I try to pay attention to the game as the assistant coach. However, I am bombarded by begging from players on the bench: “Brother Green, can I get back into the game?” I try to ignore by pointing:  “Ask the coach.”  

Every weekend was like déjà vu for me.  A bunch of 8th graders were trying to tell us they were just as good as high school athletes.  These 8th graders were undersized and no match for more experienced ‘ballers.’ The basketball league was designed for high school students.  I felt they should be graceful to be allowed to play with our high schoolers.  Instead, it was a steady stream of complaints and ingratitude from some 8th graders.  I wondered how I got stuck with Gen Next.

Today’s organizations face unprecedented competition from all fronts.  Many institutions desperately need to infuse their organizations with fresh leadership and new ideas. Yet, there is a hesitation for this transformation. Many baby boomers argue that the current generation is not ready. These young workers are called many names such as Generation Y (Gen Y), Echo Boomers, or Millennials (born 1977 to 2002). Most experts predict the generation will be a major factor in society. There are more than 70 million of them. 

However, they have been described in the workplace as lazy and self-absorbed with their own worth. Laura Clark, columnist, argues, “Today's young workers, it appears, believe they deserve jobs with big salaries, status and plenty of leisure time - without having to put in the hours.” According to the Association of Graduate Recruiters study, there is a new breed of graduate 'divas' who expect everything to fall into their laps. These people believe they are a hot commodity in the job market. Yet, their managers describe them as ‘unrealistic,’ ‘self-centered,’ and ‘greedy.’

For the first time in American history, organizations have four different generations in their workforce. Sadly, it’s not without problems. 
Companies don’t understand this young generation. They desire to share in organizational decisions on day one of employment and be promoted instantaneously. With managers who had to ‘pay their dues.’ The Gen Y mentality is a hard pill to swallow.

Dr. Jean Twenge and Dr. Keith Campbell track this trend of self-absorption in their book, The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. “Narcissism- a very positive and inflated view of the self is everywhere….Understanding the narcissism is important because its long-term consequences are destructive to society.” In the 1960s, individuals led causes for the greater good. During the 1970s, there was a focus on self-admiration. 

By the 1980s, society had totally gone to ‘looking out for oneself.” 

Unfortunately, some managers distort the work value of this emerging generation by stereotyping them as selfish. Baby boomer managers complain about the difficulty of managing Gen Y employees. But, didn’t these baby boomers raise them to be narcissistic anyway? Therefore, it isn’t fair to label them totally as expecting entitlement. 

Twenge and Campbell note, “Parenting became more indulgent, celebrity worship grew, and reality TV became a showcase of narcissistic people.” One must wonder what Gen Y will pass along to their own children.

As more baby boomers retire, a new generation of leaders will replace them. These new leaders will cross age, gender, race, and geography. I certainly hope that Gen Y can overcome the negativism surrounding them and be prepared to accept future leadership roles. I pray it’s not too late. 


© 2010 by Daryl D. Green

Dr. Daryl Green provides motivation, guidance, and training for leaders at critical ages and stages of their development. He has over 20 years of management experience and has been noted and quoted by USA Today, Ebony Magazine, and Associated Press. For more information, you can go to http://stores.lulu.com/darygre  or http://www.darylgreen.org  

Women Power in Today’s Organizations 
by Dr. Daryl Green

America has continued to learn how to deal with strong women during the great demographic shift in history. Corporate America celebrates media moguls like Oprah Winfrey. According to Fortune Magazine, 15 Fortune 500 companies are run by women. In fact, women of color are showing others how to break traditional barriers. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice transformed how powerful women can lead major government sectors. In fact, there is a long list of successful women in all types of institutions. 

Yet, the road to success for most black women isn’t easy. Many women’s dreams of a successful career have come to reality. Strangely enough, some women have been trying to have it all. This marks the clash. There are women who focus on the primary care of their families while delaying their personal dreams. Others dedicate their lives to their careers while compromising the stability of their families. In the middle, there are millions of mothers who attempt to do it all out of necessity and attempt to chase the great American Dream. This article focuses on the issues facing professional women and provides solutions. Several professional women were interviewed. However, their real names are not disclosed, to protect them since they work in small industries.


The Problem
According to the 2005 Census Report, there are 82.5 million mothers in the United States , and there are 10 million single mothers living with children under 18 years old. Working moms make up 55 percent of mothers with infants. Feminists celebrate the liberation of working women while traditionalists postulate the merits of home-bound mothers for institutional stability. In fact, some people blame the moral decay of the country on mothers abandoning their families for professional careers. Many women try to maintain a healthy balance of work and family life, but this balancing act leaves some of them “burnt out.” Therefore, there is a growing problem for women in particular and society in general in understanding consequences of women’s power in the near future.


The Trend
Women stand at the fore front of disruptive change in the political, social, economic, and technological sectors of most counties. Dr. James Canton’s The Extreme Future notes “Women will comprise a high percentage of new workers and leaders, forever changing the politics of boardrooms and markets.” According to a US Census report, nearly one-third of all married women in the US make more than their husbands. More than 25% of working wives earned more their husbands in 2007 (up from 20% in 1983). Furthermore, women are earning college degrees at a faster pace than men. Between 2000 and 2001, women earned 57% of all undergraduate degrees. 

Woman power is also being flexed in the corporate world. In 1983, women held 34% of all US executive and managerial positions. However, women held more than 50% of these positions in 2003. Futurist John Cashmen predicts women will forever change the landscape of all institutions: “The number of women in the primary breadwinner role will likely grow in coming decades, driven by social change and the fact that women’s educational achievement is outpacing men’s in many parts of the world.” Therefore, executives must consider how the changing roles of women in organizations will impact their corporate strategies.



The Career Strategy
Progressive women need to develop critical career strategies in a holistic fashion. Balancing work and family is difficult. In general, some men are already taking this transition personally. Some men are opting for the domestic life while their wives become the principal breadwinners. Therefore, society watches gender role reversals and wonder how it will end…relational success or failure? 

For working women, any results are often problematic anyway. Yenissee Alonso and Vickie Brint, authors of the article Women in the Workplace, argue that women still deal with institutional barriers that keep them from being successful. For example, women in general are making less than their counterparts doing the same job with the same experience. 

Alonso and Brint note, “Since nearly half of the workforce is comprised of women, it stands to reason that woman should be enjoying the same success as their male counterparts in terms of advancement opportunities and earning capacity.” Princeton researchers in a 2003 study concluded that college-educated women who hold higher expectations for their potential mate may lower their chances for getting married. In fact, some men may be uncomfortable with having a woman who has more education and makes more than them, postulate some theorists.

Sue Means is a professional engineer in a highly competitive consulting industry. She sees challenges for professional women. She notes that men are treated differently. Means explains, “Some of my colleagues talk about how pretty I am. They comment on my clothes and make suggestions regarding what I should wear. That would not happen to a man.” 

Liza Fuller is a government program manager with a decade of experience in handling difficult environmental issues. She exists in a mostly male dominated industry. Fuller notes, “Women are still expected to work harder than men to prove themselves and avoid criticism. Attractive women still get grief about being promoted for reasons other than their own merit and it’s not fair.”

Furthermore, Canton suggests that the most educated, skilled, and experienced employees will be in high demand. Therefore, professional women need better strategies. Means recommends prioritizing what’s important: “I let go what’s not important. Most women get overwhelmed with trying to manage all of the household and family responsibilities while working at the same time. You need to be realistic about what you can do. It’s a balancing act.” Some women feel that they can have it all without any drop off. Fuller disagrees: “There is always a sacrifice because you spend more time away from your family.” Although there will be an ever increasing number of opportunities for women in the workplace, women must analyze every career move in a holistic fashion if they want to keep that delicate balance. 


Conclusion
The future is bright for working women as never before. In fact, women will drive most institutions toward major changes in the near term. However, this article demonstrated that the road to success for most professional women isn’t easy. They must deal with sexism to a certain degree. However, the demands of their professional life have not kept up with the heavy demands of a family and personal life. Therefore, women must develop career strategies in a holistic manner that maximizes their efforts. Black women continue to excel against tremendous obstacles. In turn, society must learn how to embrace women’s power in the future if America hopes to continue to compete. 

© 2010 by Daryl D. Green

Dr. Daryl D. Green writes on contemporary issues impacting individuals, businesses, and society across the globe. With over 18 years of management experience, Dr. Green’s expertise has been noted and quoted by USA Today, Ebony Magazine, and Associated Press. For more information, you can go to http://stores.lulu.com/darygre  or  http://www.darylgreen.org 

Intimate Conversation with Harold T. Fisher

Harold T. Fisher is a broadcaster and author. He is currently the host of the news/talk program, “The Daily Drum” on WHUR-FM in Washington, DC. He is a native Washingtonian and earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore. Harold is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.  He worked as a TV news anchor and reporter in several U.S. cities. He has written African-American lifestyle articles for The Baltimore Sun. The title of his recently published romance novel is “Two Weeks Until The Rest Of My Life.”


BPM: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? 
I am an extremely passionate and romantic person. I wear my passions on my sleeve and I don't mind if others see them. To see my passions are to see and experience me. When I write, I am emoting. I am filled with the moments I create. I'm no longer sitting at the computer, clickety-clacking away at the keyboard. I am there in the world I am creating. I am a voyeur. I am in the room where my characters are. I am on the street where they walk. I am eating with them in the restaurant. I am breathing the same air. In the truest sense, my characters aren't characters. They are real, at least to me they are. I birthed them and gave them lives, loves, faults, dreams and fates. I tried to make them living beings.

BPM: Introduce us to your main characters in Two Weeks Until The Rest Of My Life.
Denise Younger is a 35-year-old federal government manager. She's a native Washingtonian, single, intelligent, educated, attractive and self-confident. She's close to her widowed father and misses her mother. She's friendly, kind and compassionate.

Tyriq Austin is a 23-year-old native of New Orleans. He's recent college graduate who manages a an upscale lingerie shop in the Garden District of New Orleans. He is handsome, fit, elegant and emotionally intense, but very calm in his demeanor.

BPM: Who were your favorites? Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
Denise is my favorite because she is feminine, confident, somewhat aggressive, but very introspective. Only one character is based entirely on a real person. Denise's best friend Saundra is based on my mother's best friend. 

BPM: Take us inside your Erotic-Romance. What are two major events taking place?
The first major event is the conference that brought Denise to New Orleans. It is how she meets Bonnie, her new "ride or die" friend, and Tyriq, her new love interest. The second event is the faster-than-light relationship that explodes within hours of arriving in New Orleans. It is a roller coaster of passion, emotion, sex and second guessing.


BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
I want to reach single black women for two key reasons. The first reason is that they believe love lives and is possible. It can come from the most unexpected places, when you least expect it. Sometimes it's right in front of you, yelling and shouting and jumping up and down. Other times, you have to just be still and allow it to wash over your like a warm tide wash ashore on a sandy beach. Even if you fight it or question it, it will still find you if it's real. 

The second most critical, social issue in this book is how we deal with sex and how our carnal desires can make us forget common sense. This is particularly true when addressing safe sex. African-American women continue to be one of the highest risk populations for HIV. Popular culture conversations suggest that educated, middle or upper class, single, professional black women are having safe sex. The numbers don't bare that out. As a result, I strongly believe this: What your closest friends say about sex and what they are actually doing are often two different things. There needs to be a very frank discussion about sex, love and sex and how we (men too) are dealing with these issues.

BPM: What was the most powerful chapter in Two Weeks Until The Rest Of My Life?
Chapter 53 is most powerful because one of the key characters dies suddenly. It is not just sudden for the character, but it is also sudden for the reader. It is a very intense jolt for the reader. It has prompted very strong, penetrating, emotional reactions from every reader I've spoken to.

BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
I want the readers to believe in love again, if they've ceased to believe. I want them to understand that passion in its purest form is not only possible, but VERY likely. You have to let it happen! You have to let it exist in your heart and in your very being. Loving is not just something that happens, it is an act. This book shows it in many forms.

BPM: What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
The most unique thing about this novel is that it is written in first person from the woman's perspective. I am heterosexual, but I thought it would be interesting to get into the head and heart of woman to see what she sees, feel what she feels and related those emotional experiences to the reader when she completely wraps herself up in the love of her life.

BPM: How can our readers reach you online? 
WWW.ROSEFOGG.COM   or WWW.HAROLDTFISHER.COM 
I answer all email and, if invited, will be happy to attend your book club meeting or event.

Intimate Conversation with Aliya S. King

Aliya S. King was born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey. She is a 1994 graduate of Rutgers University with a B.A. in African-American History and certification in Secondary Education from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education.

