Believing in the Unbelievable

In the year 2010, I became interested in spoken word. I was doing poetry for many years before but my interest in performing seemed to grow a bit more.  I was writing and writing, writing and sharing, writing and performing, and before long, someone suggested to me that I should write a book.  The idea seemed interesting and I was up for the challenge; I began compiling my best pieces until I felt content with my content (see what I did there?) 😆

I had no idea about writing a book. I had no idea what it would cost, what I needed to do, who I needed to speak to, if I needed to have a specific qualification to be a writer. I just knew that sharing my work with the world was something that I needed to do.  I took a draft copy of my intended book and I brought it to an older woman who I very much looked up to.  To my great surprise she suggested to me that I shouldn't publish because writing a book is too expensive. There was the editorial fees, the cost for a publishing house, printing and everything else there was to worry about - she listed.

I was disappointed; I began to believe that she might have been right, but just for one last time, I took the opportunity to seek help from someone else - this time, someone who had already published.  It was almost as if my heart sank within my stomach when I was told, "I don't think I can help you. Try someone else." I did just that, and guess what? You guessed right - I was turned down again!

I was seventeen years old.  I had never published before, but that desire was deep within me. I wanted to share; I wanted to let my poetry reach to some young budding writer who felt like he was not good enough to get his work out there. I wanted my poetry to reach to young Caribbean girls who were going through situations no one would understand.  I could still hear the sound of my mother's voice urging me to "go for it" and reach for the stars.  I took one last leap of faith and I went to someone who introduced me to the organization that published my book four years later.

Today, success is something everyone wants to achieve. Whether it is attaining that 4.0 grade point average or starting a new business, everyone's heading in the direction to success.  But arriving at the point of success isn't something that's easy (well it can be, if you're taking all the wrong ways of getting there).

No one talks about the people you least expect that don't believe in your capability and your determination.  No one talks about the sleepless nights when giving up seems like the only option.  No one talks about the ones who try to sabotage your dreams.  The road to success is a bumpy one; it is not as straight and smooth as demonstrated in this picture.  It has many high points and low points.  Success does not come easy but it comes by believing in the unbelievable, reaching to places no man has dared to enter.  It involves constant prayer and believing in yourself that you can achieve whatever you put your mind to.

When I saw my first hard copy of Beyond Fables: Poetry, I couldn't believe that I did it.  I sat back and I remembered the four years of battle that I fought to get that tiny book to where it was now.  I remember the tears that streamed down my face when I was rejected and no one believed in me.  I remember the laughter of others who did not think that my poetry was good enough to make it into a book.  But when I reminisced, I also remembered the support of my family and the happiness I felt knowing how proud my parents were of me.

Today, you may have dreams that are stored at the back of your mind, probably catching dust and cobwebs as you have put them all the way behind your thoughts.  You probably think they cannot be attained. My friend, anything is possible; with God, all things that seem unreachable are definitely in your reach.  Forget what your parents said, what your friends thought, what society said.  Maybe they've all said it was impossible, it was too good to be true, unbelievable. It is possible!  It is attainable! All you have to do is believe in yourself.  No matter how long it takes, you go out there and you achieve it.  It took me four long years to get my baby book out there 😅 but hey, I did it didn't I? And guess what, you can too. Pray. Hope. Believe.  You can achieve it. 

My first copy

Promoting #BeyondFablesPoetry at the Rotary Club of Grenada, East

Engaging in discussion about my book with the former Prime Minster of Grenada, Hon. Tillman Thomas

My friend shows her kindle edition

Spotting #BeyondFablesPoetry in a book store next to other well known Grenadian authors

Surrounded by my friends on the launch of #BeyondFablesPoetry

Have you ever met someone who has the same name as you? This is my friend Amy Gooch Jones

My mom could not wait for my books to arrive so she ordered the first copy off Amazon

Details for Beyond Fables: Poetry

by Amy J.W. Jones

Illustration by Solanche K. Robert

Available on: 

* Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beyond-fables-ms-amy-jw-jones/1118880280

Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/4731651

* Amazon: Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Fables-Ms-Amy-Jones/dp/1497451825/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483402252&sr=8-1&keywords=beyond+fables+poetry

* Amazon: Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Fables-Poetry-Amy-Jones-ebook/dp/B00JDSJRYA

• ISBN-10: 1497451825
• ISBN-13: 978-1497451827
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So what about you? What dreams do you hope to achieve? Are you willing to share? Leave a comment down below!!