When Chimamanda Came to St. Louis

Credit: @DebraBass

  Acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie stopped in St. Louis on tour to promote the paperback edition of last year's top seller, Americanah.  She was witty and personable and I tried to capture as much of the audience Q & A as possible.  Enjoy!

On Americanah
Americanah is not her story. It's a combination of things that have happened to her and others and stories she's heard. Writers write about the life they wish they had versus the life they have. Her experience coming to the U.S. was much milder and easier than Ifemelu's.

Why does Ifemelu have to see the ceiling? (This was a little embarrassing because it was asked by an older lady who quite obviously didn't understand what the ceiling represented and Adichie looked to be at a loss for words to explain it without being offensive.)
She doesn't. When she's with Obinze she doesn't because she's so transported, the ceiling doesn't exist. With others, it does.

Was Ifemelu indifferent to religion on purpose?
Yes. Pentecostalism is taking over Nigeria. Religion interests her very much.

Thoughts on Nigeria and the U.S.
When you go back to Nigeria, do you feel like an observer like in the U.S.? 
Yes, but because she's a storyteller, not because she's lived in the U.S. As a child, she always watched everything, slightly removed and watching. A writer is always looking for material.

Adichie came to the U.S as someone who had consumed a lot of American culture. She thought all black people lived like the Cosbys. The reality was surprising. The discovery of poverty was shocking. Neighborhoods were not only poor, but forgotten. Rich and poor coexist in Nigeria.

What would you say to someone with a culture that comes to the U.S. and tries to retain the culture, but gains a new one, and still respect your parents?
You can be both, respect both. It's important to know you're not going to live your life for them.

Anti gay law in Nigeria
Have you gotten blow back from article you wrote? (Refers to the article  "Why Can't He Just Be Like Everyone Else?")
Yes. When it became law, she was horrified by it. Felt she couldn't not speak. She's gotten a lot of feedback ranging from people saying she's possessed by demons or will lose Nigerian love. Some people have told her she's no longer their role model,  and she really doesn't want to be. There's a sadness about the law. The way it's been talked about removes the idea of humanity. It's like they're talking about animals. Adichie wants to engage her generation because it's possible to change a few minds. She believes people need to think of it in terms of humanity and compassion. The mix of religion and politicizing homophobia exacerbates the problem.  Mostly poor people have been arrested. So troubling and so sad. So yes, she's gotten a lot of blow back, but she would write the article again today.

Hair & weaves
As much as Americanah is about race, it's also about hair. It seems that people deliberately misunderstood her comments about hair in interviews. She didn't say people who wear weaves have low self-esteem. Her sister wears weave and has the most self-esteem of anyone she knows. There's a lot about black women's hair that's not just hair. She's starting to write practical things about hair. People want to wear it naturally and don't know how. As a child, she couldn't wait to straighten it. There's a growing movement in Nigeria of returnees (e.g., people who left Nigeria to live abroad and have returned home) going natural. It's not a question of being against weaves, but it's about having our own hair as an option. The idea of hair as not just hair has significance. If Michelle Obama had gone natural during the campaign, someone at Fox News would have said she was a Black Panther.

Chillin' with Chimamanda

Race
Race was something she really discovered in America. She didn't think of herself as black in Nigeria. In Nigeria, they're steeped in ethnicity and class or religion, but not race. Intellectually, she knew about race, but it was a different thing to move the U.S. and be black. It was disturbing to find all of the negativity associated with being black, so for awhile, she didn't want to be thought of as black because of that. It's an indictment of what race means in America. There's something dangerous about thinking American blackness is an attitude. There are many different ways of being black. Everyone experiences being black differently.

When you came here for college, did you feel pressure to conform the way you spoke and did you notice distinct cultural differences? 
Adichie used to fake an American accent because Americans act as if accented speakers are slow. Within a few months, she started using the fake accent because it made it easier. One day she decided she was done. She realized how much effort it took and wanted to save that energy for other things. The accent is also about power. Americans going to Nigeria speak with an accent and aren't expected to conform because they're perfectly understood.

What do you think about slang in African American culture in comparison to the accent?
Adichie has friends that would object to it being called slang. The whole idea of code switching is something we all do. She still does it when she goes home to Nigeria. "The idea of having a language of love, friendship, family, I quite like that." And code switching happens in the U.S. with race and class.

Beyonce's ***Flawless and feminism
Has it lived up to your purpose? 
I think anything that gets young women thinking about labeling themselves as feminist is a good thing. It's empowering.

You're married, but you keep your maiden name, which is non-traditional, why? (Originally the author said, "next question," but came back to this after she'd answered another question, but she was visibly annoyed by the question.)

I don't like to talk about my personal life. It's an offensive gender question. If I was a man, no one would ask. I occupy this space because I'm a writer, not a woman. The idea of calling it a maiden name, it's my name. People are getting married later in life. You have your degrees and suddenly you get married and have to change your name. There are conversations about gender that I want to have, particularly with African woman. People shouldn't decide for you what you should be called. I think that's bullshit.

Miscellaneous
Would you add anything to the Danger of a Single Story TED talk? 
She would take out the part where she emphasizes how we are more different than alike because people misinterpreted it to think it means different doesn't matter, but it does.
.
She's not a United States citizen, but she hopes Hillary (Clinton) runs and will volunteer and campaign for her if she does.

Brown Bodies as Props in Modern Lit

With the recent release of 12 Years A Slave and last year's Django Unchained, some in Hollywood have spoken out about their belief that there are too many movies about slavery being made.  Morgan Freeman has been vocal about not seeing it.  Then there's Nick Cannon, a man with the power to create his own television shows (as chairman of TeenNick and with MTV's Wild 'n Out) or movies about blacks who, instead, takes to Twitter to complain:

Back in March of this year, The Daily Beast lamented that 2013 was sure to be the year of the slavery film, though of the six listed, I'm only aware of two coming to the big screen, and neither has been shown in the states.

