Excerpt from address given by A. P. Ri'Chard to
graduate students at Long Island University Sept. 27,
2008
The aforementioned statement by the multifaceted
producer, author, screenplay writer, actor, and
motivational speaker known as A.P. Ri'Chard
characterize not only his experiences but also his
optimistic disposition, resiliency, and limitless
generosity.
Tireless in his pursuit of excellence and conscious of
his higher calling—-which is to surface the
“best” in others—A. P. Ri'Chard has applied his
gifts to a variety of endeavors.
And while he creates wonderful stories for
stage, screen, and books, his story is as remarkable
as any of his works of fiction.
A. P. Ri’Chard, a Detroit native, left the Motor
City for New York in 1997 with nothing more than the
blessings of his family and friends. In doing so, he
abandoned a well-established professional career as a
computer engineer. His burning ambition to publish his
manuscripts drove him to make that leap of faith - to
migrate to the epicenter of the publishing world.
As so often happens for so many passionate
faithful, Ri’Chard’s resources ran dry before his
royalties rolled in.
He found himself among the homeless, a paradigm
shift in lifestyle, which ultimately provided him
fertile ground for stories of struggle.
Likewise, as with so many who first fall before
rising, he kept his quest moving ever forward through
his consistent writing regimen. Shortly
thereafter, through a fated benefactor encounter,
Ri’Chard regained traction using his extraordinary
computer engineering skills for which he was self
trained.
After a momentary repaging of his game plan, he next
met Cliff Benton, a literary agent and founder of Audacity,
The Literary Consortium. Benton recognized his
talent and the ever-requisite ambition.
Mentoring Ri’Chard on the wiles of the
industry, Benton gave him entree to the professional
ranks, including Maxwell Taylor, Editor at A & B
Publisher’s Group.
It is one thing to gain access to the inner
sanctum, it is entirely another to deliver the
plateau-caliber manuscript required to stay.
Considering “Damn!”
one of his so-called park-bench gems, Ri’Chard
amazed Taylor with his deft skill and artful stylings
contained in the polished tome.
A & B Publisher Group brought joyous and
welcome news to the Detroit-based Ri’Chard family of
their creative son and his first published book.
Spurred on by this success, Ri’Chard plunged
headlong into developing numerous manuscripts
simultaneously.
As with each new opportunity comes
both a challenge and responsibility.
Striking out for uncharted territory Ri’Chard
was introduced to a young man who stated that he was
wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of a racist white
male in his hometown. This story fueled Ri’Chard to
pen a story inspired by this young man’s dilemma.
Facing the challenge of creating a manuscript
worthy of this heart-wrenching reality, “Caged
Innocence” was borne. As Ri’Chard’s second
published work, it is due for release on November 4,
2008, by Strebor books, an imprint of Simon &
Schuster.
Ri’Chard is producing the feature-length film
adaptation for “Caged
Innocence” set for release in the second quarter
of 2009.
Ri’Chard has also penned a biographical
feature-length film, a legendary tale of a
controversial and world-renowned figure, called “King
of Rhythm, the Ike Turner Story.”
Once again, Ri'Chard is bringing his producing
talents to the big screen with the film having an
anticipated release of 2009.
He
also created a made-for-television dramatic series “The
Market Place”, the pilot was co-written by
Mpenzi Ramadhan Nanji.
Ri’Chard is well on his way to reaching his goals of
writing for television, the silver screen, and the
literary community.
His other works include, screenplays: “Future”,
“Shadow of
Memory”, “You
Never Know”, “Sanction”.
Several more novels include “At
War With The Devil”, “Can’t
You See I Love You”, “False
Impressions”, and “Thank
God”.
In support of screening and
broadcasting his screenplays and television projects,
Ri’Chard has launched an audio-visual production
company, United
Spirits, LLC,
on the strength of his motto: “Like Hearts And Minds
At Work”.
As Ri’Chard takes stock of the pending
release of yet another book, he looks back over the
road between Detroit and today, believing that his
huge, risk-it-all leap of faith brought him where the
Lord planned for him to go.
A. P has assembled a group of very talented
individuals who understand the seeds that have been
planted. These Like Hearts And Minds came together
because they listened to their Director of Animation,
Motion Pictures, Television Sitcoms/Dramas,
Publication, whether it be Magazines, Comics or
Novels. He is most of all, our Director of LIFE.
When
others Tell US we Can't, he proves that we CAN.
LIKE
HEARTS AND MINDS AT WORK GOD DIRECTS US (United
Spirits)