Category Archives: Book Notes

Posted on

A NEW YEAR IS HERE…And what are you gonna do about it?

Hello World, valorieandnewhubby

I know I haven’t written about it yet, but I am well aware that God has blessed us to see a New Year – 2014...It takes me a month of prayer and meditation to discern what resolutions and or goals that God wants to help me reach for this year so I’m not quite ready to write a New Year’s Goals or Resolutions post yet…but I found this great blog post by (the recently married 🙂 Congrats!) Valorie Burton, a life coach and author, that I interviewed in my book “After the Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God.” Enjoy….

“What is it finally time for you to do?” It’s a great question for the beginning of the year. Perhaps there is something you’ve been talking about doing, thinking about doing, even daydreaming about doing. And in 2014, it’s time to make a move! A few years ago, I discovered a scripture in Ecclesiastes 5:3 that inspires me whenever I get stuck in a rut of over-thinking my vision in a particular area of my life:

“A dream comes through much activity, but a fool is known by his many words.”

Whether your dream is related to your work, relationships, finances, health or spiritual life, it will only come to life when you take action! So what is it time for you to take action on? Consider these examples to help you identify what it’s time for you to take action on in 2014:

Your Work

– Is it time to change jobs? Change careers? Ask for a raise? Launch your own business? Take your existing business to a new level.

Your Relationships

– Is it time to move past fears or past heartbreaks so that you are healthy and ready for love in your life? Is it time to forgive a family member or friend against whom you’ve been holding a grudge? Is it time to carve out more time for the people you love? Is there a conversation that’s long overdue?

Your Finances

– Is it time to stop using those credit cards that you don’t pay in full every month? Is it time to set up an automatic debit from your checking into an investment account so that you can finally bring your savings goals to life this year? Is it time to take action towards getting more (and better) clients or customers? Is it time to stop spending money to impress others?

Your Health

– Is it finally time to get serious about exercising consistently? Or is it time to cut back on the sugar or fried foods, or add more vegetables to your diet?

Your Spiritual Life

– Is it time to trust God in a particular situation or area of your life? Do you finally need to find a “church home” that nourishes you in the way that you need to be nourished? Is it time to get serious about studying the Word?

Whatever it’s finally time for you to do, make a decision this week to do it. It’s not about creating a New Year’s resolution. It’s about making a shift and recognizing that the time has come for a change. If you ignore the need for a change when it’s time, you will find yourself increasingly frustrated with the situation. Often God will allow you to get frustrated so that you will finally become fed up enough to do something about it! Your dreams can come true, but your job is to take action! It begins with a decision and continues with each step you take forward.

It is essential not to begin the year by overwhelming yourself with multiple, large changes and goals. Get clear about what’s most important and focus your actions on it.

My challenge to you this week:

Identify the “thing” that it is finally time for you to do. Then take action!

Journaling assignment:

What has kept me from taking action on this particular circumstance or issue in the past? What will I need to do differently to make it easier for me to accomplish my goal? What is my goal in this area for 2014? Leave your comments below, I’d love to hear from you!

Last year, my major goal was to plan a beautiful engagement/wedding/honeymoon and start a wonderful new life with my husband, and God really blew me away…Thank you God! This year, my major career goal is to finish my first novel, etc. which I must confess is really challenging me…but I am working on it although I have the worst habit of taking on too many things at once and being a procrastinator at the same time…a deadly combo…So in the words of Valorie Burton, what is the “the ‘thing’ that it is finally time for you to do?”

Any thoughts?

Below is a video of Valorie Burton speaking about her latest book “Happy Women Live Better.”

Posted on

So You Want To Write a Book?

Hello World, 

I have wanted to be a book author since I learned how to read! Thankfully, my dream was realized in 2012 when my first book “After the Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God” was released. And now I’m working on my second book – a novel about four women (three who are single and one who is married) searching for lasting love in Atlanta, the media-proclaimed capital of the tragic single black female. It’s my love letter to single black women and the A and an ode of sorts to my single years in the A…More to come…

If you have ever dreamed of writing a book, you need to check out this FREE conference this weekend! Presenting SORMAG’s Online Conference 2013 which will be held Nov. 1-3. Below is more information about the conference. I will be participating in three panels: “Meet the Christian Author,” “Networking” and “Marketing.” For more information about the conference and to register, go to this link.

DAY 1 – New Writers – November 1  sormag

Online Panels – These panels will be hosted on the blog.

