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Creating a family tree involves a good bit of time, effort and study. As you research the basic chart of ancestors, you will undoubtedly collect a treasure trove of documents, photographs, letters, and maybe even some diary or journal entries from your ancestors. A good way to preserve and display these records is through scrapbooking. By assembling all of the items in a scrapbook, people can easily read it. It also keeps your research safe and protects it from being ruined or lost.
Here are three things to keep in mind as you create a family history scrapbook.
1. Choosing the Book
The book should be sturdy and large enough to hold the information that you have collected. Pages with plastic sleeves are a must for preservation of the documents, and the sleeves should be archival quality to keep the contents from turning brown with aging.
It is also a good idea to choose a book that can be added to as more information becomes available. You never know when you will find more interesting tidbits to add, or your children and grandchildren may want to add to it as time goes on. This also enables you to move pages around if you decide to arrange them in a different order.
2. Layout of Pages
Before you even begin to add the contents to the book, take some time to plan the layout of the pages. Organize all of the photos, letters, documents, certificates, and other things that you plan to include in the scrapbook. Lay everything out on a table and decide on the best way to present them in the book.
You could organize by individuals. Each scrapbook page should be devoted to one person. For each page layout, there may be photos of that ancestor, letters they have written, military records, or birth and death certificates. Each piece of information should be labeled.
It is also a good idea to include the ancestor's full name, dates of birth, marriage, and death. If you know any tidbits about the person that you have researched or heard from family stories, these are interesting to include also.
3. Order of Pages
You have thought about the layout of each page. Now, decide the order in which the pages should be organized. Much of this depends on how extensive the family history scrapbook is. For example, are you including only one side of your family or both? Usually, you will want to start with the oldest generation that you have researched. If you are going to have both sides of the family in the scrapbook, you might want to have different sections. Or, you could have a chronological layout with both families, although this might be a little more confusing.
Take the time to accurately record all information that you have, and display it beautifully. Then you will have an heirloom that may be treasured for generations.
Jacqueline Luckett has been writing since 1999 when she took her first
creative writing class on a dare, from herself. She attributes her growth
as a writer to the Voices of Our Nations (VONA) writing workshops and to the
members of her writing group, The Finish Party (featured in O Magazine, November
2007). Jacqueline is the author of Searching for Tina Turner and Passing
Love (releases January 25, 2012).
BPM: How did you initially break into the publishing
industry?
In the middle of finishing my last draft of Searching for Tina Turner, I began
to research agents. I divided my list into choices based on what I knew and
wanted from an agent, and then I started sending two or three query letters at a
time. I contacted about a dozen agents before one said yes, but it took about
six months of rejection letters (which I kept). Once I got an agent, the second
round of submissions began. This is where an agent tries to sell the book to a
publishing house. We worked on a list of editors who liked the kind of story
I’d written and then the agent pitched the book. There’s nothing a writer
can do at this point, except wait to hear from the agent. I wish I could say
there was a bidding war for my novel, but there wasn’t. I’ll always remain
grateful to my agent (who no longer represents me) and Karen Thomas (an editor
at the time) for putting together a book deal with Grand Central Publishing.
BPM: How do you feel about self-publishing?
I have several friends who have chosen to self-publish. Their reasons vary from
the desire to avoid traditional publishing bureaucracy to wanting an aging
parent to see their work in print. Self-publishing has changed. Companies such
as Lulu and iUniverse produce high-quality books and offer services to create a
professional product. They assist writers with editing, artwork, book style and
more. After writing, an author’s sole job is to work as his or her own
publicist to increase visibility and generate sales. Yet, in that area, I feel
that the self-published and first time, conventionally-published authors face
the same challenges.
Even though my novel was published by a major publisher, as a
first-time author, when it came to publicity I had to be involved. It’s the
author’s responsibility to form a partnership with her publisher and to
actively participate in the publicity campaign. Regardless of how a writer’s
book is published, it remains his/her responsibility to make sure that the
manuscript is in tiptop shape before submitting it to a prospective publisher.
BPM: What is your definition of success?
Success comes in stages, and we have to take the time to appreciate (and
celebrate) each one. The first time I printed out a copy of Searching for Tina
Turner, I felt successful. I’d accomplished my goal. I wanted to write a book,
and I did. That was the beginning of my journey and I celebrated success at
every point—from getting an agent to seeing my book displayed on a shelf in a
bookstore to writing my second novel.
Success is fan mail, it’s Googling your name and giggling over all the
positive hits, it’s a Facebook fan page with followers. It’s the inner peace
I have because I’m doing what I love.
At the National Book Club Conference this past July, a woman came up to me.
“Miss Luckett,” she said, the smile on her face beautiful and wide.
“I just loved your book!” That, to me, was success—acknowledgement
and appreciation of my work.
BPM: How has your writing style evolved over the years? What stimulated your
growth?
When I look back at some of my first short stories, I cringe not so much at the
writing, but at the craft—or lack of it. But I admire the guts I had to send
the stories out. The rejection letters strengthened my determination. Since
those days, my style is the same, but my writing has become more polished. I
don’t have an MFA, but I’ve taken many workshops and writing classes. I
worked hard to learn craft, and that’s an ongoing process. My writing has
gotten stronger in the two years since I wrote my first novel.
The Finish Party, my writing group, has had a great influence on me. I’m
blessed to be in this group of eight women who are masters of craft and
critique. They’ve been both teachers and avid supporters. We workshop each
other’s projects and that process has improved my writing. I admit that there
are times when I didn’t like their feedback, but once I returned home, I'd
rethink their comments and realize that, nine times out of ten, they’re
correct and my writing is all the better because of them.
BPM: What have you realized about yourself since becoming a published author?
Occasionally, I suffer from the old demon of self-doubt. Author Carleen Brice
(Orange Mint and Honey) recently asked a group of authors how they fought
self-doubt. I was surprised by the responses of the authors, who were all
very accomplished. At first, my doubts were about my writing. Now I feel more
comfortable about my ability to write and tell a good story.
BPM: What are some of the benefits of being an author that makes it all
worthwhile?
Searching for Tina Turner emphasized the importance of self-worth, reinvention
and accepting new challenges. I wanted readers to know that life doesn’t end
when you get divorced or reach your fifties. I want them to accept the
challenges and possibilities offered by these new chapters in life. It took me
about two years to write my first novel. Knowing that readers “get” my
messages, love my descriptions of settings, and are eager to see what comes next
for me, makes all the writing effort worthwhile.
BPM: Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
It’s still a challenge to get published. Persistence is vital. For the most
part, writers need agents to present their work to publishers. Even before you
look for an agent, make sure that your story is tight, your craft is on point,
and your manuscript is in good shape. If editing isn't a strong point, find
someone to edit for continuity, grammar and typographical errors.
Research agents who represent authors whose work is similar
to yours in style, story and genre, and develop a list. Know an agent’s
submission guidelines. Then start sending query letters. Your query letter is as
important as your manuscript, so make sure to write a compelling (but short)
letter to the agents you choose. If an agent takes the time to offer a few
suggestions, consider revising your manuscript and move forward. Agents know
what it takes to sell a book in today’s market. Don’t be discouraged by
rejection. There are plenty of stories about bestsellers that were rejected
multiple times (Harry Potter, for example) before the right agent saw the
potential for success.
BPM: If you were not a writer, what would you be? What are you passionate
about?
I recall having this conversation with my sister a few years ago. At the time, I
felt like my many passions were posts in a pinball machine, and the ball never
landed or stuck to one spot. I addressed my concerns about having so many areas
of interest in an article for the Huffington Post (February 2010). When my
sister suggested I could pursue of all the things I loved but that, for the time
being, I needed to focus on one, I felt as if a burden had been lifted from my
shoulders.
Besides writing, I love photography, cooking for my friends, and interior
design. When I dabble in these little passions, I’m able to expand my
creativity. I take hundreds of pictures when I travel. I love to
photograph people in the midst of daily life. In many ways the camera invades
privacy, so I’m always considerate and polite. I engage potential subjects in
conversation and ask permission, but I’ve also been known to sneak a few
candid shots every now and then. Design is another form of creativity for me.
Sometimes I work with a friend to stage homes for sale and that helps to satisfy
my urge to redecorate. As far as cooking goes, I don’t enjoy cooking for one
as much as I do putting together meals for my friends. Fortunately, they love my
cooking. I don’t have a specialty, but I’m well-known for my apple pie.
BPM: Introduce us to your book and the main characters. Do you have any
favorites? What genre is the book? On Kindle or Nook?
I’m so excited about PASSING LOVE. I love the all the characters, and I love
the setting—Paris, it’s one of my favorite places in the world. In
PASSING LOVE the reader follows the story of two women who go to Paris believing
that that city will change their lives. From the start, I knew the story would
be about two women, one in the present and the other in the past.
Nicole is the character in the present who’s discontent
with her ordinary life and her married boyfriend. She’s not a timid woman,
just a procrastinator who has always wanted to go to Paris. With the
encouragement of a friend, she finally makes up her mind to go.
Ruby’s story is told in the past and post World War II
Paris when Black Americans were drawn to that city for the racial freedom they
couldn’t find in the United States. Ruby is the complete opposite of Nicole.
Ruby is gutsy and can't wait to leave her tiny southern hometown and see the
world. She’s a risk-taker daredevil, and she’s my favorite because she does
whatever it takes to make her life an adventure. Unfortunately, she steps on
people in the process.
My goal was to make Paris come alive and to share history and details about the
city. I want my readers to become impatient and as excited about Paris as Ruby
and Nicole are. Some might define PASSING LOVE as women’s fiction, and while
it definitely is a story about women, there’s history and a story that’s not
just for female readers. PASSING LOVE will be available to readers in all
formats: electronic and trade paperback. The Audio version releases in March,
2012.
Passing
Love will be available online and at major and independent bookstores
everywhere. We encourage readers to ask a bookstore to order copies of PASSING
LOVE if they cannot find it in their local store. Preorders
are available now.
BPM: What inspired you to write this book, Passing
Love?
I wanted to explore what it takes to live a life filled with risk and how risk
played into race, love and personal interactions. When I first started writing,
I worked on a collection of short stories about a small town in Mississippi.
Ruby comes from that town. I was curious to see what kind of female character
rebelled against the south, Jim Crow and her mother’s religious beliefs, and
what she would do once she escaped those confines.
BPM: Have you ever experienced writers block?
I'm not sure if getting stuck in the direction of the story is the same as
writer’s block, but there were times when I had to stop and try to balance out
the two women’s stories so that they were both equally interesting. But,
that’s part of the writing and revision process.
BPM: Are any scenes from the book borrowed from your world or your
experiences?
Except for the little knickknack shop that Nicole visits, all the places in
Paris are real—the cafés, the jazz clubs, the Opera and the crepe vendors.
Because I enjoy Paris so much, I wanted to give Nicole that same sense of wonder
and awe that I have every time I visit the city. I took several tours of Paris
to learn the history of black expatriates and jazz. Most of my research took
place in 2008. I travelled to Little Africa and wandered the streets amazed at
the culture within a culture. I explored the streets and buildings and took lots
of pictures in order to recall images and places. During my visit to Paris, I
stayed in a beautiful apartment on the quai next to the Seine in the 6th
arrondissement (one of 20 municipal administrative districts), which I used as a
model for the apartment that Nicole rents. Though I’d stayed in this area
twice before, it was amazing to learn all the Black history of that area.
BPM: In writing your novels, how do you develop the plot? How much research
was required?
I usually know the beginning and end of my stories. From those two points, I
have to work my way through the story. It’s quite easy to stray from the
storyline, but for the first draft, I let my characters go wherever they want.
That works best for me because it helps me to learn what they want and what
they’ll do to get it. PASSING LOVE required a lot of research. I wanted to
understand European, and particularly the French, reaction to the black soldiers
they encountered during World War II. I wanted to know what Langston Hughes,
James Baldwin and Richard Wright thought about the city. It was also important
for me to know a bit about jazz and the attitudes and lifestyles of the Black
Americans who came there to play, the racial climate and the black history of
Paris. It was a fascinating story and there was more that I could have included,
but that would have made the book more historical fiction and that was not my
goal. I listed a few of the books I used for my research in the Reader’s
Guide.
BPM: What particular scenes will grab readers and serve to stimulate spirited
discussions?
Nicole and Ruby’s stories are told separately. Nicole’s last night with her
so-called boyfriend is interesting because she rejects and loves him at the same
time. Ruby’s first encounter with a saxophone player, at the age of sixteen
will surely provoke conversation because her age and her boldness are pretty
forward for the time. There are a few key scenes that will surprise the reader,
but I hesitate to tell them for fear of giving the story away. Readers should
think of the beginning chapters as threads intertwining to tell a bigger story,
they’ll be grabbed and surprised by many scenes.
BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message enclosed?
When I read, I love books that are good stories that suspend reality, challenge
my imagination and make me think. As a writer that’s what I’ve tried to
accomplish in PASSING LOVE and those are the readers that I’m trying to reach.
Both Ruby and Nicole learn is that no matter how much we plan and scheme to
organize our lives, they can still be unpredictable. How we manage that
unpredictability is what differentiates us humans from one another. Perceptions
and reality also come into play as the two women begin to understand what it
means to live an ordinary life. Does one settle or accept?
BPM: What should readers DO after reading this book?
They should take a look at their own lives and figure out if they are living the
best life they can—according to no other plans or ideas but their own. Then
they should go to Paris or any other place that makes their heart sing. Do it
now.
I’d love the support of EDC Creations and readers. Here are a few ways you can
help:
• pre-order PASSING LOVE now,
• spread the word online and through your network,
• recommend the books to your book club members,
• if you blog, review the book (no spoiler reviews, please),
• make sure your local public library has copies of the books,
• buy PASSING LOVE and SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER as gifts,
• recommend friends buy both SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER and PASSING LOVE,
• write positive reviews on Amazon and Goodreads—it helps to improve sales
and ranking
BPM: How do you avoid the temptation of interjecting your own morals, value
system or ministry in your writing?
It’s important to know as much as one can about a character before the writing
starts. I put together character sketches that include everything from what the
character likes (or doesn’t like) to eat and drink, what they believe in to
their astrological sign to their favorite flavor of ice cream. This sketch
becomes a working document that I add to as I discover more about the character.
In that way, I understand how a character will respond when presented with a
challenge. It takes a while to separate writer from character. For me this
happens in revision.
In SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER, once I changed the main
character’s name and switched the sex and ages of the children, I was released
into their fictional world. Those simple changes made me look at each character
differently. Revision helps me to understand what characters want so that by the
time I’m finished they’re their own people and personalities.
BPM: What insight does the book give readers on LOVE within
relationships ?
Each character in PASSING LOVE has a different response to love, whether its for
a spouse, a lover, a friend or a child. Each character has the choice to make
about what they will or won't do for love. That choice is not always an easy
one. Love is a personal and private emotion. When we share love with another
person, we open our hearts. It’s a fragile feeling that the novel explores.
BPM: Share with us a quote or brief excerpt from one of the most powerful
chapters.
Again the action of the story depends on both the chapters. Here are excerpts
from Nicole and Ruby’s chapters that let you know all is not well.
From a Nicole chapter: The question was the question: not how did the snapshot
get to Paris, but who was it for? Not all men were saints—her philandering
ex-husband and married boyfriend were proof—and that could include Squire
Handy. Though her father’s past wasn’t any of her business, curiosity
spurred Nicole. . . Her mother answered the phone on the seventh ring. “You
won't believe what I found.” Nicole described the soldiers, the insignia . . .
“How do you think it got here?”
From a Ruby chapter: The door opened without a creak or a knock. Martha in her
white nightgown, the unlit hall behind her, resembled an oversized haint that on
any other night would have tickled Ruby. A switch wobbled in her hand, the very
one from behind the kitchen door . . . She picked up Ruby’s shoes and fingered
the damp, mud-speckled soles. “Did you think I was born a fool, RubyMae? Did
you think good folk wouldn’t talk? Did you think I wouldn’t smell the liquor
and the smoke?” Dropping the shoes onto the floor, she raised her right hand.
“That man with his sugar-coated lies for a fool girl. You think I didn't see?
You’ve been with him.” The switch fell first on Ruby’s back, snagging her
dress . . .
BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
For me, reading offers the wonderful ability to experience the world from your
home. I want the readers to enjoy something or someplace new. I want them to
gain an appreciation of self and an understanding that living an ordinary life
is not a curse.
BPM: Will the digital age or social media usage change the face of
publishing?
In discussions about industry trends with my editor and publicist, I’ve
learned the answer is probably and more than likely. Publishers are encouraging
writers to Tweet and post on Facebook on a regular basis in order to promote
their books and build a following. Some editors are checking the number of
followers writers have as part of their consideration to take on a new projects.
As far as the impact of digital is concerned, I’m of two minds. I prefer the
tactile experience of reading. I love to mark up my pages and move back and
forth in a story, or reread passages. I’d use an e-reader for research
materials. More and more readers are switching to Kindles, Nooks, and IPads to
read. Bottom line, for me, format doesn’t matter. It’s just important that
people continue to read.
BPM: How do feel about selling digital books vs. selling in a brick and
mortar store? What impact do you think electronic book sales will have on indie
authors?
It’s exciting to go into a bookstore and see shelf upon shelf of books.
Typically, the staff in independent stores are knowledgeable and accessible.
They’re important to authors because they can direct readers to your books.
There’s no one to do that in an online store. It’s probably true that most
major publishers will sell books in both digital and hardcopy versions for a
long time. Publishing profits are higher because labor is less intensive and not
as time consuming. It’s my hope that authors will be well compensated as well.
Often many black and indie authors are not able to sell their books to major
houses. Smaller publishers or university presses may not be willing or able to
make the investment in digital books. That would reduce readership as more and
more readers switch to e-readers.
BPM: What has been your most difficult hurdle to leap? Marketing, promotions
or gaining media exposure, etc. How can EDC Creations and our
readers help you?
It was difficult to get the word out about my novels only because I was new to
the industry and didn't understand all the channels available to me. Locally,
I’ve done three TV programs. Some bookstores were reluctant to buy quantities
of SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER because it was my first novel and I hadn’t been
published before. Even though SEARCHING FOR TINA TURNER was named an Essence
selection, I’m not sure how that selection translated to sales. It was an
honor to be chosen and helped me to gain name recognition. PASSING LOVE will be
released as a trade paperback, making it more affordable both for readers and
bookstores.
BPM: How much does “word of mouth” play into the success of your book?
What grassroots strategies have you used to spread the word about your book?
“Word of mouth” is important. It informs people, but it should also
encourage people to buy and pre-order now (you can do this online and at your
local bookstore). Just as we’ve discussed the effect of digital publishing and
social media, the way to spread the word is different. If readers like my books,
say so and why on Facebook, Goodreads etc..
Tweet about the book using hashtags such as #Paris, #travel,
#jazz, #women’s fiction, #world war II, #readers and any other topics you
think of after you’ve read the books. I’ve done contests and giveaways.
I’ve donated books to silent auctions at charities along with a visit to a
book club meeting. That’s my grassroots strategy. Any other ideas are welcome.
BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases. How
may our readers follow you online?
I’m still trying to figure that out for myself. I’ve written a play that
I’ll try to get produced. I’m working on idea for my third novel and I’d
love to have more speaking engagements.
Heidi Durrow (The Girl Who Fell From the Sky), Tayari
Jones (Silver Sparrow) and Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant (Uptown,
Tryin’ to Sleep in the Bed You Made) have written wonderful blurbs that
will appear on the cover of PASSING LOVE. Also, PASSING LOVE, has been
selected as a featured novel for Black Expressions Book club, January!
Meet New York Times Best Selling Author Mary Monroe
The UPPER ROOM Continues With MAMA RUBY!
Mama Ruby - is now available at stores nationwide and at your favorite online retailer!
How did Ruby and Othella Mae come to be who they are today? Find out in the exciting prequel to The Upper Room. There’s a fine line between best friend and worst nightmare…but there will be a reckoning....
Mary Monroe is the author of Mama Ruby, The Upper Room and the God Don't Like Ugly series. When The Upper Room was published, Monroe had this to say: "This is my story -- these characters are people I know, it's my life," Mary Monroe laughs when asked what her inspiration was for the novel, because most of her material is autobiographical.
"I took inspiration from the people in my life. They were so colorful, it was a shame that the world didn't know about them." A storyteller since she was a child, writing came easy to Mary Monroe. So
18 years ago, when the images of her aunts, uncles and friends from childhood would not leave her mind, she sat down to write The Upper Room. "It wasn't the time for me or my book," the author admits. Although the book garnered strong reviews, publishing for African Americans was sporadic at that time.
In the interim, Monroe continued to write. "I have about two thousand rejection letters. When the market changed, it made it all worthwhile." Now the time is ripe with the renaissance of African- American novels and Monroe believes that she adds to the incredible mix with her unforgettable characters. "I enjoy the books that are on the shelves now, but those stories do not have my voice. They don't represent me and those I know. Everyone's experience needs to be heard. I know my characters are kind of quirky, but that's my experience. The reading public is now ready for my voice. I've been ready a long time! I hope readers will enjoy my latest novel, Mama Ruby. The readers will get a peek into the making of Ruby in her earlier years. You won't be disappointed!"
Visit Mary's website to view her tour schedule and to find more details on her books:
http://www.marymonroe.org
Introduction to Mama Ruby by Mary Monroe
Prequel to The Upper Room
New York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe presents an unforgettable tale featuring Mama Ruby, the indomitable heroine of her acclaimed novel The Upper Room. Now readers will get a peek into Ruby’s early years, as she transforms from a spoiled small-town girl into one of the South’s most notorious and volatile women…
Originally published in 1985, Mary Monroe's engaging debut novel, The Upper Room, features Ruby Montgomery, an obese, indomitable character who steals her best friend's baby daughter and flees to rural Florida, where she establishes herself as an almost mythical figure. The dialogue and setting are reminiscent of Zora Neale Hurston, but the story has a bizarre, violent edge … la Stephen King. Fantastic and exaggerated, The Upper Room by Mary Monroe is a candid portrayal of the cold-blooded yet fascinating Mama Ruby.
Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, Ruby Jean Upshaw is the kind of girl who knows what she wants and knows how to get it. By the time she’s fifteen, Ruby has developed a taste for fast men and cheap liquor, and not even her preacher daddy can set her straight. Most everyone in the neighborhood knows you don’t cross Ruby. Only Othella Mae Cartier, daughter of the town tramp, understands what makes Ruby tick.
When Ruby discovers she’s in the family way, she’s scared for the first time in her life. After hiding her growing belly with baggy dresses, Ruby secretly gives birth to a baby girl at Othella’s house. With few choices, Othella talks Ruby into giving the child away-and with the help of a shocking revelation, convinces Ruby to run off with her to New Orleans.
But nothing can erase Ruby’s memories of the child she lost-or quell her simmering rage at Othella for persuading her to let her precious baby go. If there’s a fine line between best friend and worst nightmare, Ruby is surely treading it. Because someday, there will be a reckoning. And when it comes, Othella will learn the hard way that no one knows how to exact revenge quite like Ruby Jean Upshaw…
The Upper Room by Mary Monroe
Mama Ruby is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, with healing hands and an inconceivably vengeful spirit. After successfully bringing her best friend's stillborn baby to life, she claims the child as her own and runs away to a migrant settlement in the Everglades. Mama Ruby's ever-increasing girth and unhealthy dependence on her daughter, Maureen, cause her to make choices and decisions that are both troubling and foolish.
Mama Ruby makes sure that Maureen is treated special by giving her the upper room of the house. It becomes Maureen's special place and is off-limits to most people, especially men. As Maureen grows into a beautiful woman, she begins to have desires of a life outside of Mama Ruby's watchful eye and of a city far away. It takes an unthinkable series of events for Maureen and Mama Ruby to accept the other's ways and needs. A chilling story that is bound to astound Monroe's fans!
New York Times Bestselling author Mary Monroe created fabulous books such as: Mama Ruby, The Upper Room and the God Don't Like Ugly series for readers with a sense of humor and adventure. When The Upper Room was published, Monroe had this to say: "This is my story -- these characters are people I know, it's my
life!" Mary Monroe laughs when asked what her inspiration was for her first novels, because most of her material is autobiographical.
Bride and Groom Money Talk FAQ
by Dr. Taffy Wagner, CEPF
Watch the video book trailer
Bride and Groom Money Talk FAQ answers over 70 questions about money before marriage for brides and grooms. This book addresses how to talk about money, who should
manage marital finances, how to handle a future spouse bringing debt into the marriage and much more.
This book can be purchased by brides and
grooms as well as family, friends or anyone in the wedding party to be given as a gift.
Bride and Groom Money Talk FAQ can be used by engaged couples, newlyweds or
even couples that are married for some time. It is a much needed resource in the wedding industry.
The book is available for purchase on Dr. Taffy Wagner's website at: http://www.brideandgroommoneytalk.com
Taffy W. Wagner remembers writing her life story when she was in Junior High School.
It was more of a class
project that she enjoyed. Throughout high school and her military enlistment she always kept a journal. Every now and again she wrote poems
for family members, friends and on special occasions. Once in her doctoral program,
she began writing more in depth due to the numerous papers she
wrote. As a matter of fact, her professors recommended that she turn her papers into book.
Within months of completing her degree, her first book,
Debt Dilemma was on the scene. Please consider giving this book as a wedding gift to the bride or groom in your life.
Visit her website at www.brideandgroommoneytalk.com
Intimate Conversation
with Shana Johnson Burton
Shana
Burton is the author of Suddenly Single First Comes Love, Flaws
and All, Catt Chasin’. (Urban Christian/Kensington Publishing.) She
is bestselling author and a two-time nominee for Georgia Author of the Year
(2009 Best Fiction- First Comes Love, 2011 Best Fiction- Flaws and All). She
resides in Georgia with her two children. When she is not writing, she can be
found gardening, dancing, or reading. She is currently working on her fifth
book, Flaw Less, which is a sequel to her bestseller Flaws and All. Flaw Less
will be release in Fall 2012.
BPM: Tell us about your journey becoming a successfully published author. Do
you have anyone in your life that was heavily influential in your deciding to
become an author?
I've been writing since I was around four or five-years-old, and I've always
known that I wanted to be a writer. I didn't always know how I was going to get
there, but writing is the only thing that I've ever done consistently and not
gotten bored or lost interest in it.
As a child, I wrote and illustrated a little series of books.
As I got older, that evolved into writing chapter novels and writing for my
schools' newspapers, literary magazines, and yearbooks. I did stop writing for
about seven years. During that time, I was focused on my marriage, my children,
and teaching.
Since I picked up the pen again in 2005, I haven't been able
to put it down. I guess God's favor has been on me since I started writing
books. I wrote my first book, Suddenly Single, in about six months.
I didn't take that long for me to find an agent. Once I did, she secured my book
deal in a week or two. The rest is history. This is not to say I didn't
suffer through my fair share of rejection letters, disappointments, and
setbacks. However, when you're determined the way I was, you don't let those
things discourage or stop you. "No" becomes your motivation to
come back stronger and better the next time.
BPM: What is your definition of success?
I don't measure success strictly in terms of money. To me, success is having
wholeness in every area of life. This includes a strong relationship with God, a
healthy relationship with your spouse and children, being sound in mind and
body, being successful on the job, and loving yourself.
BPM: What books or authors made a difference in your life?
The book that has made the biggest difference in my life is Their Eyes Were
Watching God. It is my absolute favorite novel, and it's taught me a lot
about character development, creating dialogue and a voice for my characters,
and overall good writing. I can't say enough about this book or the incomparable
Zora Neale Hurston. Author
Mary Monroe also made a huge difference in my life. When I first started
out, she was the first author to reach out to me and give me great advice about
publishing and staying encouraged. She's awesome! We did a book-signing together
last year, and I felt so honored just to be in her presence.
BPM: What have you realized about yourself since becoming a published author?
I've realized that I'm not as shy as I thought I was. It takes a certain level
of arrogance to write a book, have it published, and expect people to spend
their time and money on what you have to say. You also have to be willing to put
yourself out there, to sell your books and, to a certain extent, yourself to
strangers. You can't afford to be shy, literally or figuratively.
BPM: What are some of the benefits of being an author that makes it all
worthwhile?
The main benefit for me is being able to touch so many people. I receive emails
from people all the time telling me that my books encouraged or inspired them in
some way. I had one that said First Comes Love actually saved her marriage.
That's better than any review I could ask for!
BPM: Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
I would advise anyone who wants to become a published author to learn as much
about the craft as possible, from writing style to marketing and promotion. I
would also encourage them to join a writers' group or seek writing mentors.
BPM: If you were not a writer, what would you be?
I'm very passionate about helping people, so I'd probably be a teacher, which is
what I still do in my 9-to-5 life. I also love to talk, so I wouldn't rule out
being a talk-show host.
Catt
Chasin' by Shana Burton
Head research and development chemist Jamal Ford has narrowed his love-life down
to a science through the creation of his 30-Day Dating Plan, a guide intended to
weed out the drama queens, gold-diggers, and baby mamas from his ideal: a part
goddess, part sex kitten, and part Stepford Wife mate. The shallow, fun-loving
33-year-old knows he’s one of Charlotte, North Carolina’s most eligible
bachelors, and he won’t settle for anything less than the trophy wife of his
dreams.
Catherine “Catt” Cason has never let scheming co-workers, her loving (but
overbearing) father, or her full figure slow her down. The brilliant formulating
chemist takes being labeled “the cute fat girl” in stride as she fast-tracks
her way to a top position with her cosmetic company, Telegenic. While she would
enjoy the love of a good man, Catt refuses to risk her career or her heart being
broken again just to have a warm body at her side. Besides, why settle for the
love of an earthly man when she is the fiancée of Christ?
When Jamal is paired with Catt to launch a new product for work, it’s loathe
at first sight. She thinks he’s arrogant and incompetent. He thinks
she’s a sanctimonious kill-joy. What each believes they want may not be what
God knows they need. In this game of love, rules don’t exist, and no heart is
safe. The Lord is speaking, but will they all be too caught up in their own
agendas to listen?
A native of Philadelphia and a former teacher, Renee Bess has been
writing most of her life...poetry, short fiction, and now novels. In authoring
LEAVE OF ABSENCE, BREAKING JAIE, RE: BUILDING SASHA, AND THE BUTTERFLY MOMENTS,
Renee has remained committed to writing stories about multi-ethnic characters,
timely social themes, romance, intrigue, and mystery. She welcomes a diverse
audience of readers to her books and to her website, www.reneebess.com.
BPM: Tell us about your journey to becoming a successfully published author.
Do you have anyone in your life who was influential in your deciding to become
an author?
It seems to me that I've been writing for most of my life. A few of my early
poems were published in anthologies. In 1994, my short story, "At the
Beauty Parlor," won first place in a short fiction contest sponsored by a
Philadelphia area feminist newspaper, "Labyrinth." A year or two after
that, two of my stories were included in two different Canadian LGBT
anthologies.
During the mid-1990's I began writing what started as a piece
of short fiction. I would write in the summers during my breaks from teaching.
This particular short story kept growing, chapter by chapter. Before I knew it,
I'd written a novel, "Leave of Absence." I self-published it with
Borders Personal Publishing. After my second manuscript was rejected by two
different publishers, I submitted it to a third, Regal Crest Enterprises. The
owner of RCE liked my work and offered me a contract. RCE published BREAKING
JAIE along with my third and fourth books.
I credit my parents for influencing my love of the written word. When I was very
young, my dad was the bedtime story reader. Whenever he ran out of new story
books to read, he would invent his own tales to entertain my sister and me. My
mother has either given me a book or a gift voucher from a book store every
Christmas of my life.
BPM: Take us inside your latest book. Of the main characters, do you have any
favorites?
My latest book, THE BUTTERFLY MOMENTS, began as a traditional romance. Very
quickly, it morphed into a romance-with-intrigue. This book is my first foray
into writing a murder mystery with romance elements. The murder, which has taken
place before the story begins, is based very loosely on the real killing of a
high school student who lived not far from me. After that crime occurred, I
couldn't drive by the murder scene and the area where her body was abandoned
without feeling sadness for the loss of such a promising young person.
In the book, the main characters include Detective Johnetta Jones (a character
who is in two other books,) Alana Blue (a Parole officer on the cusp of
retirement,) Rafaela Ortiz (a P.O. with a checkered work history,) Nikki and
Owen Reid (Alana's homophobic daughter and supportive son-in-law.)
The murder is the thread that connects these characters. Certainly I have
favorites, but I prefer not saying who they are.
BPM: In writing your novels, how do you develop the plot? How much research was
required, if any? Do you ever experience writer's block?
From time to time, I do experience writer's block. I find that any kind of
stress tends to squelch my creativity.
My characters emerge from my imagination long before I begin to write. Usually
it is the characters who lead me to the plot. I know some writers develop
elaborate outlines for their books. I haven't used that method so far. I have a
sketchy idea of where I want the story to go, but my characters always take
themselves through the story arc.
For THE
BUTTERFLY MOMENTS I needed to research a typical day in the work life
of a Parole Officer, so I interviewed a neighbor of mine who is a career
Parole Officer. Prior to writing RE: BUILDING SASHA, I interviewed a
cousin of mine who had been a general manager of a construction company. I was
curious about the subtle and not so subtle challenges that face a female in such
a male dominated field.
BPM: How did you come to create such strong main characters? Did you know
from the start that they would be so complex and exciting?
Whenever I write fiction I have three goals: to create fully formed and well
described characters, to craft the language with the same precision with which a
sculptor would carve a statue, and to tell a story that will encourage the
reader to think beyond it. So yes, I intended for the characters to be complex
and exciting. I want the reader to wonder what becomes of Johnetta's and Alana's
relationship; what does Nikki do with her feelings about her mother's sexuality;
where does Rafe land as a consequence of her choices?
BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book, THE
BUTTERFLY MOMENTS?
I want to reach as many readers as possible. I've been told that my fiction is
not solely for African-American LGBT readers; that the stories have cross-over
appeal. I believe that their themes and characters are recognizable to all
people, regardless of gender, sexuality and racial/ethnic identity. In a most
gentle non-proselytizing way, I welcome all readers.
Intimate Conversation with
Danielle Santiago
Hosted by Black Pearls Magazine and Ella Curry
Danielle Santiago is Back and Proves That She is Among
Street Fiction's Elite With Allure of the Game. "We All
Hustlers in Love With the Same Game." -- Jay-Z, Allure
With
Allure
of the Game a novel, Essence bestselling author Danielle
Santiago concludes her popular streetwise trilogy with a sizzling story
about a female drug cartel with a growing empire—and a growing list of
ruthless rivals.
With the publication of her debut novel, Little
Ghetto Girl, Danielle Santiago attracted the attention of reviewers and
readers alike by her uncanny ability to weave a realistic, spellbinding story
about the gritty streets of Harlem. When the book became an Essence magazine #1
bestseller, Santiago’s status as a notable in Urban Lit was solidified and
when her second book, Grindin’ was published, fans couldn’t get
enough of her take-no-prisoners female characters who were sexy, strong and
lived life on their own terms.
Now with Allure
of the Game the highly anticipated third installment in her page-turning
trilogy, Santiago does not disappoint with an action-packed, suspenseful tale of
a female drug cartel maneuvering within an ever-expanding empire. Although Kisa
“Kane” Montega of Little Ghetto Girl and her cousin Kennedy
Sanchez of Grindin’ now have beautiful families and have built
successful lives in legitimate businesses, each is drawn back to the dangerous
game they thought they’d left.
Allure
of the Game byDanielle
Santiago
Sexy, suspenseful, and unflinching, Danielle Santiago’s Allure of the Game
gives fans exactly what they’ve been hoping for—a deeply satisfying
conclusion to an unforgettable trilogy, packed with insight into the mean
streets she knows so well. A superstar in Urban Lit, Essence bestselling author
Danielle Santiago concludes her gripping Harlem trilogy with a sizzling,
streetwise novel about an all-female drug cartel. She's here today to give us a
peek behind the scenes!
