Have you ever stood at the crossroads of ambition and divine intervention? That's precisely where I found myself when a spiritual nudge and a supportive network propelled me into the creation of "The Women of the Waiting Room" anthology, despite my prior avowals to never touch anthologies again. Join us as we traverse the emotional landscapes crafted by the riveting tales of faith and patience from the "Listen Linda" podcast, where listeners' stories have woven a tapestry of inspiration and solace for many.
Witness as we explore the intricate dance of emotions and connections within human relationships, particularly between men and women, fathers and daughters. With my guest host Carolyn Gentry Coleman , we dissect the profound influence of literature on personal growth and discuss the metaphorical 'waiting room' of life, encouraging a trust in the unseen. This anthology is more than a collection of stories; it's a journey alongside individuals who have faced the trials of physical pain and domestic violence and emerged with messages of hope and healing.
Finally, step behind the scenes of our creative process as we discuss the transformative power of book trailers, using my memoir "Mountains Can't Rise Without Earthquakes" as a case study for this pioneering marketing approach. We examine the raw honesty required to own one's narrative – an authenticity that resonates deeply with readers and empowers personal growth. This episode is an invitation to embrace your true self, to grow from your past, and to boldly declare, "Take me as I am," in the eternal pursuit of self-fulfillment.
Have you ever stood at the crossroads of ambition and divine intervention? That's precisely where I found myself when a spiritual nudge and a supportive network propelled me into the creation of "The Women of the Waiting Room" anthology, despite my prior avowals to never touch anthologies again. Join us as we traverse the emotional landscapes crafted by the riveting tales of faith and patience from the "Listen Linda" podcast, where listeners' stories have woven a tapestry of inspiration and solace for many.
Witness as we explore the intricate dance of emotions and connections within human relationships, particularly between men and women, fathers and daughters. With my guest host Carolyn Gentry Coleman , we dissect the profound influence of literature on personal growth and discuss the metaphorical 'waiting room' of life, encouraging a trust in the unseen. This anthology is more than a collection of stories; it's a journey alongside individuals who have faced the trials of physical pain and domestic violence and emerged with messages of hope and healing.
Finally, step behind the scenes of our creative process as we discuss the transformative power of book trailers, using my memoir "Mountains Can't Rise Without Earthquakes" as a case study for this pioneering marketing approach. We examine the raw honesty required to own one's narrative – an authenticity that resonates deeply with readers and empowers personal growth. This episode is an invitation to embrace your true self, to grow from your past, and to boldly declare, "Take me as I am," in the eternal pursuit of self-fulfillment.
I thought I was immune. Looking around this room Can't help but see the traces of you. This moment is surreal. I can't put into words how I feel alone, twin, where have you been? Nobody knows me like you do. Nobody gonna love me like you can Even deny it. Every time I try it. When I get my eye, you know I'm lying, body to body, skin to skin. I'm never gonna lie again, again.
Speaker 1:You were made for me, just for me, that you were made for me, only for me. I think you were made for me, for you. You were made for me, you were made for me. It ain't everyday that I get in my feelings this way. I know it was rare, cause before you I never did care. Don't know what I would do If I had to go on without you. Twin, where have you been? Nobody knows me like you do. Nobody gonna love me like you can Even denying every time I try One. Look in my eyes. You know I'm lying, lying this again. You were made for me, just for me. You were made for me, only for me. You were made for me. Oh yeah, you were made for me, made for me, made for me, made for me, made for me, just for me.
Speaker 2:Good morning, good morning Gentry, are you there? Yes, I am, I am, I, I am. I apologize, I kept saying my connection was being interrupted, so I am here. How are you doing? This morning? I am blessed by the best I'm. I'm getting, I'm getting. I'm nervous.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I don't understand where that's coming from, but I'll take it. Okay, let's start with something inspirational. It's really short, but I think it is appropriate. Hey, hello to your audience, hello to your listening audience. When you have a dream, you've got to grab it and never let go. Now that's by Carol Burnett. I think that was very appropriate for what we're doing here today. I think that's very appropriate for what we have going on and I do appreciate being a part of the takeover. We can take over people. We're taking over, we're taking over. We're going to be talking about this new anthology, where you are the vessel of the anthology and, um, I want the audience to know where did that come from? You know what?
Speaker 2:I participated in a few projects before pursuing this anthology and I was asked you know, hey, you know you want to come on board for another anthology and I said not in this lifetime. But I decided that I was not going to do any more anthologies, that I was just totally done. I was just going to focus on my individual projects. You know, my kids have projects coming out, my husband has projects coming out as far as in the literary world and then, of course, you know, I got the Listen Linda podcast. Now, I love my listeners and my you know, and my people and my supporters of Listen Linda, so I said I was going to give all of that attention to this. Well, I kept you know, getting you know this tugging at my spirit, say you need to, you know, check your analytics, check your analytics, check your analytics, check the analytics. I was like wow, and then I started putting people up who had the, you know, the most views or the most downloads, like every week, and I was starting to see, like who was bringing in the most impact. And, um, one day god said, you know, now people be like, god ain't told you how. You know, god told me y'all that I needed to come out with a project and that I needed to do an anthology. And I had already been asked this question by people because I was, you know, helping, you know, with the promotions and, you know, bringing people on board with the recruiting of the last anthology that I was in.
