Author Showcase – J. D. Mason

Introducing Shawneda Marks & Jewelry Marks (Lit Spotlight)

Join me in welcoming Shawneda Marks as our Literary Spotlight for the month.  While she is an author and could have been under our Author Showcase section, she does so much more that I wanted to showcase her here instead.  Pay special attention to her beautiful Jewelry Marks, too.

RAW:  Who is Shawneda Marks?  The author, activist, mother, entrepreneur & more…

Shawneda Marks’ true identity is found in Christ, which is funny cause I don’t like to be called religious.  After my relationship with God, most important to me is being a good wife to hubby, and mother to my children.  As an author, I love to pen fiction that shows real people from every dimension– spirit, body and soul as they discover life’s journey is best traveled with the Holy Spirit as an internal compass, Jesus as brother/savior and God as Lord. The activist is dedicated to raising awareness and funds. At the core of who I am, I have a passion for helping people and the earth walk in wellness.

RAW:  Your website is a wonderful source of information & inspiration.  How did you come up with this niche?

Thank you so much, it sounds really corny (which those close to me say I am), but I just love sharing and giving. It is an affordable way to share my passions with others and avail myself to those God has given me the heart to pray and walk with. Almost everything I do is related to writing and wellness with God as the foundation.

RAW:  Who/what are Diamond Butterflies?

Diamond Butterflies are women who have experienced some emotional trauma in life due to sexual assault, rape, molestation, abuse, and parental neglect, but have the sincere desire to move past the brokenness to be emotionally whole. I’m a Diamond Butterfly. My past includes rape, sexual abuse and neglect which led to time in foster care, but I choose to look at the blessings that came into my life despite the evil done to me. I’m currently completing the devotional and finishing research on how to offer group mentoring and curriculums to be used for organizations mainstream and faith based.

RAW:  This is wonderful, Shawneda! It’s so pleasing to see someone giving back to others; despite their past hurts.  (I’m so sorry you went through all that too.)

How did you get started in the literary world?  And, who do you turn to for inspiration?

I started in the literary world as a teenager. My foster father found one of my poems and sent it in to a poetry contest that I won. From that moment on he encouraged me to write. Even on his deathbed he told me to no matter what I did I needed to write and let nothing stop me. I’ve been writing in some form or another ever since then. I became serious about pursuing it as a career in 2004 and was called to the carpet by God through Tia McCollors after she read my website. Funny you should ask about who inspires me cause with the onslaught of “mainstream” publishing crucifying the technology I use and publishing path I’ve chosen over the last few weeks I’ve needed a lot. I turn to God through prayer and listen to my family, friends and writing circle for inspiration.

RAW: Now, to your book It’s In My Blood.  You released it December 1^st to coincide with HIV Awareness month.  Why?  Also, please tell us about the book as well as the first one in the series and what you hope to accomplish by publishing them.

I released It’s in My Blood on World WORLD AIDS DAY in honor of my friend who passed and planted the seed for the need for a story like this to be told. It’s in My Blood uses the vehicle of fiction to show how HIV/AIDS is affecting the everyday family, raise awareness and funds for two deserving charitable organizations: Aniz Inc. and Balm in Gilead Inc. I’ve forged an official partnership with Aniz Inc., a local charity here in GA and Balm in Gilead won a twitpoll.

Synopsis: Rosalyn Bell has to return home after being tested as part of her routine pregnancy exam.  She is at odds with her mother, who is praying for a chance at reconciliation.  At the same time she adores her father and wants him to help her make her next move in the right direction. Her plan is to go home for a few weeks and sort things out, but God has other plans for her life.

Love Is…the first novel where we meet Rosalyn she is the “villain” in a story about best friends Toney and Colby. I follow Toney and Colby through the trials and tribulations of being attractive, platonic saved friends who everyone else believes will hook up. I wrote this book after reading so many stories and watching so many movies showing a distorted picture of relationships between men and women, and I wanted to show love from a different light. All of my stories are written to inspire readers into action even if its just starting a dialogue about the issue that is addressed in the book and for at least the first year of the books availability support at least one deserving charity.

