Monday, January 3, 2011

New Year...New Attitude!


Happy New Year!!!


New Year...New Attitude!!!

2011 it's sooo good to see you. 2010 was definitely a rough year for me, but GOD is able. Can you all actually believe I was trying to tie the knot? Love had nothing to do with it. I had just turned 30, looking at a portion of people I had gone to high school with, and seeing that all seemed to be happily married or engaged, and I realized I wanted that. Shoot 30, single, no prospects, I admit it, I RUSHED something that wasn't meant to be, it bit me in the butt, but hey it opened my eyes and GOD revealed a lot, and I'm thankful to him for bringing me through and caring enough for ME by removing me from a situation that wasn't mine to begin with. So, I digress... New Year...New Attitude...what GOD has for me is mine, and I'm receiving that...no longer rushing situations...since he knows how it all unfolds and turns out anyway.

So anyway ~ as you may have already read, Kismetlit conducted it's first interview with author/everywoman Jennifer Coissiere, now it's time to meet authoress Tiffany L. Warren.  

Tiffany's Story



KLC:   When did you fall in love with the written word?
TLW:   In elementary school I was in the Literature Club, and read Diamond in the Window and A Wrinkle in Time.  These stories were wonderful to me, and they caused me to hunger for more!

KLC:   How long have you been writing?
TLW:  Since I was a teenager.

KLC:   When did you know you wanted to be a writer? 
TLW:  When I won an essay contest in my hometown.  It was about to be 1990, and the newspaper ran a contest called, “90 Words for the 90’s”.  I wrote a snarky little piece about the pigeons in downtown Cleveland and Bernie Kosar the then quarterback of the Browns.  I won first place and got $500!  It was great.

KLC:   Who’s your favorite author & why?
TLW:  I have two.  Octavia E. Butler because everything she ever wrote was fresh and imaginative.  She wrote about empowering Black women before it was in fashion.  My second one is Eric Jerome Dickey.  He’s my fave because he is constantly learning, changing and evolving.  He continues to learn the craft and it is reflected in his books.  Plus, he’s an all-around nice guy!

KLC:   What advice do you have for aspiring writers? 
TLW:  Don’t do it for money.  Take a class.

KLC:   Are you and outliner or a fly by your pants kind of writer? TLW: Both.  When I have a deadline, I try to use an outline.  But it’s hard for me, because I let the characters do what they want!

KLC:   What are you currently working on?
TLW:   The third novel in my Fab Life series for teen girls (pen name Nikki Carter).  It’s called Doin’ My Own Thang.

KLC:   Where do you see your writing career in five years?
TLW:   I will definitely still be writing!  But the industry is changing so much, with the advent of e-readers.  I’m interested to see how this changes things for authors.



KLC:   Here's Tiffany's book:




Want more Tiffany? Check her out at...




Monday, December 20, 2010

Falling in LOVE with the Written word...





Hello all.  Did you miss me? Well I'm back after a brief hiatus. I know. I know. It's been over a month since I last blogged, and I know I should have been checking in to keep you all abreast as to what I have going on, but as you all know, life sometimes has this quirky way of getting in OUR way, but I digress.  Anywho, I'm currently working on my first Kismetlit manuscript, Perfect Proposition and I have to say it's getting really good.  I'm digging the characters, plot, storyline etcetera etcetera... (will have more on that in a couple of weeks) but now it's time to get to the nitty gritty. 

When I first launched Kismetlit, I told you all that I was going to do interviews with writers, and guess what? I'm super excited to say that I have found three willing participants, Jennifer CoissiereShon Bacon, and Tiffany Warren. These phenomenal authoresses whom I call my "sisterfriends" are experts in their craft, and God has truly blessed them with the true gift of storytelling. I had the pleasure of meeting Jennifer through my mentor and our mutual "sisterfriend" Shon Bacon. So kick back and relax as I introduce my first Sisterfriend, Jennifer Coissiere.


Jennifer's Story



KLC:   When did you fall in love with the written word?
JC:       I have loved books since before I could read. I can't remember not knowing how to read. I must have came out the womb loving the written word.

