Latest / Black Fridays: Business Growth for Entrepreneurs, Creators & Professionals / The Spiritual Battle You Never See Coming - Ep. 160 w/ Christian Black

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The Spiritual Battle You Never See Coming - Ep. 160 w/ Christian Black · Black Fridays: Business Growth for Entrepreneurs, Creators & Professionals

0:00
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, let's be honest, like when it comes down to our walk with Christ, we don't come to him clean.
0:06
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not like we're saying, well, you know, I got myself all together then I just decided to choose Jesus.
0:14
[SPEAKER_01]: If you got yourself all together, you don't need Jesus.
0:17
[SPEAKER_01]: So, it's in that brokenness that the healing can take place is in those moments of like knowing that like my life is messed up and I've been broken down because of life circumstances because of trauma.
0:31
[SPEAKER_01]: I can now understand that there is somebody that loves me, there's somebody that cares for me, there's somebody that they didn't want any of these things that happens to me, but what they are going to do is take all these things and make it work for my good.
1:04
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1:11
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1:15
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1:18
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1:27
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1:32
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1:36
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1:40
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1:55
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1:57
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2:05
[SPEAKER_02]: I look forward to seeing you at the Bamboo locations with that being said, let's get into that episode.
2:10
[SPEAKER_02]: What up, though, Black Friday's family, welcome back to another installment of the Black Friday's podcast.
2:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Before we get into today's episode, I need you to do a couple of things and you to hit that like button, subscribe and then also share some episodes with family friends and loved ones.
2:23
[SPEAKER_02]: So we can keep this thing going.
2:25
[SPEAKER_02]: All right, now that I got that out of the way, I got family in the building today.
2:28
[SPEAKER_02]: I have a author and the CEO of Sanctuary House Publishing, Mr. Christian Black, how you doing today, my brother?
2:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm doing good, how about yourself?
2:35
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm doing pretty well, man.
2:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you for putting up to Black Friday's.
2:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, no, no problem.
2:39
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, got to love Friday's right.
2:43
[SPEAKER_02]: For sure.
2:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Wait, which Friday's Friday the chain risk rate word?
2:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, no.
2:48
[SPEAKER_01]: I stay by her Friday.
2:50
[SPEAKER_01]: So, I do not walk into that.
2:54
[SPEAKER_02]: If you ever been in the Southfield area, you know exactly.
3:00
[SPEAKER_02]: You know exactly what Friday's been talking about.
3:04
[SPEAKER_02]: but grateful to have you on the show and we'd love to talk about your latest project in terms of battleground so i know that this is a had been a laborer love for you so we'll love for you to intro the book to us and tell us a little bit about uh your journey in terms of creating it.
3:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, sure.
3:20
[SPEAKER_01]: So battleground here is a Christian, it's Christian fiction.
3:25
[SPEAKER_01]: That's a very large window is very broad.
3:29
[SPEAKER_01]: So within side Christian fiction there's romance, there's fantasy, there's a bunch of other genres.
3:35
[SPEAKER_01]: But to narrow this down, this is a Christian thriller.
3:38
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you like books like this present darkness by Frank Peretti or even if you like the stand by Stephen King.
3:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Stephen King is one of my authors that I did inspires me and maybe we could talk about that later.
3:53
[SPEAKER_01]: But if you like any one of those books, this is falls right in line with that.
3:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I know Stephen King doesn't do faith-based books, but if you get the understanding of that story, you will get this.
4:06
[SPEAKER_01]: and this book here is while it is a novel but it is part of a series.
4:14
[SPEAKER_02]: And because I know you personally, I know that you are into a lot of fiction.
4:18
[SPEAKER_02]: So, me and you, we talk a lot about comic books and superhero movies and stuff like that.
4:23
[SPEAKER_02]: So, going from being a fan of things like this in terms of the type of book that you created with Battleground, how did you go from being someone who was like on the outside, consuming these things to wanted to actually
4:37
[SPEAKER_01]: develop a book like what what sparked that change to say you know let me let me actually do this in shared these stories that I got so it was it's pretty interesting that you asked that because I didn't think I was going to write a book either um I started writing it in college.
4:53
[SPEAKER_01]: But it was something that was always, I mean, it was a gift that I already had given me.
4:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I couldn't think back to when I was a kid.
5:01
[SPEAKER_01]: I was a huge fan of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z.
5:05
[SPEAKER_01]: And I used to, what we would call a fanfiction.
5:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I used to make fanfiction of Dragon Ball, with my own characters.
5:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I used to follow paper like a little comic book, and draw my own characters in there, make speech bubbles, and all that stuff, interacting with like Goku, Gohan, and all those individuals.
5:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Then it went from that to then I made up my own story, I still need to find the two chapters of that because I feel like that story was going to be fire.
5:32
[SPEAKER_01]: But I started off writing just two random chapters.
5:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't know where the story was going to go, but I just knew I was saying I got this idea and I just started just writing.
5:42
[SPEAKER_01]: and it went from that and then years and years passed and then this came out and actually I started right developing this actually it wasn't until I was it was a snow it was a winter and I remember it clear today because I was with one of my good friends Kira Glattney her the last thing wasn't Glattney at the time
6:02
[SPEAKER_01]: But me and her were writing to Oakland Ma and we were coming off of 75 and I told her that God gave me this idea for a book.
6:13
[SPEAKER_01]: I told her how the story started, starts, which is how the beginning of this book starts.
6:18
[SPEAKER_01]: And I told her where everything ends, which that would be like books and books from now.
6:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And she was like, wow, that's such a good idea.
6:25
[SPEAKER_01]: And she loved it.
6:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, oh, I feel like it would be dope too.
6:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's kind of like this idea of merging the things that I love.
6:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Like comic books, and I am a Christian too.
6:35
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm a minister at my church.
6:38
[SPEAKER_01]: My home church is embassy covenant international.
6:42
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'll
6:43
[SPEAKER_01]: all of those things kind of converging together and producing something like this very dope.
6:50
[SPEAKER_02]: And would you say how long would you say your process was for you to go from that idea that you got and telling a kid about it to actually develop in the book and having it sitting right here in front of us.
7:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I want to say this length of time and I promise you it doesn't take this long.
7:07
[SPEAKER_01]: It took me 10 years.
7:09
[SPEAKER_01]: I lost family members, almost didn't make it out of college, I laid off, got married, children, all of those things happened within the time span of this book coming out, along with me having two surgeries at the time.
7:29
[SPEAKER_01]: So I went through life was life and you know, I think God because if it was it for a lot I understand now that a lot of those things I had to go through in order for me to Get this product that I have here to see the labor of love as you said Because if it was not for those things there were things that need to be worked out and those things would still be there
7:54
[SPEAKER_02]: And real quick, I'm going to ask you this before we go into my favorite part of Black Friday, because I would love to know through those 10 years in that timeframe, all these things happening in life and obviously you live in life, things are happening around you.
8:07
[SPEAKER_02]: That's affecting you.
8:08
[SPEAKER_02]: What kept you going?
8:09
[SPEAKER_02]: Like what kept this idea burning inside of you to say, I still want to pursue it.
8:13
[SPEAKER_02]: I still want to do it.
