The Next Big Thing…aka My Next Book in Progress…

Hello World,

Senalda in my next book

Senalda in my next book

I’m never been one to participate in chain letters, but sometimes you have to stretch yourself a bit to grow sooo…I’m taking the plunge to participate in a writer chain letter where different writers tag one another and write about “the next big thing” that they are working on…It’s an exercise to help us formulate our ideas around our next books in progress and promote other writers at the same time…So I will answer questions about my next book and at the end of this post, you will see information about other writers…Those writers will then post about “the next big thing” they are working on and on and on…Get it?

Tempestt would be a great Jarena!

What is the working title of your book?  I’m not sure yet…It’s about being a single black woman in Atlanta in particular and a single black woman anywhere in general…

Where did the idea for the book come from? My journey as a single black woman…Now that I’m about to be married and entering into another phase in my life, I feel I want to capture the feeling of being single and wanting romantic love while I can still taste it…so to speak…

What genre does the book fall under? Literary fiction

Which actors would you choose to play the characters? Senalda, Malinda Williams; Jarena, Tempestt Bledsoe; Mimi, Goapele; and Whitney, Essence Atkins…I will have more main characters, but these are the ones I have so far…

Goapele as Mimi…

What is a one sentence synopsis? I’m looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can’t-live-without-each-other love…Okay, so this is not one sentence…And these aren’t my words…these are the words of Carrie Bradshaw from my all-time favorite show “Sex and the City.” And yes, my next big thing is partly inspired by this show…

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? I’m not sure yet. I’m open to God’s plan…

How long did it take you to write the first draft? I want to write the whole thing in six months, preferably by my wedding date…Really, I’ve been writing this book since I was 30 years old so it should come pretty easily…Lord please…Also, I am starting to work with a critique group tomorrow so hopefully that will get me going…y’all pray for me…

Whitney in my next big thing…

What other books would you compare it to? I’m not sure yet…Am I being vague? Yes…I don’t really like to share the dish while I’m still cooking it, but I thought it would be cool to get some feedback while I can rework things…

Who or what inspired it? Chile, love.

What else about your book will pique the reader’s interest? I intend for this to be my love letter to single ladies all over…Although I will be married in a few months, I will treasure my single journey forever…after all, we came in this world alone and that is how we will leave it… I pray this book will be available in 2014. Please check out some of my author friends to see what they are up to…

“hallucination” is a story about unexpected occurrences and how they can stop your life and change it whether you are ready for change or not. This is a story of surviving some of life’s unavoidable miseries and coming out on the other side, a little wiser and a little closer to yourself. “hallucination” is a story of regular life, sudden illness and irregular outcomes. “hallucination” is NOT a story about being sick. It’s a story of becoming well…inside and out…Check out Kim Green at hallucinationthenovel.com. (By the way, she invited me to participate in “The Next Big Thing.”)

When former chart-topper Tiffany Knightly learns that she’s dying from cancer, she leaves behind her plush California lifestyle to return to Hempstead, New York, with Karlie, her reluctant teenaged daughter. Her fans think she has simply gone home to die, but Tiffany has another mission. She desperately wishes she could leave her past in the past,
but in order to secure her daughter’s future, she must tear open past wounds…This is from the book “Sing A New Song” by debut author Michelle Lindo-Rice…Check out Michelle Lindo-Rice at michellelindorice.com.

Ciara is an ambitious freshman, sure that life will only get better as she joins her long-time boyfriend at Aurbor Grove University. Before the first day of class, she’s hit with a tragedy and finds herself at the center of controversy. Raised by a no-nonsense, Christian grandmother, going to college is a non-negotiable for Nick. Once there, the study hard, play harder culture awakens a dangerous addiction that could not only cause him to lose his scholarship, but his livelihood. “Don’t Let Me Fall” is the first in The Village Series by L. Michelle…Check L. Michelle out at TheVillagebyLMichelle.com.

Any thoughts?

 

What To Do When Your Friends Get Married…

Hello World!

One of my fave brides and her bridesmaids...Their friendship didn't change too much after Carrie got married...but this is fiction so...

It’s Hump Day! Yay! I cannot believe I have become one of those pathetic old fogies that lives for the weekends. Remember back in college when every day had the potential to be a weekend?..those days are so gone…oh well…

Speaking of college, I pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated in Spring 1995! (Oo-oop Sorors!) I remember my roommate and one of my best guy friends at the time worried that I would change after I crossed (became a Delta). I assured them that I was once a geek and would always be a geek – even it I did secretly hope that I would be a better-dressed geek at the least. After I crossed, I was still cool with everyone – but I must confess that I did change. I traded in my thick braids for a short Halle Berry haircut, and I switched my glasses for contacts. And my wardrobe became more fly as well.  So my secret wish did come true with the help of my more fashionable sorors. But to my surprise, I changed on the inside as well. I did not shun my roommate or my best guy friend, but I did gain a whole new circle of friends – my line sisters and other sorors. As a result, I had to  divide my time between more friends which did not leave as much time as I once had for my roommate and best guy friend. (My guy friend accused me of walking around campus randomly chanting, “I love my DST!” LOL) I didn’t mean anything by it. It just happened…

So that was a long intro into today’s topic. In the last five years or so, friend after friend, guys and girls, are getting married…and I’m happy for all of them. But I must confess that I do feel a sense of loss. I called one of my newly married friends about a month ago, and she still hasn’t called me back yet. Instead of a call, a week or so ago, I received a thank you card which was actually a photograph montage of her and her new hubby from the wedding. So I guess it’s like that now, huh?

