Take Five With Tumika Patrice Cain

Monday, March 17, 2014



Today, I’m happy to welcome Tumika Patrice Cain, an award-winning author and educator. I’ll move right into the five questions I asked this inspired writer.

What ideas helped you create your title?
For my novel, Season of Change, the title is symbolic of the seasons of our lives.  I live in the Midwestern region of the United States where we go through the most amazing displays of seasonal changes each year; each one vastly different than the last.  Autumn is my favorite time of the year.  The weather is cool, it’s the start of football season and there is this breathtaking artistic backdrop as the leaves on the trees change colors.  The air even smells different. 

As with the cover of Season of Change, this time symbolizes the most significant changes in seasons.  There are times when like the winter, things are barren and seemingly dead.  There are times when all is fresh and new; budding with new promise like the spring.  Then there are the times when all is in full bloom, each day a sunny and bright reminder of the promise of beauty…just like summer.  And finally there is the autumn of our lives which represents a time when the newness has worn off, but there is beauty in maturity.  There is grace in slowing down. There is a gentleness present that you have to take time to bask in…a time to breathe deeply, exhale slowly and lax into the next phase.  Autumn represents maturity to me.

With After the Rain…a Poetry Collective, there is still the theme of weather present.  This collection of writing is a very private and emotional account of my life.  The title represents what life had been like for years when the raging storms tore through my life, leaving damage in its wake like a hurricane, and that moment after the storms had passed.  I found myself surrounded with peace and tranquility; the sun was finally able to shine, its warmth bathing my face with a promise of a better tomorrow.  The poetry in After the Rain, is symbolic of that time.  There are other poems presented, that although are not part of my own personal story, have managed to touch me deeply…and so I’ve told those stories, as well.  It’s not after the rain just for me, but also celebrating after the rain for others, too.

What lesson do you want your readers to learn from the men/women in your novel?
Hurting people hurt people, and they hurt themselves, too.  Behind every painful experience and heinous act, there is always a deeper issue just beneath the surface.  In order to help, we have to go deeper and not always accept things at face value.  We must not just assume that all is as it should be.  While it is necessary to accept people right where they are, if they are hurting us with their actions, we are under no obligation to own their stuff nor are we required to have to deal with them personally.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is separate.  The more we are willing to put up with, the more we WILL put up with until we draw the line and say enough is enough.  It can be very difficult making the first steps to taking back our power, but it’s the most critical step.    Even in the midst of hurtful and challenging circumstances, at some point we must own our own ‘stuff’.  The journey to wholeness is not an easy or quick one, but it is certainly a necessary one.  When we don’t take the time to deal with our issues, they come back around to claim us and others who are attached to us.  The issues of life never just affect one person.  And as long as there is breath in our bodies, we have another chance to right the wrongs of yesterday…even if who we have wronged is ourselves.

Who is your favorite character and why?
My favorite character in Season of Change is Aunt Gilly.  Everyone needs someone who is a safe place; where everything they are and everything they are not is more than enough with no judgment.  Aunt Gilly has seen much in her years of living, yet has made a choice to be true to herself, regardless of  what anyone else says about it.  Despite being able to see others for exactly who they are, she manages to love and accept each one, knowing that her place is not to judge or ostracize, but simply to love.

What do you see as your most powerful message to your readers?
In order for things to be different, we must change.  It is impossible for others to deal with you the same way they always have, because when you change, everything around you has to change, too.  Either people will decide to grow with you or they will go on without you, but either way, you win. 

We sometimes give away too much of our power, then become embittered when it’s mistreated or abused.  However, we don’t accept that we GAVE that power away and in order for it to be different, we have to take it back and put appropriate boundaries in place.  And when I say this, it’s not from a place of judgment…it’s from the standpoint of having been there and done that.  These words come from a place in me who wants to empower others to take their lives back; to embrace their fullness; to live their personal best.  We can’t do that when we won’t be honest about who we are and where we struggle and then getting the necessary help we need to deal with it.

What is your favorite chapter/poem and why?
I am a sucker for love.  Real love when it’s right is the most beautiful thing on earth.  Love isn’t complicated….we complicate it with our hidden agendas, need to control and selfishness.  But real love, when it’s right, is truly a force to reckon with.  This is one of my favorite love poems from this collection.

