The New Suzy's DREAMGIRL and an excerpt from my book....STAY TUNED.

Boy was I shocked to see a blog today from Suzy Black's Dreamgirl blog (sexy lingerie for the Christian married woman) with a pic of my face on it! It totally surprised me!  But, The New Suzy is full of sexy surprises so I should have seen it coming!

 So... I am sharing with you and announcing at the same time..."I am coming out with a relationship book!  AHHHH!!!!  That's right! I said it, a relationship book.  I wouldn't call myself a relationship guru, well...maybe I would...but, I know I have sure been through enough ups and downs to know a few things.  And, what I haven't gone through, I have plenty of friends both men and women, who have gone through hell, and I was there to help them during their crisis and back to earth!  lol.

#TheyALLComeBack, my book is all about break-ups, the dating game, and how to keep a relationship TURNT UP!  Lol.

I guess now the cat's out of the bag!

Oh, and "STAY TUNED!"  I just might need your input!

Check out the DREAMGIRL blog and an excerpt (TIP) from my book titled "Just Because."

SUZY BLACK - DREAM GIRL - "Just Because"

Women Have To BREAK Down Doors!

This blog post was worth a repost! As a female director, I seek for more opportunities to express myself and my viewpoints creatively.  But the truth is, there aren't many given to women!  What does this mean for me you ask? This means I have to BREAK DOWN DOORS TO GET THROUGH.  I will kick them in, climb through windows and event open some doors and walk on through.  But, I'm getting through! 

"There is no lack of female directors. Repeat after me: THERE IS NO LACK OF FEMALE DIRECTORS. But there is a huge lack of people willing to give female directors opportunities. I swear, if anyone near me even so much as whispers the sentence "Women probably don't want to direct," my fist will fly as a reflex action."

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE: 

By Lexi Alexander | Indiewire

http://www.indiewire.com/article/no-more-excuses-hollywood-needs-to-hire-more-female-directors?utm_s

Are Reality Stars "Victims" of Exploitation or are They Truly Unaware?

I recently read a post by Reality TV Executive Producer, Tracey Baker-Simmons (producer of The Houstons, and Being Bobby Brown); a women I have grown to admire and respect in the business! 

She writes about reality TV stars, and in my opinion, forces the viewer to differentiate between reality TV producers who "exploit" people's lives in a negative way and the individuals who are truly unaware of their fatal flaws until exposed on camera.  I think she makes very valid points and this article is something future reality TV producers should read and certainly the viewers to gain a different perspective.  What are your thoughts? 

http://creatingrealitytv.blogspot.com/2014/11/are-reality-stars-really-that.html?m=1

~Tracey Baker-Simmons (Executive Producer)

Check out my latest interview on ABC's Here and Now show

I'm feeling  very blessed!  God is allowing me to spread the word about the current film I am directing/producing and at the same time I'm doing His work; helping to bring healing and light to pain and darkness.  I'm #grateful.

Here is the interview here: 

http://7online.com/364664/

Win prizes and be a guest on The Positive Controversy!

Hi Friends and Fam! 

Wanna win prizes? Then join the challenge!  

Then Catch up on our show, The Positive Controversy and be prepared to answer questions to win!

Watch to find out what Kristen L. Pope and the panel  of guests had to say about Kanye, Macklemore, Kendrick Lamar and more! Watch all of season 1's 6 episodes!  Lastly, stay tuned to see how you can be a special guest on our show! 

WATCH NOW! 

http://kristenlpope.com/category/positive-controversy/season-1/

Pushing Past Overwhelmingness - Words of Wisdom From a Few Ambitious Women

Can there be LIFE BALANCE?

