BLOG BOOK TOUR: M'HOGANY

Symone Johnson, a 29 female Dr. Phil, is a well-known and successful counselor who thrives on helping troubled couples. With her simple approach, “Confess, Assess, and Address, then you can eliminate stress”

With two sisters married and with children, Symone faces the hardships of an overbearing mother whom takes it upon herself to play cupid with her life and won’t take no for an answer. Dating for Symone isn’t easy either, then again it never is for the daughter of a prominent pastor. Her life is under a magnifying glass being a member of the First Family. Every step she makes is scrutinized and judged, and she has to make daddy look good at all times.

When a forbidden love ensues, will Symone follow the word of GOD and live according to her overbearing parents, or will she follow the beat of her heart? No matter the choice, things are about to get real in the Johnson compound!

GET YOURS——> http://www.amazon.com/Sinful-Secrets-MHogany-ebook/dp/B00LQTR9V2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408367865&sr=8-2&keywords=sinful+secrets

About the Author: An ambitious young woman, born, bread, and raised in Dallas, TX, we introduce to you M’Hogany. From a very young age, she’s put thoughts to paper and let her creative side roam free. “I wasn’t like most girls keeping journals or diaries. Whatever I thought, I put to paper.” With a few poems suggested for publishing in her early childhood, she decided to pursue other venues of artistry. “Music is my life. I eat, sleep, and breathe all things musical. You can catch me singing almost anywhere.” As she embarks on the road of literature, she delves back into writing putting it all on paper.  Expect future works from this young writer and keep an ear at the ready as she embarks on her musical and literal endeavors.

Catch M’Hogany for the rest of her BOOK BLOG TOUR!

8/19/14 - www.jpsimmons.com

8/20/14- www.divasliteraryworld.blogspot.com

8/21/14- www.imaniwisdom.blogspot.com

8/22/14- www.facebook.com/LiteraryLiz

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TRAPPED WITH MY EYES WIDE OPEN

Trapped in darkness with my eyes wide open
Feeling around like a lost little girl
in the vast, emptiness of this cruel world

Sadness is not defined by my blank stare
or the tears streaming down my face
staining my curly black hair
or the anxiety I feel in my heart
numbing paralysis
feeling like my soul is drifting apart

It’s an indescribable emotion
that some may not understand
They tell you to snap out of it
or just to bow your head with
praying hands

Unrealistic effortless emotion
is surreal is like a purple sun
Metastasize like a tumor
from your mind to your tongue

A whirlwind spinning out of control
falling rapidly in a deep black hole
You fight for every breath
even though your soul is alive
Suffocating intently
as you began to panic and cry

Wanting break free from this
Spiritual cancer
Shackling me down
where I can’t see the answer
Fearing of what lies ahead
through the darkness of
uncertainty
Needing to move on,
Needing to break free
Needing to once again to be
me

Trapped with my eyes wide open
Squirming away from the spiritual
adversary hold
Lingering for a new day
for this bruised and
tattered soul

Speculation is an old innovation
of trapped minds
Desolation is mere dust
envelop by the cruel hand
of time

My steps are as valiant
as lavender spring flowers
Revitalization is my essential
superpower

Sometimes the somberness
will always be a part me
Yet, the darkness….
will never, ever, defeat
me!

© 2009, Imani Wisdom

Pink Noire Publications, LLC

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I Bend, But I Don't Break!

I once have had,

and now it’s gone

You can’t bring back

yesterdays,

or cry what has been

Echoes of old laughter

flood my mind

Despite the swelling feelings

brewing inside

Choose to run or hide

but I hold my head

up high..,

I smile

Stretchin’ that dollar

from fifteen cents

for bills

for food

for clothes

and yet sometimes

you just don’t know

when the unexpected

happens

Still, from all it said and done...

I smile

How can someone smile

despite waking to clouds

of uncertainty?

Staying optimistic when the rain

won’t stop,

or hurried winds sweepin’ your mood

How can anyone stay positive

when life is cruel?

Well, I don’t know ‘bout you,

but I smile

If darkness arise from nowhere

Lift your head unashamed

Weeping is temporary,

but joy comes in the morning

 You think you’re breakable

when in truth you only

bend

Straighten yourself up, my friend

and smile

How can anyone smile knowing

their life’s out of control?

Or question God’s intention

and significant role?

