Chelle Ramsey's Blog, page 74

BOOK SPOTLIGHT_LITTLE BLACK GIRL LOST II

AMAZON OVERVIEW:
After his blockbuster success of Little Black Girl Lost, Keith Lee Johnson takes us back to 1950's New Orleans, into the world of betrayal, envy, lust, and murder, where everyone has ulterior motives. Little Girl Lost left you in shock right up to the very end with its revealing truths of the world of Johnnie Wise, a 15-year-old girl, who was being pursued by ruthless crime boss, Napoleon Bentley, who will stop at nothing to have this young beauty. Little Black Girl Lost II, begins as we find Johnnie in bed, and even though there is a thunderstorm directly over her Ashland Estates home, she is sleeping soundly for the first time since the murder of Richard Goode (her mother's killer), and the subsequent riots. However, during her waking hours, Napoleon Bentley enters her mind more often than she'd care to admit. She wants him to bed her again, but she loves Lucas Matthews, her boyfriend. Or is he?Show more Show less


Keith Lee Johnson does a fantastic job of highlighting the challenges African Americans faced in the early 50's, whether they had money or not. He gives us a further peek into the life of Johnnie Wise; who despite her womanly figure and overtly mature ways in terms of her sexual nature, is still naïve and immature. Her insecurities and desire to belong and be in control of life can easily turn things around in the negative for her.

Mr. Johnson also highlighted how easy it was for Caucasians to manipulate the lives of African Americans simply by the power they held over them. Using money, connection, and power they played the lives of African Americans as though it was nothing more than a mere chess game. We see this in the actions of Johnnie's "white side of the family" the Beauregards and with the mafia. However, it is no more prevalent than in the attitude of Napoleon Bentley. While he attempts to portray himself as being for the African-American race, and all the people love him because he treats them with human kindness, he is perhaps the worst perpetrator of them all. He uses their trust and love against them to manipulate them to do his will and to gain control of the city of New Orleans.

The African Americans in New Orleans and in other cities trust Napoleon and is undoubtedly loyal to him, because he is willing to offer them protection and high payouts, much larger than they could get elsewhere. However, his minions turn their backs on their own people just to find favor with Napoleon. And we see it time and again in the attitudes of people such as Bubbles and Leonard.

This book really emphasized the attitudes that we often have towards one another. Instead of being supportive of our own people, we are quick to turn away from them, hold condescending attitudes towards them, and belittle them to make ourselves feel better and boost our own standing. Perhaps it is because we are greedy for gain that we miss the big picture of loving our people, and standing strong for who we are and what we believe in. It teaches the important lesson of learning to stand strong as a people and overcoming insecurities and hundreds of years of manipulation and fear ingrained within a people.

My book club read the first book in this series in July. To see the review and the conflict resulting from the book, click the link: http://www.writingmydreams.com/2012/07/book-club-review.html

I would rate this book a 3- Holdin' It Down. To see further commentary on my rating scale, please click the "Book Discussions" tab up top.

I would love to have you follow me if you're not already. This way you can get updated reviews on books, as well as new updates on my upcoming releases. You can join us by clicking the "follow this blog" or "join this site" in the right hand corner, located within the picture box of my followers.


JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,By: C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com