Editing

1. Dyanne Davis

2. Alice Wootson

3. Rose Jackson-Beavers

4. Cindy Matthews

5. Rae Lori

6. Sherelle Green

Turning an Idea into a Book

1. Leslie J. Sherrod

2. Alice Wootson

3. Nathasha Brooks

4. Angel de Amor

5. Sherelle Green

6. Dorcas Graham

Ask The Author

1. Abiola Abrams

2. Leslie J. Sherrod

3. Alice Wootson

4. Serenity King

5. Cindy Matthews

6. Rae Lori

7. Barbara Joe Williams

Creating An Ebook

1. Pat Simmons

2. Lyn Cote

3. Rae Lori

4. Terri J. Haynes

5. TL James

6. Tremayne Moore

How to Start a Street Team

1. Piper Huguley

2. LaShaunda Hoffman

Time Management

1.Shelia Goss

Meet The Publisher

Gwen Hayes – Entangled

Suzanne Hartmann – Castle Gate Press

Andrea Wilson – Divine Garden Press

Live Panels – These panels will be hosted live on the phone.

Why Your Kindle Book Isn’t Selling – 7pm central time

1.Cheryl Ferguson – The Ferguson Literary Agency

How To Start a Writer’s Group – 8 pm central time

1. LaShaunda C. Hoffman

2. Terri J. Haynes

3. Piper Huguley

4. Frances Frost

5. Ann Fields

The Business Side Of Writing – 9 pm central time

1. Jennifer Cole AKA – Parker J Cole

2. Serenity King

3. Dorcas Graham

4. TL James

5. Piper Huguley

6. Dr. Linda Beed

DAY 2 – Readers- November 2

Online Panels – These panels will be hosted on the blog.

Meet The Christian Author

1. Pat Simmons

2. Leslie J. Sherrod

3. Lyn Cote

4. Rose Jackson-Beavers

5. Jacqueline Holness

6. Pastor Danyelle Scroggins

7. Dr. Linda Beed

Meet The Romance Author

1. Ann Clay

2. Dyanne Davis

3. Serenity King

4. Angel de Amor

5. Sherelle Green

6. Savannah J

7. Barbara Joe Williams

8. Rochelle Alers

Meet The Mainstream Author

1. Abiola Abrams

2. Shelly Ellis

3. Cheryl Lacey Donovan

4. Makenzi

5. Nevea Lane

6. Rita Karnopp

7. Marissa Monteilh

Meet The Non- Fiction Author

1. LaTara Bussey

2. D.S. White

3. Andrea Wilson

4. Abiola Abrams

5. Arnita L. Fields

6. Janice R. Love

7. Yvette Bentley

Meet The Poet

1.GPA

Live Panels – These panels will be hosted live on the phone.

How to Review A Book – 4pm central time

1. Dorcas Graham

2. Terri J. Haynes

3. Tremayne

4. Piper Huguley

5. Rita Karnopp

6. Michelle Monkou

7. Ella Curry

How To Keep A Book Club Going – 5 pm central time

1. Savannah J

2. Frances Frost

3. TaNisha Webb

Social Media and Readers – 6 pm central time

1. Abiola Abrams

2. Tremayne Moore

3. M.J. Kane

4. Tyora Moody

5. Ella Curry

6. LaShaunda Hoffman

DAY 3 – Published Authors – November 3

Online Panel – These panels will be hosted on the blog.

Using Kindle Author Platform

1. Lyn Cote

2. Nevea Lane

3. Shelia M. Goss

4. AlTonya Washington

Writing Sequels

1. Angelia Menchan

2. Shelly Ellis

3. Dyanne Davis

4. Angel de Amor

5. Pat G’Orge Walker

6. TL James

Blog Tour Providers

1. Paulette Harper

2. Renee Williams

3. Cheryl Lacey Donovan

4. Nevea Lane

5. Ella Curry

Networking

1.Jacqueline Holness

2. LaShaunda C. Hoffman

3. Makenzi

4. Ella Curry

5. Barbara Joe Williams

6. Lisa Y. Watson

7. Makasha Dorsey

8. Yvette Bentley

Always On Stage

1.Angela Breidenbach

Live Panels – These panels will be hosted live on the phone.

How To Work With a Book Club – 4 pm central time

1. Savannah J

2. Ella Curry

3. TaNisha Webb

Indie Publishing Panel -5 pm central time

1. Ann Clay

2. Rose Jackson-Beavers

3. Ruthie Robinson

4. Frances Frost

5. Rita Karnopp

6. Stephanie Casher

7. Marissa Monteilh

8. Dr. Linda Beed

Marketing – 6 pm central time

1. LaShaunda C. Hoffman

2. Jacqueline Holness

3. Paulette Harper

4. M.J. Kane

5. Cheryl Lacey Donovan

6. Ella Curry

Any thoughts?

