October 1, 2026 • 18 mins
The latest episode of Building Black Biz features author Kelly Walker Edwards, a lifelong storyteller whose work is deeply rooted in family, community, and her hometown of Asbury Park. From honoring her grandmother’s legacy in Now Is the Acceptable Time to documenting the people, memories, and experiences of Asbury Park’s West Side in her Narrative Nips series, Kelly’s work is guided by a simple belief: Stories Matter. In conversation with Diamond, Kelly shares her journey as a self-published author and the importance of preserving our stories, celebrating our roots, and making sure the voices and experiences of our communities are remembered.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today's Building Black Biz podcast is in partnership with your
local Toyota dealers.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Toyota, let's go places.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hi, and welcome to another episode of Building Black Business podcast.
I'm Diamond, and I'm here with someone who I can
already tell is very special. Just the look in your eyes,
the smile on your face, and the fact that your
children are here with you. I'm so excited for this conversation.
I'm here with Kelly Walker Edwards. Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Good morning. Afternoon, I think it is now. Whatever it.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Is.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Thank you for having me. Oh, thank you so much
for being here. I appreciate this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I have never interviewed an author, so this is a
little different for me. I told you before we started,
I am a yapper, and you're more of a writer,
so you can always stop me and let me know
where you want to go with this, because I can
yap all day long. But I want to start with
just a little bit of your background. Can you tell everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
who.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
You are, where you're from. You're very excited about being
from New Jersey.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yes, I am. So tell us all about it.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
I was born and raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey
on the West side. And, uh, actually my family, uh,
migrated there from the South back in the early 1900s.
So we've been there for quite some time. My great
grandparents and my grandparents. And, uh, my background is, um,
I was there, I graduated from high school there. And, um,
(01:27):
basically most of my books are about Asbury Park. I
reference a lot of my upbringing and my grandparents and
our legacy there.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
It's the shore.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Everybody loves the shore. I attended local university, Monmouth College.
It was Monmouth College then. It's now it's Monmouth University.
And I had several careers. Initially, once I graduated from Monmouth,
I went on to work at the local utility company.
I did that for 20 years. Yes, I was in
(01:58):
customer accounting there. And then this grandmother, who I write about,
that's my debut book, she became ill. And I had
to leave that job and take care of her. And
when she passed and I got involved with education, I
started working with the Department of Education for a couple
years as a consultant.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
And I really enjoyed that.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
And I stumbled across a position at a local private
need school, students with challenges. And once I got there,
I was offered the opportunity to be their technology instructor.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I went back to school after 50. Wow.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And I got a degree in instructional design and technology,
summa cum laude graduate.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Oh, that's what I'm talking about. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
And from there, I taught for 15 years. And as
far as me starting to write, which kind of leads
into what we're discussing, my grandmother raised me, Hazel Walker,
and she ended up in Asbury Park after living in Harlem.
She grew up in Virginia in a farm, and then
(03:03):
she moved on to Harlem during the Renaissance. And they
were hiring domestic workers in Asbury Park to work at
the shore. And she was one of the ones to
get a job there, and that's how she ended up there.
And my story is about her life, her transitioning from
the Harlem Renaissance, from the farm down in Virginia, and
(03:27):
then into Asbury Park. And she always wanted to write
a story. She would tell me these stories about her life.
And some of them were like, I mean, now I
would think they would be a Lifetime movie, but... she
just would, I mean, we would be riding in the
car and she would tell me these stories and we
would be going to doctor's appointments and she would tell
(03:48):
me these stories. And I was always an inquisitive kid
and nosy most of the time. And I said, you know,
I'm going to write your story one day.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
And then she said, no, I'm going to write my story.
