tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32878416591748001052024-03-05T01:07:58.523-08:00BBW Reviews - Author InterviewsWelcome to BBW Reviews - Author Interviews. Read on and learn about the authors and publishers giving us books about women with Curves.Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-14201762761757058812010-09-18T06:45:00.000-07:002010-09-18T07:26:44.392-07:00Interview with Spiritual Author Essa Adams<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkaDPP057Hc37pFJaYxOvw-XLHXtlQDIxLPWVHKXktaHGVrdInllbujFIfbAgHuzaZ1ehh2heoUR5eFVglEduyZ_LwFl5yW44GSQnSxEsgbgFEpOBF1YWvJPvfVGnWKIYpG6Gh2ELwes/s1600/essaadams.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 191px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518259783965169874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkaDPP057Hc37pFJaYxOvw-XLHXtlQDIxLPWVHKXktaHGVrdInllbujFIfbAgHuzaZ1ehh2heoUR5eFVglEduyZ_LwFl5yW44GSQnSxEsgbgFEpOBF1YWvJPvfVGnWKIYpG6Gh2ELwes/s200/essaadams.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with Essa Adams, author of the A Breath Floats By. Read on as we explore Essa Adam's world combining her <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">spiritual</span> writing style with plus size heroines to create her own brand of Women's Fiction.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">**** Contest Alert ****<br />Post a comment on this interview by October 31, 2010 and be entered to win a copy of A Breath Floats By by Essa Adams. We are giving away 1 paperback copy and 5 <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">ebook</span> so there are plenty of chances to win. Don't forget to leave your email address with your comment so winners can be contacted.</span></strong><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>1)Tell us about yourself?</strong> </span>We could say I am eccentric. I live in the Great Lakes Region and run a small business with resources for the right environmental choices we all need to make. I write every second of my working day. Love Newfoundland dogs, pet skunks. Want to live in the UP or Nova <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Scotia</span> and am such a gypsy that leasing suits me <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">more than</span> owning a home. Love rowing, biking, gardening. I am a plush post-menopausal woman who is bent on writing until I die.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2)How long have you been writing? What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? </span></strong>My love of elementary English then high school term papers. My first novel was the well-received Forever, Moore (Forevermore by Emily Frost in early 1990s) which included a plus-size heroine -- soon to be re-released.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>3)You call yourself a spiritual author. What exactly do you mean by spiritual author?</strong> </span>Spirituality fiction. Not to be confused with spiritual fiction which often means religious-based. A Breath Floats By is more visionary, metaphysical, inspirational. Offering insight into the lives of women who hold spiritual gifts that they need to accept and use for their loved ones and the world. Spiritual gifts can include the intuitive, the dream messenger, reincarnation impressionist, the artist, singer, writer, cook, healer, dancer, mother, the goddess, the gardener, the recycling enthusiast.<br /><br />The book is dedicated to all those on their journey to know their natural talent and gift. In the world now, we are asked to step up and be recognized by the spiritual world, to bring all we have to offer. That gift of bringing it all, that is the most blessed of all gifts because the joy of serving with our gifts is beyond beauty.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4)Your novel, A Breath Floats By features a plus size heroine. Please tell us a little about A Breath Floats by and the plus size heroine featured in this novel.</span> </strong>I believe the story came to me, not me to it, and it practically plotted itself. I was surprised with the storyline, the honesty of the characters, their love complications. Basically, they are a soul group finding themselves incarnated in present-day. One married the best friend of her soul-flame… then realized it after she became pregnant. One intends to get her soul-flame back, do or die. One is bound to her life by regret. There are spiritual quests and friendship and outrage. There is this mystic turn I did not plan. I asked my daughter, ‘Why does this have to happen in my book?’ and she answered, ‘Why not your book?’ It’s not that the story is paranormal, it is more a light metaphysical of the possibilities that can happen to any one of us. There is a thin veil to life and the other side. I like for readers to imagine… imagine you look up and there is your personal psychic again and she has promised <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">pre</span>-birth that she will bring you to your work on time. Whether it kills you or not, she does not care… she just wants her soul-flame back. Now that, that is some good women’s fiction.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5)Why did you chose to feature a plus size heroine in A Breath Floats By?</span></strong> The women introduced themselves. Lindsay. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">Gooee</span>. Heather Laurel. They are all plus-sized crones, if you will. Crones. Wise women. Goddess material. Women in the age of menopause.<br /><br />The questions is, do plus-size women carry more energy to impact their surroundings. Are plus-size women energy and miracle conductors of their own right?<br /><br />These women have been of the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ojibwe</span> nation and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" class="blsp-spelling-error">Midwewin</span> Grand Medicine Society. Before then, they were at the Druid universities. And before, they were orientated by the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" class="blsp-spelling-error">Kaloo</span> to prepare for Jesus’ arrival and life work. Their soul group reaches into all the societies and eras when the large women were accepted and approached for their gifts… yes, all their gifts, wink. And here they are in modern era with no apologies and no explanation for their size… they just are.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6)What is up next for Essa Adams. Is there another novel in the work? Will it feature a plus-size heroine?</span></strong> All of them will feature plus-size heroines. It’s what I do.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7)What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer?</span></strong> Marketing. The marketing keeps me from the writing.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8)Where do you see yourself a year from now?</span></strong> With a marketer, so I can write.<br /><br />I see Forever, Moore re-released. That novel introduces <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" class="blsp-spelling-error">Malany</span> and Moore, lovers bound by a slight reincarnation-tie that is elusive but very much felt. Also the anthology that follows A Breath Floats By with the character tie-ins and the past life incarnations of this soul group.<br /><br />I see A Breath Floats By selling well on Amazon and worldwide, well enough. The readers are either into women’s fiction, the metaphysical, are into spirituality, and/or plush women who love to read about other plush women and big beautiful men. That’s quite a large world of potential readers.<br /><br />I also see my online business of natural products growing naturally. I write what I believe, others find the products they need.<br /><br />I see myself living in a different house because this lake cottage will be redesigned by then so it can be rented to vacationers. I see a butterfly and bird garden with a water fountain in the trees outside my small bungalow office…. quiet sunsets and <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">wind chimes</span> in the breeze. I am looking forward.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9)On a more personal level, you mention on your website that you are a life path consultant. What exactly is a life path consultant. How would those interested in having a life path consultation get in touch with you? </span></strong>Half my time is spent giving service through this compilation of life path resources we have in this world. We are not birthed here with no foundations. I believe there is a plan and we get some written instructions that has been with us from the days of Atlantis and the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" class="blsp-spelling-error">Kaloo</span>. Astrological ascendants, flower essence soul-types and numerology. I believe in all these. I love doing these ‘reports’ for clients because they find such insight into their lives and their struggles. It worked for me. I realized all three gave even more insight, so I purposed the three to serve individuals. The life path guidance charts are actually essays deemed for each client, along with a personal letter that explains what I am seeing in my research for them and what I feel as an intuitive. If there has been a dream connection that I feel is for that particular client, I include it in the letter. The ‘charts’ are more writing. Loving it.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10)What are you reading now? What types of books (genres) do you read in general? Who are your favorite authors? </span></strong>Women’s fiction is my favorite genre. Anne Rivers <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" class="blsp-spelling-error">Siddons</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" class="blsp-spelling-error">Maeve</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_14" class="blsp-spelling-error">Binchy</span>, Judith Marshall, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_15" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rebecca</span> Wells. Kate <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_16" class="blsp-spelling-error">Maloy</span>, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_17" class="blsp-spelling-error">Rosamunde</span> <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_18" class="blsp-spelling-error">Pilcher</span>, Michelle <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_19" class="blsp-spelling-error">Wildgen</span>. All women’s fiction.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11)Tell us about the online and offline personal appearances you have planned over the next couple of months. How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong> Being a very private person who only writes, I don’t use appearances for my promotion. Contact me through <a href="mailto:essa_adams@essabooks.com">essa_adams@essabooks.com</a>.<br /><br />My online sites are numerous, connecting me to all my passions.<br />Women’s Fiction Blog: Myths, Dense Observations and Lies We Are Told plus great books <a href="http://www.womens-fiction.com/">http://www.womens-fiction.com/</a><br /><br />Age of Menopause Blog <a href="http://www.essanatural.com/">http://www.essanatural.com/</a><br /><br />The Right Environmental Choice <a href="http://www.the-right-environmental-choice.com/">http://www.the-right-environmental-choice.com/</a> with resources and info on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_20" class="blsp-spelling-error">enviro</span>-friendly garden, lawn, farm and commercial fertilizers, along with answers to greater longevity for vehicles and the best protocol for women using synthetic oil.<br /><br />Pet Skunks for Sale Blog at <a href="http://skunkiedelight.wordpress.com/">http://skunkiedelight.wordpress.com/</a><br /><br />ESSA Books <a href="http://www.essabooks.com/">http://www.essabooks.com/</a> which encompasses my spirituality reading and reviews. There are more, but you get the idea…. writing wakes me in the morning.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12)What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you? </span></strong>I do dream interpretations when there is a connection with someone. I don’t get to communicate with spirits, at least I don’t think so, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_21" class="blsp-spelling-error">hmmm</span>. But I do this on donation only, just like the main character in A Breath Floats By. I feel I am to tell everyone this is available to them. The ones who will benefit will email with their request. It is what it is. And yes, I balked longer than Lindsay in the book. But I love doing the dreams now, I am not afraid.Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-15376556544442003812010-08-29T16:24:00.000-07:002010-09-12T13:55:21.829-07:00Interview with Critically Acclaimed Author Susan Vaught<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaW80pi8xfgbr-FCpfhqqm8QManB6usCZIrtaDDcV_wA10xNFmR-x0lzkuJOXGfa0aTZkeXt11PxPmYP2lMc9DdqjSeYyiItMZh8DhLTouQy56CYsnrRoyTcp7ZMnVrQqaic_ZOCR72I/s1600/susanvaught.gif"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 115px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510985073398172146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZaW80pi8xfgbr-FCpfhqqm8QManB6usCZIrtaDDcV_wA10xNFmR-x0lzkuJOXGfa0aTZkeXt11PxPmYP2lMc9DdqjSeYyiItMZh8DhLTouQy56CYsnrRoyTcp7ZMnVrQqaic_ZOCR72I/s200/susanvaught.gif" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXbcNiZQSFidVPthU6C-RewPzoBwTeBSJPwpJca5zdIfiXm0sFAtNc1-xhZmarypNWydxanZt4n4cKRvFzMxFkvI0C0pAn-08aNdA79pY-Y6X6QJaCPQe0m-Ike4D9R0UfzhS_gfjjeM/s1600/bigfatmanifesto.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 97px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 149px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510984938624711634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIXbcNiZQSFidVPthU6C-RewPzoBwTeBSJPwpJca5zdIfiXm0sFAtNc1-xhZmarypNWydxanZt4n4cKRvFzMxFkvI0C0pAn-08aNdA79pY-Y6X6QJaCPQe0m-Ike4D9R0UfzhS_gfjjeM/s200/bigfatmanifesto.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with Susan Vaught, author of the critically acclaimed My Big Fat Manifesto. Please note that this interview was conducted in April so a few of the answers may be a bit dated. For more up to date information please visit Susan Vaught's website at <a href="http://www.susanvaught.com/">http://www.susanvaught.com/</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">*****Contest Alert*****<br />Leave a comment on any interview including Susan Vaught's Interview and be entered to win a copy of one of the books we have available. See side panel under contest alert for contest details.</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1)Tell us about yourself? </span></strong>I’m old now, older than I ever thought I’d get, but I’m finding that’s okay. I still love football (college and professional), women’s basketball, the Olympics, and other sports. I love reading and writing and farming—and I have way too many animals (kitties, a dog, and lots and lots of birds, including a parrot). I still work in the field of psychology and truly enjoy what I do. In that, as with many things, I believe I’m fortunate.<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2)How long have you been writing? What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time?</span></strong> I’ve been writing since I was about eight years old. I started with a novel about a horse. I believe all little girls should get to write at least one horse story. That’s what I loved reading the most, tales like Misty of Chincoteague and all the Marguerite Henry books, Black Beauty—if it had a horse in it, I was there. When I couldn’t find any more horse books, I tried to write one of my own. Next came science fiction, then short stories and poetry. I never stopped for long after that. Writing soothes me, but it’s also a bit of a compulsion.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3)My Big Fat Manifesto is about an overweight high-school senior who writes a column in her school paper about being fat. Please tell us a little more about My Big Fat Manifesto. What motivated you to write this book? What would you like readers both teens and adults to take away from this book?</span></strong> I spent my life as Fat Girl, until I was around 40 years old. At my heaviest, I was over 400 pounds and couldn’t get an accurate weight. When I was 40, I made changes in my life and found a computer program that helped me process food and exercise mentally in ways I hadn’t before, and across a year or so, I moved down to “normal” weight—not ideal, but no longer obese. Toward the end of this process, I was working on a story about a girl who, amongst other things, was struggling to lose a few pounds to make weight for her sport. Every time I’d try to write in that girl’s voice, another louder and more sarcastic voice in my head would make obnoxious comments. I finally had to stop writing the first story and let Jamie, the main character in Big Fat Manifesto, have her say. As I’ve told people, I wasn’t Jamie, strength and attitude-wise, when I was her age. Jamie is the girl I wished I could have been. Through Jamie, I was able to give voice to some of what I went through and how I saw the world as a very large person. I’d love for teen and adult readers to walk away from My Big Fat Manifesto with a strong taste of Jamie’s humanity, her real-ness, her individuality. I want readers to see Jamie as a whole person, no matter what size she is, and I’d like readers to have a better grasp of what Fat Girls face on a daily basis.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4)Are there plans for another young adult plus size character in the future?</span></strong><br />I don’t have plans at this time, but I suspect I will have characters like Jamie in future books. As Jamie noted, Fat Girls really should get to play the lead, at least as much as everyone else!<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5)In December 2009 the second book in your Oathbreaker series (co-authored by JB Redmond) was released. Please tell us a little about this series. </span></strong>The Oathbreaker series is one story in two volumes. The tale centers around Aron Brailing, a young man taken from his family against his will and forced to become an assassin’s apprentice. He lives in a dangerous, treacherous world where people once had great psychic and magical powers, but destroyed their own abilities through stupid choices. Children like Aron are being born with these abilities again, and they’re all at risk. JB, my son, has always been an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction, and he’s always been a storyteller. He focused on the training of the assassins and many of the battle scenes. Because he has Cerebral Palsy and doesn’t see or use his hands well, he had to record his portions, and I typed them in for him. It was a wonderful and inspiring process.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6)You have written a good number of young adult fiction novels. Is this the only genre we will find books by Susan Vaught. </span></strong>Yes, if you don’t count some very boring nonfiction articles I’ve written professionally. I have some essays in some BenBella collections, about topics like Edward in Twilight, Eragon, and Prince Caspian. I do write grown-up romances under a different name, but I keep that work separate from my young adult endeavors.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7)What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer? </span></strong>Deadlines. Sometimes deadlines make me anxious and I freeze up a little in my writing. I usually meet deadlines or come very close, so I don’t know why I worry about them so much, but I do. Also, for myself, I’ve learned that “writer’s block” isn’t exactly writer’s block. When I get the sensation of not moving forward, I usually realize, after a brief break, that something’s off in my plot or characters. Once I adjust that, I move forward again. But, like deadlines, I worry about this when it happens, too!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8)As a woman juggling two demanding careers (Psychologist and Writer) how do you manage to find time for your careers and then squeeze in time for self? How do you keep a balance with all the roles you play in life?</span> </strong>This is a significant challenge. I’ve adjusted my professional and writing schedules several times, trying to find optimal balance. I’m not sure I’m there yet, but I try. I also need at least an hour to two hours a day to do physical activity like walking and yoga and strength training, so that I keep off the weight I lost. It’s hard to work everything in on a regular basis, but I do fair at this.<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9)Where do you see yourself a year from now?</span></strong> In a year, I would like to be continuing with my psychology day job, which I truly enjoy. I’d like to be working on a contemporary young adult novel, and a YA with a fantasy component (maybe with a romantic element to try something new). I’d also like to have better pens built for some of my birds, and for the number of cats in my house not to have increased past current levels (six). The last thing will probably be the hardest.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10)What are you reading now? Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> What I’m reading now—Mistress of the Art of Death, by Ariana Franklin. It’s set in 12th century England, and the heroine is investigating a politically charged murder. I just finished Fatal Grace, by Louise Penny (I love her mysteries), and also just re-read Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book (adored this, especially the audio version that he reads). Neil Gaiman and George R.R. Martin are amongst my favorite authors, and Marion Zimmer Bradley and Octavia Butler, and Nnedi Okorafor (her latest, Who Fears Death is just as awesome as the first two books I read of hers). I also like Orson Scott Card and wait pathetically for new Ender novels, and I think I will always be a Stephen King fan, because horror is a secret pleasure…I could make this list endless. Really.<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11)Do you have any personal appearance (either online or off) currently scheduled over the next couple of months. Where can readers connect with you up close and personal?</span></strong> I don’t have any personal appearances scheduled, but if I schedule one, I’ll post it on my website. Readers are welcome to email me. I try to answer everybody, even if it takes me a ton of time.<br /><br />12)How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website? <a href="mailto:susan@susanvaught.com">susan@susanvaught.com</a>, and <a href="http://www.susanvaught.com/">http://www.susanvaught.com/</a> My son has <a href="http://www.jbredmond.com/">http://www.jbredmond.com/</a>, too!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">13)What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</span></strong><br />That I’m grateful for every single one of them, and always try to write with them in mind—to intrigue, to satisfy, to give them the rewarding experiences they’re seeking when they pick up a story and start reading. </div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-60812920744500798912010-08-08T18:28:00.000-07:002010-09-18T07:25:13.927-07:00Interview with National Best-Selling Author Naleighna Kai<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhs_cTgXyRSaZ8SLr3S0dyDj5uZTngTrpf3ClGPIegFbBvPcBI6by1hOW_SJBVUwXfZWkL_-9RLzsv-go1bB8ybgJXkFbSYVHYArByw9isCUrt-L_DPqJkExH2BIjN9EzhjYoTXPO63k/s1600/NaleighnaKai.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 118px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503220156249978770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhs_cTgXyRSaZ8SLr3S0dyDj5uZTngTrpf3ClGPIegFbBvPcBI6by1hOW_SJBVUwXfZWkL_-9RLzsv-go1bB8ybgJXkFbSYVHYArByw9isCUrt-L_DPqJkExH2BIjN9EzhjYoTXPO63k/s200/NaleighnaKai.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with National Best-Selling Author Naleighna Kai about her newest and in my opinion her best release to date The Pleasure's All Mine. Sit back relax and read more about this dynamic woman doing her best to bring us fabulous women with curves.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">*****Contest Alert*****<br />Leave a comment on Naleighna Kai's interview by September 30, 2010 and be entered to win a copy of The Pleasure's All Mine. See side panel for contest details. For a second chance to win a copy of The Pleasure's All Mine visit the <a href="http://www.sexyebonybbwaabookclub.com/">Sexy Ebony BBW African American Book Club</a> site and enter the August 2010 Featured Author Contest.</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1) How long have you been writing? </span></strong>I started writing in December of 1999, so that makes it 11 years for writing and this year is the 10th Anniversary of my first published novel.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff6666;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">2) What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time?</span> </span></strong>I met someone on the internet who challenged me to write after he had sent me poetry, erotic poetry, and erotic short stories. It was a spark when I wrote him back and then my minister (also an author), Sesvalah, encouraged me to continue to write as part of my sexual abuse therapy. My second novel, She Touched My Soul, was all about that healing process. I’ve writing ever since and each book mirrors some aspect of my life or some question about my life that I’m trying to answer.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3) Why did you chose to feature plus size heroines in your novels.</span></strong><br />Because I’m a plus-size woman. There’s already enough books that wrote about slender women as heroines and woman my size as mothers, aunties, best friends, etc. I wanted women size 14 and up to take center stage, and feel good about it.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4) We will be giving away copies of The Pleasure Is All Mine on both the BBW Reviews Author Interview blog and The Sexy Ebony BBW AA Book Club site. Tell us a little about The Pleasure Is All Mine and the fierce plus size character in your novel. Why should readers run out and get their copy of your book today.<br /></span></strong>Because it’s the best book I’ve written to date. The majority of the people who have read all of my books love this one the most. I had fun writing this novel, took my time. My national bestselling novel, Every Woman Needs a Wife, was written in four days--four Fridays in a row from 8p.m.- to 6 a.m. at a little hole in the wall on the South Side of Chicago. I took my time with The Pleasure’s All Mine. Raven is a lot like me in some ways, nothing like me in other. She’s an author, raised by two women who were together for several years, has an author son, owns her own publishing company, has traveled to Hawaii and is looking for love. Hmmmm, but some of the experiences that she has in the book are pure fiction. Pierce, the Castle, the married couple who “conditions” her for that one night as a Maid of the Castle. When a meal is good, sometimes people will say, “guuuurl, you stuck your foot in those greens…” Well, I stuck my a$$ in this book, because it feels good to me, as an avid reader. I wrote something I like to read over and over. And because of this book I understand how and why my brother and sister never felt that I was actually their sister for all these years. I finally forgave them.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5) You self-published The Pleasure’s All Mine through Macro Publishing Group. But before we get into Macro Publishing Group and the other side of the fierce woman you are, why did you decide to self-publish The Pleasure’s All Mine?</span></strong><br />Because this novel was itching to get out. I’m in between publishing deals right now and it’s been four years since my last release. When an author is out of a reader’s eye too long…well, let’s just say it’s harder to make a comeback. I started off self-published before getting the deal with an imprint of Simon & Schuster. While waiting, I just went back to the familiar and I’m out there hitting the literary chit’lin circuit so “Naleighna Kai” stays out there; meets new people and greets old friends.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6) Tell us a little about Macro Publishing and its various activities both in and outside the literary community.