8:14
[SPEAKER_02]: I still want to make it happen at some point.
8:18
[SPEAKER_01]: I would really get, I'll say a few things.
8:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Number one, mainly it was the urge from the Holy Spirit to be like, you need to keep writing.
8:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Two, as I read, that actually read the book, I was like, yo, this book is really good.
8:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, I, I, I fell in love with my own story.
8:36
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that would be something for any young writers that if you have a story that you like or as you're writing.
8:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Right?
8:47
[SPEAKER_01]: You can fall in love with your characters.
8:48
[SPEAKER_01]: You can fall in love with your story like fine characters, the children relate to as you're writing the characters.
8:56
[SPEAKER_01]: This is bad, but I definitely would have been in several meetings at work, and my whole, like, few establishments where I work.
9:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Been in the middle of all team meetings, and that was writing down for me for my book.
9:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Not even paying attention.
9:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I wasn't paying attention at all.
9:13
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm guilty of it.
9:14
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
9:15
[SPEAKER_01]: But I just had so many different ideas and stuff that didn't even, I stuffed it.
9:19
[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't even write down for this book yet that will happen much later on.
9:22
[SPEAKER_01]: I just started falling in love with the thing that I was creating.
9:28
[SPEAKER_01]: So, I would definitely say that's kind of one of those things that helped me out, like through the Holy Spirit and falling in love with what you do.
9:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Because I know with all the episodes that you've done, and I've watched.
9:40
[SPEAKER_01]: you falling in love with podcasting, documenting people's lives and telling their stories.
9:47
[SPEAKER_01]: As you did, of course you were already passionate about it, but as you did it more, more, you fell in love within your love for it elevated.
9:56
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the same thing with this.
9:58
[SPEAKER_01]: My love for the story, for the characters, even though they were fictional, like it elevated, it went to a whole new level.
10:06
[SPEAKER_02]: That's fire.
10:06
[SPEAKER_02]: That's what I said.
10:07
[SPEAKER_02]: I liked that.
10:08
[SPEAKER_02]: So let's go into my favorite part of Black Friday with just freestyle Friday.
10:18
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey, listen, thank you all so much for listening to this episode and any episode at a Black Friday's podcast.
10:24
[SPEAKER_02]: But I got to be honest with you.
10:25
[SPEAKER_02]: I really think it's something missing and I hate to draw that and notice it.
10:29
[SPEAKER_02]: The thing that's missing is your podcast, why am I not listening to your podcast?
10:34
[SPEAKER_02]: You talked about making one, which a friend's years ago, you know that you need one to better market and promote your business, but yet you still don't have one.
10:42
[SPEAKER_02]: This is why I created the pocket podcast and course to teach you how to be able to
10:48
[SPEAKER_02]: with the essentials and tools that you have.
10:50
[SPEAKER_02]: right, it's your fingertips in order to create.
10:53
[SPEAKER_02]: And I created two different ways in order for you to do that.
10:56
[SPEAKER_02]: You could join my digital, do it yourself, on-demand video recorded, pocket podcast and course.
11:01
[SPEAKER_02]: And I'm going to literally step by step from idea on how you upload your very first podcast episode.
11:07
[SPEAKER_02]: And for my people who would like to have something a little bit more tangible, I have created a digital e-book that walks you through my podcast and journey.
11:13
[SPEAKER_02]: The things I've learned along the way, the tools and equipment that I use in order to create,
11:18
[SPEAKER_02]: and elevate my show.
11:20
[SPEAKER_02]: Now look, I don't want to keep you too long, but I'm going to make this as simple as possible.
11:23
[SPEAKER_02]: Go ahead and head over to www.blackfrightx.com to learn more about the digital podcast course and also the podcast and e-book, or you can hit the links in the show notes to take you directly to each of those resources.
11:37
[SPEAKER_02]: All right, enough at that time to get back into that episode.
11:40
[SPEAKER_02]: So if you watch any episode of Blackfrightx, I think you know how this goes.
11:43
[SPEAKER_02]: So we're going to need you to spit some bars.
11:45
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't know what type of bars you want to wrap,
11:48
[SPEAKER_02]: It's up to you.
11:49
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
11:55
[SPEAKER_00]: Pat Rat, Saddleman Cat, TikTok, what up the clock?
12:02
[SPEAKER_01]: How does Sam do it?
12:03
[SPEAKER_01]: We don't know, but Hickory Dickory not, spin, spin, high five.
12:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you very much.
12:10
[SPEAKER_01]: He records presents, no money.
12:12
[SPEAKER_01]: If you went to college with me, if your name is Megan, you know, you already know.
12:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Megan, Kevin, you already know what I can't hear from.
12:27
[SPEAKER_02]: You already know what it is.
12:30
[SPEAKER_02]: but you shouldn't know freestyle Friday is random assortment of questions.
12:33
[SPEAKER_02]: So I just ask you these rapid-fire questions.
12:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
12:36
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm just all related to you.
12:37
[SPEAKER_02]: So I just need you to answer each one and answer honestly.
12:40
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
12:40
[SPEAKER_02]: All right, so we had talked about superhero.
12:44
[SPEAKER_02]: Excuse me, comic book superheroes a little bit.
12:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Who was your favorite superhero of all time?
12:48
[SPEAKER_02]: Like who is your goal?
12:50
[SPEAKER_02]: And please know this point me which I answered.
12:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh no, this ain't gonna be a disappointment at all.
12:54
[SPEAKER_01]: My favorite superhero is Nightwing.
12:56
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay.
12:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, and the reason why is because nightwing Batman said himself nightwing is the best Robin and he is a better Batman Batman is for everybody to know what Batman is Batman's trauma field and he's going off the beat no poor people
13:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Brick Shatter in Colorado, but night wing throughout his trauma for you guys that don't know night wing actually lost Bruce witness both his parents dying and they were it was a tragic death, but
13:31
[SPEAKER_01]: throughout all of his trauma, you know, he even got shot in the head.
13:35
[SPEAKER_01]: Like through all of that trauma, he was an adult.
13:37
[SPEAKER_01]: But through all that trauma, he still was this, it still is this light-hearted character that everybody loves.
13:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, that everybody looks up to, um, his generation of heroes, that, you know, they like he is the girl.
13:53
[SPEAKER_02]: even Superman does so for sure what's your favorite video game of all time if you have like one game you have to pick one game it could be present past
14:03
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, I'm gonna say Kingdom Hearts 2.
14:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Kingdom Hearts 2 for me is probably the best, one of the, one of the, if not, the best game of all time.
14:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, from beginning to end, that game, like, there's no, like, loads of, like, day-to-day, and I don't wanna play this, like, no, that game is fire.
14:19
[SPEAKER_01]: And the soundtrack of Kingdom Hearts 2 is golden.
14:24
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, and yeah, you know, you get to also a fight set throughout.
14:27
[SPEAKER_01]: suffer off where he, you know, just beat she went to the ground like repeatedly.
14:32
[SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, which every game has that one boss.
14:34
[SPEAKER_02]: That you, you cannot get past.
14:36
[SPEAKER_02]: I started playing a ninja guy there because it's okay.
14:39
[SPEAKER_02]: You could play it for free on xbox game pass.
