SPEAKER_06 0:07

It's a baby. It's your time.

SPEAKER_05 0:37

With Dr. Julia Royston.

SPEAKER_07 0:43

Well, hello, I'm Dr. Julia Royston. Welcome to another episode of Live Your Best Life, where I'm always seeking to bring you people, places, tools, information, resources, and of course authors that help you uh live your best life. And so why don't you get your pen and paper if you're old school or uh like I am, and your phone if you're new school, like I am too as well. And uh I want you to be able to support this author. Yes, she is an author. And um recently met, and I'm looking forward to having a conversation, as we always do right here on Live Your Best Life. So um sit back and relax. I want her to formally, officially introduce herself, tell us where she's from, and uh where we can find her on social media. Take it away.

SPEAKER_03 1:34

My name is Karen Crosshawk, but I write under the pen name of Cece Hawk. I was born in Chicago and lived there most of my life, but after six decades of winters in Chicago and on the East Coast for college and high school, uh, I became a snowbird during COVID. My husband and I became snowbirds during COVID. So since 2020, we've been living nine months in the Texas Hill Country near Austin, Texas. And then um in the summer, June through um the beginning of October, um, we're in Chicago to um to capitalize on that better weather there because it's too hot in Texas for us. So um after meeting you and hearing all of the great presentations during the National Um Black Book Festival, I took some steps to kind of up my game with my social media. And since then I've recently established um a website and purchase all my domain names. Oh my god! So proud, yay! So my website is cchawkrights.com, and then I have also dot net dot shop and dot info.

SPEAKER_07 2:48

Let's do it, let's do it. Yes, love it, love it, love it.

SPEAKER_03 2:51

So I was already on Facebook um with CC Hawk Rights and on Instagram with CC Hawk Rights. And as the weeks uh go by, I'm gonna add some other things, TikTok and that sort of thing. But that's where I am now.

SPEAKER_07 3:05

Absolutely. Okay, so uh uh Miss CC Hawk has given you all a huge, huge branding tip, uh, whether you know it or not. And maybe it wasn't, uh, but it I always uh as a retired educator, I always see a teachable moment um so that we're not confused as to whether to find her. Is this Cece Hawk rights the same as this one over here? And this one, and you know, people have different names everywhere. If you could, if you could just um solidify and unify your brand so that we don't have to hunt and peck for you. Remember, there's nine billion people on the planet. Now, I'm not saying you have to go and redo all of your social media, but if you're really serious about your book, you're really serious about your business, your brand, all of that. It needs to be as easy as possible. Mine, Julia A. Royston. Put that girl in, and uh you see me on all my ads. This is the face you're looking for, these are the big glasses you're looking for, and uh it should solidify all of that, and it makes it very, very easy for people to find you. So, congratulations on the expansion of the website and purchasing the domains and and all of that because it makes it uh a lot easier for people to find you. So, C C Hawks, that's H A W, just like the basketball team, the Hawks, Atlanta Hawks, H-A-W-K-S. No, no S. No S the Hawk. So H A W K dot com and um C C Hawk rights with the S on the end, yes. No S. No S on rights. Oh, S on rights, but not on. Okay, so he C C Hawk, let me make sure I have it right. C C two C's, H A W K Rights, W R I T E S with S on it dot com. So to be looking for C C Hawk rights everywhere, Facebook and Instagram. So super proud. So I've gotta ask, what's how did you fall in love with writing? How did you get to writing first? Has you always been a writer? Did you pick it up in college? Or you just thought one day I'm gonna do that.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

So, how did you start writing? I started writing when I was a little girl. I'm an introvert. I describe myself as an introvert, and I'm an only child, so I had to entertain myself a lot. So I I wrote, I wrote letters, I wrote in my diary, and I love to read. And so I just kept writing, you know, up into adulthood, and I never really showed very many people my writing, but I was always told that I wrote well, you know, for school and that sort of thing. But um, in my personal life, I was writing stories and that sort of thing. I never really showed those to people, uh, except my husband, who told me, you know, these are good stories, you should, you know, send them out. But I I it felt kind of vulnerable for me. So I really didn't do it. But um when I moved, when I retired five years ago, uh, and we moved to the Texas Hill country, the first thing I did was join a writers group. Uh and but I had been in writers group and writing classes, you know, after college just for fun. But I said I wanted to publish something, you know, that that was a bucket list item for me to publish something. So I joined the San Gabriel Writers League, which is located in Georgetown, Texas. But in addition to just joining the larger group, I joined a smaller critique group where we had four people in the group and we would write a certain number of words each month and show it to each other and critique it. And so, as part of that group, I got a lot of positive feedback on the things that I was writing. And one person in particular in my group said, you know, I like this stuff, I buy it. And so I also entered a couple of writing contests within the group and placed in those. And so I felt that that was an indication that maybe I had something that other people might want to read. And so those are blind, you know, writing contests. So the people don't know who's writing it. Right. So so as far as my husband was concerned, I felt, you know, as part of the marriage pact, he had to tell me it was good. But if it was other people that were saying it, then I could trust that that meant something.

