Latest / DA CREW Podcast / LIVE ON DA CREW PODCAST EVERY 1ST & 3RD FRIDAY 8PM EST-7PM CST- 6PM MST- 5PM PST | RETURNING FOR SEASON 4 |BASIC BLAQUE AFTER DARK

Transcript

LIVE ON DA CREW PODCAST EVERY 1ST & 3RD FRIDAY 8PM EST-7PM CST- 6PM MST- 5PM PST | RETURNING FOR SEASON 4 |BASIC BLAQUE AFTER DARK · DA CREW Podcast

• 0:47
  Speaker 1: When the lights go down, the real conversations begin. Welcome
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: to Basic Black after Dark, hosted by Black Diamond, where truth, healing,
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: and growth takes center stage. This is the space where
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: mental health, family healing, and personal growth are talked about
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: honestly and without filters, featuring intimate interviews with authors and
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: thought leaders who aren't afraid to share their journey because
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: every story told reminds someone watching you are not alone.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Basic Black after Dark now streaming on the Crew platform
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: tap In, tap In.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Good Evening, Everyone, Good Evening, Distinguished Authors, Guilt Dag Dag
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: Award win It, Congratulations, and Welcome to Basic Black after Dark,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: where literature meets legacy and where every page turn becomes
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: a pathway to purchase now. A few weeks ago, we
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: gathered in the heart of Chicago, a city rich with culture, resilience,
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: and unstoppable creativity. Under the dynamic leadership of our phenomenal host,
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Gina Gadson. That evening stood as a tribute to authors
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: whose work challenges symptoms, inspires generations, and tells the stories
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: the world needs to hear. Tonight, we honor writers who
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: didn't just publish books, They birth movements. Writers who turn
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: their pain into purpose, their imagination into impact, and their
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: voices into vehicles of transformation. So to all our honorees,
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: nominees and distinguished winners, your words matter, your stories matter,
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: and tonight we celebrate you. We celebrate you. Farren McLamore,
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  Speaker 2: a twenty twenty five Dinguished Distinguished Author's Guild Award winner,
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: DAG Ambassador and author of the Voice of a Mother's Pain.
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: She's using a story to champion self, love and disability
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: Adams and who could forget Reddy Thomas? And She's not
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: here right now, but she may pop in. She's an
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  Speaker 2: award winning author and motivational speaker. She's the founder Objects
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: Angels Incorporated and the powerful voice and dad Forward winning
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: Don't Let the Wheelchair for People. She's inspiring faith, resilience
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: and purpose. Then there's the Tania Arthod's, the award winning
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: author of Learned, Nice Walk. She's empowering women to heal, grow,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: and were both be in self discovery. And up next
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  Speaker 2: is Miss Matney Merman, multi award winning I mean, five
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  Speaker 2: times award winning romance author of Make Room for Romance
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: and other folks as well. It's a blurdy god to
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  Speaker 2: passionate She is a self publishing coach and contributor to
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: Melanier and Marriage Magazine and who could Beget? Jaunty Kanye's
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  Speaker 2: an award winning community leader and Dad's Award winning author
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: of Being Pretty. It is hard for you can see
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: by looking at it. Yes, it is hard mentoring women
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  Speaker 2: and children to own their confidence and purpose and last
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: but certainly not n is un He is a two
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  Speaker 2: time dad What the twenty twenty two poetry purpose of
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: Being in twenty twenty five of Darkness to Life. He
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: is also Honor Society Skylar and Brown Father represented Exors
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Leadership and Leans Welcome winners to Basic Black Athle Doc. Hello, Hello,
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: how is everybody after that big win doing?
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: Great? Congratulations? Great congratulations, fabulous congression, cogress everybody.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: Yes, So let me ask you all as an author,
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: your journey is just beginning. You know some of you
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: been in the game for a while, but every time
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: you're right, well, it seems like it's just a what
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: inspired the stories that earned you a dad recognition? Anybody?
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: Because you're all winning? So what inspired you story?
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: Well?
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  Speaker 2: I'll start start my book.
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  Speaker 5: One song.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: Is number four.
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  Speaker 5: Romance series. My readers enjoyed the first story. Then came
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: you so much that they wanted to know more of
• 5:23
  Speaker 5: Brian and Zanaya's story. So then I came up with
• 5:27
  Speaker 5: one song.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: Wow, one song beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful is everywhere? Thank you?
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: Anyone else want to share thank you? Was there a
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: defining moment when you knew you had to write this
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: book anymore?
• 5:48
  Speaker 6: Yeah?
• 5:49
  Speaker 7: One when I had yeah the third person.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: Say hey, what happened? What happened?
