14 posts from May 2008

EDC Creations is hosting a midnight cruise Saturday, August 16, 2008 to showcase books released in time for the 2008 Holiday Season!

Spend a moonlit evening with 15 meetup groups, 10 book clubs, and 30 hot authors while cruising on Odyssey Cruises. For avid readers and lovers of fictional books, we offer fine dining, networking, and entertainment on the Potomac, in Washington DC.

The first 20 people to register, will attend the event with Ella in a Stretch Hummer and sit at a special VIP table with The Black Authors Network Featured Authors!

Readers dance, party, and network with the hottest authors on the planet! Free books will be given away, as well as promotional baskets by local business owners.

The moon will be full, the music jumping, don't miss a chance to meet Mr. or Ms. Right during our speed dating segment! Click the image for full details.

 Email Ella if you would like to be a part of a romantic cruise in DC. Complete with authors signing new releases, sensual poetry, dancing, speed dating, previews of the best books published for the holidays.

The buffet is included, as well as a welcome bag sponsored by Xpress Yourself Publishing, Simply Said, and A Good Book, bookstore along with fantastic 5 bookclubs.

Are you coming to party with us? It's Ella's birthday too! If you have an August or September birthday too, come on let's all celebrate together.

SLS Audio Bookclub

Summervictoria

1 comment

"A Special Summer is a new captivating debut for Victoria Wells. Exciting characters and true to life situations will keep you wanting more."

Dianthia Lemons, Reviewer for Romance In Color

Essence Book Festival
July 4-6, 2008
Host Hotel: Wyndham Riverfront Hotel
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana

Attention authors, poets, booklovers, and fun seekers EDC Creations owner, Ella Curry, will be attending the 2008 Essence Book Festival,  July 3-7, 2008. If you would like to share a room and explore the festivites with EDC Creations, please read all the information below. This invitation is limited to 12 party goers!

The ESSENCE Music Festival hosts three full days of dynamic speakers at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. No tickets needed. Just come and enjoy!

List of seminars below:
http://www.essence.com/essence/emf/seminars.html

Daytime Festival activities at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center will feature the free and open-to-the-public ESSENCE Empowerment Seminars, non-profit community organization exhibits, food booths showcasing world renowned New Orleans cuisine, the Festival's book fair, author signings, celebrity meet-and-greets, sponsor exhibits, the Essence Boutique, as well as the popular ESSENCE Marketplace.

ESSENCE MARKETPLACE will be open July 4, 5, and 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

EDC Creations Event Hotel:
Wyndham Riverfront Hotel--$325.00 includes 4 night stay
701 Convention Center Boulevard
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: (504) 524-8200
Check out the hotel: www.wyndhamriverfront.com

Booking room for: July 3-7, 2008
Ella is checking in July 3 and checking out July 7; you can adjust your schedule

Wyndham Riverfront Hotel- Superbly-situated among New Orleans hotels, the Wyndham Riverfront is positioned between Harrah's New Orleans Casino and Ernest Morial Convention Center. New Orleans is within easy walking distance of many of the city's most notable attractions including the French Quarter, The Riverwalk, Canal Place Shopping, the Aquarium of the Americas, the Art District and more. Check-in Time: 3:00 PM; Check-out Time: 12:00 Noon

If you are interested in attending the 2008 Essence Book Festival with EDC Creations, please pay the $200.00 non-refundable deposit today. Offer ends June 8, 2008. Ella is available for questions at: ellacurry@edc-creations.com

THE SAGA OF TWO FAMILIES

Rehoboth Road  and The Dancing Willow Tree

Location: Rehoboth, Georgia
A Fictitious Community Located Thirty Minutes South Of Macon, Georgia

Rehoboth Road opened in 1950 Rev. John Turner was a tall, well built, pleasing to the eye, handsome man in his late thirties. He was a proud man and was well respected in the community. He believed the words of the Bible were the only acceptable way of living a Christian life. He was a proud man and although he preached that he was called by the Lord, he failed to realize it was his duty to first minister to those who were lost; he considered them too lost to heed the word of God.

