Get Lost in a Mystery or Romance with Novelist Denise Turney

Denise Turney is a novelist, public speaker and professional corporate writer. She brings more than 35 years of book, newspaper, magazine, radio and business speaking and writing to a project. 

Denise Turney is the editor of The Book Lover’s Haven and host of the literary radio show, Off The Shelf Books Talk Radio.

She has been listed in various entertainment and business directories, including industry leaders such as Who’s Who, 100 Most Admired African American Women and Crosswalk. 

Her works have appeared in Parade, Essence, Ebony, Madame Noire, We The People, The Trenton Times, The Pittsburgh Quarterly and Obsidian II.

Denise Turney is the author of the books Portia, Love Has Many Faces, Spiral, Long Walk Up, Rosetta The Talent Show Queen, Love Pour Over Me, Awaken Blessings of Inner Love, Book Marketing That Drives Up Book Sales and Running Toward Freedom.

Q&A with Denise Turney

BGA: What inspired you to become a writer? 

Denise: My writing passion was birthed out of my love of reading books. As a kid, I read 10 to 50 books a week. Was I ever an avid reader! I was six or seven years old when I received a question from my inner being. That question was, “Why do you think you like to read so much?”

I gave it a pause-thought, then returned to reading. Fast forward three years, when my sister came running up the steps and dashed around the corner into the bedroom that we shared. “Look what I found in the library!” she smiled. It was a book by a Black American author (something that was very uncommon in the 1970s).

Well. That book had a powerful impact on me. It was a book of poetry by Gwendolyn Brooks. After all the books that I had read up to that point, not a single book had ever impacted me so deeply. The characters leaped off the pages!

They felt alive to me! After I finished reading the book, I sat down on the edge of the bed and a powerful yet deeply peaceful feeling came over me, simply enveloped me. It was like a revelation. “I’m a writer!” I exclaimed. I started writing that day or that week.

BGA: Why do you link real life challenges that women face with stories that you write? 

Denise: I believe in the power of women which is why stories that I write at chistell.com focus on strong women.

Reading about seemingly insurmountable challenges that fictional and real-life women face is a brilliant way to erode a woman’s disbelief in her own inherent greatness. Yet, simply showing women facing long odds is not enough.

The story needs to be believable and relatable for the characters and plot to connect with readers enough to engender good change. On top of that, books that I’ve read have offered encouragement, motivation, enlightenment, understanding and solace to me as I faced personal challenges.

I want to gift people who read my books with similar blessings. Good fictional books with not-going-to-quit women as core figures offer so much. It’s like reading a powerful woman’s autobiography – think Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming.

Talk about reach!

BGA: Tell us about the impact that internationally renowned poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, had on your writing career? 

Denise: Gwendolyn Brooks, United States Poet Laureate and the first Black American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize (she won on May 1, 1950 for her work “Annie Allen”) is the first established Black American writer I was introduced to.

You’d have to go-back-in-time to realize just how few novels and poetry books were published that were written by Black Americans in the 1970s and earlier. Fortunately, that introduction was life changing. Another good fortune for me is that Gwendolyn Brooks wrote me a note wishing me success when I published my first book, Portia.

That note hangs in my home office today.

BGA: Introduce us to your novel, Long Walk Up. Who is Mulukan and how has she become an inspiration for many women? 

Denise: Mulukan is orphaned at six-years-old when her mother transitions. Her family had lived in a West African area that had flourished for so long, but that now is experiencing a crushing drought. The day after her mother returns to earth, Mulukan sets out on a path that not only alters the course of her life but that also changes the trajectory of a nation.

This six-year-old girl regrets her decision to leave the only community she’s known almost at once. Yet, it’s too late. She can’t turn back. As with our lives, Mulukan meets a cast of characters, some prove kind, others dangerous.

Through it all, little Mulukan keeps going. This little girl grows up to become Africa’s first woman president! Her fictional story has inspired and strengthened many. This story came to me differently than any story that I’ve written to date.

I was driving to Princeton, New Jersey when out-of-the-blue I was given specific instructions on the story (I had not even thought about writing the book before this happened). I kept Long Walk Up short as directed.

However, after an instructor at The University of Pennsylvania’s African American studies read a draft manuscript, I added a romance to the story, breaking away from the guidance I received. Readers have received Long Walk Up wonderfully!

BGA: You also wrote a non-fiction book titled Awaken Blessings of Inner Love: Shortcuts to Self-Love and Success in a Busy World. Share 2 to 3 key benefits that readers can gain from reading the book. 

Denise: Thank you! Awaken Blessings of Inner Love is so important because many of us are pushing ourselves wwwaayy too hard day-after-day.

As COVID-19 revealed, we may be closer to a tipping point than we tell ourselves that we are. Let an injury, sickness, job shift, loved one transitioning, etc. occur and we could find ourselves struggling to stay balanced, to not lose sight of our core.

Awaken Blessings of Inner Love confronts these challenges head-on. Although there are several benefits that can be gained from reading the book, two to three benefits readers can receive from reading Awaken Blessings of Inner Love include:  1) Techniques to receive authentic, inner guidance; 2) daily practices that lead to more peace; and 3) the potential to enjoy better health and improved finances.

BGA: How do you juggle a writing career, a corporate job and a healthy personal life? 

Denise: Well, I’m always learning the way. There have been times when I’ve worked 12 to 18 hours a day like it’s only 4 to 6 hours. That work stretches across the corporate world, community and literary world at chistell.com.

But, daily I practice techniques shared in the book, Awaken Blessings of Inner Love. Recently, I have started to allow myself to enjoy more days when my schedule is not jam-packed. It’s amazing to many how many people brag about how hard and how long they work.

It’s as though some of us believe that we have to work hard to pay rent to live. So, I slow down. I also get outside for a walk in nature in safe places.

Other choices that I make are to meditate daily, treat myself to 3 things that I enjoy every day (e.g. soaking in a warm bubble bath, taking a walk, reading a book) and staying connected to family and friends.

If I feel overwhelmed, I step back and rest.

BGA: What would you tell a woman who was afraid to follow her dreams?

Denise: This is your beautiful-precious-powerful-gorgeous-magnificent-remarkable-amazing LIFE! Go get the loving, good experiences that your True Self wants!

Do what you came to this earth to do! Go get it!