14:42
[SPEAKER_02]: All right.
14:42
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
14:43
[SPEAKER_02]: it's the first the first mission can't get past that last box like it's almost impossible.
14:49
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he's a watching king play, you know, Ninja Garden and yeah, it was, it's crazy.
14:55
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, it's crazy.
14:57
[SPEAKER_02]: What's your favorite read?
14:58
[SPEAKER_02]: What's a favorite book that you've read recently?
15:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, can I give two books?
15:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, go ahead.
15:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
15:07
[SPEAKER_01]: So, the first book I will say is shout out to her name is Mariah Tavarnas.
15:14
[SPEAKER_01]: She is an author in the author like myself.
15:19
[SPEAKER_01]: And she wrote a book called The Unashang Life.
15:21
[SPEAKER_01]: It's on TikTok.
15:22
[SPEAKER_01]: go get it, that book is incredible.
15:26
[SPEAKER_01]: She's tell her life, she tells her life story, the things about the things that she's went through in order for her to come out of the different lifestyles that she's been in and she talks about her relationship with Christ and her going from those bad lifestyles to her being a born-again Christian and that book.
15:46
[SPEAKER_01]: It's short and sweet, but I'm like, man, I had to put it down for a second,
15:52
[SPEAKER_01]: The second book I'm going to say is it's called Go to Distance.
15:57
[SPEAKER_01]: It is a Disney Twisted Tale.
16:00
[SPEAKER_01]: That book.
16:01
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh my gosh.
16:01
[SPEAKER_01]: I love Hercules.
16:03
[SPEAKER_01]: The Disney movie Hercules.
16:04
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
16:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
16:05
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
16:05
[SPEAKER_02]: Very underrated Disney movies.
16:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes.
16:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Please do not live action.
16:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Do them.
16:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:09
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:10
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
16:10
[SPEAKER_02]: We don't talk about Hercules enough.
16:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, but they have a twisted tail call go to distance and it's up and all the twisted tails have a permit or what it Fremus and this one is what if a Megara had the opportunity to become a god and It is really good.
16:26
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a really good Disney book and I love what I love about it is how they take a character like Magra And you get in any expense on her so much where you get to see a lot of what made her her in the movie
16:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, it is starting to start so with a prologue of you being like, oh, so this is why she said that line in the actual cartoon.
16:49
[SPEAKER_01]: So
16:50
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I was saying Honorable Manchin is a book I've been reading for a while that's called The Secrets to Deliverance It's by Apostle Alexander Pragonny.
16:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I love that book too.
17:00
[SPEAKER_02]: Just talking about spiritual warfare and deliverance and stuff like that So cool Next question is was pastor one who wasn't wrong for talking to him that lady that $2 $1 enough
17:16
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, I Okay Apostles with please forgive me I didn't listen.
17:26
[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't know he was gonna ask the question.
17:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, and I know you I know you're over Oh, but I didn't know he was going to ask me that question So please don't be mad at me when I give this answer not speaking over half of our church okay.
17:36
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm or as a minute So I'm just speaking this week.
17:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, just let me let me slide with this one No, he it like he was absolutely wrong for that.
17:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay
17:46
[SPEAKER_01]: He's absolutely wrong for that because number one we know where a script should do you see how see him doing any any It has stuff to eat it.
17:55
[SPEAKER_01]: You don't see that in scripture And I'm gonna keep it short because I'm not trying to get in trouble.
18:01
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not trying to get in trouble So I'm gonna give it there Sure, and somebody on my chair seat is and they're gonna be like, hey, what are you doing?
18:10
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm gonna be like listen He asked I'm not about the line like I mean listen
18:14
[SPEAKER_01]: If anybody knows me, they know, like, listen, I'm going to give you the same answer publicly and privately, because that's just me.
18:21
[SPEAKER_02]: These are facts.
18:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
18:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, I'm like, one of them, somebody in my church asked me how I felt about them.
18:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, no, he was wrong.
18:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And I said, stand 10 toes down on that.
18:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, that's fine.
18:30
[SPEAKER_01]: But anyway, okay, just have to, just have to put, you know, build that out.
18:35
[SPEAKER_02]: Understood.
18:36
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, thank you for partaking the freestyle for adding.
18:39
[SPEAKER_02]: So we definitely appreciate it and wanted to ask you, tell us a little bit about the book.
18:44
[SPEAKER_02]: So battleground set the stage for us if you would give us a preview or you know how they do them like exclusive sneak sneak peeks on TV, like if it was a trailer, give us the
18:55
[SPEAKER_02]: set the stage for us as far as better brown and what it's about.
18:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
18:59
[SPEAKER_01]: So, this book here is a multiple POV thriller.
19:05
[SPEAKER_01]: So, it is about the lives of the seven children and how they are overcoming their generational trauma and seeing you're actually getting to see the things that we go through in our lives.
19:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Good and bad.
19:22
[SPEAKER_01]: There is something this behind you, I believe, and I do, as a Christian, I do believe in heaven and hell.
19:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And so you get to see, like, what is the thing that's behind a lot of the trauma that we see with individuals?
19:37
[SPEAKER_01]: It was just not too long ago, somebody ran into the altar on what we're right in rural Oak.
19:44
[SPEAKER_01]: We also have seen, you know, the wild stuff that has happened in DPS in the last,
19:50
[SPEAKER_01]: you know, 60 days.
19:51
[SPEAKER_01]: And so what is some of the issues, uh, some of those issues, you know, the death, you know, Charlie Kirk, like, is that, was that just something that was just happenstance?
20:02
[SPEAKER_01]: Did, you know, just, like, someone just wake up one more than and choose this, or is there a force that an unseen force that is behind a lot of those things?
20:11
[SPEAKER_01]: And this book answers that question, but it's answering it in a very clever way where you get to see the lives of these characters.
20:19
[SPEAKER_01]: See, you read in, last one I say it's multiple POV because it'll start with one character.
20:24
[SPEAKER_01]: And while it's all telling one story, it'll jump to a different character.
20:27
[SPEAKER_01]: And you're seeing their life and some of the characters interact already, some of them don't yet.
20:33
[SPEAKER_01]: But you're getting an opportunity to understand, maybe some of the things that is going on with me isn't just natural.
20:40
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe there is a spiritual, some type of spiritual, what's where I look for.
20:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Spiritual warfare, but also a spiritual connection between the trauma I experienced, the trauma I experienced, and what's going on in my life right now.
20:56
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm using characters, fictional characters to kind of dive into that and talk about that.
21:02
[SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to have this discussion of spiritual warfare, but I didn't want to do it in like a preachy way.
21:08
[SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to do it in such a way that's entertaining.
21:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I wanted to think that my mentor, her name is Ren Lowe.
21:15
[SPEAKER_01]: She's a best-selling author, she's done incredible things.
21:19
[SPEAKER_01]: One thing she's taught me and so many others is that books do three things.
21:23
[SPEAKER_01]: They inspire, they entertain, and they educate.
21:27
[SPEAKER_01]: This book is meant to inspire, yes, and do some educating, but entertain while educating you and inspire you.
