Category Archives: Writing

Posted on

‘Atlanta’ magazine’s 2025 Issue of ‘Atlanta 500′ is on Newsstands NOW!!!

Hello World,

I’m proud to say the 2025 edition of Atlanta magazine’s Atlanta 500 is on newsstands now!!!

What is the Atlanta 500 you ask?

“The Atlanta 500 recognizes the 500 most influential business and civic leaders in Atlanta. The list also includes dozens of leaders whom the magazine has deemed as ‘Legends.’ The Atlanta 500 recognizes the most influential Atlantans—including not only corporate CEOs, but also leading entrepreneurs, educators, researchers, artists, and those leading nonprofits and shaping public policy.”

As the A is my hometown, it continues to be a privilege to edit a book comprised of the best and brightest of the A! And if you aspire to be a leader here, you should definitely get a copy! If you are in Atlanta, please get your copy of Atlanta 500 wherever you would normally buy your copies of Atlanta magazine. I got my copy from the newsstand at a Sprouts grocery store. Click HERE to see a list of all of the locations that carry this publication! Also, HERE is a link for the online 2025 issue of the Atlanta 500. And below is an excerpt of my editorial letter:

The power of Atlanta is that it influences everything

Atlanta’s power never ceases to amaze me. As a pop culture PhD, my latest Atlanta’s power amazement is Atlanta’s mention in California rapper Kendrick Lamar’s 2024 banger “Not Like Us,” which is a diss track for the ages against Canadian rapper Drake. How did Atlanta get involved in rap beef between two rappers not from here, you might be asking. That’s the allure of Atlanta’s power, is my answer (or in other words), Atlanta Influences Everything, which is among the latest catch phrases that attempts to encapsulate all that is Atlanta.

According to Kendrick Lamar, Atlanta is the place where you “run to” when you need a “few dollars.” He highlighted when Atlanta was called Terminus and how the railroad lines that ended in our city in 1837 brought wealth to our state’s metropolis and how Atlanta is still wealthy today, albeit for different reasons. And that is true: captains of industry continue to be captivated by our city—we are the capital of the Hollywood of the South, Southern Hip Hop as a staple was created here, the FIFA World Cup is coming here, and the Super Bowl continues to come here. I’ve always loved one of New York City’s catch phrases: If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. But I would like to submit this catch phrase for Atlanta: If you can’t make it anywhere, you can make it here.

To read the rest, click HERE.

So with that, I say, “Peace Up! A-Town Down Shawty.”

Any thoughts?

 

Posted on

It’s Fiction Friday Featuring…Netta Fei, Author of ‘A Most Useful Betrothal’

Hello World,

I’m back with a “Fiction Friday” blog post! Since I became a debut novelist back in 2019, I’m aiming to feature other novelists (debut novelists are my favorite since authors put their hearts and souls into their debuts) on After the Altar Call  in a more systematic way since I have historically favored nonfiction.  To that end, I’m pleased to introduce my fellow PK (Pastor’s Kid) Netta Fei and her debut novel A Most Useful Betrothal to you, my dear readers. Isn’t that an intriguing title? And her novel was inspired by her marriage — AND divorce (Y’all know I love me some tea)…Please see the synopsis followed by my Q&A with her below!

In the rolling hills of Kanaan lies the mysterious tale of Abyga’el, a fifteen-year-old girl whose sharp intellect and breathtaking beauty are overshadowed by her blinding passion to rescue children abandoned by their law-abiding parents, like she once was. When a curious marriage proposal ignites her soul’s desire to create a child sanctuary, she breaks cultural confines of the Eber Y’israelite nation and secretly arranges her own betrothal to a suitor she knows nothing of. She does this right before reuniting and falling in love with Dawit, the nation’s honorable and charming warrior, creating a two-fold dilemma: Dawit’s on the run from the nation’s vain and jealous king who wants him dead and, unbeknownst to Dawit, Aby is already married in the eyes of their law.

Will Aby find the strength to soothes the boorish Nabal, her legal husband, outwit his equally wicked first wife, liberate the slaves he calls residents and steer her own destiny, or will she succumb to the nonsense that could imprison her forever?

 

1.What inspired you to write A Most Useful Betrothal and tell Abyga’el’s story?

My inspiration began with the in I Samuel 25:3 story of Abyga’el who was described as a beautiful and intelligent woman who was married to a fool. That nagged me for a long time, so I sought to answer one question: how does a beautiful, intelligent girl end up married to a fool? Unfortunately, her story appeared in my own in life and those of some of my girlfriends. So, I blended my imagination and experience to weave my take on what happened with Aby. What happened to make her betrothed to a surly man?

 2. How did your life inform the story?

Twenty years into my marriage, I accepted the hard truth that my spouse and I were utterly incompatible. Divorce wasn’t an option for me, initially. So, I stewed in the disconnect for way too long, looking back to figure out how I—a smart and intelligent girl—could have gotten into such an antithetical, until-death-do-you-part relationship. Often when we should know better, we can still land in an unequally yoked or unproductive predicament. I realized, as Aby does in the book, that most decisions that take us there come from some kind of negative thinking about ourselves.