How can anyone continue to dream

when doors are jammed shut?

Or thing when goes awry and nothing

what it seems?

Or the proverbs of their words

taste bitter than sweet?

Yet there’s always a reason to smile .Nothing, no one, not even the worst of my enemies can stop the sunshine. I smile because I want to, not because I can. My smile represents my strength, my inner bond. It’s a shield against doubts, as well as signifying I’m charge of my life. As long as I have breath in this body, my defining moments will be the ones I create, and not the destructive thoughts from man. And that’s what freewill is about – making your choices. So, I choose a simplistic form of healing that never cost a dime; it’s effortless as you’re breathing right now – I choose to smile. 

©Imani Wisdom, 2013

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How This Little Girl Coped With Awkwardness

I remembered being the shy and quiet kid in grade school that stayed to herself because being around people was an uncomfortable experience. My big, round head, skinny, iddy-biddy legs, and glasses with bifocals (yes, bifocals at five year old), didn't help my awkwardness. I got teased, horribly. And to add insult to injury, I had a speech impediment.

Yes, I was one of those students you would see in the movies who gets thrown in their locker; or get tripped by the class jocky-jerk in the cafeteria while carrying a tray of food; or become a victim of innovative name-calling (or joning, in my later academic years); or find herself isolated not because she wanted to, but because no one could connect with her. I mean, I even thought being left-handed was strange.

My escape from the cruel and unforgiving world at that time was my vivid imagination. Those very images of whatever or whoever was my solace, and safe to say, still is. But I’d often wondered the disconnect I had with others. Of course I had a friend or two, and then later in high school I hung with a small group of quiet and reserved students like me but not with the popular cliques. Looking back on it, I find myself in the midst of quiet company today. Perhaps I haven’t outgrown the awkwardness, just find it comforting.

This trend, if you want to call it that, frenzied through my adult years. The unforgettable twenties – a time period we thought we knew it all, and most likely tried to do it all. The unimaginable thirties, when life reminds you aren't twenty anymore. And of course, the forties, when you look back the last twenty years and ask yourself: “Did I really do that?”

For me when I look back and remembered the years of awkwardness, being uncomfortable in large crowds, or having me time like an event for the ages, I thought they were antisocial tendencies, a desire of not wanting to be around people. Then one day I read an interesting article about the traits of introversion and career choices.

Introversion, according to the Free Online Dictionary, is the directing interesting inwards towards one thought and feelings rather than towards the external world or making social contacts, or the act of directing one’s interests or to things within self. However in Imani’s world: I don’t see people or conversations in black and white; I see everything as an in-between, straight-forward without small-talk, and yet sit back and quietly observe the minute details of living things: The way people carrying themselves; such as, speaking, their body language, and even how they blink.

23 Signs You’re Secretly An Introvert

Are You An Introvert Or AnExtrovert? What It Means For Your Career?

In retrospect, I've done all of those things, including daydream my way through twelve years of grade, middle, and high school. My introverted personality became an open door to many opportunities. Sounds crazy, but it has.

Another thing I've learned is the difference between shyness and introversion. Shyness, according to Susan Cain of Psychology Today, wrote, “Shyness is the fear of negative judgment, and introversion is a preference for quiet, minimally stimulating environments”. The vast misconception of these traits isn't unusual. I didn't comprehend the definitions until later in my adult years, and even then I had the notion of introverted-souls were creepy for the outlandish.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts

Now that I've reached the fabulous age of forty-two, I've come to terms of who I am. I’m a lot more than just a writer and storyteller, but been blessed with a unique personality. I used to ask God what was wrong with me: Am I a defect. Why do I feel ill at ease around people?

But you know, I had to stop questioning His intention and live life. My introverted personality was by far no accident whatsoever! And it also don’t matter what others think, but how I respond.

Wouldn't it be something else if I go back in time to that bighead kid with skinny iddy-biddy legs, and look into her heavily-lined bifocals to tell her she isn't strange or awkward. Then I will also add: Continue to daydream and act out those daydreams into stories with your dolls. Because you just never know, your imagination could just payoff. 

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What Do These People Know About Success?

Have you ever had – as one-time Queen of Talk would say – that “ah-ha moment’? Well mine felt more of a KAPOW between the eyes.

I was doing one of my morning rituals – reading from one of my favorite online newspapers, and low and behold, I became befuddled from the first line of an article – Success: What does it means to you?

