These days, I am focusing more on shifting my mindset from trying to figure out how to do something new to maximize what I already have. This includes how to best nurture my personal and business relationships.
Gone are the days of randomly following people on social media and only liking their posts. How can we actually work together? I hope to participate in more collaborations.
We spend so much time at the start of the year trying to figure out what new, shiny thing we can go after when we already have shiny things around us and within us. How can we repurpose content we already have into something greater? How can we build on relationships we’ve already fostered into something better?
Instead of “What can I do?” I ask myself, “What can I do with what I have?”
Going forward, I am reminding myself that my gifts have no limits.
And I hope you are too.
From teaching and mentoring to sitting down on panels with the crème de la crème to share your perspective, Self-Publishing a book is about far more than book royalties. It is also the easiest way to become an authority in your field. It puts you in rooms you would otherwise not be qualified to be in.
And, while Maya Angelou spoke six languages, studied modern dance in San Francisco, and spent a year in New York studying African dance with Pearl Primus, she never went to college.
Malcolm and Maya both lectured at universities, although they never attended one. The people came to them despite them not having the degrees and certifications because they were exceptional at being themselves.
People will pay you to be yourself. To talk your talk. To let your light shine.
While writing books, I remember that I am not limited to only writing books. I can use my gifts to make an even more significant impact.
Friday, November 1st is here and we are announcing the winners of this year’s poetry contest. The winners are notified ahead of time so we can prepare their interviews, but I will swear them to secrecy (lol) until we make the announcement.
We have selected 2 winners (1st and 2nd place) and four honorable mentions.
But that’s not all.
Please be sure to check your email if you entered a poem for the 2019 contest to learn more and for further instructions on what to do next.
As a reminder:
The 1st Place Grand-Prize Winner will be awarded the following:
$50 Barnes and Noble Giftcard
Publishing in the 2020 2nd Edition Literary Korner Publishing Magazine for Poets
Publishing and Author Spotlight Interview on Yecheilyah’s Blog (over 2900 subscribers, 70k views a week)
Publishing in the 2020 2nd Edition Literary Korner Publishing Magazine for Poets
Publishing and Author Spotlight Interview on Yecheilyah’s Blog (over 2900 subscribers, 70k views a week)
Spotlight across Yecheilyah’s social media
Spotlight in Yecheilyah’s email list
A digital version of the 2020 Literary Korner Publishing Digital Magazine will be available February 2020 featuring the winning poems. The Print version will be available fall of 2020. We will not feature the winning poems on the blog this year because they are featured in the magazine.
If you have not already purchased this year’s LitMag of our 2018 winners you can do so HERE. Your support helps to sponsor this and future contests. Thanks to everyone who contributed so far!
Okie dokie. We will see who wins on Friday!
MogulCon 2019 | Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center Ballroom
I learn something new every time I vend. This weekend’s MogulCon event was about learning, networking and allowing things to flow. It also further solidified my belief that vending is more about discoverability than profit. I met two wonderful ladies and we proved to be a good fit for helping each other in an area I had been praying about for some time. To learn more about the pros and cons of author vending click here.
You have until midnight tomorrow (Tuesday, 7/31) to enter your poem into my 2nd Annual Poetry Contest.
The contest is heating up and we have some very talented poets out there!
…and some awesome prizes! We are giving away money, publishing, promotion, books and more! DO NOT miss out on this. There is NO entry fee to enter.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ENTRANCE GUIDELINES BY CLICKING HERE.
Submit a poem on self-love / self-care in some way, subscribe to the email list (you need to subscribe so you get updates on the contest) and then email your poem to: yecheilyah(at)yecheilyahysrayl(dot)com
There is just ONE DAY LEFT to enter your email for The Stella Trilogy Spring Giveaway! Enter now for your chance to win:
Paperback copies of The Stella Trilogy (all books in the series) autographed by me with my special seal WITH matching bookmarks for each book AND a $25 Amazon gift card*. Card is wrapped in specialty gift box and has NO expiration date and is redeemable across amazon products! That’s right, you don’t have to use it for books! Just use it!
Share this with your friends! 3 FREE groundbreaking short reads PLUS an Amazon Gift card with the ONLY requirement of entering their email address! It doesn’t get any better than this. I really want YOU to win!
*1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners randomly selected. Amazon gift-card is only awarded to the 1st place winner.
This contest ends: TOMORROW! There is just ONE MORE DAY left to win!
“In the book Stella: A Road to Freedom #3 Joseph’s story. In this 3rd installment of the series this book told the story of Joseph’s journey in finding himself. The truths that he faced were an eye opener for him. Joseph and his friends, all young, embark on this journey to fight for equality and freedom. In their journey they learn just hoe much racial inequality there is. They learn that even the friends that they that choose to align themselves with can possibly get them killed. Their alliances with one another in this fight showed just how unaware of the seriousness of the road they were traveling. This book was well written. I was worried for them being young and traveling across the country to fight for the freedoms of integration. I love the history that is told in this book and when it comes to telling this story through Joseph’s eyes, you have to question whether or not we as a society today are still traveling this same road to freedom and if we will ever find it. The characters in this book are relatable and the writer continues to leave readers wanting to take a look back into history. This series should be required reading in middle schools and high schools around the country…its just that good!”
