Book
lovers join us on Monday and Wednesday nights for the most stimulating
conversation on the planet. Meet new authors, hear the latest literary news and
fellowship with other book lovers! Call into the literary themed radio show at
646. 200.0402.
Connect with BPM
Welcome
bookclubs, blog
tour hosts, radio show hosts and avid readers!
Share your love of literature with friends, colleagues, literary professionals, and other readers around the world, by giving them a link to this page.
You can take any thing from this page and share it on your blog or website. Please include
all of the links too!
PS. If you would like to share your feedback on the material found on this page, email
Ella Curry, editor of BPM at: edc_dg@yahoo.com with
this subject line: Black Pearls Media Room Comments.
Guest Blog
Posts and Articles
by Mary Monroe
Please
post any of the articles or videos found here and/or the media room to your blog
or website. Leave all links intact and email Ella Curry with the finished post
urls.
1.
A Dollar Saved
(Relationships, Shopping and Money Issues)
2.My Dates from Hell
(Humor, Relationships and Childhood Memories)
3.
My Most Embarrassing Moments
(Humor, Relationships and Dating Memories)
4.View Mary's video book trailer and learn more about the author and her
views on life. Go Here Now to View
***********.
WATCH
THE VIDEOS. READ ALL THE ARTICLES AND BLOG POSTS BY ENTERING HERE NOW
Black Pearls Author Media Rooms are a social hub for bookclubs to meet new authors or to find out about newly released books. We have created a innovative place to discuss and buy books from every genre, and a literary destination for exclusive content that is sure to entertain and inspire you, the reader. Below
you will find games, contests, book excerpts and author interviews that will
take you inside the world of a top-selling published author! Visit Mary's
blog tour room to read funny articles and to help her spread the word
about her latest book, Mama Ruby.
Read on and
share with as many friends as you can...Give the Gift of Knowledge!
Here you can learn all about your favorite authors, writers and poets' background, events and
work. Some of the authors are household names and some of whom haven't
been discovered yet. We want to bring readers up to speed on the next great book!
It's our desire to provide our fans and authors with a elegant, yet fun place where they can express themselves, promote their talents, and connect with other writers and bookclubs from around the world. Visit
the BPM Fanclub to get started.
Featured
Book: Mama Ruby Prequel to the Upper Room
If you are a fan of Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston, you will love Mama Ruby and the writings of Mary Monroe!
How did Ruby and Othella Mae, from The Upper Room, come to be who they are today?
Find out in the exciting prequel to The Upper Room, titled Mama Ruby. There’s a fine line between best friend and worst nightmare…but there will be a reckoning....
New York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe presents an unforgettable tale featuring Mama Ruby, the indomitable heroine of her acclaimed novel The Upper Room. Now readers will get a peek into Ruby’s early years, as she transforms from a spoiled small-town girl into one of the South’s most notorious and volatile women…
Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, Ruby Jean Upshaw is the kind of girl who knows what she wants and knows how to get it. By the time she’s fifteen, Ruby has developed a taste for fast men and cheap liquor, and not even her preacher daddy can set her straight. Most everyone in the neighborhood knows you don’t cross Ruby. Only Othella Mae Cartier, daughter of the town tramp, understands what makes Ruby tick.
When Ruby discovers she’s in the family way, she’s scared for the first time in her life. After hiding her growing belly with baggy dresses, Ruby secretly gives birth to a baby girl at Othella’s house. With few choices, Othella talks Ruby into giving the child away and with the help of a shocking revelation, convinces Ruby to run off with her to New Orleans.
But nothing can erase Ruby’s memories of the child she lost or quell her simmering rage at Othella for persuading her to let her precious baby go. If there’s a fine line between best friend and worst nightmare, Ruby is surely treading it. Because someday, there will be a reckoning. And when it comes, Othella will learn the hard way that no one knows how to exact revenge quite like Ruby Jean Upshaw!
Publishers Weekly Book Review
Mary Monroe's prequel to The Upper Room reintroduces readers to Mama Ruby, a fierce and indomitable woman. This time Monroe focuses on Ruby's early adolescence as the youngest daughter of a preacher in 1930s Louisiana. While her parents shelter her from the harsh world, Ruby is eager for adult sensations, especially sex, and embraces her desire when she meets the promiscuous Othella and her brother, Ike. Ruby and Othella experiment with neighborhood boys and Ruby soon gets pregnant. Othella and her mother persuade her to give the baby up at birth, and doing so haunts Ruby forever. Ruby and Othella then flee
small town life only to become prostitutes in New Orleans and take part in a killing. Though readers new to the series will have to accept the dialect, ever-present threat of violence, and explicit sex scenes, they'll appreciate the compelling period and the unapologetic characters. Familiarity with The Upper Room
smoothes the way. (June)
Mama Ruby by Mary Monroe
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Dafina (June 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0758238614
ISBN-13: 978-0758238610
Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches Purchase from Black Expressions
Mary Monroe is the third child of Alabama sharecroppers and the first and only member of her family to finish high school. She did not attend college or any writing classes, but taught herself how to write and started writing short stories around the age of four. She spent the first part of her life in Alabama and Ohio, and moved to Richmond, California, in 1973. She has lived in Oakland since 1984.
