Tag: blogging

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews Special Edition: Introducing William Spivey’s “Strong Beginnings”

Title: Strong Beginnings

Author: William Spivey

Publisher: TBA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrongBeginningsaNovel/

Blog: https://enigmainblack.wordpress.com/

E-mail: wspiv001@aol.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/william.spivey1

Twitter: @wspiv001

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

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This is the last book review of the year and what a way to go out. Today’s review is a special one.

I am honored to introduce to you William Spivey, a regular contributor to the Inner-City News where he writes about politics and popular culture. He also blogs as “Enigma in Black” where he explores poetry, religion, politics and all manner of things socially relevant. He is the founder of the Facebook pages Average Citizen Forum, and Enigma in Black. William is also the winner of a University-wide Essay Contest while at Fisk University titled, “The Value of a Liberal Arts Education”. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Fisk and resides in Orlando, FL.

His goal now is to make his voice heard and make a difference, and he has given me the honor of advanced reading his soon to be released Political Fiction/Romance novel “Strong Beginnings”.

When Frederick Douglass Strong witnesses the murder of four African Americans on the Moore’s Ford Bridge in Covington Georgia in 1966, he set into motion a string of events that would influence the actions of his family for years to come. After all, Frederick wasn’t the only one to witness what would be known as The Moore’s Ford Bridge Four but so did Chris Lee Thomas, the teenage friend of his son Roosevelt and the son of one of the white men who just murdered the four.

Gripped with anxiety, Frederick goes home and is unable to sleep. With a thorough understanding of the time, he is drenched in the fear of what could happen next. Neglecting to reveal the details to his pregnant wife, he suffers silently until a knock is heard on the door. It’s Chris Lee Thomas and he wants Frederick to step outside. Frederick does and is faced with a lynch mob. Meanwhile, his son Roosevelt is peeking through his bedroom window, watching as the men chase his father.

However, Roosevelt is also seen by Chris just as his father was and the family is panicked with a decision of a lifetime. After Frederick’s death, it is clear, they must leave Covington if Roosevelt is to survive.

The story goes on to follow the life of Roosevelt and his family fifty years after The Moore’s Ford Bridge Four in Orlando Florida. His daughter, Voncelle Strong is one of the foremost voices of the novel. She is a passionate teacher and blogger and we watch as she positively influences her students, battles the unfair school system, juggle relationships and come face to face with relatives she didn’t know she had. As a former teacher, I enjoyed Voncelle’s fight for the student’s well-being.

As for the incident, can the Strong family outrun their beginnings? What will happen when they come face to face with their past?

There were many things to love about this book, such as the History, the family bonds, and education. Most of all, I loved how the title to this book is appropriately titled. Not only in its relation to the Strong family and the symbolism of new beginnings, but the beginning of this novel also starts out strong. I was nervous for Roosevelt as the family was deciding what should be done before making the decision to leave Covington. I also enjoyed the relationships, how they were tied into the story in a realistic way. For instance, when Voncelle travels to Europe she meets two young men who have more in common with her than she thinks and when a family member contacts Roosevelt all those years later for a family reunion, it sets in motion a string of revelations that would impact the family for a lifetime I am sure.

I recommend Strong Beginnings to anyone with a passion for the plight of African Americans, for those concerned about the politics of education and those who have a love affair for strong families.

Ratings:

Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5

Entertainment Factor: 5/5

Characterization: 4/5

Authenticity / Believable: 5/5

Thought Provoking: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4.5 / 5

Strong Beginnings is not yet available. Stay tuned.

Don’t forget to Follow this Author online!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrongBeginningsaNovel/

Blog: https://enigmainblack.wordpress.com/

E-mail: wspiv001@aol.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/william.spivey1

Twitter: @wspiv001

I hope you enjoyed our final review of the year! It’s been amazing and I am truly honored to be in the company of such a talented group of individuals. Don’t forget that you can contact all of the authors on the new Indie Author Page HERE. It’s a new page so there isn’t much going on right now but over my break (which started about…5 seconds ago) I intend to update it so it looks more “authorly” (whatever that means lol).

