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Authors Unite: Introducing A Chapter A Month!

Hello World!

Y’all pray for me! My big project is due at the end of the month! Please pray that God will continue to give me strength, and let’s face it –  I need some of His supernatural energy added to my natural energy to push on through! Now on to today’s topic…

It’s over folks…The media as we know it is ova…The music industry as we know it is ova…The book industry as we know it is ova…Any industry involving communication is being forced to innovate lest it be left at the gate…

Bloggers now have as much influence as trained journalists…Singers can upload videos on YouTube, and record deals will come to them…Due to the increasing popularity of self-publishing, authors can sell their work directly to readers over the Internet…

As Lamar Tyler of Black and Married With Kids says, the Gatekeepers Are Gone! Tyler even has a new Internet broadcast network MyCulture.TV.  If you have a creative bone in your body and an idea in your head, it’s time to get on your grind…I kid you not…This happened to me yesterday…I just happened to be surfing the Net yesterday, and I happened upon this website of this author who has written a book with the EXACT same title and premise of a book idea that I have been thinking about since 2008…I just looked blankly at my computer screen for like 10 minutes…It was like God saying to me, “Girl, what you waiting on? You better take these ideas I give to you seriously.” I’ve been working on this project that I mentioned earlier for nearly six months, and yesterday, my energy was a little low…But after seeing that  author’s website, I’m like I betta get on my grustle! (grind plus hustle)

All that being said, one of my author friends, Tiffany L. Warren, and several other authors have come up with a new idea to take their work directly to readers in a new, innovative and fresh way for the low low…Check out the details below…

You asked for us. You got us! Your favorite authors…all…the…time. No more waiting for a year to hear from your favorite author. Now you have us inside this amazing new experience where reading meets the brave new digital world. As a reader, you will enjoy fresh, exciting chapters every month as we reveal our stories to you one chapter at a time. You will travel with us on our writing journeys and watch our novels come to life on paper…and beyond.

How A Chapter A Month Works…..

A Chapter A Month will feature new material each month from 16 top-selling authors!

The length of the authors work will vary – one author is doing short-stories based on hip-hop songs, so each month, she will have a different story. Two authors are doing the first “soap operas” on paper…serials that will not end – and there will be everything in-between.

Each month, you can purchase any chapter from any author for .99 cents. Now, we’re calling it “a chapter,” but trust, these are not short chapters that are in full-length books. These chapters are far more extensive. We promise you, you will get more than your money’s worth.

There will be “Preferred Readers” packages where you will receive “benefits for membership.” For example, if you purchase 5 authors for $4.95 per month, you will have a certain level of access to the authors. If you purchase 10 authors for $9.99 per month, you will have another level of access, plus be entered into a quarterly contest where winners will receive anything from gift cards, to e-readers…and maybe even a visit from an author. Details will follow on the website.

Authors you love…all the time: ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Parry “Ebony Satin” Brown, Tinesha Davis, Virginia DeBerry, Lolita Files, Trice Hickman, Donna Hill, Travis Hunter, Candy Jackson, RM Johnson, Dwayne S. Joseph, Bernice McFadden, Stephanie Perry Moore, Victoria Christopher Murray, Pat Tucker, Tiffany L. Warren….and joining soon…Carleen Brice, Nina Foxx, Carol Mackey, Rhonda McKnight, Marissa Monteilh, and a few more….

Check them out at A Chapter A Month which will officially start tomorrow!

Any thoughts?

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Celebrate Black Marriage Day Today!!!

Hello World!

We have all heard the grim statistics, debated on the the root causes, and predicted gloom and doom for years to come. But today, put all of that aside to celebrate as the Wedding Bliss Foundation has deemed today Black Marriage Day! If you are black and married, today is your day! And even if you are not married or black, I know that we can all agree about the significance of black marriages!

