Vocal Expressions

In The Secret She Kept, ReShonda Tate Billingsley tackles the sensitive subject of mental illness within the African-American family. With fully developed characters and realistic dialogue, readers will walk away with a better understanding of what it means to be bipolar, being labeled “crazy” and how one can control this mental disease. In addition, readers will see how love, understanding, getting the appropriate help and devotion can all triumph in the end.   In this novel, Tia Jiles is a beautiful, savvy and successful lawyer who catches the eye of Lance Kingston, a successful Houston magazine executive who recently broke up with his girlfriend who cheated on him. Lance and Tia have a whirlwind romance, they get married and then she starts acting “crazy” (bursting into violent spells, hearing voices, being disoriented, etc.). He didn’t see any of this coming because Tia never revealed to him that since the age of seventeen she had an illness that takes over her mind. Tia could

Author’s Bio: Multiple award-winning author, Jacqueline Seewald, has taught creative, expository and technical writing at Rutgers University as well as high school English. She also worked as both an academic librarian and an educational media specialist. Sixteen of her books of fiction have previously been published to critical praise including books for adults, teens and children. Her short stories, poems, essays, reviews and articles have appeared in hundreds of diverse publications and numerous anthologies. What inspired you to write your book? I enjoy writing romantic mystery fiction. The idea for this particular novel just seemed to evolve organically from my imagination. Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult? I would have to say reading the Bible was influential. As far as regular books go, I’m a big fan of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Is this your first book? How long did it take to start and

Never did I imagine that I would stay away from finalizing my latest novel, Gotta Get It Back, for so long…yes, far too long. But I needed time away to gain insights into developing my characters’ motivations and strengthening the plotline all in an effort to produce a good product. Some folks may not understand why I was gone for so long. But I would rather leave a story than hasten and be subpar. But the love I share for writing is very real. It’s the kind of love that smolders until it’s time to light a fire. And yes, the fire is lit. I’ve done the first read through of the draft and made my edits. Now it’s time to get down to business and get this project to the finish line…where I wanna be! So, tell me where you wanna be with any of your projects (writing, non-writing, etc.)?

Author’s Bio: T. Michael started writing poetry in 1981, at the age of 15.  Writing mainly about love, God, family, and the challenges of growing up, he began experimenting with erotic poetry decades later, and these poems became very popular with audiences at live poetry readings.  This inspired him to begin writing short erotic fiction, and eventually erotic novels.  A freelance writer and editor, he is currently working on a sequel to his new book, which will be the second novel in a planned erotic romance trilogy.  He is also the creator and editor in chief of the website   www.nerdictionary.com , a site dedicated to explaining terms that "nerdy" people might know, but the rest of the world may not be clear on.  It includes terms in the arenas of science, science fiction, mathematics, graphic novels/comics and lots more! Married in 2016, he has a total of five children and stepchildren. What inspired you to write your book? I have written poetry for over 30 ye