She has held editorial positions at Billboard and The Source. As a freelance writer, her profiles, news stories and features have appeared in Vibe, Vibe Vixen, America, Giant, Uptown, Essence, CMJ: New Music Monthly, Upscale, King, The Source, Ms, Us Weekly, Teen People, Black Enterprise and many others.

Aliya S. King is the co-author of Keep The Faith, with platinum-recording artist Faith Evans, published in 2008 by Grand Central Books. The memoir, which landed on the New York Times Bestseller’s list, was also published in paperback in 2009.  Aliya also collaborated with Frank Lucas on his memoir: American Gangster published by St. Martin’s Press in 2009. Aliya’s first novel PLATINUM was published by Touchstone/Fireside July 6, 2010. 

BPM:  What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? 
I'm still working on being powerful as both a person and a writer. Right now, I'm trying to put one foot in front of the other and be the best person I can be day by day. 

BPM:  Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?
I have a strong center of writing mentors who help me when I have writer's block, questions about writing or just need to talk. I love Erica Kennedy, Paula Renfroe, Denene Milner, Jermaine Hall, Erik Parker and if I name any more, I'll get in trouble for not name them all. 

BPM:  Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers... 
My writing offers the following legacy to future readers... tenacity is more important than talent when it comes to achieving anything you want in this world. 

BPM:  Introduce us to Platinum, your latest book, and the main characters.
PLATINUM follows four women, Alex, Josephine, Kipenzi and Beth. All four women are involved with rap artists and PLATINUM peels back the layers of what happens when the music is over and real life must be dealt with. 

BPM:  Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
Yes, the characters in PLATINUM are *loosely* based on real people I interacted with while writing a story on the wives of rap artists back in 2005.
 

BPM:  What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write Platinum?
I wrote a story for VIBE magazine several years ago. I covered the lives of women whose husbands are in the music industry. I was fascinated at what I saw. And how monumentally unhappy most of the women seemed to be. I thought it would make a great novel and PLATINUM was born. 

I always thought my first novel would be a work of highbrow literary fiction. In the vein of Zora Neale Hurston, my favorite writer. I even picked out a wonderful title I’d use for first novel: No Tea For The Fever.

What I ended up writing in PLATINUM is a lot different than I expected. There are sex scenes I’m embarrassed to re-read. There are people who do unspeakable things. People who remind me of myself and my friends. I had fun writing this book. It’s not a book for an African American literature class. And I’m fine with that. This is THE book you toss into your beach bag this summer. It’s thick. It’s juicy. You’ll roll your eyes. You’ll suck your teeth. And I hope you’ll like these characters as much as I do.

BPM:  Take us inside Platinum. What are two major events taking place? 
Alex, a writer for VIBE who is about to marry an up and coming rap star, is juggling two projects. On one hand, she must investigate the lives of the wives of rap artists and then she is ghostwriting the memoirs of a woman named Cleo who is having sexual relationships with just about every man in the hip-hop industry. 

BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
I want women to ask themselves. If you were married to an entertainer and he could give you everything you wanted, how much would you take from him? Would you overlook adultery? Outside women? What if he was the only person you'd ever been with? What if you'd never had a job? It's easy to dismiss these women as foolish for not walking away. But I hope I paint another way of looking at these women's lives. 

BPM:  How will reading your book shape the readers lives? 
It *should* help them appreciate the lives they already have, no matter how simple or non-glamorous they be. There's an expression: more money, more problems. And from what I've seen in this industry--and in my own life--it's really true. 

BPM:  Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
I want them first to just lose themselves in a good book. I want them to end the book the way you end a good meal--satisfied and looking forward to enjoying again. 

BPM:  What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
I'm not sure this book has ever been done! I'm not familiar with a book that touches on the lives of rapper's wives. Maybe I'm a pioneer!

BPM:  Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases. 
I've just finished the second half of PLATINUM and I'm eagerly awaiting news that it has been picked up. Hopefully that will be out in the summer of 2011. 

BPM:  How can our readers reach you online? 
My website is www.aliyasking.com  and my email is aliyasking@gmail.com.  Drop me a line and let me know what you thought of PLATINUM. I promise I will hit you back!

Intimate Conversation with Shelia M. Goss

Shelia M. Goss is the national best-selling author of six women's fiction novels: Hollywood Deception, His Invisible Wife, My Invisible Husband, Roses are thorns, Paige’s Web, Double Platinum and three young adult books: The Lip Gloss Chronicles series: The Ultimate Test, Splitsville, and Paper Thin. 

BPM: Introduce us to your latest book Hollywood Deception. 
Hollywood Deception is a fast-paced romantic thriller about Hailey Barnes, a talk show host, whose dealing with a broken heart and a deranged fan. 

Hailey wants what she can’t have, and that’s her ex-college sweetheart’s hand in marriage. Her on again/off again relationship with Trevon keeps her name in the tabloids, and that works for her, until she receives a wedding invitation in the mail—inviting her to Trevon’s wedding to another woman. He’s ready to settle down, just not with Hailey.

Besides dealing with a broken heart, the ex-supermodel is dealing with a deranged fan who has resorted to sending her disturbing mail at her Hollywood studio and her home. Hailey decides to use the opportunity as a quest to convince Trevon she should be his bride.  Trevon and childhood friend Garrett Morgan are co-owners of GT Securities, a security firm that caters to celebrities. Hailey’s plan backfires when Garrett heads her case instead of Trevon. When ex-playboy Garrett starts developing feelings for Hailey, Hailey’s life becomes even more complicated. As Garrett investigates, all evidence points to the person Hailey least suspects.

BPM: What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
Hailey Barnes first appeared in my book Double Platinum. She's also a character that I used in a web series. She was such a lively character, that she begged for her own story and that's how Hollywood Deception was born. 

BPM: Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place? 
Hailey is dealing with a broken heart as she attempts to be the number one talk show host in the nation. She's also dealing with a deranged fan who stalks her at work and at home. 

BPM: What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
Hollywood Deception addresses two issues in the book: stalking, which affects over 3 million people a year and a mental disorder known as bipolar.

BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases. 
I’m excited to announce that my next book, Delilah, will be Christian Fiction. I'm currently working on the edits. Its scheduled for a 2011 release. Where ever Delilah goes, drama is sure to follow. She wreaks havoc on the lives of every man she comes in contact with. Will her luck change when she meets the man of her dreams? 
Besides writing for adults, I write young adult fiction. I'm honored to be the recipient of the 2009 EDC Creations Author of the Year for my teen series - The Lip Gloss Chronicles.

BPM: How can our readers reach you online? 
To keep updated on any of my new projects or learn more about my old books, please visit me at www.sheliagoss.com. 

Intimate Conversation with Author Mika (Barnes)

Chocolate High is Mika's debut novel. She resides in South Florida with her family. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Northwood University and her M.B.A. from Nova Southeastern University. She is currently hard at work on her next project. For the latest news on Mika, please visit www.mikabarnes.com  

Book Intro: Chocolate High by Mika Barnes
How do you say goodbye to the one you love? Is this even an option when you’ve invested your body, mind, and soul into your relationship? Charisse Farrell is a successful, beautiful corporate attorney who has it all, but when the love of her life David Richards betrays her, she has to reevaluate her future. 

Tempted by the desire to love again and her need for revenge Charisse is haunted by a demon from her past that turns her life upside down. When love knocks her down, Charisse has to get back up fighting. Fighting for love. 

Read the First Chapter Excerpt here: 
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=42496404 

BPM:  Introduce us to your main characters. Who are your favorites and why? 
A:: My main characters are Charisse Farrell and David Richards, your modern day perfect couple in appearances. She is a beautiful, successful corporate attorney and he is a handsome, strapping CEO of his own financial firm. They were best friends growing up who loved each other for as long as they could remember, but now giving their relationship a try isn’t as easy as they thought it would be. Charisse is torn after David’s betrayal. David, on the other hand, doesn’t feel his betrayal was severe enough to jeopardize their relationship. 

My favorite characters are actually the supporting characters: Terry Wright, because he epitomizes the true definition of a good man, and Kyla Donaldson, Charisse’s best friend, because she keeps you laughing with her over-the-top personality and all-about-me swagger. 

BPM: Take us inside Chocolate High. What are two major events taking place? 
A:: The first major event is when Charisse finds out that David has betrayed her. The second explores what extreme a woman will go to get her man. 

BPM: BPM:  What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? 
A:: I’ve always been a person with something to say. Moreover, the purpose of my message has changed the lives of many within my community. I am only one person but I understand my actions can effect positive change. I pay it forward as often as possible and I try to reflect this same philosophy through my writing. Yes, it’s drama in my writing but there is also a message for the reader to walk away with. The general premise of my writing is: Sometimes you have to go through something to get something. 

BPM:  Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration? 
A:: Jessica Tilles has been an invaluable mentor throughout this process. A lot of times in this industry other authors or industry insiders aren’t willing to share what they’ve learned in their journey, but Jess was the exact opposite. Her guidance exposed me to the business without the high-priced lessons a mistake can cost you. My Mom, a gifted writer in her own right has also been my mentor and biggest supporter from day one. Watching her craft a story or poem has inspired me to strive to create great stories and memorable characters. 

I find inspiration in everyday life. Everyone has a story to tell and I try to breathe that life into every character that graces the pages of my book. I always try to put a twist or something extra special into my characters to remind my readers of people they know or have met in passing or in their own lives. Creating this connection is inspiring. 

BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from Chocolate High? 
A:: I want my readers to understand their “self-worth.” This is important because before a person can tackle relationship issues or any issue affecting their life, they must know and understand their true worth. Having this understanding sets the limits to what we will and won’t tolerate in a relationship. It’s okay to let go. Society has us so convinced that it’s better to have a piece of something than nothing at all, so it seems at times in relationships we lose the true essence of who we are as a person to hold on to a love that was doomed from the start. 

BPM: How can our readers reach you online? Share with us your online contact info. 
A:: For the latest news and information, readers can reach me at my web site: www.mikabarnes.com  
or by email:  mika@mikabarnes.com   

Other online sources are:
http://www.authorsden.com/mika
http://www.twitter.com/mikabarnes   
http://www.myspace.com/mikawrites 
http://www.facebook.com/tamikabarnes
Visit my Chocolate High Fan Page on Facebook 


Chocolate High by Mika (Barnes)
Purchase from Amazon: 
http://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-High-Mika/dp/0984425802 

Intimate Conversation with Maurine McFarlane

Maurine McFarlane, Intercessor, Humanitarian, Financial Consultant and Community Activist. One of the principal of Lighthouse Covenant International, a Humanitarian Organization emerging in Philadelphia, Maurine is qualified in the areas of investment development, marketing, and fundraising. Maurine attended Temple University’s School of Business Administration in Marketing. Current advanced studies at the Jameson School of Ministry and Theology. Maurine enjoys volunteering her time with children, and the Philadelphia Prison System, through the New Covenant Church of Philadelphia, and Lighthouse Covenant International Prison Ministry and her own Hospitality Ministry. She resides in Philadelphia, PA and is the mother of two children, Crystal and Blake. 


Release the Prophetic Destiny in Philadelphia: A City Under Reconstruction lays out the Strategic Action Plan for winning the War against the many battles that has plagued our family, community, city and nation, and restoring our men back into the position of leadership in our homes, churches and communities. Issues dealing with inner cities, urban policies and social problems are the serious key challenges for the coming generation. We need to shift our focus, and realize that we are facing a crisis and the time to change is now. You will find out why Philadelphia Must Lead the Way in Healing and Rebuilding America’s Broken Cities, and why I believe that the people of the entire city with diverse backgrounds, education, and culture can come together to work for the greater good of this city and other major cities in America. 

BPM: What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? 
This is an excellent question. I will answer this question with 8 qualities that serve as the central core of my life. I live and breathe all 8 of these:

1. I Give It All I Have to Give – I give it all to the task at hand, without question, and without complaint.

2. I Never Give Up  –  Period. I am persistent. I go after what I believe and I do it quietly, no matter how difficult the going may get.

3. I Always Speak My Mind – I am not worried about what others will think about what I say. I am not concerned that some may criticize me for my thoughts. I am not attached to their acceptance of me. I speak my mind with a calm confidence only a powerful woman could exude.

4. I Respect Myself and Others – I am respectful in all situations. A powerful person must know that acceptance must come from within first and foremost. In addition, I respect the choices of others, despite the fact that I might not agree or approve. And I don’t treat them any differently because of their choices.

5. I Stand Up For What I Believe In – I am confident in supporting my beliefs, no matter what the consequences. When others try to sway my belief on an issue, I don’t retract the thinking and behavior, which isn’t aligned with my core beliefs. I stand firm on my convictions.