One of my friends just stopping hanging cold turkey many months before her and her new hubby got hitched. Another one of my newly married friends has moved away. She didn’t move away because she got married, but I cannot help but think she was more open to the idea of moving away because she has a new best friend that will go with her anywhere. I asked that same friend what she was going to do one weekend day, and she replied that her and her hubby were going to be in pajamas all day and just watch TV. Gag me with a spoon! (Just kidding!) One of my newly married friends is still pretty much the same. She still likes to kick it and hang and even talk on the phone, but she is the minority. Do I sound like I’m bitter? I’m not. And thankfully, I have a boyfriend or manfriend or whatever you call a guy you are dating after you are 35 who I get to get all booed up with too…but it’s still kind of weird to see all of this happen around me…So I have a few questions for you married folks, but sometimes I just don’t know how to act with y’all anymore.

  1. Should I assume that you no longer want to hang on the weekends anymore as a general rule? Let a girl know because no one likes rejection…
  2. When is a good time to call you? Are you and your hubby relaxing in bed as of 8 p.m.? Should I not call before 10 a.m. on Saturday mornings because you and your hubby are still in bed? Can I call you late at night if I have a problem and I need to vent?
  3. Do you now prefer your married girlfriends over me now? Do you still want to go on vacays with the girls? Or do you prefer your vacays with your hubby?
  4. Do you have dinner every weeknight with your hubby, or are you still available some weeknights for a quick dinner?
  5. If I leave a voice mail for you, how long will it take you to get back to me?
  6. Can you still go to slumber parties at your girls’ house? One of my friend’s husbands was not so excited about my friend staying out all night for the slumber parties that my girls have periodically…I think he’s over it now once he realized that it’s really harmless i.e. we are really not at the club looking for guys…we are actually just chillin’ in our pajamas at someone’s house…
  7. How long can we kick it at your house? Do we get kicked out by a certain time, or is your husband cool with us kicking it till the break of dawn?
  8. Can you still go to parties with your girls?
  9. Can I still discuss all of my single girl woes with you, or do you now want to only focus on married bliss?
  10. Do you still love me? LOL…

For real dough, it’s not that serious since my life is changing too, but these are questions that have my crossed my mind. So married people tell me what’s up…

Any thoughts?

Count Your Many Blessings…(aka Happy Thanksgiving 2010!)

Hello World,

Jenise & her new hubby on their big day...

I know the day after tomorrow, the United States will be awash in the commencement of the Christmas season. And it is the most wonderful time of the year, but I think the Lord does want us to celebrate His many blessings that He has lavished on us…And Thanksgiving is the perfect time to do so…The best way that I know to celebrate His many blessings is to count them or make a gratitude list…And let me share a secret with you…When life is hard and nothing seems to be going the way that you had expected or hoped for, making a gratitude list has an uncanny way of reminding you that your circumstances could be worse, thus inspiring hope for the future…And without further introduction, I present my Top 20 gratitude list for 2010…(in no particular order…)

1. Jehovah-Rohi(My Shepherd), Jehovah-Jireh(My Provider) and Jehovah-Shalom(My Peace). I’m thankful for the relationship I have with the Lord, who is my savior and my friend. Even when I don’t understand His ways, which is often, I just couldn’t live on this Earth without Him…

Jenise's bridesmaids on the way to the wedding in the limo...

2. The sermon I heard on New Year’s Eve about Joshua finally leading the Israelites into the Promised Land after they wandered for 40 years in the desert…This sermon inspired me to claim my entrance into my own personal promised land this year, and it is happening saints, Hallelujah!

3. My family. I don’t know how people live hundreds of miles away from their loved ones…My family is my rock…

4. R, who has been my biggest cheerleader this year…

5. The wedding of Jenise, one of my best friends…After suffering a heartbreaking relationship loss years ago, she is finally the wife to a man who truly loves her…

6. All of my girls…you know who you are…

7. Nevaeh Publishing LLC

8. Tiffany Warren and The Faith & Fiction Retreat

9. My favorite author, Catherine Marshall, whose words and influence continue to inspire me even after her death…

10. My job…

11. Traveling mercies…

The beautiful bride...

12. My formal financial coach who has taught the value of keeping track of every penny and making the best use of my resources…

13. My various spiritual and religious communities…

14. My line sister, Lola, who has an incredible story of hope, faith & victory…

15. Inspired Sistah, whose words and encouragement has inspired me to live on top of the world…Go Tangie Go!

16. All of my many adventures this year from covering the ABC News Nightline Face-Off”: Why Can’t a Successful Black Woman Find a Man? to calming down a chick who wanted to start a fight with one of my girls at the Phipps movie theater where we went to see Sex and the City 2. Hilarious…and pitiful at the same time…

17. The 31st Annual Christian Women’s Retreat. I thoroughly enjoyed being the featured speaker, particularly since I had to study this Bible verse…

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:1-2

18. My blog. Not only is it a way to satisfy some of my creative urges, I have learned so much from writing and the people who appreciate my writing…thank you very much…

19. Spiritual Discernment…

20. Books…They are one of the loves of my life…

Any thoughts?

All of us...