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Jun

Gumbo Comes to the Bronx

Categories: blogosphere, publishing, reading and sounding off

Figuratively speaking y’all, though I wouldn’t mind if it did. I’m talking about Roux in My Gumbo author Kim Robinson. Kim is making the rounds of the blogosphere promoting her book. Kim asks the following questions.

Now that I am speaking at churches about my past and how I survived it I know that I am doing what I was put here for and there is only one person who can judge me, but I have gotten some mixed comments from a lot of people and I would like to ask some of your opinions.

Scenario – You meet an author at a literary convention and you sit and dine with her, laugh and talk and you find her to be a really personable individual. You purchase her book, not really knowing that it is her life story. You take it to your room and start reading it find out that she was a Madam, call girl, drug dealer and addict for over a decade. Now she is helping others and telling her story all over the country and she has written about it, not holding anything back.

How has this knowledge changed your opinion of that person?

I’d be interested in a discussion of Kim’s scenario, but also what readers think of authors when they meet them. What turns you on? What turns you off? Whatever?

Let’s hear from you. Then if you haven’t already, please visit Kim at www.kimrobinson.com. You’ll find her Roux most enjoyable.

May

Caridad Pineiro brings a Vibrant Latina Voice

By writerds 3 Comments

Categories: blogosphere, paranormal, reading, romance and Vibrant Voices

Please welcome Caridad Piniero to the blog. I’ve known Caridad since my first book came out. I think we met at the one and only RWA conference I attended. My first book was coming out with Arabesque and her first was coming out with Encanto. You couldn’t pry us off the ceiling with a crow bar.

Caridad is visiting today as part of her Virtual Book Tour for her latest offering, Blood Calls. If you like vampire, Caridad’s got it, plus steamy, sexy romance. In case you were wondering how it is on the Latina end of the literary pool, Caridad knows all and tells all. Enjoy!

The State of Latina Fiction Today by Caridad Pineiro

I was one of the launch authors for Encanto, the Latina romance line, in 1999. Encanto was a wonderful idea that couldn’t quite find a foothold in the publishing world and folded just two years later in 2001.

Why didn’t Latina fiction take off with Encanto?

1. Booksellers didn’t know where to place the books which originally contained the stories in both English and Spanish.
2. Latinos had never had a place in chain bookstores and therefore, didn’t think to visit such bookstores for Latino/Spanish Language reading matter. Readers were more comfortable picking up that kind of reading matter at a local bodega.
3. Distribution to traditional bookstores seemed to be difficult.
4. Latinos don’t read.
5. The quality of the Encanto books reflected that the writers had only been selected because they were Latino and weren’t good writers.
6. The stories weren’t Latino-enough.
7. We don’t have Latinos in _____________ (fill in the name of a town).

Those last four on the list were comments that many of the Encanto writers faced when trying to schedule book signings or which appeared in assorted reviews. Part prejudice-part ignorance, but difficult to deal with as a writer. I don’t think any of the Encanto writers intended to become poster children for Latino fiction, but we did become just that in 1999.

It’s now 2007 and is the state of Latina fiction any better?

Definitely. Many of the ground-breaking women of Encanto have gone on to success in both fiction and non-fiction so reason number 5 above was definitely way off the mark. THE DIRTY GIRLS SOCIAL CLUB and other successful commercial Latina fiction have opened a crack in the wall of the publishing world for Latina writers, but there’s still a good way to go before Latina fiction becomes accepted as a commercially viable genre.

Where do booksellers place Latina fiction today?

It depends in part on the individual bookstore. In areas were there are Latino sections, you may find books by Latino authors. Unfortunately, many of these “Latino” sections are generally stuffed with Spanish translations of non-Latino books or books by non-Latinos who happen to write in Spanish, like Isabel Allende.

Why do I call Allende a non-Latino? Because by my definition, Latino works highlight the culture of Hispanics in the United States. Latino culture is a melding of the Hispanic with the American. Books by Allende and others just don’t reflect that Latino culture in the United States. So if you pull all those translations and non-Latino books from the Latino section, you may find just a smattering of books by Latino authors. For a fascinating discussion on whether such literary segregation should even occur, please check out this discussion at Romancing the Blog.

The other part of what will determine where a Latino book will be shelved is the publisher and how they market and title the book. If they stress the Latino aspects, you may find yourself in a Latino section if the bookstore has one. If they don’t, chances are you’ll be shelved in either the romance or fiction section. Is that good or bad? For many Latina writers, being shelved along similar genre works is a definite plus as it expands their likely reader base beyond the Latino niche the publisher was attempting to reach.

