunter, author of Angel Finally Found His Wings. I’m 64 years old. I was born and grew-up in New York City and currently reside in the Tampa Bay Florida area. I’m retired from US ARMY and American Airlines.
Many people are shocked when I tell them that I’m the youngest of 22 children but that’s only a small part of my life. Dad died when I was five years old, and mom soon went to a mental institution due to her severe schizophrenia and I went to an orphanage. After several years, she was released, and I went to live with her, but she “gave” me to a neighborhood Boy Scout Leader. Tragically, he forced me into the child prostitution sex trade in New York City by continuously blackmailing me. If caught, he promised to have my mother sent back to the mental institution. Years later, I escaped his control and started my new life.
Angel Finally Found His Wings is my story and how I survived it all. After being a part of the Oprah 200 Men Who Survived Sexual Abuse show, it inspired me to write my book.
Remember, never allow the past to define your future. I AM A SURVIVOR!
Q2. What were the key challenges you faced while writing your memoir, Angel Finally Found His Wings?
As with any writing project, I spent a lot of time determining the flow and how best to tell my story. For me, my memoir is about a horrific childhood that includes my years on 42nd Street in New York City as a child prostitute. Writing my memoir forced me to relive many difficult times. There were numerous times I put the pen down because I needed time to further process what happened to me. In fact, writing Angel Finally Found His Wings took 13 years to complete.
Additionally, there was so much to tell, I had to structure the memoir so that I didn’t overwhelm the reader to the point they would put the book down. I purposedly did not want to sensationalize my story nor embellish it.
Q3. What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
John Knowles A Separate Piece
John Steinbeck Of Mice and Men
James Frey A Million Little Pieces
James Baldwin Giovanni’s Room
Q4. What’s your favorite spot to visit in your own country? What makes it special to you?
New York City because it’s where most of my life took place. I can reconnect to places and streets. It’s therapeutic because I visit places and try to understand how they played a part in my life.
Q5. What inspired you to write Angel Finally Found His Wings?
For years, my friends and family that knew my story encouraged me to write Angel Finally Found My Wings. But it wasn’t until I was part of Oprah’s 200 Men That Survived Sexual Abuse Show, that I began writing. That experience opened my eyes to the amount of pain and suffering that victims of sexual abuse have and the daily struggle they live with each day. Yes, others and I were victimized but I’m a survivor and I saw the real need for others to see themselves as a survivor and not a victim.
Angel Finally Found His Wings was written so that other survivors have a voice through me, and I want them to know we’re not broken, we can love and be love and we can trust others.
Q6. How long did it take to write Angel Finally Found His Wings?
A total of 13 years but that does not mean I wrote continuously for 13 years. There were numerous times I took a break from it to emotionally get to a better place. In fact, I wouldn’t write for a year or two. I had to seek the professional help I needed to move forward.
Q7. On what platforms can readers buy Angel Finally Found His Wings?
It can be purchased on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as a hardcover, paperback, or Kindle as well as many other sites both here in the USA and internationally. The audiobook will be available soon.
Q8. Tell us about the process of coming up with the book cover and title Angel Finally Found His Wings.
The Boy Scout Leader that took me away from my mother and forced me onto the streets had destroyed every I had including pictures and other personal items. This was one of the many ways he controlled my life. But there was one single picture of me that I kept from him and that is the photo on the cover. This is me at 11–12 years of age. In fact, until recently, it was the only photo of me from the age 6 to my late teens. It’s also the picture I took with me to when I was a member of Oprah’s 200 Men That Survived Sexual Abuse.
The torn edges of the photo represent my life. The blue cover background represents the sky.
The title Angel Finally Found His Wings was created after listening to Martina McBride’s beautiful song,” angel with a broken wing.” My street name was Angel and there’s was no doubt my wings were broken BUT I found my wings and escaped that life!
My dear friend Shayne Mackey designed the cover.
Q9. When writing the book, how do you keep things fresh for both the readers and you?
To be honest, I’m not sure. I know my story so well and it never changes. So, for me, I simply just wrote it as if we were sitting at a table together and I’m telling you, my story. I also wrote it as if it were being told by me as a child. I had poor grammar and sentence structure and wanted the reader to understand how I spoke at that time. The more realistic I could place the reader at that time in my life, the better. It was interesting when the editors began reviewing my memoir. They came back with hundreds of edits because of my intentional poor grammar and writing style. I told them not to change any of that because it’s part of telling my story!
Q10. What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing?
Write about what you know. If it’s a memoir, don’t embellish it. Just tell the story.
Buy Angel Finally Found his Wings on Amazon
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