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Above The Fold - February 15, 2010
Seasoned Property Manager
And Gifted Author-On-The-Rise
Kia Crooms, author of High-Rise Chronicles: Every Lease a Different Life, Every Life a Different Story, has worked in the real estate/property management industry as a seasoned property manager for ten years. When she became a property manager, she found what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Originally from Detroit, Kia currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband.
To learn more about Kia, visit her website at:
To learn more about Kia, visit her website at:
BOOK VIDEO TRAILER:
High Rise Chronicles
(Kia Crooms)
High Rise Chronicles
(Kia Crooms)
Official Apex Reviews Interview: Kia Crooms (High Rise Chronicles)
Apex Reviews: Thanks for joining us for this interview, Kia. We're looking forward to sharing more about your book with our readers.
The book is actually inspired by your own real-life experiences as a property manager. Please share more with our readers about how the collection eventually came to be.
Kia Crooms: Not unlike most children in the second grade, I didn’t raise my hand and profess that I wanted to become a property manager. My career began as an insurance sales agent with AAA in 1995. After almost five years with them I sort of ‘fell into’ the multi-family industry at a brand new apartment community as a Leasing Professional. Many say that this was God’s calling on my life. I knew nothing about the industry, but I knew sales. Shortly thereafter, I was quickly promoted into an Assistant Manager’s role and there I began to keep memoirs of the unusual incidents that occurred during day-to-day operations. After two years of stabilizing my first community, I was recruited by a national property management firm out of Dallas that took me back into new construction. After much success and nine years in the industry, I found that I had quite a collection of notes, memoirs and stories. While I have always enjoyed creative writing as a child, in 2008 I made it my New Year’s resolution to transform some of the stories into a manuscript and publish my first novel.
AR: How did you ultimately decide upon the particular stories that you include in the title?
KC: The story selections in High-Rise Chronicles were largely influenced by a few close friends of mine in the business—Mary Anne VanderLaan, who created the front cover; Corrie Dinolfo, who was so supportive throughout the process; and J’aime Huret, a scholar who I reported to in my first role as a Business Manager and had a profound impact on my career. The three of them also contributed a few of the stories shared in High-Rise Chronicles.
AR: Are there even more shocking, eye-opening anecdotes that didn't make it into the book?
KC: Why of course! There are many, many more interesting stories that may follow in the sequel to High-Rise Chronicles. What’s arresting is as I speak to people about the birth of High-Rise Chronicles and they get to know a little bit more about my life story, the overwhelming feedback is that ‘my life story’ should be the next book I write. I haven’t decided if that is the path I am going to take yet, though.
AR: What kinds of responses has the book generated thus far?
KC: Fortunately, there has been a very positive response. I think that people can really relate to the characters and situations covered within the pages. I am a very spiritual person and I think my writing style inspires people to come away with a favorable life lesson, rather than beat themselves up for being able to relate to some of the situations. Also, I think some individuals have a false sense of what the role of a property manager is. They think that our entire day is spent collecting rent. You ask any community manager in the biz; that is so far away from the truth. We are counselors to couples with relationship issues, we are referees with roommates that enter into a contractual agreement without truly knowing each other, we are financial advisors to tenants that fall on hard times, we are also ministers, babysitters, lawyers, you name it!
AR: What's the main message that you'd like readers to take away from the collection?
KC: The life lessons: alcoholism, drug abuse, infidelity, death, rape, spirituality and more. This doesn’t simply occur in urban communities, we need to recognize the struggles as a society, not as a minority. High-Rise Chronicles shows life in fast forward, because that is the pace in which we are all moving these days with technology and so forth. But the characters are recognizable, relatable and the situations are real—with embellishments here and there for creativity purposes.
I want young readers to be inspired by a young, African American author, with no formal training in English outside of Detroit Public Schools. Be encouraged that through God your wildest dreams are imaginable. God said He will make your name great, and you will be a blessing! Genesis 12:4
AR: How has your publishing experience been thus far with iUniverse?
KC: This being my first publishing project, it has been an amazing experience. As many new authors will tell you, it is virtually impossible to find a literary agent to back a first-time author. Actually, I learned about iUniverse through a prospective resident of mine in Minneapolis that had self-published a book through them herself. Their [iUniverse] expertise, professionalism and tech-savvy knowledge of marketing in the publishing world was impressive. Unless a proven literary agent approaches me, I would most likely self-publish my second project through iUniverse and definitely recommend it to aspiring authors.
AR: What are your future writing/publishing aspirations?
KC: Well, I am currently working on a chapter outline for the sequel to High-Rise Chronicles. I also have a small collection of poetry that I would like to expound on. And don’t forget, I am also contemplating writing a more personal and intimate story about my life. What lies ahead only God knows—I try to stay out of my own way and let His will be done.
AR: How can our readers learn more about you and your ongoing efforts?
KC: How else, but through Social Media! Readers can contact me on Facebook, I have two profiles – Kia Crooms or KiatheAuthor; they can also follow me on Twitter—Twitter.com/kiacrooms; my website is http://highrisechronicles.com – I’m still adding content to the website, but it’s there.
AR: How can they contact you directly?
KC: They can email me directly at kiatheauthor@gmail.com. I always love to hear from readers personally! Drop me a line to share your thoughts on the book or learn more information on self-publishing, etc. If you live in the Washington D.C. area, I would love to keep in touch with you to invite you to book signing or book club events. I also like to support others in their endeavors, whether you own a comedy club, a coffee café or an aspiring author yourself.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
KC: I would just like to remind people that we all have a story. Whether it is meant for us to learn what to do or what not to do from stories shared—the important thing is that we learn. Confucius once said, “You cannot open a book without learning something.” Thank you in advance for purchasing High-Rise Chronicles. It is available in soft cover, hardcover or Electronic style (E-book) at online bookstores: Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, BooksaMillion.com and iUniverse.com. A special thanks to Apex Reviews for having such an avenue to showcase a first-time author, like myself. Kudos to you all!