EDC: It all began with Little Ghetto Girl! Allow me to give readers a
little blast from the past:
After a successful life in the drug game, twenty-one-year-old Kisa Kane plans to
retire -- settle down, find a good man, and raise a family of her own. Done with
the thug life, she has everything a ghetto girl would want: plenty of money,
drop-dead-gorgeous looks, and two thriving legitimate businesses. Until she
falls in love with Sincere Montega, a powerful drug dealer whose down-and-dirty
money pulls Kisa back into the world she is trying so hard to leave behind. With
lies, cheating, and conflict, Kai, their newborn, may be the only reason for
this couple to stay together, but their lives are inevitably changed in the most
unexpected way, the only way the streets of Harlem can.
EDC:
Introduce the main characters in your latest work "The Allure of the
Game?"
Twenty-year-old Arnessa didn’t grow up on the streets. But when her mentally
ill mother abandons her and her older brother is murdered, Arnessa has no choice
but to abandon college dreams to hustle just to keep herself and her little
sister alive. She does everything she can to keep her sister on the right path
so that at least one of them makes it out to a better life.
Kisa ‘Kane’ Montega (Little Ghetto Girl) and Kennedy (Grindin) took a break
from the game. They’d build a drug empire in Harlem and were living
comfortably off its rewards. Kisa now has a wonderful marriage, two beautiful
children, and lives in a stunning home on the outskirts of Charlotte. Her cousin
Kennedy has spent two-years away from the volatile music industry, focusing on
children and building a solid foundation with her rap star fiancé, Chaz. But in
spite of their success, both Kisa and Kennedy are gravitating back to their old
ways. They miss Harlem, the money, and the game all together.
A chance meeting, Kane and Kennedy recruit Arnessa as a partner in their cartel.
They teach her the ropes and reestablish their control in Harlem.
EDC: Can you personally relate to any of your characters or the experiences
they may go through in you novels?
I can relate to Arnessa somewhat. Arnessa learns to survive for herself and her
sister Cenise. When someone you love is depending on you to make a way in
life--you make it happen.
EDC: Why do you believe readers love Kane and Kennedy so much?
These ladies are sexy and sassy as well as powerful and smart. They work hard
for what they want. Readers have watched them struggle and make it through the
street life, love relationships, family issues and more. This is what real women
deal with everyday.
Although Kane and Kennedy are fictional characters they are women who stand
strong and powerful beside their men. Men want women that are beautiful; but
real power players want a women who can hold down the business in their absence.
Brains and beauty. In Allure of the Game Kane, Kennedy and Arnessa go above and
beyond to keep control of what belongs to them. That type of power is alluring.
EDC: What's next for Danielle Santiago?
I’ll be making some tour stops this summer including the DC Book Diva
Mobile Book Stand June 17th, the DMV Literary Expo in National Harbor
Maryland on June 18-19, New York for Harlem Book Fair July 23 and Bedford-Stuyvesant
Book Festival July 24, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami and a few other surprise
stops. At the end of the summer is the release of the anthology SOFT:
Cocaine Love Stories featuring myself, T. Styles and J.M. Benjamin with
forward by Ashley JaQuavis distributed by Urban Books.
I'm also preparing a campaign to launch the Mischievous Girls Foundation,
an organization to aid and support battered women in need and misguided inner
city girls. I'll be going on a speaking tour to reach out to pre-teens, teens
and young adults about leaving the streets along and making better choices to
become successful.
EDC: Where can the readers find more information about you?
Facebook Fan page: Danielle Santiago; Follow me on Twitter @Santiagosway #AllureoftheGame
The Underside of an Uprooted
Tree by Sherryle Kiser
Jackson
Have you ever seen the underside of an uprooted tree? Not a bush, not
a stump, but a tree, a hundred foot solid oak. I have. There it was
a toppled tree. I’m not really the off-road type, so I can’t recall the
circumstances of where I was or where I was in route to when I saw it. I
distinctively remember I was troubled by the sight. Maybe the tree was a
casualty after a storm. What captured my attention was the fact I could see its
exposed roots. The roots were so solid and strong and thick in appearance that
it reminded me of the tentacles of a mature size octopus.
What force could unearth a tree at its roots? A tree
that had been snapped in half would have made more sense to me. I remember
wanting to contact the Audubon or Arbor Day Society to help save the downed
pillar. There was nothing I could do on my own to return its boughs and branches
to the skyline among it lofty counterparts. I was helpless.
I can’t help but equate the fall of that tree to the fall of our
neighborhood institutions. I’ve seen them topple as well. I’m talking
about neighborhood hallmarks like the bookstores that service our community. As
a young writer I had seen the closing of Yawa Books and Sisterspace & Books
down the historic U Street and Adams Morgan corridor where I spent my formative
writing years in a bi-weekly writer’s critique group at the latter. One
of my favorite local music fusion groups, formerly known as Fertile Ground
has a song called “Broken Branches” that posed the question, “What about
leaves on trees with broken branches? Where will they go after they had their
dances in the wind?” I was a by product of that dynamic and eclectic
synergy now I had no place to go. Gentrification had cut my tree at the
roots before I was able to bear fruit, publish and have a book signing there.
I saw that actual collapsed tree about the same time one of the Maryland, DC
Metro area brands, Karibu Books announced it was closing. It immediately
reminded me of the void we would all surely feel when they closed for good.
I felt that same helplessness. I loved that place. It was everything a
bookstore should be - a cultural hub, meeting place, and resource center. It was
vibrant in its color, clean, classic and celebratory of our culture.
I had been a patron and fan of Karibu Books, standing in line to see so many
talented authors of color to come through their six locations. I longed to
have my books shelved somewhere between Brenda and Sheneska Jackson. It
was like a venue all the stars traveled up Interstate 95 to make an appearance
at. I was proud to be a writer and Prince Georgian when Karibu was open,
knowing its Essence reporting bookstore status would elevate me to the
bestseller list. I at least had a signing on the books for my debut
release in 2007. To my chagrin, the chain closed before that dream could
be realized. I knew I would write about the loss someday after lamenting,
and mourn I did. I went into a funk!
I felt I was owed an explanation. There was no explanation good enough to
explain why this institution crumbled or imploded the way it did so I concocted
a tale. I wanted to believe the major bookstore chains like Barnes and
Nobles, Borders or super centers that now carried books like Wal-Mart were
driving out the mom and pop stores. In my mind it was like a sapling being
denied the necessary nourishing light or water amongst the true giants.
Maybe we weren’t doing enough as a community to feed the starving chain.
If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it
make a sound? Karibu had matured and grown to a mighty oak.
Reverberations and shock waves could definitely be heard and felt after it
closed. Now my question became could we find a home and could our audience
find our books in a larger chain? Would they find value in the works of
African American authors, shelve our books, comply with our need to be communal
and host the type of events that led to sales even if our names aren’t on the
bestseller list? The answer – some stores are better than others.
It depends greatly on management and literary advocates. I imagine it is more
difficult for my self-published counterparts.
I have since published three novels and done a good many book signings at a fair
share of major bookstores and literary festivals. Life goes on and the
publishing industry keeps changing. Even Borders has had to shout
"timber" in recent years and close a couple hundred stores. Just
when I felt my funk returning, the doom and gloom of a literary career cut down
in its prime, I remember we’ve been here before.
It was time to update the literary navigational system.
Readers will always be there. It’s just that the route to find and retain
those readers have changed. Where once you depended on knee cap to knee cap
meet-ups, the landscape has been cleared for virtual encounters and social media
marketing.
A Taste Of Soul
by Lutishia Lovely
Some of my fondest memories revolve around food and family. All of the women surrounding me were great cooks: my mother, grandmother, aunts, older sister. The kitchen was a gathering place filled with love, gossip and tasty treasures. Cooking was fun, and a process I initially learned almost by osmosis at my mama’s elbow.
Tish, pour me this. Get me that. Measure me out a cup of flour.
Stir the soup in that pot. Check those rolls in the oven. How are they looking? Stuff like that.
The love of cooking was passed down and with it, a little pressure. For years I thought if I measured anything my grandmother would roll over in her grave. (I’ve since learned that measuring has its distinct advantages, like recipes made perfectly every time!) But I guess these experiences laid the foundation for me being a chef in my own mind, often hosting my own cooking show while preparing a meal (yes, this includes talking to myself, translated audience, as I slice and dice), and even once submitting a tape to a food channel.
I wanted to be the Next Food Network Star! :)
My family is from Arkansas by way of South Carolina and the food we ate was heavily influenced by this region. In the 60s, these typically southern dishes were coined “soul food,” and are defined as such to this day. Just like the characters in my latest work,
All Up In My
Business, we regularly feasted on southern standards: greens and cornbread, turnips, beans, yams, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, chicken and dumplings and some of my favorite desserts—apple cobbler, pecan, sweet potato and lemon icebox pie!
My mouth is watering just remembering the Sunday spreads containing one or all of the above, along with offerings for which I
never developed a palate: chitterlings, ox tails, liver, ham hocks and hog jowls. These latter dishes, along with seeing my grandmother “ring” the neck of our evening meal and then watch said chicken flop around headless, is probably one of the reasons I’m a vegetarian today!
But man oh man did this food taste delicious. My favorites still do, now created sans meat, lard and often dairy. The results? Tasty and healthy. Now that’s a true yum-O!
The roots of soul food cuisine can be traced back to Africa where in the 14th century, interestingly enough, these natives maintained a primarily vegetarian lifestyle. What? Who knew! Many of their native ingredients, such as rice, okra, and dark leafy greens became meal staples for those who travelled from Africa as slaves. During this trans-Atlantic transition however, their relatively healthy diet consisting of lots of vegetables and little meat, changed drastically.
Having to make do with leftovers in their new country Africans, and some equally unfortunate Europeans, transformed their former cuisine to fit the ingredients now at their disposal. Pork replaced the nuts and seeds that were formerly used as seasonings and thickeners, game such as “coon” and “possum” became meat staples, and once slaves began to cook in the big house, modern standards such as fried chicken and mashed potatoes were added to the typical lunch or dinner menu. In the 17th century, somebody in North Carolina threw a piece of pork marinated in what was then used to preserve fresh meat—vinegar, salt and various peppers— over an open fire. Barbeque was born and, baby! A plate of soul food never looked the same! These dishes, often created from leftovers and throwaway scraps, are now celebrated as gourmet.
I can see my dad now, smacking his lips and shaking his head while sopping a fresh-baked, buttery biscuit into a saucer of sorghum molasses. “This is good eating, girl,” he’d say. Of course, he’d also say that after taking a bite of pig guts, otherwise known as chitterlings, a declaration that would often send me running from the room with a resounding, “Yuck!”
Yes, we’ve come full circle. Soul food is big business. In the novel All Up In My Business art imitates life. The Livingston family business of soul food chains is thriving, gossip and love still fill the kitchen, the tables are laden with mouth-watering choices and everybody agrees that life is infinitely better with just a little “Taste of Soul!”
About the Author Lutishia Lovely burst on to the scene with Sex In The Sanctuary, a novel that crosses genres and shakes up comfort zones. Billed as the book “where sex and spirituality collide,” the year of its release SITS positioned Lutishia as a Debut Author Finalist at the Southeastern Arts Association’s Literary Awards. The novel was a bestseller on Amazon, Black Expressions and other internet sites and the subsequent books in this ongoing series: Love Like Hallelujah, A Preacher’s Passion, Heaven Right Here, Reverend Feelgood and Heaven Forbid, have enjoyed tremendous success as well, and have made her a popular guest with book clubs, magazines and radio stations.
Thankful to be living her dream, Lutishia is also humbled to be the voice for so many who feel silenced. From molestation, homosexuality and infidelity in ministry to her latest series, The Business, that examines the dynamics of dysfunction among family and society, she approaches each topic with compassion and unconditional love—offering a safe place for those who’ve experienced such challenges to come forward and be “seen,” and also encouraging dialogue along with the space for healing and understanding. “You’re the only you that we will ever see,” she says, in celebration of individual uniqueness.
“To thine own self be true or, in other words…do you.”
Currently, Lutishia is busy at work on her second series, which features All Up In My Business, Mind Your Own Business, and Taking Care Of
Business. Fans of the Hallelujah Love series will be happy to know that that series continues in 2012.
In addition to juggling these two projects, she also keeps close tabs on her alter-ego, Zuri Day, who whips up sizzling romances for the lover in us all.
When not writing, Lutishia indulges in her other loves: sports, cooking, international travel, and entertaining family and friends in southern California.
Ivette Attaud, a Harlem, New York native and former Fort Bragg Army wife, has been a survivor of domestic violence and abuse for over twenty years.
Ivette served on the Battered Women’s Justice Committee of Voices of Women Organizing Project in New York as well as contributed research regarding law guardians to their report
Justice Denied: How Family Courts in NYC Endanger Battered Women and Children.
She received a Certificate of Completion in Victim Assistance Training from the New York State Office For Victims of
Crime, has received numerous awards for speaking at high schools and colleges; created and facilitated a domestic violence and abuse training for Chaplains called
Healing The Body Before The Spirit and talks to teens in various high schools about dating violence and their internet footprint.
Ivette Attaud, publisher, a gifted author, highly sought-after motivational speaker and domestic violence expert, developed Healing The Body Before The Spirit, a domestic abuse educational workshop for the faith-based community. She has written numerous articles, including a recently-published article entitled Surviving the Loss of a Child for Spotlight On Recovery Magazine. More information can be found online at:
http://www.mylifemysoul.com.
Domestic violence affects two to four million people alone in the United States including teenagers and 54% of parents admit they haven’t spoken to their teen about dating violence or healthy relationships.
My Life My Soul, Surviving, Healing And Thriving After An Abusive Relationship is an honest and graphic true story of
Ivette Attaud’s dating relationship as a teen and how it quickly manifested into a destructive, violent and psychologically abusive marriage.
Ivette puts a face on domestic violence as she describes how she was able to break the emotional and psychological chains of her abuser.
Ivette recounts vivid memories of growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness; her experience with dating violence; her battle with depression; a suicide attempt; the loss of her infant twin daughter to a domestic violence assault and re-victimization by the New York City family court system, including actual documents! In the first part of this three-part series,
My Life My Soul, Surviving, Healing And Thriving After An Abusive Relationship: Part 1 –
Surviving, Ivette lays bare the life-long difficulties those in abusive relationships face.
Surviving an Abusive Relationship: How do you break the chains of an abusive relationship?
Healing Touch TV Show with Host Dr. Gina Miller (Part 1)
BPM: Ivette, when did you begin writing? When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I was born and raised in Harlem. I started keeping a journal about 10 years ago to release some of the emotional pain and trauma I had been dealing with since I left my abuser and to leave something for my children so they could gain some insight as to what I went through and maybe help them deal with their issues when they became adults. I didn't consider myself as just a writer; I considered myself a person with an important story to
tell.
BPM: Do you see writing as a career now?
Yes, I do. I am a true entrepreneur at heart! I launched My Life My Soul, The Unspoken Journey of Life After Domestic Abuse to raise awareness about domestic violence and abuse and also launched MLMS Publishing to release my first book.
BPM: What inspired you to write your first book, My Life, My Soul? How did you come up with the title? Who designed the book cover?
I wrote this book as a way to cope with the loneliness and isolation that is felt by survivors of an abusive relationship, and to deal with the grief of losing my child as a result of the abuse. I experienced writer's block frequently, as this is a difficult topic to write about. Over 15 years ago, I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the abuse, and one of the primary symptoms is re-living the trauma. It took me 10 years to write this because I needed to deal with the book setting off my triggers.
When I was invited to speak in public about my experience and scores of people approached me with positive feedback and shared their experiences with me, I believed that my book could help a lot of people. When I saw the statistics on teen dating violence, I included my experience with that as well.
I designed the cover myself to show that real freedom does exist for the survivor when they break the emotional and psychological chains of their abuser.
My Life, My Soul - Surviving, Healing And Thriving After An Abusive
Relationship: The title is a reflection of the physical violence and psychological abuse that threatened my life and the spiritual abuse that jeopardized my soul; and that leaving an abusive relationship is about breaking the chains that bind you.
BPM: Do you attempt to avoid the temptation of interjecting your own morals, value system or ministry in your writing?
Including my belief system in the book was important because the reader will not only understand how my belief system contributed to my being in an abusive relationship, but will see how I went about changing my belief system in order to break the chains of abuse and improve the quality of life for me and my children.
BPM: What insight does the book give teen readers on relationships?
The whole book is based on my experiences. I didn't want my book to be a glossed-over version of an abusive relationship. I wanted it to be as real to the reader as it was to me, so there is graphic language in the book. Not because that is my writing style, but because that is the true nature of domestic violence.
The book gives the reader insight on what a person in an abusive relationship goes through. It also helps the reader understand the isolation that survivors of relationship abuse go through. And, more importantly, that you can live a happy and fulfilling life after an abusive relationship.
BPM: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
As a result of the abuse, I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. One of the symptoms of PTSD is re-living the experience. Writing this book meant that I re-lived the experience over and over again, including when I lost my daughter. Although writing this book will help a lot of people, it set off my triggers, which I have learned to manage. That is why it took me so long to complete it. But, the more I wrote, the easier it got to deal with and that meant I was on my healing journey.
BPM: Did you learn anything from writing My Life, My Soul and what was it?
We go through things in life for a reason. I was able to take a negative and turn it into a positive so I would be in a better position to heal and help others. I learned a lot about myself and what constituted an unhealthy relationship. I was also able to see how I’ve grown psychologically and emotionally from my teenage years, all the way to adulthood. Understanding where you’ve come from is crucial to knowing where you’re going. I also learned that I have a very powerful gift for helping people past obstacles in life that may be holding them back from achieving their goals. So, I am also a Personal Life
Coach.
BPM: Is there anything that makes your book different from others in the same genre?
I write in a style that makes the reader feel as if I’m talking directly to them. While I was going through my experience, I told a lot of people about the abuse, including the military police, doctors, even the NYC family court system, and no one believed that an enlisted service member could be capable of abuse. As a result, my children and I fell through the cracks and no one did anything to protect us. Not only do I include actual court documents and excerpts in my book, but I mention the names of the people who pushed my children and I through the cracks, including judges. From what I’ve read over the years, there are a lot of people out there who have experienced the same thing.
BPM: What messages in your book, My Life, My Soul, do you want readers to grasp?
The book contains several messages: it inspires and gives hope to the survivor who is currently in or who has left an abusive relationship so they know they’re not alone; it’s an example for the families and friends of the survivor to know what NOT to do and say; it’s for parents and teens who want to know about the red flags of an abusive relationship and it’s for the professional who works with those who have experienced domestic violence and/or abuse. The reader has a birds-eye view of what the daily reality is like for someone going through an abusive relationship, whether you are a teen or an adult. I remember what my thought process was like as a teenager. I believe there is always something to learn from someone else’s experience.
BPM: In writing your book, how much legal research was required, if any?
I still have the court documents I received when my abuser took me to court. When I decided to publish this book, I went to family court to review my family court file and see if there were any additional documents in it. To my surprise, there were court documents in my file that I knew nothing about. I decided to include those documents in my book.
BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message enclosed?
There are approximately 32 million American men, women and children that have experienced some form of family violence. I wanted the reader to understand and know:
• The Military Justice System to know what the daily reality of someone being abused by an active duty service member is like;
• the Legal System to understand that there is more to addressing the issue of domestic violence and abuse than “whoever gets to court first and has the most money wins,”
• the Mental Health System to see how their decisions and diagnoses, without the appropriate follow-up, severely impacts the lives of the victim and his or her children long after the case is closed;
• the Medical Community to see that the number of bruises and broken bones that pass through their emergency rooms are more than statistics;
• the Religious Community to realize that you have to heal the body before the spirit;
• people whose loved ones are in an abusive relationship to recognize the signs of the type of severe depression that leads to suicide and to understand that family support is crucial in the healing process;
• parents of teens who are dating to recognize the red flags of an abusive relationship; and
• anyone who currently is in an abusive relationship or has left an abusive relationship to know that you are not alone and you can and will break the emotional and psychological chains that bind you.
BPM: What should readers DO after reading this book?
Readers who have a friend or a loved one who is in an/was in abusive relationship, and they want to have a better understanding of what they've experienced should read the book. Survivors of domestic violence and abuse internalize a lot of their trauma, and we don't talk about it too much. My book details the thought process of someone in an abusive relationship.
BPM: Now, let’s talk about the publishing industry. How did you initially break into the publishing industry? What road did you travel?
I initially decided to use a subsidy publisher some months ago. But the publishing industry changes so quickly, and more self-publishing resources became available to me, that I decided to fund the publishing of the book myself. It is a common myth that if you use a subsidy publisher, and they offer you a marketing package, that they will market your book. Their goal is to make money from the author. Regardless of the publishing method used, it will always be the author's responsibility to market the book themselves. I decided to independently publish because I am a true entrepreneur at heart (it runs in my family), and I love the challenges of running my own business.
BPM: How do you feel about self-publishing? How do feel about selling digital books vs. selling in a brick and mortar store?
It depends on what the author defines as self-publishing. I prefer the term Independent Publisher. It could be a subsidy publisher, or completely funding the publishing of the book yourself. The traditional publishing industry is slowly changing their bias against self-publishers. The choice between selling digital books vs. selling in a brick and mortar store goes back to the first question - what your goal is for writing your book. Both still require a lot of hard work on the part of the author to get their book in either channel. My Life, My Soul will be available in print and as an e-book in order to make the book available to everyone.
I want to re-emphasize that understanding your goal for writing your book is important. If you want to independently publish your book, you need to understand how the industry operates. For example, if an author plans on publishing independently out of his or her own pocket, and is working hard to market and promote that book, just know that all your hard work may be in jeopardy. I have seen many self-publishers disillusioned by the publishing industry because they don't make much money from the sale of their books. That is because while selling online is an important part of marketing and promoting your book, if they've listed their book at online retailers, they will undercut the author's price by selling their books at a discount.
BPM: Awesome advice! Do you have any more advice for other writers? Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
There is a story inside everyone and someone will definitely benefit from what you have to say. I would advise anyone wanting to publish a book to do ask themselves the following questions: Why am I writing it and what are my goals? What results do I want to see from publishing this book? Am I ready to take on the challenges of publishing it myself and not use a subsidy publisher? What do I expect from a subsidy publisher? Do I have the resources to market this book? Do I want to make $1-2 dollars in royalties for my book, or do I want to keep more money in my
pocket?
BPM: A Legacy is something that is handed down from one period of time or culture to another. Finish this sentence- “My writing offers the following legacy to future readers and new authors... ”
To blaze new paths in your writing and publishing journey and to not be afraid of the challenges. I am happy to say that after 10 years of writing and two years of promotion, that
My Life, My Soul – Surviving, Healing & Thriving After An Abusive Relationship – Part 1:
Surviving, is now available to make a difference in someone's life!
My Life My Soul tells readers things that someone in an abusive relationship, whether it is your loved one or friend, won’t tell you. It contains my deepest thoughts and feelings from when I first entered an abusive relationship at 16 through to an abusive marriage as an adult. I have included actual court documents as proof of how my children and I fell through the cracks of the systems designed to protect those in abusive relationship. You can view the book trailer and purchase the book at:
http://www.mylifemysoul.com
BPM: Share with us a quote or brief excerpt from one of the most powerful chapters.
Here is an excerpt from the published book, My Life, My Soul – Surviving, Healing & Thriving After An Abusive Relationship
Part 1: Surviving
...I was terrified by the time I arrived in the delivery room. No one was there to hold my hand, or to tell me everything was going to be okay. Doctors and nurses ran around the delivery room and failed miserably at trying to calm me down. I was too busy screaming from the pain and crying for the doctors to stop my labor.
The doctor yelled at the nurses, “Find a vein and get an IV line going NOW!”
I felt a shot of pain in my arms from where the nurses were hitting me as they desperately tried to get a vein to pop up.
“Doctor, all her veins have collapsed!” I heard a nurse say.
Someone exclaimed, “I got one!”
Someone else yelled, “Get it, get it, get it!”
Then the doctor walked over to me.
“We’re going to have to deliver those babies now. They’re in distress and it’s too late to stop your labor.”
Through my tears, I yelled with all the strength I had.
“You can’t take them now! It’s not time!”
“We have to. If we don’t deliver them now, all of you are going to die,” the doctor said.
My thoughts ran back to earlier in the day when Victor strangled me and I couldn’t breathe. The stress of fighting, along with the lack of oxygen, put my babies in distress. The doctor left my side and went to the foot of the bed while the nurses secured my feet in the stirrups. Everything happened so fast and the labor pains were so intense; it felt as if someone stuck hot knives into my belly. Then my thoughts turned elsewhere. Was this God’s punishment? What did I do wrong to deserve this? I was raised to believe that God had two faces; one that was loving and forgiving and the other one was mean and punished those who disobeyed him. All I did was marry a man because I loved him! What was so wrong about that?
The doctor broke my train of thought as he examined me to see how much more I had dilated.
“Don’t push!” The doctor yelled at me while he continues his examination.
“I’m not pushing!” I yelled back.
I tried to close my legs a little but couldn’t because of the stirrups. I wanted to resist the urge to push but I could feel a baby trying to come out anyway. The doctor bent down in front of me to prepare to deliver the first baby. He turned his head to say something to the nurse when, all of a sudden, he screamed, “OH SHIT!”
When he stood up, he held my baby upside down by her feet and his hospital gown was completely splattered with blood. The baby had to have come out feet first because of how he grabbed it. When the doctor yelled, I lifted my head off the bed and strained to see her. She was so tiny and I didn’t even hear her cry. I just saw the baby’s back as the doctor handed it to the nurse, who quickly ran out of the delivery room with her. Right away, I felt dizzy.
“The other baby’s transverse!” I heard a nurse say.
When an unborn baby is in a transverse position, it lays across the mother’s pelvic bone instead of the normal birth position of head down. It was dangerous for me as well as for my baby, because there was a possibility that my uterus could have ruptured which could have lead to both of our deaths.
The nurse grabbed my belly tightly where the still unborn twin was, trying to keep the baby from moving any further. The pain was excruciating. As the doctor moved back to the side of my bed, he told me what he had to do.
“Ivette, I have to give you an emergency cesarean section. The anesthesiologist has been called and he’s on his way here.”
I didn’t want to die like this! What would happen to my children? With the remaining strength I had, I motioned for a nurse to come to me.
“I need you to call my Kingdom Hall and ask for the pastor. Tell him it’s an emergency and I need him here now!”
I looked at the clock on the wall and it was close to midnight. I had memorized the number so I gave it to her and she ran off. The other nurse was still holding my stomach and she was hurting me so bad that I tried to push her hand away.
“If we let this baby move, you’re both going to die! Ivette, Stop it!” the nurse screamed at me.
I yelled out again what my religion was and that I didn’t want a blood transfusion. When I saw the doctor again, I asked how my first baby was.
“So far, you had a girl and we’re not sure how she is right now. The ambulance took her to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center where they have a neonatal unit and we have another ambulance on standby waiting to take this baby.”
It seemed like an eternity before the pastor finally arrived in the delivery room. Through my tears, I told the pastor what happened.
“Please pray with me. I can’t do this alone,” I told him.
He held my hands tightly, closed his eyes and I closed mine.
“Lord, we humbly come to you in this time of need to watch over our Sister who needs you now more than ever. Whatever your Will is, Lord, will be. Lord, I ask you to watch over her babies, that they be healthy and safe. In Jesus’ name we ask you, Amen.”
I said “Amen.”
As soon as he finished praying, a peace came over me like I’ve never experienced before...
(continued in the book, My Life, My Soul)
BPM: What has been your most difficult hurdle to leap? Marketing, promotions or gaining media exposure, etc. How can EDC Creations and our readers help you?
The most difficult hurdle is in converting the level of interest in the book into actual sales. As an author and publisher, I wear many hats. Not only am I responsible for the health of my business, but I'm also responsible for making the strongest efforts possible in my marketing and media exposure to make sure my book gets into the hands of those that can really benefit from it.
BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases. How may our readers follow you online?
Readers can follow me on Twitter - @ivetteattaud or on Facebook. They can also email me directly at
ivetteattaud@mylifemysoul.com
Domestic violence is devastating. Understand how to better help a friend or loved one.
Purchase My Life, My Soul - Surviving, Healing And Thriving After An Abusive Relationship, Part 1: Surviving on
www.mylifemysoul.com!
My Life, My Soul - Surviving, Healing And Thriving After An Abusive Relationship
Part 1 – Surviving by Ivette Attaud
US $15.95. Nonfiction. ISBN-13: 978-0615440613
Purchase books here: http://www.mylifemysoul.com
EDC Creations Media Group Disclaimer:
The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Black Pearls Magazine, EDC Creations or the owners. We are not to be held liable for the statements of the authors. Submission to EDC Creations confirms that the guest writers agree with all of the terms listed and give us permission to display their original work, book excerpts, written and oral interviews and links. The writers are also confirming that they own all rights to the material submitted to EDC Creations and that all statements are true and not malicious. Submission to EDC Creations confirms that the author understands he/she is responsible for all legal enquiries into material submitted.
Intimate Conversation
with Marian L. Thomas
Marian L. Thomas, reared in Chicago but lives with her
biggest supporter—her husband and their spoiled but playful dog, Winston in Atlanta, Georgia.
Her debut title, Color Me Jazzmyne, went on to become an Amazon
bestseller and was ranked as one of the "Top 100 Books" -
1st
Qtr 2010 by the Sankofa Literary Society Review.
Marian welcomes the release of her second book, My Father's Colors-The Drama-Filled Journey of Naya Monà Continues on March 1, 2011 to online retailers, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com,
Kindle and Nook. Be sure to get your copy today! It is sure to be another
bestseller for the author as it takes you on the journey of four individuals that lead to one destination filled with betrayal, lies and shocking secrets.
BPM: Marian, this is your second published book, why do you write? What's your goal in writing?
For me, writing is more of a release from the reflection of the world around us. It is a way to express the obvious using tones that soothe, excite, uplift and allow the reader to step out of their comfort level. That is my goal when writing. That is what drives me to create characters
such as Naya Mona.
BPM: Tell us about your passion for writing. What impact do you want your book to make on the readers?
“Passion is a hard word to describe because it's like describing what it feels like to have something move you so much that you can't help but act upon it... are their real words for that? For me, writing is more of a release from reality, a way to express the obvious using melodious tones that soothe the reader and allows them to live in a world other than their own. That is my goal when writing. That is what drives me.”
BPM: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
I wouldn't consider myself powerful, but I hope that people who read my books, make a powerful connection with them in some form or fashion. Be it mentally or emotionally. If that occurs, that gives strength to my pen.
BPM: Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?
My mentors are people who encourage me. Who tell me to "never give up." They become my inspiration and my drive to write. My husband, mother and mother-in-law, along with friends and readers have become both mentors and inspirations for me.
BPM: Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
That the term 'color' doesn't necessarily refer to the color of a woman's skin. Rather, it can refer to the colors that make up her crayon box of life. As women—our journeys, emotions, experiences, tears, joys, laughter and even pains in life help determine the colors in our box. We can either create our own box of crayons or allow others to do it for us.
BPM: Share with us a little about Color Me Jazzmyne before we move into the newly released sequel
My Father's Colors.
Child abuse, rape, struggling to make money to live—these are all the things that women have gone through at least once in their lifetime. When a father's touch is no longer innocent, how do you find the courage to forgive?
Women will relate to the drama, romance, and struggles Naya Mona goes through in Color Me
Jazzmyne. She has a voice that commands the attention of its readers and takes them on a rollercoaster ride as she confronts a son whom she never got a chance to name. How do you tell your son that your father is his? There are so many questions that face Naya and she tries to explain just what color is Jazzmyne.
BPM: Are your characters, in the debut novel Color Me Jazzmyne, a portrayal of real people?
In Color Me Jazzmyne, I discussed several current issues in society, such as rape and incest. Rape is often the "hush" word in our lives. It's the thing that we prefer to put into the closet of other skeletons that we pray no one has the key to. Child abuse often occurs at a young age and more than often it is done by someone that is very close---a family member or friend of the family. It's a difficult thing to get over, it's even more difficult to explain. According to one statistic.... one out of every six women will be raped over their lifetime and 73% of all rape victims know their assailants. In fact, studies have shown that 60% of all sexual assaults are not reported.
Reality is always a part of us and as such what we read must adhere to some form of it in order to make it so that one can relate to the story that is being told. Naya is clearly a reflection of the many women that I have met over the years and the struggles that they have gone through. I do not remove myself from that reflection. Misty represents all the so-called friends that revolve in and out of our lives and Chris is what I term the 'life-time' type of husband. He represents the compassion and love that we as women need, want and deserve.
BPM: Now let's move forward, introduce us to My Father's Colors.
My Father's Colors-The Drama-Filled Journey of Naya Monà Continues, takes you on the journey of four individuals that lead to one incredible destination filled with betrayal, lies and shocking secrets. Naya Monà is back on another emotional and drama-filled roller coaster as
she finds herself fighting to find her voice, discover her father's past and search for her daughter. How do you find a daughter you never knew you gave birth to?
BPM: Who were your favorites in My Father's Colors, the sequel to Color Me
Jazzmyne?
In this book, my favorite character is Chris. He is a devoted husband who makes mistakes but his motives and love for his wife are pure, real and felt throughout the choices he makes. Each of the characters portray a version of someone we can all relate to, whether in a good or bad way. I think that element of reality helps make a good reader connection.
BPM: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write My Father's
Colors?
Watching the struggles, pain and abuse of children prompted me to tackle the subject within the pages of my books.
BPM: What are two major events taking place in My Father's Colors?
First, there is the inner struggle that the main character Naya Monà must face. She must find peace within herself, within her past and dig within the depths of her heart to find forgiveness for her father.
Second, there is the inner struggle of Jonathan—Naya's son. How do you deal with knowing that your mother was raped and that you were the result? How do you find the strength to forgive when your heart can't let go of the past? How do you see your future—your wife and children and realize that their love is what matters most?
BPM: Who do you want to reach with My Father's Colors and the message within?
For women who have gone through what Naya has, I hope that when they close the book, after reading the last sentence, they feel as if they too can find their voice. Their inner-strength and their desire to be a survivor.
BPM: What are some of the specific issues or problems addressed My Father's
Colors?
One of the issues addressed in the book is the desire that some show for fame and fortune. Family, friends and even love are still part of the essentials in life and the materials things don't define or determine our worth in life.
BPM: Share with us a quote from one of the most powerful chapters.
My Father's Colors: Chapter Three - Finding Strength
Throwing the diary down and slipping out of bed, Naya makes her way to the bathroom. Inside she finds herself staring into the mirror, still trying to see her face. Her knees become weak and she finds comfort in the coldness of the floor. Head leaning against the tub, tears falling, heart breaking. She pulls her knees into her chest and squeezes tightly. Staring at the door, her lungs begin to expand, lyrics flowing.
I came into the world spreading my arms toward you. I loved you with my smile. Adored you with my charm. I trusted you with my heart and you listened from the start. You were my father, the one who was supposed to wrap me up and shield me from the pain.
Night came... You held my heart in your hand. I watched you let it fall, shattered glass upon the floor. I want to scream how much I hated you until I couldn't find the strength to whisper it anymore. I want to remember how much I loved you but the ache in my kidneys, the pain in my bones and the sorrow in my memories won't allow me to go back that far.
This is my song for you, daddy.
This is what my heart keeps beating for.
This is my song for you, daddy
A child's heart you kept reaching for A memory in a touch
This is what I find myself living for
Tears and fears for a man I loved before
This is my song for you, daddy
I wish you could hear what I'm begging for.
Naya opened her eyes and saw Chris standing in the doorway, tears flowing down his cheeks and it made her cry even more. He came to her, wrapped her in his arms.
###
BPM: Did you self-publish My Father's Colors? If so, what was the process like?
When you write something that has taken on part of who you are, you want to own it--not "lease it out". No one will believe in your story like you do. No one will own it, live it or tell it...like you can. I never went to a publishing company, I simply started my own. I knew from the beginning this was going to be my story from beginning to end.
My book is under my middle names ( I have two believe it or not) and my company is under my first name so that I keep them separate. When you self-publish, it is vital that you understand that when you're an Author you speak as one but when it comes to business--that requires a totally different hat. I do plan to publish other titles besides than my own, but I will do so with the author from the beginning to the end and I will treat their story as if it were my own. I will make it a part of me.
BPM: What is your most valuable lesson about the publishing industry?
