Obviously me and my soror and best-selling author Patricia Haley...

My apologies for not sticking to my usual blogging schedule, but you know how busy the summer months can get…Anywho, I’m back y’all and ready to blog it out…(corny, right? ) 

Sooo I’m back from Ponte Verda Beach (near Jacksonville), Florida where I attended the 2011 Faith & Fiction Retreat which was held at the luxe Sawgrass Marriott Spa and Resort!  I had a wonderful time hobnobbing with authors, reconnecting with friends, making new friends and – plugging my book!

Yes, you read that right! My new book “After the Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God” will be published next year!!! I am being published by Nevaeh Publishing! And if you have read my blog for a while, you know I’ve been hoping, wishing, praying and working for this dream to come true for a looooooong time!

Apparently, the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa is home to one of the top the PGA golf courses...

Below is my summary of my book…

After the Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God is a fresh, real and relevant how-to manual for African- American Christian women who desire to move past the “church speak” and into an intimate relationship with their Creator. What makes this book unique from other “relationship with God” books is that this book is written from an African-American perspective and spans a variety of issues typically not included in one book – from being thrice-married to leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

As a seasoned journalist, Jacqueline has interviewed black women from diverse backgrounds to discover what having a personal relationship with God is truly about – beyond the initial “come to Jesus” moment typically associated with the altar call experience. She has given you a rare, personal look into the lives of these women, identified the precepts these women used to develop a personal relationship with God given their life experiences, and created a plan for you to craft your own relationship with the Father.

Y’all, I have interviewed some great women for this book! I interviewed Sherri Shepherd from “The View,” Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, the first woman elected to Episcopal office in A.M.E. history; Bishop Linda Lee, the first black woman to be elected as a bishop at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church;  and Valorie Burton, a certified personal and executive coach and author.

I also have interviewed many notable Christian fiction authors including Dwan  Abrams,  who also founded Nevaeh Publishing LLC; Tiffany Warren, who also started the Faith & Fiction Retreat; and LaTonya Mason Summers, who is also a licensed, professional counselor and the founding executive director of LifeSkills Counseling & Consulting.

Faith & Fiction Retreat founder Tiffany Warren & her husband Brent on the beach...

I have also interviewed some people who are well-known to us in the A including the Rev. Stephanie Bronner, who along with her husband, the Rev. James Bronner, wrote the book, Bedroom Talk: How to Turn Your Marriage Into a Lifelong Love Affair. Her husband is the youngest son in the legendary Bronner Bros. hair care dynasty. I also interviewed Melissa Summers, who was known as “Atlanta’s Girlfriend” as the former midday personality for V-103 and former host for KISS 104.1.

And y’all, I also interviewed 15 other phenomenal women for the book. I don’t want to give it all away in one blog post, but y’all will not be disappointed…

It was very special for me to tell everyone about my book at this year’s Faith & Fiction Retreat because I actually pitched my book to several publishing companies at last year’s Faith & Fiction Retreat, which was held in the A. Thankfully, Nevaeh Publishing wanted to publish my book. I feel sooo blessed! I signed my book contract in the fall of last year, and since then, I’ve been working on my book and trying to keep it a secret…

But now, I’m ready to tell y’all, and I intend to tell you what’s going on each step of the way right through to publication day. Right now, I’m choosing a book cover, and once that’s done, I will post it on the blog…Also, I’m fine-tuning my marketing and promotion plan…If you want to help me or have some great marketing & promotion ideas, don’t be a stranger. Comment and let me know…

Me & my Faith & Fiction roomie and author Leslie J. Sherrod on the way to the All-White Party...

Give Him Praise!!! Because the Lord Did It!!!

Any thoughts?

P.S. Friend me on Facebook (Jackie Holness) where I will be posting more pics from the retreat soon…

The post 2011 Faith & Fiction Retreat aka Debuting My NEW BOOK!!! appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Although summertime is the best time to hang out and have fun, it’s also the best time to relax with a good book…preferably on a white sand beach…fruity drink in hand…boo reclining next to you…

Since I’m an unabashed, lifelong bibliophile, let me share some of the books that I plan to peruse this summer…

1. “Have You Seen Her?” by Chicki Brown.  

 If she’d stayed any longer, her husband would have killed her.

 Frantic to escape his drug-induced brutality, socialite Marcia Hadley escapes Santa Barbara and flees to Atlantic City. She’s sold everything she owns, rents a seedy inner city apartment and attempts to disappear as Dani Reynolds, cocktail waitress at Frenzy, a neighborhood nightclub.