6. I Inspire Myself And Others – I belief the ability to inspire naturally resides within the powerful person. I won’t allow the negativity directed toward me by others to consume my life or get me down. Instead I respond to the negativity by focusing on the positives and by offering myself hope for the future. I offer this positive attitude to others as well.

7. I Share My Power Willingly – I willingly shares my gifts, talents, skills and knowledge with others. 

8. Make a Difference in The Lives of Others  –  this quality is at the core of my being, it is the essence of who I am. It is something that, deep down, every powerful person wants to achieve on a daily basis, to make a difference in the lives of others.

BPM: Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?
Growing up I didn’t have any mentors nor did I know what a mentor should be. There are many suggestions on how to find a mentor, and the requirements you must meet if you want to be a mentor. Today with a greater knowledge of the world my mentors are very broad, from the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States, to the woman in the ghetto who cannot feed her child, but is trying to do the best she can. Any person that inspires me to change the world are both my mentor and my inspiration.

BPM: Introduce us to the primary message in "Release the Prophetic Destiny in Philadelphia: A City Under Reconstruction."
There is no denying this fact: American cities are at WAR. African Americans are in the midst of a social crisis that threatens the very viability of the black community. The core of this crisis is the deepening plight of Black Men, and the book addresses the reasons why the city of “Brotherly Love” (Philadelphia) Must Lead The Way in Rebuilding and Healing America’s Broken Cities. 


BPM: Share with us 2 or 3 life enhancing sections from the book.
(1) That every situation we face in our lives as an individual or as a people has many dimensions to them, and until we have acquired the knowledge of how to deal with them on each level (i.e. physical, mental, moral, and spiritual) we will never be victorious, and the cycle continues.

(2) No matter who we are, we are in a WAR. The battlefield is our mind, and those who influence our thoughts will influence our actions.

(3) If society and the nation have a problem with drugs, unwed mothers, teenage pregnancy, corruption, violence and the like, then they must go back to the foundation in order to solve the problem. If they have a national problem they must go back into the communities to find the source of the problem. Obviously, the community’s problems affect the nation, which is a multiplicity of communities. Communities’ problems are rooted in the families that make up each community. Fatherhood is the foundation of the family. The government, the church cannot fix society’s problems when the foundation is out of place.

BPM: What led you to create this book now?
I believe that in every generation God always calls a group of people to lead the way for change, the change for this generation is now. As a Community Activist I see first hand the diminution of the black family and our community. Issues dealing with inner cities, urban policies and social problems are the serious key challenges for the coming generation. Our cities are broken, and many of those who live in them are hurting, some desperately. We need to shift our focus, and realize that we are facing a crisis. It’s a crisis that has the potential to impact everyone regardless of whether you live there or not.

BPM: Who should read this book and why?
When it comes to social issues that affect a whole generation of a people, it should be every person concern, because it affects you even if you don’t come into direct contact. Therefore, the audience for this book is every Political, Religious, Civic and Community leader. Additionally, so should every man, woman and young adult who cares about the state of the black family and wants to do something about it, starting with one’s own family. For example: HIV/AIDS is not just a health problem, but also a development problem. How? By spreading fast mostly to young people and working-age adults, HIV/AIDS affects the economy, society, family and schooling in a country, weakening the country as a whole. Release the Prophetic Destiny in Philadelphia is for every person that wants to change the socioeconomic conditions of their city.

BPM: What issues in today's society do you address in the book?
Fatherlessness. Why? Because it’s the most harmful demographic trend of this generation. It’s the leading cause of declining child well being in our society. It is also the engine driving our most urgent social problems, from crime to adolescent pregnancy to child sexual abuse to domestic violence against women and homelessness between both men and women. Yet, despite its scale and social consequences, fatherlessness is a problem that is frequently ignored or denied. Especially within our elite discourse, it remains largely a problem with no name.


BPM: What impact will this book have on the community of readers?
To bring the problems of our communities to the consciousness of our mind. We can no longer pretend it does not affect us, and with this new awareness we all can be part of the positive change our communities desperately need. This book is also designed to facilitate the development of self-determined people taking full responsibility in their lives. Indeed, we need to explore the unmapped territory of our minds and develop it to the fullest, if we are each to have the insight to be able to effectively cut through the restricted thinking in our environments, and to make a positive impact on what is happening to our world. 

BPM: Before we end the interview, define SUCCESS. What part does GRATITUDE play in achieving success, in your opinion?
Success for me is being able to get up everyday and doing exactly what I love to do. Making a difference, no matter how small in someone else’s life. I will never get tired of doing this. It brings me the most joy, and I will never do anything as important. I am always grateful to God for this passion He placed within me for humanity. I KNOW THIS FOR SURE: I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.

BPM: What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
Many books have been written about the many social problems facing our urban cities, and some of the rural areas of our country. They all have excellent ideas and suggestions. However, when we examine the evidence, something is missing from all their philosophies and solutions. That which is missing is the word of God. WE should be concerned with what God has to say about these problems, and what strategic plan He gives us to win this war.

When social scientists gather data on such things as crime, homelessness, urban blight, disintegrating families, teenage prostitutes, growing joblessness, and racial conflicts, they are at a loss to fully explain why such things are increasingly so evident. These social scientist know that something more is unfolding in the city than is objectively available to their scientific instruments of investigation. Release the Prophetic Destiny in Philadelphia promises new hope to those stuck in the cycles of inner city poverty. I clearly lay out a different way of thinking about these lifestyles and, most importantly, raises the expectation that hope is on the horizon for those who know God and love Him enough to actively obey Him. 

BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
I am very proud that my book “Release the Prophetic Destiny in Philadelphia: A City Under Reconstruction” has been selected by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, to be part of the 2010 Annual Legislative Conference Author Pavilion. I hope to see many of you there, please come out and support my work. 

BPM: How can our readers reach you online? 
To learn more about our organization and the work we are doing around the world, you can contact us at www.lighthousecovenantintl.com 

Release the Prophetic Destiny in Philadelphia: A City Under Reconstruction
by Maurine McFarlane, Humanitarian, Financial Consultant and Community Activist
Lighthouse Covenant International website: www.lighthousecovenantintl.com 

Shelia M. Goss - Author of Hollywood Deception 
& 5 other women's fiction novels & 3 YA Novels

Hollywood Deception is available in stores or online 

Contact Information for Shelia M. Goss
Email: sheliagoss@aol.com 
Website: www.sheliagoss.com  
YA website: www.thelipglosschronicles.com  

Intimate Conversation with Nakia R. Laushaul

Nakia R. Laushaul is employed as a Finance Administrator. She is a poet, novelist, and inspirational blogger. In her free time she enjoys performing her poetry and hanging out with her teenage son. Nakia serves on the Board of Directors for a non-profit, KCCP, that was created to encourage arts participation in youth. Nakia is committed to challenging everyone in her reach to find compassion and empathy in the differences that exist among us all. 

BPM:   Introduce us to your book of poetry, The Truth As I See It: In Poetry & Prose. 
My book is called, The Truth As I See It: In Poetry & Prose. It’s an inspirational collection of poetry and essays about everyday life from my point of view. Although I absolutely love poetry, I am a storyteller to the depths of my soul. So, you will see a complete story in every poem. Every chapter tells a poetic story about You and Me, Love, God, Life, and how I came to be free in a way that every reader, no matter their favorite genre, will enjoy. 

BPM:   What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? 
The God in me makes me feel powerful. I have overcome so many obstacles in my life that tried, yet failed each time to break me. I woke up one day and felt like yeah I finally got this, I got me. I am no longer ashamed of where I come from, who I am, what I lack, what I have, or where I’m going. All I know is that I am writing with the authority of God and that makes me a powerful woman. 

BPM:   Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers... 
My hope is to inspire for generations to come. I want future readers to know— if you follow the hollow ground I’ve walked on, it will take you generations to be free. Learn from the past and take the shortcut, young one — here, take this shortcut. 

BPM:   What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book? 
I have been (and still am) working on a novel for many years. I won’t even tell you exactly how many years it has been, not just yet (smile). All those years, I was afraid to write because I feared what I would come out of my pen and the impact it would have on others. I knew that whatever I wrote would be so drenched in truth that some people were bound to get their feelings hurt. In the process of avoiding what I was born to do, I was disobedient to God’s purpose, and my life was a mess. I woke up before dawn one day feeling distressed because God fills my head with so many thoughts, I don’t sleep well. 

I found underneath my desk, a beautiful journal that I had never opened. Inside was an inscription by Picasso that read, “Everything you can imagine is real.” I wrote underneath, Then I imagine I love myself. I turned the page and wrote down all the reasons I loved myself. Those reasons turned into the first poem I wrote for this collection, “I Am A Tree.” By that evening I had a title for the entire book, The Truth As I See It. It was all poetry in the beginning, but I got hooked on blogging; hence prose entered the book. 

BPM:   Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within? 
Initially, The Truth As I See It was God’s attempt to reach me. God was calling out to me through my own voice, God to Nakia. Come in Nakia. I discovered so much about myself during the writing process. Now I know I can’t force anyone else to change. However, my goal is to encourage a positive and willing acceptance of what is true and right. 

BPM:   How will reading your book shape the readers lives? 
When my readers put my book down, I want them to imagine me saying personally to them, “You are strong, you are beautiful, you can make it, and you are uniquely fashioned in His image. You are A Tree!”  I want my readers to concentrate more on being who they are and not what others want them to be. I would like them to feel empowered enough to break away from generational curses and self defeat, find their purpose, and truly live.

BPM:   What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book? 
The thing with writing poetry is that others always assume every poem is about the poet. I can’t tell you how many poems are actually about you and what you are going through in your life, what I’ve read, or what I’ve overheard. I am a thief of juicy conversations. I wrote a poem about abortion, “Liberated,” that spawned from reading a Gwendolyn Brooks poem called “The Mother.” I heard the testimony of a famous gospel singer and wrote “Happy Mother’s Day.” 

I wrote a poem that deals with what will surely happen to our future if we don’t do something called, “Deuteronomy.”  Many of my messages are a bit taboo and I wrestled intensely with writing them, but either I stand up for what I believe in, or I should have called my book, The Lies I Tell Myself. That was not going to happen because I’m done with lying to myself just to make someone else feel comfortable. 

BPM:   What was the most powerful poem in the book? 
I cannot pick a most powerful poem as each one tells a story that is special to me. I would very much appreciate if my readers would send me an email letting me know which poem affected them the most and why. On the other hand, my novel, Running From Solace is my baby waiting patiently to get here. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the excerpt I included at the end of The Truth As I See It.

BPM:   What do you think makes your book different from others? 
Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Since there is nothing new to be done, the only difference between my book and others’ is the way I choose to offer my poetic stories. I give them in a page-turning, here’s the truth, now deal with it—in a plain and simple sort of way. You will not need a decoder to decipher the message because I give it straight up—no chaser, so be ready. 

BPM:   Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases. 
Presently, you can purchase and autographed copy of The Truth As I See It: In Poetry & Prose on my website. It will soon be available online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through other Internet sources where books are sold. I am currently working on my novel, Running From Solace. 

BPM:   How can our readers reach you online? 
I am a real life Social Butterfly, so I welcome you to rant it up with me on my blog, Random Rants of Truth of a Social Butterfly: http://nakialaushaul.blogspot.com  

Friend me and get chatty on FaceBook, or stop by my website anytime you like to see what I’m up to and what’s new: www.nakiarlaushaul.com . You never know, I may be headed to your town very soon! I also welcome your emails, so share your thoughts about my work: Nakia@nakiarlaushaul.com 


The Truth As I See It: In Poetry & Prose 
ISBN: 978-0-9843682-6-6 

Nakia Laushaul...is making the best of today!
author, The Truth As I See It: In Poetry & Prose
www.nakiarlaushaul.com    

Intimate Conversation with Tia Stewart

Tia Stewart is an award-winning African-American writer whose penchant for verbiage started in the fifth grade when her teachers thought she was passing handwritten notes about boys, but she and her best friend were editing each other’s books and magazine articles. Her first publication, Colors of a Man: Transgressions and Hope was published in April 2009 as an eBook on Amazon. She writes in several genres, but poetry is her passion.

BPM: At what age or point in life did you unlock your gift for poetry? 
I discovered my ability for writing in fifth grade. I wanted to write magazine articles for Ebony Jr at age eleven. One of my girlfriends was working on a novel in fifth grade and I use to edit her writings. A few years ago, I worked nights on a 24 hour Nurse Advice line for an insurance company, and a fellow poet, encouraged me to start writing poetry. Working the night shift, gave me the solitude to delve into poetry, and I rediscovered my dream of writing. “Black” was my first poem, that won critical acclaim. All my clients and friends loved that poem. I performed “Collateral Damage” at an open mic summer 2009 at The Canal Club, in Richmond, Virginia, and people started asking about my book. So I collected all my poems and Colors of a Man, Tribute to African-American Men was published for Christmas 2009.