That fiction gets very little love so you have to cultivate it. It's easy to read "how-to books" and don't get me wrong they serve a purpose but reading the experiences of life through the eyes of a character that grips onto your inner-self and never lets go until you close the book...that's priceless.
BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
My Father's Colors has already reached #12 on the Amazon.com Best-Seller Soul List.
BPM: How can our readers reach you online?
My website is: http://www.marianlthomas.com,
here readers can read about my books, watch book trailers, read reviews, view my media kit and book clubs can schedule a personal visit. Email:
larrita@lbpublishingco.com.
With over 20 years of experience, Elder Brenda Bradley's approach to relationship counseling is grounded by the Word. Quickly establishing herself in the industry through her wit and down to earth teaching style, Pastor, Teacher, Playwright and Mentor, Elder Bradley makes the subject matter so simple “a baby could understand it!”
Her message is simple: You don’t have to invest your heart in something that will never give back what you put in!
BPM: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
My thought process makes me powerful as person, for it allows me to start from the big picture and work down to the details. As a writer, I write from a prospective of breaking down the big details so that you understand what is happening in the whole scenario.
BPM: Who are your mentors?
Lossie P. Williams and Rosa L Newsome. May they both rest in peace. They were my grandmothers. Both of them did and accomplished things that were not normal in their generations.
BPM: What compelled you to write The Boaz Factor.
I was fascinated with the current state of relationships, the obvious change in how relationships progress, and what we as women have chosen to put up with in order to keep a person (a man) in our lives. This Christian Devotional takes readers on a journey of self-discovery, opening their eyes to the truths in their relationships.
BPM: Of all the relationships in the Bible, why choose Boaz and Ruth?
Ruth is one of my favorite people as well as one of my favorite books of the Bible. Therefore, as I studied her, the Lord shined the light on them. I had never heard a Bible lesson or a sermon on Boaz. Nor had I seen or done a study on them in a relationship setting. It was time to create one!
BPM: Introduce us to The Boaz Factor... When You Are Ready For the Right One!
Looking for Love?
Knowing who Boaz is will free you from looking for love in all the wrong places. You will be encouraged, remembering the priority is not you finding him, but him finding you focused and determined.
Found, but not Chosen?
For women currently in a relationship, knowing who Boaz is will save your heart from putting more time into something that will not materialize.
Based on the Biblical account of Boaz and Ruth, The Boaz Factor...When You Are Ready For the Right One! will take you on a journey of self-discovery, highlighting why we hurt from past relationships and why we continue in a cycle of false relationships that we desire to be real.
With this revolutionary new book, I use The Boaz Factor to break through the barriers of how and why we end up in the relationships that break our hearts. Grounded in scripture, truth and past experiences, The Boaz Factor will first help you to see truths that shift the paradigm of your relationships. Then, through practical, hands on application,
I give you a new plan to obliterate the cycle!
The Boaz Factor... When You Are Ready For the Right One! will be released on March 21, 2011 by Ellechor Publishing House, LLC.
BPM: What insight does the book give readers on relationships?
It defines what type of relationship we are in as well as the relationship we should expect. It provides key principles to us as to whether or not we are investing ourselves into someone who is not ready to give us a corresponding return.
BPM: What are the signs of a Boaz man?
Signs of a Boaz man include his attention to details concerning his woman, and his mindset about the future. His conversation is different, focused and empowering. There are Seven Principles that I discuss in my book and on my blog that break this question down further.
BPM: What should women DO after reading this book?
Be empowered to walk away from a “non-relationship” relationship. Pursue the thing that God has gifted you to do. By focusing on your purpose, plan and passion, it will take you places and introduce you to people you have yet to meet. THAT is when Boaz will find you!
BPM: How can our readers reach you online and order copies of the book?
How to Purchase The Boaz Factor... When You Are Ready For the Right One!
Available via: www.ellechorpublishing.com/purchase-books.cfm
Tanya Wright plays the role of Deputy Kenya Jones on HBO's TRUE BLOOD. BUTTERFLY RISING, was deemed one of the 'five finest debut novels of 2010' by the prestigious Brooklyn Book Festival and was written, directed by and stars Wright. She was a semi-finalist in the Nicholl's Screenwriting Competition, administered by AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and a fellow at the Mark Taper's Blacksmyth's Playwrighting Program. Wright is the creator of several feature film screenplays and television pilots in various stages of development.
BPM: Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?
There are many people to whom I can go to and ask for advice. It is important for artists to have mentors because the path of the creator is a sometimes lonely-- and often humble-- journey. It is important to stay connected. I remind myself of that often, because I have a tendency to go straight-hermit! I admire people like Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry—they've been able to succeed out the box in a BIG way. I admire people with courage, with vision. They don't necessarily have to be famous people, either. Anyone making bold life choices and aren't content to settle with mediocrity. Folks who push the boundaries, ask questions, poke around to find THE TRUTH-- which is sometimes hidden under a whole lot of other...stuff.
BPM: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
There were many: first, the death of my young brother was a catalyst. Grief and death makes you question your own mortality, makes you ask yourself, if I die tomorrow, did I do all I could? I always wanted to put my writing more in the forefront of my life. The director John Singleton told me many years ago I would have little control over my destiny as an actor, but I would have more control as a writer-- I've found that to be true.
Also, Aretha Franklin's music was a major catalyst in the writing of BUTTERFLY RISING. She writes great stories about love, loss and pain that all women can relate to. And, lastly, butterflies were, literally, an inspiration. At one point in my life, I was obsessed with them and I began to do research about them on the internet. They evolved as a symbol of TRANSFORMATION-- I felt like I was transforming, like I was changing-- and so are Rose and Lilah.
BPM: Introduce us to your book,
Butterfly Rising and the main characters.
Butterfly Rising is the story of two women—Rose Johnson (the town seductress) and Lilah Belle (a grief-stricken singer) who become friends. In order to beat a hasty retreat out of town, they steal a vintage truck and set out on the open road to meet a mystical medicine man named Lazarus of the Butterflies.
BPM: Who were your favorites? Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
Ha! That's like having children and asked which one of them is your favorite! I love them all-- people ask me who I most identify with. The truth is, I am all of them and I am none of them. Every writer, I think, has to have a visceral connection to the characters they create. Even if you don't agree or like their actions, it's important that you have no judgment about them. My job is to show people WHY folks sometimes do the things that they do and, hopefully, we can develop some compassion for the people in our OWN lives-- their pain, struggles, trials and joys. And, in turn, we can have some compassion-- and forgiveness-- for our own transgressions.
BPM: Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place?
One major event is where Rose and Lilah meet Lazarus for the first time. Lilah describes her heart “bursting open like a watermelon on a hot summer's day.” The fated encounter between the girls and the strange, ethereal medicine man is a wordless exchange, but nonetheless very healing for them.
Another major event is what happens to Daniel when Rose finds out she is finally pregnant with his baby. Something shocking. I was even surprised when I was writing this, I had no idea this would happen to Daniel, but it does. Daniel is probably one of the most beloved characters in the book and the movie. I don't want to give anything away by saying what happens to him, but it is definitely shocking and surprising. That is all.
BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
People who have lost hope and the faith to dream; people who are fascinated by the possibilities of things; women; men; folks interested in the spirit world, awakening and transformation-- like the butterfly...
BPM: How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
Well, the thing I am most excited about is that people tell me they have dog-eared certain passages of the book, that they come back to them, re-read them and then reflect. I am happy that I have written a book that is not only entertaining, but could be useful to people in their lives. I am very happy about that.
BPM: What are some of the specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
It takes a very close look at the meaning and application of FAITH in our lives. I think faith is a hard thing to sustain in this world, but it MUST BE SUSTAINED, if you are to complete anything at all. We could all use a little more faith. It's an uncomfortable concept, stepping out on ground you can't see but only feel! But this is the first step to realizing the life of our dreams. And it must be sustained without regard to fear, what you see, what other people tell you. It must be unshakable,
unmovable.
BPM: Share with us a quote from one of the most powerful chapters.
“Faith ain't gone nowhere. It's just up under all that stuff where you can't see it. Doesn't mean it ain't there.”
BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
To BELIEVE, and that they DO have the power to create their own reality in this life.
BPM: What makes your book different from others on the same subject?
There are many great book written by great authors. I don't know. I am interested in telling THE TRUTH in my writing-- no matter what it seems like to anyone else—in a way that's never been done before.
BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
The book was deemed 'one of the five finest debut novels' by the Brooklyn Book Festival. I have a few films coming out; a full length feature I shot in Boston called BEYOND CONTROL and a short called MISSION CRITICAL in which I play the lead role.
I am REALLY EXCITED to announce a fun new CONTEST ON the BUTTERFLY RISING FACEBOOK PAGE! I will help ONE LUCKY WINNER FULFILL THEIR CREATIVE DREAM!!! I am very excited to do this.
To learn more and enter, join us on Facebook!
BPM: How can our readers reach you online?
I love to connect with my readers! Please drop a line! These are the best ways to be in touch:
Grounded
by a strong faith, Riisa Renée is passionate about inspiring others and
believes that her primary duty is to love - in words and action. Through
challenge and triumph, Riisa’s history and education enable her to combine
training with personal experience in this pursuit. Daily, Riisa grows to
understand how every stage of her journey was carefully designed to equip her
for her present ministries as a mother, author, speaker, minister and an
entrepreneur.
BPM: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
The power of my words flow from the strength of my passion and the depth of my
love. I write from my heart and I speak from my heart with passion and
conviction. I always endeavor to be transparent and sincere in my writing and in
my life because I have come to understand that it’s not about me. If I
can help one person with my willingness to share the lessons I have learned in
life and love, then I have come one step closer to fulfilling the purpose for
which I was created.
BPM: Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?
Though it may sound cliché, my greatest mentor is my mother. She has always
been such a beautiful example of grace in the face of adversity, unwavering
faith and unconditional love. I admire her strength and her gentle spirit and
the way they coexist without any dissonance or pretense.
My two children are my greatest source of inspiration. In teaching them I learn
so much about life, about love, and about myself. They have an uncanny knack for
making the most unwittingly profound statements that completely transform my
appreciation of simple truths that I have previously only half-heartedly
acknowledged. These three relationships are a huge catalyst for my constant
pursuit of growth and positive transformation.
BPM: What is the most rewarding aspect of your career?
This one is easy! Words cannot describe the deep sense of gratitude I feel
whenever someone contacts me to tell me that my book or some words that I have
spoken have impacted their lives. Since Breaking the Silence was published, I
have had a number of people approach me to say “Thank you for telling my
story!” I have had many more inform me that the book inspired them to: forgive
themselves; to have conversations with loved ones that they had been too afraid
or ashamed to have, ultimately leading to healing or a restored relationship; to
feel like they were not alone in their experience or in what they were feeling.
I often say, “no pain without purpose”. There is no greater reward than
knowing that my words have been a blessing or encouragement in the life of
another – for that is the purpose for which my work is intended.
BPM: Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
Do your homework: There are many publishing options out there. Make sure the one
that you choose is the right fit for YOU.
Network: There are many published authors out there who have successfully
gone through the process and are surprisingly gracious to neophytes like myself.
Use their experience and wisdom to make an informed decision.
Persevere: Delayed does not mean denied. If you are passionate about your
purpose and confident in your calling; work to pursue your dream with
excellence, guard against dream-killers and be confident that “in the fullness
of time” your dream will be fulfilled.
BPM: Hot Seat- Share with us ONE detail about you or a hobby
readers would enjoy.
Since childhood, I have harbored dreams of being on Broadway. In fact, I came
close to majoring in music in college only to chicken out in favor of something
“more practical” , fearful that I wouldn’t “make it”. I revisited my
singing dreams briefly in the late ‘90’s and actually appear on an album
produced by a Grammy-winning recording artist/writer/producer including lead
vocals on one track. Perhaps one day I will feel inspired to revisit that dream
once more; but for now, I will stick to the Praise Team at church and reserve my
Broadway-inspired performances to the privacy of my shower and the confines of
my automobile.
BPM: A Legacy is something that is handed down from one period of time
to another period of time. Finish this sentence: "My writing offers the following pearls to
future readers..."
It’s all about LOVE! A life of LOVE is a life worth living. You, by virtue of
being born are exceptional and worthy of love. Despite any shortcomings or
shortfalls that life inevitably brings, love allows us to forgive ourselves,
learn from our mistakes, and move on using our mistakes as an opportunity to
help someone else. A life of LOVE is a life worth sharing. There is no greater
demonstration of love than to forgive ourselves enough to share our lives with
another. There is no greater gift than LOVE.
BPM:
Introduce us to Breaking the Silence.
On Kindle or Nook?
Breaking the Silence is a compilation of lessons that I have learned in my quest
to love and be loved. I speak from my heart and detail some experiences I have
had in relationships, the choices that brought me to critical decision-points in
those relationships and the consequences of those decisions.
I make no attempt to rationalize or justify my
decisions, nor do I pretend to understand the thought processes, motivation or
intent of the other parties whom I describe in the book. I do however, try to
give the reader a glimpse into my heart and the emotions I experienced in each
situation described. I am also very intentional about bringing a Biblical
perspective to every lesson that I have learned. The lessons I share are simple
and powerful because they are rooted and entrenched in the timeless wisdom and
principles of the Holy Bible.
As for genre, Breaking the Silence has been described as an “inspirational
memoir”. It is a non-fiction account of snapshots of my life paralleled with
Biblical principles taught through snapshots of the lives of prominent Bible
characters. Breaking the Silence is also available in e-book format on Kindle.
BPM: Take us inside the book. What are two major themes
covered?
A dramatic and major theme in my life as described in Part I of the book centers
around my decision around remaining celibate or embarking in relationships that
challenged the foundation of my belief system. These experiences challenged my
faith and forced me to confront the what and the why of my personal faith.
Another dramatic theme and without question amongst the most dramatic events of
my life is detailed in Part II of the book where I discuss my thoughts, emotions
and decision-process through the experience of unplanned pregnancy. Here again I
offer a glimpse into my heart and mind as I grapple with my principles and my
faith on my continued journey to love and forgiveness.
BPM: Is this a actual portrayal of real people or experiences? Breaking the Silence is non-fiction, the characters are real, though the
names have been changed to protect the privacy of those mentioned. The
experiences are mine. Each story that I describe in BtS is my lived experience,
with the exception of course of the Bible stories that I use to make
illustrations.
BPM: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your
book?
I actually get this question a lot. As I mentioned before, I frequently say,
“no pain without purpose”. Throughout some of the most difficult moments in
my life, many of which are described in this book, there were people who were
standing in the shadows, unbeknownst to me, watching my struggle and rooting for
me in silence. When I eventually emerged on the other side of my trial battered
and exhausted – yet victorious – I would hear comments like “I was praying
for you” or “I saw you going through, I knew you would make it”, or my
personal favorite, “I went through the exact same thing. I was hoping you
would be alright”.
In those moments I would always wonder, where
were these people in the midst of my struggle? Why couldn’t they have offered
these words of encouragement when I actually needed them? Better yet, if you saw
me headed for destruction – why not give me a heads-up in the event that I
would listen to your words and avoid the situation altogether?
Bottom line, we all have our own reasons for keeping our private battles to
ourselves. I get it. But I have experienced enough heartache to know that I
wouldn’t wish the emotional pain I have felt on another human being. It was
following what I still refer to the darkest period in my life that I vowed that
I would not be “that person”. I made a vow to the Lord that I would not keep
silent if ever I had an opportunity to share my heart as a means of helping
another. My pain would not be without purpose. When I first felt compelled to
write Breaking the Silence, I wasn’t certain if it was just for me, or if I
would attempt to publish the book. The more I opened my mouth, the more people
began to express the impact of this testimony and the need that existed among
their family and friends. With that I began to feel an increasing sense of
urgency to share this message of forgiveness, healing, hope and LOVE with as
many people as possible. And here we are today, one step further on a journey of
love and purpose.
BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
Breaking the Silence is written for young women who have not experienced the
pain and pitfalls of counterfeit love out of season. I candidly share a
first-hand account of what can potentially happen when something so beautiful is
distorted as a means of providing information needed to make an informed
decision.
I write to women who have experienced heartbreak and made choices for which they
are finding it difficult to forgive themselves. I share my experience and my
journey to love and forgiveness to demonstrate that you do not have the right to
hold yourself hostage when in fact you are loved and forgiven.
Beyond that, Breaking the Silence is for anyone who knows people who fall into
one of the above categories – male or female. I write from the female
experience because that is the only perspective I know. I have been instructed
however by several men who have read the book that Breaking the Silence speaks
to men and women alike. That said, I hope to reach anyone who could use some
encouragement in their quest to love and be loved.
BPM: What are some of the issues, needs or problems addressed
in this book?
Breaking the Silence rips the cover off of the taboo topics of sex,
single-parenthood and abortion among saved singles. It is a story of hurt and
hope, failure and redemption, self discovery and the power of LOVE.
BPM: Share with us a quote from one of the most powerful chapters.
“I even found myself on the outside of a one-sided relationship before I
understood you must love yourself enough to recognize that you are worthy of the
love you seek. When we allow our hearts to be trampled in the hopes that we will
one day win the affection of the one we love, we are giving permission to others
to treat us poorly. We are saying to the object of our affection and reinforcing
within ourselves that we are not worthy of the same level and quality of love
that we are willing to give. When we develop the habit of suppressing our
misgivings and pushing aside our feelings for fear that we might come across as
“holier-than-thou,” when we extinguish our light so that its brightness does
not offend others, we continue to reinforce this behavior, not only in
ourselves, but also among others who learn from this example.
I encourage each of you to take the time to discover who you are and the
greatness that lies within you before you begin to seek out a romantic
relationship. Take the time to become a woman of excellence before trying to
find a good man. Spend at least as much time developing your character as you do
your curves. For those of you who do not believe that you are excellent and that
power, passion, and purpose reside within you, you don’t have to take my word
for it:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I
praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are
wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was
made in the secret place. I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your
eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your
book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the
grains of sand. When I awake I am still with you. (Psalm 139:13–18)
This is what your Heavenly Father, your creator—the creator of ALL
things—thinks about you! I encourage you to reflect on this and allow this to
be the measure by which you compare any other message—internally or externally
generated—about yourself. Again, my sisters, in all love I admonish you to
LOVE: Learn your Own Values and Excellence.” (from Chapter 5, Let’s Talk
About Love, p.63)
BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
No matter who you are or what you have experienced, God desires to arrange the
story of your life in such a way that the end will be far greater than anything
you could ever have imagined. Why? Because of His incomprehensible love toward
you. It’s all about LOVE! It always has been – before the foundations of the
earth – and it always will be – throughout eternity. The answers you seek
are found in love, the healing you need is found in love. The love you desire
and so desperately long to give is enabled, empowered, and actualized by His
Divine Love. After reading Breaking the Silence my prayer is that you would be
so assured of your Creator’s love toward you that you experience an
overflowing demonstration of love that compels you to openly share it with
others.
BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
Breaking the Silence was featured among the top 100 non-fiction books of 2010 in
the Conversations LIVE book club and magazine! To hear audio clips of radio
interviews and for upcoming engagements, connect with me online.
Breaking the Silence is also available for purchase through all
major online retailers.
ISBN-13: 978-0984196579
Cover design by Rakeda Rianna Sharber www.papillonperspectives.showitsite.com
BPM: How can our readers reach you online?
You may reach me through either of my websites, or connect with me on Facebook
or via my new blog: Single, Saved, Sexy, Celibate!
Interview hosted by Ella Curry, Black Pearls Magazine
Visit our website today for more author interviews: www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
Intimate Conversation with Chicki Brown
Chicki is the author of two e-published novels. Her next book will be released in June 2011. She is currently working on her ninth manuscript.
An avid reader, her favorite authors are Beverly Jenkins, Eric Jerome Dickey, Lisa Kleypas, J.R. Ward and Suzanne
Brockmann.
A New Jersey native, and the mother of two adult daughters, Chicki and her husband reside in suburban Atlanta, Georgia.
BPM: Success leaves clues, whose clues did you follow on your journey?
Unbeknownst to them authors Beverly Jenkins and Joe Konrath are my mentors. Jenkins for writing about black love with such beauty, tenderness and passion without ever being crass. I will always read everything the sister writes! Konrath for being solely responsible for my decision to forego traditional publishing and publish directly to Kindle. I’ve been following his refreshingly candid blog for three years.
BPM: What have you realized about yourself since becoming a published author?
I’ve proven to myself that I am tenacious and am able to start and finish a project. When I completed my first manuscript, the sense of accomplishment I felt was incredible. That’s when I realized writing wasn’t “just another one of her things,” as my father used to say. The difference is that I’ve finally found what I was meant to do, and have eight long contemporary manuscripts to prove it.
BPM: Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
Learn the craft and study the industry. There so much more to being a published author than just having your name on a book cover. This is a craft where we never stop learning. This business is changing so rapidly it can make your head spin, and the authors who will survive the changes are those who are informed and able to adapt.
Get as many critical opinions on your work as possible. Joining a local or online critique group is one of the best ways to do this. Understand that you don’t have to accept all of their suggestions, but if more than one person says the same thing, pay attention.
BPM: Introduce us to Hot Fun in the Summertime. On Kindle or Nook?
My latest release, Hot Fun in the Summertime, examines friendships between four women and three men who share a New Jersey beach house for the summer. During their two month stay, romances bloom, friendships are tested and when a tragedy strikes one of the housemates, they learn the answer to the age-old question: Can men and women ever be just friends?
Hot Fun is a contemporary women’s fiction story available on Kindle, Nook and all e-formats on Smashwords and Google e-Books.
BPM: Are your characters from the portrayal of real people or experiences?
Both. I often combine real people’s personalities with the physical characteristics of Hollywood actors/actresses and my idea of who the character should be. Two of the women in Hot Fun are based on people I know, and one is based on a well-known celebrity. The men are strictly from my imagination.
Since the story takes place at the Jersey shore, which was a big part of my young adult years, some of my own memories are sprinkled throughout.
BPM: Share with us a quote from Hot Fun in
the Summertime.
She represented everything I despised about black womanhood. The epitome of poor self-esteem, Kinnik had bought into the hype, usually created by men, about what we’re supposed to be. Naturally, most of that hype focused on the physical, the outward rather than what truly makes us who we are. And beautiful, young black women were being “traded and sold” like back in the days of the old Charleston slave market. Only they thought, because they were getting paid big money, the situation was different. The worst part was they looked at women like me, who made a decent, honest living, as fools. I refused to base my success on how well I performed in some man’s bed. And I’d had plenty of opportunities to do just that. If that was dumb, then I’d resigned myself to being a single, middle-class “failure.”
BPM: Share with us your latest news or upcoming book releases.
Hollywood Swinging, the sequel to Hot Fun is due to be released in June, 2011. It follows two of the characters from Hot Fun after they leave the beach house.
When I Get Where I'm Going
by Cheryl Robinson
Black Pearls Watch List Favorite
"WHEN I GET WHERE I'M GOING is about three very different sisters and is a wonderfully entertaining read."----- Kimberla Lawson Roby, New York Times Bestselling Author
After thirteen years in Hollywood,
Alicia Day is ready to give up on her dream of becoming a movie star. A call from a woman in Detroit claiming to be her half sister couldn't have come at a better time, and Alicia decides to return to her hometown to meet her.
Heaven Jetter was shocked when her father told her about his secret daughter. But now that she and her full sister, Hope Teasdale, have fallen out again—perhaps permanently this time—and her abusive boyfriend has finally gone too far, Heaven yearns for a fresh start.
Hope is still mourning over her husband's disappearance two years ago in a boating accident, struggling to be a good mother to her young daughter. She doesn't need more drama from Heaven—or her new "sister."
But an earth-shattering discovery, a lucky lottery ticket, and a near-fatal encounter finally bring all three estranged sisters together
and they realize that nothing can save a person like family.
Five primary talking points
for When I Get Where I'm Going
Domestic violence, sisterhood, estranged family, the entertainment industry, specifically the lack of roles for black women in Hollywood. Cheryl is available for Skype chats, bookclub meetings and tele-conference interviews. Contact Cheryl via her website listed below. Pre-order copies of the books to give as gifts from her website as well.
About the Author
Cheryl Robinson was born and raised in Detroit. She has a degree in business marketing from Wayne State University, and currently resides in Ocala, Florida where she is writing her next novel that is due out in the fall of 2011.
Electa Rome Parks
currently resides outside Atlanta, Georgia. After successfully self-publishing her debut novel, The Ties That Bind, New American Library, a division of Penguin Group, bought the rights. Electa signed a three-book deal with New American Library. All three books were immediately chosen as Black Expressions Book Club main selections and embraced as Books of the Month by book clubs across the country. Dubbed a "book club favorite," avid readers have embraced Electa's true to life characters that tackle prevalent and heavy hitting issues.
Since then Electa has become a bestselling author of several other mainstream (Loose Ends and Almost Doesn't Count) and erotic (These Are My Confessions, Ladies' Night Out, Diary of a Stalker and True Confessions) novels with Penguin Group, HarperCollins and Kensington.
The self-proclaimed, Queen of Real, Electa has been a frequent guest on radio shows, has been nominated for many industry awards and has been interviewed by newspapers, AOL's Black Voices, Vibe Vixen, Upscale Magazine, Today's Black Woman, Rolling Out and Booking Matters, to name just a few. With a BA degree in marketing and a minor in sociology, she is following her true passion and working on her next novel and first screenplay.
BPM: Tell us about your passion for writing. Why do you write? What impact do you want your book to make on the readers?
Wow! Where do I begin? There is no way to best describe it. I always jokingly state that I have a passionate love affair going on with reading and writing. Our torrid affair has consumed me for much of my life. Writing is in my blood and I can’t imagine life without it. My very spirit would probably shrivel up and die if I couldn’t write. Writing is my therapy. My Voice. My sincere expression of the world as seen through my eyes.
I don’t write as a hustle. I write because I’m passionate about the power and beauty of words. As my children say, “That’s real talk.”
When I write, I am transported to another dimension. My soul feels free and at peace. Writing brings me serenity and peace like no other. When I write I feel powerful---after all, I’m creating life with the stroke of my pen or computer keys. My characters come alive on the pages of my books. And when my readers read my stories, they get to meet these incredible people, faults, imperfections and all.
What drives me? Life, the precious beauty of existing, the experience of learning something new each and every day. Joys, pains. Failures. Accomplishments. Life lessons. My children, my spouse. Observing people in their beauty and splendor and seeing the not so pretty side. Writing is my essence, my link with the world.
As far as an impact is concerned, I simply want my readers to be entertained and pulled into a world completely different, or maybe not, from their own. If a life lesson is learned during the process that makes the experience all the sweeter.
BPM: Take us inside the erotic fiction, True Confessions.
Twenty-eight year old Kennedy Logan is gorgeous, educated, talented, and in love. Unfortunately, Drake Collins has other ideas about the true state of their relationship. Kennedy hopes to turn him around; Drake just wants to turn her out sexually. Kennedy is also searching for her biological mother, who gave her up at birth. She wants answers and she has tons of questions. The enormous weight of these predicaments leads to a failed suicide attempt.
Her overprotective and overbearing mother, Dorothy Logan, moves in with Kennedy and makes it her mission to get her daughter's life back in order. The first step is getting rid of Drake Collins once and for all, but that's easier said than done. Drake has no intentions of going anywhere. Kennedy's ever loyal and fun-loving best friend, Taylor, and her absentee father join forces to help support Kennedy in her time of need.
At her psychiatrist's advice, Kennedy uses writing as her therapy. She starts to keep a daily journal detailing the erotic circumstances and family drama that led up to her despair. Through very personal, funny, and graphic entries, readers will share her confessions. Brace yourselves for a very steamy journey!
BPM: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write True Confessions?
True Confessions actually started out as a short story titled These Are My Confessions in the anthology These Are My Confessions (Harper Collins, 2007). So many readers emailed or excitedly asked me during signings about Kennedy and Drake and their back story that I decided to pen the novel length version. I've always believed in listening to my readers and taking their suggestions:).
Kennedy and Drake captured my imagination as well; they stayed with me long after the short story was published. I wanted to delve deeper into what made them "tick" and a short story didn't allow that. As a writer, for me, it is always about what makes up the core essence of my characters. How did they become who they are? What event(s) shaped their lives? What brought them to this place in their lives when they are introduced to my readers? We are all products of our childhood and I adore piecing the puzzle together to create a likeable, sometimes not so likeable character(s) that has faults, imperfections, just like we all do.
BPM: Who do you want to reach with True Confessions and the message within?
I would like to reach the readers who have wisely figured out we are all works in progress. Can I get an amen? If we are truly honest, there are aspects of our lives that we can all work on during our journey of self exploration.
As with my previous titles (The Ties That Bind, Loose Ends, Almost Doesn't Count, Ladies' Night Out, These Are My Confessions and Diary of a Stalker), they have dealt with topical issues that are prevalent in our communities and society in general. And True Confessions is no different. At first glance it appears to be a relationship gone bad type of storyline, but True Confessions is so much more than that. Issues of suicide, adoption, dysfunctional relationships, bond of a mother and daughter, father and daughter bonds, divorce and low self esteem issues are all addressed. Bottom line, if I had to encompass a general theme prevalent throughout the novel, all of Kennedy's problems and issues stem from feelings of low self esteem and unworthiness.
So. . . my underlying message is that just because someone appears to have it all together doesn't mean they actually do. Kennedy and Drake were prime examples each in their own way. Before we can receive love or give love, we have to love ourselves first. Kennedy and Drake didn't love themselves and it showed up in various aspects of their personalities and life.
BPM: Besides the actual writing process, what is the most gratifying aspect of being a writer?
Hands down, the most gratifying part of being an author has been meeting and greeting new and interesting readers who are embracing my stories and e-mailing me and writing me and meeting me at signings and telling me how much they've enjoyed my books! We talk about my characters like they are old friends. No matter how many times I've experienced this, it always makes my day. Puts a big Kool-Aide smile on my face (LOL).
Their (the readers) feedback and reactions totally validates that my craft is a gift from God! If I can touch a number of people with my stories or even if I only entertain them and they don't walk away with a life lesson, then I've still done my job.
As you know, my stories are typically relationship based, very drama filled with an ounce of spice thrown in, well maybe a pound of spice thrown in, and they usually cover a topical issue that is prevalent in today's society. Believe me, I have so many characters screaming inside my head, waiting to tell their story, that I feel like the lady from the movie Sybil (LOL). So, bottom line, I pray and claim that my readership base will continue to grow and I'll have wonderful opportunities to meet many more fans.
BPM: If you weren't a writer what would you be?
Don't laugh, but if I weren't a writer, I'd probably be a psychiatrist. I absolutely love getting inside people's heads and seeing how or why they tick the way they do. The human psyche totally amazes and intrigues me to no end.
BPM: How do you deal with adversity and failure?
I stress out! I totally freak out, have a pity party, and take to my bed (LOL)! I'm laughing, but I'm pretty accurate. I'm so hard on myself, I'm my worst critic, and I've got to stop doing that. I can't enjoy my successes because I'm too busy worrying about what I could have done better or thinking about the next venture.
After I finally pull myself out of bed and stop my pity party (this usually lasts for roughly 24 hours), I analyze my situation like I'm breaking down a trigonometry problem. After all is said and done, I learn the lesson, file it in my permanent memory bank, remember I'm still standing and move on. In afterthought, life lessons are wonderful, even the ones filled with adversity and failure; they make us stronger and wiser and who we are today.
Also, if I may add, I have a good support team in place with my family and friends. Plus, I have a solid spiritual foundation that keeps me strong and undaunted by the dream dashers.
BPM: How do you define success?
Good question. Personally, I define success as being able to do something you truly love on a day to day basis, getting paid for it in the process, giving back to the community (to whom much is given, much is expected) and being the best person you can be which enables you to sleep peacefully at night. To me, those combined elements make you a successful person. And. . . if you place God and your family first, the sky's the limit!
BPM: What is one thing most readers don’t know about you?
Most readers don't know that I'm moody and a real perfectionist. Well, I guess that is two things. LOL.
Minnie E. Miller
is a seasoned writer by age, not by the number of books written. She’s 74 years old and has written three books. Two more are pending. She retired in 1999 from the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco, California. She traveled to U.S. cities and abroad returning to her native home in Chicago’s Hyde Park community. “Whispers from the Mirror” is her latest novel.
BPM: Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?
MEM: My mentors are Octavia Estelle Butler and Tananarive Due. I love the work of others too, but Butler and Due stand out when it comes to premise, structure, and emotions. My mentors lead the way through the forest and thickets that I may see better. Reading helps my writing.
BPM: What have you realized about yourself since becoming a published author?
MEM: Please allow me this quote: “The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe."
~~ Gustave Flaubert.
I have learned, however, that fiction is life personified. My characters represent my ideas; my pros and cons; my fancy; and my concepts, mostly noble, but ... Anyway, my earlier novel, “The Seduction of Mr. Bradley” is about the pros and cons of life. I’m not foolish enough to believe everyone agrees with me and that’s okay.
I’ve come to realize things I didn’t know I felt and believed. Flash back is a son-of-a-gun. For instance, I used to leave projects and situations unfinished, and I’ve experienced many through the years. I cut my adult teeth, if you will, on politics in several states. My body was impatient, and my mind busy. I didn’t know what to do with all that mental energy until a very-English teacher encouraged me to explore my muse and feel the passion. Someone cared! That made me become serious about writing, but it didn’t work for me until my early sixties.
BPM: What is the most rewarding aspect of your career?
MEM: My reward as a career writer is having the opportunity to reach out and attempt to help others, readers and writers, understand humankind. And, of course, that people buy my books. If they disagree with something I’ve written I’m happy to listen to their premise on the matter.
BPM: Introduce us to your book and the main characters.
On Kindle or Nook?
MEM: “Whispers from the Mirror” is women’s fiction. Sorry, it is not yet on Kindle. I wanted the actual book in my hand first.
MEM: Allow me to introduce the characters somewhat in the order they appear in the book. -- Belle Deville is a Civil Rights lawyer, news commentator, and single parent. Although deceased in the book’s opening, she still has tremendous control over daughter Brianna’s mind.
-- Brianna Deville is the protagonist. She is a feminist/activist in her early forties and has never been married. She is afraid of giving or receiving commitments because of her mother’s constant warnings about distrusting men. She never meets her father; her parent’s relationship ends before she is born. This weighs on Brianna’s mind for years. Raped by a casual acquaintance reinforces her mother’s warnings about men. Brianna becomes celibate.
-- Travis Deveraux is an investigating reporter, and a villainous, unprincipled scoundrel. He has no qualms about going beyond decent limits with women. He rapes Brianna while she is his intern at the television station. This reinforces her mistrust of men and sends her further into mental seclusion.
-- Beau Bradford comes into Brianna’s life through her work in politics. Beau is an opportunist, yet charming country fellow. He almost opens Brianna’s heart, but it turns into a painful experience.
-- Marc Anthony is debonair, dashing, and gallant. He is a casual friend and political colleague of Rowena and other politicians. Marc sits high on his perch as a politician in the mayor’s administration. He’s handsome even in his early fifties. He has his eyes on Brianna and Beau’s relationship but takes his time approaching Brianna. He’s in the process of a divorce. The big guy fascinates Brianna and frightens her at the same time.
-- Then there is Brianna’s guardian angel sent by Belle to protect her daughter after her death.
Mirror-Lady is an apparition and appears in Brianna’s bathroom mirror at will with words of caution and warning about opening her heart to love. Mirror-Lady is hilarious, not at all like a ghost. She communicates with Brianna through mental telepathy anytime and at any place. Although truly a guardian angel, at times Brianna feels she’s a pain in her butt sticking her nose in her business at will.
-- Lanie Ross is Brianna’s godmother; she’s present when Belle gives birth to her. Still, she is ever present in Brianna’s life.
BPM: Take us inside the book. What are two dramatic or major events taking place?
MEM: Rowena Seabrook is running for State Representative of Illinois and hires Beau and Brianna to work on her campaign. All the characters meet during political activities.
1. A scary incident involving thugs on the street has Brianna thinking she might be ready to have an intimate relationship with Beau after all. But she’s stunned to learn that he wants a relationship with Rowena. After all, Brianna wasn’t showing enough interest in getting close with the man.