MONDAY MORNING MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE_SMART GOALS FOR LIVING YOUR DREAMS

http://www.flickr.com/photos/valeriebb/4387797783/ Commitment leads to action. Action brings your dream closer.
-Marcia Wieder  My purpose for writing these Monday morning motivational messages is to inspire someone in some way. If only one person is touched, then it was well worth it. I try to find simple messages that speak to me and that I think may inspire someone else. I usually keep them short and sweet, but today is a little different; so bear with me. We were created with dreams and gifts. Oftentimes it takes a while to discover those dreams and gifts, and sometimes they are inadvertently discovered by someone else. However, when we realize what they are, aren't we expected to act on them? I don't believe that we were endowed with dreams and gifts to allow them to pass us by.  Sometimes we have many dreams, and while they all may not come to pass, there is one specific dream that I believe is God given, and we are expected to pursue them to see the manifestation of the blessing. However, if we are not careful we can become overwhelmed with trying to pursue the dream. We are trying to do everything possible to make it come to pass. And then we become frustrated and wonder if it was meant to be at all. We question the direction we're headed in and then we question the dream itself. Many of us give up and some never see their dreams materialize. The problem isn't in the dream, it's with the dreamer. Understanding that any dream requires work, diligence, and belief is the first step. Then you are required to assess what it will take to bring the dream to pass and set goals for yourself to accomplish the dream.  In the business world we often hear that we should make the goals SMART. This acronym stands for: Specific - these goals determine what you want to accomplish, who's involved, your purpose, time frame, locations, and your requirements to achieve the goal.Measurable - determine what you want to accomplish at what specific point. Tracking progress keeps you on path to accomplishing your goals and holds you accountable to doing it. This step also aids you in knowing when you've accomplished your goals.Attainable - this requires taking on the attitude to accomplish your goals. When you can actually believe in yourself and take on the beliefs and attitudes inherit within that dream, you can see yourself drawing closer and reaching those goals.Realistic - these are goals that you know that you are willing to work for and can reach. They should not be so high as to make it impossible to reach; and they should not be so low as to make them not worthwhile. They should be worth the work and investment of your time and talent, and they should help you to grow and expand on various levels.Timely - goals that have a timeframe are meaningful and work toward holding you accountable. Without a timeframe or deadline you are working with no end in mind and no hope for achieving your goal. Defining a plan and putting it in action is worth the time it will take to accomplish your dreams. What are your SMART Goals for living your dreams? JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,By: C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com 

TAKING ADVANTAGE_EXCERPT: "IS THE GRASS REALLY GREENER?"

Today I'm sharing with you another unedited excerpt from "Is the Grass Really Greener?" Yesterday's guest blogger, Pavi is the feature of today's excerpt from my upcoming novel.

Pavi watched their grim faces around the table as they read the reports Carolyn had prepared for them. She knew they didn’t like the numbers, but that’s exactly what she had wanted. She wanted to get a rise out of them; it was the only way she could sway them to her perspective.
“Ms. Herrera, looking at these projections what is the probability of us turning this thing around at this late date in the project?” Yiro Hakinamo the Board Chair asked. The stern expression he wore on his face never changed. His thick, thatch of jet black hair stood on ends, and his bushy eyebrows matched. His eyes as shiny as black marbles, honed in on her assessing the probability of her bullshitting him. She wasn’t worried, not only did she have her game face on but he knew she was no bull shitter. Pavi was the real deal.
Bingo! That was the money question…the one she was banking on them asking.
“Well gentleman if you would please turn to look at the figures on the screen, you will see that there is a 92 percent chance of us turning this problem upside down on its head. We can still reach our goal and move forward with the Greenway project in Miami if we switch our focus and the investment dollars,” she replied as she left her seat and walked to the front of the room next to the screen projected on the wall.
She knew heads were turning to watch her svelte figure as she worked her little red mini that hugged her curves so viciously. With her 4” Sexy Red stiletto’s her legs went on for days, and the men couldn’t take their eyes off of them. She was the only woman in the room and one of few in management in a male dominated firm.

