The Lovely Dr. Maya Angelou!

Hello lovely people,

It is the last day of black history month and I won't to give honor to one of my favorite black writers.
 My favorite poems by her are "Touched By An Angel", "Still I Rise" , and "Phenomenal Woman". These poems spoke volumes to me with every line. My first year at my Alma Mater she came to my school, TWU. She had overcame alot and inspired many in her life time. Dr. Maya Angelou was a courageous civil rights activist, poet, prolific scholar, educator, actress, producer, director,  historian and bestselling author. She accomplished alot in her lifetime.  She was truly a phenomenal woman of our time. In 2014 I wrote the poem "Tapestry of Effortless Grace" to honor the amazing woman she is.  So I would like to share this poem with you today.

RIP 

Beloved Dr Maya Angelou

April 4, 1928 - May 28, 2014

TAPESTRY OF EFFORTLESS GRACE

Roots of prosperity stained with
the rain of blood flooded in sin
Fertilized by temptation
wrapped in the cloth of deceit
of man.

The mustard seed that sows mercy and reaps
a faith clouded by darkness embodiment of rejections
leaving fear in its quake
Resulting rebirth in its make.

Mocked by the shadows of its past
Surrendering to the vast
Fooled by judgment of social class.

Almighty ignites fire of
courage that burns bright
in the faith in the mind is it wielding
the strength of the heart's wisdom.

A beauty that has no color
Forever flowing like a gentle breeze.
The pains and struggles that succumbs
to hope of a new beginning
A tapestry of everlasting grace
Brings the dawn of a timeless promise.

*excerpt from Lyrical Heart *

~ Wherever you are in heaven I hope I did you proud Dr Maya Angelou ~

P.S.: To All Writers Never Give Up Your Beautiful Dreams To Write Wonderful Stories ✍💖

"The shadow of character is defined by its maker...while a heroine is personified by its actions and relatability. So writers can create a world with a heroine that has impact and finish with everessence lights at the dims of it's shadows" ~ Raquelle Stepney

Happy Black History Month!!

TTYS (Talk to you soon)

Love bugs.

Xo

💜 R

License To Spill - Author's Confession Writer's Tag Part 2

Hello Love Bugs,

Writer's I hope you enjoy this tag. 14 Questions of Fun!!

License To Spill - Author's Confession Writer's Tag

Make it Rain – What is the first book that made you cry?

• I believe the first book that made me cry was Meet Addy  book 1 of the American Girls Collection by Connie Porter

Perky Babe – What part of the writing process energize or exhaust you?

• When I first start writing I am energized, but after writing for awhile I am exhausted as I try to meet my writing goal for that day.

Ego Mania – Does a big ego help or hurt writers?

• I think it's a bit of a double edge sword meaning it can help and hurt them. It help them with confidence when they get discouraged, but it can hurt if they don't see that is always room for improvement to make their writing better and after they did successful they continue to write the same way or they write the same way regardless because they are blinded by their ego.

The Superman Comic – What is your writing kryptonite?

• I think being over critical of myself and my writing is my main weakness besides writing blocks.

Book On The Block – Have you ever gotten reader’s block and what book was it?

• Yes because I got a little annoyed the way it was written more than the actual content  every now and then it was the content though. Those are the books that take me longer than my average to finish the book. I don't remember the book titles but it was like few books I came across like that.

The Kid At Heart – What is your favorite childhood book?

• The Clique book by Lisi Harrison when I was younger I was obsessed with the series.

The Sacrificial Lamb – What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

• TV and procrastinating. Although now since their are TV shows I love I treat them as a reward for meeting a writing goal. when I need extra motivation lol 😉

Under The Radar – Would you ever consider writing books under a pseudonym?

• I write under one now. Raquelle Stepney is a pen name, but it is my middle and last name.

Spiritual Anima – As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

• Pegasus. I love unicorns and Pegasus they are part of the horse family and I love horses. Horses and dolphins are my favorite animals.

Gender Blender – What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

• Remember that when they talk it cannot sound too feminine, but the difficulty probably vary with each book I write. 