• 5:55
  Speaker 5: With like, yeah, Okay, I've got to write this story
• 5:57
  Speaker 5: because people are waiting for it, they want to know.
• 6:00
  Speaker 5: So yeah, that was my inspiration and it was the
• 6:04
  Speaker 5: perfect book number three to round off the four part series.
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  Speaker 2: So was it a defining moment for anyone else when
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: they were writing their books?
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  Speaker 4: I know for me writing my book, it was more
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: or less for inner work and like soul searching and
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: just trying to learn for me so that I could
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  Speaker 4: eventually help someone else discover themselves their own inner beauty.
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: Not so much the outer.
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  Speaker 7: Devating me.
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  Speaker 6: Motivating me to write my book. Coming from a divorced family,
• 6:54
  Speaker 6: experiencing a gang culture and just hooked on drugs, I
• 7:00
  Speaker 6: just wanted to get my story out there to let
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  Speaker 6: young people know, Hey, you can overcome the negativity, you
• 7:05
  Speaker 6: know it don't have to You don't have to become
• 7:07
  Speaker 6: what you've been through.
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: So who poured into any of you as a writer?
• 7:19
  Speaker 6: Actually it was my parents, my aunts, a couple of
• 7:23
  Speaker 6: my aunts who backtly valued education, but primarily my grandparents
• 7:29
  Speaker 6: just going down south every summer and just being poor,
• 7:32
  Speaker 6: loving too, and just of family values. And I just
• 7:35
  Speaker 6: watched how my family grew up in the South. I
• 7:39
  Speaker 6: just knew I wanted to to change the narrative of
• 7:42
  Speaker 6: my family and of my life. And I want to
• 7:45
  Speaker 6: make sure to my ancestors I made them proud.
• 7:52
  Speaker 8: Who poured into me? I'm sorry I was muted earlier,
• 7:57
  Speaker 8: so I couldn't mute myself, but I was inspired and
• 8:03
  Speaker 8: the women that around me poured into me.
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  Speaker 2: My mother, my older sisters.
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  Speaker 8: Aunts, grandmother, so growing I'm the youngest in the family,
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  Speaker 8: so the women in my community, my mother, all the
• 8:22
  Speaker 8: powerful women of that.
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  Speaker 4: Generation poured into me.
• 8:26
  Speaker 8: And I was inspired by that, by their resilience and
• 8:30
  Speaker 8: their strength.
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  Speaker 2: So who do you anybody wish to pour into? Because
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: I hear, I'm hearing all this love that is poured
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: into you, especially these strong women that you speak of
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: who do you feel is dumb?
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: You want to pour into, so I'll go. So for me,
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: I wanted to pour into the the mothers who I
• 8:59
  Speaker 3: felt self or in silence. Me telling my stories with
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: the voice of a mother's pain was important for me
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: to give other mothers who are raising children with disabilities
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: permission to share their stories. So I know, sometimes you know,
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: the fear, the guilt, all those things can overshadow you know, us,
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: and it's it's it's a tough situation to talk about
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  Speaker 3: openly sometimes. And I think sometimes you know, raising your
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: child is a disability, sometimes you kind of fade to
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: the back. So me, you know, being vulnerable enough. And
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: then of course the mothers who trusted me to share
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: their stories, They're not only poured into me, but I'm
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: sure that they poured into others. So the biggest thing
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: for me is the poort into those parents, not just mothers,
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: but parents who silent, you know, who silently suffer with
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: raising children with disabilities. Just being open and free to
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: have that community to express you know, how they feel
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: or be able to share to help take the burden off.
• 10:11
  Speaker 8: You all have ben it.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: So there must be something to your craft and creativity.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: How do you balance honesty and vulnerability when writing personal
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: or difficult truths. I hear you talk about so many
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: people are pouring into you. But in your case, mister,
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: where you had mentioned about some parts of your past,
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: how was that when you started writing about that and
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: you wanted to change the course of things in your
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: family line because I know that their creativity had to
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: come up in this somewhere.
• 10:51
  Speaker 7: Well, first I just remember, just stay focused on what
• 10:55
  Speaker 7: I was trying to do, and then just open up
• 10:58
  Speaker 7: about it. Got to try.
• 11:00
  Speaker 6: You got to start with transparency, if you're honest and
• 11:03
  Speaker 6: people feel that you're just being honest about what you're doing,
• 11:05
  Speaker 6: what you're saying. For example, it was difficult for me
• 11:09
  Speaker 6: saying I was on drugs. It was difficult for me
• 11:12
  Speaker 6: to say I came from a divorce family and I
• 11:14
  Speaker 6: didn't love myself, you know, even though I had some values,
• 11:18
  Speaker 6: I just I didn't know how to speak up for myself.