Speaker 2:And I had a situation where I say you know what I had people inboxing me. Oh, you know, I thought that. I thought this was your anthology. You know, I didn't know it was somebody else's. If you do one, then I do it and I'm just like what do you mean? Like that's not. No, I'm not doing the anthology for myself, I'm doing one for you know, I'm helping somebody else. Well, when you do yours call me, that's all I can hear. When you do yours call me, when you do yours call me, that's all I kept hearing. Well, you do yours call me, you do yours call me, so get my marinara. So I say you know what? I said God? I said this ain't my thing, you know, this ain't for me. And so God said yes, it is. So I said okay.
Speaker 2:So I called the publisher, ms Laquita Parks. I said look, some know my spirit telling me I need to do this. She said say no more. What do you need help with? And I'll help you with it. And then I called you, know you and a few other people, and everybody I called it was a no-brainer, you know, even though I heard you guys say y'all not doing orthology for a while. So I had to be, I had to humble myself child and say you know what? I'm just gonna call them and see what they say. And everybody I reached out to it was a no-brainer. It was absolutely whatever you're doing, we're gonna support you in it and I just you know. So that's where that came from. But the waiting room actually came from the segment that I do here and that's you know. Basically, women come on and they're telling their stories and they're telling, you know, how God used them or how God helped them, or how God delivered them from their waiting room, or they might be in their waiting season right now, or what does that feel like? So, um, yeah, so that's how that became about.
Speaker 2:You know, when you spoke of what people tell you, god didn't say to you and it's not just to you, my statement it's. I haven't heard that and I know somebody was. They weren't saying it directly to me, but they said it in my presence and I was like, well, I would be very careful with that statement if I was you and I wasn't being ugly. I said, because you don't know what private conversations God has with another individual and, uh, I just wouldn't get in God's business like that. I just personally would not get in that because it was not a conference call, because if I say God told me to do something, I really mean it. So it's really not up for you to input your negativity, so to speak, or your prophecy in this, so to speak, because that makes you a false prophet, because you honestly don't know what God puts in another individual.
Speaker 2:God may tell some people well, it's time for you to go, it's time for you to go, you know, it's time for you to drop a few people. No, you don't have to announce it to the world, but what you have to do is follow God's lead. If he gave it to you, gives you that unction, then that is your unction. It is not for everybody and you can be standing toe to toe with people, I mean elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder. But what he has for you, he's going to whisper it in your heart. So I I totally get that. I totally get it. But I think a lot of people don't, and that's fine, that's on them. And then some people wrestle with well, I know god told me, I know god told me and I'm like well, where is your? Why are you doubting? Well, because so and so said. That wasn't what god meant. I was like how?
Speaker 2:they know how they know. And then you're thrown off because you're listening to man, and then you're listening to God, and then you're conflicted and you're confused and you don't know what to do. So you have to go to God and say you know Lord, I believe you, I know, I heard you, I know, I heard what you said, but you're not going to always have people who support what you say and for whatever reason. For whatever reason, we just need to. You know, we walk by faith, not by sight, correct, because everybody's not going to walk with you, everybody's not going to roll with you. But we walk by faith and not by sight. And when it comes to fruition, whatever it is I'm not speaking just about the waiting room, but whatever it is you know it really is you and God. Sometimes you just have to get into your secret place in your prayer room, in your corner I call it my war room, and that's true In your war room, and just talk to God and you know he will verify. Well, god does, you know. If he doesn't bring you to. You know, when he brings you to something, he brings you to it, you know. So we have to. You know, shake off the naysayer, shake. So we have to, you know, shake off the naysayer, shake off the naysayer.
Speaker 2:And I was kind of of the ideology as you. Getting back to the waiting room, I was like, ok, I'm kind of tired. I'm kind of tired now. I've enjoyed the anthologies that I have been a part of, but I'm a little tired, I need to take a break, I need to do something different. I'm a little tired, I need to take a break, I need to do something different. And so when you came with your idea, I'm like I'm in. I didn't think twice, but I was like I'm in, you know, and here we go again with this cycle. But obedience is better than sacrifice. It really really is. You know, some other projects are along the way, but we're not here to talk about I mean, we're here to talk about your waiting room.
Speaker 2:And what is your vision, what is your purpose? What do you want the waiting room to do for women? You know what it's called the Women of the Waiting Room and I got the idea, like I said, from the the show, my show, my podcast, but I also got it from the women of Bruce's place, because in that movie that young girl came and moved into that building and the elder women in that building just took that young girl in and they spooked her under their wing and they gave her tough love. But they also gave her compassion, they gave her empathy, they gave her grace everything that she was not getting from home, gave her grace everything that she was not getting from home. And so when I think about that, I don't just think about it from a woman's perspective, I think it from a human's perspective, male or female, right.
Speaker 2:I want this book to not just empower women or girls or older women, but people, right, because everybody has a story and everybody goes through emotions, everybody goes through life challenges, whether they are good, whether they're better and different. And I feel like, even though I'm only bringing women on, men can get a purpose, you know, or they can get a healing or just somebody that they can relate to from the book too. Whether it's you know, they can figure out by reading this book why their mom treated them a certain way, or why their sister is how she is, if she's, you know, um, too fast, too soon, or, you know, dating the wrong guys, or why they, why they wife act the way she act, why they you know, they sibling, act the way they act, or how they may be, or why, why? Why they were raised the way that they were raised, if they were raised by a single parent or may have had a single grandmother, so on and so forth. So I think by reading the women's stories and the women's testimonies in this book, it will just give the world a more in-depth insight to human nature. Because women are nurturers and we procreate and we are the reason. Um, god uses us as vessels to birth the world. So the world can relate to this book, because women birth the world period. Oh, that's good. Um, and getting back to me, I never thought about it from that angle. But you are correct, men think they understand women and this is just Carolyn's opinion, this is Gentry's opinion but they don't. They don't.