BPM: What moved you to begin writing? 
The best of the poetry came out of the worst of personal tragedy. I ran a successful bail bonding company, in Richmond, Virginia called Big Momma Bail Bonds. One of my fellow bail bondsman, James Woolfolk and good friend was murdered. Really wonderful person, always smiling and his family ran a soul food restaurant within walking distance of Richmond City Jail. Most of my bail bonding business had me in more rural, country parts of Virginia, and I spent most of my time shopping and eating fried chicken with my cousins. We had a funny, competitive rivalry between the city bondsman and the country bondsman. He cooked at the restaurant, and was always trying to feed me (Smile).

As a bondsman, you spend alot of time with the magistrates, police officers, judges, and court officials, and between them and my family, everybody really wanted me to stop because of safety issues after his death. I started writing poetry to deal with all the loss. My mother was the first female African-American police office in Virginia, in the seventies, so I grew up around law enforcement all my life. Many of my college friends and family were DEA, ATF, CIA, FBI and Secret Service, so I know many people in criminal justice. As a military brat, I loved the adventure of being a bail bondsman. I attended high school and college in Detroit and Chicago. I even attended medical school for one year at Michigan State University, before becoming a full-time mommy. My writings, for the poetry and the novels, come from all these experiences.

BPM: Does your work offer a glimpse into your philosophy of life? 
Colors of a Man, Tribute to African-American Men the title came about because I thought the brothers were getting a bad rap. I had finally learned the lesson that my grandmother was trying to teach me; Men are not God, they make mistakes. Most men just need you to spotlight the good points. God makes each of us a wonderful masterpiece, somewhat flawed. But still each of us is an artistic masterpiece. Barack Obama had just been elected President and the time seemed right to publish a book about African-American Men.

I starting comparing men and woman to colors in my poetry. We all start out just like the simple colors on an artist’s palette, like white, yellow, red; and end up irreplaceable like a priceless painting hanging in an art gallery.

Most men, whether judge, criminal or preacher, want to be a good father and take care of their family. It is time to solidify the family. You cannot have it all as a woman. You have to set your family as your priority, but not lose yourself. It is a delicate balancing act for most women. Men and children require your attention. Setting a firm boundary for family time is essential. Taking me time is critical for self-preservation for all women. We love to cook pastries and home-made pizza at my house. Cooking and working out at the YMCA together are our family activities. My “me time” is time spent at the hair and nail salon, massages, and shopping.


BPM: Does your writing offer refuge or healing in its form of expression? 
Healing and refuge. I tried to capture the experiences of African-Americans from a female perspective. In my writings, I give a glimpse of being African-American and what that truly means. My paternal great-grandmother, Nellie Coleman, was born a slave, and she died when I was nine. She was 88, blind with diabetes, but this brilliant, gentle force. She had never learned to read. My paternal grandmother, Annie Mae Stewart worked as a domestic and seamstress. She loved everything and everybody. “Mae-Mae” as we all called her, had only completed fifth grade. Amazingly, she was an excellent reader. Her heartfelt desire was that I attend college and get all the education that she never had an opportunity to get. 

My writings are an amalgamation of this multi-generational experience of being an African-American woman through the centuries. My children have been afforded the luxury of public, private, and home-schooled education, and even have family ties to Kenya and Nigeria. So we seemed to have come full circle, and I am excited about taking the children back to the African continent to truly understand their African ancestry. I love to travel and my writings take you to many different countries such as Kenya, Brazil, Bahamas, London, Tanzania, Thailand, Jamaica, South Africa, and St. Lucia. 


BPM: What has been the main literary or cultural influences on your poetry? 
The Harlem renaissance writers such as James Baldwin, Richard Wright, and Zora Neal Hurston gave me a foundation for literature at an early age. I am avid reader. Writers Claude Brown, Lorraine Hansberry, Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, and Ntozake Shange influenced my poetry in high school. They made me proud to be a “colored girl.” Terry McMillan, Alice Walker, and Bebe Moore Campbell influenced my writings in college, because they spotlighted the difficulties of balancing work, family, and your dreams. Hometown writers, Nikki Turner and Stacy Hawkins Adams are polar opposites in writing, but give me exposure to the totality of this experience as an African-American female. My poetry has references and hidden metaphors to many of the entire genre of African-American writers.


BPM: Does your writing depict the struggles of our people or show the world how we love? 
(Laughing) I am the love poet. I “make rainbows out of rain” it what one of my reviewers said. My father died when I was five from complications of diabetes, so I have always been able to retreat into this fantasy world, where I get to make my own characters. Fiction writing and especially poetry lets you write about all the different types of love. Love between a man and a woman. Love between a brother and a sister. Love between a mother and a child. Love of country. Love for God. Love for mankind.

I write from how I view the world. I am a mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter, cousin, nurse, entrepreneur, girlfriend, sister-friend, neighbor, poet, novelist, and world citizen. I value faith and family. My grandmother and her sisters were close. I have at least 500 second, third and fourth cousins. I have cousins who graduated from Harvard University and Princeton University, and cousins selling drugs on the corner, as a means of economic survival. I have been in the housing projects as a bail bondsman and a visiting nurse, and the country clubs as a writer. But somebody struggled so that I could go to the country club and attend universities such as Northwestern University, and University of Michigan. So I write about struggles also.

Additionally, I also have a concealed weapon permit. I have a book about healing prayers that I used as a nurse. I am the new millennium African-American woman. Gun-toting, and praying. See why they call me Big Momma?


BPM: Do you feel as if poetry is a performance art?
All poetry is meant to be heard. When I write my poetry, I decide if it is going to be a performance piece or not. Performance pieces have a message, they are meant to be spoken out loud. Performance pieces must possess “swag.” Some the Richmond rappers are helping me develop my “poetry swag” and poet’s bravado. Shakespeare was the original rapper. His writings had rhyme and rhythm. Jill Scout at her concerts does the blending of music and poetry, so well. My poetry is meant to be played on your MP3 or CD player. The words of the poem should intoxicate and hypnotize you to a different space. A good poem has some signature words or uses a new expression.

My poems that I write for publication come from a different space. I make sure that each letters makes love to the paper, as I write it down. Each letter has a place and a purpose, and needs to be doing something in order to stay in the poem. Poems tell the story. Paper poems have a typography and symmetry of word and a different type of literary purpose. 

BPM: What literary legacy do you leave our future readers and leaders?
I want my great-grandchildren to remember that at one time, we, African-American women were property, and bred like horses. We were legally forbidden to read and write. Education gave me the foundation to dream. My legacy is that I am my great-grandma Rebecca’s wildest dream; college-educated, writing about love, faith, and everyday struggles of being a woman, and living in the suburbs with weekly manicures, spa days, hair salon days, monthly massages, health club membership, shopping trips, fine dining, international travel, and paid help occasionally.

From playing croquet with my writing colleagues at the Country Club of Virginia, to doing poetry open-mics with the rappers to hanging out with Virginia’s most notorious bounty-hunters, I will write about it all in my series of books, Colors of a Man.


BPM: Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases. 
Colors of a Man, Tribute to African-American Men won the Readers Views 2009 Literary Awards, and Reviewers Choice first place poetry and the Book Hitch Award for Most Innovative Book of poetry. 

I will be at National Black Book Festival in Houston and also Book Expo America in May 2010.

“Green Caviar”, my first romantic suspense novel is due for release late summer 2010 about my heroine, Angela, a well paid tobacco lawyer, her rapper boyfriend, Nick and her best friend Big Momma, the bail bondsman.


BPM: How can our readers reach you online? Share with us your online contact info.

Drop by my website and listen to some of my poetry:  http://www.TiaStewart.com 
Be my friend on FACEBOOK:  http://facebook.com/colorsofaman  
Follow me on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/colorsofaman 
Subscribe to my blog:  http://colorsofaman.blogspot.com 
Purchase book at:  http://www.booksamillion.com/product/9781432738181 

Intimate Conversation with Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond has written for AOL, The Village Voice, Metro and Trace. Her short story "Bush Girl" was published in the May 2008 issue of African Writing and her poem, "The Whinings of a Seven Sister Cum Laude Graduate Working Bored as an Assistant," was published in 2006's Growing up Girl Anthology. 

A graduate of Vassar College, she attended secondary school in Ghana. Her first novel Powder Necklace is loosely inspired by the experience. 


BPM:  Nana, who were your mentors growing up? How did they shape your life? 
My mentors were my family who not only taught me but showed me the importance of working and sacrificing as hard as it takes to achieve my goals. Because of them, I know there is no barrier I can't overcome or figure my way around. 

Specifically, my father explicitly challenged me to defy the notion that girls aren't as smart as boys. He had me reading by the age of three, playing educational games instead of Barbie dolls, and he sacrificed so much to pay my exorbitant college tuition. 

Growing up, my mother was the hardest worker alive. She literally worked around the clock to earn overtime, yet managed to find time to go back to college, and hit up her favorite flea markets on the weekend. 

My maternal grandmother whom I lived with in Ghana has been a huge influence as well. I watched this woman run an advertising company that she founded, open her home to strangers who needed shelter, haggle with businessmen, admit when she was wrong, seek peace when it was more convenient to just let things be, wake up at dawn to pray and squint over the text of her Bible, and encourage her children and grandchildren to dream and pursue the seemingly impossible. 

BPM:  What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? 
I think the fact that I did not give up was what enabled me to become a writer. I went from getting no response to my queries to "no" responses for many years, but I kept writing. I also remained flexible and took opportunities that allowed me to write even if they weren't necessarily part of the "path" I had envisioned. 

BPM:  What 3 personal qualities are most important to you? 
A. Humility, Ambition, and Sharpness 

BPM:  Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers... 
I hope my writing offers present and future readers a legacy of encouragement to investigate and take pride in who they are, where they come from, and what their purpose in this life is. 

BPM:  Take us inside the book. What are two major events that take place?
Powder Necklace is a coming of age story inspired by my childhood experience attending boarding school in Ghana, West Africa. Set in London, the cities of Kumasi and Cape Coast in Ghana, and Long Island, the book is a sort of reverse Diaspora story of a 1st generation Londoner's return to her parents' native land, and her discovery of her own connection to this land. 

The main characters in Powder Necklace are Lila Adjei and her mother. The first major event that takes place is when Lila's mother sends her to Ghana when she misconstrues an innocent scene between Lila and a male friend that walks her home from school. That decision by Lila's mother sets the girl on a journey of self-discovery. Another seminal moment in the book takes place when Lila returns from Ghana to London. Not only has her family situation changed - her mother has started dating a man with a daughter her age - but she has changed. She realizes that, after her short stint in Ghana, she will never be the same again.


BPM: Powder Necklace is loosely based on your own personal experience attending school in Ghana. How much of your story is part of Lila’s?
Lila’s experience in Ghana is very similar to my own. When I was twelve my parents sent my siblings and I to Ghana. Because of the way the school system works over there, we couldn’t all go to the same school, and I had to cut my hair – my long, thick hair that I LOVED flipping like a white girl. As if that weren’t enough for my twelve-year-old mind to process, when I got to the school, I learned I was required to wake up at five a.m., bathe in an open bathhouse, make my bed with perfect hospital corners, perform daily chores like scrubbing a sidewalk-length patch of concrete or sweeping a large plot, hand wash my own clothes, etc. Oh, and to make things interesting there was a wicked water crisis going on. 

But unlike Lila, my grandmother and aunt visited me pretty much every weekend, loaded down with home-cooked food and water, and my parents sent me goodies and dollars when they could. I also clung to my newfound faith. I became a born-again Christian at the beginning of my visit in Ghana, before I started school there—in that respect I was a lot like Brempomaa and Ivy—and it helped A LOT just to cry out to God in the many moments of loneliness, desperation, misery, and fear I experienced. I released Lila from her school experience after six short months as a fantasy gift to my twelve-year-old self; I had to stay in Ghana for three long years!

Outside of the Ghana portion of the novel, the similarities between Lila’s story and mine are more subtle. I made her British because Ghana was colonized by the British, and so a lot more of the bronis in Ghana were from London; I also have tons of family in London and spent a lot of time with them on summer breaks en route to New York. Lila’s parents’ divorce was my way of dealing with the feeling of separation from my parents. Even though I saw them each summer, I felt so disconnected from them at that time. On one summer vacation in the States we went to Disney World. Looking back on it, it was such an American moment in my life/American place to be when I was starting to feel more Ghanaian than anything else. 