• Savannah, starring James Caviezel and, again, Ejiofor; it’s loosely based on the book Ducks, Dogs and Friends by John Eugene Cay Jr. and tells the story of a well-educated white hunter who develops a friendship with a freed slave;
• Something Whispered, starring Cuba Gooding Jr. as a man who attempts to free his family from slavery on a tobacco plantation in 1850;
• The North Star, starring Keith David, the true story of Big Ben Jones, a slave who escaped from a Southern plantation in 1848 and is helped by local Quakers;
• The Keeping Room, a Civil War drama about three Southern women forced to protect their home against a group of Union Army soldiers;
• Belle, set in the 1700s, the story of a mixed-race girl who falls in love with an advocate for slave emancipation;
• And Tula, with Danny Glover, focusing on a slave uprising on the Dutch colony of Curaçao in 1795. - The Daily Beast

While I think it's important to tell our story, it's just as important to get it right.  We're seeing a generation of people that believes America went straight from slavery to the civil rights movement and some sort of equality fairy dust was sprinkled and there was a magical cleansing of prejudice and racism.  I don't care if a movie about slavery is released every month if it sets the record straight.  Seriously, go read message boards or comment sections.  They're full of people that want black America to get over it (it being slavery), and to stop whining about racism because it doesn't exist anymore.  So while Nick Cannon is shucking and jiving with Wild 'n Out, but whining on Twitter about there being too many movies about slavery, I don't see him doing anything to educate anyone or help the situation.

Now what does any of this have to do with literature and, specifically, brown bodies as props in modern lit?  While others may have noticed an influx of slavery films, I've noticed an overwhelming number of books in this past year that use slavery as the backdrop and black people as a vehicle to tell a white character's story or gain sympathy.

In Jessica Maria Tuccelli's Glow, the author throws characters, dates and events together to create a story, but at no point does it ever seem like she really understands her characters or knows what she's doing with them.  Instead, you're left with the impression that her publisher told her slavery was what's hot in the streets this year, so if she could find a way to build a story around slaves and their descendants, she'd have a hit on her hands.  I can't imagine any other reason why a first time author with no vested interest in the slave narrative would take on such a project of which she was incapable of handling.

But slaves don't necessarily fare better in the hands of authors of color either.  In The Wedding Gift, Marlen Supaya Golden tells the story of a slave girl given to her white playmate and their "friendship" as they grow into adults.  Though the story is meant to be told from the perspectives of the slave and the mother of the mistress, much more attention is given to the mistress and her family, while the slave's story is all but skipped over until the last few chapters when it's thrown together in haste and leaves the reader unsatisfied.

Books like Ann Hite's The Storycatcher rely on the spirits of slaves and their descendants to assist the featured white characters.  And contrary to its title, Mrs. Lincolns Dressmaker is less about the actual dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley, and much more about Mary Todd Lincoln and the goings on at the White House.  Lois Leveen tried her hand at writing a slave narrative in The Secrets of Mary Bowser and produced such a simplified version that I was sure it was written for a middle school reader and not adults. 

With Oprah's announcement of her next big read, The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, I had to roll my eyes.  Kidd likes her magical Negroes (i.e., The Secret Lives of Bees), as does Oprah.  Based on real life suffragette and abolitionist Sarah Grimke, Kidd admittedly makes up the character of Handful Grimke, a slave given to Sarah as a child.  The book explores their wonderful (yes, I'm being sarcastic) friendship over 35 years.  If you want to tell your story, you want to do historical fiction, do that.  But what purpose does it serve to create characters if your only intent is to use them as a prop in the telling of your story?

A quick search of "slavery historical fiction" on Amazon will bring up books like the Michael Phillips series of slave and mistress raised as sisters featuring: Angels Watching Over Me , Day to Pick Your Own Cotton, Color of Your Skin Ain't the Color of Your Heart. Or Linda Spalding's The Purchase in which a Quaker family struggles with the decision of what to do with the slave they've inherited, which is somewhat along the same lines as The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier.  None of these books sound especially appealing.

It's important that authors know what they're writing about.  Right now there are classrooms in which The Help is being used to teach the Civil Rights movement.  While the book does offer background on important historical events, it is by no means an authority on the movement and sugarcoats much of it.  For these reasons, and others, authors have got to learn how and what can be used as interchangeable props in historical fiction, and the lives of black people aren't it.  I know people long for the good old days, but quite honestly, those days were only good if you were a white male, first and a white female, second.  So when you use others for whom those days weren't so good and turn those often volatile relationships to rainbows and lollipops for the sake of your story, you're doing everyone a disservice.

All I can ever really ask of authors is to do their research, treat their characters
well and write what you know.  If you don't do the research, if your heart isn't in your characters, it shows.  If you're only writing about brown bodies because you think it'll sell well or your publisher is pushing for more diversity, don't.  Readers can see right through it and you're doing yourself no favors as an author.  Publishers would be better served putting out more works by authors that continue to do the work, like Leonard Pitts, Jr. with Freeman or Jonathon Odell with The Healing, than serving up a platter of historical fiction with brown bodies on the side.

And if, as an author, you really feel like you want to take on history from a black perspective, please know that we exist beyond slavery.  It's interesting to me that authors seem to be stuck in that time period as if our presence in both world wars wasn't historical.  Or as if the Harlem Renaissance didn't happen.  Tell some of those stories.  I promise our lives after slavery are just as important, even if you can't find a way to throw in white characters to whom you'd have us play second fiddle.  Do the work because if you don't, you're no better than slave masters who saw black bodies as property to be used however they saw fit.

#BookReview: Mom & Me & Mom - Maya Angelou

The average person knows that she wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings or they remember her inaugural speech for President Clinton, On the Pulse of Morning. You may know her for her poetic stylings in Still I Rise or for the younger generation, as an elder in Tyler Perry movies.

Readers, I'm here to tell you that Madame Angelou has lived! I picked up her then complete collection as a freshmen in college 20 years ago and was blown away. The books shown below cover her life from the beginning with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969); the ages 17 through 19 as a single mother working as a prostitute and madam in a brothel in Gather Together in My Name (1974); Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas (1976) covers her marriage to a Greek sailor, her dance career (did you know she once partnered with THE Alvin Ailey), and the recording of her first album.