That’s definitely a good thing. My vampire books in THE CALLING series from Silhouette have always been shelved along with all the other paranormals even though the books feature Latino characters. That’s helped me establish a wider reading audience, but as well, it’s helped me spread a bit of my Latino culture to people who might not have already experienced it.

Part of the reason I write with Latina characters is to show that Latinos are here and part of the mainstream. It’s hopefully helping to eat away at the “brown out” of Latinos in the media.

Is there still prejudice about Latina fiction? The prejudice is actually not what you might think. Oftentimes selling one of my books is harder not because the book contains Latinos, but because it’s a romance. I’ve had many a reader walk away once they realized the books were romances. It’s hard to handle that, in particular when it’s a Latina walking away. Why? Because without support from fellow Latinas it will be that much harder to convince the publishing world that Latina fiction is commercially viable.

Do Latinas support Latina fiction? Thanks to wonderful magazines like CATALINA which established the first Latina online book club, support is rapidly growing for Latina fiction. However, I find that at traditional book signings, such as the one that recently occurred at the RT Convention in Houston, I still sell more books to non-Latinos. Despite that, I have Latina support from a number of wonderful fans who are regulars at my blog, websites and book signings. I think that as more and more Latina fiction is out there for readers, and as they are made aware of it by the media, support will continue to grow.

Are there avenues for you to get published if you are writing Latina fiction? There are more and more publishers looking for Latina fiction. However, I recommend that you not limit yourself by choosing publishers that will specifically put you in the Latina fiction genre. A good story is a good story no matter the color or ethnicity of the characters. Pitch your book to any publisher that is interested in the kind of story you have written.

I hope my comments have been helpful and I look forward to receiving any questions or comments you might have.

Please leave Caridad a comment to let her know how much you enjoy her post. Visit her website; read her blog.

May

With a Little help from my friends

By writerds Leave a Comment

Categories: reading, romance and writing

I can’t think of a dang thing useful to say today, so I’m doing what someone else apparently did when I found this floating around the internet –borrow, borrow, borrow. The following article penned by fellow romance author Dara Girard may be uncommon and unconventional, but right on point. Aspiring writers (and the rest of us folks) take note. To Dara, thanks for the wise words.

Uncommon Advice For Beginning Writers

1) Convince yourself you want to do something else. If you don’t succeed, proceed to number 2.

2) Write what you don’t know. Write what interests you. Fiction is about emotion not personal experience–that is a memoir. Truth comes from emotion. Write with passion.

3) Embrace rejections. Not literally unless it makes you feel good. Understand that they are as inevitable as bad hair days, gum on your shoe, and taxes. You’re in the marketing business. Everyone will not buy your product, but eventually somebody will.

4) Procrastinate. You don’t need to write every day. On some days just be idle. Use these days to fill up your creativity well. Take a long leisurely walk, organize your cupboards, read, buy the stationary you’ll send to your fans, imagine a brilliant review and write it down, sketch your book cover with a blurb from an author you admire.

5) Write to make money. Poverty need not be a mandatory requirement of the writing life. Artistic expression is all well and good, but you need to eat. So write the books of your heart, but also understand the market and see if you can tailor some of your work to fit it. You can write your Great Novel on the side, but trust me it’s very difficult to be creative when you’re starving.

6) Skip the book and watch the movie. Especially, the movie versions of classic novels. The writing style has changed drastically in the past centuries. So writing like Charles Dickens or Henry James will not get you far in today’s market. However, don’t let it skip your notice that their books (or the rather movie versions of them) still capture contemporary movie audiences. Why? Because of the stories they tell.

Watching the movie of these books will help you learn how to develop your storytelling abilities. See what stands out, pay attention to what scenes linger in your mind, what dialogue makes you gasp or laugh out loud, what does the camera focus on? How does that enhance the tale? We live in an age where people are very visual; writing to that preference will help make your work successful.

7) Get into character. Use stick figures to lay out a scene, listen to the music a main character would listen to, wear a piece of clothing a character might like, write a diary enter for them. Photograph the area where your character lives; if your character comes from a different place, eat the regional foods they might eat. These activities will help you make your story and your characters come alive.

8) Laugh at yourself and the industry. Many authors like to offer dire warnings about the death of the mid-list, how publishers are consolidating, they bemoan the few options there are for new writers and how publishers promote only the lucky few. Yes, that’s true, but you can be a happy author despite the industry.

