Whether it is fiction or non fiction when it comes to writing, Zondra Hughes is the truth! Her writing is clear, informative, and entertaining and she has a great combination of youthfulness and experience. She landed her first media internship with N’Digo in 1998. One year later, Hughes was hired as an associate editor (Beauty & Style and Relationships) at Ebony magazine, a position she held for more than six years.

In this capacity, Zondra conducted lengthy interviews with sex therapists, relationship experts and everyday men and women for her monthly sex and relationship articles. Usually, that month’s dilemma centered on what women could do and should do to keep their mates happy, satisfied and at home.  

Everything was as normal as normal can be until she took on an assignment that changed her outlook on men, women and relationships forever. The article, Double Jeopardy, What do you do if your best friend steals your man? (April, 2006) required Hughes to interview women who had been double-crossed by the very people who were supposed to love them. She also interviewed the double-crossers. The most memorable was one female betrayer that, despite sleeping with her friend’s husband, still longed for the friendship to remain intact.  The betrayer was in pain, but she was not willing to let her friend’s man go. 

Hughes realized that some women had sacrificed their friendships, their sisterhood, for the sake of sex or companionship, and a modern-day feminist emerged, setting the groundwork for her first novel, The M.O.O.D. Lounge. Erotica that empowers was the vision; rebuilding the universal sisterhood was the mission.

Below are the results from an exclusive one on one with Toure Muhammad.

You obviously have a vivid imagination. You did relationship articles for a while. How much did real life play into your characters?

The book is about three drama queens, Dru, a wealthy, 43-year-young, breast cancer survivor; Eva, a 26-year-old public relations professional; and Fawn, a 19-year-old aspiring model. They are all chasing something--Dru is chasing love. Eva is chasing success. Fawn is chasing beauty. While they are in hot pursuit, men, very bad men, enter their lives and sex them into stupidity. The women become zombies, and will do anything to keep their awesome lovers in their lives. And the men take FULL advantage of the women! The women develop Lovers’ Lobotomy Syndrome© which is a euphoric state of stupidity, and Dr. Pat Rizzo, a relationship therapist, steps into their lives and wakes them up. Toure, Lovers’ Lobotomy Syndrome is real. When the loving is good, sometimes women tend to do the craziest things to keep that lover coming around. 

You do a great job of writing and editing both fiction and non-fiction. Which one do you enjoy most?

Fiction, hands-down. Every work of fiction has a grain of truth to it. I’m really old school and I make it a point to surround myself with eclectic people--the mad geniuses, beauty queens, drama queens, playboys, the artists, the drunk philosophers, the nosey ones that are watching me as I’m watching them--these are my friends.  And all of them—you included--are the most fascinating people one could ever meet.  Fiction is so exciting because my idea of fiction may be someone else’s truth. There are no boundaries.

What's next. A M.O.O.D. Lounge series or something totally different?  

The M.O.O.D. Lounge is the first of a series and Rajen Persaud, the bestselling author of Why Black Men Love White Women, is crafting the script right now. Karen Hunter Media’s mantra is, “take your book-to-film.” Steven M. Johnson, award-winning art director at N’Digo, created the logo for the real M.O.O.D. Lounge.

You recently brought Karen Hunter to Chicago to inspire and network with Chicago writers. Why was it so important for you to do that?
Writers are shy. We are the worst networkers in the world. Thank goodness I have my buddy Matthew Sapaula to force me to network, because if he didn’t take me to Facebook school, and take me to events and force me to network, I would be a hermit. I also knew that there are amazing writers here that needed to be discovered, or needed that pep talk to get them to finish that manuscript. My high school friend, Pamela Williams, introduced me to someone who changed my life. It was time for me to do that favor for others. By the way, I am so PROUD of you for completing your book!

We know you collaborated with Wendy Williams on her latest book. How challenging is it to work with another writer?

It depends. You really must make certain that you are equally-yoked. Collaboration is a marriage, and in that instance, our publisher Karen Hunter of Karen Hunter Media was genius in collaborating us for Wendy’s final installment, Ritz Harper Goes to Hollywood. If you can’t vibe, not agree on all points, but at least vibe with your co-author, just walk away. It’s a match made in literary hell. 

You are a wonderful writer, but you have such an intelligent, funny personality and you are good-looking. Have you ever considered radio and TV?

My friends and I have been living a reality show for years--it’s just that no one has turned on the cameras!

Zondra Hughes co-wrote Ritz Harper Goes to Hollywood with talk show host/deejay Wendy Williams (Karen Hunter Publishing, May, 2009), and she is a featured blogger on The Huffington Post.