I have been feeling overwhelmed for a while now; about 2-3 months now.  I believed its because I had too many things going on all at once. During this time I'd think, Well, how does Tyler Perry, Oprah and Shonda Rhimes do everything that they do?  These three are my models; my benchmarks.  I stressed myself to find a way to push past the overpowering feeling of overwhelmingness.  After 2 vacations I still felt overwhelmed and became very unproductive.  I tried listening to inspirational messages from TD Jake's series on "Instinct" and they were good.  Very Good.  Admittedly, they inspired me and that feeling lasted for 2-3 hours after listening to them.  So I prayed.  It wasn't until this past Wednesday that I felt a change leading me back to my normal passionate grind and hustle.  Every Wednesday, I and 3 other very motivated and driven women lead an 1 hour "Girltalk" on Twitter.  I realize that I'd been chosen to lead the chat and that the topic was "The Balancing Act: How to Balance it All!"  "Who? Me?  Why would the group choose me for this topic?  I am not the person to have this conversation with a bunch of driven ambitious women.  I don't even know what probing questions to ask? Grrr"
 
Disclaimer:  I am not usually a person who is unproductive.  I get's things done! Usually, I can work 8 hours, love my husband, teach my kid math, reading, and do an art project, then cook a 3 course dinner, wash and fold 2 loads of clothes, workout, take a few phone calls for leisure, write pages of a script, take a prayer call, then put my son to bed, after bathing and reading him a book.  People have wondered how I get so much done in the day! I believe God stops time for about 4 hours each day; only for me.   Lately, however, I've felt like I've had only 14 hour days.

Thank God I lead this topic!  This weeks, "Girltalk" really helped.  It was my prayer answered.  It was the very thing I needed to feel re-energized and back on point!  Focused!  I want to share with you a few takeaways that helped to re-focus.  Life Coach, Dee Marshall joined in the chat and really had some words of wisdom about living in Harmony and not balance.  She said, "Until you reverse perpetual cycles of disorder, you will experience failure/defeat!"  In fact, just hearing great words of wisdom from all of the women who joined the chat, helped me to change my daily planning!  Dee Marshall said, "Begin with plan according to HIGHEST priorities and evaluating everything based on my gauge, motive and intention and expected outcome!  In my heart, I know I know to prioritize.  But, what I'd been missing lately is gauging what the highest priority is based on timeline.  My good friend and Women of Power, Kristen Pope said, "Each day presents a new set of challenges.  No day is like the last.  I think where I went wrong is by keeping the same list of priorities and not allowing my highest priority to affect what I did each day.  My priorities were changing based on my timelines but I was not changing.  I was making everything a priority.  I was stressing over what I couldn't finish.  I wasn't getting much sleep because I felt like I should be tackling things on my to do list. I was headed for disaster! What many of the ladies said helped me!

In case you are struggling, you can relate to this.  If not, then at least you can understand where I am coming from.  My biggest takeaway is that we must communicate with like minded people when we are struggling with our dreams and passions.  More than likely, people have been through the same thing and some have found resolutions they can pass on to help you! 

 

Where Social Activism Meets Art: My God, The Creator and Me.

You've probably already heard that I am writing/directing a documentary with a dear friend of mine KT Nelson, but if you haven't it's called, Face of Darkness- Journey to Healing.

I always know when I am working on a God project.  He gives me something to do; I mean a really grand idea, that I have absolutely NO experience with.  Then, as I am doing it, seemingly the blind leading the blind...He takes the blinders off and shows me how He has been with me all along, leading me every step of the way through it's creation.  By the end of every milestone, I can take NO credit for the successes.  But, He's so thoughtful, that He allows me to receive the credit, little awards in his honor, that really showcases me and not Him at all.  When I notice what He's done...I just shake my head and smile.  I thank Him for growing me in my creativity, my exposure and enlarging my border.  I thank Him for helping me to become the best creator (in his image and likeness), the best director, and producer, that I can be. 

My process has been interesting.  God always uses my creative abilities and uses them while interestingly mixing them with experiences I've lived through to tell about Him and His goodness.  He's a creator and made me in His image, therefore I create.  I've promised to do His will and therefore I tithe my God given talents to Him and I try to live as a witness for Him!

That's what I've been doing with this project Face of Darkness - Journey to Healing.  The objective was to create a film, yes.  But one that helps to heal, motivate and inspire people through and to God. 


In the video below, my partner and I discuss what drew us to do this project.  Our personal experiences with mental illness and how God is using us to spread his healing love!

Check out the Interview on The Positive Controversy with Kristen Pope.


Black Men: Mental Illness, Depression and Suicide (Episode 3)