Alex Rogers's Blog - Posts Tagged "summer-reading"
I'm Only Human After All Q&A with Dominion High School
Here is a write up of a Q&A I did with the students of Dominion High School in Sterling Virginia on my book, I'm Only Human After All.
From Edwin: "I want to know why Alex I. Rogers is important in this book we read." [I asked him to explain, and he said that he wants to know more about the circumstances that led me to write the book.]
To Edwin: I wanted to write this book because at the time of the events of the story, I knew things weren’t supposed to be the way that they were. It wasn’t right to be bullied, it wasn’t right to treat others unfairly. I knew these things in my heart but during that course of events I was somewhat reluctant to share. As I got older (junior/senior in high school) I got the idea to publish my thoughts and experiences to share with others that things get better. I hoped that through my writings and life story, others would learn to treat people with respect as well as gain insight in their own lives.
From Daniel R.: "What makes you write [this] book?" (Paraphrasing--What makes you write? What does it satisfy in you?)
To Daniel R: I write because ever since I was a young boy, I always had the need to express myself in writing. Written language is powerful thing. Aside from that, with I’m Only Human After All and the rest of the series; I feel a conviction to share my story to help others going through or have went through similar situations that I have faced. It brings me joy to know that through an unpleasant time in my life, something positive can come from it.
From Mehdi T.: "What are you doing in your life now? Are you thinking of doing something else?"
To Mehdi T: Currently, I am finishing up my undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and Human Resources Management. I’m actually about a week and a half away from graduation. I’m 22 now, so after graduation I may go back home for a bit before planning out my next career move. Book wise, I just finished the second book in the Empowerment Series, Drifting, and hope to kick-start a completely new series that involves a young man fighting to start a revolution against a tyrant who controls the world through his legion of super-humans. The good guy(s) have powers too, but are outnumbered. I can’t spoil too much just yet. If you’ve ever heard of “The X-men”, it’s a good reference point.
From Alexis C.: "What I want to know about you is, how do you support all [the people being] bullied? Why didn't you do (how did you manage not to do) anything against the people who were making jokes about you? When I grow up, I want to think like you."
To Alexis C: I support people who are being bullied by sharing my experiences through my book. Recently I was on TV with MTV UK for a documentary with Firecracker Films in which me and other people around the world shared our thoughts on the issue. I have also done some speaking engagements locally. In the past it has been hard to travel and speak because of me being enrolled in college courses, but now since I am graduating, I hope to be able to do more.
During the events when I was bullied in I’m Only Human After All, I didn’t physically fight back because I knew that it would only lead to more violence. I didn’t have to hit them to stand up for myself or prove a point. I do admit that I acted to late with telling the principal or another authority about what was going on with my bullies and me. If I would have told on them earlier, things would have been a lot different for me during those years.
From Saikat K.: "Who encouraged you the most to write this book?"
To Saikat K: I wrote this book because I felt the need to share what happened to me with others in a unique way. In a nutshell, I wanted to help people. I knew that other people had gone through what I had gone through, but yet, nothing was being addressed in schools. It wasn’t till recently that bullying has been brought to the forefront of issues with the school system.
From Ilia J.: "Why is there a girl on the cover of the book and what do she & the sunset have to do with the story?"
To Ilia J: The girl that is on the cover of my book is a representation of Jessie. The sun in the background, to me, represents hope. At that point in my life during my early high school years, hope was all I had. With each new day comes a second chance. Each day is a new beginning.
From Grover C.: "How did you feel when you found out that Jesse had cancer? How could you help her fight it even though you knew that she would die?"
To Grover C: Jessie was a character in my book that actually represented two people that I knew at one point in real life. In the time frame of I’m Only Human After All I did meet a girl who was a friend’s cousin but she didn’t have lung cancer. She had Cystic Fibrosis. The stories are somewhat similar but in order to keep certain events of my life personal and to respect others; some details had to be altered. ( As you can tell there was more to this question that was addressed in the session but not in the write up. For personal reasons I'd rather not have it mainstreamed.)
I had an amazing time reading your questions and answering them. Hopefully I tied up all of the loose ends you had about me and my book. You guys seem to be an amazing class, as well as amazing people. Thank you for taking the time to read my book and I wish the best for all of you!
From Edwin: "I want to know why Alex I. Rogers is important in this book we read." [I asked him to explain, and he said that he wants to know more about the circumstances that led me to write the book.]