 Taylor Villanova, the club’s sexy multi-racial bouncer recognizes her naiveté and volunteers to teach her about surviving in the “hood.” Fearful and suspicious of men, Dani is at first repelled by his violent profession yet drawn to the compassionate nature that contradicts Taylor’s macho persona. But when her well-laid plans go awry, and Dani discovers someone is following her, she must put her complete trust in Taylor. Her time is running out.

I must confess Chicki Brown is one of my writer friends, and I am so proud of her! This e-book is available on Amazon, but you don’t have to buy a Kindle to read it. You can download the Kindle app for FREE for your PC or phone!

2. “A Woman’s Revenge” by Tiffany L. Warren, Sherri L. Lewis and Rhonda McKnight. 

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. “A Woman’s Revenge” contains the tales of revenge served up cold by three of your favorite Christian fiction authors. Will their desires for revenge take them too far?

I heard each of these authors read an excerpt of the book at the Faith & Fiction Retreat held in the A two weeks ago, and this book sounds like a perfect book to escape into on the beach…

3. “Bitch is the New Black: A Memoir” by Helena Andrews.

Political reporter Andrews assembles 16 autobiographical essays exploring her unconventional upbringing, academic and professional accomplishment and the challenges of being a successful, single black woman in Washington, D.C. The scathingly witty author examines a wide variety of topics that, beneath the jokes and sarcasm, address weighty issues (depression, aging, abortion) with wry astuteness. The “bitch” referred to in the title is an allusion to the tough veneer-perhaps subtly survivalist-that Andrews claims is necessary for a black woman who is often the only black woman in school or at work.

I first heard about this book at the “Why Can’t a Successful Black Woman Find a Man?” debate. Andrews was a featured audience member at the debate and was introduced to everyone. Apparently, Shonda Rhimes, executive producer of “Grey’s Anatomy,” has purchased the rights to the book and will produce a film based on it…Obviously I’m impressed. The title alone makes this book a must read…Read a good profile on Andrews here.

4.  “The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress” by William Jelani Cobb.

Don Mitchell thought he’d left DMI headquarters behind forever when he fled to South Africa after his dying father chose his younger, inexperienced half brother, Joel, to run the thriving family business. But after three years of self-imposed exile, he has returned to take over DMI at the gentle urging of beautiful Abigail, who was once his father’s assistant. His brother, Joel, plagued by a slew of illicit affairs and poor judgment, is plunging the business into ruin, and Don’s plans to secretly assume control of the ministry come into question when his estranged sister refuses to help him. Don must decide whether to face down his power-hungry brother to save the ministry his father worked so hard to build—and take a chance on an unrequited love he never dreamed Abigail would reciprocate—or return to South Africa to find refuge in his own thriving company and the budding romance he left behind. After much soul searching, Don comes to realize that his destiny is inescapable. Patricia Haley’s evocative modern-day interpretation of these popular biblical tales will keep readers riveted until the stunning conclusion.

“New York Times” best- selling author Kimberla Lawson Roby is Haley’s  first cousin and recommended the book!

6. “The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life’s Storms” by Kirk Franklin.

Seven-time Grammy® Award-winning Kirk Franklin did not start out with a “blueprint” for his life. Before the age of four, he and his sister were abandoned by their parents. His sister became a crack addict, but Kirk always knew he had to find another way, even without a positive example to model himself after. Now Kirk provides an inspiring blend of faith and grit, serving up wisdom on provocative topics, including:
•The true definition of manhood
•Why faith that only takes place in a church is dead
•Sex and the responsibilities of parenthood
•What it means to be “Christian moderate with swag” in the 21st century
and more.
The Blueprint takes faith out of the pews and delivers it into the real lives of all who struggle.

I met Kirk Franklin several years ago in Nashville at a gospel music convention, and he was really a down-to-earth, nice man!

7. “Losing My Cool: How a Father’s Love and 15,000 Books Beat Hip-Hop Culture” by Thomas Chatterton Williams.

A pitch-perfect account of how hip-hop culture drew in the author and how his father drew him out again-with love, perseverance, and fifteen thousand books.

Williams is the first of his generation to measure the seductive power of hip-hop against its restrictive worldview, which ultimately leaves those who live it powerless. Losing My Cool portrays the allure and the danger of hip-hop culture like no book has before. Even more remarkably, Williams evokes the subtle salvation that literature offers and recounts with breathtaking clarity a burgeoning bond between father and son.

Most of the music that is being passed off as hip-hop today is really just the soundtrack for what appears to be a slow genocide of our young black men and women…Maybe I’m just getting old…At any rate, this book is so necessary…

So what are you reading this summer? Let me know because I can never read enough books…And hopefully one day, I will join the ranks as a published book author

Any thoughts?

Below is the trailer for Chicki Brown’s book. Check it out…

The post What’s on Your Summer Reading List 2010? appeared first on After the Altar Call.