</span></strong> When I wrote my first novel, More Than Enough, I was so excited about the writing process and starting my own company, that I wanted everyone in my life to write. I started my best friend to writing, my minister to writing, my son to writing, my dog to writing (mind you, I didn’t have a dog), but I was elated that I could do something I never imagined doing. I published a few other people before realizing that babysitting other people’s children can be more costly and time-consuming than nurturing your own, and it put the thing that I finally found a connection to on the back burner. I wasn’t writing as much. Through it all, I found out that I love doing something else just as much as writing--marketing and promotion. So I shifted my focus away from publishing others, helped the current wave of authors with Macro to start their own houses and publish their own books, then moved into the realm of publicity and event planning--all literary related. I’m loving it. I’ve connected with major sponsors such as Loreal, Kama Sutra, Harley Davidson and all of the major publishing house who have been crucial to the success of The Cavalcade of Authors and my other signature events.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7) Writing wise what is next for Naleighna Kai. Is there another plus size heroine in your future?</span></strong> My next novels are: Slaves of Heaven and Rich Woman’s Fetish. I think all of my lead characters will have some “weight on them” with a “close to slender side kick.” There are enough authors who write about size 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 already. Not so much on 14 and up. And truthfully, when I find that someone writes that a character is voluptuous or curvy, my mind does not go to 0-12, I picture someone like me.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8) And what is next for Lissa Woodson, the mother, writer, and entrepreneur behind Naleighna Kai?<br /></span></strong>Right now, I’m working on my next novel, Slaves of Heaven, which is totally different than what I normally write. My son is home from Nashville, so it’s been a bit of a challenge to find the mother-son dynamic now that he’s a “grown ass man.” I’m currently the publicist for L.A. Banks and for Sea Lion Book and it’s forcing me to get a handle on the young adult novel world--which is different than what I’m used to. I’m also still doing publicity work and touring to promote, The Pleasure’s All Mine and the rest of my books, along with my son and my minister, Sesvalah, with whom I co-wrote, Speak it into Existence--an inspirational book.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9) What is a typical day like in Lissa Woodson's world. How do you manage time for self along with everything else?</span></strong> I work a 9 to 5 at an international law firm, I’m the publicist to New York Times bestselling author, L.A. Banks, myself as Naleighna Kai, my son, NAACP Image Award Nominee, and my minister, Rev. Renee Sesvalah Cobb-Dishman.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10)What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer? </span></strong>Settling down and finishing one novel at a time. I have several “nearly finished” projects that haven’t made it to finish status because the next idea comes in so strong and takes over. I finally made a commitment to myself not to start the next book or work on one of the back burner projects until I finish what’s on my plate right this minute. It’s a challenge, but I’m making it work.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11) What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your entire career?</span></strong> Learning the difference between someone who considers you an associate and one who considers you a friend. Learning the difference between giving your time and sacrificing yourself. Learning that saying Yes to yourself might mean saying No to someone else. Compartmentalizing my time so that I’m more effective at my day job, being an author, event planner, publicist, and balancing my dreams and goals and checking them off one by one.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12) Where do you see yourself a year from now? </span></strong>Releasing my next novel, traveling to promote the book and having a whole lot of fun, writing, doing marketing and promotion work for some wonderful people, about 100 pounds lighter (I’ll still be plus size, though!)<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">13) What are you reading now? </span></strong>As I type, I’m just finishing up, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted by E. Lynn Harris. A wonderful memoir, up there with the memoir of Diane Carroll (The Legs are the Last to Go) and Susan D. Peters’ Sweet Liberia: Lessons from the Coalpot.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">14) Who are your favorite authors? </span></strong>Octavia Butler, L.A. Banks, Leslie Esdaile Banks, Iris Johansen, Sandra Brown, Sidney Sheldon, Harrold Robbins, E. Lynn Harris, Beverly Jenkins, Brenda Jackson, Rochelle Alers, there’s so many that I could take a whole page!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">15) How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong><br />They can reach me at <a href="http://www.naleighnakai.com/">http://www.naleighnakai.com/</a> or <a href="http://www.macrompg.com/">http://www.macrompg.com/</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">16) What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you? </span></strong><br />I’m enjoying the journey. If someone told me that twelve years ago I would be a national best-selling author, I would have choked on my drink. But since I started, I’ve learned a lot about me, what I’m made of, what I’m willing to put up with, and to send folks who don’t mean me any good--packing. I’ve met so many wonderful people, my favorite authors, people who love my books, people who still have an eyebrow raised trying to understand where I’m coming from. I’ve become a better person for the experience, and feel that in some way, I’m living my life’s purpose.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">17) If you could tell one thing to every aspiring writer what would it be?<br /></span></strong>It wouldn’t be just one thing, aspiring writers can visit <a href="http://www.naleighnakai.com/">http://www.naleighnakai.com/</a> and see everything I have to say to them (I’ve put up resources, told of my journey and give advice under the resources for aspiring writers section).<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About Naleighna Kai:</span></strong> Naleighna Kai, a Chicago native is a motivational speaker, the national bestselling author of Every Woman Needs a Wife, author of The Pleasure’s All Mine, and co-author of Speak it into Existence with Sesvalah. She started writing in December of 1999, self-publishing her first novel and landing a book deal with an imprint of Simon & Schuster. She works for a major international law firm and is the CEO of Macro Marketing & Promotions Group, and consultant to several national bestselling and aspiring writers. Naleighna is the mother of J. L. Woodson, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature for his book, Superwoman’s Child: Son of a Single Mother. She is currently working on her next novels, Slaves of Heaven and Rich Woman’s Fetish.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">*****Contest Alert*****<br />Leave a comment on Naleighna Kai's interview by September 30, 2010 and be entered to win a copy of The Pleasure's All Mine. See side panel for contest details</span></strong>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-81394235319164546252010-05-01T03:48:00.000-07:002010-05-01T04:14:13.615-07:00Interview with Author C Leigh Purtill<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkhUCkIJ1gU0mzDsepLS5TH3WbbfKFKnrblO8DJTdTLAEt5n5DLWl0AFP6EqBmPo_wxLrkSBpofPjIaXMvpItZibDum-9dbcITRPlK8Wqsqp7RkZoym7iFcPD0Zu9fxhIj0xjKKWTGuRk/s1600/Ginny+Cooper+Final+smedium+375.png"></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKbBgtH-UUYqxkxEWXuTvo75XLs_SxGO-B2meaMuNKJeocjS1Mv74ji7pMbGMxUhDSfxvdQBgDEM083QWY64ZjFC41Fk7JZzAjN3BKEIyypqAo9IFrLkk-pao_oqH80Fs9nGgS5RH9Kk/s1600/Purtill+jpg.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 187px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466258080528017042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKbBgtH-UUYqxkxEWXuTvo75XLs_SxGO-B2meaMuNKJeocjS1Mv74ji7pMbGMxUhDSfxvdQBgDEM083QWY64ZjFC41Fk7JZzAjN3BKEIyypqAo9IFrLkk-pao_oqH80Fs9nGgS5RH9Kk/s200/Purtill+jpg.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQP4V7TaFrWUeWIW8SCgiomonYEQxGJ8ArHUv0ipHrkI0LJOSSOEvnCGTsxKuRljlAUqXHFFLUz1z8eiCCvvsmh6URT9VGCoDCFFa2Hq3O3ESePPN7mtrtz4dXQi90vAJD4zT6B2xMYw/s1600/AboutVee+jpg.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 137px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466257882954407506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGQP4V7TaFrWUeWIW8SCgiomonYEQxGJ8ArHUv0ipHrkI0LJOSSOEvnCGTsxKuRljlAUqXHFFLUz1z8eiCCvvsmh6URT9VGCoDCFFa2Hq3O3ESePPN7mtrtz4dXQi90vAJD4zT6B2xMYw/s200/AboutVee+jpg.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with C. Leigh Purtill, author of the critically acclaimed All About Vee. Take a seat and read on as we chat with Purtill about Vee, the entire Fat Girls In LA trilogy and her literary journey as a whole.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">*****Contest Alert*****<br />Leave a comment on C. Leigh Purtill's interview by June 30, 2010 and be entered to win a copy of one of the books we have available. See side panel for contest details</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1) Tell us about yourself?</span></strong> I've been in LA for about 10 years but I still consider myself a New Yorker! I grew up on the east coast and moved around a lot and that has really informed my writing. Most of my characters are movers or otherwise fish-out-of-water like I was. I like that I've had a number of careers in my life which has also had an influence on my books. I've worked in engineering and marketing, film and television, and some other odd jobs that have given me insight into terrific characters and their worlds. Currently I write and teach ballet, which is my other great passion.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2) How long have you been writing? What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? How long have you been writing books with plus size characters?</span></strong> I began writing screenplays in film school but after 5 years and 12 scripts, I couldn't come up with the high concept story I needed to break in to that end of the business. I had an idea for a story about 3 young women who moved to LA and I realized that it had to be a novel, not a script. The characters of the Vees - Veronica, Val, and Virginia- were based on seeing a woman standing on the corner in Beverly Hills who didn't look like the typical woman who would be standing there: she wasn't super skinny with designer clothes and spiky heeled Jimmy Choos. I wondered who she might be, what she might be doing in this area which was known for talent agencies - and Veronica and her friends developed from there. The book that resulted was the first I ever wrote!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3) Positive images of plus size young adults are hard to come by especially in the literary world but you have one in All About Vee. Please tell us a little about your book All About Vee? Why did you decide to write this book? Why did you choose to make Vee plus-size?</span></strong> VEE is the story of Veronica May, an 18 year old theater actress from Arizona who moves to LA to become a star in the movies after she learns her dead mother had attempted to do the same thing. She leaves behind 2 of her very best friends, who are also plus-size, as well as her father and his impending marriage. In LA, she finds that her weight is a major deterrent to getting work and making friends - but not in the ways that she would have expected. As a young woman, I too struggled with my weight - I have always had issues with it and when I moved to LA, I felt a little like Veronica: no matter how good I thought I looked, I was always too large and that was really amazing to me! Especially coming from a city like New York which is incredibly diverse! So in my mind, every woman in LA feels like a "fat girl." And from the responses I've gotten, there are lots of people who agree with me. :)<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4) The Rise of Ginny Cooper is second book in the Fat Girls In LA trilogy can give us a bit of a preview of the second bo</span><span style="color:#ff0000;">ok</span></strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">.</span> This book picks up 3 months after Vee ends and is told from Ginny's point of view. Ginny and Val move out to LA to be with Veronica and pursue their own dreams. Ginny has always wanted to be a writer and has a screenplay based on the Vees' life in Arizona. She would also love to have a boyfriend, which is something she never had back in her hometown. Ginny's experiences in LA - being asked to change your script for someone else, meeting men who want something from you, being someone's assistant - are all things a LOT of people trying to break into this industry do. Only for Ginny, they are slightly different - and more personal -because a lot of them have to with her size. But in the end, it's positive because I believe all 3 girls are positive role models for all shapes and sizes.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5) In January of 2010 The Rise of Ginny Cooper was made available on The Story Siren Website. Any plans to do this again for those that missed it in January. Are you any closer to finding a publishing home for the sequel?</span></strong> I would love to put all 4 sections of the novel together and release it as one. I'm still looking into that. No publisher yet but I'm confident I will move forward with it (and the 3rd book which focuses on Val) regardless. Digital publishing may be the way to go.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6) Outside of the Fat Girls in LA Trilogy are there any other books featuring plus size characters in the works?</span></strong> I'd actually like to do some short stories with my Vees - I have lived with them and loved them for so long that I find it hard to let go of them. So I might be doing that.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7) What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer?</span></strong> Getting noticed! There are a lot of books out there and not a lot of publisher marketing dollars so writers are called on to do most of it themselves. The writing is the easy part, actually. I have learned to write really quickly and to edit quickly and to love rewriting but when it comes to promotion, that is tricky. Not just for me but for most writers. We are predominantly introspective, shy people so asking us to promote ourselves is hard to do. The internet helps since we can hide behind our words or an avatar!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8) Where do you see yourself a year from now?</span></strong> With 2 books out from a new young adult series (they will be out in September 2010) and a new publisher for my own original works, including the sequels to Vee. Still writing, still teaching!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9) What are you reading now?</span></strong> I read a lot of YA books for research - so I know what's in the market and what books teens think are great. In that YA genre, I do enjoy reading books with plus-size characters. On my nightstand is Allen Zadoff's "Food, Girls and Other Things I Can't Have" which has a plus-size male protagonist and is based on Allen's own high school years. Allen is a great, funny guy!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10) Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> Some of my very favorite authors write with plus-size heroines: Meg Cabot, Jennifer Weiner and Liza Palmer, to name a few. I also love genre writers like Stephen King and Ray Bradbury and women's fiction writers like Elizabeth Berg and Anne Tyler. I could probably go on and on- I have really eclectic tastes in books!<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11) How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong> I love to hear from readers via email or Facebook. My website is <a href="http://www.leighpurtill.com/">http://www.leighpurtill.com/</a>.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12) What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</span></strong> I truly believe the most gorgeous women in the world are those who love their bodies, no matter what their size.<br /><br />About C. Leigh Purtill: For a complete bio visit <a href="http://www.leighpurtill.com/AboutLeigh.html">http://www.leighpurtill.com/AboutLeigh.html</a></div></div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-80069156297944507952010-04-18T16:58:00.000-07:002010-04-18T17:09:36.550-07:00Winners AnnouncementIt is that time again. A few of our ongoing contest have come to an end so we will be sending out a few books. But first let me say thank you to everyone that visited BBW Reviews Author Interviews. Your visits t the this blog and the BBW Reviews site are the reason why we are determined to highlight books with images of real woman.<br /><br />And The Winner Is<br /><br />Leni - lenikaye@.......<br /><br />Leni has won a copy of Now You Wanna Come Back by Anna Black and a copy of The Giving Season by Rebecca Brock<br /><br />Please forward your mailing address to us directly at contact@bbwreviewers.comDesireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-4486426412247167452010-03-20T21:16:00.000-07:002010-03-20T21:58:38.377-07:00Interview with Bestselling Author Jennie Shortridge<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MtB4W_0m1oQweLC9qhHJkuzz8SP7nh2mcOWfckuORsj4ueB3IZUwwlcWPVWnUVgXi8jbQ-_ZCToGn3ZAjTKM2bWFefDDlG8pJsK4zGjxMXJK3gGw-BGlYOnOElw3p9QpX4Fac8JY7Yg/s1600-h/Jennie_shortridge2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450942267555810642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7MtB4W_0m1oQweLC9qhHJkuzz8SP7nh2mcOWfckuORsj4ueB3IZUwwlcWPVWnUVgXi8jbQ-_ZCToGn3ZAjTKM2bWFefDDlG8pJsK4zGjxMXJK3gGw-BGlYOnOElw3p9QpX4Fac8JY7Yg/s200/Jennie_shortridge2.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with Bestselling Author Jennie Shortridge about her Curvy Book <em>Eating Heaven</em>, her current release and her literary journey<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">*****Contest Alert*****<br />Leave a comment on Jennie Shortridge's interview by April 30, 2010 and be entered to win a copy of all 4 of Jennie Shortridges books. See side panel for contest details</span></strong><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1)Tell us about yourself? </span></strong>I am a middle child (other middle children know what that entails) and I grew up in a household that had its share of stuff. My mom suffered from mental illness and we sometimes had a tough go of it. My three sisters made life so much better; we were and are very close. I have lived in the Pacific Northwest for eight years now, but grew up mostly in Denver. My husband, who is from Australia, and I met as musicians twenty years ago and still like to spend time in our home studio. We have no kids but we do have one very spoiled cat.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2)How long have you been writing?</span></strong> I’ve always written stories and poems, and songs as a working musician for much of my adult life. I’ve been writing as a sole profession since 1995 when I burned out on corporate America. I started out as a freelance magazine writer and published in Mademoiselle, Glamour, Natural Home, and a bunch of other magazines and newspapers.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3)What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? </span></strong>I seem to have a need to make sense of the world, to make sense of people and the things they do, undoubtedly because of my childhood. I’ve always written as a way to do this, in some way or another. I wrote short stories that were largely unpublished for years; the first time I thought to try a novel was in 1997, after one of the few got published and a publisher asked if I might write a novel based on it. I acted as though I’d already thought of that, and discovered on page one that I was made to write “long” instead of “short.”<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4)Your novel <em>Eating Heaven</em> features a plus size heroine and has received excellent review both in the US and overseas. Tell us a little about Eating Heaven and its plus size heroine.</span></strong> <em>Eating Heaven</em> has at its heart a large and lonely food magazine writer, Ellie, who has been reduced to writing “lighten up your French favorites till they taste like cardboard” recipes to make a living. When her favorite uncle is diagnosed with terminal cancer, she is his only option as caregiver and moves in with him, cooking all his favorite foods “one last time” and discovering family secrets in the process.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5)Why did you decide to feature a plus size heroine in <em>Eating Heaven</em>?</span></strong><br />Ellie is a good eater, like me. She loves to cook, loves to eat, and loves to feed others. Her generosity was best portrayed in a woman with some substance, I thought, but I left her actual size up to readers, saying only that she felt too big, and had been called big her entire life. Most of us, I think, feel too big, or too something, and I wanted to call attention to that in our anorexic-crazed society.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6)Are there any plans to write more books featuring plus size characters?<br /></span></strong>Characters come to me as who they are, and they are all different body shapes and sizes. In my current book, <span style="color:#ff0000;">When She Flew</span>, Officer Jessica Villareal would really like to fit back into size 12 uniform pants, but that doesn’t rule her life. Her mission in the story is to save a girl in trouble as a way to make up for the loss of her own daughter.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7)Your most recent novel, <em>When She Flew</em>, is the story of an Iraq war veteran raising his daughter off the radar and the woman who forced with the choice of tearing this family apart. Tell us a little about this novel and how you came up with the concept for this novel. </span></strong><em>When She Flew</em> is based on true events that took place in the woods near Portland, OR in 2004, when police found a Vietnam vet raising his 12-year-old daughter in an encampment. I was mesmerized by the story at the time, and in 2007 made contact with the police sergeant in charge of the search team, and we worked together for the next year as I created fictional characters and subplots, while using true police and forest details.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8)What was the biggest challenge you faced while writing <em>When She Flew</em>?<br /></span></strong>I had to continually figure out what to fictionalize and what to use from the actual story. I didn’t want to write about the real people involved because they’d been hassled so much by the media. I ended up with Ray, an Iraq war vet dealing with PTSD, his daughter Lindy, who is totally enamored of birds and nature, and Jess, a second generation cop whose own teenage daughter has left home with her baby. These characters all relate to each other on many levels, and the themes of parenting, safety, security, and how society views alternative lifestyles rose to the top.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9)When will your next book be released? If you can, tell us a little about your next book?</span></strong> The next book will be summer 2011, and is another fictionalization of true events when a man went missing for six weeks, and was found many states away suffering from amnesia. In the news story, his fiancée has gone to get him and bring him home and start again, even though he had no memory of her. I loved that story and wanted to know what happened next, so I’m writing it!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10)What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer?</span></strong> It’s a challenging profession in many ways, from learning how to write a novel-length work to trying to get it published. I think my biggest challenge now is finding time to write while also getting out into the world to promote the book I’ve most recently published. It’s the hardest job I’ve ever had, and the one I’ve loved the most.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11)Where do you see yourself a year from now? </span></strong>My new book (which I’ve tentatively titled The Amnesiac’s Love Story) will be almost out and I’ll be gearing up for a tour and writing the next next book. Hopefully I’ll have sneaked in a vacation to somewhere beachy between now and then!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12)What are you reading now? Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> On my nightstand is The Girl Who Fell to Earth by Heidi Durrow. There are so many great authors these days, that when I think of my favorites, they’re always the ones from my childhood and young adulthood: Mark Twain, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Barbara Kingsolver, Alice Walker, John Irving, Tom Robbins.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">13)Tell us about any online and offline personal appearances you have planned </span><span style="color:#ff0000;">over the next couple of months. Where can readers connect with you up close and personal?</span> </strong>I’m always doing events and teaching, and these are always posted on the events page of my web site, www.jennieshortridge.com. I’m also on Facebook pretty much every day! Come see me.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">14)How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website? </span></strong>First and foremost, I connect with most readers on Facebook these days, and I also have a web site with tons of background material and info, <a href="http://www.jennieshortridge.com/">www.jennieshortridge.com</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">15)What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?<br /></span></strong>That they are the reason I write. I love my readers, and connect on a deep level with so many of them. I love their emails and letters and notes. They make my day!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About The Author:</span></strong> Author Jennie Shortridge has published four bestselling novels: <em>When She Flew (2009), Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe (2008), Eating Heaven (2005) and Riding with the Queen, (NAL 2003)</em>. When not writing books, teaching writers workshops, or volunteering with kids, Jennie stays busy as a founding member of Seattle7Writers.org, a collective of Northwest authors devoted both to raising funds for community literacy projects and to raising awareness of Northwest literature. On occasion, Jennie and her husband Matt record music in their Seattle home studio.Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-49569010668048773292010-02-27T19:48:00.000-08:002010-02-27T20:18:43.800-08:00Interview with Author David L<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6B3X0vVFXytkW7QMMzFa5K3pZDSOndLcEte_NT9Xbkf6YY4yxJmem5WBUE4FtMja1OSz14A2tgRbh1zHCf8yvtexO8Jmo2Sp80kCj7icEBf84RKqcvWCvG0gGmeNgwl66NqrisDVc2gg/s1600-h/David+L.+Promo+Photo.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443143893748618962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6B3X0vVFXytkW7QMMzFa5K3pZDSOndLcEte_NT9Xbkf6YY4yxJmem5WBUE4FtMja1OSz14A2tgRbh1zHCf8yvtexO8Jmo2Sp80kCj7icEBf84RKqcvWCvG0gGmeNgwl66NqrisDVc2gg/s200/David+L.+Promo+Photo.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with David L, Author of My Life Is A Movie, Over Your Dead Body, and Chalk Outline Confessions<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>***** Contest Alert *****<br />Leave a comment on this interview and be entered to win any of the books we have available. For contest details please read the side panel. don't forget to leave an email address with your comment. We can't send you a book if we can't contact the winner.</strong></span><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1)Tell us about yourself? </span></strong>I am an author signed to my own publishing imprint, Total Package Publications – a company which is actively seeking writers that are both serious about their craft as well as having a fresh, new story to tell to the masses. Before my first title, OVER YOUR DEAD BODY was published, I was writing for syndicated magazines as well as testing the free agent literary market via my articles based on subjects ranging from working with at risk youth to becoming an author in a very saturated market. Presently, I am working with a film company which is adapting my first title into a movie and is expected to begin shooting sometime later this year. Besides all of the above, I am an avid writer who also enjoys touring in order to get my books into the hands of all book readers interested in what I have to say.