EDC1Creations Reviewing African American newly released books. - Apr 06 add/view comments (0)

Send A Gift!

main photo


contact me


  • Sign Guestbook
  • Report Abuse
  • Block Member
  • Report Spam

personal info

  • Age:

    42

  • Relationship Status:

    Involved/Partner

  • Last Login:

    Jun 17

  • Primary Job:

    Arts, Entertainment, and Media

  • Location:

    Hyattsville, MD

  • Race:

    Black

  • Zodiac:

    Virgo


send note

You must login or register in order to send a Note.

comments from my friends

You need to be friends with EDC1Creations in order to leave them a Comment.

In the meantime, you can always sign their guestbook.

Comments (1)

Comments Options
Sort comments by:





Report Abuse

Estelle09

Female, 73, Chicago, IL

Posted May 10


Ella, I listened to your interview with Dyanne Davis and Diane Keaton May 8. I was late getting in but really enjoyed the segment I heard. I think you enjoyed them as well.

Thank you, Minnie Estelle Miller





View All

poll

Favorite Book Catergory?

personal message

Do you want to write your first book?
You published your book...now what?
Want to become a bestselling author?

 

If your answer to any of these questions is yes, your next life-changing move should be to contact Ella at EDC Creations! We truly turn dreams and ideas into reality.

 

Visit our website for full details on becoming a published, well groomed, industry savvy, bestselling author: http://www.edc-creations.com/

The Black Authors Network (BAN) is dedicated to providing information to help black business owners and authors gain access to the black consumer and to helping promote the growth of black businesses and literature. The Black Authors Network, is here to bring people together, to create a dialogue, and share valuable resources. Our goal is to be the most informative networking group, serving the unique needs of African American authors, businesses, organizations, and concerned parents who wish to improve literacy and strengthen

The Black Authors Network Radio Show was formed to immediately address the need for quality African American literature being made available in our bookstores, libraries and other mediums where our literary works are showcased. We want to combine our talents, true determination, and multitude of resources, in an effort to develop a literary networking system for our members and literary partners, who support the freedom of speech and the right to take back the PRIDE in our communities. Join us in this global movement to improve literacy and our image!


We will encourage, inspire, and empower our members, as they strive to fulfill their dreams of becoming successful entrepreneurs, published authors, and community leaders.

To accomplish our goals we will create montly virtual events and promotions, local networking opportunities, provide professional development and form strategic alliances with book lovers, authors, and business owners around the world. Join us as we capitalize on these brilliant opportunities and successfully address the challenges we face as Black people in this world. If you would like to be a guest on the BAN radio show, please visit our registration page here.

recent blog posts

Black Pearls Presents Children of the Waters

Posted

 
Black Pearls Magazine Presents the Pearl Book of the Month

Children of the Waters: A Novel by Carleen Brice

The author of the #1 Denver Post bestseller and Essence Book Club Pick Orange Mint and Honey explores the connection between love and race, and what it really means to be a family. AUTHOR BIO Carleen Brice’s debut novel, Orange Mint and Honey (One World/Ballantine), was an Essence “Recommended Read” and a Target “Bookmarked Breakout Book.” For this book, she won the 2009 First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and the 2008 Break Out Author Award at the African American Literary Awards Show. Her second novel, Children of the Waters (One World/Ballantine), a book about race, love and family, is available now where ever books are sold. If you don't see it at your local retailer, please go to the representive and request it. You can read an excerpt at her website www.carleenbrice.com.

She also edited and contributed to the anthology Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number: Black Women Explore Midlife, which was published in the U.S. (Beacon Press) and the U.K. (Souvenir Press). She is author of Lead Me Home: An African American’s Guide Through the Grief Journey (Avon/HarperCollins). Her book Walk Tall: Affirmations for People of Color, an Essence bestseller, was in print with traditional publishers for 10 years and sold 100,000 copies. It is currently available through iUniverse and Louis Gossett Jr.'s Eracism Foundation. Carleen and her husband live in Colorado. 

 

 

Trish Taylor’s white ancestry never got in the way of her love for her black ex-husband, or their mixed race son, Will. But when Trish’s marriage ends, she returns to her family’s Denver, Colorado home to find a sense of identity and connect to her past. What she finds there shocks her to the very core: her mother and newborn sister were not killed in a car crash as she was told. In fact, her baby sister, Billie Cousins, is now a grown woman; her grandparents had put her up for adoption, unwilling to raise the child of a black man. Billie, who had no idea she was adopted, wants nothing to do with Trish until a tragedy in Billie’s own family forces her to lean on her surprisingly supportive and sympathetic sister. Together they unravel age-old layers of secrets and resentments and navigate a path toward love, healing, and true reconciliation.