Speaker 2:Our emotions are different, the way we perceive things are different. Sometimes we can see what other people can't see because, like you said, we're nurturers. So you know, we want to make sure that everybody is together, everybody's good, things are working out and we go two steps ahead to figure things out. You know, like, if you're on children being there, you know kids. If you're on children, you know kids, teenagers, young adults, you know, trying to navigate. We can say, oh, I've been there, done that, this is how you really need to handle that. And then you can see them relax because they're like, whew, somebody understands me. Now, men, I suck it up. You can't suck everything off. You can't suck everything off, you know. But there are truly some daddy's girls out there. They give you plain language to understand on how to navigate, how to navigate the world, how to navigate relationship, and they put it in um, I mean, I mean. So, yes, I, I, men who don't understand how to connect with daughters or how to connect with women, or, oh, she'll be all right. No, it's not always that she's going to be all right. She just might need you.
Speaker 2:I remember one day quote unquote being in a waiting room and I heard this guy. He showed up and you know, the lady was glad to see him and he said you don't need me to stay, do you Now? To me that meant I don't want to stay. That to me and I had nothing to do with that, that's just my nose in somebody else's business that meant to me he didn't want to stay. Of course she wanted you to stay. She called you. He was like, well, call me if you need me. And he was out and I was like, wow, wow.
Speaker 2:So this book may help men to see that sometimes you really need to be present for some things. You have to walk with your lady through something, you have to walk with your daughters through something in order for them to feel comfortable, protected, that they have a safe space, they have a shoulder to lean on. Does that make sense? You know, I'm glad you said that and that's the reason why I'm so, so glad that we have one of the contributing authors that are joining in on this anthology, dr Velma Bagby, because her CAT series speaks a lot on that. So, and I'll tell you why, me and my husband we're married, we're very happily married. I love him, he loves me, we love each other. And definitely catch that, catch that poetry, catch that. Oh, my God, am I? Oh, what, okay, do I need to get?
Speaker 1:a style concept. Now, you know, I got a lot of gifts.
Speaker 2:You know, look, I got a lot of gifts. These are not skills or talents that I had to practice on baby, it just come naturally. That's what you call a gift. That's what you call anointing. No, but it's not anything. Nothing that I gotta pretend to have, that don't have I just do have them, uh, but uh, no, uh.
Speaker 2:But seriously, uh, just reading the catch series, reading, um, the first book, the catch, no one wants um. Reading the um, the the wrong catch. You know me and my husband was reading those books and he said there's some fish in here that I kind of relate to, that kind of deal with me and maybe I need to work on that. Babe, what you think I was like, look, I wasn't going to say nothing to you, old trophy fish, but the shoe fit must have quit. But I feel like in that instance. And then I read A Shield Tear Down the the house and it was quite a few of them up in there that I can relate to and I said, man, I am a little bit like that, hyena, I am a little bit like this or like that, and I'm just like you know what. Maybe I need to work on these things because I feel like if we can look and we can hold ourselves accountable for the thing, because we don't want to, you know, read this and be like that, ain't me, yes, it is, your stuff could be going good, but it's always something that you can work on within yourself to make yourself a better person and I'm so glad that she's joining in and, like you said, when you're able to read something like what we're coming out with the waiting room and it's not just about, you know, looking at things from a female's perspective but realizing that, no matter what, god is always in the midst. So for people who feel like God ain't here, god ain't with me, where's God when I need him? Oh, he's right there. God ain't with me. Where's God when I need him? Oh, he's right there. He's just like that doctor that's in the back and you hurt yourself and you have to go to the emergency room, or you have to go to the doctor. Of course you're in pain, of course you need stitches, of course these things are going on, but it's other people that are in the world, it's other people that are in that emergency room too.
Speaker 2:So what you do is you grab your number, you sit and you be patient and, just like you could wait on that doctor, just like you could trust that pilot or that train operator or that bus driver or that Uber driver with your life, trust God the same way. And that's what the synopsis and the meaning behind the waiting room is Everybody got a turn. And the meaning behind the waiting room is Everybody got a turn, everybody got a waiting season. Sweetheart, you are not alone. You are not alone in that waiting season. But just know, when your number come up, god gonna do what he gotta do. He gonna show up and show out every time. And that is what this book is about the success stories, the success stories of everybody in their waiting room, in their waiting season, in their waiting season, in their journey. I ain't gonna say journey, oh no. And they and they path through life. Okay, yes, because, well, you know you, I hear you on the journey.
Speaker 2:But it, like I often tell my patients, you know some of their procedures are real, you know cut and dry. But I ask how are you feeling? Were there any problems? Are there any problems? No, no, I think it's going okay. I think it's going okay. Okay, as long as you feel like it's going okay.
Speaker 2:But on some of them I have to say recognize, this is a marathon, it's not a sprint, this is going to take you some time to get over. And one of my patients told me Carolyn, I'm so thankful that I had you to guide me through this. You kept telling me it wasn't a marathon. I mean that it was a marathon and not a sprint and it truly has been that. And you to encourage me on my bad days and to get me through those bad days, you know that just did a lot for me, because a lot of people I know that I'm looking for that pat on the back.
