Is it a sacrifice or not? What am I talking about? Well, stepping into new territory. It's a scary thing, but an exciting one. Trust me, a brutal one too but that's another post. Bare with me though. I'm a creative and sometimes we are all over the place.
Coming into this industry, I wasn't sure how I wanted to tell my story about human trafficking, but I knew I wanted to tell it. I was one of the first child welfare professionals slated to take federal law regarding human trafficking and then implement it on the ground throughout the state. That meant not only interpreting the intent of the law, but creating policies, facilitating town hall meetings, bringing communities together to create workforces to EDUCATE that masses that human trafficking is not prostitution. It is a crime for most who cannot consent or commit these acts under duress. That became my first series, Real Love is Not For Sale.
My voice wasn't hardcore street lit, but it had an urban edge that pushed it behind the lane of contemporary. While it did well for my first series and I garnered up great reviews, I was often told to connect to the readers that were out there, I had to speak in a language that appreciated, follow the trends, write more urban based books and use titles that had buzz words like boss, thug or savage. It wasn't bad advise. It was business advice, BUT it wasn't Tisha.
While I too experienced the removal of my books off of Amazon like many authors, I took that time to see that as a moment to ask myself what do I do now. I prayed, I talked to those who had a genuine interest in my career, who knew me and loved me. And, most importantly, who knew I could pen a kick ass storyline. I'm not bragging. I can write. I will never say I don't have areas I need to hone or improve, but Lil Drew can write a compelling love tale layered with emotions, relational issues and love. That is my lane. I write about the guy or the girl who want to be together but either are in their own way or life, as they live it, has stopped that from happening without conflict. Conflict seen as betrayal, even selfishness.
Then I said "Tisha, this is the perfect window to do something that is personal, so do it." I'm a preacher's kid. I was born into a household where my father was already preaching that was the center and head of everything we did outside of schoolwork and a few hours we were afforded to interact with our peers. I truly love the Lord and will always credit my faith for keeping me, BUT the journey wasn't an easy one.
Church hurt and family hurt are real, very real but I still trust God. The Sacrifice will give you a peek of some of the issues I faced on this journey, some I brought on myself while others were as a result of the people I had in my life. Even those who professed to love the Lord.
I will loosely call this a Christian romance but certainly my faith will leap from the pages, my pain will bleed out and you will through the windows of scars I still bare. But thank God I'm a romanticist. I love love. I adore a romantic experience. I thrive in places where I feel love, so love is what you get no matter what I choose to pen.
It is my hope, my prayer that you not only support me as I release this upcoming story, but you buy it, share it, read it and give me your honest thoughts. It's not a trendy title nor an urban, gutter type cover, but it's me. All authentically me. Take a chance on me and maybe you will have a new favorite author.
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