KLC:   How long have you been writing?
JC:       My earliest memory of writing (poetry and little stories) was at the age of 11. That would make it 22 years.

KLC:   When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
JC:        I don't think I ever said out loud I want to be a writer. I have always written poetry and I did that to escape my home life, which wasn't very good at all. The stories, maybe it's the characters, picked me to tell their journey.

KLC:   Who’s your favorite author & why?
JC:        I have so many and of course each is for a different reason. The one that resonates with me the most right now is James Baldwin. He wrote stories that were controversial and before it's time in history. My all-time favorite story by Baldwin is If Beale Street Could Talk, about a young man accused and imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. That happens everyday now.

KLC:   What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
JC:       Write the story how you want it to be if you were the reader. Stay true to your voice and vision.

KLC:   Are you an outliner or a fly by your pants kind of writer?
JC:      It depends on the story that I'm writing. I have used both techniques and I'm not sure which one works the best for me. 

KLC:   What are you currently working on?
JC:       Too many stories, if there is such a thing. Seriously, I have a total of 3 different stories that I am working on; one is the sequel for my debut novel.

KLC:   Where do you see your writing career in five years?
JC:       In five years, I hope to have found the writing technique that works best for me. I hope that I have become more disciplined in my writing schedules. I want to be able to release a book a year by then and if I am lucky possibly two books a year; one being a holiday themed book.

KLC:   Here's a tidbit of your work Crossing Over
        


    Raheem was watching the waitress as she walked his way. Her beauty mesmerized him, so much so she seemed to be gliding through the air. When he looked at her beautiful eyes, Raheem could not ignore the all too knowing look he’d seen in his sister’s eyes, the dull lifeless look of pain.
     “Where did everyone go? They left you to pay their bills?” she asked, handing him the check. Her comment dripped with sarcasm as she thought about the small tip she would certainly receive since everyone else took off.    
“I told them to go because I wanted to talk to you alone. I must have missed when you introduced yourself to us. What did you say your name was again?”
     “It’s Leigh.”
     “That’s a beautiful name for a beautiful person.”
     “I have a simple name, Leigh Lee. It’s as simple as it gets. Are you trying to ask me something other than my name?” She was flirting with him and he knew it. She was hoping maybe she could get him to double the amount of her tip, whatever it would be if she was extra nice to him, pretending she was interested in him.
     “Yes, I must admit I am. Was I being that obvious?”
     “It was either that or you was going to make a complaint to my manager. No one really cares what our names are until we do something wrong. I hope the service was to your liking, and the food was good. You know the wait staff gets blamed for the food if it sucks even though we didn’t prepare it.”
     “The food was wonderful as always, and you didn’t do anything wrong except being so beautiful. Can I have your number and invite you to church?”
     “Church?” she said with her face twisted as though she had something bitter in her mouth. “Uh, I don’t do nobody’s church.”
     Trying to quickly recover from her dismissal of his offer, Raheem added, “Ok, how about you pick a place? Anyplace you’ll feel comfortable in works for me.”
     “Well I’m off tomorrow. We can go to one of the clubs downtown.”
     Except that, he thought. Raheem sighed.
     He hadn’t been to a club since he was in his early twenties. He never understood what the big deal was about clubs. He preferred to go to some place where they could talk, without having to strain their ears or voices. Clubbing wasn’t something he liked doing, but it would have to do if he wanted to see her again.
     “How about we compromise? Tomorrow I will go to the club with you, but you have to promise me to come to church for our second date, maybe even a meal at my family’s house after. My father and twin sister are really great cooks.”
     “Who said there’d be a second date?” she asked teasingly.
     “I’m praying there is one. Remember I did invite you to attend church with me. That should tell you I’m a praying man.”
     “We’ll see.”
     “I’ll let you get back to work. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
     Leigh grabbed his arm before he had the chance to walk away.
     “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
     “Raheem,” he said all cocky, impressed that she had even bother to hint at him forgetting to tell her his name.
     “No, Raheem,” she said, hand extended with her palm facing up. “You forgot to pay me.”
     Laughing, he looked at the bill. After paying her, he said, “Sorry, I totally forgot. Keep the change and you’ll definitely hear from me tomorrow.”
     “Goodnight, Raheem.”