2. Beau tells Brianna in a long distance phone call much later that he can’t stop thinking about her. He confesses that he loves both Brianna and Rowena. Furious, Brianna’s heart goes into hiding again.
BPM: Are your characters from the portrayal of real people or experiences?
MEM: Most of my writing is about real people, although not specific people. Our experiences are almost generic, especially with older characters. I have written about vampires using the same experiences, only the faces and lifestyles are different. Humankind has souls and hearts and need love. Love ignores everything -- who you are, what you are, and why you are.
BPM: What compelled you to write Whispers from the Mirror?
MEM: I came at this story backwards. I started with a letter-of-rebuke I wrote to a man I loved. Then all the reasons why I wrote the letter played out through characters and events. Hence, “Whispers from the Mirror.” BTW, I never sent that letter. I waited too long.
BPM: What insight does the book give the readers?
MEM: My hope is to help the reader experiencing Brianna’s problems that took away her young years to understand there is hope. And that over-confidence can sometimes be debilitating. One way to turn your life around is simply opening your heart. But always keep your self-worth. The only guarantee in life is death. Enjoy life.
My editor said after reading the novel, “I think mature romance readers will enjoy the easy pace of this novel. It gives them something, without boring them, but also without trying to over excite (in a negative way) their sensibilities with poorly placed sexual scenes or violence.”
BPM: Share with us your latest news or upcoming book releases.
MEM: I will read and sign “Whispers from the Mirror” at the Women in Books honoring Women History Month, March 26, 2011, at Willie Whyte Center, 1650 W. Howard Street, Chicago, IL, from 2p until 5p. Seven other authors will also participate. Adira Books, RealSistaWriters (RSW) Online Reading and Writing Group, and The Ministers of Music Alliance have joined to honor Black History Month. The event is free to the public.
BPM: How can our readers reach you online?
MEM: You can purchase the novel from Amazon.com, Go.
MEM: My contact information is:
Minnie Estelle Miller, Writer and Essayist
Founder and Administrator Mz Minerva Publishing http://www.millerscribs.com
Intimate
Conversation with Connie May Fowler
New York Times bestselling writer
Connie May Fowler is an essayist, screenwriter, and novelist. She is the author of five novels, most recently The Problem with Murmur Lee, and a memoir, When Katie Wakes. In 1996, she published Before Women Had Wings, which became a paperback bestseller and was made into a successful Oprah Winfrey Presents movie. She founded the Connie May Fowler Women With Wings Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding women and children in need. Connie lives in Florida.
Ella: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your new
book, How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly?
I was reading up on pre-Civil war Florida history and discovered that when Florida was a Spanish territory, women could be property owners and slavery was outlawed. But Spain and the United States signed an agreement that would change all of that. The Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819 guaranteed that the United States would lay claim to Florida in 1821. With a stroke of a pen and strike of a clock, suddenly all women and blacks would have their rights stripped away. That haunted me and I walked around with that kernel in my head for a few years before I sat down to write the novel, which takes place in 2006 but is populated with ghosts.
Ella: Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place?
The book tracks a day in the life of Clarissa Burden, a woman who wakes on the Summer Solstice with the knowledge that her life must change because she is wracked with spousal death scenarios and writer’s block. Concurrent with her story is that of Olga Villada. Villada and her family are ghosts, their souls unable to move on from the place where they were brutally murdered. Their stories converge, resulting in a startling and life-changing chain of events.
Ella: Who do you want to reach with your book, How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly,
and the message within?
I think this book will have a broad appeal. The book, at its core, is about freedom—individual and universal—and it’s wrapped up in a story that is both comedic and dramatic. I think readers of many ages and races will identify with the struggles of Clarissa Burden and Olga Villada.
Ella: How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
One, I hope it will make readers laugh even amid a few tears. But if there is one message I want readers to gain, it’s that how easy it is for the course of history—the course of one person’s individual day—to go suddenly very, very wrong.
There are bad people in this world—sometimes bad people have all the trappings of kindness—and they are capable of terrible things. So we have to be vigilant for ourselves and for one another. Casual prejudices and ordinary meanness can, in the blink of an eye, become lethal. So we have to learn to be pro-actively kind and relentless protective of our rights.
Ella: What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
Women’s issues, race, personal empowerment, marital relations, Florida history.
Ella: What was the most powerful chapter in, How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly?
I think that once Clarissa decides—in a fit of rage—to kill her husband, this book takes a major turn and all the chapters that follow are highly entertaining, shocking, and ultimately satisfying.
Ella: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
I recently wrote a story for Slate’s online women’s site DoubleX about how the Haitian earthquake has severely impacted their women’s movement. How Clarissa Burden Learns to Fly will be in stores April 2, 2010.
In March, in honor of Clarissa and
those pesky spousal death scenarios that haunt her, I am launching the Clarissa
Burden Postcard Project in which I will be asking readers to anonymously
send me one secret they cannot tell their spouse or partner. The secrets
can be silly or serious, and will be posted on my website.
Purchase How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly today
ISBN-10: 0446540684 | ISBN-13: 978-0446540681
Intimate Conversation with Jacqueline
E. Luckett
“A fierce, beautiful tour de force . . . a heroine for the ages . . .Luckett is a writer to watch and admire.”
ZZ Packer on Searching for Tina Turner
Meet author Jacqueline E. Luckett a former sales representative for Xerox. After leaving the corporate world, Jacqueline took a creative writing class on a dare (from herself) and began writing short stories and poetry and never looked back. Jacqueline loves living in Oakland, but travels frequently to nurture her passion for photography and learning to cook exotic foods. She is currently hard at work on her next novel.
Ella: Jacqueline, what makes you powerful as a
writer? Who are your mentors?
An interviewer recently asked me why I was able to finish my novel when so many people say they want to, but never get around to writing a novel. That’s where my power lies—as a person and a writer. Once I take the plunge into a project, I always try to finish what I start. Someone once told me that I know how to put on the “full court press.” Yes, when I know what I want, I go for it. There’s a power in that, if it’s channeled correctly.
I’m in a wonderful writing group with seven other women writers of color (www.finishparty.com). We call ourselves The Finish Party. From the start our goal was to help each other finish our respective projects and to continue, start and finish new ones.
These writers are my mentors and my friends. We share information about the publishing world, writing in general, and books we love. In our monthly meetings, we workshop ideas, pages, chapters or whole manuscripts. I’ve learned so much from them. They offer valuable insight into the craft of writing and helped me to shape the novel.
Ella: Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
… An example for women of all races, economics, and ages to understand that reinvention and new beginnings are within reach if we value self and our dreams.
Ella: Jacqueline, please introduce us to your new book, Searching for Tina Turner.
Searching for Tina Turner is the story of Lena Harrison Spencer, a woman on the verge of change, whose journey is inspired by Tina Turner’s strength. There is no physical abuse in Lena’s life, but there is the longing to follow a dream. Lena loves her life, her husband Randall—successful, attentive, but distant—and their two children—Kendrick, the oldest, trying to nip a drug habit in the bud, and Camille, seventeen and disgusted by her mother’s overbearing behavior. Sparked by Tina Turner’s struggle to move forward, Lena makes the choice to reinvent herself and try something new.
Ella: I so enjoyed
the BAN Radio exclusive interview with you and Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Wench. At this time, I would like to offer readers a chance to experience this wonderful event too!
Click
here to listen now.
Ella: Are your characters from the portrayal of real people? Favorites?
Funny people?
My characters are not portrayals of real people. Lena and Randall are both part imagination and a combination of men and women I’ve come across in my life. I loved developing these characters and letting them make their own choices. There were times that, as the writer, I disagreed with their behaviors and decisions, but I let them do what was true to their personalities.
I liked Lena’s mother, Lulu. She has a sense of humor and an old-school commitment to her man that took her through five decades of marriage. She’s a woman who believes that she knows what it takes to keep a man—despite what her daughter thinks. Later in the book, following in Tina’s footsteps, Lena visits a psychic who reminds her of her late father and gives her sound advice. Vernon is a sort of crotchety man, who pretends to be irritated, but is really a teddy bear. Harmon, who pops up later in the novel, is my favorite because unlike many people, he’s willing to acknowledge his mistakes.
Ella: Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place?
A reader can look at “major” events in Searching for Tina Turner through action and character. Lena, the main character, makes the final decision, though she loves her husband and her family, to move on because they cannot accept the growth she wants for herself.
In terms of action, Lena’s trip to the South of France is a major event. It takes a little prodding for her to let go of her fears, but once she does, she begins to explore new directions for her life.
Ella: How do you think Tina Turner feels about this tribute to her success? How did you select her as your muse/mentor?
Tina Turner is a wonderful, vital woman. I have great respect for her, and I hope she regards the novel as a tribute to her triumphs and accomplishments.
Truthfully, I don’t remember now if it was the movie (“What’s Love Got to Do with It?”), a TV interview, or reports of her final concerts that triggered the idea of Tina Turner as role model—but the depth of what she had done, impressed me and something clicked. Once I read her book, I Tina, I was even more amazed. In her forties, Tina Turner left her marriage with her name, her talent and the conviction that she could make it on her own. I became obsessed with the idea of that strength and how it could inspire a character—without the abuse—on the verge of change. Initially, I wanted to explore surviving divorce, but with each new draft, universal themes surfaced: reinvention, new beginnings, and the challenge of remaining true to self.
Ella: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
My first thought, when shaping the book, was that it would appeal to readers over forty or fifty. Movies are beginning to portray women in this age group, but there don’t seem to be many books with protagonists who reflect the Baby Boomer generation. As the book’s themes of new beginning and reinvention evolved, it became clear to me that anyone regardless of age, could benefit from those messages.
Ella: What was the most powerful chapter in the book?
In a recent New York reading, the actress Barbara Montgomery read the scene where Lena and Randall make the decision to end their marriage. It was amazing to hear the room quiet as everyone focused on the actress’ interpretation of Lena and Randall’s conversation. That scene is powerful because it is the turning point for both characters and captures the emotional breadth of two people who love each other, yet can't make their marriage work.
Ella: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from Searching for Tina Turner?
An insight themselves and the knowledge that they, too, hold all the power they need to realize their dreams
Ella: What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
Many of the books on my shelves suggest that there are only so many stories to be told; it’s the telling that keeps readers’ attention. Searching for Tina Turner is the story of a woman who decides to leave her marriage and how she copes with that change. I’m not sure what plot line that falls under—maybe it’s a woman and man fall in love, they get married and build a life together, and then they fall out of love.
The characters in the novel come from a world of privilege. The descriptions of their lieves and opportunities offer an insight into a part of the Black community that many don’t know about. Yet, everyone can relate to their personal and family struggles because their challenges, for the most part, affect so man.
Searching for Tina Turner is different because of who inspires the main character, Lena, not to change, but to make something out of that change.
Ella: In the advance readers copy, we reviewed, you write, “To every woman: this is what you must do—Go.” What did you mean by this statement?
I love that you read the acknowledgements. I always read every word in a book, from the title page and the copyright straight through to the last page. Actually, I deleted that line in the final edit. I decided to let the novel send the message. My intention was to charge women to take their fate into their own hands and mold it into a life they love—whether they’re married or not. Sometimes as wives and mothers, women can get lost in taking care of family and forget to care for themselves. That’s what happened to Lena; she would have loved to have kept her family together, stayed married and pursued her photography, but fate had other plans for her.
Ella: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases. Searching for Tina Turner was Essence Magazine’s January 2010 book pick.
Black Expressions Book Club selected me as their Star on the Rise. Read about it in their February 15th newsletter.
Women’s Day magazine will feature Searching for Tina Turner in the February 17 issue in the column, First Line.
Look for more interviews: www.jacquelineluckett.com/readings.html
Ella: Do blog or write articles in relation to creating "change" in our lives?
I’ve blogged on the topic of divorce and recovery in the Living Section of the Huffington Post.
Your readers can click
on this link and read it.
Ella: How can our readers reach you online?
In this age of social networking, it’s easy to connect in a variety of ways. I’m especially hopeful that people will follow my blog and leave comments. Here’s how I can be reached.
IRIS GOMEZ is the author of the novel TRY TO REMEMBER (Grand Central May 2010) and of two poetry collections, Housicwhissick Blue (Edwin Mellen Press 2003) and When Comets Rained (CustomWords 2005). An award-winning writer, she is also a nationally-respected public interest immigration lawyer and law school lecturer. She was born in Cartagena, Colombia and presently lives in the Boston area.
Ella: Iris, it was such a pleasure to meet you a few weeks ago! The book is
so beautiful. Take us inside the book. If she tries, Gabriela can almost remember when her father went off to work . . . when her mother wasn't struggling to undo the damage he caused . . . when a short temper didn't lead to physical violence. But Gabi cannot live in the past, not when one more outburst could jeopardize her family's future. So she trades the life of a normal Miami teenager for a career of carefully managing her father's delusions and guarding her mother's secrets.
As Gabi navigates her family's twisting path of lies and revelations, relationships and loss, she finds moments of happiness in unexpected places. Ultimately Gabi must discover the strength she needs to choose what's right for her: serving her parents or a future of her own.
Ella:
What are two major events taking place?
A major event that is happening is that Roberto is losing his mind, which is causing him to also lose his jobs, his temper, and his traditional place in the household.
Another major event for Gabi is the discovery that she has lost her father.
Ella: Introduce us to the main characters of TRY TO REMEMBER.
Gabriela (“Gabi”) is the main character – a soulful and generous Colombian teenager who is trying to help her bewildered immigrant family cope with her father’s growing mental illness without going crazy herself.
Roberto (Gabi’s father) is a once proud breadwinner who now keeps losing jobs and has suddenly been given to fits of temper and episodes of mental unraveling that no one around him understands.
Evi is Gabi’s mother, a traditionally raised immigrant woman forced by circumstances into an uncomfortable head of household role she shamefully hides from her husband as he slips deeper into his strange illness.
Gabi has a trio of tíos, or uncles, who dutifully answer the family’s 911s, though not always so successfully, as well as two younger brothers, and a lively group of relatives, friends and romantic interests who pull Gabi back and forth between the competing norms of Latino and “American” culture & traditional versus modern ideals of womanhood – and who also make her day-to-day life interesting and even fun!
Last but not least, Gabi’s absent grandfather Gabriel, who appears to us only in letters he writes to her from Colombia, is an important symbolic character – when the threat of violence begins to grow in her immediate family, he becomes the emblem of hope in her safe though distant childhood.
Ella: Who were your favorite characters? Are your characters
a portrayal of real people?
I loved my fictional Gabi, whom I named after my own smart and charming daughter. The fictional Gabi shares some of my daughter’s qualities along with a little of the younger me, but the circumstances that unfold in the novel inevitably turn Gabi the heroine into her own person, and by the time I was done writing the book, I wanted her to be my best friend!
Another favorite character I’d like to mention, if a place can be a character, is Miami, the novel’s setting, which is based on a real city, of course, and one whose history I was intrigued by, since I’d witnessed its transformation first-hand when I lived there. Like Gabi, Miami is just coming into its own, developmentally and culturally, during the course of the novel – the southern expansion that began during the post-war boom years has accelerated, and the population is growing and diversifying, until finally a sprawling multi-cultural and international cosmopolis rises up from its dusty roots in the South.
Ella: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
The initial questions that inspired me to want to write this book were personal and similar to those Gabi faces throughout the course of the novel: what does it mean to love in a traditional family? Can you love your family and yet be independent of them? Is “love” the same as loyalty? Like Gabi, I was raised with a strong ethic of family loyalty that in some ways conflicted with the ethic of independence I perceived was necessary for a young woman to achieve career success in this country. In the novel, I try to explore these conflicts by dramatizing how far a girl might have to go in remaining true to her family, despite the difficult burdens they impose.
Thematically, I was also interested in the issue of mental illness, which touches virtually all families and cultures, yet remains one of the untold stories of the Latino community. In my book, I try to illuminate some of the cultural taboos that keep mental illness hidden and untreated in families like Gabi’s, as well as the external social forces that drive many immigrants, even legal immigrants, into isolation and away from government entities that could actually help them.
Additionally, in dramatizing the practical effects of Roberto’s mental decline, I found a perfect context in which to explore the human dimension of one of the legal problems that has troubled me in my work as an immigration lawyer: the rule that keeps immigrants forever vulnerable to losing their “green cards” and everything they’ve built in the U.S., even when this has become their permanent home.
Ella: Who do you want to reach with the message within TRY TO REMEMBER?
I hope the book reaches anyone struggling to love a difficult person, whether mentally ill or not – and the related message I aim to impart to them is that the effort itself is honorable and ultimately redemptive.
I also hope to reach people who are interested in the ways each of us navigates a place for ourselves in this increasingly global, multi-ethnic and multi-racial world. One of the messages I hope the book imparts about Latinos is that the bonds of love which sometimes appear compulsory in our families can also be a saving grace, a strength.
Ella: How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
In addition to being moved and enlightened by the novel’s big-picture dramas, I imagine readers will delight in getting to know Gabi
and her unique, colorful world, and in going along on some of her adventures.
Ella: What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
Dealing with a loved one’s mental illness can be an enormous challenge. The challenge is even greater when the illness remains untreated, as with Roberto’s in the novel. Gabi and her family make many mistakes out of pride as well as confusion as they watch Roberto deteriorate, but their mistakes are only part of the greater tragedy that in the end is no one’s fault.
Ella: What was the most powerful chapter in TRY TO REMEMBER?
Some of my readers have said that the most dramatic chapter is the one in which the family conflicts come to a head (especially onto Gabi’s head!) and in which love is ultimately betrayed, but the chapter I personally find most powerful is the one with the hurricane – it’s my very humble homage to the magnificent hurricane scene in Zora Neale Hurston’s classic, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD, which remains one of my all time favorites in literature.
Ella: What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
Many books address the immigrant experience, some of them about the plight of undocumented people and some of them exploring cultural collision. My novel differs from novels and memoirs I’ve loved about Latinas coming of age (e.g.,
When I Was Puerto Rican, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent, The House on Mango Street, Dreaming in Cuban,
and others), since those focused on earlier or other Latino subgroups, and my book is about a girl forging her identity in the middle of Miami’s Cuban diaspora though she is actually part of a different diaspora, the Colombians, who’ve become the largest South American group in the U.S., according to census data. Gabi’s story explores the combined experience of being a newcomer with that of having a shared cultural identity – a feature of the new panamericanism that is shaping the cultural dynamics of the U.S.
My book is also different from others about the immigrant experience because it addresses a little-understood immigration problem: whether people who’ve been allowed to live in this country permanently and have families here should be subsequently stripped of their right to remain. In my novel, Roberto, a man with an untreated mental illness, commits a fairly run-of-the-mill offense that for a citizen would result only in a minor criminal punishment, but for an immigrant carries the double penalty of criminal punishment plus the threat of expulsion. Such deportations go to the core question underlying our larger public policy debate about immigration today: who really belongs here?
Ella: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
TRY TO REMEMBER will be released on May 5, 2010 and is now available on pre-order from Amazon and from Barnes & Noble.
I’m excited to report that on March 6, 2010, I was part of a panel of women writers speaking at an International Women’s History event at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD. For more information, go to
www.prattlibrary.org In May and June, following the release of my book, I’ll also be reading from the book and signing copies at various venues in Boston, Chicago, and D.C., among other places – check my web site for more details!
Ella: How can our readers reach you online?
My web site is www.irisgomez.com , and it contains a link to a dedicated email address I’ve set up especially for TRY TO REMEMBER readers. That address is:
info@irisgomez.com
If anyone is trying to reach me in connection with issues that involve my immigrant rights attorney role, it may be best to contact me at my office (that information is also available on my web site.)
Intimate Conversation with Attica Locke
In the tradition of Dennis Lehane and Greg Iles comes a powerful new voice in American fiction: Attica Locke delivers a brilliant debut thriller readers will not soon forget…
With intelligent writing that captures the reader from the first scene through an exhilarating climax,
Black Water Rising marks the arrival of an electrifying new talent.
Attica Locke is a novelist and a screenwriter who has written scripts for Paramount, Warner Bros, Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, HBO Films and more. A graduate of Northwestern University, she was a fellow at the Sundance Institute’s Feature Filmmaker’s Lab.
Black Water
Rising, her first novel, was nominated for a 2010 Edgar Award and a 2010 NAACP Image Award. She is currently at work on her second book.
Ella: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
Courage. I wake up every day not sure where the work will take me, scared that I won't have anything to say. And yet I still show up for it every day. Which is the same way I approach life. I'm often scared of the unknown, of what I can't see about my future, but I'm willing to show up to life every day. I live and write by faith.
Ella: Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?
You know the person I think of a lot when I'm writing? Lightnin' Hopkins, the Texas blues musician. His music is clean, simple and deeply moving. I want my writing to be like his blues - tough and melodic and full of raw beauty. Ella:
Introduce us to your book,
Black Water Rising,
and the main characters. Black Water Rising is a murder mystery, following the character, Jay Porter, a low rent criminal defense attorney who was heavily involved in the civil rights movement in the late '60s and early '70s and now finds himself trying to transition from the political activism of his youth into the Reagan '80s - a time when the whole country and black people in particular had shifted our focus from political progress to economic progress. And along the way he has to come to terms with the demons of his past.
Jay Porter is hardly the lawyer he set out to be. His most promising client is a low-rent call girl, and he runs his fledgling law practice out a dingy strip mall. But he’s long since made peace with his path to the American Dream, carefully tucking away his darkest sins: the guns, the FBI file, the trial that nearly destroyed him.
Houston, Texas, 1981. It’s here that Jay believes he can make a fresh start. That is, until the night he impulsively saves a drowning woman’s life – and opens a Pandora’s Box. Her secrets put Jay in danger, ensnaring him in a murder investigation that could cost him his practice, his family, and even his life. But before he can get to the bottom of a tangled mystery that reaches into the upper echelons of Houston’s corporate powerbrokers, Jay must confront the demons of his past.
Ella: Who were your favorites? Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
Well, Jay is certainly my favorite character in the book. He's not any one person in particular, though some facts of his life are similar to the details of my father's life. But he's more representative of my parents' generation - a group of people who, in their late teens and twenties, devoted their lives to political activism and then somehow had to find their way out of that when the movement ended.
Ella: Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
...a deep compassion and love for the choices and mistakes and small victories that make us human.
Listen
to BAN Radio Exclusive with Ella Curry, Lynda Johnson, Go On Girl
President and Attica Locke. Discussing the Black Power Movement, legendary
books and her journey to publication. Click
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Book Reviews for Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
"Black Water Rising is a near-perfect balance of trenchant social commentary, rich characterizations and an action-oriented plot..."
– Los Angeles Times
“Locke, a screenwriter with both film and TV credits (including a forthcoming HBO miniseries about the civil rights movement) steers a gritty drama to a satisfying end… Locke remains an author to watch.”
– Publishers Weekly
“Locke expertly etches a portrait of her anxiety-ridden protagonist, and she animates the complex plot with the assurance of a practiced screenwriter...”
– Kirkus Reviews
Intimate Conversation with
Gwendolyn Zepeda
Gwendolyn Zepeda began her writing career on the Web in 1997 and has won praise and awards for her short stories, poetry, and children’s books. Her first novel,
Houston, We Have a Problema was critically acclaimed for its wit and upbeat story.
Booklist calls Zepeda’s latest novel, Lone Star Legend (Grand Central Publishing, 2010) “fresh and smart” and Publishers Weekly says she “gives readers a funny and smart heroine that readers will easily pull for."
Ella: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
Who are your mentors?
I am of mixed ethnicity (father Latino, mom white) so right off the bat that prepared me to see more than one perspective in any given situation. And I’ve lived a lot of lives – I’ve been an inner-city “at-risk” youth and a housewife, an artist and a mother, a college student on full scholarship and a country bumpkin in a mobile home. So I’ve packed a lot of experience into my years so far, and I feel like my family taught me to use that experience well. My mentors have always been my dad, various bosses at the corporate day jobs I’ve worked, and women in my community who run non-profits and raise strong families.
Ella: Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
My writing offers future readers an accurate depiction of the women around me and how they live their lives today. When readers look back on novels of the 2000s, they’ll see a lot of books about what women wanted – fantasies in which we’re famous and rich and we score fabulous men. And when they read my books, they’ll see how not (yet) famous, not (yet) rich women worked with what they had to get closer to those goals.
Ella:
Introduce us to your book,
Lone Star Legend, and the main characters.
Sandy Saavedra, the main character in Lone Star Legend, is the first woman in her family to attend college, and she’s earned a B.A. in Journalism that she wants to put to good use, writing positive stories about her people. That becomes difficult when the news site she works for is purchased by an organization that specializes in “snarky” gossip blogs broken down by various cultures. There’s “Don’t Call Me Sassy” for African Americans, “Banana Nation” for Asian Americans, and “Nacho Papi’s Web Site,” the site for which Sandy is expected to produce content about Latino celebrities.
Sandy gets grief from her boyfriend, who thinks Nacho Papi is trash and she’s too good to write for it, and from her mom, who thinks Sandy’s makeup and hairstyle are more important than her writing credentials. So she vents about the two of them in her secret, anonymous blog, where she’s sure they’ll never see it.
But nothing is private on the Internet, as Sandy will soon find out. A wise old man teaches her another lesson: that once a crab starts to climb out of the bucket, all the other crabs will try to pull her back down. Can Sandy deal with other writers writing snarky gossip about her? And can she pull free of the claws and get out of the bucket once and for all?
Ella:
Take us inside
Lone Star
Legend. What are two major events taking place?
In Lone Star Legend, Sandy is becoming a celebrity. Her audience loves her and wants to know more about her, her friends and family pay her more respect, and she gets a lot of perks. With all that, however, comes a loss of privacy, anti-fans who hate her, and professional jealousy. So Sandy has a rocky road, learning to deal with that.
At the same time, Sandy finds Tio Jaime, a grandfatherly figure who connects her to her past and helps her find peace within herself. On the one hand, Sandy wants to share Tio Jaime with her audience. On the other hand, she has to protect him from the negative aspects of fame when she barely knows how to deal with them, herself.
Ella: What do you want readers to gain from your book?
The obvious lessons are that people need to be mindful of what they put online, and that fame isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. But I hope readers also see that Sandy makes a difference in strangers’ lives with her honest, thoughtful writing. Despite all the drama that goes down on the Internet, it’s still a way to connect people who wouldn’t have been able to find each other before. I hope that if readers are considering sharing their stories on the Internet, this book will inspire them to go ahead and do that.
Ella: How can our readers reach you online?
Readers can find me on Facebook, Twitter, and my official author site by searching for my full name, Gwendolyn Zepeda. They can also see me sharing my stories on
www.Gwenworld.com
Intimate Conversation author Kitty Sewell
Ella:
Kitty please tell us a little about yourself. I was born in Sweden but have lived in Wales, Canada, Spain and
the Canary islands. The Canadian Arctic, where I lived for two years, was the setting for my first novel. ICE TRAP became a bestseller and sold in 20 countries around the world. I speak four languages but write in English. Before I came to fiction writing, I practiced as a psychotherapist and sculptor. Now I live in Spain and write full-time.
Ella: Introduce us to your book Bloodprint.
BLOODPRINT is a psychological suspense novel. The story centers around three women from different worlds whose paths are inexorably linked. Madeleine is an American psychotherapist who, after the death of her husband in a Florida hurricane, decides to move to the city of Bath in England where her parents live. Her father is a famous English painter, divorced from her Cuban mother, Rosaria, who is a Santera (a practitioner of a Cuban religion which has sorcery at its heart). Rosaria is a patient in a psychiatric hospital, and her delusions and predictions play havoc with Madeleine’s own sanity. Madeleine, in her quest to heal her life, is torn between her conventional father’s world-view and her mother’s ancient beliefs.
Rachel, a single mother with a tortured past comes to Madeleine for therapy, hoping to rid herself of the man who is her former pimp and the father of her son. Madeleine endures Rachel’s scornful attitude towards her as part of the psychotherapeutic process, but, increasingly wary of Rachel’s intentions and reasons for coming, she begins to imagine an impossible scenario.
The increasingly complex relationship between Madeleine and Rachel soon begins to take a sinister turn and finally unleashes a terrifying series of events which neither woman could have predicted and neither can control. In their different ways, each woman seeks redemption for the crime that binds them.
Ella: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
I think my power as a person and as a writer comes mainly through my maturity. I don’t mean necessarily maturity through years, but through experiences and life changes. I feel I’ve lived many lives, having struggled hard but also been extremely fortunate. Many extraordinary things have happened to my family. Through my psychotherapy work I’ve had the privilege of emotional intimacy with people from all walks of life, and heard many astonishing stories. I’ve always asked too many questions and wanted to hear what lies beneath the answers. I’ve lived in many countries,
traveled extensively and seen unusual things.
I think I can convey this accumulation of life experiences into my writing, yet I
endeavor to retain a sense of humility. Life is a mysterious and complex affair with no set answers, and my uncertainty about everything informs my characters, in the way they grapple for insight and understanding.
Writing is a skill too, a craft that must be learned and honed, so the power of a writer comes through a lot of hard work, discipline and dedication, but never at the expense of seeking to live life to the full.
Ella: Who are your mentors?
I feel that there is no end to how much you can learn so I’m always looking for mentors. For me there are mentors for writing and mentors for living, but often they have both functions. My writing mentors have been a number of writers and teachers. Liz Jensen, the novelist, has been invaluable to me. Her writing is flawless. She has read all my
scribbling and shows no mercy. This is the problem with an ego; unless you can take rigorous critique, mentors will not be able to do very much for you. Gritting my teeth I set aside my pride and invite criticism. How else will I know what readers want? Some writers maintain that they write primarily for themselves. Well, good luck to them!
A few other brilliant novelists have read my work and taught me lessons. I’m lucky enough to list Celia Brayfield, Stevie Davies, Deborah Moggach and Lindsay Clark among these. Then there are novelists who don’t know they are my mentors, and they are too numerous to list. Suffice it to say that to write well, you need to read widely, and all the time.
Karsten Diettrich, editor-in-chief (now retired) for the global Bertelsmann Group, took me under his wing when he made ICE TRAP the International Book of the Month with book clubs world-wide. He talked to me at length about Bloodprint (the title was his inspiration) and reviewed it several times, offering strong criticism and advice. I was still new to fiction-writing and very open to the guidance from someone with a whole life-time of experience. We speak often and he reads all my work.
Ella: Where do you find your inspiration?
My main inspiration is without doubt some of the experiences of my own outrageous family. In fact, it will be fodder for plots and characters for years to come. For example, in ICE TRAP I was able to disgorge bucket-loads of frustration, angst and bewilderment, because some of the bizarre things that happened to my characters, actually happened to me and my husband. I was truly empowered by writing about them, especially as ICE TRAP became a bestseller, and I turned adversity into a fantastic career.
In BLOODPRINT I drew on the sadness and guilt I felt after the death of my sister. My sister’s difficult and tormented life was, in part, reflected in the character of Rachel.
I’m very inspired by nature and this comes across strongly in my writing. Trees have special meaning in all five of my novels. All the stories have exotic locations. BLOODPRINT is partly set in the tropical lushness of Key West and partly on the imposing Georgian streets of Bath, England. In ICE TRAP, the icy Arctic setting was almost a character in itself, and in CLOUD FEVER my hero battles his demons in the deserts of the Tibetan plateau. The novel I’m writing now is set in Gibraltar, a huge solitary rock, and an astonishing place of secret stories, underground tunnels and unusual people.
Ella: How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
I think novels are written primarily to entertain, and it is verging on arrogant to assume that one’s stories can have any major impact on readers’ lives. Having said this, I have had scores of emails from readers, both questioning the premise of BLOODPRINT and telling me how they have been affected by it. I
realize, almost in retrospect that BLOODPRINT, despite being a suspense/thriller type of novel, is quite a powerful story about the relationships between women. The issues of three generations of women come out in protest, pain, guilt, lust and fury, whilst this emotional battle plays itself out against increasingly disturbed and destructive
behavior. Issues such as single parenthood, adoption, mental illness, human trafficking and prostitution are central to the novel, and if nothing else, I think readers might learn things they knew little about.
Ella: What was the most powerful chapter in the book?
I’ll try and answer this question without spoilers. The first half of the novel maps the building of a relationship between the psychotherapist Madeleine, and her client Rachel. As time goes by, Madeleine becomes more and more suspicious about Rachel’s identity. Concurrently to this process the reader gets glimpses of a back-story that explains how Madeleine could come to
harbor these suspicions. In the climatic chapter, Rachel commits an unspeakable crime. It is done through sheer desperation, but also through a long build-up of rage.
After the deed has been done, Rachel is desperately afraid, confused and alone. She doesn’t know what to do, where to turn, so she goes to the only person she can think of, her therapist. But during the powerful confrontation which ensues between the two women, Rachel also divulges her true reasons for wanting therapy with Madeleine. She claims there is a debt to pay, and Madeleine has to deliver. From being a respectable professional, Madeleine finds herself embroiled in a grotesque cover-up, and with blood on her hands her life has changed for ever.
Ella: How can our readers reach you online? Share with us your online contact info.
Easy! You can go into my website www.kittysewell.com
and access my contact details. I really enjoy receiving mail from readers and try as far as possible to answer them.
Intimate Conversation with Nicole S. Rouse
Nicole S. Rouse developed a passion for writing at a young age. Happily Ever Now (Urban Christian, 2007), her debut novel, received the EDC Creations 2008 Best Book Award. Someone to Love Me (Urban Christian, 2009) was picked up by the Black Expressions Book Club® before its release date. Be Careful What
You Pray For (Urban Christian, 2010) is the third novel released October 26, 2010.
BPM:
What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
Powerful is a strong word, but I do want to share that as a person, I think I connect with people because I’m not afraid to share my mistakes and faults with others through stories. As a writer, I think that I create characters and situations that are real to people. Although I incorporate fictional scenes to keep stories entertaining, I think people can at the end, reflect on the message.
At a recent signing, I had a number of people, including men, which was very surprising to me, come up to me and express an interest in the story. It is moments like that, that touch me. It is amazing how a collection of words can have an impact on someone’s life. And I believe that is what most writers want to accomplish most with their stories.
BPM:
What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
There are two situations. The first being that, like the main character Maya Richards, I remained in a relationship for many years. When I finally had enough, I made the difficult decision to walk away. Some people don’t understand how someone could stay in a relationship that long. But, for me, when you’ve invested so many years and time into a person, you want to believe that it’s going to work out. And there were obviously some fears about marriage, but for me, I had reached a point where I realized I couldn’t him, and that I didn’t want to invest more time on a hope that he would have a change of heart.
The second incident is a combination of stories from personal experience and friends. I went on a few dates with someone that I knew I shouldn’t have, because something inside me said it wasn’t right. As a result, I ended up in the middle of something I had not expected to.
So I took bits and pieces of both incidents, mixed in some fictional scenarios and created a story that would hopefully help women make better and wiser choices.
BPM:
Introduce us to your book, Be Careful What You Pray For and the main characters.
In my 2010 release, Be Careful What You Pray For, there are three main characters
that I love.
Maya Richards: She is an educated woman who has been in a relationship with the same man for over ten years. When she finally gets the courage to ask her boyfriend about marriage, she is bothered by his reply. Because everyone in her life is married or with someone special, she begins to regret the years with her boyfriend and prays for God to bring her someone special. But because she is not careful in her prayers, she enters into a relationship with a man that changes her life forever.
Queenie Bradford: She is a married woman with two children. She discovers that her husband is having an affair and loses control of her life. Queenie becomes someone she doesn’t recognize, as she goes to extremes to save her marriage.
Lloyd Bradford: Is unhappy in his marriage and decides to seek happiness outside of his marriage. In doing this, his life becomes chaotic. Lloyd character doesn’t just clue female readers into the importance of listening to the warning signs, but also for men to be conscious of what could happen when they are not open and honest with women.
BPM: How will reading Be Careful What
You Pray For shape the readers lives?
It is my hope that readers will take time to evaluate their relationships and allow God to bring people into their lives that will add positive energy and emotional well-being in their lives, and not constant confusion and unhappiness. Sometimes we get into relationships and realize that it’s not working. Instead of praying God to guide how to handle the relationship, the main prayer is for God to make it work. But what if that person isn’t who God wants you to be with? What if you’re blocking the person God has for you from getting to you with your prayer to stay in that relationship?
