The author spotlight shines on a unique, well-rounded individual. This week, I've had the pleasure and honor to speak with award winning author, blogger, designer, inspirational speaker, and Navy veteran, DeLisa Brown.
EA: Voices from the Bayou is an interesting title for a book. Would you tell us what sparked you to come up with that title as well as what the book is about?
DB: Voices from the Bayou is a book concept that aroused in early 2016. It started with the Creative Writing Club at Baton Rouge Community College where I serve as the President. Originally it would consist of any story that the members of the club wanted to submit for the book. There would not be a limitation on genre, or the type of story they wanted to submit.
I had entries anywhere from short stories and poems to narratives. The submissions were personal, truthful and strong. Clarence Nero serves as the Advisor of the Club and he is also a Professor at the College. We were finishing up our submissions for the original Voices From the Bayou book when things started to fall apart in Baton Rouge.
In July of 2016, a man by the name of Alton Sterling was shot and killed by the police. With this news and the devastation going on in our city as well as police brutality cases around the world against black men, Professor Nero came up with a new idea for the book. He came to us and asked if we would pretty much scratch our original submissions and write on what was going on in our country regarding racism and police brutality. We really weren't prepared to change what we originally wanted to submit, however we soon realized the importance of switching to the alternative subject.
Between conflicts within the country, the Alton Sterling Shooting and the Baton Rouge Flood, no one really knew where to turn. So we changed the book and split it up into three sections which consist of Police Brutality, Racism, and the Baton Rouge Flood. The Creative Writing Club only had so many members so Mr. Nero opened up the opportunity to his English classes to submit narratives for the book.
He also invited some of his peers to have their students participate. Over the course of two months we all worked day in and out to submit our stories. There were 90 submissions, with only 29 making it into the book. Each narrative consists of heartfelt, truthful and passionate stories about the ways the three subjects have shaped and altered our lives. We speak with a combined message of hope and the need for peace, each student wanting unity and equality for our city and country.
EA: What inspired you to write it?
DB: The inspiration for this book is simple. As an African American, I saw the hurt and confusion of the families who lost their family member by the hands of a police officer. I, like so many others, witnessed it through the videos. In each case I felt the need to speak out. I was nervous about doing so at first, but realized I had to try and make a change. On behalf of the other writers, when we thought about how we could possibly change the lives of others it made our decision easier.
Unity, Peace and Equality is our mission and we work tirelessly to let others know that their voices are important. We feel that staying quiet and not sharing our voices is the same thing as conforming to the inequalities of our nation. Each person in this book had the courage to step up and share their personal feelings as well as experiences with the world.
EA: What is the writing process like for you?
DB: The writing process for me is therapeutic. Once I open up my tablet or MacBook to write, I am in a zone I really can't explain. It is an on-edge feeling, but in a good way. My mind continues to throw out ideas, emotions and life experiences, I just go with the flow.
EA: Do you have any genres in particular that you like to write about?
DB: My personal genres are Inspirational as well as Spiritual.
EA: Do you have any other projects in the works?
DB: I do. In fact, I have my first solo book that I am hoping to release soon. While in the military, I had an injury which caused me to have an incurable health condition. It changed my life. The book will be a Memoir and will reveal the struggles I had serving my country with the disease, my struggle with keeping a relationship with Christ and my battle with suicide as well as PTSD.
EA: What is your overall vision as an author?
DB: When someone says they read something I wrote, I want it to spark something in them that wasn't there before. I want my writings to change lives, ignite the need for Christ in them and generate a passion for following their dreams.
EA: Describe the feeling of winning the Unsung Hero award.
DB: When we received the letter to be recipients of the Unsung Hero Award, I literally did not believe it. The feeling was very overwhelming in a great way.
EA: Would you tell us your overall experience of being in the Navy?
DB: I joined the Navy when I was 17 years old and it is one of my greatest experiences. Although, I struggled during active duty because of the health condition, it changed the course of my life. I would not be who I am today had I not joined. I owe everything to serving. It was the best decision I could have made. It was not always easy but even during the hard times, what I gained is more important than the things I went through. I met some of my closest friends in the Navy, traveled the world and learned many things that will stay with me forever.
EA: Finally, tell us why Voices from the Bayou is a worthy buy and a good read.
DB: There is no other book like Voices From The Bayou. The stories are real, raw and inviting. Each person poured their hearts out and did not hold back when sharing their voice. Many people are jumping on board as well such as Gabrielle Union. This book is also relatable to anyone. We have all different races, cultures and backgrounds speaking on these matters.
We also have endorsements by very respectful leaders and writers in the Authors community. One of them being Gary Zukav, who is the spiritual advisor to Oprah. He wrote,"Voices from the Bayou presents complex self-portraits of confusion, courage, and wisdom as young people in a racist society become aware, each in their own ways, of the incomprehensibility, blunt brutality, and deep pain of racism and the depth of love required to change it in the only place they can in themselves.”
-Gary Zukav, author of The Seat of the Soul and The Dancing Wu Li Masters.
Some of our other endorsers have also said: "Creative writing that is designed around meaningful subjects can be amazingly therapeutic for the author as well as for the reader. Therefore, I enjoyed each and every submission of Voices From The Bayou as an open window into the minds, hearts and souls of not just the students at Baton Rouge Community College, but for all of us.
How do we all feel about race relations, police brutality and human tragedy in our own communities and around the world? Read, listen, learn and then dare to write an article of your own on a subject that challenges you to be as courageous and as honest as each author included in Voices. This is an awesome and engaging read that cuts to naked the truths of all of us."
-New York Times bestselling and NAACP Image Award winning Author and Journalist -- Omar Tyree
"This volume of essays by students at Baton Rouge Community College is a brave journey into the windswept plains of honesty and clarity. Here, people of all ages and colors declare themselves and their identities in all their glorious ordinariness and truth;this step is the first toward the journey out of darkness and into the light of understanding.
In it, these writers give themselves over to us as other, so that we may see them for who they are, and in turn see ourselves a little more clearly for who we are. The result is a pioneering work of authentic voices from Baton Rouge, for Baton Rouge, and for the world. The writers in this volume declare their identities as Baton Rougeans — honest, peaceful, hopeful, authentic people who want more than anything to accept and be accepted by the other. I am proud and honored to join these real, beautiful voices and I invite you to join me."
-Sister Helen Prejean, Author of Dead Man Walking
Epilogue
I would like to thank DeLisa for taking the time to share her thoughts, aspirations, and experiences with us. A special thanks to those who contributed their thoughts in Voices from the Bayou. If you're interested in learning more, or purchasing Voices from the Bayou, the links are provided below.
Voices From The Bayou
https://www.facebook.com/voicesfromthebayou/?ref=bookmarks
Great read and look forward ro more blogs posts!
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