Her first novel, The Upper
Room, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 1985, and was widely reviewed throughout the U.S. and in Great Britain.
She endured fifteen years and hundreds of rejection letters before she landed a contract for her second novel,
God Don’t Like Ugly.
It was published in October 2000, by Kensington Books. God Don’t Play was her seventh novel to be published, and it landed her a spot on the prestigious New York Times bestsellers list for the first time!
Mary is divorced, loves to travel, loves to mingle with other authors, and she'll read anything by Ernest Gaines, Stephen King, Alice Walker, and James Patterson.
She still writes seven days a week and gets most of her ideas from current events, and the people around her, but most of her material is autobiographical.
New York Times Bestselling author Mary Monroe created fabulous books such as:
Mama Ruby, The Upper Room and the God Don't Like Ugly series for readers with a sense of humor and adventure. When
The Upper Room was published, Monroe had this to say: "This is my story -- these characters are people I know, it's my
life!"
Meet author Mary Monroe as she travels across the nation discussing Mama Ruby and her literary
journey. View more book details and her tour schedule at her website: http://www.marymonroe.org
Join Author Mary Monroe on Twitter: @marymonroebooks
Mary Monroe is the third child of Alabama sharecroppers and the first and only member of her family to finish high school. She did not attend college or any writing classes, but taught herself how to write and started writing short stories around the age of four. She spent the first part of her life in Alabama and Ohio, and moved to Richmond, California, in 1973. She has lived in Oakland since 1984.
Her first novel, The Upper
Room, was published by St. Martin’s Press in 1985, and was widely reviewed throughout the U.S. and in Great Britain. She endured fifteen years and hundreds of rejection letters before she landed a contract for her second novel,
God Don’t Like Ugly.
It was published in October 2000, by Kensington Books. God Don’t Play was her seventh novel to be published, and it landed her a spot on the prestigious New York Times bestsellers list for the first time!
New York Times Bestselling author Mary Monroe created fabulous books such as: Mama Ruby, The Upper Room and the
God Don't Like Ugly series for readers with a sense of humor and adventure. When The Upper Room was published, Monroe had this to say: "This is my story -- these characters are people I know, it's my life," Mary Monroe laughs when asked what her inspiration was for her first novels, because most of her material is autobiographical.
Meet author Mary Monroe as she travels across the nation discussing Mama Ruby and her literary journey:
http://www.marymonroe.org
BAN: Ms. Monroe, what is your daily writing schedule like? How long did it take you to complete the book,
Mama Ruby?
I don't set aside any particular time of the day to write but I do most of my writing in the middle of the night and sometimes very early in the morning--rarely during evening prime time because I watch a lot of TV.
I write something every single day. Some days I only write a few sentences, some days I write over a hundred pages.
It took me about four months to write Mama Ruby. I started with a detailed three-page outline and I wrote four drafts before I submitted the final version to my publisher.
BAN: We are amazed at how each of your books get better and better. What made you decide to choose this genre? Do you insert your own characteristics in your writing?
I write mainstream African American fiction. I didn't really "choose" this genre. It just happens to be the most likely one for me at this time. I write about what I know and what interests me. Yes, I do insert my own characteristics in my writing. It's fun to "see" myself in my stories.
BAN: What have you realized about yourself since becoming a published author?
I get story ideas from a variety of sources. Even more so now that I'm a published author. Since I base my stories on true life experiences, I am a lot more observant about things happening in my life and in the news than I was before I published my first book.
BAN: Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
Learn as much as you can about the business. There is a lot of basic information that every aspiring author needs to know. Set some realistic goals, be persistent, and try not to get discouraged. Disappointments and rejection slips are part of the game. But think of them as detours. And I think it’s very important for an aspiring author to read something as often as possible—especially books and newspapers. Reading provides creative nourishment. It also helps if you have a literary agent representing you.
If writers ever get discouraged about their craft or writing ability, please check out my piece in the February 7, 2011 issue of Woman's World Magazine in the "Guardian Angels" section (page 38) for some inspiration!
