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Azaria Hawkins, Author of Welcome to My Life

Azaria is an Atlanta native and her dream is to become the next Tyler Perry in screenwriting. Not only does she produce amazing stories, she is a dancer on her school's dance team. Her favorite thing about writing is that it allows her to give others something or someone that they can relate to. Azaria dances and write, but she is also a first violin student. As a middle school scholar, she continues to advance in school with outstanding grades. Azaria has been in advanced math for two years and in T.A.G (Talented and Gifted) classes since elementary school. She will be attending high school in August 2020 with hopes of graduating with a full scholarship to college. Azaria plans to pledge to the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority while attending FAMU and getting her bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design. After earning her degree, Azaria plans to conquer the entertainment industry.

Published January 15, 2020

"Welcome to My Life" is a sweet short story that introduces you to the life of Dazlyn Harris. She takes you on her journey as a preteen experiencing 7th grade, home life, friendships, and her first love, Mason.

Youth author Azaria Hawkins debuted her short story inside of Enjoy Life Magazine's "Creatively Written" column in 2020.

"Azaria is a talented storyteller. I'm certain she will have a promising career as a writer." - Lakesha Woods, editor-in-chief at Enjoy Life Magazine and author of "I Love You Sweetheart". Read the story inside "Creatively Written" for a limited time!

La Tasha Mason, Author of Zana the Brave

Published February 20, 2019

Enjoy Life: Zana the Brave is an amazing story of trial and triumph for a little girl who is being bullied at school. What was your inspiration for writing this story?

La Tasha: I grew tired of seeing news headlines about teenagers and pre-teens committing suicide and shooting up schools and learning that many of the causes for these tragic acts were traced back to these youth being constantly bullied and ostracized. Being someone who had gone through a few periods of being bullied as a child, I know how it feels when you do the right thing to try and stop the bullying, but it persists. I wanted children to read this book and understand they are not alone and that it gets better. I also wanted parents and teachers to understand what really goes on behind the scenes when a child is constantly bullied.

Enjoy Life: Without giving the story away, I would have to say that you really wrote from a real-life perspective. I say that because Zana ultimately stands up for herself. Why was it important to depict Zana as a brave girl?

La Tasha: I wanted Zana to exhibit strength, intellect, compassion, vulnerability and kindness along with bravery. I felt that was important because I wanted to help young girls discover their own inner strength and courage. I wanted them to know it is ok to speak up. Talking to your teacher is not a sign of weakness. It’s ok to talk to your Mom, Dad or an older sibling about what bothers you. But I also didn’t want to sugarcoat what goes on in reality. Sometimes, not even the adults can figure it out. Sometimes, they are unable to get the bully to behave properly and leave you alone. If an adult can’t even figure it out, how can we expect our youth to do it? I don’t want our children thinking committing suicide or shooting up a school in rage is an option. I want them to understand sometimes simply having the strength to stand up for yourself in a smart way can make all the difference in the world.

Enjoy Life: In most schools today both students would get suspended if they fought on school grounds. Although Zana does not hit anyone, she prepared to stand-up for herself instead of opting to report the bully. Do you fear receiving any backlash for depicting her bravery in that way?

La Tasha: No. I say that confidently because Zana never hit anyone back. Not once. I think there is a difference between using ingenuity to thwart a bully’s attempt to hurt you again and actually striking the bully or causing something to create contact with the bully. Throughout the book, she followed the guidelines that most schools and youth organizations set for children and their parents in these situations to no avail. She entrusted adults to figure it out, and we failed her. Instead of focusing on how the bully victims should be penalized for standing up for themselves, we should focus on how we can implement better protocol to ensure that when we fail to keep these children safe they don't feel like suicide and school shootings are the only way out.

Enjoy Life: Do you have any up coming book signings or events? Where can the book be purchased? And, where can our readers follow you on social media?

La Tasha: I have some local appearance requests at schools and youth programs that we are ironing out the details for now. At some point in the near future, we’ll plan a book tour. The book can be purchased online at www.zanathebrave.com/shop for a hardcover book. To purchase a paperback copy, readers can go to Amazon.com. You can follow us on social media at: Facebook: facebook.com/zanathebrave, Instagram: @zanathebrave, Twitter: @zanathebrave, website: www.zanathebrave.com, and email: [email protected].

Enjoy Life: Thanks La Tasha for taking the time to share with us! We wish you all the best with "Zana the Brave".