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  Speaker 7: I didn't have self love, like I said.
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  Speaker 6: But then once I realized and God really came into
• 11:27
  Speaker 6: my life, and I just realized I loved myself. I
• 11:31
  Speaker 6: know who I am, and it took me to care.
• 11:34
  Speaker 6: I developed the courage to say, hey to those game members,
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  Speaker 6: I'm not even about that life. Once God showed you
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  Speaker 6: to do something, I was willing to die for that,
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  Speaker 6: and I stopped throwing them pitchforks up.
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  Speaker 7: So I followed my savior, My God, My God.
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  Speaker 2: I wish I had this on someple speak of some
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  Speaker 2: of the media in sixteen sixteen. You know, when I'm
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: talking about something, sit there and to let people know
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: what you just said. Yeah, you gave it up, and
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: I ain't so proud of in your book has spoken volumes.
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  Speaker 2: I believe it, and it's going to continue to speak valumes.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: What does your creative routine look like?
• 12:18
  Speaker 6: The ability to see the ability to see the inter
• 12:21
  Speaker 6: spirit you I use. I use the vision of spirituality
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  Speaker 6: to manifest my reality, and I believe that if you
• 12:29
  Speaker 6: don't see it, you can't make it happen.
• 12:31
  Speaker 7: You gotta believe it. You gotta believe it.
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  Speaker 2: Wow, anybody else want to share your creative routine.
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  Speaker 3: I'll have to piggyback off of that, because the creativity
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  Speaker 3: for me came with the raw emotion. I think you
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: know me and Andre both you know we're talking from
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: lived experiences. So I think the creativity came from that
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: raw emotion with the reflective insight allow our readers to
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: just read the pain, but to also feel the strength,
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: resilience and the love that also exists alongside that. So
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: I think that I think I have to agree on that.
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: It's just that raw emotion that you put in there,
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: just being open and transparent about the journey.
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: What was the hardest section or chapter for you to write?
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: Now it's too difficult to speak about, that's okay, you
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: can skip that. I don't want anybody uncomfortable.
• 13:36
  Speaker 5: Well, my books are fiction, so everything that happens in
• 13:40
  Speaker 5: my book is comes out of my imagination. Mostly out
• 13:44
  Speaker 5: of my imagination that line.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: Somewhere along that line, something had to trigger something. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: that's what I say.
• 13:50
  Speaker 9: Mostly because there are things that I see in life
• 13:57
  Speaker 9: that I remember living through that I put in my story.
• 14:00
  Speaker 5: And so one just asked me about that today. I
• 14:02
  Speaker 5: put in my story. But it's it's twisted and molded
• 14:07
  Speaker 5: that it's that nobody would recognize that these are things
• 14:11
  Speaker 5: that actually happened or I heard or experienced or saw.
• 14:14
  Speaker 5: But for one song, the hardest chapter was the last
• 14:19
  Speaker 5: chapter because well, I'll say the next to last chapter
• 14:22
  Speaker 5: because that's where the height of the story happens. That's
• 14:26
  Speaker 5: where all the bad stuff starts to happen. And even
• 14:29
  Speaker 5: though these are fictional characters, it's still hurt my heart.
• 14:32
  Speaker 5: And so I had to get I have to get
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: through the hard part so that I can get to
• 14:37
  Speaker 5: the happening ever after. And what a lot of people
• 14:40
  Speaker 5: don't know is my husband. I had him read that
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: story for me because I needed one more reader, and
• 14:47
  Speaker 5: he actually told me that as he put it home,
• 14:50
  Speaker 5: he got a little misty at the end.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: And it sounds like there's gonna be a part too,
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: and maybe called in my song. Mm hmm, you're gonna
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: tell me that part was media right there. We'll see,
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: we'll see.
• 15:11
  Speaker 5: I'm working on els right now, though I'm working on
• 15:14
  Speaker 5: us right now.
• 15:14
  Speaker 6: Though for me, the hardest part of writing do you
• 15:23
  Speaker 6: know what I'm saying? For me, the hardest part of
• 15:25
  Speaker 6: writing this book. You know, people when you tell people
• 15:29
  Speaker 6: you actually had an experience with the Creator God, they
• 15:33
  Speaker 6: look at you like you're crazy. I remember my granddaddy
• 15:36
  Speaker 6: telling me, you can't tell everybody everything. But because it
• 15:40
  Speaker 6: was so prevalent in my life and it was transformative
• 15:44
  Speaker 6: to the point if it wasn't for God coming into
• 15:47
  Speaker 6: my life telling me and reflecting everything that I've done
• 15:51
  Speaker 6: in my life that was negative. And I actually had
• 15:54
  Speaker 6: a near death experience doing that, doing that situation, and
• 16:00
  Speaker 6: I was like, you know what, I gotta be real
• 16:02
  Speaker 6: with myself. That was the hardest part, being real and
• 16:05
  Speaker 6: vulnerable and being able to open up about it regardless
• 16:10
  Speaker 6: of what somebody may say.
