K. RESHAY- FLOURISHES AS AUTHOR, PLAYWRIGHT, & POET

By Marcie Hill

Kena Williams, also known as K. Reshay, is an author, awardwinning poet, playwright, and President and Founder of Me Time Book Club. She was also one of the featured authors of the 2022 National Book Club Conference.

K. Reshay had a habit of drafting two or three chapters and putting them aside. In 2016, while going through papers, she found a brief synopsis of a book she had started writing and decided to finish it. Resolved to complete her book, she crafted a writing schedule to fit her life as a mom, wife, and fulltime employee with a household to run while trying to find time for herself. With the support of her supervisor, she was able to draft her novel during her downtime at work. She then focused on writing and typing for two hours in the evening after taking care of her family’s needs.

In 2017, she achieved her goal with the publication of her first book, Appearances: A Novel, which was inspired by Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s poem, We Wear the Mask. When Dunbar penned the piece in 1895, he was referring to relations between black and white people during that period. K. Reshay’s book reflects how, “individuals wear masks on social media, with family and friends” today.

After Appearances was completed, “it was like a start of a different Kena. It introduced me to a whole literary world…Once my first book was published, I played the waiting game. I was concerned that people wouldn’t like it or that it wasn’t going anywhere. As God would have it, my book was well received and that gave me the courage and motivation to keep going...” Because the response to her first book was so great, she wrote two more books and now Appearances is a threebook series. K. Reshay published a fourth novel, All Things Work Out Well, and is currently working on a fifth one.

She has also ventured into creating children’s books because her sons, Derrick and Brandon, told her that they wanted to write a book. They gathered as a family, sat at the kitchen table one evening, and brainstormed character names and concepts for a book series. Thus, The Growing Up Dregs book series came to life. With topics on bullying, birthday parties, and helping in caring for others, the books speak to students from preschool to second grade.

All of K. Reshay’s books are self-published. Although she likes being in control of the content and publication process, being self-published comes with challenges. “My biggest challenge in my writing career definitely has been having to learn what comes with being self-published, including financial risks and/or navigating being seen within the industry.” She overcame the financial challenge by focusing on the important aspects of the industry such as editing, attending book festivals, and marketing. “Focusing on the essential needs helps me put a better financial budget together.” Because there are so many authors, including indie authors, it is extremely hard to be seen in the industry. To overcome this challenge, K. Reshay connects with authors and readers on social media platforms and at book events.

Poetry is another passion of K. Reshay. She started writing poems in fifth grade after taking a creative arts class and started reciting spoken word on poetry night in college. She later performed her signature piece, I’ll Bend But I Won’t Break at different venues. In 2021, she was honored as the Author of the Year for Black Love Poetry Awards. Her poem, Unfortunate Reality, was featured in the Black Lives Matter edition of Aspiring Authors Magazine.

Many people miss opportunities because they are afraid to ask or execute. K. Reshay was not afraid of either, which is how she became a playwright. After performing the same Christmas play at her church for two years, she decided to write a play to “switch things up and get something new”. She presented her play to the pastor who was open to the idea. From there, she produced Crystal’s Heart in 2018 and I Prayed About It in December 2019. She wrote Never Go Back to What Broke You in 2020 and had to put it on hold because of the pandemic. However, she is trying to get it on stage by the end of 2023.

Me Time Book Club was born out of K. Reshay’s need to have something for herself, something she likes to do on her own, and to share the joy of reading with other interested book lovers. After reading several books and not having anyone to discuss them with, except her mother who never bought the books, she founded Me Time Book Club in 2011 after finding information about Oprah’s Book Club. She and general acquaintances gathered at each other’s houses or a restaurant to discuss a selected book. K. Reshay says the book club is “dedicated to our time for ourselves, doing something we like to do… we laugh together, no judgment, everyone can be themselves and share personal stories based on what they’ve read.”

One of the purposes of the book club is to promote literacy in the community. They have added community service to their mission. They donate items to Salvation Army and Grace House Ministries, a foster home for young girls. They started a little free library at a local park and keep it full of books. And they host book events for local authors and feature out-of-state authors.

The book club’s biggest success to date was their 2nd annual Behind the Ink book event in 2022. The planning of the event was met with adversity from some of the active members and the event coordinator at the chosen venue. God stepped in and provided a better venue and new members who volunteered at the event, making it a bigger success than the previous one. They secured Zane for the featured author and Curtis Bond. “It was just all about God’s timing.” And God is not done yet because the 3rd Annual Behind the Ink Book Event, featuring best-selling author Kimberla Lawson Roby will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2023, and registration is open.

Learn more about K. Reshay books, the Me Time Book Club, and her projects on her website kreshay. weebly.com, Amazon.com, and her social networks at Author K. Reshay on Facebook and K. Reshay on Instagram.