SPEAKER_07 7:32

Yeah, yeah. Well, I've met your husband, and he is like uh a thousand percent supportive of whatever you're doing. He's he's in it all the way. And um, I, you know, I I've I have the same type of husband, so I I see it easily when I and in other people's husbands, because my husband is exactly the same way. But I realize that there are women in the world that uh would probably be jealous of us because may not be as supportive of our writing or whatever we're involved in, but um that's a wonderful thing. So for the audience, another tip uh Ms. Hawk has given us is if you're really serious about your writing, and especially if you write fiction, I feel like that is the genre that is sometimes can be the toughest, uh, unless you've been working on it a long time or been doing it a long time or had a little glimpses of that in school. But um, I feel like joining a writer's group is really, really key and important. Uh as somebody who writes fiction and presents it to book clubs, I'm always sitting there holding my breath. I don't care how many books I've written, I'm holding my breath. And um that critique portion is really important too, as well. Um, being in a safe space for people to actually critique your works. Now I know the introverts, uh what they call me, I'm an embert. So I'm an introvert, amber, uh, introvert, extrovert. I'm an extrovert who has very introvert worries sometimes uh when I don't have to be on. But um, you know, being okay with critique. You gotta, as they say, you know, toughen up, toughen up, get tough skin, and realize that this is part of the process. This helps you become better. This helps you be a better writer when other people are like, this is good, or I was confused in that chapter. So we can't take offense. We have to get better. So that's that's two nuggets that she's those are really boulders for anyone who's interested in writing a novel, anybody who's interested in writing fiction, that you really something that you should do. Those are steps that I highly recommend and concur with that you should definitely do. Okay, so tell this the the snowbird, and and we're jealous of that, being able to change uh locations when we change seasons. Hey, cheers to say cheers to you. Oh, we love it, we love it.

SPEAKER_03 10:09

So so tell us about your books. Okay, uh, my debut book is a book of 17 short stories. It's entitled Slices of Life, Essays, Fiction, and Memoir. And it's um has five different theme areas coming of age, family and friends, love and marriage, career and workplace, and travel and adventure. So there's something for everyone.

SPEAKER_07 10:38

So what starts first? The characters, the what comes first? The character, the plot, the what do we work on first? Or like I have happened, voices just start talking in my head. So what comes first?

SPEAKER_03 10:53

Well, I'm I guess it's not always the same for every story. Um, you know, so it's a little bit of both, you know, they talk about different kinds of writers, plotters and panthers and that sort of thing. And so, you know, sometimes I outline everything and work from there, but sometimes, like you say, voices come to me or dream, I dream things and I get up and write it down um so that I can continue um to develop it.

SPEAKER_07 11:21

Yeah, yeah. Okay, so you gotta explain what's the difference in a uh, what did you say? A plotter, a plotter, and a pantser. Pants. So what's the difference?

SPEAKER_03 11:32

A pantser is somebody who just writes by the seat of their pants. You know, they sit down and they just start writing, and whatever comes out, you know, comes out. A plotter is somebody who uh outlines it and has everything, you know, kind of in order and then fills in the blanks, that sort of thing. So much, much more organized. But I'm saying, I but I'm saying that I've done it both ways. Depends on what the story is.

SPEAKER_07 11:56

Yeah, I've done it both ways. When I first started, I was a pantser because God would say, you have to write this, and and he gave it straight out. As I've gotten more experienced, I'm really um, I gotta have an outline because I got busier and my world got busier, my business got busier, everything got busier, so therefore that sitting around waiting on the, as they say, the spirit to move, as we say in church, is not really as strategic. And if you have people in this business world who um are asking for more from you, then the more they're asking and the larger your territory becomes, then you have to really be as organized as possible. So do you handwrite everything out first and then type, or you just sit down on the computer and go?

SPEAKER_03 12:46

I usually work on the computer. Sometimes I give myself uh notes on my phone. Like if I'm out and I have an idea, I'll put something in my phone just to jog my memory. But I I I generally write on the computer.

SPEAKER_07 12:58

Yeah, me too. I can't I can't handwrite my my hands, won't do it anymore. I can't do it. It they hurt, they cramp, and all that good stuff. So, so where did the inspiration come for the short stories? I know we've got the topics, but were there they just came from everywhere, all the the as they say, the pantsing and the plotting and all of it combined together.

SPEAKER_03 13:23

Well, when I was putting together the book, I wanted to, I had a goal for myself. I when I had reached a certain birthday, I reached a certain milestone birthday. And so I said to myself, I gave myself, I said, by my next birthday, I'm gonna have a book published. And so I'd been writing, you know, kind of all my life. So I had an archive of just different things I'd written. But I when I got here to Texas, I started writing more things. And so I'm an analyst by nature, and that's what I did in my career, that kind of thing. And so I looked at everything that I had and saw how it fit into different categories. So that's how I came up with those five categories. But those are those five categories are you know parts of my life, you know, my family and friends, my love and marriage, my career, and my travel. So yeah, that's how I did it.