Editor's note: "I'm glad that La Tasha made the characters relatable to African American children, as well as to anyone who may now (or in the past) be experiencing being bullied. Zana the Brave was very inspiring!"

-Lakesha Woods

Chermean, The Sensuous Author

Published July 17, 2018

Chermean, “The Sensuous Author” joined us for a podcast interview to talk about her books, weight loss journey, and the brands she represents as a brand ambassador. During the interview, she was bubbling over with laughs and positive energy. Just about everything we talked about seemed to tickle her funny bone; what a pleasure to have her on our line. She is the author of “Perfectly Addicted” and “Entangled Affairs.” She recently wrapped up the final phases of Perfectly Addicted II and the sequel is scheduled to be released early 2019.

She accredits her motivation for writing to her desire to do something for herself. She also made sure to note that she’s a Gemini. So, Gemini’s you have somebody on the home team representing creatively. She went on to explain that she was pretty much the child that did everything the right way. Her mother went through a lot when she was growing up, so Chermean moved out early and raised two of her sisters. She said, “I was always the one to make sure that everybody was on the right path and once I got them out on there own, I’m like well you know what let me just do something that I think I would enjoy.” She went on to say, “So, I started writing and I found that writing gave me the ability to live vicariously through all these different characters and do all these things and it doesn’t have to be me!”

She girlishly laughed and said that her books are filled with drama, sensuality and erotic passages. If you’re looking for a book that will keep you lingering on words Chermean is the author for you.

Chermean quietly giggled again when she expressed how her friends and family reacted to her books after reading them. Let’s just say they were shocked! When I asked Chermean if she was giving us a piece of herself through each character, she compared herself to the character Pam and insisted that she is not like any of the other women in her books and would not do any of the things that they have done. We both laughed as she made her declarations of virtue. I didn’t want to get her in trouble, so I gave her pass and assured her that I would let her keep that as her final answer because we all know that Auntie So and So is somewhere listening to this podcast or reading this article.

Aside from being “The Sensuous Author” Chermean is also a woman striving to maintain a healthy life. Over the last three years, she’s lost 81 lbs. Her weight lost was prompted by her declining health. She developed arthritis around 29 years old and high blood pressure and members of her family, unfortunately, her dad’s mom died at 41 years old due to high blood pressure. Those factors were enough to warrant a change in her life and the way she was eating.
Chermean encourages those who are struggling with their weight, to begin with, a realistic goal. She said you must set realistic goals and then have cheat days. Stick to it, and if you fall off one day, you can start over.

After the weight loss, Chermean says it was easy for her to strut her new body, new look, and feel. She shared her transformation with her followers on social media and brands like Dior Brooks (a cosmetics line), began to reach out to her. She also represents Devine Concepts and describes their product to be similar to a soufflé. She was selected by the owner who discovered her on social media. He reached out to her with a compliment (regarding her skin) and expressed his desire for her to become a brand ambassador for Devine Concepts.

Chermean is on the go! She said, “I want everyone to know that I’m just a ball of energy.” When describing herself and her future, she went on to say, “I’ve been through so many things in my life I can’t let anybody make me feel any certain type of way about the decision I make. “… I’m happy with life – I’m happy with me.” You can purchase books by Chermean on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Her website address is www.addicted2chermean.com, and you can also follow her on Instagram @thesensuous_author.

Matthew Carter - WAR Angel, The Awakening

Matthew breaks down in tears as he shares what led him to write his book "War Angel The Awakening". He reveals his battle with discrimination in what he called the black church and from religious people once they would find out that he is bisexual. Matthew said, "The church told me I was going to hell."

He also shares his motivation with much conviction and explains why he continues to pursue his dreams even after he found out that he is HIV positive.

Matthew Carter is a professional model, actor, and author. He's been seen in fashion shows across the country and on television shows such as Nurse Jackie. You can find Matthew's non profit A REAL DESIRE at www.arealdesire.com and on social media at the following links:

“The Conversation about Celibacy” & review of
The Chronicles: Elevator Silence by Latise M. Howie

Lakesha: What’s up everybody? This is Lakesha Woods from Enjoy Life Magazine and today I have with me Latise M. Howie. She is the author of “The Chronicles: Elevator Silence”. Hi Latise!

Latise: Hi, how are you?

Lakesha: I’m doing well. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me, and to share information about your book, and what you have going on in your career as an author. But, more than anything I’d really like to get into the book. What prompt you to write a book with the concept of waiting and being celibate and the different aspects of relationships?

