Monica carter biography
Monica Carter Targore
Major Works
Monica Carter, Photo from Rootsky Publishing . Courtesy of the author
- Scandalous Truth ()
- Zoom Power: Your Key to Hitting Your Personal, Business and Financial Targets ()
- Sacrifice the One () paperback
- As If Nothing Happened (RootSky Publishing )
Monica Carter: A Biography
by Dominique Campbell (SHS)
Monica Carter was born in to Arnette and Clarence Carter in Jackson, Mississippi, where she became an active member of her familys church and spent most of her summers copying definitions out of a dictionary (under her parents command, of course).
In she graduated from Forrest Hill High School with an honors diploma. In high school, Carter was a nerd, not because she wanted to be, but because her parents demanded and expected certain grades from her. She went on to receive a degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi, where she worked on the student newspaper.
In the fourth grade, she and her class wrote a book and since then she has had a desire to write.
Carters mother and teachers contributed to her inspiration to write by encouraging her. She even entered school essay contests and won a couple.
Carter self published her first book, As If Nothing Happened, and plans to do the same with her second, Sacrifice the One, which is expected to be published in the spring of She currently works for The Shreveport Times in Shreveport, Louisiana, as a columnist.
She uses the name Monica Carter Tagore in her private life.
Reviews
A Review of As If Nothing Happened
by Dominique Campbell (SHS)
Friends all across the country have secrets they dont tell one another.
Whether it may be because of embarrassment, denial, or the need to keep it inside, it occurs often. Its hard to believe so much has happened in each of our lives, and none of us knew what was going on with the other. However, the foundation on which that friendship is based must never fail. Lets promise not to let that happen again. Monica Carter, in As If Nothing Happened, addresses real life situations with temptation and energy that will hold any readers attention.
As If Nothing Happenedis a story about three friends who are just as much different as they are alike.
The women bonded in college and have been inseparable since. Each characters weaknesses and strengths makes the story incredibly unique. In addition, Carter uses insight that gradually makes the reader emotionally attached to her characters. As each character is faced with difficult decisions, the reader is able to put herself in that characters shoes.
The story takes place in Texas.
Jennifer, Joya and Yvonne are the remarkable main characters and friends. Jennifer is a strong willed and sometimes too opinionated character. Joya, on the other hand, is an intelligent and independent woman who isnt afraid to take charge. Lastly, Yvonne is a character who has always been spoiled by her parents, even as an adult.
She is also the weakest woman in the story when it comes to men. These three women have trying times and without the support of the others, it is even harder to deal with the situations. Jennifer goes through a divorce, Joya is raped, and Yvonne has a miscarriage; however, each woman acts As If Nothing Happened.
The novel has several possible themes: putting your problems aside for others, valuing friendship enough to forgive, accepting friends as they are, and sticking together no matter what.
Robyn Jackson, Features Editor of The Hattiesburg American says the book has Believable characters, facing believable situations, and Mike Whitehead, Editor of SB Magazine, says By the end of As If Nothing Happened, you will be begging for the sequel to find out what happened to the (three main characters).
E-mail Interview with Monica Carter ()
by Dominique Cambpell (SHS)
Photo: Dominique Campbell, student researcher
Q.
Where and when were you born? What are your parents names? What are your childhood memories? Where did you attend elementary school, high school, and college?
A. I grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, graduating with honors from Forest Hill High School in My childhood memories are varied. They range from the fungoing on a church trip to Florida with my friends to the not-so funbeing made by my parents to copy words and definitions out of the dictionary as summer work.
(That exercise has come in handy now, of course, with my writing career. But at the time, I thought my parents were pretty bad to make me read the dictionary.)My parents are Arnette Carter and Clarence Carter.
Q. Are you married? Do you have children, if so how many?
Whats your husbands name?
A. I am not married, though I do have a boyfriend named Juan. I do not have any children.
Q. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
Was there something in particular that got you interested in writing?
A. I knew in the fourth grade I wanted to be a writer. My teacher, Mrs. Pollard, had our class put together a book. (I cant remember if it actually ever got published, but it was a wonderful experience that made me fall in love with books and publishing.) I also credit school essay contests (and a win or two) with contributing to my desire to write.
Parents and teachers put it in my head that I could do this.
Q. How difficult was it to get your first book published? How did you go about it?
A. I self published As If Nothing Happened. That means I formed the publishing company and published it on my own, instead of going through an agent and a traditional publishing company.
In the past seven or ten years, self publishing has really taken off as an opportunity for a lot of people to have their works in print. The reasons for self publishing are varied. Some choose it because they cant find a publisher to put their work out. Others do it because they wanted to control the process. Others do it just because they think they can I am part of that last group.
I wouldnt say self publishing was difficult, but it was (is) time consuming and takes a real zeal and dedication.
Its not for everybody, but for those who choose it, I think many will tell you its worthwhile. I am working on my second novel, Sacrifice the One. I dont know right now if I will self publish it or go with another publisher. It really depends on which would be the best option for me when I look at both choices.
I want the book to come out spring , so self publishing may give me more of a say so in that decision, but I dont know.
Q. Is As If Nothing Happened (although fiction) based on your life accounts and experiences? Did you base the characters in As If Nothing Happened on people you actually knew or know?
A.
I get this question a lot. As If Nothing Happened is a fiction work, but your question is on point. It includes some real life experiences either of myself or of people I know. But there is no character I can look at and say, Oh, thats me, or thats so-and-so. The work is fiction, with real-life situations.
I think thats why so many people have told me they can relate to it. I hope Ive been able to capture somebodys emotions or thoughts or choices in the characters.