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2)How long have you been writing? What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? </span></strong>I have been writing for about eight years. I began my first book, IT’S LIKE BUTTER, BABY sometime in 2002. By the spring of 2004, it was completed and released through a publishing company in Canada. Although it was not properly marketed or distributed, it was well received and offered me an opportunity to recoup my investment and brand both myself as an individual, and my company, Total Package Publications. I first realized I wanted to write and had the GOD-given talent to do so way back in grade school. While everyone was playing Atari and trying to get a paper route, I was making and selling comic books to the neighborhood kids. Not just writing them. I was coming up with the storyline, cover design, character outline – everything! I was about eleven or twelve. That eventually evolved into other writing projects such as the school newspaper. I would write about current and controversial topics that plagued my community on an ongoing basis. I appreciated the reaction of my peers and the positive feedback, so I kept writing. Eventually, my articles turned into full-scale stories.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3) You have a number of titles available. Please let our readers know which of your titles have plus size characters and their role in the books.</span></strong> Presently I have 3 titles available. They are (in order they were written): OVER YOUR DEAD BODY, CHALK OUTLINE CONFESSIONS, MY LIFE IS A MOVIE and coming sometime in June of this year – REPRESENT. Although none of the characters in my books can be defined as “plus size,” I can guarantee I do not discriminate! Whether a specific character is of a certain race, heritage, questioning their sexuality and/or “plus size,” it is what makes up our population, so consequently, there will always be room in my books for these individuals. In my second title, CHALK OUTLINE CONFESSIONS the main character previously dealt with what she considered to be an obsession with being overweight. As a result, she became fixated on going to the gym daily and eventually developed a clinical disorder over her fixation on weight.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4) Why did you chose to feature plus size heroines in your novels. </span></strong>I did not consciously decide to choose a once “plus-size” heroine in any of my titles. Whenever I create the storyline for a book, I first draft a synopsis on what the character traits will be as well as how I envision what each character will look like. Francine (the main character in CHALK OUTLINE CONFESSIONS) is an example. Without giving away too much information, my purpose for this novel was to both enlighten as well as entertain my readers with a character who grew (not literally!) with each chapter – thereby also developing new twists and turns for my reading audience to appreciate in order to see the before and after continuum of her growth.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5)Tell us about your most recent novel My Life Is A Movie? Why should readers run to get a copy of this book? Does it feature a plus size heroine?</span></strong> My newest book, MY LIFE IS A MOVIE was made available during the summer of 2009 and takes the reader back into time. The exact year is 1988. A time when life was simpler, yet an era being duplicated today with fashion, slang, and culture. I delve into the lives of three High School seniors, each going in separate directions of their lives. Consequently, choices are made and based on those choices; life events are forever altered to match those choices. The general theme is upbeat and action-packed, and everyone who reads the book will be able to identify with at least one of the main characters. Although none of the MAIN characters are “plus-sized,” many of the supporting characters can be described as such.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6)Do you plan to write more books featuring plus size characters? </span></strong>Unless I write a non-fiction novel on myself (which is very unlikely to ever happen!), both plus-sized men and women will always have a place in any of my future titles. The reason is simple and straightforward: my intention whenever writing a book is to provide an alternate reality for my reader to delve into a peaceful place. A place which includes ALL types of individuals – both Black and White, large and small, all the way to shy and outgoing. Thus far, I can say with confidence with my present titles – I have a perfect record!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7)When will your next book be released? Tell us a little about your next book? Will it feature a plus size character? </span></strong>The name of my next title, REPRESENT is expected to be released sometime around mid June of this year. The book takes place in modern-day New York and follows the life of a young man who recently witnessed his older brother get a life sentence for his numerous crimes. Now little brother has a choice: take over the family drug business or be considered an outcast to the ones that has raised him. His once promising football career over, he makes the choice to enter the family business – along with all of the dire consequences and pitfalls that come along with that way of life. A critical life choice has to be made within the storyline as he is faced with a major decision – leave his life of crime or end up another statistic. Like all of my other book titles, this book has its share of “plus-sized” characters for everyone to enjoy!<br /><br /><strong>8) What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer?</strong> My biggest challenge faced as a writer is getting individuals to understand that this business is not as simple as picking up a pen and paper, thinking this is an overnight hobby or spur-of-the-moment idea! I continue to be amazed over how similar the publishing industry is compared to the music industry. In the murky world of publishing, distribution and niche marketing is key. No matter how well you’ve written a body of work, no one will ever know about you unless it is distributed and promoted correctly. Secondly, you need to establish a core fan base. Readers can sometimes be very fickle and possibly forget about you when that next “hot” author comes out. My goal from the very beginning was, and still is to stay humble and appreciative of those that supported my vision from day one. A special “shout-out” to those that I am referring to right now…you know who you are!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9) Where do you see yourself a year from now? </span></strong>A year from now, I see myself concentrating more on putting out that next hot author of the decade. In order to do this, constant and continued dedication will be implemented both towards my writing as well as my publishing company. A year from now, my plan is to take over the literary market. A year from now, I will be reading this interview and telling whoever may be next to me, “I TOLD YOU SO!”<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10) What are you reading now? Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> There are no books that I am reading at this moment. The time it takes for me to read someone else’s book is negatively taking away the time that I need to work on my next novel. Consequently, I do not remember the last title I have read from anyone. One of my favorite authors of the past include: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. His book Message To The Black Man can be summed up in one word: CLASSIC!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11)Tell us about the online and offline personal appearances you have planned over the next couple of months. Where can readers connect with you up close and personal. </span></strong>Some of my upcoming personal appearances this year include: Delaware Black Expo on April 24th, The Urban Arts Festival in Queens, NY on May 1st and 2nd, Positively Dover Festival in Dover, Delaware on June 26th, the Harlem Book Fair in Harlem, NY on July 17th, and the Brooklyn Book Festival on September 12th. Interested attendees can visit my website for updated information.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12)How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong> Readers can get up close and personal with me in a variety of ways: email, website, author sign-ins, etc. I am very much in “the streets” and do everything possible to take questions for upcoming writers trying to get into the industry. Have a question for me or want to comment on any of my novels? Get in touch with me via email at: contacttpp@totalpackagepublications.com, author website: www.totalpackagepublications.com, or postal mail: P.O. Box 3237, C/O David L., Mount Vernon, NY 10553.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">13)What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</span></strong> I try to keep my eye to the streets whenever possible. When I’m not writing, I am looking for every opportunity to brand myself and take my writing skills to the next level. Activities that I’m constantly involved in include public speaking in the areas of race relations, self-publishing, and effective marketing and my personal passion – working with at-risk foster care youth in the community. I am often asked what the last book I’ve read was and my answer is always the same: “the time it takes me to read someone else’s book, I could be hard at work writing my next one!”<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About David L:</span></strong> David L., author and publisher, holds a BS. in Communications and Human Relations and a Masters in Social Work with a concentration in clinical administration.<br /><br />David L. has authored several published articles relating to race relations; "How To" articles in becoming a self-published au-thor. David L. is also very active in his community and participates in public speaking engagements with various schools and foster care agencies."Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-16766255500881342282010-02-21T20:08:00.000-08:002010-02-21T21:04:57.692-08:00Interview with Anna Black, author of Now You Wanna Come Back<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYUwTitx_6u7sbBotUdi12asPvBeHAyK-lk08EcxHd40kdJZ980qxwv2vPG1u8K1Sb2gzvj-mPKLPOay-u9ksrKIFC25gZzCPSpW9wLG4R8n_67-PmEYpY12tJi4cMt8E5GL1P6-bIOA/s1600-h/Delphine+1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 120px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440927201697460082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYUwTitx_6u7sbBotUdi12asPvBeHAyK-lk08EcxHd40kdJZ980qxwv2vPG1u8K1Sb2gzvj-mPKLPOay-u9ksrKIFC25gZzCPSpW9wLG4R8n_67-PmEYpY12tJi4cMt8E5GL1P6-bIOA/s200/Delphine+1.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with Anna Black, author of Now You Wanna Come Back. Learn more about Anna's books, her future goals, and her literary journey.<br /><br /><div><div align="center"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>***Contest Alert***</strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Leave a comment (with an email address) and be entered to win a copy of Now you Wanna Come Back by Anna Black. For Contest Details see side panel. This contest ends March 31, 2010.</strong> </span></div><br /><div><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1) Tell us about yourself?</span></strong> I am originally from Chicago, but I now reside in Texas with my husband and daughter.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2) How long have you been writing?</span></strong> I have been writing a little over ten years now.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3) What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time?</span></strong> Stress...really. I was going through a divorce with my ex-husband and writing was a way to relax.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>4) Your novel, Now You Wanna Come Back, featured a plus size heroine. Please tell us about this novel and why you choose to feature a plus-size</strong> </span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>heroine</strong><strong>.</strong></span> Well, my main character Leila is based on a plus size sister who wasn't always full-figured, but after marriage and settling into her life, she put on a few pounds. She got pregnant and that added on more pounds, and by then Devon, her husband no longer wanted to be with her. He treated her horribly and took away her self esteem. Hurt and ravaged, she didn't believe that Rayshon, the new guy was interested in her full-figured frame. Rayshon came along and treated her the way her husband Devon should have treated her, giving her back her confidence, causing Devon, to want her back. This book also offers a twist, because drama brews with Rayson and Leila's relationship too when Katrina a woman from Rayshon's past shows up out of the blue. In the end you'll wonder who Leila will go back to.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5) How did you get your first publishing deal?</span></strong> Well, I self-published first with a company called DeNovo Publishing and it was awful because my book released September 2008, but the company sent me an email November 2008 saying they were going out of business and my book didn't go anywhere. After a few months with that disappointment on my shoulders, I was still determined and I self-published with Infinity Publishing and my only complaint with them was having my book being a POD, that limited who could order my book and that kind of held me back too because places I wanted to have signings wouldn't order a POD book. Then after a few months I meet up with Tamika Newhouse, a driven sister who had just started her own publishing company and we just hit it off. I signed with her on Delphine Publications and I'm happy because there are no restrictions and I don't have to promote and push my novels by myself. I have a publishing company that helps me in marketing, promoting, etc.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6) Are there any more books featuring plus-size heroines in the works?</span></strong> Not in the works, but complete. I have my next book Luck of the Draw that will release April 2010. I have two others that are complete on called Truth Is and the other Relax Your Mind. Don't have a release date for those two yet, but they also feature plus-sized heroines.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>7) Tell us a little about your</strong> </span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>next release Luck of the Draw?</strong><strong> When can interested readers purchase a copy of your book?</strong></span> Luck of the Draw is about friendship, jealousy and trust. My main character Kennedy is a beautiful plus-sized sister that is envied by her size four bomb-shell best friend Cherae. This is a twist because no one would expect the slim, gorgeous friend to be jealous of the big girls life, but one man, Julian gives Cherae a rude awakening when she has to face that fact that skinny don't make you better. Friendships and relationships are destroyed in this tale, but a major lesson is learned for all at the end.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>8) What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer?</strong></span> Getting people to give my book a chance I would say..lol. I am promoting my book everywhere I go, by giving out cards, brochures, etc and folks, even if they are avid readers are scared to try someone new. Its hard always trying to convince someone that your book is a good read, because they think, of course its good to you because you wrote it...lol. That is my biggest challenge I think, but I still push.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9) Where do you see yourself a year from now?</span></strong> Still writing and growing as an authoress. This is a tough industry and I know it will take me more than one more year to really see the fruit of my works. Now in five years, I see myself everywhere, on every shelf, having a fan base of a major author.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10) What are you reading now? Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> Right now I'm reading The Bum Magnet, by K.L. Brady and I'm really enjoying it. I don't have a favorite author honestly because I enjoy so many novels, so a favorite author I don't have, but my favorite book is The Coldest Winter Ever.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11) Tell us about the on line and offline personal appearances you have planned over the next couple of months. Where can readers connect with you up close and personal? How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?<br /></span></strong>I will be at Jokae's African American Books, 3223 W. Camp Wisdom Road, Dallas, Texas 75237 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. and AAMBC 1st Annual Bowl-On-A-Lane For Literacy Forum Bowl, Grand Prairie, Texas, February 27, 2010 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. Readers can catch up with me by email at annablackreaders@ymail.com, on Facebook and Twitter and my website is www.annablack.net and my publishing company is www.delphinepublications.com.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12) What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</span></strong> That I'm easy going and laid back. I would love to attend book club meetings in person or by phone to get more readers reading my work. When I write I try to make realistic stories for average, curvy, plus-sized, full-figured women like myself. We all want and need to be love and I want average everyday women to feel the same butterflies reading my novels thinking this could happen to me, verses the hot sexy slim chicks that always get the guy.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About Anna Black:</span></strong> Anna has been writing for ten years and she has completed a number of romance/drama/suspense stories. She started writing short stories and poems, and moved over to full length novels about six years ago. Her talents have been enjoyed by a select few in the past, now she is here to deliver her page turners to you. Originally from the southside of Chicago, she was raised to dream big, and now her dreams of publishing her work has come true. "Now you Wanna Come Back," is her debut release, but Anna is not taking a break. She is anxious to also release "Luck of the Draw," April 23, 2010. Anna is here to WOW her readers, and give the readers of today, something to talk about.<br /><br />She currently resides in Texas with her husband Chris and daughter Tyra. </div></div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-88861414866753888832010-02-14T15:57:00.000-08:002010-02-14T20:51:01.789-08:00Interview with Author Rebecca Brock<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW74U5z-8Pp-9Gt23wRltTB06bEDcOhVIxFL3QKjSBpEZBs9aIiKt7L60lmbZlG8k48P1b6ETcgfJSm8GLoTd8jOOoykxECQQCMjekNG6uBKXDUIcBG68E2N140OMLRr35RjdHcEJlPfo/s1600-h/me3.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 131px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438327085462370178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW74U5z-8Pp-9Gt23wRltTB06bEDcOhVIxFL3QKjSBpEZBs9aIiKt7L60lmbZlG8k48P1b6ETcgfJSm8GLoTd8jOOoykxECQQCMjekNG6uBKXDUIcBG68E2N140OMLRr35RjdHcEJlPfo/s320/me3.JPG" /></a>Join us as we chat with Author Rebecca Brock about her literary journey and her new book The Giving Season. The Giving Season is a charming heartwarming love story you do not want to miss.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>****Contest Alert - Leave a comment (attached to an email address) on Rebecca Brock's interview and be entered to win a copy Of The Giving Season. This contest will end March 31st</strong></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong><br /></strong></span><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1)Tell us about yourself?</span></strong> I live a (thankfully) quiet life. I read a lot, in all kinds of genres, and I tend to be a bit “conspiracy theory” minded at times (depending on what type of non-fiction I’m into at the time). I like to cross stitch, but my attention span isn’t what it used to be, so now I mostly stitch up Christmas ornaments and smaller projects. I also crochet, even though the afghans I’ve made tend to unravel after a while. On weekends I like to catch up on my favorite TV shows (I have a weakness for wedding reality shows) and movies. Good grief, I didn’t realize I was this boring! (ha ha)<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2)How long have you been writing?</span></strong> I started writing when I was in third grade, I believe. I liked to write sequels to horror movies and “kill off” all my friends (they loved it, and thank goodness no one took it seriously). I got impatient writing in longhand and taught myself to type with the help of my aunt’s manual typewriter, an old typing textbook, and some black tape. That sped the process up a bit. I don’t know if anyone remembers those old typewriters, but I had finger muscles like you wouldn’t believe.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3)What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time?</span></strong> I honestly don’t know. I started reading at a very young age (I think I was 2) and the first novel I read was Carrie by Stephen King when I was five or so. I don’t remember what impulse made me think I could write—I just started doing it without much thought to the hows and whys.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4)Along with this interview we will be giving away a copy of The Giving Season. Tell us a little about this book and why you decided to feature a plus size heroine in this novel?</span></strong> I wanted The Giving Season to be about the importance of family, especially to someone who is alone in the world. The main character, Jessy, is on her own and lost (literally and figuratively) when she meets Michael, and his act of kindness—inviting her to share Christmas with his family—changes her life. Not only does she find a family, she finds someone who loves her. It’s hard for her to accept his sincerity, so she struggles against her own self-esteem problems in order to allow him into her life.<br /><br />I wanted to write about a plus-size heroine because I’ve struggled with weight issues all my life. I liked reading romance novels, but I’d inevitably feel disappointed (if not flat out annoyed) with the books because the heroines were always so perfect and beautiful and thin. Where was the struggle to find love? Where were the self-esteem issues and self-doubts and worries and nights of feeling lonely just because they felt they were “different” than everyone else? The heroines of those books didn’t have the emotional struggle that I wanted (needed) to read about. So I decided to write a total “wish fulfillment” novel, in which a woman like me—full-figured, shy, self-esteem-challenged—meets a wonderful guy who sees beyond all her real and imagined “flaws” and falls in love with her.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5)The Giving Season is a bit different than your other work. Your personal blog, as well as your self-published collection of short stories all fall within the horror genre. Why did you decide to step out of your norm with this novel.</span></strong> I guess there’s only so much horror you can take before your brain starts screaming “I need fluffy happy sunshiny stuff!” Writing horror helps me to exorcise my worries and fears, but writing romance is an exercise in optimism and hope. There’s always a happy ending. As much as I love writing horror, I love writing romance just as much.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>6)Do you plan to write more books featuring plus size characters? (Maybe a horror with a plus size heroine now that would definitely be</strong> </span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>interesting)</strong></span> Funnily enough, in my horror stories I leave the descriptions of my characters fairly open-ended, so the reader can fill in the blanks however they want. I do plan to write more books with plus-size characters; that’s the life I know. I’m familiar with the problems and issues than can come with being plus-sized. Plus, I think it just makes stories more interesting when the main character is struggling with the same drama as me. I might not have to worry about zombies in my life, but discovering that I can’t zip up my favorite jeans anymore? That I’m all too familiar with.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7)What is up next for Rebecca Brock?</span></strong> Do you have another book coming out anytime soon? I’m working on a few things all at once (nothing like juggling fifty balls in the air). I’m trying to finish up a final draft of a plus-size romance to submit to Pearlsong Press, as well as working on a script for my brother, David, who is a director (it’s a zombie movie, of course), and finishing up a few short stories here and there.<br /><br />I do have a story in a horror anthology called “The Best of All Flesh,” which should be available now. It’s a zombie anthology, and my story is about a guy who is stuck at his job at a youth detention facility when the world goes kablooey and the zombies attack. He has to decide between his responsibility to the kids at his job and his family, even though he doesn’t want to have to choose. My brother, Matt, inspired the story—he worked at a facility like that and told me some real horror stories about the kids.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8)What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer?</span></strong> Getting published, to be honest. When I was a teenager and full of youthful arrogance, I would send out novel manuscripts to publishing houses such as Zebra and Tor, fully expecting that my writing was good enough to be in print (this was when I was 16, mind you). I started collecting rejection slips. I couldn’t let myself think about how many other people were submitting stories and novels, and how many other people were flat-out better writers than me. I just stubbornly kept submitting my stuff—and this was in the days before the Internet, when I actually had to send hard copies of my novels through snail mail. It was an expensive, slow, frustrating process. Plus, living in the boonies put me at a real disadvantage when it came to finding/reading the few magazines that were publishing short horror stories. We have no bookstores in my town, so it was really difficult to study the market. The Internet, of course, changed the game completely.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9)Where do you see yourself a year from now?</span></strong> Hopefully talking to you again about my second or third romance novel. Getting a horror novel or two out there to publishers. Working on more scripts with my brother. Basically, I'd like life to be the same as now, only more successful and better.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10)What are you reading now? What types of books (genres) do you read in general?</span></strong> I’ve just started “Under the Dome” by Stephen King, and I’ve got a few non-fiction books in various stages of completion. Right now, I’m primarily reading non-fiction works concerning conspiracy theories and other creepy things (aliens, UFOs, cryptozoology, etc.) because I’ve got a feeling my subconscious is storing up the information for a story. I tend to flip-flop around in my tastes—last week I read biographies on John Lennon and Elvis, before that I was totally into horror, before that, I was interested in books about Christmas traditions and pagan origins. I never know what I’ll want to read. My home library is eclectic, to put it mildly.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11)Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> In the romance genre, I’d have to say LaVyrle Spencer is my absolute favorite, followed by Jude Devereaux. I remember spending my junior prom night at home reading a LaVyrle Spencer novel (senior prom night was spent watching “Return of the Living Dead,” but I digress). Of course, I’m a fan of Stephen King (especially the early novels, like “The Stand”) and Dean Koontz, but I also enjoy books by Jack Ketchum, Richard Layman, and Robert McCammon.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12)What is a typical day for you like when you are on a writing deadline?</span></strong> Panic, followed by much procrastination, wailing, and beating of the breast.<br /><br />Actually, I just try to keep my head down and my attention focused and get the words on the page. My thinking is that it’s easier to edit than create, so the priority is to just get everything I’m planning to say on the page, with the plan of going back later to fix it. Right now, though, any writing deadlines I have are of my own creation, so I have a bad habit of scooting the deadlines back as needed.