Speaker 2:But some people need you more than others at certain times in their lives, and that's just not in nursing, but that's in life. So you can walk a friend through their situation, through their heartache, through their break, through their miscarriage, through whatever they're going through, through a sickness of a loved one. Be there and do that, show up for them, because they are in the waiting room and when you are visiting or calling or offering you know, your help, your support, you're in that waiting room with them. You may not be as connected, but you're connected to that source for a reason, and it's not just for show. Like the guy said well, call me if you need me. I'm like you drove way over here for that. Well, that means he really didn't want to be bothered. He's not ready for the waiting room? Okay, but what could she do? Okay, then I will, you know. But you can see the disappointment on her face.
Speaker 2:At that point in time you need to be alone. You'd rather be alone because if someone does not want to sit with you and support you through something, you really don't need them at that point in time, you just don't need them. So the waiting room can be a lonely place, you know it can be full of support and at the same time it can be a lonely place. You know it can be full of support and at the same time it can be a lonesome place. So men do need to read and understand some of the emotions that women go through. But you know what A lot of times when you are alone, that's the best time for you to basically fast and wait on God and use your discernment and pray and just shut down and open up and let God in.
Speaker 2:You know there's been plenty of times I've had to go to the doctor and nobody was there my husband, of course. If he didn't have the kids he was there or if he wasn't at work he was there. But it's been plenty of times I had to put those big girl panties on and get up and go. I remember having my first surgery and nobody showed up except my husband. He wasn't even my husband or my boyfriend at the time. He was just a really good friend. None of my sisters and brothers came, none of my family, none of my. The time he was just a really good friend. None of my sisters and brothers came, none of my family, none of my close friends, nobody was there. When I opened my eyes, he was the only person that was there. And then, of course, you know, he had to go home and so I'm laying there plenty of times on the surgery table on that hospital, dealing with thyroid cancer, dealing with them cutting my neck open, taking my thyroid out, dealing with you know, a plethora of things. I've had kidney stones and had to be hospitalized, and I was in college A lot of things that I'm in there by myself and that was just time for me to talk with just me and God, and I agree with that.
Speaker 2:And when you're in that waiting room and we speak on that in the book as well, um, it's a couple of chapters that speak on just them, and it's just them and God, and and that's when you really find out that God is real, because you are there and he speaks to you. He speaks to you in a way that only you can recognize it, and so he might speak to you in a way that only you can recognize it, and so he might speak to you through somebody. He might use a nurse like you to be a vessel. He may use the doctor, he may use the janitor that comes in and cleans up the room, or whoever the person that makes up the bed, or the person that brings you your food or whatever. And if he don't speak through that, he'll speak through something that you're watching on TV. He'll speak through a song or a lyric that you may be listening to.
Speaker 2:So all I'm saying is that, with this project, we are not doing this to become bestsellers, because everybody that is in this anthology is a multi-best-selling author. So that's not what this mission is about. This is not a money grab, because it will not be an expensive book. This is not something for me to say that I'm the visionary on, because I am not. I am the vessel, but God is the visionary. God gave me this idea. I didn't think of it myself, and this is not a money grab for me because I only brought in seven people. Usually, when you see anthologies, they got to have over 20, 30, 300, 3,000 people, you know, charging all this crazy amount of money. I got my people and the door was closed because God said nope, this is all you need. Seven is the number of completion it is, and God gave me my seven and they just so happen to be very good friends of mine. But you can go on, listen, linda, go to Buzzsprout, check my analytics. Their numbers reflect the reason why they are in this anthology. That's great. That's great.
Speaker 2:So the goal is to reach as many people as possible, to enlighten them on life and life circumstances, how we affect one another or what an individual is going through, to bring some clarity, absolutely To teach some people some things. It's not always about you and your up season, okay, and your season of light. It's about being in your season of darkness. Trouble don't last always, it just doesn't. It may feel like it. It's not always a 24-hour thing. Sometimes it can be weeks or months, but one thing for sure you will come out the better on the end.
Speaker 2:So that's what I think also is the purpose of the waiting room. Sometimes you have to wait on something, and another thing that I really like about the waiting room is that we're not trying to take every story and blend them together, like you see in most anthologies, where all of them kind of blend together. Everybody is telling their story about what they feel the waiting room means to them. So, just like I told what the waiting room means to me, then you told what the waiting room means to you, and your stories reflect just that. This is more so of a chicken soup for your soul Reader's Digest type of thing that we're doing, but we're doing it and we're we're basically showing people that God is real and God is going to always be there for them, and I feel like that this even though, um, the enemy has been trying to attack no weapons for him will prosper, and I know that the enemy don't attack nothing that is not of God. And so I'm just excited. I'm truly, truly excited about the lives that could be saved and will be saved, and the people that will go back to God or go to God or have turned away from God and think he's not there.
Speaker 2:Pick up this book, read this book. But this book will also be available for audio book as well. So this will be an ebook, a paperback and an audio book for for people who just are not readers, who would just rather listen to the story. This book will be available. Uh, in in that, um, that aspect as well. Oh, that sounds good. I know a lot of people who like to listen as they drive. They like to listen to audiobooks as they drive, and that's a good thing. At least it will be portable. It will be available. It's accessible in more than one form. Be available is accessible in more than one form.
