SLR:  Who influenced you growing up?

EDC: Mary Glass was my high school librarian. Mrs. Glass instilled in me the art of being a lady. Mrs. Glass was a chocolate, petite, Delta Diva — very refined in every sense of the word. All my life I wanted to be like her and to make her proud in my accomplishments. She was the first person to discuss college with me, vacationing, acquiring the finer things in life and the first adult to show me what Black people could do more than work at a factory!  Because of Mary Glass, I graduated in the top 10 of my senior class and went on to become the business owner you are meeting today. Mrs. Glass died of breast cancer 2 months after my graduation, but she lives on in my daily walk. She whispers in my ear daily to calm down! I can hear her clearing quoting her favorite phrase to me, “I choose to walk the path least taken, knowing that God is with me.”

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As the president of EDC Creations and The Sankofa Literary Society, located in Prince George County, Maryland, Ella D. Curry’s firm provides press kits, graphic design, website design, and branding to small and medium-sized businesses, authors of all literary genres, and individuals.  EDC Creations’ specialization in Internet book promotions, publishing website and marketing materials for new authors is boosting their success rates and educating them on how to turn their passion into lasting lucrative careers in the world of publishing.  Dedicated to Curry’s other loves, which include children, literacy and the preservation of African American history, is the Sankofa :Literary Society , which offers authors, artists, reviewers, journalists and book clubs an array of innovative services.  Incorporating various media formats, Curry, through an Internet radio talk show — Black Authors Network Radio — , Curry brings together authors, publishers and community leaders to discuss the issues that are important to our communities locally and on a global scale.  

SLR:    Please Ms. Curry, Tell us about your early life and education?

EDC: I grew up in the South, the Deep South. Diana Green, my great grandmother, Elizabeth Cook, my grandmother and first mentor, were my very first teachers, there after I continued my formal education at CACC Community College, University of Alabama, Birmingham, and later at the University of Maryland, University College. The lessons that I use daily in life did not come from my college education. They all come from my interaction with the PEOPLE God sent to guide and educate me. My angels come from all walks of life and bring about a myriad of curriculums for Ella Curry. My education continues daily as I meet people who share information or history I didn’t possess. My grandparents instilled me values and standards that no degree could ever out shine. With the simple basics in understanding “the golden rule”, I have grown so much more than a few letters behind my name. Common sense, a feeling of purpose and genuine compassion for your brothers and sisters can bring so much more success in life.

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As a successful writer, your career involves more than just writing good material. While producing the best written work is the core of any writing career, getting the attention your work deserves is an important component of your career and is no longer just the responsibility of your agent or publisher. Additionally, it begins long before you land that writing contract or in some cases before you’ve typed “The End” on the final draft of your literary masterpiece.

That’s why it’s crucial to incorporate the business side of your writing career as soon as possible. I’ve introduced you to the benefits working with a publicist in book marketing. It is also important in terms freelance writing as well. We’ll talk more about that later. This series of articles will re-introduce you to Ella D. Curry and EDC Creations. I first told you about Ms. Curry and EDC Creations in August when I wrote the first installment of Author Marking Essentials.

Join me know as we learn more about Ms. Ella D. Curry, EDC Creations and what she is planning for black and multicultural authors, community leaders and the changing face of literacy now and for years to come.

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As you may know, I wear many hats. I’m a freelance writer, a multicultural fiction author, a multicultural commentator on books, movies and current events. I have also worked in finance and online higher education.

I’ve recently decided that the umbrella that covers all these labels is literary entrepreneur. Sometimes as a freelancer or an entrepreneur, you have to incorporate what is traditional or mundane to continue pursing what you love. I’ve been strictly freelancing for the last seven months but it is time to rebalance my many labels and re-introduce the traditional employee into the mix. I’m still defining how that will work so that it doesn’t overwhelm the great strides I’ve gained in my brewing fiction, blog and freelance careers.  

Before I decided that temporary work might be more to my liking and less invasive to my freelance, blogging and fiction careers, I was completing an online application for a customer service call center position that specialized in risk management and fraud. I thought the job might be interesting because of the variety of people I would encounter and the responsibilities wouldn’t take over my other endeavors. Anyway, I got to the end of the online application and read a warning to read the final page before electronically signing and sending the application.

I read it. Basically, if I continued with my application I would be acknowledging that anything I “invented” during or after my scheduled work hours regardless of whether it was for the specific purpose of the company or developed alone or in conjunction with others could be deemed the property of the company. The disclaimer even went as far as to claim potential ownership for any invention that I might bring to life for a “reasonable time” after the termination of my employment (regardless of the nature of my termination).

While my writing is probably not geared toward the benefit of this particular company, I couldn’t take the chance that a book or short story I may write in the future that incorporates fraud prevention or a call center as the setting or occupation for a character in a story could deem work and its profits the property of this company.  It might be an additional why many writers use pseudonyms or rarely delve into stories involving specific details of their day job.

It was a surprise only in that I recently read an article from 3 Chix, three seasoned female freelancers who write a newsletter and provide freelance training material to support beginning freelancers, warning their readers about a very similar possibility. They warned that your writing could be company property if performed during work hours or developed on company equipment. This employment application took covered a much broader perspective.

So, if you are a writer who uses traditional employment to supplement your literary passion be very careful of the employee agreements you are agreeing to. If not, what you write and/or what you earn may become the property of your traditional employer.

