In Remembrance: Author Nathaniel "Nati" Holmes

by Cyrus Webb

I first heard about author Nathaniel "Nati" Holmes in 2010 thanks to Facebook. We befriended each other and began to have regular conversations online that led to my inviting him to Conversations LIVE to discuss his journey and the work he was doing.

Holmes, who began Hustle Hard Publications as a way to distribute his book, was a man who understood the value of hard work and dedication. He told me that while serving three years in prison he began to reevaluate his life and realize that the life of the streets and its consequences were not going to get him where he wanted to be.

It was a short story contest that he read about in Vibe magazine, however, that would give him the push to look into writing. He had been writing poetry before he was incarcerated, so he decided to write a short story and enter the contest. He came in third, however, it was at that moment that he knew he had stumbled onto something. In an interview on the radio in January of this year he told me that through his book and the way people were responding to it he "saw the light at the end of the tunnel."

His first book CAN'T KNOCK THE HUSTLE was his way of telling a fictionized version of his life and experiences, but he told me that it was more than just an entertaining read. "Everything I do is about truth," he said. "I write from a real-life perspective." It was that perspective that built his fan-base and started him on his way.

After his release from prison everything became about the hustle. Nati Holmes could be seen toting cases of his book across the country attending book signings and other promotional events. Though it was not the easiest of roads he told me that he met some good people along the way and that helped keep him focused and grounded.

While some may see the word "hustle" as something negative, Holmes embraced it as a way of explaining his lifestyle. "Every day is a hustle," he told me. "Anyone going for their dreams is on a hustle to make it."

And making it was something that Nathaniel "Nati" Holmes was destined for in his life, but the full impact of his life on other people may not have been seen by him. Sadly Holmes was shot to death in August 2011 just one month before his birthday. He was 26 years old.

Ever a person thoughtful of those who were supporting his movement, ironically, Holmes' last statement on his Facebook Fan Page on August 20, 2011 was this: "Been such a long time since I thanked everyone for the love and support. So here goes a big thanks. 100."

May we like this talented young author and visionary who was taken too soon appreciate those who are accompanying us along our journey to fulfill the destiny ahead.

To listen to my interview with Nati Holmes on Conversations LIVE visit www.tinyurl.com/natiholmes.

Remembering Bestselling Author L. A. Banks

She was the true definition of a thriving brand: a growing legion of devoted fans and the diversity it takes to survive in an ever-changing literary market. I was first able to speak with the Vampire Huntress creator L. A. Banks (known to many romance lovers as Leslie Banks) in 2007 during a discussion with Conversations Book Club. Our paths crossed again in 2008 when I interviewed her for a cover article for Conversations Magazine and later in the year when she joined an esteemed panel of authors to discuss the role of faith in literature. Each time she spoke it was clear to me and everyone listening that she loved what she was able to do through her books and appreciated the support of her fans.

Sadly we lost L. A. Banks to cancer in August 2011. She was only 51, but her life and work continue to inspire us in ways she could never fully imagine. Here you will get a chance to read the interview that we conducted in 2008. Banks talks about how her literary journey has taken her into the realm of the underworld—--and even participate in the Scarface franchise---while at the same time bringing her immense happiness .


L. A., we appreciate your taking out a few moments to talk with Conversations. How did you writing career begin?
The honor is all mine! Well, it all started with me writing romance or what was considered women’s fiction. I have been blessed to be a part of some exciting projects, including the books that were based on the SOUL FOOD series. The paranormal titles came later, so for me it has all been about developing a strategy to spread my brand.

Take us back to your life before being a bestseller. What were you like growing up?
I was your typical urban teen, somewhat of a tomboy. When I turned 8 or 9 something happened in me and I started looking at the world differently. After high school I majored in business and eventually became a Xerox sales rep.

