N’Tyse is a Dallas, Texas native and best-selling author of, Twisted Seduction. While N’Tyse, pronounced entice (en-tīs), spells out exotic seduction, the true significance behind her name takes on an entire new meaning. Never Tell Your Secrets is the hidden message N’Tyse envelops within her stimulating taboo tales. The author’s writing career began at a very young age where she found poetry, music, and story telling as an outlet of escape. Now 30, the writer’s obsession with the pen is better described as the “intimate release” for her imagination. In 2007, she ambitiously penned and self published her freshmen novel, My Secrets Your Lies. Upon the release of her first book, she discovered that her hobby writing was no longer just a niche to satisfy that writing crave, but a true talent where her underlying passion awaited. In late October 2010, N’Tyse acquired a literary agent and soon after landed her first major publishing deal with Strebor / Simon & Schuster. N’Tyse currently juggles her writing career as a mom, wife, and documentarian, while also pursuing her bachelor’s degree in creative / film writing, and business entertainment. Her latest works include her junior novel Twisted Seduction. Her anthology features include PP2 Missionary No More, Bedtime Stories, Between The Sheets, Erotic Snapshots, Gutta Mamis, and Z-Rated (Chocolate Flava 3). She is hard at work on her documentary film, “Beneath My Skin”, and the next Twisted Seduction installment.
The Situation Room with Michelle Cuttino caught up with N’Tyse to discuss her novels, her upcoming film endeavor and what else we can expect from her in the future.
Michelle: You wear so many hats—wife, mother, personal banker, college student and author, to name a few. How do you manage your time between them all without one or more suffering?
N’Tyse: It’s definitely not easy I’ll tell you that. But what I strive to do in order to stay on track is I write out a weekly agenda and I incorporate everything that needs to be done for that week in it. I make sure that there’s balance because I take every role of my life very serious.
Michelle: Many self-published authors dream of the day when they can obtain a literary agent and have that acquisition lead to a major publishing deal. Tell us how it all came about for N’Tyse.
N’Tyse: Believe it or not but I reached out to my agent, Dr. Maxine Thompson, on Facebook. I basically asked her if she was accepting new clients. Before she gave me an answer, she did a little bit of research on me and then a prescreen interview to see where I was with my career and where I wanted to go. After a few days of our initial conversation, we made it official.
Michelle: Your novels My Secret Your Lies and Twisted Seduction are both centered around carefully orchestrated secrets. Is that a running theme—to “N’Tyse” even with your novels?
N’Tyse: Most definitely. I love building my characters and then watching them do a full 360 once things hit the fan and the drama unfolds. And since most drama stems from some dirty, conniving, scandalous, secret, I choose to let that be the driving force in my stories. Hence the acronym, N’TYSE, which stands for Never Tell Your SEcrets.
Michelle: Noire has been dubbed the “Queen of Urban Erotic Tales”, a term she coined for her brand of erotic storytelling. Has anyone ever likened you to her before since these types of tales are also your forte?
N’Tyse: I would like to think we might have the same fan base being that our urban stories are laced heavily with erotica, but what distinguishes N’TYSE from NOIRE is my writing style.
Michelle: Why did you choose to broach the topic of black lesbian love with My Secret Your Lies? Were you going for shock value or just trying to tell a story that needed to be told?
N’Tyse: When I decided to write my first novel, My Secrets Your Lies, I wanted to write a story that I didn’t really feel was being told. I can recall going into Borders and looking through the AA section of books for stories on the lines of what I had in mind. I saw two authors whose works stood out to me, Laurinda Brown and Fionne Zedde. Two! And with only reading the back covers of their books, I still felt the idea I had for My Secrets Your Lies was on an entirely different level than their works. So I created my first Lesbian Street Lit story, and went on to write the sequel, Stud Princess Notorious Vendettas. My next LSL joint, LICKZ, releases early 2013 under my newly discovered alter ego, Mz. Bentley.
Michelle: Stud Princess Notorious Vendettas is yet another installment in the Rene and Sand saga. Tell us where this book picks up at and what we can look forward to between its pages.
