At the helm of TMJ Books, we have TM Jefferson, a writer who has lived an extraordinary life. He is a writer that’s is well-equipped to deliver a slew of page-turners to the urban drama genre.

When writers pop up on my radar, I’m always curious about what brought them to that first moment of creation. I want to learn all about their influences, their route toward publication, and the projects they’re working on. Those became my three focus areas when I approached TMJ for a conversation. This interview covers those three areas: Influences, Independence, and Projects.

An Interview with TM Jefferson, founder of TMJ Books

Inspirations

Gary Swaby: Can you tell us a little about your upbringing and any important moments that shaped who you became as an adult?

TM Jefferson: Peace. I was born and raised in New Rochelle, NY, which is in lower Westchester County, area code 914. I grew up in the Hartley projects, specifically 60 Horton Avenue. Horton & Brook St. The projects had five buildings and my family lived in three of those but I can only recall living in two as a kid. I can vividly remember us moving from one building to the next when I was about 7-8 years old. I lived in a single-parent household with three siblings. Two brothers and my sister. My father was out, running the streets, but my mother made sure I knew who he was even if they weren’t physically together. She never once spoke badly about him either. My father and I weren’t close, but we were good. He passed away in 1989. I was ten years old.

I went to New Rochelle High School for two years before I was kicked out for fighting. From there I went to an alternative school called St. Gabriel. At this time I was running around in the streets, getting in trouble, so I was sent to Morganfield, Kentucky to Earl C. Clements Job Corps. That was definitely an experience. While in Job Corps I took up automotive repair and had the chance to take my G.E.D exam. After about two months in job corps, there was a riot that popped off between some gangs that were there so. To ease the tension they sent all the New York people home.

Back in New Rochelle, I enrolled at Monroe College, taking up computer science. I stayed in Monroe for three semesters before I strayed to the streets.

GS: When did you first have aspirations to write?

TM Jefferson: I started writing as early as I can remember. It started with writing music and eventually evolved to me writing short stories. It wasn’t until 2006 when I went to prison that I actually sat down and wrote a complete piece. After sending my story to one of my friends, they suggested I self-publish. I had no knowledge of the publishing industry and how it worked but I did some research and was able to navigate my way to self-publishing my first novella in 2008.

Writing was my way of communicating my ideas. – TM JEFFERSON

GS: So you always knew you wanted to be a writer then? Even at an early age.

TM Jefferson: I always wanted to create. Writing was my way of communicating my ideas.

GS: Who were some of your literary inspirations when you went about self-publishing that first novella?

TM Jefferson: I was in prison reading a lot of books by different authors. Different genres of work. I was inspired by a few urban/street authors I was reading; specifically K’wan, Al Saddiq Banks, and Kwame Teague aka DUTCH. After reading their work, I wanted to put my own stories out.

Independence

GS: What kind of challenges did you face when publishing your first title?

TM Jefferson: I knew nothing about publishing. Nothing at all. When my friend told me about self-publishing it was the first time I had heard about it. Through my research, I came across a few authors who I reached out to but no one reached back. So, I went ahead and did it myself.

That first book was an experience. This was 2008. I had print copies and I published them to Amazon Kindle, which was fairly new at the time. I priced the book at $6.99 thinking I was doing it right. In total, I sold about 3-5 copies of that book on Kindle within a six-month period.

After that, I started to study Amazon and how it works. I came across a published author who was white. He had his book priced at .99 cents. His reviews were in the hundreds and his ranking was Bestseller status. I did some more studying and figured I was going to adapt his pricing method. I put that book at .99 cents and it took off.

After I saw what my first book was doing I just kept writing and releasing work.

When I’m writing a story and creating characters, I become those characters and I’m in that story. – TM Jefferson

GS: And now, you’ve had the experience of being an Amazon Bestseller of over nine different titles. Congrats on that one. Would you still consider traditional publishing as an option?

TM Jefferson: Yes. Definitely. I’m not looking or taking the steps to get traditionally published, but if the opportunity is there and the circumstances are in my favor, I would probably take the offer.

Projects

GS: What first inspired you to write The Union?

TM Jefferson: The Union is not a new book. It was originally published as a three-book series in 2012-2014 under another independent publishing company I was dealing with. I have recently re-released it as the full story as it was intended when I wrote it. I broke it into three parts for the company I was dealing with. The inspiration for The Union came from my wanting to pen a street love story.

The hardest part in creating The Union was probably coming up with the title. It had a different title before The Union.

GS: How long did it take you to start, finish and publish The Union?

TM Jefferson: I wrote The Union in less than sixty days. It was over one hundred thousand words so the company I was with suggested I break it up into three parts and create a series. And I did that. So, the book was published maybe 90-120 days after I wrote it.

GS: Is there a standout character from The Union that you enjoyed writing?

TM Jefferson: Yes. Mox Daniels. The lead character in The Union. After you read the book you’ll know why I say this.

GS: Do you have a regular writing routine that you follow to complete the objective?

TM Jefferson: No routine but when I sit down to create, I go in! When I’m writing a story and creating characters, I become those characters and I’m in that story. Day in day out. I like to immerse myself in my work.

GS: What can we expect from TM Jefferson in the future?

TM Jefferson: I’ve started a new imprint; TMJ BOOKS and I’ll be re-releasing some of my previous titles and also publishing new works.

