We are back again, announcing the launch of a blog tour event with author Karen Arrington, featuring her book Your Next Level Life: 7 Rules of Power, Confidence, and Opportunity for Black Women in America.
You'll have the chance to find more about this book—which won an NAACP Image Award in 2020—and more about the author, Karen Arrington, herself.
Join us as we celebrate this book and this inspiring author.
First, here's more about the book:
If you’re a Black woman in business and feeling stuck or trapped by other people’s expectations of what you can achieve, it’s time to stop playing small and start redefining what success means for you. It’s time to get that upgrade.
Channel your black girl magic. Karen Arrington―author of Your Next Level Life, founder of the Miss Black USA Pageant, creator of the Next Level Women’s Summit, and mentor to thousands of confident, successful young black women―is your guide to getting to your next level life. Build a legacy of black excellence.
How big do you want to live? With the seven simple rules in Your Next Level Life, you’ll learn how to bring your career, income, and lifestyle to that next level. Don’t settle for a life of invisibility and mediocrity. Set ambitious goals, reach for bigger opportunities, and know that you are brave enough to get what you deserve.
Give the gift of confidence. Looking for inspirational gifts for aspiring black women in business? Your Next Level Life is unlike other self-help books for women. It’s a guide to opportunity that recognizes and celebrates the true magic of ambitious black women.
Adopt the 7 rules of power, confidence, and opportunity and you can find success:
Karen Arrington is an award-winning author, women’s empowerment expert + global philanthropist + winner of an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work.
Karen’s coaching, mentoring + philanthropic work spans over 100,000 hours of service — including her position as a Goodwill Ambassador to Sierra Leone, her work as the co-founder of the first Diabetes Awareness Day in West Africa, and her role as the founder of The Miss Black USA Pageant.
She won a 2020 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for her book, Your Next Level Life: 7 Rules of Power, Confidence and Opportunity for Black Women In America. She has also been honored by The Lifetime Network, Jones New York + other major media outlets for her tireless advocacy for women’s health, success + empowerment -- including a Red Dress Award from Woman’s Day Magazine for her efforts in the fight against heart disease, the #1 killer of women.
Over the past 20 years, Karen has helped over 1,000 women step into powerful careers in media, business, medicine + law — transcending hardship, abuse + financial limitations, and transforming their lives + communities. Today, Karen offers private coaching + global service retreats around the world for ambitious women who want to live their best lives -- only better.
Join us as we celebrate author Karen Arrington and interview her about her inspiring book Your Next Level Life. You'll also have the chance to win a copy for yourself.
Enter for your chance to win a copy of Your Next Level Life by Karen Arrington. Giveaway ends July 25th at 11:59 PM EST. Winner announced on the Rafflecopter below.
It is 1965, the era of love, light and revolution. While the romantic narrator imagines a bucolic future in an old country house with children running through the dappled sunlight, her husband plots to organize a revolution and fight a guerrilla war in the Catskills.
Their fantasies are on a collision course.
The clash of visions turns into an inner war of identities when the author embraces radical feminism; she and her husband are comrades in revolution but combatants in marriage; she is a woman warrior who spends her days sewing long silk dresses reminiscent of a Henry James novel. One half of her isn't speaking to the other half.
And then, just when it seems that things cannot possibly get more explosive, her wilderness cabin burns down and Pamela finds herself left with only the clothes on her back.
From her vividly evoked existential childhood ("the only way I would know for sure that I existed was if others lots of others acknowledged it") to writing her first children's book on a sugar high during a glucose tolerance test, Pamela Jane takes the reader along on a highly entertaining personal, political, and psychological adventure.
An Incredible Talent For Existing: A Writer’s Story is available in print and as an ebook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indiebound.
Book Giveaway Contest:
To win a copy of An Incredible Talent For Existing: A Writer’s Story, please enter using the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of this post. The giveaway contest closes next Monday, March 14th at 12:00 AM EST. We will announce the winner the same day in the Rafflecopter widget. Good luck!
About the Author:
Pamela Jane has published over twenty-five children’s books with Houghton Mifflin, Atheneum, Simon & Schuster, Penguin-Putnam, and Harper. Her books include Noelle of the Nutcracker illustrated by Jan Brett, Little Goblins Ten illustrated by NY Times best-selling illustrator, Jane Manning, and Little Elfie One (Harper 2015). Pride and Prejudice and Kitties: A Cat-Lover’s Romp Through Jane Austen’s Classic (Skyhorse) was featured in The Wall Street Journal, BBC America, The Huffington Post, The New York Times Sunday Book Review and The Daily Dot, and has just come out in paper. Pamela Jane has published short stories and essays with The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Antigonish Review, Literary Mama. Pamela Jane is a writer and editor for womensmemoirs.com.
