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Waiting on the World to Change
If someone questions why there’s a need for more diverse representation (for example book covers and content) but also in other forms of media besides publishing, please refer them to this heartfelt speech by recent Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o. Nyong’o spoke at Essence magazine’s Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon, after winning the Best Breakthrough Performance award. She recalls a letter she got from a young girl, and how she could relate:
“ . . . I too remember a time when I would turn on the TV and only see pale skin. I got teased and taunted about my night shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter skinned.
“The morning would come and I would be so excited about seeing my new skin that I would refuse to look down at myself before I was in front of a mirror, because I wanted to see my fair face first. And every day I experienced just the same disappointment at being just as dark as I had been the day before.
“I tried to negotiate with God. I told him I would stop stealing sugar cubes at night if he gave me what I wanted. I would listen to my mother’s every word and never lose my school sweater again if he just made me a little lighter. But, I guess God was unimpressed with my bargaining chips because I never woke up lighter.”
“ . . . And then Alek Wek came on the scene. A celebrated model, she was dark as night,” she said, adding: “I couldn’t believe that people were embracing a woman that looked so much like me as beautiful. Now I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far-away gatekeepers of beauty.”
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More FUBU books, and down to the wire
I’ve put up excerpts from The Player and The 13th Step.
The Player The 13th Step would be categorized as women’s fiction, though there is an erotic relationship in the book. It’s also part suspense and features an older heroine (she’s forty-five). Click either photo for a blurb and an excerpt.
More to come . . .
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A Hard Day’s Write
So . . . I finally linked the GIF I’d created for RUSH to a free excerpt page. Instead of putting up the same GIF on this post, I’m linking it to the new photos of Aaliyah and Aiden that I’ve edited:
My breasts are like new buds on a tree, yet men continue to stare, wondering aloud what delights I hide from them under my hijab. I have two arms and two legs like other girls, but sometimes my classmates taunt us, saying we have horns and tails and no one stops them, not even my teachers. Students join in the laughter, making me think that high school will be hard, even harder than the refugee camp. There I knew what I faced each day. I knew when my stomach spoke, only food would quiet it. But here, there is always something new to learn. And each day I must choose between what is haraam – forbidden, unlawful – and halaal.
– Aaliyah, from the ebook RUSH
Aaliyah and Aiden -
Dare to Go There
Over at Dear Author, Jane is taking requests from readers (and authors) on What’s Not Being Published that You Want to Read
There are a number a really good suggestions, and for any author who wonders where the idea for their next great novel might come from (not just in the romance genre) this wish list may be just the thing. I had fun matching up what I’m either currently working on or have already released with many of the requests.
I got pretty close with RUSH. But perhaps other novels like QUEENSREALM, Gaijin, and Valerius Rex might be of interest for those who requested more Scifi and historical romance with diverse characters.
Valerius Rex, a sword and sandals tale set during the Crusades Oops! I can’t forget JUKEBOX Volume One, since its set during the racial upheaval of the 60s, and features a male lead who goes from being a Rockabilly singer to a Blue Eyed Soul Man. Eli Burr pairs with the daughter of rights activist, and they become the first interracial male/female duo in Pop music. While Eli has to hide his sexual orientation once he becomes a teen idol, the female lead ends up getting death threats and has the pressure of representing her race in a positive light, because that was VERY important back then.
Dare to go There:
I’ve put up a couple of brief excerpts tonight, where the stories start with uncomfortable scenes. I don’t want to say much more than that, but the excerpts are from the ebook novellas The Player and Love and Baseball.
Love and Baseball.Canadian First Nations teen falls for Barbados beauty Both ebooks are contemporary romances. Here’s how Love and Baseball starts:
They called it a Ghetto Blast, and the frat house hosts were wearing afro wigs, holding beer and giving each other fake gang signals. Some were even posing for pictures, calling out to one another and those entering the house with “fo shizzle, my nizzle.”