 3. So, incompatible relationships are a key theme covered in the book?

They are and I hope that the story is a wake-up call for people, especially women, to be wiser with eyes wide open before connecting themselves with people who don’t complement or progress our best selves. Yet, incompatibility isn’t limited to relationships. It can show up in our thinking and agreements made around finances, health, integrity, morality, and such. The book also highlights other themes, such as the status of women in ancient patriarchal societies; the strength of the feminine prowess to change situations; the importance of self-love, self-awareness, and self-acceptance; legalism versus spiritualism; and the ills of caste.

4. What draws you to write biblical fiction?

As a preacher’s kid, I was fed a steady diet of Bible. I understand how biblical narratives are easily buried away in old crypts or put on high, holy pedestals. I want to resurrect and bring down to earth biblical stories about women and present them as moral and spiritual truths that are relatable and relevant to us today. And I enjoy doing that with characters who have dark skin, broad noses, full lips, and textured hair. Some biblical enthusiasts may not see that coming.

 5. Why was it important for you to use ethnic names in this novel?

I did that to emphasize two things. The first is that names in ancient biblical times were a vital part of a person’s identity, reflecting their destiny, character, deity, family lineage, or some other trait. The second is the fact that biblical characters were more Afrocentric than not. The anglicized names we use today do not reflect that. I created a glossary to help readers see these two aspects more clearly and to know how to pronounce the names.

 6. This is your debut novel but A Most Useful Betrothal is already an award-winner?

Yes, it was a long time in the making and I feel grateful to say that it won the Georgia Writers Association’s 2023 John Lewis Grant for Fiction.

7. What else will we see coming from Netta Fei?

More of the same, I hope. I’m working on the sequel to A Most Useful Betrothal which is exciting even though I hadn’t planned on doing it. It tells the rest of Aby’s story, particularly what she experiences in the small city known today as Ziklag and through the child sanctuary.

Netta Fei is a practicing writer, enchanted by the eternal feminine energy that heals—especially when it’s pumped, paraded, and praised by bold women. Her writing journey began at her high school newspaper followed by her earning journalism and MBA degrees and honing her writing and marketing skills in the corporate arena. She draws on her preacher’s kid, southern black Baptist, corporate America, and misaligned marriage experiences to inform her historical, biblical, and women’s fiction storytelling today.

Netta Fei supports literary and sisterhood communities as a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Black Authors Association, Georgia Writers Association, Atlanta Writers’ Club, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. When she’s not writing, you can find her immersed in a good book, playing tennis, exercising, laughing with friends, and experimenting with plant-based recipes then enticing her family to try them.

For more information about Netta Fei, visit nettafei.com.

Any thoughts?

Posted on

Kirk Franklin’s Son Caziah Franklin & ‘War Room’ Actress Alena Pitts Are ENGAGED!!!

Hello World,

When I saw this on my IG timeline last night, I need I had to share it with my After the Altar Call fam! Kirk Franklin’s son Caziah Franklin proposed to his girlfriend Alena Pitts, who starred in the blockbuster movie War Room, when she was a little girl. Obviously she is now a young woman. See the beach proposal photos below…

I actually interviewed Alena and her mother Wynter Pitts back in 2017 when she was 12 years old (so according to my math, she is now 19).  Below is a snippet of the interview…

1. How does it feel to be the youngest, African- American female author to be represented by a major book publisher?

Alena: Kind of surreal still. Like it hasn’t really hit me. So it’s crazy. I’m just grateful that it happened to me! And then I’m like, ‘Thank you God!’

And how did you get a book deal for Hello Stars?

Alena: So, my mom was like, ‘Hey Alena, do you want to write a book together?’ I was like, ‘Sure.’ My mom was like, ‘That would be so fun!’ I really didn’t think that was going to happen, but she was like, ‘Let’s just pray about it.’  So I prayed about it not really expecting anything to happen. So like two weeks later, we got an e-mail from Zondervan asking if we wanted to write a book for them. So I was like, ‘Wow, this must be God’s plan!’ (Laughter)

Wynter: It literally happened just like that! It was just this random thought I had one day, and I just looked at her and said, ‘It would be so fun if we wrote a book together.’ And that was it. And then, a few weeks later, we got an e-mail from Faithgirlz saying they wanted to talk to us about the project. It was so bizarre. Because of my ministry with girls, I had done some Faithgirlz product giveaways and helped them promote some things so I had a relationship with the publicist there. Since then, I found out the publicist mentioned our names to their team over the last year or so, but I didn’t know anyone else on the team!

See the remainder of the interview at ‘War Room’ 12-Year-Old Actress Alena Pitts & Mother Pen Children’s Book ‘Hello Stars!’ (INTERVIEW).

When I heard about Wynter’s death the next year following my interview with her and her daughter in 2017, I was stunned and saddened, but I believe Alena’s mother is with the Father in Heaven where we all aspire to go some day. And obviously, our Father is still leading Alena today. May God bless Caziah and Alena on their new journey together!

Any thoughts?