WOW: Pamela, thank you so much for choosing WOW! for your book blog tour. It has been such a pleasure.
I understand you rewrote your opening several times before choosing the opening for An Incredible Talent for Existing. What helped lead you in this direction and what do you like most about the current opening?
Pamela Jane: I tried out dozens openings over the years. I wrote openings that were funny, wry, suspenseful or poignant. Each one, in its way, was alluring, like a shiny door knob that leads inside a house you long to explore. I finally wrote a flash-forward when I am eighteen and running 3,000 miles away from home with my nest egg – a single dime – tucked securely into my pocket. I felt that this opening oriented the reader to where the story was headed. (The title of my book, by the way, in tongue in cheek because, as a child, I felt that my only talent was existing and I better make the most of it.)
WOW: You apparently have a talent for storytelling as well, but I certainly love the title!
If you could chose just a small excerpt from An Incredible Talent for Existing, what excerpt would be your favorite and why?
Pamela Jane:The Writer published an excerpt from my memoir recently:
WOW: You really are making waves and getting noticed; how incredibly exciting! Tell us more about your first children's book (the one you say was written on a sugar high from a glucose tolerance test).
Pamela Jane:Noelle of the Nutcracker illustrated by Jan Brett, is the story of an ambitious ballerina doll who longs to dance in the Nutcracker ballet. At the time I wrote it, I was taking a course with a famous writing instructor at The New School. When she read my story, she said, “If you want to get published, don’t write fantasy, don’t write seasonal material, and for heaven’s sake, don’t write about dolls!” She advised me instead to write about my authentic childhood experience. The trouble was my story about an ambitious ballerina doll was my authentic childhood experience. As I little girl, I had been impressed by the apparent dedication and discipline a beautiful ballerina doll my aunt sent me from New York. Because of what my teacher said, however, I was convinced that no publisher would be interested in my book. It was my friend, Debbie, who persuaded me to send the story to Houghton Mifflin, and I only did it to prove she was wrong. As it turned out, I was wrong.
WOW: I'm glad for your teacher and your stubborn will. If not for them, we may not have met. What advice would you give other authors interested in publishing their memoir?
Pamela Jane: It’s well-worn wisdom, but the best advice is not to give up. A manuscript languishing in a drawer has 0% chance of selling. When you submit, you have the hope of acceptance or at least feedback that will either fuel your determination (to prove the agent or editor wrong) or help you tweak your manuscript or proposal to make it more publishable.
WOW: I think it's important for others to hear what you wrote above. Having the support of someone who has made it happen, is important. Who has been your biggest supporter during your writing career and specifically concerning publishing your memoir?
Pamela Jane: My husband has been my biggest supporter by believing in me. As far as publishing the memoir, my biggest supporter was this angry little genie inside who was furious at the people in my life – teachers, my first husband, family members – who said I didn’t have the talent or discipline to become a writer. Of course, there were many supportive people along the way, too.
In spite of that angry little genie, the greatest impetus for writing my memoir was of love of story, of the natural world, and of the past.
WOW: The question is, does your husband know about the angry little genie? (laughs)
How do you deal with rejection and what wisdom can you share with others?
Pamela Jane: I jokingly advise becoming a masochist and imagining that rejection feels great. Truthfully, rejection stings and sometimes exasperates when your ms. is rejected for reasons other than its quality, such as when the editor has recently published something similar. You get accustomed to rejection in time, though, and it becomes part of the writing life and something every writer faces.
WOW:Hoping you won't keep the genie locked in the bottle... What's next? What can we expect from you moving forward?
Pamela Jane: I am having fun publishing essays and I continue to write children’s books. I am also working on a humorous travelogue on my experiences living in Florence for several years with my family. The subtitle is “No One Feels Sorry for You When You’re Living in Tuscany” which is true!
WOW: I won't be feeling sorry for anyone living in Tuscany - but I sure wouldn't mind an invitation to visit!
You've said it took over two decades to write your memoir. What was holding you back or pushing you forward?
