The Passion for Writing Series: Author Jacqueline D. Moore

Jacqueline Moore is a Christian author who offers spiritual words of encouragement daily on her website at http://www.jacquelinedmoore.com. She resides in Detroit, Michigan with her two sons, James and Joseph. Jackie has taken courses towards an undergraduate degree in religion and has served as a Deaconess, as well as served on various boards and committees at her church.

She is the author of "Serving Justice" which won an award for 2009 African American Literary Show romance author of the year, and "Caught in the Middle under the Peace in the Storm Publishing Company imprint. Her third novel "Chains of Deception" is now available at the publisher's site, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

Jackie is also a contributing author to several anthologies including releases, "Triumph of my Soul, Stories of Hope, Triumph and Inspiration" "Journeys of Love, Voices of the Heart" and "Gumbo for the Soul, Here's our Child Where is the Village."


You can learn more about Jacqueline at/on: [Her Website] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Publisher] [Barnes & Noble]


The Passion for Writing - From Jacqueline's Pen
Where does your passion for writing come from?
My passion for writing comes from my love of books. Growing up, I always had a book in my hands even when I wasn't supposed to. The stories captivated me and wouldn't let me go until they were finished. A really good story would keep me up late into the nights and even now, when I am caught up in a story, I find it hard to put it down until it is finished. That's what I strife for. To create stories that readers have a hard time putting down.


If your passion for writing was a color, what color would it be and why?
My passion for writing would be Gold. Gold is a color that is hard not to notice. It shines brightly even when the world around it might be dark. Gold is a color of hope and illumination. As a Christian author, I strive to show hope in my stories even when the world around my characters grows dark. Sometimes, we have to be the light that leads the way out of a situation and we might find it necessary to shine the light on a situation so that you can see how wrong it truly can be for you and the ones you love.


How do you keep the passion burning in your relationship with storytelling?
I love to observe the world around me, ask questions and play the what if game. By looking at various situations that may be going on around me and constantly asking what if, I find the opportunity to come up with an abundance of things to write about. In addition to writing fiction, I also write daily devotionals. I love taking the scriptures and creating real life situations that allow others to see Gods word in action. As a writer, all one has to do is open their eyes and look around them to tell a story. After all, everyone and everything has a story to tell.

[Buy your copy of Chains of Deception today from one of the following locations: publisher's site, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble!]

“What Happens in this house, stays in this house.”

Renee was a woman who seemed to have it all; a wonderful husband, loving family, wonderful church family, great job and the house of her dreams. She and her husband Gary have a very loving relationship. Or do they?

From the outside, Renee’s world gives the appearance of perfection. That is until a mysterious new broker by the name of Stephen Morretti begins working at the same firm with Renee. He is very charismatic and there is definite sexual tension between him and Renee.
He will become the catalyst for Renee’s voyage into a world of addiction.

Regina and Joseph Michaels are Renee’s doting parents. They are pillars of the church and looked up to in their community. They were always an integral part of Renee, who was their only child’s life. Or were they? They know the truth behind the veil of lies that
Renee has created for her survival.

Aunt Lucinda is not only Renee’s shelter in the storm; she holds the secrets of the past in her memories. She is who Renee turns to when her life starts to unravel; she will become the balm that allows her to begin to heal from the wounds of her present and her past.

Uncle Larry is Lucinda’s husband and her grandfather, Marcus Caine’s, brother. He holds three generations of guilt and will try to make amends to his family for all the pain and grief that his brother has inflicted upon the three generations of women.

Chains of Deception will take you on a journey of family secrets, betrayal, lust and lies.
Generational curses and soul ties abound in this story of learning to heal from the wounds of our past and learning to forgive others as well as ourselves for the mistakes of our present.

Excerpt from Chains of Deception

Journal Entry - Broken

The pain that one feels when the world around them has been totally and utterly destroyed can never truly be described. The simple act of breathing takes indescribable effort. One has to make a conscious decision to inhale and exhale in order to sustain life. One who has been broken feels an undeniable urge to simply cease to be.

