We recently connected with Grant Perryman and have shared our conversation below.

Grant, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I have been an avid reader since I can remember. I would visit my local library every Saturday and check out seven to ten books. The following Thursday, the library bookmobile would stop in my area, where I would return all the books and check out three more until Saturday. Reading empowered my imagination, and in my mind, I would travel to the locations in the books.

Growing up in the late 60s and early 70s, my public school education focused solely on European civilization and history. Throughout elementary school, I wrote book and country destination reports. I learned about a broader world culture through reading. I was fascinated with ancient empires and imagined myself living amongst them. My 6th-grade teacher, Mrs. Jewel Thurman, taught me to think outside the box when she handed me my first non-European book, “A Glorious Age of Africa, the story of three great African empires.” My favorite genre became history and culture.

In 9th grade, I had exhausted my local library and felt the need to explore my heritage. My paternal grandmother gave me my start by telling me stories about my surname and Native American background. As stated before, I had already learned about my European background. However, I knew little about my African roots. I decided to point to three countries on an African map with my eyes closed. My finger landed on Ethiopia, Ghana, and Nigeria.

A week later, my paternal grandparents came for their summer visit. As usual, I began asking more questions about my surname. My grandmother stopped me and wondered why I never asked about her side of the family. Perplexed by this new concept, I asked. She blew my mind when she told me her father’s people, three to four generations back, were from Ethiopia.

Immediately, my active imagination carried me to Ethiopia, and historical characters began to emerge from my mind. This was my first writing attempt. Although it has not been published, the single novel has become a trilogy, located in the Aksumite Empire circa 525AD.

My first two published books take place in Ghana. When I was young, it never occurred to me to physically travel to these beautiful countries, because in my mind, I had already been there. In the year 2000, Mr. William Lewis of North Carolina visited my church in the Bay Area. He recruited churches to come to Ghana with a five-year commitment to help in the rural communities. My pastor was busy and sent me. Arriving in Ghana, I meet one of our guides, Godwin K. Ahlijah. Within 15 minutes, we became brothers and lifelong friends.

Fast forward to 2006, Dr. Rev. Ahlijah opened Meaningful Life International, a Ghanaian NGO in Tema, Ghana. In 2010, I opened our sister agency, Meaningful Life USA, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit. MLI drills boreholes, conducts medical outreaches, builds churches, and organizes leadership seminars in rural Ghana. Traveling to Ghana once a year inspired the subject matter of my published books.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

An author’s brand is their writing style. A fan should be able to recognize their favorite author by their literary panache. My writing flair emerged from the very beginning. Inside me, a teacher was screaming to get out. I am passionate about education. I want to teach what was not taught to me in public education.

I cringe today with the power of social media influencers who make fact-sounding statements without hypercitation. In the back of my books, I include a glossary of additional reference pages for my readers to explore. This is my brand.

My ultimate goal is to transport my readers to a time and a place where they have never imagined. I want them to feel like they’re there in person. Like a good movie, I want my books to leave you wanting more. I hope both young and old readers are inspired to research and learn more.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Imagining and writing came easily to me. It brought me such joy to “put pen to paper.” My thoughts rapidly bounced off the shelves of my mind, creating plots, storylines, and characters. Typing on my laptop was faster than handwriting.

However, I had no clue how to publish a book. As I searched the internet, I was discouraged that the large publishing houses no longer accepted manuscripts from unknown authors. The recommendation to hire an agent was costly and out of my nonexistent budget. I then read about indie publishing companies that, for a fee, would help you publish your story. Not in my expense account. The two options feed into my underlying fear that strangers would edit my book and change it completely. It would no longer be authentic.

The decision was made to self-publish, which I had no inkling of how to do. The written transcripts of my two books sat in silence for years. One day, I asked a friend of mine, an educator, experienced in early childhood development, to edit my book. She immediately took away my fear by telling me, “I’m not changing one word – you are.” For the next year, we met, and she had me go over every sentence and would encourage me to make it better. She was then inspired to write her first book from this encounter. Happy with our completed products, we searched for book and writing clubs for help on self-publishing. Disappointed with several groups, she found one that we both found warm and friendly. Writers’ Resource Center became our family and graciously took us in under their wings. Their guidance proved successful, and we both became published authors.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

It never occurred to me that there was something after writing. Marketing my work was the next step. It is highly recommended to know your strengths and your weaknesses. My weakness is in business and accounting. The first step was to educate myself, and with the help of WRC, I researched. I watched YouTube videos, visited authors’ websites, and listened to endless podcasts. I learned that marketing, in essence, was promoting oneself.

I sought out book fairs, pop-ups, and library events. I sold books from the trunk of my car. I began to advertise myself. I developed a catch phrase, “Stories to empower your Imagination.” I even designed my own logo.

I quickly learned that I needed to be on social media. As a baby boomer, I felt completely obsolete in today’s technology. As an introvert, I was horrified I had to put myself “out there.” Nevertheless, I made the move. Recently, I recruited my adult children, and they helped me create my Instagram account, Facebook Business page, and Author website.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.phpublishing.org
• Instagram: @phpublishing
• Facebook: Perryman House of Publishing
• Other: email: [email protected]

Image Credits

Grant Perryman
Dawnita Perryman
Helena Feltus
Chelda Ruff

all pictures taken with my camera.