Another First!

This past weekend, I attended a book club discussion meeting for the very first time. It really was a fun event, with lots of varying viewpoints, thought-provoking comments, laughter, and of course – food. I was really impressed with the number of people who knew the book “inside out”, and were genuinely eager to share their thoughts and emotions. There were Q&A segments with prizes, plus props from the storyline. Everyone had a blast!

I can hear you thinking, “Well, duh-uh, Berta! That’s what they usually do at book club meetings; what’s the big deal?” The big deal is that the very first book club meeting I attended was for MY book, “Honor My Father…Really?” I was completely overwhelmed by the readers who seemed to effortlessly be able to recount any given part of the story. They came full of anticipation, ready to share their perceptions and exchange thoughts. The readers’ excitement fueled my writing passion even more. Book 2, here I come!

Here’s an excerpt from “Honor My Father…Really?”:

He looked at his crying wife standing before him. He wanted to show her tenderness and compassion, but he couldn’t – not before he got answers. She was finally breaking. It hurt his heart to withhold kindheartedness from her, but he had to. He stepped closer. “Ranya, I’m waiting. What are you hiding?”
“This thing…he…” she tried to speak through her sobs. She tried again, “This thing will try to kill me,” she whimpered.
Click. Michael instantly went into warrior mode, and contemplated running to retrieve his .45 caliber pistol out of the lockbox in the back of his closet. They might be having their issues right now, but nobody was going to physically harm his woman. He demanded information. “Who? Who will kill you?” He put his hands on her shoulders and bent slightly to force Ranya to look into his eyes. “Who is after you, baby?”
“You’ll think I’m crazy,” Her weeping was now uncontrollable.
“Ranya, please talk to me, sweetheart.” He pulled her close. She did not return the embrace, but instead folded her arms inward and placed her hands on his chest, allowing herself to be totally enveloped by her husband as she lamented. When she got louder, he strengthened his hold on her; when she quieted, he rubbed circles over her back. He began to whisper angelic prayers as they stood swaying in the midLst of the broken porcelain plates on the ceramic tile floor. Soon she joined him in prayer. This was the Ranya he’d married.

Did you enjoy that teaser? Let’s discuss it at the next “Dine-N-Discuss” book club event! See you then!

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Birth Announcement!

Yesterday, I had a baby! Yep, that’s right; I finally “gave birth” to and released my novel entitled “Honor My Father…Really?”! It’s been a long, arduous process, but like many other great authors, I did it.

Someone asked me if I’m now leaping for joy and turning cartwheels. Actually, I’m not. I’m extremely happy that this novel has been released, but I’ve worked on and nurtured it since its conception a long time ago. So, I knew that eventually, the novel would “come out”. This baby “fluttered” during the editing and rewriting stages. I’ve watched it grow as I fed it creativity, positivity, and prayer. I experienced “Braxton Hicks contractions” when I thought the project was ready to be released, but ran into problems getting the website up, and refused to release the book prematurely without a website. True labor contractions came on the scene when I labored to refrain from destroying my computer (it was giving me all kinds of error messages, shutting completely off in the middle of uploads, erasing all of my favorites, wiping out all of my downloads—and did I mention I still can’t even open Microsoft Word?)! But I had to keep pushing to deliver this novel, this task that God said I was well able to accomplish.

So, while I’m not swinging from the ceiling, I have tremendous gratitude to God for giving me the desire of my heart. He said He would do that, and He absolutely did. But have you ever seen a new mom swinging from the ceiling the day after she gives birth? I am indeed happy and excited, and definitely have the pride a new mommy feels when she and others can finally see her new bundle of joy. So, if you haven’t already purchased the book, let me introduce you to my new baby, “Honor My Father…Really?”, born April 15, 2013.

p.s. I’m already pregnant again…leave me a comment if you understand that!

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Surprise notifications!

Well, here I am, blogging for the first time. Getting to this point has been a challenging experience, I must say. From my  computer acting funny, to pictures for my author Facebook page not loading properly, I’ve wanted to forget blogging, throw the laptop out the window, and just take a nap! But something inspirational happenend about an hour ago that’s keeping me right here, pressing forward through the error messages, and past the frozen cursor: 3 people “liked” my author page that I had basically just finished setting up. I had not invited anyone, nor had I even put any pictures on the page – it literally only had my name. No posts, nor news, nothing–just the name “Author Berta Coleman” and that generic little profile picture thing.

I’m not sure how my friends Edwin, Tommy, and Sherri knew that my author page even existed, but I am grateful for their support. Seeing that little red notification pop up out of nowhere pushed me to go a little farther.

So I find myself here with this laptop computer still on my lap, trying to pull it all together, all because I got a fresh burst of inspiration from the support of friends.

Here’s hoping that you find the strength and motivation to keep working at whatever endeavor is on your heart. Here’s also hoping that you have an Edwin, Tommy, and Sherri when you need them!

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