Speaker 2:Now, the seven people that you have all come from various backgrounds. Like you say, everyone is accustomed to being a number one bestseller. They have done that before. Can you tell us a little bit about just just a snippet about the other individuals? And then I know you mentioned the catch and dr v. Okay, well, we also have miss carolyn gentry cole, who is an international bestselling author. More than a couple of times over. She's a global podcaster, streaming live on Stationhead and StreamYard, and her podcast is called Gentry's Journey. She is a nurse. She is a decorated nurse at that. She's a pleather of things. She's a member of the Black community and she does a lot. She's a plethora of things. She's a member of the fourth black community and she does a lot. She's speaking in a waiting room. Her chapter is called Healing and if you go to my Facebook page, jacqueline Cox, you'll be able to see what her story consists of, because the trailer is available. Story consists of because the trailer is available.
Speaker 2:Also, we have melanie the voice johnson, ex-pastor's wife, ex-first lady um, poetess, award-winning poet, uh, international best-selling author, educator, um, and just all around, just beautiful person. You have Teresa Reese Dorsey, who is a government official in Louisiana, who also is a best-selling author. You can check her out on Reese Writes Books on Facebook. She is just a phenomenal writer, a phenomenal person. She's a philanthropist, she just does a lot for her community and for the state of Louisiana. So I'm so, so glad for her to be able to come in and share her story. You have Dr Audrey Ann Moses, who is a retired Navy veteran. She's a Christian life coach. She's a multi bestseller author and award winning author as well, and she's the wife of a veteran as well Both her and her husband are veterans of the Navy and she's also a psychiatrist as well and a therapist. So I'm so, so glad to have her story as well as her perspective and a Christian life coach's perspective.
Speaker 2:And then, of course we have Ms Laquita Paprovi-Parks, who is not just the publisher of this anthology but also a co-author. She is a serial entrepreneur, she has multiple nonprofit organizations, she is a mentor. She is a mentor, she is a mother, she is um also someone who suffered a medical childhood trauma at the age of four years old and has, uh, been, um, you know, dealing with pain for over 50 years of her life, every day. She doesn't know a day without pain, and it was all at the hands of a nurse at Grady's hospital. So say her name, laquita Parks you could google Laquita Parks, all that will come up. And she is telling her story, but not just the story that she always tells about her medical childhood trauma, but she's also telling other stories of things that have happened in her life as well, and with Melanie, you can also check out her trailer as well, and her trailer is called Healing Deferred and she speaks on, you know, the abuse, the domestic violence, the mental and physical and emotional abuse that she endured at the hands of her husband, who was actually a pastor. And so there's so many different stories in this book that everyone can relate to, not just women, but all women, all cultures, all backgrounds, all men the same, and this is going to be a game changer. I truly believe that this anthology is going to be a game changer. I truly believe that this anthology is going to be a game changer and I believe you and I am with you on that.
Speaker 2:Now, when you spoke of the trailers, let's speak about that for a minute. Where did that idea come from? Because I've seen two of the trailers and I'm just blown away by them, the inspiration and the idea. Where did that come from? You know what? It came from the Lord. Look, I've been doing book trailers for a while now. For a lot of people. I've been Millie Van of people. I've been merely vanillied. I've been doing a lot of things behind the scenes for different authors and different projects that I have not taken credit for. But I'm a visual person and a lot of people I know are visual people.
Speaker 2:So I feel like, in order to sell my books, starting with mountains and starting with it Can't Always Be Night what better way to sell a book than to make it out of a movie? Right, a lot of people say I didn't read the book, but I watched the movie. Yes, oh, I watched the movie and it made me want to read the book. True, oh, I watched the movie and it made me want to read the book. True, because, let's be true and let's be truthful, in 2024 nobody really wants to buy a book, let alone pick it up and read it. Okay, so what better way to get people to say, you know what, I'm gonna go buy that book because that book like it's gonna be good, than to make a a phenomenal book trailer in the form of a movie trailer, just like when you go to the movies to watch a movie and you see the previews come up, you're like, oh, that look good, I'm gonna go watch, I'm gonna come back and get people to come back, and so it's the same thing.
Speaker 2:Um, I came out with mountains and of course I I had rave reviews on mountains. But mountains is my book, that my memoir about my life. For people who don't know, it's called Mountains Can't Rise Without Earthquakes. But people who are my people call it Mountains because you know we just cut it Mountains for short, but it's called Mountains Can't Rise Without Earthquakes a memoir of a grown girl, and I came out with it and I was going through through it, doing excerpts on book slams and different things that were on Clubhouse. Back when a guy named Indy Brennan came out with a book slam on Clubhouse and that's how I met all the ladies that are in this anthology and I was reading from my memoir and of course I got pre-orders there, but my pre-orders did not rise and my sales did not rise with mountains until I did my book trailer.
Speaker 2:When I did my book trailer and I took those pages and I made them visual, that's when people say you know what I want that book and that's when I started to see my sales increase.
Speaker 2:So when I joined another project, I brought that to the table. Hey, what about if we do trailers? What about if we do trailers? Well, of course we had a lot of people, so that was not going to happen because then we would have had to do a whole bunch of trailers for a whole bunch of people. But I took my people and my friends and I said, hey, I'm going to do you a trailer and I would do other people's trailers. And they would come back to me and say, hey, you know, my sales rose because of that. Once you put a visual to a book, you will gain sales from that. And also when I put it on Hulu, my sales skyrocketed. So I'm day 218 today. I'm still on the Amazon bestseller top 100 list today. 96 days at number one, 217 days and I'm still in the top 100. I think I'm 54 now on the best sellers list, but for 96 days I was number one in all three categories. Congratulations.