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The Vanity Fair Cover Y’all
Click the image to get the full sized spread:
Should anyone question why this is news, please read this article:
Girls on Film: Women of Color, Move to the Right
By Monika Bartyzel Feb 02, 2012
Vanity Fair isn’t known for getting its annual Hollywood Issue right. Each year we are graced with a thick, Tinseltown-studded release of widely recognized talent and new faces the magazine swears will hit it big. But many consider recognition from Vanity Fair a curse. A good number of these fresh actors never make it beyond the work that got them cover recognition in the first place – actors like Skeet Ulrich, Fairuza Balk, Gretchen Mol, Rufus Sewell, and two-time cover girl Selma Blair. But these cover-starring choices aren’t just about hot names with potentially successful careers; it’s also a matter of hotness and whiteness.
Link:
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A month of LOVE
Besides the debut of The Men of Hilton Hall serial, the novellas You Give Good Love and RUSH will be released early this month (I’m working hard on making it this Wednesday, Feb 5th).
There’s also the side bar blog post of The Tools of Seduction, where I list the scenes from some of my books that have the leads coming together in various romantic ways.
First though, here’s a brief excerpt from You Give Good Love, where the Russian/African American heroine Marina Roth gets her first glimpse of Eric Decker:
Marina, from YOU GIVE GOOD LOVE Excerpt from You Give Good Love:
Okay, okay. My daughter says nobody cares about their meeting. She wanted me to post something a bit more erotic:
“I’d worship every part of you,” his said, while his thumb circled her nipple with a maddening, airy touch. Worst of all, he stopped just when she could feel herself clinch. “But I can respect that we just met, and you don’t know me-”
Damn it. She wanted him to stuff his mouth with her breasts. She wanted his face buried in her crotch. “Oh will you just shut up.” She fisted his collar, pulling his face to hers. Now this was a man who knew how to kiss. Her hands moved to span his chest so she could touch every muscle, from his six pack abs to those hard as rock pectorals. She could swear he groaned once his lips left hers. Sugar, we’re going down. ‘Cause his perfect orb of a head was descending right where it could do the most good. And the most damage.
Here’s the “meeting” excerpt:
With their bout moving fast and furious, she managed to nick him in the cheek with a counterpunch. In response he gave her a wicked smile. At least he was smart enough not be a braggart. There was no macho posing, no beckoning with his fingers for her to bring it. That kind of posturing was only done in the movies. In a real fight, the cooler head and skill set usually triumphed. But the operative word was “usually” because they were both at a disadvantage with the amount of people boxing them in.
Busy dancing out of the way as he attacked, she couldn’t help wondering what the hell they fighting for. On a hunch, Marina gave him the universal sign for stop. With her arm outstretched she held up her palm. Her other hand snaked around to her backside and the waistband of her pants, where she pulled out a 9mm. With both of her arms raised above her head she gave him an choice. And a way out. Contemplating her offer, his satiny black as night brows lowered, almost blocking out large upturned eyes that were just as dark. Then he backed just far enough out of reach to give her reason to hope.
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Equal Opportunity Appreciation
First, here’s the link to a three chapter excerpt from the upcoming ebook RAZHER, Rise of the Gargoyles excerpt
I love men, I cannot lie. I find them fascinating, at times infuriating and oh so SEXY. So while I’ve got ebooks pairing African American heroines with white males, rest assured that I haven’t forgotten men of color. There are more ebooks coming out with male protags of Asian, African, African American, Hispanic and First Nations heritage. I’m also starting a series based on five males who share a dorm (suite) in college, but I think it will be in serial form, and housed on this site for the first few chapters.
My goal is to tie in characters from other books who pop up every now and then. I’m also still editing away, because a writer’s work is never done, especially if you write and edit your own books (like I do). I’m also working on promos so that I lessen the eye strain of editing text only, and here’s a peek at a few of them:
