Monday, March 22, 2010

Celebrating Women in Ministry Blog Tour with Vanessa Miller

Celebrating Women in Ministry Blog Tour
We invite you this week to highlight your favorite FEMALE MINISTER in the comment section below. Participants will be placed in a drawing for an autographed copy of Yesterday’s Promise by Vanessa Miller and a $25 Gift Card. Vanessa stops by my blog today to highlight one of her favorite female ministers.

Bishop Dr. Marva L. Mitchell is the overseer of the God’s WILL Fellowship of churches, a body of 26 ministries locally and in six different states. She is also the co-founder of Revival Center Ministries International along with her late husband Bishop Willie E. Mitchell. Together they established an inner-city ministry in Dayton, Ohio in 1998. At the time of his home-going in 1988, the church had grown to 1,000 members. Dr Mitchell is now the Bishop and overseer of the church that is now Pastored by her son Paul Mitchell and his wife Keisha, and under their leadership the church has grown to 2000 members.

Dr. Mitchell is the founder of Project Impact-Dayton and is currently serving as chairperson of the Board of Directors. Project Impact-Dayton has received numerous awards locally, statewide, and national including being named one of the nations best Truancy Prevention Programs and Substance Abuse Prevention Programs on February 24th, 1998 on Capital Hill in Washington D.C. She founded Love School which is a literacy program held on Saturdays to help inner-city children master many of their basic, social, and academic skills, and focus on the mental, physical, and spiritual needs of the community. She has recently founded an organization entitled Interdenominational Women’s Ministerial Alliance in 2006 with her sister-in-law Dr. Ella Mitchell.

Dr. Mitchell has written and co-authored many books; “Seize the Moment”, “Marriage Glue”, and “Manuals” to help with grant writing. After the death of her husband, she completed a book entitled “It takes a Church to Raise a Village”, where she challenges the church to take responsibility for the nation. This book has become a best seller and resulted in many churches becoming community minded. She has developed leadership training for churches under 1,000 members, and has traveled the world teaching and preaching many crusades. The many world seminars she teaches takes place in Egypt, Kenya, India, and Mexico. She has been featured on National and local TBN and has appeared on Christian TV in Canada. She has obtained a B.A. from Family Bible Institute in Baltimore Maryland. After suffering a massive stroke in 1993, she had to drop out of the Masters program she was in and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for her accomplishments in ministry. In 2009, Dr. Mitchell was just named one of “Dayton Ten Top Women”.


Dr. Mitchell is the mother of seven children, Willie Mitchell Sr. (Jaquata), Marvin Mitchell (Mylinda), Sharon Conyers (Cary), Paul Mitchell (Keisha), Monica Jones (Khon), Joseph Mitchell (Alisha), Miracle Troutman (Shawn), all of which are professed Christians and are a part of RCMI, and four of them being full time. Dr. Mitchell is a strong believer in the Family structure. As parents, she and her husband had made family their priority. They made Romans 2:28 the source of their life, and became more than conquerors in Christ Jesus!

About the Book
Yesterday's Promise
Melinda Johnson has always felt called to ministry. So, when her father, Bishop Langston Johnson, decides to step down after thirty years of leadership at Omega Christian Center, it seems only natural for her to take his place. But Bishop Johnson feels led by a God who has other things in mind, and to succeed him, he appoints Steven Marks-a man who is opposed to female pastors, not to mention the fact that he is Melinda’s ex-fiancĂ©.

Feeling defeated, Melinda nevertheless maintains her position as the church’s Missions and Community Outreach Director. Frequent interaction with the new bishop incites bitter sparring-and rekindles long-suppressed attraction, which grows only stronger when Melinda develops a relationship with Steven’s precious daughter, Brianna, who’s still struggling with the death of her mother.

Can Steven and Melinda set aside past pains, forgive each other, and learn to love again? Or will their opposing positions regarding women preachers keep them forever at odds?


Purchase Yesterday's Promise by Vanessa Miller.

About the Author


Vanessa Miller of Dayton , Ohio is an Essence best-selling author, playwright, and motivational speaker. Her stage productions include: Get You Some Business, Don’t Turn Your Back on God, and Can’t You Hear Them Crying and Abundant Rain. To date, Vanessa has written the Rain Series and the Storm Series. The books in the Rain Series are: Former Rain , Abundant Rain, and Latter Rain. The books in the Storm Series are: Rain Storm and Through The Storm . These books have received rave reviews, winning Best Christian Fiction Awards and topping numerous Bestseller’s lists.