BAN: Who are some of the authors you admire and why?
I love Toni Morrison, James Patterson, Stephen King, and Ernest Gaines. I was in my twenties when I discovered Toni Morrison and Ernest Gaines and that's when I knew for sure that writing books was my destiny. Their books are so insightful and thought-provoking that I re-read them at least once a year. I also love stories with a paranormal theme so when I discovered Stephen King I became a fan of his for life. James Patterson's books are more for light-weight entertainment and sometimes that is all I want in a story.
BAN: Can you see any of your books being optioned for movies?
Yes! I watch TV for several hours a day and I go to a lot of movies so I know what the viewing public likes to watch. I feel that any one of my books would make a good big screen movie or TV mini-series. I write each book with specific actors and actresses in mind to play the roles. I’ve already written movie treatments for some of my books.
BAN: How do you define success?
I think that being satisfied with your accomplishments is one way to define success. If you make a lot of money and attract a huge audience, that is icing on the cake. But there are different degrees of success. I know an author who has won several awards and made lots of money but she still complains about not being a "success" yet. I think of myself as a success in progress...
BAN: Share with us one thing most readers don’t know about you?
I didn’t attend college or take any writing courses so I learned how to write novels on my own.
BAN: Share with us your latest news or upcoming book releases. How may our readers follow you online?
My latest news is that I recently completed the sixth book in my God Don’t Like Ugly
series, God Don’t Make No Mistakes.
DON'T HAVE A E-READER, NOOK OR KINDLE? DON'T WORRY!
Download and Read books on your home computer, iPod, iPad, Blackberry, or other mobile devices for free.
Five bloggers
can win a copy of Mama Ruby by spreading the word about the book. Share
the full author's interview and bio, from above, on your blog and receive a copy of Mama
Ruby. Post the message, copy the URL for the post and email the link
to Ella Curry before June 28, 2011. Send all submissions to Ella Curry
at: edc_dg@yahoo.com. Subject
line: Mary Monroe Online Tour. Deadline for posting, book
reviews and all link submissions is July 15, 2011. Winners announced on the front of Black Pearls Magazine on July
20, 2011. Website: www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
Ella Curry, Black Authors Network Radio Show founder, will host a 2-hour show with author Mary Monroe and her fans on
Wednesday Night, June 15, 2011 at 8-10 pm EST. The call in number is: 646.200.0402. Join
us for an evening of lively book discussion and reading, giveaways and more!
Meet Author
Mary Monroe
Mary Monroe is the author of the award-winning and The New York Times bestselling
God Series, which includes God Don’t Like Ugly and God Ain’t
Blind. The winner of the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award, Mary Monroe currently lives in Oakland, California.
Join author Mary Monroe as she travels across the nation discussing Mama Ruby and her literary
journey at: http://www.marymonroe.org
*****************
Five bloggers
can win a copy of Mama Ruby by spreading the word about the book.
Share the banner and
message above on your blog and receive a copy of Mama Ruby.
Post the message, copy the URL for the post and email the link to Ella Curry before
June 13, 2011. Send all submissions to Ella Curry at: edc_dg@yahoo.com.
Subject line: Mary Monroe Online Tour. Deadline for posting
and submissions is June 14, 2011. Winners announced on the front of Black Pearls
Magazine on July 1, 2011. Website: www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
Book Tour Schedule for MAMA RUBY by Mary Monroe
Mama Ruby by Mary Monroe
Dafina Books, an imprint of Kensington Publishing
Author Hometown: Oakland, CA
ISBN-10: 0758267347
ISBN-13: 978-075826734
New York Times Bestselling author Mary Monroe created fabulous books such as:
Mama Ruby, The Upper Room and the God Don't Like Ugly Series for readers with a sense of humor and adventure. When
The Upper Room was published, Monroe had this to say:
"This is my story -- these characters are people I know, it's my
life!"
Meet author Mary Monroe as she travels across the nation discussing Mama Ruby and her literary journey:
http://www.marymonroe.org
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
12PM – 2PM
HEB#596 (Katy Plus Store)
6711 South Fry Road
Katy, TX 77494
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
4pm – 6pm
HEB#63 (Pearland Plus Store)
2805 Business Center Dr
Pearland, TX 77584
Saturday, June 4th, 2011
12pm – 2pm
HEB #99 (Vintage Park)
10919 Louetta Rd
Houston, TX 77070
Saturday, June 4th, 2011
4pm – 6pm
HEB #574 (Tomball)
28520 Tomball Parkway
Tomball, TX 77375
Thursday, June 9th, 2011
6 P.M. – 8 P.M.
BJ’s Wholesale Warehouse
1800 Dogwood Drive SE
Conyers, GA 30013
Friday, June 10th, 2011
6:30 P.M. - 8:30P.M.