<br /><br />The biggest deadline I ever faced was when I was working with the drive-in movie critic, Joe Bob Briggs, as the researcher for his book "Profoundly Disgusting." I had put together hundreds and hundreds of pages of research for him and knew the subject matter about as well as he did. The book was in the midst of its final edit when I got an email from his editor asking me if I could fact-check about fifty or so items by the next morning (because Briggs was in Europe and unreachable at the time, otherwise he would have done the work). I worked all night to get it done, but by golly, the finished product was emailed back to the editor first thing the next morning. Don't ask me how much I got paid for the job (she said with a bitter laugh).<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">13)Tell us about the online and offline personal appearances you have planned over the next couple of months. Where can readers connect with you up close and personal? How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong> I hope to be at the Ohio River Festival of Books in Huntington, WV on April 17th to sign copies of The Giving Season and Abominations (see <a href="http://ohioriverbooks.org/"><strong>http://ohioriverbooks.org</strong></a> for more details). Readers can get in touch with me by email (Rebecca_brock@hotmail.com). My website, <a href="http://www.rebeccabrockonline.com/"><strong>http://www.rebeccabrockonline.com</strong></a>, is currently under semi-construction, but it’s up and running. I’m still trying to figure out the whole “webpage” thing.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">14)What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</span></strong> That I honestly hope that my writing—whether it’s a romance or a horror story—genuinely entertains them and gives them a laugh or a scare or a swoony sigh. They say that you should write for yourself—and that’s true—but it’s the reader who is the most important element. I try to write for them.<br /><br />Plus, I’m really not that weird. Honest.<br /><br />=======================================<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About Rebecca Brock:</span></strong> (Borrowed from Pearlsong Press website) Rebecca is the director of a small library in southern West Virginia. She is also the author of a collection of short horror stories (Abominations) and a variety of other horror stories published in anthologies and online since 2000.<br /><br />When not cleaning up after her cats, Rebecca enjoys books and movies in a variety of genres (romance, horror, true crime, sci-fi) and attempts to be crafty by crocheting, sewing, and cross stitching. The Giving Season is her first published novel (all the others are hidden away in drawers somewhere). <blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-4402231753563540262010-02-10T05:35:00.000-08:002010-02-10T05:54:53.737-08:00Winners Announcement - Rida Allen ContestThe Rida Allen Contest has come to an end and the winner is Venus. Thanks for commenting on our blog Venus. You will be receiving a copy of Rida's latest release The Player, the second book in the Bandmates series. Venus Rida will contact you with more information on your prize.<br /><br />The book contest might be over but all other comments on this interview and all other interviews will be entered to win a copy of one of the books we have available. There is also time to win a copy of Family Picture by Rachel Berry (an epci novel and family and the ties or lies that bind them).Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-83473137235311301202010-01-31T18:16:00.000-08:002010-01-31T19:11:15.226-08:00Interview with Author Debra Phillips (d.y. Phillips) - Author of the The High Price Of A Good Man (A Curvy Comedic Novel) and Love Trumps Game<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcCkh-1YlqB-on7LHicLKhsfNE_Bx-JugdVZNlG-RvDNwYw-Bk-HWteqKnr7InID1eOs3vnxksNjbnhVtWTPGsHKjbINu0m9WkkAT6mF6XZThPLKdXcMPJMA3k5F63k2x0rGirhW3voA/s1600-h/debraphillips.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 151px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433105986275461874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcCkh-1YlqB-on7LHicLKhsfNE_Bx-JugdVZNlG-RvDNwYw-Bk-HWteqKnr7InID1eOs3vnxksNjbnhVtWTPGsHKjbINu0m9WkkAT6mF6XZThPLKdXcMPJMA3k5F63k2x0rGirhW3voA/s200/debraphillips.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with Debra Phillips (d.y.phillips), Author of The High Price Of A Good Man and Love Trumps Game.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>***** Contest Alert *****<br />Leave a comment on this interview and be entered to win any of the books we have available. For contest details please read the side panel. don't forget to leave an email address with your comment. We can't send you a book if we can't contact the winner.</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>1. Tell us about yourself. </strong></span>I'm the author of four books. A writer that refuse to be lumped into a "genre". I just love to write.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2. How long have you been writing?</span></strong> On and off for over forty years. I didn't get serious about being published until my children were in their teens<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3. What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time?</span></strong> It had to be the love for the written word. Sometimes after reading a short story or a book I would get the feeling that I could have written it better, so I picked up the pen to see what I could do.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4. Your book: The High Price Of A Good Man features a plus size heroine. Please tell us what this book is about. Why did you choose to feature a plus size heroine in this novel?</span></strong> The story is about the big, bold and beautiful Queenie who pays for her<br />perception of a "dream man" at a charity auction, and she is determined to get her money's worth.<br /><br />While she is searching for love in all the wrong places, true love is right under her nose. If you like romantic comedy, this would be the book.<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5. Do you have any other plus size heroines planned for future books? </span></strong>Absolutely. As a plus size woman myself, I can see the inner beauty of women of all sizes. Plus size females have stories that need to be told.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6. Your latest release: Love Trumps Game (by d.y. phillips) has received excellent reviews from both The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers and Urban Reviews. Please tell us a little about your latest release and how readers can purchase a copy of your book.<br /></span></strong>Because I claim no particular genre to write in, I decided to try my hand at an "urban" type story. I'm always amazed at the strong and spicy grand-mothers that step up to the plate to raise their grandkids when their parents can't. Once I came up with Hattie Mae, the main character of Love Trumps Game, the story pretty much wrote itself.<br /><br />Hattie Mae is the young and spicy grandmother that has to go on the run with her two streetwise grandchildren to keep them from their drug-dealing, Homicidal father.<br /><br />I penned Love Trumps Game under my initials (D.Y. Phillips), which is my alter ego. The book can be purchased at all online bookstores, and most major bookstores. It's also available at Black Expressions Book Club. An excerpt of the book can be found on Amazon.com.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7. What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer? </span></strong>Finding affordable ways to promote my books. Book signings are okay, but they are only a fraction of what it takes to make a book successful. After you write the book and get it published, the real work is promoting that book.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8. What is the next literary challenge in store for Debra Phillips?</span></strong> To get to the Essence Bestseller list, this is my goal and challenge for now. Next, I want to write a literally book that will find its way to the New York Bestseller list. It's the ultimate goal for most writers.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9. What are you reading now? Who are your favorite authors? </span></strong>I'm reading 1-900-Anytime by Tracy Price-Thompson. As for favorite authors, there are too many to list, but to name a few they would be: Mary Monroe, Zane, Reon Laudat, Tracy Price-Thompson, and Noire.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10. Tell us about the online and offline personal appearances you have planned over the next couple of months. Where can readers connect with you up close and personal.</span></strong> I'm still in the process of setting up book signings . . . I'm working on a virtual tour and some chat room appearances. Once plans are finalized, I'll be posting the dates and times on Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11. How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong> Readers can always email me at: <a href="mailto:dyphil2@aol.com">dyphil2@aol.com</a>. Please keep it positive because I'm a sensitive soul. My official website is down for a spell, but they can always check me out on Twitter, Facebook and Myspace at: Myspace.com/authordebraphillips<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12. What is the one thing you would like your readers to know about you? </span></strong>That I appreciate each and everyone that took the time to check my books out and purchase a copy. Without devoted fans, authors would be nothing except writers without an audience. Thank you and I love you. </div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-15406998863299820862010-01-24T05:33:00.000-08:002010-01-28T06:42:18.860-08:00Interview With Louise King, Author of Elusion, A Story In The Leading Ladies Anthology<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyvMSR28Q8FPcVCQtuTjL6PvKwl6b0XJufA__3HznwzmZ9gRo1__D32FHrmVhNcZZ1QkBfIh3CBrIOVHjjL-aI6ei8XzaVw8Yp9X70pXL32r4UTazo1UcDQSEApy0ux9nXqSRb_5VEFk/s1600-h/louiseking.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430315066736662834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyvMSR28Q8FPcVCQtuTjL6PvKwl6b0XJufA__3HznwzmZ9gRo1__D32FHrmVhNcZZ1QkBfIh3CBrIOVHjjL-aI6ei8XzaVw8Yp9X70pXL32r4UTazo1UcDQSEApy0ux9nXqSRb_5VEFk/s200/louiseking.JPG" /></a><span style="color:#000000;">Join BBW Reviews as we chat with Louise King, contributing author to Leading Ladies anthology published by <a href="http://www.draumrpublishing.com/index.php">Draumr Publishing</a>. Her fabulous story, Elusion, is a major part of this anthology which can be purchased through <a href="http://www.draumrpublishing.com/store/cart.php?target=search&substring=leading+ladies">Draumr Publishing</a> as well as most major online book stores. Take a minute a find out more about Louise, why she wrote this story and what is up next for this up and coming author</span><br /><div><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">***** Contest Alert*****</span></strong></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Don't forget to leave a comment (with an email address) to be entered into our drawing for a free book. Read side panel for detail on our book giveaway. </span></strong></div><br /><div><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong></div><div><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1. Tell us about yourself? </span></strong>Primarily I’m a mom. I have 4 little miracles aged from 10 months to 13 years. I love writing because it’s something I can do at home with my family around. I am also a makeup artist, though most of my practice is on myself these days; and the Executive Producer for a film company my husband and I run. I wear a lot of hats and am super busy! Still, I always find time for the important things and I play as hard as I work. We’re a very active family and love the mountains, ocean, kayaking, hiking, snowboarding and sailing. Life is a miracle and I never take it for granted.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">2. How long have you been writing? </span></strong>15 years. I was shocked when I did the math on that, it feels like a lifetime ago!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">3. What genre(s) do you typically write in? </span></strong>Romance! I delve into different genres of it, from mystery/suspense to historical. I also write for my kids and they star in several adventures. They love that. My latest offering in that field is a story about my daughter and I, hot on the trail of a mystery. She’s my only girl so we have a special bond. She goes crazy when I write about it.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">4. What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? </span></strong>I was in a weird place in life. I was pretty depressed and my sister suggested getting my thoughts on paper as a way to heal. I’ve never been much of a journal writer so I started writing a novel for young adults. It was pretty bad! Eventually I realized my interest was in romance, threw out the dreaded partially finished manuscript and started writing my first romance…and I was hooked!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">5. Your story Elusion is part of Leading Ladies, an anthology published by Draumr Publishing. Tell us about your story and the plus size heroine featured in this story. </span></strong>Genevieve is a fantastic character, full of zest for life. She’s one of those girls who doesn’t sit around waiting for life to happen, she goes out and makes it happen. That’s my kind of woman, whether she breathes in 2010 or 500 years ago, as she does. As all the stories in this anthology, it’s based on a fairy tale—specifically Grimm’s “Princess In Disguise”. It’s about a queen-to-be who runs away to avoid an unwanted marriage and finds what every girl longs for. I put her through some great twists for a princess that left me in stitches as I wrote it. I love it when I write things that make me laugh and cry.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">6. Why have you chosen to feature plus size heroines in your work? </span></strong>Largely for very personal reasons. I struggled with an eating disorder for much of my life and while I was thin and beautiful, I was hurting my body. I couldn’t get over the image media projects as acceptable. Every heroine I read about was thin and gorgeous with enormous breasts, a slim waist, svelte thighs and the perfect derriere. I felt like I wasn’t beautiful if I wasn’t all those things.<br /><br />My daughter is 11 now and I really don’t want her growing up with the same body image ideas I suffered through. It was largely for her and her generation. I hope that girls today will grow up realizing their best potential and not feel like they have to fit into a mold that society has dictated for us. As for me, I have gotten over my eating issues and actually enjoy food. And guess what? I discovered I am still beautiful and was taught the best lesson of all: My husband loves me no matter what the scale says because he sees the beauty inside me.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">7. I know Elusion is currently your only published work but are there more plus size heroines planned for the future can we expect to see a novel by Louise King in the near future? </span></strong>Definitely! My current project isn’t a romance at all; I am writing a novel based on events as told to me by someone else. It’s been a bit of a challenge, as romance really is my thing so I have to think much more seriously and less, well—frilly. After that, I will be writing a screenplay with my husband whom is also a writer (director, producer and filmmaker) and start casting for it. When I am done writing that, I will be going back to the novel I was writing when I started Elusion, which is actually in the editing stages and almost done. I have several other works in various stages of completion, so once I get on a roll you may see 4 or 5 books pumped out in a short period of time. I just need a little more time each day!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">8. What has been the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer?</span></strong> Balance. When I have a story in my head, I can’t stop writing. If I take a break, I lose fabulous prose, never to have it return and that’s really frustrating. So I really have to work at maintaining focus and making sure dinner is still on the table and everyone’s looked after. I’m getting better at this as I get older. When I first started writing, I didn’t have kids so it was easy. No one made a mess and all I had to worry about was me. Now that there’s four kids and a fabulous husband, I find it a bit easier to divide my time and be less obsessive.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">9. Where do you see yourself a year from now? </span></strong>Making a film. Or sitting on my sailboat in the Pacific finishing up my next romance. Either way, I’ll be happy.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">10. What are you reading now? What types of books (genres) do you read in general?</span> </strong>In general, I read romance or suspense, but right now I am reading books by Napoleon Hill. He’s like the grandfather of The Secret. It’s pretty interesting stuff and while I did not like it in the beginning when reading the writings of other Secret teachers, I am really enjoying his work. He lead a fascinating life and was enlightened beyond his time. It’s really funny because at first I disliked the teachings of The Secret because I had morning sickness. I was told that I was ill only because I believed I was, like if I just thought I was well I would be. That really ticked me off!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">11. Who are your favorite authors? </span></strong>Judith McNaught and Julie Garwood. They are masters who write rich tapestries. Their stories stay in your heart long after you’ve put the book down. I strive to write stories that will touch hearts as deeply as they do.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12. How can readers that loved Elusion get in contact with you? </span></strong><a href="mailto:Louise.outstanding@gmail.com">Louise.outstanding@gmail.com</a> It’s my work email but it means I check it regularly!<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>13. What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</strong> </span>It’s all about family for me. They are my miracle and gift in life and I never take them for granted. Everything comes after them, including my work.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">14. If you could tell one thing to every aspiring writer what would it be? </span></strong>Persevere! Persistence is key. Reading several different genres can also send you in the right direction if you know you want to write but aren’t sure what your style is. </div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-50866513549227832062010-01-17T14:21:00.000-08:002010-01-17T20:37:41.235-08:00Interview with Author Jay'L Harris, Hot New Author of Curvy Books<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhwwoD6HWbP3aKZGKiNzNAvvtIiNScaaJ0PmrkFFK3Sl64nqeLKhSLljQAr1DCWMUBtUs15Vizq_XkJ-lspnLmXZp9CuVm4ZT_0an7JRBLtOfeTGxxX6llqmzwrLQ2haGbr-jqT5-i9M/s1600-h/jlh1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 154px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427856666881814930" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVhwwoD6HWbP3aKZGKiNzNAvvtIiNScaaJ0PmrkFFK3Sl64nqeLKhSLljQAr1DCWMUBtUs15Vizq_XkJ-lspnLmXZp9CuVm4ZT_0an7JRBLtOfeTGxxX6llqmzwrLQ2haGbr-jqT5-i9M/s200/jlh1.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with Jay'L Harris. A new author on the scene with a Curvy Book you do not want to miss. Don't forget to leave a comment and let Jay'L Harris know what you think about her interview. <span style="color:#ff0000;"> (<strong>Leave a comment on any BBW Reviews Author Interviews post and be entered to win any of the books we have available. Comments must be left between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2009</strong>.)<br /></span><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">1.Tell us about yourself?</span></strong> I am a true GA peach and I love it. I love hanging out with friends and family. I live by my personal mission statement which is to Inspire, Empower, and Serve everyone I encounter. Currently I am working on my MBA-Human Resources and I plan on getting my doctorate as well.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">2.How long have you been writing? </span></strong>For leisure or for school? Seriously, I have wrote poems and in my journal off and on my whole life. Unlikely Love is my first serious attempt at writing a story<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">3.What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? </span></strong>Time and opportunity. I lost my dream job, flunk out of a m aster’s program and had to move back home. After all of this, I knew it had to more to life than what I was living, so one day while talking to a friend I decided to write a book. I created the character Anthony on the phone with friend<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">4.Tell us a little about your first novel Unlikely Love?</span></strong> As my friends describe. It is a hot dramatic mess! It is a book that you can’t put down. It is juicy from beginning to end. If you are not in love, you will be by the end of the book. The best thing about the book is that I have a soundtrack that goes along with it. It helps move the book from chapter to chapter.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">5.Why did you chose to feature a plus size heroine in this novel?</span></strong> I am a plus size sister. I wanted people to know that plus size women are desirable.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">6.What made you decide to self-publish?</span></strong> I wanted more creative control over my book and books to come<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">7.Do you plan to write more books featuring plus size characters?</span></strong> Yes, I want every book I write to be about plus size characters.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">8.Do you have another novel in the works? If so tell us about your next novel. Will it feature a plus size character?</span></strong> Yes I do. It will focus on the first year of marriage of two career driven people. It will have a plus size sister and brother.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">9.What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer?</span></strong> Finding time to write. I have a busy schedule with work and school.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">10.Tell us a little about Christina's Closet and the great work you are doing there. Where can anyone interested find more information on Christina's Closet?</span></strong> Our mission at Christina’s Closet is to assist those who wish to enter the labor market or change careers, with the right information and business attire that they may not otherwise have. To out more information check out <a href="http://www.jaylharris.com/">http://www.jaylharris.com/</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">11.What are you reading now? What types of books (genres) do you read in general?</span></strong> I have been giving several books to read but I haven’t started on anything.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">12.Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> Carl Webber, Mary Monroe, Phillipa Gregory<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">13.How can readers get in contact with you?</span></strong> They can email me at <a href="mailto:Jacqueline@jaylharris.com">Jacqueline@jaylharris.com</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/jaylharris">www.facebook.com/jaylharris</a>, or <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jaylharris">www.twitter.com/jaylharris</a> <strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Do you have a website?</span></strong> Yes I do have a website <a href="http://www.jaylharris.com/">http://www.jaylharris.com/</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">14.What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</span></strong> I like to tell people I am just Jay’L Harris. I live an ordinary life.<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">15.If you could tell one thing to every aspiring writer what would it be?</span> </strong><br />Find a good editor…<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">About Jay'L Harris:</span></strong> Jay’L Harris loves God with all her heart, mind, and body. Everyday she presses forward towards the mark of the highest calling in Jesus Christ. She has learned in her journey with Jesus Christ that it is a true process to be change in the likeness of Christ. Having grown up in church, she saw the double lives Christian lived.<br /><br />She never wanted to have two-faces, one for church and one for home. She set out to be different. She realized that just because she had accepted Christ not everyone in “her circle” had accepted him. Living by the motto preach by her Pastor Anthony Murray, Oasis Family Life Church, that she is Not an Ordinary Christian. She decided to write books her way. She wanted to write about real life and real situation.<br /><br />She doesn’t carry a title or anything to that nature. It really doesn’t matter to her anyway. She always says “I don’t need a title to do things God has called me to do. It is better that I don’t have a title because I am not bound by the “image” the titles holds. It is easier for me to relate to people by simply being me.”<br /><br />God is using her gifts for encouraging and loving people and talents through writing and singing to minister outside the four walls of the church. No matter how high God takes her, she will continue to keep it real with God and his people. </div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-21642360982765422042010-01-09T13:10:00.000-08:002010-02-14T22:13:45.766-08:00Interview with Author and Motivational Speaker Rachel Berry<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQIrdTtlKF5SOXeZoqk-8Rn15vJ8HoMR4jdJI-EgiNHHyt4gil_i8O0GmBgZuq6LpvTOsNZWAeDsoQecVyvRL5Bal7YnzSMfE3GkTKsZF9GNbu-VDZFWQoJ0oKBVFzNJ6N6ISuaGicvI/s1600-h/rachelberry.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424870670310299186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqQIrdTtlKF5SOXeZoqk-8Rn15vJ8HoMR4jdJI-EgiNHHyt4gil_i8O0GmBgZuq6LpvTOsNZWAeDsoQecVyvRL5Bal7YnzSMfE3GkTKsZF9GNbu-VDZFWQoJ0oKBVFzNJ6N6ISuaGicvI/s200/rachelberry.jpg" /></a><span style="color:#000000;">Joins us as we chat with Rachel Berry about her dynamic epic novel Family Pictures. Let Rachel tell you about Family Pictures and her life journey as a whole.</span><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><br /><div><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">****** CONTEST ALERT******</span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Comment on this interview between and be entered to win a copy of Family Pictured by Rachel Berry. To enter contest you must leave a comment (connected to an email address) on or before March 31, 2010 11:59PM EST. </span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong></div><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1. Tell us about yourself?</span></strong> I consider myself an out-going and goal oriented person. I have a respectful and prayerful relationship with my creator as he continues to show and grow me. My family means everything to me, and after trying to please my creator I do everything I do for them. I do my best to give-back to the universe in any way I am guided and gifted because I am thankful for all that I am gifted with. I’m blessed to be a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, auntie, best friend and so much more. Life can be challenging but it’s good.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2. How long have you been writing?</span></strong> I’ve been writing since the beginning of my teen years. Imagining about things to write long before that.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3. What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? </span></strong>Probably my mother. She is a great storyteller and poet. She put the love of words in my heart and mind through songs, stories and poems she’d recite during dinner time when I was growing up – well, still to this day even. Now, writing is the ink that colors me. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t write. I write in my head while I sleep and then jot it down when I wake up. Gosh, the movies that play in my dreams.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4. Tell us about your book Family Pictures and the plus size heroines featured in this book. </span></strong>Family Pictures is simply the saga about a family and the challenges and celebrations they all go through. It’s main characters are both full-figured women who in many ways are very different and very similar. The youngest, journeys through the book discovering who she really is because of a secret the eldest protagonist divulges to her early on in the story. Through her family stresses Regal (the youngest) also battles with wondering if she is pleased with her weight, single-parenting, a love triangle and many other personal issues. Emma Jean; Regal’s aunt is also faced with her changing life and the effects of coming from a dysfunctional family and a sister-n-law that has made her life hell. But through unconditional love, forgiveness, therapy, and letting go of past skeletons the two woman learn that they too can put a better face on their promising futures.