21:37
[SPEAKER_02]: very dope, and you mentioned in other conversations and then also in publicizing the book, marketing the book that you drew from your own personal experiences in order to inspire something to the stories from the characters.
21:52
[SPEAKER_02]: So what was that like in the field mine, which you mind sharing, any of those stories for us?
21:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay, sure.
21:59
[SPEAKER_01]: I will definitely, because I know this going to be on YouTube, so I'm going to try not to say certain trigger words.
22:06
[SPEAKER_00]: I already know how YouTube is.
22:08
[SPEAKER_00]: I use hard words.
22:09
[SPEAKER_01]: You can say, or you, or they're going to hit that young button, we're like, a non-brave restriction.
22:13
[SPEAKER_01]: Shut up and out of here.
22:13
[SPEAKER_01]: You did out of here.
22:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, so I used, I did use a lot of different things from my life.
22:20
[SPEAKER_01]: So I used it.
22:22
[SPEAKER_01]: I wanted things I tell people when talking about my book is, it's like a mosaic.
22:27
[SPEAKER_01]: If you go to the DIA, or if you ever seen them all day before, it's made out of different pieces.
22:32
[SPEAKER_01]: And those different pieces come together.
22:34
[SPEAKER_01]: If you were to look at one of those pieces individually, you wouldn't know, you're like, all right, why do I care about this?
22:39
[SPEAKER_01]: But it's only one of those pieces come together that they make a meaningful image.
22:43
[SPEAKER_01]: I took pieces from my life.
22:46
[SPEAKER_01]: Some things, a lot of things I exaggerated.
22:48
[SPEAKER_01]: Some things I literally kept as is, but just changed circumstances around it to paint you a picture.
22:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, for instance, a good example of that is the like a lot of the I experience when I was younger a lot of sleep paralysis even older I experience sleep paralysis and I put and I had one of my characters go through that but I juxtaposed that to a decision remember we were talking about generational trauma and the cause and effects.
23:19
[SPEAKER_01]: I juxtaposed the character's daughter going through sleep paralysis with what that character her father was doing that she did not know about So as you see him going through doing some of the things that he's doing in the next paragraph You're seeing her describe her sleep paralysis experience.
23:36
[SPEAKER_01]: So I then shuffle back and forth between those so that
23:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, you get this end result of seeing that the direct result of what the decisions her father made is impacting his family and is impacting his family in very chaotic and dark ways.
23:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, another example of that is, um, it's not it.
23:57
[SPEAKER_01]: It's out, this might be a little spoiler-ish, but I'm also putting into my experience of me on alive in myself or in the desire of me on alive in myself.
24:11
[SPEAKER_01]: That is going to be a main point of one of the other characters.
24:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Here, also
24:17
[SPEAKER_01]: I was a victim of sexual abuse, and I put that also in the book as well as we'll fall wanted to characters.
24:24
[SPEAKER_01]: But I painted it in a way that you don't get that, so I didn't have to put a trigger warning in the front, but it happens to the character and it happens in a very obscure way where I don't talk about the, we don't address the act at all, but I'm talking about the spiritual circumstances and ramifications.
24:43
[SPEAKER_01]: of what happens to that character and in that there is a time skip and then you can see the side effects of what has happened to her in the midst of that.
24:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's see another good example would be actually another good example would be the character father that I was talking about.
25:06
[SPEAKER_01]: His name is
25:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Damien is part of a secret society in the book, and my I do have individuals in my family that are part of their participation Participating excuse me in the occult and secret societies and stuff like luminality no, they were maces.
25:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, okay Mason and Eastern star okay
25:31
[SPEAKER_01]: So because they were a part of that, I took those influences of my background and threw them into the character.
25:38
[SPEAKER_01]: But I then extrapolated on what he would be doing, what that looks like.
25:45
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, kind of hinted at what you're going to be seeing later on, as well as who these individuals actually are.
25:53
[SPEAKER_02]: got you.
25:54
[SPEAKER_02]: And you had mentioned, you had mentioned some of the things that you had been through in life and your own personal traumas.
26:00
[SPEAKER_02]: And it takes a lot of,
26:02
[SPEAKER_02]: interpersonal work, obviously, to be able to work through those things and be able to get to a space where you're comfortable and being vulnerable enough to share those things.
26:10
[SPEAKER_02]: So for you, what was it like being able to get to that space to be vulnerable enough to, I mean, you're not sharing it like direct from your experience, but we know that because we're having this conversation, but being able to be vulnerable enough to take some of those elements of your own life and own trauma
26:32
[SPEAKER_02]: the story.
26:34
[SPEAKER_01]: So for myself, a lot of that stuff I had healed from already, the abuse, that was something that it was easier, it was easier for me to put that into the character, and it was also therapeutic in a lot of ways, because yeah, like one of the comments my wife made as she was reading the book.
26:53
[SPEAKER_01]: She was like these care they are going through it.
26:56
[SPEAKER_01]: Like you put no through the winger But I was like, you know, let's be honest like when it comes down to our walk with Christ We don't come to him clean
27:06
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not like we're saying, well, you know, I got myself all together then I just decided to choose Jesus.
27:13
[SPEAKER_01]: If you got yourself all together, you don't need Jesus.
27:17
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's in that brokenness that the healing can take place is in those moments of like knowing that my life is messed up and I've been broken down because of life circumstances because of trauma.
27:30
[SPEAKER_01]: I can now understand that there is somebody that loves me, there's somebody that cares for me, there's somebody that they didn't want any of these things that happen to me, but what they are going to do is take all these things and make it work for my good.
27:44
[SPEAKER_01]: And that is going to be the story of a lot of these characters taking the bad that has happened.
27:51
[SPEAKER_01]: and make it into their good.
27:53
[SPEAKER_01]: One of the things I kind of think of with this book is that this is someone telling their testimony and this is them telling okay this is all the stuff that happened before I met Christ and so that and you know just give you a little hint.
28:07
[SPEAKER_01]: The next thing is going to be them being introduced to Christ and then having to make a choice.
28:12
[SPEAKER_01]: do they keep, do they swallow an air trauma and blame life for those things or can they choose Christ and say, you know, I'm gonna give this to you because you die for me and I want a better, I want better because you said that I can have better.
28:28
[SPEAKER_01]: so I'm going to choose you.
28:30
[SPEAKER_01]: And so this book here is, yeah, they may have gone through the wringer, some of them, a lot of them.
28:38
[SPEAKER_01]: But there's going to be good, they come out of it, but they have to, just like us, we have to make a choice.
28:43
[SPEAKER_01]: And I want it to be authentic, you know, even for the character in here that is a Christian,
28:49
[SPEAKER_01]: I make him as an as an craft in the character he makes some very flawed choices and I wanted people to see that just because a person is a Christian that doesn't mean that they are perfect that doesn't mean that they always make the right choice sometimes and I can say this even as a Christian they'd like
29:08
[SPEAKER_01]: I've made bad choices sometimes, even after I gave my life to Christ, but that doesn't mean that that doesn't take away from being me being a Christian, that doesn't take away from me from the things that Jesus did for me.
29:20
[SPEAKER_01]: He just means that I'm human, I make mistakes.
29:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And these characters here make mistakes, and some of them are grave mistakes.