I have many more authors to come so be sure to return to The PBS Blog after the new year. If you’re an author in need of more reviews, be sure to register your book HERE for consideration. Also, do not forget to update me on any special occasions or anything exciting you have going on! I love supporting the authors I review so let’s stay in touch. Each one, reach one.

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Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews Special Edition: Introducing William Spivey’s Strong Beginnings

Title: Strong Beginnings

Author: William Spivey

Publisher: TBA

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrongBeginningsaNovel/

Blog: https://enigmainblack.wordpress.com/

E-mail: wspiv001@aol.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/william.spivey1

Twitter: @wspiv001

kimg0063

This is the last book review of the year, and what a way to go out. Today’s review is a special one.

I’d like to welcome William Spivey, who frequently writes about politics and popular culture for the Inner-City News. Also, he writes under the name “Enigma in Black” about various socially significant topics, including politics, religion, and poetry. He is the creator of the Facebook sites Enigma in Black and Ordinary Citizen Forum. While attending Fisk University, William won the “The Importance of a Liberal Arts Education” Essay Contest, open to all students. He lives in Orlando, Florida, and graduated from Fisk with a B.A. in economics.

His goal now is to make his voice heard and make a difference, and he has given me the honor of advanced reading his soon-to-be-released Political Fiction/Romance novel Strong Beginnings.

When Frederick Douglass Strong witnessed the murder of four African Americans on the Moore’s Ford Bridge in Covington Georgia in 1966, he set into motion a string of events that would influence his family’s actions for years to come. After all, Frederick wasn’t the only one to witness what would be known as The Moore’s Ford Bridge Four but so did Chris Lee Thomas, the teenage friend of his son Roosevelt and the son of one of the white men who just murdered the four.

Gripped with anxiety, Frederick goes home and is unable to sleep. With a thorough understanding of the time, he is drenched in fear of what could happen next. Neglecting to reveal the details to his pregnant wife, he suffers silently until a knock is heard on the door. It’s Chris Lee Thomas and he wants Frederick to step outside. Frederick does and is faced with a lynch mob. Meanwhile, his son Roosevelt is peeking through his bedroom window, watching as the men chase his father.

However, Chris also sees Roosevelt just as his father, and the family is panicked with a decision of a lifetime. After Frederick’s death, it is clear, they must leave Covington if Roosevelt is to survive.

The story follows the life of Roosevelt and his family fifty years after The Moore’s Ford Bridge Four in Orlando Florida. His daughter, Voncelle Strong is one of the foremost voices of the novel. She is a passionate teacher and blogger. We watch as she positively influences her students, battles the unfair school system, juggles relationships, and comes face to face with relatives she didn’t know she had.

As for the incident, can the Strong family outrun their beginnings? What will happen when they come face to face with their past?

I recommend Strong Beginnings to anyone passionate about the plight of African Americans, those concerned about education politics, and those with a love affair for strong families.

Ratings:

Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5

Entertainment Factor: 5/5

Characterization: 4/5

Authenticity / Believable: 5/5

Thought Provoking: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4.5 / 5

Strong Beginnings is not yet available. Stay tuned.

Don’t forget to Follow this Author online!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrongBeginningsaNovel/

Blog: https://enigmainblack.wordpress.com/

E-mail: wspiv001@aol.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/william.spivey1

Twitter: @wspiv001

I have many more authors to come so be sure to return to The PBS Blog after the new year.

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Blogging Tips: Writing and Blogging Are Very Different Things

I’ll be honest, when I saw this blog headline, I thought I was going to disagree with everything Danny said Lol. BUT, I don’t. This is good info for writers who also blog. Between Danny and Jason I’ve learned a lot. “If you want people to see your writing, you have to learn how to be a blogger….Interact with people. That’s the art of blogging.”

Throwback Thursday Jam – You Rock My World, Michael Jackson

Yes, I know. This came out in 2001 but I got a funny story with it….

