See How A Queen RISES In Queens And Then Writes A Book About It

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An Interview With Author Jody-Ann Buckle by Kamau Austin

In Queens A Literary Queen Is Rising

Jody-Ann N. Buckle, And Her Book Of Poetry "Reflections Of A Queen Rising"

Jody-Ann Buckle is an emerging author in Southeast Queens, who looks to inspire and empower women with her 1st book of poetry "Reflections of A Queen Rising." I asked the rising queen of publishing about what drove her to create such a compelling work.

Kamau: Jody-Ann can you tell me a little about your background and where you grew up?

Jody-Ann - I was born in St. Ann, Jamaica, and lived for a period of time with my maternal grandmother and aunt.  I migrated to New York at the age of eight with my mother and we settled in Laurelton, Queens with family.

At the age of eleven, my father was killed in Jamaica.  After experiencing the loss of my father I looked for ways to fill the void of his untimely death through writing short stories and poetry. I was fairly active growing up and spent most of my time hanging around with my cousins.

I participated in ballet and tap classes, entered a jazz competition, joined the step team and cheerleading team in high school. I was never clinically diagnosed with depression, but in my late twenties I have been sad more often than I was happy.

Part of what drove that sadness was because I wasn’t experiencing life and I didn’t believe in myself. I desired to get married and thought it would give me happiness, I suppressed my talents as a writer, and despite several achievements, I felt unsuccessful.

Kamau: That sounds very painful and challenging. How were you able to shift gears and make your life more fulfilling after your father's death?

Jody-Ann - Needless to say for the next few years I wrestled with my thoughts. I began to shift my thoughts and replaced, negativity with positivity, I began to embrace who I was as a person, I showed myself love, and in return I was able to pour that into my writing.

In addition, I practiced gratitude, read more books, and completed a series of personal development workshops, which challenged my mindset to think differently. I realized that life was so much more than comparing myself to others, getting married, and diminishing what I could potentially offer the world.

Kamau: What made you make the jump to go from reading inspiring authors to becoming one yourself?  

Jody-Ann - As the years progressed, I continued to write but never thought about publishing a book until I was in my early thirties.  In the summer of 2016, while sitting on my sofa and realized that fear was sinking me, so I made the decision to share my writing.

Despite the thoughts that lingered, “who would read it?” and questioning whether I was a good writer, I persisted and shared my first blog post on September 21, 2016.  I didn’t know how it would look and I didn’t care if I was going to be successful, I just wanted to share my story.

I was humbled by the feedback because much of what I experienced, other women were able to relate. A year later I self-published my first poetry book, Reflections of a Queen Rising, which is available on Amazon. Reflections of a Queen Rising mirrors a woman who is no longer afraid to write,  it mirrors a woman who has transformed her thinking, and it mirrors a woman who is always seeking ways to discover her highest potential.

Kamau: Ms. Buckle can you hit us with a little sample of your poetry?

Jody-Ann - Sure Kamau this is entitled Arrival Time...

Copyright 2016 - 2018 Jody-Ann Buckle "Arrival Time"