Vocal Expressions

On Saturday, February 28, 2015, I attended the 18th Annual Bay To Ocean Writers Conference at Chesapeake College in Wye Mills, MD. I've been attending this conference for the past 4 years and I always enjoy the fresh spin that the speakers put on the topics of writing, marketing and publishing. So, this year was no different. To be honest, there were a few times I couldn't decide which session to attend but I let where I am in my writing journey dictate the final decision. Overall, the speakers did an excellent job at presenting the following sessions I attended: Building Scenes (Barbara Esstman) Science of Inspiration (Laura Olver) Fabulous Openings (Melanie Rigney) Perfect Endings (Lynn Schwartz) Getting to the Finish Line (Barbara Esstman) So, if you're a writer in the making or even a seasoned one you really should consider attending this conference next year. It will be great to meet, mix and mingle with fellow writers while honing your craft! Here are so...

Walter Mosley sure knows how to create some complex characters that leap off the page. Being a huge fan of his Easy Rawlins mysteries, I didn’t hesitate to add his recently released novel, Debbie Doesn’t Do It Anymore, to my reading list. Well, I wasn’t disappointed. Debbie Dare is the picture of a tortured soul: indoctrinated into the porn industry at a very young age, married to a man who was a former porn star and film producer until she found him electrocuted in the bath tub with a young starlet, loving a son being raised by her sister, attempting to settle her husband's debt although she is broke and the list goes on. And in the midst of all this, she has made the decision to quit the porn industry. Needless to say, this wasn’t smooth sailing because along the way, she had to deal with some unsavory characters, suffered a few bruises, and mended some broken relationships before carving out her new existence.  Loved the drama, dialogue and suspense! Two thumbs for this...

We all pay too much for cable TV. With its premium channels and other extras we have way to much to choose from. As for me, I pay that Verizon FIOS bill just so I can watch some of my favorite shows on cable like, "House of Lies," "Game of Thrones," "Nurse Jackie," "Banshee," etc. However, I rarely watch regular TV because I'm so beat when I get home and the commercials get on my nerves. Well, that's where the DVR comes in quite handy. So, I tend to DVR a lot of shows with the intention of watching them all - yeah, I know...very ambitious of me. Well, you know how that pans out. My poor DVR was close to 80% full which meant I had to start watching and/or deleting some of the shows. This weekend, I decided that I needed to catch up on "How To Get Away With Murder" and now I'm totally hooked. Viola Davis who plays Annalise Keating is one tough attorney/professor of defense law and while her students can be a bit annoying an...

All work and no play...well, you know the rest. This weekend it was all about creativity and jazz. Creativity in the form of enjoying and dissecting the complexities of an August Wilson play - King Hedley II  on a cold Friday night at the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, DC. The characters were very engaging in bringing to light the plight of Black folks struggling to make it in life especially making choices which would set them back. This play runs from February 6 -  March 8, 2015 and is definitely worth it's 3 hours in gold! Two thumbs up! See photos of King Hedley II  and costumes from two of August Wilson's play - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and  The Piano Lesson displayed in area surrounding the Catwalk Cafe on the third floor of the Mead Center. Synopsis: King Hedley has returned, but to reign for how long? With an angry scar down the length of his face and seven years of prison haunting him, King has a chance to lock away...