Then there are some women who pray for a mate and when that mate comes are surprised at the end results. God wants us to be specific in our prayers, but He also wants the best for us. He knows our desires and wants to grant us those desires. But, we need to make sure what we want and desire also lines up with what is acceptable to God.
BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
Although this is a serious topic, the story is told with some humor and in a way that both women and men can relate to. It is entertaining, and at the same time the story can serve as a catalyst to empower women. My goal for this story was to help women see the value in waiting for the right relationship, and to know one that is right when it does comes along.
BPM:
How can our readers reach you online?
I can be reached at www.nicolerouse.com.
I can also be reached through my email address: nsrouse@yahoo.com.
I love to visit book clubs, so please invite me out to your meetings!
Intimate Conversation with
Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa
Dahlma
Llanos-Figueroa was born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York City.
She taught in the New York City School system before becoming a young adult
librarian. Her experiences in Puerto Rico and the South Bronx, as well
as her African heritage form the basis of her work. Dahlma has won
the Bronx Council on the Arts ACE and BRIO Awards, as well as a Literary Arts
Fellowship. She still lives in the Bronx. She can be contacted through
her web page at www.llanosfigueroa.com.
BPM: Introduce us to Daughters
of the Stone and
the main characters. Daughters of the Stone follows the lives of five generations of
Afro-Puerto Rican women focusing on the legacy passed from one generation to
the next. Fela is an African woman, captured and sold into slavery in
Puerto Rico.
Mati, her daughter is a healer who needs to establish a place of safety for
herself and her people. Concha has to choose between her mother's
tradition and the wider European society. Elena is the first educated in
her line. She chooses a different path. Carisa grows up in NYC and
has to reconcile her life with the traditions of the past.
BPM:
Who
are your favorites in Daughters
of the Stone?
Each one has strengths that I admire and weaknesses I can learn from. I
couldn't pick a favorite any more than a mother could pick a favorite child.
BPM: What
makes you powerful as a person and as a writer?
I think one thing that makes me very strong is recognizing that I didn't get
where I am by my will alone. I stand on the shoulders of other very
strong and creative women. When I stop honoring what they lived and
died to give me, that's when I lose my way.
BPM: Who
are your mentors?
The female members of my family to whom I dedicated the book are my first and
strongest mentors. Artistically, I owe a great deal to Toni Morrison and
Isabel Allende. Their work gave me permission to tell my story my way
and helped me find my own voice. They also gave me the courage to speak
about the unspeakable.
BPM:
How would you complete this sentence: My writing offers the following legacy
to future readers...?
Everyone from every culture has important stories to tell--whether in the
privacy of their homes or on the page. I encourage everyone to find an
elder and listen. Write down the stories, collect them, pass them down
to the next generation. These are the only sign posts that we can leave
for those who come after us. We all need the lessons of the past so we
can build a better future. It is only in forgetting that we grow weaker.
BPM: What
specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
There were many reasons for my book coming about. I'll pick just one.
As a child I was sent to live with my grandmother in Puerto Rico. At
home in the Bronx I had the television to keep me company in the evenings.
But in Puerto Rico, I remember sitting in a corner of my grandmother's porch
and listening to the women on the porch telling stories. They sat in
their rockers and talked about everything that went on in the town. They
told jokes, corrected each other's memories and told and retold family tales.
Years,
decades later when those women were all gone, I remembered those stories
and felt so connected. It occurred to me that those women's voices
were never heard in the literature that I read or the media stories that
reflected only the stereotypical images of Puerto Rican life. I felt
that it was time for those voices to be heard.
BPM: How will
reading your book shape the reader's lives?
Hopefully, my book will motivate them to look at their own family stories and
examine how their lives have been influenced by what came before.
BPM:
What do you think makes your book different from other on the same subject?
My book covers a journey of 150 years that most people have never thought
about. This novel examines the journey of the Puerto Rican family from
slavery, through colonialism, to immigration to acculturation to self
identity. Many people say that they never knew we had slavery in Puerto
Rico. Others are surprised by the hardships suffered by immigrants.
Others see the similarities in the characters and situations with their own
journeys. Still others focus on the personal voyage of the characters.
I'm happy that readers can take any one of these or many other routes to
reading and enjoying the book. When that happens, I know I did my job well.
BPM: Ultimately,
what do you want your readers to gain from your book?
I'd like them to understand the importance of storytelling in our lives.
I'd like them to see the past as a foundation for the future and a conduit
of strength and dignity.
Intimate Conversation with author Vanessa Miller
Vanessa Miller of Dayton, Ohio, is a best-selling author, playwright, and motivational speaker. Her stage productions include: Get You Some Business, Don’t Turn Your Back on God, and Can’t You Hear Them Crying. Vanessa is currently in the process of turning the novels in the Rain Series into stage productions. Vanessa's latest release,
Yesterday’s Promise, was #1 on BCNN April 2010 bestsellers list. View
here the list here.
Vanessa has been writing since she was a young child. When she wasn’t writing poetry, short stories, stage plays and novels, reading great books consumed her free time. However, it wasn’t until she committed her life to the Lord in 1994 that she realized all gifts and anointing come from God. She then set out to write redemption stories that glorify God.
To date, Vanessa has completed the Rain and Storm Series. She is currently working on the Forsaken series, Second Chance at Love series and a single title, Long Time Coming. Yesterday's Promise, a Christian romance, was released in April 2010 by Whitaker House Publishing. Vanessa believes that each book will touch readers across the country in a special way. It is, after all, her God-given destiny to write and produce plays and novels that bring deliverance to God’s people. These books have received rave reviews, winning Best Christian Fiction Awards and topping numerous Bestseller’s lists.
• Best Christian Fiction Mahogany Award 2003
• Red Rose Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction 2004
• Nominated for the NAACP Image Award (Christian Fiction) 2004
• Essence Bestseller’s List March 2008; May 2008 (Former Rain)
• Essence Bestseller’s List September 2008 (Rain Storm)
• Black Expressions Book Club Alternate Selection 2007, 2008 & 2009.
Vanessa originally self-published, then in 2006 she signed a five-book deal with Urban Christian/Kensington. Her books can now be found in Wal-Mart, and almost all major bookstores, including African American bookstores and online bookstores such as Amazon.com.
Vanessa is a dedicated Christian and devoted mother. She graduated from Capital University with a degree in Organizational Communication. In 2007, Vanessa was ordained by her church as an exhorter. Vanessa believes this was the right position for her because God has called her to exhort readers and to help them rediscover their place with the Lord. Most of Vanessa’s published novels depict characters that are lost and in need of redemption. The books have received countless favorable reviews.
BPM: Where do you find your inspiration to write?
I find inspiration for my novels in stories that I read in the Bible, conversations that I have with family and friends, or something that I watched on the news. I have awakened from dreams with the beginning of a storyline for a novel… inspiration comes from many different sources, but my main goal is to make sure each of my books glorify God.
BPM: Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
Since all of my novels a meant to lead the reader back to or closer to God, I believe my legacy will be that I spread the good news of the gospel with thousands upon thousands of people… and many of them found strength in the inspiration they found between the pages of my books.
BPM: What specific revelation prompted you to write this book?
I was doing a book signing at the Indiana Black Expo and the lady next to my table was signing copies of her book that talked about the struggle for women to preach. Since the bishop of my church is a woman and we have women preach at my church all the time, I had never thought anything about any struggle that women faced when it came to preaching. But then a man walked into the room where we were signing our books. He took one look at Pastor Notoshia Howard’s book and started screaming at her. He told her that she had no business trying to preach to men and that women were not allowed to preach. That’s when the idea of Yesterday’s Promise was dropped in my spirit. I wanted to write a book that details the struggles women who have been called by God have to deal with in order to preach the gospel.
BPM: Vanessa, introduce us to your book and the main characters.
Yesterday’s Promise is a Christian romance about Melinda Johnson and Steven Marks. Melinda feels called to the ministry, but Steven doesn’t believe that women should preach. This disagreement between the two causes Steven to break off their engagement. But now, after ten years, Steven is back in Melinda’s life as the new bishop over her fellowship and he wants a second chance with Melinda. However, Melinda can never marry a man who doesn’t respect the call of God on her life. To love one another, the two must knock down the walls that separate them. But can the bishop finally do that for his lady or will Melinda be forced to leave Omega Christian Church?
BPM: What are two major events taking place in the book?
The major events in this book deal with Melinda’s struggle to preach. In several scenes she is forced to fight against her father and her ex-fiancé to prove that God has called her to preach. Yesterday’s Promise also deals with the issue of broken promises. Melinda struggles with this issue and finally allows God to heal her heart.
BPM: Who were your favorites? Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
I loved Melinda’s character because she was so complex. She was a preacher with issues of unforgiveness that stemmed from broken promises that had been made by her mother, ex-fiancé and her father. She was an interesting character study. I enjoyed watching as she resolved her issues and gave love a second chance.
Although Yesterday’s Promise is not about real people, it does deal with a real controversy in the Christian community. Not everyone believes that women should preach, but Melinda Johnson is determined to change minds and win souls.
BPM: What was the hardest part of Yesterday’s Promise to write?
Yesterday’s Promise deals with women in ministry. Since I know that this is a topic not everyone agrees on, I wanted to address the controversy but also find a way to some women believe they have every right to preach the gospel. I was very careful with those parts of the story because I wanted to make sure I told both sides of the story.
BPM: What is the most powerful chapter in the book for you?
Although there are many chapters in this book that will speak to the reader, in my opinion, chapter 22 is the most powerful because this is the chapter where Melinda learns to forgive.
BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
Women between the ages of 35-65, Christian women and Christian women in ministry would enjoy this story of romance and ministry.
BPM: How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
I believe that Yesterday’s Promise will give readers a better understanding concerning women in the ministry and will also help them understand a little bit more about the benefits of forgiveness.
BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
I want readers to close the book on Yesterday’s Promise believing in themselves and in love again. Sometimes the world beats us up so much that we put aside the things we know we should be doing, in order to do the things that make the most sense – but if God called you to it, He will bring you through it.
BPM: What do you think makes your book stand out?
Although Yesterday’s Promise is Christian romance, it is one of the first romances to address the issue of women in the ministry. So, I believe that readers will find that aspect of the book interesting as well as the romance between Melinda and Steven.
BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
I have four books releasing this year and another book due into my publisher by September. So 2010 is pretty busy for me.
BPM: How can our readers reach you online? Share with us your online contact info.
My web address is: www.vanessamiller.com
my Facebook page is: www.facebook.com/vanessamiller01 or readers can check out my Facebook fan page by typing in Vanessa Miller.
Intimate Conversation with Dwan Abrams
Dwan Abrams is a full-time novelist and freelance editor. She currently writes for Urban Books/Kensington. She’s the award-winning, best-selling author of My Mother’s Child, Married Strangers, Divorcing the Devil, Only True Love Waits, and The Scream Within. Her sixth novel will be released by Urban Books/Kensington in 2011. She’s the founder/facilitator of the Just Write! Workshop. Additionally, she’s the founder, publisher, and editorial director of Nevaeh Publishing, a small press independent publishing house. She was inducted into “Who’s Who” in Black Atlanta in 2006 and again in 2010.
BPM: Who are your mentors?
I have some literary big sisters, namely Kendra Norman-Bellamy and Marissa Monteilh. Where do you find your inspiration? My inspiration comes from so many things. I’m inspired by fascinating people that I meet, my marital relationship, and close friends and family members too.
BPM: A Legacy is something that is handed down from one period of time to another period of time. Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...that I was here and I had something to say.
BPM: Introduce us to your book, My Mother’s Child and the main characters.
My Mother’s Child is the standalone sequel to Divorcing the Devil. Nigel Fredericks made his debut in Divorcing the Devil, and he will give readers insight into his psychotic world. Lyric Stokes has the misfortune of becoming the object of Nigel’s obsession. Lyric’s husband, Michael, finds himself going through great lengths to protect his family. Ultimately, someone pays with their life.
BPM: Who were your favorites in My Mother’s Child?
My favorite character in My Mother’s Child was Lyric’s dad, Henry. I liked him because he took ownership of his past mistakes and changed his life. He also loved his daughter. Are your characters from the portrayal of real people? Not in this book.
BPM: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
Divorcing the Devil prompted me to write My Mother’s Child. Readers wanted to know more about Nigel, so I gave them what they wanted.
BPM: Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place?
Two major events in My Mother’s Child are Nigel stalking Lyric, and Lyric’s pregnancy. A whole lot of drama surrounds those events.
BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book?
I want to reach as many readers as possible. My Mother’s Child takes readers on a suspenseful journey that will have them wanting to flip to the end just so they can see how it’s all going to pan out.
BPM: How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
I actually had a reader state the lessons they got from My Mother’s Child. The reader’s opinion was so insightful that I thought I’d share…
• You must be very careful who you let into your life
• Just because somebody seems nice doesn't mean they are.
• God will fight your battles if you let Him.
• True love conquers all.
• Everything that glitters isn't gold.
BPM: What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
Lyric Stokes seems to have a charmed life, yet she’s unfulfilled. No matter what she has materially, it can’t fill the void inside of her. She has daddy issues that she hadn’t addressed, and to top it off, she’s having a hard time getting pregnant. My Mother’s Child will make readers believe that unconditional love does exist.
BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
Be careful what you ask for. And don’t ever lose faith.
BPM: What do you think makes your book different from others in the same genre?
The plot twist for sure. There’s nothing predictable about the story. Also, one of the topics isn’t something that a lot of people even knew was possible until recently. If there’s another fiction book that has addressed the topic, I haven’t heard about it.
BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
I’m conducting a workshop on quitting your day job at the 2010 Black Writers Reunion and Conference. I’ll be representing my publishing company, Nevaeh Publishing, at the 2010 Faith and Fiction Retreat pitch session. We have three books being released in April, including a children’s book. I’m also releasing an ebook on publishing.
BPM: How can our readers reach you online?
Share with us your online contact info. I’m all over the web. My author site is
www.dwanabrams.com, and my publishing web site is
www.nevaehpublishing.com. I’m also on Facebook and Twitter. My books are available wherever books are sold, including online at Amazon.com,
BN.com, and Black Expressions.
Connect with Dwan Abrams
Best-selling Author/Freelance Editor/Publisher/Speaker
Books by Dwan
My Mother's Child Available wherever books are sold
Divorcing the Devil Available wherever books are sold
Married Strangers Available wherever books are sold
Shelia M. Goss is the national best-selling author of six women's fiction novels:
Hollywood Deception, His Invisible Wife, My Invisible Husband, Roses are thorns, Paige’s Web, Double Platinum and three young adult books: The Lip Gloss Chronicles series:
The Ultimate Test, Splitsville, and Paper Thin.
BPM: Introduce us to your latest book Hollywood Deception.
Hollywood Deception is a fast-paced romantic thriller about Hailey Barnes, a talk show host, whose dealing with a broken heart and a deranged fan.
Hailey wants what she can’t have, and that’s her ex-college sweetheart’s hand in marriage. Her on again/off again relationship with Trevon keeps her name in the tabloids, and that works for her, until she receives a wedding invitation in the mail—inviting her to Trevon’s wedding to another woman. He’s ready to settle down, just not with Hailey.
Besides dealing with a broken heart, the ex-supermodel is dealing with a deranged fan who has resorted to sending her disturbing mail at her Hollywood studio and her home. Hailey decides to use the opportunity as a quest to convince Trevon she should be his bride.
Trevon and childhood friend Garrett Morgan are co-owners of GT Securities, a security firm that caters to celebrities. Hailey’s plan backfires when Garrett heads her case instead of
Trevon. When ex-playboy Garrett starts developing feelings for Hailey, Hailey’s life becomes even more complicated. As Garrett investigates, all evidence points to the person Hailey least suspects.
BPM: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
Hailey Barnes first appeared in my book Double Platinum. She's also a character that I used in a web series. She was such a lively character, that she begged for her own story and that's how Hollywood Deception was born.
BPM: Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place?
Hailey is dealing with a broken heart as she attempts to be the number one talk show host in the nation. She's also dealing with a deranged fan who stalks her at work and at home.
BPM: What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
Hollywood Deception addresses two issues in the book: stalking, which affects over 3 million people a year and a mental disorder known as bipolar.
BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
I’m excited to announce that my next book, Delilah, will be Christian Fiction. I'm currently working on the edits. Its scheduled for a 2011 release. Where ever Delilah goes, drama is sure to follow. She wreaks havoc on the lives of every man she comes in contact with. Will her luck change when she meets the man of her dreams?
Besides writing for adults, I write young adult fiction. I'm honored to be the recipient of the
2009 EDC Creations Author of the Year for my teen series - The Lip Gloss Chronicles.
BPM: How can our readers reach you online?
To keep updated on any of my new projects or learn more about my old books, please visit me at
www.sheliagoss.com.
Shelia M. Goss - Author of Hollywood Deception
&
5 other women's fiction novels & 3 YA Novels
Nakia R. Laushaul is employed as a Finance Administrator. She is a poet, novelist, and inspirational blogger. In her free time she enjoys performing her poetry and hanging out with her teenage son. Nakia serves on the Board of Directors for a non-profit,
KCCP, that was created to encourage arts participation in youth. Nakia is committed to challenging everyone in her reach to find compassion and empathy in the differences that exist among us all.
Ella: Introduce us to your book of poetry, The Truth As I See It: In Poetry &
Prose.
My book is called, The Truth As I See It: In Poetry & Prose. It’s an inspirational collection of poetry and essays about everyday life from my point of view. Although I absolutely love poetry, I am a storyteller to the depths of my soul. So, you will see a complete story in every poem. Every chapter tells a poetic story about You and Me, Love, God, Life, and how I came to be free in a way that every reader, no matter their favorite genre, will enjoy.
Ella: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
The God in me makes me feel powerful. I have overcome so many obstacles in my life that tried, yet failed each time to break me. I woke up one day and felt like yeah I finally got this, I got me. I am no longer ashamed of where I come from, who I am, what I lack, what I have, or where I’m going. All I know is that I am writing with the authority of God and that makes me a powerful woman.
Ella: Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
My hope is to inspire for generations to come. I want future readers to know— if you follow the hollow ground I’ve walked on, it will take you generations to be free. Learn from the past and take the shortcut, young one — here, take this shortcut.
Ella:
What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
I have been (and still am) working on a novel for many years. I won’t even tell you exactly how many years it has been, not just yet (smile). All those years, I was afraid to write because I feared what I would come out of my pen and the impact it would have on others. I knew that whatever I wrote would be so drenched in truth that some people were bound to get their feelings hurt. In the process of avoiding what I was born to do, I was disobedient to God’s purpose, and my life was a mess. I woke up before dawn one day feeling distressed because God fills my head with so many thoughts, I don’t sleep well.
I found underneath my desk, a beautiful journal that I had never opened. Inside was an inscription by Picasso that read, “Everything you can imagine is real.” I wrote underneath, Then I imagine I love myself. I turned the page and wrote down all the reasons I loved myself. Those reasons turned into the first poem I wrote for this collection, “I Am A Tree.” By that evening I had a title for the entire book, The Truth As I See It. It was all poetry in the beginning, but I got hooked on blogging; hence prose entered the book.
Ella: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
Initially, The Truth As I See It was God’s attempt to reach me. God was calling out to me through my own voice, God to Nakia. Come in Nakia. I discovered so much about myself during the writing process. Now I know I can’t force anyone else to change. However, my goal is to encourage a positive and willing acceptance of what is true and right.
Ella: How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
When my readers put my book down, I want them to imagine me saying personally to them, “You are strong, you are beautiful, you can make it, and you are uniquely fashioned in His image. You are A Tree!”
I want my readers to concentrate more on being who they are and not what others want them to be. I would like them to feel empowered enough to break away from generational curses and self defeat, find their purpose, and truly live.
Ella: What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
The thing with writing poetry is that others always assume every poem is about the poet. I can’t tell you how many poems are actually about you and what you are going through in your life, what I’ve read, or what I’ve overheard. I am a thief of juicy conversations. I wrote a poem about abortion, “Liberated,” that spawned from reading a Gwendolyn Brooks poem called “The Mother.” I heard the testimony of a famous gospel singer and wrote “Happy Mother’s Day.”
I wrote a poem that deals with what will surely happen to our future if we don’t do something called, “Deuteronomy.”
Many of my messages are a bit taboo and I wrestled intensely with writing them, but either I stand up for what I believe in, or I should have called my book, The Lies I Tell Myself. That was not going to happen because I’m done with lying to myself just to make someone else feel comfortable.
Ella: What was the most powerful poem in the book?
I cannot pick a most powerful poem as each one tells a story that is special to me. I would very much appreciate if my readers would send me an email letting me know which poem affected them the most and why. On the other hand, my novel, Running From Solace is my baby waiting patiently to get here. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the excerpt I included at the end of The Truth As I See It.
Ella: What do you think makes your book different from others?
Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Since there is nothing new to be done, the only difference between my book and others’ is the way I choose to offer my poetic stories. I give them in a page-turning, here’s the truth, now deal with it—in a plain and simple sort of way. You will not need a decoder to decipher the message because I give it straight up—no chaser, so be ready.
Ella: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
Presently, you can purchase and autographed copy of The Truth As I See It: In Poetry & Prose on my website. It will soon be available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through other Internet sources where books are sold. I am currently working on my novel, Running From Solace.
Ella: How can our readers reach you online?
I am a real life Social Butterfly, so I welcome you to rant it up with me on my blog, Random Rants of Truth of a Social Butterfly:
http://nakialaushaul.blogspot.com
Friend me and get chatty on FaceBook, or stop by my website anytime you like to see what I’m up to and what’s new:
www.nakiarlaushaul.com . You never know, I may be headed to your town very soon! I also welcome your emails, so share your thoughts about my work:
Nakia@nakiarlaushaul.com
The Truth As I See It: In Poetry & Prose
ISBN: 978-0-9843682-6-6
Nakia Laushaul...is making the best of today!
author, The Truth As I See It: In Poetry & Prose www.nakiarlaushaul.com
Intimate Conversation with Tia Stewart
Tia Stewart is an award-winning African-American writer whose penchant for verbiage started in the fifth grade when her teachers thought she was passing handwritten notes about boys, but she and her best friend were editing each other’s books and magazine articles. Her first publication,
Colors of a Man: Transgressions and Hope was published in April 2009 as an
eBook on Amazon. She writes in several genres, but poetry is her passion.
BPM: At what age or point in life did you unlock your gift for poetry?
I discovered my ability for writing in fifth grade. I wanted to write magazine articles for Ebony Jr at age eleven. One of my girlfriends was working on a novel in fifth grade and I use to edit her writings. A few years ago, I worked nights on a 24 hour Nurse Advice line for an insurance company, and a fellow poet, encouraged me to start writing poetry. Working the night shift, gave me the solitude to delve into poetry, and I rediscovered my dream of writing. “Black” was my first poem, that won critical acclaim. All my clients and friends loved that poem. I performed “Collateral Damage” at an open mic summer 2009 at The Canal Club, in Richmond, Virginia, and people started asking about my book. So I collected all my poems and Colors of a Man, Tribute to African-American Men was published for Christmas 2009.
BPM: What moved you to begin writing?
The best of the poetry came out of the worst of personal tragedy. I ran a successful bail bonding company, in Richmond, Virginia called Big Momma Bail Bonds. One of my fellow bail bondsman, James Woolfolk and good friend was murdered. Really wonderful person, always smiling and his family ran a soul food restaurant within walking distance of Richmond City Jail. Most of my bail bonding business had me in more rural, country parts of Virginia, and I spent most of my time shopping and eating fried chicken with my cousins. We had a funny, competitive rivalry between the city bondsman and the country bondsman. He cooked at the restaurant, and was always trying to feed me (Smile).
As a bondsman, you spend alot of time with the magistrates, police officers, judges, and court officials, and between them and my family, everybody really wanted me to stop because of safety issues after his death. I started writing poetry to deal with all the loss. My mother was the first female African-American police office in Virginia, in the seventies, so I grew up around law enforcement all my life. Many of my college friends and family were DEA, ATF, CIA,
FBI and Secret Service, so I know many people in criminal justice. As a military brat, I loved the adventure of being a bail bondsman. I attended high school and college in Detroit and Chicago. I even attended medical school for one year at Michigan State University, before becoming a full-time mommy. My writings, for the poetry and the novels, come from all these experiences.
BPM: Introduce us to your latest published work, Colors of a Man. What style is it?
Colors of a Man, Tribute to African-American Men is a sexy, romantic freestyle poetry collection that entertains, excites, enthralls, and educates. Men are compared to colors. This book comes with an accompanying neo-soul, jazzy, hip-hop poetry
CD.
BPM: Does your work offer a glimpse into your philosophy of life? Colors of a Man, Tribute to African-American Men the title came about because I thought the brothers were getting a bad rap. I had finally learned the lesson that my grandmother was trying to teach me; Men are not God, they make mistakes. Most men just need you to spotlight the good points. God makes each of us a wonderful masterpiece, somewhat flawed. But still each of us is an artistic masterpiece. Barack Obama had just been elected President and the time seemed right to publish a book about African-American Men.
I starting comparing men and woman to colors in my poetry. We all start out just like the simple colors on an artist’s palette, like white, yellow, red; and end up irreplaceable like a priceless painting hanging in an art gallery.
Most men, whether judge, criminal or preacher, want to be a good father and take care of their family. It is time to solidify the family. You cannot have it all as a woman. You have to set your family as your priority, but not lose yourself. It is a delicate balancing act for most women. Men and children require your attention. Setting a firm boundary for family time is essential. Taking me time is critical for self-preservation for all women. We love to cook pastries and home-made pizza at my house. Cooking and working out at the YMCA together are our family activities. My “me time” is time spent at the hair and nail salon, massages, and shopping.
BPM: Does your writing offer refuge or healing in its form of expression?
Healing and refuge. I tried to capture the experiences of African-Americans from a female perspective. In my writings, I give a glimpse of being African-American and what that truly means. My paternal great-grandmother, Nellie Coleman, was born a slave, and she died when I was nine. She was 88, blind with diabetes, but this brilliant, gentle force. She had never learned to read. My paternal grandmother, Annie Mae Stewart worked as a domestic and seamstress. She loved everything and everybody. “Mae-Mae” as we all called her, had only completed fifth grade. Amazingly, she was an excellent reader. Her heartfelt desire was that I attend college and get all the education that she never had an opportunity to get.
My writings are an amalgamation of this multi-generational experience of being an African-American woman through the centuries. My children have been afforded the luxury of public, private, and home-schooled education, and even have family ties to Kenya and Nigeria. So we seemed to have come full circle, and I am excited about taking the children back to the African continent to truly understand their African ancestry. I love to travel and my writings take you to many different countries such as Kenya, Brazil, Bahamas, London, Tanzania, Thailand, Jamaica, South Africa, and St. Lucia.
BPM: What has been the main literary or cultural influences on your poetry?
The Harlem renaissance writers such as James Baldwin, Richard Wright, and Zora Neal Hurston gave me a foundation for literature at an early age. I am avid reader. Writers Claude Brown, Lorraine Hansberry, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, and Ntozake Shange influenced my poetry in high school. They made me proud to be a “colored girl.” Terry McMillan, Alice Walker, and Bebe Moore Campbell influenced my writings in college, because they spotlighted the difficulties of balancing work, family, and your dreams. Hometown writers, Nikki Turner and Stacy Hawkins Adams are polar opposites in writing, but give me exposure to the totality of this experience as an African-American female. My poetry has references and hidden metaphors to many of the entire genre of African-American writers.
BPM: Does your writing depict the struggles of our people or show the world how we love?
(Laughing) I am the love poet. I “make rainbows out of rain” it what one of my reviewers said. My father died when I was five from complications of diabetes, so I have always been able to retreat into this fantasy world, where I get to make my own characters. Fiction writing and especially poetry lets you write about all the different types of love. Love between a man and a woman. Love between a brother and a sister. Love between a mother and a child. Love of country. Love for God. Love for mankind.
I write from how I view the world. I am a mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter, cousin, nurse, entrepreneur, girlfriend, sister-friend, neighbor, poet, novelist, and world citizen. I value faith and family. My grandmother and her sisters were close. I have at least 500 second, third and fourth cousins. I have cousins who graduated from Harvard University and Princeton University, and cousins selling drugs on the corner, as a means of economic survival. I have been in the housing projects as a bail bondsman and a visiting nurse, and the country clubs as a writer. But somebody struggled so that I could go to the country club and attend universities such as Northwestern University, and University of Michigan. So I write about struggles also.
Additionally, I also have a concealed weapon permit. I have a book about healing prayers that I used as a nurse. I am the new millennium African-American woman. Gun-toting, and praying. See why they call me Big Momma?
BPM: Do you feel as if poetry is a performance art?
All poetry is meant to be heard. When I write my poetry, I decide if it is going to be a performance piece or not. Performance pieces have a message, they are meant to be spoken out loud. Performance pieces must possess “swag.” Some the Richmond rappers are helping me develop my “poetry swag” and poet’s bravado. Shakespeare was the original rapper. His writings had rhyme and rhythm. Jill Scout at her concerts does the blending of music and poetry, so well. My poetry is meant to be played on your MP3 or CD player. The words of the poem should intoxicate and hypnotize you to a different space. A good poem has some signature words or uses a new expression.
My poems that I write for publication come from a different space. I make sure that each letters makes love to the paper, as I write it down. Each letter has a place and a purpose, and needs to be doing something in order to stay in the poem. Poems tell the story. Paper poems have a typography and symmetry of word and a different type of literary purpose.
BPM: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
God gives me the power. Writing is a gift from Him. I write in numerous genres. One day I may write a poem. The next day I can write a prayer. Most people fail to realize that the Books of Psalms, Proverbs, and Songs of Solomon are the poetry and romance books of the Bible. The next day, I may write something more sensual and erotic. I love literary devices such as alliteration, echopation and metaphors. African-American writers have a mandate to teach the craft of writing as well as entertain. My writings are meant to educate as well. The Colors of a Man series of poetry books and novels excites, entertains, enthralls and educates.
BPM: What literary legacy do you leave our future readers and leaders?
I want my great-grandchildren to remember that at one time, we, African-American women were property, and bred like horses. We were legally forbidden to read and write. Education gave me the foundation to dream. My legacy is that I am my great-grandma Rebecca’s wildest dream; college-educated, writing about love, faith, and everyday struggles of being a woman, and living in the suburbs with weekly manicures, spa days, hair salon days, monthly massages, health club membership, shopping trips, fine dining, international travel, and paid help occasionally.
From playing croquet with my writing colleagues at the Country Club of Virginia, to doing poetry
open-mics with the rappers to hanging out with Virginia’s most notorious bounty-hunters, I will write about it all in my series of books, Colors of a Man.
BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
Colors of a Man, Tribute to African-American Men won the Readers Views 2009 Literary Awards, and Reviewers Choice first place poetry and the Book Hitch Award for Most Innovative Book of poetry.
“Green Caviar”, my first romantic suspense novel is due for release late summer 2010 about my heroine, Angela, a well paid tobacco lawyer, her rapper boyfriend, Nick and her best friend Big Momma, the bail bondsman.
HEADLINES:
Job Wanted?
Personal Brand Strategies for Employability
With
fierce competition for limited jobs, many people wonder if they will be able
to land a good job. Unfortunately, the economic
situation feels like a bad dream. With a weak job growth, many U.S. jobs
will continue to be outsourced globally or automated through technology. In
fact, the government estimates that an additional 1.2 manufacturing jobs
will disappear by 2018.
As
a result, today’s unemployed workers are unsure about their future. Hope
is not lost! Building a personal brand may be the cornerstone of sustaining
success in the future. Many athletes and celebrities
build successful brands over time. Some of them include Julia Roberts,
Michael Jordan, and Stephen King. Likewise, individuals
can also build their own personal brand.
Brand
Strategy
Personal
branding showcases your public image. Personal branding can be defined as
‘the process whereby people
and their careers are marked as personal impression or brand.’ Al Pies and
Jack Trout, authors of Positioning, maintain that making the best
impressions is critical for business success. With this strategy, an individual
should create a ‘position in the prospect’s mind.’ This impression
should reflect a person’s own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of
its competitors.
Branding
includes personal appearance, oral and written communications, associations,
or anything that identifies an individual. Derrick
Craver, Vice President - South Zone Strategic Accounts for UPS, notes that
even your work ethic serves as a brand: “It starts by coming to work on
time.”
Furthermore, branding
defines, promotes, and protects an individual’s image online and off-line.
Conclusion
Finally,
individuals should protect their personal brands. Never dress
inappropriately in a business setting or showcase a less flattering image on
social media platforms like Facebook. Your future employer could be
watching. People should be careful how they are perceived during the
employment stage. When a person submits an application to an employer or
starts the interview process, potential employers are evaluating the
candidate based on his or her brand. Therefore, a personal branding strategy
can assist people with standing out from the competition.
Dr.
Daryl Green provides motivation, guidance, and training for leaders
at critical ages and stages of their development. He has over 20 years of
management experience and has been noted and
quoted by USA Today, Ebony Magazine, and Associated Press. Formore information, you can go to http://stores.lulu.com/darygre
or http://www.darylgreen.org.
Women Power in Today’s Organizations
by Dr. Daryl Green
America has continued to learn how to deal with strong women during the great demographic shift in history. Corporate America celebrates media moguls like Oprah Winfrey. According to Fortune Magazine, 15 Fortune 500 companies are run by women. In fact, women of color are showing others how to break traditional barriers. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice transformed how powerful women can lead major government sectors. In fact, there is a long list of successful women in all types of institutions.
Yet, the road to success for most black women isn’t easy. Many women’s dreams of a successful career have come to reality. Strangely enough, some women have been trying to have it all. This marks the clash. There are women who focus on the primary care of their families while delaying their personal dreams. Others dedicate their lives to their careers while compromising the stability of their families. In the middle, there are millions of mothers who attempt to do it all out of necessity and attempt to chase the great American Dream. This article focuses on the issues facing professional women and provides solutions. Several professional women were interviewed. However, their real names are not disclosed, to protect them since they work in small industries.
The Problem
According to the 2005 Census Report, there are 82.5 million mothers in the United States , and there are 10 million single mothers living with children under 18 years old. Working moms make up 55 percent of mothers with infants. Feminists celebrate the liberation of working women while traditionalists postulate the merits of home-bound mothers for institutional stability. In fact, some people blame the moral decay of the country on mothers abandoning their families for professional careers. Many women try to maintain a healthy balance of work and family life, but this balancing act leaves some of them “burnt out.” Therefore, there is a growing problem for women in particular and society in general in understanding consequences of women’s power in the near future.
The Trend
Women stand at the fore front of disruptive change in the political, social, economic, and technological sectors of most counties. Dr. James Canton’s
The Extreme Future notes “Women will comprise a high percentage of new workers and leaders, forever changing the politics of boardrooms and markets.” According to a US Census report, nearly one-third of all married women in the US make more than their husbands. More than 25% of working wives earned more their husbands in 2007 (up from 20% in 1983). Furthermore, women are earning college degrees at a faster pace than men. Between 2000 and 2001, women earned 57% of all undergraduate degrees.
Woman power is also being flexed in the corporate world. In 1983, women held 34% of all US executive and managerial positions. However, women held more than 50% of these positions in 2003. Futurist John Cashmen predicts women will forever change the landscape of all institutions: “The number of women in the primary breadwinner role will likely grow in coming decades, driven by social change and the fact that women’s educational achievement is outpacing men’s in many parts of the world.” Therefore, executives must consider how the changing roles of women in organizations will impact their corporate strategies.
The Career Strategy
Progressive women need to develop critical career strategies in a holistic fashion. Balancing work and family is difficult. In general, some men are already taking this transition personally. Some men are opting for the domestic life while their wives become the principal breadwinners. Therefore, society watches gender role reversals and wonder how it will end…relational success or failure?
For working women, any results are often problematic anyway. Yenissee Alonso and Vickie Brint, authors of the article
Women in the Workplace, argue that women still deal with institutional barriers that keep them from being successful. For example, women in general are making less than their counterparts doing the same job with the same experience.