Medu Bookstore
2841 Greenbriar Pkwy Southwest
Atlanta, GA
Saturday, June 11th, 2011
12PM – 1:30 P.M.
William C. Brown-Wesley Chapel Library
2861 Wesley Chapel Road
Decatur, Georgia 30034
Saturday, June 11th, 2011
4 - 5:30 P.M.
Auburn Avenue Research Library
101 Auburn Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30303-2503
Saturday, July 16th, 2011
2PM to 4PM
Underground Books
2814 – 35th Street
Sacramento, CA 95817
Monday, August 8th, 2011
10:30 A.M. - Noon
Youth Detention Center Facility Library
2500 Fairmount Drive
San Leandro, CA 94578
Contact for Interviews and Events:
Adeola Saul, Senior Publicist
Kensington Publishing
119 West 40th Street, 21st Floor
New York, NY 10018
212) 407-1565; (212) 935-0699
Email: asaul@kensingtonbooks.com
Excerpt:
Mary Monroe's Mama Ruby
In Mama
Ruby, New York Times bestselling author Mary
Monroe presents an unforgettable tale featuring Mama
Ruby, the indomitable heroine of her acclaimed novel The
Upper Room. Now readers will get a peek into Ruby’s early years, as she
transforms from a spoiled small-town girl into one of the South’s most
notorious and volatile women.
***
Chapter One
Shreveport, Louisiana, 1934
Nobody
ever had to tell Ruby Jean Upshaw that she was special, but she heard it from
every member of her family, her father’s congregation, her classmates, and
even the people in her neighborhood almost every day. She was the seventh
daughter of a seventh daughter. To some black folks, that was a very high
position on the food chain. It meant that she had mystical abilities usually
associated with biblical icons. But as a child, Ruby didn’t care one way or
the other about being “special” like that.
She balked
when people insisted that she’d eventually have “healing hands” and the
ability to “predict the future” like other seventh daughters of seventh
daughters. Ruby didn’t care about healing anybody; that was God’s job, and
those snake oil salesmen who rolled through town from time to time. And she
certainly didn’t want to be telling anybody what the future held for them.
Because if it was something bad, they didn’t need to know, and she didn’t
want to know.
The bottom line was—and she told a lot of people this when
they brought it up—she didn’t want those responsibilities. The last thing
she needed cluttering up her life was a bunch of superstitious people taking
up her time and drawing unwanted attention to her. Just being the daughter of
a preacher was enough of a burden.
And since
Ruby was the youngest member of the Upshaw family, her parents watched her
like a hawk and tried to monitor and control most of her activities.
“Why do I
have to go to church every Sunday?” she asked her mother one Sunday morning
when she was just eight. “I want to have some fun!”
“You go to
church because you are supposed to, gal. How would it look to the rest of your
papa’s congregation if his own daughter don’t come to church?” Ida Mae
replied, giving Ruby a stern look. “Don’t you want to be saved?”
“Saved from what, Mama?” Ruby questioned, looking out the living room
window at the kids across the street building a tent in their front yard.
“Saved from
the world, worldly ways. This planet is full of all kinds of pitfalls out
there waitin’ on a girl like you. Drinkin’. Men with more lust in their
heads than brain matter. Violence. Loud music and sleazy outfits that would
shock a harlot,” Ida Mae answered.
Ruby already
knew all of that. From what she’d been able to determine, it was a lot more
fun to be “worldly” than it was to be the way her parents wanted her to
be.
“I want to
have some fun like the rest of the kids!” she said with a pout, knowing that
she faced a no-win situation. Her parents’ minds were as nimble as concrete.
Once they laid down the rules for Ruby, there were no exceptions.
“You can
still have fun and keep yourself virtuous,” her father insisted. “Me and
Mother ain’t makin’ you do nothin’ we didn’t make your sisters do, and
look how well they all turned out.”
Ruby pressed
her lips together to keep from laughing. Before they got married, all six of
her older sisters snuck out of the house at night, drank alcohol, slept with
men, and wore clothes that would “shock a harlot.” That was the life that
Ruby thought she wanted, and she had already started on the journey that would
lead her to a life of fun and frivolity. And as far as violence, she wondered
what her overbearing but naive parents would say if they knew that she was
already carrying a switchblade in her sock.
