Send us a text

This episode features our conversation with T’challa Williams, which was live-streamed on January 11, 2025.

Through love, marriage, motherhood and loss, T’challa Williams' voice has matured and narrated her experiences in a way that produced seven collections of poetry over the last five years. In addition to poetry, she shares her most intimate life experiences in anthologies. The most recent contribution with A Queen’s Narrative for their anthology, Heavy is The Crown, where she remembers the recent loss of her grandmother. Many of you may remember T’challa from the special episode of Black Writers Read upon the release of this anthology.

Her powerful words combine with an open heart to paint a boldly compassionate picture of The Lover & The Revolutionary. As a creative advocate she tackles the hard issues head on and works through her craft to empower the voiceless and stay on the back of injustice. A member of Ruby’s Realm Production company, she reprises her character Nessa twice each year. The latest live production, Mind Your Business, can be found on Nutmeg TV on YouTube. Using her poetry, workshops and presence, T’challa works to shine a light on advocacy and create a vital impact within her community. As Executive Co-Founder of the organization Hartford’s L.I.T.; Greater Hartford Arts Council Board member; member of the Resident Community Advisor Council for the North Hartford Ascend Pipeline; T’challa works with her community and supports local artists.

During this episode, T’challa shared excerpts from her fourth poetry collection, Passions…released (2022). We also had a chance to chat about her latest poetry collection, Captured Thoughts. Released in June of 2024, Captured Thoughts is a beautifully written tribute in memory of her grandmother who we had an opportunity to discuss her influence on T’challa’s work during our chat.

Passions, released... is a collection of pieces from within a poet that tie love, lust and desire into words that tell stories of relationships past and present. Connections of friendships and romance and family. Old connections and new ones, all tied into our passions of life. May you find words that touch your heart and inspire you to once again feel passion, compassion and peace. May peace remind you, that you are full of love.

Her books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Find T'challa on Instagram: @challarock

Find Hartford's L.I.T. on Instagram: @hartfordslit

Find Black Writers Read on Instagram: @blackwritersread

Find Black Writers Read online: https://blackwritersread.com/

Support the show

Send us a text

This episode features our conversation with Jennifer Janell (spicy women's fiction.), which was live-streamed on December 21, 2024.

Jennifer Janell is a new women's fiction author who lives in San Antonio, Texas. She has a passion for writing spicy stories that resonate with readers, explore relationships, and offer an escape from everyday life. Her love for writing about flawed characters inspired her first book series. The Lee Series includes The Year of Lee (available as a free e-book), For the Love of Lee, and the upcoming The Betrayal of Lee (now available for pre-order). These stories depict the changes a woman goes through when navigating the complex journey of single life, love, loss, marriage, and motherhood. Jennifer’s goal is to write relatable but complex characters that people love. Her debut book, For the Love of Lee, was awarded second place for women’s fiction in the fall 2024 Book Fest awards. Jennifer is a wife, mother of three, and a registered nurse for over 20 years. She also has a master’s degree in nursing informatics.

On this episode, we talked about The Lee Series and chatted in-depth about the second book of the series, For the Love of Lee.

After a year of masking childhood traumas with sex, alcohol, and self-destruction, Leesha Roberts is ready to embark on a journey that will break her free from the toxicity that has been holding her back from true love.

Eliminating useless lovers is first on the list …

She bids farewell to the older, irresistible but very married Mike and the younger, eager-to-please Roy, but letting them go is not easy and proves to be more of a detox than a graceful exit. Determined to rebuild herself, Leesha embraces counseling, and even considers confronting her turbulent past with her mother. But just as her self-love journey gains momentum, fate throws a curveball when Francine, a prospective resident at the assistant living facility Leesha manages, introduces her to her grandson, Karl, the embodiment of every woman’s desire. Karl seems to be the perfect match, but there’s just one thing holding Leesha back—his race.

Clumsily navigating the pitfalls of adulting, Leesha leans on her steadfast friend, Johnathon … until his own troubles lead him away. Now facing life without his support, Leesha grapples with the risk of falling into yet another toxic relationship. Can she preserve her path to a better life, trusting that history won’t repeat itself with Karl?

Embrace Leesha’s poignant journey of self-discovery, love, and resilience in this spicy Women’s Fiction novel. For the Love of Lee was released in July of 2024.

To learn more about Jennifer and her work AND to purchase your copy of For the Love of Lee, please visit jenniferjanell.com.

Find Jennifer Janell on Instagram: @jenniferjanellauthor
Find Black Writers Read on Instagram: @blackwritersread
Find Black Wri

Support the show

Send us a text

This episode features our conversation with Crystal Senter-Brown, which was live-streamed on December 14, 2024.

Crystal Senter-Brown's life's purpose can be summed up in one sentence: Empowering Women and Children. And Crystal lives her purpose every single day, whether it is by publishing books that teach children the importance of being kind to others, leading writing workshops in the community, speaking at local schools or leading the career center at Bay Path University. She has authored 12 books to date and is currently working on her 13th. One of her novels ("The Rhythm in Blue") was turned into a feature film and won several awards at film festivals around the world. Crystal is the recipient of the BusinessWest Difference Maker Award for her work empowering and inspiring women and young girls. She is certified as a Gallup strengths career coach, and recently began her work to earn her doctorate in Education. Married to the love of her life for almost 25 years, she is also a mother and dog mom.

During this episode, Crystal shared excerpts from her second poetry collection, But She Has Such a Pretty Face (2014). Here’s what Crystal offers about But She Has Such a Pretty Face: "Every time someone would say to me: "But you have such a pretty face" I would cringe and think: But what about the Rest of me? "But you have such a pretty face" tells my story through a series of 43 poems. I wrote about my childhood in Morristown, Tn (Home, Ella's tambourine, That Time When my Brother Jerome was Evel Kneivel), marriage (Before dawn, Loving outloud), love (Lucky Jeans, Flirt) motherhood (for Aj at Seventeen, First Bath), relationships (Twenty-first morning, Monsters in the Closet), family (Welcome Home, The Droopy-Boob Haiku), the importance of fatherhood (The Luckiest Girl on Earth, Disposable Daddy, When everything was new) to learning to love my body at Every size (Chunk, Beautiful Me). I hope that no matter who you are, you'll find a few poems you can relate to. Whether you are a mother, wife, father, sister, poet, college student, mess-talker, best friend or just a girl with more than a pretty face, I hope you enjoy the read!"

To learn more about Crystal and her expansive body of work, please visit crystalsenterbrown.com.


Find Crystal on Instagram: @crystalsenterbrown
Find Black Writers Read on Instagram: @blackwritersread
Find Black Writers Read online: https://blackwritersread.com/

Support the show