When his daughter, Elizabeth delivered her son in the girl’s bathroom at the high school, Reverend Turners was only concerned with how much she had disgraced him. He disowned her and her son, Johnny for the next thirty-six years, even when he had finally realized the truth about her being raped by his assistant pastor, Rev. Owen Oliver.

Rehoboth Road is a work of fiction that was inspired by an elderly family friend who shared her secret of being raped at age fifteen with me. Soon after its publication, many people asked if my friend became pregnant by her rapist and I said no. Today, My Friend is in the moderate stage of Alzheimer disease and last fall I met a lovely lady who appeared to be in her late seventies. She told me she was My Friend’s daughter.

I believe My Friend told me her story because she had been diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimer and she didn’t want her secret to be lost; she wanted to be counted along with the hundreds of thousands of other women who had been violated and who are still being violated today. There are other messages that came from Rehoboth Road. Among them are:

- Even when you have let go of the Lord’s hand, He is still holding on to you.

- Parents and guardians protect your children. Don’t dismiss the things they say.

- Parents and guardians teach your children that the lease likely person they come in

          contact with may be a child molester. With reference to their body, if something

         doesn’t feel right, it isn’t right.

- Parents and guardians must teach their children, ‘When to Tell’. And parents and

          guardians must listen and take the necessary action.

Rehoboth Road  Book Information

Publisher:   Genesis Press Inc

Page:  385

ISBN 10: 1-58571196-9

ISBN 13:  978-15857119-6-3

Retail Price: $12.95

Purchase online and bookstores

The Dancing Willow Tree

In 1950, young Elizabeth Turner was raped by Reverend Oliver, the assistant pastor of her father’s church. After a hidden pregnancy she gave birth to a son, Johnny. Reverend Turner, Elizabeth’s father refused to respond to her story of rape and disowned her and her son. He forced Elizabeth and his wife Loretha to hide the identity of the baby’s father and live the next thirty six years with lies and secrets. 

In 1986, Reverend Oliver was forced to confess to his family as well as the Turner family, but before he could leave Rehoboth he became seriously ill. The ripple effect of his confession touches everyone causing them to have an array of physical and emotions reactions. As Elizabeth continued to move on with her life, she didn’t know the secret her husband, Nat harbored was the cause of his suffering and enormous pain.

Thea, Reverend Oliver’s wife, could not escape the disgrace and shame she was feeling. She watched painfully as her son, Malcolm tried to forge a relationship with his brother, Johnny. And she never knew Malcolm was also struggling to come to terms with his sexuality.

Thea’s most plaguing dilemma had to do with her relationship with her husband. Her only consolation was an old weeping willow tree in her front yard where the graceful branches would dance on the mild summer breezes. Thea called it her dancing willow tree and she would sit under it daily to pray and receive guidance from the Lord. She knew if her husband was to be saved, she had to give him a life threatening ultimatum

The Dancing Willow Tree Book Information

Publisher:   Black Deer Books

Page:  212

ISBN 10: 0-9729455-2-0

ISBN 13:  978-0-9729455-2-3

Retail Price: $15.00

Release date: October 26, 2007  Early release to the publisher, Black Deer Books.

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, and other online sites. May be purchased through major book stores.

The much awaited sequel, The Dancing Willow Tree, addresses family disgrace, hidden paternity, and questionable sexuality, while presenting a series of ultimatums. The readers will take an unforgettable literary journey.

Note: 15% of all book sales will be donated to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.

Anita Ballard-Jones is touring America greeting book lovers and the publishing community. She is available for book signings, bookclub chats, and all literary events. Email requests for speaking engagements or bulk book orders to: Email:  ABallardjo@aol.com. The Dancing Willow Tree is available for purchase at all major online book sellers, Amazon.com, and through the author.