I have been broken most of my life. At least as far back as I can remember. I don’t ever remember what it must feel like to be whole. There was always something missing. Beauty and confidence are two attributes that have never belonged to me. I was always that little girl standing at the back of the room no one seemed to notice unless she was the object of someone’s anger and wrath; tormented by teachers and bullies alike.

I felt lucky when a man actually wanted to marry me. You see, as one who has never found anything attractive about themselves, marriage seemed to be one of those unobtainable goals that most young women hope and dream of. I had never even been on a date before I met my future husband. And then, when I met that man who let my soul feel, for the first time in my life, I felt pretty. Then one day he too looked at me and realized I was still broken, no matter how much I tried to pretend I was not.

How does one repair the brokenness that permeates every single aspect of who they are? How does one continue to function when the world around them never lets them forget that they are damaged? How does one recover when life once again allows a few moments of happiness before tearing down their façade of happiness?

Yes, I am broken. It will take everything within me to suppress this undeniable urge within me to simply cease to be.

Traveling the Writing Journey with Author Niyah Moore

How did the story idea for Major Jazz come about?
I was visiting San Francisco with my best friend, and she lived in the Fillmore District. She took me on a little tour of the jazz history, and we went into a few jazz clubs like Yoshi’s and Sheba Piano Lounge. I became so fascinated with everything I'd heard and seen that I felt inspired to write a book about love, the neighborhood, and jazz in the 50’s. I always knew about the Jazz in Harlem, but it’s rare that people actually know about Harlem of the West aka The Fillmo’.

[Buy your copy of Major Jazz today from Amazon and the publisher!]
"Our heated passion created some of my best compositions, but I was cursed with my daddy's blood." Major Ingram knew better than to get into a committed relationship. As much as he witnessed the heartbreak his father inflicted upon his mother, he didn't want to make the same mistakes. When his father finally walked out on them for good, his mother was broken. Something he saw and she felt for years. Major didn't want to hurt any women that same way, but it seemed as if he could never tell Sallie Aquino he loved her because there was only one her and that was his music. Major's father was a saxophone player who played the blues. He spoon-fed Major the love of music from the first day he opened his eyes to the world. Though the sax was in his blood, Major fell in love with the ivory and ebony keys the first time he heard a piano. Major developed his own passion with jazz music and by the age of sixteen, he had landed a paying gig at Bop City, an after hours nightclub in Fillmore. Fillmore, the 'Mo, was like Harlem on the bay. Sammy Davis Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington and Duke Ellington all fell into San Francisco the way they had in the Big Apple. Back in '51, the Victorian styled homes, housed finely dressed black people who owned their own businesses from cleaners to restaurants to jazz spots. They worked mornings during the week and enjoyed local and celebrity musicians at night. Up and down Fillmore Street, clubs and restaurants lined up one next to the other. On Friday nights, they went from club to party to bar until the early hours of Monday while music played nonstop. Loosely based on true testimonies, the Fillmore Jazz Era comes back to life through the fictional characters: Major Ingram, Kae Taylor, Sade and Sallie Aquino, and Frank Blue. They made jazz heartfelt through their own stories. This love story just isn't about falling in love, but how they each fell in love with a neighborhood, a scene and her, jazz music. The Fillmore Jazz Era is gone, most of the neighborhood was torn down by the Redevelopment Agency by the 1960's, but it's not forgotten, and the love for Bebop, Jazz, R&B, and Blues music that once existed remains in the heart and soul of Fillmore forever.


Let's talk about your journey of writing the book. How easy, difficult was it? What pushed you to write this idea to its completion?
I moved to Fillmore for ten months with my best friend when I lost my baby girl so I could really regroup and get my head in a clear space. I wound up absorbing the atmosphere, and I came across so much history, and I also was able to talk to a few musicians that were in the Fillmore at that time. It was pretty easy to gather the research and that was so much fun for me. It was a little difficult to really tie in the characters without getting lost. I did a lot of rewriting to make sure it was authentic. I had to play a lot of Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Coltrane to really put me back into time like I was in a time machine. The passion I had for the music was what pushed me to write this idea to completion.