Unfortunately, too many writers take themselves too seriously. We’re a maudlin group despite available Prozac, alcohol and pills. It’s a crazy life. It’s supposed to be. We make up stories for a living! It’s a Peter Pan profession like dancing and acting. You want to emotionally strip yourself naked and have people applaud. Isn’t that bizarre?

So you can get discouraged, but you don’t need to be depressed. Stories are needed. They keep our cultures alive.

9) Don’t worry about promotion. If you haven’t written a word, don’t concern yourself with bookmarks, getting on national television, networking bookstores or the like. Anyone can sell an idea, find out if you can deliver.

10) Celebrate milestones that don’t seem to count. Contest losses (can’t win if you don’t enter) bad drafts (at least you finished) rejections (at least you’re in the game), $25 checks (at least you got paid to write), personal notes (someone read your work) and anything else that gets you closer to your publication goal.

Celebrate being a writer in every little way that you can. You deserve it.

May

Death takes no holiday

By writerds 2 Comments

Categories: reading, romance and the secret life of dee

I got a phone call early this morning from my friend Missy Brown letting me know some sad news. Katherine D. Jones has died. This comes as a shock to me since I saw her not long ago at RSJ. She gave me a lift back to the hotel after I’d lost all my money ($20) at the slot machines. We laughed and caught up with each other and had a great time. That was in March.

Katherine’s husband has already posted a message to readers on her website:

Ms Katherine Jones, internationally known author, mother of two young men, and my loving wife has passed on 17 May 07. Eventually I will update this site with more information. Please Know…she absolutely loved sharing her craft, interacting with each of you, and most of all, helping aspiring writers pursue their dreams!

Live Your Life… Follow Your Dreams… There are NO Guarantees … Katherine’s Husband

Amen to that Mr. Jones. Please join me in sending prayers and good thoughts to Katherine’s family, particularly her boys. Katherine, you will be missed.

May

Proof you can’t keep good women down

By writerds Leave a Comment

Categories: publishing, reading and romance

I got this e-mail today from Bonny Kirby of Affaire de Coeur magazine that came from publisher Louise Snead:

We’re back!

Some of you didn’t know we were gone, but that’s okay. The point is…we’re back.

A huge tornado decided to storm through Bonny’s ranch in Texas, turning things topsy-turvy, destroying much in its path. Fences, doors, sides of buildings/barns crumbled in its wake. The satellite dish and her computer were left in shambles. Her computer? Her link to the outside world? OMG.

A less determined person would have folded, tossed in the towel and any other great euphemism that is used for quitting. But there is a resilliance in women that men will never understand (or experience), especially among Steel Magnolias. I witnessed this indomitable strength in New Orleans last year, and I saw it first hand with Bonny. Add to that strength the fact that Bonny is just down right stubborn, too stubborn to let a tornado put her down.

It’s a trait we share.

Imagine going very, very reluctantly to the ER and getting a shot of morphine then waking up six weeks later (Rip Van Winkle doesn’t have a thing on me) only to find out that you weren’t expected to wake up at all. That was yours truly. But you see, I promised my youngest son I would be at his first college football game in September. I’m too stubborn to miss it.

So, we’re back-behind schedule to be sure-but we’re catching up. I’d like to take this opportunity to that you for your patience, your well wishes, and your support. It’s good to be back.

These two ladies have been through a lot. Please help support Affaire de Couer by subscribing to the magazine. You can visit their website here.

May

And the winner is . . . not me, sniff!

By writerds Leave a Comment

Categories: reading, romance and romantic suspense

I told you a while ago about the Romance in Color Reviewers’ Choice Awards for which both An Innocent Man and Back in Your Arms were nominated. Well we have received le smack down. Congratulations to all the people who received the awards (me and my books still feel like winners. (Wish I knew how to make a smiley face here.)

AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

Brenda Jackson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NEW AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

Gwyneth Bolton

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BOOK OF THE YEAR

BEST-KEPT SECRETS – Rochelle Alers

Harlequin Kimani/Sepia (Jan)

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BEST COVER ART

WHEN YOU WERE MINE – Adrienne Byrd
Harlequin Kimani/Arabesque (Aug)

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NOVELLA OF THE YEAR

“Heat” in VEGAS BITES – L.A. Banks

Parker Publishing (Nov)

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INSPIRATIONAL FICTION/ROMANCE OF THE YEAR

SHADES OF GRAY – Jacqueline Thomas

Harlequin/Steeple Hill (Jan)

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ANTHOLOGY OF THE YEAR

YOU NEVER KNOW – Niobia Bryant, Melanie Shuster & Kimberley White

Harlequin Kimani/Arabesque (Jan)

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MAINSTREAM FICTION OF THE YEAR

DIARY OF A MISTRESS – Meisha

Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (Aug)

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WOMAN’S FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

BEST-KEPT SECRETS – Rochelle Alers
Harlequin Kimani/Sepia (Jan)

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KIMANI ROMANCE OF THE YEAR

NIGHT HEAT – Brenda Jackson (Sep)
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KIMANI ARABESQUE OF THE YEAR

LONG DISTANCE LOVER – Donna Hill (June)

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DAFINA ROMANCE OF THE YEAR

GOODBYE HEARTACHE – Doris Johnson (Feb)

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GENESIS PRESS BOOK OF THE YEAR

ROCK STAR – Roslyn Holcomb (Sep)

May

If you can’t say something nice . . .come over here and sit by me

By writerds Leave a Comment

Categories: blogosphere, publishing, reading and romance

I’ve always liked that quote by Alice Roosevelt Longefellow. For a while there it was a sort of mantra. I’ve always loved the well-timed insult, the well-deserved cut direct, and given that at my height the most damage I’d do to a would-be attacker would be to damage his knee-cap, a sharp wit and sharper tongue have been my best defenses.

But there is a phenomenon going on in the blogosphere that is becoming bothersome to me, only because I find myself succombing to it as well–the tendency to snipe and snark over every little issue that comes along. Someone, somewhere said or did something that was less than optimum and the whole gang leaps on them like sharks in a frenzy, ripping and tearing until there’s nothing left to chew over. I found myself asking myself one question: Has the act of blogging become little more than the art of tearing each other apart?

I’d started this post a couple of days ago, got a bit depressed about the state of the blogosphere until fellow author Michelle Monkou dropped by to cheer me up. She says:

I’ve come to the conclusion that for some personalities, the blog has given them a voice when they had none in their regular, average world. There must be some kind of power sitting in your home spewing off opinions laced with lots of venom. The RT fiasco, the book review that sparked the entire thing, and the comments trailing behind that nastiness amazes me. When you look at the names of the contributors, it’s the same names over and over like bullies in a playground. I’m not saying that we need to sing Kumba Ya, but people need to retract the claws and the fangs.

Well put, Michelle. I’m not asking for a lovefest either, but dang. For people who are supposed to be all about love, we have a dearth of talent in showing it to each other. It’s a pity really.

Apr

Can I Get a Witness?

By writerds Leave a Comment

Categories: reading, sounding off, writing and wtf?

It just goes with the territory when you are a published author that you are going to get a lot of mail from un- or newly published folks wanting your input on what they’re doing. I have to admit I’m remiss in answering this type of mail. Someone will send me an e-mail asking me something. By the time I find the information or formulate my response I can no longer find what I did with the e-mail–most often because I’ve neglected to save it. Anyway, I’m sure there are a few folks out there cursing my name for being unresponsive and I’ve often kicked myself too for just that infraction. But hey, I work every day, I’ve got three kids if you count the big one (don’t tell him I said that), I have my own writing, deal with it. Write me again and ask again. I rarely don’t answer because I have no intention of doing so.

That being said, I kept getting mail for some book called GHETTONATION. Y’all know how I feel about ghetto, so I was trying very hard to ignore this since I don’t have the time to check out every book promo sent to me. But thanks to the good folks on Tee C. Royal’s Rawsistaz yahoo group I was led to this article about the book written by Cora Daniels.

My appreciation for Ms. Daniels’ work starts with her definition of ghetto. As described in the article:

…ghetto isn’t a neighborhood. Ghetto doesn’t just affect a certain race or economic class (we like to think that have-nots are ghetto and the haves are ghetto-free). To Daniels, ghetto is a mentality to “aim low.” The ghetto persona devalues education, thinks in the short-term rather the long-term, lacks self-respect, and celebrates the worst (African American) stereotypes.

Sound familiar? That’s what I and other bloggers decrying the new wave of ghetto fiction have been saying from its inception. The article continues:

…Daniels discusses her own ghetto mentality. She explores how corporate America exploits ghettoness as a means to make money despite its disturbing ramifications. She calls out rappers who take on a ghetto persona despite the fact that they were raised in a privileged family. She talks to people who embrace ghetto because its the in thing to do and she chats with people who realize that a ghetto mentality is self-defeating. She talks about bad parents (young and old) who dabble in the art of ghetto.