The Dancing Willow Tree |  Released Oct.26, 2007  | ISBN-10: 0972945520 | ISBN-13: 978-0972945523

Contact:
A. Jones
Black Deer Books
P.O. Box 841
Henderson, NC   27536
Telephone: 252- 432-1518
Email:  ABallardjo@aol.com
Website: http://www.anitaballard-jones.com

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:

Black Expressions Featured Author Returns to Rehoboth Road

Henderson, N.C., March 29, 2008 — Anita Ballard-Jones, author of the highly acclaimed Rehoboth Road, releases the sequel, The Dancing Willow Tree. The Dancing Willow Tree continues the action filled saga of two families, which have been harboring secrets, lies, and emotional pain. Rehoboth Road was released on July 7, 2006, and during the same month it was the featured book for the Black Expressions Book Club. Today, it remains one of Black Expressions’ member favorites. Within weeks of the release, Anita began receiving e-mails from her new fans from every corner of the United States and the United Kingdom, and it continues to this day. Everyone sang their praises for Rehoboth Road, and almost everyone asked for a sequel. Ms. Ballard-Jones says, "The Dancing Willow Tree was written for the love of her fans."

Rehoboth Road opened in 1950 Rev. John Turner was a tall, well built, pleasing to the eye, handsome man in his late thirties. He was a proud man and was well respected in the community. He believed the words of the Bible were the only acceptable way of living a Christian life. He was a proud man and although he preached that he was called by the Lord, he failed to realize it was his duty to first minister to those who were lost; he considered them too lost to heed the word of God.

When his daughter, Elizabeth delivered her son in the girl’s bathroom at the high school, Reverend Turners was only concerned with how much she had disgraced him. He disowned her and her son, Johnny for the next thirty-six years, even when he had finally realized the truth about her being raped by his assistant pastor, Rev. Owen Oliver.

Thirty-six years later in The Dancing Willow Tree, Reverend Turner is in is late seventies and he has had a major heart attack. The pain he caused Elizabeth and Johnny, and the rift he created in his family have taken a toll on him. In 1986, Reverend Oliver was forced to confess to his family as well as the Turner family that he raped Elizabeth. The ripple effect of his confession touches everyone causing them to have an array of physical and emotions reactions. As Elizabeth continues to move on with life, she didn’t know her husband, Nat was holding a secret that was causing him to suffer enormous pain.

The much awaited sequel, The Dancing Willow Tree, addresses family disgrace, hidden paternity, and questionable sexuality, while presenting a series of ultimatums. The readers will take an unforgettable literary journey.

Note: 15% of all book sales will be donated to the American Breast Cancer Foundation.

Anita Ballard-Jones is touring America greeting book lovers and the publishing community. She is available for book signings, bookclub chats, and all literary events. Email requests for speaking engagements or bulk book orders to: Email:  ABallardjo@aol.com. The Dancing Willow Tree is available for purchase at all major online book sellers, Amazon.com, and through the author.

The Dancing Willow Tree |  Released Oct.26, 2007  | ISBN-10: 0972945520 | ISBN-13: 978-0972945523

# # #

Old Age, I decided, is a gift..........  
   
I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be.  Oh, not
my body!  I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And  often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long. 

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or
a flatter belly.  As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend.   
 
I don' t chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avant garde on my patio.  I am entitled to a treat,
to be messy, to be extravagant..   
 
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. 
   
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?    
 
I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70's, and if I, at the same time,
wish to weep over a lost love . I will. 

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into
the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set . 
They, too, will get old. &nb sp;
I know I am sometimes forgetful.  But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.   
 
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken.   How can your heart not break when you lose
a loved  one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? 
But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.  A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect. 

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.  So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.     
 
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care le ss about what other people think.  I don't    question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.   
 
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free.  I like the person I have become.
I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could
have been, or worrying about what will be.  And I shall eat dessert every single day. (If I feel like it) 
 
MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE   HEART! 

MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE A RAINBOW OF SMILES ON YOUR FACE AND IN YOUR HEART FOREVER AND EVER! 

FRIENDS FOREVER! 

EDC Creations