I'm going to write it.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
And she, later she passed. So I knew it was
urgent that I write her story because I started to forget,
you know, a lot of the characters that she mentioned
and the people that she encountered over the years.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
And I just started writing. I love that.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
And I told you earlier, I'm going to try not
to get emotional, but I'm very close with all of
my grandparents, two of which have passed. And we as
a family took care of my grandfather. And I remember
so many of his stories. My mom actually was thinking,
I'm pretty sure she was the only one in the
family who really thought to do this, but she started
(04:37):
recording him.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Oh, that's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
And so we have those stories, and I think about
people all the time who don't have the stories to tell. Like,
you want to tell your family, you know, who weren't
there for her personal accounts of this. What is your
favorite story? I love asking people this question. Oh, wow.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Well, my favorite story, as far as my grandmother is concerned,
is when she, along with her aunt, who lived in Harlem,
and they decided to, they heard about these domestic jobs
in Asbury Park to work at the shore.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
And there's the story of.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Them, how they got on the train and just had
a little suitcase and they stayed at a rooming house
once they arrived there. And at the time, black folks
weren't allowed to be even be on the beach during
certain days or times.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And they were able to, stay at a place.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
It was an Italian family actually, because Asbury Park has
had a lot of Italians living there. Then my grandparents
were friends with a lot of them and they had
a home that they stayed and then they worked at
the hotels. They worked at the hotels and my grandmother
was always so fond of the beach, just listening to
the waves and, and she spoke of how, how soothing
(05:58):
it was. And later she attended a local church and,
with um a friend another domestic that she met and
that's how she met.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
My grandfather oh she met.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
His mom first who was a member of this church
and then he uh he was an only child and
i think his mother was trying to marry him off so.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
And when she met my grandmother you know.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
She knew she was a catch and that kind of
put their union together and um that's how it happened
i love that yeah Don't.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
You think it's something interesting about the way that our
grandparents and great grandparents, because I can't say that my
mom would have done this, but like you just are
ready to pack up and go somewhere just for the
possibility of something working out for you. Like we don't
talk enough as a community about the fact, about the
(06:51):
chances that a lot of our ancestors took and like, Thankfully,
a lot of them have worked out for us, right?
And we're products of that. And so that's great. Wow, okay,
I'm not going to get emotional.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Okay, don't.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
We're going to pivot because I wasn't thinking about this
before researching you.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
But the fact that an author actually is a business person,
I never made that connection. So I want you to
talk about what it is that you do in business
that people wouldn't expect from an author.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
That's something, too, because I didn't think of it as
a business, too. Initially, I did not. I was just
writing from my heart. And these stories just would come,
and I just decided, well, let me put them to
some use, and maybe they would help others. Because, you know,
it was therapeutic for me to write these stories. And
what happened after I wrote my grandmother's book, Now is
(07:55):
the acceptable time. And then my second book is Joy
is Not Always Joyful, which is about my paternal family.
I started writing other stories, short stories, poems, prose. And I,
you know, like, what am I going to do with them?
And I came up with Narrative Nips. That's where I
(08:16):
come up with Narrative Nips, which I created as a business.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
It is a business.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
It's a bona fide LLC now. And you don't really
know as far as anyone else looking to create a
business or however they're thinking.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
It just happens. But it is a business.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
I do make it an effort to market myself, you know,
by using social media, mainly social media. It's been paramount
in me reaching my nipsters is what I call them now.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I have a fan base now. They're called nipsters. Shout
out to the Nipsters. Shout out to the Nipsters. I'm
looking for more Nipsters. Oh, you got one. Okay. All right. Okay.
I got another Nipster. I'm happy about that.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
And I have a really well-developed website now that helps
me reach and, you know, expand my reach actually to,
and it gives a full picture of who I am.
It highlights all of my events and, and upcoming events
(09:20):
and just a background about me and the books.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
But I will say that I am self-published. That was
going to be my next question.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yes, I am self-published, and it's not as glamorous as
people might think or lucrative. A lot of the work
I've done myself, and I continue to do. I'm on
my sixth narrative, Nips Now, which just released this summer.
And I start from scratch creating, editing. And I do
(09:50):
use Amazon as my vessel to publish. They have a
KDP publishing house. So but you got to do the work.
You got to do it yourself.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
You really.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Do.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
What would you say has been the most challenging aspect
with self-publishing? Because I think of like, there could be
a lot of things that people aren't thinking about. I
have friends who are creatives who just write because they
love to write, right? But like nobody is thinking about
the fact that It takes a lot to publish yourself.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
It does. It does.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
And I know for myself, I didn't know how to
do it or what to do.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
And YouTube was... YouTube! YouTube! Okay, I love it.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
YouTube University, whatever you want to call it, helped me
develop and to figure out how I'm going to do this.