Finally, the feeling of being at the mercy of the adults in her life was something I felt during that time and definitely wanted to explore through Lila. Ghanaian culture is heavily into seniority. As noted in the book, any adult in your life is reverentially referred to as “Auntie” or “Uncle” whether they’re a blood relation or not; seniors at school are respectfully called “Sister”; and, as a rule, “children are to be seen and not heard” (that was the constant refrain I heard growing up in the States). It was important to me to stress that though the events in your life may feel random and out of your control, if you believe that God is in control of all the factors in your life—even the adults—you’ll see that a lot of those random moments actually had more meaning than you first realized. That very turbulent moment in my life gave me a story that helped me realize my dream of writing a published novel. 


BPM:  How will reading your book shape the readers' lives?
I think Powder Necklace presents a slice of life in Ghana, London, and Long Island as experienced by a young girl trying to find the meaning in and of it all. So, on the surface, reading the book will educate readers about the specific sights and sounds of the characters' experiences in these disparate locales, but on a deeper level, I hope it spurs readers to learn more about these locations, these experiences, and their own place in the world. 

BPM:  What are some of their specific needs, issues, problems addressed in this book?
Everyone's got issues in Powder Necklace.  :-)  Lila, the main character, is frustrated by her powerlessness to make decisions for herself. Her mother decides she should go to Ghana indefinitely, then her mother and father decide she should go to New York indefinitely. Lila's mother is lonely and sick of doing it all by herself. She has sacrificed so much for her daughter's own good, but she needs a break; she wants to do something for herself. 

BPM:  What's the most powerful chapter in the book for you?
One of my favorite chapters in the book is when Lila is exposed as knowing how to speak Twi and as a result has to drop the "I'm special because I was not born in Ghana" routine. It's the beginning of her confronting why she has this 1st World Superiority complex which I think is important to her growth as a character. 


BPM:  In Powder Necklace Lila fell into writing her book through a series of happy coincidences (or perhaps fate). What has been your own literary path? Have you always wanted to have a career in writing?
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but being immigrants, my parents wanted me to pursue a more stable (and clichéd) path to success: doctor, lawyer, or investment banker. Even though I graduated college with a poli-sci degree, I sought writing internships (and interned at the Village Voice newspaper), and after college skipped I law school and decided to try my hand at writing. I took office jobs, but during my lunch breaks, after work, and on weekends, I wrote up query letters to different magazines, which I would hand deliver. 

I got a few paid writing gigs and eventually landed a dream job as an assistant editor at an international fashion magazine, where I got to write and edit professionally—and meet celebs! When funds ran too low, I started over as an intern in the acquisitions department at Sony Pictures Classics, where I got to read and review screenplays. During that time I wrote a script that was a Sundance Screenwriter’s Finalist. My editorial experience and fashion background helped me land a gig as a copywriter at an interactive agency where I got to write for the NikeWomen, L’Oreal Paris, and Avaya accounts. I continued to freelance for newspapers and magazines on the side. In the midst of all of this, I was working on Powder Necklace.


BPM:  Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
I want Powder Necklace readers to develop an appetite for the world beyond their borders; understand that what's on the news, in the news, in books, etc are just one slice of a gargantuan pie. I also want readers of this book to see that even the most random events in our lives are not random at all - everything does happen for a reason. 

BPM:  What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
As far as the marketplace goes, I think Powder Necklace is unique because it tells a reverse immigration story, if you will. We mostly read about people leaving "the old country" for opportunity and a new life in the Western world, but Lila, the protagonist of this book and the daughter of an immigrant goes back - and it's in returning to her parents' native land that she starts to understand herself more deeply. 

BPM:  How can our readers reach you online? Share with us your online contact info. 
Readers can visit the official Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's website at: www.nanaekua.com  
I'm on Twitter too - www.twitter.com/nanaekua  Email: writer : nanaekua@aol.com  

Purchase the Powder Necklace today!
ISBN-10: 1439126100 
ISBN-13: 978-1439126103 


Note: photo by Manjari Sharma - www.manjarisharma.com 

Intimate Conversation with Connie May Fowler

New York Times bestselling writer Connie May Fowler is an essayist, screenwriter, and novelist. She is the author of five novels, most recently The Problem with Murmur Lee, and a memoir, When Katie Wakes. In 1996, she published Before Women Had Wings, which became a paperback bestseller and was made into a successful Oprah Winfrey Presents movie. She founded the Connie May Fowler Women With Wings Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding women and children in need. Connie lives in Florida.

BPM:  What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your new book, How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly?
I was reading up on pre-Civil war Florida history and discovered that when Florida was a Spanish territory, women could be property owners and slavery was outlawed. But Spain and the United States signed an agreement that would change all of that. The Florida Purchase Treaty of 1819 guaranteed that the United States would lay claim to Florida in 1821. With a stroke of a pen and strike of a clock, suddenly all women and blacks would have their rights stripped away. That haunted me and I walked around with that kernel in my head for a few years before I sat down to write the novel, which takes place in 2006 but is populated with ghosts. 

BPM:  Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place?
The book tracks a day in the life of Clarissa Burden, a woman who wakes on the Summer Solstice with the knowledge that her life must change because she is wracked with spousal death scenarios and writer’s block. Concurrent with her story is that of Olga Villada. Villada and her family are ghosts, their souls unable to move on from the place where they were brutally murdered. Their stories converge, resulting in a startling and life-changing chain of events.

BPM:  Who do you want to reach with your book, How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly, and the message within?
I think this book will have a broad appeal. The book, at its core, is about freedom—individual and universal—and it’s wrapped up in a story that is both comedic and dramatic. I think readers of many ages and races will identify with the struggles of Clarissa Burden and Olga Villada.


BPM:  How will reading your book shape the readers lives?
One, I hope it will make readers laugh even amid a few tears. But if there is one message I want readers to gain, it’s that how easy it is for the course of history—the course of one person’s individual day—to go suddenly very, very wrong. 

There are bad people in this world—sometimes bad people have all the trappings of kindness—and they are capable of terrible things. So we have to be vigilant for ourselves and for one another. Casual prejudices and ordinary meanness can, in the blink of an eye, become lethal. So we have to learn to be pro-actively kind and relentless protective of our rights.

BPM:  What was the most powerful chapter in, How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly?
I think that once Clarissa decides—in a fit of rage—to kill her husband, this book takes a major turn and all the chapters that follow are highly entertaining, shocking, and ultimately satisfying.

BPM:  Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
I recently wrote a story for Slate’s online women’s site DoubleX about how the Haitian earthquake has severely impacted their women’s movement. How Clarissa Burden Learns to Fly will be in stores April 2, 2010.

BPM:  How can our readers reach you online? Share with us your online contact info.
My website is www.conniemayfowler.com.  I blog at http://blog.conniemayfowler.com/ Readers can also follow me on Twitter and friend me on Facebook, where I’m very active.  There is also a Facebook fan page for How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly.  

In March, in honor of Clarissa and those pesky spousal death scenarios that haunt her, I am launching the Clarissa Burden Postcard Project in which I will be asking readers to anonymously send me one secret they cannot tell their spouse or partner.  The secrets can be silly or serious, and will be posted on my website.


Purchase How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly today 
ISBN-10: 0446540684 | ISBN-13: 978-0446540681 

Intimate Conversation with Jacqueline E. Luckett 

 “A fierce, beautiful tour de force . . . a heroine for the ages . . .Luckett is a writer to watch and admire.” ZZ Packer on  Searching for Tina Turner 

Meet author Jacqueline E. Luckett a former sales representative for Xerox. After leaving the corporate world, Jacqueline took a creative writing class on a dare (from herself) and began writing short stories and poetry and never looked back. Jacqueline loves living in Oakland, but travels frequently to nurture her passion for photography and learning to cook exotic foods. She is currently hard at work on her next novel.


BPM:  Jacqueline, what makes you powerful as a writer? Who are your mentors?
An interviewer recently asked me why I was able to finish my novel when so many people say they want to, but never get around to writing a novel. That’s where my power lies—as a person and a writer. Once I take the plunge into a project, I always try to finish what I start. Someone once told me that I know how to put on the “full court press.” Yes, when I know what I want, I go for it. There’s a power in that, if it’s channeled correctly.

I’m in a wonderful writing group with seven other women writers of color (www.finishparty.com). We call ourselves The Finish Party. From the start our goal was to help each other finish our respective projects and to continue, start and finish new ones. 

These writers are my mentors and my friends. We share information about the publishing world, writing in general, and books we love. In our monthly meetings, we workshop ideas, pages, chapters or whole manuscripts. I’ve learned so much from them. They offer valuable insight into the craft of writing and helped me to shape the novel. 

BPM:  Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers... 
… An example for women of all races, economics, and ages to understand that reinvention and new beginnings are within reach if we value self and our dreams.

BPM:  Jacqueline, please introduce us to your new book, Searching for Tina Turner.
Searching for Tina Turner is the story of Lena Harrison Spencer, a woman on the verge of change, whose journey is inspired by Tina Turner’s strength. There is no physical abuse in Lena’s life, but there is the longing to follow a dream. Lena loves her life, her husband Randall—successful, attentive, but distant—and their two children—Kendrick, the oldest, trying to nip a drug habit in the bud, and Camille, seventeen and disgusted by her mother’s overbearing behavior. Sparked by Tina Turner’s struggle to move forward, Lena makes the choice to reinvent herself and try something new.

BPM:  I so enjoyed the BAN Radio exclusive interview with you and Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Wench. At this time, I would like to offer readers a chance to experience this wonderful event too! Click here to listen now. 

BPM:  Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?  Favorites? Funny people?
My characters are not portrayals of real people. Lena and Randall are both part imagination and a combination of men and women I’ve come across in my life. I loved developing these characters and letting them make their own choices. There were times that, as the writer, I disagreed with their behaviors and decisions, but I let them do what was true to their personalities. 

I liked Lena’s mother, Lulu. She has a sense of humor and an old-school commitment to her man that took her through five decades of marriage. She’s a woman who believes that she knows what it takes to keep a man—despite what her daughter thinks. Later in the book, following in Tina’s footsteps, Lena visits a psychic who reminds her of her late father and gives her sound advice. Vernon is a sort of crotchety man, who pretends to be irritated, but is really a teddy bear. Harmon, who pops up later in the novel, is my favorite because unlike many people, he’s willing to acknowledge his mistakes. 

BPM:  Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place? 
A reader can look at “major” events in Searching for Tina Turner through action and character. Lena, the main character, makes the final decision, though she loves her husband and her family, to move on because they cannot accept the growth she wants for herself. 

In terms of action, Lena’s trip to the South of France is a major event. It takes a little prodding for her to let go of her fears, but once she does, she begins to explore new directions for her life. 

BPM:  How do you think Tina Turner feels about this tribute to her success? How did you select her as your muse/mentor?
Tina Turner is a wonderful, vital woman. I have great respect for her, and I hope she regards the novel as a tribute to her triumphs and accomplishments.

Truthfully, I don’t remember now if it was the movie (“What’s Love Got to Do with It?”), a TV interview, or reports of her final concerts that triggered the idea of Tina Turner as role model—but the depth of what she had done, impressed me and something clicked. Once I read her book, I Tina, I was even more amazed. In her forties, Tina Turner left her marriage with her name, her talent and the conviction that she could make it on her own. I became obsessed with the idea of that strength and how it could inspire a character—without the abuse—on the verge of change. Initially, I wanted to explore surviving divorce, but with each new draft, universal themes surfaced: reinvention, new beginnings, and the challenge of remaining true to self.

BPM:  Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
My first thought, when shaping the book, was that it would appeal to readers over forty or fifty. Movies are beginning to portray women in this age group, but there don’t seem to be many books with protagonists who reflect the Baby Boomer generation. As the book’s themes of new beginning and reinvention evolved, it became clear to me that anyone regardless of age, could benefit from those messages.

BPM:  What was the most powerful chapter in the book?
In a recent New York reading, the actress Barbara Montgomery read the scene where Lena and Randall make the decision to end their marriage. It was amazing to hear the room quiet as everyone focused on the actress’ interpretation of Lena and Randall’s conversation. That scene is powerful because it is the turning point for both characters and captures the emotional breadth of two people who love each other, yet can't make their marriage work.

BPM:  What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
Many of the books on my shelves suggest that there are only so many stories to be told; it’s the telling that keeps readers’ attention. Searching for Tina Turner is the story of a woman who decides to leave her marriage and how she copes with that change. I’m not sure what plot line that falls under—maybe it’s a woman and man fall in love, they get married and build a life together, and then they fall out of love. 