Today’s The Day! The Stella Spring Giveaway is Under Way!
But quickly, let’s review:
The Stella Spring Giveaway includes paperback signed copies of all 3 books in The Stella Trilogy PLUS matching Bookmarks. The Stella Trilogy is a 3 Part Standalone Series about one woman and her family’s struggle for identity and freedom. By standalone, I mean it was written to be read in any order as a standalone novella. Short, sweet, and to the point, start at Book Three and work your way down to Book One. Or, read in chronological order, you decide! Already have this series? Win it for someone else! Have teens? This Historical, Young Adult Series is perfect for getting their summer reading list off to a great start.
So now that we know what The Stella Trilogy Spring Giveaway is, I have a surprise. I told you we were starting this exciting Spring Giveaway and that there will be 3 winners. What I didn’t tell you is that I have thrown in another prize!
2nd and 3rd Place winners will receive The Stella Trilogy with matching bookmarks, as promised. BUT the first place winner will receive an extra gift!
$25 Amazon Gift Card
Gift Card is nested inside a specialty gift box!
Gift Card has no expiration date!
Gift Card is redeemable towards millions of items store-wide at Amazon.com!
Spread The Word
Don’t be shy! Share This Link on your blog or across your social media pages. Let your friends know of this unique opportunity to win. All that is required is their email address! Each contestant can only enter once. BUT extra entries can be unlocked!
(If you have eBook versions, this is the perfect opportunity to get this series in paperback, signed and with my special seal!)
The contest begins Today! April 12, 2016 and ends Tuesday, April 26, 2016 so there’s plenty of time to enter: ENTER HERE
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*See What The Readers Are Saying!*
Kathryn Reed on Between Slavery and Freedom (Stella, Book 1)
“Yecheilyah Ysrayl takes us on a colorful and thought provoking journey through the eyes of a mulatto slave woman Stella. Generations later, Stella’s descendant Cynthia May has no idea of Stella’s life as a slave, nor the true identity of their bloodline. Since Cynthia is a racist she is in for a rude awakening. Stella is reminiscent of a wonderfully written slave narrative, a story of history and pain, it is a brilliant opener of the Stella series.”
Colleen Chesebro on Beyond The Colored Line (Stella, Book 2)
“By the time the Great Depression eases, Stella and her family move to segregated Chicago, where life is not much better. Aunt Sara, a school teacher, struggles to wait for the school district to pay her. Sara has made the step into white society by dating an affluent doctor and encourages Stella to do the same. After a discussion with Aunt Sara, Stella decides to pass for white. Sidney McNair is born and enters a white society where she had the freedom to go where she chooses and to buy whatever she likes. Stella has crossed the colored line.
”Christa Wojo. on The Road to Freedom (Stella, Book 3)
“The Road to Freedom – Joseph’s Story is something of a prequel to Beyond the Colored Line, and Stella’s son tells us about his own journey through turbulent times when South fights hard and dirty to stay segregated. Joseph and a group of his young, impassioned friends want to do something about it but don’t know exactly what. Like the first book, Ysrayl works her magic of putting the reader into her characters’ minds to witness history through their emotions and perspectives. At one point in the story, the friends are trapped in their vehicle as it’s mobbed by a pack of violent racists. My heart was literally pounding at this point. I was horrified that anyone had to experience such ugly cruelty.”
Since this is the final interview I will skip through the semantics and get straight to the point.
The Interracial Blog Feature was inspired by my new book, “Beyond The Colored Line”, and was created as a means to foster a better understanding of diverse relationships. Not just between whites and blacks but between all diverse relationships.
Today, we welcome a special guest in as our final interviewee. I didn’t know initially that both he and his wife wanted to be interviewed and being I did have an extra spot left you can imagine my excitement. Help me to welcome Andre Wells, husband to Allison Wells from last weeks segment, to the blogosphere.
EC: Well hello there Mr. Wells. As our first and only male guest I appreciate your boldness in letting me interview you! I was starting to think this was a woman thing LOL. So, you know the routine, can you give the racial background of you and your wife for the record and how long you’ve been together?
AW: Hello EC. My name is Andre Wells and I am African American and my wife is Hispanic and Caucasian. We’ve been together for about 12 years, Married almost 10.
EC: Excellent. Now, the character in my book, Stella May, is what the people of her era deem a mulatto, that is, she is of mixed ancestry. You have children who are biracial. What advice would you give to fathers of mixed children on how to deal with the stigmas that are often placed to them?
AW: Be honest with your children about who they are and the struggles they may have to face. Teach them how to respond to stigmas and challenges.
EC: I like that, “teach them how to respond to stigmas and challenges”. Speaking of challenges, what are some challenges that interracial couples deal with that couples of the same race may not have to deal with?
AW: Some people think I am over dominant over my wife or feel the woman must be the head of house because the black man must not be that responsible.
EC: Interesting. There is a big controversy within the black community concerning role reversal or the topic of submission and authority in general.
