Update on what I'm doing...

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a bad girl. I hadn’t updated this page in almost a year, but I have a good excuse, really I do. I have been working around the clock churning out books. I guess I’ll start with my latest endeavor. My first non-fiction book hit the stands this week. It’s called Help! I’ve Turned into My Mother. I wrote this book because, well, I’ve turned into my mother. And the more I talked to my girlfriends, I found, I’m not alone. I hope you’ll enjoy my stories, all the contributing writers (much love to that talented bunch) and the sound professional advice. My mom isn’t too thrilled with the book because she’s a very private person and doesn’t like me “telling the whole world our business!”

Next up, is my third novel, I Know I’ve Been Changed. I had so much fun with that one because I got to draw on all my crazy relatives (What? Don’t act like you don’t have none.) That book will be out Feb. 1, but of course, you can always pre-order your copy today! Saying I’m blessed is an understatement. In addition to those two books, I have an anthology coming out in July 2006 called Have a Little Faith, written with Jacqueline Thomas, Sandra Kitt and J.D. Mason. You’ll definitely want to check that out as well. I have also signed on to do an inspirational teen series and I am so loving that because there is such a need for uplifting fiction for our young people.

And I’m still promoting Let the Church Say Amen, which by the way, hit the #1 spot on the Essence Magazine Bestseller’s list and spent many months on the Black Issues Book Review Bestsellers list. I’ve been traveling the country, participating in festivals and conferences and meeting with bookclubs, so it’s been one busy year.

By the way, you may have noticed a cover change on my debut novel, My Brother’s Keeper. It’s the same book, just a different cover and it still remains one of my favorites.

Writing reality…

Let me send a message to the holy rollers – those of you who send me the emails blasting me because I have MILD profanity in my books and my characters are flawed. Number one, I prefer to be called an Inspirational writer for that very reason (actually it’s inspirational, with an edgeJ). Number two, I write reality and in the real world some Christians do say bad words, do bad things and (gasp) have sex. Even more so, in the world I live in, everybody ain’t a Christian. My current writing reflects all of that. You won’t get any down and dirty, knockin’ over furniture sex, graphic violence and excessive profanity, but you will see everyday people struggling in their walks with God and using faith to see them through. I write stories of faith. And let’s just put it this way, I don’t write anything I wouldn’t want my mother to read. (Well, except for I Know I’ve Been Changed, which she didn’t care for, because again – well, let’s just say she saw some of our people in the pages).

What I'm writing now...

You asked for it, now you’ve got it! A sequel to Let the Church Say Amen. In Everybody Say Amen, Rachel is back and married to Lester, who takes over as pastor of Zion Hill. So you know what that means, Rachel is now the First Lady. And if you know like I know, Rachel is no ordinary First Lady. This book will be a blast! I’m also working on the teen books, three of them are scheduled for release in the next year and a half.

Bringing out the writer in you...

I have to keep this part in here about how I am a testament to why you should not let anyone but you determine your destiny. I see it so much, writers waiting on that big break, the call from a major publisher or agent. When I first completed My Brother's Keeper, I shopped it around-and got the standard rejections. So I stepped out on faith and self-published. I armed myself with the necessary tools (research, money, patience and perseverance) and I set out to accomplish my dreams and experienced insurmountable success, which later led to a book deal. Had I sat and waited for someone to validate my work, I might still be waiting. I always tell people when I'm out speaking, when one door closes, find another way in. If you knew a $230 million dollar lottery ticket was sitting inside an office building, and could be yours if you could just get to it, but the front door was locked solid, I'd be willing to bet you'd find a way in. If you had to dig a tunnel, saw a hole in the roof and drop in, you'd get to that ticket. Take that same approach to realizing your dreams, whether it's writing or anything else. Find some way, any way, to make your dreams come true. If I can be of any assistance on your publishing journey, feel free to drop me an email. And if you're stuck in a writer's rut, then my advice to you would be to just write. Even if it doesn't make sense, even if you're not feeling it, get it out. You can always go back and clean it up later. But by all means, just do it.

Thank you all for your support...and please pass the word, not the book!

Blessings,

ReShonda