SPEAKER_07 14:15

Okay, so how do you bridge the gap for those um analysts out there? Because they're they may not be analysts by trade, by career, as you have been, but they spend a lot of time in their head. So do you suggest that because I've known um there's um a literary organization not too far from me, about 80 miles from where I am, and it's it's um funded by Carnegie Mellon and all of that. And I find that a lot of the members they spend a lot of time writing. Oh, I'm editing, oh, I'm changing, oh, I'm getting critiques and all that. But very few of them actually say, I have something out there in the world. So, and I know if you're a technical thinker, critical thinker, uh, and and in the analysis world, what is that? Uh, what is it? Analysis paralysis that paralyze you to never get anything out. And it really kind of uh, it was hard for me because I'm gonna push the button, I'm gonna pull the trigger. I'm going, I'm going for it. Uh, even if I have to make changes later. So what do you um besides you saying, okay, by this birthday, I'm gonna have it done. But what what are some other things besides setting the goal and actually having a due date was really key to actually finishing and actually pulling the trigger to do it?

SPEAKER_03 15:47

Well, I'm I'm goal-oriented, you know, uh, by nature, but I say for other people, it's like you the African saying, you know, you can't eat the elephant hole, you have to eat it one bite at a time. So you have to get to give yourself discrete tasks to do so that you have some wins. You know, that you, you know, I finished this, I finished that, finished that. And so I mean, that would be a tip um that I would give people to try to get things done. But I was working with my editorslash publisher, and so we had a timeline, you know, for what we were going to do and how we were gonna get done by the goal that I set for myself, and I and I followed it. But I'm a person, I'm a person who I make lists, you know, kind of like, and this is something I started in high school with a teacher who told me to do this. It's like kind of every night, it's kind of like I make a list of what I'm what am I gonna accomplish tomorrow? And I put that down and I look at that and you know, see how far I've gotten. I know some people don't like to do that, right? Because then it doesn't seem, you know, they can tell themselves that they're doing more than they are. But you know, that's it's like in black and white. It's there. Did you do it? Did you not do it? Right. So that's that's how I operate.

SPEAKER_07 17:01

Yeah. Well, I mean, I think that's the the you got to be goal-oriented, and you gotta realize that this is a business. This is yeah, that's the kid, key thing. It is a business and it is literary, and uh, even though it's literary and and the creatives, you know, ooh, and great, but you gotta still look at it both ways as not just the creative arts, and yeah, I can come up with all kinds of characters and scenarios and what they eat, where they live, and all that, and the plots and all that good stuff. But um at the end of the day, you gotta have something to sell. And what I know that would have been a spark to me when somebody said, I'll I'll buy that. I think I would buy that. Oh yeah, that that would that would that would put me in in double double low fifth gear getting it done, getting it done. So, okay, so your book of short stories, tell me the name of it again.

SPEAKER_03 17:59

Slices of life.

SPEAKER_07 18:01

Slices of life, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:02

Splices of life.

SPEAKER_07 18:04

So what else have we done? Okay, I think what is it, like three? What else have we done?

SPEAKER_03 18:09

No, I I've that's my debut book. I've I've published some things, but I I've only got one book, and I published in August of 2024, but I've had a few small things published. Like I had something uh published in the anthology of the San Gabriel Writers League, of which I'm a member. They last year they had their 35th anniversary and they did an anthology book. So I had a piece published in there, and I've had some pieces published, um, like I had one piece published in the University of Chicago Law School magazine, some high school publications, and that sort of thing. And I've done some book reviews and that's but small things. And so this was my big, you know, thing that I was doing. And but now I'm now I'm in it. You're in it. I'm in it, I'm in it to win it.

SPEAKER_07 18:56

Good, good, good, good. Okay, so um, so you're available to speak, you're available to speak virtually and don't have a problem with travel. So uh so she can get there. So for the book clubs out there, for the literary groups, for the schools, and all that good stuff, be sure to go to cchawkwrites.com to find her or find her on social media, Facebook and Instagram. All right, so what's next? What we got to do next? What's what's coming up, Depike?

SPEAKER_03 19:27

Well, I'm I'm I'm doing I'm collaborating with two author friends uh from the San Gabriel Writers League. You know, we've come up with a concept that's working for us, and we've uh crafted this presentation called The Power of Women's Voices. And we're and we're three very different authors. You know, my book is a book of short stories, so it's a little bit lighter. But my um colleagues, Clementine Masingi, has written a book called Spared about her escape from Wanda during the genocide, the genocide. And then my other colleague is um Carrie Dashnar. She's written a book called Yearning to Be Free about her time as a nun and then how she got out of the convent and what that took. So we've presented that program at several libraries here in Texas, and so we'll be doing that at an additional library. Like we had a presentation back on November 1st at the Round Rock Library. So we collaborate on that. Um I do uh different events that we collaborate on, like we did some things for Juneteenth here. I participated in the Greater Austin uh Book Festival uh for local authors back in April, and I collaborated with my friend and co-author Clementine. I've spoken on a panel and we also had a booth there. So I've done um another podcast. I have one scheduled for November 24th. I have another podcast um scheduled for December, so we're gonna do that. I've done a couple of radio shows uh in Chicago. I just did a book club um on Monday. Um so I'm I'm trying to do all the things.