So what led you to writing?
There were a lot of things going on during that time: I was getting a divorce and was unemployed. Essence Magazine was running a writing contest with a chance to win $2,000 for the winner. With all the things I was going through I thought that was an easy thing for me to do, so I started from there. As I was writing I would share it with my friends, and they encouraged me to keep writing because they were enjoying my story that much. Believe me, they had many a laugh at my expense. I found it to be therapeutic and cheap therapy for me at the time. I became so involved that it was nothing for me to write 25 pages a day.

What have been some of the notable highlights of your career?
With my writing so many different types of books, it affords me the chance to enjoy a variety of opportunities. At one time I was signed to five publishers. One of my biggest projects has been writing the prequel to the Scarface series. They were preparing to re-release the movie so it was a chance to once again expand my reading audience.

When it comes to you as a writer, I have only read the books you have released under L. A. Banks. Talk to me about being one of the few African American female authors who have been widely received in the horror/suspense genres.
There are some people who have a problem with the subject matter of my books that I write under L. A. Banks. I don’t approach the subject matter by glorifying the evil. In my books the good always triumphs. The truth is that I have a problem philosophically with vampires, and for that reason I wasn’t trying to deal with the subject like Anne Rice and others. It was my goal to show an African American female who was taking on the evil in the world. As a mother I wanted to show that evil does exist in the world—and that as imperfect people who have to do our part to combat it.

L. A., you have managed to stay so humble in spite of all of your success. What do you attribute that to?
(laughs) When you’re climbing you don’t see the success you are making. You’re just focused on the grind. Also, having a kid will keep you grounded and down to earth.

Now that you have been in the game for some time now, do you get anxious when you’re getting ready to release a new title?
Every time, Cyrus. I always have a sense of nervousness and tend to be a little paranoid. You can’t take anything for granted, not with the industry growing and changing the way that it does. The ability to do what I have been able to do is a gift. When you start believing your own press that is when you fall.

To hear Bestselling author L. A. Banks along with authors Jerry B. Jenkins (Left Behind Series), Evie Rhodes (Criss Cross) and Jewell Parker Rhodes (Yellow Moon) discuss Faith and Literature on Conversations LIVE visit www.tinyurl.com/faithandliterature.

"APPRECIATING THE MOMENT: The LaShunda Lewis Jones Story"

by Cyrus Webb

All of us want to feel as though we are living for something, that the time we have on this earth mattered and means something. For some this means finding somone who completes us and adds fulfillment to our lives like nothing else. Such is the case with LaShunda Lewis Jones.

At the young age of thirty-five the Mississippi native has experienced some of the highest of highs and life's lowest of lows. In 2004 she met the man she believed she would spend the rest of her life with. In December 2010 she found herself having to say goodbye after losing him to cancer. It is the life they lived in between those two dates that showcase what it means to make the most of each day and how to deal with events that threaten to destroy you.

"I met my husband (Tommy Jones) in September 2004," LaShunda told me. "He was a family-oriented person. Very quiet, not outgoing at all. We both had children, and we were both interested in making each other happy."

The two moved in with each other in September 2005, and for LaShunda it seemed as though everything was headed in the right direction. It was two years later, though, that the couple experienced what was to be a first in a series of setbacks.

"Tommy had been having a lot of stomach pain," LaShunda says. "It had been going on for over a year. In July 2007 he was admitted into the hospital and after a colonastomy it was revealed that he had stage four cancer." She was to learn later that at least four people in his family had passed due to cancer. One was even colon cancer.

The diagnosis had an immediate effect. "Tommy became really depressed after that," LaShunda told me. "From that time until he passed he was always having ups and down, good days and bad days. This is what people don't seem to understand. With cancer one day you are laughing and talking and having a blast, and the next day you are feeling so bad you can't get out of bed."

In spite of the cancer diagnosis and the realization of what the outcome might be, the two became engaged in July 2009. They had found something that they wanted to live for: each other. What did LaShunda think about when he proposed? "There was never a time when I thought I couldn't marry him," she says. "He would want to talk of what I would do if he didn't make it, but I tried to keep him positive. I was the support. 'Let's speak positive words,' I would say to him. 'We are going to get through this.' One day we were sitting down talking and he told me that this was a lot of emotional stress. 'The only thing I need for you to do is be there,' he said to me."

