Posted on Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Why I Did I Get Married? I am a member of the Happy Wives Club…

This post is part of the Happy Wives Club Blog Tour which I am delighted to be a part of along with hundreds of inspiring bloggers. To learn more and join us, CLICK HERE!

Hello World,

So five months into a new marriage, I am hardly qualified to be a marriage expert…But I can happily tell you why I got married and why I love my husband. First of all, you must know I have always wanted to be married and although my parents have been happily married for over 40 years, I did not know how to create that reality in my own life. God had to bring me through various situations in order for me to be ready to accept the gift of my wonderful husband Robert into my life.

What are these various situations? Well, I had to date and kiss a few frogs before my prince was revealed. Okay, maybe that is unfair because all of them weren’t bad guys…but I will say this…I started off with a looong list of qualities and attributes that through trial and error were honed down to the absolute essentials. And in God’s infinite wisdom, God revealed some qualities and attributes I didn’t even know that I needed. One of my husband’s best qualities is his kindness coupled with his “man strength.” My husband is a tall and big guy and one would expect him to be tough because of his exterior. He also jokes that sometimes when he walks into a room, he feels like the “big black guy.” He is tough, but what people don’t expect is how kind he is. We’ve had a cold spell in the A for the last few days and my husband has been worried about a homeless man he befriended. He checked on him yesterday to make sure that he was okay, and he brings him food periodically.

I also love my husband’s demonstration of his faith. When I was dating, I had the hardest time meeting a Christian man that I didn’t think was a simp or just plain weird. Many Christian guys that I met over the years quoted so much scripture and had such a long list of things they didn’t do that I was like, you are too heavenly for any earthly good. I ended up dating some guys that weren’t Christians, and I hoped they would see the light so to speak. That didn’t work either. My husband is totally committed to God. He beats me out of the house to go to Sunday School and church on Sundays and considers God’s will in all of his decisions. But when we are not in church and around “good church folk,” we know how to kick it and have a good time.

Lastly, my husband is all in when it comes to supporting my dreams and has brought out the best in me. My favorite memory of my husband during our dating is when I called him crying. I was working on my first book, and the most important celebrity interview in the book looked like it wasn’t going to happen after all. My then boyfriend told me to call that person back and tell the person I absolutely had to have that interview. Although I was crying and trying to hide it, I called that person back and said what Robert told me to say. I think it was my tears (that I couldn’t really hide) that convinced that person to have pity on me and schedule the interview after all.

So these are a few of the reasons why I got married and love my husband. I married my husband because he is God’s choice for me, and we enrich each other’s lives. He makes me better, and I make him better. Now, as this is our first year of being married, we are experiencing some growing pains (I’m learning how to cook for a man and be somewhat neat – both works in progress 🙂 ), but it’s all good…

Any thoughts?

Fawn Weaver, the founder of the Happy Wives Club wrote a book about the best marriage secrets the world has to offer. They say the book is like “Eat, Pray, Love meets The 5 Love Languages.” I say the book is inspiring. You can grab a copy HERE .

Check out this video to see more about the book…

Posted on Wednesday, October 30, 2013

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

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 Wednesday, October 16, 2013

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!

Any thoughts?