Ruby made
good grades in school and she had a lot of friends, but it was hard for her to
maintain both. She didn’t like to study, and she didn’t like having to
attend that run-down school four blocks from her house. Those activities took
up too much of her time. She appreciated the fact that her classmates and
playmates were at her beck and call, not because they liked her, but because
they feared her. They all knew about that switchblade she carried in her sock,
and they all knew that she was not afraid to use it. She was the most feared
eight-year-old in the state.
Beulah,
Ruby’s favorite older sister, had started Ruby down the wrong path that same
year. Beulah was fifteen and so hot to trot that most of the time she didn’t
even wear panties. Like her mother, as well as Ruby and the rest of the
sisters, Beulah was dark, stout, and had the same plain features. She also had
the same short knotty hair that she paid a lot of money to the local
beauticians to keep pressed and curled. But her being stout and plain didn’t
stop the men from paying a lot of attention to her.
Several
nights a week, Beulah eased into Ruby’s bedroom after their parents had
turned in for the night. “Baby sister, get up and come with me,” she
instructed, beckoning Ruby with her finger. “Lickety-split, sugar.”
“Are we
goin’ back to that bootlegger’s house that we went to the other night?”
Ruby asked, leaping out of bed, already dressed except for her shoes.
“Yep! And I
need for you to watch my back in case we run into a blabbermouth, or somebody
that want to start trouble with us,” Beulah told her. “If I get in
trouble, you can run get help for me.”
“Then I
better bring my blade, huh?” young Ruby asked eagerly. Even though she had
never had to use her weapon, having it made her feel powerful and bold. She
hoped that she never had to use it. Having her peers think that she was “big
and bad” was enough for her. Ruby was confused about life. And it was no
wonder, with her parents telling her to do one thing, and her sisters
influencing her to do another. But one thing she was not confused about was
the fact that she didn’t want to hurt anybody, physically, or in any other
way. However, she had promised herself that no matter what life dealt her, she
would do whatever it took for her to survive, and be happy.
Ruby had as
much fun as Beulah did that night. There had been an abundance of beer and
loud music for them to enjoy at a nearby bootlegger’s house.
By the time
Ruby was twelve, she knew more about sex than her mother. Beulah was engaged
to a truck driver, but she was also involved with a married man. When she
wanted to spend time with him, she usually dragged Ruby along to act as a
lookout while she rolled around with the married man in the bed that he shared
with his wife. When the man’s wife and three young children were in the
home, Beulah and her lover spread a blanket on the backseat of his old car,
and did their business there. Ruby sat in the front seat. Her job was to make
sure no one walked up on the lovers. But every few minutes, Ruby glanced in
the rearview mirror. She was amused and fascinated by what was taking place in
the backseat. Beulah and her lover rewarded Ruby with peanut brittle and comic
books, which she read in the car with a flashlight.
When Ruby
visited her other sisters, who were all married by this time, she liked to
peep through their bedroom door keyholes and watch as they made love with
their husbands. What she couldn’t figure out was what all of the hollering,
screaming, and moaning and groaning was about. If she hadn’t seen what was
going on, she would have thought that somebody was stepping on somebody’s
toe for them to be making so much noise. That was what piqued her interest the
most. Even before she had sex, she knew it had to be good. Married people
risked losing everything because of sex. Girls risked getting pregnant,
catching some nasty disease, and God knew what else, but that didn’t stop
them from having sex. Something that powerful had to feel damn good.
Ruby
couldn’t wait to find out. Right after she had watched Beulah and her
married lover buck and rear like two horses at a rodeo three nights in a row,
she decided that it was time for her to find out for herself what all the fuss
was about. She knew enough about boys and men to know that none of them would
say no to a piece of tail—her tail especially. Even though she was no raving
beauty, she had the kind of body that black southern men worshipped. She was
thick from top to bottom— especially her top and her bottom. Her butt was so
plump and high and tight that you could bounce a quarter off it. One of the
Donaldson boys had proved that during a break from Sunday school studies one
Easter morning. But the most impressive part of Ruby’s body was her bosom.
She had large melon like breasts that were so firm and perky, she didn’t
even need the support of a brassiere. She balked when her mother made her wear
one anyway.
“Why do I
have to wear a brassiere if I don’t need one?” she asked her mother the
day she steamrolled into Ruby’s bedroom with a bag full of those damn
things.
“Well, if
you don’t wear a brassiere because you don’t need one, you will sure
enough need one eventually. The bigger the titties, the farther they fall,
sooner or later.” Ruby’s mother glanced at her own bosom, which now
resembled two deflated footballs. “Don’t be stupid like I was.” Ruby’s
mother sniffed. “Had I known what I know now when I was your age, I would
have worn two strong brassieres at the same time. Maybe I wouldn’t be walkin’
around with such a slope of a valley now . . .”
