IT'S JUST ANOTHER SHOW

This post is part of a blog hop, I was invited to participate in by my writing group member, and friend, Sabrina Lovejoy. When she first invited me to do it, I was a bit apprehensive. What would I write about, what did I want to share?

It's one thing when you write for pleasure, yet another when you're being summoned to do so. Well...I decided to go with what my focus for the month of May has been, BeJeweled: The Flight of an Angel, along with my reasons for blogging.

THE WHY:

Writing My Dreams is just a stage for everyone (the characters in my head), to act out their wildest dreams, vivid imaginations, and hottest fantasies. It's nothing more than a play, the big screen where I inspire you to pursue your dreams. My own little Hollywood right here at Blogger.com.

Why do I blog? I blog as a form of artistic self-expression. I delved into blogging after publishing my first novel. It has become a forum to give voice to the characters, which sing in my head, dance on my computer, and act out plotlines in the pages of my books.

But before they come to Amazon, before they inspire, encourage, anger, and motivate, my characters come here to introduce themselves. They visit and host blog days, they interact with my readers, and sometimes they show up and show out.

And that's exactly what the characters from BeJeweled: The Flight of an Angel have done, since day one. They first made their debut here on the stage of Writing My Dreams. And then they went on to grace the pages of readers Kindles, and sit prominent and proud in paperbacks on the bookshelves in readers homes.

Throughout the month of May, they have toured around the world on an international road trip, visiting other bloggers, and telling their stories. So it's only fitting that we end this month on the same theme. Today we're going to delve a little deeper into BeJeweled: The Flight of an Angel.

It's so much more than beauty shop drama, but the stories of women and men across the world, facing adversity in their personal lives on a daily basis. It's our choices and attitudes, which dictate the outcomes of our lives. And the characters of BeJeweled just want to show that you can rise above adversity.

As of the writing of this post, it has received (13) 5 star ratings and (2) 4 star ratings. It has been ranked #3 on the Amazon Best Sellers Paid List in African American Women's Fiction Kindle and African American Women's Fiction Books. It has also been featured on eReader News Today.

THE REVIEWS:
"book that captivates the reader for the entire story" "a great mix of drama in it without it being overly outrageous" It has also been labeled as inspirational,  rewarding, entertaining, close-to-home, and a gem.One reviewer stated that it's "a treasure chest of colorful characters, interesting plotlines and rich, deep emotions. Chelle strikes gold with this first book in what is going to be a great series centered around a trendy beauty shop in Atlanta." 
So what has people buzzing about BeJeweled: The Flight of an Angel? Let's take a peek...

THE EXCERPT:


Angel looked up at the brick structure in front of her with its massive stained glass windows and metal spire up top. The overcast day reflected her mood. With rain clouds hovering overhead threatening to burst out with storm showers any moment, she felt like she, too, would burst out in tears at any moment.
Instead she chuckled at the way her baby pronounced church…chuch. “No baby, Daddy—”
“Daddddyyyy!” TJ shouted, throwing his little arms up in glee at the sight of his father. Angel looked out her window to the left and saw Black break out into a short jog across the parking lot towards her car.
She popped the lock on the car expecting him to come around and get inside. But instead he went to the rear driver’s side door where TJ sat and opened the door. Reaching inside, he popped the seat belt on the car seat.
“Daddddyyy!” the little boy squealed again in delight.
Before Angel could get the door opened and out of the car good, Black had TJ out of his car seat and standing next to him. With one leg and arm he braced himself against her door, trapping her inside of the car. She pushed on the handle and looked up at him.
“What are you doing, Black?” she asked in shock.
“Taking my boy to spend some time with him,” he said.
“I thought you were coming with us to the house?” her voice had risen, filled with emotion. She didn’t know what trick he was trying to pull, but she would be damned if she allowed him to take her son into the house with that woman.
“I changed my mind. I gotta keep peace where I lay my head. You know I’m sayin’?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.
Angel scooted across the seat to the passenger side and opened the door, hopping out of the car. Circling around back to the driver’s side of the car, she confronted her husband who was now holding TJ in his arms. The little boy had wrapped his arms around his father and was smiling. “Oh now you worried about keeping the peace, Black? Funny, you weren’t worried about it when you had a place to call home, or a family.”
Trying to keep calm and not frighten her son, she reached her arms out to him. “Come on baby, it’s time to get back in the car now.”
“I want Daddddyyy!” he squealed.
“Daddy’s coming with us, TJ. Come on, let’s put you back in the car seat and then Daddy can get in the car and we can go home,” Angel announced still reaching for her son.
But he wasn’t reaching back, he had his little arms wrapped tightly around his father and refused to look at his mother, as he buried his face in his daddy’s neck. Black was backing away from Angel, but refusing to break eye contact with her.


THE QUESTIONS:

What am I working on/writing? I am currently working on the second book in my series The House of BeJeweled. I recently released the first book, BeJeweled: The Flight of an Angel, and now I am preparing to release the second book in August (whose title I'm still undecided on).

I am also writing a book about identical twin sisters, who have completely different lives. One of the sisters is fed up with her life and is looking for a drastic change. That's all I can say on that subject.

How does my work/writing differ from others in its genre? My writing is created from a mixture of genres to convey the message I want to bring to my readers. All of my stories are contemporary/women's fiction; however, there is an element of contemporary romance, suspense, and Christian fiction involved in all of them.

