Ife Oshun is the author of The Angelica Brown Series. A professional writer and actor, she wrote and produced for the stage in New York and Los Angeles, for television (as a WGA intern on Star Trek Voyager and producer at Tyler Perry Studios) and produced a pilot for a Warren G reality show. She is currently working on her next novel and lives in Boston, MA.
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. Life is a grindstone. Whether it wears you down or polishes you up depends on what YOU are made of. ~Zig Ziglar
I love Zig Ziglar. He started of as a salesman and eventually turned the art of teaching success in business into teaching success in life. Many of his sayings and lessons can apply to anything regardless of what you do or want to do.
Attitude Is Everything:
I always like to think of how a guy whose parents named him Hilary could overcome the ridicule that probably came with that and go on to inspire generations of people around the world. Just that one aspect alone proves that *your* attitude, not the opinions and attitudes of those around you, is one of the most important factors in controlling your life.
“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” ~Mother Teresa
Almost all of my characters are faced with difficult decisions that involve their family members. The theme of Family is one of the most prominent aspects of my writing. I’m fascinated with family dynamics and how the family serves, in part, as a cocoon, a catalyst that brings about dynamic change within an individual.
Some families are exciting, some not so interesting, but all are imperfect.This is the stuff I like to explore. The imperfections. How even a family who seemingly has it all, namely Angel Brown’s family, can have deep dark secrets, murderous thoughts and enough conflict to “keep it real.”
Many ancient cultures and modern day metaphysical movements espouse the concept that we choose our parents. That before we are born, our souls, on their unique missions to learn and teach, choose the human vessels which will help them accomplish their goal.
Many people may find this impossible to believe for a number of reasons, but personally I know that no matter how imperfect my parents were, my life didn’t improve until I could accept them for who and what they are and the lessons they taught me.
The Hebrew and Greek words originally meant “messenger” and depending on the context may refer either to a human messenger… or to a supernatural messenger. – Wikipedia
Robin Thicke is the inspiration for one of my favorite, and most obsessed over, characters: Sawyer Creed.
Two of Thicke’s songs were the inspiration for an entire novel and its heroine Angel Brown:
“Angel” (Why, oh why wasn’t an official video made of this?)
“Can You Believe” (I love when he says “If somebody’s watching, you would never know.”)
Check out the beautiful lyrics to “Can You Believe”:
Nothing can make you high Or put fire in your eyes Or give you a chance to fly When you need the wings When all that youve got is doubt And nothing can stop you from feeling down But oh I know, I know exactly how you feel
But can you believe now When youre on your knees now Begging and pleading now Can you believe When all that youve got is doubt And no one to pull you out When your heart is slowin down Can you believe
See the person I love the most Is so far away tonight And no other medicine or promise is Gonna heal me up right But I got to believe That her and me Will be together Cause thats all I got And Oh, I know When youre down at the bottom Can you believe
Can you believe when all hope seems gone When your mother and father cant keep you safe from harm Can you forgive in your heart Can you ask for forgiveness When nobody else believes can you believe Can you believe in yourself
If nobodys watchin You will never know If somebodys watchin You will never know If nobodys watchin You will never know If somebodys watchin You will never know If nobodys watchin You will never know If somebodys watchin You will never know
In fact, his entire album The Evolution of Robin Thicke played in nonstop rotation during the writing and editing of my book.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Robin Thicke for being my muse.
Comments Off on Weekly Word: Getting rid of the drama
I really like these words because I went through it myself.
I realized life is waaay too short to be caught up with people and situations that make you miserable. The time that it takes to deal with :drama” could be spent doing something you actually should be doing.
Maybe some of you have experienced this feeling too.
Eventually, once I learned how to exercise my power to choose who and what I wanted in my life *and* made those decisions without malice toward the things and people I didn’t want, my life changed radically.
Try it and see for yourself. I’d love to hear your feedback.
I’m a writer, a mom and an avid music lover. Not necessarily in that order, depending on what day and/or mood you catch me in. But I am always a mom. And always will be a writer. And will always love music.
And I will forever *know* that life is magic. Know that it is a spell weaved by us and those around us. I will always know that we can have and be whatever it is we believe we can be.
I know this for myself and I know it for you.
So something here on this blog will always relate to something above. One of those passions listed just now. These passions comprise who I have chosen to be. And who we have chosen to be is all any of us really are.
So here are some quick and dirty facts about me:
I’m obsessed with angels.
I’m obsessed with some of my characters. Some are angels.
I like almost any genre of music.
I’m a strict but fun-loving parent.
I like to save money but I like quality.
I believe that our thoughts create our reality.
I am a die-hard romantic loner.
I want to share my ideas with as many people as possible, and hope they will gain something from it.
I have to force myself to go to sleep 89% of the time.
I can’t remember a time when I didn’t write Fantasy or Science Fiction.
I am starting work on a novel based on an idea I had when I was 6 years old. Can’t say much about it now, but when you read it you’ll see what a strange childhood I had.
I sometimes fall asleep with my face in my laptop.
I would like to meet Adam Levine and am trying to figure out a way to put him (or someone really like him) in one of my books.
I am 5’2 3/4″.
I could care less about my weight. It’s how I feel that’s important.
I drink at least 3 cups of green tea everyday.
My mom was a medium.
Coffee gives me the runs.
I really really want to read much more than I do now.
I am jealous of writers who effortlessly spout new, bleeding edge names when asked “Who is your favorite writer?”
I like bullet points.
My favorite book of all time is still The Hobbit.
I was raised on the following: Dark Shadows, Lost In Space, 80s music, Creature Double Feature (Saturday back-to-back B-movies aired in Boston and usually starring Godzilla), and endless daydreaming.
My current workplace will be the setting of future writings.
At any given time I might start talking about something that has absolutely nothing to do with writing. Please bear with me as I continue to work out the details of my mind. Thanks for visiting.
I am heartbroken to learn of the passing of my friend, the one and only musical genius, Quincy Jones. Quincy touched my world as both a cherished mentor and as also as someone I looked up to for his deep impact on virtually every form of American music.