29:26
[SPEAKER_02]: In addition to being a Christian, you literally are Christian, so yeah, yeah, that's true.
29:33
[SPEAKER_02]: So in terms of some of the things that you mentioned that you have had the ability to be able to heal from I've noticed this over the spend of my lifetime and having conversations with people and and doing research that those things happen to people They deal with those more than we think and a lot of people are probably dealing with them in silence and and not really
29:53
[SPEAKER_02]: dealing with it at all.
29:54
[SPEAKER_02]: So I was going to ask from a message of encouragement.
29:59
[SPEAKER_02]: Could you kind of talk about what are some of the things that did help you work through those things that you've been able to navigate through in life?
30:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, sure.
30:07
[SPEAKER_01]: I would say first and foremost, like I had to
30:12
[SPEAKER_01]: be honest with, number one, I had to be honest with Jesus and really just give me, it took me number one, given my life to Christ because I was on, or like I told you, I tried to unalive myself.
30:24
[SPEAKER_01]: I had to come to a knowledge of understanding they'd like, if I do not stop.
30:29
[SPEAKER_01]: And I don't reach for something that is larger than myself.
30:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not going to be here no more.
30:38
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm checking out.
30:39
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, I heard, you know, someone preached a gospel to me at Wayne State.
30:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I repented of my sins and gave my life to Christ.
30:49
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, but that wasn't always enough because a lot of times a lot of people hear that and they think, well, you know, if you are saved
30:59
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, just wipes away clean.
31:01
[SPEAKER_01]: And yes, he wipes away your sins, but you also have to deal with the The effects of what that did to you the effects of your trauma did to you.
31:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Just like these characters here in this book They have to deal with the effects of the trauma that was either placed onto them or because of something that parents did or because of something they did and they didn't understand what they were doing
31:23
[SPEAKER_01]: I had to do the same thing and so what I it took time it took a lot of time me being honest with myself honest with things that happened to me for the longest I couldn't be honest about this actually abuse and I had to God made me face it
31:40
[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, it took that I had to accept that it happened and then, you know, I also have gone, I had to go to therapy.
31:49
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm currently in therapy now and really work through those things, work through the past trauma trauma that I caused myself to be out of ignorance and also out of that I was in pain from other stuff and a lot of people don't understand it like trauma kind of
32:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Like a callous and you know, you really don't get to the heart of it unless you're willing to peel back those layers Some of it like a callous or an onion until you peel back those layers and really get to the core of what's happening with you You just this person is just you know You people think you just walking around being mean and stuff and stuff No, maybe you just not being maybe it's just the fact that like you some something someone or something took the joy out of your life
32:31
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, more maybe it's that you met in life because you lost hope because the one thing you really put your hope in was something that was temporary when our hope should be in Christ alone.
32:43
[SPEAKER_01]: So I had to go to therapy.
32:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I had to, you know, talk about those things and really be honest and open up.
32:49
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, thanks that I never share with you guys.
32:52
[SPEAKER_01]: And just say, you know what, I want to be better.
32:57
[SPEAKER_01]: And I want to be better for my kids.
32:59
[SPEAKER_01]: My kids deserve a heel diversion of myself.
33:02
[SPEAKER_01]: My wife deserves a heel diversion of myself.
33:05
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not fair for me to know I'm dealing with stuff.
33:09
[SPEAKER_01]: And then, you know, I'm over here snapping at everybody in the world.
33:13
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I'm snapping at Jews snapping at, you know, Caleb, everybody else.
33:16
[SPEAKER_01]: My wife and my kids, when it's like, no, you need to heal.
33:23
[SPEAKER_02]: First, I want to commend you for the work that actually put in the work to be able to work through those things.
33:28
[SPEAKER_02]: I think that that definitely is a testament to where you are now versus where you were, and then not giving up on yourself in terms of being able to work through those things every step of the way.
33:39
[SPEAKER_02]: So I want to give you your flower for being able to work on that.
33:42
[SPEAKER_02]: and then also thank you for sharing with us and being willing to talk about that because I'm sure that there are people that are listening and or watching that may have cannot identify with some of those things or something similar and be able to define the motivation and be able to work through it and keep going or figure out how they can get the resources in order to do so.
34:02
[SPEAKER_02]: So I wanted to commend you for that, my brother.
34:05
[SPEAKER_01]: No, no problem.
34:06
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I said, it took a process, like, you know, I started college with trauma.
34:10
[SPEAKER_01]: Like my father passed away literally 30 days into me going into Wayne State.
34:17
[SPEAKER_01]: So I had to, you know, that is in trauma in itself and me having to figure out if I'm gonna get kicked out of school or if I'm gonna actually have a college career like the rest of my friends.
34:28
[SPEAKER_01]: So I had to, you know, deal with that.
34:30
[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, just didn't encourage me to anybody
34:35
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, those things may be hard, but it is possible to heal.
34:39
[SPEAKER_01]: It's possible to heal after the abuse.
34:42
[SPEAKER_01]: You don't have to stay there.
34:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Christ did not desire for you to have a life where you are in a state of suffering, where you are broken.
34:51
[SPEAKER_01]: He didn't design us to be broken.
34:54
[SPEAKER_01]: He designed us to be, he designed us, excuse me, to be healed and healed.
34:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, like if I could give if my if my book my life story can help anybody when they're healing journey I have no problem telling anybody
35:08
[SPEAKER_02]: and we gonna pass around the collection plate now.
35:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.
35:11
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you, Mr. Blackwee.
35:15
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you, Mr. Blackwee.
35:16
[SPEAKER_01]: But I mean, that's crazy.
35:17
[SPEAKER_01]: Because honestly, I've never told anybody like on a platform, like I was sexually abused.
35:22
[SPEAKER_01]: And like this is like the first time.
35:24
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, yeah, like it's one of those things is helpful for me too, because it's just like, a lot of, you know, my friends, like you all know, a lot of you are, you know, graduated high school
35:37
[SPEAKER_01]: they didn't know about that, um, they didn't know I tried to take my life, um, but yeah, it happened and all, you know, and yeah, y'all came over the next day, I was smiling and, you know, all that stuff, but didn't know, um, but that's why I think it's so important, not only for you to check on your friends, but also for you to understand that like you can't carry that low by yourself, like it will literally, you know, destroy you.
36:03
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.
36:04
[SPEAKER_02]: And I think we just saw an example of that publicly with the NFL star, that was playing for the Cowboys and people, yeah, and people.
36:13
[SPEAKER_02]: Some people said that they're may have been sons, others said that, you know, they had no idea.
36:17
[SPEAKER_02]: He literally had just had like
36:18
[SPEAKER_02]: One of the best games is career, but whatever he was filling this out or the place that he might have had, Ben had accumulated to that point unfortunately, to where he is no longer with us.
36:30
[SPEAKER_02]: So like you said, I definitely agree with being able to, I try to do my best just as a person.
36:36
[SPEAKER_02]: In general, if I think about people, like, hit them up, reach out some way, shape or form, because like you say, you never know what people are going through, and sometimes just a conversation
36:45
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey, what's up?
