We were lucky to catch up with Jelia Coleman-Hepner recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jelia, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I recently became an author and released a book called “Give God your broken pieces,” which is the most meaningful project I have worked on. I started on this journey of writing my book about a year and a half ago. My best friend, Nikki Davis, has a website she created where she writes prayers and her life experiences dealing with her relationship with God. She reached out to me and allowed me to write devotionals for her website that helped encourage readers. Sometime last year, God placed it on my heart to write a devotional to encourage others to go through life’s storms. So I started the process of writing the book, which took a lot out of me. I have previous writing experience because I have been writing in a journal since ten. In addition to that, I also had a career as a news reporter for a local newspaper. Yet this project was a different monster because I discussed my life experiences in this book which made me very vulnerable. I had moments where I wanted to quit or felt like no one would read it, but through God’s grace, I could complete it.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a 36-year-old single mother of three. I grew up as a military brat but was mainly raised in Fayetteville, NC. I attended Fayetteville State University for my bachelor’s degree in mass communications. During my time at this college is where I found my career path in radio and journalism. I interned with a local urban radio station for a year and got hired as a radio personality a year later. In addition, after graduating, I was employed as a reporter with the city newspaper called the Fayetteville Observer. Even though I love being in radio, writing is my true passion. That’s why I returned to school two years ago and got my master’s degree in journalism. I felt that when you have a passion for something, you should do everything in your power to learn about it and have the tools you need to be the best you can be. I love writing to tell a story, give people information, or help readers.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have been through various life storms, so I felt God positioned me on this earth to help or encourage others through my writing. We all have desires or passions that we should use for our life’s purpose. My mission being a radio personality and an author is to be able to help one person in life. That’s why I keep going and striving for greatness. I am a single mother raising three children on my own, and if I can do it, I want to show others that they can do it as well. Never let life tragedies stop you from reaching your goals.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the lessons I had to unlearn was always caring about what others think and say. I have always had big insecurities about what people think about me since childhood. I had to change my perspective and realize that being afraid of what people say or think was holding me back from living in my purpose.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://givegodyourbrokenpieces.wordpress.com
• Instagram: JClive99
• Facebook: Jelia (JC Live) Coleman
• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/jelia-hepner-6a608b12b

Image Credits
In one picture, I am at the radio station in the studio with music mogul P. Diddy son artist Christian Combs who is holding a copy of my book.