You best believe that Melikia Gaino remembers those negative comments.
She remembers them as if they were told to her yesterday.
“In high school, I was told I wasn’t a good writer,” Gaino told Making Headline News Thursday afternoon during an interview from Washington, D. C. “I spoke and wrote with too much Ebonics.”
At least, that is how people had perceived Gaino’s verbal and written communications skills back then.
Today, unlike never before, Gaino has gone to great lengths to silence her critics by way of her notable tenure in the ever-so-competitive world of authorship.
An accomplished, credible author who began writing professionally a little less than a decade ago, Gaino has evolved masterfully as a fixture for True Glory Publications as one of its best and brightest writers.
So much for all the negative backlash way back when.
“When I went to college, I used the negative comments and begin to write,” Gaino explained. “After the (release of my) first book, I received (positive) feedback from my friends, who encouraged me to keep writing.”
She did just that.
And, on May 13, this talented, progressive author who is a proud native of the nation’s capital will reach yet another milestone in her stellar professional writing career when she witnesses the official release of her latest book, “Born Killer 2.”
For Gaino, her forthcoming written document will be her ninth book in a span of two years and her first since the release of her project, “Church Girls,” which hit the market in February.
Each of Gaino’s books can be purchased at Amazon.com.
BUY MELIKIA GAINO’S BOOKS HERE: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_rsis_1_3?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=melikia%20gaino&sprefix=Mel%2Caps%2C608.
Last year, Gaino composed a career-best four books, eclipsing her mark from 2015 year when she wrote three books.
Her first book, “Falling For a Drug Dealer,” was released in May 2015.
As Gaino — a self-proclaimed soft-spoken, humble and modest individual acknowledged — she’s grateful of the continuous strides she’s made in such a brief time in a popular and competitive industry.
“I read so many books growing up, from Zane all the way to Kwan,” Gaino said. “I was so in tuned to urban fiction books. I felt as I could write one myself. I took the steps in publishing my books for my family and friends, who have been my first and biggest supporters.”
Interesting enough, Gaino’s intrigue for becoming an author began to heighten considerably, particularly during her sophomore year at Johnson C. Smith University in 2007.
That is when she began writing consistently, a trend that, to her credit, still exists to this very day.
“I began writing one day during work study duty,” Gaino explained. “I didn’t have any homework and was bored. A few of my friends were keeping me company as I was at work and I decided to write a book for us. One chapter led to another and so on. When the book was completed two months later, they wanted to know what happened next, leading me to write a lot of books for them.”
So much for all that criticism she fielded way back when.
Fortunately for Gaino, though, such negative backlash only fueled her desire to write in such a way that even her detractors would someday come to embrace her craft as an accomplished author.
“I look at feedback as you can’t please everyone, but I have been getting some great feedback as well as gained a lot of fans from my books,” Gaino said. “I’m the type of person who always want to help someone else. I feel God made me a writer who could write about (about a variety of) topics.”
As for her past and present critics, well, they are who they are and they will be who they will be.
And Gaino, who’s managed to appropriately silence them, is very much okay with that.
“I also think God purposed me (for writing) to show me that He has the last say so,” Gaino said. “Growing up and hearing you never will be a good writer, or will never succeed if you don’t change the way you write or speak, God showed me that I have a talent and that Ebonics can take you places and help you relate to the readers.”
For what it’s worth, you best believe that Gaino remembers those negative comments.
She remembers them as if they were told to her yesterday.
As it stands, she’s currently nine books into her profession.
Who’s talking now?
For more information about Melikia Gaino’s books or to schedule her for a book signing, email her at: [email protected].
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
Andre Johnson is Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send an email to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.