Someone once asked, ‘what kind of Writer are you?’  I hesitated to answer that question. My desire has always been to write many genres – from magazines and books to television and film. I was naïve, perhaps, but today, I can proudly say that I wear the title, New York Times Best-Selling Author of three books; journalist for several publications and online websites as well as Television Writer/Producer and filmmaker. 

 

I realized at Emerson Junior High School as a Reporter for the Emersonian newspaper that writing made me happy. Everything from conducting the interview, to sitting down to craft the story and reading my byline in print was a thrill. That thrill continued at Beverly Hills High School working on the student-run radio and television stations, KBEV, and the weekly school newspaper. At Atlanta’s Spelman College, I continued to build my byline as a Reporter for the Spotlight newspaper and by learning more about film, radio and television, earning a degree in English and Communications.

After a brief career with American Airlines and a move to New York, I stepped out on faith and landed my first television job on a daytime talk show, but never stopped writing. Instead, I balanced my day job with my passion for print and expanded my resume as a freelancer for various newspapers and upstart publications. Since then, I have interviewed and worked with countless Emmy, Oscar and Grammy Award-Winners, NBA champions, top standup comedians, and business professionals, and contributed numerous articles on the subjects of Food, Health, Fitness, Adoption, Foster Care, and more to a variety of publications and online websites including: LA Parent, InStyle, Essence, Ebony, Upscale, Black Enterprise, Heart & Soul, the Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper, and PBS, just to name a few.

My interest in writing for television was piqued after an interview with a childhood friend who became a Writer on the classic television sitcom, “Martin”. He encouraged me to try my hand at writing for the screen. I started to pen television scripts.  My first television pitch was the true story about pledging Delta Sigma Theta Sorority with my mother and landed a job, membership in the Writer’s Guild of America, and it to became the premiere episode of the sitcom, “The Parkers”. Since then, I have gone on to write and produce everything from daytime and late-night talk shows, reality series, cooking shows, game shows, award shows and competition shows for ABC, Comedy Central, Showtime, VH-1, Oxygen, BET, and Aspire. One thing remains consistent – the writing process is still enjoyable and interesting no matter the genre.