Alonso and Brint note, “Since nearly half of the workforce is comprised of women, it stands to reason that woman should be enjoying the same success as their male counterparts in terms of advancement opportunities and earning capacity.” Princeton researchers in a 2003 study concluded that college-educated women who hold higher expectations for their potential mate may lower their chances for getting married. In fact, some men may be uncomfortable with having a woman who has more education and makes more than them, postulate some theorists.
Sue Means is a professional engineer in a highly competitive consulting industry. She sees challenges for professional women. She notes that men are treated differently. Means explains, “Some of my colleagues talk about how pretty I am. They comment on my clothes and make suggestions regarding what I should wear. That would not happen to a man.”
Liza Fuller is a government program manager with a decade of experience in handling difficult environmental issues. She exists in a mostly male dominated industry. Fuller notes, “Women are still expected to work harder than men to prove themselves and avoid criticism. Attractive women still get grief about being promoted for reasons other than their own merit and it’s not fair.”
Furthermore, Canton suggests that the most educated, skilled, and experienced employees will be in high demand. Therefore, professional women need better strategies. Means recommends prioritizing what’s important: “I let go what’s not important. Most women get overwhelmed with trying to manage all of the household and family responsibilities while working at the same time. You need to be realistic about what you can do. It’s a balancing act.” Some women feel that they can have it all without any drop off. Fuller disagrees: “There is always a sacrifice because you spend more time away from your family.” Although there will be an ever increasing number of opportunities for women in the workplace, women must analyze every career move in a holistic fashion if they want to keep that delicate balance.
Conclusion
The future is bright for working women as never before. In fact, women will drive most institutions toward major changes in the near term. However, this article demonstrated that the road to success for most professional women isn’t easy. They must deal with sexism to a certain degree. However, the demands of their professional life have not kept up with the heavy demands of a family and personal life. Therefore, women must develop career strategies in a holistic manner that maximizes their efforts. Black women continue to excel against tremendous obstacles. In turn, society must learn how to embrace women’s power in the future if America hopes to continue to compete.
Dr. Daryl D. Green writes on contemporary issues impacting individuals, businesses, and society across the globe. With over 18 years of management experience, Dr. Green’s expertise has been noted and quoted by USA Today, Ebony Magazine, and Associated Press. For more information, you can go to
http://stores.lulu.com/darygre
or http://www.darylgreen.org
Connecting to Your Vocation: How to Get More from a Job
By Dr. Daryl D. Green
Do you enjoy your job? If you feel under-utilized in your organization, you are not alone.
On a routine basis, many employees force themselves to work without a clear purpose. Numerous people work to maintain their daily bread without ever doing what they love. Sadly, many managers are unable to inspire today’s workforce toward greater performance.
Manager guru Peter Drucker argued for several decades that managers must understand their employees as well as their customers. Few executives listened. Drucker concluded, “Business tends to drift from leadership to mediocrity. And the mediocre is three-quarters down the road to being marginal.” Yet, emerging leaders need to know how to rekindle such emotions in the workplace. This article will discuss how one’s calling can transform an individual’s life in order to improve organizational performance.
The Vocation
Becoming more productive in life is a function of working in a career that is aligned with one’s abilities. Unfortunately, many organizations fail to understand this simple principle. As a consequence, they have people in jobs that do not fit their abilities. Yes, the organization knows the individual’s education and career experience. However, managers are unable to understand the worker’s ability without input from that worker. There is a distinct difference between an occupation and a vocation. An occupation relates to the principal activity in an individual’s life that earns money for living.
Some people, due to their own financial situation, are forced to work in jobs they hate. Others must occupy jobs where they are overqualified; this speaks to the issue of underemployment in our nation. Yet, many folks are slaves to their jobs simply because of the income. This situation can lead to stress, depression, and unhappiness. In fact, some people take desperate measures. According to one study, more than 30,000 Americans take their lives annually. In fact, this works out to more than three suicides for every two murders.
A vocation is a natural alignment with one’s ability. Vocation relates to a career which a person is particularly suited or qualified to perform. Some individuals credit this special alignment to a divine provocation. In the medieval Christian period, it was believed that God called certain people and their work was a "calling." This calling was usually reserved for the clergy and priest. In the secular sense, individuals who can fully use all of their talents in a way that liberates them can make great contributions in society.
However, it does invoke a different mental journey. Marsha Sinetar, author of Do What You Love, The Money Will
Follow, argues that individuals rarely take the time for introspection: “Most of us think about our jobs or our careers as a means to fulfill responsibilities to families and creditors, to gain more material comforts, and to achieve status and recognition. But we pay a high price for this kind of thinking.” This mental awakening is happening across the nation. Thus, some people are able to tap into their own calling.
Therefore, it is important that individuals take the time to learn what they enjoy and what they are good at. This reality will lead them to their special calling. In fact, one has a calling when he or she realizes what can be done with his or her God-given abilities. Once this career revelation is realized, an individual can then take the journey toward greater happiness and job performance.
Conclusion
As society pushes people to acquire more things in order to be happy, individuals can become unhappy with life. Many black professionals struggle to connect on their jobs. Therefore, it’s important that individuals take a personal assessment of their own career objectives in conjunction with their own calling. Furthermore, organizations that understand how to tap into an employee’s calling will have a competitive advantage because they will maximize the talents of their workforce. In the future, there will be a global war for talent. Discover your innate calling and propel yourself into a better future.
Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond has written for AOL, The Village Voice, Metro and Trace. Her short story "Bush Girl" was published in the May 2008 issue of African Writing and her poem, "The Whinings of a Seven Sister Cum Laude Graduate Working Bored as an Assistant," was published in 2006's Growing up Girl Anthology.
A graduate of Vassar College, she attended secondary school in Ghana. Her first novel
Powder Necklace is loosely inspired by the experience.
BPM: Nana, who were your mentors growing up? How did they shape your life?
My mentors were my family who not only taught me but showed me the importance of working and sacrificing as hard as it takes to achieve my goals. Because of them, I know there is no barrier I can't overcome or figure my way around.
Specifically, my father explicitly challenged me to defy the notion that girls aren't as smart as boys. He had me reading by the age of three, playing educational games instead of Barbie dolls, and he sacrificed so much to pay my exorbitant college tuition.
Growing up, my mother was the hardest worker alive. She literally worked around the clock to earn overtime, yet managed to find time to go back to college, and hit up her favorite flea markets on the weekend.
My maternal grandmother whom I lived with in Ghana has been a huge influence as well. I watched this woman run an advertising company that she founded, open her home to strangers who needed shelter, haggle with businessmen, admit when she was wrong, seek peace when it was more convenient to just let things be, wake up at dawn to pray and squint over the text of her Bible, and encourage her children and grandchildren to dream and pursue the seemingly impossible.
BPM: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
I think the fact that I did not give up was what enabled me to become a writer. I went from getting no response to my queries to "no" responses for many years, but I kept writing. I also remained flexible and took opportunities that allowed me to write even if they weren't necessarily part of the "path" I had envisioned.
BPM: What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Humility, Ambition, and Sharpness
BPM: Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
I hope my writing offers present and future readers a legacy of encouragement to investigate and take pride in who they are, where they come from, and what their purpose in this life is.
BPM: Take us inside the book. What are two major events that take place? Powder Necklace is a coming of age story inspired by my childhood experience attending boarding school in Ghana, West Africa. Set in London, the cities of Kumasi and Cape Coast in Ghana, and Long Island, the book is a sort of reverse Diaspora story of a 1st generation Londoner's return to her parents' native land, and her discovery of her own connection to this land.
The main characters in Powder Necklace are Lila Adjei and her mother. The first major event that takes place is when Lila's mother sends her to Ghana when she misconstrues an innocent scene between Lila and a male friend that walks her home from school. That decision by Lila's mother sets the girl on a journey of self-discovery. Another seminal moment in the book takes place when Lila returns from Ghana to London. Not only has her family situation changed - her mother has started dating a man with a daughter her age - but she has changed. She realizes that, after her short stint in Ghana, she will never be the same again.
BPM:
Powder Necklace is loosely based on your own personal experience attending school in Ghana. How much of your story is part of Lila’s?
Lila’s experience in Ghana is very similar to my own. When I was twelve my parents sent my siblings and I to Ghana. Because of the way the school system works over there, we couldn’t all go to the same school, and I had to cut my hair – my long, thick hair that I LOVED flipping like a white girl.
As if that weren’t enough for my twelve-year-old mind to process, when I got to the school, I learned I was required to wake up at five a.m., bathe in an open bathhouse, make my bed with perfect hospital corners, perform daily chores like scrubbing a sidewalk-length patch of concrete or sweeping a large plot, hand wash my own clothes, etc. Oh, and to make things interesting there was a wicked water crisis going on.
But unlike Lila, my grandmother and aunt visited me pretty much every weekend, loaded down with home-cooked food and water, and my parents sent me goodies and dollars when they could. I also clung to my newfound faith. I became a born-again Christian at the beginning of my visit in Ghana, before I started school there—in that respect I was a lot like Brempomaa and Ivy—and it helped A LOT just to cry out to God in the many moments of loneliness, desperation, misery, and fear I experienced. I released Lila from her school experience after six short months as a fantasy gift to my twelve-year-old self; I had to stay in Ghana for three long years!
Outside of the Ghana portion of the novel, the similarities between Lila’s story and mine are more subtle. I made her British because Ghana was colonized by the British, and so a lot more of the bronis in Ghana were from London; I also have tons of family in London and spent a lot of time with them on summer breaks en route to New York. Lila’s parents’ divorce was my way of dealing with the feeling of separation from my parents. Even though I saw them each summer, I felt so disconnected from them at that time. On one summer vacation in the States we went to Disney World. Looking back on it, it was such an American moment in my life/American place to be when I was starting to feel more Ghanaian than anything else.
Finally, the feeling of being at the mercy of the adults in her life was something I felt during that time and definitely wanted to explore through Lila. Ghanaian culture is heavily into seniority. As noted in the book, any adult in your life is reverentially referred to as “Auntie” or “Uncle” whether they’re a blood relation or not; seniors at school are respectfully called “Sister”; and, as a rule, “children are to be seen and not heard” (that was the constant refrain I heard growing up in the States). It was important to me to stress that though the events in your life may feel random and out of your control, if you believe that God is in control of all the factors in your life—even the adults—you’ll see that a lot of those random moments actually had more meaning than you first realized. That very turbulent moment in my life gave me a story that helped me realize my dream of writing a published novel.
BPM: How will reading your book shape the readers' lives?
I think Powder Necklace presents a slice of life in Ghana, London, and Long Island as experienced by a young girl trying to find the meaning in and of it all. So, on the surface, reading the book will educate readers about the specific sights and sounds of the characters' experiences in these disparate locales, but on a deeper level, I hope it spurs readers to learn more about these locations, these experiences, and their own place in the world.
BPM: What are some of their specific needs, issues, problems addressed in this book?
Everyone's got issues in Powder Necklace. :-) Lila, the main character, is frustrated by her powerlessness to make decisions for herself. Her mother decides she should go to Ghana indefinitely, then her mother and father decide she should go to New York indefinitely. Lila's mother is lonely and sick of doing it all by herself. She has sacrificed so much for her daughter's own good, but she needs a break; she wants to do something for herself.
BPM: What's the most powerful chapter in the book for you?
One of my favorite chapters in the book is when Lila is exposed as knowing how to speak Twi and as a result has to drop the "I'm special because I was not born in Ghana" routine. It's the beginning of her confronting why she has this 1st World Superiority complex which I think is important to her growth as a character.
BPM: In Powder Necklace Lila fell into writing her book through a series of happy coincidences (or perhaps fate). What has been your own literary path? Have you always wanted to have a career in writing?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but being immigrants, my parents wanted me to pursue a more stable (and clichéd) path to success: doctor, lawyer, or investment banker. Even though I graduated college with a poli-sci degree, I sought writing internships (and interned at the Village Voice newspaper), and after college skipped I law school and decided to try my hand at writing. I took office jobs, but during my lunch breaks, after work, and on weekends, I wrote up query letters to different magazines, which I would hand deliver.
I got a few paid writing gigs and eventually landed a dream job as an assistant editor at an international fashion magazine, where I got to write and edit professionally—and meet celebs! When funds ran too low, I started over as an intern in the acquisitions department at Sony Pictures Classics, where I got to read and review screenplays. During that time I wrote a script that was a Sundance Screenwriter’s Finalist. My editorial experience and fashion background helped me land a gig as a copywriter at an interactive agency where I got to write for the NikeWomen, L’Oreal Paris, and Avaya accounts. I continued to freelance for newspapers and magazines on the side.
In the midst of all of this, I was working on Powder Necklace.
BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
I want Powder Necklace readers to develop an appetite for the world beyond their borders; understand that what's on the news, in the news, in books, etc are just one slice of a gargantuan pie. I also want readers of this book to see that even the most random events in our lives are not random at all - everything does happen for a reason.
BPM: What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
As far as the marketplace goes, I think Powder Necklace is unique because it tells a reverse immigration story, if you will. We mostly read about people leaving "the old country" for opportunity and a new life in the Western world, but Lila, the protagonist of this book and the daughter of an immigrant goes back - and it's in returning to her parents' native land that she starts to understand herself more deeply.
BPM: How can our readers reach you online? Share with us your online contact info.
Readers can visit the official Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's website at: www.nanaekua.com
I'm on Twitter too - www.twitter.com/nanaekua
Email: writer : nanaekua@aol.com
Indu Sundaresan was brought up in India and came to the US for graduate school in economics and operations research.
The Twentieth Wife, Indu’s first published novel, is the first part of the
Taj Mahal trilogy. She’s the author of The Feast of Roses (second novel of the trilogy);
The Splendor of Silence; In the Convent of Little Flowers and Shadow Princess (third novel of the trilogy).
Ella: How did you begin writing, and what do you want readers to gain from your
books?
IS: I was trained to be an economist, and really thought, for the longest while that was what I would do in some form or the other. I began writing for the sheer pleasure of it. And the first novel I wrote is still unpublished.
Actually, I have two unpublished novels that I wrote, looked over in a desultory manner, and made the wise decision not to publish. They were valuable from the point of view of teaching me the discipline of being at the computer for long hours, conceptualizing an entire novel—beginning, middle and end—and putting it down on paper with no excuses for why I couldn’t write. The wise part came in realizing that the novels weren’t (to put it mildly) very good at all; they weren’t marketable, and while they could have been revised, it wasn’t worth it at the time.
So I began the tale you will read in the first installment of the Taj trilogy—The Twentieth Wife and went on to write The Feast of Roses also before I looked for representation. These two novels, the stories of Empress Nur Jahan’s life, were stories I stumbled upon while reading about the Mughal harems during my last year of graduate school and they stayed with me after I had finished my degrees.
There was no thought of what I wanted readers to take away from the stories, no point I wanted to make—my focus then, during the writing, was to put together the novels in the best form I could. I was concentrating on the craft of writing, of telling a story, of deciding how to best present the story. And this, I think, should be the motivation of all writing.
Soon after The Twentieth Wife was published, when I heard back from readers, I realized what my work meant to them. Most Indian readers have akin reactions. If they belong to an older generation, the novels are intensely familiar to them—they point out stories they had heard about Nur Jahan either in history classes or conversations with friends. Younger readers tell me that their mothers and grandmothers narrated these stories at bedtime—tales of powerful women who tweaked the path of Indian history living in harems, in a time when women were meant not to be seen and rarely heard.
Readers who haven’t had this background in Indian history still connect with my work in similar ways. What impacts them is the story of an independent, assertive, ambitious woman—though from a different culture and time period—still resonates startlingly with their contemporary lives.
In other words, it’s exactly what fascinated and enchanted me about the women of Mughal India, and I’m glad to have been able to translate it adequately in my writing.
One of the best stories I heard was from a reader in South America, reading the Hebrew translation of The Twentieth Wife, who named his newborn daughter Ladli, which is translated as “one who is loved.” Ladli was Mehrunnisa, Empress Nur Jahan’s daughter from her first marriage, before she becomes Emperor Jahangir’s wife, and the name is historically accurate and comes from documented evidence.
Ella: Who were your mentors growing up? How did they shape your life?
IS: My father was a fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force and this took our family to various postings in India. The bases were usually outside city limits, sometimes in proximity to the many forts and palaces in the country. Dad would take us on trips to these monuments and tell us the stories of the kings and queens who inhabited these palaces, point out crumbling battlements and guard towers, and show us battlefields and elephant stables with large iron rings still embedded in the sandstone floors to which the animals were tethered.
He told my older sisters and me bedtime stories also—some from his imagination (two ongoing sagas of an elephant named Jumbo and a horse named Silver come to mind); some from Hindu mythology. Dad had a flair for dramatic timing; I remember that he would (much like Scheherazade) insist upon “ending” his stories at night at a point of climax, leaving me to ponder on how they ended until he had the time to take up the tale again.
I write today, largely due this influence from my childhood. I learned to write stories in my head long before I came to put them down on paper. And as children, we also read extensively, again due to our father’s influence and his example.
Ella: Introduce us to your book, Shadow Princess. What genre is this book?
Is this part of a trilogy?
IS: Shadow Princess is historical fiction, set in 17th Century India, during the Mughal Empire and, during the building of the Taj
Mahal. It’s the story of Jahanara, who at seventeen is by her mother’s bedside in June of 1631, as she dies after a long and labored childbirth. Jahanara’s father, Emperor Shah
Jahan, is devastated by her mother’s death and he transfers all of the deep love he had for Empress Mumtaz Mahal onto their oldest daughter. In his grief, the emperor also briefly considers giving up a throne and is convinced by Jahanara not to do so.
But that one fleeting decision, soon revoked, sets into motion a rivalry between two of Jahanara’s brothers that will last for the next quarter century of their father’s rule—they each want the throne, and each enlists the support of a sister to do so.
During her father’s lifetime, Jahanara is immensely rich (given all of her mother’s income) and powerful. She champions one brother,
Dara; her sister Roshanara supports another, Aurangzeb and thus the two women engage in a political rivalry within the walls of their father’s harem.
Never given permission to marry, they also fall in love with the same man, a noble at court, but it is Jahanara who wins and keeps Najabat Khan’s love, and engages in a clandestine affair with him all of her life. In the end, all these events will overshadow Jahanara’s life, none more important to posterity than the tomb her father builds for her mother—the Taj
Mahal.
Shadow Princess is the third novel in my Taj Mahal trilogy. The first two, The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses, are based on the life of
Mehrunnisa, Empress Nur Jahan, who marries Jahanara’s grandfather, Emperor
Jahangir. Mehrunnisa is also Jahanara’s mother’s aunt, and the moment she steps into the royal harem as Jahangir’s wife, she manipulates affairs to bring together her niece (her brother’s daughter) and her husband’s son, Shah
Jahan.
So the three novels of the trilogy are based on the two women who were aunt and daughter of the woman for whom the Taj Mahal is built.
Ella: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
IS: Shadow Princess, this third novel of my Taj Mahal trilogy, has been a few years in the making. I had done a considerable amount of reading and research for the first two novels of the trilogy—The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses—and it was during this that I encountered the stories of Mehrunnisa, Empress Nur Jahan’s grand-nieces, Jahanara and Roshanara.
Mehrunnisa’s history was fascinating to me because of just how unlikely it had been for someone of her background and upbringing to become, eventually, the most powerful woman in the Mughal dynasty that built the Taj Mahal in India. She was the daughter of an impoverished Persian nobleman who had to flee his homeland to India, dogged by debts unpaid.
Her father rose through the ranks of the Mughal nobility to become the treasurer of the Empire, but it was her marriage to Emperor Jahangir that changed the course of Indian history. She was a widow when she married Jahangir, had a child from this previous marriage, and her family had fallen into disgrace at court—her father embezzled money from the imperial treasury and her brother had attempted to assassinate the emperor. Yet, Emperor Jahangir loved her enough to forgive her real (and perceived) flaws and grant her immense power. She then made sure that her niece married Jahangir’s grown son, the man who became Emperor Shah Jahan.
Mehrunnisa’ grand-nieces had a (comparatively) easier life. They were born royal, into the first tier of the imperial family and their father became emperor in 1628 after a difficult decade when he was fighting for the throne. But the two girls, Jahanara and Roshanara, had their own battles to fight.
When their mother died in childbirth in 1631, Jahanara assumed the position of eminence their mother had enjoyed and received more than a fair share of their father’s love. This led to a bitter and lifelong rivalry between Jahanara and Roshanara. They fought for their father’s affections and for the affections of the same noble at court whom they both fell in love with. They were not allowed to marry and step outside their father’s harem. They supported different brothers as heir to their father’s crown.
During my research of the first two novels, I found many foreign travelers’ accounts of these two princesses, with an emphasis on Jahanara—on how they attended to their father’s injunction on staying unmarried, but smuggled men into the harem and entered into illicit alliances in search of love.
Shadow Princess, which focuses on Princess Jahanara’s life is also, much like The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses, the story of a woman who was omnipotent in the world she inhabited, despite all of her disadvantages—she lived in a harem, behind a veil, was never seen by the men at court—and yet managed to have a say socially and politically in contouring the map of India’s history.
Ella: Wow! This is an incredible story. How can our readers reach you
online for more?
IS: Very easily. As you’ll see from the response to the previous question, I’m happy to connect with my readers and it’s heartwarming to me to hear their stories, as much as to receive praise for mine.
I have a web site: www.indusundaresan.com
, with an email address on the site, to reach me. And plenty of information about my books—reviews, synopses, excerpts, backstory.
The Taj Trilogy also has its own web page, placing the three novels including Shadow Princess on a family tree so readers can see the chronology of the novels and where the most important monuments from that time period came to be in the timeline.
Intimate Conversation
with Tiphanie Yanique
Tiphanie Yanique is the author of
How to Escape from a Leper Colony. Her writing has won the Boston Review Prize in Fiction, a Pushcart Prize, a Fulbright in Creative Writing and an Academy of American Poet's Prize. Her fiction has also appeared in Callaloo, Transition Magazine, American Short Fiction, the London Magazine and other places. She is an assistant professor of creative writing and Caribbean Literature at Drew University. On January 1st, the Boston Globe listed her as one of the sixteen cultural figures to watch out for in 2010.
Ella: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
Who are your mentors?
Is the Tiphanie I think I am the same as Tiphanie who is presented to others? I don’t know and so, I don’t know what makes me powerful. But I have hopes. I hope that my writing causes people to touch their beloveds more intimately, to venture beyond physical and emotional places of comfort with more bravery…that’s what my writing does for me, and if does that for even one more person I will feel magical!
If I am more concretely powerful I would say that it might be in the classroom, as a teacher. I tell my students that they’re gods and goddesses—creating characters and universes on the page. I want them to be brave enough to reveal their own beauties and flaws, to learn to appreciate these things in all other people, even the ones they create. I think writing, in itself, is incredibly powerful. Even if it’s just writing for yourself, it’s affirming and reflective and even prophetic.
I have been blessed with many mentors, but my first and everlasting mentor is my grandmother, who raised me. She has always been a champion for my better possibilities. She is a former librarian and an everlasting bibliophile. There are always books around the house and so there are great readers in my family. I’m not the only writer! My husband recently asked me what my first important books were and I had no idea. There have always been important books for me. That’s in great part because of my grandmother.
Ella: What specific situation prompted you to write How to Escape from a Leper
Colony?
The honesty is that it’s so many things. One thing leads you to another and then another and then you’ve forgotten what the initial thing is. Surely, every heart brake I ever had, every fall on the face I ever experienced informs the heart brake and fall that gets written in a story. One of my favorite elements of a story comes from a song that has followed me and the Virgin Islands people for years. The title for the story “Kill the Rabbits” comes from a calypso called “Legal,” which has “kill the rabbits” as a refrain.
The band, which has changed membership over the years, still exists under the name “Jamband.” The lyrics ask about the purposes of culture. Should natives of the Caribbean dance in the street in a way that pleases tourists and makes for good pictures? Or should natives dance in the street for their own pleasure, as a communal way to exercise self-identity? The song demands that rabbits, those with “the tourists color” should be ignored, even removed from the revelry. The song was banned when it came out and still causes controversy when it plays today…and still causes people to dance in the street. I don’t want my story to answer the questions surrounding the song, but I would like to create more questions that we might each go on to answer for ourselves and communities. This is a very political and, I hope, provocative issue in the writing, but if that was the single specific revelation the story would be a lot less full than it is. Ultimately, I am interested in the human beings that live through the song. The ones that dance in the street and the ones that watch.
Ella: Introduce us to your book,
How to Escape from a Leper Colony, and the main characters. Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
How to Escape from a Leper Colony is a collection of short stories, so there are many characters. But even in the novel I’m now working on I have communities of characters. I like people and I like having many of them in my writing!
The characters that remain the most interesting to me are the ones that are still mysterious to me. These are the ones I might return to, either for longer narratives in the future or just in my mind. Lazaro isn’t the main character in the story “How to Escape from a Leper Colony,” but I’m still curious about him. He’s brave in his love for his friend Deepa and in his vengeance for his mother’s death. I don’t quite understand him yet, but I like not fully understanding him. I also admire Herman, in the story, “Kill the Rabbits.” Her man is a bit provincial in his ideas of the Caribbean, but he is invested in learning. When he fails he is devoted to his own contrition.
Many of my characters are seeking belonging. Some seek this in another person, in love. Others seek it in a physical place. I think Herman and Lazaro do both.
But if you asked me tomorrow to talk about the key characters, I’d probably list others! My favorites depend on my mood!
Ella: Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place?
Two major events in How to Escape from a Leper Colony are the bridge collapsing in “The Bridge Stories” and the church burning down in “The Saving Work.” You find out about these things early on, but the stories then take you to the characters impacted by the events. Both the bridge and the church represent the destruction of a physical entity that reflects something historical and intimate for the characters. The bridge is supposed to connect the different islands to each other, making commerce flow more easily. It’s opening is a major moment for Caribbean history. The intimate moment comes when Margo walks on the bridge in search of her husband, whom she hasn’t seen in almost a decade. The church is a place of refuge and power for the two women who are otherwise marginalized because of their interracial marriages. But the story begins when Deidre arrives at the burning church to set up for her son’s wedding. I really love finding places where history and intimacy meet.
Ella: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
Everyone. Old men who have lost the loves of their lives, young girls in St. John who didn’t know before that their experiences are worthy of examination, women in Korea who long to travel, men in Africa who love football, Feminists and womanists in South Carolina who haven’t met each other, humans anywhere from now and the future who love language and love the private joy of reading and the social joy of story telling. And myself. I wanted to teach myself something; something about humans, something about language. When I was in undergrad I was writing a novella that is now the novel I’m working on. I was eager to finish it. When my professors asked me why, I answered that I needed to finish the project because I wanted to read it.
Ella: How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
I hope readers of How to Escape from a Leper Colony will gain a greater consideration for the relationship between public history and our private realities. I hope that the love scenes will make readers want to kiss their beloveds. I hope the books will makes an unbeliever go to church; make a believer question her belief. I hope reading each story will give readers opportunities for bravery in their own historical and personal spaces.
Ella: What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
I am interested in romantic love, though, I hope, not in a cliché or simplistic way. I am also interested in things that seem mythical or magical. Often in our society we play down faith or love as things to be suspicious of; things that make us weak or at least reveal our weakness. I agree! But I absolutely think that revealing weakness is the only true way to strength. And I also think we must be suspicious of blind faith so that we might get to a more complicated faith that matures as we do. I hope How to Escape from a Leper Colony addresses the fear that comes in diving into love, the true magic in finding that love and the reality, I believe, that if we’re alive we are always searching for that magic.
Ella: What was the most powerful chapter in the book?
One of the most emotional sections for me to write is in “The International Shop Coffins.” That story is told three times from the perspective of three different people who find themselves together in a coffin shop. The two young girls in that story pain me every time they appear. Their version of events is the one based on true events. What happened to them happened to two girls who went to my high school. They were also my students when I returned home to teach for two years. I felt that I needed to write their story, but even as I wrote it I felt as though I was living it. When I think of what happened to them I see their faces sitting in the classroom. It’s frightening for me.
Readers have told me that other stories are the most powerful. “How to Escape from a Leper Colony,” the title story, won a major prize while I was in graduate school. I wrote the story fast and submitted it so sloppily that Junot Díaz, who called to me to tell me I’d won the Boston Review Prize, told me it was pretty amazing that I won considering all the typos. In my mind the powerful thing about the story is its lushness. One of my graduate school professors, Antonya Nelson, told me that “Canoe Sickness” was the most powerful story. She said she appreciated the spare voice and the direct portrayal of the main character. That’s the opposite of lush! So much of what is considered powerful is subjective, I think.
Ella: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
I hope readers come to see the Caribbean as a place that is more than beautiful beaches and piña coladas or more than a place of poverty and marijuana…more than any of the clichés, but rather a place of human beings with full, complicated lives.
Ella: What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
While there’s nothing new under the sun, I do think that this book is something close to brand new. There really isn’t much fiction coming out of the Virgin Islands and getting outside attention. The most well known Virgin Islands fiction texts even in the VI are not by Virgin Islanders. My perspective is among those that are presenting this part of the Caribbean completely differently.
Ella: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
The Boston Globe just reviewed the book and listed me as the writer to watch out for in 2010!
I’m so excited about that I put it in my bio. Towards the end of last year “The Saving Work” was published in the “Best New African American Fiction.” The book has been getting positive reviews. My first major book party will be in March at the Teachers & Writers Collaborative in New York City. The book party in the Virgin Islands will be on March 19th at one of my favorite bookstores, Dockside Books.
Ella: How can our readers reach you online?
My email address is: tyanique@drew.edu.
But I’m pretty awful at email! I’m old fashioned that way…
Ella: Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
I have no idea what legacy my writing offers. I hope readers will tell me. Whatever I say would be a desire and might be pompous or too humble. But there is one sure thing I would like to offer. When I was in high school we didn’t read Caribbean authors, certainly not anyone from the Virgin Islands. The vast majority of people who visit the Virgin Islands see it as a place of beaches and rum heavy drinks. They don’t see it as a place of literary or artistic value. I hope my book contributes to an image of the Virgin Islands as a place worthy, not only of natural beauty but also intellectually cultivated beauty. I want this not only for the visitors but also for Virgin Islanders.
Lori
G. Armstrong left the firearms industry in 2000. Her first mystery novel,
BLOOD TIES, published in 2005, was nominated in 2006 for a Shamus Award for
Best First Novel by the Private Eye Writers of America. The second book in the
Julie Collins mystery series, HALLOWED GROUND, released Nov. 2006, was
nominated for a 2007 Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original, a Daphne du
Maurier Award and won the 2007 WILLA Cather Literary Award for Best Original
Softcover Fiction.
SHALLOW
GRAVE, released in Nov. 2007, was nominated for a 2008 High Plains Book Award,
a Daphne du Maurier Award and was a finalist for the 2008 WILLA Cather
Literary Award. The fourth book, SNOW BLIND, released in Oct. 2008, won the
2009 Shamus Award, from the Private Eye Writers of America, for Best Paperback
Original. Lori is a proud fourth generation South Dakotan and lives in Rapid
City with her family.
Pearl Pick
Mystery Book spotlight: No Mercy by Lori G. Armstrong
Mercy Gunderson is a straight shooter with a hard edge. On medical leave
from the Army, she returns home to South Dakota, which isn’t much safer
for her than Iraq. Arriving just after the death of her father, it is up to
Mercy to decide what to do with the family ranch. Trying to deal with her
irresponsible sister and nephew and feeling guilty that she didn’t make it
home soon enough to see her father one last time; Mercy is suddenly pulled
into the local community when the body of a Native American boy is found on
her land. But nobody seems to be doing anything about it, especially not the
local law enforcement.
When
tragedy strikes again, Mercy is ready to throw all her energy into her own
investigation, and she’s out for revenge. As she digs up the truth behind
the shocking crimes, Mercy uncovers dark and dangerous secrets and must race
to stop a killer before everything she’s fought for is destroyed forever.
Read
the Prologue. Read
the first chapter.
Intimate
Conversation with Lori G. Armstrong
Ella:
Readers, former Army sniper Mercy Gunderson debuts in the first book
in a gripping new mystery series. Lori, tell us more about your main
character.
LA) My favorite description is from a reviewer who said Mercy Gunderson is
as tough as an old army boot. Mercy is a 38-year-old woman who has spent
twenty years in the army, specifically as part of a covert all-female
sniper/black ops team.
She’s
back in South Dakota on medical leave, trying to decide what to do with the
ranch that’s been in her family for over 100 years, in the wake of her
father’s death. Mercy has dealt with more than her fair share of tragedy,
and in her mind it all revolves around the ranch. She’s trying to find her
place as a civilian, as well as dealing with her sister, her nephew, the
community’s questions and expectations about her past and her future puts
her more on edge than when she was getting shot at every day in Iraq.
She’s loyal, cool-headed and tenacious, with a taste for whiskey and
trouble.
Ella:
Are your characters from the portrayal of real people? Do you specific
characteristics from friends?
LA) No. I’ve never based a character—main or secondary—on a person I
know, or a person I’ve seen on TV, or in the movies, or in magazines, etc.
Some authors get a kick basing fictional characters on their family and
friends, and if that works for them, great. But it doesn’t work for me—I
prefer making stuff up, picking one or two internal defining
characteristics, throwing in a rational or irrational fear or two, and then
narrowing those parameters to see what chaos ensues.
Also, the
problem with using real people is many readers already assume I’ve written
myself into the lead female role of a book. Not so. Obviously I’ve never
done half the crazy or dangerous stuff my characters do, nor do I want to
experience it firsthand, but it is fun and often exhausting living
vicariously through them. I’ve been asked on several occasions if I’ve
based a character on “so and so”– invariably readers are disappointed
when I admit all my characters, from major ones to minor ones, are 100%
fictional. Yet, I borrow specific characteristics, sometimes physical,
sometimes personality quirks or odd mannerisms from people I run across. I
always carry a notebook with me since I’m a big people watcher. I love to
read body language and attribute meaning to it.
Ella:
What issues in today’s society have you addressed in the book?
LA) Because NO MERCY is based on a ranch in western South Dakota, I’ve
concentrated on the land issues that affect families who’ve been ranching
for generations. The conglomerates coming in buying up land and turning it
into private hunting areas, driving land prices sky-high. The family ranch,
the family farm, and that entire rural way of life is disappearing. Is it a
good thing? Is it a bad thing? What if an outsider’s definition of
progress hurts the entire community? Race relations are still a big issue
here—the “us versus them” mentality of whites and Native Americans. As
much as I try to incorporate the reality of these serious issues facing us
here in the west into my books, I strive to strike a balance between
relaying accurate information and providing engrossing entertainment.
Ella: What sets your book apart from other books in your
genre?
LA) Off the top of my head, I say location and setting separate my books
from the pack. The greatest compliment I’ve received as an author was from
a reader who said they’ve “been” to South Dakota and the setting in my
books is as vivid as the characters. Another plus, few writers are penning
mysteries set in modern-day South Dakota. There’s a lot written about
pioneers and the Deadwood Gold Rush Days, so my goal was to create a
contemporary story that shows the diversity of the people who live here.
Also, what I feel sets my books apart is the fact I write kick-ass female
leads. Strong women, with strong minds, strong bodies, who use strong
language, embody a strong sense of self, and are unapologetic about having a
strong sex drive. Some of what they do and say isn’t politically correct,
but it is accurate. I’d rather stay true to my characters and my vision
for a story arc, than knuckle under to what is selling well within the
genre.
Ella:
What is the best piece of advice you would give to an aspiring author?
LA) Write every day. Write what you love. Find a critique group or critique
partner you trust to give you honest feedback about your work. Accept the
only thing you can control in the publishing business is the amount of time
you write. Not marketing, promotion, or conferences. Focus on writing.
Period. Do it every day. My favorite quote is from author Nora Roberts, who
knows a thing or ten million about writing: I live by this quote every day:
“I can fix a bad page, but I can’t fix a blank page.”