Yesterday’s Promise is the first book of a series entitled, Second Chance of Love. Whitaker House plans to release the next two books in October 2010 and January 2011. Visit her online at www.VanessaMiller.com.

Tell Us About Your Favorite Female Minister


We invite you this week to highlight your favorite FEMALE MINISTER in the comment section below. Participants will be placed in a drawing for an autographed copy of Yesterday’s Promise by Vanessa Miller and a $25 Gift Card.


View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/WomeninMinistry.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Write Your Book! Free Workshop on March 27, 9a-12p, Lithonia, GA

FREE writing workshops don't come along very often, but there's one on the way -- Saturday, March 27 from 9 AM-12 PM. The event is sponsored by the Called to Conquer Bookstore at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church (Lithonia, GA).

If you know you want to write a book, but just don't know where to start, this workshop is for YOU!

Inspirational author Tia McCollors will discuss:
  • Book genres and categories
  • Writing fiction vs. non-fiction
  • Choosing premises and story ideas
  • Understanding the craft
  • ...and more
Although the event is free, YOU MUST REGISTER by calling the Called to Conquer Bookstore at (678) 824-1055.

** Join Tia after the workshop at 12:30 for a booksigning. Tia is the author of several faith-based novels, including A Million Blessings, The Last Woman Standing, A Heart of Devotion, Zora's Cry and The Truth About Love.

Monday, March 01, 2010

My Mother’s Child Blog Tour with Dwan Abrams

My Mother’s Child Blog Tour with Dwan Abrams


Are You In a Storm?


It’s been said that in life people are either in a storm, getting ready to go into a storm, or coming out of a storm. The longer we live the storms of life become more evident. The thing about storms is that we can’t predict when they’ll come, how long they’ll last, or when they’ll leave. When in the midst of a storm, just hold on. Don’t give up.


Lyric Stokes appeared to be living a life that most women could only dream of. Married to her college sweetheart, a prominent heart surgeon, she had every material thing she wanted. No matter what her husband gave her, Lyric’s unwillingness to forgive her alcoholic father hampered her happiness. She tried to mask her true pain by focusing on the baby she couldn’t have. She convinced herself that if she could give her husband a son, her life would be perfect.


Unbeknownst to Lyric, Nigel Fredericks, a deranged stalker had his eye on her. He had been watching Lyric and learning her patterns until one day he decided to make an introduction. Captivated by his charm, Lyric willingly invited him into her life and her home. Unprepared for what lie ahead, Lyric found herself pregnant and forced to decide whether she even wanted to keep the child she had longed for. Her decision places her in the midst of a storm and face-to-face with death.


About the Author
Dwan Abrams is a full-time novelist, freelance editor, and publisher. She’s the best-selling author of My Mother’s Child (the sequel to Divorcing the Devil), Married Strangers, Divorcing the Devil, Only True Love Waits, and The Scream Within. She’s the founder, publisher, and editorial director of Nevaeh Publishing, LLC a small press independent publishing house. She’s currently signed to Urban Christian, an imprint of Urban Books/Kensington. Her sixth novel, the second book in the Married Series, is set to hit national bookshelves in 2011.




About the Book
Lyric Stokes lives, by most standards, a charmed life. Married to Michael Stokes, a prominent heart surgeon, she has financial security and lives in the lap of luxury. All is not perfect, though. Lyric feels inadequate because she gave birth to a daughter, rather than the son that her husband so desperately wanted.


After an unexpected turn of events, Lyric discovers that she’s pregnant again, but now she has to decide whether she even wants to keep the child she has longed for. She seeks solace in her church, where her daughter also feels at home; but they can’t get Michael to join them. Disagreeing with organized religion, he has put his job before all else, including God. The distance between the couple grows further every day.


Nigel Fredericks has a history of stalking women. He’s been accused, but never convicted. Now he’s set his sights on Lyric. She’s at a low point in her life, and Nigel knows just how to take advantage of that vulnerability. Lyric’s life is turned upside down; Nigel is like a cancer eating away at her mental stability, her marriage, and ultimately, her life. Will Michael reevaluate his priorities and his faith in time to save his family?






Listen to an excerpt from My Mother’s Child







Visit Dwan online at http://dwanabrams.com/


View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/MyMothersChild