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: I was just explaining that so many authors, they don't
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: just write their stories, they actually live this story. It's
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: in piece of that some people may say somebody else,
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: but there's a part of us that's in that book.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: Otherwise we would not write these books the way that
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: we write them because they're so dad going good. So
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna give it to you. They're so dad going good.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: When I say dad, you know what I mean. Jennie
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: can on me for that one. So they're really good.
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: And it takes a lot to pour into what you do.
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: But there's always a purpose of what we write. And
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: I'm curious to know what impact this journey had on you.
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: I mean, your work clearly resonates with communities. What impact
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: do you hope this for what amplifies for you and
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: for your readers.
• 17:14
  Speaker 5: Well, for me, like I said, I write fiction. So
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: my purpose in writing is to give my readers an
• 17:22
  Speaker 5: opportunity to escape. Because the world we're living in right
• 17:25
  Speaker 5: now is backwards, upside down, crazy, and it's stressful, and
• 17:30
  Speaker 5: it's hard, and it's depressing and it's sad. I want
• 17:33
  Speaker 5: to give my readers something that's going to take them
• 17:36
  Speaker 5: away from all of that for even just a little
• 17:39
  Speaker 5: while and look forward to a happily ever after.
• 17:45
  Speaker 6: For me, I want to awaken, my awaken with my readers.
• 17:51
  Speaker 6: I just want them to know to believe in themselves
• 17:54
  Speaker 6: and know that there is a God and we are
• 17:57
  Speaker 6: we manifest what we want in this world. We really
• 18:00
  Speaker 6: truly had a power. But you gotta believe it. It's
• 18:02
  Speaker 6: not about It's not about the Bible all the time.
• 18:05
  Speaker 6: It's all about the energy we carry in us. If
• 18:08
  Speaker 6: you change that narrative and keep it positive and be faithful,
• 18:14
  Speaker 6: you can make anything happen, can change.
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: So for me, I just hope that that readers walk
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: away with a deeper sense of empathy for mothers, caregivers,
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: or families navigating the invisible battles. I just want the
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: book to linger in the hearts of people, reminding them
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: to listen more closely, to judge less quickly, and to
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: extend the grace where they once may not have understood.
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: So that's the biggest thing. It's just that deeper empathy.
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: It's what I want readers to walk away with.
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: For me, I want my readers to know that they
• 18:55
  Speaker 4: can overcome, that there is a life outside and after
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: the pain, that there is a purpose in it. Even
• 19:03
  Speaker 4: though when you're going through your pain, there is way
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: to overcome. And I just want people to know that
• 19:08
  Speaker 4: you can overcome pain and hurt without being ugly on
• 19:12
  Speaker 4: the inside, like you can heal. You can heal your
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: heart from the broken heartness and you know you being broken.
• 19:19
  Speaker 4: I just want them to know that there is a
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: life out once you overcome the really learned your purpose
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: and like you said, your purpose really comes back. There's
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: no other way for you to find your purpose in life. People,
• 19:33
  Speaker 4: you know switch, I want to say, well, that's my passion,
• 19:36
  Speaker 4: but passion and purpose are not. You have to rech
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: for God to learn your purpose. And once you learn
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: your purpose, the pain that you will see that the
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: pain the reason for all the pain.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: Of writing leaves what legacy do you hope you're writing.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: I My my legacy leaves.
• 20:06
  Speaker 5: What I want my legacy to be for my children,
• 20:09
  Speaker 5: one that their mom achieved a goal that she wasn't
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: even prepared for. And I want that legacy of that
• 20:20
  Speaker 5: they're readers and that they can do whatever they put
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: their mind to do.
• 20:30
  Speaker 6: My legacy, I want my children to know, and the
• 20:35
  Speaker 6: young adults in the world, anything is possible. You can
• 20:41
  Speaker 6: be a scholar, You can be anything you want. You
• 20:46
  Speaker 6: just have to, like I said, you guess, just gotta
• 20:48
  Speaker 6: believe in it. You gotta want it. You can change
• 20:52
  Speaker 6: the narrative. You can change this world if you just
• 20:55
  Speaker 6: have love in your heart. You can have a dispute
• 20:59
  Speaker 6: or a disagreement with someone, but you got to come
• 21:02
  Speaker 6: over with a common ground.