RAW: I’ve joked around with you about the video vlogs and how I would probably NEVER record a video of myself to show via the website.  I love the concept of Faithful Folios though.  How has it been received and do you plan to continue this into 2010?  If so, how can someone get more information on how they can set up an interview or get their book/product reviewed?

Those who have seen it really enjoy it.  To be honest many authors are just now getting webcams since Oprah started skype (thanks O!), so it was hard to get a video to video interview at first. Booker T Mattison was the first to go “live” with me and the feedback has been great. It’s raw and untouched (for now) but I do plan to continue it in 2010. I’m actually getting more books and agreements for video interviews for the new year; I’m really excited. People can contact me via the correspondence form on my website or @shawneda on twitter for info on requesting an interview on the show. My only requirement is I read the book first.

RAW:  Tell us about your custom jewelry marks and the various events you’ve participated in to showcase them? I love the play on your last name. 

Jewelry Marks are environment and binder friendly book jewelry. They have been used as swag gifts for Tyler Perry’s I CAN DO BAD ALL By MYSELF celebrity premiere in NY, and a featured sponsor for Sheryl Lee Ralph’s 19th Annual DIVAS SIMPLY SINGING HIV/AIDS fundraising event. I’ve gifted a community baby shower for Wayne Metro and Hot Pink Nights a breast cancer fundraiser in Virginia. They were also gifts for Jene Luciana’s THE BRA BOOK fundraiser book release in New York last month. I have another event I’m doing for this month and a huge event in January I’m really excited about. I’ll post the media alerts about those in the months once their completed.

RAW:  Can you share more information about the It’s in My Blood New Voice Book Club Contest?

I would LOVE to! As a new voice in fiction I wanted to give something back to book clubs who decided to read my novel.  Two deserving book clubs who select It’s in My Blood as their book of the month will be selected next year to receive awareness gift baskets which will include 12 It’s in My Blood HIV/AIDS jewelry marks, gift certificates to Kingdom Klothes and other awareness items like the awareness bracelets, posters et cetera. The first book club will be announced June 27 National HIV testing day, and the second winner on Dec 1 2010.

I’m also doing the Green Readers Choice Award where one blessed reader of It’s in My Blood who fulfills all of the criteria for the contest will receive a free eReader of their choice (up to $299).  The details are on the readers page of my website (big smile).

RAW: Woo hoo!  Sounds like I need to highly encourage RAWSISTAZ (and our local chapters) to select It’s In My Blood, huh?  LOL.  These are both wonderful contest and as a reader…I love it!

Any words of wisdom for our readers and/or aspiring authors?

For readers don’t be afraid to share your books and lives with others. The best gift you can give someone is your time and why not talk about something beautiful, liberating and creative like a book when you’re together (of course as a word addict I’m biased).

For writers I say read, study, write, rewrite, study and read again. Follow your heart and no matter what path of publishing you choose, embrace the journey. There are pros and cons to everything. Each blessing comes with responsibility. Whatever you do share your gift with the world even if you start out doing it for free on a blog. There are billions of people in the world and there will never be too many books or authors. Go to conferences and festivals online and in person. I’m host author for the MACWriters Festival October 2010 featuring Booker T. Mattison and Stanice Anderson, as well as other African-American authors and industry professionals. I hear this fabulous Literacy Advocate and founder of RAWSISTAZ is gonna be there (smile).  There is an early bird rate of $55 you can find more about it at www.macwriters.info.

RAW: I am looking forward to the conference!  What else are you working on for 2010?