To Edwin: I wanted to write this book because at the time of the events of the story, I knew things weren’t supposed to be the way that they were. It wasn’t right to be bullied, it wasn’t right to treat others unfairly. I knew these things in my heart but during that course of events I was somewhat reluctant to share. As I got older (junior/senior in high school) I got the idea to publish my thoughts and experiences to share with others that things get better. I hoped that through my writings and life story, others would learn to treat people with respect as well as gain insight in their own lives.
From Daniel R.: "What makes you write [this] book?" (Paraphrasing--What makes you write? What does it satisfy in you?)
To Daniel R: I write because ever since I was a young boy, I always had the need to express myself in writing. Written language is powerful thing. Aside from that, with I’m Only Human After All and the rest of the series; I feel a conviction to share my story to help others going through or have went through similar situations that I have faced. It brings me joy to know that through an unpleasant time in my life, something positive can come from it.
From Mehdi T.: "What are you doing in your life now? Are you thinking of doing something else?"
To Mehdi T: Currently, I am finishing up my undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and Human Resources Management. I’m actually about a week and a half away from graduation. I’m 22 now, so after graduation I may go back home for a bit before planning out my next career move. Book wise, I just finished the second book in the Empowerment Series, Drifting, and hope to kick-start a completely new series that involves a young man fighting to start a revolution against a tyrant who controls the world through his legion of super-humans. The good guy(s) have powers too, but are outnumbered. I can’t spoil too much just yet. If you’ve ever heard of “The X-men”, it’s a good reference point.
From Alexis C.: "What I want to know about you is, how do you support all [the people being] bullied? Why didn't you do (how did you manage not to do) anything against the people who were making jokes about you? When I grow up, I want to think like you."
To Alexis C: I support people who are being bullied by sharing my experiences through my book. Recently I was on TV with MTV UK for a documentary with Firecracker Films in which me and other people around the world shared our thoughts on the issue. I have also done some speaking engagements locally. In the past it has been hard to travel and speak because of me being enrolled in college courses, but now since I am graduating, I hope to be able to do more.
During the events when I was bullied in I’m Only Human After All, I didn’t physically fight back because I knew that it would only lead to more violence. I didn’t have to hit them to stand up for myself or prove a point. I do admit that I acted to late with telling the principal or another authority about what was going on with my bullies and me. If I would have told on them earlier, things would have been a lot different for me during those years.
From Saikat K.: "Who encouraged you the most to write this book?"
To Saikat K: I wrote this book because I felt the need to share what happened to me with others in a unique way. In a nutshell, I wanted to help people. I knew that other people had gone through what I had gone through, but yet, nothing was being addressed in schools. It wasn’t till recently that bullying has been brought to the forefront of issues with the school system.
From Ilia J.: "Why is there a girl on the cover of the book and what do she & the sunset have to do with the story?"
To Ilia J: The girl that is on the cover of my book is a representation of Jessie. The sun in the background, to me, represents hope. At that point in my life during my early high school years, hope was all I had. With each new day comes a second chance. Each day is a new beginning.
From Grover C.: "How did you feel when you found out that Jesse had cancer? How could you help her fight it even though you knew that she would die?"
To Grover C: Jessie was a character in my book that actually represented two people that I knew at one point in real life. In the time frame of I’m Only Human After All I did meet a girl who was a friend’s cousin but she didn’t have lung cancer. She had Cystic Fibrosis. The stories are somewhat similar but in order to keep certain events of my life personal and to respect others; some details had to be altered. ( As you can tell there was more to this question that was addressed in the session but not in the write up. For personal reasons I'd rather not have it mainstreamed.)
I had an amazing time reading your questions and answering them. Hopefully I tied up all of the loose ends you had about me and my book. You guys seem to be an amazing class, as well as amazing people. Thank you for taking the time to read my book and I wish the best for all of you!
Auburn Anti-bullying Summit, Moving, Turning 23, and Soaking Jeans
Hey guys! What's up? It's been awhile since I last updated my blog. In July I went to my first conference EVER! It was an Anti-Bullying summit in Alabama. I got a chance to be a sponsor/exhibitor for the summit and got to show my face as well as make some awesome connections will some awesome people =)!.