N’Tyse: In Stud Princess you can expect the unexpected and three times the drama that you got in My Secrets. Sand and Rene become ride or die chicks for each other and just when they think all is lost, they realize real true love never leaves.
Michelle: “A Millon Thoughts Publishing” is the name of your publishing company. How did you come up with that name?
N’Tyse: When I was trying to come up with a name for my publishing company, I literally had a million thoughts going through my head at once. So I finally was like, that’s it, A Million Thoughts. It was catchy and very easy for people to remember. Lol!
Michelle: Do you plan to release more titles under your own publishing company, or will you stay mainstream with Strebor / Simon & Schuster?
N’Tyse: I do plan to release future titles under my brand of upcoming authors. I have three slated for next year, including Mz. Bentley.
Michelle: Zane is a force to be reckoned with in the erotica genre and you have definitely been blessed with the same gift. Were you personally selected for her anthologies, or did you have to go through a public submission process? Please elaborate.
N’Tyse: In order to be a part of Zane’s anthologies, I had to go through the same process as everybody else. I submitted my short and waited for a response. I was lucky to have my works “Caramel Latte” accepted in Missionary No More PP2, and “Swirl” in Z-Rated CF3, which released August 28th.
Michelle: I’ve seen your name come up on several urban fiction award ballots for Sexiest Female Author. I’m not sure if you were aware of that fact or not, but now that you know, how does that make you feel? Do you take it as a compliment? Why or why not?
N’Tyse: Oh damn, really! Lol!! I’m blushing because it’s definitely a major compliment. Glad to know N’Tyse is still enticing. (Devilish grin)
Michelle: You are in the post-production stages of your documentary entitled “Beneath My Skin.” What will you be discussing and/or exposing in this film?
N’Tyse: In this film, I tackled many of the hidden issues that go on in the urban lesbian community. I also documented many of their stories, their love and their pain. Without giving away too much, I can honestly say that “Beneath My Skin” is definitely going to impact a lot of lives and open up dialogue in many homes. This is my first film and it was inspired by my firstborn, My Secrets Your Lies.
Michelle: Will “Beneath My Skin” be an independent film, or do you have backing from a major studio?
N’Tyse: It was filmed independently, but currently I am in talks with someone to hopefully take it to that next level.
Michelle: With so much in the pipeline, besides “Beneath My Skin” what else can we look forward to from N’Tyse?
N’Tyse: My fans and supporters should know and trust that I have so much in store for them, including Twisted Vows of Seduction, the next installment in the T.S. series. I am also hard at work on my first webisode.
Michelle: What many do not know about N’Tyse is that you are also a lyricist, writing both Rap and R&B songs. Who have you written for in the past? Have you ever wanted to become a rapper or singer?
N’Tyse: I did used to rap and perform in my early and mid twenties. I slowed a lot of it down when the unexpected things in life happened. I also got bored with performing so I then began to focus solely on my banking career. My sister, Lady Mink, is a rapper as well so I live that side of me vicariously through her. I’m still open to ghostwriting music, but that’s about as far as I see that musical bug going. But wait, I did just tell a producer buddy of mine that I needed to get in the booth to record a couple of tracks for “Beneath My Skin.” So I guess it really is still very much a part of me. Lol!
Michelle: Your bio reads that you have a sock fetish. Before I go to the left with this revelation, please explain exactly what that means. I’m hoping it’s that you just love socks! LOL…
N’Tyse: Lol!! Too funny. I love love love SOCKS! All shapes, all colors, all sizes. So with that, let your imagination run….LOL!!! Wait, let me clear it up for the record. I am not a SOCK STALKER.
Michelle: The question is always, what advice would you give to aspiring authors. Instead, I’m going to flip it and ask what do you think has been the secret to your continued success?
N’Tyse: The secret to my success is that I never gave up on my dreams and aspirations. I was also never afraid to invest in myself and my product… Thank you so much for interviewing me! This was fun.
Michelle: It definitely was! Fans, you can follow N’Tyse at www.ntyse.com and www.facebook.com/ntysefans.