Ruby’s face
burned. The condition of her mother’s bosom was one thing that she did not
care to hear about. “Yessum.”
“You
started your monthly last week. You’re a woman now, Ruby Jean,” her mother
said, obviously embarrassed and even a little uneasy.
When her
mother sat her down for that “birds and bees” talk last week, she didn’t
tell Ruby anything that she didn’t already know. She had learned everything
she needed to know, and some things that she didn’t need to know, from her
sisters and from other worldly kids.
“Dang,
Mama. Why you buy up this many brassieres? I only got two titties!” Ruby
complained with amusement. She fished one of the plain new white bras out of
the bag. She couldn’t understand why her mother had purchased so many this
time. The bag contained at least ten bras. “I guess this means I can court
with boys now?” Ruby asked hopefully.
“Naw it
don’t! You still a child. You’ll have plenty of time for courtin’ boys
in a few years.”
A few years?
Like hell, Ruby thought.
She was not
about to wait a few more years to have some real fun. All she had to do was
find the right boy.
Mary
Monroe is the author of the award-winning, New York Times bestselling God
series, which includes God Don’t Like Ugly and God Ain’t
Blind. Mary Monroe is the third child of Alabama sharecroppers and the
first and only member of her family to finish high school. One of her proudest
moments was when she became a winner of the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award.
She is currently celebrating the release of Mama
Ruby, the prequel to the Upper
Room, the book that started it all. She still writes seven days a week and
gets most of her ideas from current events, and the people around her, but
most of her material is autobiographical.
Mary Monroe
currently lives in Oakland, California. She is divorced, loves to travel,
loves to mingle with other authors, and she'll read anything by Ernest Gaines,
Stephen King, Alice Walker, and James Patterson.
*****************
Five bloggers
can win a copy of Mama Ruby by spreading the word about the book. Read the
excerpt and determine if it is compatible with your audience. Share
the full excerpt and bio, from above, on your blog and receive a copy of Mama
Ruby. Post the message, copy the URL for the post and email the link
to Ella Curry before June 28, 2011. Send all submissions to Ella Curry
at: edc_dg@yahoo.com. Subject
line: Mary Monroe Online Tour. Deadline for posting and submissions
is June 30, 2011. Winners announced on the front of Black Pearls Magazine on July
20, 2011. Website: www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
The Upper Room by Mary Monroe
If you are a fan of Toni Morrison and Zora Neale
Hurston
you will love Mama Ruby and the writings of Mary Monroe!
Originally published in 1985, Mary Monroe's engaging debut novel,
The Upper
Room, features Ruby Montgomery, an obese, indomitable character who steals her best friend's baby daughter and flees to rural Florida. Mama Ruby may not be all crazy, but she's at least halfway there.
She's known for taking things that aren't rightfully hers, like her best friend's stillborn baby-a tiny brown girl that she brought back to life with her legendary healing hands and christened Maureen.
She's also rumored to have done away with her husband.
(True, he deserved it, but still.) Some fear her. Others try their best to avoid her. But most everyone agrees the devil has got hold of Mama Ruby's Soul.
ISBN-13: 978-0758267344
Book Reviews for The Upper Room by Mary Monroe
"Warm, energetic, and charming."
--The Houston Post
"Monroe's literary canvas is painted with verve and humor and passion."
--Christian Science Monitor
"There is an electricity and vitality to this novel that makes it unique. Mary
Monroe is a remarkable talent."
--Chicago Sun-Times
Book Review From Booklist
Mama Ruby is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, with healing hands and an inconceivably vengeful spirit. After successfully bringing her best friend's stillborn baby to life, she claims the child as her own and runs away to a migrant settlement in the Everglades. Mama Ruby's ever-increasing girth and unhealthy dependence on her daughter, Maureen, cause her to make choices and decisions that are both troubling and foolish. Mama Ruby makes sure that Maureen is treated special by giving her the upper room of the house. It becomes Maureen's special place and is off-limits to most people, especially men.
As Maureen grows into a beautiful woman, she begins to have desires of a life outside of Mama Ruby's watchful eye and of a city far away. It takes an unthinkable series of events for Maureen and Mama Ruby to accept the other's ways and needs. A chilling story that is bound to astound Monroe's fans.
Purchase The Upper Room by Mary Monroe Amazon
and Barnes
and Noble now carry the books!