SPEAKER_07 21:14

Yeah. Oh, you're doing the thing. You're not trying, you're doing the things. Those are the things that um most authors really do not like to do, but those are some of the key areas that you should be doing. And collaboration is a wonderful thing, but more than anything is you gotta talk, you gotta speak. And that's one of the key things in book promotion for me is and and I say to authors, oh no, I don't want to be in front of Oh no, I don't want to, no pictures. Oh, I don't want to be seen. Oh, I don't wanna. Okay. So it's um Ms. Hawk says she's all in it. So I gotta ask you, are you in it? Are you not in it? You that's what you have to decide. You gotta come out of your comfort zone and be definitely all in it. So Well, um I'm sorry, I misread the uh the one sheet. I thought all three of those were your books, but those are your co-collaborators' books. Wonderful. That's an awesome thing. That's awesome. As a matter of fact, sidebar, um, before I got married, I lived in a fourplex. And the two ladies on the they had the two apartments, one in each, and they were former nuns, sisters of charity nuns. And so they had bought the building together and then they printed it out. So no, it was a wonderful thing. I I enjoyed uh living. So there were three of us that were single in apartments, and then there was a couple across the hallway from me. So yeah, it was a wonderful thing. So I I really would like to they talked a little bit about it. They were like, they they basically said the same thing as your um uh other author. They just say, like, I wanted to control my own money, I wanted to control my own destiny. I didn't want nobody telling me what I could and couldn't do anymore. And we got out. I was like, wow, that you know, so that is a story. I've always thought about that was a great story. So that yearning to be free is really something uh on my so besides promoting all of these works and all that good stuff, anything else you're writing?

SPEAKER_03 23:18

Uh yes, I'm I'm revising a children's book um or manuscript that I wrote many, many years ago about my son's first trip to West Africa, to Ghana in West Africa. And that was really my first foray into trying to get something published. And I went to a publishing house that I knew it was in their wheelhouse, but I had gone about it all the wrong way. You know, I had hired my own illustrator and all this kind of stuff. And I really, the person who talked to me really discouraged me. Um, and and now I know that I shouldn't have let that happen, but that stopped me from really submitting anything because this person was telling me, oh, this is wrong, that's wrong. And and and there was nothing wrong with the person saying that, but it was kind of like the way they did it. Yeah, yeah, uh very discouraging. So I'm gonna I'm going to go back to that. Um, I'm planning on writing a novel, um, kind of loosely based on my life um and things I've experienced because a lot of people think, and I agree, that I've had kind of an atypical my experience in life has been atypical of many African American women. I I went to um very elite schools. I I went to a elite boarding school on the East Coast, I went to an Ivy League college, um, and then I went to the University of Chicago for you know my master's degree uh in business. And so I've had some very unique uh experiences, especially based on my time in boarding school.

SPEAKER_07 24:56

Oh, I can only oh I want to read that. Oh, I want to read that. Uh we just visited one. We had a uh well, I went to Catholic um college, public school all the other time, but Catholic College for undergrad liberal arts. And uh we did like I sang in the choir, so I always sang, and we we stayed in a boarding uh rooms, boarding rooms, and I was like, people actually lived, they were on break, so they were having the concert research, and so wherever the students were gone, we took their rooms, and I'm looking going all the time. I'm in this room, what whatever? Oh no, I was like, oh no, no, no, no, no, no. I mean, it was comfortable, it was clean, it was nice, but I was like, people actually live here all the time. No, I won't go back home with my mom and my daddy, and my two wild sisters, but uh my mom and my oh no, what? So, yeah, I would love to read that one. I know that was something.

SPEAKER_03 25:57

Yeah, it was, and it was at a time in the 70s, the school that I went to had been an all-boys school, and so it was established in 1856, and they just began, they had just begun admitting girls in the early 70s. So I was y'all had a still separate dorm from them. Oh, yeah. I mean, but there are many dorms. I mean, the yeah, separate dorms, yes. But um, so it was, you know, really kind of experimental because I was uh the third class of girls that went to that school, which had been in existence since 1850. Were they black or white? Uh mix what? Oh, it's uh predominantly white. So there were maybe there were like 30 out of 500 students, there were 30 students of color.

SPEAKER_07 26:44

Uh men and women, male and female.

SPEAKER_03 26:47

Male and female, but I'm just telling you giving you the percentage. There are 500 students and only 30 of them students of color. And that wasn't that that doesn't mean black. No, that meant African American, Asian, Latino, Latino, that's everybody. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 27:08

Yeah. As they say, red and yellow, black and white, they're precious in the sight. Jesus loves the children of the world. Okay. So yeah, I know that was unique.

SPEAKER_03 27:20

So I got lots of stories. I know. And I have lots of stories from my working life as well. Because I I it's it's really interesting and kind of crazy, but I I had a lot of firsts that I was the first of you know, some things in corporate American, and you think, really? Steal? Say steal? In this day and age, I'm the first person who's doing this. So yeah.

