What Took You So Long {+ Giveaway}

I’m delighted today to tell you about author Neville Johnson’s new poetry collection, WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG: Poems For People In Love, that was released earlier this month by Cool Titles.

Thanks to Felicia and the wonderful folks at Jane Wesman Public Relations Inc., I have a copy of the poetry collection to giveaway. Please see the end of the post for more details.

“The poems in What Took You So Long are a beautiful reminder that love is powerful and even more powerful when it is communicated through the written word. Neville's poems will inspire you to open your heart wider and express your love more fully to your romantic partner.” — Michelle Skeen, PsyD author of LOVE ME DON'T LEAVE ME and host of Relationships 2.0 radio show
            “Johnson’s simple, clear words are a lyrical celebration of love. You will want to read them with music in your mind.” — T.K. Thorne, award-winning author of ANGELS AT THE GATE

WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG: Poems For People In Love                                                        
By Neville Johnson                                                                      
Publisher:  Cool Titles                                                         
Publication Date:  June 2016                                           
Price:  $12.95/ trade paperback original                                     
ISBN:  978-193527-039-3                                                       

“Love makes life worth living,” writes Neville Johnson in the foreword to his poetry collection WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG.  Neville’s poems, which pay tribute to the magic and mystery of romantic love, were inspired by his wife. The book takes its title from one of the most poignant poems in the collection.

“I waited my life for you to come along
We’re finally together, what took you so long?”

A true Renaissance man, Neville is an entertainment industry attorney, unafraid of taking on studios and unions alike, a bestselling author, and a musician/recording artist who has been writing poetry for over two decades. Despite his many accomplishments, in his poems, Neville portrays himself as an average guy, who was lucky to find the love of his life.

WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG contains over 150 passionate and heartfelt entries. Neville’s profound words have a sincerity that shines through the brief lines, and communicate “the joyous wonder” of his feelings. The poetry contains universal messages.

For couples who don’t think they have the words to tell each other how much they care, Neville says, “I encourage you to share the poems with a loved one. Read them to each other. Then write a poem about your special one. Don’t be surprised about the impact it will make.” WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG is a meditation on love that will inspire anyone who is in a relationship, or yearns for one.

Author Neville Johnson

In addition to being an attorney, Neville Johnson is a bestselling author, publisher, musician, recording artist, poet, and devoted husband.

Neville has been selected as one of the top 100 Power Lawyers in entertainment law by the Hollywood Reporter every year since 2008 and a Super Lawyer (top 5% as voted by his peers). He has worked with such clients as Nancy Sinatra, members of The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac and The Moody Blues, K-Tel, Mitch Ryder, the Academy of Country Music, The Motels, Jane’s Addiction, The Temptations; and the heirs of Rick Nelson, Buddy Holly, and John Lennon.   

Neville is the author of the bestseller THE JOHN WOODEN PYRAMID OF SUCCESS: The Authorized Biography, Philosophy and Ultimate Guide to Life, Leadership, Friendship and Love of the Greatest Coach in the History of Sports.

As alter-ego songwriter and recording artist, Trevor McShane, Neville has recorded six albums, including, Asphalt & Sand, released in 2014. He regularly performs Americana music with his nine-member band.

Cool Titles is a Los Angeles-based publisher of fiction and non-fiction books. Subjects range from entertainment and music to legal fiction, mystery, and romance. Cool Titles is dedicated to discovering and supporting great writers and inspiring readers.

Here are several of Neville’s poems* for your reading pleasure. *Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Cool Titles, from WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG:  Poems for People in Love by Neville Johnson © 2016.

So Happy With You
As usual I owe special thanks to one who has given so much
First of all for putting up with me
The second, the touch I feel in the middle of the night to tell me it’s okay
So fortunate I am to be with someone who loves me every day

More than that is the knowledge I’m safe and secure
That I am not alone
It’s the power of this love
We’re in the perfect zone
Let me sum up and say what I’m coming to
I owe it all to you, sweet thing
Happy, happy, happy,
So happy with you

These Are the Best Days of Our Lives
These are the best days of our lives
The here and now
Our love will get us through anything
Anyway and anyhow
It’s poetry when you speak to me
With your every movement I realize
How fortunate I am to be with you
That we share our lives

Let’s consider your many kindnesses
How it is that you do right
With each person you encounter
Essentially you’re very cool

So as we ride together down
The many paths we’ll go
Always will I love you
Which I’m confident you surely know

All You Need to Know
I love you—that’s all you need to know
I love you—this is so
So very perfect, the way it should be
I love you, really love you
And I know that you love me

I need you—I’m not ashamed to say
I need you—you’re my sun and all its rays
There to make our lives complete
There to hold me close
I need you, otherwise I would be toast

I want you—you’re everything to me
I want you—love is blind but I can see
That you’re absolutely stunning, no one is luckier than me
I want you—so we can live in happiness, exceptionally
Yes, unconditionally

Plus One
One plus one equals one
One love, one dream
Two lives, no in between
Just luck and trust and love

Thanks to Felicia and the wonderful folks at Jane Wesman Public Relations Inc., I have a print copy of WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG: Poems For People In Love by Neville Johnson to giveaway. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only and will end at 12 a.m. (EST) on Friday, July 8.

To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient. A winner will be selected by the Rafflecopter widget and I’ll send an email with the subject line “Thoughts in Progress Giveaway.” The winner will have 72 hours to reply to the email or another winner will be selected. PLEASE be sure to check your spam folder from time to time after the giveaway ends to make sure the notification email doesn’t end up there. If you win and you’ve already won the book somewhere else or you just decided for whatever reason you don’t want to win (which is fine), once again PLEASE let me know.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Hope I’ve enticed you to check out Neville’s book and/or sign up for the giveaway. What is it about poems that draws you in? Do you write poetry yourself?

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