Then she went in for the kill. “You will find in the next packet of information sitting before you, that we can get a 90 percent ROI if the dollars invested in the Greenway project were reduced by 30%, and those dollars were reinvested into the Beltline project in Charlotte,” she explained.
There were audible gasps and whispering among the 18 board members present and the 12 senior management staff of Price & Curtis.
She continued to rattle on a few numbers as she stood at the head of the room. But she began to feel tired again, something that consumed her these days and she decided to return to her seat before anyone noticed.
Once seated she took off the red A-Line suit jacket that clung to her curves. They couldn’t see her legs anymore, but her deep V cut white blouse all but pushed her caramel colored breasts at them. Pavielle was not above any means to get what she wanted in life, and if that meant teasing the men of the board…hey all was fair in money and war. It was just another board game to her.
“Ms. Herrera can we go over these numbers and reconvene in an emergency board meeting in the next 48 hours?” Mr. Hirsch a member of senior management asked.
“Look gentlemen, if you are serious about this project and saving your asses and placing this company in the number one position to take advantage of the opportunity the Beltline offers, I would suggest you look at those numbers now and give me an answer. While we’re sitting here twiddling our thumbs, Carr, Nicholson & Chase already have recruits scouting the area to determine how profitable it will be for their firm to move into this project. I happen to know they’re ready to move on it as soon as tomorrow as long as the project turns out to be what they expect it is. And you know something Hirsch, it’s all that and more,” Pavi sternly stated.
“How do you know this information Ms. Herrera?” Mark Jacobi another board member asked.
“It’s my job to know this information…that’s what the hell you pay me for. So are we doing this or not gentlemen?” she asked with an unyielding look on her face.
There was another couple of minutes of paper shifting, whispering, and audible sighs before it was put to vote. And as she knew it would be, Pavi’s proposal was accepted unanimously.
Now that the hard work was done, she just needed to get home, get something to eat and get some sleep to do it all over again tomorrow.  For more excerpts from this book, please visit me @ www.cmichelleramsey.com.
Thank you for joining me for another read. I hope you enjoyed it. I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment below, and click the link in the upper right hand corner to join the blog to view future excerpts.JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,By: C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com 

STRENGTH IN THE MIDST OF_GUEST BLOGGER: "PAVI"ELLE K. HERRERA

http://www.flickr.com/photos/okeefew/4597051941/Hello everyone,
Today I am working on another project, and I have invited Pavielle Herrera to be my guest blogger. She's a good friend of mine, and I met her while performing my day job in the real estate management industry. She's always a lady, very professional and to the point, cool, a sweetie pie, but takes no mess. I hope you enjoy having her today as much as I do.

PAVI:
They say what doesn't break you makes you stronger. I always said kick ass from the start ,and you don't have to worry about nothing or no one trying you. At least that's what I used to say, until I had to fight my own personal health battle.

I'm Pavielle Katia Herrera, a little Cuban cutie as my man likes to say, but my friends call me Pavi. So you may as well too. I am here today by personal invitation of C. Michelle Ramsey. I don't know much about blogging, because I'm too busy running the boardroom at Price & Curtis, the real estate management firm where I am the regional director of the Southeast.

I know money, I know real estate, I know men, and I know how to run a business. I am a fighter by nature, but when life throws this newest curve ball my way, I would be lying if I say that I wasn't staggered by the blow.

Okay so I may have been knocked down a time or two, but I get back on my feet and I keep fighting. Because I'm built tough as nails.

Now some of you may be wondering what this book is all about. It provides an honest perspective on life, friendship, pain, tragedy, betrayal, struggle, and victory. It's not a romance, but yes it does have heat in the bedroom. It's not a mystery, but it offers suspense that will keep you guessing. It's not a thriller, but it will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride.

The characters portrayed in the book experience real life challenges that they must fight to overcome. Whether their decisions are ones that you would make, only you can determine. But each of their choices lead to a decision they must learn to live with. It's not a fairytale so I won't promise you there will be happy endings. But it will be interesting, and the characters learn to become victors rather than victims.

I invite you to come back tomorrow when C. Michelle decides to share an excerpt from my portion of the book. And I hope you will continue to follow along with my character and those of my girls, Davina, Christina, Courtney, and Rayne in the weeks to come. I think Ms. Christina's hosting the blog next Thursday and we all know what that means: attitude and drama. Ha, ha! That's my girl and we love her, and we hope you will too.


Well I have to go now, my conference call starts in five minutes. Adios!

Pavi, thank you for visiting today and I can't wait to see what you have in store for us on tomorrow.