AR: Thanks again, Kia, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!
Apex Reviews: Thanks for joining us for this interview, Kia. We're looking forward to sharing more about your book with our readers.
The book is actually inspired by your own real-life experiences as a property manager. Please share more with our readers about how the collection eventually came to be.
Kia Crooms: Not unlike most children in the second grade, I didn’t raise my hand and profess that I wanted to become a property manager. My career began as an insurance sales agent with AAA in 1995. After almost five years with them I sort of ‘fell into’ the multi-family industry at a brand new apartment community as a Leasing Professional. Many say that this was God’s calling on my life. I knew nothing about the industry, but I knew sales. Shortly thereafter, I was quickly promoted into an Assistant Manager’s role and there I began to keep memoirs of the unusual incidents that occurred during day-to-day operations. After two years of stabilizing my first community, I was recruited by a national property management firm out of Dallas that took me back into new construction. After much success and nine years in the industry, I found that I had quite a collection of notes, memoirs and stories. While I have always enjoyed creative writing as a child, in 2008 I made it my New Year’s resolution to transform some of the stories into a manuscript and publish my first novel.
AR: How did you ultimately decide upon the particular stories that you include in the title?
KC: The story selections in High-Rise Chronicles were largely influenced by a few close friends of mine in the business—Mary Anne VanderLaan, who created the front cover; Corrie Dinolfo, who was so supportive throughout the process; and J’aime Huret, a scholar who I reported to in my first role as a Business Manager and had a profound impact on my career. The three of them also contributed a few of the stories shared in High-Rise Chronicles.
AR: Are there even more shocking, eye-opening anecdotes that didn't make it into the book?
KC: Why of course! There are many, many more interesting stories that may follow in the sequel to High-Rise Chronicles. What’s arresting is as I speak to people about the birth of High-Rise Chronicles and they get to know a little bit more about my life story, the overwhelming feedback is that ‘my life story’ should be the next book I write. I haven’t decided if that is the path I am going to take yet, though.
AR: What kinds of responses has the book generated thus far?
KC: Fortunately, there has been a very positive response. I think that people can really relate to the characters and situations covered within the pages. I am a very spiritual person and I think my writing style inspires people to come away with a favorable life lesson, rather than beat themselves up for being able to relate to some of the situations. Also, I think some individuals have a false sense of what the role of a property manager is. They think that our entire day is spent collecting rent. You ask any community manager in the biz; that is so far away from the truth. We are counselors to couples with relationship issues, we are referees with roommates that enter into a contractual agreement without truly knowing each other, we are financial advisors to tenants that fall on hard times, we are also ministers, babysitters, lawyers, you name it!
AR: What's the main message that you'd like readers to take away from the collection?
KC: The life lessons: alcoholism, drug abuse, infidelity, death, rape, spirituality and more. This doesn’t simply occur in urban communities, we need to recognize the struggles as a society, not as a minority. High-Rise Chronicles shows life in fast forward, because that is the pace in which we are all moving these days with technology and so forth. But the characters are recognizable, relatable and the situations are real—with embellishments here and there for creativity purposes.
I want young readers to be inspired by a young, African American author, with no formal training in English outside of Detroit Public Schools. Be encouraged that through God your wildest dreams are imaginable. God said He will make your name great, and you will be a blessing! Genesis 12:4
AR: How has your publishing experience been thus far with iUniverse?
KC: This being my first publishing project, it has been an amazing experience. As many new authors will tell you, it is virtually impossible to find a literary agent to back a first-time author. Actually, I learned about iUniverse through a prospective resident of mine in Minneapolis that had self-published a book through them herself. Their [iUniverse] expertise, professionalism and tech-savvy knowledge of marketing in the publishing world was impressive. Unless a proven literary agent approaches me, I would most likely self-publish my second project through iUniverse and definitely recommend it to aspiring authors.
AR: What are your future writing/publishing aspirations?
KC: Well, I am currently working on a chapter outline for the sequel to High-Rise Chronicles. I also have a small collection of poetry that I would like to expound on. And don’t forget, I am also contemplating writing a more personal and intimate story about my life. What lies ahead only God knows—I try to stay out of my own way and let His will be done.
AR: How can our readers learn more about you and your ongoing efforts?
KC: How else, but through Social Media! Readers can contact me on Facebook, I have two profiles – Kia Crooms or KiatheAuthor; they can also follow me on Twitter—Twitter.com/kiacrooms; my website is http://highrisechronicles.com – I’m still adding content to the website, but it’s there.
AR: How can they contact you directly?
KC: They can email me directly at kiatheauthor@gmail.com. I always love to hear from readers personally! Drop me a line to share your thoughts on the book or learn more information on self-publishing, etc. If you live in the Washington D.C. area, I would love to keep in touch with you to invite you to book signing or book club events. I also like to support others in their endeavors, whether you own a comedy club, a coffee café or an aspiring author yourself.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share?
KC: I would just like to remind people that we all have a story. Whether it is meant for us to learn what to do or what not to do from stories shared—the important thing is that we learn. Confucius once said, “You cannot open a book without learning something.” Thank you in advance for purchasing High-Rise Chronicles. It is available in soft cover, hardcover or Electronic style (E-book) at online bookstores: Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, BooksaMillion.com and iUniverse.com. A special thanks to Apex Reviews for having such an avenue to showcase a first-time author, like myself. Kudos to you all!
AR: Thanks again, Kia, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!