At this time even though LaShunda and Tommy had been told that he had stage four cancer, she still was holding out hope for the best. "It never dawned on me that stage four was the last stage of cancer," she said to me. "I really thought we had some hope until the very end."

Sadly, Tommy Jones lost his battle with cancer on December 27, 2010. Today LaShunda is still dealing with the loss of her husband and making sense of her life and how to move forward. "When a person you love has cancer the whole family has cancer," she told me. "When he was happy, I was happy. When he was sad, I was sad. I went with the flow. I don't think people understood what I was going through or what I am going through now."

As a person who has always seen herself as a believer, how has her faith held up during this process? "I feel like my faith was tested in many ways," she says. "The only thing I relied on was God and scriptures. I thought God would answer my prayers. As time went on I couldn't understand why Tommy wasn't getting better. I was praying 'Please, Lord, let him make it.' When he didn't I have to admit that I started to have some doubt about Him. I then began asking 'Are you up there? Are you hearing me?'"

"It's a lot of stress dealing with someone that ill, not knowing if they are going to get better or not. I would say whatever they want, do it. You never know if that is going to be the last moment or the last day. Don't take any moment for granted."

When asked was there ever a time when she thought about giving up, LaShunda's answer was quick and truthful. "Yes. Without a doubt. I went through the stage of I couldn't do it any more. It was all too much. I felt alone. It was like I was dealing with this by myself. What I wanted is for someone to relieve some of the stress from me. I wanted someone to understand what I was going through."

I think we can all understand the feelings behind LaShunda Lewis Jones' story. Learning to love yourself can be hard enough. Loving someone else can be almost impossible. As in LaShunda's case, however, the reward can be more than worth the risk, and what comes out of it might be a larger lesson and appreciation that we couldn't have even expected.

May we make it our goal to not only take that risk but be there for those who might be in need of that extra encouragement. That way we can make sure that no one feels as though they have to go through the dark days alone.

JACKSON JUGGERNAUTS: Reaping The Rewards Of Faithfulness

by Cyrus Webb

We are told that those that show themselves faith in that which is least will be faithful in much. I personally believe that, and I think that kind of faithfulness comes with determination, perseverance and a sense of loyalty that is sometimes hard to find.

There are examples, however, that should give us hope. Take Tran Myers for instance. Tran and I graduated from high school together in 1994 and though we didn't really keep in touch much over the years, both of us have been using our passion for what we love to help inspire other people. Mine was in the arts. For Tran, it was football. This led him to where he is now, a coach for the past couple of years with the Jackson Juggernauts.

Though only three years old, the Jackson Juggernauts has already begun to make a name for itself and rallied the support of Jackson, Mississippi along the way. According to Tran the owner of the team (Joseph Bean of Louisiana) was looking to put together a team that would give men an opportunity to play football and prepare for either entry into college or just help them in their training. Tran had been working with little league football for seven years at the time, and when Bean came to Jackson with the idea of bringing a minor league football team into the city my former classmate reached out, making himself available. "I would go over and run the scoreboard and clock for them," Tran told me. "I was just there to help do whatever they needed to be successful."

Tran explained to me that what the Jackson Juggernauts offer is an opportunity to help individuals who are ready and willing to help themselves. Those eligible are 18 years old and older. There is no real cut off for those who can join the Juggernauts. Some of the plays are between the ages of 40-45. "This is a real opportunity for the guys to get themselves in shape for a junior college or even a four-year college," Tran says.

Looking at what they have achieved in the past couple of years Tran says the guys putting in the effort is what is a welcome surprise for him. "They are trying to take advantage of the opportunity to get back on the field," he says "We are giving them a chance to be seen and heard as well as possibly pick their careers up off the ground."

