Intimate Conversation with Ella Curry of EDC Creations and author Diane A. Sears
Diane A. Sears is an author, Managing Editor of a quarterly international fatherhood journal, publicist for non-profit organizations, a member of the University Council for Fatherhood and Men’s Studies Program at Akamai University in Hilo , Hawaii who has worked on Fatherhood and Men’s issues since 1999. In June 2008, Ms. Sears launched the INTERNATIONAL FATHERHOOD AND MEN’S ISSUES INTERNSHIP PROGRAM. (
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ELLA: TELL US ABOUT YOUR PASSION FOR WRITING:I grew up in a home that was full of books and magazines. I was surrounded by adults who were always reading and very proficient in communicating through the written word. Between the ages of 3 and 4, I was personally introduced to the world of writing by my mother. She prepared and implemented daily lesson plans which consisted of writing the entire alphabet, my name, and the numeric system. Each morning after breakfast, for approximately two hours, under her watchful eye, I would practice writing the entire alphabet, the numeric system, and my name.
When I was approximately seven years old, she introduced me to the world of grammar – particularly, sentence structure. “Make each sentence that you write interesting. Never begin each sentence with the same word. Put variety in your sentences,” she would admonish me after reviewing my English homework and sending me back to my room to rewrite the sentences so that they reflected “variety” and “were interesting.” I would return to my room, rewrite the sentences so that they were “interesting” and reflected “variety”. My mother would review the rewritten sentences and give them her stamp of approval.
Many years later, in the late 1980s, my mentor – the late L.T.Henry, an author, photojournalist, sales and success motivation trainer, and a classically trained jazz musician who played briefly with The Philadelphia Orchesra and former drummer for internationally acclaimed songstress and film and television actress Ms. Della Reese --- learned that the New York City-based Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. was co-sponsoring the National Literary Achievements Awards – a national writing competition. He urged me to enter the competition and I followed his advice. In 1988, I submitted a short story and was selected as one of a number of finalists in the national writing competition’s Fiction Category.
In 1989, I submitted another short story and was selected as one of a number of semi-finalists in the national writing competition’s Fiction Category. Shortly thereafter, I toyed with the idea of becoming a fiction writer. It was a short-lived idea as I painfully but wisely came to the conclusion that fiction writing was not my “cup of tea”.. The death of my mentor and my decision to resurrect his vision and perpetuate his legacy created a set of circumstances that provided me with an opportunity to write nonfiction.
ELLA: Finish this sentence: I am Powerful because...
I would be happy to finish the sentence if, in fact, I were powerful. The truth of the matter is that I am not. I am just a mere mortal simply going about the business of living, learning as much as I can about everything, making each day better than the day before, creating options for myself, my family, and those individuals who come to me seeking my advice and my help..
ELLA: Why is it important to celebrate Black History 365 days a year?
Knowledge is powerful. Knowledge of oneself is a powerful balm that heals the wounds inflicted by the slings and arrows that the world hurls at us from time to time and one of the key pieces of the puzzle to creating options for oneself and one’s family.
ELLA: WHERE ARE YOU FROM? HOW DID YOU START YOUR WRITING JOURNEY?I was born and educated in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . My writing journey began with the death of my mentor who envisioned the need for an interactive Fatherhood Forum where Men – especially Men who were Fathers – could exchange and express ideas about issues, questions and solutions directly and indirectly related to Fatherhood. He created the concept for IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD®, but died in March 1999 without having an opportunity to develop it. During his lifetime he expressed to me his desire to create a Fatherhood journal or magazine and to write a second book on Fatherhood (his first book which is currently out of print – IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® -- was published on 22 April 1998) that would feature interviews of Men who were Fathers.
March 2009 will mark the tenth anniversary of his passing. I have spent the past ten years resurrecting his vision and perpetuating his legacy through the launching and publishing of IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® (
http://globalfatherhooddialogue.blogspot.com), a quarterly international male parenting journal and authoring and editing of a book – IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD®--TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES -- which is a compilation of essays from and interviews of 16 men from diverse geographic backgrounds and professions who are Fathers and all of whom explore a myriad of issues related to parenting from a male perspective.
