Rise and Fall of a Track Star with O. Keeys

RISE AND FALL OF A TRACK STAR

by O. Keeys

How Does She Do That?

As a military veteran, single mother of three, entrepreneur, book touring fanatic and speaker I get asked time and time again how do I find time to write? Being that I have been out the military for a year now it is a lot easier but when I was in I would find time whenever the urge hit me. While at work instead of taking smoke breaks, because I never dared to pick up the habit, I took writing breaks. Every hour or so I would write for five to ten minutes and then email what I wrote to myself. I had to switch from writing in my note pad or on sticky notes due to nosey coworkers.

It may be hard for some to grasp but I actually wrote Can You Keep a Secret while in Officer Training. For some the school alone was enough without adding extra pressure. For me it was an outlet. A way to slip out the self-imposed hell I was in. Within the first week there as I lay in my bunk battered and bruised from the rigorous activities the story began to form.  By the second week I was using writing as a way to stay awake in the classes and ease the muscle aches I felt at night before the Motrin kicked in. While others heads bobbed up and down and side to side and then were forced to stand. I wrote. To everyone but the candidate sitting to my left or my right I sat there diligently taking notes. The only notes I took were when I heard our instructor give key words. For those in the Army it was “you may want to write this down.”

Now that I am no longer Uncle Sam’s property the writing comes almost as natural as breathing. It is something I find myself doing without applying any thought until I am knee deep in it. Rise and Fall of a Track Star, my latest and autobiography, came to me as a whisper that turned into a shout in the middle of the night. The thought it me, I rose from my bed, and began to write. For a month I was like a woman possessed. The words needed to be out my head and onto my Word Document. I made sure the kids were up and ready for school and out the door and I sat and wrote. My laptop was like a ball and chain as I dragged it to the dining room table as I prepared food, tossed it in the oven, and waited for the timer to go off. It took me burning a dish to resort to the timer. I would become absorbed and forget I was cooking. When the kids came home I checked homework, wrote, gave them some quality time and put them to bed and then went back to writing. 3am often found me pecking away. But, finishing the book was something that needed to be done otherwise it would have continued to haunt my dreams.

With all my books when I get the urge I must write by any means necessary. As most writers will tell you we all have our own process. It is up to you to figure out yours!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

From Pan Am Game bronze medal winner to All American, Omegia Keeys was once touted in Track Magazine as one destined for greatness, but walked away from it all. Rise and Fall of a Track Star is Omegia’s firsthand account leading her to the breaking point. For years Omegia held on to the shame of a dirty little secret, one too common in the African American Community.

Through her memoirs, Omegia takes you on a painful journey through her childhood into her adult years. Her struggles as a teenage mother is only a checkmark on the list of life altering experiences, one she hopes young girls and woman can learn from. 

Omegia’s goals for this book are to educate others about the struggles of young women dealing with assault, help others gain the strength to change their circumstances, and to release the personal pain of hiding a long standing secret.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Omegia Keeys first novel Passionate Playmates was met with great reception as she shocked the city of Indianapolis with her behind the scenes look at the secretive Lingerie Modeling Stores quickly springing up and just as quickly being shut down in the local area. Sense the release of her second novel Seduction.com published by Passionate Writer Publishing, Omegia has been featured in the Blue Print Magazine, Indy Blackout Magazine, and as a recurring author on Street Vibes Mix Radio in their feature the Writers Block. Her third novel Can You Keep a Secret is set to release April, 2010.