Continuing the Pursuit of A Dream in 2017

This entry is actually based on one of my original and very first blogs from 2012, titled Pursuing the Dream! Some insights as I explore my past writing:

Reviewing my old articles and notes reminds me of why I really started doing a lot of the things I'm currently doing like my business, inspirational articles and videos and most of all the writing. It seems that my first love, (fiction writing) is the one that I've sacrificed more than anything.  My writing is cathartic for me. It always made me feel alive!  I enjoyed envisioning characters and really becoming them as I penned their stories. I don't know if some of it was mental work where I had to work through some of my own issues.  Not even issues that I fully recognized in my daily activities, but maybe something that was deep in my subconscious that materialized on paper.  Somehow I always resonated with all of the characters that I wrote about;  both male and female.  It's as if I worked through some of the things I wondered about particularly that was confusing to me about men.  They were always a mystery to me, I think because I didn't have any brothers. While I tried to identify with my father, it was a dysfunctional relationship; mainly because he struggled with alcoholism and he was an "older parent" who had my sisters and me late in life. It was difficult to understand him a lot of the time. That will be another entry for another time.

Picture of me used for FSCF cover taken in 2008

In my writing, I realized that I didn't want to "hide" anymore. I wanted to share a part of me. A part that no one could take away from me and that I completely controlled. When I completed my first novel, Familiar Strangers, Changing Faces^©  I included what would've been considered "private" in my forward or dedication, (in terms of my relationships during that time). One of my sisters even asked why I shared what I did and was even disturbed that I was "telling my business." You see, black homes back in the day when I was growing up, the expectation was "what happens in this house, stays in this house."  Except that it's difficult to keep "what happens in this house" inside when the dysfunction and drama are being played out outside of the house pretty frequently. Sometimes in the form of police being called to the house or my daddy cussing somebody for "walking on his sidewalk."  I used to cringe, and become very embarrassed even talking about what went on because of the "conditioning" as well as somehow I felt it was my fault as a child. It was embarrassing and my sisters and I were often teased by the neighborhood children about my "crazy daddy."  One day, I can't completely say when, but a switch was flipped within me and I didn't care anymore about what everyone else thought. That was when my freedom began which leads to the freedom I feel when I write. Even now.

In 2009 after my father's death, I found an appreciation for the uncertainty of life. The adage "Life is too short to waste" became very real for me. So after ten years of working on Familiar Strangers, Changing Faces (FSCF)^© I finished the book.  The sense of accomplishment I felt was overwhelming. I think along with the grief that I felt over my father's death combined with the labor of love with my first book just overcame me.  The feeling of accomplishment raised my confidence because I felt a lot of failures, because, at the time, I was really struggling with my graduate studies, work was challenging and at times made me question my confidence (even though I would NEVER show it) and I was in a new relationship trying to navigate through some of the typical relationship drama.

So when I finished my book after the ten long years, I was ecstatic!  I decided to publish even though it wasn't perfect. I just didn't want to wait any longer.  I felt that if I wanted for perfection, it would never be published and I just wasn't willing to waste any more time.  So my labor of love I am sharing an excerpt with you below.

So to tie everything together, I am still pursuing my dream of being a great author and am working on my second book called When Do I Get to the Good Part?^©  I'll share an excerpt of it in another post as well or you can see it here: NetKi Enterprises Books and Stories.  The goal of my writing is to inspire the reader to action; whatever that may be; stop abuse, live life fully or just to be okay with who you are - whatever message you get from my writing.

In that sense, I hope that this post inspires you to pursue your dreams. Feel free to contact me in the comment section.  I'd love to hear about your dreams and how you plan to pursue them.

So below is the summary for FSCF. I'm also adding the link to purchase it on lulu.com, that would really be exciting! Like Erykah Badu once sang, "I'm an artist and I'm sensitive about my S*!?.

Please be gentle.

Thanks for reading!   Netta

P.S.  None of the above is from my 2012 post.  I'll post it separately.

Purchase Familiar Strangers, Changing Faces© here on lulu.com


©Familiar Strangers, Changing Faces, Nanette Kirk and NetKi Enterprises, 2017. All rights reserved.
©When Do I Get to the Good Part? Nanette Kirk and NetKi Enterprises, 2017. All rights reserved.