Aliya S. King

I should be home editing a Be My Guest column.

It’s actually my favorite section of the blog.

Two reasons why this is not happening.

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Be My Guest: Luvvie

Luvvie makes me laugh. Out loud. Not the fake LOL that you just type out without really smiling. I mean real guffaws that fly out of my mouth as I’m reading her witty comments on Twitter, her own blog and even in the comments section of my own blog.  I love her sharp-tongued wit and her use of slang is hilarious.

A few months ago, after a particularly side-splitting exchange on Twitter, (subject: Stevie Wonder’s hairline), I began to wonder. Who is this chick? I know she lives in Chicago. I know she’s funny as hell. But who IS she? On her blog and on Twitter, she shares very little personal information about herself. Her avatar is an illustration.

I’m always curious about the way people present themselves online. When I first started blogging all those years ago, (read: six months), I shared a lot about my personal life. Maybe too much. I’ve reigned it in a bit. But you can still read every post here and get a good sense of who I am and what makes me tick. (Scary!)

Luvvie doesn’t share. Anything. Ever.

I asked her to explain why. And she has. Good stuff here.

Enjoy.

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Last week, I got an interesting email in my inbox. Tanisha, a dear reader of this blog, sent along something she’d written, just for herself.

It’s the kind of therapeutic writing you do to get through a difficult moment. It was something personal, raw and private.

When she read my post about freaking out over tree fungus, she thought about how writing makes us brave. And she shared her essay with me. For no other reason except that it needed to be shared.

And I asked her to share it with us.

For no other reason except that it needs to be shared.

Enjoy.

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I edit magazine articles on a freelance basis and often find myself scouring the ‘net at the last minute, looking for the perfect writer for a particular article.

Two years ago, my Google searching led me to Felicia Pride. There is no better feeling than connecting with a writer who is professional, punctual, timely and just on it. When an editor crosses paths with a writers who always delivers, it’s a pure joy.

In addition to editing her story, I’ve kept my eye on Felicia’s book hustle for years. This girl works. When it’s time for me to market my novel, I’ll definitely be retracing her steps.

I reached out to her for a guest blog. And I had something specific I wanted her to tell me. When did she really consider herself a writer? So many of us collect clips for years but still choke on that lofty word.

Felicia has an awesome story of the moment she finally stood up straight, looked a legend in the eye, and spoke her truth.

Enjoy.

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