If you’re looking for something new to read, check out today’s author feature, the lovely Vallean Jackson from Birmingham, AL. 

I am a children’s book and urban fiction Author. If I had to choose, I couldn’t. I am equally passionate about both genres. I also have a little romance and borderline education (my children’s workbook) under my belt. I am working on introducing other genres that I am more than excited about.

I would say that my biggest challenge to overcome as an Author was getting back into writing. For a minute, I gave up because of a past experience, but a great part of me just felt like something was missing. I had this build-up and stories continuously dancing in my head that, in a sense, frustrated me just as before when I first started. So once I started back writing, I got the relief I was looking for and have been back at it in every sense, and I couldn’t be more content.

My writing goal(s)…..are plenty, honestly. It’s almost like every day I add on something else. I literally have a folder on my phone entitled “book ideas” because something is always hitting me. I just wish sometimes I could write as fast as I thought of these stories. But on a more intentional level of goals, there’s me releasing another children’s book this year, releasing a new genre from me, and maybe some other projects I have in mind. To achieve these goals, the idea is to not give up. Be persistent! As well as keep in mind what I want to see come to fruition.

The best writing advice I’ve ever been given was to not give up honestly because I truly was a good writer and had so much to offer. I didn’t feel like that at the time and was just going to focus on journalism. But hearing those words came as a shock yet as a wake up call. That I was being hard on myself as well as letting a situation have control over my purpose, and that wasn’t right.

As for a book that I would like to focus on at the moment is my latest release Love On Thin Ice 3- Healing. It was released at the end of 2022 and is the last book of the “Love On Thin Ice” trilogy. The last book in the trilogy was bananas, if you ask me! The twist and turns that developed even shocked me. That might sound crazy, but for a minute, it took me a while to see what direction I really wanted to go. I was honestly struggling a bit, then one day it just hit me and everything started to unravel. It was like my characters took me over. I think the best part of the trilogy for me is how my characters each realized healing isn’t the same for everybody. It might carry one definition, but how it’s interpreted is to each’s own. 

Love On Thin Ice 3- Healing can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle, Google Books, and www.valleanj.com

They say that time heals all wounds, but for the dynamic couple Keiontay and Nova, the flames of the love between them have fanned out.

Nova’s battle of standing her ground has her embracing the role of a single mother while trying to heal from a failed relationship and conflicted with still believing that love for her is not dead.

With the feeling of rejection that cuts as deep as a sword, the question for Keiontay becomes if he can maneuver out of his own way to get back the love he holds dear.

But the wrath of rejection doesn’t stop there as Tarven thinks he finally has the woman he has always fought for, and Ginger refuses to let go of her heart’s desire. Her take no attitude in this trilogy reveals many anticipated consequences.

And Omar works through some childhood trauma that leads to experiencing the love that he has always craved.
In the fight for love, healing, and a healthy relationship…..who will finally get their happy ending?