As simple as this question may be, I knew I could answer it in one breath, but I couldn't. So I stared at the question, as though as my computer could reply for me – hoping anything would kindle a slightest idea or thought, but nothing.

I was so determined to answer this question that I prayed and meditated for an answer that would satisfy my heart. Then while doing my usual morning run it finally hit me – success should not be by its definition(s) alone. However, according to the Free Online Dictionary website:

1. The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted: attributed their success in business to hard work.

2.

a. The gaining of fame or prosperity: an artist spoiled by success.

b. The extent of such gain.

3. One that is successful: The plan was a success.

4. Obsolete A result or an outcome.

These definitions are well and good, but it’s meaningless if it doesn't come from the heart. And that was the problem I had: No heart.

So I went to the wonderful, world of social media to ask others this same question. And the response I've received was tremendous. Here’s what some had to say:

From Facebook:

Ernie Eans says - Success to me means that I can wake up everyday and be able do what I want and need to do and be able to look at myself in the mirror and say Job well done at the end of the day!

Author C. Michelle Ramsey says - Success means that I am walking in the destiny that God has ordained for me. That each day I am making my difference in someone's life no matter how small it may be. It may come through a word of encouragement, inspiration and empowerment through my stories, or something that I did that affected someone. Success means that whatever, goals and dreams I have set for myself I am progressing towards accomplishing them.

Author Tamyara Brown says - I believe success is being able to support yourself financially but also be able to be blessing to someone else. Being able to still be humble no matter the awards or accolades while lending your hand of help to up and coming artist. Success means overcoming those days you cried, ate Ramen noodles and still persevered.

Gibran Tariq Ali says - After spending 35 years in some of the toughest prisons in the country, success, for me, is the acknowledgment that I survived some of the harshest conditions known to man and yet I never lost sight of my dreams.

Kat Blu says - Success for me means being able to live authentically, true to myself (my values, my convictions, my joys) without requiring a "thumbs up" from others to do it. It means prospering in a way that enriches my life and the lives of others (i.e, win-win) and leaving behind a legacy (no matter how small) that contributes to making the world a better place even after I've left this plane of existence. (Success also means the little daily efforts made to accomplish the above.)

Kai Kaiology Mann says - For me success means that I am living my life in the fullness there of. That I am able to be myself, not worry about the next person, run my own race, and know that I am doing all that I can do to live out my purpose.

Hasan Malik says - Success is the ability to be totally honest with yourself, realize your shortcomings, and the wherewithal to become a better you... Smarter, wiser, more in tune with the world around you, and use the accumulation of knowledge in past achievements and failures in order to master any endeavor or pursuit. A defeatist believes that the end or loss of something is a reason to give up... A forward thinking or success minded person believes that the end, loss or failure of something is a new beginning and an opportunity to perfect or do something better.

Author Angelia Vernon Menchan says - Success is staying true to the integrity of who I am and making a difference in the life of others. Every time a mentee says Ms. A thanks for being there and truly listening without judging, I'm successful.

Radio Host, Smooth Drama says - Success is being comfortable in your own skin and being able on the regular to appreciate all the blessings you have bestowed and been bestowed upon.

From Twitter:

@aothitis says - striving to spread love care and joy to especially the children and people of the world

@Chicki663 says - 2 me, success means being free 2 do what I love, creating stories readers love and getting financial benefit from my work.

However, Cheryl Wells- Gordon from Facebook said it best:

Success for me, is being able to look back and say, I accomplished everything I said I would! To touch those dreams that were so far away when I was younger. To have loved so much and have been loved by so many. Being able to remember the good, the bad and the ugly and what kind of person it has made me today. To the young people, success isn't only about money. It's what you have done to prosper in life.

After reading these great answers, I've come to my own conclusion about success. For me if you can wake up in the morning with no regrets, subject to failure; and yet back on your feet; look back on the past and understand it’s only the past; putting fear aside for new journeys; finding your happiness, learning to forgive, accepting responsibility, and making conscious and positive efforts to make changes in your life, then to me that’s success. 

So what about you? What does success mean to you? Share your answer in the comment section. Who knows I may repost or retweet it on Facebook and Twitter. 

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A Message to the VIP's!