And it was trial and error a lot. You know,
just even... knowing that there's a certain size that you
have to use for paperback or coverback. You have to
get your ISBN numbers. You have to do your copyright.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
I had to learn all this stuff from scratch. Wow,
on the whim. Yeah, on the whim. I love that.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
And, you know, I've trademarked narrative nips. I had to
learn that on a whim. It is hard, but it's
rewarding as well because you do the work and you see–
the fruit of your labor.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Once it's done.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I know personally, I guess, with being self-published, I don't
have any restrictions either. You know, it's what I want
to write, how I want to write. I pick a cover.
I choose the cover. I don't think you have the
flexibility if you're with a publishing house or maybe they do.
But I find it is just more rewarding for me
(11:38):
to personally own ownership of my creative work.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
And another thing that I'm thinking about now that we're talking,
how did you build your audience? Did you just like
start an Instagram and like start posting about, and you've
built an audience of nipsters?
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Instagram, family members, everybody. I, you know, I use Canva.
I mean, remember I got the technology background.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Oh, you're right.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
So I kind of did it all. Yeah, I started
off with Instagram and posting Facebook.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I have a big Facebook follower. But Instagram has been
really helpful as well. And just word of mouth. And
because I have friends that really appreciated my work and
just love me, they were willing to spread the news.
(12:41):
I had an opportunity once I first published to go
back to my library in Asbury Park that I spent
a lot of time in and that my grandmother spent
a lot of time in. She was a big reader.
And I was able to go back there to debut
my book. So that was wonderful. That started the circle
of events of people knowing who I am. And I
was just recently in the Asbury Park Press. I was
(13:03):
on the cover page of that.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Nice. And that's building more Nipsters.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Come on in. Yeah. I love that.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
So what would you say it means to you as
a Black woman, businesswoman, author, to own your ideas, the
stories that you want to tell in the way that
you want to, and your intellectual property that you've created?
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Well, I am overwhelmed in gratitude that I can be
an example of a Black business entrepreneur business owner, um, coming,
especially from humble beginnings, uh, living in, uh, situations that
sometime weren't the best, but, um, and having detours in
(13:52):
life and just even my age reinventing myself. Uh, I,
I think that all women, especially black women have an
opportunity to, to, to shine, you know, just don't allow
anything to detour you in, um, living your purpose.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You just were like speaking to me, to my soul. Okay. Um,
what would you say is next for you?
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Oh boy.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Should we do this? A two part question?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Well, it's kind of, yeah, I guess what's next and
goals that I may have. Well, next is always the writing.
And even with the narrative nips, um, These stories wake
me up at night. You know, I'll hear something like
this event here will resonate with me in a certain way,
(14:45):
and I'll be thinking about it, and a story will come.
And I'm hoping that more of that will happen. I'm
grateful for that. I do intend to be a part
of the book con that you have.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
In New York. I haven't made any arrangements, but that's
a goal. We're speaking into existence.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
I'd love to go to Martha's Vineyard to do that
Black Book Festival thing and ultimately just gather more nipsters and,
you know, I want Oprah to read my books.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
That's a goal. That's an ultimate goal.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
And finally, the story about my grandmother, I would love
that to be turned into a movie one day.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I love that. I think if the right person gets
a hold of it, it would happen.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
We need that. We need our stories told. Okay. If
you could pick a director, who would you pick?
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Oh, oh, geez. Hmm.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Well, it's a lot to choose from, but I would
say Tyler Perry would be one.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Ava DuVernay. That's who I was thinking. And I want
Journey Smollett to play my grandmother.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Ooh, you've been thinking about casting.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Okay, now don't get me excited. Nia Long is going
to be my auntie that's in it.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Are you going to be in it?
Speaker 2 (16:09):
I don't think so, but my daughter might.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Okay, who's going to play your daughter?
Speaker 2 (16:12):
She's on theater, so. Oh, she wants to actually. Now
this is what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Can I help with casting?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Oh, yes. Okay, good. Please, please. Good, good, good.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Okay, well, since Building Black Business Podcast is on iHeartRadio,
I need to know what songs or artists would be
on your iHeartRadio playlist. If you can make one.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
If I can make, how many can I add to this?