Mr. Wells, when African-Americans and Whites marry, there is more likely to be an African-American husband and a white wife. In fact, 73 percent of all African-American and White marriages have this setup. In your personal opinion, since you would know more than any of our guests! As a black man, and your experience with Interracial Relationships, what do you think attracts other ethnicities to black men?
AW: Black men are unique. Unique in our looks; unique in the way we carry ourselves; even the way we raise our families. In most cases white women want black men but don’t want the stigmas that come along with it.
EC: Wow. Speaking of black men, I hear a lot of black people, women in particular, accusing other blacks of being “sell outs” when they date outside their race. Have you or your wife ever had the misfortune of the title and why do you think this is?
AW: I’ve heard that term in reference to relationships such as mine. I think it stems from feeling betrayed, jealousy, misunderstanding and some just down right racism.
EC: Speaking of opinions, a lot of people discern that blacks who speak with a professional tongue are trying to sound white. I speak from experience. My husband is not white but he’s very educated and he grew up in a diverse city as well where the majority of people in the town were white. Of the blacks present, he was teased by them a lot for his speech. They said that he sounded, “White”. As a man married to a “bi-racial” woman, what are your thoughts on this?
AW: Black men / women who have to live in a world where success is often based on one’s professionalism and ability to communicate properly, some may face scrutiny when trying to present themselves as respectable individuals in society.
EC: Mr. Wells I am enjoying this interview I must say. Now, speaking of speech, I’ve always wondered about the conversations between interracial couples concerning the ongoing racial tensions surrounding blacks and whites. Are there any moments when you and your wife disagree with a subject that is race related? If so, how do you deal with that?
AW: For the most part we understand and agree concerning each others racial differences. We look to the bible to help us have knowledge of who we are and that generally relieves any confusion we may have.
EC: Speak brother speak! Hope I’m not offending anyone out there, yall know I’m silly hee hee. So loving this interview right now yaass LOL. Were almost done though. Any time before 1967 your relationship would technically be illegal. How does that make you feel today with the knowledge that you’ve chosen to be with someone outside of your race?
AW: I didn’t have knowledge of who I was when I met Allison. But even so, I didn’t even begin to discriminate or allow race to determine who or how I love someone. To me, those days demonstrated racism and racism restricts people from fulfilled lives.
EC: Indeed. Andre, I want to thank you again for being part of this series, it has truly been a pleasure. If there is one form of advice you would give to people still struggling to accept Interracial Relationships, what would it be?
AW: Know that not every “interracial relationship” is joined together because they deny their own or even prefer another race. Some are actually together; love enjoins them and friendship maintains them.
EC: Can I ask you that same question again? I need you to repeat your answer for the record lol. No, seriously, in closing, as someone who has been married for some time, name one thing that has kept your relationship going.
AW: A relationship together in spirit and in truth.
EC: Thank you Mr. Wells, it has truly been a pleasure.
AW: Anytime.
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It is unusual for me not to put much thought into scheduling Mr. Well’s interview last, simply because I tend to plan everything (well, mostly everything). From the dates I choose to release my books to a subject as complex as this one, nothing I ever do hardly come without reason or significance. That said however, I didn’t put much thought into scheduling Mr. Wells interview last. But as I reflect on his answers, I am thankful for how this series has ended. His answers, in my opinion, summed everything up very nicely. I love how he brought in the bible and spoke concerning identity. What people must understand is that when I bring up these kinds of topics it is not about white or black. I am not trying to unite a color of people. It is not, then, about blacks or whites; it is about identity and nationhood.
It’s been a long ride for our people here in the America’s; from slavery, to Jim Crow, to racism, imprisonment, police brutality, the list goes on. Black people are the only group of people whose nationality changes with the census. They are the only people who cannot trace their lineage back to their natural heritage. If there is any people on the face of the earth more discriminated against than they, more despised and more afflicted then they please, inform me. They are such; the African American is, because their problem is not physical. Being deeper than racism itself, their problem is spiritual. If African Americans can begin to search deeper into the question of “Who am I and what is my purpose?” Then race and the concept of black and white in general will eventually fade. As I have stated on this blog plenty of times and as I will continue to state, I use black and white as terms for understanding, but I do not consider it my nationality. Black is, after all, a color but it does not define nationhood.
I want to thank everyone so much who has taken the time to support this series, either as interviewees or as interactions. I know it touched someone somewhere and for that I am thankful.
As a token of my appreciation for those who have opted to share a piece of themselves with us, I have a special gift.
Over the course of my writing career I have published a number of books and I have carefully chosen a few of them (the ones I think are the best lol) and placed them here. I want you (Interviewees) to each choose which book you would like to have and I will mail it to you at no cost. I am a hard-copy type person so your book will be a hard-copy. It is my way of saying thank you. Choose any one of these you like and email me your mailing address (Please visit the website to see what each book is about. I don’t want to list it here to preserve space on an already lengthy post. Just click on each book as if you were buying it and it shows what each is about):
Stella Book #2
Stella Book #1
Pearls Before Swine Vol #1 (a play)
From Girlhood to Womanhood (poetry)
In Case You Missed It:
The Interracial Blog Feature – Interviews Beyond The Colored Line:
The PBS Blog 