"Smile" by Kevin Reeves

Name:  Kevin Reeves

Home Town: Chicago

Title of latest book: s.m.i.l.e. (www.thesmilestory.com)

Genre: Fiction

#of Pages: 316

Description: Aaron and Aisha reunite after years of flirting with the possibility of abundant love. Aaron moves back to Chicago to be with Aisha and becomes co-head of a hedge fund, while Aisha continues to teach in one of Chicago's toughest neighborhoods. They seem to be set for a lifetime of happiness and prosperity until, suddenly, it all changes.

s.m.i.l.e. is a book of both the everyday and the extraordinary shown through characters that will stay with you forever. Beginning as a hip love story, it becomes a story of how love looks and feels in the face of tragedy. A moving tale of hope and resistance, s.m.i.l.e. illuminates the discovery of the soul's capability.

Mini Author Bio: In 2001, during the second semester of his junior year at Harvard University, Kevin Reeves woke up in a cold sweat and began writing. He did not know what it meant or why he was doing it and did not believe much would come of it until his talent was encouraged by acclaimed novelist Jamaica Kincaid. After studying the art of storytelling for ten years, he finally produced a story worthy of an audience, s.m.i.l.e.

What led up to you becoming an author? Many years of studying great writers, lots of writing, including five practice novels and living the best way I knew how.

*How long did it take you to complete your book? It took me about 14 months total to write and edit the book.

*Is there a particular message in your books you would like for your readers to grasp? I strive to properly capture my unique cultural, generational, and experiential perspective. There isn't a particular message that I want to necessarily deliver although all of my work will have some sort of spiritual undercurrent. I believe that true art comes from a spiritual place and each artists strives to capture its truth with the gifts they've been given.

*What is your biggest inspiration for writing? The fullness and beauty of life.

*If you could give one piece of advice to an up and coming author, what would it be? Read as many great books as you can that interest you. Write all the time, not necessarily on a schedule, but you should be writing all the time. Sometimes it will be in your head often, in the early stages, it should be written down.

*What do you have planned next? I'm working on a hero/adventure story called The Legend of Cle Carter, but mostly I'm working to promote s.m.i.l.e. I've been getting overwhelmingly positive feedback from the story from readers and the task before me now is to spread the good news.

*How can readers, publishers, and others in the literary community reach you? Please visit s.m.i.l.e.'s website www.thesmilestory.com to learn more about the book and me. Also you may personally at [email protected]