Children of the Waters: A Novel by Carleen Brice
One World/Ballantine; Price $14.00
Pub date: June 23, 2009 ISBN: 978-0345499073


EXCERPT: PROLOGUE

Time was short. Maxine Kuepper was starting to say things she didn’t mean. Yesterday, she told her granddaughter to Move my dish, when she wanted to ask her to bend her leg. Trish stared, stumped and afraid, yet all Maxine could do was yell the word “dish” over and over knowing that she wasn’t making any sense. Cell by cell, bone by bone, Maxine was floating away. She didn’t know if it was the cancer or the medication that made her say such things. She was wearing a patch that released heavy doses of relief into her bloodstream, and still the littlest weight on her, like a sheet or the cotton nightgowns they dressed her in, hurt. The nurse promised that when the time came Maxine wouldn’t have any pain. “We’ll snow you out,” the nurse assured her. “Don’t worry.” Maxine would die the way her daughter did: like a mermaid swimming at the bottom of an ocean of drugs. It was small comfort after all these years to believe that Jocelyn hadn’t been in any pain when she died. Jocelyn. Such a cultivated name for a daughter who would not be tamed.

They were coming for her, Jocelyn and John, her husband, both dead. She dreamed of them so much now that sometimes she could swear they were really here in this room, whispering their secrets to her. They were coming for her. If they weren’t already here, she knew they were just over the other side waiting. And even though she was only sixty years old and her granddaughter Trish was only seventeen, she was ready to join them. But she had one last thing she had to do. She had secrets of her own to tell. She looked at the Polaroid picture she’d kept hidden for thirteen years.

Not even John knew she had proof of this moment. There was Jocelyn, blond and movie-star gorgeous even after just giving birth, holding the baby, only hours old with a cap of thick dark hair. And Trish, smiling wide, skin, teeth and hair white as cream, on the hospital bed next to them. Both girls marked with a stain that couldn’t be washed away. Maxine wished she had done things differently. But wishes are for the living. She sighed and pain rippled through her as her lungs pushed up against the battlefield of her ribs and the space where her left breast used to be. She raised the pen with the same amount of exertion that it used to take to lift a gallon of milk and began to write. The nurse said don’t worry. But how could she not?

What would they think of her? Would they hate her or would they be glad to know the truth? Probably both. But she would do this one last thing for them. She would make things right. As soon as Trish came home, Maxine would give her the letter. I should have told you this a long time ago, she wrote to her granddaughter, putting everything that was in her battered heart onto the page so that when the time came cowardice wouldn’t seal her lips. Each word, a lifetime. Just as she finished, she heard the front door open and close. Or she thought she did. Lately it was hard to tell what sounds were real and what sounds were memories sweeping over her like ocean waves.

But if it was Trish coming in, Maxine knew she did not have the strength to see the look on her granddaughter’s face after she read this letter. She didn’t have the strength to answer the question she knew would come no matter how hard she tried to explain: How could you? She opened the box, put the letter and photo inside, and replaced the lid. After she was gone, Trish would find everything she needed to know. When Maxine was buried, her lies would be unearthed. It wouldn’t be long now. She was sipping life from a glass that was neither half empty, nor half full, a glass emptying so rapidly she could see it in the eyes of the hospice nurses and the few friends who came to visit her at home.

The bedroom door opened, and Trish poked her head in. “Nana, you awake?” Maxine nodded, thinking For now, and, Please God let them forgive me.


------------------

Carleen Brice, Author of Children of the Waters, June 2009
 www.carleenbrice.com 


Children of the Waters: A Novel by Carleen Brice

One World/Ballantine; Price $14.00
Pub date: June 23, 2009
ISBN: 978-0345499073


Buy the book today:

Amazon-- http://www.amazon.com/Children-Waters-Novel-Carleen-Brice/dp/0345499077
Borders-- http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=0345499077
Barnes and Noble-- http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Children-of-the-Waters/Carleen-Brice/e/9780345499073
IndieBound-- http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780345499073


 

0 Comments |

New Book: No Matter What! by Lisa Nichols

Posted

From bestselling author and motivational speaker Lisa Nichols comes a unique and powerful inspirational program that will both move you and empower you to realize your dreams. Millions are trying to live by The Secret's Law of Attraction, but the truth is it won't work unless you flex your all-important "bounce-back" muscles, which give you the ability to successfully navigate life's speed bumps.