How was your journey to get Major Jazz published? Did you attempt to get an agent? A publisher? How did that fare? Did you go the self-publishing route? If so, talk to us about that journey. 
I attempted to get an agent, and a very well-known agent in the industry told me that the project was so rich and authentic that it deserved to stay the way it was and that I had to choose a publisher that would love the book just as much as I do. She encouraged me to not let the book get “watered” down. So, I approached Elissa Gabrielle about doing the project, and she loved it, but it wasn’t an immediate yes. She made sure I did enough research to be sure that Peace in the Storm was where I truly wanted to be. I feel like I’m at home with PITS. It was a very warm welcome, and Major Jazz has been able to remain exactly the way I wrote it. The cover was developed by Elissa with a few of my ideas. It was really cool because we both wanted the same look and feel. It really worked because I love the man on the cover. He is so gorgeous. The editing process was absolutely amazing. S.D. Denny did a beautiful job.

What avenues have you used to promote your book? Which ones have been the most successful? Why do you think that is?
I’ve used social media such as Twitter, FB, Instagram to promote, but I’ve also done a virtual book release party and a blog talk radio tour. I also created my own book trailer and uploaded it to YouTube. I want to start doing some Ustream as well. So far so good. Major Jazz is making its way around. I think it has been successful because my followers are starting to really enjoy reading my work. Everyone uses social media these days.

Born and raised in Sacramento, California, Niyah Moore was touched at an early age with the precious gem of prose. Just like any loving relationship, Niyah’s love affair with words began to bear fruit. After she submitted a short story to the Mocha Chocolate anthology in 2008 and was accepted as a contributing author, she submitted to other works. Her works include novels, Guilty Pleasures and Bittersweet Exes. She’s in the 2012 AALAS nominated anthology, Heat of the Night and the 2008 AALAS Winning Erotic Anthology, Mocha Chocolate: Taste a Piece of Ecstasy. Niyah’s short story “After Dark” will be included in the anthology, Zane’s Busy Bodies: Chocolate Flava 4, releasing in the summer of 2013. She is also one of the contributing author duets to the groundbreaking anthology, Pillow Talk Duets in the Heat of the Night. Niyah is a mother of two, who loves sharing her love for words with the world and who looks forward to the publication of her new novel, Major Jazz, which is scheduled for release under the Award-Winning Independent Publisher of the year, Peace in the Storm Publishing.

You can learn more about Niyah at/on: [Her website] [Facebook] [Twitter]

AND NOW... A Taste of Major Jazz

We went out dressed to kill. You hear me? You couldn’t tell us we weren’t knockouts in our first-class clothes and nice hats. When we dressed, literally to the nines, baby, we strut our stuff! To Fillmore Street was where we were headed because the music called our names one by one: Lucille, Sallie, and Sade, in that order, from oldest to youngest, sisters. While we walked and laughed, never ending music poured into the streets out of the windows of our neighbors’ houses. Music in the Fillmo’ felt organic and it belonged to us and to the community.

That summer of ‘51, our neighborhood, the corner of Buchanan and Webster Street, was mixed and we didn’t have any racial outbreaks of violence or madness of any kind. No, honey! The Jewish welcomed you into their delis and the Japanese rented to everyone in their hotels and rooming houses. They served you good in their restaurants. See, we came from a mixed background. My Filipino father and Black mother were hard-workin’, great dressin’, good dancin’, and the most respectable people like the rest of the people in our neighborhood. Together, they raised us the best way they knew how, all while being the owners of Aquino’s Cleaners on Fillmore Street.