• 21:03
  Speaker 7: And that's what love and what God is about.
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: I also piggyback off that the legacy of love, for sure,
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: just because I'm passionate about teaching that important concept of
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: self love, especially at our early age, while children are
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: in their informative years. I do believe that it's important
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: that they learned that early on because it does shape
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: who they become as an adult. That self acceptance, of course,
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: and just helping others to embrace their differences and definitely
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: loving who they see in the mirror. So definitely one
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: of love, one of self acceptance and resilience, I.
• 21:45
  Speaker 4: Know perfect self love and people, and that one really
• 21:53
  Speaker 4: learn who you are and to love who you are
• 21:56
  Speaker 4: despite your flaws, because a lot of time to be
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: for people, you know, to say what's bad about them,
• 22:03
  Speaker 4: but to be able to talk about what's good in
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: you as well. And sometimes that comes from learning who
• 22:08
  Speaker 4: you really are, because the world will tell you who
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: you are, and that's not who you are, that's just
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: who the world perceived you to be. So you just
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: need to learn really who you are. Take the time
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: to learn who you are. So I really hope that
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: you know my books will leave a legacy to teach
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: people to search inside, because once you search inside, then
• 22:31
  Speaker 4: who you are will show to the world.
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: So now you guys, see why the Dad Award winners
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: just listen to that. You can imagine just by hearing
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: them what their books is about. If your book.
• 22:56
  Speaker 5: You cut out, we didn't hear you.
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: If your book can change one thing in this world,
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: what would it be?
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: The hearts of the broken? So many people that are
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: broken in this world and if they could their heart,
• 23:17
  Speaker 4: learn their heart by learning to love who they are,
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: and that will fix their brokenness.
• 23:30
  Speaker 6: Your life, transform your life from darkness to light. Whatever
• 23:35
  Speaker 6: it is that you think that's bad that you've done,
• 23:37
  Speaker 6: it could be white clean, right m hmm.
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: And mine is just love.
• 23:43
  Speaker 5: I just I want people to feel like I want
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: people to feel love, to be in love because I
• 23:51
  Speaker 5: believe in Happily ever After. I might be wearing my
• 23:54
  Speaker 5: rose colored sunglasses, but that's what I want.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: People to feel. I want people to feel love. H
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: What do you wish that you.
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: Learned?
• 24:13
  Speaker 7: Mm hmm, couldn't hear you?
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: Just My question was, what do you what do you
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: wish that you've learned before releasing.
• 24:43
  Speaker 4: Your I wish that I would have learned about all
• 24:51
  Speaker 4: the naysayers, the negativity that was gonna come. I just,
• 24:58
  Speaker 4: you know, I hear people always say they want to
• 25:00
  Speaker 4: share their story, but there's actually a lot that comes
• 25:03
  Speaker 4: with sharing your story. And I think just being a
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: little prepared for the naysayers and the questions, why would
• 25:14
  Speaker 4: you share your story, why would you give this to
• 25:17
  Speaker 4: the world, just a little just to prepare yourself for
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: what comes with because there's a lot that comes actually
• 25:25
  Speaker 4: with sharing your story, especially when your story is your truth,
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: it may not be somebody else's. And maybe there may
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: be parts of your story somebody may not believe or
• 25:35
  Speaker 4: or don't think that that really happened. So you have
• 25:38
  Speaker 4: to be prepared. So if somebody would have prepared me.
• 25:43
  Speaker 4: Because just like there's good sized a good, you know,
• 25:47
  Speaker 4: part of writing a book, there's also a couple of
• 25:49
  Speaker 4: backwards as well.
• 25:55
  Speaker 6: I've learned that people are very critical critical of actually
• 26:00
  Speaker 6: of you, of who you are and what you stand for,
• 26:03
  Speaker 6: and actually it stimulates and it's the reflects of who
• 26:07
  Speaker 6: you are as a writer. But what I did have
• 26:09
  Speaker 6: to learn is you have to overcome that and be strong.
• 26:12
  Speaker 6: You have to have an inner core that's very strong
• 26:14
  Speaker 6: and know who you are to override whatever the negativity
• 26:17
  Speaker 6: that may come your way, because like we were saying earlier,
• 26:21
  Speaker 6: it's going to help someone. Some people just be hating
• 26:25
  Speaker 6: on you because you've done it, you know.
• 26:27
  Speaker 7: I had to learn that.
