Deep Down Inside... The Whole Story

Truth be explored, while much recognition is given to names and images (and many rightfully so) in headlights, it is the everyday folk who have the greatest reach to touch and enhance the lives of the largest segments of a population. Now, I spend quite a bit of time sharing books that deeply move me, however, in observation of Black History Month, which recognizes a part of my heritage, I decided… for a change… to go deep down inside sharing and celebrating a lil piece of my contributions to humanity.

While it didn’t have to be, I always knew I was going to write books. Tickled, even today, I recall telling myself how I didn’t care if I had to build my own press factory, my work was going to be in print. Shucks, I knew how to sew, as in stitching stuff together, and had paper galore on hand. Plus, I had something to say, which none too ironic, FAMILY… and people… as in the humanities… was where my interests and loyalties resided. 

Fast-forward 16 years, from the year I ‘first’ wrote and printed Leiatra’s Rhapsody, I’ve written and published 24 books. Under my belt are a few collections of short stories, another handful of poetry books, several works of fiction, 3 memoirs, and CURRENTLY a 5-part romance series. And not to boast, but more so to elucidate oblivion at its sincerest, I write across genres as well as write leading characters of colors, creeds, and gender opposite my own. Once I even wrote a leading character devoid of the human factor altogether. 

Honestly, all that tapioca out there, my literary work (in the general scheme of things) is not a big deal. It’s like jumping up and down over changing a car tire. No, I’ve never changed a tire, but in the same way I theorized building my own press factory, this one could be figured out too. And Yes, rejoicing over such a feat is then within reason, EVEN IF millions have changed a tire before.

The point is, I’m quite pleased by my overall accomplishments, though being pleased is a benign filler for what makes my work, particularly my first book, truly worthy of celebrating. 

First of all, I was in way over my head when I first started writing what became the Rhapsody Series—a 5-part romance saga. Paper was everywhere. There was a song playing in my head…and heart. Years’ worth of notes were scribbled here and there. My journal was open. The computer cursor was blinking; on top of a blank screen loudly thinking. I had to start somewhere. But trust me when I say, the challenge looked daunting. The hill I wanted to climb seemed to have disappeared behind the stars. And yet, with all this baggage I started the climb. Never looked back. I just put one word after the next, with one goal in mind. Get to the top. Finish the story. Something like a year or two later, and 20,000 miles beyond my destination…meaning after the first book (Leiatra’s Rhapsody) was good and printed, literary mavericks pointed out how first-time novels should not exceed 80,000 words. (Actually, this thought occurred to me when I failed to see an end in sight)😆. In addition to tussling over how I was going to wrap up a monster I artlessly had taken out of a bag…… some 100,000 plus words along… it became abundantly clear I was over-using the English flow chart. But even after excising as many words as my skills could deftly handle, I still was like, whoa! This story is friggin’ HUGE! 

Now, of course this isn’t what makes the story great. Leiatra’s Rhapsody (book #1 in the series) is the story of a woman (with a sexual addiction) who marries a man (she originally did not want to marry) but who (as artless as my initial attempt at writing) builds a powerful story of relationships and family. 

All the usual stuff common to family, marriage and relationships is in this series; i.e., adoption, adultery, career, sexuality, abuse, rape and you name it… it’s all in there. But what makes this story unique, in addition to the almost 500,000 words it took to tell the entire saga, along with the length of time this song had been playing in my head, was watching a literal nothing turn into a figurative something. This woman, who I clearly recognized, (Leiatra in this case), was only one person when the saga began. ONE PERSON! Which READER BEWARE, what she grew out of pure preservation and real hustle, (YET INNOCENTLY let’s clip on) is a priceless. And here’s the real deal. This story can be anyone’s reality who desires to build great relationships and partnerships… starting from zero.

It’s easy to point out wrongs and faults. And just as easy to share glossy photos of pretty faces. But it takes all hands, heads and hearts on deck to write the story, and write the WHOLE STORY. 

#BHM #BlackHistoryMonth #Storytelling #ILoveReading #ILoveMemoirs #JustBlogged