As the baby sister, I was most stubborn and quick-tempered. I didn’t take shit from anybody. As much as I enjoyed hot steamy nights with no good fast talkin’ two timin’ hustlers who razzed my berries from the pool halls, I still had my own mind, and didn’t let anybody’s dope or abusive ways stand in my way of a good time. No, sir, I didn’t play around. I worked at our family’s cleaners from early morning until closing, five days a week. When I was off work, I let my hair all the way down, you know, got real loose.

The oldest was Lucille and she had just graduated college. She was working at being a school teacher, but you couldn’t let that preppy act fool you. She was one heck of a tough cookie, married to a jailbird, cursed like an angry drunk man when she felt the need, and was just as stubborn as a donkey.

Sallie, the middle child, was enrolled in beauty school and studied Cosmetology. From what everyone said, she was the prettiest out of the three of us. I begged to differ. The pretty one was me, but anyway, Sallie was madly in love with Major Ingram, a man who played the piano with everything he had inside of him. I didn’t like to call her naive, but sometimes I wondered if she really thought that man would ever be completely hers.

For sisters we were close, a year between each, best friends, and always broke beans together. What was mine was theirs and vice versa. What one didn’t have, we came together to make sure she had. We walked down the street, a few blocks to the ‘Mo, our playground. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was my twenty-first birthday. Men in long coats, satin ties, and Stacey Adams shoes with bleached white shoestrings saturated the streets. We were in a heaven of our own. Three ladies, the Aquino girls enjoyed our lives to the fullest whenever we possibly could. It was a night I’ll never forget because it was not only the night I became legal to drink, it was also the night I met him.

I was wearing a dark flowered print dress and fancy pearl earrings that I borrowed from Lucille without asking. She saw them on my ears and rolled her eyes, but didn’t say a word, though I knew she truly wanted to yank them off me.

We were almost near bootlegging Minnie’s Can-Do, a petite nightclub. A Doo-Wop group was on the corner singing with perfect harmony. A lot of singing groups at that time showcased their talent up and down Fillmore Street, but that group in particular was real good. I gave them a wink and a smile as we passed them.

Lucille complained, “I’m starvin’. My stomach is talkin’ as if I haven’t fed it all day. I don’t know why, but I’m craving some peach cobbler. What about y’all?”

“You sure you ain’t pregnant?” I asked. “You’ve been cravin’ peach cobbler all day.”

Lucille sucked her teeth and replied nonchalantly, “I’m not pregnant.”

“How you know? You’ve been to the doctor?”

“I don’t need a doctor to tell me somethin’ I already know!”

“Ever since your husband got out of jail, y’all sure have been sexin’ a lot.”

“It’s called make-up sex. Mind your own damned business, Sade. If I’m pregnant, you’d be the first to know. Trust me, Daddy don’t want any of us whores to get pregnant while still living under his roof. I’m too smart for that. Plus, Johnnie has to keep his ass out of jail long enough,” Lucille asserted.

I laughed at her. Johnnie didn’t know how to keep his ass out of jail long enough. He was a dope dealing fool that spent the past five years going in and out and would probably spend the next five doing the same damned thing. There wasn’t shit she could do about it.

“What’s so funny?” Lucille asked while putting her hand down her blouse to scratch her double D’s. “This powder got me itchy.”

“I don’t have to tell you how impossible it is to turn Johnnie into a square.”

“I’m not trying to turn him into a square, Sade.” Lucille then changed the sensitive subject, “What we gonna eat? I’m still starvin’.”

Sallie offered a suggestion, “Ooooh, why don’t we take our fine behinds on over to Bop City? They have a group deal, fried chicken in a basket for five dollars before midnight. You know how they run out of chicken all the time, so let’s get goin’.”

The Passion for Writing Series: Author Donneil D. Jackson

Donneil D. Jackson is a writer by nature and a Jersey girl by heart. Growing up a sheltered child, she used writing as an escape from her everyday life. She discovered that with writing she could be someone else, do things Donneil would never do and entertain others. Donneil has been writing for as long as she can remember, ever since her mother placed a pencil in her hand. The girl has a niche for painting an elaborate scene while telling a descriptive tale. One day she began writing Chante’s Song, marking the beginning of her professional writing career.