ISBN-10: 0758267347
ISBN-13: 978-0758267344
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Dafina; Reprint edition (April 1, 2011)
Amazon Book Review by Zane from September 26, 2001
5 - Stars from The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
The Upper Room by Mary Monroe - As a novelist, I always appreciate the ability of an author to create in-depth characters. Mary Monroe truly has the gift. Ruby is one character that I will never, ever forget. Ruby is an emotionally disturbed, obese, Christian woman who has more issues than 8 or 9 characters in other novels have put together.
Ruby "chatizes" anyone who gets in her way. In other words, she does them in and buries their bodies wherever she can find a vacant spot. While she professes to love the Lord and attends church regularly having grown up as the daughter of a preacher, Ruby manages to convince several people that she is the devil incarnate outside of church hours.
After her childhood best friend, Othella, has a stillborn baby, Ruby who served as her midwife, is about to bury the little girl when she starts moving. Ruby has always wanted a daughter and jumps on the opportunity to raise the little girl who she names Maureen.
Ruby flees her hometown and finds a home in the Goons, outside Miami, hoping that Othella never discovers that her daughter is still alive. She makes a special place for Maureen upstairs and calls it "The Upper Room."
No one is allowed in the room with the exception of Maureen, Ruby, and Virgil,
her son. Ruby believes that if any other man entered the room, he would bring the devil with him and turn Maureen into a whore. Ruby knows about being a whore firsthand because, even though she is extremely unattractive, she was allowed to work in a brothel in a two-for-one deal along with Othella.
There is just so much to this novel but I will not give anything more away. You just have to read it for yourself but The Upper Room is a treat of a read and I can't wait to hold serious discussions about it. Mary Monroe is a true storyteller, a rare find, and after reading both The Upper Room and God Don't Like Ugly, she has earned a place among my favorites.
Reviewed by Zane for the The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers. Published on Amazon
Mary Monroe is the author of the award-winning, New York Times bestselling
God Series, which includes
God Don’t Like Ugly and God Ain’t Blind. Mary Monroe is the third child of Alabama sharecroppers and the first and only member of her family to finish high school. One of her proudest
moments was when she became a winner of the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award.
She is currently celebrating the release of Mama
Ruby, the prequel to The Upper
Room, the book that started it all. She still writes seven days a week and gets most of her ideas from current events, and the people around her, but most of her material is autobiographical.
Mary Monroe lives in Oakland, California. She is divorced, loves to travel, loves to mingle with other authors, and she'll read anything by Ernest Gaines, Stephen King, Alice Walker, and James Patterson. Visit
Mary's website for her tour schedule at: http://www.marymonroe.org
BPM: How long have you been writing and where do you see yourself within the next several years?
I started making up stories before I even started elementary school. In junior and high school I wrote stories for some confession magazines. Since then I’ve written novels and a few non-fiction pieces.
Mama Ruby will be my fourteenth published novel. Within the next few years I hope to do at least ten more novels, my autobiography, a few screenplays.
BPM: Introduce us to your book, Mama Ruby. What genre is the book? On Kindle or Nook? Who are the major players? What are two major events taking place?
Mama Ruby is the prequel to my first novel, The Upper Room. It's mainstream African American fiction with strong female characters. I am pretty sure it will be available on Kindle and Nook. The major players are Ruby "Mama Ruby" Upshaw and her best friend Othella Cartier. The biggest event in this story is Ruby's secret teenage pregnancy and Othella talking her into turning the baby over to an orphanage asylum. Another major event is Ruby and Othella leaving home looking for love and adventure and ending up working as prostitutes.
BPM: Share with us a little snippet from the Upper Room, a 1985 release and national bestselling novel.
Intro: The Upper Room--Mama Ruby's known for taking things that aren't rightfully hers, like her best friend's stillborn infant, who she brought back to life and christened Maureen. She's also rumored to have done away with her husband. Some fear her, others try their best to avoid her. But Mama Ruby doesn't pay them any mind. Not when she's got the one gift God gave her--her precious baby girl.
BPM: What are your plans for continuing to write about this series of characters?
This story will continue with a sequel to The Upper Room. Mama Ruby leaves a few loose ends that can not be tied up until after the events that take place in The Upper Room.
BPM: Are your characters from the portrayal of real people or experiences?
Of course. Almost every story I write is based on something that happened to me or someone I know. And all of my characters are composites of people I know...
BPM: What inspired you to write this book, Mama Ruby? What are some of the unique issues or topics addressed in this book?
I was inspired to write this book because I grew up around some "colorful" characters. Most of them did a lot of wicked, funny, sad, and intriguing things and I thought their stories needed to be told. Mama Ruby takes place in southern locations. It is set in a time period during the thirties and forties when there was a totally different outlook than there is now on racism, sex, poverty, and other social issues that impact African American women.