SPEAKER_07 27:47

Well, a lot of that has to do with just sidebar away from books and everything, just as a black woman in life. It's like, you know, you've got to be brave enough. You've got to be strong enough. You've got to be, um, it's not smart enough. It's just brave enough. Because there's tons of smart people who are not brave enough to launch out there like the deep. So, like every year for for five years, I did, they've had a lot of changes in education, but I would um do a book fair at a school in Atlanta. And of course, it was a predominantly black school, but you know, they they knew that there were black authors out there, but being black and being female and being a publisher was definitely they're like, you know, so the principal will always say, Dr. Royston is black history. Look, look at her really good, because she's doing something in an arena, in an area that is, she's like a unicorn. She's uh black history being made. And I didn't think nothing about it. I just obeyed God and did what he said. But you're right. Sometimes you're like, in 2020, 2018, more than 2000, anything. We still having to do births. We're still seeing people, and they're the first, and they're the first, and they say it every time. Um, when you hear it on the news that they're the first. So congratulations all on all your being the first. But you know, being the first means you were brave enough. You weren't just smart enough. You weren't just, but you were brave enough to be the first. You know, you're, you know, you okay, because a lot of times there probably there probably could be way more firsts if people didn't say, we don't do that. That's not what we do. You're like, well, who? But my father always told us, as long as human beings are designed to do it, you can do it too. As long as you're not doing something that an animal does or the machine does, that you can, that human beings uh design to do that. So you're you're able to do it. So congratulations. That's that's awesome. And I look forward to the up and coming, next coming uh books and anything else. So you have another tip for the up-and-coming author, or you like, let me get through this with Julia first.

SPEAKER_03 30:17

Well, well, I would say um something that I do on a daily basis. I well, I write, but I spend quiet time in the morning just kind of thinking and writing down my ideas for potential stories and titles that I plan to write. I guess the other thing is, um, and this kind of goes on what you were saying when you were at the National Black Um Book Festival, you know, always be promoting. So um we're thinking of that everywhere we go. Yeah, and and this past weekend we were at the Texas Book Festival. I was gonna ask you, did you get to that? Yes, I did. We did go, and then we saw some of the authors that we met.

SPEAKER_07 30:56

Yeah, I know Miss Gwen and Mary, they were there, and oh yeah, they were there. We were there, it's on my Facebook page.

SPEAKER_03 31:02

So if you go look at the Facebook, heck yeah, I gotta see it. So I wasn't speaking or doing anything there, having a booth, but what we decided to do was I we have t-shirts, so I have a t-shirt that has my book printers. Absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, my husband, well, we both have those t-shirts, but my husband decided to wear his t-shirt that says, My favorite author is my wife. Oh so and so as we were walking through the festival, people were stopping us saying, you know, what you know, what is this? And so, of course, we were prepared with our cards and bookmarks and and and that sort of thing. So we we sold books to like random people, like you know, wherever we are. Like we were in a workshop there, and a lady was sitting in front of us and she said, I saw you earlier and I wanted to talk to you. What's your book? And you know, I explained, she goes, I'll buy it. And she pulled out her money and she bought it. I've sold books, like I was in New York over the summer, sold books to people I was sitting next to in the audience at the play that we were at, sold books to people in a restaurant when we were sitting next to them. So my husband told me a while ago, don't go anywhere without that book.

SPEAKER_07 32:13

That's right, don't go nowhere. Now you know, definitely you just throw do a few in your purse and put some in the car and the whole nine yards. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. That that's uh that's excellent. And that's one of those big boulder tips, especially for those people who's like, oh, my book is old. It don't get stale, it's not brilliant. Hello. You just need to get in front of new people. That's my uh that's my mantra as far as book promotion. You just need to get in front of new people. But um, that is wonderful, the the t-shirt idea because it draws attention to you. Um, and then you have to be prepared. You can't come out with that kind of advertisement, that level of advertisement for you and your husband to have t-shirts like that and not say, well, and be in a book festival. Oh Lord, oh no. I'd have been devastated for you. I didn't have a card, I didn't have a book. I'd be like, girl, you shouldn't stay down. No, no, no, you shouldn't stay on.

SPEAKER_03 33:11

I'm a planner. I am definitely I'm a planner. So I had plenty of cards and plenty of bookmarks.

SPEAKER_07 33:18

You are ready, yeah. I love it. I love it. I gotta get out there one year. I've got to go. I every time I see them, I'm like, ooh, but I don't know if I can, I'd have to see about the budget for both, you know, being able to National Black Folk Book Festival and that Texas, I don't know. That that's a lot of trouble back and forth.

SPEAKER_03 33:38

Well, one thing I would say about both was, you know, I wasn't a speaker or have a booth at either place, but it was worthwhile going just for the networking opportunity. Absolutely, as well as for the workshop. So even if you're not doing a booth, you know, it's worthwhile.

SPEAKER_07 33:54

Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_03 33:55

It's worthwhile for the networking opportunities.

