I'm a Southern Girl who loves good storytelling, good company, seeing new places, and and eating good food!
I am a writer, director, and production designer for the stage and film. When I'm not on somebody's set, I'm in somebody's classroom. Among many places, I most recently taught acting and producing at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Hollywood from 2005 to 2011. I left AMDA to relocate to Atlanta, GA. My students were also my teachers...teaching me to continue to grow and evolve. They charged me inspire and teach by example and not simply by lecture. Because of them, I am forever changed.
I AM a student of the world. My growth ends at my death. It's hard to humble oneself and say "I don't know." It's healing to say, "Teach me." I, more than once, took a job I was completely unqualified to accept...and thankful for the opportunities because they shaped my ever growing vocabulary and understanding of the world. I was the first Program Director of the African American Heritage Program at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities at the University of Virginia in 2000...and yes, that title fit on my business card. They needed a historian. They hired a writer...and I was forever changed. I am the descendants of slaves in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Mama Elsie died in 1978 when I was six. Mama Elsie was the daughter of slaves. Mama Elsie, was the mama of Magnolia (my great grandmother), who was the mother of Thelma (my grandmother), who the mama of Linda (my mama). Mama Elsie, my great great grandmother, was the daughter of slaves and held me until I was six. I learned and loved...and I was forever changed.
I am a published writer of poetry, stageplays and short stories. My first book, "Hot Sauce & Honey", sold completely out of first print in the spring of 2003. HS&S is a collection of poems and reflections from eleven journals my grandmother inspired me to keep. Because I had trouble with my reading comprehension skills when I was a young girl, my grandmother told me to write my own stories, to master the words...don't let the words master me. She said to me, "Write it all down. You'll never know who will read it or need it." My grandmother WAS my Honey and my Honey, with no more than an 8th grade education, showed me a world of words. I was forever changed.
I take picture. I make movies. I photograph life and living. Sometimes still...sometimes in motion. I love a long lens. I love color. I love black and white. I love the moment time stands still in the press of the shutter...as well as capturing the re-telling with record. In 2011, I published my first coffee table book, The Box 69: A Photo Blog Series...a Photographic Chronicle in Verse, Song, and Crayons. My mom and my aunt showed me how to make a whole lot of somethin' out of a whole lot of nothin' in my life. Creativity in the everyday...Reinvention within the mundane. Sometimes the heart is broken...the spirit worn thin and requires repair...renewal...reinvention. They taught me how to love and keep loving, even if it meant starting over...picking yourself up from what feels like nothin' and continuing to make a whole lot of somethin'. When I think of the example God has given my sister and myself in my mom and my aunt, I am thankful and in every moment, know, I am forever changed.
I am the writer/creator of Genesis: New American Superheroes. This is my life's work. It is my passion to give the world superheroes reflective of the diverse spaces I possess. In total, I envision "Genesis" as 3 films, 9 books, a video game, and merchandise. I WILL leave my imprint on the Earth and its history with "Genesis". When you experience "Genesis", the way I carry it in my heart, it is my prayer that YOU will be forever changed.
I am a gay woman...a lesbian...a big ole dyke. Straight women are my vice, but EVERYONE has a bad habit. I tend to choose the "right now" women with the right love and I have no regrets. Every one of them are queens and with their love...and lessons...I am forever changed.
I am not the things I do. I am an artist, an Earth alien, not measurable by my resume...not qualifiable by money. I AM the life I live. And I thank God for it. This life is a gift.
I am forever growing...evolving...changing.
And thankfully.
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