a website & community for women who write & blog
Where are your eyes?
This was a refrain in the talk that writer Tammy Harper gave at Saturday’s TEDxBirmingham 2016. This was a question she asked as she challenged us to spend less time looking at screens and more time looking into the faces of our loved ones. And this question stuck with me throughout the day.
Talking about money makes me sick — literally. I once threw up before a trip to H&R Block to get my taxes done. (And I typically get a refund!) As an entrepreneur, I obviously have to deal with money a lot. I get heart palpitations and shortness of breath just thinking about doing the bookkeeping for my business.
When I was growing up my parents had very little money. We were no stranger to eviction notices or having the gas or electric services turned off. And money woes often led to heated disagreements in our household.
Today I am a proud homeowner and my bills are always paid on time, and yet I still don’t want to talk about money — EVER.
Enter Tracie B. Threadford.
One of my favorite Birmingham-based businesses is Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn Co. I’m a fan of this company not just because the popcorn is delicious and not just because the company has been supportive of See Jane Write, signing on as a sponsor for our Scandal watch party and for our upcoming 5th anniversary party. I also admire Tanesha Sims-Summers and Tiffany Turner, the women behind Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn, because they’ve done such a great job developing their brand.
If you’re not familiar with Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn, don’t worry. You will have plenty of chances to get to know them (and taste that delicious kettle corn). This weekend on Saturday, March 12, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, they will debut a new flavor at Shamfest at the Red Shamrock Pub in Mt. Laurel. What will the new flavor be? You’ll have to be there to find out!
Also you’ll find Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn Co. at Oak Mountain State Park on March 26 for its 9th Annual Easter Egg Hunt and they’ll be back at the Pepper Place Farmers Market starting April 9.
And if you attend the See Jane Write 5th Anniversary Party on Saturday, March 19 at aloft Hotel’s wxyz bar, you’ll have a chance to win a Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn Co. variety snack pack (which will include the new flavor).
But before you go to figure out what you’re going to wear to the party, here are four tips I think we bloggers and writers can take from Naughty But Nice Kettle Corn Co. as we’re building our personal brands.
Sometimes I feel as if I’m caught in a love triangle—writing and teaching both tugging at my heart. I was born to teach, but I didn’t realize this until after working in education for seven years. When I was a girl, I named all my dolls and other toys, arranged them in nice, neat rows in alphabetical order, and then launched into a lecture on whatever struck my fancy at the time. The classroom called me early in life, but I didn’t know it.
But I was also born to write. This I’ve known since the day I wrote my first poem. I was only 7 or 8 years old, so it was terrible, and I’m sure it included the line “Roses are red, violets are blue.” But it was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the written word. And it was this love that led me to study journalism. I had dreams of working for Essence magazine and one day starting a print magazine of my own.
But a career in education was still whispering in my ear, flirting with my future plans. In graduate school at UC Berkeley, I was a graduate student instructor, or GSI, and taught a communications class for undergraduate students. I was charged with breaking down the complicated concepts and theories the professor discussed in her lectures. I did such a good job that students assigned to other GSIs would ask to come to my class, willing to sit on the floor or stand in the back if there weren’t enough desks.
I applied for Teach for America. I was accepted by Teach for America. I turned down Teach for America. I had also been offered a job as a features reporter in a city that I loved with the man whom I love. Writing won my heart again…
Read the entire article at B-Metro.com.
The See Jane Write Member of the Month for March is Randi Pink.
2016 is sure to be a big year for Randi. On March 12 she will take the stage at this year’s TEDxBirmingham to give a talk on how collective misconceptions can transform the world into a place of fear and prejudice. Then, in September, Randi’s debut young adult novel Into White will hit bookshelves.
Into White tells the story of 16-year-old Latoya Williams. Toya lives in Montgomery, Alabama, attends a mostly white high school and has trouble fitting in. After a run-in with a bully, she wonders if her life would be different if she were different. She prays to a higher power to make her “anything but black” and the prayer is answered.
“Diving into the mind of a complicated sixteen-year-old girl was a challenge, but it was such a joy,” Randi says. “Toya is a multidimensional young lady – she’ll make you laugh and then you’ll turn the page and find yourself in tears. She’ll piss you off, and make you wonder why you cried for her in the first place. That’s my Toya, and I’ve selfishly held onto her for too long. I’m proud and excited to introduce her to the world.”
I had a chat with Randi recently about her upcoming book and TEDxBirmingham talk, about how to get a book deal, and about the writing life.