RCSTORIES: Randolph Randy Camp
Thanks for Visiting RCSTORIES Randolph Randy Camp is the author of COREVILLE PARK, a reggae novel, 'MONICA, A SHORT STORY COLLECTION and five previous novels, including the prize-winning Wet Matches, America: No Purchase Necessary, 29 Dimes, False Dandelions, and ...Then The Rain. Randy currently resides in Des Moines, Iowa. Randy has five daughters, Christina, Melinda, Randie, Ranielle, Natasha and one son Joshua.
Sunday, March 3, 2024
Books Bringing People Together
Books Bringing People Together…
In a world where neighbors rarely say hello to one another anymore it’s amazing sometimes how books can bring people together. It was an unusually warm, sunny day yesterday, and a perfect day for another successful Free Book Saturday Event at Randie’s Free Library. From sunrise to sunset, there were people of all ages and backgrounds who dropped by with all types of interesting stories and conversations. Sharing your used books with your neighbors is such a positive experience. Have a great week Everyone!
Monday, January 8, 2024
Stories That Heal: Powers of Bibliotherapy
STORIES THAT HEAL…
I’ve always felt at home when visiting the public library. It’s a place where, regardless of your race, ethnicity, bank account or zip code, no one there ever made me feel as though I didn’t belong there. Ever since I heard ‘The Little Engine That Could’ during story time years ago, I felt the power of books and stories. Over the years I learned how bibliotherapy has helped me get through some very difficult events and rough periods. Whether it’s coping with past military trauma or loss of loved ones, reading books, listening to certain songs, journaling or writing my own stories, bibliotherapy has become a necessary outlet for me. The past year was very therapeutic for me, as I spent months rewriting several drafts of ‘Coreville Park a reggae novel’. Although grief and trauma have no expiration date and can linger for years, writing Coreville Park was extremely helpful to me during my ongoing healing process as I was able to channel out some of my pain and old wounds in a creative way.
Going to the library, for me, always meant that I could learn something new, which is one of the greatest lessons I’d learned from the teachings of Marcus Garvey. ‘To always be learning and bettering yourself’ is a lesson Marcus Garvey regularly spoke about. In writing Coreville Park a reggae novel I was able to rediscover some of the interesting facts and details of the Rastafarian and reggae culture. Marcus Garvey played such an important role in the foundation of the Rastafarian way of life. Long before there was reggae music there was Marcus Garvey. Here’s another interesting fact about the Rastafarian culture: True Rastas eat only Ital foods (natural foods from the earth). Rastafarians do not eat processed foods or canned food items.
Growing up in rural Spotsylvania County, Virginia, I used to dream about places like Australia, Japan and Jamaica, in which I would read about in the many books I’d checked out from the library as a kid. To see my book ‘Coreville Park a reggae novel’ sitting on the shelf at any public library is a dream come true. Whatever your dreams and goals are I hope that they are all realized, and please don’t hesitate to take full advantage of your local library to help and assist you along your journey. Learn more at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp
(Photo taken at Des Moines Central Public Library, January 2024)
Saturday, January 6, 2024
Winter Blessings
Winter Blessings…There’s no shortage of goodhearted neighbors. There’s no shortage of books or winter blessings at RANDIE’S FREE LIBRARY and that’s the way Randie would have it. On this cold January morning, I woke up to find numerous toys, games, and books in and around Randie’s Free Library, donated anonymously by the kindness of neighbors. Without a doubt, Randie’s giving spirit is still spreading. It’s a wonderful way to begin 2024.