Posted on

I’m In Love With a Church Girl (GIVEAWAY)

Hello World,

As a pastor’s daughter who was in church every Sunday and every Wednesday and who couldn’t go to parties until I was in college, I looked forward to the day I could break out! I wanted to do whateva I wanted to do with anyone I wanted to do it with…Dating a “bad boy” was at the top of my list! Now that I’m 40 and married and a devoted Christian woman on my own terms, I’ve outgrown my need to be a wild child, but every once in a while, I’m reminded of just how I felt back then…

That’s why when I heard about about this new movie “I’m In Love With a Church Girl” at Blogalicious earlier this month, I was intrigued….Below is a synopsis of the movie from imbd.com.

Miles Montego (Ja Rule) has it all – cars, boats, good looks, mansion, money, women, but more importantly, he has a past. Miles is a retired high level drug trafficker who is now completely legitimate. Even though Miles has turned over a new leaf, the DEA can’t seem to let him out of their sights. Miles’ only downfall is that he is extremely loyal to his circle of friends and former colleagues who are not retired from the lucrative business.

Struggling to keep on the right side of the law, Miles meets the one girl of his dreams but she’s not the usual type of girl that he’s used to dating. Vanessa (Adrienne Bailon) is a church girl in every sense of the word. They are tested to their last ounce of faith and strength in God and each other. God continues to chip away at Miles through struggles from his past, having to live up to his reputation, feelings of unworthiness, the death of his mother, federal charges, his friends being indicted, the strain on his relationship with Vanessa, almost losing her in a near fatal car accident, and finally the spiritual breakdown and one on one with God that brings Miles to his knees.

Sounds intriguing, right? Well, Adrienne Bailon, who stars as Vanessa stopped by Blogalicious to promote the movie and tell all of the bloggers about herself. As someone who has interviewed hundreds of people at this point in my journalism career and has not been impressed with some Hollywood types, I was really impressed with her fun and unaffected personality…

Here are a few quotes from her interview with Stacey Ferguson, Blogalicious co-founder –

  • On being confused with being one of the Kardashians – “I’m not a Kardashian. I’m from New York. My mom works at Cornell Medical. My mom is from Puerto Rico, and my dad is from Ecuador.”
  • On being a ‘church girl’ – “I grew up in church singing. I was saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost… My father was the worship leader.”
  • On being discovered – “I thought I wanted to be an obstetrician so I had an internship at Beth Israel. This guy came up to me one day and said, ‘Yo ma, you sing?’ I sang ‘His Eye is on the Sparrow.’ He told me about an audition for a girl group.  That was in April, and by August, I had a record deal with Tommy Mottola for 3LW. After that was the Cheetah Girls. It was very random.”
  • On being a star – “When you come from not having much, I feel so grateful. I’m not special, but I’ve been given special opportunities.”
  • On being grounded – “I have an incredible family. I don’t have a mom that is my manager. She works in the pharmacy department at Cornell, and she still says sometimes, ‘You know we have great [medical] packages!”
  • On being a Sunday School graduate – “I learned in Sunday School that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. [Romans 8:28]”
  • On her ‘Church Girl’ co-star rapper Ja Rule who plays Miles – “I known Ja for years. 3LW was the opening act for Ja Rule. People don’t know that Ja Rule has been married for 12 years, and he has three children. He is married to his high school sweetheart!”
  • On her role as Vanessa in ‘Church Girl’ – “Vanessa goes against stereotypes of being a Christian. I wore my own clothes. Jesus didn’t say we couldn’t be fly! I love that she was sassy, she was witty, she was fun. She is Christlike. She is non-judgmental, and she shows unconditional love. It’s a great love story…It is a movie with a message of hope and faith. It shows that your past does not determine your future.”
  • On sending Hollywood a message – “As a consumer, you dictate what is in the box office. We can send a message to Hollywood that we want more faith-based movies. And this movie can compete with mainstream movies. Your cousins Chachi and Hosea didn’t come with their camcorder to film this movie.”  LOL!!! Love it!

The movie (which also stars T-Bone, Stephen Baldwin, Toby Mac, Michael Madsen, Vincent Pastore and Martin Kove) comes out THIS FRIDAY, Oct. 18!  Below is a trailer from the movie….

Also, I received a ‘Church Girl’ t-shirt and a copy of the novel “I’m in Love With a Church Girl” by Ryan Phillips with Galley Molina, writer and executive producer of the film. Actually, the film is based on the life of Galley Molina…If you would like to receive the t-shirt and the novel, name three famous church girls, whether fictional or real, who have fallen in love with bad boys! If you are first to tell me in the comments, I will mail the items to you! You’re welcome!

002

Any thoughts?