I’m currently completing my devotional Diamond Butterfly: Share Heal Sparkle Shine Fly, and working on the rough draft of the next novel My True Essence set for release in October 2010. My True Essence chronicles the lives of Rebecca and two of her friends battling triple negative breast cancer.  People can find more information on my website www.shawneda.com and if they sign my guestbook and tell me they learned about me here on RAWSISTAZ, I’ll make a custom jewelry mark with the RAW Sistaz logo (if that’s okay with you).

RAW: Oh, it sounds fabulous to me, so I’m headed over now to check out the website and sign the guest book.  I want one too.  Thanks for the offer and thanks so much for a wonderful interview and allowing us to spotlight you on RAWSISTAZ.  Definitely keep us posted and know we’re rooting for your continued success.

Tinesha Davis & Debut Novel, Holler at the Moon (Author Showcase)

BOOK SYNOPSIS

After witnessing the brutal murder of their mother, the three Jackson sisters are separated, and living hard lives far away from each other.

Dominique is a well adjusted twenty-five year old professional, now living a perfect life…or so it seems.  She’s in love with a man who once saved her, but is now threatening to destroy her.  Will she be able to break free from him in time?

Donya has clawed her way from living on the streets to being a self-made Bohemian chick whose life is now filled with rainbows and dance.  But then she finds herself stuck in the middle of two disasters. She has to save one of her sisters.  Which one? And can she really tamper with fate?

DJ is the fast-talking, fast-thinking, straight-A high school senior with an attitude and temper she inherited from her father.  Will she let her ways ruin her the way his ruined him?

Holler at the Moon is the coming of age story of three sisters who fight hard to create their place in the world without the love of a father or the guidance of a mother.  Can they find healing to become the women they hope to be or will their dark pasts be their ultimate downfalls?

AUTHOR BIO

Having graduated Summa Cum Laude with dual degrees in Database Technology and Information Systems with an emphasis in programming, Tinesha Davis authored two books that have nothing to do with engineering—a collection of poetry, All Black Girls Ain’t Got Rhythm and other urban hymns, and her debut novel, Holler at the Moon. With these achievements she made it official: she is a writer who happens to play computer engineer by day.

Tinesha serves on the Board of Directors of the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation and is a writing coach for Book-in-a-Day, a non-profit program that teaches high school students how to write poetry, and publish a book—in one day. Tinesha lives in the DC metropolitan area with her sixteen year old son and is currently working on her follow up project Twice on Sundays.

For more information:

www.TineshaDavis.com

www.facebook.com/tinesha.davis

HollertheNovel [at] gmail [dot] com

Lisa Y. Watson & her Debut Novel Watch Your Back (Author Showcase)

Raleigh, North Carolina—Lisa Y.  Watson, author of The Switch from the Essence bestselling anthology, Love is Blind, is back with her debut novel, Watch Your Back.

Devon Mitchell’s past is tormenting him and his future is uncertain.  Plagued with the thought that he was responsible for his girlfriend’s death, Devon finds solitude at his uncle’s farm in rural Illinois. When he hears that his beloved grandmother’s art gallery is in financial trouble, he returns to Washington, D.C. He commissions himself as the gallery’s new art director to investigate.

Enraged doesn’t begin to describe Jayde Seaton when an outsider shows up and takes the coveted promotion she thought was rightfully hers. Refusing to make his transition a smooth one, she sets out to make Devon’s work live miserable.

Tensions between them spark intense heat. As the two grow closer, Devon learns of hostile takeovers and hidden agendas—all revealing the truth about his girlfriend’s death. Could Jayde be next on the hit list because of him? Devon will do whatever it takes to ensure she’s not.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As a native of Washington, D.C., the political arena and historical surroundings fueled Lisa’s romantic imagination.  Creating expressive characters who challenge personal and spiritual growth are her forte.  Lisa’s first published work, The Switch appeared as a novella in the Essence Magazine best selling Anthology, Love Is Blind (2004) with Parry “Ebony Satin” Brown and Pat Simmons.  Her short story, The Reunion appeared as a “10-minute Love Story” in the Sun Magazine.