Speaker 2:And that was because of the trailers. That was because of taking that trailer and putting it on Hulu and turning it into a commercial, and that not only brought me that, but it brought me movie deals and movie offers and script offers to turn my book into plays and all these different things. But basically what I'm saying is that if you have a story, you really want it out there, a book trailer is the way to go to get your sales to go up. And that's coming from a professional, certified brand strategist. I'm not a self-proclaimed brand strategist. Certified brand strategist, graduated business degree cum laude, so I know a little something. It's not self-proclaimed. Okay, let me just put this out here. I'm not your average Joe or Jane. Come on with it. Now. I come with the receipt, come on with it now.
Speaker 2:I come with the receipt.
Speaker 1:You know how I love my receipt.
Speaker 2:You love your receipt, you love your receipt. And now let's piggyback to mountains. Let's just open it up just a little bit. We don't have to, because mountains is really a show in and of itself.
Speaker 1:What made you decide?
Speaker 2:to write about mountains Because I know a lot had to go into that.
Speaker 2:I had the honor of being a beta reader, so I love mountains. You know what, when you're trying to do something better with your life and you're trying to become a better person, especially when you give your life back over to God and you say you know what You're going to live the way you're supposed to live and live righteously so you can go to heaven, the devil comes in any way, shape and form Right. He tried to come and attack you, and what better way to do that than to try to bring up your past, to bring up the mistakes you made in the past and the things that you did and the things that you had to overcome. Oh, I remember when you was homeless. I remember when your uncle raped you. I remember when they left you out in the street. I remember when you used to stay with me. I remember when you used to sleep on a park bench or used to stay in shelters. I remember when your baby daddy wasn't claiming your baby to stay in shelters. I remember when your baby daddy wasn't claiming your baby. I remember this. I remember that that was coming up a lot for me in my life.
Speaker 2:When I got married to my husband, people were coming out for what. We're trying to break us up, trying to dig up things from the past that I had done or that I went through. And I told my husband. I said, you know what? I think I'm going to write a book Because I've never been one to be ashamed of anything that I did or that I went through. Okay, because I was out of this fish grease? Yes, I was. And guess what? I had the time of my life being that, okay, I enjoyed it. Okay, I enjoyed my younger years. I enjoyed it. Okay, I enjoyed my younger years. I enjoyed them, even though I'm still young. I know you're like yo, younger years girl, you're only 35. But what I'm saying is that I grew up fast and, yes, I did, but everything made me who I am today. So if people don't know the background of somebody's story, then they should not judge them based on what somebody said, that they did and they passed, or what they're doing today in their present or what they could do in the future, because everything comes from a cycle, it comes from the hamster wheel, right? So I'm one of those people that you. It's nothing that you can ask me that I won't answer truthfully because I'm not ashamed.
Speaker 2:And so mountains came about. Basically, I decided I'm going to write my story and tell my story the only way that I know how to tell it a whole truth. So that way, if anybody want to know anything about me and my kids want to know something about me when they get older they'll hear from the horse mouth no ghost writers, no ai writer, no computer going back and writing something for me, not me listening to your story. Gentry say, oh, that sounds good. Let me say that that happened to me. No, this is not mountains, is is my story period period. It's your story and you told it. You told your truth and I've often said to people once you have told your truth, no one can embarrass you about that anymore, because when you don't say it, they feel as though you're trying to hide or they think I don't pick out. No, no, no, it is here, it is in black and white, it is here.
Speaker 2:I had that revelation years ago when I was teaching and when I first started teaching LPN students and the young man came in here's my excuse, miss Carlton I was like OK, cool, I'm thinking it's child support, because most of the people who we would grant them, we would grace them a day if they were in court. And so I was reading his excuse, I was like, oh, I thought you went for child. Oh no, ma'am, I don't have any kids. Somebody lied on me and had my name up against some capital murder charge. Well, capital murder, capital murder. I said capital murder, yeah, I go. Should I be in the fire? What did you do? Right, you went with a killer.
Speaker 2:He was like, no, no, that wasn't me, I didn't do it. I didn't do it. I did not do it. He said I'll be honest with you, ms Gold, I was macking on. I had all the women. I was like, oh, oh, so you're a player. He said, yeah, and that's what got me One of my ex-girlfriends, you know, called in on a tip-lap.
Speaker 2:I said are you kidding me? You know, because I'm just, I'm stunned. And so he told me his truth. And I had heard other people kind of whispering. But I didn't know. You know, because I was getting the student's affair. You know, y'all stay on that side, let me stay on the side. And so I told him.
Speaker 2:I said but when you tell your truth. No one can embarrass you about your truth. He said you know, I mean I think I'm going to be found innocent because they have no evidence. I said, well, I'm not trying to get in your business, but you're not still fooling with this woman who's out on your life. No, with this woman who's not on your life, no, no, I never want to see her. No more, I'm not going to approach her, I'm not going to say anything to her, I'm just going to keep walking. And I was like that's good, but my father has been so supportive of me, my father has walked me through this process.