36:46
[SPEAKER_02]: Hello, a smile, greeting people that may make the world a difference of their perspective of how they're doing that day for that week, for, you know, it may, you know, turn the tide in their life to be able to help them and motivate them to, to, um,
37:04
[SPEAKER_02]: I want to say live a healthier lifestyle but to be to help move that needle in terms of going to the direction of getting the support, help resources whatever it is that they might need.
37:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, like please get help, please reach out, there's numbers you can call, there's people that you can talk to like that's never an answer.
37:25
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, your family would desire to see you here.
37:29
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, he'd love and is right before Thanksgiving and Christmas.
37:33
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I don't know if he had kids or not, but, you know, Mary, but, you know, I know he probably had a mother and a father.
37:41
[SPEAKER_01]: He probably had, you know, got people that love him.
37:43
[SPEAKER_01]: The people, you know, friends and family that love him.
37:46
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, this is going to be a Christmas in a Thanksgiving holiday season in general, where they don't have them.
37:53
[SPEAKER_02]: And that's heartbreaking.
37:54
[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, for sure.
37:55
[SPEAKER_02]: So switching gears a little bit, tell me about sanctuary house publishing.
37:59
[SPEAKER_02]: So not only did you create your first book, but like you said, this is going to be a series of books.
38:04
[SPEAKER_02]: And in addition to that, you are doing publishing as well, creating your own publishing company.
38:09
[SPEAKER_02]: So what made you, what made you want to go that route versus just creating the books?
38:14
[SPEAKER_01]: So it was not my idea to have a publishing guy.
38:17
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna just put that out there.
38:19
[SPEAKER_01]: That was not my, that was not my mission.
38:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Now my goal, I was like, listen, it's hard enough trying to put out this book.
38:25
[SPEAKER_01]: We, I'm not trying to add nothing.
38:27
[SPEAKER_01]: Hold on to the top of that.
38:28
[SPEAKER_01]: But you know, the Lord had other things in mind, like I was playing in the basement, little playing the game.
38:34
[SPEAKER_01]: I forgot what game I was playing.
38:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I might have been playing, uh, what's I playing in Call of Duty?
38:38
[SPEAKER_01]: Or what's I playing for tonight?
38:41
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know, this may be one of those, actually it might have been a four-night, I was playing with my friends that I gained weight.
38:47
[SPEAKER_01]: But anyway, we were playing the game, I was playing the game, and literally as I was playing, this kind of tracks back to years ago, I was at the Meyer on eight-mout, and the Lord Lewis said to me the word sanctuary.
39:01
[SPEAKER_01]: didn't understand.
39:02
[SPEAKER_01]: I was like, all right, well, you know, whatever, what is it?
39:04
[SPEAKER_01]: And then got showed me like what sanctuary would be.
39:06
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was just like, did not include a publishing company, but it's something else.
39:10
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, oh, wow, like that would be dope.
39:12
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, I would love to, I want to create that.
39:15
[SPEAKER_01]: But then, you know, fast forward years and years and years later, he brought that back and said, you're, you're going, your publishing company is going to be called sanctuary.
39:24
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, all right, well, okay.
39:31
[SPEAKER_01]: And
39:31
[SPEAKER_01]: and Psalmist says to Lord is my refuge in my fortress and they that run into it will be safe.
39:37
[SPEAKER_01]: And that is, you know, with working with my mentor, Rennlow, me and her did her six-week coaching class which has been fantastic.
39:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, we started, you know, working a workshop in the name.
39:52
[SPEAKER_01]: So I told her about the name, we were Googling, sanctuary, just sanctuary by itself, wasn't gonna work as somebody who's just holding that name into like the abyss.
39:59
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I was like, all right, sanctuary house because when you look at that in scripture that refuge, you know, refuge can be a place of safety, as if it's a house, whatever, and a fortress as well as a place that is like fortified and so the goal of sanctuary house publishing is to help preserve stories.
40:20
[SPEAKER_01]: whether if it is a short story, a novel, a memoir, whatever, my goal is to help individuals preserve their stories in the context of what it is.
40:33
[SPEAKER_01]: So sometimes when you, you know, in that self-publishing, you know, we have traditional publishing also.
40:39
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of times with traditional publishing, um,
40:42
[SPEAKER_01]: they can edit your book because it needs to be marketable.
40:45
[SPEAKER_01]: So unfortunately, found out this also happens in the Christian space too, because they don't, you maybe they don't have the same beliefs that you have.
40:55
[SPEAKER_01]: So they, you know, certain things that may seem too controversial, or they don't think will sell, like, hey, take that out, take that out, take that out.
41:02
[SPEAKER_01]: But,
41:03
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to flip and say, hey, the core of your story, I want to preserve that.
41:05
[SPEAKER_01]: I want to help you to develop that and get that story out there.
41:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Because that's, you know, I believe the same thing.
41:08
[SPEAKER_01]: My, my, my, um, um, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh uh, uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh
41:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Mentor believes it's just that everybody's story does need to be told But everybody's story also needs to be protected and you know and protecting that story that looks like You know not allowing that person to give up on that story just because maybe it didn't work out the first time Maybe you just didn't market it right I know you you all about marketing so you know I
41:40
[SPEAKER_01]: I think about, you know, did this go, did the marketing go right?
41:44
[SPEAKER_01]: Did you need, you need to talk to my like you, it is in marketing that can really have, that has a brain for marketing and creativity for marketing that can, that you need to talk to, or is it a situation where honestly you didn't spend the time developing certain things?
41:59
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't want, the goal is not to have people give up on their story to protect those stories and allow them to get their idea out of their head and into a physical product.
42:08
[SPEAKER_02]: So what does a publisher do?
42:10
[SPEAKER_02]: Because I'm not sure.
42:11
[SPEAKER_02]: I don't think I've ever fully grasped that.
42:13
[SPEAKER_02]: In my mind, it's just, you make the book, like you physically make the book.
42:16
[SPEAKER_02]: But what's the responsibility of a publisher?
42:19
[SPEAKER_01]: So if we're gonna break the, to answer that question, kind of have to break up between traditional and self-published.
42:26
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
42:26
[SPEAKER_01]: So, traditional publishing, let's just say I was going to scholastic, right?
42:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Or Penguin.
42:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Penguin is one of the biggest publishers in our country.
42:36
[SPEAKER_01]: They're going to, I got to pitch the story to them.
42:39
[SPEAKER_01]: And again, this goes back to what I saw my particular story is because if you pitch it to them, you can do 50 pitches, which is an inquiry and they may not care about the right job to have your book.
42:48
[SPEAKER_01]: So, a traditional publisher, they go and help you with marketing.
42:52
[SPEAKER_01]: they going to develop, like get your interviews, you're going to write the story, but they're going to do edits and all of that stuff and then type setting and then the book is actually owned by the publishing company, which traditional publishers.
43:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Most of them, I don't want to say all because I have not talked to all publishers in this traditional publishers in the country.
43:15
[SPEAKER_01]: So I hate using that word all, I was just saying bubbles.
43:18
[SPEAKER_01]: You, your story is completely owned by them.
43:21
[SPEAKER_01]: So if they decide to not sell your book no more, or to not back you no more, then you kind of out.
43:27
[SPEAKER_02]: So you can liken it to selling the TV show to a cable TV network.
43:31
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, okay.
