Meet Tressa “Azarel” Smallwood, author and CEO of Life Changing Books.Azarel comes to the publishing world as a former teacher andnative of North Carolina. She received her BS degree fromUniversity of Maryland Eastern Shore, and earned a Masters ofArts in Teaching degree from Bowie State University in 1999. Herlove for writing sparked a career change in 2002. She resignedfrom her teaching tenure in the Prince George’s County publicschool system to fulfill her dream of becoming an author. Afterwriting her first novel, ‘A Life to Remember,” written in anattempt to help change lives of young men, Azarel launched herown publishing company, Life Changing Books (LCB).Now with over thirty-one titles published to date, LCB is one ofthe most well known and successful independently ownedAfrican-American publishing companies in the publishingindustry. Many titles produced by Azarel have continuouslytopped the charts on the national Essence Best sellers’ list andmany national book store chains, including her own titlesBruised 1 and 2, and Daddy’s House. Although Azarel publishes a wide variety of adult fiction, hertitle roster includes ‘Teenage Bluez” an urban series of booksfor teens. Teenage Bluez is designed to capture the hearts ofteens across America by providing them with entertaining storiesin a positive manner.As creative lead on the development of MegaMind’s upcoming feature films, scripted and non-scripted television shows, Tressa is inspired by many but especially Mara Brock Akil.She stated in an interview with Source magazine that Akil’s journey reminds her of her own.”I started as an author, became the owner of Life Changing Books, an independent publishing house, and now adapting books to films.”As the producer, Tressa oversees the finances of the production, assists with casting, licensing content and serving as the spokesperson for the brand.Their first project was the film Secrets which as adapted from the novel she published, Secrets of a Housewife, written by J. Tremble.The film debuted on BET in September of 2017.As a wife, and mother of two Azarel enjoys spending time withfamily and friends and lending support to those in need. Bymentoring teens and speaking at shelters for abused women shecontinues to achieve that goal.

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Azarel

Meet Tressa "Azarel" Smallwood, author and CEO of Life Changing Books.Azarel comes to the publishing world as a former teacher andnative of North Carolina. She received her BS degree fromUniversity of Maryland Eastern Shore, and earned a Masters ofArts in Teaching degree from Bowie State University in 1999. Herlove for writing sparked a career change in 2002. She resignedfrom her teaching tenure in the Prince George's County publicschool system to fulfill her dream of becoming an author. Afterwriting her first novel, 'A Life to Remember," written in anattempt to help change lives of young men, Azarel launched herown publishing company, Life Changing Books (LCB).Now with over thirty-one titles published to date, LCB is one ofthe most well known and successful independently ownedAfrican-American publishing companies in the publishingindustry. Many titles produced by Azarel have continuouslytopped the charts on the national Essence Best sellers' list andmany national book store chains, including her own titlesBruised 1 and 2, and Daddy's House. Although Azarel publishes a wide variety of adult fiction, hertitle roster includes 'Teenage Bluez" an urban series of booksfor teens. Teenage Bluez is designed to capture the hearts ofteens across America by providing them with entertaining storiesin a positive manner.As creative lead on the development of MegaMind's upcoming feature films, scripted and non-scripted television shows, Tressa is inspired by many but especially Mara Brock Akil.She stated in an interview with Source magazine that Akil's journey reminds her of her own."I started as an author, became the owner of Life Changing Books, an independent publishing house, and now adapting books to films."As the producer, Tressa oversees the finances of the production, assists with casting, licensing content and serving as the spokesperson for the brand.Their first project was the film Secrets which as adapted from the novel she published, Secrets of a Housewife, written by J. Tremble.The film debuted on BET in September of 2017.As a wife, and mother of two Azarel enjoys spending time withfamily and friends and lending support to those in need. Bymentoring teens and speaking at shelters for abused women shecontinues to achieve that goal.