The other day I was perusing through my hard-drive and noticed the progress I've made in my writing. The growth in my storylines and characters were amazing, especially skimming through the pages. But I also noticed something else – all were completed, and the ones that weren't were at least to 50,000 words or more. Then it suddenly became apparent that my hard-drive was not a place to store my creative ideas but becoming a library of unpublished work. And, for me, that’s not a good thing.

The longer I gazed at one of my titles, the further my heart sank. My self-confidence, along with my namesake – faith (which means Imani) – had come to a sudden halt. Everything I’d believed up to that moment had crumbled into tiny, depressing pieces. So much so, I felt I was running backwards in a marathon on a slick oil surface, while my colleagues were happily skipping through the meadow to the halfway marker.

However and without over-dramatizing the situation, I’m at a better place than I were weeks ago. No, I haven’t inherited any money; nor found an agent – nothing remotely close. I discovered a common-sense approach to work though the chaos: learning to let go.

Now when I mean ‘letting go’, I don’t mean giving-up. The definition itself means to verbally act in defeat. And, this journey has far defeated me. When I mean ‘letting go’, I mean allowing God, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, or the Higher Power to take control. Truthfully, no human soul has ever met success alone. Your favorite celebrities didn’t make it to stardom by themselves. When these celebs win an accolade or an award, what’s in most of their acceptance speeches? I want to thank soing-so, like managers, agents, mentors, and fans, right?

Let me give you an example about letting go: The Journey of Ruthie Belle – my soon-to-be freshmen novel, my baby, and my fourth child. The editing has been completed, it’s been typeset, and proofread, and all it needs is to be printed. The intended release date was suppose to have been during the 50^th anniversary of the March on Washington (August 28). It would have also marked an approximately one year of Zion’s Road release, as well as the grim anniversary of Emmitt Till’s brutal death. With the release of TJRB during that week would’ve not only been perfect, but if you guest-read the manuscript along with reading of Zion’s Road, you would’ve discovered my hidden inspirations.

I won’t get into details as to what has happened. However, I will say being an indie author in an already fickle business is tough. Things will go awry when we least expect it. Having said that, TJRB is not dead – actually it’s ready for release but it has to overcome one more hurdle. And as soon as I achieve that goal, I will let you, the VIP’s, know a definitive date.

Weeks ago I grew weary for fear of disappointing you fine people. But I realized after the tears and lots of prayers, I had to let it go and to put it in the right Person’s hands. I mean…hello…He gave me the talent to write, so I’m sure He knows what He’s doing.

So please don’t give up me on yet, the ride has only begun.

Love,

Imani Wisdom

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WHAT NON-POETS DO WHEN WE'RE BLISSFULLY CONTENT

My beacon that shines above

that illuminates a weary soul.

You’re a blessing with no disguise;

a right thief that comes gently

into the night.

How long has it been?

Days turned to weeks;

then weeks turned to months

Now years?

And yet, you’re still here;

patiently waiting for that day

when you and I are more than you and I

When two souls emerge into an infinite one.

You’ve shown me patience

You’ve shown me kindness

You’ve never, ever, boast

You’re never, ever, been the type to self-seek

You’re just a man, a unique man

Who flaws I adore more

than the rest of your perfections.

I care for more of who you are

than what you are.

I heed to your grace;

the darkness of your skin

Your exquisite smile

Your God-fearing ways

And yet I’m waiting for that day;

when saying those words,

those ever precious,

sacred words

rolling from my lips

onto yours

with a thunderous, yet sweet kiss.

To be bound by your soul

To be enamored by your wit

To be enthralled by compassion

I hunger for your desire

I yearn for your strength

You’re my midnight

as I’m your stars,

painting through the sky.

With a stroke of destiny’s brush;

allowing the wind to create something

special

perhaps, a prelude to such

Still, you’re a man who’s never been proud

Not easily-angered

or point out wrongs

You’re just man, a unique man

who rides on hope when it’s rare to hope

who’s faithful when faithless is the trend.

A man who I respect,

my lover, my best friend.

I’m not a poet by heart

Hopeless romantic on occasions,

but a woman with this expression

that run deep,

deep beyond any emotion.

Feelings are so overwhelming

they’re like a riveting potion

So, yes, I feel the same way

And still hoping to the day;

when you and I becomes an infinite one.

Blissfully content.

Blissfully done.

To be continue…

©2013, Imani Wisdom

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