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5. Why did you chose to feature plus size heroines in your novels?</span></strong> Because plus sized woman have the same hopes and dreams, challenges and celebrations as smaller woman do. Too many books only feature slim women. I wanted to show the beauty, fear and boldness that live in all of us women.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6. Do you plan to write more books featuring plus size characters?</span></strong> I’m sure I will, because when I meet my characters they tell me who they are, what they do etc. I lay them out fully from skin color, education, martial status, sexual preference on down to pet-peeves before I begin writing so I can know them and present them to the fullest. When and if they tell me they are full-figured I will present them as such.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7. When will your next book be released? Tell us a little about your next book? Will it feature a plus size character? </span></strong>I’m planning on winter 2010. ‘Between The Tears And The Laughter’ is a story about another family living in Louisiana. They’ll be dealing with a different set of challenges and show us how they triumph, live and learn. That’s what writing is about for me: telling a good story people can relate to but also learning lessons along the way. But don’t be surprised if something else pops up before the winter.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8. What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a writer? </span></strong>Well, writing is the pleasure and easy part of my career. But if you write something and no one knows about it, it’s all a waste. Promoting and marketing and putting myself out there is a challenge. I don’t have an assistant yet. So advertising, answering and sending out e-mails, social-networking, and putting together events and book signings take up a lot of my time. Recently this leaves little time for me to work on other works-n-progress.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9. Tell us a little about your organization Black Pearls United. </span></strong>BPU is an African American sister-circle I founded almost nine years ago. We come together to improve ourselves, communities and families. Women need a place to vent and grow. We learn from each other, grow together and sometimes professionally network. I’ve witnessed some powerful sister-bonding over these years. I’ve always been blessed with having sincere and positive women in my life of all ages, and this avenue affords me the blessing of sharing that gift with others. My sisters are busy women, but are also warm, intelligent women with giving hearts, and we give back to our communities on a yearly basis. We’re a small but mighty group. I am so proud of the Pearls; they’re real jewels.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10. You also have a show on Blog Talk Radio called From The Heart & Soul with Lady Serenity. Please tell us about the show and in general what you discuss during your show. How and when can those interested tune in to hear Lady Serenity speak? </span></strong>My show is an extended mission of Black Pearls United – for women and about women, but open to everyone for discussion. I try to be a horn that blows about the things, situations, triumphs and trials of women. I do a segment called “Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things.” It’s one of my brands. I showcase unsung shero’s. Not taking anything away from our men, but since I am a woman I am interested in “the all” of women. Women do so much, carry so much. So much goes unseen and unsaid about our caregivers and community helpers; though their effects are sometimes bountiful. I seek to bring to light those women making a difference in the lives of others. Telling stories we might never get to hear. Also, as an author I do my best to help promote other authors, so I do an author’s showcase. We need all the help we can get and it brings me pleasure whenever I can help someone else. I play ole school music to ‘put a mellow view to all that we do.’<br /><br />My show airs on Mondays 4Pm EST unless I’m doing a special show and then that time and show is advertised. You can catch a live show or listen to the archives at: http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/Lady-Serenity<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11. What are you reading now? What types of books (genres) do you read in general?</span></strong> I’m reading Maxine Thompson’s latest novel ‘Hostage of Lies.’ I love mystery, suspense and romance. I love a book that engages all my senses and keeps me wondering and turning the pages.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12. Who are your favorite authors? </span></strong>OMG. Just to name a few, Eric Jerome Dickey, Mary Higgins Clark, Zane, Alice Walker, John Grisham, Pat G’Orge Walker, and the list could go on and on because now there are some new dynamic writers out. Too many to name.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">13. Tell us about the online and offline personal appearances you have planned over the next couple of months. Where can readers connect with you up close and personal. </span></strong>Well, I doing the Author’s Holiday bash on December 19th in Washington D.C. hosted by Ella Curry of EDC Creations. In April I’m doing the Author’s Pavilion hosted by RWA book club in Richmond Virginia and in June I’ll be at the AAMBC National Author’s Convention held in Chicago.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">14. How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong><br />Yes, my cyber home address is: <a href="http://www.rachelberry.webs.com/">http://www.rachelberry.webs.com/</a><br />My e-mail address is: <a href="mailto:rachelwrites2@yahoo.com">rachelwrites2@yahoo.com</a><br />Drop me a line anytime. Please check out my book trailers at: http://www.youTube.com/wordfairy4u Plus I’m on Facebook, My Space, and Twitter as Wordfairy.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">15. What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</span></strong> That I appreciate them, their time and honest feedback. Please continue to jump aboard my literary rides, because without readers, words say absolutely nothing.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About Rachel Berry:</span></strong> Rachel Berry was born Sarah Rachel Gaines in Newark New Jersey. She grew up in Newark, East Orange, and Orange school systems. Rachel later moved to Virginia and is now a mother of 4 adults, wife, grandmother of 2 gorgeous girls, a published author & poet, motivational speaker, radio talk show host and a community leader.<br /><br />To Read her complete bio go to <a href="http://rachelberry.webs.com/bio.htm">http://rachelberry.webs.com/bio.htm</a> </div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-71109642679585233352010-01-04T19:38:00.000-08:002010-01-28T06:48:59.798-08:00Contest Winners AnnouncementsAnd The Winners Are<br /><br />Golda - The Program by Charles Lovett<br /><br />Rhonda McKnight - The Ups and Downs Of Being Round & Swag by Monica Marie Jones<br /><br />LadySilver & Deb S - One of the books we currently have available (list of books will be sent via email)<br /><br />Thanks to you all for commenting you should be receiving an email to request your mailing address.Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-64869372628494343662009-12-20T12:42:00.000-08:002010-01-28T06:46:14.844-08:00Interview with Judy Bagshaw, Author of Romantic Fiction Featuring BBW Heroines<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QMy_NX4c0YK14bSIJBkXaGId28LC744fZvw2HeQnuetqQZmWsnkQVZUQGSm6nrUjtA7aSjs3cT_VMMdaEkdTsewtXh02AStv1wVmMIEbBmJwW8y12x3gBUY24YXOvWpC_vZ7muOa38U/s1600-h/atlonglastjudybagshaw.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 125px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 193px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417434808970289938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QMy_NX4c0YK14bSIJBkXaGId28LC744fZvw2HeQnuetqQZmWsnkQVZUQGSm6nrUjtA7aSjs3cT_VMMdaEkdTsewtXh02AStv1wVmMIEbBmJwW8y12x3gBUY24YXOvWpC_vZ7muOa38U/s200/atlonglastjudybagshaw.jpg" /></a> <span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="color:#000000;">Joins us as we chat with Judy Bagshaw author of Romantic Fiction featuring BBW Heroines. Read on and learn about Judy's literary journey and her determination to bring BBW Heroines to readers.</span></span><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1. Tell us about yourself?</span></strong> My name is Judy Bagshaw and I write romantic fiction, most of which features full-figured heroines. I was an elementary school teacher for 28 years and retired in 2005 to devote myself to writing full-time. When I’m not writing, I work as an editor for a small independent publisher, read voraciously, spend time with my elderly mother and my brother and his family, cook, read and play piano. I’m an avid television fan, currently hooked on True Blood, Dollhouse, Madmen, and Fringe.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2. How long have you been writing?</span></strong> The simple answer is, all my life. But I really didn’t start writing with the intent to be published one day, until the early 90’s. Over the years I took a variety of writing courses and workshops, honing my craft.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3. What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time?</span></strong> I’m not really sure. Ours was a household of avid readers, so I’m sure that played a big part. I liked nothing better than to discover a great new story. And creative writing was always a favourite subject throughout my school years. I had a vivid imagination as a child, and clearly remember “borrowing” my Mom’s old portable typewriter to pound out stories in my room. I think I attempted my first novel at age 10. If I remember correctly, I got to about chapter four before running out of steam, or getting side-tracked.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4. How long have you been writing books with plus size characters?</span></strong> It has always been important to me to feature realistic looking heroines in my stories. As a reader, it annoyed me that all romance heroines seemed cookie-cutter, and none looked like me at all!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5. Why did you choose to feature plus size heroines in your novels?</span></strong> I am a plus-sized woman, and have been active in NAAFA, an international size-acceptance group for many years. It became a bone of contention with me that large-sized women were not represented in the media as anything other than the villain, the comic side-kick, best friend or the nosy neighbour. Why couldn’t the big girl win the heart of the hero? After all, I knew from experience, that plus-sized women were pursued, wooed, loved and lusted after. Romantic fiction needed to start reflecting that reality. So, I made it my mission at the beginning of my “serious” writing efforts, to create real women in real situations.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>6. Your writing career has been filled with ups and downs at least when it comes to actually publishing your books. Tell us a little about your</strong> </span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>publishing journey. What kept you moving, determined to find a place for you books and stories?</strong></span> I had, for years, wanted to write and publish stories with large sized characters. I took courses and workshops to hone my writing skills and joined a local writer's organization for support and guidance. But when I expressed my desire to write these kinds of stories, I was always told politely that they wouldn't sell. Publisher's wouldn't be interested. There wouldn't be a market. I knew in my heart that there was a market. And even if it was a small one (and I didn't necessarily believe this), I felt strongly there was a need for these kinds of stories to be written.<br />I was thrilled one day to find reference in a writer's magazine to a small independent publisher specializing in romance stories with large size heroines. And they were accepting manuscripts. Here was my chance. I spent the summer of that year, writing my first romance novel, Teacher's Pet. That fall I was able to send it to the publisher. Months went by and I finally had word back, along with the manuscript with edits to be done and a request to resubmit. I did the work and dutifully sent it off, heart pounding. And then many months went by with no word or reply to emails. I then found out that the publisher had had some problems and things were delayed but it looked like there was still hope. So I clung on. At the end of two years, I gave up on this particular publisher ever following through, and was thankful I'd never signed a contract.<br /><br />So the manuscript sat gathering dust. I wrote another novel, Love by the Pound, basically to see if I could. And I started a third. And there were several short stories. All have large sized heroines. But I despaired of them ever finding a home. And then I discovered electronic publishers. I saw an industry that was young and full of energy. I saw that many of the publishers were women. I saw an open minded attitude, seeking alternative views and a desire to stretch the boundaries. I saw opportunity.<br /><br />In 1999, I submitted a couple of short stories to Wordbeams, the publisher I had chosen after doing extensive research, and the first week of August, I signed my first contracts. Shortly after, she also contracted Teacher’s Pet and Love By the Pound. I was on my way! Until… My publisher told her authors that she was closing the company due to major life threatening health problems. As of December 31, 2001, Wordbeams was no more.<br /><br />I had to begin the job of finding a new publisher for my plus sized stories. I sent out my two novels to a couple of Canadian e-publishers and then submitted and sold three short stories to Real Romances, a Canadian e-publisher who specialized in books that feature 'real sized' heroines. I waited for months to hear from the other publishers and finally decided on a different course. Real Romances agreed to re-publish Teacher's Pet and Love by the Pound. Then lo and behold, a year later, due to staffing changes, they decided to close their romance imprint, and my books were orphaned once more.<br /><br />I was able to get a contract with a short-lived company for some shorter works, but due to lack of sales, they also closed their doors. Now I was starting to get a complex…like I was some kind of Typhoid Mary of publishing! But I refused to give up.<br /><br />After considerable research once more, I chose New Age Dimensions. I felt I had come home, loved my publisher and the author family I joined. But based in Florida, it fell victim to one of the major hurricanes and had to close. Again, the search was on.<br /><br />I have to say, after effectively closing so many companies, I was becoming doubtful I’d never find a stable writing home. But I did, and I’m happy to say, I have at present five very stable and thriving publishers.<br /><br />The key for me was persistence. I had a vision…a mission of sorts. And I wasn’t going to stop until I had achieved my desired goals. My advice to any author is to persevere.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6. You have a number of books as well as short stories in various anthologies featuring women with curves. Tell us what are the titles of your books and short stories and where can readers purchase copies of your books.</span></strong><br /><br />Fictionwise : in ebook formats only<br />www.fictionwise.com<br />LADY BLUE: novel<br />TEACHER’S PET: novel<br />LOVE BY THE POUND: novel<br /><br />Draumr Publishing<br />www.draumrpublishing.com<br />BIG FAT LIES: novel<br />LEADING LADIES: anthology (Someday My Prince)<br />LOVE, AT LARGE: anthology (Work of Art)<br /><br />The Wild Rose Press<br />www.thewildrosepress.com<br />THE ENCHANTED FAERIE: anthology (The Strongest Magic)<br /><br />Pearlsong Press<br />www.pearlsong.com<br />AT LONG LAST, LOVE: short story collection<br />(Pearlsong also has a limited supply of print copies of my back list: Lady Blue, Teacher’s Pet, Love by the Pound<br /><br />Lulu<br />www.lulu.com<br />ONE FOOT ON A BANANA PEEL: non-fiction, self help<br /><br />Mundania Press<br />www.mundania.com<br />THROUGH ALL ETERNITY: paranormal romance, coming November 2009<br /><br />Awe-Struck Publishing<br />www.awe-struck.net<br />SECOND CHANCES: JACK AND GILLIAN: contemporary romance, coming April 2010<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>7. Of all the plus size women you have portrayed in your books and anthologies who is your favorite and Why?</strong></span> Wow. That’s a tough question. I love all my heroines for all sorts of different reasons. But if I had to pick one, I think I’d have to say Sabrina Blue, from Lady Blue. She took control of her life and decided to follow her dreams and become a singer. It was always a secret dream of mine to sing professionally, but I was never brave enough to go for it. So she lived that dream for me, in a fashion.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8. When will your next book be released? Tell us a little about your next book? Will it feature a plus size character?</span></strong> This month (Nov.) will bring the release of my first paranormal romance. Through All Eternity, from Mundania Press. This book is a departure from my usual fare. It has a darker tone, and examines some darker aspects of human nature. But the overall feeling by book’s end is of hope and optimism.<br /><br />Imagine if it were possible to straddle the veil between this life and the next. And imagine if it were possible that love could survive after death and you could reunite with your soul-mate. That is the central premise of Through All Eternity. Soul-mates reunited, characters finding redemption, families finding each other again.<br /><br />There are two main women focused on in this book. Hanna, an elderly woman dying of cancer, who has many regrets in life, the central regret being how she treated her family. And Karen, a thirty-something divorcee BBW, who fears she may have cancer. Meeting Hanna in the hospital begins a journey she never could have expected, and neither could Hanna.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9. Tell us a little about Desperate Hearts, your free e-serial? Why did you start it? Why did you decide to create a written soap-opera?</span></strong> I have a close friend who is also an author, and had quite good success with her free serials over a number of years. We had talked about me doing one as well, to bring in readers and promote my published work. But it took a while for just the right idea to hit me. I wanted to do something different from my “paid” writing, and I wanted it to be something I could just have fun with. When I hit on the idea of writing a “soap opera” (a perfect fit, I thought, for a romance writer), Desperate Hearts was born.<br /><br />The soap opera format leaves it wide open for just about anything to happen in the fictional world I’ve created. And that’s great fun. I could have alien abductions, or swapped babies, or miraculous resurrections if I wanted to. So far, I just have dysfunctional families, deep dark secrets and a possible psychopath on the loose. www.desperatehearts.homestead.com<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10. What are you reading now? What types of books (genres) do you read in general?</span></strong> I just finished a Jackie Collin’s glitzy romance (frivolous fun), and am starting a thriller next. I am an avid reader, and will read just about anything. But my preferred choice is a good thriller: Ludlum, Grisham, Paterson etc. I also seek out romance and mystery featuring plus sized characters. It’s thrilling that so many authors are now embracing the more real –sized hero and heroine. And I enjoy a really good spec fiction book when I can find them.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11. Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> For thrillers, Robert Ludlum. For mystery, Sue Ann Jaffarian’s Odelia Grey series, and Alexander McCall Smith’s No.1 Ladie’s Detective Agency series (fabulous). For spec fic, Skyla Dawn Cameron, Elaine Corvidae, Louise Cooper, JK Rowling. For romance, Daisy Dexter Dobbs (I love her humour)<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12. How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong> My web URL is www.judybagshaw.com Nice and simple. I love hearing from my readers. You can sign my guestbook on my site, or email me a judy_bagshaw@yahoo.com . I also have a guest forum at http://indigochick.conforums3.com/index.cgi?board=judyb<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">13. What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</span></strong> I want my readers to know how very much I appreciate their support, and how excited I still get when I get notes and letters from readers telling me how my stories have impacted their lives. It is this kind of recognition that spurs me to keep on writing, even on those days when I’m ready to throw in the towel.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">14. If you could tell one thing to every aspiring writer what would it be?</span></strong> If writing is your dream, then persevere. Let nothing or no one prevent you from pursuing what means so much to you.Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-21646395880080031662009-12-13T18:32:00.000-08:002010-01-28T06:43:12.257-08:00Interview with Author and Publisher Rida Allen<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28wfQJBdeLRcSfWXf4eWwGjZY7Xea-tgktC5aKCBKgoM2jDB2eoPSZHXceZZLbJO4D6hx866ZYy_HNpucvmxXydUdKzXMf-lg_T6KDdeWoKlmGtitSOD1NcI7yNAlpw5KvkLpzMD4KfU/s1600-h/RidaAllenpromo.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 143px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414918768487040114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28wfQJBdeLRcSfWXf4eWwGjZY7Xea-tgktC5aKCBKgoM2jDB2eoPSZHXceZZLbJO4D6hx866ZYy_HNpucvmxXydUdKzXMf-lg_T6KDdeWoKlmGtitSOD1NcI7yNAlpw5KvkLpzMD4KfU/s200/RidaAllenpromo.jpg" /></a><span style="color:#000000;">Joins us at we chat with author and publisher Rida Allen. Her books showcase women with real curves in real relationships to an audience of real women. Please join us a learn a little more about Rida and her literary journey.</span><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">***** Contest Alert*********</span></strong></div><div align="left">Author Sponsored Contest - Leave a comment on Rida Allen's interview and be entered to win a copy of The Player the second in Rida's Bandmates series. Author sponsored contest ends at 11:59PM on Jan 31, 2010. For more info on both The Players and the series read Rida's interview. She discusses the book and the series as a whole. It sounds like a winner to me. Can't wait to read it.</div><div align="left"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1. Tell us about yourself? </span></strong>I’m in my late thirties, married, and what I would called a retired computer geek. I started my working career in computers while I was still in high school, then continued in that vein all through college and up until I fell ill in 2000. I enjoyed computers a lot, the challenge and puzzle of how things worked intrigued me, and I like helping other people with their computers. I was never formally educated in that industry, but learned everything hands-on…and sometimes “feet to the fire.” But it was a fulfilling career, both intellectually and financially. However, when I burnt out and got sick, I left the computer field and ended up working on my writing again (my college degree is in Writing and Communications, despite working the computer field as both an amateur and a professional). I’ve been with my husband for over seventeen years, though we just celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. I’m lucky he also has the writing bug, otherwise I think I might have driven him crazy years before now with my odd writing thoughts and the weird hours I work on my books.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2. How long have you been writing? </span></strong>I’ve been writing since I was about eleven, though at the time I started with poetry. I think I probably wrote my first “story” at twelve, but it was short. I spent a lot of years writing short stories, most of which never had endings. Then at some point I actually stopped writing. In 1995, I wrote a book that I felt was my best work ever, submitted it to one publisher, got rejected 18 months later, then put it away in a drawer. In late 2000, I spent about six months revising and rewriting before I sent it out to another publisher, with the result being it got published in 2001.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>3. What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? </strong></span>I had a somewhat lonely childhood, despite being the youngest of four children. I didn’t make friends easily, I was teased often because of my weight, and I was hella shy. I spent a lot of time reading, and I think it developed my imagination. At some point, I guess my imagination spilled over onto paper because I just couldn’t contain it in my head anymore!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4. How long have you been writing books with plus size characters? </span></strong>My first published book was with a plus size heroine. That was the first time I’d written about a heroine who looked like me. Prior to that, I think I spent a lot of time writing about who I thought I wanted to be…thin and popular. It never fit for me, and always felt like a lie.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5. Why did you chose to feature plus size heroines in your novels? </span></strong>I wanted to be able to read about women who were like me, and I couldn’t find that on the market. Since I knew I had a penchant for writing, and enjoyed writing, I decided to try writing about someone who looked like me. I found I was able to draw on a lot of my own experiences to make the heroine realistic, and I knew in doing so I would be able to touch other women like me who enjoyed romance novels. It always makes my day when I hear from readers who identify with my heroines, who tell me that they are so happy to finally see themselves in a romance novel as the heroine who gets her man!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6. You have a number of titles on the market. Can you give us a run down of your work and where readers interested in your and your work can find these titles.<br /></span></strong>At this time, I have nine books out, with a tenth to be released just after the first of the year. Several of my early books are connected (The Legacy Tree, Truth and Lies, The Fashionable PI, Lost or Found?, Model Mom), and I’ve also started a new series about a rock band, of which The Crooner is the first. Then I have several books that are standalone (Great Love, You Have Been Disconnected, Driving Adam…Crazy!). All my books are available from your regular online sources, and from bookstores (though they may have to be ordered), as well as from their respective publishers. I also sell signed copies of my books through my website, or from my publishing company, Draumr Publishing.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7. When will your next book be released? Tell us a little about your next book? </span></strong>My next book, The Player, will be released just after the first of the year. It is the second in my rock band series (the series title is Bandmates), and is about that guy who never gets close to anyone, and who plays the field no matter the consequences. He’s outgoing, gorgeous, and everyone loves him, but he’s hiding something deep inside. In The Player, he finally meets a woman (fabulously curvy!) who tempts him in ways he never expected, turning his life, and his heart, inside out!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8. And if being a published author is not enough your are also co-owner of Draumr publishing. Tell us a little about Draumr publishing and your work with authors of Curvy Novels seeking a place for their voice to be heard?