The Heart of A Woman (1981) reflects on her time as a member of the noted Harlem Writer's Guild; her time in Egypt and Ghana; her close friendship with Malcolm X; and raising a black man in America. All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986) finds her back in the United States working as a songwriter for Roberta Flack, writing short stories and preparing for her role in Alex Haley's Roots miniseries.

In her latest, Mom & Me & Mom, she finally touches upon the backbone of her greatness.  If you're like me, you remember that in I Know Why... she mentions being raised by her grandmother in Arkansas, briefly mentioning her time in California with her mother and then jumps straight into being an adult.  There is so much that was missing and it's covered now.

With a mother like Vivian Baxter, I don't know how Maya Angelou could have been anything but great.  There's nothing like a mother's love and Vivian stood in the gap for Maya like no one else could.  The confidence she instilled in Maya at a young age and support she continued to give her throughout her life was just amazing.  Not only did she serve as a sounding board and backbone for her daughter, she served as one for her communities.  She was a truly amazing woman for her time and Maya came by her spunk honestly.

When I tell you Madam Angelou has lived a full life, she truly has. As an impressionable young woman, I was so blown away by her story. Recounting now all that she has done in the time period that's not even covered by these books is even more stunning. My hope is that you will take the time  to read all of her autobiographies and get to know and appreciate this woman who is truly an American treasure.

224pp
Published: April 2013
Disclaimer: Copy of book received from publisher, opinions are my own.

 

Theme: Tell Mama by Etta James

#BookReview: Kinky Gazpacho - Lori L. Tharps

There aren't many people who chart their destiny in the seventh grade and follow through with it, but by that time, Lori L. Tharps already knew that somehow Spain would play a role in her life.  Kinky Gazpacho takes us on a journey as Tharps tries to reconcile her love for a place where she doesn't necessarily feel loved.  But that's not the most interesting part of the story for me.

Tharps grew up in a world of otherness.  By that I mean, she grew up as one of the few black students in predominantly white schools.  At no point does she sound bitter about it.  In fact, she seems proud of the fact that can blend into the mainstream (read: White American culture) so well.  And I think that, in part, is why she's so troubled about what she feels is Spain's rejection of her.  She's Lori the lovable.  She's fit in in the Midwest, Northeast and Morocco.  How dare this country that she's longed for for so many years not accept her in the manner she sees fit?

Lest you think I'm faulting Tharps, be assured that I'm not.  Like her, I grew up in a world of otherness.  Navigating grade school and high school as an other can be a lonely place.  There can be a need to assimilate for acceptance, especially in a classroom setting where being different can lead to bullying or avoidance.  It makes life easier.  Often in these situations, members of other learn to code switch and the face/language/actions seen in school or workplace differ from those seen with members of their own race/culture/religion.  Whether it's done consciously or not, it becomes a coping mechanism for many.  

Not completely comfortable with assimilation, Tharps headed for Smith College determined not to become friends with any White people.  In her quest to make black friends, she decided to attend the Black Students' Alliance meeting, but left before the meeting started when no one made an effort to speak to, or acknowledge, her.  It's important to note that she doesn't mention reaching out to anyone at the meeting either and that most of the students were either returning students or first years that arrived on campus earlier in the week for a student of color orientation in which they met each other.  Though she could have made more of an effort, I understand that it's difficult to make new friends and try to insert yourself in a group where it feels like everyone already knows everyone else.

Tharps' problem seemed to be that she, like so many others, had defined what blackness was and, deciding that the other black girls were the epitome of it while she was not, judged them and returned to the world in which she was most comfortable.  And that's fine, but the idea that black women had rejected her because of the way she talked (when she had yet to utter a word) or the music she listened to, was a little absurd. For someone that didn't want to be defined by her color, she seemed to have no problem doing it to others.

Studying abroad in Spain her junior year of college begins Tharps' love-hate relationship with the country.  Though she first revels in the fact that her otherness there isn't based on being black, but being American, she soon tires of the stares from people that have rarely seen a black woman.  From the hooded figures of people celebrating Semana Santa, the lusty gazes of men curious about "wild" black women, the black-faced mammy figurines and costumes, to candy, Tharps is continually confronted with things that should make her denounce her adopted country.  But in marrying her husband and becoming a more frequent visitor to Spain, she begins to find a little of herself in the country.  Unfortunately, it took far too long in story for this to happen and far too little time was spent exploring it.

207pp

Published: March 2008

Theme: Stranger in Paradise by Diana Ross

Q & A and Giveaway with Samuel Park, author of This Burns My Heart

This Burns My Heart was one of my favorite reads last year.  I was so excited when I found the author, Samuel Park, on Twitter.  He's witty, charming and down to earth.  I've not run across many authors on Twitter that live tweet reality TV in one breath and discuss Jane Austen in the next, but he does it well.  To celebrate the release of This Burns My Heart in paperback, he's doing a tour around the blogosphere.  Luckily, he's landed with us today.  Check out the interview, book trailer and a giveaway below.


1. This Burns My Heart was one of my favorite reads last year. You did an excellent job of telling the story from a woman’s point of view. What inspired you to tell what is loosely your mother’s story and how did you manage to capture the female voice so well?
Thank you for your kind words--I’m thrilled that you liked the book! I was inspired to tell my mother’s story by two things that happened around the same time: one, my sister gave birth to a daughter, which led me to wonder about mother-daughter relationships; two, I moved for my job, and for the first time in years, I was living in a different state than my mother. Being apart from her helped me think of her as her own person, rather than just as my mother, and it helped me realize what an incredible life she’d led, and what an amazing story it would make. In terms of capturing a female voice, I think it comes from growing up around older sisters. From an early age, I cared about what they cared about, and essentially would adopt their point of view in most matters, especially matters of the heart.

