Wake Up!

Years ago I wrote my first poem about crimes against African Americans. As I am getting older it's becoming more and more the norm in today's society. From Trayon, Mike, Oscar, Sandra and now Nia. You can't turn on the news and not see that someone in some state, some city, some town has been killed.

Its has little kids scared of police officers because a family member was killed by a cop.


You have black on black crime where we are killing each other over territory.  Here is the reality we don't own the block. No matter how many kilos are sold the truth is the city , the state , and the government owns the block.


You can't drive on the highway even because a rival might recognize you, it was part of an initiation, or you happen to cut them off and the road rage had them pull out a glock to even the score.


I write about injustice and even how a college educated woman could be pulled over, asked about the car she is driving if it is hers, ask her to do a sobriety test because you smell alcohol and arrest her. Funny thing she has never drank or smoked but this is the lesson you're going to teach her.

I write about how you can be a youth hanging out with your friends listening to some hip hop music in your car  in a state that approved  STAND YOUR GROUND so when he asked you to turn down your music and you refused he was justified to pull the trigger.

Chicago is rated amoung the highest  murder rates cities in the United States.

I write about two individuals coming from two different sides of the railroad. Doing the same crime. One serves life in prison and the other becomes a senator.

WAKE UP!

Do you not remember a young boy age 14 was accused of whisteling at a white woman , he was beaten beyond recognition , and killed. The woman come forth many years later to say she gave a false testimonry.

In the late 19th century, lynching was a form of punishments whites would punish blacks. It's still happening in today's world.

Brown vs. The Board of Education where we wanted the same education as our non black brothers and sisters. Where my parents didn't have the opportunity to take part but I was the first college graduate out of my father's 7 children and went on to get my Masters.

The Fifteen Amendment to the United States Constituion states that we all have the rights to vote. Yet we are seeing still in 2018 voting stations closing early in urban communities . We have locations changing at the last minute. When an African American is winning in the polls there is a belief that it can't be happening. We must have the tallies recounted. We must wait until the last minutes which means weeks later to know if we have the first Femal African American Mayor in a large metropolitan city.

We had a African American President that had to prove that he was not a Muslim, he was born in the United States and had to show his birth certificate.

Now we have one who doesn't know that Puerto Rico is a part of the United States, hasn't shown his tax returns, and has used the N* word to describe a person of color.


All I am saying is let there be peace!

Martin Luther King walked for justice

Malcolm X wanted all to be educated on the truth

I started my educated off at a Historically Black University College and it changed my life because I learned my history.

I learned from my parents born in 1904 and 1926 that we can coexist and communicate without fighting.

I have family members who have taken an oath to serve and protect

I have family members who step into a court room daily to defend and prosecute for justice

Let's not make the prison system the top revenue generating business where majority of our sons, husbands, and brothers will die in.

When you see me don't be afraid because I come in peace!

Submitted by


Patricia A. Saunders

Author, Poet, Blogger

Follow me : www.facebook.com/blessedpoetpat
Purchase my books :
www.patriciaAsaunders.com

Finding myself in the Red Mountains

It was in the year 2013 and I was going through a storm. I had taken a demotion at work , transferred closer 

to home and was trying to take care of myself. I had started symptoms for high blood pressure, was prediabetic , and my arm couldn’t go above my head. In my dream one morning I was saying I need to do something to wake 
the old me back up. I wanted to get back into taken care of myself. I was awaken by a notification on

my phone that I felt was a sign. It was an invitation to come to Saint George, Utah to visit a resort called

Red Mountain. I responded back that I was interested to take the travel agent rate and explore the

experience. Within minutes they responded back and I knew then it was real, not a dream, and the

beginning .


Within weeks flight is booked , it will be a work trip since I am going to write about the whole experience.  I

arrived into Las Vegas and took a shuttle van to Saint George, being stuck between

strangers, and I am the only African American female on this ride. I am prayed up so fear get behind me.

When I arrive to the resort the staff is friendly, my bags are taken to my room, and I am given a tour of the

grounds by the sales manager. A dinner is planned for all the travel agents visiting also from all over the

United  States. We are here for 4 days and 3 nights and we are about to introduced to all inclusive wellness.