</span></strong> Draumr Publishing has been in business since 2004. It came about because I was unhappy with the publishers I was dealing with, and annoyed that I couldn’t find more books with curvy heroines. I couldn’t understand why there wasn’t a publisher supporting these books when I knew from my first couple of books—and my immersion into the BBW world—that there were a lot of readers begging for these types of books. With the support of my family, we decided to open Draumr, hoping to offer BBW books a new home. Of course, we knew there were more great books out there than just romance novels, and that not every author would want to write with curvy heroines. So although Draumr does have a BBW line called Dangerous Curves, we also accept other types of fiction. But my heart is really with the Dangerous Curves books, because they are who I am. I will always write books with curvy heroines, and I will always try to support other authors who do the same.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9. How do you manage holding the dual roles of author and publisher? What is a typical day for you like when you with both writing and publishing deadlines to meet?</span></strong> It’s an interesting question, and one I get asked a lot. Fortunately for me, my creative brain seems to wake up later in the day, so I’m able to partition off when I work for Draumr and when I write for myself. However, there is some crossover in that, because when I’m really busy for Draumr, my hours will spill over into the evening. But like many authors, I’ve learned to balance my writing life with my working life…it just so happens that my work life still involves books and publishing. Meanwhile, I enjoy the publishing company so much because even when I’m not knee deep in my own work, I’m living the writing and publishing life with another author. Even when my book isn’t ready for cover art, I get to live the process over and over again with our authors…I get to experience the joy and excitement with them as they see their books coming to life. It’s so much fun. Don’t get me wrong, running and working at a publishing company is work, and it can be difficult, but I do enjoy the challenges involved. Also, the fact that I’m (mostly) my own boss doesn’t suck. And unlike many other publishing companies, we accept and publish very few books a year. So I’m able to give our authors individual attention during every step of the publishing process…and still give myself time to breathe, to write, and to live.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10. What BBW Books will be released in the near future by Draumr Publishing?<br /></span></strong>My book is due out after the first of the year (The Player), and I know that Misty Simon will also have a book out with us next year in the same series. Misty is participating in the Bandmates series with me, which is an exciting venture for us. Both of us have written BBW series books, but we’ve never shared a series with another author. Should be fun!<br />Otherwise, we don’t have anything solid on our schedule. We’re always open to submissions for our BBW line, as well as for our regular fiction line. Since we don’t publish a ton of books a year, we don’t schedule our books out too far ahead of time.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11. How can authors interested in submitting their work to Draumr Publishing get more information on the submission process? </span></strong>We have submission guidelines on our website at http://www.draumrpublishing.com/submissions.php. We also have FAQs for authors on our website, which may answer questions authors have. Authors can also check out my blog, where I offer some tips about submitting, as well as talk about new releases, the publishing process, and my own writing (http://www.draumrpublishing.com/forums/blog/ridaallen/index.php). If they can’t find their answers in any of those places, they can always email me at <a href="mailto:rida@draumrpublishing.com">rida@draumrpublishing.com</a>.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12. What are you reading now? Who are your favorite authors? </span></strong>At the moment, I’m not actually reading anything for pleasure. I’ve taken a short hiatus from reading, simply because I’m not finding things that interest me in the stores. It seems like many of the print romance publishing houses are putting out reissues, which don’t interest me, for obvious reasons. And despite the lure of technology, I do not have an e-reader, and I do not prefer to read ebooks . My reading enjoyment includes the physicality of books, their feel in my hands, their smell, the visual of the words on the pages… This is also the reason why we put all our books out in print as well as in ebook format at Draumr Publishing. For Draumr, if the book is good enough to be accepted, then it’s good enough to be in print. If it isn’t good enough to be in print, we won’t accept it.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">13. How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website? </span></strong>I have a personal author website at <a href="http://www.ridaallen.com/">http://www.ridaallen.com/</a>. There’s a contact me link there if readers want to email me to tell me how fantastic my books are and how much they love my writing. I can also be reached via Draumr email at rida@draumrpublishing.com (website is <a href="http://www.draumrpublishing.com/">http://www.draumrpublishing.com/</a>)<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">14. What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you? </span></strong>I write because I love to write. Writing is a part of my heart and a part of my soul. I hope that comes through in my books.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">15. If you could tell one thing to every aspiring writer what would it be?</span></strong> Write what you know, and what you love to read. Readers will know if you’re forcing it, and likewise will know when what you write is what you know.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About Rida Allen:</span></strong> Born in suburban Maryland, I have lived here all my life, moving only three times and even then, less than half an hour away each time. Growing up, I was the youngest and only girl in a family of four siblings, suffering mightily and for many long years under the hands of my three older brothers. To escape, I locked myself away in my bedroom with books, books, and more books! I am and have been a voracious reader of romance novels for as long as I can remember…even before I was writing my own stories as a pre-teen. At 11 years old, I started my writing hobby with poetry, then began writing “short” romantic stories at about 12. Although I always wanted to be a writer, I found myself instead working with computers. I was in the computer industry for more years than I want to remember, first as an amateur and then as an expert (of sorts). My husband and I met online (before online dating was even a glimmer in some Internet boomer’s eye), and we knew each other for eight years before we got engaged and married. Even now, after sixteen years together, we are best friends, and he is one of my biggest supporters. We live close to both our families and spend as much time with them as possible. We have spent recent years in our single family home, purchased partially for the large yard that our dog thinks is her own personal park.</div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-47682579459583066622009-12-06T13:26:00.000-08:002009-12-09T18:57:06.022-08:00Interview with Award Winning Erotica Author Marilyn Lee<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZEEcaN7paLZpkTPxbvRzk-fMzexaD0cCUBZU5QndSgtOL8FmHxRYpZr3cOhV2gEobdVOhNAFgWJ05LwzEZmsDtkQ59zX9vPjb-xrETjs9sSs5WpKiag5krSOOF4xFh4TRbkSkZu4JhRk/s1600-h/FullBodiedCharmer.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 122px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5412260549615401346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZEEcaN7paLZpkTPxbvRzk-fMzexaD0cCUBZU5QndSgtOL8FmHxRYpZr3cOhV2gEobdVOhNAFgWJ05LwzEZmsDtkQ59zX9vPjb-xrETjs9sSs5WpKiag5krSOOF4xFh4TRbkSkZu4JhRk/s200/FullBodiedCharmer.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with Marilyn Lee, a award winning author of erotic romances. Her book written for the grown and sexy feature a wide range of heroines including hot and sexy women with curves. Please take a minute and learn more about this phenomenal writer. Feel free to comment let us know how you feel about Marilyn Lee and the interview.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Contest Alert</span></strong> - All those that comment on this or any of our November and December interviews not holding author sponsored contest will be entered into a drawing to receive a free book. Contest ends December 31st. See side panel for more details on all contest running on this blog.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">1) Tell us about yourself?</span></strong> I’m a very shy person who wishes I had half the nerve and courage that many of my heroines exhibit in my books. I love to read (I devour mysteries). I’m also addicted to playing independent role playing games. My favorite to date is the Aveyond series. I have a full-time day job. That and playing computer games help keep writing in my spare time interesting and important.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">2) How long have you been writing? </span></strong>That’s a difficult question for me to answer. I say that because when I think back to when I was very young, I realized that I was “writing” even before I realized what I was doing or what writing was. At a very young age, I was making stories up in my head. When I learned to write, I started writing love stories in various notebooks. However, I was nineteen when I first sold anything.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">3) What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time?</span></strong> I’ve always felt a compulsion to write. It’s a large part of who I am as a person. So I write because I have to. A number of times over the years I’ve “stopped” writing when the rejections poured in as fast as I could submit my manuscript. But I always had to start again because the characters in my head insisted I tell their story.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">4) How long have you been writing books with plus size characters?</span> </strong>My first book with a plus sized heroine was The Fall of Troy, which was published in 2001.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">5) What are the titles of your books featuring plus size characters? </span></strong>Taking Chances II—Nice Girls Do, Trina’s Afternoon Delight, Bloodlust IV—Nocturnal Heat, Playing With Fire, The Fall of Troy, Full Bodied Charmer, Fantasy Knights, Teacher’s Pet, Skin Deep, Summer Storm, Eye of the Beholder, In Blood And Worth Loving and Temple Neal.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">6) Are all of these books available in both paperback and E-book form?</span></strong> All of the books are available as e-books. Skin Deep, Summer Storm, Eye of the Beholder, and Full Bodied Charmers are also available as paperbacks.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">7) How can readers purchase your books?</span></strong> My Books can be purchase from my various publishers <a href="http://www.jasminejade.com/m-104-marilyn-lee.aspx">Ellora’s Cave</a>, <a href="http://changelingpress.com/author.php?uid=13">Changeling Press</a>, <a href="http://www.loose-id.com/Our-Authors/Marilyn-Lee/">Loose-id</a>, <a href="http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/index.php?manufacturers_id=48">Red Rose Publishing</a>, and <a href="http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=linda018&category=Marilyn+Lee">Liquid Silver Books </a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">8) I noticed that most if not all of your books can be purchased as e-books. Why did you choose to make your books available as e-books?</span></strong> Years ago, when I first decided to try e-books, I intended to keep submitting books to paperback publishers. However, as the audience for e-books has grown, I’m happy to submit exclusively to e-book publishers. I have the freedom to write what I like without worrying about what’s selling. I’ve been able to try many different genres with e-books publishers over the years.<br /><br />At the time I wrote The Fall of Troy, there were very few books featuring bbw heroines. My publisher wasn’t sure how such a story would be received, but she gave me the go ahead and I’m delighted to say that it was and still is well received with readers.<br /><br />I was also able to write a romance with a secondary couple featuring a m/m relationship years before such books were so widely accepted and sought.<br /><br />I think the most appreciated freedom writing for e-book publishers afforded me was the ability to write the interracial romance stories I love to write. Back when I first started writing I/R romances, most paperback publishers ignored the desire for romance books featuring I/R couples.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">9) Along with your Curvy Books (our term for books with plus size heroines) you have also written a number of multicultural romances. Why have you chosen to featured plus size women and multicultural relationships in your books? </span></strong>I have a number of friends who were involved in either I/R relationships or marriages. None of them could find romance books which reflected their relationships because nearly everyone was writing about size six heroines (very few of who were black). It was difficult to find books with bbw women and almost impossible to find any that featured both I/r elements and a plus sized heroine.<br /><br />After discovering that there was a segment of the romance community eager to read both BBW and I/R books, I decided to merge the two.<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>10) Tell us about your most recent novel?</strong> </span>My latest release is actually a re-release. It’s called A Thing Called Love.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Does it feature a plus size heroine? </span></strong>No. However, my last published book with a BBW is In Blood And Worth Loving.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">11) Out of all the plus size heroines you have written about who is your favorite and why? </span></strong>I think my favorite would have to be Angie from my first BBW novel, The Fall of Troy. She’s my favorite because she paved the way for me to be able to write more books with plus size heroines. And I admired her willingness to take a chance to find love on a cruise ship.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">12) Do you plan to write more books featuring plus size characters? </span></strong>Absolutely.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">13) When will your next book be released?</span> </strong>My next book will be published by Red Rose Publishing this month. [This interview was conducted in November the book is currently available for purchase]<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Tell us a little about your next book?</span></strong><br />It’s called One Sweet Night. Here’s the blurb:<br /><br />After struggling to accept the end of her ten-year marriage, Jule Grey's best friend convinces her to start dating again. Finding the dating prospects for forty-year-old women thin, Jule reluctantly agrees to a blind date. One look at the sexy, delivery boy, Daniel, and she's certain the coming night will be very sweet.<br /><br />Daniel surprises Jule by his insistence on extending their one-night stand beyond the weekend. Despite their mutual attraction, Jule battles her fear of Daniel's reaction to the secret that ended her marriage. She doesn't know that Daniel is also guarding a secret he's reluctant to share with her.<br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">Will it feature a plus size character?</span></strong> The heroine in One Sweet Night isn’t BBW.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">14) What are you reading now? </span></strong>At the moment, I’m expending all my energies writing. So I’m not reading anything at the moment.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">15) Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> M.C. Beaton, Tony Hillerman, Betty Neels, Valerie W. Wesley, Jo Dereske, Eleanor Taylor Bland, D.R. Meredith, Kenneth Robeson are some of my favorites.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">16) How can readers get in contact with you?<br /></span></strong>They can email me at <a href="mailto:mlee2057@aol.com">mlee2057@aol.com</a> or <a href="mailto:marilynlee@marilynlee.org">marilynlee@marilynlee.org</a>.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">17) Do you have a website? </span></strong>Yes. It’s <a href="http://www.marilynlee.org/">http://www.marilynlee.org/</a>. I also have a fan site <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/marilynleefanclub/system/pages/matureConfirm?path=http%3A%2F%2Fsites.google.com%2Fsite%2Fmarilynleefanclub%2F">Official Marilyn Lee Fab Club</a> which sometimes has contests.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">21) What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</span></strong> That I really appreciate their support and that I love to hear from them.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">About Marilyn Lee:</span></strong> Marilyn lives, works, and writes on the East Coast of The US. In additional to thoroughly enjoying writing erotic romances in various genres, she enjoys roller-skating, spending time with her large, extended family, and rooting for all her favorite hometown sports teams. Her other interests include collecting Doc Savage pulp novels from the thirties and forties and collecting Marvel comics from the seventies and eighties (particularly Thor and The Avengers.) Her favorite TV shows are forensic shows, westerns (Gun smoke and Have Gun, Will Travel are particular favorites), and mysteries (Charlie Chan movies in particular). Her all time favorite mystery movie is probably Dead, Again. She’s seen nearly every vampire movie or television show ever made (Forever Knight and Count Yorga, Vampires are favorites. She thoroughly enjoys interacting with readers either through email or via her Yahoo web group.Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-79565562690899200262009-11-21T18:23:00.000-08:002009-11-21T21:53:03.284-08:00Interview with Author and Publisher Rose Jackson-Beaver<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzIEo34gc9w2tICe64RcYKTDh1dl0U0zghJ0OPWI6VHZrK1cuo81kRCLrpoYhjeKVl3Axe1ZBsNzNCjLxkCJ7nCrrev0T5TiCscR6qEsL1wzaURXdZDqAB33oZa63CTxXd1FyXR89Ge8/s1600/CaughtInTheNet_front+cover.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO71JGvbMFz0YhjdxzsTsJ9kbjohpqsYNTQlgvFzVV71WLmPp-hqXhTAta73FpWD280OXzdbezsglkuwIgCcJMiYL0-yxYBOAxcs2OQJCZuXyhKMcV1buuWiuyJHq5XB-aZ_5MAwfMVMk/s1600/backroom.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 131px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406800411086048178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO71JGvbMFz0YhjdxzsTsJ9kbjohpqsYNTQlgvFzVV71WLmPp-hqXhTAta73FpWD280OXzdbezsglkuwIgCcJMiYL0-yxYBOAxcs2OQJCZuXyhKMcV1buuWiuyJHq5XB-aZ_5MAwfMVMk/s200/backroom.jpg" /></a><br /><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWr6-4i9QOKVIMc7tF7pVoPMDM3KQpI8X3E_4fUyrZM5ehAKqg-FDhelOruk2eSb5_eksT3NeellmhyphenhyphenKLmhdI6Cjd-ImcaHuZsYb5U1w4rSJNKYbhBbPqvrSyrAuBGJesPFAPYhOfJ1UA/s1600/ROSE+IN+BRAIDS.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 138px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406800314839060914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWr6-4i9QOKVIMc7tF7pVoPMDM3KQpI8X3E_4fUyrZM5ehAKqg-FDhelOruk2eSb5_eksT3NeellmhyphenhyphenKLmhdI6Cjd-ImcaHuZsYb5U1w4rSJNKYbhBbPqvrSyrAuBGJesPFAPYhOfJ1UA/s200/ROSE+IN+BRAIDS.jpg" /></a><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="color:#000000;">Join us as we chat with award winning author and publisher Rose Jackson-Beaver about her book Back Room Confessions, her publishing company and her new releases. And don't forget to leave a comment. All those that enter comments between now and the end of December will be entered to win a copy of one of the book we have in our book collection. See side panel for contest details.</span></span><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">1)Tell us about yourself?</span></strong> I am a middle child considered an oldest child because I am the first daughter after a series of boys, yet I am the first daughter of four girls born back to back. If you study birth order and understand the traits, I am considered a leader. As a leader, I often had to entertain my siblings, so I told stories. I found that I was a good storyteller. Since I loved to tell stories, write poems and just loved to talk, it was not a coincident that I won Ms. Ann Landers in college, or that I was pegged with that name throughout high school. What it said to me was that I had something to say and that people wanted to hear it. So it didn’t surprise me to find that I wanted to write and tell stories. What probably surprised most was that I did not go into journalism, but pursued the field of social work/social service. I believe it gave me the ability, and the opportunity to gather all kinds of stories that would later come in handy as I begin to explore the world of writing and publishing. I am married and have been for 25 years and have a daughter who is 21 years old. I also own two companies, Priority Books Publications and The Family Enhancement Center.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2)How long have you been writing?</span></strong> I have been writing since the age of ten. I wrote in journals and notebooks and wrote letters for enjoyment.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3)What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? </span></strong>I began to write letters to relatives, friends and pen pals around the age of 10, by the age of 12 I was writing to inmates. Often times, I would look in the back of magazines like Black Beat, etc. to find someone who needed a friendly letter. Once I wrote a letter, the recipient would beg me to write again. They loved receiving my letters, especially inmates who I described the sun, flowers and beautiful landscape too. I wrote letters and received them until my mom found out and stopped it. The inmates were very nice and never said anything out of the norm to a young kid. They just appreciated the letters. When I think of that and whether I would do something like that now, the answer would be a strong no. Writing for me started because of two things. I loved to read and loved to play with words on paper<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4)Tell us a little about your book Backroom Confessions and the plus size character in this book. What is it Backroom Confessions about? Who is the plus size character in this book? What role does she play in the story? Is her size a major part of the story as a whole? </span></strong>Backroom Confessions is the compelling tale of five devoted social workers brought together to assist those in need. The fab five quickly realize that within the walls of the backroom lie infinite answers, plentiful problems and scandalous skeletons. Despite their affinity for helping others, each have their own struggles and demons to exorcise. Their often-candid backroom sessions commonly cause clash, camaraderie, connivance, cheerfulness, curiosity and mass-confusion. As the lives of these office professionals intertwine, their journey together will take you on a thrilling expedition; including love, lust, embarrassment, backstabbing, infidelity, hilarity and steamy sexual encounters.<br /><br />The lead character in the book is Jericka Parker who is the director of a social service agency. She is educated, a great dresser and she is very attractive. But she is a size 16. So busy being a mom, wife, supervisor and friend, she was simply happy with who she was. Though she was plus size, it didn’t stop her from having a good relationship with her husband or being the go to person on the job. Her plus size just gave her style, confidence and the ability to look at issues and problems with an objective eye.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5)Tell us about your publishing company, Priority Publications. How long have you been publishing? What types of books do you publish? How can writers contact Priority Publications? </span></strong>The name Prioritybooks Publications, LLC came from my need to be first in my life. I wanted my writing to be my first priority. I wanted to control my own work, to publish what and when I wanted, and to feed my need to write. I later took on other authors who asked me to publish their work. We are dedicated to providing the best service available to our authors and increasing the interest of reading to all generations through our many literary pursuits. Founded in 2004, our publishing interests include inspirational, autobiographical, poetic and fictional materials relating mainly to teens, young adults, and women. Writers can contact us by visiting our website at <a href="http://www.prioritybooks.com/">http://www.prioritybooks.com/</a>. Our contact information is posted there.<br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6)When will your next book be released? Tell us a little about your next book? Will it feature a plus size character? </span></strong>I recently released my second book for teens. I co-wrote it with my nephew Edward Booker. The book, Caught in the Net of Deception, is a collection of short stories about teenagers facing danger while meeting strangers on the Internet. As these teens look for love, fun, and opportunities to make money, they will face many problems. Most teens are familiar with Facebook, MySpace, and spend time surfing the Internet, but if not careful they could be sucked into a world of horror.<br /><br />Sometime in the near future, I will feature another plus size character. But right now I am finishing up a Christian novel, A Sinner’s Cry and another teen novel, Attacked by Love.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7)What are you reading now? Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> I am reading Mama Dearest, by E. Lynn who was one of my favorite authors. I also am reading Kim Roby’s A Deep Dark Secret, another favorite, as well as several novels that I am reviewing for my newspaper column.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8)How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong> They can contact me via my website at www.prioritybooks.com or email at <a href="mailto:info@prioritybooks.com">info@prioritybooks.com</a>.<br />.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9)What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you? </span></strong>I am also a motivational speaker who has been on the circuit for years motivating and encouraging students, teens and adults. I speak at conferences, mostly educational ones, churches, schools, etc.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10)If you could tell one thing to every aspiring writer what would it be? </span></strong>Write every day and hone your skills. I must add this one too: get a professional edit of your completed manuscript.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About Rose Jackson-Beavers:</span></strong> Rose is a motivational speaker, trainer and the owner of Prioritybooks Publications. Prioritybooks is a publishing company that helps first time authors achieve their dreams of becoming published. Currently a columnist for The Spanish Lake Word newspaper, she has completed four books through her publishing company; one which she co-authored with 15 year old Edward Booker, “A Hole in My Heart”. She has also written and published, “Backroom Confessions, and Summin T’Say as well as co-authored a quilt and poetry book will a nationally known fabric artist, Edna Patterson-Petty. Mrs. Beavers received her Bachelor and Master degrees from Illinois State and Southern Illinois Universities. Rose Jackson-Beavers is married and have one daughter. </div></div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-20131315135674488322009-11-08T10:06:00.000-08:002010-01-28T06:44:27.948-08:00Interview with Author & Playwrite Charles Lovett<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWTFsNUZTt8hEJNPD_nRCuSd6vsrGhKLzhcXqA2I_fcgtLjC3e2xJsO8llUZqtINLGtASz2LcNsmXzke1mVfNN_EenoozqSz2AYBBCbmtDijYu1l9W2xg03EHxY-XJBC_bzFwqj9kIYY/s1600-h/CharlesLovett.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 144px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401803231747671810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYWTFsNUZTt8hEJNPD_nRCuSd6vsrGhKLzhcXqA2I_fcgtLjC3e2xJsO8llUZqtINLGtASz2LcNsmXzke1mVfNN_EenoozqSz2AYBBCbmtDijYu1l9W2xg03EHxY-XJBC_bzFwqj9kIYY/s200/CharlesLovett.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFT5stCDXefHjnkVJv1Nn8gOVZ3XiJmC80eoFLm8DFiVyRRg70SmaR9HCOQmRUwdL5ruzKH3hoRiY_vGV-rhHYGjNMzZPLbjjG_biIDChRv8kM5x_P-TJ-tGWch1gmuaAl3EC_ImstAVY/s1600-h/Programcover.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401803119043143538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFT5stCDXefHjnkVJv1Nn8gOVZ3XiJmC80eoFLm8DFiVyRRg70SmaR9HCOQmRUwdL5ruzKH3hoRiY_vGV-rhHYGjNMzZPLbjjG_biIDChRv8kM5x_P-TJ-tGWch1gmuaAl3EC_ImstAVY/s200/Programcover.