Ella: Please share your latest news, awards and online contact
information:
LA) The fourth book in my Julie Collins mystery series, SNOW BLIND, won the
2009 Shamus Award for Best Paperback Original. I’ll be doing an extensive
blog tour for the release of my hardcover debut, NO MERCY, throughout the
month of January. I’ll also be on book tour across the country for NO
MERCY from Jan. 12th, 2010, through the first part of February. The specific
details and event dates are listed on my website: http://www.loriarmstrong.com
I blog once a week on a variety of topics at my group mystery blog: http://www.firstoffenders.typepad.com
I recently joined another group blog where every two weeks I’ll be talking
about writing and maintaining two identities—writing mystery under my
“real” name, and writing contemporary erotic westerns under a pen name: http://www.murdershewrites.com
I still haven’t been bitten by the Twitter bug, but my daughters (and my
publicist) have been nagging me to open a Facebook account, so I gave in!
Ella:
Thank you Lori for joining us today. We love a great mystery!
Intimate
Conversation with Dr. Folake Taylor
Folake
Taylor, MD was born in the United Kingdom to Nigerian-born parents in the
early 70s and was raised in both countries before settling in the United
States to live the American dream. She is a 2006 graduate of the Internal
Medicine Residency Program of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA.
Taylor obtained her initial medical degree from Nigeria. Taylor is a member of
the American College of Physicians (ACP) and is board certified by the
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).
She
has always loved to write but never dreamt of actually writing a book. She
would write sixteen page letters to her friends in boarding schools as a
teenager which was always eagerly anticipated by the recipient and shared with
those around! Perhaps being the daughter of a writer had something to do with
it. Prior to her debut as an author, she had medical publications and
conference presentations to her credit.
Folake
loves to have fun, especially with her favorite people, her husband and little
girl. She loves to travel, loves water sports (though a non-swimmer) and she
loves to read and watch great movies. Guess what else she loves? Go carts and
Six Flags! She believes in making the world a better place, one person
at a time, one good deed at a time. And she has faith that it is possible if
only we try. She communicates this message as she debuts on the literary scene
with "The Only Way is Up: The Journey of an Immigrant." This
is a book about empowerment and hope, especially but not exclusively for
women.
The
Only Way is Up: The Journey of an Immigrant by Dr. Folake Taylor
Genre: Non-fiction; Culture; Immigrant Overview
EDC Rating: 4.0 / 5 stars
This
book features the author's experiences and views on pertinent life issues as
an immigrant to the United States. The objective is to empower women though
the greater part is of relevance to a general audience. The book provides
insight and solutions for a variety of common issues in our society including
issues with identity, weight, health, nutrition, finding a mate, relationships
in general and gender roles. It also gives insight into borrowing from other
cultures. Buy
the book at Amazon today.
BPM:
Folake, what makes you powerful as a person and a writer?
I would say my global exposure and my background as a medical doctor makes me
powerful as a person with my message. As a writer, I would say the fact that I
have written all my life and always gotten positive responses. I have always
been able to capture people’s attention with my writing but I just never
planned to do it on this scale. Also, my mother is a writer. She’s written 3
books, one of which was published by Africa World Press and was read in
American Universities (Womanism and African Consciousness). It is still listed
on Amazon.com today. I must have inherited those genes!
BPM:
Who are your mentors?
My parents most importantly, especially my mother who taught me to be a strong
black woman but still keep a marriage and family together. They are still
waxing strong. If anyone had told me twenty years ago I would someday name my
mother as my mentor, I probably would have said, “Shoot me”! But we live
and learn. I also admire Michelle Obama for what she represents for women in
general but most especially the black woman, how she supports her man, how she
stands by him and uplifts him.
BPM: A Legacy is something that is handed down from one period of time to
another period of time. Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following
legacy to future readers…
My writing offers the following legacy to future readers: Empowerment and
family values.
BPM: Introduce us to your book, The Only Way is Up. How
does society, history or current affairs influence the story? The Only Way is Up is a book mainly about the restoration of family
values. The book also gives a proper perspective on what our priorities should
be in life. It manages to do this without being boring or judgmental. Though
non-fiction, it is a fun and easy read that touches on both triumphs and
personal failures as well as everyday events that we can relate to. It even
has elements of humor scattered throughout; a reflection of my spirit,
regardless of the surrounding circumstances. It of course also has information
about other cultures, tolerance, continual self-reflection and introspection.
It chronicles how I learnt from my mistakes–it does not tell you about a
perfect life at all!
Being
well aware of the fact that people do not necessarily want to read a memoir
about a previously unknown author except you just discovered the cure for AIDS
or something like that, I did not set out to write a biography or memoir. It
was however necessary to introduce me, who I am and what I do so the book does
start off with that. I also often draw on my life experiences and upbringing
in different parts of the book so as to draw a parallel and paint a picture of
what could be if certain decisions and choices were made differently. In other
parts of the book, I am purely expressing an opinion and linking to events
around us that we can all relate to. I in no way just throw lists of things to
do or not to do at you. It has been described to me as reading like a laid
back conversation between friends about life. As a person who would not
typically buy how-to or self help books, that exactly was my aim.
BPM: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your
book?
I believe God gave me the inspiration, however. It came primarily from
watching my husband and daughter interact which took me back in time to my
relationship with my father and his role in my success as the man in my life
from the beginning. Not to underestimate the value of a mother in one’s life
which is not quantifiable but I believe a lack of understanding of the role of
fathers in their children’s lives (both male and female alike) is
responsible for many of the downward trends in our society now. Kids grow up
without the balance from both parents and for the most part, both sexes.
Also,
having a responsible male role model while growing up painted a picture of
what a man should be in my life and I was not going to settle for less. It
became clearer to me just how much young people growing up without both
parents are missing. 70% of African American families presently are single
parent homes. Staggering statistics such as this make me ask myself questions
like “How do we fix this?” and “What can I do to help?”
This
was buttressed by a Larry King Live special titled Women & Self Worth:
Defining One's Self Could Be the Key to Complete Success. That was the
magical moment. “I have a message,” I thought. It was literally like
“Ding, dong!” I picked up my Blackberry and started to type....
Having
a happy childhood that was full of love has a direct relationship to who I am
today. I make the distinction between wealth that is superficial (material),
and wealth of the mind and spirit in the book. It saddens me as I look around
daily and realize certain life lessons I took for granted growing up were not
taught to many and the so called “common sense” is actually quite
uncommon.
Being
an MD, I frequently share these views with my patients. I just never dreamt I
would be a published writer. I have always written for fun however. When I was
young, I would write sixteen page letters to my friends in boarding schools
and they would report back to me that they eagerly awaited my letters and read
them with their peers. More recently, it was Facebook notes and the likes.
BPM:
Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
My target audiences are women, African Americans and immigrants. That however
does not preclude someone outside of those demographics from benefiting from
the book as my readers have demonstrated. The message of hope is of relevance
to a general audience. All the men I have heard feedback from have had a very
positive response to the book. My reviewer from Midwest Book Review was
actually a man.
BPM:
How will reading your book shape the readers’ lives?
It will shape their lives by giving them the confidence to start to take
control of their situation and stop feeling like victims of circumstances,
regardless of their background or their past. The book communicates a can-do
attitude. It’s about empowerment, hope, faith, possibilities and constantly
improving ourselves in life, hence the title: The Only Way is Up. It
paints a picture of just what we can achieve if we start by conceiving it in
our minds and then taking action which ultimately brings about a change in our
situation. It’s really more about an initial change in attitude which then
translates to a renewed confidence and an eventual change in actions. It’s
uphill from there.
BPM:
What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this
book?
To give a clearer picture, some of the issues that are the focus of this book
are:
· Identity & Gender roles
· Health & Preventive medicine
· Finding a mate
· Relationships & Family
· Single parenthood
· Teenage pregnancies
· Diet & Nutrition
· Global exposure
· Spirituality and faith
· Life outside the United States
BPM: What was the most powerful chapter in the book?
I think that’s different for everybody. For me, it was the parts of the book
where I discuss my past failures, be it in relationships or otherwise. But it
really depends on who is reading it I would say!
BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
I want them to feel empowered. I want them to feel they can do anything and
everything because they can. I want them to take control of their situation
and make things happen because they can. Yes we can!
BPM:
What do you think makes your book different from others in the same
genre?
I believe these are mainly two things. I have not come across any self help
book that addresses as many issues as I do in this book that is written by an
immigrant. There are a lot of amazing self help books out there written by
wonderful people but usually, there's a 400 page book about dating, or a 300
page book about spirituality or another separate book about finance. Also, the
books I have seen written by immigrants are mostly either a biography or
fiction. What I have done is like a summary book so to speak. It's about a
change in attitude and perception. For that person that does not have the time
or the resources to buy ten different books on each subject matter, my book is
it. Another factor is the fact that I was born in the UK, raised in both the
UK and Nigeria and have lived in the United States for 10 years. It gives me a
global view; a view from within and without. Now, that's priceless wouldn't
you say?
BPM:
Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
Midwest Book review gave me 5 stars. I had a free book giveaway contest on
Goodreads for a week
(I just joined actually) and 616 people were interested. My signings are going
well and the bookstore workers often make comments like, “I have never seen
an author sell that many books in an hour.”
This happened on a day after we had 3 inches of snow in Atlanta which meant
most people never stepped out of their house! So yes, the response has been
very positive and the challenge is getting the word out there about my book. I
already know there is a huge market for my message. I just need to continue to
strive to connect to my audience better.
History – We discussed THE SISTERHOOD OF BLACKBERRY CORNER in two meetings.
At the 1st meeting in which we discussed it, one of our members did “show and tell.” She brought the stoneware jar in which her husband’s great aunt stored their ‘juice’ and shared stories she was told about how this aunt used to go into the hinterlands of West Virginia to deliver babies. She also showed us a handmade quilt that contained photographs of the family, and genealogical information.
• Friendship/Celebrations – When people meet together on a regular basis to perform a common activity, bonding occurs. This situation is no exception to that phenomenon. New and deeper friendships have been formed. We have celebrated occasions that are special to a member, such as a birthday, a wedding anniversary or the wedding of a son or daughter. One member and her husband hosted a party to celebrate the inauguration of our new president. It started prior to the administration of the oath of office, and ended with the changing into eveningwear for the ball.
• Identity – We have custom made caps on which our club name is embroidered.
How did the Literary Lunch Bunch get together?
We are a group of women who retired from professional careers. Upon her retirement, the founder of our club (Evelyn Gilliard) felt that she did not want to loose contact with many of her professional friends. Thus, our club was founded in September, 2002 by Evelyn and a core group of four ladies. Each person was commissioned to recruit one to two additional members, so that our initial membership consisted of 13 people. We range in age from
64 to 89 years old.
How does your bookclub work and how does your bookclub decide what to read?
On the third Thursday of each month we meet at one of Atlanta’s finest restaurants for lunch. The role of session leader is assigned in alphabetical rotation. The responsibility of the leader is to choose a reading assignment, to decide on the method of discourse for that assignment, and of course, identify a restaurant in which to hold the meeting.
What makes your bookclub unique?
• We read short stories and place emphasis on intellectual discourse.
• We look at the authors and their possible motivation for writing the stories. •
We thoroughly dissect the story.
• The session leader will also share her rationale for the selection of the respective readings.
Our session leader has used a variety presentation and discussion strategies such as:
• Small group (2-3 persons) discussions
• Chat with the author
• Large group discussions
• Movie/Book Comparisons
• Debates
• Power point presentation
• Prepared questions given to individual or pairs that are to be addressed and presented to the total group
• Invite younger ladies to attend meetings so that a different perspective on the story or situation can be obtained.
What have been your favorite selections?
We have read stories by Harlem Renaissance authors such as Langston Hughes, internationally recognized authors such as Maya Angelou, well-known drama playwrights such as Amiri Baraka, and numerous contemporary authors, such as Anthony Grooms, Dr. Oz and President
Barack Obama.
Are you planning any special trips or events around a book you're reading?
• Annual Sail – In June, a summer gathering consists of a meeting on the boat of one of our members. It’s a two-day meeting, consisting of a discussion of our reading selection and a sail on the lake.
• Fall Frolic – Every Fall (October or November) we go to the mountains of North Georgia for two days. On this occasion, our session leader conducts our discussion by candlelight, after a meal eaten on fine china and excellent wine.
Summary
What started out as a means of keeping in touch after retirement has turned out to be a stimulating and rewarding seven years for Literary Lunch Bunch members. Not only has our inquisitiveness for literary works been heightened, but also, our viewpoints on life have broadened. And most importantly, it has resulted in the cementing of relationships with each other.
Intimate Conversation
with the Black Orchids Book Club
Black Orchids History
The Black Orchids Book Club of Houston, Texas was founded in February, 2005, by Sheryl McConnell and Sherral Berry. The purpose of starting the book club was to reach out to African American women who were 40+ and shared the love of reading.
Presently our group consists of 21 diverse Orchids from various professions. We cover the entire relationship spectrum from married, single, divorced, and widowed.
We meet on a bi-monthly basis at homes of club members or local restaurants. Our primary goal is to get together for a lively evening of discussion, debating, eating and drinking. We occasionally have authors attend our meetings to discuss their books. We also periodically dress or decorate the meeting site based upon the theme of the book. Our members are noted for putting 100% into our meetings. All of these activities translate in fun filled events.
Vision for Organization
The vision of our club is to be more than a book club. Additionally, we also want to serve as a “sisterhood.” We are striving to expand our activities into more community outreach projects. To date, we’ve made several individual donations as well to organizations such as the Food Bank and the Covenant House.
How important reading is to you?
Reading is very important to us because it provides the mind with nourishment. It exercises the brain and provides us with food for thought. Reading also provides a venue for
traveling around the world from the comfort of your home. How awesome is that!
Reading is also beneficial to us because it is a perfect medium for relaxing. It allows us to temporarily remove ourselves from places of pain and sorrow. Books can serve as remarkable friends.
Living your best life includes:
Being thankful for everything, everyday and throwing out the negative and embracing the positive!
On your nightstand now: Starting Your Day Right & Ending Your Day Right (double-set) by Joyce Meyer
Favorite book when you were a child: Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Favorite line or couple from a book:
Lindes from Now and Then, Again by Bonnie Hopkins
“You can’t get weary in well doing. Even if it means doing good to somebody who wronged you in the worst way.” AND, “You shouldn’t let anyone make you have a hard heart against them. It’ll make you sick or shorten your life.”
Book you most want to read AGAIN much slower, to savor:
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Klyosaki
Favorite genre, series or sequels:
All time favorite sequels is The Pact and The Bond by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt. Two books of triumphant and inspiration for the youth of today.
Name three authors you would like to do a phone chat with this year.
Steve Harvey, Mark Dulaney and Maya Angelou
Intimate Conversation with The Pillars Book Club
BPM: Share with us the history of the organization.
History -The Pillars Book Club was established in November of 2008 by Sondra George. We meet quarterly as we have members in Louisiana and Texas. Each quarter a hostess chooses a destination location (We travel!) for our meetings. Our meetings usually last two or three day and the events are centered around the book we're discussing.
In addition to our quarterly meetings we participate in community service events. Recently we held our 1st annual "Gift of Literacy" event gifting 400 books to children. We currently have fourteen members
spanning five generations. We hold our annual Meet & Greet for new members in the fall each year.
BPM: What is the vision for your organization?
•
It is our vision to share the love of reading with each other and to use this gift of literacy to bless others while we have fun.
BPM: Sondra, please tell us a little about you and the things you are passionate about.
•
I am Sondra George of Dallas, Texas. While I am an avid reader of all genres, I have a passion for history,
African American, French, American and otherwise. My vision is to share my love of reading with others hoping to enhance their lives on all levels. To use the book club as a platform to build life long relationships.
( Pillars Book Club on a
cruise)
Finish these sentences:
BPM: Living your best life includes:
•
Having no regrets, learning from your mistakes and embracing all days, good and bad, while reading your heart out!
BPM: Share a book that changed your life:
•
"A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini, gave us insight to the struggles of women today. It changed our
perception of our Eastern sisters here in American and abroad. It gave us a new respect for their culture and their plight.
BPM: On your nightstand now:
•
The Help - K Stockett and
The Million Dollar Divorce - RM Johnson
BPM: Name three authors you would like to do a phone chat with this year.
•
Maya Angelou, Barack Obama and
Eric Jerome Dickey
BPM: The Pillars Book Club President's favorite quote:
• The worth of a book is measured by what you can carry from it.
Photo: The Pillars Book Club president, Sondra George
Intimate Conversation with The
Regal Sisterhood
The
Regal Sisterhood was founded in October 2005 by Misty Irby, on the premise of
fostering new friendships around a common activity--- reading.
Misty
wanted to introduce a reading club which embraced the concept of
“Sisterhood”, creating a unified literary circle!
BPM:What is the vision for your organization?
• The vision of the Regal Sisterhood Book Club is to expand literary knowledge
and personal growth amongst its members and their families. Regal stands for
“ Reading , Empowering & Gaining Abundant Life.”
Finish
these sentences:
BPM:
Living your best life includes:
• Living a life of joy and peace with a commitment to get better every
day.
BPM:
On your nightstand now:
• “Beater” by Brian W. Smith
BPM:
Book that changed your life:
• “Up Pops The Devil” by Angela Benson
BPM:
Book you most want to read AGAIN much slower, to savor:
• “The Shack” by William P. Young
(The
Regal Sisterhood)
BPM:
Favorite
genre, series or sequels:
• Favorite genre is Christian Fiction. Favorite series of books is on the
character Jasmine Larson by Victoria Christopher Murray.
BPM:
Name three authors you would like to do a phone chat with this year.
• L.Y. Marlow, Victoria Christopher Murray and Stephanie Perry Moore.
Intimate Conversation with The Reading Divas Book Club
BPM: Tell us a little about your passion for reading and your position in the bookclub.
My name is Sharon Richardson-Lucas and I am the founder and Chairperson of the Reading Divas Book Club. Though we have structure, we’ve never felt a need to elect officers but rather to draw on the individual strengths displayed by the club members.
I am a wife, mother, grandmother and a Reading Diva! I recently retired after 20 years as a District Sales Manager with Avon Products, Inc. I have read all of my life – I come from a family of readers. I do not remember a time when I didn’t read – going back to when I had to hide “True Confessions” under the covers and read after I was supposed to be asleep.
The picture, in this interview, shows book club members at their first Brunch. Sharon
Richardson-Lucas is in the second row, over from Miss Mary Monroe (she has on hat) in the front row. BPM: What was your first meeting like? How was it organized and structured?
After thinking about it for some time, in July 1998, I invited a group of friends to my home to review the book, “The Good Negress” by A. J. Verdelle. It wasn’t the most exciting read, but it did allow me to share my vision of a book club with the attendees and thus was born “The Reading Divas”. After more than 12 years, our basic structure remains the same: We are a group of African American women who meet monthly to review a book, share ideas, and exchange stories. Thus, we have formed a “sisterhood” of book lovers! My initial goal was to have at least 12 members so no one would have to host a meeting more than once each year, currently there are 14 members; we meet monthly, rotating from house to house; the hostess for the month selects the book for the month. We primarily read books written by African American Authors, but do not limit ourselves to any race or type of book. By silent vote, we don’t usually read the now popular “street” books or “erotica”.
Several years ago, another charter member, Lena Tanguep, and I attended the National Book Club meeting in Atlanta hosted by Curtis Bunn. After that uplifting experience we agreed that the club needed more structure and we also needed to give something to the community and not limit ourselves to simply reading a book a month and socializing (we love mimosas and sangria). We then adopted a club charter to define our structure and we agreed to host an event to celebrate our 10th Anniversary. We weren’t sure exactly what we wanted to do, but we knew it had to be “literary” and not just a social event.
BPM: Share with us the history of the organization.
In October 2008, we successfully hosted the “First Annual Reading Divas Literary Brunch” featuring Mary Monroe - she was fabulous and so was our audience of about 100. In October 2009, when we held our second Brunch featuring Virginia Deberry and Donna Grant- we knew we had hit on something good. Virginia and Donna were “excellent” – they made themselves at home and our audience loved them. We closed this affair knowing that our event has a “following” and that we were keeping our commitment to involve the community not just through our audience participation but also by inviting local authors, many of whom are self-publishing and trying to get their foot in the door – to participate and therefore expand their reach.
In October 2010, we hostd our third Brunch – we have moved to a larger facility and our featured author will be Dr. Daniel Omotosho Black – Nationally Acclaimed Author of the 21st Century. Please go to Dr. Black’s website to read more about him –
www.danielblack.org
BPM: What is the vision for your organization?
Our vision is to “keep on keeping on” – reading, discussing, and socializing – as we help others to realize how important it is to our culture that we read the works of African American authors and to continue to grow our own annual Literary Event.
BPM: Living your best life includes:
Living my best life includes: having books and my Kindle at my fingertips at all times – my motto is “Never Leave Home Without Something to Read”.
BPM: On your nightstand now:
On my nightstand now are: “Book Clubs” by Curtis Bunn and “They Tell me of a Home” by Daniel Black along with many books on my Kindle including “God Ain’t Blind” by Mary Monroe, “And Mistress Makes Three” by Francis Ray, and “Witch & Wizard” by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet.
BPM: What types of books did you read as a kid?
I’ve always been a mystery and suspense lover – so I loved “Nancy Drew” as a child but I soon moved on to Perry Mason.
BPM: What book would you read again to savor?
The book I want to read again and again to savor is “What Seems Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day” by Pearl Cleage.
BPM: What's your favorite book series?
My favorite series is anything in the Alex Cross series by James Paterson.
BPM: How important is reading in your life?
I cannot imagine life without the ability to enter new and different worlds through the written words of others.
BPM: How can our readers reach out to you?
Please go to our website – www.thereadingdivas12.com
– to read more about us or to get in touch with us. You can find out more
about the Annual Reading Divas Literary
Brunch on our site too.
Interview presented by chairperson – Sharon Richardson-Lucas
The Importance of the Black Book Clubs
by Dr. Maxine E. Thompson
Twice
last month, I met with Book Clubs, once at the Inglewood Library, where I did a writer’s workshop and the other day at my book club, Seniors on The Move. I was happy for the feedback, the reminiscing and the discussions. It started me to thinking about how important the Black Book Clubs have been in this Literary Renaissance.
In fact, I know one writer who is self-published and who makes a good living doing 2-4 book clubs per month. So the Black Book Clubs are definitely important.
It made me want to revisit an article I wrote 2 years ago that is still apropos.
Sometimes God sends an angel into our lives and we don’t even know it. When God has a plan for our lives, He will make a provision.
In 1999, I had been off my job approximately two years when I re-issued my debut novel, The Ebony Tree. Looking back, The Special Thoughts Book Club was the first Los Angeles book club–in fact the first book club–to host me as a writer. Since then I’ve had the pleasure of being hosted at many book clubs, known and some even unknown.
In 1999, when I met with the founder, Janel Stephenson, and she paid me my first check (which was sizable,) for my books, I thought, “Wow! Someone will actually pay you for your dreams.”
Somehow, in chatting, I told Janel of my dilemma. I had just received a letter offering me to return to work as a supervisor, (which was a promotion) at the Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Family and Services, or I could stay on the unknown rocky path of living the writer’s life. I had no idea what the future held, and financially, it didn’t look like I’d be able to make it. After two years, I had run through my savings, my sick leave, and my vacation time. At the time, I had two mortgages, my youngest son in college, and grandchildren, a dog, etc. etc.
At any rate, Janel encouraged me to pursue my dreams. “You’ll never know if you don’t try.” With that check and Janel’s words of encouragement, I took one day at a time, and that one day has led into almost eleven years since I was last an employee.
Looking back, when I attended the Special Thoughts’ book club meeting, I was impressed by the number of members–almost thirty readers and 50 percent of them men. They were articulate and challenged my thinking.
Last year, in celebrating the Special Thoughts Reading group’s tenth anniversary, I congratulated them.
As for the journey, I am happy to report the following:
Since my first book club meeting, I’ve either published or been published in 11 books, (2 novels, 1 short story collection, 3 self-help e-books/manuals, and five anthologies,) one that I published under my company, Black Butterfly Press, Saturday Morning, (and two pending novel deals and one pending nonfiction book deal). I’ve edited, formatted or ghostwritten numerous books for other writers or companies. Many of these books have made bestseller’s lists, some even have made the New York Times’ bestseller’s list.
I am the agent for books for other African American writers and we are now pursuing film or independent deals for some of these deals.
As another business, I’ve hosted Internet radio shows for writers since March 2002 to promote writers’ works. I currently host on Artistfirst.com.
So I’d like to give special thanks to Janel Stephenson for acting as an angel and for her encouragement and continued support of Black writers. I also want to thank the Special Thoughts’ book club members for pulling me through a dark hour. Congratulations on their upcoming eleventh anniversary in November 2008.
Now, once again, we are faced as a nation with that same dilemma that I had in 1999–except the economic climate is worse. Even so, many people have a dream of either being a writer, a magazine owner, a publicist, a book store owner, an agent, actor, artist, or you name it, but the economy looks so bleak. Wall Street crashed the week of 9-15-08 and banks failed. I mean how bad can it get during a recession?
Therefore, how do we make it as Black businesspersons during these trying times? What can we do?
Well, we can work together. We can build resources through one another. We can support one another’s dreams. We can barter. We can help each other. However, what we cannot do is to ever give up hope and faith. Remember, no good work goes unrewarded. In this vein, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many Black book clubs across the country that have supported Black books, thereby promoting literacy! I give a special thanks to Special Thoughts Book Club, Rawsistaz and
Apooo.org. In behalf of Black writers, I applaud and commend you, Black Book Club Leaders and Members.
About the Author
Dr. Maxine E. Thompson is a novelist, poet, columnist, short story writer, book reviewer, an editor, ghostwriter, Internet Radio Show Host, and a Literary Agent. She is the author of The Ebony Tree, No Pockets in a Shroud, A Place Called Home (A Short Story Collection), The Hush Hush Secrets of Writing Fiction That Sell, a contributor to bestselling anthologies Secret Lovers, All in The Family, and Never Knew Love Like This Before, (Also a Kindle Bestseller), Proverbs for the People.
Hostage of Lies is her latest fiction novel, was voted a Best Book of 2009 by EDC Creations:
http://edcmagazine.blogspot.com/2009/12/best-books-of-2009-our-relationships.html
A
Book Club’s Best Friend By
Sherryle Kiser Jackson
And, the number one reason why you should make Soon and Very Soon your book club
selection is . . . Sherryle Kiser Jackson is a book club’s best friend!
That’s me, and that along with reasons 2-10 ala David Letterman style was
printed in my promotional material for my debut novel.
Book Clubs were my target in my marketing plan and I courted them with my words
like Cyrano de Bergerac did Roxanne. I started with the list on Mosaicbooks.com
(the quintessential place for booklovers) and started relaying the message of my
self-proclaimed title. I also had success with meeting with area book club’s
to do what I coined, a book tasting. Much like a chef/baker would have a tasting
for potential clients I used this as an opportunity to read and share excerpts
of my upcoming novel the first fifteen or the last fifteen minutes of their
gathering. I was prepared to also take them through my literary journey from
manuscript to the printed page and have tons of giveaways just to make an
impression. It made sense to me.
Out of all the people who pass by a Borders
bookstore in their daily travels, book club members would nine times out of ten
drop in with their Rewards card and buy something. I believe book clubs are
imperative to books for and about our people.
Aww, the naivety of a debut author, I didn’t understand the form and function
of different book clubs and like Cyrano I didn’t really know how to court
them. I was spending lots of money and not sure to this day if some of the clubs
I tried to woo with dramatic readings and baked goods ever chose my book as a
monthly selection. I was starting a grassroots campaign with the type of book
clubs that meet monthly and discuss a pre-selected book. I call them the page
turners. I knew this type. I personally own a copy of Go On Girl!: Book Club
Guide for Reading Groups by Monique Greenwood, Lynda Johnson and Tracy
Mitchell-Brown when I revamped my sorority’s book club in the late
nineties.
After
my book came out I met with many like the Black Women’s Reading Group that
have been in existence in Washington DC for over thirty years. I was surprised
to find another entity in the book club world though with an amazing scope of
influence-the Online Book club. These powerhouses such as The Grits Online
Reading Club.com, the Good Girl Book Club and RAWSISTAZ are of the
book-promoting, book-reviewing, and book-selling variety. I call them the mini
publicist brigades. They have mastered the art of networking to a target
audience and can draw thousands to their site in search of recommendations on
what to read next. Promoting with these groups and sometimes even getting your
book reviewed may cost you, but selecting the right online book club can be well
worth your marketing dollars.
As authors, we sometimes have arrogance about us. Don’t make the mistake like
me and presume that since you’ve cranked out 261 pages of narrative you can
tell an established book club when and where to function like they’re on your
pay roll. Most book clubs whether the grassroots page-turners or the publicist
brigades have websites and guidelines. Use them. Remember there are truly too
many books and too little time. Keep this in mind when marketing to book clubs.
Research book clubs. As I’ve said before many of these groups have been
together for a long time and have established criteria for selecting monthly
reading selections. Target book clubs that read your specific genre. Inquire
with online book clubs about the range of services provided from reviews to
banner ads on their web page.
Capture information about these book clubs to add to your contact list. Do not
inundate them with emails, a monthly correspondence to tell them about your new
literary projects and signings in their area is effective in keeping them
updated.
Be accessible. Let book clubs know you are available to meet with them to
discuss your book. Offer to meet with clubs in different cities before or after
a signing. Use freephoneconfere.com to “appear” at club gatherings via the
phone. Many book clubs have blogs or radio shows through BlogTalk radio. Pitch
an idea for a show or guest appearance to really relate to readers from the
comfort of your own home.
Attend the National Book Club Conference. This is where literary giants
and those authors like me with emerging notoriety walk among avid readers and
adoring fans. I’ve been told its more like a family reunion. http://www.nationalbookclubconference.com.
See you there.
Courting has not gone out of style. A bookmark and a review copy goes a
long way.
ABOUT SHERRYLE
Sherryle Kiser Jackson is a fresh voice in Christian fiction. Her style reflects
an honest commentary on her life with Christ. Soon and Very Soon is her debut
novel. She anxiously awaits the publication of her second novel, The Manual,
October 2009. Experience her too real to be preachy, Biblically based,
out-the-Christian-box fiction at www.sherrylejackson.com
Rock-solid
Answers to the Black Marriage Questions
by Dr. Harold L. Arnold, Jr.
Marriage
in the Black community has become an enigma—filled with too many questions
and too few answers. Once a clearly valued staple of Black family life, research
reveals marital erosion. In the fall of 2009, scholars from the Institute for
American Values in conjunction with the
National
Center
for African American Marriage and Parenting validated a precipitous decline in
Black marriages since the 1970’s.
Though
this decline belies any simplistic explanation, we as a community benefit as we
seek answers to two questions posed by two influential African Americans,
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and film icon Tyler Perry. Though Norton and
Perry hail from widely different platforms, they have each used their influence
to submit an important question into the public square that highlights the Black
marriage dilemma. What has happened to marriage in the Black community?
In
September 2009, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s Congressional Black
Caucus Foundation hosted a forum “Single Women, Unmarried Men: What has
happened to marriage in the Black community” to a jam-packed room. This forum
candidly engaged the crisis. More than half of all Black adults are unmarried
compared to less than 40% of Whites and Hispanics. Since the 1970’s, the Black
community has seen its number of children born to single moms more than double,
rising from 30 to 70 percent. Children in single-mother households are
significantly more likely to live in poverty and to have emotional and
behavioral problems.
Norton’s question centers on the social maladies created by the proliferation
of single mothers, teenage parenting, and fatherlessness that have become the
norm in many Black communities. Underneath this question is a challenge to the
decisions that too many African Americans are making to forgo a long-term
marriage partnership for short-term encounters.
Our
second question courtesy of Tyler Perry takes a different aim—married African
American couples who are second-guessing their decision for this long-term
commitment.
Why
did I get married? Tyler Perry releases his new movie, Why did I get married too, the
sequel to his successful 2007 comedy-drama, Why did I get married. For some of
us the first movie brought comic relief to serious marital stressors that are
often at the center of our marital conflict. For others the film was a darker
reminder of abuses that have left marital scars. This movie caused many of us to
think personally about our own reason for marriage.
Perry’s
question highlights the lack of fulfillment that many Black couples experience.
It speaks to the frustration and disappointment of many couples that feel their
marriages have not delivered the “promised” emotional, physical, and
economic benefits.
Both Norton and Perry present questions deserving meaningful consideration and
comprehensive answers if the Black community’s social, economic, and spiritual
capital is to rise.
ROCK-solid answers
My book, Marriage ROCKS for Christian Couples, offers a framework to reverse the
Black marriage trend by challenging couples at all levels of relational intimacy
to discover God’s purpose for their marriages. Black relationships with a
shared sense of purpose tend to understand that marriage offers a long-term
commitment to their emotional, sexual, financial, and spiritual aspirations. The
Marriage ROCKS model posits a five-step response.
Step 1: Redeem one another through graceful acts (Redemption) What are the emotional wounds in your marriage? In some cases these
wounds manifest as emotional scabs—leftover reminders from past abuses. In
other instances, they are fresh sores hindering the development of healthy
relationships.
Black
couples often struggle with positive emotional engagement because of external
stressors like joblessness and educational inequalities that impinge on the
marriage. However, internal stressors such as power imbalances, infidelity, and
disrespect also trap many Black couples.
Black relationships need healing that can only be found through redemption.
Redemption promises hope that we can learn to identify our own faults and
sacrifice ourselves for our spouses in ways that honor the sacrifice that Christ
made for us. Step 2: Offer intimacy by spending time together (Offering) Black marriages are time-starved. With our myriad of obligations couples
fail to adequately attend to our most intimate relationships. God has actually
wired us for intimacy. It should not surprise us then that time-starved
marriages lack this intimacy, primarily because there is a shortage of
spiritual, emotional, and physical sharing. Sharing conveys priority. Because
you choose what to do with your time, you make a statement about your marital
relationship when you prioritize it over other activities. Starting today,
reserve your time for just the two of you.
Step 3: Develop healthy boundaries (Covenant) The flexibility of the Black family structure has a rich history; the
term family is not simply a matter of bloodlines. Perhaps more than any other
American subculture, the Black family has adapted to injustices by contracting
and expanding as necessary to survive as a community. While this structure is
clearly a strength, it often poses marital challenges.
Many
of our marriages rely on overly rigid boundaries that feel controlling and
isolating while others express loose boundaries that lead to undue outside
influences and infidelity. Any kind of unhealthy boundary makes it difficult for
your marriage to achieve its purpose because such boundaries are contradictory
to the concept of mutuality.
The
key to defining healthy boundaries in your marriage is for each spouse to value
the perspective and strength that each brings to the relationship. It requires a
level of comfort with oneself and trust in one’s spouse that you are both
working towards a future shared goal. Healthy boundaries are permeable and
purpose-laden.
Step 4: Share your experience with others (Knowledge) Media pundits and narcissistic celebrities distort an ideal view
of marriage, typically lacking a faith narrative and highly self-centered.
However, God desires that your marriage be a light that directs others to him.
Your positive and negative marital experiences have the power to change lives
when you give them away to others.
Your
testimonies are a fountain of knowledge, especially for your children. Many
Christian parents frustrate the faith development of their children errantly
believing that they should shield them from their marital struggles. You give
your children an astonishing gift of knowledge, not by being models of
perfection, but by being living memorials to redemption. Of course, this
narrative does not only benefit your children. It impacts our culture at large.
Step 5: Mobilize your marriage as a ministry (Sacred Space) As a faith-based model Marriage ROCKS is ultimately about ministry.
Husbands and wives are ministers to each other first, understanding each other,
forgiving one another, and elevating to new levels of intimacy in their pursuit
of partnership and covenant. God desires to open your spiritual eyes to a world
in which your marriage is a living temple, ushering the sacred into all of the
spaces that you traverse—fostering communities of relational belonging with
the power to heal and transform.
There
are no easy answers to the Black marriage questions. We do know, however,
that solutions must be redemptive in healing our wounds, revealing the avenues
to intimacy, educating us about healthy boundaries, and encouraging us to share
our testimonies in the pursuit of God’s purpose.
Meet
Dr.
Harold L. Arnold, Jr.
Dr. Harold L. Arnold, Jr., www.haroldarnold.com,
author of Marriage ROCKS for Christian Couples and founder of Discovering Family
International, is a psychologist specializing in Black family life. He holds a
Masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. A member of the American
Association of Christian Counselors, Dr. Arnold serves as adjunct faculty,
minister, and counselor in Philadelphia.