You're welcome Michelle and thanks for having me. Take care good people.

Stay with me tomorrow for another excerpt of "Is the Grass Really Greener?" To read other excerpts from this book and others, visit me at my website listed below.

JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,
BY: C. Michelle Ramsey
www.cmichelleramsey.com

ARTICLE REVIEW

Hello Everyone,

Okay today I am not reviewing a book because I am in the middle of reading two books. You got it, two books. One is a bit of a mystery combined with family drama, and the second one is the second series in a set that I've previously started: Little Black Girl Lost 2 by Keith Lee Johnson. I can't wait to review the two books with you all.

On another note, I would LOOOOVVVVE to ask a favor of you my dear readers today. I may have mentioned that I've been working on writing articles for the online magazine Examiner.com. I need a little love and support over that way, so I would like to invite you to join me at the link below and click the "+ subscribe" link located on that page, next to my name underneath the title of the article.

The articles are HR based (e.g., jobs, workplace, benefits, etc.) but I try to keep you posted on what's going on in the wonderful world of employment. So pretty please come on over, check out what I'm doing, and don't forget to click on the subscribe button on my page, next to my name underneath the title.

http://www.examiner.com/article/telecommuting-success


And as always you know what I'm still doing:

JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,C. Michelle Ramsey www.cmichelleramsey.com

MONDAY MORNING MOTIVATIONAL MESSAGE_TRUST

JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com

ONCE IN A LIFETIME_IS THE GRASS REALLY GREENER EXCERPT

Yesterday guest blogger Rayne Gibson dished a little bit on me and hosted a give-away of my book Real Secrets. We had no winners, so if you're still interested in receiving the free ebook, please see yesterday's post. In this scene Rayne's oldest son Bryant confronts her about going away with her boyfriend:


“Why you going away with that man?” he snapped when Rayne shared with him her plans to leave for the weekend.
“Bryant I have to have a life too. Next year you will be gone to college and Brody will grow up. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone and I wouldn’t think you wanted me to either,” she stated.
“Look I don’t care about you spending time with him, but I hope dude know he ain’t gon’ be my daddy or my little brother’s daddy,” he countered.
Rayne inhaled deeply and then let out a loud sigh. “Look Bryant no one is trying to take your father’s place and no one will ever be allowed to. It’s impossible and it hurts me to know that you feel I would ever try to do that. I love you and your father loved you very much. But my choice to date is no reflection on that love that for our sons. My choice to date is because I am a full grown woman who needs to move on with her life after six years,”
“It ain’t like you ain’t been dating in those six years Ma,” Bryant snapped.
“You’re right I have, but at the same time they were not serious. They didn’t understand the importance of my boys to me and therefore, they’re not still in my life. You and Brody are the most important people in my life and always will be. I won’t jeopardize that for anything, but I have finally met someone who not only understands that, but he respects it as well. That’s almost a once in a lifetime opportunity and if there is a chance for me to find some more happiness in the world I will do that.”
“Even at the risk of me and Brody being unhappy?”
“How is my dating making you guys unhappy Bryant?” she asked.
“Cuz it’s like dude trying to force his way into our lives Ma,” he said standing up from his bed and pacing his room to vent his frustrations, “and you just letting him. You don’t care what it’s doing to us or how we feel about it. You only care about how you feel about it!” he disputed pointing a finger at her.

Thank you for joining me today. I would love for one lucky reader to receive the free ebook we're offering, so please review yesterday's post for instructions. JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com

GUEST BLOGGER: RAYNE GIBSON_GIVEAWAY

Hello, hello, hello beautiful ones. Michelle could not be here today, because she's off celebrating her baby boy's awards day ceremony and his graduation from elementary school. What a bittersweet feeling that must be for her. My baby boy is still in elementary school and has a few years to go. But my how time flies, I remember when my oldest son was in elementary school and now he's off in college. What an emotional moment that was for me, saying goodbye after dropping him off at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. And then driving those 500 miles back to the ATL. My baby and I had been through some rough times. Okay enough of that already I'm getting teary eyed.