It's unlimited. It's unlimited. Well, I have the artists and
the songs.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I need to hear them.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Now, starting, and these are ones that are my go-to
anyway to motivate me or just to, I mean, sometimes
you just need the right song, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Wait, are these in order?
Speaker 1 (16:54):
I know. Of like, okay, okay, shuffle.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Okay, so we're talking about Kindred the Soul, Family, Far
Away From Here is that song.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Kareem Bailey Ray.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Like a Star. I don't know if you've heard that. Well,
I guess so. You're in the radio business.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Eric Benet, You're the Only. Maxwell, Woman's Work.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Oh, I know. Can you sing too?
Speaker 3 (17:20):
My daughter can't, but I can.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Isley Brothers, At Your Best You Are Loved. Oh, I
love that song. Ty Tribbett, I have to throw a
little gospel in there.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Oh, yes.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Okay, now which one? Only One Night. I know Victory.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Victory went triple platinum on my iPod.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
That gets you going.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
I need to add that to the playlist.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Boney James, All I Want Is You. That's a little
jazz thing going on.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Lauryn Hill, Jersey Girl, The Sweetest Thing I've Ever Known.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
I love that song.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
The sweetest thing I've ever known. I'm not a singer,
but Floetry. You know that's an old one. You know Floetry?
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Of course.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Getting Late. And then, of course, rounding it off, Luther. Uh-oh,
which one? House is Not a Home.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Ooh!
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Gotta do Luther. Wow. So that would be my playlist.
I love that.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
We're going to make that a playlist. I don't know
how I'm making promises, but we're going to make that
a playlist.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Well, it can be the backdrop for the book, at least.
It could be. Oh, no, that's going to be in
the movie. All of those songs are going to be
in the movie. Now you're talking.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Well, Kelly Walker Edwards, thank you so much for sitting
with me. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
I appreciate you having me. And sharing your story. Thank you.
This has been fun. Thank you. Oh, I love it.
We got to have you back.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Anytime.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Anytime.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Thank you for joining the Building Black Biz podcast in
partnership with your local Toyota dealers.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Toyota, let's go places.
Today's Building Black Biz podcast is in partnership with your
local Toyota dealers.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Toyota, let's go places.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hi, and welcome to another episode of Building Black Business podcast.
I'm Diamond, and I'm here with someone who I can
already tell is very special. Just the look in your eyes,
the smile on your face, and the fact that your
children are here with you. I'm so excited for this conversation.
I'm here with Kelly Walker Edwards. Hi.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Good morning. Afternoon, I think it is now. Whatever it.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Is.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Thank you for having me. Oh, thank you so much
for being here. I appreciate this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
I have never interviewed an author, so this is a
little different for me. I told you before we started,
I am a yapper, and you're more of a writer,
so you can always stop me and let me know
where you want to go with this, because I can
yap all day long. But I want to start with
just a little bit of your background. Can you tell everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
who.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
You are, where you're from. You're very excited about being
from New Jersey.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
Yes, I am. So tell us all about it.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
I was born and raised in Asbury Park, New Jersey
on the West side. And, uh, actually my family, uh,
migrated there from the South back in the early 1900s.
So we've been there for quite some time. My great
grandparents and my grandparents. And, uh, my background is, um,
I was there, I graduated from high school there. And, um,
(01:27):
basically most of my books are about Asbury Park. I
reference a lot of my upbringing and my grandparents and
our legacy there.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
It's the shore.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Everybody loves the shore. I attended local university, Monmouth College.
It was Monmouth College then. It's now it's Monmouth University.
And I had several careers. Initially, once I graduated from Monmouth,
I went on to work at the local utility company.