Soul Kiss

Your presence is a kiss in my soul
Opening up the doorway leading towards bliss
Proof that real manhood still exists
Flowers bloom under the warmth of your smiles
Birds develop voices carrying tunes
Of cherished moments before taking flight

You smile and the heavens open
Golden rays of sunlight bask over us
At the mere sound of your voice
My whole body smiles when I’m near you
Melancholy fades into the distance
Like white shoes fade at the end of summer
Into closets eagerly awaiting their arrival
With you there is no sadness
No distress 
No anguish
Only bliss
And it’s all because you smiled

Tender touches become my undoing
As I become a woman
Under the expert tutelage
Of a man who knows that penetration
Isn’t always necessary to touch someone deep inside
And baby, that’s where you are…
Deep inside
Living in the farthest corners of me

I find myself blossoming and preening
Under the hypnotic effects of your gaze
Eyes that tell me I am the only one
They want to see
No division here
Just 100% attention on a wall flower
Who’d been content to be just that
Before meeting you
With you, the flowers of my past existence
Want to be watered and nurtured
Into something beautiful for you
For you deserve to see beauty everyday
Since you give so much of your own away
With you my roots get firmly planted
In soil enriched with love
Making branches soar towards the clouds
You are the fluffiest clouds that
The little girl in me wants to create pictures in

Deep baritone flutters over my senses
Wetting my face with tears
From tenderness so pure
It makes my heart ache with fullness
Your entire presence is a kiss in my soul
And I need to feel your kiss every day

Copyright 2014 Tumika Patrice Cain from After the Rain…a Poetry Collective

Bio:
Tumika Patrice Cain is an award-winning author, radio show host, blogger, poet, motivator, founder of the Say What?? Book Club, contributing writer for B.L.O.G. Magazine and book reviewer for PEN’Ashe Magazine. Her works center around the complexities of the human experience and in uplifting the spirit. An assignment for a second grade class sparked her interest in writing that would quickly become her raison d'etre. As an educator, she wholeheartedly believes that each one should reach one; each one should teach one. When she is not writing, she may be found teaching writers’ workshops, blogging, volunteering, and otherwise beautifying the world around her. She is the author of the award-winning novel, Season of Change¸ and After the Rain...a Poetry Collective. Her works have been published in a number of anthologies, magazines and periodicals. You may follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tumika-Patrice-Cain/254769847981922 and on Twitter: @TumikaPatrice. www.TumikaPatrice.com

Her Books:
 


After the Rain is a poignant account of life through the eyes of one woman written in poetic verse. After the Rain will titillate your senses, arouse your passion for life and justice, and inspire your greatest essence for love.
Available in hardcopy and on ALL ereaders

Readers are calling this newly released collection “Powerfully Beautiful,” “There is something about AFTER THE RAIN that also screams freedom…”

16 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Tumika!
    Yeah, those kind of people it's best just to avoid. They are miserable and just want you to feel miserable as well.

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    1. Alex...Thanks so much for reading. I agree with your sentiments!

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  2. I love how it follows the seasons. Each one does set a mood and represents a moment in life.

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    1. Hello Diane. Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful day!

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  3. Joy, thanks so much for the interview and for featuring me on your blog!

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  4. Great advice about change. It really resonated with me.

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    1. Lynda, thanks so much for reading! I think once we are truthful about what we want, what we deserve and where we are...the rest is smooth sailing as we take one step; make one choice at a time... Wherever you feel the need to make some adjustments...know you are already equipped! Blessings to you!

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  5. Congratulations, Tumika. I enjoyed every word of this blog. Keep being blessed as you bless others.

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  6. What a beautiful poem Tumika and what goes around always comes around. Thanks for hosting another fascinating interview Joy!

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  7. Great to meet you Tumika. All good wishes with your book. I wish I wrote better poetry.

    Hi, Joy!

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  8. Nice to meet you Tumika. I want to be Aunt Gilly when I grow up.

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  9. Hi Tumika. Hi Joy. Very iinsightful take on change. Love the covers too.

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  10. This really resonated with me since I've been hurt and had to get rid of the people hurting me. There's no use being miserable with them. Tumika's writing seems deep from what I've read here. It's also enlightening and soothing.

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Don't be shy, I'd love to hear what you think.