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with Charles Lovett, author of the program and one of the most interesting interviews we have had to date. Take a minute a learn more about Charles Lovett and his literary career. And please feel free to leave a comment on this interview for a chance to win a copy of The Program. Thank you Charles Lovett for generously offering a copy of your book for the contest. Contest ends December 12, 2009.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">1) Tell us about yourself.</span></strong> (Bio can be found at the end of interview don't skip it it really gives you a feel for Charles Lovett the man, the writer, the husband, the father. I have never been this entertained by just reading someone's bio.)<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc0000;"><strong>2) How long have you been</strong> </span><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">writing?</span><span style="color:#cc0000;"> What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? </span></strong>I began writing seriously in the early 1990s, but as early as I can remember I’ve been intrigued by the idea of being a writer. In college I did some creative writing—in our Modern Drama class we had the option of writing a term paper or a play: I chose a play. I wrote a few short stories during and after college and then began to write academic nonfiction as I became interested in Lewis Carroll in my twenties. My first two books were Carroll studies. Then, in the early 1990s, I was going through a major change in my life—divorce, moving to a new state, closing down my antiquarian book business—and I decided to pursue writing more seriously. I began taking classes and eventually enrolled at the MFA program at Vermont College (now Vermont College of Fine Arts). While there I wrote lots of short stories, and a book length memoir.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">3) Tell us a little about your novel The Program and the plus size heroine featured in this novel. </span></strong>When I had been out of graduate school for a couple of years, I decided I wanted to write a novel, and also that I wanted it to be accessible—not highbrow literary fiction, but a good rip-roaring read that would keep people guessing and make them want to turn the page. I hit on the idea behind The Program (an evil weight loss clinic and a small band of friends who try to bring it down) and began to write. The novel that was published several years later is the result of many re-writes, and changes, but I still think it fits my original vision. After several drafts, I tried to decide what the novel was about (on a deeper level than just plot) and decided it was about the facades we all put on at times. This focus helped me with subsequent drafts and, I think, gives coherence to the story.<br /><br />The heroine of The Program, Karen Sumner, is a “plus sized” woman whose weight has a major effect on her self-esteem. She has a hard time believing that other people could love her and, at the beginning of the book, she dreams of being thin. Part of the arc of The Program is Karen giving up those dreams and accepting herself for who she is. </div><div></div><div>(Click on here to read the first chapter of The Program: <a href="http://www.freado.com/player/bookplayer.php?contentid=3428&authorid=2549&preview=1" contentid="3428&authorid=2549&preview=1">">Book Buzzer Link</a>)<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">4) Why did you chose to feature plus size heroines in your novels? </span></strong>The original impetus for The Program goes all the way back to when my older daughter (now out of college) was in grade school. The school had an education program about drugs and alcohol, which is perfectly noble, but as I looked around at the young girls in our neighborhood, I realized that eating disorders seems to be at least as big a threat to this demographic as drugs, yet nothing was said about body image in the school. So, The Program began as a way to help people accept their bodies and realize they can be both healthy and beautiful in a variety of shapes and sizes.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">5) Your body of work is vast and very diverse. Tell us a little about your literary journey leading to writing and then the publishing of The Program. Is The Program your only fiction novel? </span></strong>I began my writing career writing mostly non-fiction, but I always wanted to write fiction. I wrote my first novel as part of a creative writing class, and it will, I hope, remain unpublished forever. It wasn’t much of a book, but it did help me believe that I could write a book length piece of fiction, so it was a worthwhile exercise. I wrote a lot of short stories during graduate school, but also began to explore memoir writing. I’ve written two books of creative no-fiction: a memoir about my mother who died of breast cancer when I was two years old (Love, Ruth) and a book about a pilgrimage I took through early Christian sites in Britain (Sparrow through the Hall). Since The Program, I have written another full-length novel (Marginalia) for which I am currently seeking a publisher. I’ve also written a dozen plays for children which have been published and performed in over 2000 productions around the world. I really enjoy different types of writing—the personal emotional journey of a memoir, the act of discovery in a work of academic non-fiction, the complexity of the narrative novel, and the fun of children’s plays. I don’t think I’d be as happy as a writer if I just wrote one type of work.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">5) Do you plan to write more books featuring plus size characters? </span></strong>I am actually just finishing the first draft of a young adult novel featuring a plus-sized heroine (The Fat Lady Sings). I had the idea for this novel a few years ago and wrote out some notes but never pursued it. Then, this past summer, I was part of a panel discussing “Fat Friendly Fiction” moderated by my publisher Peggy Elam (Pearlsong Press). One of the issues that came up was the dearth of good young adult novels with plus sized heroes and heroines. I thought about those notes in the drawer and realized that that was what was missing from my idea. As soon as I made the heroine plus-sized, the book just fell into place. I’ve spent the last two months working on the first draft and hope to have it polished enough to show Peggy by the end of the year.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">6) When exploring your website I came across The Lovett Foundation. Please tell readers about the Lovett Foundation and the great work you are doing. </span></strong>The Lovett Foundation is a small family foundation that makes grants to non-profit organizations in areas as diverse as homelessness, AIDS support, the environment, education, the arts, and women’s and family issues. Next year, we hope to establish the Lovett Fund for Elementary Theatre, which will make small grants to schools to support the production of plays at the elementary school level. So much research these days is telling us of the importance of arts experiences in education, and I feel that most of schools’ limited theatre budgets tend to go to middle and high school productions; we’d like to encourage doing plays at the elementary level as well.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">7) What are you reading now? What types of books (genres) do you read in general? </span></strong>I read pretty widely. This summer I went on a classic English novel kick and read Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, and Pride and Prejudice. At the same time, I was reading Edwardian boarding school novels for fun. Last night I read Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which I had heard a lot about. I’m also currently reading a long experimental novel called 2666. I like literary mysteries like the Book of Air and Shadows or The Thirteenth Tale and quirky non-fiction (I’m also currently reading a book by a friend of mine about Sasquatch encounters). I like classic English novels, anything funny (P.G. Wodhouse, for instance). I like good children’s books like Harry Potter (I’m less enamored of the Twilight Books, I’m afraid. Just not as well written as Rowling). In general my favorite books tend to be well written and tell great stories. Beyond that, I’m not too concerned if they’re fiction or non-fiction, contemporary or classic. I do have a soft spot for books set in England.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">8) Who are your favorite authors? </span></strong>Some of my favorites are Tom Sharpe, Robertson Davies, David Lodge, Eric Kraft, Charles Dickens, J. K. Rowling, P. D. James, and John Irving.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">9) Tell us about the online and offline personal appearances you have planned over the next couple of months. Where can readers connect with you up close and personal? </span></strong>The best way for readers to connect with me is through my website or on Facebook. Anyone who is in the Winston-Salem area is welcome to come to the world premiere of my new play, Rude Mechanicals, at Summit School on November 19.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">10) How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong> My website, <a href="http://www.charlielovett.com/">http://www.charlielovett.com/</a>, includes a book club guide for The Program, as well as a long article about the path The Program took between the first idea and publication. You can also find out about my other publications, including my plays. I love it when readers contact me through my website, and I try to respond to all my e-mails.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">11) What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you? </span></strong>I am a regular guy. There is nothing mysterious about being a writer. Like anything else, it takes a little innate skill and a lot of hard work.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#cc0000;">About Charles Lovett:</span></strong><br /><br />Charlie Lovett was born in 1962, shortly before the Cuban Missile Crisis, an event for which he disavows all responsibility. He suffered in early childhood from an older brother and sister who enjoyed subjecting him to what they appropriately called “tickle torture.” Charlie has nearly recovered from the emotional damage and is thinking about forgiving his siblings in the next few years.<br /><br />Charlie entered Summit School in 1966, and hasn’t been able to find his way out since. He is currently Writer-in-Residence at Summit and has recently published Onward and Upward, a 75th anniversary history of the school. This was his first coffee table book, which he actually has a copy of sitting on his coffee table. Charlie’s love of drama began in the first grade when he played the role of the Gingerbread Boy. The New York Times said, on the occasion of the premiere, “Cloudy tomorrow with a 40% chance of rain.” Charlie has ignored the critics ever since.<br /><br />Charlie went on to play the title role in Tom Sawyer in fourth grade, a part his father said he had been rehearsing for all his life. Other roles at Summit included the lead in Rumplestiltskin, the Badger in Toad of Toad Hall, and his unforgettable turn as Bad Bart Banana Peel in his second grade play (though his part was unforgettable, he has completely forgotten the name of the play.)<br /><br />In 1977 Charlie entered Woodberry Forest School and began a serious career as a long distance runner. After three years of high school he had been unable to outrun his passion for the theatre, so he spent four years at Davidson College studying theatre. He acted in dramas, comedies, musicals and children’s plays. During college Charlie also wrote two plays, which have thankfully remained hidden at the bottom of a box of old papers ever since. He directed three plays and graduated with a degree in theatre and absolutely no prospects of gameful employment.<br /><br />After a careful study of career options, Charlie chose antiquarian book selling (a narrow victor over air traffic controller and toll booth attendant). With his first wife, Stephanie, Charlie operated Lovett & Lovett Booksellers (which he foolishly forgot to declare a non-profit entity) in Winston-Salem. Soon he was volunteering on the stage of Summit School once again. In the late 1980s, Charlie began to publish scholarship on Lewis Carroll, drawn partly from his massive collection of Carroll items, which he continues to assemble. He has since published five books on Lewis Carroll yet Carroll refuses to return the favor—he has published NO books about Charlie Lovett.<br /><br />After a move to Kansas in the early 1990s, Charlie rediscovered his passion for the theatre, playing such roles as Feste in Twelfth Night, Brabantio in Othello, and the lead role of the Duke in Measure for Measure. Charlie later discovered that these plays were all written by the same person, a William Shakespeare who somehow managed to become a playwright without ever having played the role of Bad Bart Banana Peel.<br /><br />In January of 1997, Charlie received his M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College in Montpelier Vermont. Unfortunately, it was so cold at the time that the diploma was presented to Charlie’s cryogenically frozen body. After thawing out in England for six months with his wife, Janice, and stepdaughter, Jordan, Charlie returned to America and prepared for a move back to Winston-Salem. Jordan entered Summit School as a sixth grader the year that Charlie’s daughter Lucy began the first grade there. Within days Charlie and Janice were helping out with the sixth grade play.<br /><br />In 2001, Janice was offered the job of third grade drama specialist at Summit. She had all the talents necessary to wrangle 60+ third graders and train them to perform a Broadway-quality masterpiece. All she lacked was a Broadway-quality masterpiece. To fill this need, Charlie shamelessly stole several of Janice’s ideas and wrote the script for Twinderella—his first children’s play. He has since written twelve other plays for performance at Summit in both the third grade and the junior high. twelve of his plays have been published and more are on the way. His plays have been performed across the country and around the world.<br /><br />For those publishers out there who happen to be reading this, in addition to his twelve published books, Charlie has written two other novels: one will rightly remained buried in the same box with his college plays, the other is a bestseller waiting for a publisher to realize its potential. His published works are detailed elsewhere, but his yet-to-be-published works also include a brilliant sequel to A Christmas Carol written in the style of Charles Dickens (who, Charlie later discovered, actually wrote the original story as well).<br /><br />Charlie continues to write and act. He has recently played roles such as the Duke in Big River and Marcellus in The Music Man. He is puzzled by this, since both these characters are tenors and he is a bass, but hey, that’s acting. His rendition of “Shipoopi” in The Music Man will be remembered by all who saw it—many of them are still in therapy because of the nightmares.<br /><br />Charlie’s novel The Program, published in May 2008, will no doubt take the country by storm. Or maybe that’s just another hurricane . . .<br /><br />With Jordan in college, Lucy in high school, Janice continuing to act and direct, and his dog Sophie asleep on the couch, Charlie believes the best parts of this biography are yet to come!</div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-17739056526325281792009-11-01T04:36:00.000-08:002009-12-06T14:58:57.930-08:00Interview with Author Caramel Vixen aka Alisson Deese<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEefkr899hFroV7pZUvkhQU8raQVzbivQwLin9wQDqAm0WB_d2uY-OYTEtp0HHfrmBsV5bJ6Q9TkYIS3RffwuKHUyAFhqZ0qDXPW7cXXMnVIWJWubOdEjcadCyhbNjw60I5OyWvBQV2G0/s1600-h/Allyson_M__Deese_pic_07.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 146px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399322842713083586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEefkr899hFroV7pZUvkhQU8raQVzbivQwLin9wQDqAm0WB_d2uY-OYTEtp0HHfrmBsV5bJ6Q9TkYIS3RffwuKHUyAFhqZ0qDXPW7cXXMnVIWJWubOdEjcadCyhbNjw60I5OyWvBQV2G0/s200/Allyson_M__Deese_pic_07.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiM1uCPDfbqCktVbe5AcyvbFjFtEHEbGay3qLRnKUcDIJoIhIF1RwuGpTa6Ghxy1unoX49rFiE9aiAiMdWF1jWakCWRXq3Lj0YS_PkA-Nwzb2OE-BCchHt4LTwT9sx6vo3_o__MWv7IWo/s1600-h/officeaffairscaramelvixen.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399322748964996066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiM1uCPDfbqCktVbe5AcyvbFjFtEHEbGay3qLRnKUcDIJoIhIF1RwuGpTa6Ghxy1unoX49rFiE9aiAiMdWF1jWakCWRXq3Lj0YS_PkA-Nwzb2OE-BCchHt4LTwT9sx6vo3_o__MWv7IWo/s200/officeaffairscaramelvixen.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with Allyson Deese, author and a sister with curves doing her thing and letting her readers know that curvy is sexy. Please feel free to comment on her interview. Leave a comment on this interview before November 28th and be entered into a drawing to win a free book of your choice.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>1) Tell us about yourself?</strong></span> I am a native of Western North Carolina, where I reside with my family. I also juggle being a full time student majoring in Medical Office Administration and computer lab tutor on campus.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">2) How long have you been writing? </span></strong>I have been writing poetry since the age of 11. I began writing short stories and essays briefly in high school and then I picked it back up three years after that. So almost 14 years in total. Wow, I had never really thought about how long I had been writing.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3) How long have you been writing about plus size women? </span></strong>I have been writing exclusively about plus size women ever since 2006 when I first started writing with the intention of being published. My mission is to push the envelope of plus size acceptance and make it clear that we as plus size women are just as sexy and have just as much to offer as our thinner counterparts.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>4) You write under both Allyson Deese and Caramel Vixen. What is the difference in your two literary identities?</strong></span> The main difference in my two literary identities is that Allyson Deese is my birth name and I mainly write inspirational and contemporary pieces under that name. Caramel Vixen is the diva that Allyson Deese was too shy to become when I first began writing. I love writing romance and erotica exclusively for and about BBWs under that name.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5) Your latest paperback release, Office Affairs featured a plus size heroine? What other works do you have featuring plus size women?</span></strong> Office Affairs is my first paperback release as Caramel Vixen, originally Office Affairs was an e-novella published under Lady Leo Publishing. Currently at Lady Leo Publishing you can find: Ready for Love, No Matter What and Mr. Magic Fingers<br /><a href="http://www.ladyleopublishing.org/readyforlove-caramelvixen.html">www.ladyleopublishing.org/readyforlove-caramelvixen.html</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6) You have a number of e-books featuring plus size women? Why did you decide to go the e-book publishing route for some of your books? </span></strong>E-books gave me my start in the writing industry. I will always be grateful for Lady Leo Publishing for initially giving me a chance. The majority of my e-books are short stories, and I’m currently working on turning some of them into novels for print.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7) Why did you choose to feature plus size heroines in your novels?</span></strong> I am a plus size woman and I wanted to see more women like myself in romance and erotica and it was hard to find positive plus size heroines, so I decided to create some.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8) Do you plan to write more books featuring plus size characters?</span></strong> All of my books of all genres will have a woman who’s at least a size 14 as the main character.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9) Tell us about Office Affairs and the plus size heroine we will meet in this book. </span></strong><br />Office Affairs is an erotic romance about the discovery of love, self worth. The main plus size heroine that you will meet in this book is Allysia Donaldson, a BBW who at only 30 years of age, owns her own clothing company, Ample Delights, which is centrally located in beautiful Manhattan. Allysia is very successful in her business endeavors but when it comes to love, she’s batting zero.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10) What are you reading now? What types of books (genres) do you read in general? </span></strong>Right now, unfortunately I’m reading “Beginners Medical Transcription” (a textbook) but, I’m looking forward to digging into my book wish list and reading quite a few books over winter break. I generally read contemporary fiction, romance and erotica. I,ve always been an avid reader.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11) Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> Just a few of my favorite authors are (in no particular order) Linda Herman, Hazel Mills, Victoria Wells, and Zane. Just to name a few.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12) Tell us about the online and offline personal appearances you have planned over the next couple of months. Where can readers connect with you up close and personal. </span></strong>November 28th I will be doing a signing in Atlanta signing copies of After Dark Delights, the latest of my anthology features. Readers can always contact me via email and request to see or talk to me at : <a href="mailto:vixencaramel@yahoo.com">vixencaramel@yahoo.com</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">13) How can readers get in contact with you?</span></strong> Do you have a website? Readers can reach me at the above email address and also at my websites; <a href="http://www.caramelvixen84.webs.com/">http://www.caramelvixen84.webs.com/</a> and <a href="http://www.officeaffairs.webs.com/">http://www.officeaffairs.webs.com/</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">14) What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you? </span></strong>That I get just as excited about meeting a famous author as they do. Or I still get giddy whenever I receive a new book to read.<br /><br /><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About Caramel Vixen</span></strong> - Allyson Deese is an author and a poet as well as a student majoring in Medical Office Administration. She resides in North Carolina. Although only in her twenties, she has been writing poetry for most of her life and has now began penning her poetry into the pages of her fictional stories of multiple genres. "Discovering the Joy Within" is the author's first work of fiction to be published. You can find “Discovering the Joy Within” featured in Elissa Gabrielle’s anthology “The Triumph Of My Soul” www.thetriumphofmysoul.com available now, look for Ms. Deese and friends, in the third installment of the Triumph series. Ms. Deese is currently working on the novel version of Discovering the Joy Within for a 2010 release with Xpress Yourself Publishing <a href="http://www.xpressyourselfpublishing.org/">http://www.xpressyourselfpublishing.org/</a></p></div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-57078888848656823322009-10-24T19:53:00.000-07:002009-10-25T06:47:43.520-07:00Interview with Author & Poet Monica Marie Jones<a href="http://www.bbwreviewers.com/interviewimage/MonicaAuthorPhoto.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 170px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 255px; CURSOR: hand" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.bbwreviewers.com/interviewimage/MonicaAuthorPhoto.jpg" /></a><span style="color:#000000;">Join us as we chat with Monica Marie Jones. Author, poet, youth expert, and a sister in the struggle to be curvy in a world that does not always understand the meaning of true beauty. Sit back and learn a little more about an author on a mission to entertain, encourage, inspire and educate readers.</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">*******CONTEST ALERT: Leave a comment with an email address on the Monica Marie Jones interview and be entered to win a copy of The Ups and Downs Of Being Round and Swag</span></strong> .<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>1) Tell us about yourself?</strong></span> I consider myself an artist. My artistic medium is paper ink and words. When I am doing anything that has to do with writing or reading I lose all track of time because I love it so much. I am an author, poet, motivational speaker and radio show host. My mission in life is to use my words to entertain, encourage, inspire and educate.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>2) What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time?</strong></span> I started out by journaling to process my emotions. The journal entries led to poems, and then one day I decided to write a book. After seeing my first book in print, I was addicted. I have not turned back since. Now I am on book number four.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>3) You mention on your website that you are a youth development expert. What exactly is the role of a your development expert? Has your work as a youth development expert influenced your writing?</strong></span> In undergraduate school I studied elementary education and in graduate school I studied social work with a focus on youth. After college I enrolled in the High/Scope Educational Research Foundations Trainer Certification Program. I have worked with youth in several capacities since I was a teenager. I have been everything from a classroom teacher to a camp counselor to an after-school program director. I have contributed to literature in the field of youth work as well as curriculum materials based upon the research based best practice approach to youth development. My work with youth directly effects my writing because I am still very connected with youth and I want to inspire and give them something positive to aspire to. I write my urban fiction with them in mind. I know that urban fiction and street lit is what they are into because I see them reading it. So I write story lines that are real, but I don't use any profanity and I always include a powerful inspirational message<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">4) You have a number of books, essays and poems available to the reading public. Could you give us a brief list of your titles as well as the where we can find your essays and poetry. How many of these books feature plus size characters or are written for a plus size audience?</span></strong> The titles with two stars are written directly for the plus sized audience, the titles with one start have parts that are for the plus sized audience.<br /><br /><ul><li>**Okay to Be Me in Chicken Soup for the Girl's Soul (Short Story)</li><li>**The Ups and Downs of Being Round (Novel)</li><li>New Directions in Youth Development (Non-Fiction-Contributing Author to Chapter 3</li><li>*Taste My Soul (Poetry)</li><li>FLOSS (Urban Fiction)</li><li>44th (Poem within a book about Barack Obama)</li><li>*Swag (Urban Fiction)</li><li>** Fat Girl (Poem) and Don't Wait for the Weight (Essay) in The Souls of My Young Sisters (Anthology-March 2010)</li><li>The Perfect Stranger (Short Story) in Bedtime Stories 3 (Anthology-August 2010)</li></ul><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>5) You describe your novel The Ups and Downs Of Being Round as a coming of age story about a girl who struggles through her life with issues of weight. Could you tell us a little more about this book. What was the motivation behind this novel?</strong></span> The Ups and Downs of Being Round is a coming of age story about a girl who struggles throughout her life with issues of weight. Overweight as a child, Madison Jenson struggles with teasing and physical limitations until she loses the weight during her adolescent years. Just as she begins to enjoy life as a slim girl she gains the weight back during her college years. Finally, being fed up with being unhappily overweight, she loses it again as a young adult, but to her surprise she loses a lot more than just the weight and finds out that physical weight loss does not guarantee happiness. This book is based upon my life. I have always struggled with being up and down in weight. A few years ago I changed my lifestyle and lost 65 pounds...This book follows what that journey was like. This is my first time ever admitting this on record, so it's and exclusive, but, I've gained all but 15 of those pounds back. What people don't realize is that losing weight comes with a huge psychological burden that most people aren't ready for. As a result I have made it my mission to promote self love from the inside out no matter your size.