I did that for 20 years. Yes, I was in
(01:58):
customer accounting there. And then this grandmother, who I write about,
that's my debut book, she became ill. And I had
to leave that job and take care of her. And
when she passed and I got involved with education, I
started working with the Department of Education for a couple
years as a consultant.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
And I really enjoyed that.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
And I stumbled across a position at a local private
need school, students with challenges. And once I got there,
I was offered the opportunity to be their technology instructor.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
I went back to school after 50. Wow.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And I got a degree in instructional design and technology,
summa cum laude graduate.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Oh, that's what I'm talking about. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:41):
And from there, I taught for 15 years. And as
far as me starting to write, which kind of leads
into what we're discussing, my grandmother raised me, Hazel Walker,
and she ended up in Asbury Park after living in Harlem.
She grew up in Virginia in a farm, and then
(03:03):
she moved on to Harlem during the Renaissance. And they
were hiring domestic workers in Asbury Park to work at
the shore. And she was one of the ones to
get a job there, and that's how she ended up there.
And my story is about her life, her transitioning from
the Harlem Renaissance, from the farm down in Virginia, and
(03:27):
then into Asbury Park. And she always wanted to write
a story. She would tell me these stories about her life.
And some of them were like, I mean, now I
would think they would be a Lifetime movie, but... she
just would, I mean, we would be riding in the
car and she would tell me these stories and we
would be going to doctor's appointments and she would tell
(03:48):
me these stories. And I was always an inquisitive kid
and nosy most of the time. And I said, you know,
I'm going to write your story one day.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
And then she said, no, I'm going to write my story.
I'm going to write it.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
And she, later she passed. So I knew it was
urgent that I write her story because I started to forget,
you know, a lot of the characters that she mentioned
and the people that she encountered over the years.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
And I just started writing. I love that.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
And I told you earlier, I'm going to try not
to get emotional, but I'm very close with all of
my grandparents, two of which have passed. And we as
a family took care of my grandfather. And I remember
so many of his stories. My mom actually was thinking,
I'm pretty sure she was the only one in the
family who really thought to do this, but she started
(04:37):
recording him.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Oh, that's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
And so we have those stories, and I think about
people all the time who don't have the stories to tell. Like,
you want to tell your family, you know, who weren't
there for her personal accounts of this. What is your
favorite story? I love asking people this question. Oh, wow.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
Well, my favorite story, as far as my grandmother is concerned,
is when she, along with her aunt, who lived in Harlem,
and they decided to, they heard about these domestic jobs
in Asbury Park to work at the shore.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
And there's the story of.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Them, how they got on the train and just had
a little suitcase and they stayed at a rooming house
once they arrived there. And at the time, black folks
weren't allowed to be even be on the beach during
certain days or times.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And they were able to, stay at a place.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
It was an Italian family actually, because Asbury Park has
had a lot of Italians living there. Then my grandparents
were friends with a lot of them and they had
a home that they stayed and then they worked at
the hotels. They worked at the hotels and my grandmother
was always so fond of the beach, just listening to
the waves and, and she spoke of how, how soothing
(05:58):
it was. And later she attended a local church and,
with um a friend another domestic that she met and
that's how she met.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
My grandfather oh she met.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
His mom first who was a member of this church
and then he uh he was an only child and
i think his mother was trying to marry him off so.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
And when she met my grandmother you know.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
She knew she was a catch and that kind of
put their union together and um that's how it happened
i love that yeah Don't.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
You think it's something interesting about the way that our
grandparents and great grandparents, because I can't say that my
mom would have done this, but like you just are
ready to pack up and go somewhere just for the
possibility of something working out for you. Like we don't
talk enough as a community about the fact, about the
(06:51):
chances that a lot of our ancestors took and like, Thankfully,
a lot of them have worked out for us, right?
And we're products of that. And so that's great. Wow, okay,
I'm not going to get emotional.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Okay, don't.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
We're going to pivot because I wasn't thinking about this
before researching you.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
But the fact that an author actually is a business person,
I never made that connection. So I want you to
talk about what it is that you do in business
that people wouldn't expect from an author.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Right.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
That's something, too, because I didn't think of it as
a business, too. Initially, I did not. I was just
writing from my heart. And these stories just would come,
and I just decided, well, let me put them to
some use, and maybe they would help others. Because, you know,
it was therapeutic for me to write these stories. And
what happened after I wrote my grandmother's book, Now is
(07:55):
the acceptable time. And then my second book is Joy
is Not Always Joyful, which is about my paternal family.