What is expected of those who want to join the Jackson Juggernauts?

Well, it goes back to the faithfulness I spoke about earlier. Tran explains this way: "They need to basically come out to practice, meet with the coaching staff and be ready to work." He tells me that they have to filter through those who apply and make sure that they are giving the opportunity to those who will really appreciate it and not take advantage of the situation, thus hurting the rest of the team.

There is pressure for the coaches as well. "We want to make sure that we have all of our pieces lined up," he says. "We look at these guys as being two year players for this team. First year you should be getting into the groove of how we run the team, and the second year you should have everything mastered and ready to compete further. This can mean the opportunity to either get back in school or excel further in other ways."

No matter what they have accomplished so far, Tran is always pushing himself and the rest of the team each day. "We finished 10-2 last season," he told me, "but there was room for improvement." It boils down to the dedication aspect, being faithful in the small things. "If you can't do what it takes to be on board, we don't need you," Tran adds.

As with any endeavor in life there have been some body blows for those who make up the Jackson Juggernauts. In 2010 after winning the championship Tran told me that two coaches along with 25 members left and formed their own teams. Ironically they only lasted about 3 games, being "suspended for noncompliance of league rules." The motive for their departure? Money. I believe, though, that it would be fair to say they they showed the level of their faithfulness, nor lack of. As in any project that you devote your time and resources to, your intentions will dictate how far you are filling to go in order to see a favorable result. Tran agrees. After the departure of his fellow coaches and some of the players he helped groom, he understood an important lesson that he was then able to pass on. "If you are not in it for the right reason, you won't succeed," he says. "You can't deceive the guys or yourself. Conduct yourself as a professional at all times."

And so the Jackson Juggernauts move forward, ready for another year of challenges and endless possibilities. Along with them are coaches like Brant Covey, Travis Readus and Tran Myers ready to support and motivate them every step of the way. For those in the Jackson, Mississippi area or wherever the Juggernauts may be playing Tran offer this advice: "Come out and show that this is something that you love, something that is positive and brings people together. In order for us to hold that crown and to be looked at as a premier state, we have to get the word out. It's gong to open doors for these guys in the future."

Another great example of what can be accomplished when you remain faithful and open to the opportunities. For more information about the Jackson Juggernauts search them on Facebook visit http://jacksonjuggernauts.weebly.com. Tran Myers can be reached by email at jacksonjuggernauts@gmail.com or at 601.665.7444.

"Artists To Watch" by Stanley Clark (Sept./Oct. 2011)

Below you'll find the three recording artists chosen by Conversations' own Stanley Clark as September/October 2011's "Artists To Watch".






Group Name: Marie (Memphis,TN)

Current Project: "Marie"
Current Single: "Rock With You"
www.ravenrealan.com or lewis.family19@yahoo.com


Name: Rosemarie Ashley (St.Clair Shores,Mi)

Current Project: From Primal to Divine
Standout Single: Pay Day Blues
www.SassyAlternativeMusic.com


Name: Hiromi Kanda (Japan)

Current Project: Days Of Yesterday
Standout Single: All of me
www.hiromikanda.com

Stanley Clark is the Asst. Music Editor for Conversations Magazine. Interested in being featured by Stanley Clark and his "Artists To Watch" column? Contact him directly by email at sclarkpickens@aol.com or 601.832.0673. You can also find out more information about Stan by visiting www.forthepeopleproductions.com.

"Once Upon a Time in the Time of the Nazis..."

by Jo Ann Bender

There was a romantic fairy tale being spun in Europe before and during World War II.
Only honey blondes, reddish blondes, or young women with light chestnut hair were hearing this enchanting tale told by members of the SS and the Gestapo.
Shush! It was a secret, factual, able to be proven, but still few people heard the tale then or now.
It was told in the time of war and economic stress which made it so alluring. The story was about luxurious places in remote and sequestered places: hotels, ski resorts, palatial villas.
Those had been restructured and furnished with the most elaborate and often choice period antiques.
The food was plentiful, all you could want. You’d feel safe, away from the war, tucked behind ornate, curving and beautiful driveways that lead to beautiful building behind lovely guarded wrought-iron fences.
All you had to agree to do was to have a baby for Hitler’s Master Race. You could go away and enjoy the months before the birth at the home with its planned activities and could stay on for three more months. You could take the parcel or not. It was your decision.