You can learn more about Donneil at/on: [Her Website] [Facebook] [Twitter]


The Passion for Writing - From Donneil's Pen
Where does your passion for writing come from?
My passion for writing comes from my desire to want more, to want something beyond what is currently available to me. It started as a child. Then I wrote about having the best cars, clothes and loving the neighborhood boys. I later graduated to loving Omar Epps, Nas and Denzel, and living in the best of what New York City has to offer.

Writing for me is an escape. It’s a mini vacation.


If your passion for writing was a color, what color would it be and why?
All I see is pink. It would be every shade of pink from a blush down to a hot pink changing into magenta bordering on red and purple. Why? Because I am soft and pink on the inside, yet when feelings are involved and emotions are racing, the color can quickly fade to red.

I write about love; I write about sex. I write about real life situations, and I use real emotion and experiences to carry out my thoughts. Depending on my demeanor, that would determine what shade of pink I am working with.


How do you keep the passion burning in your relationship with storytelling?
I create characters I like and let them lead me to where they need to go. Sometimes I need to steer them down a different path, but in the end it all works out.

[Buy your copy of Foolish today from one of the following locations: Amazon, BN, and Indiebound!]
As one of the hottest radio personalities, Kayla, the Gossip Queen, has the fast-paced, glamorous life that many dream of. But one thing eludes her. Love. Growing up in a family where her father was nothing more than a monthly check, Kayla sets her sights on finding true love, even if he comes attached to another. She’s determined to create the perfect family of husband, wife, home, and children--even if she has to slip up and make a ton of mistakes along the way.

After a decade of being with a man who constantly makes her question her role in his life and her vision of the perfect family, Kayla has to ask herself, "Am I right to fight for this love, or am I being foolish?"

Excerpt from Foolish

The lights were dim in the Sugar Bar. The spotlight was on a woman singing her rendition of Teena Marie’s “Lovergirl.” Shawn bopped his head to the music as he swirled around on a barstool. He didn’t expect the Sugar Bar to be this crowded on a Tuesday. But it appeared Open Mic Night brought out a crowd.

“Here you go, sir.” The bartender placed a shot glass in front of him.

“I didn’t order this,” Shawn said, placing his cell phone to his ear.

“It’s from the young lady at that table right there.” She pointed.

The young lady at a nearby table raised her glass with a smile.

Smiling back, Shawn passed the drink back to the bartender. “Tell her thank you, but no thank you.”

Shawn turned his back to the bartender and stuck one finger into his ear as he spoke into his cell phone. “Kayla, this is me. Babe, I’m at the Sugar Bar and I really would like you to join me for dinner. I’ve been calling you since seven. It’s nine p.m. now. I feel like ever since that day you stopped by you’ve been using me for sex. I don’t mind, but I would really like you to come back home. I’ve tried my best to prove to you that I’m the man you need me to be and dating you all over again. Call me back please.”

He ended the call and circled around on the barstool after being tapped on the shoulder. My baby made it. Shawn’s smile faded as it was not Kayla who tapped him; instead, it was another beautiful woman. His eyes explored all five-foot-four inches of her, from her designer shoes up to her hips that fit lovely in her black slacks. His eyes lingered on to breasts that looked as if they were trying to escape her blouse. Her fingers swooped her bangs from her eyes, which brought his attention to her face.

“Is there a reason why you returned my drink, handsome?” “You have beautiful eyes.” He continued to smile, although disappointed.

“Thanks. But that doesn’t explain why you returned my drink.” She placed her hand on her hip.

“I’m waiting on my ex…my girlfriend.” He looked toward the door.

“And?”

“I didn’t want to lead you on.” She looked puzzled.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?”

“Monica.”

“Monica, women have a habit of saying men lead them on. I didn’t want to accept your drink and then not leave with you or with your phone number and then have a stalker on my hands. So to eliminate all the drama, I rejected the drink. I’m good. But it was a very nice gesture. Thank you.”

