BPL 2021 Local Authors Expo Spotlight: Quincie White

Quincie White, author of Soft Targets, My Memoir 

                                                    

    

Author: Quincie White

Book Title: Soft Targets, My Memoir 

Favorite quote: From her mom (Dorothy Brown) “No Deposits, No Withdrawals” (Meaning, if you don’t invest in it, you shouldn’t expect anything to come out of it).

 How to buy her book: Available on her website, www.quinciewhite.com or on Amazon.com by clicking here Soft Targets, My Memoir.  

Birmingham, Ala.-The Birmingham Public Library’s 2021 Local Authors Expo is this Saturday, November 20. BPL is spotlighting some of the 25 poets who will sell their books as well as the three keynote speakers: Ashley M. Jones, Alabama's first African-American poet laureate; Eunice Elliott, a former NBC 13 anchor turned author/comedienne; and Dr. Fred Jones, a book coach. 

Come Saturday and meet Quincie White, author of Soft Targets, My Memoir, a personal look at her experiences in the U.S. Army and how to navigate your career without becoming a "soft target." 

In a Q&A, White discusses what inspired her book and why she is excited to be a part of BPL’s “2021 Local Authors Expo.”

BPL: Introduce yourself to our readers.

White: I’m a married woman with one biological child and three bonus kids. They are all adults and none of them live in Alabama. I was born and raised in Birmingham and currently reside in Gardendale. I met my husband in Hawaii while on a military assignment. He’s retired from the Navy and lived in Hawaii for 20 years. We were married in 2020 and we returned to Alabama.

I have 33 years of service in the Army and looking to retire in 2022. I’m a counselor for soldiers deciding their path on the same military journey that I took. I graduated from Grantham University with a Master of Business Administration in 2009. 

BPL: What is Soft Targets, My Memoir  about? 

White: My book describes some vulnerable situations that I’ve experienced in the military. It gives information on navigating your career without becoming a soft target. It also gives staggering statistics of sexual harassments and sexual assaults and how it’s handled, sometimes not being favorable.

It also describes what it’s like to be a black woman in charge and part of an organization that is majority male. How challenging it is to manage a boy’s club and be careful of everything you say or do. Errors are amplified and achievements are ignored. Ideas are briefed as if they weren’t yours, with not so much of an honorable mention. 

BPL: What inspired your book "Soft Targets"? 

White: I was inspired to write this book during the pandemic because I had time to reflect on my life and was so far from home and family. Things were closing and I was stuck on an island not able to take a flight, couldn’t go to work, or to the beach in Hawaii. The stress of staying home was tough, and I began to put my thoughts on paper. 

BPL: Who is your favorite author? 

White: My favorite author is Roneshia Murray (of Birmingham), because she inspired me by having the courage to write about her experiences. Her books helped me to understand her better and to know what she had gone through in her life. She was also my sister/cousin that I wrote about in my book. 

 BPL: What can attendees of the 2021 Local Authors Expo expect from your book? 

White:  I hope readers are inspired by my book as well. I hope younger adults, going off to college, into the military or anywhere away from home for the first time learn how to navigate life in such a way that simply doesn’t make them a soft target. Understanding that it doesn’t matter how their lives started, they can still be successful and persevere to reach their goals or achievements in life. Knowing that no one holds their ladder but themselves. 

BPL: What advice can you offer those who want to write a book?

White: My advice for new authors or those desiring to become an author is that everyone’s life is a unique story. The hard part is having the courage to share your story. Sharing your story could help someone or multiple people reach their destiny. You should never write a book to just make money.