For some people, obstacles are minor bumps in the road on the way to success. For others, obstacles represent a major catastrophe of epic proportions threatening to disrupt any chance of success they may have otherwise had. But for Franklin, obstacles represent the challenges needed to propel you through life.

In "The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life's Storms," Franklin describes how he turned negative aspects from his own life-drugs, an absent father, teenage parenthood, poverty, etc.-into blessings by learning from them and moving forward.

Fans are invited to meet Kirk Franklin up close and personal with purchase of his new book, "The Blueprint," from Borders Stonecrest. Proof of purchase is required. First come, first serve. Each guest in line must have a book to meet Mr. Franklin.

Franklin by no way claims to be perfect or have insider knowledge of how to live your life wisely, but rather puts his setbacks and faults on full blast and suggests that oftentimes people, like Franklin at one point, go through life without a plan for success, simply living purposelessly, and without a person to show them the right way. "The Blueprint" fills the void of not knowing which way to turn and arms you the necessary tools to succeed.

By the time Franklin was just fifteen years old, he was a young father, without an encouraging figure in his life, and just another statistic on the street. As he explains in his book, "The street corner was my classroom. The ‘hood was my Harvard." He went through life thinking he knew it all, and blamed the fact that he didn't have a role model for not being able to achieve his dreams, until the day he realized he had to turn his life around and become the man he needed to be on his own.

Today, Franklin is the proud father of four and devoted husband of fourteen years, as well as one of the biggest multiplatinum-selling gospel artists of all time. He credits his faith in God and a very close mentor he found later in his life for his success.

The Mall at Stonecrest is located off I-20, exit 75 Turner Hill Road in Lithonia, Georgia. For more information, visit www.mallatstonecrest.com.