My mom’s birthday was this week and she loves MJ, matter of fact I think it was her bday when I was listening to it. I have this song on my phone right, and when the beat started up, you know how everybody got that one MJ move loll. No, not the moon walk, ya’ll know what I’m talking about. When your head do that lil irk and then the roll before you throw it back and then your arms and legs cock to the beat. Ya’ll know what I’m talking about. I knew then I wanted to post this for our Throwback. So what Imma need ya’ll to do is get up and dance. Yes, you. Come on now, don’t leave me out here by myself.

Yaasss, there you go…. hey…we not ready for you huh? Lol. ☺.

Endurance

Black woman sitting with eyes closed outdoors

Endurance, the prominence, comes like a splashing dose of faith. Like scars praising the scarlet letters on my skin. As if strength poured forth from the sky and left its prophecies etched on the calcium of my bones. It’s courage far braver than purple hearts or bleeding pens on the white paper of a soldier’s goodbye. Like a car accident that knocks me off my feet but does not kill me, I get it. Nineteen years later the irony of life and death finds itself a home in this house of poetry.

Get Out There

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I’m glad I didn’t know much about publishing when I published my first book or my second for that matter. Though I surely paid in quality, I’m still glad I was green. Before you judge, hear me out.

There’s a lot of information out there. Everyone has an opinion on how a book should be published. And while it is wise to listen to advice, it is not wise to listen to every single piece of advice (take heed how you hear). That said, with the wealth of information at our fingertips, it can be a blessing and a curse, a double-edged sword (been using this term a lot lately, hmm). It’s a double-edged sword because it’s easy to look at the Industry and decide you’ll never be ready. And who can blame you? At every turn there’s information on how not to do something that you probably already did.

This revelation came while flipping through my first novel The Aftermath, a Sci-Fi Thriller that I rarely talk about. It’s probably because I made every mistake that probably exists! Every piece of advice you’ve read and everything you’ve researched on what not to do I am willing to bet you can pretty much find in this book. But I love it still and I smile every time I run my fingers across it on the book shelf. Reminding myself that I did invest in a new cover last year and after its edited (No, I didn’t get it edited the first time. Told ya’ll I made every mistake you can think of!), I will be adding it back to my electronic shelves.

The funny thing is that despite my mistakes the book received more support than I thought it would even though it was only my second book. (It was my third book technically, my first novel but my third book. My first published work was a 3-part essay and my first official book was a collection of poetry but I’ll talk about my Self- Pub. history another time. You know me by The Stella Trilogy, but I’ve been grinding since 2007.)

After looking at the first edition today I am reminded that I learn more about book publishing with each book that I publish (I mean that literally. I literally learn something new every time I publish a book. Amazing right?). For this, it’s easy to look down on the other books. To give up on them. But the truth is that had it not been for those books I would not be where I am and that’s my message to you.

If you’re trying not to make a mistake you’re wasting your time. It’s inevitable in this field. You’re going to find something wrong (you or someone else). That’s not a bad thing necessarily. If you never make a mistake, how can you learn?

Okay, yes. I will be real with you. There’s a lot to learn but if you don’t get out there you’ll be learning the rest of your life instead of doing. Yes, the student must study but the idea is not for him to be forever learning at the foot of the teacher. The idea is for him to apply the lessons learned and step out on his own. If I had not published my first book, I would not be in the position to publish my ninth (or tenth depending on how you look at it). I would also not have anything to share so far as what I did wrong that I can pass onto others so they won’t make the same mistakes I did.

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If you’re looking for someone to push you then you got it. Get on out there! I’m rooting for you.

Yecheilyah Ysrayl is the YA, Historical Fiction author of The Stella Trilogy. She is currently working on her next book series “The Nora White Story” about a young black woman who dreams of taking part in The Harlem Renaissance movement and her parents struggle to accept their traumatic past in the Jim Crow south. “Renaissance: The Nora White Story (Book One)” is due for release summer, 2017. For updates on this project, sneak peek of chapters and the pending book cover release (coming soon) for this project, be sure to follow this blog and to subscribe to Yecheilyah’s email list HERE.