Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Jan. 11, 2007, edition 1 / Page 3
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
West makes her writing dreams a reality BY LAYLA FARMER THE CHRONICLE Since she was a child in Brooklyn, N.Y., Darby West has dreamed of becoming an author, from novels to ? short stories, poetry to story telling. West has dabbled in literature for decades, and compiled a rather impres sive list of titles. '?? "I can't think of anything that I'd rather do besides writing," she commented. "I've known probably all : my life that I wanted to write." Now, with the founding of her publishing company. Special Touch Ink, and the release of her second ? novel, "The Monkey and the Crocodile," West is finally on her way. "When I was growing up, I liked to read people like James Baldwin aiijJ Maya Angelou - these are the ?T classic novels," she said. "I'm trying to write books that ... 15. 20, 30 years from now, somebody's stilkgoing to be read ing." Despite the obvious passion West has for her craft, she readily admits that real . izing her lifelong ambition has been any thing but easy. "I tried to get my first book published ... about 13, 14 years ago." she explained. "1 ended up with like 300 rejection let ters. trying to get ah agent. I finally gave up." Although she had abandoned her aspirations to have her work fAiblished. West continued to write. To date, she has authored over 14 adult novels, seven children's books, 50 short stories, a book 1 of poetry and one young adult novel. "When J wake up at 5:30 in the morning to get my son up. I write down everything that I want to do that day," . West remarked. "One of the things that 1 know I'm going to have to do is write. I write something every day, even if it's just a chapter in one of my books." Her luck changed in 2004, when she discovered a print on demand company. Drawing money from her retirement fund. West published her first novel - drafted nearly 20 years before - entitled, "Through the Fire." Though writing had come easy to her, publishing presented many chal lenges, as West soon learned. "I had to set up my own book in the format it needs to be in for them to nrint it " she recounted. "I had to desien Photo by Layla Farmer Darby West holds a copy of her book. my own cover; I had to do everything. I'd get 10 free_jxx>ks and when I wanted to sell a book, I had to.order them from this company. They make the money and the writer really doesn't." After the publication of "Through the Fire," West began to explore other printing options and decided to publish her next novel herself. She established Special Touch Ink printing company in 2005, and published "The Monkey and the Crocodile" late last year. Based on a widely known African folk tale by the same name. "The Monkey and the Crocodile" carries a powerful message. The story is centered around a successful Broadway actress and author named Ronni. and the struggles she encounters as she searches for her "Mr. Right." "We do need to be honest with each other when we're in a relationship," West said of the book's underly ing moral. "We have to express what it is that we want and if the other person is not willing to give as that then we don't need to try to play games and manipulate anyone, change anybody. Move on to the next per son if what you need is not what this person has to offer you." West says she draws inspiration for her story lines from friends and personal experience, and that writing allows her to express herself in-a meaningful way. West's 1 ^-year-old son, Brandon McMickens. has joined her as a published author, with the release of his first storybook, "TJ the Snow Kid." ' -She describes the feeling of sharing her passion with her son as excellent and says she hopes to help other - youqg people become authorvas well. "I have developed a workshop forchildren that are interested in writing, I just haven't presented the infor mation tcrthe school system yet," she commented. "There arc^a lot of kids that I've met when I go around telling stories that write and that have little stories that they've written. Eventually I would like to start pub lishing some of these young children." The release of "The Monkey and the Crocodile" was just the beginning. West says, readers can expect a fluny of new Special Touch Ink publications in the near future. "I would like to release a book every four months, starting now," she remarked. "I knew I couldn't do that when I was sending stuff off to a print on demand company, but with me having full control of my business, then I know I can do that." "The Monkey and the Crocodile" is available online, at www.thatspecialtouchink.com and www.rjcom munications.com. It was dedicated to "all storytellers ...people that know they're telling a story and those who sit on their front porch lying - telling a story but don't really know it." West will be at the Malloyl Jordan past Winston Heritage Library on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at 7 pm.for a book signing. For details, contact the library at 336-703-2950. ,, N.C. license plates will be getting a makeover SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE RALEIGH - North Carolina's vehicle license plates will soon be getting a makeover by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. In April, DMV will begin replacing existing plates with an updated version. The . oldest plates will be replaced ?' first. "Removing old plates from our roads will increase the ? safety and security gf_ji ' drivers and provide law ' enforcement agencies with an updated identification tool," ? Commissioner of Motor i Vehicles George Tatum said. Tatum said that m^y of Mhe 8.4 million vehicles' oper ating in North Carolina carry license plates that are well ov^r 20 years old. Their legi bility and reflectivity have deteriorated, making identifi cation difficult .for law enforcement officers, he said. DMV expects to replace more than 600,000 of the old est plates during the first year of the program, with another 500,000 plates to be replaced in 2008. These plates have been identified by issue dates and sequence numbers. DMV will continue replacing older plates each year afterwards based on available funding. The division received about $1.2 million ffftm the legisla ture in the 2006 session to George Talum begin making the change. Owners with registrations identified for plate replace ment will be notified with their renewal notices. They will be automatically issued a new plate. Owners renewing registrations through the mail or via the Internij will be mailed a new plate regis tration sticker. The cost of vehicJe registration will remain the same. The new standard plates for private automobiles will continue the "First in Flight" design, but will carry red let ters and numbers rather than the blue letters and numbers now in use. Owners will be encouraged to take their old plates to license plate agencies for recycling, keeping them out of landfills. 