2. What was the hardest part of writing This Burns My Heart?
Writing the central love relationship between Yul and Soo-Ja. I had to rewrite that many times, because it was very tricky to get it right. Weirdly enough, it’s the part that’s at the heart of the book, and what keeps the readers connected to the story. I have a suspicion that whatever you happen to have the most trouble with—the stumbling block—always ends up being the thing that readers like most.

3. Would you consider This Burns My Heart to be historical fiction or contemporary
literature and why?

I think the book is actually very difficult to classify. I could see it as being contemporary in the sense that the ‘60s were not so long ago, but it feels historical in the sense that the customs and the culture I describe at the beginning of the book are not all that different from how they might have been a century earlier. That’s partly the tension in the story: a nation moving from its past history onto the modern world. I guess I would call it historical fiction. I’d be curious to hear what you think!

4. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
The book is about a woman who makes a wrong choice and has to live with the consequences of that choice. And I think the message is that there’s no point in dwelling on what could’ve been, or what might’ve been, because whatever life you led—no matter how hard it was—was the life you were meant to have. And if you eschew bitterness and approach your days with virtue, strength, and kindness, eventually that life you lost—the good life—will find its way back to you. And this time you’ll have really earned it and will doubly appreciate it, because of what came before.

5. What books have most influenced your life most?
I learned to write from reading Michael Cunningham’s The Hours. That was like my M.F.A. in Creative Writing: just reading that book line by line, sentence by sentence, and seeing how he would craft beautiful language. I’m also a big, big fan of Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld. That book really taught me that you could create great drama from everyday life, and you could just focus on the domestic routines of the characters. Finally, I adore Pride and Prejudice, especially Austen’s unerring sense of character and plot.

6. If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
I had an actual mentor in Don Roos, the screenwriter. I was something like 22 at the time I met him, and I was a terrible, terrible writer. But Don did something amazing to me: he said, “You’re very talented, and I really enjoyed what you wrote.” At that age, that can be a transformative moment. I guess it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, and I try to do the same to young writers who come my way. I have this saying that goes, “You cannot overestimate people enough.”



7. What book are you reading now?
Right now I’ve been researching a lot for my next book, so I’ve been reading old annual agricultural reports. I’ve also been reading books about history and architecture.

8. What’s next for you?
I’m working on a new book, and because I’m superstitious I try to say as little as possible about it until I’m completely finished. But I can share that it’s again about a mother-daughter relationship, and again it’s set in a foreign country. And, like This Burns My Heart, it’ll deal with a lot of strong emotions.

9. I know from your tweets that you’re a fan of reality TV. What’s your favorite show and
which reality TV character do you love to hate and why?
My favorite show is Survivor, which I watch obsessively. My friends know better than to call me on Wednesdays when it’s on! She’s not on anymore, but I used to love to hate Kelly Bensimon of Real Housewives of New York City. As a writer, you’re also an amateur therapist. I would have a field day with Ms. Bensimon if she were my patient. We could really go to town.

10. Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I want to say that I’m super, super grateful to readers for supporting the book. I’m always amazed when I go online and see people quoting lines from the book, or having discussions about the characters. It’s incredible to me that the world of the book feels as real to my readers as it does to me. They talk about the characters as if they were real people, and for a writer, I can’t imagine anything more gratifying than that!

An Interview with Sibylla Nash, author of Bumped

When and why did you begin writing? 
There were stories I wanted to tell and there were stories that needed to be told. I was the type of kid that always had her head in a book. I have an insatiable need to figure out the world around me by writing things down, pulling back the layers of character and asking what if? When I discovered that people could actually make a living from writing, I was all in.

When did you first consider yourself a writer? 
I’ve always written, ever since I was kid, I was banging away on a typewriter (yes, I’m dating myself) writing short stories. Professionally though, I didn’t really consider myself a “writer” until I was in my 20s and started seeing my byline in magazines.

Is Bumped your first book?
Bumped is actually my second novel, fifth book. I’ve written three non-fiction books, one of which was co-written with a friend. In fact, I’m re-releasing a guide for parents later this year – Baby Modeling & Beyond: From the Stroller to the Red Carpet. My daughter began working as a model/actress when she was a baby. I wanted to share our experiences with parents who may be considering getting their child in the business.

What inspired you to write your first book?
My first novel was DreamCity. It came out 11 years ago (eegads!!) and it feels like it was during the prehistoric times pre-social media. I had a new cover created for it and I’m updating it for a re-release in December. I wanted to write that book because I’ve always kept a journal. I loved Bridget Jones’ Diary and really wanted to create a story using the diary format. I wanted to capture the experience about an actress who moves from the east coast to the west. It’s funny because DreamCity was fictional but now I find myself really seeing that lifestyle up close because of my daughter. When I originally wrote DreamCity, I had worked in talent agencies and production companies and saw the business from that perspective.

What was the hardest part of writing Bumped? 
Bumped was a long work-in-progress. If you were to ask my daughter how long it took me to finish it, she would probably say “forever.” In the beginning, the hardest part was just trying to find the time. I was a new mom when the idea for the book came to me. As I wrestled with the time management issue, the challenge became keeping the tone consistent after so much starting and stopping. I think in one version I mentioned Sky Pagers! The other challenge was reigning in the story, trying to find its heart.

In hosting the Colorful Chick Lit challenge, I’ve found it difficult to find books about “colorful” chicks that fit into the genre. Did you write Bumped intentionally as chick lit or did you just fall into that category? 
I always saw Bumped as chick lit. Early on, when I was work-shopping the book, I had some folks say it was more literary, but I love the chick lit genre. I wanted it to be in the same vein as Shopaholic and In Her Shoes.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? 
I didn’t start off with the intention of conveying a message to my readers – I’m not a fan of books that are too message-y because it takes away from the story (in my opinion, although I have to say I did like the Left Behind series). Bumped is one woman’s journey and I hope it kept the readers entertained and enthralled. If it makes them reflect on decisions they have made, great! If it makes them give the next smooth-talker the side-eye, even better.