Speaker 2:Again, I say, once you have told your truth, no one can embarrass you about that, because it is what it is. Yeah, I told it. You weren't in the room when I mentioned that, you know. Then they get embarrassed because they think they finna light it up. No, you're not lighting anything up, I'm finna. Put that fire out right here, right now. And I don't know why people feel as though they need to try to hold you back because, guess what? We all have a past. We've all done something. We may not have done what Bobby Down the Street has done or what JoJo, you know up the corner has done, but we've all done something. But I know people will use things against you. You can be like elementary school, junior high, like you said. I didn't graduate college. What did you say? You were cum laude. Okay, I graduated college cum laude. I graduated cum laude. Put some respect on my name.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:You know, talk to me nice. You know I moved on what you doing now. You know what you doing now. What do you mean? What I'm doing? I want to know what you're doing, what you're doing with your life. Still on that hamster wheel On the hamster wheel, just talking about what I'm going to do. What I'm going to do. Going nowhere fast Going nowhere. Ain't never been that fast.
Speaker 1:Going nowhere fast.
Speaker 2:So that's why, sometimes, yes, we're bad, you know. So that's why sometimes, yes, we have to tell our story because you know it's just best to.
Speaker 1:But if you don't, it'll anchor you down People will try to anchor you down.
Speaker 2:It will hold you back, and I'm a firm believer, I'm an open book, I'm very transparent because I'm not ashamed, absolutely, and no one needs to have that much power over you. Come on, go somewhere and sit down, and not just you, but you know any of us. Somebody said something to me one day and they were like when was the last time you saw us? And I said that's when I was, when I was 16 years old. What you mean? When I was 16 years old, you want me to reach back in history and get that. You know me, you know well, you don't know me, but anyway, you want me to reach back in history, history, get that. Oh, I have moved on so many times when I have I can't remember. I said I know the story, but do you really want me to repeat the story? Because guess what I'm going on.
Speaker 2:I've made more stories since then. How about that? Well, you ain't got to be funny. Well, no, I'm bringing that up anymore because I have some things on you. I'm just too much of a lady to repeat them. So that was the end of that one, okay? So sometimes you have to just meet people where they are and leave them there, because they're not worth you bringing them into your present and definitely not into your future, because you got nothing. You got nothing and if you think you're going to hold me back, you know you are so far from the truth, just like when President Obama wrote his before he ran for president. He put it all out there so no one else could bring this up. He sure did. He did.
Speaker 2:I got a white mama, I got a white mama. I got white grandparents. I sure did. My daddy ain't one no good, he had a baby out of wedlock?
Speaker 2:He sure did. He put it out there, baby marijuana. He put it all out there so no one could bring up his text. He wrote it, he told it and you know, you know, but the devil's in the details. So people had nothing to bring up, they had nothing to bring. It wasn't like a firestorm, it wasn't like oh, this is just so horrible. None of that happened. None of that happened, and I'm that happened and none of that happened. He was trying to say he wasn't born in America.
Speaker 2:You know, we know who said all that, but anyway. So you want to cut off one state that is not in the continental US, but it's still a United States. It's a state in the United States of America. I'm a Schwarzenegger over there, Come on boo so it's just. It is best to tell your story, but I don't think you need to go down the street and tell it to everyone. You put it in a book. It's on page 45.
Speaker 2:Okay, it's on page 45 they're going to go grab it and read it, because they can't. They can't read it. They can't read it. You sent a video about Ike Turner. Oh lord, I think it was a couple of days ago and I finally opened it oh yeah that's a lot.
Speaker 2:I'm going to tell you something. Look, unpopular opinion unpopular opinion, I believe I. I believe every word I said. I had so much passion in that video when he was saying they was lying and that she whooped that girl because she was. Look, I believe every word he said. I said I can't lie, I can look.
Speaker 2:I know that this movie is a lie, but you know, when they put things in movies, they switch stuff up all the time to make it more dramatic. But he said uh-uh, they lied, that is a lie. This is what really happened. And look, I went in there when the baby was born. Look, this reason why I have respect for some people like that like okay, we know that you, you know you worked on that and you was wrong. For that. I don't respect you in that aspect, but I respect people who own their truth. He said, yeah, I slapped her, I did this, I did that, but they lying on this part, they lying on that part, and she whooped somebody because this person was going around saying she had her name and she was doing so she wasn't supposed to be doing. And then that's a lie over here, because this was what really went down. And I believed every word he said I was just, that's how dramatic he was.
Speaker 2:I said look that's what I said to you. I said now look this one, you know somebody telling the truth, because he, he was very passionate, very passionate, that's the word I was looking for. He was so very passionate and I'm sitting over here, granted, like please, let's take the camera off this dude.
Speaker 1:No, keep the camera on.
Speaker 2:I I thoroughly was entertained by ike turner until he passed. Anytime he got on tv he was tv gold. Now if he was living today he got on TV, he was TV gold. Now, if he was living today, he would be one of the people who would have a TV show. You think so? Oh, absolutely. He is like an older version of Boosie. He's going to tell it like this it's like no taste. You know that cousin that comes up and disrupts everything. Everybody just kind of puts their head down and try to ignore them, hoping they'll disappear but that's how I was feeling about Ike and the.
Speaker 2:I mean, that's just me. I loved it. You had your pom pom out.
Speaker 1:Ike and the Trave. I mean, that's just me. That's just me, I loved it. I loved it. You had your pom-pom out, come on he remind me of Eric Mays.
Speaker 2:Just TV gold, tv gold. See, people miss the mark with Eric Mays. They should have gave him his own show, his own podcast. Rest his soul. I call him granddaddy Ericic mays. They missed the mark.