SPEAKER_07 33:57

Absolutely, absolutely. And you need to be a student always. And I always love it, you know, when I'm in the room and I see, I don't care if it's a first-time author, one book, I don't care. I always learn something because people are creative, they're not just creative and writing the books, but I take pictures of their table setups, their um the additional, like, where'd you get those figurines? And I like those dolls. And where'd you get? I always learn something. I don't like to, you know, even though I have a lot of experience, it does not matter. I'm learning for somebody every single solitary day. And I always know that when I stop learning is when I'm really, really in trouble. When I don't keep my mind open to learn from other people, I'm in huge, huge trouble. Thank you so much. Uh, Ms. Hawk, and uh congratulations on everything that you're doing. Just keep going. More of the same and in your travels and in your meeting people, because you and your husband have a fantastic personality. And uh, you all are one of those power couples, you know. We got each other's back, and and uh we're all in, and he's all in as well. And so uh congratulations to you. And uh on the next book, just reach out to me and I'll be happy to interview you again because I'm always looking forward for people to um explore a new literary uh material so they can expand their mind, expand their reading palette so that they will know more and so they can grow. So thank you so much and uh appreciate it. Until next time, I'm Dr. Julia Royston, praying today, tomorrow, and always that you live your best life. Be blessed and have a great day. You're listening to Live Your Best Life. I'm your host, Dr. Julia Royston, right here on envision-radio.com where praise meets talk 24-7. Well, hello, I'm Dr. Julia Royston, and welcome to another edition of Live Your Best Life, where I'm always seeking to bring you people, places, information, resources, authors, of course, and tools to help you live your best life. I have um a young lady with me today who is an author and fiction author specifically. So I want you to get your pen and paper in hand. I want you to get your um computer, I want you to get your phone, whatever you use to access um technology and to be able to support this author and what she has done and brings um to the world today. So uh I want her to introduce herself, tell us where she's from, and tell us um how we can find her on social media. Take it away.

SPEAKER_02 36:50

My name is uh Marita Berry, and I'm originally from New York City, but I'm now living in Maryland. I'm an author, I'm the author of three novels. Uh I usually like to write in uh contemporary romance, coming of age, women literate literature uh style. And my books are one of them, Red September, is the first one. When love calls is the next one, and sofully yours. They're all contemporary romance, and um basically I like to describe myself as being uh creative, driven, patient, giving, and strong will. And these are the same qualities that I like to show in my characters, you know, strong but in the imperfect people finding their way through life, you know, growth and transformation, so on and so forth. So, as a social worker, much of my inspiration comes from witnessing so many stories of resilience that I see in everyday people, and I want my readers to walk away from my books feeling understood, inspired, and reminded that they're not alone. And basically, you can find out more about me on my social media at my website www.maritaberry author.com.

SPEAKER_07 38:17

Wonderful. Okay, so my other question of what starts first? The characters, the plots, uh, what what goes first?

SPEAKER_02 38:27

Oh, definitely the characters. Yeah, definitely the characters. Like I said, I see working as a social worker, I would see people every day with all you know. Absolutely, absolutely, as you can tell, as you can assume. And uh so I would get my characters develop their their um personalities from these people and take it from there. However, I do listen a lot, listen to different stories from either my family or friends or whatever, and I kind of compile the whole thing using my characters as well.

SPEAKER_07 39:02

Yeah, I I do the same thing. I was like, don't tell me anymore because it sounds like it's gonna be a part of uh a book, uh, as opposed to you just telling me a narrative. I said, because I will change the names to protect the innocent. So what drew you to fiction? Do you write a lot of fiction or have read a lot of fiction, or you always uh wanted to write fiction? Uh how'd you get started writing fiction?

SPEAKER_02 39:29

Believe it or not, it's all started as a fluke, quite by a accident. I didn't want to be an author. I always I read a lot of books and so on and so forth, but what had happened was I was living with my mother for a while, and she used to tell me stories about her life, you know, growing up. She lived on a on in the Caribbean Island. Um, and the island was no running water, no electricity, and only the dirt road in which she traveled. So I used to say to her, Ma, you need to write a book. So fast forward while I was going to school for you know university for my social work, I took a creative writing class and I said, I'm gonna write this book based on what my mother was telling me, but of course, changing the characters and so on and so forth. And that's how Red September was born, okay, loosely on the life of uh you know, a young girl living in the Caribbean in poverty, uh, at the hands of her abusive and alcoholic mother. Oh wow, yeah, dysfunctional, dysfunctional family, no doubt. And so that's how, like I said, that's how it came into my into my being to write. So once I started writing the book and I finished it, I said, I like, I'm kind of liking. I was liking it. Go to the process. Uh-huh. Yeah, I got hooked. I got hooked on the process. So then, like I said, another storyline I picked up listening to my friends and so on and so forth. And then I wrote Sofully Yours. That was my second book based on three. Okay, so Red September is the first one? Yeah, Red September was the first one in 2015.

