1. tell me about yourself?
I am a Kingdom writer, Communications Practitioner, and Bible Teacher from
Richmond, VA. I grew up here and love helping the community. In addition to the
other things that I do, I am a husband and father. My family is my greatest
accomplishment and if I couldn’t be anything else, husband and father would be
number one on my list. I am definitely an introvert that loves people but enjoys
alone time to recharge. I love to cook and watch Marvel movies and cartoons.
My life’s passion and profession is helping people to articulate their experiences
and develop healthier interpersonal communication and conflict resolution skills.
2. what are your favorite books to read?
I love autobiographies and books that are in the inspirational genre. I love to
hear people’s life stories told in their own words. Hearing the stories of others
allows me to grow as a person. Their successes and failures assist me and
evolving as a person and avoid some of the mistakes that they have made. I like
to think as autobiographies are a gateway to learning the lesson without having to
experience the pain. I love reading inspirational things because we live in a
world where we are constantly bombarded with bad news and things that have
the potential of tearing us down; it is important to feed our spirits something that
helps us to grow and thrive instead of something that sends us into depression or
despair.
3. please tell us about your book and what it is about?
My book Hard Conversations: Book 1 Breadcrumbs to the Past is the first book in
my new urban fiction series. It is a collection of short stories about the lives of
five urban people that have achieved, what most people would consider, to be
successful lives, but still, they find themselves unhappy and cycling in the same
patterns that they know aren’t where they want to live. They realize that the glass
ceiling they can’t get past is because they have unaddressed issues in their
pasts that they decided to move past without doing the necessary work to heal.
In order to move forward, they must confront the issues they have been burying
with the people that were involved. I believe that it is no one’s story, yet
everyone’s story because we all can relate to operating in avoidance at one point
or another. One thing about people of color is that we know how to survive
things. Through oppression, depression, suppression, and trauma, we become too
determined to make it to the other side. The problem becomes when we make it
through to the other side, we often have been changed and lost some things
along the way that are necessities to moving forward in life and in wholeness. At
the point that we realize that we have made but we are broken, we are wounded,
we are leaking out what we have been through, we must decide whether we are
going to try to keep it moving or if we are brave enough to confront the past to
not just survive, but to thrive. At the same time the book was released, I released
a song inspired by the book called “You’re Real” that was released on all digital
platforms. The song is so vitally important to the stories in the book because I
believe hard conversations are real conversations, and real conversations are
God conversations. We can’t talk about being healed from our past or moving
forward without including God in the equation; He is the only one that can give us
the strength and the courage to address the deep heartbreaking things that can
happen and life and then come out unscathed and able to thrive in life.
4. what are you working on for 2022?
I have a new communications manual and workbook coming out during the first
quarter to give people a new perspective on the power of effective communication
and processes to become a better interpersonal communicator. Shortly, I will
start working on Hard Conversations Book 2 to continue the journey of the
individuals in Book 1. There is a song inspired by each book that will be released
simultaneously with the project like “You’re Real” was for Hard Conversations:
Book 1.
5. what advice would you give other Authors?
I would tell them to not write what is popular, right what flows out of you. I have
attempted to right many things, but not everything flowed like Hard
Conversations did. It was amazing how the stories just flowed out of me. I am a
believer that we shouldn’t chase success, but pursue after God and release
things into the world that help and empower people that is orchestrated by Him.
Let it flow; don’t push it.
6. what is your favorite drink and snack when you are reading a book
I follow the keto lifestyle so I would have to say some sugar-free M& Ms or some
coconut Keto Clusters that I get from Costco.
7 what is your favorite coffee drink?
I am an avid coffee drink and I love Dunkin Donuts, so my favorite would be a
cinnamon roll flavored coffee with vanilla powder, monk fruit, and heavy whipping
cream.
8. what are your favorite book store and coffee shop?
I would say Barnes and Noble because not only can I get coffee and snacks, but
I can people watch. I think people are so interesting and though we have all lived
different lives, we all have a story that has shaped us into being who we currently
are.
9. did you go to college to be a writer?
I didn’t go to school for writing in the direct sense; my Bachelors is in Mass
Communications and Marketing, my Masters is in Industrial-Organizational
Psychology and Communication and my Professional Doctorate is in
Entrepreneurship. I took the non-traditional route to get here, but all of those
things played into me learning what I needed to write and have broad
perspectives about life and business.
10. where can people find you online?
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