The Spa  has every type of treatment that will make you wish you lived here. The food is delicious my

favorite that I look for every time I go is Sweet Potato Pancakes, Turkey Chorizo and potatoes. I order

a drink that I thought had tequila in to find out that a winery in California is distilling wine to taste like vodka,

tequila, and rum.

I can sleep in and awake without one alarm sounding, other have taken the hike and are being challenged to

go higher heights, and the air though its hot feels electrifying. . I pull out my journal and I am just taking in

the hills, the birds dipping into the water fountain, and  the sound of bugs chirping on this hot day.


Over 30 years ago I decided to gain the weight as my armor, my way of protecting myself, my subconscious

taking over what my mind couldn't deal with, I am going to turn off the sexy. Now in my 50's reclaiming my

time that is left as my own. I am taking yoga classes, tai chi, and dance classes while at the resort.. A fire in

the pit of stomach is awaken my purpose has been renewed. I sign up to take a evening photography class

and while out in the area behind the resort I see a sunset and I snap a photo. The instructor has the class all

taking turns taking photos at different angles  and then we walk into the labyrinth. I feel at the moment that I

can't feel defeated. My perspective at life was to learn the lesson, don't criticize myself and to love myself.

Upon leaving the resort I established friendships with guests,, I built a relationship

with the staff and have booked a trip three additional visits. Each time bringing someone else with myself

hoping that whatever they experience will be life changing. Each time I have never been disappointed,

the yoga instructor remembers me, I can share any improvements with the staff as a testimony from their

classes, motivation, and of course looking for any new additions that they place on the itinerary.

I don't get any type of sponsorship or payment from the resort to write about my experience I just others to

know that this is a gem hiding in the mountains. If you want to lose weight, exercise, or just relax they have it

all.

Behind The Wall

Mixed emotions bottled up about what is showing up in the media about this wall.

Let me paint the picture for you. You are on a mission to make a better life for your family .

You might have been running away from someone trying to kill you so your family pays to get you here .

You're seeking to get away from whatever it is that we might never know. 

Only thing they separate you from your young children, your wife, and your family trying to break you.

Land of the free doesn't want you to come to the United States you're labeled a murder, rapist, and unfit to come here. We don't want you to take jobs away that even the low income don't want but we don't want you to have it.

What resonates with everyone hearing this on the news, reading it in the newspapers and hearing on the

radio is that higher up sitting in a oval office justified the treatment.


I can only share from my perspective from my ancestors that were  brought over in slaves ships, sold as cattle, and separated. Some never to find their siblings, spouses and children again because they were sold into slavery.

Looking at documentation of bill of sale the names were not used. Picture kings, queens, and their children separated. Or they were just a family like you and I in their surroundings when they were captured. Shoved onto a ship, shackled, and brought to various destinations to work the land.

There are others who made it to Ellis Island from all parts of the world  that know what I talking about. Not being sold but separated to

live with various family members. Not having room for the whole family to be together. Wanting to have a better life. You agreed but it might mean you're in your country and your child is here.

A young child separated from their family member, not speaking the language, and being yelled at. Told that they would reunited to hush us up. Lies! Lies! Lies! Seeing pictures of the young toddler standing there while her shoe laces are removed is etched in my memory.

There are some children still not reunited with their family members, sold into adoption and the parent not being able to stop this. You see the pattern repeating ! Welcome to the United States !

With all this going on the United States is divided on their feelings on the treatment of children. We want them to stay behind the wall! Don't come around, don't come under, and don't come through the wall! Hurling slurs to hurt their families, their race, and those who support them that are in political offices. Now we might not have Social Security by the time we retire but let's use the taxpayer's money to pay for that wall!

Let me ask the historians who are out there have you read the article published in the National Geographic

who first colonized America?. Instead of trying to block people with a wall look at it as people  as those

trying to come back home!