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>6) Do you have more Curvy books (books featuring plus size characters) in the works? If so can we get a sneak peek of what is in stored for us lovers of Curvy Books?</strong></span> YES! Right now I am working on the sequel to The Ups and Downs if Being Round. It is called The Flip Side of Fat. It talks about what its like living in a skinny body when your mind still tells you that you are fat. I am trying to decide whether I want to make it fiction based on my life like the Ups and Downs of Being Round, or just the straight up true story.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>7) Tell us about your newest release Swag. What is it about? How can fans of your work purchase a copy of Swag.</strong></span> Swag is my pride and joy. Here is the synopsis...Noelle Dresden stepped out on faith and left her full-time job to pursue her passion: singing. Six months later, her singing career hasn't gone much of anywhere and neither has her relationship with her charismatic, yet sneaky boyfriend, Jonah. Although Jonah loves Noelle, he’s not willing to give her the commitment and ring she so desperately wants. After Jonah uses Noelle’s hopes of an engagement for his benefit, Noelle gets fed up and decides to move forward with her career…with or without Jonah.Her pursuit leads her to accept an invitation to be a house guest on the popular, hit reality show, House of Swag. On the show, aspiring entertainers with the potential to take it to the next level are trained to become multifaceted mega stars. While in the house, Noelle catches the eye of the show’s creator, Monroe "Paper" Chase. He uses his good looks and smooth talk to charm her, then he uses his money and power to attempt to subtract Jonah from the equation. Drama only escalates when Noelle has to deal with an envious, hating house guest who is not beyond trying to bring Noelle down to get ahead.As Noelle rises toward super stardom, she has some difficult choices to make. What lies ahead of her looks so much better than what she has left behind. Will she work to keep the love that she and Jonah shares alive, or will she choose fame, fortune and a man who can make all of her dreams come true?Readers can buy Swag on my website at <a href="http://www.monicamariejones.com/">http://www.monicamariejones.com/</a> or on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/">http://www.amazon.com/</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8) What are you reading now?</span></strong> Right now I am reading "Just A Little Boy Crazy" by Teen Author Shelbie Moore, but I am desperately trying to get my hands on a copy of "The Ideal Wife" by Jacquelin Thomas.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9) Who are your favorite authors?</span></strong> My favorite author of all time is Jacquelin Thomas. I also enjoy Robyn Williams, Eric Jerome Dickey, Omar Tyree, T.D. Jakes and Francine Rivers.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10) Tell us about the online and offline personal appearances you have planned over the next couple of months. Where can readers connect with you up close and personal?</span></strong> My online appearances include features on the Motown Writers Network and Michigan Literary Network Sites (<a href="http://www.motownwriters.com/">http://www.motownwriters.com/</a>), Goddess Girl Online Magazine for Teens (<a href="http://www.freewebs.com/goddessmag">http://www.freewebs.com/goddessmag</a>), My weekly column on the I'm A Huge Deal website (<a href="http://www.imahugedeal.com/">http://www.imahugedeal.com/</a>), My feature on the Detroit Blog on Time Magazine's Website (<a href="http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2009/09/25/writing-new-stories-about-detroit/">http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2009/09/25/writing-new-stories-about-detroit/</a>)<br /><br />My offline events include the Essence Of Motown Literary Jam, the second weekend of November as well as visits to Chicago, Austin and New Mexico.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11) How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong> Yes, readers can get in contact with me on all of the social networks including Facebook (Monica Marie Jones), Twitter (@monicamjones), Myspace (<a href="http://www.myspace.com/monicamariejones">www.myspace.com/monicamariejones</a>) and of course my website <a href="http://www.monicamariejones.com/">http://www.monicamariejones.com/</a>. Readers can also email me directly at <a href="mailto:monica@monicamariejones.com">monica@monicamariejones.com</a><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12) What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you?</span></strong> I want my readers to know that, December will make two years since I stepped out on faith and left my full time job to pursue my passion of writing wholeheartedly. Since then, the blessings have been infinite and I'm not sure that there would have been a space for them if I had not let go and trusted that the walk in my purpose would be a challenging yet rewarding journey. I said all of that to say, chase that dream until you catch it then hang on tight for a wild yet fulfilling ride!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">About Monica Marie Jones:</span></strong> Monica Marie Jones is an author whose published works include The Ups and Downs of Being Round (Fiction/Self-Help), Taste My Soul (Poetry) and FLOSS (Urban Fiction). She is a contributing author in Chicken Soup for the Girls Soul, New Directions for Youth Development, and 44th (A full color coffee table book about President Barack Obama that is a compilation of front page reprints of actual African-American published newspapers and poetry.) She has also contributed to several publications and youth development training materials for the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation. She has worked as a columnist and freelance writer for various publications and websites including the Michigan Front Page Newspaper and is an active member of the Motown Writer's Network where she is the host of her own show, “Marketing and Motivation Mondays with Monica Marie Jones” on the Michigan Literary Network Radio.Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-64540228371029671222009-10-18T05:29:00.000-07:002009-10-18T16:22:21.088-07:00Interview with Critically Acclaimed Author King Dhakir<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Ufl8fCmZ-muXIHS_aOy77aAUJhobYuo8RFh-Pr8qmO05reulhbathoy1Igh1EiXhyphenhyphenIct6V2RV0IWLQbRmvy5s3_qjX0BAkG1zQ3sHcs4Lc8a3ZLhVB_rUIBAO2rPzKyhG4sxqyou_v0/s1600-h/kingdhakir-pic.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 182px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393923671407868882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Ufl8fCmZ-muXIHS_aOy77aAUJhobYuo8RFh-Pr8qmO05reulhbathoy1Igh1EiXhyphenhyphenIct6V2RV0IWLQbRmvy5s3_qjX0BAkG1zQ3sHcs4Lc8a3ZLhVB_rUIBAO2rPzKyhG4sxqyou_v0/s200/kingdhakir-pic.jpg" /></a> Join us as we chat with King Dhakir, author the critically acclaimed I Hate My Job. This fierce brother has the drive of 20 writers. His open and honest commentary on his work and the literary world in general is refreshing and inspiring. But don't take our word for it. Check out this interview. This lover of Curvy Books is impressed and will be picking up this books ASAP.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong></strong></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>1. Tell us about yourself?</strong></span> I am the one and only King Dhakir. King is what I am, which is royalty due to my ancestral blood, and Dhakir means “Remembering God” in Arabic, which I strive to do amongst the weak and wicked. I’m originally from Chicago. Now I’m a rolling stone bouncing from various cities on the East Coast. I’m basically a Renaissance nomad.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>2. How long have you been writing? </strong></span>I've been sharpening my pen for 17 years. Drawing cartoons sketches never worked out because I couldn't raw a lick. So I started writing episodes instead. As I got older, I expanded to lyric writing when I was interested in rapping. MCing has helped me tremendously with story writing because I can incorporate poetics and rhythm to my writings.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3. What drove you to pick up that pen for the first time? </span></strong>Winning $25 in an academic contest for writing an essay on a famous Black individual sparked my interest in writing. I won the award for writing an essay on Malcolm X. When one of my classmates had told me I won the award, I didn't believe her until they announced the winners over the loud speaker for the whole elementary school to hear.<br /><br />I beat out everyone in the 4th grade level at my school, which means I pretty much out wrote roughly 80 students to win the award. So I answered my calling instead of refusing to pick up the phone to speak with opportunity.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>4. How long have you been writing books with plus size characters? </strong></span>I Hate My Job is the first piece I focused on plus size characters. I've always dated thick women, at least over size 10, even when I was younger. I just find plus size women attractive, at least those who are well shaped. I really didn't dwell too deeply with plus size characters, but the next book will have sub-plots dedicated to plus size women.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>5. Tell us about your book I Hate My Job?</strong></span><br />I Hate My Job is not about hating your job, per sé.<br /><br />The title is a metaphor for doing what you want to do instead of doing what you need to do. You need to work at a desk job or a fast food joint to pay bills, but you probably see yourself traveling across the world. My book is the alpha and omega of living out your vision because I’m sure everybody at one point had felt trapped in a situation, and either fought out of a bad spot or fell victim to their environment. I Hate My Job shows you how to GET OUT troublesome situations in order to become victorious.<br /><br />I Hate My Job is filled with comedy, drama, suspense, and erotica, and also socio-political issues such as gentrification, which is going on in many inner city communities today.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>6. Tell us about the plus size character in your novel. Who is she and what is her role in book? Does her size play an essential role in the book? </strong></span>Felicia is the main plus size heroine of the novel, and Justice’s (the main character) close friend as well as off and on lover.<br /><br />She’s in the process of losing her home due to gentrification in Brooklyn. Gentrification in short is basically when land and property tax increases push long time residents out the area to make way for a new crop of people. Felicia is a fighter unwilling to back down from developers who are interested in turning her brownstone into a condo. The representation of a strong woman is shown in her character, and might be considered a feminist to some people reading the book because she wants to do for self without help from a man.<br /><br />I really didn't focus on Felicia’s size as much. I didn't want her image to come across as superficial. I described her physical attributes instead, and only focused on her ambition to strengthen a community that’s fighting to keep their homes. When the average person thinks of BBW (Big Beautiful Women), full figured, or plus size, it’s usually has to do with sex parties, partying in general, modeling or physical appearance. I just wanted to focus on the drive of the woman behind the beauty and the size.<br /><br />I have two other plus size women in the story, but they play minor roles.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>7. Do you plan to write more books featuring plus size characters?</strong> </span>No doubt. Every book I write will have plus-size characters. I don’t want to exploit people who are plus size, and that’s why I subconsciously didn't point out that Felicia was full-figured. I would rather EXPLORE the life of a plus-size individual instead of “type-writer pimping” a particular size.<br />And to add on to that thought, I don’t discriminate. I’m too diverse to pigeon-hole myself as an “author who writes only about full-figured people.” Even when I have full-figured characters, I’ll still maintain a balance of images to cease any biasness.<br /><br />I also wanna point out just because a person is plus-size doesn't mean he/she is living an unhealthy lifestyle. Sometimes genetics plays a part in how people are built. I plan on dropping jewels here and there about health to show folks you can keep your shape while eating right and exercising. Breast cancer, especially among Black women, is due to the fact that the body is lacking Vitamin D. I’ll touch on that in future books as well.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>8. Is there another novel in the works?</strong></span> I started writing my next joint entitled, Cracked Mirrors Are Good Luck. Each word in the title has its own story; five short stories in one book. The piece is basically a Science Fiction joint with mad flavor. It’s gonna be dope. I just wanted to do something different.<br /><br />There’s at least 2 plus size characters, mainly women, in each short story. I’m gonna push the image of full-figured women to the forefront because it seems like I’m the only writer advocating for the size 10 and up crew.<br /><br />Forget pushing the envelope, I’m bulldozing the postal office.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>9. What are you reading now? Who are your favorite authors?</strong></span> I really don’t have any favorite authors. Donald Goines and Eric Jerome Dickey were my favorite authors in the late 90’s when I started reading fictional work. Since I’ve grown a liking in reading, I really don’t have a favorite as of now. I just love a great book that’ll keep my attention when I’m riding buses and trains.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10. Do you have any public appearances in the near future? </span></strong>Bush Baby Café in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn will be hosting a book-signing for me as well as an open mic Saturday, October 24th. You can check out details of that event and other shows I’m throwing in the future by copying and pasting <a href="http://www.kingdhakir.com/apps/calendar/">http://www.kingdhakir.com/apps/calendar/</a> to your browser.<br />I have a few tricks up my sleeve, for sure.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11. How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a website?</span></strong> Anybody can reach me @ <a href="http://www.kingdhakir.com/">http://www.kingdhakir.com/</a><br /><br />Please leave comments and other concerns of yours on the site. I have links to my other pages on social sites like Facebook, Myspace, etc.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">12. What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you? </span></strong>The world will get their money’s worth with no question. If they support me by purchasing I Hate My Job from my website, I’ll support them with a great read filled with entertainment as well as education.<br /><br />I don’t play games with mastering my art as a writer. I appreciate all my supporters. So it’s only right for me to serve them timeless material with every release.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">13. If you could tell one thing to every aspiring writer what would it be? </span></strong>I can say one thing, but actually I have three.<br /><br />Don’t write a popular form of book just because everybody and their mamas are doing it. It makes you look weak and a follower, which equals disaster. The FIRST you is better than being the next someone else.<br /><br />Also, aspiring authors should stop thinking that a lot of money is involved in the book game. You will make dough if you GRIND hard and make the right connects, but overall, a lot of authors still have their day jobs and are broke. It’s no different from the rap game. STUDY the greats who came before you, and learn how to command attention with words by reading books on the English language.<br /><br />Last but not least, have LOVE for what you’re doing. What’s in your heart and mind will show itself between the lines. PEACE!!! </div><br /><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><br /><div align="left"></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>About the Author:</strong></span> King Dhakir was born and raised in Chicago and now resides in New York City. He keeps his sanity by reading, writing, traveling and working out in the gym. After graduating with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Journalism, he sharpens his writing through lyrics and blogging during his spare time. King is also happily single and currently enjoys the life of a bachelor, but doesn’t rule out the possibility of settling down with a Queen to accompany the throne. King has plans of writing another novel tentatively titled, Cracked Mirrors Are Good Luck, and is shooting for a future release.<br /></span><br /><p> </p><p> </p><br /><br /><blockquote></blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote></blockquote><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:0;"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">*****Contest Alert*****<br />Comment on any of the October and November Interviews (Except the Interview by Monica Jones) and be entered into a contest to win your choice of one of the many books we have on hand.</span></strong></span></div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-18801460083315539422009-10-11T09:31:00.000-07:002009-10-18T06:27:48.719-07:00Interview with New York Times Bestselling Author Francis Ray<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Uo97ap7iRbHWJga3EmN-9fOtBm59okUwXBRgiYRwAGmhN1BviM3U78zvEkhTAMjC9Oh_Fzux7zmckrrIDvBxGqbnR0Z6Lk35ihmqesOAskp27c49p3z_tB9U56yTrzzTtvHHZAAhllo/s1600-h/francisray.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 170px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391392357744475490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Uo97ap7iRbHWJga3EmN-9fOtBm59okUwXBRgiYRwAGmhN1BviM3U78zvEkhTAMjC9Oh_Fzux7zmckrrIDvBxGqbnR0Z6Lk35ihmqesOAskp27c49p3z_tB9U56yTrzzTtvHHZAAhllo/s200/francisray.jpg" /></a>Join us as we chat with New York Times Bestselling Author Francis Ray. Francis Ray has written a number of Curvy Novels including And Mistress Makes Three, the fifth novel in her Invincible Women Series. Sit back and relax and learn more about the woman behand the books.<br /><br /><p><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>1. Tell us about yourself?</strong></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"> </span>I'm a mother, and work for a large school district in Texas as a School Nurse Practitioner. I love reading and working in my flower garden.</p><p><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>2. How long have you been writing?</strong></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"> </span>I've been writing since around 1990. I first sold short stories before selling a full-length novel, FALLEN ANGEL, to Odyssey Books on December 24, 1991.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>3.Your books both romance and mainstream fiction feature strong women of various sizes and shapes. Which titles specifically feature plus size woman? How long have you been writing books and stories with plus size</strong> </span><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">woman</span><span style="color:#ff0000;">? </span></strong>I have novellas in BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY and LIVING LARGE. In single mainstream the titles are NOT EVEN IF YOU BEGGED, and AND MISTRESS MAKES THREE. Romance titles include SILKEN BETRAYAL, and DREAMING OF YOU. I've been writing about plus size women for several years<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>4. Why did you chose to feature plus size heroines in your novels? </strong></span>My daughter, Michelle, is the reason I began writing about full figured women, and the reason I came up with the idea for the Big Girl series. One night while I was writing she asked why the all women were thin. It was a good question and made me think that women of size were just as beautiful, just as independent, intelligent, and as resilient as other women. Since that night, I've looked at opportunities to spotlight women of size.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5. The last two books in the Invincible Women Series, Not Even If You Begged and And Mistress Makes Three, both feature plus size women. Tell us about these books. Why did you choose plus size heroines for both of these books? </span></strong>NOT EVEN IF YOU BEGGED features Traci Evans who distrusts men because her husband died while cheating on her. Worse, he made her doubt her ability to interest another man. In AND MISTRESS MAKES THREE, Gina Rawlings' husband crushed her emotionally. Traci and Gina came to me as full-figured women with issues that are shared by many women - trying to move on after a man has done a number on you. They needed to learn to believe in themselves. By the end of the novel they're their own woman. A good-looking, intelligent and successful man who loves them is a bonus.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6. Are there any more plus size heroines is the works? </span></strong>I plan to have a plus size woman in a new mainstream series I'm working on.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">7. What are you reading now? What types of books (genres) do you read in general?</span></strong><br />I'm so far behind on my reading. I love Bette Ford work. I'm reading UNFORGETTABLE. I love romance. I want my happy ending.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">8. Who are your favorite authors? </span></strong>I love so many authors work. As I said, Bette Ford, Donna Hill, Gwynne Forester, Mary Morrison, Victoria Christopher Murphy, Eric Jerome Dickey, Evelyn Palfrey.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">9. Do you have any public appearances in the near future? </span></strong>I'm signing at Borders at Preston and Royal in Dallas on November 7, 2009. Please check my web site at <a title="http://www.francisray.com/" href="http://www.francisray.com/">http://www.francisray.com/</a> for other dates.</p><p><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">10. How can readers get in contact with you? Do you have a </span><span style="color:#ff0000;">website? </span></strong>Readers can email me at <a title="mailto:francisray@aol.com" href="mailto:francisray@aol.com">francisray@aol.com</a> or visit my web site at <a title="http://www.francisray.com/" href="http://www.francisray.com/">http://www.francisray.com/</a> and join my mailing list so they'll receive updates on books/signings and other information.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">11. What is the one thing you would like all of your readers to know about you? </span></strong>I'd like for my readers to know how very much I love and appreciate them. Without their continuous support I would not have been able to write over 40 books, made the New York Times and USA Today bestsellers list or any of the other accomplishments I've had writing. Because of them I'm living my dream of being a published writer. Thank you. I wish all of you love, health and happiness and send readers a big cyber hug.</p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>***** Contest Alert *****<br />Comment on any of the October and November Interviews (Except the Interview by Monica Jones) and be entered into a contest to win your choice of one of the many books we have on hand.</strong></span></span></p>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287841659174800105.post-82869284096833314482009-10-06T18:33:00.000-07:002009-10-18T06:28:13.132-07:00Interview With Torrian Ferguson - Anexander Books Seeking Author To Write About Real WomenJoin us as we chat with Torrian Ferguson, Essence Best Selling Author and founder of Anexander Books, a new independent publishers currently seeking authors writing books about plus size women.<br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong></strong></span><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>1) The primary focus of this interview is to let reader and writers know about Anexander Books. But before we get into that tell us a little about the man behind scenes?</strong></span> I was not always behind the scenes. I'm the Essence Magazine Best Selling author of Swingers and Scandalous. After reading Michael Baisdens God's Gift to Women and Shannon Holmes Bad Girlz. I decided to write a story that had not been talked about before. I wrote Swingers and was immediately signed to a small publishing company. I learned a lot from my time with the company. I learned what to do and what not to do in this industry.<span style="color:#333333;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>2) What drove you to step into the publishing side of the literary arena? </strong></span>While promoting my books I met several talented authors that were getting discouraged from the lack of support from publishers. So after I finished my writing career I decided to start my own publishing company and sign untapped authors and help them achieve their literary goals and it's been going great thus far.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">3) Anexander Books has taken a special interest in novels that feature plus-size, strong African-American women. Why have you decided to focus on the plus-size community? </span></strong>Being honest I got tired of reading stories where plus size women were always talked about in a negative light. Plus size women were always featured as the the best friend that can not get a man, or the girl that's over weight because of being abused as a child. If not that, they were featured as over sexed women that slept with the skinny chick's man just to make her jealous type crap. Enough is enough! I happen to love plus size women and I know some very educated, strong, independent, sexy plus size women that have high self esteem and very confident. It's just time that books are written for everyone not just the size 8 chick. My goal is to eventually have a line of books totally dedicated to Plus size women.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>4) What do you look for when choosing novels for publishing by Anexander Books?</strong></span><br />I look for a great story that catches my attention right out of the gate. I've never been a fan of books that take forever to get to something exciting. If you read a Torrian Ferguson novel you'll see that my books always start out with a bang to grab your attention and make you want to keep reading. A lot of authors take to long building the plot and back story so by the time they get to the meat of the book the average reader has put the book down saying that it moves to slow. All Anexander Books novels keep you on the edge of your seat from page one!<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">5) How many books do you currently have in the works featuring plus size women and when can we expect to see these books on the market?</span><br /></strong>We currently have one author putting together a 3 book series. Her name is LaVonda Howard and the title of her novel is D-Cup Divas. Her first book with Anexander Books releases in the summer of 2010. We are currently looking for other authors that can tell a great story featuring my Plus size Queens.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">6) How can authors interested in submitting their books to Anexander Books get in contact with you and/or find more information?</span></strong> They can reach us at <a href="http://www.anexanderbooks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.anexanderbooks.com/</a>. I can be reached on Twitter and Facebook under my name.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>7) If you could tell one thing to every aspiring writer what would it be?</strong></span> Don't try to be someone else. Be you and write what you want to write. Do not worry about being the next EJD, ZANE or anyone else. Do you and be happy doing you. Long as you are true to your craft your fans will come.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:+0;"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>***** Contest Alert *****<br />Comment on any of the October and November Interviews (Except the Interview by Monica Jones) and be entered into a contest to win your choice of one of the many books we have on hand.</strong></span></span></div>Desireehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14324928642022192642noreply@blogger.com0