What books have most influenced your life most? 
Notebooks. I have a thing for journals, notebooks, sketchpads and anything bound that I can write in. I have boxes of journals and notes that have captured moments in my life and being able to write down my thoughts, plan out my dreams, it’s allowed me to be the architect of my life.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? 
That’s a tough one, I read so much and soak in everything. I love Stephen King for his pacing and ability to scare the crap out of me, the VC Andrews Flowers in the Attic series for its high concept/hooks. I once interviewed the late LA Banks and she was so inspiring and prolific. She didn’t find time to write, she made time to write. The list goes on. I’ll read books and see how someone made a transition or how they structured their novel and it goes into a pot that I stir and will later pick out bits and pieces and figure out how I can put my own spin on it.

What book are you reading now?
It’s not even funny, I have a backlog of books stacked up in the house and on the iPad. The one that I’m almost finished with is Rob Sharma’s The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. This book has been life-changing for me because it’s helping me to regain my focus and really concentrate on what’s important. I also have an excellent book on screenwriting I’m getting ready to start called Save the Cat.

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?
I don’t know if they’re new, but they are new to me. I enjoyed Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones and 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter.

What are your current projects?
I have two books that I’m updating this year that I mentioned and I’m also working on a sequel to Bumped and I’ve outlined the sequel to DreamCity. So 2012 should be pretty busy.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? 
Writing can be very solitary and it’s work, some days you have to really wrestle the words on the page. It’s totally self-directed and self-motivated and the hardest thing for me is tuning out the noise of the day and really challenging myself to write outside of my comfort zone, push the boundaries of the craft and become the writer I’ve always wanted to be. Once I actually get my butt in the chair, it’s all good. It’s getting there that tends to be a problem.

Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? 
We were driving past a section in Los Angeles the other day and I was telling my daughter that the homes reminded me something out of an Easy Rawlins’ mystery. I read those books years ago and even now the imagery and characters are just as vivid as the day I read the book. As an author, that’s what we all strive to do: create characters and settings that are so real, they become memories of places you’ve been, not stories you’ve read. Walter Mosley does that, he has the ability to pull you into the story headfirst.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? 
Thank you for reading my work and going with me on this journey as an artist. I hope you are having as much fun as I am. Life’s short: Live large, dream big and love hard!

Where Are They Now? The Literary Edition

One of my favorite VH1 shows is Where Are They Now?, a show about musical artists with promising careers who, for some reason or another, fell out of the spotlight. There are quite a few authors whose work I've enjoyed in the past, but at some point, they stopped writing, or at least they stopped getting published. So I've done a little digging to find out, 'where are they now?'

The Mali Anderson mysteries by Grace F. Edwards is one of my favorite series. With the first book, If I Should Die, published in 1997, I was hooked. Through Edwards' writing readers were introduced to former cop, Mali Anderson, her jazz loving father and the nephew she's raising, Alvin. As the characters on The Wire would say, Mali is "real police," even though she's no longer on the job. Four books into the series, it ended in 2000 and in 2003 Edwards wrote a stand alone book called The Viaduct, another thriller, but this time from the point of view of a male Vietnam vet. So where is she now? In addition to teaching fiction at a New York university, she recently served as secretary for the Harlem Writers Guild. She also published a new book earlier this year called The Blind Alley with no fanfare. I had no idea that she was still writing until I started researching her.

With So Good, All of Me and Colored Sugar Water, Venise Berry was one of my favorite authors in the late 90s going into 2001. Though she has authored a few non-fiction works since then, and was scheduled to release new work in 2008, it seems that it never materialized. We can only wish that we'll have a chance read it some day. In the meantime, Berry is an associate professor at the University of Iowa.

Barbara Neely's Blanche series combines detective work and common sense in the form of Blanche White. A domestic worker by day, Blanche keeps her ear to the ground and her eyes open to what's going on around her. Between 1992 and 2000, Neely published four books in the series. Where is Neely now? An award winning activist for women's rights and economic justice, Neely continues to write short stories and hosts a radio interview program Sunday nights in Massachusetts.

I have a lengthy lists of authors that I'll be featuring throughout the rest of the year, but what author's works do you miss? Who has you wondering what happened to their promising career?

An Interview with Miranda Parker, author of A Good Excuse to be Bad

1.  When and why did you begin writing?

Unlike most authors I didn’t think I was going to be a writer when I was a small child. I was an avid reader as a small child. I began reading around four-years-old. I was very curious about the world and read the dictionary, the almanac, my encyclopedias…anything I could get my hands on. I became a writer when I couldn’t find the kind of story I would like to read.

2.   Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

I participated in a year- long writing workshop hosted by Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote Fight Club. At the time I was the only woman in the group. After I completed the workshop I received a letter and a gift package from Chucky P. In the letter he told me lighten up and have fun in my writing. (I took my writing way too seriously during critique.) He stated, “Don’t write the story unless it’s fun to you, else what’s the point?” That stuck with me. When I created this story I wanted to write a story I would love to read and feel like fun while doing it. If I find myself writing a scene that seems like a chore I chunk it. Whether it’s a suspenseful or the black moment for Angel if I’m not emotionally invested in that scene I know it will be a waste to a reader. So my challenge has been how to tell the tough part of my stories in a way that entertains me. After all, I am the first reader of my books.

3. What inspired you to write your first book?

I covered a story about eight years ago for a newspaper I once wrote for, but we had to kill it.  It was too sensational for our core readers and some advertisers had relationships with some of the parties that were the focus of the story. Yet, I couldn’t let it go. 

So a few years ago while workshopping another novel about a hot missionary’s return to the states I began thinking about this story. How can I build a readtastic story around it? I needed an antihero that my missionary couldn’t help but fall hard for and keep her on her toes. Angel was created.

4. How much of the book is realistic?

I questioned local bounty hunters in this state and DeKalb County Police about the probability of events in the story and how the bail bonds process works here. I wrote a few articles years ago about the IRS’ investigation of two Atlanta megachurches and the rise of Armor Bearers as security forces in nondenominational megachurches. These stories became the background I needed to flesh out my story. Moreover, I am a twin, so that didn’t require special research.