The characters in the novel come from a world of privilege. The descriptions of their lieves and opportunities offer an insight into a part of the Black community that many don’t know about. Yet, everyone can relate to their personal and family struggles because their challenges, for the most part, affect so man. Searching for Tina Turner is different because of who inspires the main character, Lena, not to change, but to make something out of that change.

BPM:  In the advance readers copy, we reviewed, you write, “To every woman: this is what you must do—Go.” What did you mean by this statement?
I love that you read the acknowledgements. I always read every word in a book, from the title page and the copyright straight through to the last page. Actually, I deleted that line in the final edit. I decided to let the novel send the message. My intention was to charge women to take their fate into their own hands and mold it into a life they love—whether they’re married or not. Sometimes as wives and mothers, women can get lost in taking care of family and forget to care for themselves. That’s what happened to Lena; she would have loved to have kept her family together, stayed married and pursued her photography, but fate had other plans for her.

BPM:  Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases. 
Searching for Tina Turner was Essence Magazine’s January 2010 book pick. Black Expressions Book Club selected me as their Star on the Rise. Read about it in their February 15th newsletter.
Women’s Day magazine will feature Searching for Tina Turner in the February 17 issue in the column, First Line. Look for more interviews: www.jacquelineluckett.com/readings.html  

BPM:  Do blog or write articles in relation to creating "change" in our lives?
I’ve blogged on the topic of divorce and recovery in the Living Section of the Huffington Post. Your readers can click on this link and read it.

BPM:  How can our readers reach you online? 
In this age of social networking, it’s easy to connect in a variety of ways. I’m especially hopeful that people will follow my blog and leave comments. Here’s how I can be reached.

Follow me on Twitter: @jackieluckett
Website, includes blog and appearance schedule at: www.jacquelineluckett.com  
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Jacqueline-Luckett-Searching-for-Tina-Turner  

Intimate Conversation with Iris Gomez

IRIS GOMEZ is the author of the novel TRY TO REMEMBER (Grand Central May 2010) and of two poetry collections, Housicwhissick Blue (Edwin Mellen Press 2003) and When Comets Rained (CustomWords 2005). An award-winning writer, she is also a nationally-respected public interest immigration lawyer and law school lecturer. She was born in Cartagena, Colombia and presently lives in the Boston area.

BPM:  Iris, it was such a pleasure to meet you a few weeks ago! The book is so beautiful. Take us inside the book. 
If she tries, Gabriela can almost remember when her father went off to work . . . when her mother wasn't struggling to undo the damage he caused . . . when a short temper didn't lead to physical violence. But Gabi cannot live in the past, not when one more outburst could jeopardize her family's future. So she trades the life of a normal Miami teenager for a career of carefully managing her father's delusions and guarding her mother's secrets. 

As Gabi navigates her family's twisting path of lies and revelations, relationships and loss, she finds moments of happiness in unexpected places. Ultimately Gabi must discover the strength she needs to choose what's right for her: serving her parents or a future of her own.

BPM:  What are two major events taking place? 
A major event that is happening is that Roberto is losing his mind, which is causing him to also lose his jobs, his temper, and his traditional place in the household. Another major event for Gabi is the discovery that she has lost her father.

BPM:  Introduce us to the main characters of TRY TO REMEMBER. 

Gabriela (“Gabi”) is the main character – a soulful and generous Colombian teenager who is trying to help her bewildered immigrant family cope with her father’s growing mental illness without going crazy herself. 

Roberto (Gabi’s father) is a once proud breadwinner who now keeps losing jobs and has suddenly been given to fits of temper and episodes of mental unraveling that no one around him understands.

Evi is Gabi’s mother, a traditionally raised immigrant woman forced by circumstances into an uncomfortable head of household role she shamefully hides from her husband as he slips deeper into his strange illness.

Gabi has a trio of tíos, or uncles, who dutifully answer the family’s 911s, though not always so successfully, as well as two younger brothers, and a lively group of relatives, friends and romantic interests who pull Gabi back and forth between the competing norms of Latino and “American” culture & traditional versus modern ideals of womanhood – and who also make her day-to-day life interesting and even fun!

Last but not least, Gabi’s absent grandfather Gabriel, who appears to us only in letters he writes to her from Colombia, is an important symbolic character – when the threat of violence begins to grow in her immediate family, he becomes the emblem of hope in her safe though distant childhood.

BPM:  Who were your favorite characters? Are your characters a portrayal of real people?
I loved my fictional Gabi, whom I named after my own smart and charming daughter. The fictional Gabi shares some of my daughter’s qualities along with a little of the younger me, but the circumstances that unfold in the novel inevitably turn Gabi the heroine into her own person, and by the time I was done writing the book, I wanted her to be my best friend! 

Another favorite character I’d like to mention, if a place can be a character, is Miami, the novel’s setting, which is based on a real city, of course, and one whose history I was intrigued by, since I’d witnessed its transformation first-hand when I lived there. Like Gabi, Miami is just coming into its own, developmentally and culturally, during the course of the novel – the southern expansion that began during the post-war boom years has accelerated, and the population is growing and diversifying, until finally a sprawling multi-cultural and international cosmopolis rises up from its dusty roots in the South.

BPM:  What specific situation or revelation prompted you to write your book?
The initial questions that inspired me to want to write this book were personal and similar to those Gabi faces throughout the course of the novel: what does it mean to love in a traditional family? Can you love your family and yet be independent of them? Is “love” the same as loyalty? Like Gabi, I was raised with a strong ethic of family loyalty that in some ways conflicted with the ethic of independence I perceived was necessary for a young woman to achieve career success in this country. In the novel, I try to explore these conflicts by dramatizing how far a girl might have to go in remaining true to her family, despite the difficult burdens they impose. 

Thematically, I was also interested in the issue of mental illness, which touches virtually all families and cultures, yet remains one of the untold stories of the Latino community. In my book, I try to illuminate some of the cultural taboos that keep mental illness hidden and untreated in families like Gabi’s, as well as the external social forces that drive many immigrants, even legal immigrants, into isolation and away from government entities that could actually help them. 

Additionally, in dramatizing the practical effects of Roberto’s mental decline, I found a perfect context in which to explore the human dimension of one of the legal problems that has troubled me in my work as an immigration lawyer: the rule that keeps immigrants forever vulnerable to losing their “green cards” and everything they’ve built in the U.S., even when this has become their permanent home. 

BPM:  Who do you want to reach with the message within TRY TO REMEMBER?
I hope the book reaches anyone struggling to love a difficult person, whether mentally ill or not – and the related message I aim to impart to them is that the effort itself is honorable and ultimately redemptive. 

I also hope to reach people who are interested in the ways each of us navigates a place for ourselves in this increasingly global, multi-ethnic and multi-racial world. One of the messages I hope the book imparts about Latinos is that the bonds of love which sometimes appear compulsory in our families can also be a saving grace, a strength. 

BPM:  How will reading your book shape the readers lives? 
In addition to being moved and enlightened by the novel’s big-picture dramas, I imagine readers will delight in getting to know Gabi and her unique, colorful world, and in going along on some of her adventures. 

BPM:  What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
Dealing with a loved one’s mental illness can be an enormous challenge. The challenge is even greater when the illness remains untreated, as with Roberto’s in the novel. Gabi and her family make many mistakes out of pride as well as confusion as they watch Roberto deteriorate, but their mistakes are only part of the greater tragedy that in the end is no one’s fault. 

BPM:  What was the most powerful chapter in TRY TO REMEMBER?
Some of my readers have said that the most dramatic chapter is the one in which the family conflicts come to a head (especially onto Gabi’s head!) and in which love is ultimately betrayed, but the chapter I personally find most powerful is the one with the hurricane – it’s my very humble homage to the magnificent hurricane scene in Zora Neale Hurston’s classic, THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD, which remains one of my all time favorites in literature. 

BPM:  What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
Many books address the immigrant experience, some of them about the plight of undocumented people and some of them exploring cultural collision. My novel differs from novels and memoirs I’ve loved about Latinas coming of age (e.g., When I Was Puerto Rican, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent, The House on Mango Street, Dreaming in Cuban, and others), since those focused on earlier or other Latino subgroups, and my book is about a girl forging her identity in the middle of Miami’s Cuban diaspora though she is actually part of a different diasporas, the Colombians, who’ve become the largest South American group in the U.S., according to census data. Gabi’s story explores the combined experience of being a newcomer with that of having a shared cultural identity – a feature of the new Panamericanism that is shaping the cultural dynamics of the U.S. 

My book is also different from others about the immigrant experience because it addresses a little-understood immigration problem: whether people who’ve been allowed to live in this country permanently and have families here should be subsequently stripped of their right to remain. In my novel, Roberto, a man with an untreated mental illness, commits a fairly run-of-the-mill offense that for a citizen would result only in a minor criminal punishment, but for an immigrant carries the double penalty of criminal punishment plus the threat of expulsion. Such deportations go to the core question underlying our larger public policy debate about immigration today: who really belongs here? 

BPM:  Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases. 
TRY TO REMEMBER will be released on May 5, 2010 and is now available on pre-order from Amazon and from Barnes & Noble. 

I’m excited to report that on March 6, 2010, I was part of a panel of women writers speaking at an International Women’s History event at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD. For more information, go to www.prattlibrary.org  In May and June, following the release of my book, I’ll also be reading from the book and signing copies at various venues in Boston, Chicago, and D.C., among other places – check my web site for more details!

BPM:  How can our readers reach you online?  
My web site is www.irisgomez.com , and it contains a link to a dedicated email address I’ve set up especially for TRY TO REMEMBER readers. That address is: info@irisgomez.com  

If anyone is trying to reach me in connection with issues that involve my immigrant rights attorney role, it may be best to contact me at my office (that information is also available on my web site.) 

Intimate Conversation with Tiphanie Yanique

Tiphanie Yanique is the author of How to Escape from a Leper Colony. Her writing has won the Boston Review Prize in Fiction, a Pushcart Prize, a Fulbright in Creative Writing and an Academy of American Poet's Prize. Her fiction has also appeared in Callaloo, Transition Magazine, American Short Fiction, the London Magazine and other places. She is an assistant professor of creative writing and Caribbean Literature at Drew University. On January 1st, the Boston Globe listed her as one of the sixteen cultural figures to watch out for in 2010.


BPM:  What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? 
Who are your mentors?
Is the Tiphanie I think I am the same as Tiphanie who is presented to others? I don’t know and so, I don’t know what makes me powerful. But I have hopes. I hope that my writing causes people to touch their beloveds more intimately, to venture beyond physical and emotional places of comfort with more bravery…that’s what my writing does for me, and if does that for even one more person I will feel magical!  

If I am more concretely powerful I would say that it might be in the classroom, as a teacher. I tell my students that they’re gods and goddesses—creating characters and universes on the page. I want them to be brave enough to reveal their own beauties and flaws, to learn to appreciate these things in all other people, even the ones they create. I think writing, in itself, is incredibly powerful. Even if it’s just writing for yourself, it’s affirming and reflective and even prophetic. 

I have been blessed with many mentors, but my first and everlasting mentor is my grandmother, who raised me. She has always been a champion for my better possibilities. She is a former librarian and an everlasting bibliophile. There are always books around the house and so there are great readers in my family. I’m not the only writer! My husband recently asked me what my first important books were and I had no idea. There have always been important books for me. That’s in great part because of my grandmother.

BPM:  What specific situation prompted you to write How to Escape from a Leper Colony?
The honesty is that it’s so many things. One thing leads you to another and then another and then you’ve forgotten what the initial thing is. Surely, every heart brake I ever had, every fall on the face I ever experienced informs the heart brake and fall that gets written in a story. One of my favorite elements of a story comes from a song that has followed me and the Virgin Islands people for years. The title for the story “Kill the Rabbits” comes from a calypso called “Legal,” which has “kill the rabbits” as a refrain.

The band, which has changed membership over the years, still exists under the name “Jamband.” The lyrics ask about the purposes of culture. Should natives of the Caribbean dance in the street in a way that pleases tourists and makes for good pictures? Or should natives dance in the street for their own pleasure, as a communal way to exercise self-identity? The song demands that rabbits, those with “the tourists color” should be ignored, even removed from the revelry. The song was banned when it came out and still causes controversy when it plays today…and still causes people to dance in the street. I don’t want my story to answer the questions surrounding the song, but I would like to create more questions that we might each go on to answer for ourselves and communities. This is a very political and, I hope, provocative issue in the writing, but if that was the single specific revelation the story would be a lot less full than it is. Ultimately, I am interested in the human beings that live through the song. The ones that dance in the street and the ones that watch. 