Friday, September 22, 2023
Character Development: Vicki and Timmy
Whether you’re working on your next manuscript, or writing something for a school assignment, or simply writing something for your own pleasure, it’s imperative to show some type of growth within your characters. How are your characters different at the end of your story than from the beginning? Have there been any changes in your characters’ lives within the story? As in real life, we all go through changes, good and bad. These changes definitely have an impact on us. In my own personal life, there are some traumatic events that happened while I was in the Air Force that I still have trouble coping with. People going through life-changing events sometimes will have their whole thought patterns drastically rearranged. And this is the same for the characters we create for our stories. It’s vital that you, as the writer, show and tell your readers how your characters have changed due to certain events within your story. In creating the characters Vicki and Timmy for ‘Coreville Park’, it was a challenge for me to show both Vicki’s and Timmy’s reaction after Vicki had revealed to Timmy something so deeply personal, something in which she had never told anyone ever before. After this revelation halfway in the story, I challenged myself as a writer to come up with interesting scenes and interactions between Vicki and Timmy as the story unfolded towards the end. Making sure that your characters don’t all sound the same, and showing interesting character growth have been valuable lessons and tools for me. I hope that whatever writing project you maybe currently working on that these helpful reminders will benefit and make your story stronger. – Randolph Randy Camp
Learn more at https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
All Teachers Need Our Appreciation and Our Support
Teachers Need Our Appreciation and Support…I owe a lot to all the teachers in Spotsylvania County, Virginia who all had a hand in shaping me. Miss Kelly, Miss Pritchett, Mr. Harrison. We all remember the teachers who made the classroom and our assignments interesting. Great teachers have the unique ability to make their students want to learn. Great teachers bring their unique personalities and life experiences to the classroom. They are human beings, not robots. It bothers me how more restrictions are being placed on our teachers nowadays, whereby some of these restrictions give the teachers less freedom to inject their own uniqueness into the classroom, which ends up hurting the students. Instead of placing hard guidelines upon our teachers, we need to pay them more, and we need to show them more of our appreciation for all of their hard work and dedication they bring into the classroom. In ‘Coreville Park a reggae novel’, the teacher did nothing wrong, but yet, she was unjustly suspended. We need to stand up for our teachers, as they did in Coreville Park. The paperback edition of Coreville Park is now available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphcamp) – Randolph Randy Camp
Friday, September 8, 2023
Reggae Lovers Supporting School Teachers
The paperback edition of ‘Coreville Park, a reggae novel’ is projected to be released on September 15, 2023.…Rastafarians, reggae music lovers and teachers from around the world converge on a small community in Florida called Coreville to rally around and show their support for an elementary school teacher who was suspended for allowing one of her students to do his oral book report on a book about the Rastafarian culture, which wasn’t approved by the local school district.
Saturday, September 2, 2023
Coreville Park, The Back Story
It was the early 1970’s when I first heard reggae music. The Wailers’ songs ‘Put It On’, ‘Small Axe’ and ‘Concrete Jungle’ instantly moved me. Just as I had enjoyed listening to songs by Curtis Mayfield and Bob Dylan during this time period, I equally became a fan of reggae, especially the roots-style reggae, and I’ve been a devoted fan ever since. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know and developed a great deal of respect for the Rastafarian culture. When I was in the Air Force I had the privilege of visiting Jamaica while on leave. Being a writer of mostly contemporary issues and subject matter, I think that it was just a matter of time before I found a creative way to insert the Rastafarian culture into one of my stories. I’ve been a book nerd all of my life, and it pains me to see the widespread book banning going on across America right now. Writing ‘Coreville Park’ is my response to all the unjustified and sometimes discriminatory book banning currently taking place across the nation. As mentioned before, I’ve been loving books ever since I was a little boy. It’s a shame and a disgrace that some politicians and school districts want to ban certain books nowadays. Placing strong restrictions on teachers and controlling how they conduct their classroom hurts the students. The classroom should be a place that nurtures open mindedness, not a place that erases history or attempts to brainwash young minds. I love it when some public libraries and book stores, large chains and small independent ones, proudly display and offer the ‘banned books’ to the general public. The paperback edition of ‘Coreville Park a reggae novel’ is projected to be released in mid-September 2023. – Randolph Randy Camp
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