Crossing Over is Jennifer's debut novel and is available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobles, Books-A-Million, and  IndieBound.org. 

Jennifer is what we call a Jane of all trades, and not only does she write, but she's a jewelry maker as well. You can purchase her jewelry by visiting her website. 
Want more Jennifer? Follow her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bizarrejc and Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bizarrejc



Wednesday, November 3, 2010

HOW DO I LOVE THEE???



HOW DO I LOVE THEE??? 


How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height. My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight. For the ends of Being and Ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee with a passion put in my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of my life! -- and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.


Okay. so my girl Elizabeth Barrett Browning hit it on the head when speaking about a LOVE so real...so deep that it only gets better AFTER death. Now that's deep LOVE. When crafting my stories, I try to create Kismetlit heroines who're after a deep love like Elizabeth wrote about. They're women who've experienced "love" only to be hurt, and heartbroken. It's at that point though where they vow to never allow themselves to fall in love again, although we know that's not going to happen. Then in walks our hero. I'll be real. I used to like writing stories where my hero and heroine were the same race, but as I learned and looked at our world, I soon realized that LOVE -- real love has no color...


Remember (Sanaa Lathan's) character Kenya McQueen in the romantic comedy Something New? Kenya was a very savvy, sophisticated sister whose life was in order, or so she thought until she was set up on a blind date with the oh so sexy (Simon Baker) Brian Kelly. He was her polar opposite in all facets. Kenya was organized, met deadlines, and did everything by the book, whereas Brian had this sort of "go with the flow" spirit which was just what Kenya needed. Hence their meeting was KISMET...though Kenya tried to fight it...




Love. A wise woman once told me, there's nothing else in the world like experiencing real love...I haven't found it, and have never been in LOVE. So, for now I'll take her word for it, but until then...I'll keep writing about this thing we call LOVE... 



WELCOME TO KISMETLIT...


Inside the mind of KismetLitChick...

Welcome to KismetLit ..."where without KISMET there'd be no stories of happily ever after" I'm kismetlitchick, and this is my new cyber home. Here's a bit about me. I'm a true hopeless romantic in every sense. I'm a writer, lover of the written word. So when coming up with ideas about this blog I contacted my sistah friend/writer/mentor Shon Bacon, and after picking my brain, she helped me birth this wonderful idea. 


Kismet. Some people, no matter the time and distance are destined to be together, hence kismetlit! KismetLit are passionate stories full of sexual tension where the heros and heroines meet by kismet and do everything within their power to maintain their happily ever after at all costs. Sounds a bit dramatic. Lol. I know, but what stories about true love and happily ever after's aren't? 


I've tried this blog thing several times, only to have it fall flat, my ideas and motivation too, but not this time.  Here I FEEL more connected because NOW after seven and a half years of writing, I finally have a sense of WHO I am, and what genre I'm most passionate about. As you'll soon hear from Shon, she'll let you know that I'm a big believer in KISMET & LOVE and that all my stories REFLECT these themes. So here on this blog, I want to interview writers who are passionate about kismetlit, and have writers submit short kismetlit stories that I'll post on here. I hope you all enjoy this site as much as I will!









Monday, November 1, 2010

KismetLit's New Look!

How ya like me now?




Okay. So it's been a minute since my last post, but I had a good reason as to why I was away. I was getting my little home in cyberspace renovated! That's right, check me out! Sickeningly sweet right? Lol. 


Anyway I want to give a shout out to a new friend of mine Leah Williams of  Cutesie Blog Designs. Anyway, I happened to stumble upon Leah's site when I decided to take my blog seriously (Thanks Shon Bacon for giving me a swift kick in the rump!) 


Anyhow while trying to find something girly and cute, I found Leah's site, loved what I saw and contacted her immediately. Her prices are affordable, and Leah's always available to answer any questions you may have. I will definitely recommend her to my clients, friends, and anyone who's interested in needing help to design their blog.