BPM:  Introduce us to your book, How to Escape from a Leper Colony, and the main characters.  Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
How to Escape from a Leper Colony is a collection of short stories, so there are many characters. But even in the novel I’m now working on I have communities of characters. I like people and I like having many of them in my writing! 

The characters that remain the most interesting to me are the ones that are still mysterious to me. These are the ones I might return to, either for longer narratives in the future or just in my mind. Lazaro isn’t the main character in the story “How to Escape from a Leper Colony,” but I’m still curious about him. He’s brave in his love for his friend Deepa and in his vengeance for his mother’s death. I don’t quite understand him yet, but I like not fully understanding him. I also admire Herman, in the story, “Kill the Rabbits.” Her man is a bit provincial in his ideas of the Caribbean, but he is invested in learning. When he fails he is devoted to his own contrition. 

Many of my characters are seeking belonging. Some seek this in another person, in love. Others seek it in a physical place. I think Herman and Lazaro do both. But if you asked me tomorrow to talk about the key characters, I’d probably list others! My favorites depend on my mood!

BPM:  Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers...
I have no idea what legacy my writing offers. I hope readers will tell me. Whatever I say would be a desire and might be pompous or too humble. But there is one sure thing I would like to offer. When I was in high school we didn’t read Caribbean authors, certainly not anyone from the Virgin Islands. The vast majority of people who visit the Virgin Islands see it as a place of beaches and rum heavy drinks. They don’t see it as a place of literary or artistic value. I hope my book contributes to an image of the Virgin Islands as a place worthy, not only of natural beauty but also intellectually cultivated beauty. I want this not only for the visitors but also for Virgin Islanders. 

BPM:  Take us inside the book. What are two major events taking place?
Two major events in How to Escape from a Leper Colony are the bridge collapsing in “The Bridge Stories” and the church burning down in “The Saving Work.” You find out about these things early on, but the stories then take you to the characters impacted by the events. Both the bridge and the church represent the destruction of a physical entity that reflects something historical and intimate for the characters. The bridge is supposed to connect the different islands to each other, making commerce flow more easily. It’s opening is a major moment for Caribbean history. The intimate moment comes when Margo walks on the bridge in search of her husband, whom she hasn’t seen in almost a decade. The church is a place of refuge and power for the two women who are otherwise marginalized because of their interracial marriages. But the story begins when Deidre arrives at the burning church to set up for her son’s wedding. I really love finding places where history and intimacy meet. 

BPM:  Who do you want to reach with your book and the message within?
Everyone. Old men who have lost the loves of their lives, young girls in St. John who didn’t know before that their experiences are worthy of examination, women in Korea who long to travel, men in Africa who love football, Feminists and womanists in South Carolina who haven’t met each other, humans anywhere from now and the future who love language and love the private joy of reading and the social joy of story telling. And myself. I wanted to teach myself something; something about humans, something about language. When I was in undergrad I was writing a novella that is now the novel I’m working on. I was eager to finish it. When my professors asked me why, I answered that I needed to finish the project because I wanted to read it.

BPM:  How will reading your book shape the readers lives? 
I hope readers of How to Escape from a Leper Colony will gain a greater consideration for the relationship between public history and our private realities. I hope that the love scenes will make readers want to kiss their beloveds. I hope the books will makes an unbeliever go to church; make a believer question her belief. I hope reading each story will give readers opportunities for bravery in their own historical and personal spaces.

BPM:  What are some of their specific issues, needs or problems addressed in this book?
I am interested in romantic love, though, I hope, not in a cliché or simplistic way. I am also interested in things that seem mythical or magical. Often in our society we play down faith or love as things to be suspicious of; things that make us weak or at least reveal our weakness. I agree! But I absolutely think that revealing weakness is the only true way to strength. And I also think we must be suspicious of blind faith so that we might get to a more complicated faith that matures as we do. I hope How to Escape from a Leper Colony addresses the fear that comes in diving into love, the true magic in finding that love and the reality, I believe, that if we’re alive we are always searching for that magic. 

BPM:  What was the most powerful chapter in the book?
One of the most emotional sections for me to write is in “The International Shop Coffins.” That story is told three times from the perspective of three different people who find themselves together in a coffin shop. The two young girls in that story pain me every time they appear. Their version of events is the one based on true events. What happened to them happened to two girls who went to my high school. They were also my students when I returned home to teach for two years. I felt that I needed to write their story, but even as I wrote it I felt as though I was living it. When I think of what happened to them I see their faces sitting in the classroom. It’s frightening for me.

Readers have told me that other stories are the most powerful. “How to Escape from a Leper Colony,” the title story, won a major prize while I was in graduate school. I wrote the story fast and submitted it so sloppily that Junot Díaz, who called to me to tell me I’d won the Boston Review Prize, told me it was pretty amazing that I won considering all the typos. In my mind the powerful thing about the story is its lushness. One of my graduate school professors, Antonya Nelson, told me that “Canoe Sickness” was the most powerful story. She said she appreciated the spare voice and the direct portrayal of the main character. That’s the opposite of lush! So much of what is considered powerful is subjective, I think.

BPM:  Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
I hope readers come to see the Caribbean as a place that is more than beautiful beaches and piña coladas or more than a place of poverty and marijuana…more than any of the clichés, but rather a place of human beings with full, complicated lives.

BPM:  What do you think makes your book different from others on the same subject?
While there’s nothing new under the sun, I do think that this book is something close to brand new. There really isn’t much fiction coming out of the Virgin Islands and getting outside attention. The most well known Virgin Islands fiction texts even in the VI are not by Virgin Islanders. My perspective is among those that are presenting this part of the Caribbean completely differently. 

BPM:  Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases. 
The Boston Globe just reviewed the book and listed me as the writer to watch out for in 2010!  I’m so excited about that I put it in my bio. Towards the end of last year “The Saving Work” was published in the “Best New African American Fiction.” The book has been getting positive reviews. My first major book party will be in March at the Teachers & Writers Collaborative in New York City. The book party in the Virgin Islands will be on March 19th at one of my favorite bookstores, Dockside Books. 

BPM:  How can our readers reach you online? 
My email address is: tyanique@drew.edu.  But I’m pretty awful at email! I’m old fashioned that way…

Intimate Conversation with Attica Locke

In the tradition of Dennis Lehane and Greg Iles comes a powerful new voice in American fiction: Attica Locke delivers a brilliant debut thriller readers will not soon forget…

With intelligent writing that captures the reader from the first scene through an exhilarating climax, Black Water Rising marks the arrival of an electrifying new talent.

Attica Locke is a novelist and a screenwriter who has written scripts for Paramount, Warner Bros, Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, HBO Films and more. A graduate of Northwestern University, she was a fellow at the Sundance Institute’s Feature Filmmaker’s Lab. 

Black Water Rising, her first novel, was nominated for a 2010 Edgar Award and a 2010 NAACP Image Award. She is currently at work on her second book.

BPM:  What makes you powerful as a person and a writer? 
Courage. I wake up every day not sure where the work will take me, scared that I won't have anything to say. And yet I still show up for it every day. Which is the same way I approach life. I'm often scared of the unknown, of what I can't see about my future, but I'm willing to show up to life every day. I live and write by faith.

BPM:  Who are your mentors? Where do you find your inspiration?
You know the person I think of a lot when I'm writing? Lightnin' Hopkins, the Texas blues musician. His music is clean, simple and deeply moving. I want my writing to be like his blues - tough and melodic and full of raw beauty.

BPM:  Introduce us to your book, Black Water Rising, and the main characters. 
Black Water Rising  is a murder mystery, following the character, Jay Porter, a low rent criminal defense attorney who was heavily involved in the civil rights movement in the late '60s and early '70s and now finds himself trying to transition from the political activism of his youth into the Reagan '80s - a time when the whole country and black people in particular had shifted our focus from political progress to economic progress. And along the way he has to come to terms with the demons of his past.

Jay Porter is hardly the lawyer he set out to be. His most promising client is a low-rent call girl, and he runs his fledgling law practice out a dingy strip mall. But he’s long since made peace with his path to the American Dream, carefully tucking away his darkest sins: the guns, the FBI file, the trial that nearly destroyed him.

Houston, Texas, 1981. It’s here that Jay believes he can make a fresh start. That is, until the night he impulsively saves a drowning woman’s life – and opens a Pandora’s Box. Her secrets put Jay in danger, ensnaring him in a murder investigation that could cost him his practice, his family, and even his life. But before he can get to the bottom of a tangled mystery that reaches into the upper echelons of Houston’s corporate powerbrokers, Jay must confront the demons of his past.

BPM:  Who were your favorites? Are your characters from the portrayal of real people?
Well, Jay is certainly my favorite character in the book. He's not any one person in particular, though some facts of his life are similar to the details of my father's life. But he's more representative of my parents' generation - a group of people who, in their late teens and twenties, devoted their lives to political activism and then somehow had to find their way out of that when the movement ended.

BPM:  Finish this sentence- My writing offers the following legacy to future readers... 
...a deep compassion and love for the choices and mistakes and small victories that make us human. 

Listen to BAN Radio Exclusive with Ella Curry, Lynda Johnson, Go On Girl President and Attica Locke. Discussing the Black Power Movement, legendary books and her journey to publication. Click here to listen now. Share with your network too!

Attica Locke Website: http://www.atticalocke.com 


Book Reviews for Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

"Black Water Rising is a near-perfect balance of trenchant social commentary, rich characterizations and an action-oriented plot..."   – Los Angeles Times 

“Locke, a screenwriter with both film and TV credits (including a forthcoming HBO miniseries about the civil rights movement) steers a gritty drama to a satisfying end… Locke remains an author to watch.”  – Publishers Weekly

“Locke expertly etches a portrait of her anxiety-ridden protagonist, and she animates the complex plot with the assurance of a practiced screenwriter...”  – Kirkus Review

The Literary Lunch Bunch (LLB)

History – We discussed THE SISTERHOOD OF BLACKBERRY CORNER in two meetings. 
At the 1st meeting in which we discussed it, one of our members did “show and tell.” She brought the stoneware jar in which her husband’s great aunt stored their ‘juice’ and shared stories she was told about how this aunt used to go into the hinterlands of West Virginia to deliver babies. She also showed us a handmade quilt that contained photographs of the family, and genealogical information.

• Friendship/Celebrations – When people meet together on a regular basis to perform a common activity, bonding occurs. This situation is no exception to that phenomenon. New and deeper friendships have been formed. We have celebrated occasions that are special to a member, such as a birthday, a wedding anniversary or the wedding of a son or daughter. One member and her husband hosted a party to celebrate the inauguration of our new president. It started prior to the administration of the oath of office, and ended with the changing into eveningwear for the ball.

• Identity – We have custom made caps on which our club name is embroidered.



How did the Literary Lunch Bunch get together?
We are a group of women who retired from professional careers. Upon her retirement, the founder of our club (Evelyn Gilliard) felt that she did not want to loose contact with many of her professional friends. Thus, our club was founded in September, 2002 by Evelyn and a core group of four ladies. Each person was commissioned to recruit one to two additional members, so that our initial membership consisted of 13 people. We range in age from 62 to 87 years old. 

How does your bookclub work and how does your bookclub decide what to read?
On the third Thursday of each month we meet at one of Atlanta’s finest restaurants for lunch. The role of session leader is assigned in alphabetical rotation. The responsibility of the leader is to choose a reading assignment, to decide on the method of discourse for that assignment, and of course, identify a restaurant in which to hold the meeting.

What makes your bookclub unique?
• We read short stories and place emphasis on intellectual discourse. 
• We look at the authors and their possible motivation for writing the stories.
• We thoroughly dissect the story.
• The session leader will also share her rationale for the selection of the respective readings. 

Our session leader has used a variety presentation and discussion strategies such as:
• Small group (2-3 persons) discussions
• Chat with the author
• Large group discussions
• Movie/Book Comparisons
• Debates
• Power point presentation
• Prepared questions given to individual or pairs that are to be addressed and presented to the total group
• Invite younger ladies to attend meetings so that a different perspective on the story or situation can be obtained.

What have been your favorite selections?
We have read stories by Harlem Renaissance authors such as Langston Hughes, internationally recognized authors such as Maya Angelou, well-known drama playwrights such as Amiri Baraka, and numerous contemporary authors, such as Anthony Grooms, Dr. Oz and President Barack Obama. 

Are you planning any special trips or events around a book you're reading?
• Annual Sail – In June, a summer gathering consists of a meeting on the boat of one of our members. It’s a two-day meeting, consisting of a discussion of our reading selection and a sail on the lake.