I tap into these elements because that's what real life brings our way. Our lives are not composed of one particular arena, but several different experiences thrown into a melting pot, to create our unique existence. My books' focus is on the drama, or scenarios created in contemporary fiction, but they are served up with a side of other genres tossed in.

Why do I write what I do? I see people struggle in everyday life with challenges and adversities that rise up. Unfortunately, many people are stuck in a mindset, which attracts negativity. One adverse situation after another, makes it difficult for them to rise above this limitation. They can no longer determine how to turn their lives around, how to rise above adversity, and how to create a positive outcome.

I want to inspire people to change their thought process, their attitudes, and their outlook on life. I believe we have all been given dreams, and He has blessed each of us with diverse talents. If we tap into those dreams and talents to glorify Him, surely great things will come our way. I am a living example of this, and I want to encourage others to pursue their dreams and live life to the fullest. I just hope that it doesn't take others as long as it took me to learn this lesson.

Through the genre of contemporary fiction and women's fiction, I try to send a message of inspiration and hope to my readers. I create characters they can relate to, situations they have experienced, or seen others go through. In the end I want them to understand that their lives can be greater, too.


How does my writing process work? Okay here's where I have to keep it real. There's no process, there's no order, there's no strategy or routine. Nope. My process is just as chaotic and confused, as those other voices in my head, which do not belong to Chelle Ramsey. Somehow, I am able to capture all the voices, ideas, and perspectives on paper at some point. Whether it's pulling off to the side of the road to jot down some notes, capturing it on a recorder, or if it's jumping up in the middle of the night to write down a dream, I get the job done. Every once in a while, I miss something crucial. If I work too hard to recall it, I don't always regain the original ideas. However, what I realize is that I oftentimes get something greater than I had bargained for.

Ultimately, I carve out hours on the weekend, Friday through Sunday to write. When that Wicked Diva comes calling (my muse), I have to fall in line. She may pop in during the middle of the week, and I entertain her for a moment, until I can come back and give her my full attention. However, it's done...it couldn't get done without the support of a loving family.

THE THANKS:

As I have said repeatedly over these last few weeks, I have been searching for writer blog hops to join for some time. Isn't it amazing how all of the pieces fall together at once? Ms. Sabrina Lovejoy invited me to travel this journey with her. And I want to thank her for the opportunity, and also take a moment to welcome the other amazing ladies who are joining me on this awesome adventure. Don't forget to check out their posts on this coming Monday:


THE PARTICIPANTS:


Inez Reilly was born in Queens, New York to a heroin-addicted mother who abandoned her when she was ten months old. She is a survivor of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, most of which was experienced during her formative years. She attributes her endurance to prayer, positive affirmations and her subsequent acceptance of Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.  She is the proud mother of three natural children, one spiritual daughter and three grandchildren…Keilah, Joshua, Seraya, Joy, Haliek, Ryan and Sidney. She currently resides in Richmond VA.
Ms. Reilly refers to herself as a scribe, a composer of written work. She is a writer, at heart. She views life in storybook fashion. Through the lens of her eyes, situations are words and words become art. Writing has been in her blood from early childhood; putting pen/pencil to paper to create stories and poems. At the age of ten she began an autobiographical work, entitled How I Became Me , which she turned into a teacher and received accolades.
Writing has afforded Inez an avenue of opportunity to express herself when verbal communication was not an option. She would write her prayers, keep a daily journal and create vision statement for her life. Now, she shares her creative imaginings with the world through her works of fiction and non-fiction inspirational books.
Ms. Reilly is a counselor, teacher, mentor, minister and life coach to many. She has traveled across the United States speaking to mixed audiences, sharing her testimony of victory over the situations of her life. She utilizes the tools she has garnered under the tutelage and spiritual nurturing of Dr. Katherine Corbett, as well as the educational support in the Human Services field.
Currently, Inez Reilly has completed five books, a self-help spiritual book,  ALL OTHER GROUND , and four Christian fiction novels,  HOW TO TASTE IT AT THE END OF THE DAY (soon to be adapted to film), COVENANT , LIKE A ROARING LION and BEHOLDEN (all are available on amazon.com). Ms. Reilly is working on several projects, including two books,  EAGLE’S NEST and MORTGAGE targeted to be released in the near future.

 
Growing up an introvert, Te Russ found solace in literary arts at an early age. She found reading to
be a vehicle to broader horizons and writing a form of self-expression. She began writing love stories in her adolescent years as a way to expel her youthful thoughts of love into words. Since then she has gone from writing stories and thoughts of love in journals to attending college for journalism and falling in love, which has allowed those youthful words of love to blossom into a series of stories in her romance novels.

Though she has an immense appreciation for the sheer smell that books collectively exert, she has also found balance to her introverted nature with adrenaline inducing activities. So if she does not have her nose pressed deeply into a book or her pen ticking through a pad, you may also find this mother of three jumping out of airplanes, cheering her husband on at the top of her lungs at MMA fights, buzzing down the interstate on the back of motorcycles, or kayaking.




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Come check out my books, and learn more about the woman behind the blog at my website www.cmichelleramsey.com . Until the next time I'm just...
Writing My Dreams
by: Chelle Ramsey
www.cmichelleramsey.com