Tag Archives: Sherri Shepherd

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The Vision I Had in My Head aka Debuting My New Book Cover Woo Hoo!!!

Hello World!

It’s official. I have gingerly stepped my big toe in the rapids that are the marketing and promotion of a book, and I’m hoping that I have enough stamina and skill to swim to the other side. There are so many ways that you can market and promote a book it’s easy to get overwhelmed with it all. But I believe I’m off to a very good start!  I have an awesome book cover that totally captures what I had in my head…

This is what I had in my head….This photo was taken circa 2000 on a trip with friends to the Bahamas. When I encountered this lovely one-room stone church, I knew I had to take a picture in front of it….I never knew that years later this would be the image that conveys why I wrote After the Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God. It’s amazing how God works because He is truly working all things together for our good —  even before we know it! When you become a Christian, it seems that the scariest part of the task is walking down that long, sometimes lonely aisle to the front of the church to meet the pastor at the altar (where you publicly confess your faith in Jesus Christ.) But once you’ve done that, you realize that it’s much more scary to try to live as a Christian in a world that is hell-bent on squelching all faith in our Creator…That’s why I love that I’m sitting at the doorway of the church, away from the altar although it is still in sight…

I submitted this photo to my publishing company, Nevaeh Publishing, when I was asked for cover art ideas, and I hoped that this image could translate into an appropriate book cover…Months later, I am elated at the result! Kudos to the graphic artist 🙂

What do you think? And if this is your first time encountering my blog, let me tell you about my book in case you want to buy it when it becomes available in February 2012!!! (I have my marketing and promotion hat on now…)

After the Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God is a fresh, real and relevant how-to manual for black 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 a black 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, I have 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. I give readers a rare, personal look into the lives of these women, identify the precepts these women used to develop a personal relationship with God given their life experiences, and create a plan for readers to craft their own relationship with the Father.

 The book includes interviews with 24 remarkable women with compelling stories such the “The View” co-host Sherri Shepherd,  Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, the 117th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the first woman elected to Episcopal office in over 200 years of A.M.E. history; and Valorie Burton, life coach, author and co-host on the Emmy award- winning show “Aspiring Women” and the former co-host of the national daily television program “The Potter’s Touch” with Bishop T.D. Jakes.

Any thoughts?

P.S. Again, if you have any creative marketing and promotion ideas, let me know in your comments. I’m pretty much open to anything short of skywriting the name of my book on the actual release date…but then again…lol…

P.P.S. If you happen to know the name of this little church in the Bahamas, let me know. I would love to send a letter or something to the people of this church…

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2011 Faith & Fiction Retreat aka Debuting My NEW BOOK!!!

Hello World,

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… 🙂

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After the Altar Call: 2010 In Posts…

Hello World,

I don’t have to tell you it’s NYE! For all of the obvious reasons, I am reflecting on the journey that was 2010 and optimistic about the path that awaits me and you in 2011. With that in mind, indulge me as I refresh your memory about the topics that found their way to After the Altar Call in 2010!

As of January, 2010 was christened the year of the Single Black Woman with the circulation of this video….While this story originally aired on ABC in December 2009, it really started to be the topic of conversation the following month and created a year of events, books, shows, etc. all dedicated to finding husbands for single black women at all costs…Lord help us!

With a black president in the white house, Black History Month, which is celebrated in February, has taken on a new meaning for all of America’s people…In the A, we were a little shaken when the Epsilon Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpa, a white sorority, beat out members of the Divine Nine Black fraternities and sororities in the Sprite Step Off …But hey, if a black men is finally president, then white steppers can show out too…

In March, I blogged about the messages  in our dreams in Dream a little dream…(R.I.P. Corey Haim) Sadly, one of the teen idols of my youth, Corey Haim, passed away in March and so I dedicated the post to him as he starred in the movie “Dream a Little Dream” in 1989…

In April, I met Sherri Shepherd from “The View” at ABC News’  “Nightline” debate “Why Can’t a Successful Black Woman Find a Man?” This debate, which took place in the Dec (Decatur), happened due to the popularity of the aforementioned video dedicated to the plight of single black women…Did I forget to mention that Atlanta seems to be the capital of single black women?

My aspiration is to be an author, journalist and speaker so I felt particularly blessed to be chosen to be the keynote speaker at the 31st Annual Christian Women’s Retreat banquet which was held at the Westin Atlanta Airport hotel in May. My girl Latoicha from Luxe Tips did my makeup!

In June, I blogged about author Sherri Lewis’ book “The List” as I was asked to moderate a discussion on the book at  the Faith & Fiction Retreat which was held in the A this year…I could not help but post my own list…

front page of my list...yes, the back of this page is completely filled up...

I tried to avoid blogging on the plight of single black women in July, but the slant of this article, The Black Church: How Black Churches Keep African American Women Single and Lonely forced me to reckon with this topic again…We took a licking but we kept on ticking…

In August, I was saddened to hear that R&B star Fantasia Barrino, another single black woman, attempted to commit suicide  after being ”overwhelmed by the lawsuit and the media attention”  concerning her alleged relationship with her married boyfriend Antwaun Cook, her rep told TMZ.com. Just a week or so ago, a judge declared that Barrino did not break up the Cook’s marriage as his ex-wife originally claimed in the lawsuit against Barrino…

In September, I was blessed to see “the Black Man-O-logues II” written by Jacquay Waller! R&I had a good time that night…

In October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, my sorors of DST actually donned pink  in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk at Atlantic Station to honor our line sister Kimberly Hudson Causby, who we lost to this disease and honor those who are survivors!

In November, my girl Tess Gadwa, the designer of this blog, released her book, Southern Cross: True Stories of miracles, visions, voodoo, snake handling, civil disobedience, and my search for existential answers along the back roads of the Bible Belt.  Again, You got to check out this book…and it’s free on her website!

As love and relationships is one of my favorite topics, this month, I blogged about marriage as The National Marriage Project, which provides research and analysis on the health of marriage in its yearly State of Our Unions Report, released its 2010 report. To read the entire report, please go here.

I also want to mention that my sorority lost two influential and beloved sorors this year – Sorors Dorothy Height & Lena Horne…I would be remiss if I did not mention them.

I thank you for taking this journey with me!!!  How was your 2010?

Any thoughts?