I Spy – Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

• If  I writing a series  yes but the secrets are more of hints of whats to come for the next book in the series. Now personal thing no I am pretty open about what I want to be known and what I don't I zip my lips..

The View – Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

• For books I am interested in reading I do, but sometimes I don't because what I enjoy in a book someone don't. Now for the books I write I will read them and I will appreciate all reviews, but I will cherish the good reviews.

Kiss & Tell  –  Which character(s) kiss in your current WIP?

• Sasha and Ezra (aka Bren) *Spoiler Alert*

Spill The Beans – Tell us all about your current WIP and what is your favorite character(s) from your current WIP?

• Rise Of The Legacy: five girls learning about themselves in more ways than one while facing a destiny they did not want. My favorites are my five main character,  Toby, and Ezra.

Enjoy!

Tagging All Writers!
Be sure to let me know you did it by tagging me @RaquelleStepney via twitter.

Later Peeps

TTYS (talk to you soon),

Xo

💜 R

License To Spill! Author Confession! Writer's Tag! Part 1

Hello Lovely People,

I hope you all are  having a wonderful day I couldn't wait until Friday...too excited. I am sharing a day early. Here is the writing tag I promised. 😊😉

TAGGING ALL WRITERS!!

License To Spill - Author's Confession Writer's Tag

Make it Rain – What is the first book that made you cry?

Perky Babe – What part of the writing process energize or exhaust you?

Ego Mania – Does a big ego help or hurt writers?

The Superman Comic – What is your writing kryptonite?

Book On The Block – Have you ever gotten reader’s block and what book was it?

The Kid At Heart – What is your favorite childhood book?

The Sacrificial Lamb – What one thing would you give up to become a better writer?

Under The Radar – Would you ever consider writing books under a pseudonym?

Spiritual Anima – As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?

Gender Blender – What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

I Spy – Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

The View – Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

Kiss & Tell  –  Which character(s) kiss in your current WIP?

Spill The Beans – Tell us all about your current WIP and what is your favorite character(s) from your current WIP?


I want to hear from participants!!  Tag me on twitter @RaquelleStepney and let me know that you did the tag.

Enjoy!!😊

P.S. I dedicate this tag to all the writers that have been kind, sweet, and supportive to me think of this as a belated Valentine's present. Thank you I really appreciate it. 💗 Stay sweet and kind! Luv ya! 😉

Later Peeps

Xo,

💜R

Method To My Madness!

Hello Lovely People,

I hope you all are enjoying your Wednesday. I hope the beginning of your week is great! Lately I feel I have been stepping out of character, but in an honest way. For a few weeks I have been dealing with alot people in my apartments that my cousin know spreading rumors about my cousin and I. I have been dealing with people throwing shade against me in my personal life and on the internet. Now one person I was wrong about and I apologize about that. In the writer's community I have noticed favoritism, People being mean and disrespectful, people throwing shade, people being petty, and showing a two-faced character. People that don't even know me personally make opinions about me and others people trying to make them fact. It even got to the point where I felt like I was walking on egg shells wondering what I should and should not say unnecessarily and I don't believe in walking on eggshells for anyone. I used to be a very blunt person and I didn't care if I hurt people feelings. I was shy person but if I didn't like something I said it period. Just before I enter high school that changed I slowly filtering what I say to people. Some people thought I was sugar coding or being fake, but that wasn't the case I still thought what I thought I just went to great lengths to not have an argument and keep the peace. I learned words can be deadly enough  if you use them in the right way.

So I decided if people cross me I will use my words to cut people sense I am good at reading that's why in college when people tried to talk shit about me I would laugh in they face...they just didn't know early on I already done read them. If I so choose to I will bust them wide open with my words. My best guy friend that attended TWU asked me why I don't tell people how I feel or think and I told him I'd hurt people feeling if I said what I thought. At one point I got into it with my ex-bestfriends in high school because I didn't give a shit what people thought of me well except my family, but now that I am grown their opinion hold very little value. At one point I started caring to some degree what people thought of me...An lately that has been stirring in me.

