Monice Mitchell Simms's Blog, page 12

For Make Believers Faith Leaves A Trail

For Make Believers Faith Leaves A Trail – For Make Believers Faith Leaves A Trail For Make Believers Faith Leaves A… http://ow.ly/1aulI8

For Make Believers Faith Leaves A Trail

For Make Believers Faith Leaves A Trail – For Make Believers Faith Leaves A Trail "It always seems impossible until… http://ow.ly/1atjqC

For Make Believers Faith Leaves A Trail

For Make Believers Faith Leaves A Trail – "It always seems impossible until it's done." Nelson Mandela O.K., first… http://ow.ly/1asf4H

For Make Believers — Faith Leaves A Trail

"It always seems impossible until it's done." – Nelson Mandela

O.K., first let me offer some perspective.

I didn't feed five thousand hungry souls with two fish or leap off of a ten-story building ala the cheerleader from Heroes and mend my broken bones. But I did do one better.

I built (am building) an author's brand from scratch and pulled off a successful book tour for my debut novel, Address: House of Corrections. With no money.

Granted, some folks might not call it a miracle.  But now that I'm on the other end of my first ever national book tour, I know  fo sho that not only was I guided by the hand of God aka the Universe, but I was also blessed with enough sense to walk face first into the howling, whipping winds.

By putting one foot in front of the other.

Another word for faith? Yes. But for some reason when I start throwing around words like miracle and faith, folks think I'm about to launch into a long-winded diatribe about some unexplainable event that happened to me.

No.  For me, and I believe for everyone, faith is an action word. And like footprints in the sand, faith leaves a trail.

In the coming days, stay tuned as I share the steps I took (am taking) to build my author's brand from the ground up and produce a successful six-city national book tour on a shoestring budget.  Hope this helps!

living by my pen,

monice

*Note: For fun, click on the "one foot in front of the other" link to see/hear a childhood favorite song from Santa Clause is Coming to Town. I'm sure you'll remember it.  Really listen to the lyrics. It's amazing what life lessons cartoons taught us, huh?

* For individual coaching, click below – http://addresshouseofcorrections.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/living_by_my_pen_ad.jpg

of course

me and sistah on the steps of the apt. we shared in chicago

a week and two days.

that's how long i've been back home in l.a. since i returned from my address: house of corrections national book tour.

i've been decompressing. and not realizing just how exhausted i really was, i've been delaying writing this entry. but now that i've made myself sit down to write it, i gotta admit -  i'm somewhat at a lost for words.

one thing that keeps running through my mind, though, is a priceless moment i shared with sistah at johnny rockets.

picture it: washington, d.c. m. street. 10:30pm or so,  monday, nov. 11, 2010.

starving – because i never had an appetite before or during any of my readings/signings – i was studying the simple 50s themed menu, praying that they served turkey burgers when sistah touched my hand.

"sister."

i looked up at her.

"yeah?"

sistah smiled, sincere.

"don't be discouraged by the small numbers of people coming out for your signings."

blinded by low blood sugar, i shrugged.

"i'm not discouraged. i'm hungry."

i looked back down at the menu, not waiting for her to respond. sistah's silence, though, made me peek back up.

she was still looking at me. i set the menu down on the table and  took both of her hands, giving her my undivided attention.

"alright. let me have it. "

"have what?"

"i can see your wheels turning, sistah. you got a keep hope alive speech for me. i can feel it."

sistah, as transparent to me as the back of my own hand, smiled.

"i just don't want you to be discouraged, sister. i'm so proud of you. you sat down and wrote your book, published it yourself and now you're on tour.  that's something to proud of."

i nodded. sistah was right. it's just that up until that point, i hadn't slowed down long enough to really think about it.

not a problem.  sistah had thought about it enough for both of us.

"and you know what? it doesn't matter how many people come out for you right now. you're building. i was talking with one of the other authors when we were in chicago and he was impressed by you. you know why?"

i had no idea.

"because you invested in yourself, sister. you didn't just put your book out on amazon.com, hoping it would sell – you used your own money to go on tour."

i nodded. sistah was right again. she brought it home.

"you know, i've been sitting back watching people watch you… and, sister, you have no idea who you're touching. but most importantly, now you can say you did it, sister. you didn't just talk about writing and publishing your book and going on a six-city tour. you did it. and that's why i'm proud of you."

i smiled. sistah was so cute.

separated by nearly four years, i was the oldest. and growing up, i was the one who took care and supported her. when our mother, a 20-plus-year cancer survivor, was ill, i became a surrogate mommie at ten. And through high school and college especially, i someway, somehow was always able  to earn extra money winning some writing contest or reporting for newspapers on internships, so that i could help pay for what she needed — getting her hair done, school supplies, groceries, clothes, whatever….

and now as adults, the shoe is on the other foot. for the past 14 years, she has been supporting me. from choosing northwestern university law school, so that we could live together in chicago to financially saving my films carmin's choice and rain to taking the lead on subsidizing our mother's retirement income, because my artistic, bohemian money is funny, sistah – next to my ride or die momma – has been my biggest supporter.

she – knowing i needed help before i did – even voluntarily took time off from her jobs as an attorney and detroit charter commission chair to be my roadie! and here she was proud of me?

i squeezed her hands, too full to articulate what i was really feeling.

"wanna chocolate shake, sistah?"

she smiled, hearing everything i was not saying.

"of course."

buy your copy today! Address:House of Corrections- a novel inspired

snapshots of my journey – fam, i have so

snapshots of my journey – fam, i have so  many great photos to share since i started on this phase of my faith walk … http://ow.ly/1ahc4g

snapshots of my journey…

fam, i have so  many great photos to share since i started on this phase of my faith walk as author and publisher of my debut novel, address: house of corrections.

for my facebook friends, these photos won't be new to you.  but for everyone else, take a gander if the spirit moves you.  click on the links below and check them out!

address: house of corrections national tour

address: house of corrections hollywood launch

address: house of corrections detroit launch

tavis smiley show interview

behind the scenes of audio series

creators of address: house of corrections

characters of address: house of corrections

deetroit

buy your copy today! Address:House of Corrections- a novel inspired

land of la! – hey, fam! i'm finally bac

land of la! – hey, fam! i'm finally back home in l.a. after nearly a  month on the road for my address: house of http://ow.ly/1adIVl

land of la!

me

hey, fam! i'm finally back home in l.a. after nearly a  month on the road for my address: house of corrections book tour. i got so much to share with you, but i need some time to decompress.

first on the list, answer a few e-mails, finish inputting in my profit/expense spreadsheet, take a walk in the warm la la sun, unpack, cook a nice home cooked meal, watch a movie with my hubby, and then tomorrow, i'll get back on the good foot. promise.

this journey has been sooo amazing for me. i'm so glad i've been journaling the whole time. thank you for your support!

living by my pen, monice

buy your copy today! Address:House of Corrections- a novel inspired

neeew yorrrrk!!! – "whose book is that?

neeew yorrrrk!!! – "whose book is that?" just as curious to know the answer as the comical good morning america audi… http://ow.ly/1a38SY