Of course, you were one of the very special women who had passed the rigid rules for being allowed to stay once you arrived. Only forty percent passed for their Aryan purity. The father’s paperwork specified his paternity, his physical fitness so good, he had not even a dental filling, and heritage verified back several generations as pure Aryan, no other nationality to gum up the process.
You willingly signed the agreement to give the baby to a solid and upstanding childless German couple or to one of the father’s grandparents. That was the rule.
There excellent jobs waiting for your reentry to the world, too. It would give you warm, fuzzy feelings to hear that your child would be a leader in their new and pure Master Race.

No one knew it at the time you were giving the baby away, that the Third Reich wouldn’t continue its magnificent march to conquer the world.
Before the war started, Himmler thought ahead and planned how women in the conquered nations would take part. He sent men called talent scouts to Aryan-like nations, yes, even to the United States and to Canada, to take photos of prospects to put in the big black books with the SS logos embellished on the cover, the ones that matched the books with each page registering the birth of a Lebensborn child. When anyone referred to the conquest plan, Britain’s women for example were called: Blueberry.
Births were registered with the SS only, not the local government. The big books were guarded, kept secret. The address on the document for the father was usually that of an SS club.

Then things took a turn. The Allies were coming. The order came down from Hitler to close the homes and destroy all the books and records. The Lebensborn homes in other countries such as Norway, however, did not destroy the birth registries. Those still exist and those children have formed a support group and try to help one another locate their “true” parents, the mother sworn to secrecy under a Nazi dagger.

The children of the Lebensborn homes became an embarrassment to their mothers, or to the foster parents who tried keeping their birth a secret. The children had to ask why the names they were being called felt so terrible and why no one liked them.
To survive, a Lebensborn child often had little if any education, parental or community help. All they knew was that their life was one of torment, shunning and that they were often physically abused. It is terrible, but it is true, and being told in courtrooms around the world now as children born in the Lebensborn homes seek compensation for their tragic, conflicted lives, ones which started so magically.


Jo Ann Bender is the author of the book LEBENSBORN. You can find out more information about the book and her at http://tinyurl.com/authorjoannbender.

"Surrounded" by Alexander Gibson

What makes me feel the way I do?  Is it the inward or outward?  My surroundings cause me to be surrounded.

Bars, fences, doors and wires.  Am I really surrounded?  Is my entrapment physical or mental?

My surroundings are of less than adequate conditions.

If I am to better myself then why am I not surrounded by the necessary materials to do so?

Surrounded on all sides, physically limited and mentally disturbed, I still try to strive!

Changing my surroundings doesn't change me being surrounded.

A direct contradiction to the normal train of thought.  Placing tangibility on the word itself allows me to be free.

My surroundings are me.  I take them everywhere I go.  I surround myself with thoughts and dreams.

A proactive approach to a reactive situation.  Why take what I can't give and give what shouldn't be taken.

Surroundings don't make a man or the opposite.  A small piece to an unfinished puzzle.

Ignorance, deceit, hatred and evil are all a part of this inhumane, manmade society.

Drifted so far from the original intention.  What can one to do cope?  Getting by or getting away... what's better?

Surroundings are situational and sometimes unavoidable, circumstantial and always present.

Nevertheless the choice is yours.  Surrounded is complete in and of itself but not an impossible feat.

A life-long fight won without on blow.  Beaten but not broken

I control my surroundings and what I'm surrounded by has no control over me.

 

Alexander Gibson can be reached at realpoet0315@gmail.com or on Facebook at www.tinyurl.com/realpoet0315.