43:32
[SPEAKER_01]: But if you got your own network,
43:35
[SPEAKER_01]: If you were in charge of your own network and your own show, you don't got to go to nobody.
43:40
[SPEAKER_01]: You might go to somebody.
43:41
[SPEAKER_01]: You might go to a company as a producer, like for instance Ryan Reynolds has his own producing company with Deadpool and Wolverine.
43:51
[SPEAKER_01]: He actually uses producing production company to make
43:55
[SPEAKER_01]: to help produce that movie.
43:57
[SPEAKER_01]: Got you.
43:58
[SPEAKER_01]: Even though you look at the credits, you'll see Kevin Feige on there, but if you keep reading his production company is there.
44:07
[SPEAKER_01]: And so many other and Ryan Couglar is the same way.
44:09
[SPEAKER_01]: He has his company was into Black Panther.
44:13
[SPEAKER_01]: With self-publishing, you are doing all the work.
44:16
[SPEAKER_01]: You don't have a big machine backing you.
44:19
[SPEAKER_01]: You got to do the marketing is 100% DIY.
44:22
[SPEAKER_01]: But with my company, I will be doing, I have a team of editors and type setters and cover designers and they will do all of that for you.
44:31
[SPEAKER_01]: I will be getting the POD files or print on demand files ready for you and then I'll dose me, push it out to you and you have to go on Amazon or wherever you want your book to be and you have to hit that publish button.
44:45
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not hitting it for you.
44:47
[SPEAKER_01]: And I also wanted things that took all of my clients today, you have 100%
44:52
[SPEAKER_01]: You get all royalties, I'm not doing nothing but helping you to get you again, push your idea to you.
44:59
[SPEAKER_01]: It is your job after that to do everything else.
45:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Now I'll guide my clients with getting an ISBN number, getting on to the library of Congress, and getting that number and things like that because those are numbers that you do need.
45:14
[SPEAKER_01]: You should have an ISBN number.
45:16
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't be out here walking around when I don't even know which I'll book.
45:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Not having a self-steady number.
45:20
[SPEAKER_01]: Because that's what it is.
45:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Anytime you see an ISM N number, that's that book so scared you number.
45:24
[SPEAKER_01]: That's kind of, if you don't have, if your book doesn't have ISM N number, that's it.
45:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it don't exist.
45:29
[SPEAKER_01]: Like you out here, your book just out here just being anybody in any way can actually take that book.
45:34
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
45:35
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, library point.
45:36
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, library of Congress is the same way.
45:37
[SPEAKER_01]: Library of Congress makes it so that nationally your book can be found somewhere.
45:43
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, without those two things, who don't know why I know your book is this, so that is kind of the difference here with self-publishing versus traditional.
45:54
[SPEAKER_01]: It puts it the oneness on the individual to get their book out there without you having versus you having a big machine to push you out there, but the catch is that big machine can also be like, I don't want to rock with you no more.
46:09
[SPEAKER_01]: got you and also when it comes down to your royalties you got it so let's just say I was a traditional publisher right if you write a book about podcast and we're going to just say the eight the eight mistakes the average podcast that makes within their first year if you want to take that issue or mine do some of that yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah they may be like hey listen
46:33
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, I like your idea.
46:35
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to give you $25,000 to put this to go ahead and that and that's $25,000 include your marketing, then close your editing, your type setting, your cover design, and all of that stuff.
46:50
[SPEAKER_03]: Mm-hmm.
46:50
[SPEAKER_01]: Guess what?
46:51
[SPEAKER_01]: When you start selling books, you got to pay me back first before you see anything, right?
46:57
[SPEAKER_01]: So that means you would have to pay back $25,000 before you ever see yourself being in the black.
47:06
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's kind of wild.
47:07
[SPEAKER_01]: Especially when at any time, at any point, you could be like, hmm, I changed my mind.
47:11
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't want to back you no more.
47:12
[SPEAKER_01]: Where you out on the street versus
47:17
[SPEAKER_01]: you being a self publisher you're like okay well yes Amazon do get royalties but their royalties is not as much as a traditional publisher they're actually very competitive even in english park not they're actually pretty competitive as well and Barnes and Noble.
47:32
[SPEAKER_01]: But you get the royalties for that and you can also sell your book yourself where you get 100% royalties So I mean, only thing you're now paying back is okay, you're thinking your mind has a business owner because of book is a business Okay, well, I spent $10,000 from start to finish with this book I got a now in my mind pay myself back $10,000 before I can say I'm in the black
47:58
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's kind of the difference.
47:59
[SPEAKER_01]: Got you.
48:00
[SPEAKER_01]: I know that was a lot of math.
48:01
[SPEAKER_02]: No, no.
48:03
[SPEAKER_02]: No, that was super helpful to be able to understand that.
48:05
[SPEAKER_02]: So definitely understand that a lot better.
48:09
[SPEAKER_02]: And so I got to ask you, since I got you here in person, you mentioned that you were a minister.
48:14
[SPEAKER_02]: What is it like being a minister?
48:15
[SPEAKER_02]: Like what do you do as a minister?
48:17
[SPEAKER_02]: How does it feel to be a minister?
48:19
[SPEAKER_02]: give us some, invite us into your world of ministry.
48:22
[SPEAKER_01]: Sure, so I got to say shout out to my embassy covenant family, my, the leader of our churches of Possible Hugh Daniel Smith, love you.
48:32
[SPEAKER_01]: Being a minister is something that, again, I did not expect it.
48:37
[SPEAKER_01]: I did it because the Lord told me you are going to go to these ministerial classes and you're going to be a minister I was like, all right, I'm not going to say no.
48:46
[SPEAKER_01]: So,
48:46
[SPEAKER_01]: It is a very rewarding experience.
48:49
[SPEAKER_01]: I love helping people.
48:50
[SPEAKER_01]: You notice, I love helping people.
48:53
[SPEAKER_01]: I love, I also cook, I love cooking for other people.
48:57
[SPEAKER_01]: That's one of the things that give me joy.
48:58
[SPEAKER_01]: And I love being able with ministering to being able to help other people.
49:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Currently with my,
49:06
[SPEAKER_01]: At my church, everybody thinks of a minister and they say, well, you're on a pool, but you got to be preaching people.
49:12
[SPEAKER_01]: That's not in a Saturday case.
49:13
[SPEAKER_01]: You can have a podcast like this, and you ministering people.
49:17
[SPEAKER_01]: You can write a book.
49:18
[SPEAKER_01]: and administer some people, even if it's a fictional story.
49:22
[SPEAKER_01]: But with what I're doing specifically in charge, I work with a team of people to help other individuals solve their problems.
49:31
[SPEAKER_01]: So we do case work where we look at, we'll do, we'll look at, get a case, look at what's going on, we look at the natural and spiritual side of what's going on with that individual.
49:41
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, there's other things that are super complicated to go into that and that I want that I don't want to like go super in debt with because for time sake, but I will suggest to kind of keep it brief Uh, yeah, we do case work and we help get that individual, um, back on a track where they are.
49:57
[SPEAKER_01]: So, rather this, that person that's been in jail, all, you know, and they got a life sentence ahead of them, but they truly believe that not only are they innocent, but they believe that they need some chat, they, they believe that they were wrongly incarcerated for us with how much time they got.
