One on One with Linda J

Linda J McDuffie was born in Atlanta, Georgia and attended
Jefferson Business College, where she studied Business Administration.
Since childhood, Linda had a great imagination. She created storylines and characters for herself and her eight older siblings. Linda enjoyed creating ideas surrounding them, especially the ones closer in age. As her stories developed, she began to include her parents, neighbors, and even household supplies such as a mop and broom, to bring her characters to life.
Linda worked law enforcement for ten years at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office in Atlanta, Georgia, where here she mastered the art of writing incident reports. Her reports were so true-to-life, that it made the reader feel as if they were there during the incident.
In July 2014, while Linda was listening to music, God blessed her with a new storyline. At that moment, she took to the computer, wrote her very first book, and named it Conflicting Paths.
She continued to share her literary gifts through two other books, “Conflicting Paths II”
and “What Happens Behind Closed Doors”

Play Syopsis:

LJM & Beyond Enterprise Presents
What Happen Behind Closed Doors
Written by Linda J.

Stacey, Aisha and Carla are the best of friends and neighbors who spent family time together. One night the girls get together and they truly find out “What Happens Behind Their Closed Doors”
Stacey is a fun, witty and free-spirited. She struggles to pay her bills and education, Stacey’s friends and family think her brother Anthony helps Stacey make ends meet with his night club. But what they don’t know is Stacey secretly is a professional dancer at her brother’s club. As Stacey continues to work to take care of herself, she soon faces adversity to keep her secret from everyone else..
Aisha is a religious married Pretrial Detention Officer, who is setting her goals on having family of her own. Aisha is big on interfering in her family’s affairs. Aisha family think that she has everything together the perfect life, the perfect job, and the perfect marriage but little do they know she’s neglecting her marriage. Can her family and friends convince her to back off and just love them as they are or will she chase them all away and end up left alone with the man in the mirror.
Carla is married to Tony and is a stay home mom with two young children. Since having kids Carla and Tony feels their married is boring and could use some serious excitement. As the two spice up their marriage so to speak, they’re thrown into a whirlwind and everything spins out of control. While Tony thinks their marriage is back on track Carla is secretly yearning for more. What happens next could destroy the life they built together and possibly destroy Carla’s friendship with Stacey and Aisha.

Starring Blue Kimble, Asia Evans, Josha Knight & Benjie Anderson
Production Provide by Gate City Management
Director by MagTai Films

Purchase Tickets at Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-happens-behind-closed-doors-stage-play-tickets-21732672007 (I’m waiting for the flyer to finish being design before sharing the link for the tickets)

WHEN
Saturday, June 18, 2016 at 1:00 PM-3pm (First Show) June 18, 2016 7pm-9pm (Second Show) – Sunday, June 19, 2016 at 4:00 PM (EDT) –
WHERE
Rialto Center for the Arts – 80 Forsyth Street Northwest Atlanta, GA 30303  

Unrated Dan: Who are the influences and why?

My influences are my Parents who raised all nine of their children with strict discipline and an entrepreneur state of mind.  My mother had her own business while working. She would leave her nine to five and come home just to start working for herself. I often helped her and that proud feeling that I had, knowing we were working for ourselves, made me appreciate her even more. Then my older brother had a strong influences because he stressed "Be independent" as I was growing up. When our father passed in 1981 my older brother stepped in and continued to push me to be independent and work toward owning my business and living out my dreams, along with a my other older brothers and sisters.

Unrated Dan: What is your latest Project?

My latest project is my Stage play from my book, "What Happens Behind Closed Doors." My stage play will premiere on June 18th and 19th at the Atlanta Rialto Theater. This play is geared around the struggles of marriage, sibling relationships and decisions that we as adults make and the consequences that follow. It also helps us to understand the art of not judging and the art of forgiving. This is something I believe that all would enjoy and receive the message of love regardless of race, sex, religion or creed. (Laughs) I can't really say age because this is for adults only, no children under 18 allowed due to contents. (smile)

Unrated Dan: What about a tour? What are your current touring Plans?

Oh yes, we most definitely want to tour. We are evaluating our Progress in Atlanta to determine if we will tour. We have already made contact with Detroit, Miami and South Carolina.

Unrated Dan: What is the passion you have toward your goals and why? 

 My passion is to get the message of love and forgiveness to people. We can't love and forgive if we continue to judge each other. I just think we have enough violence in this world and we could use some love. We need to teach our children to love more. Also through my art and projects I want to create jobs for people who need the work and want to work. I am going to continue writing more stage plays and screen plays as well to create jobs.

Unrated Dan:  Are you creative in any other arts including science and technology?

Oh I'm so glad you asked that question, because everything I do, all my work I plan, it starts with a science to it. We have to have the science behind the plan that we present whether it's to one or two people or to the world. Everything we do has science to it. It's universal. And once you put the science and math to your plans, your plans should be in accordance to technology of time or the technology to come if you're really good. (smiles)

Unrated Dan: Do you have family and how supportive are they?

(Smiles and laughter) My family is very supportive. My family is where I get my strength. I thank God for my family and their support. My sister Sandra D is my other half. She saw my vision and believed in me. She has been not just my moral support, but she has sponsored financially and one of my biggest investors. I not only have family support, my Director Mike, owner of Magtai films and Chris Waymon, owner of Gate City Management has been very support and protective of me and my project. These two have been there along with their staff holding me down and pushing my play along the way. I also want to give thanks to Woody Martin owner of WJ Enterprises and Jamar Hargove for all their marketing support and business advice. These people have really been in my corner and its support like this that makes it all worth it. There are many more I could name, that's how much support I have.

Unrated Dan: How do you plan to invest in the success you have monetarily? And what does the future hold?

Yes, I plan to invest in my own Production studio and creating jobs. I also want to invest in orphanage to educate those children how to be entrepreneurs.  What does the future holds for me? I definitely plan to tour with my stage play and coming in 2017 I would like to bring to the stage part two of my play. Whatever happens behind closed doors usually comes out in the open so we must have a part two to the play. I have written multiple movies and cartoons so hopefully I can get my material to the right people to make the right moves in getting my material on movie screen or television. 

 Thanks for having me for this interview and I hope to see you at my play. You can get tickets at whbcd.eventbrite.com

 https://www.facebook.com/iampragency

- Read the full story at UnRatedMagazine.com