• 26:28
  Speaker 6: And once I learned that and come to come to
• 26:31
  Speaker 6: the realization, hey, just stay on the path because if
• 26:35
  Speaker 6: they were doing something, trust me, they'll be supporting me.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: I have to think, so what was your way of
• 26:46
  Speaker 2: staying motivated, just moving along and just like you said earlier,
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: ignore the haters, or how did that work for you?
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: How did you stay motivated when you felt like there
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: was some setbacks with some brightest box or even who
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: motivated you the most?
• 27:08
  Speaker 6: You know what, I just stayed true to my steps
• 27:10
  Speaker 6: and stay focused to what it is I was trying
• 27:12
  Speaker 6: to accomplish, and that is I wanted to get something
• 27:15
  Speaker 6: back to the world. I never knew I was going
• 27:17
  Speaker 6: to become a writer. However, once I started writing easy,
• 27:21
  Speaker 6: my emotions down and and it was it took me
• 27:24
  Speaker 6: to get fired from us I'm just gonna be honest
• 27:26
  Speaker 6: from a state job. I became suicidal and I went
• 27:30
  Speaker 6: into my closet, poured out my work and I realized, hey,
• 27:35
  Speaker 6: you got three books here, And from there I took off.
• 27:38
  Speaker 6: I said, this is what I'm going to do. God
• 27:41
  Speaker 6: was like, this is what I want you to do.
• 27:43
  Speaker 6: You stay focused on this, and five years, six years later,
• 27:47
  Speaker 6: here I am.
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: Amen.
• 27:56
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I agree with Andre.
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: You're still here with me? Anyone else what motivated? I
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: agree with Andre?
• 28:09
  Speaker 5: And once I started, Once I started this journey, it
• 28:16
  Speaker 5: was I knew this is what God would have me
• 28:19
  Speaker 5: to do. He gave me the gift of writing, so
• 28:23
  Speaker 5: once I started, there was no way I could stop.
• 28:25
  Speaker 5: And I told him once I got that first book
• 28:28
  Speaker 5: done and if he continued to download, I will continue
• 28:30
  Speaker 5: to write. So here I am still writing.
• 28:35
  Speaker 4: I agree. For me. I remember asking God that if
• 28:41
  Speaker 4: I could just inspire one person, then I felt like
• 28:45
  Speaker 4: I've done what You've asked me to do, and I've
• 28:48
  Speaker 4: ended up inspiring people all.
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: Over the world.
• 28:50
  Speaker 4: So that just keeps motivating me to continue to write.
• 28:54
  Speaker 4: And then when you get, you know, the positive feedback
• 28:56
  Speaker 4: from people who have read your book, and you hear
• 28:59
  Speaker 4: them say, oh, really helped me, he.
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: Says a man. Love is so yeah, never spoken wrong before. Yes,
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: they do wish that they were doing something that they
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: that you're doing. And that happens a lot when you
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: know we have people who are not supportive of our
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: set m and we continue to move forward. It's such
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: a blessing. Oh h you're frozen.
• 29:49
  Speaker 7: Yes, you bounced, you bounced out.
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: So when you see your titles and your name's underneath
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: those books, so long that that was able to happen
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: for each you know every wanted you to be put
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: out there in the way that you have been able
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: to do it. So I applord or are looking forward
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: to bigger things? What projects or books are you working.
• 30:36
  Speaker 7: What was your question?
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: I know that I know that you all are working on.
• 30:54
  Speaker 6: From the little a little bit that I heard my
• 30:57
  Speaker 6: twenty twenty My twenty twenty six go is.
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: To try to get my books across the globe all
• 31:05
  Speaker 2: the question, and I apologize, I don't know what's coming
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: from since winning the award. I know you all are
• 31:11
  Speaker 2: looking forward to bigger things since winning the award? What
• 31:14
  Speaker 2: projects or books are you working on next?
• 31:19
  Speaker 6: Right now? I'm currently working on in twenty twenty six
• 31:23
  Speaker 6: to try to get my book to go global. I'm
• 31:25
  Speaker 6: working on an organization called African Global Chamber of Commerce.
• 31:29
  Speaker 6: I'm going to be working with doctor Camanzi next year
• 31:33
  Speaker 6: and trying to get my books in Africa.
• 31:35
  Speaker 7: That's the goal.
• 31:36
  Speaker 6: And actually I want to develop myself as a speaker
• 31:39
  Speaker 6: as I get ready to retire and transition into who
• 31:43
  Speaker 6: I'm becoming.
• 31:44
  Speaker 7: That's my goal.
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: I'm working on. I'm working on a new book.
• 31:57
  Speaker 5: I'm going to step out a little bit, going into
• 32:01
  Speaker 5: romance fantasy, and I'm also working on putting my workshop
• 32:06
  Speaker 5: out a few more times this year than I did.
