Today we’d like to introduce you to Britney Chandler.
Britney, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Hello! To make a long story short, I will focus on how I got started with Britney Charmaine. I never thought I was a good writer. I would hear feedback on my poetry and other papers I had written but I didn’t believe I was good enough.
I started branching out by writing blogs and doing content writing for organizations. Through years of school and experience, I begin to believe I was a strong academic writer, however that wasn’t my passion. I always had stories in my mind floating around and one day while I was at work, I decided to bring one story to life. Avery Stone.
After five years of working on the novel, losing 40,000 words of then-novel due to a broken flash drive and wanting to quit… to working two jobs (full-time/part-time), moving to a new city and enduring other things that life brought, I published Avery Stone January 2019.
Through writing this book, it has opened the door for me to tackle sensitive topics in my blogs which has lead to open conversations with others. I’ve been invited to speak at different events reading the novel and the purpose.
And lastly, it has made me believe that God truly did give me the gift of writing and it’s to help others know that they are not alone.
BritneyCharmaine comes from my first and middle name. Together it shows the creative side of everything that’s me. It’s blogs of things I encounter, vlogs of everyday life, poetry and my novel.
So today, I’m not just a Communications Professor, author, friend, and daughter, I am a lover of words who finally believes she’s a writer.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road to where I am now has not been easy. I began writing my novel in 2013. I wasn’t confident in my abilities which made it emotionally challenging to continue writing it. Also, at the time, I was working as a Dual Enrollment Coordinator at Central Carolina Technical College and it was a great program, however very stressful. I begin teaching as a part-time adjunct in English and Public Speaking the same year and I was juggling a lot.
I also started my Master’s Program in Communications a year later and that was more to juggle as well.
In between time I had a website called Quote my Words which was a platform for writers, blogs and storytellers. I had two events where the writers on the website were able to come and present what they were working on-basically like a showcase. It was a good project and it was decently attended, however, the town I was living in wasn’t very writer/artsy friendly and it was difficult to be creative.
I took a leap of faith and in 2017, I moved to Charlotte, NC with nothing but a part-time job and by best friends air mattress. It was difficult. I felt that I was supposed to be here but went from having a full-time and part-time job income to only a part-time job income. Some of my bills weren’t getting paid, sometimes I would just sleep because I didn’t have money to have three meals a day – I was driving the struggle bus. Many times, I didn’t even want to write because I was just depressed with the situation but I used that to fuel my words into inspirational blogs.
I didn’t want to ask my parents for help because I knew they would just tell me to go home, but I’m so glad I stayed. After one full year of financial struggles, I was blessed to land a full-time Communications Professor job and with the support of my cousin paid the final installment to my publisher to have my book published.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Britney Charmaine – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I really see BritneyCharmaine as an organization, still working on it. The purpose of BritneyCharmaine is to show others that they are not alone and there are people out there just like them! I show this through my blogs, vlogs, videos on Instagram and my novel.
I am most proud of my blogs and my novel. As I mentioned, I didn’t think I was a good writer and now I embrace it. I always thought that if I speak good about myself that it was self-promoting or boastful and then I realized there is nothing wrong with feeling good about yourself and taking that and encouraging others to pursue their goals.
What sets me apart is that I am honest. I tell people the struggle (like when I had .50cents in my bank account) to the glow up! And it’s a daily reminder to keep striving. I am just real and I think people respond to that.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
So Atlanta was my first choice for my character in my novel to move to because one, my Aunt whom I love lives there and two, it’s a city that provides a lot of outlet and opportunities for people of color. I just went to the Black Writers Weekend Downtown this past June and it was just awesome to be in that atmosphere!
What I like least about Atlanta is the traffic and that it is four hours away.
Pricing:
- Avery Stone the novel is 18.99 for paperback and 6.99 for the ebook-prices vary for Amazon, Barnes&Noble and Archway Publishing
Contact Info:
- Website: www.britneycharmaine.com
- Phone: 803-316-3807
- Email: britneycharmainebc@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/britneycharmaine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/britney.chandler.7
Image Credit:
Images with the pink hat were taken by Taree Haynesworth, All other images taken by: Will Jenkins aka :Simplisticphobia, Logo created by: Julia Campbell
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