• Fall Frolic – Every Fall (October or November) we go to the mountains of North Georgia for two days. On this occasion, our session leader conducts our discussion by candlelight, after a meal eaten on fine china and excellent wine.

Summary
What started out as a means of keeping in touch after retirement has turned out to be a stimulating and rewarding seven years for Literary Lunch Bunch members. Not only has our inquisitiveness for literary works been heightened, but also, our viewpoints on life have broadened. And most importantly, it has resulted in the cementing of relationships with each other. 

Intimate Conversation with the Black Orchids Book Club

Black Orchids History
The Black Orchids Book Club of Houston, Texas was founded in February, 2005, by Sheryl McConnell and Sherral Berry. The purpose of starting the book club was to reach out to African American women who were 40+ and shared the love of reading. 

Presently our group consists of 21 diverse Orchids from various professions. We cover the entire relationship spectrum from married, single, divorced, and widowed.

We meet on a bi-monthly basis at homes of club members or local restaurants. Our primary goal is to get together for a lively evening of discussion, debating, eating and drinking. We occasionally have authors attend our meetings to discuss their books. We also periodically dress or decorate the meeting site based upon the theme of the book. Our members are noted for putting 100% into our meetings. All of these activities translate in fun filled events.


Vision for Organization 
The vision of our club is to be more than a book club. Additionally, we also want to serve as a “sisterhood.” We are striving to expand our activities into more community outreach projects. To date, we’ve made several individual donations as well to organizations such as the Food Bank and the Covenant House.

How important reading is to you? 
Reading is very important to us because it provides the mind with nourishment. It exercises the brain and provides us with food for thought. Reading also provides a venue for traveling around the world from the comfort of your home. How awesome is that!

Reading is also beneficial to us because it is a perfect medium for relaxing. It allows us to temporarily remove ourselves from places of pain and sorrow. Books can serve as remarkable friends.

Living your best life includes: 
Being thankful for everything, everyday and throwing out the negative and embracing the positive! 

On your nightstand now: 
Starting Your Day Right & Ending Your Day Right (double-set) by Joyce Meyer 

Favorite book when you were a child: 
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak 

Favorite line or couple from a book: 
Lindes from Now and Then, Again by Bonnie Hopkins 
“You can’t get weary in well doing. Even if it means doing good to somebody who wronged you in the worst way.” AND, “You shouldn’t let anyone make you have a hard heart against them. It’ll make you sick or shorten your life.” 

Book you most want to read AGAIN much slower, to savor: 
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Klyosaki 

Favorite genre, series or sequels: 
All time favorite sequels is The Pact and The Bond by Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt. Two books of triumphant and inspiration for the youth of today.

Name three authors you would like to do a phone chat with this year.  
Steve Harvey, Mark Dulaney and Maya Angelou 

Intimate Conversation with The Pillars Book Club

BPM: Share with us the history of the organization.
History -The Pillars Book Club was established in November of 2008 by Sondra George. We meet quarterly as we have members in Louisiana and Texas. Each quarter a hostess chooses a destination location (We travel!) for our meetings. Our meetings usually last two or three day and the events are centered around the book we're discussing. 

In addition to our quarterly meetings we participate in community service events. Recently we held our 1st annual "Gift of Literacy" event gifting 400 books to children. We currently have fourteen members spanning five generations. We hold our annual Meet & Greet for new members in the fall each year. 



BPM: What is the vision for your organization?
• It is our vision to share the love of reading with each other and to use this gift of literacy to bless others while we have fun. 

BPM: Sondra, please tell us a little about you and the things you are passionate about.
• I am Sondra George of Dallas, Texas. While I am an avid reader of all genres, I have a passion for history, African American, French, American and otherwise. My vision is to share my love of reading with others hoping to enhance their lives on all levels. To use the book club as a platform to build life long relationships. 

( Pillars Book Club on a cruise)

Finish these sentences:

BPM: Living your best life includes:
• Having no regrets, learning from your mistakes and embracing all days, good and bad, while reading your heart out!

BPM: Share a book that changed your life:
• "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini, gave us insight to the struggles of women today. It changed our perception of our Eastern sisters here in American and abroad. It gave us a new respect for their culture and their plight. 

BPM: On your nightstand now:
• The Help - K Stockett  and The Million Dollar Divorce - RM Johnson

BPM: Name three authors you would like to do a phone chat with this year.
• Maya Angelou,  Barack Obama and Eric Jerome Dickey

BPM: The Pillars Book Club President's favorite quote: 
• The worth of a book is measured by what you can carry from it.

Photo:  The Pillars Book Club president, Sondra George 

Intimate Conversation with The Regal Sisterhood 

The Regal Sisterhood was founded in October 2005 by Misty Irby, on the premise of fostering new friendships around a common activity--- reading. 

Misty wanted to introduce a reading club which embraced the concept of “Sisterhood”, creating a unified literary circle! 

BPM:What is the vision for your organization? 
• The vision of the Regal Sisterhood Book Club is to expand literary knowledge and personal growth amongst its members and their families. Regal stands for “ Reading , Empowering & Gaining Abundant Life.” 

Finish these sentences:

BPM: Living your best life includes: 
• Living a life of joy and peace with a commitment to get better every day. 

BPM: On your nightstand now: 
• “Beater” by Brian W. Smith

BPM: Book that changed your life: 
• “Up Pops The Devil” by Angela Benson

BPM: Book you most want to read AGAIN much slower, to savor: 
• “The Shack” by William P. Young

(The Regal Sisterhood)

BPM: Favorite genre, series or sequels: 
• Favorite genre is Christian Fiction. Favorite series of books is on the character Jasmine Larson by Victoria Christopher Murray.

BPM: Name three authors you would like to do a phone chat with this year.
• L.Y. Marlow, Victoria Christopher Murray and Stephanie Perry Moore.

BPM: Interview presented by Misty Irby, Regal Sisterhood Book Club
Website: www.regalsisterhood.zoomshare.com  

Photos:  Misty Irby, Regal Sisterhood Book Club

Intimate Conversation with The Reading Divas Book Club

BPM: Tell us a little about your passion for reading and your position in the bookclub.
My name is Sharon Richardson-Lucas and I am the founder and Chairperson of the Reading Divas Book Club. Though we have structure, we’ve never felt a need to elect officers but rather to draw on the individual strengths displayed by the club members. 

I am a wife, mother, grandmother and a Reading Diva! I recently retired after 20 years as a District Sales Manager with Avon Products, Inc. I have read all of my life – I come from a family of readers. I do not remember a time when I didn’t read – going back to when I had to hide “True Confessions” under the covers and read after I was supposed to be asleep. 

The picture, in this interview, shows book club members at their first Brunch. Sharon 
Richardson-Lucas is in the second row, over from Miss Mary Monroe (she has on hat) in the front row.

BPM: What was your first meeting like? How was it organized and structured?
After thinking about it for some time, in July 1998, I invited a group of friends to my home to review the book, “The Good Negress” by A. J. Verdelle. It wasn’t the most exciting read, but it did allow me to share my vision of a book club with the attendees and thus was born “The Reading Divas”. After more than 12 years, our basic structure remains the same: We are a group of African American women who meet monthly to review a book, share ideas, and exchange stories. Thus, we have formed a “sisterhood” of book lovers! My initial goal was to have at least 12 members so no one would have to host a meeting more than once each year, currently there are 14 members; we meet monthly, rotating from house to house; the hostess for the month selects the book for the month. We primarily read books written by African American Authors, but do not limit ourselves to any race or type of book. By silent vote, we don’t usually read the now popular “street” books or “erotica”. 

Several years ago, another charter member, Lena Tanguep, and I attended the National Book Club meeting in Atlanta hosted by Curtis Bunn. After that uplifting experience we agreed that the club needed more structure and we also needed to give something to the community and not limit ourselves to simply reading a book a month and socializing (we love mimosas and sangria). We then adopted a club charter to define our structure and we agreed to host an event to celebrate our 10th Anniversary. We weren’t sure exactly what we wanted to do, but we knew it had to be “literary” and not just a social event. 

BPM: Share with us the history of the organization.
In October 2008, we successfully hosted the “First Annual Reading Divas Literary Brunch” featuring Mary Monroe - she was fabulous and so was our audience of about 100. In October 2009, when we held our second Brunch featuring Virginia Deberry and Donna Grant- we knew we had hit on something good. Virginia and Donna were “excellent” – they made themselves at home and our audience loved them. We closed this affair knowing that our event has a “following” and that we were keeping our commitment to involve the community not just through our audience participation but also by inviting local authors, many of whom are self-publishing and trying to get their foot in the door – to participate and therefore expand their reach. 

In October 2010, we will host our third Brunch – we have moved to a larger facility and our featured author will be Dr. Daniel Omotosho Black – Nationally Acclaimed Author of the 21st Century. Please go to Dr. Black’s website to read more about him – www.danielblack.org 

BPM: What is the vision for your organization?
Our vision is to “keep on keeping on” – reading, discussing, and socializing – as we help others to realize how important it is to our culture that we read the works of African American authors and to continue to grow our own annual Literary Event. 

BPM: Living your best life includes:
Living my best life includes: having books and my Kindle at my fingertips at all times – my motto is “Never Leave Home Without Something to Read”.

BPM: On your nightstand now:
On my nightstand now are: “Book Clubs” by Curtis Bunn and “They Tell me of a Home” by Daniel Black along with many books on my Kindle including “God Ain’t Blind” by Mary Monroe, “And Mistress Makes Three” by Francis Ray, and “Witch & Wizard” by James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet.

BPM: What types of books did you read as a kid?
I’ve always been a mystery and suspense lover – so I loved “Nancy Drew” as a child but I soon moved on to Perry Mason.

BPM: What book would you read again to savor?
The book I want to read again and again to savor is “What Seems Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day” by Pearl Cleage.

BPM: What's your favorite book series?
My favorite series is anything in the Alex Cross series by James Paterson.

BPM: How important is reading in your life?
I cannot imagine life without the ability to enter new and different worlds through the written words of others.

BPM: How can our readers reach out to you?
Please go to our website – www.thereadingdivas12.com  – to read more about us or to get in touch with us. You can find out more about the Annual Reading Divas Literary Brunch on our site too.

Interview presented by chairperson – Sharon Richardson-Lucas

Intimate Conversation with  Only One Key Stroke Away (O.O.S.A.)

Only One Key Stroke Away (O.O.S.A.) was founded in January of 2005 by a group of readers, wishing to share their thoughts and opinions with others. We started out as a group that simply read together. Eventually we moved to inviting authors to chat with us about their books. Shortly thereafter, we decided to review our selected reads. Our reviews are posted at several sites including: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, MySpace and GoodReads. The rest is…OOSA! Our resume includes hundreds of titles of varying genres as our motto is: OOSA Gets It Read! 

BPM:  What is the vision for your organization? 
We do not have a president. We are a team and there is no “I” in team. We each have responsibilities and tasks that make OOSA what it is. We are an online book club and reviewing team that focuses on African American authors. We wish to further promote African American literature by taking special interest in new and self published authors. We read, review and recommend. 


BPM:  Give  a deeper understanding of how important reading is to you. 
It’s cliché, but reading is fundamental. It’s the corner stone to life. We read everyday in our lives, whether we want to or not. Because literacy is so important we believe in starting as early as possible. The Ladies of OOSA are mothers, grandmothers and aunts. We promote literacy within our families first. When our children see us reading and enjoying ourselves, it encourages them to read. They learn reading is not a chore but something fun to do. What better method than to teach by example. 

BPM:  Favorite couple from a book:  
Nina and Dutch (Dutch - Kwame Teague), Yuri and Britt (The Sweetest Taboo - Risque), Portia and Jay (A Dollar Outta Fifteen Cent - Caroline McGill), Clark and Devin (Caught in the Mix - Candice Dow) and Natalia and Shawn (Triangle of Sins - Nurit Folkes). 

BPM:   Favorite genre, series or sequels:  
We are a group of avid readers with various tastes in literature. As such, we really don’t have particular preferred genres. We welcome and enjoy all genres. Some of our favorite sequels include: Little Black Girl Lost by Keith Lee Johnson, the True2Life series by Al-Saadiq Banks, Dutch by Kwame Teague, Naughty by Brenda Hampton, the Vernetta Henderson legal thrillers by Pamela Samuels Young and the Dilemma series by Reign. 

BPM:  Share your news or events with us. What's next for your group? 
What’s next…more Author Spotlights and contests.. And as always, we read, review and recommend. It’s what we do. 

Book club and contact info: 
Website: www.oosaonlinebookclub.com  
Email: info@oosaonlinebookclub.com  
www.oosaonlinebookclub.blogspot.com