School is back in session it seems so things are expected to pick up again around my neck of the woods. This summer was what I like to call "Off-Season" with both of my books revolving around social issues in schools...with no schools to read them I kinda got a break and got to work on somethings going on in my own life such as adjusting to life after college. I graduated in May and since then I moved into my own apartment. That was an interesting experience to say the least, and I'm still getting adjusted to it, but that's life, right? It's all about change. For those looking asking for hints about the subject matter of the next entry in the empowerment series: yes, book 3 will cover tid-bits of the recent changes that have gone on in my life. Of course on hear I'm only scratching the surface but a lot of things went down these past couple of months and I'm eager to share them all with you when the time is right. You guys have went through middle school with me, high school with me, and now maybe some college in the future. The third book in the series is going to be centered around some issues that are very close to me so I'm not exactly sure how I want to tackle the project. With books 1 & 2 I had some distance time wise to put between myself and the issue, but the things that I'm thinking about writing about now have happened fairly recently...granted timeline wise it would happen towards the middle of book 3. (Book 2 ended with me still in high school);)
Um...so yeah I don't want to say book three is on the back burner. I think about it fairly often and have notes and whatnot but it is a sensitive issue so I'm being very careful about it. HOWEVER I am planning to release another title before the end of this year. I talked about it briefly in a Q&A I did awhile back and I hinted at it on FB a couple of times. Yeah that book is coming out in the near future but it will not be under my name. Sad to say but do know that I am working on another series and if you pay close attention to my posts in the future you can take a pretty good guess at what the book is and where you can find it.
But back to the empowerment series. Yes, school is picking up so I expect to be getting and doing some follow-ups from my contacts. One of my main goals for the series is to get it in schools so that students can learn from my experiences and hopefully better themselves and their environment. I'm just trying to make a positive impact in the world, ya know?
Aside from that I think I covered everything. Oh, wait... my birthday is August 20th and I'll be 23. I celebrated yesterday with a bunch of my friends by playing laser tag and eating out at one of my favorite restaurants. Had a bunch of kids on my team and convinced them that my friends and I were a professional laser tag team! HA! Kids are awesome. Friends are awesome.
Yo and I totally just sat in my tub and soaked in a pair of jeans for the perfect fit. So worth it.
Contact for book information or school request: Airobooks@Gmail.com
FB:www.facebook.com/live.learn.and.prosper
Twitter: AlexIRogers
I'm Only Human After All / Dirfting : http://www.amazon.com/Alex-I.-Rogers/...
School is back in session it seems so things are expected to pick up again around my neck of the woods. This summer was what I like to call "Off-Season" with both of my books revolving around social issues in schools...with no schools to read them I kinda got a break and got to work on somethings going on in my own life such as adjusting to life after college. I graduated in May and since then I moved into my own apartment. That was an interesting experience to say the least, and I'm still getting adjusted to it, but that's life, right? It's all about change. For those looking asking for hints about the subject matter of the next entry in the empowerment series: yes, book 3 will cover tid-bits of the recent changes that have gone on in my life. Of course on hear I'm only scratching the surface but a lot of things went down these past couple of months and I'm eager to share them all with you when the time is right. You guys have went through middle school with me, high school with me, and now maybe some college in the future. The third book in the series is going to be centered around some issues that are very close to me so I'm not exactly sure how I want to tackle the project. With books 1 & 2 I had some distance time wise to put between myself and the issue, but the things that I'm thinking about writing about now have happened fairly recently...granted timeline wise it would happen towards the middle of book 3. (Book 2 ended with me still in high school);)
Um...so yeah I don't want to say book three is on the back burner. I think about it fairly often and have notes and whatnot but it is a sensitive issue so I'm being very careful about it. HOWEVER I am planning to release another title before the end of this year. I talked about it briefly in a Q&A I did awhile back and I hinted at it on FB a couple of times. Yeah that book is coming out in the near future but it will not be under my name. Sad to say but do know that I am working on another series and if you pay close attention to my posts in the future you can take a pretty good guess at what the book is and where you can find it.
But back to the empowerment series. Yes, school is picking up so I expect to be getting and doing some follow-ups from my contacts. One of my main goals for the series is to get it in schools so that students can learn from my experiences and hopefully better themselves and their environment. I'm just trying to make a positive impact in the world, ya know?