Now I am saying Fuck That S*** I will not care anymore, but I will advise you mean disrespectful, judgmental people you all better look both ways before you cross me. Don't bring your dumb shit my way. Their is a method to my madness. I should not have to step out of character because of people like you. Find another damn outlet than the internet. I am cordial to people I don't like until they cross me and I become a calculating b****. I know who I am. I know what I like and don't like and the company I want to keep.  Happy, kind, respectful people you are always welcomed. The rest of you can just get out of the nice people lane and stay in your lane. Nice People Have Their Limits Don't Push Them because you will be the one to regret it. Stop taking people kindness for weakness and treating people like they are less than you. Spread positivity not negativity. Recently I have been spazzing and letting dumb shit get to me and I am not that person so it ends here...

Now in other news I have come to love writer tag and character tag it is a wonderful way to know writers a bit better and connect over books/characters. I was debating whether to do it or not, but I was too excited so over the weekend I decided to created one and I will share it soon. To all you lovely writers that enjoy a good writing tag or any tag I am tagging all of you in advance and I hope you will enjoy it. Have a good rest of your week everybody.


P.S. This is the last time I will make a post like this. I said I would not entertain dumb shit and I end up doing it...no more love bugs.

Later Peeps

Xo💋

TTYS

💜R

About That Life! Writer's Tag!

Hello Good Afternoon Lovely People,

I hope you all are having a wonderful day. Kim Chance a writer I admire participated in writers tag and tag all writers she tag every writer so I decided to participate since I hardly ever let people know what I am truly thinking unless I am responding to something I like or dislike or I am venting every now and then or I am in the mood for self expression intimate public way a good example would be my anthology Lyrical Heart. So this is another way you can explore my mind a bit. 😉

Enjoy!

What kind of writer are you?

I talk about this in my upcoming new release Lyrical Heart under 'writer's dream to improve'.
I am the type of writer that writes what I want to read and what I enjoy reading.  In the 'writer's dream to improve' section of Lyrical Heart I also talk about why I love writing YAF (young adult fiction). I also feel that when I am writing fiction I think about how I view and perceive others and how they will view me after what I have written.

How that is perceived through each other’s eyes. It is one of the major reasons that most of my open current projects have a coming of age element as one of the bases that in enveloped throughout my fiction pieces. It one of the important stages of real life. Characters learning their personal history, deciding how the characters explore who and what they are and what happens as they come into knowledge. Will the characters let the knowledge they discover define them, or are they defining that knowledge and how they choose to use the knowledge they learn throughout the story I think it is very important so I enjoy writing with this particular element in all my stories.

When did you start writing and what made you want to try it? 

I started writing quotes and song lyrics in middle school and in my late teens early 20 I wrote short stories for contest on figment that I discovered through author Lisi Harrison. I really enjoyed the stories I came up with for the contest and I enjoyed swapping with other writers many of them have a real gift if they can perfect their writing craft. Rise of the Legacy (formerly Entrapment) I began back in 2010 while attending art school when I was about 21. I didn't get serious about my writing until 24 or 25 while attending my Alma Mater TWU.

I wanted to know every aspect of the industry. I did alot of research before I published the first time, but I am continually learning more. I know alot more than when I first started so I share them through Indie Way blog that is geared toward all things writing. The CP/beta reader thing is new to me, but as soon as I learned about and gather info I created a post to help other writers that came in like I did no matter if they are self-publishing or traditional. I just call it the Indie Way because I chose the the title Indie Way myself so giving info and helping in that way is personal to me. Just like all the post on Indie Way I learned about them and gathered enough info that will help other authors as well as myself.

What inspires your stories?

Various things from places around the world I want to visit, a dream I had, riding public transportation,  one of my temp jobs, a movie I saw, song lyrics, my ideas can literally come from anywhere.

What themes do you explore in your writing?