At this time I have one author signed to TMJ BOOKS and her name is Poison Ivy. Keep an eye out for her first title: Single Wive’s Club coming summer 2022!

Please visit my website for all new releases, giveaways, and event dates.

Thank you! Peace.

Buy from TMJ Books Website / Buy on Amazon (US) / Buy on Amazon (UK)

What Power did great was blending the gritty street life with a glamorous upper-scale aesthetic. This was made clear with Jamie “Ghost” St. Patrick’s double lifestyle as a drug kingpin and a successful nightclub entrepreneur. For that reason, the books on this list will match either one or both of these themes. They’ll either be super gritty, ghetto fabulous, or both.

Books Like The Power TV Series

The Cartel by Ashley & Jaquavis | Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

The Cartel was one of the first urban crime books I read back in the day, and this was way before Power was created. The book follows the life of Miami kingpin Carter Diamond and his family. But after a major piece of the puzzle is lost, the family is weakened. This is the moment when Carter Diamond’s illegitimate son (Carter Jones) shows up to continue the legacy of the Diamond family. The family dynamic in this book is similar to the family aspect seen in Power. The book also features a female assassin named Miamor, who steals the heart of Carter Jones, while threatening his life at the same time.

The Cartel is a juicy book with many attributes seen in Power, such as the suspenseful on-the-edge lifestyle, the sexiness and the lavish life.

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah | Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

We bet many of you have heard of this one. The Coldest Winter Ever is one of the urban classics, and Sister Souljah has uplifted black women and men globally with her work. The book follows the life of a kingpin’s daughter, Winter Santiaga. Conditioned by her life in Brooklyn, Winter cares only about wearing the latest high-end fashions, turning heads at expensive night clubs and trying to catch the attention of her father’s second in command, Midnight.

But Midnight is more intelligent than Winter gives him credit for, which is why he’s the only one able to escape the law when they bust her father’s entire organization and pin a Rico case on them. With all of her father’s fund seized, Winter, her mother and her little sisters are thrown out onto the streets. And now, Winter must downsize her tastes as she fights to survive while becoming homeless. The Coldest Winter Ever is all about the cold consequences of “living the life”, which is something we get to see in Power season 4 when Ghost is incarcerated and his family must survive on their own.

Gully by Latris Oliveira & Gary Swaby | Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

Gully follows the life of Homilee, a young black female who grew up in unfortunate circumstances. Her father is in and out of prison, and her mother is an alcoholic who is not fit to look after Homilee and her special needs brother. After Homilee is subjected to something horrible in her family home, she decides to breakaway from her family and rely on her friends for survival. It’s here where she meets Jamal, the love of her life. But this leads her down a destructive path full of heartbreaking circumstances.

Along the way, Homilee figures out that the rap game is going through a renaissance (Gully is set in the late 90s), and she wants a piece of the action. She begins to shift her focus to the music business, and she soon learns that the music game is just as gully as the street life.

Gully is similar to Power because it follows a protagonist who wants to walk on the right path, but continuously gets led down the wrong one. It’s a book all about hustle and circumstance, and there are some incredibly suspenseful moments. Similarly to The Coldest Winter Ever, Gully is also set in New York City much like the Power TV series. And because a lot of the early parts of the book are set in Queens, New York during the 90s, Gully is extremely similar in tone to Raising Kanan.

From Pieces to Weight by 50 Cent | Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

Speaking of Raising Kanan, the show has many parallels to the life of the show’s executive, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Much of it is inspired by his own personal come up in Jamaica Queens, and that’s why it makes sense to read his first autobiography, From Pieces to Weight. This book is quite literally the foundations of Power. Despite Power being a fictional series, a lot of it is inspired by real life. If you read this book, you’ll see where 50 Cent got much of his inspiration for Power.

White Lines by Tracy Brown | Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

Jada left home at the age of 16, running from her own demons and the horrors of abuse inflicted by her mother’s boyfriend. She partied hard and life seemed good with Born, a neighborhood kingpin whose name was synonymous with money, power and respect. But his love couldn’t save her from a crack habit.

White Lines is about a girl being led astray, and falling into the trap of the underworld. Jada must become a survivor of the game, and find the strength to carry on living. With a lot of harsh realities, White Lines is one of the most memorable urban love stories ever. While Power shows you how people get rich from trafficking drugs, White Lines shows you the consequences of those drugs being so readily available.

The Coldest Winter Ever (the first book) | Buy on Amazon US | Buy on Amazon UK

The Coldest Winter Ever had an overwhelmingly positive reception, and remains a classic work of literature til this day. It spawned a number of other works from other authors that were set in urban environments. The novel touches on uncomfortable themes such as drugs, sex, prostitution, violence, greed, and the cycle of poverty.

The sequel, Life After Death, will chronicle Winter’s life after a prison bid. She’ll also be dealing with the death of a family member and the ever-changing life of her younger sister.

A quote from the publisher, Simon & Schuster reads: “With her jail sentence coming to a close, Winter is ready to step back into the spotlight and reclaim her throne.”

Sister Souljah’s work is more than proven, so I highly recommend pre-ordering Life After Death now.

Life After Death (the sequel) | Pre-order on Amazon US | Pre-order on Amazon UK