Q. Who is your favorite author/authors? Why?
A. I dont have one particular favorite author, but I can list several that I admire and truly like.
I love Maya Angelous work. It speaks to such a wide range of emotions and circumstances. I like John Grisham, who, as you probably know, is a Mississippi native. I also like Zora Neale Hurston.
Q. What author do you think has influenced you the most?
A. Wow, Dominique, thats a hard question.
I dont know that I have the answer to that. But let me give you a different answer. The author who has inspired me the most in recent months is Stephen King. I dont like scary books or movies, but Ive recently read his memoir, On Writing, and was simply in awe of his turns of phrase. The book is so motivating and energizing. I would also say Maya Angelou has influenced me, and countless other authors.
Q.
Why did you decide to write about the life, love, joy and pain of three women in As If Nothing Happened? How long did it take you to write As If Nothing Happened? What inspired you to write this book?
A. I wrote the book, quite simply, because in order to get the 10th book out, I had to get the first one done.
Remember when I said I knew in the fourth grade I wanted to be an author? Well, I figured I had put it off long enough, so one day I sat down to start the book.
Monica carter myspace Entertainment Tonight. February 25, I would also say Maya Angelou has influenced me, and countless other authors. August 25,I wanted to have my first novel out by the time I was I missed that by two years. I was
I wrote the story of best friends just because thats what came out. I didnt sit there and plan what story I would write. It came as I typed. As it came, I realized I wanted to tell a story of best friends and their trials and tribulations.
I wanted it to be real.
Q. How would you describe yourself as a high school student?
A. In a word: nerd. I was a nerd. Period. I made good grades, mostly As, though there were some that werent. It wasnt necessarily because thats what I wanted to be and do, but because I didnt have a choice.
Monica Herzog Carter, 55 - Fayetteville, NC - Has Court or ...: Retrieved March 29, Retrieved June 2, Almost Christmas. Privacy Policy We do not sell or share your personal information.My parents would have gotten onto me otherwise.
Q. What is Sacrifice the One about? Where did your inspiration come from for Sacrifice the One? Would you describe it as being very different or very much the same compared to As If Nothing Happened?
A.
Sacrifice the One will be quite different from As If Nothing Happened. Its the story of a girl who struggles with the rejection of her father after her mother his wife dies as a result of her birth. Her father blames her for the loss of his wife, and so shuts the girl out of his life. She searches desperately for that acceptance, but it doesnt come.
As a result, she goes through a lot of heart ache, bad decisions and self discovery.
The idea for the book came actually, as a result of watching TV (who said TV was bad for you?). I dont remember all the details of the show, but in one scene, the husband has to choose between saving the life of his wife and of his child because the house is on fire or falling down or some other dire situation and he cant save them both.
Anyway, I think (if I recall correctly) both the wife and child ended up dying. So I thought, What if the wife in essence gives her life for her child because of a decision she makes? In Sacrifice the One, the wife gets pregnant with a baby because she wants one so badly, even though the doctor advises her not to.
But she chooses to take the risk, thinking that maybe she can live and have her baby too. But in essence she had to sacrifice her life for her childs.
Do you have children, if so how many? Weems then, without warning, put a gun to his head and committed suicide. November 17, Trusting God.And the result is this book.
Q. Have you received any awards?
A. Its funny you should ask this question. I write a weekly column in my daily newspaper, The Times in Shreveport, that covers a variety of topics. Some are serious, some are not.
I wrote the book, quite simply, because in order to get the 10th book out, I had to get the first one done. Boys and Girls. They range from the fun—going on a church trip to Florida with my friends— to the not-so fun—being made by my parents to copy words and definitions out of the dictionary as summer work. I write a weekly column in my daily newspaper, The Times in Shreveport, that covers a variety of topics.It just depends on whats going on in this head of mine. Anyway, I received a writing award last week for work I did last year. I won first place in the Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Managing Editors newspaper contest for my columns. That was kind of neat. And I received an honorable mention type award last year, also for my column.
I also received something called the Editors Special Award, which is an annual award the editor at my paper gives out for some journalistic effort.
Monica Denise Carter, 58 - Ann Arbor, MI - Has Court or ... Carousel Monica Carter: Credits, Bio, News & More | Broadway World Monica Carter, Mississippi Writer of As If Nothing Happened I received the award in , also for my column.
Q. How has Mississippi or living in Mississippi influenced your writing?
A. Id have to say living in Mississippi gave me my roots. I received my foundation there, from being taught in Mississippi schools, to learning about Mississippi writers like Eudora Welty and William Faulkner.
I read Richard Wright and many others.
Q. Besides writing, what else do you like to do?
A. I like to do probably, what you like to do. Hang out with my friends (which I dont get a chance to do a lot of because Im quite busy), spend time with my boyfriend and my family, go running.
Well, I used to go running, I havent done that lately, but hopefully Ill get back to it. Oh, and I like to go out to eat cant leave that out 🙂
Q. Do you have any advise for future writers?
A. Advice for future writers? Just do it. I know thats the Nike slogan, but its true here to.
I meet so many people who tell me they want to write a book, but thats all it is. A want. Until you actually do it, all youll have is wishful thinking.
Q. Do you have any advice for students today?
A. Advice for students? The usual, stay in school, dont do drugs. Beyond that, I would tell students to tune out the negativity.
There are so many people who will tell them that they cant achieve what they want. I would tell them to ignore the naysayers. But if they must listen to them, to use their words for motivation to try harder to beat the odds.
Related Websites
Bibliography
- About the Author. Monica P. Carter. 22 April <>
- Carter, Monica.Monica carter biography But if they must listen to them, to use their words for motivation to try harder to beat the odds. I self published As If Nothing Happened. Retrieved April 3, Instrument: Drums.
As If Nothing Happened. Kearny: Rootsky Publishing Company,
- Carter, Monica. E-mail interview. 20 May