BPM: How did you come to create such strong main characters? Did you know that they would be so complex and exciting from the start?
I was raised by strong females. As a matter of fact, the main character, Mama Ruby, is a combination of my mother and two other females relatives. The more I worked on this story, the more complex and exciting the characters became. They have a lot of strong characteristics but they also have just as many weaknesses.
BPM: Can you see any of your books being optioned for movies?
Yes! I watch TV for several hours a day and I go to a lot of movies so I know what the viewing public likes to watch. I feel that any one of my books would make a good big screen movie or TV mini-series. I write each book with specific actors and actresses in mind to play the roles. I’ve already written movie treatments for some of my books.
BPM: Who are some of the authors you admire and why?
I love Toni Morrison, James Patterson, Stephen King, and Ernest Gaines. I was in my twenties when I discovered Toni Morrison and Ernest Gaines and that's when I knew for sure that writing books was my destiny. Their books are so insightful and thought-provoking that I re-read them at least once a year. I also love stories with a paranormal theme so when I discovered Stephen King I became a fan of his for life. James Patterson's books are more for light-weight entertainment and sometimes that is all I want in a story.
BPM: Share with us your latest news or upcoming book releases. How may our readers follow you online?
My latest news is that I recently completed the sixth book in my God Don’t Like Ugly series, God Don’t Make No Mistakes. Readers can follow me on Facebook and Twitter and they can visit my
website: www.Marymonroe.org
I also LOVE hearing from my fans by email at: Authorauthor5409@aol.com.
I answer my email personally!
Mama Ruby by Mary Monroe
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 0758238614
ISBN-13: 978-0758238610
DON'T HAVE A E-READER, NOOK OR KINDLE? DON'T WORRY!
Download and Read books on your home computer, iPod, iPad, Blackberry, or other mobile devices for free.
Five bloggers
can win a copy of Mama Ruby by spreading the word about the book. Share
the full author's interview and bio, from above, on your blog and receive a copy of Mama
Ruby. Post the message, copy the URL for the post and email the link
to Ella Curry before July 20, 2011. Send all submissions to Ella Curry
at: edc_dg@yahoo.com. Subject
line: Mary Monroe Online Tour. Deadline for posting, book
reviews and all link submissions is July 25, 2011. Winners announced on the front of Black Pearls Magazine on July
30, 2011. Website: www.blackpearlsmagazine.com
Receive
a monthly text message when Black Pearls Magazine has new contests for book
lovers, news of hot topics and has updated the list of featured authors
and books for the
month. Stay abreast of the events we are attending so that you can come
join us for great gifts and swag bags! Play our weekly Books & Babes
game by signing up today. We will not blow up your cell-phone with ads! Calls on
Sunday evenings only.
Seeking Book Reviewers EDC
Creations seeks to add avid readers to our community as book reviewers. We would
like readers to share their honest opinions about the books they read. You do
not have to be a professional writer, we want to feel your passion for reading.
Reviewers receive books from EDC Creations’ publishing partners monthly.
You can review our policy for book reviewers by
clicking here. Email Ella Curry for more details at: edc_dg@yahoo.com
The
Black Pearls Magazine family wants to take the time to thank each of you for
joining us monthly in celebrating the best in literature and the arts. Our
team of writers, bookclubs and authors are so humbled that you have allowed us
entrance into your life. It amazes me each month as I check our subscribers how
many of you deem us worthy of your time and support.
We
appreciate each of you for telling 10 people about the magazine and for driving
people to this site. YOU make Black Pearls the magnificent publication that it
is, by sharing the Gift of Knowledge! Let us know what you think
of the fresh new content by emailing
us here. Thank you!
Ella Curry, President of EDC Creations
Founder & Editor In Chief Black Pearls Magazine
Mary Monroe is the third child of Alabama sharecroppers and the first and only member of her family to finish high school. She did not attend college or any writing classes, but taught herself how to write and started writing short stories around the age of four. She spent the first part of her life in Alabama and Ohio, and moved to Richmond, California, in 1973. She has lived in Oakland since 1984.
Mama Ruby by Mary Monroe
Nobody
ever had to tell Ruby Jean Upshaw that she was special, but she heard it from
every member of her family, her father’s congregation, her classmates, and
even the people in her neighborhood almost every day. She was the seventh
daughter of a seventh daughter. To some black folks, that was a very high
position on the food chain. It meant that she had mystical abilities usually
associated with biblical icons. But as a child, Ruby didn’t care one way or
the other about being “special” like that.
The
Black Pearls Magazine 