Today we’d like to introduce you to Monica Fortson.
Hi Monica, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Seattle, WA. My mom is originally from Houston, so moving here was really like coming to my second home. After finishing college and working in Fort Bend ISD for a few years, I joined the Houston Police Department. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a police officer, but here I am, lol!
I’ve now been on for just over ten years and am a Detective in Special Victims- Crimes Against Children. My work and my personal life have gone hand in hand over the years. I choose to work sexual assaults, family violence, and child crimes because of my own life experiences. I found my passion in this area of work. I was lead instructor for teaching within my division as well as creating a curriculum. I continue to train officers across the state in sexual assault/family violence and human trafficking investigations through SAFVIC.
After I became a published author in early 2018, I went through a really rough time in my life and found myself waking up in the hospital after an attempted suicide. I realized I really needed to find balance and deal with some unspoken traumas I had been carrying with me for quite a long time… even before I became an officer. During my recovery, I had to fight to keep my career with HPD. Through that journey, I went back to my first passion. Writing. I needed to let out the frustration, pain, anger, and everything else I felt towards a job I had given and poured my life into, and when I needed it the most, they turned their back on me in many ways. It was also during this time when I realized I needed a backup plan. I saw how easily it was for my job to try and push me out the door, to no avail, I will add, and I wanted to have something of my own. I just wasn’t exactly sure what the “something” was so, I kept journaling and healing. My journaling turned into my place of peace. For me, my writing was and still is an escape. It’s food for the soul and up until then, all my writing had been for someone else.
When my mom told me I needed to start my own business with writing and speaking at the forefront, I turned to my friend and mentor, Stephanie Outten. She owns Cocoon to Wings Publishing Company and had published my first coauthor-ship, Fearless Faith. She contracted me my first clients and with her guidance, the Moni and Chris Adventure Series was born.
Moni and Chris is based off me and my brother as kids. We travel through time and meet people who have impacted black history. We also travel the world to any place our imaginations will take us. The first book in the series is Moni and Chris Meet Santa. It teaches kids a valuable lesson of the true meaning of Christmas. The second book, Moni and Chris Go to the Rodeo, is about our grandmother. She was the first black female to compete at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1969. The Moni and Chris Adventure Series is really important for me to continue to write. Growing up, I didn’t have many books with African American characters and I want my daughter to see images of people who look like her in her books. When I get photos and videos of my friend’s kids looking at Moni and Chris and believing the characters to be them and their little brother, it not only pushes me to keep writing but reinforces the point that representation matters. Outside of children’s books, I am working on a fictional series inspired by my career in law enforcement. The first book “Hunter,” will be available by my birthday in March.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to becoming a published author has been far from smooth and easy, lol! When I decided to jump into children’s books, I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was I had a handful of stories I had written and I needed them published.
I am truly blessed to have a publisher who is supportive of her client’s visions. She was able to connect me with her in-house illustrator, Calvin Reynolds, who really helped me sharpen my skills as a children’s author. Understanding things from word count on a page to using illustrations as “words.” I also had to learn basic business 101; having an LLC, taxes, marketing, copyrights and trademarks… It’s been a learning curve for sure.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have really based my business around my writing and speaking, using the skills and knowledge. I have gained over the past ten years of my career. I have worked with clients on curriculum development, ghostwriting, and writing coaching. Really, helping others develop their skills as writers and giving them the tools needed to create their own stories. Whether their literary work is fiction or nonfiction. When I work as a ghostwriter, what I am really doing is being the voice for my client. Taking their vision and putting it in the written word in a way in which anyone that reads their book hears them on the pages. My coaching is geared toward whatever area my client may need help in. It could be accountability, character development, or coaching them through how to use writing as a tool and outlet for healing through their own trauma.
The speaking aspect of my business is like ministry. I mostly speak on navigating sexual assault and trauma, the importance of staying mentally healthy (especially in the black and law enforcement communities), and healing. I use my own personal life experiences as my “lesson plan.” I try and be as transparent as possible. It’s what sets me apart from the rest. I take on the hard questions that people are scared to ask survivors of trauma. Being able to be so transparent is what I am known for and what I am most proud of when it comes to my speaking. Sharing my story and having other survivors or people impacted by suicide and abuse come thank me afterwards and encourage me to keep doing what I am doing is an amazing feeling. I love what I do. Any chance I get to share what I know with someone else is a chance to possibly save a life.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I’ve learned that being transparent in the things that I have gone through in life is not easy. Especially in the area of how others treated and responded to my depression, PTSD, and overdose. Sharing my experience through my feelings and viewpoint without fear of how others will respond has probably been the biggest obstacle for me to overcome. I own my truth and have created a safe space around me for others to do the same.
The most important lesson I have learned along the way is to be true to my journey and respect the process. My version of success is just that… Mine. I can’t base what my goals and dreams are by looking at everyone around me. God has a master plan for each of us and I’m learning mine right now.
Contact Info:
- Email: TheFortsonGroupTx@Gmail.Com
- Website: www.MonicaFortson.com
- Instagram: @MonicaLFortson, @TheMoniChris_Series
- Facebook: TheMoniChris_Series, Monica_Speaks
- Twitter: @TheMoniChris, @Speaks_Monica
Image Credits
Mark Will Photography