Submitted by
Patricia A. Saunders
Author, Poet, Blogger
www.patriciaAsaunders.com

Resources:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/who-were-the-first-americans/

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/us/politics/trump-immigration-children-executive-order.html

Author M.C. Walker stops by to discuss her latest book

Book Excerpt

I’ll never forget the day my mother said to me, “Everybody is not your friend.” I don’t remember my age. I was relatively young and quite impressionable. Her words haunted me for a while and stuck inside my head like chewing gum on a shoe. I remember telling myself, she had to be wrong. My friends were really my friends. They liked me just as much as I liked them. Over time I’d find myself in these one-sided friendships. Friendships that were harmful, negative, catty, and downright a waste of my time and energy. Whenever a friendship would end I could still hear my mother’s words replaying in my mind. I’d find myself often in between trying to repair the friendship in some way or filling a void of regret in my heart. Often in my younger years I found myself being a people pleaser/friendship resolver. I wanted people to like me. I desperately wanted my friendships to last forever. I wanted to be a part of the conversation, share a laugh, a secret, trade clothes, and whisper about a childhood crush. These were my values as a girl. A sweet and kindhearted girl with too many ideas, a lukewarm admiration for books, and awkwardly quiet until comfortable. Although I wanted these micro friendships to last my entire lifetime. They would eventually end in a petty disagreement or my lack of willingness to do what the other person wanted. Even as a young girl I was always cautious. Cautious to skip class or talk back to the teacher. Although I pushed my limits occasionally with a friend. I knew my limits and that limit included a phone call to my mother. Even though I had my own mind, my friends’ thoughts and impressions had an influence on me.

I remember being in the third grade. My best friend at the time and I were practically inseparable. We’d sit together at breakfast and lunch. Pass notes in the classroom. We even started wearing training bras together. This was my friend. I trusted her with all my secrets. But sometimes my friend would get me in serious trouble. One time she asked me to walk home with her to get something. Now, mind you we lived in the same neighborhood. Maybe about a block apart. But I had strict instructions from my aunt and mom that when the school bell rang. I was to wait for my cousin and sister and we were to walk home together. On this day, those instructions went out of the window. I walked my friend home and stayed a few minutes longer than I should have. All the school children were at home with their parents and my sister and cousin were nowhere in sight. I was in big trouble. When I walked into the house I had a belt with my name on it waiting for me. 

Although my friend and I got in trouble for several things. I learned early on that I placed a high value on friendship. I looked at my friends as an extension of my family. It took me quite some time to understand that although I valued friendships. I was giving people power and influence over me. In my mind, if we were friends, I could forgive you for talking behind my back or forgetting my birthday. When one of my friends would hurt me or say something I didn’t like. I’d let it ride for a few days and let it blow over. I needed to avoid confrontation at all cost. Why? I didn’t want to get into a fight at school. For one, I didn’t know how to fight and two I didn’t want the bruises or embarrassment. 

"Whoever does your hair be fucking your shit up?" A girl once said to me.

I was in high school at the time. She was a pretty girl, smart, and well-liked by others. We'd shared a few laughs occasionally and a class every now and then. Our friendship was blossoming over frozen pizza and milk.

About Me:

 Humble with a hint of Kanye. M.C. Walker is a creative visionary from the great city of Atlanta.  With a passion for reading, writing was a natural progression for the Georgia native.  Featured in the bestselling anthology from Brown Girls Publishing, The Dating Game was confirmation that M.C. Walker was on the right path.  M.C. Walker was propelled to pursue a career in the literary industry. In 2017, M.C. Walker successfully self-published her first debut novel One More Thing. Later adapting the novel into a stage production Baby When I Used To Love You.

With contemporary women's fiction e-books Someone To Love Me, The Perfect Match, Merry Christmas Baby, Love In The Afternoon: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems, Upside Down In Love, Before The Lights Go Out, Being Naomi, and One More Thing. Her upcoming nonfiction book Pieces of Me : Things I've Learned Along The Way will be available April 6, 2018.

M.C. Walker has successfully adapted her first fiction novel One More Thing into a successful stage production. Baby, When I Used To Love You debuted to two sold out shows in November 2017. While building a successful following on social media, M.C. Walker has successfully contributed to the thought provoking conversation of the ground-breaking drama series Queen Sugar on the OWN network.