Let's see, Michelle told me that I could talk about anything that I wanted to on the blog today since I'm the guest blogger. Welllll...I thought I'd share some little known facts about Michelle. Yes that's right, it seems as if she's putting us on blast in her upcoming release "Is the Grass Really Greener?" So after speaking with my dear friends Davina and Courtney over the past couple of weeks, I've decided to put her back on blast.

It's not that I have anything that I'm ashamed about her sharing, because I have no hidden secrets. I just want her to see how it feels. I don't talk about people behind their backs, I don't make up stuff on people, and if I have an issue with you, I don't mind saying it straight to your face. But that's not because I'm confrontational, it's because I like peace. As you get to know my character in the book, you'll learn that wherever there is Rayne, there's always sunshine.

Now back to Michelle...let's see, she's blind as a bat and cannot see without her contacts. So much so that a long time ago, when she first went out of town to meet her future mother-in-law; and couldn't find her glasses that night, her husband had to escort her through the house at night just to get a drink of water. Her mother-in-law thought she was blind.

Her kids don't think she has any fashion sense whatsoever. But I don't think you can tell her that. I mean she isn't homely or anything, but she often has to get her husband's or daughter's opinion about an outfit or hairstyle. I'm sure she might be able to work something out if she didn't have their assistance.

She proves the stereotype wrong about all black people being able to dance. I love her dearly, but the child ain't got no rhythm. She does perfectly fine sitting in her chair bobbing her head to the music.

Oh yeah, she always talks about how she loves a good mystery and that she isn't a big fan of romance novels; but she's a big ole' romantic down to her heart.  She's scared of thunderstorms and tornadoes; she loves junk food (while she's trying to live healthy); and she often has to rewrite her intimate scenes in her books; because they end up bordering on the erotic with downright vulgar language involved.

And she rethinks everything she writes and second guesses herself after putting it out there. But I personally think the girl has jazz when it comes to writing. She does her thing, and she's really found a hard time finding a genre that describes her writing style. But I believe she'll be alright.

Pavi and Christina are rumored to visit next and I would suggest if there is anything you want to know about us or Michelle, leave your questions in the comments section or email Michelle at cmichelleramsey@gmail.com. I promise you, Christina doesn't mind telling it all.

Okay now for the good stuff. I'm going to leave a secret clue about the novel "Is the Grass Really Greener?" The first person to inbox C. Michelle on Facebook @ CMichelleRamsey or email her at cmichelleramsey@gmail.com with the correct answer will receive a free copy of "Real Secrets."

Okay here's the question and the picture clue:

The picture below shows a ring that belongs to one of the girls in "Is the Grass Really Greener?" There are five primary characters in the book: Pavi, Christina, Courtney, Davina, and me (Rayne). If you need a little more information about us you can read our excerpts in the links located underneath the picture.

The question is who does the ring belong to and what type of ring is it? Good luck and have fun!

 CHRISTINADAVINAPAVIRAYNECOURTNEY    Thanks for visiting me here today and I hope one of you lucky readers guess the right answer. Stay tuned tomorrow for an excerpt from my story.


LIVING THROUGH THE PAGES...YOUR SUNSHINE,EBONY "RAYNE" GIBSON

RANDOM RAMBLINGS...SO IS THIS HOW IT ALL ENDS?

http://www.bridaloccasion.com/multi-ethnic.htm_
Ty Wilson
 
It's been a moment since I have written a Wednesday Random Ramblings post. But this morning I had the unfortunate opportunity to see a bit of news that had me shaking my head and asking "Really? So is this how it all ends?"

Weddings are supposed to be blissful, romantic, a celebration of two lives coming together as one, an agreement with God and your significant other that the "two shall become one." The reception is party time, where everyone gets their dance on, most people get their drink on, and some party folks even get their flirt on, and hook up with their new boo. After all...this is a romantic event right? There has been a time or two where I've even heard about people getting their fight on at the celebration...possibly a result of getting their drink on. But the bride and groom?