5.  What books have most influenced your life most?

Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Ubbervilles, Alice Walker’s Color Purple, Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club

6.    If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? 
As I mentioned earlier I took a year-long writing workshop with Chuck Palahniuk, so I consider him a writing mentor. However, I’ve been blessed to have some great writers on my speed dial when I needed encouragement, a line edit, and an introduction to an agent or publisher. I speak about them in the acknowledgments of A Good Excuse to Be Bad. In short some of them are:  Reshonda Tate Billingsley, Creston Mapes, and Sharon Ewell Foster.  

7.  What book are you reading now? 
I’m reading Shana Burton’s Catt Chasin and Jane Eyre.

8.   What are your current projects?

I am editing the sequel Someone Bad and Something Blue (releases July 2012) and writing the first draft of the third novel in the series. 

9.  Can you share a little of your current work with us?

A Good Excuse to Be Bad has a groove that is a throwback to my favorite romantic suspense television series like Moonlighting and Remington Steele with a new kind of hero, a kick butt woman lead who is grounded because she’s a young mom.  Most of my favorite television shows (Castle, The Closer, Rizzoli & Isles) have great heroines, but none of them are moms. Therefore, Angel Crawford’s story is unique, because she’s put in a rock and a hard place position. She needs to find her brother-in-laws murderer, make sure her overly dramatic twin sister not take the fall for the murder, keep from falling in love with her pastor who wants to tagalong on her hunt, and prepare her daughter for Kindergarten at the same time. Can she do it all is what makes the book exciting. 

10.   What was the hardest part of writing your book?

The hardest part of writing my book is trying to keep the reader guessing until the end and at the same time leaving hints so that when the reader gets to the end they want to read it over again, because although they are surprised they can now see it. I want my readers to ask themselves, “Oh, why didn’t I miss that?” 

11.  Do you have any advice for other writers?

 Begin now on creating a writing discipline. Once you become published you’re expected to produce a novel length work every year, while promoting one book, and editing another. So require some discipline now, so that you won’t become overwhelmed and you can meet your editor’s deadline. I’m speaking from experience. In the past year my home was broken into, my laptop-which housed book2—was stolen, had to rewrite from scratch once I got a new laptop, then mom was diagnosed with cancer, twin brother expecting first baby, father ill, took care ofmom, I became sick after taking care of her, niece was born, I got sicker…had to ask for an extension. Trust me my case isn’t extraordinary. Every published author has a good excuse, but having a writing discipline gets you threw it. My writing discipline now is 1000 words a day, which is the equivalent of four pages or in one scene and a sequel.

12.   Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

I love reader feedback and would love for you to help me write the third book in the series. Email me at mparkerbooks@gmail.com and if chosen you will get casted in the third novel. 

And the nominees are...

The Black Weblog Awards have finally added a category recognizing book/literary/author blogs.  Often it feels like book blogs are overlooked in favor of the glitz and glam of gossip blogs and other ratchetness.  If you enjoy Reads4Pleasure.com, I'd love it if you took a minute to click the link (Black Weblog Awards) and nominated this blog for Best Book/Literary/Author blog.  It's wayyyy at the bottom of their list, so get to clicking and get to scrolling!  Nominations end tomorrow.

By the way, if you have problems with that link, try the one they provide on the site for Internet Explorer users.

An Interview with K.L. Brady, Author of The Bum Magnet

When and why did you begin writing?
I've been writing since I was a young kid. I've kept diaries and journals since I could remember. My mom used to buy me the ones with the little lock on them...and then she'd break into them and read them. What was the point of the lock? I don't know.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

Even though I've been writing and practicing my signature since I was a kid, I never considered myself a fiction writer until I turned forty and took the leap into writing my first novel. After I finished it, I knew writing was my first and only love (at least in an occupational sense). I really cannot see myself doing anything else. This is it for me. Write or die.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

I'm not a very artsy or literary writer and I wish I were. I envy authors who have that sense of lyrical prose. I'm resigned to the fact that I'll never be a Toni Morrison on Maya Angelou.  The Bum Magnet won't win me a Pulitzer. But at the same time, I will entertain and make people laugh through characters that readers can connect with on a personal level.

What inspired you to write your first book?

I had an Oprah "aha" moment a couple of summers ago. I was watching her "Live Your Best Life" series which had started not long before my revelation. I was successful in my career as an analyst but I wanted more. I knew that I had a destiny to fulfil and being a government employee or contractor, while often rewarding, would never cut it. Writing is something that I had not only kept hidden from other people in secret journals, but I think I kept it buried within myself. Once I hit forty, I couldn't suppress it anymore. The writer in me wanted out come hell or high water--and The Bum Magnet was born.

Are experiences in your books based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

People ask me this question all the time. I always give the same canned answer...that all authors put pieces of their own stories in their work. And this time will be no different. :) Seriously though...I don't think anyone could write this story as it is and not have experienced the drama for themselves or know people who did. People connect with Charisse because she's so  real and she doesn't mince a single word about her situation. She tells it like it is, even when it doesn't reflect positively on her. With all that said, the story is based on a little bit of fact and a lot of fiction, exaggerated significantly so I can't be sued for slander (hehe).

What books have most influenced your life most?

I would have to say that for me, The Autobiography of Malcolm X was unquestionably one of the most life-changing books I've ever read because it really widened my perspective, not only about the black community and civil right movement, but the world. I so admire Malcolm X's willingness to grow and transform. I think we all have to be open to transformation if we are to fulfill our destiny. You will always see growth and transformation in my characters...and hopefully me.

With Worst Impressions you took on the YA world and Pride and Prejudice. What led you to combine YA with a literary classic?