By developing and toning her own bounce-back muscles at critical points in her life, Lisa found the power to become her authentic self and achieve everything she dared to hope for. Now, in NO MATTER WHAT, she offers a groundbreaking program that outlines these 9 Steps or "muscles", which include among others your Confidence, Faith-in-Myself, Honesty Out Loud and Forgiveness muscles, and explains how anyone can use them to achieve happiness and off-the-charts success.

 
In this powerful guide Lisa Nichols introduces her dynamic plan, shares her own remarkable story, and prescribes specific exercises and action steps to inspire readers to learn from their past and move toward a courageous future.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Intimate Conversation with Ella Curry and best-selling author Lisa Nichols
 
 
Ella: Can any one of us be truly content with only our dreams? --Having a dream is only the beginning, the seed of possibility, to what can be created. It is your heart’s way of saying "you’re alive!" You will only feel fully alive when you are in "action" toward what you value.
 
Ella: What action steps did you take to help your dream, of being a writer, become a reality? --I first had to stop judging my writing skills based on my past writing experiences. My last year in English, I received a failing grade. I had to detach myself from my past and create a new possibility for myself. This was done with a lot of “mirror work” that's mentioned in the "Inspired Action Steps" in my new book No Matter What! I actually list the very same things that I did. I had to allow my voice to come out uniquely and not compare myself to anyone else. I began to see myself as a best selling author before my first book was ever sold. Most people stay in conversation about what they want to achieve but I stayed "in action", there is a difference.
 
Ella: Lisa, how do you go about connecting with your audience? What “out of the box” ways do you convey your message and hold their attention? What makes you unique? --First, I am disarmingly honest. I say the things that we normally don't want people to know and that we normally would take so much time to get comfortable enough to share. I tell the truth, sooner quicker, faster. I make it OK to share with my audience that I did it all wrong before I did it right. I say that there was a time when I did not love myself, so I looked for love and validation in men and relationships. I make it OK to share the truth by putting some skin in first. I am very humorous on stage and I use my own quirks and lessons learned as the humor, so that people can relax in their own situations. I hug a great deal and I allow myself to cry on stage and still move forward. This allows the audience to again see that we don't have to pretend that it all perfect and we get to move through everything, No Matter What!
 
Ella: We are who we are; our actions define who we really are. Our actions create our brand! What are some of the actions you have taken, in life or in your writing, which will create an impact on your readers? --The rawness and unedited truth. I pour myself out, for all to see. I come off the stage, off the platform and into the reader’s safe and intimate space. In my writing, I make all of our breakdowns OK. And we need to know that our mistakes are OK. This way we will stop holding ourselves hostage to guilt, shame, blame and anger. In my writing, you will see baby step by baby step how I cut the shackles to those toxic feelings, then I will guide you to discover anything that is consciously or unconsciously limiting your greatness and give you action steps that you can do today to have a breakthrough.
 
Ella: In your new book, No Matter What!, what is the overall message you hope to relay to your readers? What is it you hope they take away and share with other readers? --We all have a set of "Bounce Back Muscles" that when fine tuned and developed, they are our greatest assets. The overall message is that you can turn every single breakdown into a breakthrough and every single setback into a set up for something greater. Before you can truly reach for the stars and stay in that place you need to know how to bounce back when life's speed bumps occur. When you know how to bounce back then you inevitably begin to bounce forward with new energy and possibilities.
 
 
Ella: Why was it so important to bring out this message? --In the time that we are in right now, people are living inside of powerless, scarcity, fear based thinking. This book will give each person the inspiration and knowledge to understand their ability to build their own bounce back muscle and make it through this time. People are looking for REAL and HONEST hope, no fluff and no false promises. No Matter What! will be like a healing balm of candid, forthright yet loving tolls to help each person navigate through this period and come out on the other side powerful and resilient because they understood what it means to adopt a No Matter What mindset.
 
 
Ella: What is the best way for readers and the media to contact you for event invitations or to share reviews? --No Matter What is becoming a worldwide movement and we would love for you to join us in living a No Matter What life. To join thousands of others who have taken this stand, go to www.NoMatterWhatTour.com there you can click on free downloads and allow me to give you a great gift called "Setting Your Champion Free" then purchase a book, next explore the site to see where all of our free events will be and join us. We would love to welcome you to our community.
 
 
Please join in the discussion by leaving comments or congrats below.
 