Pamela Jane: My book needed time. I had to write thousands of pages (and toss them out) before I found my story and my voice, which tends to be humorous but also serious. It also takes time for a writer to relax into her natural voice, like an actor who does not appear to be “acting.” Here is the writing formula I expressed in my memoir:
Agony + (obsession x conflict) + panic + 10,000 drafts – total crap = finished memoir
A Word of Encouragement:
I have seen many writers work on manuscripts that looked hopeless, and I would encourage other writers not to get discouraged by this or by rejection, but to continue forward, if necessary “without faith and without hope” (as Isak Dinesen said of writing her memoir, Out of Africa). Don’t worry about adjusting your attitude; just sit down and write. The rest will follow!
Tuesday, March 8th @ Writers Pay it Forward
Don’t miss today’s guest post “Likeability: Getting Your Readers to Hang Out with You” and giveaway of the memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer’s Story by Pamela Jane. http://writerspayitforward.org/
Wednesday, March 9th @ All Things Audry
Pamela Jane visits All Things Audry today with a guest post “The Light Side: Adding Humor to a Dark Story”. Don’t miss this great post and a giveaway of Pamela’s memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer’s Story. http://allthingsaudry.blogspot.com/
Thursday, March 10th @ Choices with Madeline Sharples
Madeline Sharples hosts fellow memoir writer Pamela Jane as Pamela provides today’s guest post: “Trimming the Pie Crust: What to Leave out of Your Memoir”. Don’t miss this insightful post and get in on the giveaway to win your own copy of Pamela Jane’s memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer’s Story. Good Luck! http://madelinesharples.com/
Friday, March 11th @ Colloquium
Pamela Jane visits the popular blog Colloquium as she answers the question "Writing About Sex: Fade in or Fade Out?" and offers a giveaway of her memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story. http://www.jhsiess.com/
Monday, March 14th @ Mari McCarthy’s Create Write Now
Join Pamela Jane with a guest post titled: Organic Organizing for Writers. In addition to this fabulous guest post, readers can also participate in a giveaway for Pamela Jane's memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story. http://www.createwritenow.com/
Tuesday, March 15th @ Bring On Lemons
Pamela Jane writers today's guest post: Do You Need a Writing Coach? (5 Tips on Finding a Good One). This is fabulous advice you don't want to miss. Once lucky reader will also win a copy in the giveaway for Pamela Jane's memoir An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story. http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, March 15th @ Lisa Haselton Reviews and Interviews
Don't miss today's interview between Lisa Haselton and Pamela Jane as Pamela gives us some insight into her memoir An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story. http://lisahaseltonsreviewsandinterviews.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, March 16th @ Jerry Waxler
Fellow author and memoir expert Jerry Waxler reviews Pamela Jane's An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story. http://jerrywaxler.com/
Thursday, March 17th @ Selling Books with Cathy Stucker
Cathy Stucker interviews Pamela Jane to find our more about Pamela's memoir An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story. http://www.sellingbooks.com/
Friday, March 18th @ Lauren Scharhag
Author Pamela Jane offers a great guest post "A New (and winning) Perspective on Rejection" and has graciously given a copy of her memoir for a giveaway. Don't miss this blog tour stop to find out more about Pamela Jane's memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story. http://laurenscharhag.blogspot.com/
Thursday, March 24th @ Lisa M Buske
Find out what Lisa M Buske and her daughter have to say about the touching memoir An Incredible Talent for Existing by Pamela Jane. http://www.lisambuske.com/
Monday, March 28th @ Sherrey Meyer
Sherrey Meyer reviews Pamela Jane's memoir An Incredible Talent for Existing. http://sherreymeyer.com/blog/
Tuesday, March 29th @ Linda Appleman Shapiro
Fellow author and memoir writer Linda Appleman Shapiro shares her thoughts as she reviews Pamela Jane's memoir, An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story. http://applemanshapiro.com/
Thursday, March 31st @ Coming Down the Mountain with Karen Jones Gowen
Karen Jones Gowen shares her thoughts after reading An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story by Pamela Jane. This is one memoir and one memoir review you won't want to miss! http://karenjonesgowen.blogspot.com
Friday, April 8th @ Kathleen Pooler
Kathleen Pooler puts Pamela Jane in the author spotlight today as readers learn more about Pamela Jane's memoir An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story. There will also be a giveaway for one lucky reader to receive their own copy of this intriguing book. http://krpooler.com/
*****BOOK GIVEAWAY CONTEST*****
Enter to win a copy of An Incredible Talent for Existing: A Writer's Story by Pamela Jane! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. We will announce the winner in the Rafflecopter widget next Monday, March 14th!
Have you been told it's a bit uncool to call yourself a feminist? Now you can prove them wrong!