Latise: That’s easy I was prompted to do this by my own life honestly. And, by other people that I know that are living or trying to live a celibate lifestyle. Not necessarily a celibate lifestyle, but you know we are people of faith, but we’re also single people. And you know living in the world that we live in it is really easy to kinda’ get sucked into the desires of the flesh and that sort of thing. For me the choice was easy, I’m divorced I have three children and you know I’ve tried it every way (laughs) and I wanted to try it God’s way, and to just kind of walk in that particular faith. I can be discipline for him in that, but I can tell you the focus that you receive is the biggest motivator. It’s a struggle I will say that I’m a woman; a relatively young woman … dating and that sort of thing can be a struggle. But, for the last three years that’s something that I’ve been trying to practice and, just trying to walk the best that I can in that way. So with writing the book there were scenarios that may have happened in my life or other peoples’ lives that I know and I just wanted to touch on some of those things and kind of expound on them. What’s beautiful about being an author is that you can take bit of something and just fly in a whole different direction because it’s the use of your imagination if that’s what you choose to do. So that was the motivation, and just to be able to help women and single people in general know that we do have a

still small voice that we can listen to and be guided by and walk the best way that we can. So yeah, that was the motivation.

Lakesha: Wow! It definitely rings true for a lot of people, the walk - just the effort that it takes to condition your mind to say hey I’m going to do this. But, then there is the motive behind why you are doing it. As I’ve been reading the book … without giving away the story line, ‘cause I do want our readers to pick up a copy for themselves and read it. But, I was reading how one character in particular was continuing to tell her-self that: I’m doing this for God; I’m doing it for God - trying to convince her-self that basically I’m doing this so I can be faithful to my commitment to God, my vow to God. But, in essence she was truly really not reserving herself because she was still trying to find other ways to satisfy her sexual desires. And, I think a lot of us get that confused. In your opinion is there truly only one way to remain celibate? Do you have to cut off all other aspects of sex to in order to really say I’m practicing celibacy?

Latise: Well, I can tell you that the first year (we laugh) was probably hardest and honestly for every individual that I know when we have these conversations with regards to celibacy - that particular discipline. I was very much into the toys and that sort of thing, but I had to get rid of that stuff because I felt that I was still kind of not focus on what I felt like I needed to be focused on. I think that you have to define that for yourself. Do you see what I mean? So I don’t believe that is
for me to say to an individual. Your celibacy and your commitment and your walk have to be specific to what you would have it to be and for whatever the reason. That same character had to look at her life and figure out why am I doing this: Am I doing this for show and fashion? Am I doing this because I really truly want to be disciplined? Do I need and want to be focus?

And, that’s something that a couple of my

girlfriends and I we were sitting down and talking about the book as the book was developing and that was one of the things what I had to look at.

I don’t want to just say that I’m celibate for the sake of saying it. I need to be walking and practicing and living that way because it’s something that I truly want to do. But, not because it’s something that people at this point expected me, because I’m a human being I fall. You know what I mean?

Lakesha: Right …

Latise: I will openly admit that, but I think it’s a situation where you have to rededicate yourself and define what it is for you. I say that I live in a judgment free zone in my life.

Lakesha: That’s great …

Latise: If someone talks to me about their particular situation – you know that you can talk to me and I’m never gonna judge you because I feel like therefore the grace of God go any of us – right? We have no idea what situation we will find ourselves in. But, I think that is a personal decision. Read more ...

No Love Story Here - Heartbreak & Pain!

Review written by Lakesha Woods
Published October 16, 2013

Monica Little touches subjects of love, heart break, domestic violence, molestation and superficial realities in her new poetry book titled Enter the Inkwell.

If you're expecting la-dee-da types of poems filled with "I love You's" and rhymes this is not the book for you! Brace yourself because this book of poems is filled with a dose of harsh realities.

Monica speaks of being short-changed on love's return in poems like "Men and Me" and being in love under false pretense in poems like "I love You", where the woman thought it was love and ended up being controlled and physically abused.

The poems tell a story of a woman who has endured much suffering and heart ache at the hands of men. Starting from a very young age and being molested; the poem "Forbidden Touch" vividly describes how this young girl felt compelled to keep the touches a secret because she thought is was a sign of love and for love she was willing to remain silent.

The poem goes on to describe how she would like her perpetrator to be punished. While Monica doesn't offer lovey-dubby poems that will make you fall in love, she does include poems that show signs of a woman who has realized her worth. 'LIKE' Monica on Facebook!