Lisa also writes fan fiction based on characters from a popular 80’s television show, Remington Steele and has both a national and International fan base.

When she’s not writing or working you’ll find Lisa at the annual Romantic Times BOOKLOVERS Convention.  Lisa is the co-publicist for the convention and works to secure author interviews via television, radio and newspaper for national bestselling authors like Heather Graham, L.A. Banks, Bobbi Smith, Brenda Jackson, Christina Skye, and others.

Lisa resides in North Carolina with her husband, two children and dog, Boomer.  She is an Asset Management Specialist at a technical services company.

AUTHOR’s WEBSITE: http://www.lisawatson.com

W. B. Garvey (Author Showcase)

In His Own Words…

Although the discovery that my grandfather, a man I knew little of and had never met, had been a railroad engineer in Panama was the catalyst which led me to write Panama Fever, it was Marcus Garvey’s widow, Amy Jacques Garvey who planted the seeds of interest in the heroic Jamaicans who over multiple decades helped to build and maintain the historic Panama Canal.

Panama Fever narrates the adventures of two young Jamaicans who seek glory by joining the French in their valiant but vain attempt to build the canal during the 1880s. The two protagonists, Thomas Judah and Byron, find themselves caught up in a cycle of political corruption, murderous insurrection, natural disaster, and deadly disease. A story of love, ambition and corruption that explores the antagonisms of class, nationality, race, and gender, Panama Fever brings to life the experiences and tragedies of those who worked on the monumental Panama Canal project.

She was adamant that although it took French brains and American money to conceive the Panama Canal, it was West Indian sweat and blood that built it, something which the world at that time refused to acknowledge.  Looking back, I suppose Panama Fever is in some small way my thank you to dear Amy Jacques for those inspiring afternoon teas.

Before I learned about my grandfather’s work in Panama I had assumed that the Jamaicans working on the canal had all been common laborers. As I would discover, the symbiotic tie between the isthmus and Jamaica dated from the 1840’s when the California Gold Rush spurred North American investors to build the Panama Railroad.  Jamaica, being close by and inhabited by underemployed English speakers, became a handy source of cheap labor.  By the time the French began their failed canal effort, there was a ready pool of workers to enlist, not only as diggers but also as stenographers, cooks, carpenters, mechanics and engineers.

I was a scruffy schoolboy living in Kingston when the refined Mrs. Garvey used to invite me for tea.  She had recently finished Garvey and Garveyism, her loving biography of her distinguished husband and her memories of his work and their dramatic life together were like vivid crystal.  She was clearly pleased by my eagerness to hear stories about my famous relative  and seemed determined that I grasp both the essence and the complexities of her great man.  I remember her stressing that it was the abuse of his Jamaican countrymen working in Panama that convinced Marcus Garvey to start the Black nationalist movement that would finally “destroy the old slave mentality.”

I originally wrote Panama Fever as a saga covering both the French and American periods, with different, although related, main characters in each period.  I later decided that the story could be better told as two linked novels, each of which also stands alone as a complete story. The second novel, forthcoming soon, focuses on a Jamaican engineer and his wife during the American period of canal construction, when Jim Crow laws were introduced to the Canal Zone.

Author’s Website: http://www.wbgarvey.com

Book Spotlight: Panama Fever: Digging Down Gold Mountain by W. B. Garvey

I. B. Freeman (Author Showcase)

I.B. Freeman was born in 1978 and raised in the Bronx section of N.Y.  While studying audio engineering at Touro College, he decided to pursue his passion of book writing. He is a self- taught piano musician and a poet.  I.B. managed to complete his first novel Mr. HIV, which has been named one of the top 5 debuts of 2008 by the ARC Book Club.

He is currently working on his new novel Can I Live.

Mr. H.I.V. – Book Synopsis

Darren Wade is the perfect man. He is college educated, has a good job, and has a wonderful relationship with his mother. He is also H.I.V. positive. Darren’s H.I.V. status leads him on a mission to intentionally infect women.