84% of incarcerated youths have trouble Communicating. W4% of adutt prisoner! nave trouble reading. Mabe sure your child has the speech, language and learning sbllls needed to beep up in school. Sp?ch Thmrapy, Acocfmtch ? Sock# s*m News Clips \tllwilllcd h City lo recycle x-mas trees through Jan. 31 The^city will recycle your old Christinas tree and put it to good use as mulch for its parks and roadsides. ^ Residents in family homes inside the city limits can put their Christmas trees at the curb for pick-up by city brush crews. All lights, decorations, stands and narfe must be removed from trees. Please be patient; it may take several weeks to collect all the trees. People who live in apart ments. who live outside the city limits or who dispose of their trees quickly can take them to the following recreation centers for recycling through January 31: ? Crawford Park. 4226 Oak Ridge Dr. ? Hanes Hosiery Recreation Center. 501 Reynolds Blvd.^. ? Hanes Park (tennis court parking lot), 625 ^est End Blvd. ? Little Creek Recreation Center, 610 Foxcroft Dr. ? Old Town Recreation Center (tennis court parking lot), 4550 Shattalon Dr. ? Parkland Park (tennis courts), 1660 Brewer Rd. ? Polo Park (swimming pool parking lot), 1850 Polo Rd. ? Salem Lake (at the gate). 1001 Salem Lake Rd. - Sprague Street Recreation Center, 1350 E. Sprague St. ? Winston Lake (swimming pool parking lot), 3535 Winston Lake Rd. For more information about drop-off locations, call the Vegetation Management Division at 748 3020. N.C. Insurance rates remain low Insurance Commissioner Jim Long recently announced thai North Carolina continues to stand out as the state with lowest auto insurance rates east of the Mississippi, com ing in as 3th lowest in the nation The rankings are gleaned from a report by the National Association of Insurance CommissitAiers (NAIC) which compares the costs of personal automobile insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, based on 2004 data. While some states shifted rankings. North Carolina remained steady in the num ber five spot. Noteworthy in this distinction is that. North Carolina is, according to cen sus reports, the most populous state to enjoy a spot in the top It) lowest states to rank in the NAIC's report. Other states with low auto insurance rates have a significantly less dense population than North .Carolina, which contributes to their lower rates. > Medical School in exchange program with Brazil Wake Forest University School of Medicine is the lead United States partner in a new program for university student and faculty exchange between Brazil and the U. S. The pro gram was recently announced by the U.S. Department of Education. Wake Forest will partner with Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, and two histori cally African-American institu tions: Central State University in Ohio and Winston-Salem State University. Participants in the program wish to advance the exchange of faculty and stu dents in the biomedical sci ences. A consortium of education al institutions in each country has received a four-year grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). (In the U.S., the grant totals $209, 586 J The goal is to provide stu dent interchange including a better understanding of cultural differences. Activities will include development of lan guage skills in. Portuguese for the. U.S. students studying in Brazil and English for the Brazilian students in the U.S. The focus will be on students in the sciences with courses tai lorcd tb their individual pri> frarm and a practical research experience. Debra I. Diz, PhD., direc tor of the program and profes sor in the Hypertension & vascular Disease Center, says "We rec ognised that interna t i o n a I training o ( under repre sented Diz minority students lags behind that of the geneQtl student pop ulation. In both the U.S. and Brazil, efforts to increase minority student participation in biomedical research are under way and this program will emphasize our commit ment to reducing cultural barri ers to these oppormnities." Warm water exercises The Shepherd's Center is offering a new Warm Wateis class beginning Jan. 17 at Arbor Acres Retirement Community, 1 240 Arbor Road. This class will be held every Wednesday from 11 a m -noon and is an addition to regularly scheduled classes. All classes, will be led by Mona Hardimon and offered through the Shepherd's Center. The cost covers one class for eight weeks. Cost per class: 932 for Shepherd's Center vol unteers and members and $40 for all others To register and for jnore information, call 336 748-0217. Omega talent hunt contest The Omega Psi Phi Talent Hunt Contest will be held March 1 1 at Winston-Salem State University. All music students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 are eligible. First place is $300, second place is $200 and third place if $100. The music must be memorized. Contact Emory Jones at 336 655-1019 or e-mail emoryjones 1 @hotmail .com for an application. Deadline for applications is March 3, 2007. Moving forward starts with not leaving his message behind. Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday. 01.15.07 > TOYOTA moving forward
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 11, 2007, edition 1
3
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75