Black Like Me by Shelia E. Lipsey
Remember the famous slogan, “I’m Black and I’m Proud?
I grew up chanting these infamous words as a teenager and through my young adulthood. For me, it meant pride in my race, my color, my nationality. It stood for strength and courage to persevere through some of life’s most difficult times as a black person. It meant having an attitude that would overcome the spirit of segregation, bigotry and racism. Say it loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.
Today, I want to sing at the top of the rafters and proclaim these words again to our youth, to those who don’t know anything about the struggle that were endured so that we can enjoy the opportunities we have today as a people. I want to somehow convince our young men and women that we are unique, divine, and special. We are victors and not victims. What will it take for us to stop black on black crime? What can we who know the struggle, who’ve lived the history of our people, do to help make a difference that will leave an indelible mark on our young people?
When will we learn more about our history and the importance of supporting and encouraging one another? There comes a time when enough is enough. This is the beginning of a new decade. Let us reach out to embrace one another rather than murder and maim each other. It’s time to change from gangs to help each other gain.
We need more James Baldwins in the world today. James Baldwin (Aug. 2, 1924-Dec. 1, 1987) was a very important American author who wrote about the struggle of being black in America. James was the oldest of nine children and was born into poverty in Harlem, New York.
We need to encourage our youth to use their minds to invent again, like Sarah Goode.
Goode invented the folding cabinet bed, a space-saver that folded up against the wall into a cabinet. When folded up, it could be used as a desk, complete with compartments for stationery and writing supplies. Goode owned a furniture store in Chicago, Illinois, and invented the bed for people living in small apartments. Goode's patent was the first one obtained by an African-American woman inventor (approved on July 14, 1885). http://www.npr.org
We need more youth aspiring to be like Maggie Walker. Maggie Lena Walker (July 15, 1867-December 15, 1934) was the first woman in the USA to become a local bank president. Throughout her life, Walker worked for civil rights and other humanitarian causes. http://www.npr.org
It’s time for our young people to put down weapons of destruction and began to build mental weapons of knowledge to improve life for themselves and others. We need more great novelists like New Hampshire indentured servant-turned-novelist Harriet Wilson who wrote Our Nig: or, Sketches from the Life of a Free Black more than a century ago. Wilson’s work is the first known publication by an African American. http://www.npr.org
The time is now. It’s a new decade. It’s time to make a positive difference. It’s time to bring dreams from the realm of thoughts to the realm of reality. It’s time to become proud of who we are as a people again. With the first Black president in office, and black people holding higher positions and obtaining greatness, there should be a greater sense of urgency to turn things around for the good. It’s time to believe and achieve.
It’s time to rise and shine and proudly proclaim that we are Black and Proud.
Let me hear you say it. Say it loud: I’m Black and I’m Proud!
MY WRITING GETS NO ATTENTION
by author/poet Marc Lacy
No attention? I know this is not coming from you because your friends and family are ecstatic at the fact that you’ve written a book and are a published author. Your former high school English instructor and her current writer’s guild have been following you as you’ve become versed in article publishing and blogging. Meanwhile, your name has a certain “buzz” attached to it via the internet and your popularity has been increasing gradually.
You recently found out a New York Times Best-Selling author has acquired a copy of your monthly e-newsletter and now wants to keep in touch with you. Things seem to be going very well. Fruits of your hard literary labor have become manifest at a quicker rate than your reading radar could have ever forecasted. You now feel
“all things literary” while promises from your prose passion seem to be fulfilled generating a smile on your face. You’re saying to yourself how easy you could get accustomed to
“this literary thing.”
Several months later, you reach a lull and all the writing (no pun) on your publishing wall leads to the fact that the honeymoon is over! No longer are you a fresh and new face in the game. The initial buzz people acquired from meeting you and reading your material for the first time exists no more. You feel like calling Dr. Phil because you’ve been a victim of a “one write stand.” The book review, tour stop inquiries, and interview requests have waned. Your
Amazon sales have dried up and you’ve exhausted all of your local contacts by which a booksigning or discussion could be scheduled. Your publishing bank account has been emptied, shaken, and turned upside down for loose change.
But the only thing that falls out is a note that reads, “I need money.” At this point you are frustrated because everywhere you go, people are asking, “hey man, how’s the writing going?” Then while you’re in Wal-Mart shopping, the proverbial “Didn’t you write a book or something?” will most definitely be asked…even if it is six months after the release. You’ve reached a place where you just want to toss your pen and pad into the river and call it a career.
Go ahead and react the ways in which you want to react. But after the feelings wear off, make sure you leave the door cracked enough for common sense to seep back in. After it settles into your head, you’ll soon realize…it just “seems” as if your writing gets no attention because you are not getting the reaction now that was received months ago when your book first came out. Hello! Welcome to the life of a writer/author. One of these days you’ll realize that there is a difference between “inside the literary circle” and “outside the literary circle.” If someone is outside of the circle, they may know of one or two household names as far as authors and writers are concerned…but that’s it.
However, with brand-new to mid-level authors (via popularity standards), it is almost a guarantee that the person will not be familiar with that author’s work. That is just how the cookie crumbles in the literary community. And if this fact alone depresses you, you may as well write your eulogy, climb into the wooden box, and just wait on the funeral. Keep in mind, some friends inquire about how your writing is going because they are genuinely happy for you. Do not expect them to know the nuances of what you do (unless you take time to break everything down). All they know is, “My boy gotta book and I’m happy for him. He’s successful…and I want to say I knew him when…” All of that is fine and dandy. Just remember, it is not up to them to know all of what you know about your career.
Writing can be a glamorous profession in some cases; but 90 percent of writers will tell you; there’s nothing glamorous about it. Factor in the business and political aspects and you’ve got yourself a crazy grind. But still, you must find a way to get past the various elements that govern/control the writing/authoring “business.” Understand the God given gift that allows you to put a “spin” on your writing belongs to you. God gave this to you. This is what should bring you joy. Then when another person gains some form of uplift or is impacted in a positive way…and let’s you know…THAT IS YOUR REWARD. That is all of the attention you need to stay influenced to keep churning out books/articles. Remember, your literary creative genius in a published format, may not yield an immediate financial return on investment.
Also, you may never be able to sell everyone inside/outside the literary circle on your writing; because EVERYONE IS NOT A WRITER. With that being the case, they may not be able to appreciate what you go through to be able to do what you do. Regardless of how anyone reacts, your passion is what drives you. If you are applying the level of passion needed daily in your writing; trust me, your writing will get all of the attention it needs and then some. It may not be today or tomorrow. But when it is time…IT’S TIME. I can’t wait to see you there!
About the Author
Marc Lacy, a graduate of Alabama A&M University is a nationally renown, award winning poet/author and spoken word artist. He has performed all of over the country for many national literary events and spoken word venues. Marc is the author of Rock & Fire - Love Poetry from The Core, and The Looking Heart - Poetic Expressions from Within. He is also the producer of REFlux, RTIQLation, and LyriCode 256 spoken word CDs.
Marc is the contributor to many anthologies such as: The Soul of a Man, Step up to The Mic, and Witness the Truth. Marc is a member of ArtNSoul Society of Expression, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Church Street CPCA, Huntsville Literary Association, and National Society of Black Engineers. He credits his faith in God and love of family for providing energy to succeed.
Meet Author and Publisher Wahida Clark
-- Wahida Clark was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey. She is no stranger to the hard work and the sacrifices that breed success. This Trenton native
once owned and operated L.M. Clark Printers & Publishers Inc., a printing and publishing company in Trenton.
She is crowned the Queen of Thug Love Fiction by Nikki Turner, the Queen of Hip Hop Fiction. Wahida's style of writing is the "TEMPLATE" for urban literature. When you read her novels, they are so real you are convinced of one of three things: you know the characters; you want to know the characters; or you are one of the characters.
Her Essence and Black Issues Book Reviews bestselling novels include Thugs and The Women Who Love Them, Payback Is A Mutha, Payback With Ya Life, and her latest anthology with Kiki Swinson titled "Sleeping With The Enemy."
Wahida has been a New York Times bestselling author several times. Her work has
received rave reviews from bookclubs across the globe.
She has just completed her latest Novel 'The Golden Hustla' which will be released August, 2010. Coming in May is 'What's Really Hood?' Part 1 an Anthology featuring, Wahida, Lashonda Teague, Victor Martin, Shawn 'Jihad' Trump and Bonta. She is vice president of the non-profit organization based out of East Orange, New Jersey, Prodigal Sons and Daughters Redirection Services, a re-entry program for convicts and ex-convicts. The organization also provides support groups and mentors for at-risk youth.
Today, Wahida operates her printing & publishing company out of East Orange, New Jersey, Wahida Clark Presents Publishing. Her first releases include: Trust No Man 1 & 2 by Cash, Thirsty by Mike Sanders, Cheetah by Missy Jackson, Karma With A Vengeance by Tash Hawthorne and The Ultimate Sacrifice by Anthony Fields.
Just
as liquids are important to flush toxins from your system as you diet, a similar
approach can trim the bulge in your budget. Americans have been bingeing on debt
and according to the Federal Reserve Board have racked up more than 2.26 billion
dollars in consumer debt.
Like
dieters who get on the treadmill daily and the pounds don’t come off it can be
difficult to gain control of your finances. The culprit---- fees and monthly
interest charges that have the same affect on your budget that nutritionist say
artificial sweeteners and refined sugar have on weight loss. Here are a few
ideas that you can use to implement a financial cleansing.
Financial
Fast
Like a fast when you’re dieting it is important to approach ridding yourself
from debt gradually otherwise you feel deprived and then start to binge or in
this case overspend. Start by making a list of all your debt and identifying the
largest balances with the highest interest rates first. Pay off your small
balances first and eliminate a bill or tackle the balance with the highest
interest rate in order to short circuit the compound interest on your balances.
The key is to gradually reduce your debt burden and experience a feeling of
financial peace.
Drink
your liquids
When I talk about putting liquidity in your budget I’m not talking about
grabbing a can of Slim Fast, I mean having readily available cash. One of
the main causes of credit card debt is not having an emergency fund. Building
liquidity may require you to cut your expenses. If you haven’t been saving
money, I hope to convince you to reverse that trend.
Make
a commitment to pay yourself ten percent of your take home pay each week and
have it automatically transferred from your paycheck or checking account. into a
savings or a money market account.The trade off is settling for the paltry current interest rates of 1.50%
or less. For listings of top-yielding savings, money market accounts and CDs,
check www.bankrate.com and www.imoney.net
When an emergency happens you can reach for cash instead of credit.
Spend
Organically
Going green in your finances means using cold hard cash. A study on
spending behavior found that people who use credit cards for everyday purchases
spend fifteen percent more than if they were using cash.
Give yourself an allowance every pay period and make a commitment to use cash
only. When you open your wallet and there is no cash it means you have
reached your spending limit. The sweetest sound a financially responsible person
hears is the sound of their wallet or purse snapping shut.
Deborah Owens is the Wealth Coach on My Generation TV on PBS and
is the author of a Purse of Your Own; The Easy Guide to Financial Security
published by Simon and Schuster. Visit www.deborahowens.com
to read an excerpt.
Better Career
Strategies
How Blacks Can Overachieve during the Economic Crisis
by Dr. Daryl Green
On Monday morning, an employee tries to open her office door to find that her key does not fit. She waits for her secretary to arrive and provide her with a duplicate key. The secretary does not arrive. Finally, her boss arrives and brings the employee her pink slip. She stands in disbelief; she has been downsized.
Introduction
Are you fed up with your current job? The rapid pace of globalization makes it difficult for anyone to be secure. Given this reality, can you afford to be content with someone else entrusted with my future career options? As I conducted research for Breaking Organizational Ties: How to Have a More Fulfilled Life in Your Current Job, I heard numerous complaints about bad bosses and uncaring organizations.
Although today’s job represents an uninspiring journey at work, rarely is a person willing to do something different. Many people become unhappy in their lives because they work in awful conditions. However, you can find a way to be compensated for your talents even if that means changing your environment or leaving it. This article examines how an individual can gain greater confidence in his or her ability to grow by exploring alternative strategies, even in the midst of downsizing and layoffs.
Economic Crisis
Economic troubles continue to presence a challenge to our economic future. America has lost 7.2 million jobs with the unemployment rate topping 10% since November 2009. This situation has been very problematic for black community. The unemployment rate for blacks is over 15%, with more than one in four being out of work. Companies have shed 11,000 workers from their payroll. State agencies have had to layoff or furlough workers. Millions of Americans are now waiting longer for food stamps, unemployment checks, and disability payments. Margaret Simms of the Urban Institute notes, “The length of the recession clearly has put a strain on the resources that states bring to bear.” Therefore, our lives continue to unravel as things we depend on disintegrate before our eyes.
Career Strategy
An economic crisis and an uncertain future require individuals to explore new personal strategies. For many people, happiness means more than having a job. According to a Yankelovich Monitor’s study in 1997, only 25% of adults said “a lot of money” signified success and accomplishment. Unfortunately, many individuals work in organizations that don’t stimulate their professional growth.
In my own situation, I’ve kept my primary job but created my own business venture. This decision started my professional development and gave me a competitive edge in the market.
It doesn’t necessarily mean giving up your current job. However, it does involve a different mental journey. Marsha Sinetar, author of Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow, argues that individuals rarely take the time for introspection: “Most of us think about our jobs or our careers as a means to fulfill responsibilities to families and creditors, to gain more material comforts, and to achieve status and recognition. But we pay a high price for this kind of thinking.”
Therefore, you may need to change directions. These steps include the following: (a) take a personal assessment of your current work situation; (b) determine your primary focus; (c) prepare a plan for professional development at your job; (d) decide what you need to do in order to obtain your dream job; (e) weigh the consequences of changing directions; and (f) surround yourself with a positive support system.
Conclusion
Many individuals are rethinking their career situations during this economic crisis. Blacks are not the exception. I see a sense of despair encompassing them. Yet, most people don’t know how to get out of this vicious cycle of hopelessness. Individuals should continue to sharpen their skills and never let anyone else decide their future. It appears that few managers are concerned about employee career development.
Therefore, I caution you not to get too comfortable in your jobs while the rest of the nation is going through unprecedented change. This article demonstrated that you can mobilize yourself and take control of your own situation. In fact, it’s a critical step in achieving personal fulfillment and acquiring future wealth. Through this process, you will gain the insight to develop and enhance your skills while pursuing your personal goals and dreams.
About the Columnist
Dr. Daryl Green provides motivation, guidance, and training for leaders at critical ages and stages of their development. He has over 20 years of management experience and has been noted and quoted by USA Today, Ebony Magazine, and Associated Press. For more information, you can go to
http://stores.lulu.com/darygre
or http://www.darylgreen.org
Your Day Is
Coming by Shelia E. Lipsey
To
everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
This is taken from a well known passage of scripture, Ecclesiastes 3:1 King
James Version to be exact. I have found this verse to be true with each moment
that passes in my life. There was a time when I felt like I would never reach
the pinnacle of success that I have achieved in my literary career. There were
times I would cry and ask God, “When is my time?” I have learned through
living that there is a time for everything, even when it comes to the ordinary
things of life. Even when it comes to my writing, there is a time for
everything.
I often dream of doing great and marvelous works. I have a desire to help
others achieve their dreams and provide the resources they need to help them
accomplish greatness. I believe that my time has arrived. It is my season to see
the desires of my heart come into fruition. Not only has God blessed me to be a
writer, but he has blessed me to be an award winning author of Christian fiction
books. The desires of my heart are constantly being met, but not in my time.
They are being met because it is my season. My season is now. I see doors
opening and I see pathways being stretched before me. I am closer than I think.
If you are an aspiring author, I encourage you to remain full of hope. I
encourage you to keep moving in the direction of your dreams. I encourage you to
learn and study the craft of writing. Read what you want to write. If you desire
to write fiction, read fiction. If you desire to write nonfiction, read
nonfiction. If you desire to speak, listen to successful speakers. Learn your
craft. Many of us ask for certain things to come forth in our lives, but we
don’t want to do the work that is required to bring dreams into the state of
reality.
Your desires, your dreams, your life’s goals, your hopes, are achievable if
you first of all: Believe. Believe that what you desire is possible. Believe
that your day is coming. Believe that you are closer than you think.
Next: Work. Work toward achieving your dream. Research, learn, study and
do not give up. Work hard at what you want. Work hard for what you want. Network
with others who are willing to share information with you. Work on your dream as
often as possible. Work on being the best that you can be. Work. Work. Work.
Have Passion: Passion is what will drive you to never give up. Passion
will push you toward seeing your dreams and the desires of your heart come to
pass. Passion will ignite the fire within you to move in the direction that
leads you on the road to success. Without passion, your dreams, your desires and
goals will die. Keep Passion in your life, even when you don’t see anything
happening.
Applaud. Applaud others for their accomplishments. Do not be envious or
jealous of those who are already at the place you’re trying to reach. Applaud
them because that means you have a chance to make it too. When I see someone
else who has ‘made it’ then I know that God will do the same for me. If I am
jealous and angry, mad or envious over the success of others, then I null the
chances of my success. Always seek good for others and good will return to you.
Your desires may not come when you want them to, and that’s all right.
They may not come when you expect them to. So what? All you have to do is
believe that to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under
the heaven. Believe, work, have passion and applaud others because your day is
coming. As a matter of fact: "You're closer than you think."
Share
with us your news, events and articles. Black
Pearls Magazine is a online, bi-weekly updated magazine which gives voice to
the issues that drive our national conversation. Our readership is thoughtful,
intelligent, widely read and appreciative of ideas and writing of the highest
quality. With that in mind, we seek thoughtful, well-researched articles and
insightful fiction, book reviews and poetry on a variety of subjects from a
number of different viewpoints. We welcome all writers to send their work!
If
you would like to submit articles for the Black Pearls Magazine, please check
out our editorial calendar and send in your stories or articles by the 15th of
each month.. You can write about any topics designated for that month. Read the submission
guidelines here.
Your
submissions to EDC Creations signifies that you agree to our terms and policies.
We also accept book excerpts, reader's guides and audio interviews.
Join
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Seeking Book Reviewers EDC
Creations seeks to add avid readers to our community as book reviewers. We would
like readers to share their honest opinions about the books they read. You do
not have to be a professional writer, we want to feel your passion for reading.
Reviewers receive books from EDC Creations’ publishing partners monthly.
You can review our policy for book reviewers by
clicking here. Email Ella Curry for more details at: edc_dg@yahoo.com
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Seeking
Book Club Interviews Ella
Curry and EDC Creations celebrates the rise of book clubs in the publishing
industry. We host monthly tributes and parties for our featured book clubs. You
too can become a Black Pearls Bookclub Star! Request that your book club obtain
a interview and receive a gift bag of books!
Your book club and network of friends are invited to check all the great authors
in the Bookclub Reading Room and to explore
the magazine for your next featured book of the month. Email Ella Curry for more
details or to request the interview questions at: edc_dg@yahoo.com
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and BPM Video Chat We
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Join
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Seeking
Blog Tour Hosts
and Radio Hosts Each
month EDC Creations hosts a tour of 5 wonderful authors. We travel across the
web sharing our message of Give the Gift of Knowledge. We are now seeking
bloggers, book clubs and book lovers to host the authors on their websites,
blogs or radio shows. If you would like to feature authors on your website or
blog, we provide all the material for you. It's as simple as emailing us your
interest.
We
will hold live readings weekly and would like for readers to share the news on
Twitter, Facebook and Myspace. Gather 5 or more friends and meet us for an
online party! We promote great books via the phone, Skype and the web. Great
benefits available for tour hosts. Email Ella Curry for more details on joining
the tours at: edc_dg@yahoo.com
Please take a moment to view our previous tour
hosts here.
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Business
Interviews Requested Do
you have a great business that serves our community? Tell Black Pearls Magazine
about it! We are seeking community leader interviews. We showcase 5 business
owners per month. Email Ella Curry for more details at: edc_dg@yahoo.com
The
Black Pearls Magazine family wants to take the time to thank each of you for
joining us monthly in celebrating the best in literature and the arts. Our
team of writers, bookclubs and authors are so humbled that you have allowed us
entrance into your life. It amazes me each month as I check our subscribers how
many of you deem us worthy of your time and support.
We
appreciate each of you for telling 10 people about the magazine and for driving
people to this site. YOU make Black Pearls the magnificent publication that it
is, by sharing the gift of knowledge!
Please
know, as we prepare each issue for you, we look for those stimulating
conversations, the most thought provoking articles and most of all the best
books on the shelves. We want each page of this magazine to add value to your
lives! Your comments and feedback are welcomed. Join our
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what you want to read too!
As we take off in this new decade we hope to bring you more provocative topics
and life empowering books to shape your lives. We have contest for the readers
and more interactive sections added to the magazine. Let us know what you think
of the fresh new content by emailing
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and remember, share the Gift of Knowledge by sending at least 10 people to this
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Catt
Chasin' by Shana Burton
For
My Sisters
Jacqueline Luckett has been writing since 1999 when she took her first
creative writing class on a dare, from herself. She attributes her growth
as a writer to the Voices of Our Nations (VONA) writing workshops and to the
members of her writing group, The Finish Party (featured in O Magazine, November
2007). Jacqueline is the author of Searching for Tina Turner and Passing
Love (releases January 25, 2012).
BPM: Introduce us to your book and the main characters. Do you have any
favorites? What genre is the book? On Kindle or Nook? 
Introduction to Mama Ruby by Mary Monroe 
The Upper Room by Mary Monroe 
Bride and Groom Money Talk FAQ answers over 70 questions about money before marriage for brides and grooms. This book addresses how to talk about money, who should
manage marital finances, how to handle a future spouse bringing debt into the marriage and much more. 
Shana
Burton is the author of Suddenly Single First Comes Love, Flaws
and All, Catt Chasin’. (Urban Christian/Kensington Publishing.) She
is bestselling author and a two-time nominee for Georgia Author of the Year
(2009 Best Fiction- First Comes Love, 2011 Best Fiction- Flaws and All). She
resides in Georgia with her two children. When she is not writing, she can be
found gardening, dancing, or reading. She is currently working on her fifth
book, Flaw Less, which is a sequel to her bestseller Flaws and All. Flaw Less
will be release in Fall 2012.
A native of Philadelphia and a former teacher, Renee Bess has been
writing most of her life...poetry, short fiction, and now novels. In authoring
LEAVE OF ABSENCE, BREAKING JAIE, RE: BUILDING SASHA, AND THE BUTTERFLY MOMENTS,
Renee has remained committed to writing stories about multi-ethnic characters,
timely social themes, romance, intrigue, and mystery. She welcomes a diverse
audience of readers to her books and to her website, 
BPM: In writing your novels, how do you develop the plot? How much research was
required, if any? Do you ever experience writer's block?
With
EDC:
Introduce the main characters in your latest work "The Allure of the
Game?" 
Have you ever seen the underside of an uprooted tree? Not a bush, not
a stump, but a tree, a hundred foot solid oak. I have. There it was
a toppled tree. I’m not really the off-road type, so I can’t recall the
circumstances of where I was or where I was in route to when I saw it. I
distinctively remember I was troubled by the sight. Maybe the tree was a
casualty after a storm. What captured my attention was the fact I could see its
exposed roots. The roots were so solid and strong and thick in appearance that
it reminded me of the tentacles of a mature size octopus.
About the Author
Ivette Attaud, a Harlem, New York native and former Fort Bragg Army wife, has been a survivor of domestic violence and abuse for over twenty years.
Ivette served on the Battered Women’s Justice Committee of Voices of Women Organizing Project in New York as well as contributed research regarding law guardians to their report
Justice Denied: How Family Courts in NYC Endanger Battered Women and Children.
BPM: What was the hardest part of writing your book?
Marian L. Thomas, reared in Chicago but lives with her
biggest supporter—her husband and their spoiled but playful dog, Winston in Atlanta, Georgia.
Her debut title, Color Me Jazzmyne, went on to become an Amazon
bestseller and was ranked as one of the "Top 100 Books" -
BPM: Share with us a little about Color Me Jazzmyne before we move into the newly released sequel
My Father's Colors.
BPM: Who were your favorites in My Father's Colors, the sequel to Color Me
Jazzmyne?
With over 20 years of experience, Elder Brenda Bradley's approach to relationship counseling is grounded by the Word. Quickly establishing herself in the industry through her wit and down to earth teaching style, Pastor, Teacher, Playwright and Mentor, Elder Bradley makes the subject matter so simple “a baby could understand it!”
Her message is simple: You don’t have to invest your heart in something that will never give back what you put in!
BPM: Introduce us to The Boaz Factor... When You Are Ready For the Right One! 
Tanya Wright plays the role of Deputy Kenya Jones on HBO's TRUE BLOOD. BUTTERFLY RISING, was deemed one of the 'five finest debut novels of 2010' by the prestigious Brooklyn Book Festival and was written, directed by and stars Wright. She was a semi-finalist in the Nicholl's Screenwriting Competition, administered by AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and a fellow at the Mark Taper's Blacksmyth's Playwrighting Program. Wright is the creator of several feature film screenplays and television pilots in various stages of development. 
BPM: Introduce us to your book,
Butterfly Rising and the main characters. 
Grounded
by a strong faith, Riisa Renée is passionate about inspiring others and
believes that her primary duty is to love - in words and action. Through
challenge and triumph, Riisa’s history and education enable her to combine
training with personal experience in this pursuit. Daily, Riisa grows to
understand how every stage of her journey was carefully designed to equip her
for her present ministries as a mother, author, speaker, minister and an
entrepreneur.
BPM:
Introduce us to Breaking the Silence. 
Chicki is the author of two e-published novels. Her next book will be released in June 2011. She is currently working on her ninth manuscript.
An avid reader, her favorite authors are Beverly Jenkins, Eric Jerome Dickey, Lisa Kleypas, J.R. Ward and Suzanne
Brockmann.
A New Jersey native, and the mother of two adult daughters, Chicki and her husband reside in suburban Atlanta, Georgia.
BPM: Introduce us to Hot Fun in the Summertime. On Kindle or Nook?
After thirteen years in Hollywood,
Alicia Day is ready to give up on her dream of becoming a movie star. A call from a woman in Detroit claiming to be her half sister couldn't have come at a better time, and Alicia decides to return to her hometown to meet her. 
Electa Rome Parks
currently resides outside Atlanta, Georgia. After successfully self-publishing her debut novel, The Ties That Bind, New American Library, a division of Penguin Group, bought the rights. Electa signed a three-book deal with New American Library. All three books were immediately chosen as Black Expressions Book Club main selections and embraced as Books of the Month by book clubs across the country. Dubbed a "book club favorite," avid readers have embraced Electa's true to life characters that tackle prevalent and heavy hitting issues.
BPM: Who do you want to reach with True Confessions and the message within?
Minnie E. Miller
is a seasoned writer by age, not by the number of books written. She’s 74 years old and has written three books. Two more are pending. She retired in 1999 from the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco, California. She traveled to U.S. cities and abroad returning to her native home in Chicago’s Hyde Park community. “Whispers from the Mirror” is her latest novel.
BPM: Introduce us to your book and the main characters.
On Kindle or Nook?
New York Times bestselling writer
Connie May Fowler is an essayist, screenwriter, and novelist. She is the author of five novels, most recently The Problem with Murmur Lee, and a memoir, When Katie Wakes. In 1996, she published Before Women Had Wings, which became a paperback bestseller and was made into a successful Oprah Winfrey Presents movie. She founded the Connie May Fowler Women With Wings Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding women and children in need. Connie lives in Florida.
Ella: How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
Ella: Jacqueline, what makes you powerful as a
writer? Who are your mentors?
Ella: I so enjoyed
the BAN Radio exclusive interview with you and Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Wench. At this time, I would like to offer readers a chance to experience this wonderful event too!
Ella: How do you think Tina Turner feels about this tribute to her success? How did you select her as your muse/mentor?
IRIS GOMEZ is the author of the novel TRY TO REMEMBER (Grand Central May 2010) and of two poetry collections, Housicwhissick Blue (Edwin Mellen Press 2003) and When Comets Rained (CustomWords 2005). An award-winning writer, she is also a nationally-respected public interest immigration lawyer and law school lecturer. She was born in Cartagena, Colombia and presently lives in the Boston area.
Ella: Who were your favorite characters? Are your characters
a portrayal of real people?
In the tradition of Dennis Lehane and Greg Iles comes a powerful new voice in American fiction: Attica Locke delivers a brilliant debut thriller readers will not soon forget…
Ella:
Introduce us to your book,
Gwendolyn Zepeda began her writing career on the Web in 1997 and has won praise and awards for her short stories, poetry, and children’s books. Her first novel,
Houston, We Have a Problema was critically acclaimed for its wit and upbeat story.
Booklist calls Zepeda’s latest novel, Lone Star Legend (Grand Central Publishing, 2010) “fresh and smart” and Publishers Weekly says she “gives readers a funny and smart heroine that readers will easily pull for."
Ella:
Ella:
Kitty please tell us a little about yourself.
Nicole S. Rouse developed a passion for writing at a young age. Happily Ever Now (Urban Christian, 2007), her debut novel, received the EDC Creations 2008 Best Book Award. Someone to Love Me (Urban Christian, 2009) was picked up by the Black Expressions Book Club® before its release date. Be Careful What
You Pray For (Urban Christian, 2010) is the third novel released October 26, 2010. 
BPM:
Introduce us to your book, 
Dahlma
Llanos-Figueroa was born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York City.
She taught in the New York City School system before becoming a young adult
librarian. Her experiences in Puerto Rico and the South Bronx, as well
as her African heritage form the basis of her work. Dahlma has won
the Bronx Council on the Arts ACE and BRIO Awards, as well as a Literary Arts
Fellowship. She still lives in the Bronx. She can be contacted through
her web page at 
BPM:
Vanessa Miller of Dayton, Ohio, is a best-selling author, playwright, and motivational speaker. Her stage productions include: Get You Some Business, Don’t Turn Your Back on God, and Can’t You Hear Them Crying. Vanessa is currently in the process of turning the novels in the Rain Series into stage productions. Vanessa's latest release,
Yesterday’s Promise, was #1 on BCNN April 2010 bestsellers list. 
BPM: What specific revelation prompted you to write this book?
Dwan Abrams is a full-time novelist and freelance editor. She currently writes for Urban Books/Kensington. She’s the award-winning, best-selling author of My Mother’s Child, Married Strangers, Divorcing the Devil, Only True Love Waits, and The Scream Within. Her sixth novel will be released by Urban Books/Kensington in 2011. She’s the founder/facilitator of the Just Write! Workshop. Additionally, she’s the founder, publisher, and editorial director of Nevaeh Publishing, a small press independent publishing house. She was inducted into “Who’s Who” in Black Atlanta in 2006 and again in 2010. 
BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book? 
Shelia M. Goss is the national best-selling author of six women's fiction novels:
Hollywood Deception, His Invisible Wife, My Invisible Husband, Roses are thorns, Paige’s Web, Double Platinum and three young adult books: The Lip Gloss Chronicles series:
The Ultimate Test, Splitsville, and Paper Thin. 
Nakia R. Laushaul is employed as a Finance Administrator. She is a poet, novelist, and inspirational blogger. In her free time she enjoys performing her poetry and hanging out with her teenage son. Nakia serves on the Board of Directors for a non-profit,
KCCP, that was created to encourage arts participation in youth. Nakia is committed to challenging everyone in her reach to find compassion and empathy in the differences that exist among us all. 
Ella:
What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book? 
Tia Stewart is an award-winning African-American writer whose penchant for verbiage started in the fifth grade when her teachers thought she was passing handwritten notes about boys, but she and her best friend were editing each other’s books and magazine articles. Her first publication,
Colors of a Man: Transgressions and Hope was published in April 2009 as an
eBook on Amazon. She writes in several genres, but poetry is her passion.
BPM: Does your work offer a glimpse into your philosophy of life? 
With
fierce competition for limited jobs, many people wonder if they will be able
to land a good job. Unfortunately, the economic
situation feels like a bad dream. With a weak job growth, many U.S. jobs
will continue to be outsourced globally or automated through technology. In
fact, the government estimates that an additional 1.2 manufacturing jobs
will disappear by 2018. 
America has continued to learn how to deal with strong women during the great demographic shift in history. Corporate America celebrates media moguls like Oprah Winfrey. According to Fortune Magazine, 15 Fortune 500 companies are run by women. In fact, women of color are showing others how to break traditional barriers. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice transformed how powerful women can lead major government sectors. In fact, there is a long list of successful women in all types of institutions. 
The Career Strategy
Do you enjoy your job? If you feel under-utilized in your organization, you are not alone. 
Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond has written for AOL, The Village Voice, Metro and Trace. Her short story "Bush Girl" was published in the May 2008 issue of African Writing and her poem, "The Whinings of a Seven Sister Cum Laude Graduate Working Bored as an Assistant," was published in 2006's Growing up Girl Anthology. 
BPM:
Powder Necklace is loosely based on your own personal experience attending school in Ghana. How much of your story is part of Lila’s?
So I began the tale you will read in the first installment of the Taj trilogy—The Twentieth Wife and went on to write The Feast of Roses also before I looked for representation. These two novels, the stories of Empress Nur Jahan’s life, were stories I stumbled upon while reading about the Mughal harems during my last year of graduate school and they stayed with me after I had finished my degrees.
Ella: Introduce us to your book, 
Ella: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? 
Ella: Introduce us to your book,
How to Escape from a Leper Colony, and the main characters. Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
Ella:
Are your characters from the portrayal of real people? Do you specific
characteristics from friends?
Folake
Taylor, MD was born in the United Kingdom to Nigerian-born parents in the
early 70s and was raised in both countries before settling in the United
States to live the American dream. She is a 2006 graduate of the Internal
Medicine Residency Program of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA.
Taylor obtained her initial medical degree from Nigeria. Taylor is a member of
the American College of Physicians (ACP) and is board certified by the
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).
The
Only Way is Up: The Journey of an Immigrant 
Black Orchids History
BPM: Share with us the history of the organization.
The
Regal Sisterhood was founded in October 2005 by Misty Irby, on the premise of
fostering new friendships around a common activity--- reading. 
A
Book Club’s Best Friend
Marriage
in the Black community has become an enigma—filled with too many questions
and too few answers. Once a clearly valued staple of Black family life, research
reveals marital erosion. In the fall of 2009, scholars from the Institute for
American Values in conjunction with the 
Today, I want to sing at the top of the rafters and proclaim these words again to our youth, to those who don’t know anything about the struggle that were endured so that we can enjoy the opportunities we have today as a people. I want to somehow convince our young men and women that we are unique, divine, and special. We are victors and not victims. What will it take for us to stop black on black crime? What can we who know the struggle, who’ve lived the history of our people, do to help make a difference that will leave an indelible mark on our young people?
No attention? I know this is not coming from you because your friends and family are ecstatic at the fact that you’ve written a book and are a published author. Your former high school English instructor and her current writer’s guild have been following you as you’ve become versed in article publishing and blogging. Meanwhile, your name has a certain “buzz” attached to it via the internet and your popularity has been increasing gradually.
Today, Wahida operates her printing & publishing company out of East Orange, New Jersey, Wahida Clark Presents Publishing. Her first releases include: Trust No Man 1 & 2 by Cash, Thirsty by Mike Sanders, Cheetah by Missy Jackson, Karma With A Vengeance by Tash Hawthorne and The Ultimate Sacrifice by Anthony Fields. 
Just
as liquids are important to flush toxins from your system as you diet, a similar
approach can trim the bulge in your budget. Americans have been bingeing on debt
and according to the Federal Reserve Board have racked up more than 2.26 billion
dollars in consumer debt. 
To
everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
This is taken from a well known passage of scripture, Ecclesiastes 3:1 King
James Version to be exact. I have found this verse to be true with each moment
that passes in my life. There was a time when I felt like I would never reach
the pinnacle of success that I have achieved in my literary career. There were
times I would cry and ask God, “When is my time?” I have learned through
living that there is a time for everything, even when it comes to the ordinary
things of life. Even when it comes to my writing, there is a time for
everything. 
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with us your news, events and articles.
The
Black Pearls Magazine 