Is it Time to Pursue your Passion?

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Pamela Samuels Young to my blog. She's touring the internet with her addictive courtroom drama, Abuse of Discretion, and she's here to talk about writing, writing with passion, and how to find and use your passion... for good! Thank you so much for stopping by, and over to you Pamela

It’s Time to Pursue Your Passion

By Pamela Samuels Young

During the years that I moonlighted as a mystery writer while practicing law, people often marveled at my drive. Many of them also had a passion, but had ready excuses for not pursuing it:

I just don’t have the time.

I’m not as disciplined as you are.

I’ll do it after my kids graduate.

Whatever your excuses are, put them aside and just get started. To my surprise, trying to write a novel turned out to be far more challenging than practicing law. But I stuck with it and published my first novel a month before my 48^th birthday.  It meant years of getting up at 4 a.m. to write before work, writing after work, on weekends, in airports, in hotels. Wherever and whenever I could find the time. Today, I’m a full-time writer with ten books to my credit. In 2017, I released two books, Abuse of Discretion, about a troubling teen sexting case, and Unlawful Desires, my first erotic romance written under the pen name Sassy Sinclair. It was a long journey, but well worth the trip.

Do you have a passion? Here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Find Time Where You Least Expect It.

Instead of listening to music during your morning commute, listen to an audiobook related to your passion. Cut back on TV and socializing and use that time to pursue your passion. Run off to the library or a nearby Starbucks for some passion-planning time. Even if it’s only an hour a week, use it!

2. Master Your Craft.

I meet so many people who are passionate about their business idea, but haven’t put in the hard work to make sure they have a great product or service. Put your ego aside and find people you trust who can give you constructive feedback. YouTube and the Internet have great free resources and you can also take inexpensive online courses on websites like Udemy.com.

3. Join Professional Organizations.

There are hundreds of professional organizations whose sole function is to help their members develop their talents and realize their goals. I belong to Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, the Author’s Guild, and Romance Writers of America. Even if you can’t make the meetings, most organizations have excellent newsletters and online resources to help you further your goals.

4. Ignore the Naysayers.

Many caring people urged me not to give up my day job. It’s too hard to make money as a novelist, they warned me. Thank God, I ignored them. I also ignored the nine publishing houses that rejected my work. How sweet it felt years later when a couple of those same publishers came after me. Be patient. If you have a passion, stick with it. Things may not happen overnight, but they will happen. I’m a testimony!

And what a testimony. Thank you so much Pamela. I rather think I needed to read this!

Pamela Samuels Young has always abided by the philosophy that you create the change you want to see. She set giant-sized goals and used her talent, tenacity and positive outlook to accomplish them. Pamela consequently achieved success in both the corporate arena and literary world simultaneously.

An author, attorney and motivational speaker, Pamela spent fifteen years as Managing Counsel for Toyota, specializing in labor and employment law. While still practicing law, Pamela began moonlighting as a mystery writer because of the absence of women and people of color depicted in the legal thrillers she read. She is now an award-winning author of multiple legal thrillers, including Anybody’s Daughter, which won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Fiction, and her new release, Abuse of Discretion, a shocking look at the juvenile justice system in the context of a troubling teen sexting case.

Prior to her legal career, spent several years as a television news writer and associate producer. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from USC and earned a master’s degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University and a law degree from UC Berkeley School of Law. She is a frequent speaker on the topics of teen sexting, child sex trafficking, self-empowerment and fiction writing.

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Abuse of Discretion, by Pamela Samuels Young, Mystery, Goldman House Publishing,352 pp., $3.99 (Kindle Edition)

A Kid’s Curiosity … A Parent’s Nightmare

The award-winning author of "Anybody’s Daughter" is back with an addictive courtroom drama that gives readers a shocking look inside the juvenile criminal justice system.

Graylin Alexander is a model fourteen-year-old. When his adolescent curiosity gets the best of him, Graylin finds himself embroiled in a sexting scandal that threatens to ruin his life. Jenny Ungerman, the attorney hired to defend Graylin, is smart, confident and committed. She isn’t thrilled, however, when ex-prosecutor Angela Evans joins Graylin’s defense team. The two women instantly butt heads. Can they put aside their differences long enough to ensure Graylin gets justice?

