Vocal Expressions

Whew! Where did this year go? Between working, writing whenever I can, and being pulled in so many directions – I’m just glad to get a break. Anyway, this holiday season found me winding down and not getting into the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping at the malls. Instead I found myself wanting to slow down and think about my next steps for 2014. So, for me…’Tis the Season to be reflective. Yes, reflective of planning my writing goals and accomplishing them; reflective of forming new and strengthening existing collaborative relationships; reflective of exploring new creative outlets; reflective of my many blessings; and reflective of continuing to be good to me. So, why don’t you go ahead and answer the question: ’Tis the Season to be?  Leave me a comment or two!  I’d love to hear from ya!

Today, I participated in the MWA's (Baltimore chapter) Open Mic and Book Expo at The Village Learning Place. I had fun meeting fellow authors and chatting with book lovers. Always a treat!

Today, I had a great time attending Penny Clover Petersen's Book Signing Event at the Old Bowie Town  Grille. Here are some pictures from the event.

Click on this link to read my interview that appeared on Cheryl Holloway's blog - Thanks for reading it!  Guest Author Interview

This weekend I celebrated another year of me being wiser. Another year of me enjoying life. Another year of fulfilling my passion. Another year of having good friends whom I support and who supports me. Another year of being thankful for all my blessings. Another year of looking forward to infinite possibilities where ever that may lead me. So, in celebrating me I enjoyed a wonderful meal at the Asian Bistro in Silver Spring. After enjoying such a delicious meal, I then enjoyed the movie  The Best Man Holiday . This movie was funny and emotional but most importantly, it showed the true value of friendship. It was a total treat!

This past week, I celebrated 5 years with a group of ladies who have given each other support across the various genres that we write in. Who knew that we'd still be together meeting frequently even after our usual location (Borders) was closed. But now, we've found a new home at Panera Bread for the past two years and going strong! We ROCK!

This past weekend some member of the DMV weekenders checked out the play Deranged starring Robin Givens and Malik Yoba at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore. This play was funny from start to finish with some serious issues discussed in between such as infidelity and trust. The entire cast was a joy to watch. Synopsis" Deranged is an urban take on the movie, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle . Robin Givens plays the perfect nanny who deceives the wife (played by Demetria McKinney) of a writer (played by Malik Yoba) so that she can win his affection. What happens next is a series of lies and mishaps until the truth unfolds. I thoroughly enjoyed this play and it was good to see Robin Givens on stage...she was funny as hell! Here are some pics from the event - enjoy!

Today I had a great time at the Freestate Gun Range with the DMV Weekenders. After we got a refresher class, we were ready to hit the range. It's been a while and so I had to get used to the loud booming sounds but once I got used to it, I was ready to go!

Today, I had a blast hanging with my good author friend, Sandra Bowman at the Linganore Winecellars Festival in Mt. Airy, MD. The music, the food, the wine selection, the dancing and the vendors were awesome. To top it off, the weather was simply fantastic! Good times!

What a fabulous time I had at The Black Authors and Readers Rock Weekend in Bowie, Maryland. The guest speakers: ReShonda Tate Billingsley and Victoria Christopher Murray were awesome. I got to meet and have books signed by both authors and had photos taken with them. It was also great to meet, mix and mingle with some of my old author friends and it was fun meeting some new ones too. The Reading Divas did a great job in putting on this event and I hope to celebrate again with them next year!

When I opened the catalog of the Columbia Arts Association, my curiosity kicked in when I saw they were offering a Zentangle class. I quickly signed up and took my first Zentangle class this past Saturday. You may be asking yourself, what the heck is Zentangle? Well, Zentangle is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. The instructor was very pleasant as she gave the class some history on how Zentangle came to be and that almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. She told us that it can be very soothing, of course, it helped that she had Native American music playing in the background. As we watched her and tried to create our own Zentangle, I found that it increased my focus and creativity. The end result was very satisfying for me (see my Zentangles below). So has your interest been piqued? If yes, what are you waiting for...you should check it out. I know that I can't wait to Zentangle again! 

This event will honor excellence in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction by Black writers.      Friday, October 25, 2013 Award Ceremony at 7 pm Followed by Dessert Reception   Carnegie Library  801 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 Special Guests Include:  Natasha Trethewey, U.S. Poet Laureate  Wil Haygood, Author of the Article that Inspired the Film "The Butler" Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer-Prize Winning Author of The Warmth of Other Suns Sonia Sanchez, Renowned Poet, Activist, Scholar and Teacher  Edward P. Jones, Pulitzer-Prize Wining Author of The Known World      $125 Individual Ticket Cost  You may make check out to Hurston Wright Foundation and mail to: Hurston Wright 12138 Central AV, STE 953 Bowie, MD 20721 The Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation Discovers, Educates, Mentors, and Develops African American Writers - since 1990 www.hurstonwright.org     

This week I checked out the movie, Prisoners, with Hugh Jackman. It was very suspenseful and heart wrenching all at the same time. Hugh Jackman really brought it home with his acting as a distraught father whose daughter has been kidnapped and wouldn't break until she was found. Two thumbs way up for this movie!

This past weekend was well spent in the Big Apple checking out the play, A Trip to Bountiful with Cicely Tyson and Vanessa Williams at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Synopsis: "A woman's determination to go home one last time restores hope and faith to her family." Two thumbs up for this play! Cicely Tyson was awesome and Vanessa Williams and the rest of the crew rocked! This was a must see play!

Yesterday, I attended the  21 st  Annual Opening of the Man-to-Man and 8 th  Opening of the Woman-to-Woman Mentoring Program Commitment/Recommitment Ceremony at the St. John Baptist Church. It was indeed a pleasure to see some old familiar faces and some fresh ones both mentors and mentees eager to start the new year will a lot of zest. The program was great with highlights about what is expected from the mentor-mentee relationship. It was great to see the parents and those who run the tutoring part of the program. Yes, indeed...I'm excited!

What a fantastic weekend we all had at the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity Conference in Hunt Valley.

As if we didn't have enough fun at the Autobahn Indoor Karting in Jessup, we took to Annapolis in search of some good seafood at The Maryland Seafood Festival. Before we even parked, we could smell the Old Bay Seasoning wafting through the air. The music was very inviting and folks were everywhere. Now, what to eat??? That was the burning question, however, there was a listing of all the food vendors, their seafood offerings and the prices. Some of the lines were so long that I didn't even bother to see what the vendors were selling but I would guess it was some delicious food. But hunger won me over and I ended up getting a shrimp and crab cake platter from Phillips - I couldn't go wrong there! Yes, it hit the spot and we all walked around and danced a little to the live band before heading in our separate directions. Overall, it was a great fun filled day! See the pics below.

Today, I met up with the DMV Weekenders and we had a blast. First, we were on a quest for speed and we had a lot of fun at the Autobahn Indoor Karting in Jessup, MD. This place was buzzing with lots of folks just itching for some speed...then there was us...newbies! But, as newbies we rocked as we had two teams and I won the race for one of the teams. Honestly, I was kinda nervous as this was my first time racing in this setting...but I had a blast! See the pics below.