• 32:09
  Speaker 5: I mean in twenty twenty six, and I did in
• 32:11
  Speaker 5: twenty twenty five my self publishing workshop where I teach
• 32:14
  Speaker 5: people how to self publish their books.
• 32:20
  Speaker 3: I am beginning to write the sequel of Shining Through,
• 32:25
  Speaker 3: so you have to catch up on part one if
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: you have it out already. And then I have started
• 32:32
  Speaker 3: the outreach for speaking engagement Andrea as well to sharpen
• 32:37
  Speaker 3: up on that I want to get out into the schools, libraries, universities, hospitals.
• 32:44
  Speaker 3: I think it's important because my daughter's condition is such
• 32:48
  Speaker 3: a rare condition that nobody has really ever heard of it.
• 32:51
  Speaker 3: I think it's important for me to continue to be
• 32:54
  Speaker 3: a strong advocate for her. So I think it will
• 32:57
  Speaker 3: be an eye opening experience for parents to be aware
• 33:00
  Speaker 3: and equipped for any mental turbulence. And then I'm also
• 33:04
  Speaker 3: working on a limited stock of merchandise that will represent parenthood.
• 33:11
  Speaker 3: So I have a few things that I am starting
• 33:14
  Speaker 3: to do to prepare for twenty twenty six, But the
• 33:17
  Speaker 3: biggest thing is the sequel to Shining Through the first
• 33:22
  Speaker 3: one was just a introduction to the condition and an
• 33:26
  Speaker 3: introduction to my daughter the second one will actually go
• 33:30
  Speaker 3: into more of what a day to day looks like
• 33:34
  Speaker 3: for someone with a severe case of incontinenty your pigmity.
• 33:38
  Speaker 3: So the biggest thing is I want to get into
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: the community more and share my story in hopes to
• 33:47
  Speaker 3: again advocate for her and just bring light into to
• 33:54
  Speaker 3: in continent to your pigmity.
• 34:01
  Speaker 4: Right now, I am on my third book, hopefully it
• 34:05
  Speaker 4: will be ready to go probably by the end of
• 34:08
  Speaker 4: twenty six and then I'm also a probing for single mothers.
• 34:14
  Speaker 4: I am hoping right now, I'm trying to write friends
• 34:16
  Speaker 4: to get to Mney, to purchase a facility for them
• 34:21
  Speaker 4: to come and stay, and so that they can get
• 34:23
  Speaker 4: information and learn to build themselves up so that they
• 34:29
  Speaker 4: are able to be successful also not only with their children,
• 34:34
  Speaker 4: but also as an individual. Because one thing that I've
• 34:37
  Speaker 4: learned being a single mother myself a lot of times,
• 34:41
  Speaker 4: and not even just being a single mother, just any
• 34:43
  Speaker 4: type of table you take, whether it's a wife, that mom, grandma,
• 34:47
  Speaker 4: we all forget that we were individuals before we became
• 34:52
  Speaker 4: a mother, and we need to also know that it's
• 34:57
  Speaker 4: okay to be a mother in accomplished goods. So I
• 35:00
  Speaker 4: want hopefully to have a facility sometime in twenty twenty
• 35:04
  Speaker 4: six for single mothers, and to have my book to
• 35:08
  Speaker 4: go and be released by twenty twenty seven.
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: What advice would you give to the emerging authors walking
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: film is don'ty overlooked.
• 35:27
  Speaker 5: To keep pushing, to keep going because we all hit
• 35:32
  Speaker 5: that point where it's hard, where it feels like we've
• 35:35
  Speaker 5: hit that wall and we can't move forward. But if
• 35:39
  Speaker 5: you stop, you never know how far you can actually go.
• 35:47
  Speaker 3: I would say to stay authentic and like Natalie said,
• 35:50
  Speaker 3: just to keep going. I know sometimes especially you know
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: when you're brand new to the author of world, the
• 35:58
  Speaker 3: biggest thing is one ge you community of authors who
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: support you. Distinguished Author's Guild, phenomenal organization to be a
• 36:09
  Speaker 3: part of, because the support's phenomenal. Where you have people
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: who are you know, on different paths of their authorship,
• 36:17
  Speaker 3: but the support's phenomenal. But just be authentic in your
• 36:20
  Speaker 3: journey and know that your work is going to reach
• 36:24
  Speaker 3: who is supposed to reach. So don't give up on
• 36:27
  Speaker 3: that piece of it. I know sometimes that you see
• 36:30
  Speaker 3: someone maybe you know, I know I've seen this is
• 36:34
  Speaker 3: a little bit a transparency before you're like dang, you
• 36:38
  Speaker 3: know they're selling so many more books. You know my
• 36:40
  Speaker 3: books is not getting out there. But in the end,
• 36:43
  Speaker 3: when you realize the impact that your book has once
• 36:47
  Speaker 3: it hits your audience, so you, like Mallie said, you
• 36:52
  Speaker 3: have to keep going. But just stay authentic. Is my
• 36:55
  Speaker 3: advice in your journey and being who you are in
• 36:58
  Speaker 3: your journey.
