Acclaimed author Terry McMillan is coming to Charlotte. She'll take the stage with fellow New York Times best-selling author Omar Tyree Sat., April18 at the McGlohon Theatre.

This event is a part of the "Change is Coming to Charlotte" Event Series. Sponsored by RealEyes Bookstore and the Charlotte Literary Festival; the "Change is Coming to Charlotte" Event Series is a fundraiser for the Charlotte Literary Festival and the Kickoff to Writing Scholarship Program.

But before McMillan hits the stage, she gave Creative Loafing 15 minutes to pick her brain.

Creative Loafing: What do you think of the current state of the literary market?

Terry McMillan: Based on what's going on with the economy, the market is tougher, especially for African-American writers. And there's so much of the street fiction out there that it's starting to cancel each other out. As far as African-American writers in general, there are a lot of fine young writers out here who are not getting the kind of attention that they deserve. Good quality fiction has seemed to fascinate the publishing industry as much as some of this other stuff — because it doesn't seem to have been selling. But, I think publishers are getting tired of this fiction that is written with all of this gratuitous sex and violence. It doesn't represent what's going on. It's not even pleasurable to read. Some of that stuff is scary.

So, what are you currently reading?

I just started reading James McBride, Song Yet Sung. And I started reading a memoir by a writer, a Southern writer, his name is Rick Bragg.

Do you plan on ever writing a memoir?

No. My life hasn't been tragic enough. And plus, I don't think my life is all that interesting. And I don't want people to know — this is my business. I write fiction to express and explain a lot of things that I see happen to people and some of which that has happened to me, emotionally, but I can dispense with it through my characters. To me, it is a lot more redeeming. I love memoirs, especially really good ones. But there have been some horrific things that have happened to people, but I don't think that's one of the things you need to write a good one. But what's been happening over the last few years is the more shocking it is, the more they think it is interesting. You don't have to have a catastrophic life to write a good memoir.

What are you working on now?

I'm working a novel, yes, Lord. I just changed the title of a chapter. What was it called? "If I Sit Still Long Enough." That's not the chapter now, it's called "14 Years." That's the name of a chapter, but the novel is called Getting Back To Happy. I'm about two-thirds through it. I'm going to read from it in North Carolina. I cannot believe how many times I've been to North Carolina. I just came back from North Carolina. I was in Greensboro; I was at Wake Forest [University].

Oprah Winfrey bought the movie rights to your novel, The Interruption of Everything. Are we ever going to see this book on the big screen?

I think it fell apart. They had someone write a script and Sony wasn't happy with it. I thought the script was better than the book. [She laughs.] The writer was really good and what she did, she did it quite well. Then they watered it down and what they did was made it too Hallmark-ish and that's what turned off Sony.

It seems that your characters age as you do. Is that something you plan while writing or is that just how it comes out?

That's just how it comes out. It's sort of like, I use fiction as a way of making sense of not just my life, but people that I know may be going though something comparable. In that instance, it just so happens that it's about middle-aged women. The book that I'm working on now is about the women from Waiting to Exhale. I revisit them 15 years later, and what I'm working on after that is about an older woman.

Did you have any idea that Waiting to Exhale would be come a cultural phenomenon?

Of course not. No. Oh, God no. How on earth could I know that? When you have a baby, all you pray is that it's healthy. You don't know how cute your baby is going to be when they grow up. My publisher told me it was going to be a best-seller, but I was like, yeah, yeah.

Over the last three years, when you've been in the news it's been more about your personal life. Do you feel as if that's starting to die down?

Oh yes, definitely. The thing is that, I have since befriended Jonathan (Plummer). We are not BFFs. It was ugly, and my life was ugly for three years. It took a lot out of me, and what I resent is being put in a position where I had to discuss my personal life. I almost had to because so many lies were being told about me that I was compelled — because I was a public figure, not him. I could not believe the things that were being said about me, and I had to refute them. But I don't do that any more, and plus I sued him for lying and his lawyer, too. She's going to be in a lot of trouble. More than anything, I think that I was probably just burnt out on how exposed I felt and how gullible the public can really be when they think something is shocking. When people are known for deception and lying and then what is said by them about you is suddenly believed. I couldn't believe that, but it's all done.