FAQS

• Describe your brand. I inspire women of different backgrounds and lifestyles to live their best lives. How? By being open and transparent about my life experiences, living purposeful, inspiring many to have a faith-based relationship, and creating motivational content. I motivate, inspire, and transform lives.
• Where do you get your ideas from? I get my ideas from my dysfunctional yet very colorful life. I’m very humble by where I am in my and where I’m going in the future. I believe by being an open book people can get a better understanding of my voice. I like to share and discuss my heartache, career challenges, and balancing parenting.
• What are some of your challenges as an author, blogger, content creator, and playwright? The biggest challenge for me is time management. I have idea overloads and very little time to get everything I want to accomplish in one day.  I balance everything by sacrificing my free time and maximizing my time to the max. I use a weekly/monthly planner, calendar, and remain on a tight deadline. I work twice as hard, remain consistent, and rest when necessary.
• What are you most proud of in your career ? I’m proud of all of my accomplishments. The one that sticks out the most to me is being a playwright. I created something from the ground up, learned about the business, and executed a plan successfully.
• What is your life motto or favorite quote ? “Stop waiting for permission” Ava Duvernay
• What do you want your message to be to the world? I want people to know that anything is possible when you align with God. Let go and let God use you. I focused , opened my heart, and took many huge leaps of faith and my life is the result.
• What is your best advice to follower, reader , or supporter of your work ? I am only the example of what God can do. If He can do it for me, He can do the same thing for you. 
• Where do you see yourself in five or ten years from now ? I see myself on the Bestseller’s List, traveling the world with my husband and kids, touching massive lives with my films and books, and still keeping God at the forefront of all things.
• What is one thing a lot of people don’t know about you ? I’m afraid of heights. Rollercoasters are not my things. I like beautiful views. But, jumping out of a plane is not on my bucket list.
• Just for fun: Pancakes or waffles? Early bird or night owl? Outliner or seat of the pants? 

Connect with me

Website : www.themcwalker.com

Blog: www.seeminoltawrite.com

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/WriterMCWalker/

Twitter : www.twitter.com/writermcwalker

Instagram : @writermcwalker

Periscope : @writermcwalker

Pinterest : @writermcwalker

Not Another Son!

We are so numb to the news now. Another black man shot, killed, and a protest! Time goes by and within 24 hours another part of the United States "Breaking News" another black child, teenager,and man is killed! It's 2018 and I am 53 years old. As a nation are we not moving forward? Why do I think I am living in a Jim Crow area? Why do I feel that now we as a people don't value another person's life. We don't mind killing someone who looks like us. 

If you did your research you would probably see that you're killing someone from your own tribe, a blood relative, and someone son . I have seen cousins in opposite gangs ready to kill their blood relative for the gang. My mind can't take it because the same blood that runs through you is running through me. 

I have written five books and in each I always write poems about the mass killing in our community, senseless killing of a man over selling a cigarette, another pulling a empty clip out of his pocket, sitting in a car with his child, or worse walking home with a bag of Skittles. 

We blackball a black man who uses his platform to bring national attention to police brutality! We are seeing more and more on the news video footage from bodycam to show what happened, officers on paid leave, and then back to work. The family questioning the system that is locking up so many black men for years for minor offenses yet something so blatant is excused.

We legalize weed smoking but that's not what is killing us. Strange thing is the same drug that killing the poor in the urban community, the one that rich are driving into those areas to get,is also having rivals kill if you enter into their block for control. 

The saying is stay woke! Don't think that it can't happen into your family. Do you think that a parent woke up today and said today is the day that my child won't come home. A spouse won't be able to provide for the family. 

I come from a large family majority are males. I pray over each daily because though we're not perfect. Some have done things that have put them in a situation that they could have been locked up or dead.  I want them to each make it home. I want them to each be the man, father, and spouse to their families. I want them to age to be old like my father who died at 92. The stories he shared growing up from 1904, seeing black only water fountain, entering in back doors, and to fulfill his dream of owning properties. My family is a melting pot we all look different, mixed with all races, and my concern is now growing larger. I just want the killing to stop and not another son to be lost to the streets, not another son to be killed, not another son!

