New Release 8/07
Soul of the Pen authors (l. to r. Dorinda Nusum, LaTonya Branham, Gail Miller, Kaye Jeter, Valerie Coleman, and Marcella Ashe)
Soul of the Pen is a touring group of six women of color from the Dayton, Ohio area that all are self published authors. One of our authors, Kaye Manson Jeter was in the original group of women that met in January of 2007 under the leadership of Judge Bill Littlejohn at his North River Coffee House and Eatery in Dayton, Ohio to start a tour during Black History Month. The authors express themselves in a statement entitled “Writing from the Soul”. Women of color have many stories to tell, from the time we were put here against our will we still had the urge and the desire to write our story. Now that we are not slaves, we still have much to say.
Soul of the Pen consist of six women of color all currently living in the Dayton area. Some of them having been born and raised in the Dayton area. All of the members of the tour work or have worked in different career fields-- Lawyer, teachers, engineer, college administrators, executive assistants. With our diverse backgrounds, we have experienced different things. "Even with our difference, we still have words of wisdom to share with each other. We are all very busy just living life to its fullest. The one thing we have in common is our faith in God. It is because we have faith, we have been able to not only write; but also, publish. We have each individually self published our works. That is a major part of our story. We knew deep inside that there must be a way for others to learn from our experiences, so by faith we were put together to share."
It is rather unique that six women of any color can come together and agree on anything. From our humble beginnings at a meeting in a local coffee house, we have expanded from an idea to a viable, vibrant, tour group. What makes us different is that we are different. Our stories are not the same, our reasons for writing are not all the same, our topics are not the same, even our genres are not the same. Our experiences in life are not the same, yet we have come together to tell a rich and hopeful story to others that want to write. While on tour, we have given clear instructions to others that want to write and publish. One of our members, Valerie Coleman has now set up a business for self published authors. Her knowledge and services are needed in our community.
Why this group of women for this time? We know that we were chosen for a time such as this. We did not know each other as a group, but some of the members of Soul of the Pen did know each other as individuals. Since February, 2007 we have been on tour. First, with four women and now with a total of six; we continue to meet and plan our tours. We make a statement just showing up in established book stores and in local universities. We hear compliments from audiences, that confirm, we are on the right track. We hear from young children, they have never seen a group like us. For them we represent hope.
What does our future look like? Well, we know that we have many more places to visit and more people's lives to be touched by our work, our words, and our presence. We look forward to preparing multi-media presentations telling our story. We see the experience as strengthening our faith in God. We know that it is not by any coincidence we are together as Soul of the Pen. We stand as representatives of the good that can come from doing His good works and following His path. The purpose of the group, as defined by Dorinda Nusum, is to Inspire, Motivate, and Educate others.