I explore coming of age, hope, courage, fear, sacrifice, war, secrets, wisdom I don't like love/romance alot in my stories...let me correct that I don't like to overly use romance in my stories, but I like to dabble in it...I don't want it to be the main focus however if a story ends up to be a juicy because of that minor  romance/love plot point I am ok with that is what I am actually saying, erotica on the other hand you might never catch me writing an erotic novel that is for personal reasons, but you may catch me reading one...lol 😉 which is a contradictory to me writing what I want to read erotica is the one exception. 😄

Are you a plotter, pantser, planters?

I guess some one invented a new one I have not heard about planter? I am curious about the answer to that one...😄😏 but seriously though I am about half and half I am different with each story.
Shhh... #authorconfession I pulled a panster on my current WIP the second time around with alot of the new chapters, but I knew the story for the most part  and a rough idea of how I wanted the new chapters to play out, so I only had hurdles every now and then. I am about half an half I will do an outline for every story but not an overly detailed one, but a full one and panster the chapter as I write.

However I think I may swing to being a heavy plotter and than panster for if not for any reason than I can probably get through the first draft much faster. I might take while to plan out my who story thoroughly and do a very detailed  profile on my main cast of characters, but I think I can go a bit faster. I am a fast writer when I am flowing, but I run into trouble I slow down and get very irritable.

Where are you in your writing journey?

 Lyrical Heart manuscript is finished I just have to do two more rounds of edits before I send it to a professional publisher. Rise of the Legacy I have one chapter to finish and one chapter to tweak  and then I can do my second round of full edits because I have been editing the second half as I am completing it. As far as beta reading  and CP goes. I will let my CP look over it and then I will do a couple more rounds of edits myself. I have trust issues and it is very hard for me to trust people. So when I see authors bashing authors and beta readers that are authors doing it on social media I question even considering beta readers for my book manuscript I treasure everything I write and when people ask me to read their work I have to be unbias and bias at the same time. I am bias in knowing I know that person worked hard on that book as much as I did mine so I take it into consideration.  I am unbias in knowing I don't know the author that's asking me to do it that well and I am one of those people who like to be personal so I can trust and feel at ease, but if I don't I am ok with reading a great story and one that I find interesting with a good plot that I like.

Have you entered any writing contests? Did you win any? 

Majority of the contest I did on figment was for fun and to explore my writing limitations and get to know others who enjoying writing. Only one or two I did with the thought of actually winning, but no I didn't win and that's ok. When I entered an art competition in high school and didn't win until my third year. It did something to me. I don't care about winning and I loathe competing against other people, because I don't want to entertain the idea of becoming jealous. It is why I will not do vlogs that alot of authors are doing.  I feel like the vlogs they seem fun, but not for me. I love watching them though. I will have to compete, but I did find two purposes in which I can use vlogs one is for my radio station and announcements  and the other is story ideas to play around with in movie form.

Ironically though by me publishing books I am in a way competing with others to get my book read by readers, but in away I am not because they read my book as well as another authors and that is the only kind of competing I can actually live with other than auditioning for a movie, TV, or commercial role. I know I will be compared to others because it comes with the territory in both industries its a little annoying to.😛😏

Who are your writing heroes?

I don't have writing heroes. I have writers I admire for the types of books they write and what they accomplished with their writing and it inspired me to consider the idea of a writing career but that's about it, heroes is a bit extreme. 😊😄😏

Have you been to a writing conference?

No, I want to go to atleast two a year, but I haven't the only thing I have been to is film festivals.

What are your top 3 writing tips?

*I know it says 3 I gave you 4.😊😉*

• Never give up on your writing when it gets hard keep going its okay. It is even ok to take a day or two to regroup and come back at it with fresh perspective.
• Don't let anyone tell you can't do anything related to writing only you yourself know what you can and cannot do. You will not know for sure until you try and give it your all.
• Don't rush pace yourself. 
• Above all else don't let fear rule your heart and keep you from moving forward.

XoXo

TTYS

~ P.S. I know this is not Friday my usual scheduled writing day, but it's ok to change things up every now and then.😊😉 ~

💜R