Angela Kay Austin's Blog, page 4
April 7, 2020
White Female Author Who Voices Black Characters #LiveFree
When you write something that isn’t you, it’s not a memoir, it’s not fiction based on you, you have to step outside of yourself to tell the story.
What does that mean? What does it really take?
I have written characters who are nothing like me at all. I’ve never experienced the things that happen to them, but to make them feel real, I need to feel or understand them.
I reached out to my friend Michel to speak with her about writing Black characters. She’s a White woman, what does that mean for her. How does she make them feel real?
April 4, 2020
#Black #Woman #Traveling Alone
As a woman of color, traveling can have a lot of unseen obstacles. We often worry about whether or not the people of a country will be welcoming to POCs. We wonder about general safety for women. You know the basics.
If you add on the fact that you will be traveling alone, well, it just gets crazier and crazier.
After deciding to return from my recent trip to Brazil due to the pandemic, I wanted to share some of the reason behind why (and how) I traveled by myself to Brazil.
I will share more detail about how/why I selected my travel program – Hacker Paradise.
Speaking from a Woman’s POV through the Eyes of a Man
As part of my continued journey of speaking with unique voices, I bumped into Rafael. After reading some the work that Rafael shared with me, I became extremely intrigued by his ability to speak in a true voice through the eyes of women, of mothers.
Join me on Live Free to learn more about Rafael and his writing.
Download Live Free from your favorite #podcast outlet, or click here to listen!
March 26, 2020
Why I Left Brazil
Making the decision to turn your life upside down and to do something different is difficult. When you make that decision and then the world blows up on you that makes you rethink everything.
Fear is powerful. Regardless of whether or not we want to admit it, fear makes decisions for us more often than not.
However, leaving Brazil was not necessarily about fear for myself or my safety because I felt safe in Brazil, it was about not being close enough to my friends and family…just incase.
I wanted to be close to them, and so I left Floripa, Brazil and returned to Memphis. Wherever you are, I hope that you are safe and surrounded by family and friends.
February 26, 2020
#AdrianaLisboa Discusses Writing on #LiveFree
Adriana is a winner of the José Saramago Award, one of her books was chosen a book of the year by The Independent, also one of her books won a Japan Foundation Fellowship. I will be traveling across several countries over the next few months, and I didn’t think it would make sense for me to do this without learning about the culture of each country from those who are busy capturing it to share with the world.
My first interview will be with Adriana Lisboa! Amazing. Yes. To learn more about Adriana, I recommend watching this short documentary.
Tune into #LiveFree via your favorite #podcast outlet! #iTunes #Stitcher #Spotify, or click here!
February 23, 2020
Does Cover Art Make a Difference #LiveFree with V Vee
Cover Art designed by V VeeWhen it comes to cover art, there a many opinions. Truthfully, I can only speak for my own work, but there are actually studies which show the success of different art aspects. Within various genres, you will see that certain things will get you more eyes on your book.
What works best for you and your brand is what you must determine. Also, as a self-published author, you must decide what do you want this part of your work to represent.
The cover above was redesigned from the original. Why? I didn’t like it. I was on the original and, I love me, but I put myself on the cover because I got tired of working with the cover artist who just couldn’t seem to get it the way I wanted it.
My friend and fellow indie author, V Vee, jumped in and redesigned the work for me. She’s also worked on other covers for me. Join us as we discuss cover art and it’s importance to all authors.
Listen to this episode on #LiveFree. Visit your favorite #podcast store today. #iTunes #Stitcher #Spotify #Alexa, or just click here!
February 13, 2020
Live Free #Podcast Available on #Alexa!
#Podcast lovers, Live Free is now available on #Alexa! I can hear it now! Can you? Well, ask #Alexa to turn it up. (I crack myself up!!)
February 11, 2020
#Librarians and #IndieAuthors Part 2 #LiveFree
Linda Rettstatt, Jae Henderson and Caroline BarnettIf you watched part one of this two-part series, you don’t want to miss part two. Do you?
Hop over to my #YouTube channel to find out the answer to Jae’s question. What would stop a librarian from considering buying in a book to their library? Aren’t you curious? I know I am.
February 4, 2020
#Librarians and #IndieAuthors Part 1 #LiveFree
As an #IndieAuthor understanding the importance of reaching readers isn’t lost on any of us; however, what does that really mean? How do we design a distribution plan that accounts for all outlets? What are the outlets?
For more than twenty years, I’ve worked in marketing. Digging into the world of book distribution was a tricky one for me. I used the same channels as other #self-published authors, but then one day, I decided I wanted to try to broaden my audience and reach a larger reader base. That decision made my head spin.
Check out my #YouTube channel to learn about #librarians and #indieauthors. I’ve discovered they can be an #indieauthor’s best friend, and I wanted to share this two-part series with you as to why I believe they’re amazing.
February 1, 2020
Black, Gay and Writing Romance #LiveFree
Live FreeWhat is it like for a young, gay Black man in the world of #Romance? When most of us think of #diversity what does that look like for us? Race? Country? Gender? As we all grow as humans, do we begin to look at each other more and more for as unique individuals. Do we look at the micro differences between us all and see them for what they are? Beautiful opportunities for us to really get to know the person who is not us.
For a young, gay Black man who is attempting to break into the world of #Romance what must it be like for him. Is there room at the table for the stories he writes? Will we give him the chance to show us something new?
Join me on #LiveFree to meet Brien Michaels, author. Writer of male/male Romance. Romance that I believe is amazingly heartbreaking at times. But also can be beautiful as he shares stories of men struggling how to balance being a “man” with loving a man.