Speaker 2:I'm telling you people like him. It's a man in chicago named raymond jackson, um boosie. Those people need shows seriously because even though, you know, yeah, we can laugh and grin at them, but they are people that you know are gonna tell the truth about what they feel and they're not gonna lie and they're not gonna hold back, and we just need more that. We need more of those granddaddy vibes. You know that eric mays bad, because a lot of the men today are not men like in a masculine way, like it used to be, you know, and I think that that's what the world is missing and that's the reason why they're running away from it, because when we had that, it was more structure and that's why I said that this book, the waiting room, brings back that structure. Hopefully man will will get this book. The Waiting Room brings back that structure. Hopefully men will get this book and they will see the pressure and the weight that and their girlfriends and their sisters and do what they need to do to get that masculinity back within themselves, to be able to help and be consistent helpmates and providers in these women's lives.
Speaker 2:Seriously, I agree with that. I mean, I am 100 percent and that's what I was speaking to earlier. You'll know who, what, when, where and how to treat that individual when they're going through. Everybody's not strong. Sometimes we need someone to lean on. You know you're not strong at each and every time, each and every situation, but when a person stands by you when you are going through, you got to give them props. You have got to give them props for that. So I think anything else you want to talk with about mountains or we going to leave that for another show we can leave that for mountains.
Speaker 2:We going to table that until we talk about that on Gentry's Journey. Okay, okay, okay. And the waiting room anything else that you would like to end with on the waiting room? Are there some additions? Are you thinking about a second series of the waiting room? I mean, what do you have planned for her? What do you have planned for the waiting room of the waiting room? I mean, what do you have planned for her? What do you have planned for the waiting room?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm already doing a devotional where I'm bringing on other people, other women, who would like to come on and give their testimonies or maybe words of encouragement or positive affirmations and be able to get their message out to help other people. So you can find me on Facebook, jacqueline Cox, or you can, even if you're listening on on station here, send me a message on station here. Let me know. It's something that you want to be a part of. There is a small fee to join, but you will get a chance of becoming a best-selling author. You will get to be a part of something that's absolutely amazing and become a published author. So I think that if you want to be a part of something as magnificent as the waiting room. I'm telling you it's going to change lives. So if you want to be a part of the movement, shoot me a message on Facebook. My name is Jacqueline Cox. If you want to search for me, just do at listenlinda23 on Facebook my page Jacqueline Cox will pop up. Add me as a friend, send me a message. Or if you would like to join, just Jacqueline Cox will pop up. Add me as a friend, send me a message. Or if you would like to join, you can also email me at class C-L-A-S-S. The letter E, the letter D, e-f-i-n-e-d. That's classedefined at gmailcom.
Speaker 2:Well, jackie, thank you so much, and the value for the anthology will be coming right after the devotional. So we're doing a devotional and then we're going to follow that up with the value to the women of the waiting room. And with that one I'll be looking at my next set of women who have made a positive impact on the Listen Linda show. So if you would like to be interviewed on Listen Linda and promote your book, brand or business, you guys know where to reach me already. I just gave that information. Just hit me up and say, hey, I need help promoting or marketing my book, business or brand and I will get with you and consult with you on how we can do that.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we have the waiting room, surgery for the soul, we have the devotional, and then we're going to have volume two too. So those are great opportunities for the listeners who want to be a part of the waiting room. The opportunities seem, at this point in time, to be endless. So get in touch with our listen lender, mrs Jacqueline Cox, via Facebook, and you all can start a conversation to see if this project will fit for you. Amen, alright, thank you so much for allowing me to do this. I do appreciate it. It has been great. The various scenarios that come out of the waiting room and the various personalities also that come out of the waiting room and the various personalities also that come out of the waiting room, no problem, and? Um, we are gearing up for our next interview this thursday, um, dr audrey m moses will be the guest host and she will have questions for the queen of questions. Oh lord, that's gonna be good interviewing me. Dr audrey and moses will be interviewing me on thursday.
Speaker 2:Um, this thursday, which is the 21st, I believe um, and we going to be here on station here at 5 pm Central Standard Time. Get ready. It's some questions for the queen of questions, y'all and I'm going to end this not with prayer today, but we're going to end with Mary J Blatch. Take Me as I Am. You guys have a great night or a great day. Thank you again. And the 21st of March is Thursday, this coming Thursday, people, that's right At 5 pm Central Standard Time. So have a great day. Thank you you as well, and thank you again for having me. Thank you, all right, all right.
Speaker 1:All right. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. But they held her down in YC. She has no regrets. She accepts the past, all these things they helped to make she. She's been lost and found and she's still around.
Speaker 1:There's a reason for everything. You know I've been holding on, tried to make me weak, but I still stay strong. Put my life all up in these songs, just so you can feel me, so you can feel the love. So take me as I am, or have nothing At all At all. Yes, she's older now. Yes, she's wiser now. Get disguised now. She don't need no one telling her what to do and say, no one telling her who to be.
Speaker 1:She's on solid ground. She's been lost in time. She answers to GOD and she's confident. She's on solid ground. Put my life on the very face, just so you can feel me. So take me as I am, or have nothing at all, Just take me as I am, or have nothing at all as I am. I'm nothing, baby't. You know, I can only be me, I can only be me. Yeah, take me in as I am. I have no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Take me as I am, said someone nothing at all. Said someone nothing at all. Take me as I am, as I am, for nothing, baby. This is me, this is me. Take me as I am, take me as I am. No-transcript.