Our Blog

Despite the impressive growth recorded in recent years, Africa is still home to widespread uneven distribution of income. As of today, many African countries continue to harbor great disparities, inequalities, and poverty. This results in millions of individuals being provided with little to no adequate housing. Arising from these basic human needs are unsanitary facilities, unclean streets, and unclean water sources. Founded in the state of Alabama in the United States by it

Sheryl Smiley-Oliphant is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University and the University of North Carolina Charlotte wherein she majored in Theater Arts. She resides in Charlotte, NC with her husband, their two adorable young divas, and their dog. She’s a drama and theater arts teacher in the Charlotte Mecklenburg County School System. Sheryl has a double identity in that she’s also a vlogger who goes by the name The Activity Author but more on that later. Her artistic

Welcome to another behind the scenes look at one of the illustrations in my soon to be released children’s book, Dear Daughter: A Love Story. As shared previously it’s an expressive story that reveals my heart through a series of short love letters to my daughter Haelee, The Rules of a Big Boss LLC. While I’m the author it’s very much a joint project in that she’s the editor and her company is the publisher. ••• As previously shared, I wrote this story not only for her but fo

This picture is a perfect depiction of Haelee and I as told in my memoir, our memoir, The Unexpected Journey: Fire and Gold. She may not realize my sacrifices now but she will one day and I’m okay with that. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t change a thing. • • • #theunexpectedjourney #blackauthors #ncauthors #mentalhealth #therulesofabigboss #bookstore #selfcare #family #blackwriters #booksbyblackauthors #fathersanddaughters #singlefatherstory #writeyourownstories #mentalheal

The Children‘s Book Marketing Podcast is hosted by Micaela S. Benn. Michaela is a graduate of Michigan State University and The Ohio State University wherein she specialized in marketing and supply chain management. To be specific, she has an MBA in Marketing and Supply Chain Logistics and a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and Marketing. Micaela is the founder of The Brand Story Blvd (Recently renamed, The Children‘s Book Marketing Company). She leads a team t

Welcome to a behind the scenes look at one of the illustrations in my soon to be released children’s book, Dear Daughter: A Love Story. It’s an expressive story that reveals my heart through a series of short love letters to my daughter Haelee. What’s fascinating is that it’s a joint project that we’re working on together wherein she’s both the editor and publisher for this project. ••• As previously shared, I wrote this story not only for her but for daughters around the 🌎

Dear Daughter: A Love Story is an expressive story that reveals the author Dedrick Moone’s heart through a love letter to his daughter Haelee. The author wrote this story not only for Haelee but for daughters across the world. He writes it to let you know that he loves each one of you through an extension of his daughter in being a dad. He hopes that it helps to shift the paradigm of black men not taking care of their children especially their daughters. And as an added bonus

Inspirational Indie Authors Podcast is hosted by Howard Lovy, ALLi’s Multimedia Manager. It gives ALLi member authors an opportunity to discuss the motivations and inspiration behind their books. His guest this week was my 14 year old daughter, Haelee. Haelee survived an early childhood that was filled with bullying and abuse. Part of the way she healed herself was to write her book about how to love yourself. Now, she wants to give back by helping other children and women wh

I had to share post given that I’m working on a book that follows a similar concept. Tiffany Parker, Founder of Grace Co and Kids is of course ahead of me in that they already have their artwork complete and a release date. Please see why you should grab several copies of their upcoming book by reading below. ••• I WROTE A CHILDREN’S BOOK! So excited to share this with the world! Too many times when hearing, “you’re just like your daddy” it’s a negative connotation associated

It was an utter joy to celebrate the grand opening of Next Chapter Bookstore and Gift Shop with friends, family, and my fellow creatives on September 18, 2021. ••• We chatted it up, laughed, and celebrated one another. But not only that we put on singing and dancing performances at my table. I even serenaded my daughter with a live rendition of Isn’t She Lovely. If you weren’t there or missed the lives you missed out on fabulous time. ••• Next Chapter nor Ben’s Boyz owe us a

Haelee has been through a lot in life to only be 13-years-old. Those things caused her to lose the innocence of her smile. It’s difficult for me to trust others with her as a result of those traumas. It’s a part of why I’m very much reclusive. ••• Jasmine Jones (Jasmine J), founder, The Primplife Plan interviewed her several weeks ago as part of her Behind the Inspo Series. There was an instant connection between them in that they both fell in love with one another’s energy.

Haelee and I stopped by Next Chapter Bookstore and Gift-shop (Next Chapter) to drop off additional copies of our books. ••• Nextchapter is run by Sherricka Carpenter-Stanley and it’s located inside Ben’s Boyz. She is an author, publisher, and God fearing woman who’s based out of my hometown of Greensboro, NC. You can read more about her by going here. ••• Ben’s Boyz is the first black owned restaurant in the prestigious Friendly Shopping Center. It was created as a brand to f

I found out this morning that my daughter, Haelee and I have been featured as authors on AALBC under the umbrella of LiteracyNation. ••• AALBC is the oldest, largest, and most popular online bookstore dedicated to African-American and Black literature from around the world. Its principle mission is to promote literature and literary nonfiction from all over the world to readers of all backgrounds. The mission of Literacy Nation is to encourage and promote youth and adults, as