This morning Atlanta's Fox 5 News reported about the arrest of a man who decided that he would beat his bride up after the reception. I don't know about you but where I come from you're supposed to be consummating the marriage after the reception, not beating her down. However, this groom decided the way to seal their nuptials would be to drag her by her hair, punch her in the face, bite her, and then pull out her weave! Who does this? And if it isn't already bad enough? On his mug shot he's smirking and laughing!

If this isn't a sign that she needs to run for the hills I don't know what would be. Your wedding day should be one of the best days of your life and I can only imagine this poor woman's devastation, and humiliation because of his ignorance and the evil within. When a relationship gets to this level it's best to get out before you have lost all self-respect, self-esteem, belief in yourself, and possibly even your life. I just don't get it...there is nothing that she could have done that would have been worth all this. I don't care if she did the most horrific thing in the world, walk away...annul the marriage. But to beat the woman? It's inexcusable and my prayer is that she is getting out of the marriage, and will not tolerate anyone treating her like this.

On the other hand my mind cannot help but wonder is this the first time? I only say that because for him to get so out of hand and in a public place, he had to be confident he could pull that off on her. I cannot imagine that he went from a loving, attentive partner to an abusive, irate spouse all in one day. He had to have shown some violent tendencies before, whether it was through physical means or emotional abuse. I just find it challenging to see the leap in personality. And if I am correct in my assumptions then the marriage never should have taken place at all. But hopefully this will be an eye opener and she will leave all her baggage behind at the Clarke County Jail, and move forward with a better life without him. Sometimes people come to a point in their lives where they must end the marriage. The circumstances may vary as well as the length of the marriage. However, no one dreams on their wedding day they will be wondering, so is this how it all ends?

Here's a link to the story:
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/22441813/athens-groom-accused-of-punching-new-bride

JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,C. Michelle Ramsey www.cmichelleramsey.com

BOOK SPOTLIGHT_SECRETS (THE MICHELLI FAMILY SERIES_BOOK 1)

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-The-Michelli-Family-Series/dp/B00394DJ9S

Amazon overview:
"Lance Michelli is on a quest to discover the secrets his grandmother cannot tell. What happened all those years ago, and what is it she so desperately needs him to find? The old villa in Sonoma holds the answers, but it is now owned by a young woman who neither knows nor cares about his mission. But Rese Barret is a force to contend with, and her own impending storm could sweep him up as their sparring creates a fierce and uncomfortable attraction."

This book was an amazing read as it takes a look back at one family's saga during the Prohibition period and its impact on modern times and the outcome for the Michelli family in today's society. Lance is faced with the mission to uncover a long ago secret that his ill grandmother cannot reveal because she has lost the capability to speak or write. Heading to Sonoma, California one thing is clear, he must do whatever it takes to resolve the mystery his grandmother has left in her past.

However, when Lance meets the hard-edged, hard as "nails" Rese, he realizes his mission will not be as easy as planned. She trusts no one, especially the smooth talking Lance. But when her own issues come to light, Lance recognizes that she needs support and his own mission is suddenly becoming unclear. Only when he seeks the Lord's will does he know what he must do.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book that showed a family's saga from a historical and romantic perspective. The family mystery will keep you on the edge of your seat as you seek to learn what will come to light and how it will come to light. This is the first book in the series, and it will leave you wanting more.

Kristen Heitzmann created an engaging read in this first book of the series, which captivates your attention as each character's story unfolds. She demonstrates how our destinies are created as our lives intertwine. I would rate this story a 4-The Real Thang.

Click on the tab up top labeled "Book Discussions" to learn my rating system. I would love to have you join me on my book journey (book reviews, and the impending release of my new novel). Click the "Join This Site" in the right hand column.


JUST WRITING MY DREAMS,C. Michelle Ramseywww.cmichelleramsey.com