Submitted by:

Patricia A. Saunders

Author, Poet, and Blogger

Follow me on Instagram: @blessedpoetpat

www.patriciaAsaunders.com

Virtual Book Tour Stops at Blessed & Curvy

Write Now Literary Book Tours is pleased to be coordinating a book tour for author Joanne Otto. This is a two-month book tour for her books: The You-Song and Daughter of Jerusalem. This tour will run June- July, 2018.

                                                                      Introducing Joanne

Joanne Otto is a lifelong student of the Bible who has taken four exciting tours of Bible lands and done extensive research, including numerous courses. She has taught foreign languages and English and more recently, as an academic language therapist, has helped dyslexic children strengthen their reading and writing skills. Also a music lover and amateur pianist, she especially enjoys accompanying singers. Website: http://joanneotto.com/

                About the Book The You-Song celebrates, in a way young children can understand, the unique and vital place each of us occupies in God's world and encourages them to fill their place in it with joy. Written by a teacher who's helped many children overcome reading challenges, "The You-Song" is user-friendly, consisting of words that are either familiar or easy to decode. Lavishly illustrated with nearly 50 heart-warming photos, it's also fun to read aloud to pre-readers. Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction                                                                                                     About the Book

Daughter of Jerusalem" takes its 21st-century readers on a journey back to the first-century world of a young rabbi named Yeshua—better known to us as Jesus. Mara, the young heroine of this story, gets to mingle with the crowds who come to hear him teach during his visits to Jerusalem and, finally, to meet him face to face in a brief, life-changing encounter—one that comes at no small cost to herself. For middle-grade readers who want to use the book as a springboard for deeper study, there are Bible references and questions on each chapter, as well as a glossary. For others, the story itself will be the full journey. Genre: Christian Fiction Purchase Link: http://amazon.com/author/joanneotto Tour hosted by Write Now Literary Book Tours.... " We take the stress out of promoting."

Click here to check out our tour packages. Click here to join our mailing list for upcoming releases and book promo specials.

Reaching Out

Reaching Out 

Recently I been having difficulty posting on my blog. Right after Mother's Day my desire was diminished to sit down and share my thoughts with anyone. I should be celebrating the woman who was my Mother. Instead it was if someone has snatched the scab off and I had to deal with the feelings.

The feelings of not being able to call her to tell her about my new job. To share about my recent 

accomplishments. To call her and gossip about my siblings and hear her advice. There was something that I felt others whose Mother had passed where sharing on Facebook a grieving for your best friend their Mom.


What I decided to is take care of myself. Write down everything that I want to do,celebrate life, and do them. 

Take myself out to dinner, go for a long ride, purchase only items that I needed and not what I wanted. 

Make sure that I don't go binge shopping to make my sadness go away. I write down a list of items to buy. One item is alarming.

I found myself looking for a cotton night gown, store after store, and not seeing what I was looking for.  My 

sisters were puzzled why after 53 years was I looking a cotton nightgown?  Never registering that what I 

was describing that I wanted was exactly what my Mother wore. 

It wasn't until I looked at the calendar that I realized that her birthday is June 6th, I might keep myself busy,

and think that I am fine but I was reaching out. I was looking for that security. That feeling of knowing that with change that I would be okay. Though I never found the cotton night gown I realized what I was going 

through.  I went into my home office and opened the box with all the framed pictures. There is her photos 

I had put away because I didn't want to remember the pain. 

Slowly these past weeks I acknowledge that I am my Mother's daughter. My mannerisms are so much like her that I beam with pride. I miss her dearly. I celebrate her life and all that she stood for. God, family and friends. I am reaching out to wish you a Happy Birthday Rev. Betty L. Saunders. R.I.P.

Submitted by:

Patricia A. Saunders
Author, Poet and Blogger

www.patriciaAsaunders.com

The Bond of a Mother

The Bond of a Mother

Last week I had the most difficult time trying to write a weekly post. I was emotional and couldn’t put my finger on it. It was the week leading up to Mother’s Day and I didn’t want any parts of it. I didn’t go into the drug store because I didn’t want to walk past the card aisle. I didn’t want to go to church because I knew that they would be doing something special. I wanted to put on my Harry Potter’s cape and disappear.