I started writing other stories, short stories, poems, prose. And I,
you know, like, what am I going to do with them?
And I came up with Narrative Nips. That's where I
(08:16):
come up with Narrative Nips, which I created as a business.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
It is a business.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
It's a bona fide LLC now. And you don't really
know as far as anyone else looking to create a
business or however they're thinking.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
It just happens. But it is a business.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
I do make it an effort to market myself, you know,
by using social media, mainly social media. It's been paramount
in me reaching my nipsters is what I call them now.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
I have a fan base now. They're called nipsters. Shout
out to the Nipsters. Shout out to the Nipsters. I'm
looking for more Nipsters. Oh, you got one. Okay. All right. Okay.
I got another Nipster. I'm happy about that.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
And I have a really well-developed website now that helps
me reach and, you know, expand my reach actually to,
and it gives a full picture of who I am.
It highlights all of my events and, and upcoming events
(09:20):
and just a background about me and the books.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
But I will say that I am self-published. That was
going to be my next question.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
Yes, I am self-published, and it's not as glamorous as
people might think or lucrative. A lot of the work
I've done myself, and I continue to do. I'm on
my sixth narrative, Nips Now, which just released this summer.
And I start from scratch creating, editing. And I do
(09:50):
use Amazon as my vessel to publish. They have a
KDP publishing house. So but you got to do the work.
You got to do it yourself.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
You really.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
Do.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
What would you say has been the most challenging aspect
with self-publishing? Because I think of like, there could be
a lot of things that people aren't thinking about. I
have friends who are creatives who just write because they
love to write, right? But like nobody is thinking about
the fact that It takes a lot to publish yourself.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
It does. It does.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
And I know for myself, I didn't know how to
do it or what to do.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
And YouTube was... YouTube! YouTube! Okay, I love it.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
YouTube University, whatever you want to call it, helped me
develop and to figure out how I'm going to do this.
And it was trial and error a lot. You know,
just even... knowing that there's a certain size that you
have to use for paperback or coverback. You have to
get your ISBN numbers. You have to do your copyright.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
I had to learn all this stuff from scratch. Wow,
on the whim. Yeah, on the whim. I love that.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
And, you know, I've trademarked narrative nips. I had to
learn that on a whim. It is hard, but it's
rewarding as well because you do the work and you see–
the fruit of your labor.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Once it's done.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I know personally, I guess, with being self-published, I don't
have any restrictions either. You know, it's what I want
to write, how I want to write. I pick a cover.
I choose the cover. I don't think you have the
flexibility if you're with a publishing house or maybe they do.
But I find it is just more rewarding for me
(11:38):
to personally own ownership of my creative work.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
And another thing that I'm thinking about now that we're talking,
how did you build your audience? Did you just like
start an Instagram and like start posting about, and you've
built an audience of nipsters?
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Instagram, family members, everybody. I, you know, I use Canva.
I mean, remember I got the technology background.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Oh, you're right.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
So I kind of did it all. Yeah, I started
off with Instagram and posting Facebook.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I have a big Facebook follower. But Instagram has been
really helpful as well. And just word of mouth. And
because I have friends that really appreciated my work and
just love me, they were willing to spread the news.
(12:41):
I had an opportunity once I first published to go
back to my library in Asbury Park that I spent
a lot of time in and that my grandmother spent
a lot of time in. She was a big reader.
And I was able to go back there to debut
my book. So that was wonderful. That started the circle
of events of people knowing who I am. And I
was just recently in the Asbury Park Press. I was
(13:03):
on the cover page of that.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Nice. And that's building more Nipsters.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Come on in. Yeah. I love that.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
So what would you say it means to you as
a Black woman, businesswoman, author, to own your ideas, the
stories that you want to tell in the way that
you want to, and your intellectual property that you've created?
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Well, I am overwhelmed in gratitude that I can be
an example of a Black business entrepreneur business owner, um, coming,
especially from humble beginnings, uh, living in, uh, situations that
sometime weren't the best, but, um, and having detours in
(13:52):
life and just even my age reinventing myself. Uh, I,
I think that all women, especially black women have an
opportunity to, to, to shine, you know, just don't allow
anything to detour you in, um, living your purpose.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
You just were like speaking to me, to my soul. Okay. Um,
what would you say is next for you?
Speaker 2 (14:22):
Oh boy.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Should we do this? A two part question?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Well, it's kind of, yeah, I guess what's next and
goals that I may have. Well, next is always the writing.
And even with the narrative nips, um, These stories wake
me up at night. You know, I'll hear something like
this event here will resonate with me in a certain way,
(14:45):
and I'll be thinking about it, and a story will come.
And I'm hoping that more of that will happen. I'm
grateful for that. I do intend to be a part
of the book con that you have.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
In New York. I haven't made any arrangements, but that's
a goal. We're speaking into existence.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
I'd love to go to Martha's Vineyard to do that
Black Book Festival thing and ultimately just gather more nipsters and,
you know, I want Oprah to read my books.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
That's a goal. That's an ultimate goal.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
And finally, the story about my grandmother, I would love
that to be turned into a movie one day.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
I love that. I think if the right person gets
a hold of it, it would happen.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
We need that. We need our stories told. Okay. If
you could pick a director, who would you pick?
Speaker 2 (15:42):
Oh, oh, geez. Hmm.
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Well, it's a lot to choose from, but I would
say Tyler Perry would be one.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Ava DuVernay. That's who I was thinking. And I want
Journey Smollett to play my grandmother.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
Ooh, you've been thinking about casting.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Okay, now don't get me excited. Nia Long is going
to be my auntie that's in it.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Are you going to be in it?
Speaker 2 (16:09):
I don't think so, but my daughter might.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Okay, who's going to play your daughter?
Speaker 2 (16:12):
She's on theater, so. Oh, she wants to actually. Now
this is what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Can I help with casting?
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Oh, yes. Okay, good. Please, please. Good, good, good.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Okay, well, since Building Black Business Podcast is on iHeartRadio,
I need to know what songs or artists would be
on your iHeartRadio playlist. If you can make one.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
If I can make, how many can I add to this?
It's unlimited. It's unlimited. Well, I have the artists and
the songs.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Okay, go ahead.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I need to hear them.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Now, starting, and these are ones that are my go-to
anyway to motivate me or just to, I mean, sometimes
you just need the right song, you know.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Wait, are these in order?
Speaker 1 (16:54):
I know. Of like, okay, okay, shuffle.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Okay, so we're talking about Kindred the Soul, Family, Far
Away From Here is that song.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
Kareem Bailey Ray.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Like a Star. I don't know if you've heard that. Well,
I guess so. You're in the radio business.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Eric Benet, You're the Only. Maxwell, Woman's Work.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Oh, I know. Can you sing too?
Speaker 3 (17:20):
My daughter can't, but I can.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Isley Brothers, At Your Best You Are Loved. Oh, I
love that song. Ty Tribbett, I have to throw a
little gospel in there.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Oh, yes.
Speaker 2 (17:31):
Okay, now which one? Only One Night. I know Victory.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Victory went triple platinum on my iPod.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
That gets you going.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
I need to add that to the playlist.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Boney James, All I Want Is You. That's a little
jazz thing going on.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Lauryn Hill, Jersey Girl, The Sweetest Thing I've Ever Known.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
I love that song.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
The sweetest thing I've ever known. I'm not a singer,
but Floetry. You know that's an old one. You know Floetry?
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Of course.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
Getting Late. And then, of course, rounding it off, Luther. Uh-oh,
which one? House is Not a Home.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
Ooh!
Speaker 2 (18:08):
Gotta do Luther. Wow. So that would be my playlist.
I love that.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
We're going to make that a playlist. I don't know
how I'm making promises, but we're going to make that
a playlist.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Well, it can be the backdrop for the book, at least.
It could be. Oh, no, that's going to be in
the movie. All of those songs are going to be
in the movie. Now you're talking.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Well, Kelly Walker Edwards, thank you so much for sitting
with me. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
I appreciate you having me. And sharing your story. Thank you.
This has been fun. Thank you. Oh, I love it.
We got to have you back.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Anytime.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Anytime.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Thank you for joining the Building Black Biz podcast in
partnership with your local Toyota dealers.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Toyota, let's go places.
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