ELLA: WHO ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THIS NON-FICTION AND WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THEM?Sixteen men – Stephen Baskerville, Ph.D., Muhammad Nasser Bey, Randy L. Collins, Leonard Dantzler, Warren Farrell, Ph.D., Dale Fraza, Thomas R. Golden, LCSW, the late L.T. Henry, Thomas Hoerner, Gary A. Johnson, James Kennedy, Thomas Lessman, Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., Martin G. Ramey, Almas Jamil Sami’ and Joep Zander ---constitute the main characters in IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD®--TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES.
What I like most about each of these gentlemen is their unabashed honesty and the fact that although for many of these gentlemen, their profession has put them in the position of being all things to all people, their children are the center of their universe – it is their children that make their hearts sing and their souls dance. I have learned so much from each of them and feel that they have enriched my life.
ELLA: WHAT MAKES YOUR BOOK STAND OUT AND WOULD ENTICE A READER TO PICK IT UP?The book gathers together sixteen men from different ethnicities, religions, geographic locations and educational and professional backgrounds. At least two of the men featured in my book – Warren Farrell, Ph.D. and Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint –are very high profile individuals who have been seen on television by many members of the listening audience and have been written about in the newspapers.. Dr. Farrell has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, ABC’s 20/20 and the Today Show and he ran for Governor of California on a Fathers’ Rights Platform. Dr. Poussaint has appeared on Oprah, CNN, Meet The Press, ABC Evening News , and ABC’s This Week which is aired on Sundays.
The gentlemen featured in IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD®--TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES speak from the depths of their souls about children, parenting, why raising children is so difficult for Men in the Millennium, why Men are redefining their parental roles and responsibilities, and why this reshaping of their parental roles and responsibilities has moved them to go about the business of reshaping public policy and legislation. These gentleman talk about what Men really want and need. They don’t hold back.
If you are a woman and you want to know what really matters to the man in your life, what he feels and what he thinks and why he feels what he feels and thinks what he thinks, you should be reading IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD®--TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES. If you are a Man or Father and you are wondering if other men or other fathers have the same issues or questions that you do, you should be reading IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD®--TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES.
If you are looking for health and parenting resources, you should be reading IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD®--TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES. The book has a list of organizations that provide health and parenting resources that are located in Australia , the United Kingdom , France , Canada , Switzerland , and the United States .
ELLA: ULTIMATELY, WHAT DO YOU WANT READERS TO GAIN FROM YOUR BOOK?
It is my hope that readers of my book– particularly women – will come away with a better – and more humanistic understanding of men. There are a lot of myths floating around about men. For example, men are viewed by society as a whole as being stoic – emotionless automatons. Nothing could be further from the truth. From a parenting perspective, men are viewed by society as a whole as incapable of being a loving, nurturing, and mentoring parent – a single parent that loves, nurtures, and mentors children. What society does not tell you about men is that children are truly a man’s heart and soul and that men will walk through fire for their children.
ELLA: WHAT IS THE MOST SURPRISING THING YOU HAVE LEARNED IN CREATING BOOKS?I have discovered that once you begin the process of creating a book, it magically takes on a life of its own.
ELLA: WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOU IN THE FUTURE?More books!
ELLA: SHARE WITH US YOUR LATEST NEWS, AWARDS OR UPCOMING BOOK RELEASES:I recently launched the IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® INTERNATIONAL FATHERHOOD AND MEN’S ISSUES INTERNSHIP PROGRAM which offers one-year internships to interested individuals and students from all academic disciplines throughout our global village. For further information about the internship program, please send an e-mail to: insearchoffatherhood@gmail.com
IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD®
http://www.bsi-international.com-----------------------------------------------------
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