Unbeknownst to Angela, her boyfriend Dre is wrestling with his own drama. Someone from his past wants him dead. For Dre, his response is simple—kill or be killed.

Graylin

“What’s the matter, Mrs. Singletary? Why do I have to go to the principal’s office?”

I’m walking side-by-side down the hallway with my second-period teacher. Students are huddled together staring and pointing at us like we’re zoo animals. When a teacher at Marcus Preparatory Academy escorts you to the principal’s office, it’s a big deal. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I’m a good student. I never get in trouble.

Mrs. Singletary won’t answer my questions or even look at me. I hope she knows she’s only making me more nervous.

“Mrs. Singletary, please tell me what’s wrong?”

“Just follow me. You’ll find out in a minute.”

I’m about to ask her another question when it hits me. Something happened to my mama!

My mama has been on and off drugs for as long as I can remember. I haven’t seen her in months and I don’t even know where she lives. No one does. I act like it doesn’t bother me, but it does. I’ve prayed to God a million times to get her off drugs. Even though my granny says God answers prayers, He hasn’t answered mine, so I stopped asking.

I jump in front of my teacher, forcing her to stop. “Was there a death in my family, Mrs. Singletary? Did something happen to my mama?”

“No, there wasn’t a death.”

She swerves around me and keeps going. I have to take giant steps to keep up with her.

Once we’re inside the main office, Mrs. Singletary points at a wooden chair outside Principal Keller’s office. “Have a seat and don’t move.”

She goes into the principal’s office and closes the door. My head begins to throb like somebody’s banging on it from the inside. I close my eyes and try to calm down. I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s probably just—Oh snap! The picture!

I slide down in the chair and pull my iPhone from my right pocket. My hands are trembling so bad I have to concentrate to keep from dropping it. I open the photos app and delete the last picture on my camera roll. If anyone saw that picture, I’d be screwed.

Loud voices seep through the closed door. I lean forward, straining to hear. It almost sounds like Mrs. Singletary and Principal Keller are arguing.

“It’s only an allegation. We don’t even know if it’s true.”

“I don’t care. We have to follow protocol.”

“Can’t you at least check his phone first?”

“I’m not putting myself in the middle of this mess. I've already made the call.”

The call? I can’t believe Principal Keller called my dad without even giving me a chance to defend myself. How’d she even find out about the picture?  

The door swings open and I almost jump out of my skin. The principal crooks her finger at me. “Come in here, son.”

Trudging into her office, I sit down on a red cloth chair that’s way more comfortable than the hard one outside. My heart is beating so fast it feels like it might jump out of my chest.

The only time I’ve ever been in Principal Keller’s office was the day my dad enrolled me in school. Mrs. Singletary is standing in front of the principal’s desk with her arms folded. I hope she’s going to stay here with me, but a second later, she walks out and closes the door.

Principal Keller sits on the edge of her desk, looking down at me. “Graylin, do you have any inappropriate pictures on your cell phone?”

“Huh?” I try to keep a straight face. “No, ma’am.”

“It’s been brought to my attention that you have an inappropriate picture—a naked picture—of Kennedy Carlyle on your phone. Is that true?”

“No…uh…No, ma’am.” Thank God I deleted it!

“This is a very serious matter, young man. So, I need you to tell me the truth.”

“No, ma’am.” I shake my head so hard my cheeks vibrate. “I don’t have anything like that on my phone.”

“I pray to God you’re telling me the truth.”

I don’t want to ask this next question, but I have to know. “Um, so you called my dad?”

“Yes, I did. He’s on his way down here now.”

I hug myself and start rocking back and forth. Even though I deleted the picture, my dad is still going to kill me for having to leave work in the middle of the day.

“I also made another call.”

At first I’m confused. Then I realize Mrs. Keller must’ve called my granny too. At least she’ll keep my dad from going ballistic.

“So you called my granny?”

“No.” The principal’s cheeks puff up like she’s about to blow something away. “I called the police.”