I didn't really start reading books outside of non-fiction African American books until after I started college. I'd never been exposed to the literary classics growing up. It was like a whole new world opened up for me, and Jane Austen's stories are part of that. I'll never forget the first time I read Pride & Prejudice.  I bought it right after watching the movie, You've Got Mail.  I was amazed at the drama and humor. I consider it to be the original romantic comedy or chick lit novel, which represents the kinds of stories that I devour. I would never have thought something written so long ago, by a white English lady, could make me laugh or touch me the way that book did. I would really love to see young adults use Worst Impressions as kind of a gateway to widening their perspective and reading classic novels from other countries and cultures. That was my hope in writing Worst Impressions. Plus, Liz is just so funny, she's a character that will stick with teens and whom I think they can relate to because of her self-image issues. 

What book are you reading now?

My Kindle is so full of TBR books it's not even funny. It's been my goal to participate in the Colorful Chick Lit challenge but with the effort I've put in promotion, I just haven't been able to read like I've wanted to.  With that said, I have several things that I'm really looking forward to reading.

I just finished a book called One Thing She Knew by Toni Meyer which was fabulous, definitely a page-turner. I want to finish up Two Tears in a Bucket by Traci Bee which is more of an urban drama--a page-turner as well. I'm looking forward to Bollywood Confidential and The Sari Shop Widow. I've been hooked on the Indian culture and food since Bend it Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice. And I have a bunch of books I've promised reviews on that I have to add to that list. Too many to name them all.

What are your current projects?

Well, the sequel to the The Bum Magnet, tentatively titled Got a Right to be Wrong, is completed and with my editor. I really love that story. You're going to see a lot of loose ends get tied up in the sequel. We find out what happens to Nisey and the baby. Mama Tyson plays a much bigger role in this story and has her own drama. Most importantly, we get to see the history behind Charisse's relationship with her father, how that has contributed to her "bum magnetism" and whether she really does find her happily ever after...and does that necessarily involve a man?

In addition, I have two big projects that I'm working on now and hope to have both finished by the end of the year. The first one is a young adult novel called Soul of the Band, which features a music-loving African-American teen girl from DC who, after a family crisis, moves to a small town in Ohio and becomes the only black girl in an all white band. This book really stands apart from your typical books of this type because I explore the racial issue with a very truthful but humorous character.

The second project is the first in a series of adult novels featuring an AA female FBI agent named J.J. McCall who catches spies. I liken her to a black "Salt"/Jackie Brown working for the FBI instead of the CIA. I love this storyline because it features a very strong female character in a spy romantic comedy/suspense novel. In my former life, I worked with women like J.J. and always wondered why no one was telling their stories. So, I'm going to do it. I haven't read anything like that, and I'd really like to. I hope readers agree with me.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Not a single thing. I think one of the beautiful things about self publishing this novel first before it found a publisher is that I got to tell this story EXACTLY the way I wanted to tell it...and readers love it anyway. :)

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Yes, I learned to grow some thick skin and how to accept criticism. I really had to get over myself and "my art" and do the right thing for the story so that my audience would get the kind of quality they deserved. At a certain point, you have to distance yourself from your work so that you can make it better. And you have to learn to take the useful information from criticism and ignore what you don't need. A very important lesson for new writers.

Do you have any advice for other writers?
Yes, get over yourself, grow some thick skin, and learn to accept criticism! (hehe)

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

I would just like to thank everyone who has read or plans to read my work. Your support and great feedback is what helped me get "discovered" and why I have a book deal today. I'll never take that for granted...not ever. Please connect with me on Facebook (Karla Brady or K.L. Brady), on Twitter (@KarlaB27), or my website (www.authorklbrady.com). I would absolutely love to hear from you and I respond to every single note, letter, e-mail, message, post or Tweet that I receive.

If you haven't picked up a copy of The Bum Magnet, it's available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Booksamillion, Target and Walmart. Get a copy for you and a friend or two (because you know they need to read it. lol)

An Interview with Michele Grant, Author of Sweet Little Lies & the blogger behind Black 'n Bougie

You've read her books, Heard It All Before and Sweet Little Lies, you read her blog religiously and you follow her on Twitter.  Now it's your turn to find out more about the woman behind the books and Black 'n Bougie.  Join us here, follow along on the BnB network or call in to (646) 378-1171 at 8:00 p.m. CST for a one hour chat with author and blogger Michele Grant. 

Free For All Friday, August 20

New Eric Jerome Dickey - For those readers that live in St. Louis, author Eric Jerome Dickey will be in town tomorrow night promoting his new book, Tempted by Trouble.  His publisher was nice enough to send me a copy and I'm making every effort to finish it before tomorrow night.  If you're a fan of his work, or interested in learning more about his books, come on out to the St. Louis County Library (1640 South Lindbergh) at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, August 21.

Get Caught Reading an Author of Color - Blogger Amy Bowllan wants you to catch people reading books by authors of color and send her a picture of it.  Amy blogs over at Writers Against Racism and her goal is to get 100 authors of color posted by September.  Please send jpeg snapshots to her, via e-mail, with a short blurb about the setting and who is in the picture, name of the book, author etc. to abowllan@mediasourceinc.com.

Call for Submissions - Tu Books, an imprint of Lee & Low Books, publishes speculative fiction for children and young adults featuring diverse characters and settings. Their focus is on well-told, exciting, adventurous fantasy and science fiction novels featuring people of color set in worlds inspired by non-Western folklore or culture.

They are looking specifically for stories for both middle grade (ages 8-12) and young adult (ages 12-18) readers.  For more info on where to submit a manuscript, visit them at Tu Books

32 Candles Chat - Don't forget to join us here at 8 p.m. CST/6 p.m. PST for our chat with Ernessa T. Carter, author of 32 Candles.  If you haven't already, enter your email address in the upper left corner for a reminder.  It promises to be a fun hour.

Mmm, mmm good - Of course I can't let you start your weekend off without a little eye candy.  He joined the staff at Seattle Grace last season, but budget cuts in a newly merged hospital meant he could be let go at any moment.  Luckily, Shonda Rhimes and the crew at Grey's Anatomy found a way to make him permanent.  I'm fond of calling him Racially Ambiguous Guy, but his real name is Jesse Williams and you can catch him every Thursday this fall on ABC.