This reminds me of a book signing I had at the beginning of my career in a very affluent suburb of New York. The young woman who approached my table said she wasn’t interested in my book. All she read was street lit. When I asked why that was, she replied that it was more real for her than romance. And here I was thinking this chick lives in a nicer area than I do, probably lives in a bigger house than I do, yet she identifies with the ghetto. There’s something out of whack with that.

Looks like I’m going to have to give this book a try, as soon as I get my TBR pile into some sort of manageable level. Oh, well.

Apr

To all the books I’ve loved before . . .

By writerds Leave a Comment

Categories: mystery, reading, romance and writing

Over at Murderati, Robert Gregory Brown posts about comparing the experience of reading a book with being with a lover. Now you know the romance writer in me was ready to get on board with that analogy. Most of any good romance is foreplay–will they or won’t they and if they will how will they?

Brown compares the first act of the book with seduction, the second act with foreplay and the last act with climax. Although I like this better than the usual exposition, confrontation and resolution, something is a little off with the comparison nonetheless.

While I agree that what a reader is looking for is a “relationship” with a book, I view that first glimpse of it in the bookstore as the seduction. Does it have a cover I find attractive? Is the blurb appealing? Does the first page grab me? Maybe I’ll take it home with me.

Once I start reading, that’s the foreplay. Does the writing capture my attention? Does the writing entice or make me want to pull away? Do the characters and the plot stimulate? This is the point at which I’m making the decision aas to how far I want to go with this book. Do I want to give it a full read or put it aside?

There’s a reason why the middle part of a book can be described as rising tension that leads to the climax of the story. The stakes rise, the conflict deepens, you don’t know if the story will rise to your expectations or leave you flat, but the more you read the more you want that satisfaction of a good tale.

But the story doesn’t end with the climax, no matter how good that is. There’s always the denoument when I get to sigh and reflect on the story I’ve just read. One might call that the afterglow (or aftergroan if the book in question has proved disappointing) when I speculate on whether I’ll give the author another shot. If the answer is yes, one can only hope for a short refractory period before the next book comes out.

Apr

Have reports of the demise of black romance novels been greatly exaggerated?

By writerds Leave a Comment

Categories: publishing, reading, romance and writing

At the latest Romance Slam Jam, this very question was tossed around and though most of us agreed that romance wasn’t quite on it’s deathbed, some tests might be in order.

Seriously now, to answer that question you have to consider the black commercial fiction market. At no other time in history have we had the variety and volume of black-written books available for purchase. Relationship books and romance led the way to this revolution, but now black mystery, suspense, horror, fantasy–whatever are coming on full force. Options have expanded. Not only that, urban or street fiction seems to be gobbling up everything in its path. It’s not surprising to find romance numbers going down since it’s not the only game in town anymore.

Add to that the fact that, unfortunately, publishers are usually at least a year behind adapting to trends as they occur. Publishing isn’t a fast-response business. By the time numbers come in suggesting a change needs to be made, the correct momentum is already lost. Which is why I think so many new romance publishers have sprung up, just as the market demands everybody cut back.

Time was, Arabesque was the only line of black romances, offering two books a month, then four, then special titles for holidays like Christmas and Mother’s Day. Other publishers entered the fray and now we are at the point where no less than a dozen titles are likely to hit the bookshelves from publishers dedicated solely to AA romance. Can the market really sustain that many titles a month considering that many readers at the moment are exploring other, newer genres?

So is that it for romance? Not by a long shot. Publishing, if nothing else, is cyclical. This year one type of novel is the thing; the next year it’s something else. All those readers who veered off in favor of crime or vampires or ghetto fables return for another look. Publishers cut back to what the market will bear. Authors respond to consumer needs and a renaissance is born.

Just as in real life, romance may fall out of fashion but it never really goes out of style. Don’t believe me? Check back in a couple of years, then we’ll talk.


Get into your most comfortable reading chair,
take off your shoes,
turn off the phone
and let Ms. Savoy's incredible talent take you away.


  --Debra Ross,
     Romance in Color

A skewed sense of humor has kept me sane through 10+ years of teaching and almost as many writing. I invite you to come in and look around. Leave a comment if you like. My goal is to leave you with a smile on your face and a few new thoughts to mull over. If you like the blog, please tell your friends. If not, tell your enemies.