As an author, I am not just reading a story, I am sharing a piece of my soul with my audience. Go make your favorite beverage, eat your favorite snack, get comfortable and me tell you a story... Thank you for listening.
Do you ever wish you were someone else? Who?
I have never wished that I was anyone else. However, I wanted to change things about myself. I asked my father to paint me white, when I was a little girl. My daddy asked me why didn’t I want to look like the people who love me the most in this world. I responded to him, “Daddy, everybody hate Black people.” My Father cried. I was always teased about having dark brown skin by the other children, however even the adults would say, “You are pretty to be so dark-skinned.” What’s ironic about not liking my skin color growing up is that the color preference for light skin was perpetuated in the African American community—the factor that made me “Black” had too much color. In my Jungle Beauty Goddess book series, Afar is the fairest sister of the septuplets and she wants to be dark like her sisters. She is obsessed with how looking different makes her feel inadequate and less attractive that her sisters.
What part of the writing process do you dread?
Getting started! Sequestering myself from friends and family; finding the right music, gemstone, candle, incense, oils, and ritual are all things I struggle with when I am sitting down to write. Once I surf the Internet, watch videos, read articles, eat a snack, pour some wine--set the mood, I am ready to write. I dread editing next—but getting started—writing the first word-- ohhhh god! – I dread it.
Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?
I suffer from writer’s block when I write fiction—but not when I write non-fiction. The Jungle Beauty Goddesses story idea came to me in dream and was my first and so far only fiction book. I realized that writing fiction was much different from writing academic research papers, or articles for magazines. Whenever I tried to control the story line, I would get writer’s block. There were so many things that I did not want to happen, so I tried to steer the story in the direction that I thought was best—but I couldn’t find the words. There was no inspiration—no magic. I would buy a new gemstone, listen to writer’s block binaural beats on YouTube; but when I sat down to write—nothing would come out. Then one day after meditation, I learned that I needed to let the story tell itself. I am the channel with the right life circumstances to bring the story to life on this dimension and that I must be open to the inspirational download of content.
I also experience writer’s block while writing fiction when I am not living in alignment with my personal power. What I am eating, drinking, watching on television, how I am spending my time; my relationship with my co-workers, family and friends, all of these factors contribute to my ability to access my imagination for fiction writing. Sometimes the characters residing in my aura need my full attention. I dream about them. I hear what their conversations while taking a shower, waiting for the traffic light to changes; standing in line to buy groceries. They want my full attention.
I have learned that it is typically not my gemstones, oils, incense, or music—it’s that I have not sequestered myself to live as a writer and created an environment conducive to hearing, feeling, and seeing the story that beckons to come to life.
The most important lesson, I learned from writing, Book 1, Pretty Blue Ball is that when I try to control what happens in the plot, or the character’s dialogue, I get writer’s block. When I give in and listen—I can’t write fast enough.
Tell us about your latest release.
It has taken me 7 years to write Jungle Beauty Goddesses Book 1 Pretty Blue Ball; Book 2 Aquatic Ball; and Book 3 Dirty Ball. Dirty Ball is the prequel to Aquatic Ball. It is a modern day creation story—however, book 3 focuses more on an alternate history of the Adam and Eve story and how people populated the planet and the creation of different races. Book 3 is a Twin Flame love story that will make you gasp and see the world in a new profound way.
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