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Senti is book one of the Jackwill Chronicles. Told in the first person from Major Jack Waco’s perspective, the first half of this Sci-fi futuristic voyage is fast-faced and multilayered as we learn of Waco’s self-imposed life of a loner and the barriers he’s build around his emotions. He trains a new galaxy ship pilot–Maggie Wilson, takes down a conspiracy involving a bacterium and a vaccine plus discovers a new series of planets.  In the second half of the novel, Pickle details the adventures of Jack and Maggie as they work through their emotional barriers involving past loves while developing the environment of the series of planets and fighting galaxy terrorists interested in the riches of the new planet cluster.

While second half of the book was a little slower than the first, I really enjoyed Jack’s adventures. Some of the tender moments between Maggie and Jack were genuinely sweet while others were a little stilted. The first person perspective was a little stiff at times but it played nicely into Jack’s loneliness. As the book progressed, I genuinely wanted to see Jack and Maggie together and found the development of their emotional intimacy genuine. The book ends with a direct indication of more adventures to follow and I look forward to them. Pickle’s use of multicultural secondary characters fit nicely in Sable Lit Review’s focus. I give Senti four out of five Sable Seals.

Format: Print

Publisher: Trytium Publishing

Amazon Price: $11.01

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I’ll keep this short and sweet so that you can enjoy U2. As a writer, sometimes pictures and pictures in motion say it all. That’s why we wordsmiths embrace tunes while we write, book trailers for our latest creations, beautiful covers to entice our readers and photo stills to inspire us.

May you find every image you need to challenge, motivate and reward you this new year, 2009! Happy New Year!

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I loved this pic Matti Á. took and posted on Flickr. There lots of other pics to choose from but this one made me think of New Years Eve in Anytown, Anywhere–Especially in Mytown, USA.

As we line up at the golden gate of a new year, it reminds me of why New Years is one of my favorite holidays. It is a time that I reflect where I have been in the last year and where I hope to go. I always take a moment to respect all that went wrong and what I can learn from it and I take a moment to revel in all that went right and how to learn from that as well.

Yes I usually make resolutions each New Years and by the time December rolls around I have no memory of what they were or whether I’ve achieved them. I wish I could say this year 2008 was different was not. All the major changes I made happened along the way. In 2008, I definitely took some steps and some leaps to ensure that 2009 would be a very different year. The previous years have been a great mixture of good, bad and great. (Nothing is all good or all bad). But 2009 promises to resemble nothing that came before it.

I now have a blog with a growing community I love contributing to. I’m building a freelance reputation that is brewing much better than I could have expected. And hopefully, early 2009 will bless me with a permanent employment arrangement that compliments all that I am trying to do instead of being in conflict with it.

This time of year brings everyone to a point of reflection and that’s where I found myself last night. Where are we going and what would we like to do when we get there?

Reflect on it and if you’d like to share with a post to this blog entry, I would love to read your responses.

Cheers to a happy new year where work, determination, prayer, and a little pixie dust will bring us that much closer to all we desire!

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Let me start out by saying that sci-fi isn’t one of my favorite genres’ especially when it comes to erotic storys.  But I have to say I was pleasantly surprised how this book turned out.  I couldn’t put it down.  The story is about a couple of young women who by way of the Bermuda Triangle are transported to a land not unlike Earth but at a different time.  Here they must fend for them selves in a remote area from wierd and wild creatures.  They are soon taken in by a family that is more than willing to help them aquire the skills to survive in this new land.  But the best part is how they are accepted into this new family through some of the best sex scenes I have seen or read.  The sex is hot and raw from multiple partners to partners unlike any you have seen.  If only I had the chance to meet this family.   This was one hot read. 

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When I came out from under the holiday blanket I was under over the last few days, I realized that the loss of another big star has taken place. For me anyway, the year always seems to end with the passing of another huge cultural contributor. The year usually ends with a great sense of anticipation for what is about to come and a sense of reflection on what will cease to be. As with anything in life, I’ve learned nothing is all bad or all good. Everything has a balance of these traits it’s all about how we think of them.

I briefly checked the news headlines and email to discover the passing of Eartha Kitt. Born in January of 1927, Eartha Mae Keith was born in the cotton fields of South Carolina to a mother of African American and Cherokee decent and a father of German-Dutch descent. A cinema and stage icon, Kitt tantalized us with her unusual looks and her sultry visual persona.

While Kitt was a little before my generation, she had that name recognition and that visual appeal that caused her talent and contributions to be accepted without question. Staking her seat in film, stage and behind the mic since 1948, it makes me think about how the multi-formatted performer is not new and multicultural icons are not so unusual–maybe not unusual but definitely deserving of attention for its own sake. Certainly, Kitt’s professional persona was geared toward African Americans, because of the era where it only took a drop to place you in that category. But with audiences around the world paying tribute to her career and her passing, it makes me appreciate all the more what can come from a series of challenges.

Rest in peace, Ms. Kitt. Thank you for giving us a sense of what professional class and beauty can be both on stage and off.

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Whether it’s Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or Festivus! I hope you take the time to enjoy family and friends this holiday season!

Thanks so much for making Sable Lit Reviews a part of your holiday season with great participation in our holiday contests and the special comments you’ve contributed both online and off! I appreciate them all!

Oh, as a gal born during the holiday season (a few days after New Years to be exact)– HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL of the Holiday babies out there–no matter what your age!

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