I’ll remember 2014 as the year several writer friends I know and respect published or republished great books. Mark Willen’s smart and poignant mystery, Hawke’s Point, Cindy Young-Turner’s republication of her engrossing fantasy, A Thief of Hope and the second book in Gale Deitch’s popular culinary cozy mystery series, Fine Dining.
Gale Deitch developed an impressive fan base after her first book, A Fine Fix, was published last year. Her readers have been asking for more in the series, and now they finally have it.
The star in Deitch’s kitchen-centric stories is Trudie Fine, a caterer who loves brightly colored clothes, is growing accustomed to a new boyfriend in her life in the form of a handsome detective, and whose loyalty for a close friend lands her in the middle of a murder investigation.
I was thrilled to learn that the book I co-authored with Shoshana Johnson, "I'm Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen, My Journey Home," was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. The book was one of five in a literary category for best bio/autobiography.
While I had little faith we would actually win since the competition in our category seemed insurmountable (Condoleezza Rice, Nelson Mandela, Jay-Z, Ray Charles Robinson Jr. ... I mean, really?), I knew I couldn't miss going to the star-studded, classic-Hollywood, red-carpet event.
It was an easy decision to take my brother, retired Col. Larry Doyle, as my escort, largely because the book is about Shoshana's experience as a POW in Iraq. I credit the vividness of the Iraq sections to the convoy that Larry and I took from Kuwait to Baghdad together in 2003. Because of that trip and my own years in uniform, I was able to paint a clear picture of the sights, smells and feel of the place. Plus, Larry looks darn good in his dress blues.
We were headed for a place filled with celebrities. My brother and I were unknown nobodies from nowhere. Hollywood people would be snooty and rude. We would stand in a corner, ignored and feeling stupid.
Sometimes, it's good to be wrong.
A woman from the NAACP Image Award committee came up to us early during the gala reception and encouraged us to just walk up to folks and say "hello."
"Chances are, they're nominees too," she said, "and probably just as nervous as you are."
We took her advice. Every person who I recognized, I approached and said I loved whatever show or movie featuring them I had seen. They were always gracious, friendly, and wanted a photo with us just as much as we wanted photos with them.
I've always thought the red carpet was a strange American phenomenon. Walking it, or rather posing on it, doesn't make it any more understandable.
"Here, over here! Look here!"
One photographer actually shouted at me, "Own it girlfriend!"
The things I will remember the most: hearing actor Joe Morton tell my brother, "Thank you for your service"; seeing my homeboy, Prince, serve as a presenter; and when Lou Gossett Jr. saw my brother, he snapped to attention and saluted.
An unforgettable moment was when retired four-star Gen. Colin Powell walked down the aisle near our seats. I couldn't miss the opportunity to shake his hand.
"General!" I shouted.
He stopped, took one look at Larry, then came back and shook our hands, smiling, obviously pleased to see a man in uniform.
Halle Berry (so skinny I thought she would break), Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams, Clarke Peters (from HBO's "The Wire" and "Treme"), Samuel L. Jackson, Benjamin Bratt, Ruben Studdard ... there seemed no end to the stars.
If there was anything disappointing about the experience, aside from not hearing my name called (Ray Charles's son took the honor), was realizing the complete lack of understanding most people have for the Army uniform. After almost 30 years in the Army Reserve, Larry wears a respectable rack of awards including a Bronze Star. The silver eagles on his shoulders, one would think, are easily recognizable.
But no. One woman asked if he was in the Navy. Another asked if he was a private. Even worse, a man walked up to Larry and attempted to give my brother his parking-valet claim ticket.
But even the ignorance of the guests couldn't dampen our fun. The show was great, we had fantastic seats, the food and drinks at both the gals the night before and the after-party were unbelievably good -- and best of all -- free.
My brother and I left the events exhausted, happy and filled with memories that will linger -- long after that trophy would be collecting dust on a shelf somewhere.
Despite coming up a little short as an NAACP Image Award recipient, in my mind Larry and I walked away as big winners.
That's winner with a capital "W."
Two years ago, my agent asked me if I’d be interested in ghost writing a memoir. I’d never considered doing such a thing but the project seemed like a good match, so I agreed to try it. I wrote a couple of sample chapters. The client and her editor liked them. They hired me.
The entire time I worked on the project, I worried. Could I tell the story well enough that people would want to read it? What if I do a bad job? What if the book is ignored? What if I don’t have the writing skill to do justice to the story? Every day I worked on the memoir I worried.
Shoshana Johnson, a member of the 507th Maintenance Company, was taken prisoner in an ambush in the early days of the Iraq War. Shana was the first black female U.S. Solder to ever be held as a P.O.W. and her harrowing experience had been largely ignored by the press. What if I couldn’t do her story justice? What if I failed? I feared my failure would only contribute to her place in history being forever forgotten. People wouldn’t know how brave she had been. They wouldn’t know how harrowing the ambush was, how frightening each day of her captivity had been, what it took for her to get through the experience. I took the responsibility seriously. For nine months, every weekend, most evenings, every spare moment, I worked on telling her story.
Finally, in February 2010, "I’M STILL STANDING, FROM CAPTURED SOLDIER TO FREE CITIZEN -- MY JOURNEY HOME," was published by Touchstone. Still I worried. What would people think?
The first reviews were good. The reviews readers posted on Amazon were also very good. Still, I wondered if I had done everything I could.
When I heard the book had been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, I was able finally to relax. It felt like a nod, acknowledgement that I had done her justice. It makes me smile. I couldn’t be more proud.
Chances are, if you’ve ever allowed friends or family to read your fiction, they’ve wondered if one of your characters were based on them.
I sent a close friend a copy of my novel and she immediately assumed the person who was murdered—described as a relatively empty headed, annoying person—was herself. I had based the murder victim on someone I knew, but it wasn’t my close friend and I was surprised that she would see herself in the character.
I’ve also had family members ask me, “When did that happen to you?” Of course, the event may have loosely happened to me or to someone I knew, but I’m always shocked that people, knowing they’re reading a novel, assume that I’m writing a journal rather then a complete work of fiction.
One of the novels I’m working on is about three sisters, murder and an abusive father. I have two sisters who I know will assume the characters are all about them. My father, who will never read the book unless and until it’s published, will without a doubt, assume the story is all about him. He will be furious. He will also be wrong.
Part of my enjoyment in writing is to create things that I haven’t seen, to shape a world that I can control and to meet people I don’t know. I take a little bit of this, a little bit of that and mix it together to hopefully create something enjoyable to read. Parts of me, parts of my friends, parts of the truth and parts of what never would or could happen. I use it all.
And if anyone did ask me, “Is that character me?” and it was-- I’d quickly and easily lie.