• 37:01
  Speaker 6: Yes, I resonate with everything that you lady said, but
• 37:05
  Speaker 6: one crucial part I think I need to I need
• 37:07
  Speaker 6: to incorporate that, and that is do it from your heart,
• 37:11
  Speaker 6: not for the money. Do it for your for your heart,
• 37:14
  Speaker 6: because the money will come. If you're doing it for
• 37:17
  Speaker 6: the money, you might fail if you're doing it for
• 37:20
  Speaker 6: the wrong reason. I had to learn that it was
• 37:22
  Speaker 6: God that actually told me you got it all wrong.
• 37:25
  Speaker 6: So I gotta make sure I'll let you know do
• 37:27
  Speaker 6: it from your heart, I agreed.
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: Tell us how they can connect with you, How our
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: listeners and viewers can connect with you to purchase your books,
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: to even if someone wants to get advice because they
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: break your books, to know more about you.
• 37:49
  Speaker 7: And your books.
• 37:52
  Speaker 5: When you can reach me at Nett's Books dot net.
• 37:55
  Speaker 5: N A T S B O O K S dot
• 37:59
  Speaker 5: net it's my website. You can also sign up for
• 38:02
  Speaker 5: my workshop on the page as well, that.
• 38:07
  Speaker 2: The Romance Queen Everybody.
• 38:10
  Speaker 6: You can purchase my book on Amazon dot com, or
• 38:14
  Speaker 6: you can go to my website andres creations dot com.
• 38:18
  Speaker 6: That is you N d R A s c R
• 38:22
  Speaker 6: e A t i O N dot com. Andre's creation
• 38:26
  Speaker 6: dot com.
• 38:29
  Speaker 4: You can find mine on Amazon dot com. I'm also
• 38:32
  Speaker 4: at Barnes and Nobles. You can I'm on all social
• 38:36
  Speaker 4: medias with Chantay Conyers and you can box me. My
• 38:40
  Speaker 4: websites are currently down there under construction, but my books
• 38:44
  Speaker 4: are available and Barnes and Noble. You can reach me at.
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry.
• 38:55
  Speaker 3: You can reach me at author for Yeah. You can
• 39:01
  Speaker 3: reach me at authorfairnmac Lamore dot my Shoppy five so
• 39:05
  Speaker 3: that's s h O p I f y dot com.
• 39:10
  Speaker 3: Or you can follow my author page on Facebook, author
• 39:13
  Speaker 3: Fair and mac Lamore you can reach me there as well.
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: So you don't give everybody everybody nickname. That's precious moments
• 39:21
  Speaker 2: right there. So you know I do that, Just do that.
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: Even when I get off of the air, I just say,
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: well this one was that and this one was that.
• 39:29
  Speaker 2: So I give everybody little names on one night because
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: it also helps me to remember who you are. So
• 39:34
  Speaker 2: that concludes us tonight, this unforgettable evening with the distinguished
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: Authors Guild Award winners, and I know there is so
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: much more to come. We witnessed excellent, we celebrated courage,
• 39:46
  Speaker 2: and we honored storytellers who did illuminate truth, healing, and hope.
• 39:50
  Speaker 2: To our gracious host, Gina Gadton, thank you for holding
• 39:54
  Speaker 2: the room with poised power and perfect To our winners,
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: may your pens stay powerful, your platforms expand, and your
• 40:03
  Speaker 2: purpose continue to guide your journey. Thank you Chicago for
• 40:06
  Speaker 2: hosting us, she said, it's to one DC, it wasn't
• 40:09
  Speaker 2: so bad that day. And listeners and viewers for supporting
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: the voices that shape our world. Join us on Monday,
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: December to twenty ninth, or a special episode. Now you
• 40:20
  Speaker 2: know I'm usually here on Fridays. We'll have a special
• 40:23
  Speaker 2: episode coming up December the twenty ninth. We'll be sitting
• 40:26
  Speaker 2: down with the author and co authors of I Am
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: A Living Testimony. Until next time, keep writing, keep shining,
• 40:37
  Speaker 2: and keep telling the stories that only you can tell.
• 40:40
  Speaker 2: Good night, and thanks to keep