To promote feminism in writing, Mookychick--the alternative style magazine, how-to guide & feminist forum--is launching a new annual writing competition, Feminist Flash 2011. The contest is judged by a panel of noted feminist writers, and there is no entry fee. Here are the fabulous details:
Deadline:November 30, 2011
First Prize: £100 (or your country's equivalent), Publication with a link to your blog on Mookychick, 1 Year digital subscription to the fabled Bust magazine.
2 x Runner-Up Prizes: £25, Publication on Mookychick, 1 Year digital subscription to the fabled Bust magazine.
10 x Shortlisted Prizes: Publication on Mookychick.
How to Enter:
- There is no entry fee.
- You need to have an online presence you can post work on: a blog or website to call your own. A place where you can put words.
- You need to create a haiku, poem, or flash fiction story under 200 words. Maximum word count per entry is 200 words. Your poetry or fiction needs to relate to an aspect of feminism.
- Post your competition entry on your blog or website. In the same post, you must copy and paste the following bolded text under your entry: This is an entry for the Mookychick FEMINIST FLASH FICTION competition. Enter now. ("Enter" should link to http://bit.ly/femflash)
- E-mail competitions@mookychick.co.uk with your entry. Make the subject header FEMINIST FLASH 2011. In the body of the e-mail, please include two things: the URL of your entry and your name.
- You can enter as many times as you like. Just make a new post for each entry (be sure to include the link underneath) and e-mail them with the entry's details.
If you haven't checked out the site yet, it's super cute, a bit snarky, and always fun and informative! Mookychick (http://www.mookychick.co.uk/) is a weekly online magazine for alternative women that features alternative style, beauty, health, relationship and career advice, music and general alternative culture. They're into social activism and come up with how-to guides on everything from casting a spell to making a fruit bowl out of a record. Plus, they wrote an amazing review of WOW!here.
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PS. Remember, WOW!'s Fall Flash Fiction Contest, with guest judge literary agent Andrea Hurst, also closes on November 30, 2011. We hope you enter both! Good luck!
My story is not a new one. It begins in the kitchen, where I’m listening to Ella Fitzgerald as I prepare lunch while running the dishwasher, making vegetable stock, cleaning out the refrigerator with baking soda, and waiting for the washer to stop rumbling so I know to switch the clothes to the dryer. My laptop with my half-written (half unwritten) manuscript puts itself to sleep.
After lunch, I seal the leftovers in container while my significant other returns to work. I promise him it’s no trouble. (I don’t know I’m lying.)
Then, the dishwasher is done; I put the dishes away. The vegetable stock starts to spit; I lower the heat. I clean the fridge. I decide to line-dry the clothes to save money, although it takes twenty minutes instead of two. Hours later, I’m sewing up a hole in my significant other’s shirt and another day goes by without another chapter written.
When I realize what’s happening, I drop the pot of vegetable stock and scream, “What is this, 1935?”
Simone
Somewhere between scrubbing the bathtub and making homemade laundry detergent, I remember Simone de Beauvoir. In her book, The Second Sex, she mourns that although women made strides in the second wave of feminism, she became “expected to also be a woman, and she has to add the duties of her professional study to those implied in her femininity.”
To help me make time to write, my significant other begins splitting chores with me, 50/50. Eventually, I realize that even if he insisted on fairness, I still don’t feel adequate as a writer or as a woman. In my mind, I have to be both, but both are full-time jobs. If I can’t do all the chores, I’m not a good woman. If I can’t find time to publish something, I’m not a writer. Halfway doing both makes me feel guilty all the time. Meanwhile, men in traditional families like mine only have one job—their job—in a society that’s made hunting and defending the family against bears and rival clans moot.
Virginia
I read A Room of One’s Own twice in college and wrote my senior thesis on gender prejudice. I’m nothing if not a feminist. Still, I find myself struggling to this day to be a writer and a woman. I consistently find myself trying to do more than my share around the house. Sometimes, when I let slip to my stay-at-home-mom friends that I let my significant other do the dishes, they look at me as if I told them I beat him with a shovel.
It’s an ongoing battle, but as women writers, we must hold tight our right to be both. Often, we ourselves are our greatest adversaries.
I’ll finish the way Virginia did, because every speech must end with a peroration. “Remember your responsibilities.” She’s not talking about the dishes. Remember, instead, “how much depends on you, and what an influence you can exert upon the future.”
Write on.
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Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online degrees, and what it takes to succeed as a student taking online programs remotely from home. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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