• Of interest

    Thank you, Misty Copeland and Dana Nichols

    Ballerina Misty Copeland spoke up regarding the practice of blackface/brownface in her profession. Please read her powerful thoughts, as well as a first person testimony from dancer Dana Nichols, who tells a compelling real life experience of being dressed in blackface for a performance.

    It takes courage to speak up in a society where the concerns of minorities are sometimes ignored, laughed at, or challenged as being overly sensitive. I commend both these brave women. 

     

    Here’s Misty Copeland’s response to this continued practice:

    Young dancers in blackface for a ballet performance

     

    Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5zGh5cjbmI/

     

    While Misty Copeland is getting support for speaking out she’s also getting some very ugly, racist responses that condone this “tradition.” Check out an example of the responses (many in Russian) on her Facebook page:

     

    A few of the replies to Misty Copeland calling out the practice of blackface/brownface

     

     

     

    Here’s dancer Dana Nichol’s first person account in Dance Magazine:

    I must have been the only dark-skinned person to have been in a Mariinsky production. The women in charge weren’t sure what to do with me. I saw the white dancers around me covering themselves in the brown paint and distinctly remember being at a loss for words because it was so bizarre. It was especially the red lipstick traced around the mouth that disturbed me. I remember looking down at the paints and trying to figure out what they had to do with me. All I could manage to say was, “Do need this?”

    I became that thing in the room that no one had ever had to confront.”

    https://www.dancemagazine.com/black-face-in-ballet-2641581121.html?rebelltitem=6#rebelltitem6

     

     

    Damn. While I’ve never been through this kind of experience, I’ve had my share of uncomfortable and cringe worthy life dramas. Most of them had to do with being a female and a female of color.

    Speaking up always contains a risk. But not speaking up can also weigh heavily, even years later. Again, I thank them both, and all others who decide to question or challenge harmful “traditions.” 

     

    CNN has an article on the response to Misty Copeland’s Instagram post:

    “After legendary ballerina Misty Copeland called out the Bolshoi Theatre for its use of blackface in performances, the theatre told Russian state-run media that it would continue the practice despite the criticism. . . ”

    https://www.cnn.com/style/article/misty-copeland-bolshoi-theater-trnd-style/index.html

     

     

    I can only hope that conversation continues regarding this hurtful practice. I’m not naive to think it will completely stop. But this could be a teachable moment. 

     

  • #BlackGirlMagic,  Books 4 Boys,  E books,  Scifi,  Urban Fantasy

    The Boys R Back in Town

    Medium-sized-NIGHTSTALKERS-gif
    From left to right: Ronin Bey, Firedrake. Ash the Hellraiser, (center) Andre Santana, Alpha X Werewolf, Karnage Xian, Gargoyle

     

    The Werewolf art is by rhabwar-troll-stock.deviantart.com, and you can view more of this artist’s work here

     

    Check out a rock classic written by the founder and frontman of Thin Lizzy, the black Irishman himself, the late, great Phil Lynott (singing lead and playing bass) called The Boys Are Back in Town:

     

     

     

     

    I also needed a smaller GIF for social media in order to promote HUI

     

    HUI_GIF-edited1

  • Contemporary Romance,  E books

    The Love and Ballet Series Begins

    DA_Dec_2015-jpeg-HUI-extra-large-frames
    Click the image to be redirected to Amazon.com Read an extended excerpt via Amazon’s Look Inside feature

     

     

    Excerpt:

    Weak and disoriented as he finally slid into her, all Imani could manage was a feeble caress along his arm. It wasn’t fair. She was so crazy about him.
    Sensing her despair, his movements slowed. “What’s wrong?”

    How could she put it into words what she didn’t understand? “Why are you doing this . . . like this-”

    The bed stopped creaking. She felt his eyes on her, trying to read her expression. “Don’t you want me to love you?”

    He probably didn’t realize how loaded that question was. “I do. I want you to love – to make love to me.”

    After getting the go-ahead, instead of measured thrusts, Hui acted on pure unbridled lust. Now he was simply fucking her, rough and without any inhibition. This was brutal, take no prisoner’s sex. The kind that played on the Discovery Channel, where the male lion mounted the female and just went at it, until his roar of pleasure echoed from miles around. The female? Well, unlike Imani, she didn’t have much choice. When things slowed down to hard grind, the air escaping and gathering in Imani’s lungs blasted hot as a furnace.

