As we step into 2025, I find myself reflecting on the accomplishments of 2024 and the strides made along the way. One of the most significant milestones was the release of the audiobook version of My Invisible Father. It was quite an exhilarating task collaborating with the production company and the talented voice actors who brought the story to life. In the end, I’m confident the time and resources invested were well worth it, ensuring a high-quality experience for listeners. As a special offer for January and February 2025, we’re making the audiobook available at half price through Audiobooks.com.
Looking back, I also had the opportunity to visit two local juvenile centers over the summer. My first stop was the St. Louis County Courts Juvenile Detention Center, where I had a dual purpose for visiting: 1) to research the center’s approach to literacy, which will help me in my quest for writing the sequel to My Invisible Father (titled My Invisible Name), and 2) to introduce my novels to the students there, both male and female.
The second stop was at Hogan Street Regional Youth Center, a Missouri Division of Youth Services facility for boys. During my visit, I spoke to a group of students about My Invisible Father and how it resonates with many youth, especially African-American teens who have strained or absent relationships with their fathers. We also discussed the harsh reality of young people committing crimes and how those actions can lead to being incarcerated. To enrich the conversation, I shared music videos that align with the themes and characters of the book.
In addition to these visits, I spent time in November at Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School in Maplewood, Missouri, where I met with four different junior English classes. In my presentation, I introduced My Invisible Father and gave a sneak peek into My Invisible Name. I also shared music and videos, offering the students a visual and auditory connection to the novels. The highlight of the visit was presenting open-ended writing prompts, which inspired the students to write short stories of their own in their daily journals. Some students shared their work aloud or gave a synopsis of their short stories. Several students chose to expand upon one of these stories as their final piece for the semester, and I was thrilled to hear that many chose to submit stories based on my prompts.
Between these outreach efforts, recording new music for the upcoming book and soundtrack, 2024 was a year of intense productivity and creative growth. While I’m uncertain of what 2025 holds, I’m committed to finishing the sequel and completing the soundtrack, all while continuing to visit schools, libraries, and centers in the near future.
As I navigate through the new year, I’m eager to embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Will you join me on this journey?
BTW: one more accomplishment (air quotes) from 2024 is I officially have a TikTok Fan Page lol created by some of my former students called mrjonesfanpagehxms. (smiley face)