SPEAKER_07 41:12

Wow, wow. So, how do you deal with well? You're a social worker, so you've seen all types of horrific um situations that people have landed themselves in. Um so that it helps you to be able to tell those very difficult. Because I I recently um did a fiction book and it was based on another series, and I just kind of extended the characters, didn't highlight them, spotlighted some new characters, but it involves, you know, people in human trafficking. And I'm like, I don't, I don't want to, oh no, I'm not digging down into it that deep. I just want enough to, you know, to get through, but it's still parts of them and doing the setting for that type of life, that type of experience still comes out. And I didn't go from the victim side. I haven't done I didn't, I didn't, I'm not diving into that. Okay. Got to the victim side. No, no, no. But how have you, with your social work skills, um, you know, relay those difficult, you know, really horrific um being a child, because you know, I'm uh I'm a mother and a father's girl. You know, my parents, um, I'm the oldest, I'm the first child they had. So all the attention was on me. So my parents were, you know, hands-on with all with all three of us. I have two younger sisters. So, but knowing that they are, you know, I'm not as I say, I don't have rose cluttered glasses on to think that everybody's life is just wonderful and two loving parents. So, how do you broach it? Were you careful with your words, or was it raw? How did you do it in Red September?

SPEAKER_02 42:58

It was raw, it was raw because, like I said, listening to her story, I it was so emotional to me when I was writing this book that I literally had to stop writing it for a little while because I was I was crying. I was writing the book and I'm crying. My mother, my mother passed away during me writing the book, so she never read it. Oh my, that's even more. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had I had I had stopped writing for a while, and then I kept hearing my voice finish the book, finish the book, finish the book. So then I continue to finish the book, but that book will, you know, make you tear up a little, you know.

SPEAKER_07 43:32

Yeah, I absolutely, absolutely. And I put it in the introduction. Please don't be trying to fact check me. Don't, and I might in it incorporate something at the end, but I'm like, don't be trying to fact check me. I just basically did it because God told me I needed to tell somebody's story, and I it was my assignment to tell it. But oh no, it it for those listeners who are listening, you gotta understand when you're writing fiction, there are times. Especially when it's an emotional setting, you've got to get emotional. You got to get down into that deep. That's the reason why some people don't write fiction at all. They write how-to's. Oh, five steps to be happy, 10 steps to be wonderful, uh, three steps in business, and 25 steps to get a man. I mean, whatever. But they don't want to get down into that emotional. And I've I've had an author that I've known now, I don't know, five, seven, maybe ten years. And she gets to a certain point in the story and it's that height of abuse, she doesn't want to get back into it because it's the smells, the taste, see it, you can feel it. You know, your your um the mind is a powerful tool. It is and it holds and um keeps so many things that you know, you're like, you know, no, you you, you know, I don't want to go back there. I don't want to remember that. That's the reason why therapy is so important, but so hard for people to get, because you gotta dig that mess up. You gotta turn that over, you gotta uh take the rug, pull it back, see that dirt there. My mama said, no, we can't just throw that dirt under the rug, uh-uh, pull the dirt back, sweep it up, get rid of it. No, you gotta look at it first before you get the broom. You know, those kinds of things, you know, you gotta you gotta face it even before you can uh move forward. So yeah, that would be emotional. And uh, but I know that the really good books are the ones that go through that whole thing of your emotions. Exactly. Cry, you laugh sometimes, you're mad, you're angry. When I've done uh presenting my fiction books to book clubs, when they get real angry and they're real emotional and they loud. And my husband went to with me the last time I did one of those, and he was like, These people are so emotional. I was like, exactly. You might not be into books and reading. He loves audiobooks, but books and reading like that, but they all in, especially women. Oh they're all into it. So um, okay, so give me the title. Uh, Red September was book one. Give me the title of book two.

SPEAKER_02 46:09

Okay, so booked well, this this is when love calls is a spin-off for Red September. It's it's Red September is the story of the mother. Oh, okay. And then When Love Calls is the story of the daughter. She's she's telling her life story to her child in the first book, and then the spin-off is of When Love Calls of the Daughter.

SPEAKER_07 46:32

These people look happy on the cover. Those of you listening in the audio, uh, these people look happy on the cover. So tell me how we got from that tragedy to that happiness.

SPEAKER_02 46:42

Okay, so the daughter had to go back to the island where the mother was born to take care of some family business, and when she gets there, she meets the real estate Claude Williams, who's handling the you know, the sale of the land. Right. They're both young. She's 25, he's 26, and they fell in love.

SPEAKER_07 47:02

So this is we, yeah, we need some happiness after that. Believe you me, after I finish with this book and getting it edited and rewrote with the uh uh human traffic, you know, we're gonna have a deep love story, it's gonna be wonderful. Food, light, different from that.

SPEAKER_02 47:19

That's why you see the happiness. It's more like when love when love calls. When love calls, okay.

SPEAKER_07 47:28

All right, that's book two.

SPEAKER_02 47:30

Yeah, but of course, as fate would have it, something happens and then yeah, we gotta have book three. Come on, come on, book three. And sofully yours, this was written even though it was written before when love calls, this was this was originally my very first book, but I had put it aside. Three friends in Atlanta who runs a public, they met in college, Atlanta, Clark Atlanta, and they uh run run a public relations firm. So they don't have time, they don't have time to date, so they go on this online dating service called Sofully Yours, and of course, oh my roller coaster ride, you know, love online dating, roller coaster ride ensued between them. There's plenty of that going on.

