Bringing Grits to Life

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Grits and the Grimels Giveaway

Here's a chance to register to win my new book Grits and the Grimels plus a bunch of cool, free stuff!

From now to the book's release date on June 28th, I'll be running a free contest through Rafflecopter. 



Prizes include: 
Click on the Rafflecopter link here, sign in, and choose multiple ways to enter. 

They include: 
  •  Visit the Chris Lassiter author facebook page. 
  • Tweet out official contest tweet. 
  • Follow @C_Lass, @lampmode @gritsbook and/or @boxand1podcast on Twitter. 


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Chris Lassiter is an author and a freelance journalist. He worked at the News Leader a a reporter for 15 years, and he's written faith and culture articles for VIBE, Rapzilla, Jam The Hype and Young Life Relationships. He can be contacted at chrislassiter540@gmail.com or (540) 569-0270. He blogs at http//thecrosspromotion.blogspot.com 

Nic Johnson is an illustrator and a student at Elon College. You can visit contact him at Johnson.nic12@gmail.com and see part of his art portfolio at nicjohnsoncreative.com

Nyree Press was founded in 2011 when founder Kennisha Thornton transitioned her writing firm into a full-service publishing company to provide all the essential services writers need to begin their journey as published authors. You can contact Nyree press at contact@nyresspress.com or visit the Website at www.nyreepress.com

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

5 Questions for Illustrator Nic Johnson

I can't draw a lick. 

But, fortunately for me, my dude Nic Johnson can draw with the best of 'em (watch 1-minute time-lapse video below). 



In 2012, I wrote a series of children's books called Grits & The Grimels. In 2015, I got serious about getting those books published. I began praying and searching for an illustrator. Fortunately, I didn't even have to leave my circle of relationships to find the perfect fit. 

Reggie and Vanessa Johnson were best man and matron of honor at our wedding (find Vanessa's book Thrive: A Call to Healing here). My wife Emily suggested I reach out to Reggie and Vanessa's son, Nic, a super-talented young artist to see if he'd have any interest in illustrating the book. 

The rest, as they say, is history. 



Nic, a sophomore student-athlete at Elon College, was cool enough to answer five questions for us about illustrating. 


1.      How did you get interested in drawing?

I have always been a visual person. Since I was little, it was always better for me to learn through pictures and visual references and being able to transfer what I saw or thought in my head onto a piece a paper. It just became natural to me. 

At first, I did not know I had a “talent” for drawing and art, because I assumed that everyone could do it. I did not start to realize that I had this talent until about middle school when everyone began to see just how talented I was.

2.      What is some of your favorite work?

I really like a lot of urban contemporary art. My favorite artists are David Garibaldi and an artist known as Paper Frank.

3.      Can you share with readers how you brought the characters in the book to life?

I honestly do not know how I was able to bring the characters to life per say. When I initially read the book and each page, scenes and different images just started to pop into my head. 

I just transferred that on to whatever I am drawing on. It is hard to explain, but that is how I am able to do any kind of work. It just comes to me in my head almost like a vision, and I just simply transfer the thought on to paper.

4.      What type of products (i.e. sketch pads, iPads, etc.) do you recommend for illustrating?

There are several things you can use for illustrating. I personally like to go the more digital way of illustrating, so I use things like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and I have a Wacom Bamboo Tablet that allows me to draw things directly onto my computer in Illustrator or Photoshop. I also use my iPad and a stylus to do some of my work as well.

5.      What advice do you have for  others who may be interested in illustrating?


I would say to go for it! I love illustrating and creating new things, because it does not feel like work to me. 

Many people are shocked when they realize that I am football player that is a graphic design major with a double minor in digital art and music production. 

Most football players end up majoring in things like business or sports med. I feel like you should do whatever makes you happy at the end of the day. And if illustrating is your true passion and you have the talent for it, then you should definitely use what God has given you to make you happy. 

Chris Lassiter is an author and a freelance journalist. He worked at the News Leader a a reporter for 15 years, and he's written faith and culture articles for VIBE, Rapzilla, Jam The Hype and Young Life Relationships. He can be contacted at chrislassiter540@gmail.com or (540) 569-0270. He blogs at http//thecrosspromotion.blogspot.com 

Nic Johnson is an illustrator and a student-athlete at Elon College. You can visit contact him at Johnson.nic12@gmail.com and see part of his art portfolio at https://www.behance.net/NICATNITE 

Nyree Press was founded in 2011 when founder Kennisha Hill transitioned her writing firm into a full-service publishing company to provide all the essential services writers need to begin their journey as published authors. You can contact Nyree press at contact@nyresspress.com or visit the Website at www.nyreepress.com

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

5 Facts About Grits and the Grimels

I'm getting excited about my first children's book, Grits and the Grimels, which is scheduled to come out in March. Here are five interesting things about the book. 

1. It was written as part of a series. The first book introduces the characters. Grits is the neighborhood kid that everyone loves and is always into something. The Grimels moved into Grits' neighborhood to help start a new church in the community. There are about six books total, with each one sending the Grits and the Grimels on a new adventure. My prayer is that the first book does well enough to publish the rest of them. 

2. Getting the book published was my 2015 New Year's Resolution. I wrote those six stories in 2012, but they have just been filed away. Tomorrow isn't promised, so I wanted to be more aggressive to getting the books in print. I made it a 2015 resolution - and part of my prayer life -  to get one published in 2015. It will be a few months after that, but I'm glad I finally pursued getting one published. 

3. It's my second book. One reason I didn't do much with them at that time is because I also had my first book, You're Grounded, coming out through Moody Publishers in 2013. That was an amazing experience for a first-time author. My first book was sort of like an introduction to theology and Christology (the study of Jesus) remixed for hip-hop culture. 

4.  There's a unique connection between illustrator Nic Johnson and me. Nic is an amazing artist in addition to being a talented football player. His parents were actually best man and matron of honor at our wedding. Nic moved away from the hometown we shared when he was young, but I'm so glad we got to work together on this project. 

5. I'm trying a different publishing route.  I was so fortunate to have my first book published by Moody. For this series, I wanted to try co-publishing, which combines the benefits of self-publishing and with the benefits of traditional publishing. So far it's been a good experience. I'll keep you posted. 


Chris Lassiter is an author and a freelance journalist. He worked at the News Leader as a reporter for 15 years, and he's written faith and culture articles for VIBE, Rapzilla, Jam The Hype and Young Life Relationships. He can be contacted at chrislassiter540@gmail.com or (540) 569-0270. He blogs at http//thecrosspromotion.blogspot.com 

Nic Johnson is an illustrator and a student-athlete at Elon College. You can visit contact him at Johnson.nic12@gmail.com and see part of his art portfolio at https://www.behance.net/NICATNITE 

Nyree Press was founded in 2011 when founder Kennisha Hill transitioned her writing firm into a full-service publishing company to provide all the essential services writers need to begin their journey as published authors. You can contact Nyree press at contact@nyresspress.com or visit the Website at www.nyreepress.com