50:14
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a little abusive.
50:16
[SPEAKER_01]: with that time.
50:17
[SPEAKER_01]: There's another word for that.
50:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't judge me on the words that I chose for that.
50:22
[SPEAKER_01]: We go in.
50:23
[SPEAKER_01]: We look at the spiritual sign and natural sign to try to figure out what we can do to help.
50:28
[SPEAKER_01]: Even looking at, you know, let's just say the person maybe you sit and we and they come to our church and it and it's like, okay, we'll do a case based off of that.
50:39
[SPEAKER_01]: We will go ahead and do case work with that and figure out the natural and spiritual
50:45
[SPEAKER_01]: Also, I've learned so much, and I haven't been a minister two years, I think it might be two years, that's crazy.
50:54
[SPEAKER_01]: I've learned so much from those that are not only the faith, but been in ministry longer than I have.
51:03
[SPEAKER_01]: I've had to unlearn some things and learn some other things.
51:08
[SPEAKER_01]: and I've just my appreciation for the work that my church does, it's just through the moon and I've learned to be a...
51:16
[SPEAKER_01]: It's one thing, you maybe you can talk about this too, or you've experienced this, by the way.
51:21
[SPEAKER_01]: Being in a room of people that are gifted,
51:24
[SPEAKER_01]: They are extremely gifted and then filling like, yeah, like, y'all on a whole other level.
51:33
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm in Michigan y'all out there in space somewhere.
51:37
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm trying to get there.
51:38
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
51:39
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, that's sometimes how I feel when I church like seeing people operate in their get, the gifts they got gave them.
51:45
[SPEAKER_01]: There's so many people in my church that have businesses and they work in the marketplace, but they also minister there at the same time.
51:52
[SPEAKER_01]: Just to see everybody's gift working together, it's like, it's one of those things where I just sit back sometime be like, wow.
52:00
[SPEAKER_01]: like this is incredible.
52:02
[SPEAKER_01]: But I'm thankful because it's allowed me to be in a place where I can grow.
52:07
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like taking a plant this like outgrown the pot that is in and someone still trying to keep that plant in that small pot.
52:15
[SPEAKER_01]: But then you finally be like, look, I'll do it for you.
52:18
[SPEAKER_01]: Put it in the bigger pot and you can actually see the roots of that plant just expanding grow and do things that excuse me, do things that
52:26
[SPEAKER_01]: they didn't do before.
52:29
[SPEAKER_01]: So I love it.
52:30
[SPEAKER_01]: I am incredibly grateful for my church.
52:33
[SPEAKER_02]: Very dope.
52:34
[SPEAKER_02]: And so Chris, what's next on horizon?
52:36
[SPEAKER_02]: What do you see for sanctuary house?
52:39
[SPEAKER_02]: What do you see for C in terms of you being an author?
52:42
[SPEAKER_02]: What's next on horizon for Christian?
52:44
[SPEAKER_01]: So right now, I am accepting individuals if they would like to be a client.
52:51
[SPEAKER_01]: Look at it.
52:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
52:54
[SPEAKER_01]: So I am accepting individuals.
52:55
[SPEAKER_01]: If you want to publish a book, you can feel free to reach out to me.
53:01
[SPEAKER_01]: I know Denzo is going to have all the socials in there and everything like that.
53:04
[SPEAKER_01]: You can you can get on a discovery call for me absolutely no charge.
53:09
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like you me charging you to talk to you for 15 minutes.
53:11
[SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of crazy I just don't I just feel like doing that is kind of wild You can we can book a 15 minute call to start off with that to see if we're good fit
53:21
[SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, I would love to have you as a client.
53:24
[SPEAKER_01]: We have publishing services.
53:26
[SPEAKER_01]: You can see all those with what Denzel's gonna post.
53:28
[SPEAKER_01]: You'll be able to see the prices and things like that.
53:30
[SPEAKER_01]: But one of the things I am offering, and I don't really see to me publishing companies offering it, I started a program called Storycrafting.
53:40
[SPEAKER_01]: and I'm super, super excited to.
53:41
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm already working with one person and they was kind of like my giddy pick to like work that, that service out.
53:47
[SPEAKER_01]: But it's working out really good.
53:50
[SPEAKER_01]: And I love, love, love that service that I'm going to be giving to people of costory crafting.
53:54
[SPEAKER_02]: and get to people your socials where they can find you at high best ways to contact you.
53:59
[SPEAKER_01]: So I am on TikTok.
54:01
[SPEAKER_01]: I kind of like basically live there.
54:03
[SPEAKER_01]: It is sanctuary house publishing.
54:05
[SPEAKER_01]: I am on Facebook.
54:06
[SPEAKER_01]: You can find the fan page for Battleground.
54:10
[SPEAKER_01]: On Facebook is just called Battleground Fan page.
54:14
[SPEAKER_01]: I am also on Instagram at C-Black Rights.
54:17
[SPEAKER_01]: You can find me on there.
54:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, also to I am at the beginning of the year going to have I also be at the beginning of year going to be doing a book club and with this book club, we're going to walk through all 20 chapters of this book.
54:34
[SPEAKER_01]: And I want to be asking some reflective questions, so, you know, some questions to get you thinking about the characters to put yourself in the shoes of the character and ask yourself, would you make the same decisions?
54:47
[SPEAKER_01]: Or if you didn't, what did make a different decision, what was your decision?
54:51
[SPEAKER_01]: and we can kind of talk about what how that would maybe affect the story.
54:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Also, I will be giving you more or more behind the scenes look at what my writing process is like, or what a writing process is like, and then at the end I have a surprise for everyone that joins it.
55:08
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I won't tell people in a little bit more about that in my newsletter that I have going out.
55:14
[SPEAKER_01]: So you can sign up with that, uh, in, uh, info at battlegseries.com.
55:19
[SPEAKER_01]: Just put newsletter in there and yeah, you can get right on the list.
55:23
[SPEAKER_01]: It's info at battlegseries.com.
55:26
[SPEAKER_02]: perfect.
55:27
[SPEAKER_02]: Well, my brother Chris, I appreciate you once again for pulling up to the podcast.
55:31
[SPEAKER_02]: This has been enjoyable.
55:33
[SPEAKER_02]: I love getting an opportunity to learn more about what it is that you have been working on in terms of background, look forward and to getting my copy and dignity to that and then also you share your experiences with us and telling us about what's on the horizon and how you're building out your endeavors in terms of being able to expand upon your creativity and your craft.
55:52
[SPEAKER_02]: So I appreciate your man and I love everything that you're doing.
55:55
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, thank you so much for having me.
55:57
[SPEAKER_01]: I really appreciate it.
55:58
[SPEAKER_01]: I am so blessed and thankful for the work that you've been doing.
56:03
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, you've had some amazing interviews, and I'm so grateful to be a part of this space and you allow me entering into your space.
56:12
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes, sir, any time, man?
56:13
[SPEAKER_02]: Yes.
56:14
[SPEAKER_02]: Everybody watching and listening, we don't tap in which I'll soon.
56:17
[SPEAKER_02]: Peace.