Vocal Expressions

The best way to spend a weekend is to watch Denzel Washington do his thing on the big screen as Robert McCall in the "The Equalizer" and hanging with some cool sister friends. I have to say that Antoine Fuqua rocked this film in a very stylistic way in the same vein as his other films: Training Day, Replacement Killers, Brooklyn's Finest, etc. The story line and the dialogue were great...hero going about his business until he is forced to take matters into his own hand. And of course, all hell breaks loose. Loved the action scenes - they were so in your face! Definitely 2 thumbs up for this movie! Then I rounded out my weekend catching up with some cool sister friends I haven't seen in a while. We had a blast hanging out at Houlihan's and catching up. The food was quite delicious and the Martini's were slamming! Can't wait to do it again!

This weekend I had a blast at the Black Authors & Readers Rock Weekend in Bowie, Maryland. The keynote speaker was none other than Kimberla Lawson Roby. I remember the first time I met Kimberla years ago at Borders (when it was still around...sigh) in Largo, MD. She was very warm and welcoming then and she was the same this time around. Anyway, the weekend was jam packed with activities which started on Friday night with Austin Camacho as the host for the evening. It opened with the first annual book club meeting which featured Author Naleighna Kai and her best selling novel - "Open Door Marriage," followed by 2 panel discussions: 1) Literary Movers & Shakers (Nanette Buchanan, Electa Rome Parks, Earl Sewell, Frances Frost, KL Brady and Shelly Ellis) which was moderated by J'son Lee, and 2) Literary Trailblazers (Rochelle Alers, Nina Foxx, Donna Hill, Kimberla Lawson Roby and Pat G'orge Walker) which was moderated by Harold T. Fisher of WHUR. The energy an

If you are an author of mystery, thrillers, or sci-fi or a fan who loves any of these genres, and you missed the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity Convention this weekend October 10 - 12, 2014 at the Hunt Valley Inn, Baltimore, MD...why weren't you there? As the Author Panel Coordinator of this Con in its second year, we had tons of fun. Rebecca York, John Gilstrap, Brad Parks, and C.J. Ellisson were fantastic speakers who shared their love for the written word and social media through their master classes. John Gilstrap (master class) – “Broken Bones, Ballistics and Backdrafts: Technical Stuff the Writers Get Wrong.” Readers are getting more sophisticated all the time, and it’s a writer’s job to get the details right. John Gilstrap brings his thirty years of experience as a firefighter, EMT, safety engineer and hazardous materials specialist to the classroom in a lively, interactive session to teach the basics of projective ballistics, fire behavior, how explosives work, and

By definition a warrior is a brave fighter, someone who is experienced in warfare. They plan and plot strategically for their battles before moving in for the final showdown. Lately, the battle for me has been putting pen to paper. Truth be told, this is a tough battle for me as I tend sometimes to overextend myself in so many ways other than sitting down and writing. Yes, I can see several of my friends and fellow writers nodding their heads saying “Get it together and get your books done.” And to them I say, “I hear you.” So, going forward I’ll be tapping into the writing warrior within me by planning and plotting my writing schedule for the final showdown: a finished novel or two!