A Little About Me
I’m excited to have you here and I’d love to share my story with you.
Feel free to connect with me as I’d love to know about you and your journey as well.
I have a confession to make…I’m a dreamer.
Whew! That felt good to write. I haven’t always been this honest with myself. I was afraid to let myself be who I really am because the world isn’t all that kind to dreamers. Oh, people write books and speak about it, but in day-to-day life, say if you told your boss or spouse, parent or child, that you have bigger-than-life dreams, sometimes, you’d get a “poor you” look.
Not because they don’t want to support you, but they know the pursuit of happiness is a long and sometimes, painful path. A lot of people give up, maybe, they gave up. But it’s worth it. Let me tell you about my story.
I’ve always known my life purpose, but I didn’t listen. I didn’t believe enough in myself to do it.I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I’d been doing it forever. Even in elementary school I wrote poetry, short stories and I joined every writer-related organization like the school’s newspaper and yearbook. But it all came to a head when I went to high school.
My senior year I was given a book by my favorite English teacher on careers for English majors. I quickly flipped through the book, looking for salaries for journalists. My heart dropped when I saw the salary. $27,000. That’s it? Why would God give me the desire to do something that would ultimately leave me broke? So I switched gears. I saw another career idea: Public relations. I could do that! I told myself. PR professional’s made double the money, and I still had the opportunity to write. Score!
So I majored in PR, but ended up getting a job that was a fusion of marketing and PR. I was pretty good at it, but it didn’t excite me. I especially hated running after media to ask them to cover a product or service.
Another turning point happened. I worked for a start-up company and it was the most stressful thing I’d ever done. My personal life meant nothing to them. And for the first time in my life, I didn’t get along with my boss. In 2012, I was laid off. Let go. Kicked off the island.
I came home, flopped on my bed determined to give myself a day or two or twenty to sulk. About thirty minutes into my woe-is-me session, I heard a voice. It sounded like my voice but somehow, it wasn’t…it told me: You can sit here and cry about it, or you can get up and write.
“
You can sit here and cry about it, or you can get up and write.
”
That was a very specific message. Writing was the last thing on my mind. I had bills to pay! But despite my internal battle, I dried my tears and began writing. That was six years ago. During that time, I have joined writers groups, joined a Mastermind Group, worked on my craft, written five books and published three (so far), and recently, I scored an agent!
I was given a second chance, and I took it. I did it in a way that made sense for me. I ended up getting another job in corporate America for a wonderful company, and I write in the evenings. I’m married and I have a son, so my time is limited and precious, but I make the sacrifice and I have to tell you, it’s all been worth it.
My experience, along with a few other things, led me to write a women’s fiction book, (Im)perfectly Happy. This story is a love letter to women, specifically Black women who have often sacrificed themselves, their goals and happiness and dreams for others.
And then, I went on to write Young Adult which matches my authorial voice and energy perfectly—for me the best thing about writing for teens is hope.
Speaking of …I hope my story has encouraged you to find your happiness, to take that big scary journey. I’m here to help you to do it. I’m here to tell you that you are not alone. When you are aligned with your life’s purpose, there is nothing that can stop you.