Aside from that I think I covered everything. Oh, wait... my birthday is August 20th and I'll be 23. I celebrated yesterday with a bunch of my friends by playing laser tag and eating out at one of my favorite restaurants. Had a bunch of kids on my team and convinced them that my friends and I were a professional laser tag team! HA! Kids are awesome. Friends are awesome.
Yo and I totally just sat in my tub and soaked in a pair of jeans for the perfect fit. So worth it.
Contact for book information or school request: Airobooks@Gmail.com
FB:www.facebook.com/live.learn.and.prosper
Twitter: AlexIRogers
I'm Only Human After All / Dirfting : http://www.amazon.com/Alex-I.-Rogers/...
October Recap: New Book On the Way,the 15,000 Copy Giveaway, NaNoMo, and What's Next.
Hey guys! It's been awhile. As always things are busy and ever-changing here on my end. I took some time off from blogging during the month of October to get somethings out of the way, both for in personal life and of course in my career as a writer.
To start things off,in mid October I finished the first book in my new series which I'll refer to as Project Last Light until the project has an official title. I've been playing with a couple names as well as a pen name for it and the books to come. Last week I sent it off to my editor so hopefully I won't slip into a massive depression from all of the red marks (kidding). Project Last light was supposed to be out before the end of this year but it looks like we are looking at late January 2014. Which is still good. Starting the year off with a new title in a new genre under a new name...that just screams epic journey.
Something else that went on in the month of October was National Bullying Prevention Month. If you guys check out my facebook https://www.facebook.com/live.learn.a...
or have read I'm Only Human After All you can see that bullying is a big issue with me. Can't stand it. Drives me CRAZY when I see people ending their lives prematurely because of pointless cruelty. I have always said this and I will continue to say this: We have so many other things to worry about in the world without coming at each other's necks. We should back each other up and aim to make the world a better place. Like seriously, we have world hunger and natural disasters happening left and right but people will rather mistreat you over your race or how you dress or how you look, anything. So many bigger issues. In the bigger picture does it really matter what my skin color, or my background, or how I express myself? We got to put all that baseless hate away. Whew, let me get off my high horse ;). Anywho, for National Bullying Prevention Month I decided to do a promo with Amazon using KDP Select to distribute the kindle edition I'm Only Human After All worldwide for free. The promotion lasted for 48 hours and in that time roughly 15,000 copies were distributed. To put that in perspective that is the population of a small town. If those people where to have shown up at my door it would have been a ridiculously long line, so thank you technology for making that possible and allowing me to stay in my PJ's all day. But seriously, it's an honor that so many people value my voice and I strive to stay true in delivering my message. It's amazing to know that even though I'm not writing the most exciting stuff, it's making a HUGE difference. Hopefully due to the promos the books fall into the right hands and there is once less death due to bullying or that a student picks it up and changes his/her ways. Hopefully, someone going through it like I did at that time, finds the light and gets help so they don't have to suffer anymore. That being said, it is still a goal of mine to have this book and series in schools worldwide.
Next up on the list is what I'm doing for National Novel Month, or NaNoMO for short. The goal for NaNoMo is to write a novel in 30 days. Sounds fun, right? It totally is haha! Something that I've been trying to do is work in different genres on my side projects to become more well rounded so for this year I've decided to make a paranormal thriller. The plot is essentially a female demon hunter vs a slew of things stemming from the supernatural. At the moment I'm less than 20 pages in so I don't want to give out any plot points just yet but do know that it is happening. This time last year I was working on Project Last Light and it made it so I expect to have this one come through and flourish into a series of its own in time. By the way Supernatural is the main inspiration for this one. It is my all time favorite show. I'm probably going to watch the latest episode after I'm done writing this.
So what's next?
A couple of months ago I moved up to Baton Rouge from New Orleans and now I'm considering another move to attend grad school. Got to do more research, but I think it'll do me good. I'm looking into going into I/O Psychology so I can be qualified to work more so in the field of human and organizational development. the field feels like home.
As for the inquiries about Book 3 of the empowerment series, it has not been forgotten, trust me. I do have a title for that one and I am still actively taking notes for it. Books that stem from my personal life take time because it takes a lot to write them. It's always heavy stuff. Blah...and you know we got some issues we have to discuss for the third go round because it's going to finish up my high school career and possibly all of my college career. So fro m Junior year of HS to graduating college is roughly six years. A lot of stuff...even though at the moment I want to focus the book on my college experience, more so along the lines of identity, acceptance, relationships, racial stereotypes/racism (yes it clearly does still exist), and my good ole' friend self worth.