 

0 Comments |

Why Celebrating Black History 365 days a year is Important

Posted

Why Celebrating Black History is Important. BAN Radio Live: 2009
 
Inauguration Parade Coverage reported by Ella Curry of EDC Creations. Meet the people who came to create change and increase unity. Live interviews with the people who traveled to DC for this defining moment in history.
 
Visit our website to view the Black Authors Network Radio Show. www.edc-creations.com

0 Comments |

Meet Patricia A. Bridewell author of Reflections of a Quiet Storm

Posted

Meet Patricia A. Bridewell, Reflections of a Quiet Storm

Patricia A. Bridewell author of Reflections of a Quiet Storm
ISBN 10-0977939863
ISBN 13-9780977939862

Website: www.patriciabridewell.com
Email: bridern@verizon.net

Patricia A. Bridewell is a native of Los Angeles, California. Reading has always had a certain magnetism in her life since childhood. Journaling life experiences as therapy led to her passion for writing. Her notes transcended into the novel, Reflections of a Quiet Storm, to be released by Xpress Yourself Publishing LLC on March 10, 2009.

Patricia has multifaceted careers as a registered nurse, adjunct college professor, and CEO of her own company, Bri-John Nursing Services, Inc. She is currently working on her second novel and is a guest writer for two new online magazines-Step Up Sista and Hotlantabuzzonline.com.


 

 

Introduction to the book Reflections of a Quiet Storm

As CEO and owner of a new nursing registry, Pauline Bridges is striving to reach the height of success, and then unexpectedly tragedy strikes. After a near fatal automobile accident, she climbs from the wreckage unscathed, but shortly thereafter, God begins to reveal her past. Pain, once buried deep within, rises to the surface through memories that are revived as dreams and flashbacks. Chronicled in a series of stories, her life unfolds through a long journey; a pathway that unveils many secrets that not even her children had been told.

 

Visions of the past invade her days and nights as constant reminders of events from childhood through her adult life replay in her mind. Memories of her mother’s abuse at the hands of her stepfather, a rape during adolescence, her brother’s stormy lifestyle, and the agony of a marriage that was destroyed by her ex-husband, Naman’s infidelity and substance abuse, all drift through her mind. And then there is the shattering memory of the unsolved murder of her former boss, a vice president for a major recording company. All memories that Pauline had chose to forget, but now they’re back.

 

Pauline’s faith is challenged with not only ravaging dreams and flashbacks, but also with supporting her two adult children through their hardships. The ditch grows much deeper when she learns her friend, Vangie, is having an affair with her best friend, Bethany’s husband, Darryl. Pauline temporarily escapes from revolving chaos by wallowing in her corporate world, with the aim of building a high caliber business, and helping friends and family get through their crises.

 

Her prayers are answered when Keith Maris steps into her life and opens her heart to feelings and emotions that she didn’t know still existed. As their relationship flourishes, he becomes a main support system through the turmoil, and her dreams and flashbacks begin to diminish. When her friend, Bethany, has a mental breakdown after learning of Darryl’s affair; she sets out with the intent to confront them. While brandishing a gun, it accidentally fires, striking Darryl’s shoulder.

 

Pauline intervenes to prevent what could have become a tragedy. Bethany and Darryl stay married after he ends his relationship with Vangie, Pauline supports her son through his father’s terminal illness and subsequent death, and also finally discovers the reasons for her daughter’s turbulent past relationship with her father.
“A novel that is based on a true life story.”

Visit  www.patriciabridewell.com  for book chapter reading and order information.

 

 

 

0 Comments |

Reflections of a Quiet Storm Excerpts

Posted

 

Reflections of a Quiet Storm Excerpts

Patricia A. Bridewell author of Reflections of a Quiet Storm
Website: www.patriciabridewell.com
Email: bridern@verizon.net

Buy the Book: http://www.xpressyourselfpublishing.org/bookstore.htm


Introduction to the book Reflections of a Quiet Storm

As CEO and owner of a new nursing registry, Pauline Bridges is striving to reach the height of success, and then unexpectedly tragedy strikes. After a near fatal automobile accident, she climbs from the wreckage unscathed, but shortly thereafter, God begins to reveal her past. Pain, once buried deep within, rises to the surface through memories that are revived as dreams and flashbacks. Chronicled in a series of stories, her life unfolds through a long journey; a pathway that unveils many secrets that not even her children had been told.