Slowly there was a gentle way of bringing me out of being sad to being blessed that I had the best Mother anyone could want. I gave away three church lady looking hats that I had brought years ago because I wanted to mimic my Mother’s appearance. My sister gladly picked out the hats, looking at herself in the mirror, and seeing the excitement made me smile.

Next, I received a text message from my sister on Sunday who lets me know that my niece who suffers from Lupus and had been on a transplant list for 12 years was getting her new kidney on Mother’s Day.  I have to go to church because I know that’s where my mother would want me to be. So, I procrastinate but make it just at the tail end of the sermon.  It’s now that the pastor has asked everyone to stand and those who need prayer to come up to the altar.  I stay at my seat as the minister who is praying the tears well up, this is the same minister who was instrumental in my healing process after my mother passed, and it is now I feel my mother’s presence.  Next, I open my eyes the minister is standing in front of me, arms open, I hug her with all my might and weep.

The bond between a mother and child doesn’t end when the parent transition to heaven.  The sadness that you can’t see them, hug them or talk them is always there.  Looking at the bright side of being blessed to have them in your life and honor their memory will bring you comfort.

Submitted by 

Patricia A. Saunders

Author, Poet, Blogger

www.patriciaAsaunders.com

Like an Onion

Slowly peeling back the layers

Trust issues

Past relationships

Hurt

Broken promises

Abuse

Each layer coming off

Self esteem issues

Walls protecting my heart

Lack of communication

Another layer is taken off

Until I am bare

Vulnerable

Sweet at the core

Exposed

I look at you for acceptance

You’re crying
(c)2018 There Is Sunshine After The Rain

About the Author

Self Published Author, Patricia A. Saunders was born and raised in Connecticut before relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area nearly 24 years ago. She received her Master’s in Management from the University of Phoenix in 2011. After the passing of her mother who had Alzheimer’s, Patricia decided that all the words that she kept to herself were to be released.

Saunders has released her fifth book an autobiography memoir infused with poetry (December 2017) with BookBaby Publishing called There Is Sunshine After The Rain : Making It Through Life’s Struggles. The book will take the reader on a journey of a young child influences that shape her decisions as an adult. It is a must read that covers being raped multiple times, a family that protects her, how she wanted to die after the passing of her mother , and the people who would not give up on her!

Sitting there with the pieces of your life around you, there seemed to be a pattern. There was faith, love, deceit, lust, and loss — in that order. You didn’t think you were deserving of love. That is why everything was being taken from you, and you were ready to give up on life.

Through your poetry, faith, and learning from your past, you can rewrite the story. It was after coming through all the experiences and being stronger, you realized there is always a new chapter.

The book will take you on the journey of a young girl growing up in Connecticut, who had to take some stumbles along the way to come into her own and realize instead of tearing herself down for the decisions she made, there is a lesson. Love is greater than anyone can imagine and can warm you like the sunshine after the rain.

You went from the beginning, the journey, the test, and the testimony to say, “There Is Sunshine after the Rain.”

Website: www.patriciaasaunders.com

Facebook: @ blessedpoetpat
Twitter: @ blessedpoetpat
Instagram:@blessedpoetpat
Pinterest: @blessedpoetpat
Blog: www.blessedpoetpat.blogspot.com

Purchase Links:

Submitted by :

Patricia A. Saunders

Write Now Literary is pleased to be coordinating a blog tour Stephanie Nicole Norris. This tour will run April 23, 2018. Book your own tour here. Title: No Holds Barred Genre: African American Contemporary Romance ASIN: B07C8J6DH9 Read for free with Amazon Kindle Unlimited

                       Meet Stephanie Stephanie Nicole Norris is an author from Chattanooga Tennessee with a humble beginning. Always being a lover of reading, during Stephanie’s teenage years her joy was running to the bookmobile to read stories by R. L. Stine. After becoming a young adult, her love for romance sparked leaving her captivated by heroes and heroines alike. With a big imagination and a creative heart, Stephanie penned her first novel Trouble In Paradise and self-published it in 2012. Her debut novel turned into a four book series full of romance, drama, and suspense. As a prolific writer, Stephanie’s catalog continues to grow. Her books can be found on Amazon dot com. Stephanie is inspired by the likes of Donna Hill, Eric Jerome Dickey, Jackie Collins, and more. She currently resides in Tennessee with her husband and two-year-old son.                                                                                          About the Book

Love was no longer on the menu for Camilla Augustina. After her fiancé calls off the wedding not once but twice, Camilla's had enough. In a brazen move, she takes a new position in the windy city of Chicago; leaving her parents, friends, and ex in a bittersweet goodbye. Adapting to her new surroundings isn't easy but as Camilla settles in a chance encounter with an infamous playboy throws her off balance and rattles her world. She hadn't expected to be drawn so meticulously to another but denying the magnetism that lures her is a futile fight. As President of VFC Energy, a fortune 500 company, Hunter Valentine is at the top of his game. The renowned bachelor holds no secrets about his risqué rendezvous, and his allegiance is saved for family only. However, when Hunter spots Camilla Augustina, dining alone at the breakfast hut in his building, he can't explain the adulation that runs through his core and shakes his entire world. Lust never weakened him like this, and the inclination of love at first site was silly. But when Hunter decides to prove the sudden rapture is unreal, he may find himself enamored by love.d

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Shot Rings Out

Book Excerpt from There Is Sunshine After The Rain


 A Shot Rings Out

 As I walk down the street A shot rings out
 A scream is heard
 Another life is lost
 A mother’s child is gone 
There are protests
 Black Lives Matter
 Blue Lives Matter 
All Lives Matter 
All I know is a child is gone 
A gun is in the wrong hands 
Someone didn’t value a life 
Someone walked into a sacred place 
Took aim at the saints 
One by one their souls escaped
 A shot rings out 
 Everyone is running 
Someone is trampled
 Someone just wants to go to the club with their friends 
Someone just wanted to walk down the street 
Someone just wanted to make it home
 A Shot Rings Out!!!!

Submitted by,
Patricia A. Saunders
Author, Blogger, and Poet
www.patriciaAsaunders.com

Hey Sister Can We Talk?

The other day I got into a conversation with other women at work about relationships. The topic went into so many directions. There were secrets revealed, tears shed, and at the end we realized that we were all vulnerable to love.

One woman shared that she had been married for 17 years and her husband was loyal to her for only 4 years. That she allowed her spouse to come in and out of her life even when they divorced, hoping he would come back and wanting to be a family for her kids. She finally met another man, falls in love, and recently married him after she allowed herself to be loved. Her kids say they never saw her smile while she was with their father. They see what love now looks like.

It resonates with another woman sitting on the other side of the table. Her parents were married but her mother was verbally and physically abusive to her father so they divorced.  Their divorced impacted from the child respective. The point of being divorced but letting the spouse back in, sharing the same bed, and the confusion when rejected.  She felt that she wasn’t good enough when she became an adult to be in a relationship!  There was something that I had mentioned that when someone is broken that they can’t expect to be married and have their spouse make them whole. She said she had to work on herself because she was broken!

How many of you feel that you are broken? How many have a list of everything specific that you are looking for in a relationship? Does the person have to be equally yoked? Do they have to be a certain age?  Have to make a certain amount of money? Will you let others tell you what you should have in a mate or know for yourself?

My feeling is to be organic with it. Meaning don’t go looking because if it’s meant to be it will find you.  Be comfortable within your own skin. The pet peeve that I have is women scared to be alone that they accept treatment from a man that doesn’t deserve  a queen just to have the initial MRS. in front of their names.

I think what impacted myself is being a daughter of a woman who was a survivor. It helped me to overcome my own insecurities, to set goals for what I want in a relationship, and to let down the ice cold wall that protected my heart so that I can experience love. 

My books covers all aspect of relationship and sitting with those women on that day made me look at them on a different level. We were able to share and take those masks off that we put on when we are at work. We were able to share hugs, wipe away tears, and encourage the next woman. We were able to talk!

 Submitted by,

Patricia A. Saunders

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