“Who’s to say I wanted anything from you other than to buy you a drink?” She sat down next to him once a barstool became available.

He laughed. “Monica, it was nice meeting you. But if you don’t mind, I’m waiting on my lady.”

“It’s like that?” She licked her lips.

Shaking his head and grinning, Shawn replied, “Like I said, it was a nice gesture. But I’m good.” He motioned to the bartender to pour him another drink before checking his cell phone for any missed calls.

“I got love on my mind,” the next singer belted out, commanding the crowd’s attention.

I know that voice. Shawn turned around toward the stage. There Kayla stood with a microphone in her hand, wearing a sexy red freak’em dress. He began to walk toward the stage.

“That’s my lady.” He pointed toward the stage as he passed Monica.

He stood blocking the view of others in amazement. Not only is she beautiful, she’s talented and all mine. Kayla worked the mini-stage singing Natalie Cole’s classic, yet her eyes remained locked with Shawn’s.

“I love you, baby,” Kayla said into the microphone before handing it back to the emcee.

Kayla spoke to patrons and shook hands as she walked toward Shawn. Before she could utter a word his lips were all over hers. “I love you, too.”

Women Authors: Promote Your Work on ChickLitGurrl!

Since 2005, when I interviewed New York Times Best Selling author Carly Phillips in 2005, I have interviewed over 140 authors at CLG and have featured and reviewed many more authors and books, respectively.

If you are interested in having your current literary work (or a future work) featured on CLG, take some time to check out the CLG Promo Opportunities Booklet, which features several opportunities you can take part in.

Contact me via e-mail if you'd like to jump in and have your work featured!

New Exciting eBook Series for Preteens

If you have preteens, you definitely should check out the first two stories in Julian T. Nichols' Treasure Protector Series! Travel with Anna through her dreams as she meets the Treasure Protectors. With each meeting, Anna gets closer and closer to her true destiny. Joy and Kindness detail her first two encounters.

[click cover to purchase story]

What's Joy about?
Anna is excited about turning nine and getting her birthday wish. What she does not expect is to have a dream where she meets a real live princess. Anna goes to sleep and wakes up in a new world where she meets the one trusted to protect one of the world's most precious treasures.

Joy Sneak Peek
Anna looked on as Damisi pulled items from her bag. “Get ready for what?” she asked.

Damisi laughed. “You will be crowned today. You are one of us.”

“One of us?”

Damisi stopped and looked around the seemingly empty forest. For the first time, Anna felt a twinge of fear, like she was not supposed to be there. She could feel Damisi’s tension.

Damisi leaned over and whispered, “A Treasure Protector.”

[click cover to purchase story]

What's Kindness about?
All Anna wants to do for her 10th birthday is celebrate with her best friends. When a bad decision threatens to ruin her birthday, Anna has to dream up a way to make things better.
In her birthday dream, Anna will learn the true meaning of kindness in the strangest way and get one more birthday closer to her destiny.

Kindness Sneak Peek
The sky was pink and orange with hints of blue, and it seemed as if the clouds were dancing.

“Ouch,” Anna cried as she looked around for the person who had thrown a pebble at her.

“Ouch!” She lifted her hand to shield herself.

“Stop it. She can’t see you!”

“Well then she needs to move,” a boy’s voice responded.

Suddenly, two forms materialized as if a curtain had been pulled back. A pretty, pale girl with strawberry blond hair and an equally pale boy with brown hair and green eyes walked toward her. They seemed to sparkle as they got closer to her. Before Anna could say a single word, more children appeared all around her, throwing pebbles!

The boy moved quickly, grabbing her out of the way. “Well, you can’t just stand in the middle of the battlefield. We are at war!”


About the Author

Julian T. Nichols is an avid reader and lover of books first and author second. Nichols is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor who currently lives with his two children. They serve as inspirations for the Treasure Protector series.

You can follow Nichols on Twitter and Facebook.