Okay, well that was a lot but it is always good to keep every body up to speed.
PS: Drifting (Book 2 of the Empowerment Series) is available now at all major online retailers. I'm Only Human After All will no longer be exclusive with Amazon in the near future.
Until next time :)
I'm Only Human After All
Drifting
Contact: Airobooks@Gmail.com
To start things off,in mid October I finished the first book in my new series which I'll refer to as Project Last Light until the project has an official title. I've been playing with a couple names as well as a pen name for it and the books to come. Last week I sent it off to my editor so hopefully I won't slip into a massive depression from all of the red marks (kidding). Project Last light was supposed to be out before the end of this year but it looks like we are looking at late January 2014. Which is still good. Starting the year off with a new title in a new genre under a new name...that just screams epic journey.
Something else that went on in the month of October was National Bullying Prevention Month. If you guys check out my facebook https://www.facebook.com/live.learn.a...
or have read I'm Only Human After All you can see that bullying is a big issue with me. Can't stand it. Drives me CRAZY when I see people ending their lives prematurely because of pointless cruelty. I have always said this and I will continue to say this: We have so many other things to worry about in the world without coming at each other's necks. We should back each other up and aim to make the world a better place. Like seriously, we have world hunger and natural disasters happening left and right but people will rather mistreat you over your race or how you dress or how you look, anything. So many bigger issues. In the bigger picture does it really matter what my skin color, or my background, or how I express myself? We got to put all that baseless hate away. Whew, let me get off my high horse ;). Anywho, for National Bullying Prevention Month I decided to do a promo with Amazon using KDP Select to distribute the kindle edition I'm Only Human After All worldwide for free. The promotion lasted for 48 hours and in that time roughly 15,000 copies were distributed. To put that in perspective that is the population of a small town. If those people where to have shown up at my door it would have been a ridiculously long line, so thank you technology for making that possible and allowing me to stay in my PJ's all day. But seriously, it's an honor that so many people value my voice and I strive to stay true in delivering my message. It's amazing to know that even though I'm not writing the most exciting stuff, it's making a HUGE difference. Hopefully due to the promos the books fall into the right hands and there is once less death due to bullying or that a student picks it up and changes his/her ways. Hopefully, someone going through it like I did at that time, finds the light and gets help so they don't have to suffer anymore. That being said, it is still a goal of mine to have this book and series in schools worldwide.
Next up on the list is what I'm doing for National Novel Month, or NaNoMO for short. The goal for NaNoMo is to write a novel in 30 days. Sounds fun, right? It totally is haha! Something that I've been trying to do is work in different genres on my side projects to become more well rounded so for this year I've decided to make a paranormal thriller. The plot is essentially a female demon hunter vs a slew of things stemming from the supernatural. At the moment I'm less than 20 pages in so I don't want to give out any plot points just yet but do know that it is happening. This time last year I was working on Project Last Light and it made it so I expect to have this one come through and flourish into a series of its own in time. By the way Supernatural is the main inspiration for this one. It is my all time favorite show. I'm probably going to watch the latest episode after I'm done writing this.
So what's next?
A couple of months ago I moved up to Baton Rouge from New Orleans and now I'm considering another move to attend grad school. Got to do more research, but I think it'll do me good. I'm looking into going into I/O Psychology so I can be qualified to work more so in the field of human and organizational development. the field feels like home.
As for the inquiries about Book 3 of the empowerment series, it has not been forgotten, trust me. I do have a title for that one and I am still actively taking notes for it. Books that stem from my personal life take time because it takes a lot to write them. It's always heavy stuff. Blah...and you know we got some issues we have to discuss for the third go round because it's going to finish up my high school career and possibly all of my college career. So fro m Junior year of HS to graduating college is roughly six years. A lot of stuff...even though at the moment I want to focus the book on my college experience, more so along the lines of identity, acceptance, relationships, racial stereotypes/racism (yes it clearly does still exist), and my good ole' friend self worth.
Okay, well that was a lot but it is always good to keep every body up to speed.
PS: Drifting (Book 2 of the Empowerment Series) is available now at all major online retailers. I'm Only Human After All will no longer be exclusive with Amazon in the near future.
Until next time :)
I'm Only Human After All
Drifting
Contact: Airobooks@Gmail.com
