Meet d. E. Rogers: Author and Screenwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with d. E. Rogers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi d. E., we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
As the old saying goes “No risk, No reward.” Risk taking has become apart of my DNA makeup. My entire life and writing career probably wouldn’t exist if I didn’t take the necessary risks. Growing up in a black community I saw a lot of ups and downs along my way to adulthood, but what always stood out to me was the people who never gave up on trying to succeed in various aspects of business, social justice, sports, or entertainment. When life knocked them down, they got back up and tried again. What I learned from their efforts was that even in defeat there are valuable learning takeaways that can be applied to the next time you take a risk, making the next risk less risky. Most people never succeed on the first try at anything. Even the great ones as we know them today didn’t start out that way. It was the early struggles and setbacks that drove them to greatness. Just like my life, these growing pains I like to call them inspired me to know that a better tomorrow does exist if you learn from today.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In my professional life, the things that make me most proud are the 13 books that I have written to the point. Just being able to continuously write stories that cause any type of emotion within people is an amazing feat. I cherish my reading fans and people who just give my books a chance even if they only read one book. Getting this point is my career was definitely not easy. I remember the critics of my first book titled “White Lie” and some of the things said about the language and sex scenes within it. I really got a lot of feedback from my church at the time. And then it was the people who thought I was only able to write one book, due to their lack of understanding that writing is my gift. For a short time, the criticism and negativity did affect my writing. I was nervous and tentative on how people would perceive the things that I wrote. But then one day, I woke up and said to myself that I write to make people happy and give them an escape from their world and not for critics who just want to see me fail.
Along the way, I have learned a lot of lessons regarding my writing. Some of the key lessons have been to cherish my writing gift, never let people dictate what I write, ignore critics, looks people who truly want you to succeed, and always strive to be great.
I want to know that my voice is authentic and my story is never ending. I write for the love of making people smile and let them experience a world created by me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Most of my best friends already know that I’m a very relaxed old soul. If they have been to visit me before them we would probably stay in all week long and cook and drink in the backyard. Now if they have never come to visit me them we would probably be very touristy. For me, I find all people exciting in their own little way. And the best places for me is at home on bed or couch escaping from the world.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The person who was always been in my corner from birth until her death was my mother. Her guidance and history of not having certain opportunities helped shape my world and helped me establish goals for myself that my life had meaning. Along way there have been others, but none like my mother’s influence on me.

Website: de-rogers.com

Instagram: d.e.rogers

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/davidearlrogers

Twitter: @therealderogers

Facebook: @therealderogers

Other: https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=d.+E.+Rogers#books

Image Credits
Photo by Nia Rogers