In her book “Yes, I Would Marry Him Again,” Soror Lori S. Jones Gibbs, vice president with a financial services company, has written a book in which 31 wives honor their husbands through essays on various topics. Pastor Shirley Caesar Williams, gospel singer extraordinaire,  wrote about her husband Bishop Harold Ivory Williams in her essay A Praying Man. Some of the other essay titles are: The Gentle Giant, Caramel Skin and Light Brown Eyes, The Encourager, The Southern Gentleman, His Love for Me is Modeled After His Love for God and I Lost My Friend and Love. Soror Jones Gibbs also wrote about her own husband in The Rock.

Below are a few quotes from her website about why Soror Jones Gibbs wrote this book.

“I decided to assemble this compilation because of the numerous African-American marriages that are working. Though books have been written about fathers and what they mean to daughters, sons and mothers, I never came across a book that served as a tribute to husbands, especially African-American husbands.”

“The truth of the matter is, I know there are women out there that feel just as I do when I say “Yes, I would marry him again.” These women would be willing to share their stories with others. Unfortunately, we do not verbalize it enough. Some would prefer to continue to portray black men in general, and black husbands in particular as abusive, lazy, absent fathers, cheating husbands, and non-caring, good-for-nothing men. However, I know that this is not true. I have been blessed to be married to my husband Kenneth Demire Gibbs Sr.—a strong example of black manhood—for 30 years.”

“The husbands profiled in this book are not celebrities. They are everyday men. Although not perfect, strive to follow God and do right by their wives and family. They come from all walks of life—from businessmen, lawyers and doctors to clergy, educators, farmers, mechanics, and custodians. As you read this book be mindful that all the salutes are original and written by wives. These wives all feel a sense of pride and blessings, love, encouragement and support from their husbands. So let the salutes begin!”

For more information on the book and buying the book, please go to Yes, I Would Marry Him Again.

Any thoughts?

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Spring Fever…

Hello World, 

Today is the first day of spring! Hallelujah! It’s been a hard winter for most of the United States with all of the snow…Even the A had its fair share of snow this year! But all of that is over for 2011…At least I think so, but God is in charge…It’s time to thoroughly clean my house and get cotton candy polish painted on my toes. And it’s time to break out the happy music! So without further ado, I will post my Top 10 Songs to get me in the mood for spring! (In no particular order) And please let me know what music gets you in the mood for my second favorite season of the year! (Of course, summer is my absolute fave..how could it be any different for someone with Jamaican heritage?)

  1. “I Got A Man”  – Positive K. This flirty song gets me in the mood to get myself cute in the spring because summer is coming…And this song is one of the hip hop classics that did not need cursing & misogyny to get air play…
  2. “Happy Feelings” – Maze. This is the kind of song that makes you turn your windows down in your car and take in all of the sounds, smells & sights of spring…
  3. “You Brought The Sunshine” – The Clark Sisters. When you are getting ready for church in the spring, this is a perfect song to groove to…
  4. “Let’s Groove” – Earth, Wind & Fire. Another song to groove to in the car!
  5. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana. This is a great song to run to…Now that it is officially spring, I have no more excuses to get out there and pound the pavement! Hopefully, I will make it in the Peachtree Road Race since the powers that be have instituted a lottery system for the first time…
  6. “Lovely Day” – Bill Withers. This song always makes me feel better. It’s great for dancing to when you’re alone in your bedroom 🙂 And a great cool down song after an intense workout!
  7. “What a Wonderful World” – Louis Armstrong. No explanation needed. Sheer perfection!
  8. “Could You Be Loved” – Bob Marley. I just feel the sun on my back whenever I hear this song! I need to get back to Jamaica!!!
  9. “Everything is Everything” – Lauryn Hill. After winter, must come spring! YES!
  10. “Girls Just Want To Have Fun- Cyndi Lauper. A great song any time of the year, but particularly in spring when everything is coming to life again!

What’s your favorite song or songs to get you in the mood for spring?

Any thoughts?