Category Archives: Writing

Posted on

Executive Produced by T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams & Shaun Robinson, ‘Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story,’ – Coming To Lifetime April 8!

LIFETIME PRESENTS THE NEXT TITLE IN ITS SEVEN DEADLY SINS MOVIE ANTHOLOGY

Hello World,

Following the immensely popular Seven Deadly Sins movies—Lust, Envy, Wrath and Greed—Lifetime continues the anthology with a new sin and new movie, Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story. Executive produced by T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams and Shaun Robinson, and inspired by actual events, the movie centers on the story of a famous bakery owner and reality TV star Birdie Moore (Grammy-Award winner, Stephanie Mills) whose past secrets threaten the enormous success she has achieved. Joining Mills are co-stars Thomas “Nephew Tommy” Miles as Birdie’s son, Gabe Moore and Keeya King as her granddaughter, Ella Boudreaux. Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story premieres on Saturday, April 8 at 8/7c.

The prior 7 Deadly Sins Lifetime original movies – Lust, Envy, Wrath and Greed – attracted close to 7 million total viewers in 2022.

Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story tells the story of reality TV star Birdie Moore (Stephanie Mills), whose carefully constructed world starts to crumble — like the baked goods that catapulted her to fame — when her family secrets are brought to light. To salvage her legacy, Birdie must let go of the pride that estranged her from her daughter. Birdie’s pride also prevents her from seeing that her son Gabe Moore (Thomas Miles) is actually a thieving opportunist and that her granddaughter Ella Boudreaux (Keeya King) is just a lost twenty-something trying to build up her life after some missteps. While pride helped drive Birdie’s success, it also made her blind to what was happening around her. Will Birdie finally be able to see and admit the truth, or face the consequences of her pride?

Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story is produced by Neshama Entertainment, T.D. Jakes Enterprises, DNA Media Group and RobinHood Productions in association with MarVista Entertainment. T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams, and Shaun Robinson serve as executive producers along with Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment, and Arnie Zipursky and Suzanne Berger for Neshama. Pride is directed by Troy Scott from a script written by Felicia Brooker. Award-winning composer and music director, Ray Chew, is the movie’s composer.

In addition to Stephanie Mills, Thomas Miles and Keeya King, the movie also stars Grammy-Award winner Erica Campbell (of gospel duo Mary Mary fame) as pastor Trey; Lucia Walters (Virgin River) as Shanice; and Jaime M. Callica (Ruthless) as Khalil.

The Seven Deadly Sins movie anthology is inspired by novels from author Victoria Christopher Murray, who is a consulting producer on Pride.

Any thoughts?

Posted on

Georgia’s First Black Senator, Raphael G. Warnock, Releases Children’s ‘Book Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready!’

Hello World,

As a new mother, I am most definitely on the hunt for imaginative and informative children’s books! So I was excited to hear that Senator Raphael G. Warnock, Georgia’s first black senator who is also the senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church here in the A, recently released a children’s book Put Your Shoes On & Get Ready! Below is the description of the book:

From Georgia’s first Black Senator Raphael Warnock comes an inspiring picture book about finding your dreams and making your mark in the world.

Before Raphael Warnock became a pastor and the first Black senator from Georgia, he was a little boy whose father told him to get up, get dressed, put on his shoes, and get ready! So that’s what he did, along every step of his journey. From his work boots to his marching band shoes to his shiny lace-ups, Senator Reverend Warnock found the right shoes to fit his feet and to carry him toward his dreams.

This inspirational story, with bold, brilliant art by TeMika Grooms, follows Raphael Warnock’s journey from Savannah, Georgia, to the United States Senate and shows young readers that they, too, can find the power to be themselves and make a difference when they have the shoes that fit their feet.

About the Author

Raphael G. Warnock was elected the first Black senator from Georgia in 2020. He also serves as the senior pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta. Senator Reverend Warnock went to Morehouse College and Union Theological Seminary and is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He is the eleventh of twelve siblings, and has two children, Chloe and Caleb. You can find out more about him at warnockforgeorgia.com.

TeMika Grooms is an Atlanta-based artist and art activist who illustratedSave The Crash-test Dummies by Jennifer Swanson and Nana’s Favorite Things by Dorothy H. Price. She is the Founder and Program Coordinator for KidsLitATL, a grassroots organization to support a diverse group of creators in Atlanta, Georgia, where she lives with her cat, Nina Simone, and her two daughters, who she affectionately calls Thing One and Thing Two. You can visit her online at www.temikatheartist.com.

And below is Senator Warnock sharing why he wrote the book on ABC’s The View:

 

To buy a copy, click HERE.

Also, I imagine if you request it in your local bookstores, it can be made available at those locations as well.

Any thoughts?

 

Posted on

I’m the Guest Editor for ‘Atlanta’ magazine’s 2023 issue of ‘Atlanta 500’!!! On Newsstands NOW!!!

Hello World,

Remember when I told y’all that I had been working on “a ginormous freelance project that took all of my extra attention outside of my job, family life, and other regular responsibilities”?

I’m now ready to reveal more…Drumroll please…I am the 2023 guest editor of Atlanta magazine’s Atlanta 500!!!

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.”

I was proud and excited to take on this ginormous freelance project for a few reasons:

  1. Atlanta magazine is the premier magazine of my city. As a magazine journalism bachelor’s degree recipient from the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication of the University of Georgia, it is a no brainer. (Check my Grady College mug in one of the pics 🙂 !)
  2. As the A is my hometown, it was a privilege to edit a book comprised of the best and brightest of the A for 2023! (And if you aspire to be a leader here, I think you should definitely get a copy!)
  3. While I love being a new mother, it is also important for me to continue nourishing and flourishing in my communications career so it was a test of whether I would be able to balance all of my responsibilities as they are now. If I didn’t know before, I truly know now that prayer works! And my village (those who help me and my handsome hubby take care of our twins) is a Godsend…Chile…I already knew that working mothers are akin to superheroes and now I’m finding out why…

So if you are in Atlanta, please get your own copy of Atlanta 500 wherever you would normally buy your copies of Atlanta magazine. I got my copy from the newsstand at Sprouts grocery store. The link for the 2023 issue of the Atlanta 500 will be live in the near future, but in the meantime, please check out Atlanta magazine and previous issues of Atlanta 500 HERE.

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

Any thoughts?