To complete his mission Darren will have unprotected sex with any female who is willing to have unprotected sex with him. This story is entertaining, educational, and a classic example of art imitating life.

Available at:
Amazon.com
myspace.com/mrhiv
shelfari.com/mrhiv

Iris Celeste (Author Showcase)

Iris Celeste spent endless hours as a child being entertained through her books. Writing became her chosen method of expression and with that her debut novel Praise Your Way Through was brought to life. A story of love, betrayal and forgiveness.  Because being saved doesn?t mean being perfect.

To read an excerpt or order a copy of the book, visit her website at www.irisceleste.com. 

Iris can also be found writing her weekly column As a Woman Thinketh for Big Time Publishing Magazine, as well as, being a contributing writer for Victorious Magazine.

Book Trailer – Click Here to View

Angelia Vernon Menchan (Author Showcase)

Angelia Vernon Menchan is wife, mother, nana, mentor and write or die woman. Angelia is also reviews for two book clubs and the Amazon Vine Program. She is employed gainfully as a Budget Officer. However, her most favored job was as a Job Corps Counselor. Angelia penned four books under the pseudonym, acVernon Menchan, she now writes ageless fiction as herself. Her most recent titles are, Is NO Not Clear Enough for You?, published December 2007, for young adults. Angelia published Schae’s Story: A Woman’s Transformation, December 2008 and Ramblings: A Booked Blog, February 2009. She owns a small publishing company, M.A.m.m. Productions with her husband Maurice, a graphic designer.

MORE INFO:

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AngelMenchan

Website: www.angeliavmenchan.com

Blogs: http://acvermen.blogspot.com & http://mammproductions.blogspot.com

Jihad (Author Showcase)

Jihad was raised by a single mother in Atlanta, GA by way of Indianapolis, IN.  By the age of 16 he was selling drugs and embarking on a criminal career that six years later would lead him to prison, but not before his lifestyle would cause him to be stabbed, shot and left paralyzed from a car accident. Although over time he miraculously regained the use of his legs he still served over seven years in six different federal prisons up and down the east coast. While serving time, Jihad gravitated towards a group of older, socio-political, self-taught prisoners who raised his awareness about himself and his past. He discovered a love of books, mostly by black authors and historians, which was something that had never grasped his interest while in school. Jihad started researching and writing about subjects that he was sure many misunderstood.  Subjects like history, religion, hood-psyche and society in general. His focus and discipline prepared him to write his first book, an autobiographical novel entitled Street Life. Since penning his first title back in August of 1998, Jihad has gone on to write five other thought provoking, enthralling novels, Baby Girl, Riding Rhythm, MVP, Preacherman Blues, and his latest, Wild Cherry.

He calls his genre of literature, conscious hip-hop fiction. His goal is to be the voice of the thousands of self taught positive prison inmates that will never be heard. Just as Kanye West, Common Sense, Jada Kiss, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, NAS and other conscious hip-hop artists are setting the music industry on fire with their lyrics of hope and change, Jihad’s goal is to do the same with his writing.  

Jihad is a single father who lives in a suburb of Atlanta. He is a bestselling author, motivational speaker and real estate investor.  He is CEO of Envisions Publishing, LLC and Custom Care Landscaping & Home Renovations. He is also the founder and CEO of a non-profit organization, The Wake-Up Everybody Foundation, which is dedicated to positively and pro-actively re-awakening the African-American psyche through self-realization and re-education. The voices and hands of The Wake-Up Everybody Foundation show why it is imperative to READ to re-establish the identity of the urban nation, and how doing this will create positive, productive, pro-active, self-reliant people. 

Jihad is highly energetic, provocative and compassionate about youth issues.  He’s a highly sought after inspirational speaker who always avails himself for interviews.  For more on Jihad, log onto www.jihadwrites.com or www.thewakeup.org.