Visions of the past invade her days and nights as constant reminders of events from childhood through her adult life replay in her mind. Memories of her mother’s abuse at the hands of her stepfather, a rape during adolescence, her brother’s stormy lifestyle, and the agony of a marriage that was destroyed by her ex-husband, Naman’s infidelity and substance abuse, all drift through her mind. And then there is the shattering memory of the unsolved murder of her former boss, a vice president for a major recording company. All memories that Pauline had chose to forget, but now they’re back.

ISBN 10-0977939863
ISBN 13-9780977939862


FIVE TALKING POINTS OF THE BOOK:

1. RELATIONSHIPS
2. INFIDELITY
3. SOCIAL ISSUES
4. EMOTIONAL PAIN AND DISTRESS
5. FAITH
6. INSIGHT INTO A HELPING PROFESSION - NURSING (MAIN CHARACTER, PAULINE, IS A NURSE.)


Chapter 5 Excerpt The Adoption

Hi, Bethany , this is Pauline.”
“Pauline! Girl I was just thinkin’ about you the other day. How are things goin’?” She asked in her familiar southern twang.

“Not too bad, but I really miss you.”

“I know. I miss you, too. So, how’s Naman and Damien?”
“They’re okay. How is your family doing?”

“We’re hangin’ in there. The congregation is really growin’. We’re gettin’ new members all the time. How is the adoption comin’ along?”

“Well, we’re still having some problems with the foster mother, but we’re determined not to give up.”
That’s right. Don’t let her discourage you. African-American children need to be placed with African-American parents.”

“ Bethany , I just wish I was back in L.A. I’m really ready to move back.”
“Uh oh, I recognize that tone of voice. What’s wrong?”
Pauline hesitated a few seconds before speaking. “I think Naman is seeing someone else.”


Reflections of a Quiet Storm Reading Group Questions

1. At the beginning of the story the author tried to show some of the personal challenges the main character, Pauline, encountered during her childhood and adolescence. How do you think her past experiences played a part in how she dealt with family and/or relationships in her adult life?

2. Pauline’s dreams and memories brought back painful thoughts of her past, but how do you think these dreams helped her deal with her present and future life?

3. Pauline stayed in a troubled marriage for a long time because she thought she could make things better. What do you think she should have done after discovering her husband’s chemical dependency problem and infidelity?

4. How do you think their marriage may have impacted Pauline and Naman’s children? Positively and Negatively.

5. Pauline discovered that Bethany’s husband, Darryl, had been cheating on his wife with Vangie, a long time friend of hers. Initially, she chose not to tell Bethany about the affair. What was your perception of how she handled the situation? What would you have done differently?

6. Why do you think Bethany stayed in her marriage after finding out her husband cheated the first time? And then the second time?

7. How do you think Bethany should have handled the situation after finding out her husband had been cheating the second time around?

8. Why do you think Vangie chose to keep seeing Darryl after she found out he was married?

9. What impact did Keith’s presence have on Pauline’s life?

10. In the story, what future did you see for Pauline and Keith?

Links to book:
www.xpressyourself.org
www.patriciabridewell.com
www.myspace/patriciabridewell.com

0 Comments |

Love Me Tender: The Fight Against Domestic Violence posted by Patricia A. Bridewell

Posted

Love Me Tender: The Fight Against Domestic Violence posted by Patricia A. Bridewell

 Blog posted 3/7/09 to: http://christianfiction.ning.com

March is Women's History month. In remembrance of all women who made it through the Women's Suffrage era, who traveled with Harriet Tubman via the Underground Railroad, and those who fought for recognition of their accomplishments, I give them honor and I thank God for their strength and courage. Now, we have another important fight ahead - domestic violence. It's been all over the news. The Chris Brown and Rihanna squabble hit the media in full force, making headlines in newspapers and on the local news stations.

 

According to statistics reported by the American Bar Association - Commission on Domestic Violence, African American women between the ages of 20 and 24, experience more domestic violence than White women. The percentage of domestic violence for African American Women is reported to be 35% higher than white women and 22% higher than women of other races. The question that must be addressed by African American communities is "what must we do to reduce these hideous crimes?" It's apparent that acts of domestic violence are not affecting only those who live in economically depressed neighborhoods.

 

Women have come a long way to get where they are today, and many have lost their lives battling for the right to vote, the right for freedom, the right for equality. Women should not lose their lives to domestic violence. I am praying that in 2009, churches, politicians, medical professionals, and communities, will take a stance to prevent and reduce the incidence of domestic violence.

 

God Bless You,

Patricia A. Bridewell, Author
Reflections of a Quiet Storm
www.patriciabridewell.com

 

0 Comments |

View All