SPEAKER_07 48:20

So sofully yours. I love that. Oh my gosh, I really like that idea. Uh anybody approached you about movie or a Hallmark channel or something?

SPEAKER_02 48:30

No, believe it or not, I'm originally from New York, right? Oh, okay. So when I before I left New York, I had this was my book I had written before I left New York, and my supervisor, she's from Kenya. Uh at the time she's from Kenya. So she read the book and she was interested. This is what she said. Her daughter knew a screenwriter. Oh, yeah. And she said she was interested in the interested into writing uh turning into a um, you know, movie, whatever. African, African movie, whatever. I know. Well, it's possible.

SPEAKER_07 49:03

You just need some contracts and you need an entertainment lawyer. That's what that's what you need next, because there's a lot of scammers out there. I I will say that. But uh, but I saw it when I looked at that cover. I'm like, oh yeah, that's uh Hulu, that's Tubi, that's uh yeah, that's all of them. Yeah, so what are we working on now?

SPEAKER_02 49:22

So we're working on now. Well, right now I'm working on another, another, it's gonna be a novella, a little smaller book. It's it's called Cinnamon. Yeah, uh, you know, you always gotta be constantly, constantly working on cinnamon.

SPEAKER_07 49:36

You do, you do, you do. So give me the basic premise. You know, we can't give the can't give away all the uh loving herbs and spices, that's what I say. But um, so what's the major premise of uh cinnamon?

SPEAKER_02 49:51

Cinnamon is gonna it's gonna be a raw, emotional, and deeply moving story of a woman struggled to overcome loss, addiction, and loneliness. You know, after losing her parents and stumbling through life, she ends up drinking. She finally through drinking, and she fell in love, of course. And like I said, always have to be a little love story in there. But the relationship didn't last because of her drinking. She had two kids and her world was shattered, leaving her alone with the two little ones to raise. Now she faced the harsh reality of that there's no one to rescue her but herself. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 50:31

So uh deep and intensive.

SPEAKER_02 50:34

Okay, we have in a social work world. Yeah, because I dealt with the people uh in a a uh addiction. Uh I was dealing with you know clients of addictions, uh alcohol, drugs, or whatever. So I know the emotions that they they gambled.

SPEAKER_07 50:50

Yeah, and how they get there and how they and then it's so much to pull them out, and then they have to stay out.

SPEAKER_02 50:56

Exactly.

SPEAKER_07 50:57

That that that's the hardest part. That that's staying out and not falling off the wagon because of something, something happened. So um, okay, so give me your social media handles again.

SPEAKER_02 51:10

Okay, so everything you can be found on my website, www.marita, very author, one word, dot com. I have my uh Facebook on there, my IG, everything's like a little tab attached. Right. Spell your spell your first and last name. Okay, Marita is Animal as a Mary, A-R-I-T-A, and then Barry B as a boy, E-R-R-Y, and author. Or you, you know, u t o r.com. Marita, bury author.com is one of the excellent, excellent.

SPEAKER_07 51:43

Okay, so I we got one more question. So, do you write everything out by hand? Because I always want to get tips from authors. Do you write everything out by hand or do you go straight to the computer or mobile device?

SPEAKER_02 51:56

Oh, yeah. Well, I do a little of both. I well, you know, the computer and hand, because sometimes, believe it or not, when I go to bed, my mind is just downloading with all this information, right? Absolutely, absolutely. You know what I'm saying? So I would, you know, scribble, scribble, scribble some stuff as soon as I wake up and write it down, but then I go to the computer and then you know put it together.

SPEAKER_07 52:17

Plus it out, yeah, yeah. I have um notes app that are ink pad app, and sometimes I'll get things down. I I can do like notes with my hand, but because I type so much and over time, you know, it's just been uh a real, real, real huge struggle for me as far as um getting all of that down and getting the um all of that information down. So well, it's been a pleasure. Uh Miss Marita Berry, go to MaritaBerry Author.com. Um yes, that's my website. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Anything else you want to say to the people before we go?

SPEAKER_02 52:56

Well, I want first of all, I want to thank you for you know taking your time out to you know interview me and whatnot. You know, uh, I really enjoyed the conversation and uh hopefully you can meet again. Absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 53:10

Cause I want to I want to uh check out cinnamon and I want to get cinnamon out there into the uh in the atmosphere because it sounds like it's a little good, but it sounds a little spicy. Hello, like cinnamon is yeah, the the um you know the um um the what it represents and the uh all of that good stuff. So it does add a little kick to everything it gets involved in. So that should be a wonderful story and a great one there. So thank you again for being my guest, and I look forward to talking with you again soon. And um, to everyone listening, my prayer always is today, tomorrow, and always that you live your best life and be the best you can be. Thank you so much. Thank you, bye-bye.

SPEAKER_06 54:06

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