Repost: Wench - Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Rarely does a book leave me speechless.  I've sat down to write about Wench no less than four times and each time had to get up and walk away because there's so much to say and yet, I'm not sure of how to say it.  Make no mistake about it, I absolutely loved this book.  So many of you told me you couldn't wait for me to read it so that I could share my thoughts with you.  Now I have to wonder if you all set me up.  Did the book have the same effect on those of you that read it?

For those that have not, Wench is the story of four women that meet annually at Tawawa House, an Ohio resort that caters to white slaveowners and their slave mistresses.  The eldest slave, Reenie, is mistress to her brother who sold their only child at a young age.  Sweet has three sons and a daughter by her master and is pregnant with her fifth child.  Lizzie has born a son and daughter for her master, Drayle.  The women seem to have accepted their lots in life until Mawu joins them.  A rebellious slave from Louisiana, Mawu hates her master and longs for the day when she will be free. 

Though the book touches on each woman's story and circumstances, a great portion deals with Lizzie and her perception of her relationship with Drayle.  In her heart of hearts, she loves Drayle and believes that he loves her as well.  On the outside looking in, it appears that their relationship is based on tit for tat.  If you do this for me, I'll do that for you. Starting with cool drinks of water on hot nights, teaching her to read, bringing her extra food, Drayle slowly works his way into Lizzie's heart and by the time Drayle comes for her, she truly believes theirs is a mutual love and admiration.  Lizzie's belief in Drayle is so great that she risks the lives of the women around her at Tawawa House and finds herself excluded from the small group. 

So what was it that made these slaveowners think that they could bring their slaves into a free state without risking escape?  Fear.  With the exception of Reenie, each of the women had children back on the plantation.  Knowing that any action taken by them could result in their children being sold away was more than enough to keep these women in their place.

What did you like about this book?

I loved how the author developed the women.  While the men did play roles in their lives, they were secondary to who the women were as people.

What did you dislike about this book?

It wasn't a dislike, but I wanted to know more of the back story for all of the women, not just Lizzie.

What could the author do to improve this book?

I don't think any improvements need to be made, but I would love to see a sequel.

So now I really, really want to discuss this.  There's so much that I want to say here, but won't because I know that while quite a few of us have read it, several have not.  Are we up for a book discussion in the near future?  Should I ask the author if she's willing to chat with us about it?

Update: Dolen Perkins-Valdez will be here next Monday evening, May 24, at 8:00 p.m. CST to discuss the book with us.  If you have questions you'd like me to send to her in advance, please email them to me at Reads4Pleasure@gmail.com.  Also, sign up for the reminder over to your right.  I'd hate for you to miss out on what promises to be a great discussion.

Black Book Bloggers: Where Bloggers & Authors Meet

At the request of an author I adore, and with no arm twisting required, I've created Black Book Bloggers.

With so many other websites promoting books, why is there a need for this?

I belong to many of those other websites and too many times books by and about us are relegated to a forum. This site has been formed as a collective place for both authors of African American lit and bloggers that read and review their works.

It will allow authors to promote their work directly to a community that also promotes books through their blogs.

It will allow bloggers to interact with authors they're already reading, discover new authors and give them a chance to provide those authors with open and honest feedback. It will also allow bloggers to promote their own blogs to authors and other bloggers of African American lit.

I hope to see you over there!

Author of the Month - Tananarive Due

Tananarive Due — pronounced tah-nah-nah-REEVE doo — is the American Book Award-winning author of several books, ranging from supernatural thrillers to a mystery to a civil rights memoir. Blood Colony (released in June 2008), is the long-awaited sequel to her 2001 thriller The Living Blood and 1997’s My Soul to Keep, a reader favorite that Stephen King said “bears favorable comparison to Interview with the Vampire. Blood Colony continues the saga of African immortals with healing blood.

Due also collaborates with her husband, novelist and screenwriter Steven Barnes. They recently sold their screenplay adaptation of her novel The Good House to Fox Searchlight studios. In the summer of 2007, Due and Barnes published their first mystery, Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel, which they wrote in collaboration with actor Blair Underwood. Publishers Weekly called Casanegra “seamlessly entertaining.” The series continued with In the Night of the Heat and From Cape Town with Love, scheduled for publication in May 2010.

The Living Blood, which received a 2002 American Book Award, “should set the standard for supernatural thrillers of the new millennium,”said Publishers Weekly, which named The Living Blood and My Soul to Keep among the best novels of the year. The Good House was nominated as Best Novel by the International Horror Guild.The Black Rose based on the life of business pioneer Madam C.J. Walker, was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. My Soul to Keep and The Good House are both in film development at Fox Searchlight.

Due’s novel Joplin’s Ghost blends the supernatural, history and the present-day music scene as a rising R&B singer’s life is changed forever by encounters with the ghost of Ragtime King Scott Joplin. Due also brought history to life in The Black Rose, a historical novel based on the research of Alex Haley – and Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights, which she co-authored with her mother, civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due. Freedom in the Family was named 2003's Best Civil Rights Memoir by Black Issues Book Review (Patricia Stephens Due took part in the nation’s first “Jail-In” in 1960, spending 49 days in jail in Tallahassee, Florida, after a sit-in at a Woolworth lunch counter).

In 2004, alongside such luminaries as Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison, Due received the “New Voice in Literature Award” at the Yari Yari Pamberi conference co-sponsored by New York University’s Institute of African-American Affairs and African Studies Program and the Organization of Women Writers of Africa.

-excerpts above from Tananarive Due's website

My personal favorites from Ms. Due are The Black Rose and the Tennyson Hardwick series. Her writing really brought Madame C.J. Walker to life for me and I appreciate the Hardwick series for the covers with Blair Underwood's naked back! I'm also a big fan of The Good House and The Blood Colony series. I'm usually too much of a chicken to venture into the supernatural, but her writing is just too delicious to resist.

Do you have a favorite by the author?