    ~~~~~

    Copyright 2014, 2015

  • Contemporary Romance,  E books

    Black woman, Asian male . . . Finally, Hui is ready!

    I’m late, the book should have been on Amazon yesterday, and for that I sincerely apologize. My hope is that the love story between Imani and Hui will be live on Amazon.com later today. I thank all the readers who want to buy the book for your patience.

     

    Hui and Imani having fun final FX copy watermarked
    Imani Fairchild and Le Jong Hui, from the interracial romance set in the world of ballet, HUI

     

     

     

    Double exposure pic of for HUI2 copy
    Interracial Romance and Ballet, HUI
  • Adult Novellas,  Contemporary Romance,  E books,  Excerpts

    Download December 2!!

    It’s that time of year again. Download December, where you can pick up free extended excerpts of previous and upcoming releases and also 99 cent ebooks. This is my second year holding this event, hence the “2” part.

    Download December will officially start on Saturday, December 5th, and these books kick off the sale:

    Free Sneak peeks*: The Stone Boy/Furies, The Player, RUSH

    *A sneak peek is a promotional excerpt

    At Last – 99 cents for December

     

    **The Free SneakPeeks promo ended on Monday, December 7th**

     

    Wheelchair sex with Ethan and Torii FX copy copy
    Torii Theas falls for paraplegic artist Ethan Forche. This promo pic is for the sequel to AT LAST

     

     

    HUI will be released in December.

     

    Dec_2015-jpeg-HUI-frames-large-size

  • Adult Novellas,  Contemporary Romance,  E books

    Hello from the Other Side

    Hi!
    If this is your first time visiting this site, I hope you’ll take the time to look around. I write for an underserved population. That is to say, my books feature leads of color (or co-leads who are minority). Most of my in house created book covers and promos reflect my writing platform, which is multicultural in scope.

     

    At Last XMas copy resized copy
    Torii Theas falls for her paraplegic neighbor, in the ebook AT LAST – low resolution promo

     

     

    While I write primarily in the IR or interracial romance genre, my manuscripts also include scifi, historical romance, NA, YA and non-fiction.

    Thank you for stopping by!

    Le Jong Hui and Imani Fairchild, from the upcoming interracial romance set in the world of ballet, HUI

     

     

     

    Kenya Paul and Brandon Jefferson Wingate from the ebook IVY League

     

     

     

    A paraplegic male and forty something businesswoman go from friends to torrid lovers, in the erotic romance AT LAST

     

     

     

  • Contemporary Romance,  E books

    School of Thought

    My prayers are with the grieving families in Paris, and the nation of France as that country deals with another senseless act of terror.

    Listening to: “You’re Been My Inspiration” by The Main Ingredient featuring the late, great Donnie McPherson.  Donnie’s sweet, clear voice graced hits like “Spinning Around” “You’ve Been My Inspiration” and “I’m so Proud.” Most people know The Main Ingredient by their later hits, like “Everybody Plays the Fool” with Cuba Gooding as their lead singer.

    The Main Ingredient original members, from left to right: Luther Simmons, Jr, Donnie McPherson, Tony Silvester

     

     

    For me, TMI will always be at their best during their hits featuring Donnie M. Please take a moment to listen:

       

     

    Sometimes when I work on a novel an idea for a new story will pop into my head. I try to table any new book ideas until I release the others in line, but there are instances when the “voice” of a character or a story line comes flooding into my thoughts so strongly, that I have to write the info down right there and then.

    So while HUI will be released shortly, I’ll also have other novels on sale that I’ve completed.

     

    Imani Fairchild as the black swan, in the ballet Swan Lake
    Imani Fairchild as the black swan, Odile, from the classic ballet Swan Lake – edited stock photo

     

     

    Upcoming novella couple:

     

     

    Interracial lovers - Low resolution pic
    Interracial lovers – Low resolution pic

     

     

    NIM nature portrait watermarked
    Double exposure portrait of NIM