VBT Interview & Giveaway with Omegia Keeys - Rise and Fall of a Track Star

Today I am pleased to welcome Omegia Keeys. She is currently on tour with her memoir, Rise and Fall of a Track Star. You can view her entire schedule HERE. She is also kind enough to offer 2 lucky winners an e-copy of her book. Just leave a comment with your email address for your chance to win, and also follow her tour for even more chances by clicking above.

Entrepreneur, Award Winning Author, Publishing Liaison, and Motivational Speaker are just a few of the makings of Omegia Keeys. After serving two terms in the military Omegia went on to apply her strategic planning to the publishing industry for the past five years. She has garnered numerous awards and praise to include theScribe Award for the National Black Book Festival and ranking in the top 100 books of 2010. She is currently on tour promoting her memoir Rise and Fall of a Track Star and finishing up the sequel entitled Single, Black, and Government Owned.


From The Mind of Omegia

So without further ado, Welcome Omegia. Let's talk books.

BK:  What inspired you to put your life in a book for all to see?
OK:  Well my oldest son was graduating from high school and I felt it would be the perfect time as he is a huge part of the early years of my life.

BK:  Penning a memoir can be very difficult, yet healing. What was it like for you to write this story?
OK:  It was an emotional rollercoaster. For years I had repressed things, thought I was completely over some, and because I am older realized things were not as cut and dry as I once thought. I am thankful I had a great friend, another author, who I read a few chapters to at a time as I was getting in it all out my head.

BK:  What kind of response have you received from the people you speak about in your book?
OK: It’s amazing a lot of people said they can relate to the topics I covered. I didn’t know so many people could be touched by my words. I just had a reviewer tell me she loved the book.

BK:  Has your family read it? Were they shocked to learn some of the things you had to go through?
OK: Shock from some, mainly my mother. She had no clue of some of the things going on with me. My close friend was like she is glad I wrote it and had no problem with me using her real name.

BK:  How has writing this memoir changed your life today?
OK: It has made me a lot stronger and open. I no longer feel like I am hiding the real me behind a brick wall.

BK:  What do you hope readers will take away from your book?
OK:  I hope my readers feel they are not alone and can talk to someone. If their family doesn’t want to listen there are others that will.

BK:  Have you received any mail or reviews stating that you and your book have helped them in some way?
OK: I just had a reviewer tell me she loved the book. My editors comments were she wanted to hug me and punch the people who did me wrong.

BK:  What is one thing you would like to say to readers that have or will read your book?
OK: That they are now willing to stop judging people so hard. You never know what is making someone else be distant, angry, drink a little too much, instead ask the person what’s wrong and let them know they are there to listen.

BK:  What advice or counseling would you give to someone who has gone through what you have endured, or something similar?
OK: After I stop crying I will hug them and let them know whatever happened it is not their shame but the person who did it shame. I know it will be hard but do not let the incident be the defining moment of their life.

BK:  Anything else you would like to share?
OK: I have recently had the pleasure of speaking to some teens about my book as well as bullying a peer pressure. I had a great time, but I would like us as adults to quit trying to hold children responsible for adult things. Each person handles things differently and it is our job as adults to take care of the youth.

BK:  Where can readers find you and purchase your book?
OK: It’s available on Barnes & Noble, and on Amazon right now.

From Pan Am Game bronze medal winner to All American, Omegia Keeys was once touted in Track Magazine as one destined for greatness, but walked away from it all. Rise and Fall of a Track Star is Omegia’s firsthand account leading her to the breaking point. For years Omegia held on to the shame of a dirty little secret, one too common in the African American Community. 

Through her memoirs Omegia takes you on a journey through her childhood onto her adult years. Her struggles as a teenage mother is only a checkmark on the list of life altering experiences, ones she hopes young girls and woman can learn from. 

Omegia has one goal with her story, to educate, help others, and to release the long carried shame. 

Rise and Fall of a Track Star is powerful and inspiring.

- Darci Fielding, Senior Editor 

  

Omegia’s voice and courage will help us to save our girls.

- C.H. Towns author of Night and Day

Omegia’s  writing touches the soul of every young girl fighting to find her voice.

- Alexis “Cherie” Norwood author of Bittersweet: Diary of a Safegirl

Amazing, must read!

-Joy, Readers Favorite

Thank you so much for having me stop by BK!

Thank you so much for taking time to chat with me today. It's been a pleasure having you with me today and I wish you much success in the future. Please watch for my upcoming review of Rise and Fall of a Track Star coming up Nov. 24th. You can view Omegia's entire tour schedule here for more chances to win and leave a comment with your email address to enter to win today. Contest will run through Nov. 4 and winners will be announced Nov. 5.

Good luck,

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VBT Pit Stop & Giveaway with Laura Rodela - Confessions

Today I'm happy to be chatting with author Laura Rodela. Laura is currently touring with her book Confessions, a memoir of self discovery and friendship. Laura is also offering a giveaway for an e-book copy or two of Confessions. All you have to do is leave a comment with your email address and you are entered to win.

Welcome Laura and thank you so much for chatting with me today.


BK: How long have you been writing?

Laura: Confessions is my first book. I have always had a passion for the pen, however, due to obligations I put it aside for many years.

BK: What inspired this particular novel?

Laura: My friends and I have shared many life changing moments together. As I got older I realized a lot of women out there go through similar situations. I felt that talking about self image, self love and other issues that women face daily I would hopefully be able to help someone else get through it. Confessions came about as a need to publicly discuss issues that we normally dont talk about in public. 

BK: What was the most difficult part in writing this story?

Laura: the most diffcult part for me was knowing that I was putting my life out there for everyone to examine with a microscope. it is not easy exposing intimate parts of your life for people to judge. I knew that I would either receive harsh critisism or praise for being brave enough to do it.

BK: If a series, what made you decide to make it a series?

Laura: I decided to make it a series because there is a lot of subjects that I didnt get to talk about in the first book. I wanted to introduce the characters and explain how we became lifetime friends. I also wanted to start by scratching the surface. there is a lot more that needs to be revealed.

BK: What is one piece of advice you were given and have carried with you to help in your writing?

Laura: My friends told me to write from the heart and at the same time not wear my heart on my sleeve. I can't take it personal if someone disagrees with the subjects I wrote about in this book.

BK: What advice can you give to new aspiring writers?

Laura: you will get better at your craft as you go along. the first book was an eye opener for me. I have learned a lot from writing this book. I believe this will make me a better writer. 

BK: What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Laura: I enjoy volunteer work. I have learned valuable life lessons by helping others. I also spend a lot of time at the gym. we all need a stress reliever and the gym does that for me. last but not least I travel. I like to learn from the world. getting away from your comfort zone helps you grow and realize there are many other ways to look at things. 

BK: What is one surprising thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?

Laura: good question. I am a huge fan of PRINCE the singer. my lifetime dream is to meet him. I have followed his career for many years. most people are surprised by this considering his music is a bit out of the norm. 

BK: Where can readers find you?

Laura: they can follow me on twitter @write_aholic. I tweet about all kinds of subjects. I also have a fan page on FB www.facebook.com/allaboutconfessions

BK: anything else you would like to mention?

Laura: the Ebook is available at amazon.com and Smashwords.com. I love to interact with people so everyone is welcome to drop a line at my fan page or tweet with me. I respond to everyone.

Confessions is a story of five friends and a journey of self-discovery, the events in their lives that shaped who they have become and a friendship that lasted a lifetime. A true, funny and sometimes sad story about self love and acceptance.


















Thank you so much for stopping in Laura. I wish you much success on your tour and with your book. If you want to win a copy of Confessions, leave a comment here with your email address.

For an extra entry:

Fan Laura's Facebook Page
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Share this Post and leave link

Be sure to let me know in your comment what you did for an extra entry.

I will see you on the flip side!

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Love Drop #10 - The Nevins Family

October 2011 – The Triplets

This month we’re helping Jeff and Becca from Indianapolis prepare to bring their new triplets home from the hospital. All three were born very underweight and are currently in Neonatal ICU, but are doing well and will be coming home soon. With four children already, adding a surprise batch of triplets is going to put considerable financial strain on the family, and that’s where we come in!

Let’s help give them everything they need to welcome the triplets home, including diapers, food, furniture, gift cards – any cool baby stuff you can think of. We’re shooting for at least $3,000 in cash, plus gifts. Let’s do this!

Where Your Money Goes

We’re going to direct everything we raise this month toward taking care of these new babies. Jeff and Becca live in a very small trailer home that’s already quite full with four other children. Now with a total of seven kids, it’s a lot to handle all at once. Diapers alone are going to run hundreds of dollars per month! Let’s give them a big supply of those, along with a ton of other baby stuff.

And if you could find a way to help us get them a single-family home, that would be awesome too. ;)

For all of you who have had children of your own, you understand the amazing joy they bring, but also the incredible amount of responsibility that comes with them. It’s always a bit scary (especially financially) to bring a new baby home, right? Now imagine bringing home three at once – wow! Time for us to help out…

Why We’re Helping This Family

Even though these two don’t have much, they still give back as a family. Becca will often cook extra food for dinner and invite over other kids from the neighborhood to help feed them when they don’t have enough to eat.

It’s a tough time financially for Jeff and Becca right now, and many of us have been there before . . . uncertain about our children’s future, let alone our own. But now that we’ve made it through, it’s a great time for us to extend a helping hand to them, and let them know that everything will turn out okay.

    Let’s surprise the Nevins family with a GREAT Love Drop this month!

Get Involved:

Give $25 via Paypal by visiting LoveDrop
Join The Team
Buy A Tee Shirt
Give A Gift
Shop LoveDrop Art
Become Part of the Blogger Network

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