RAWSISTAZ
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers were a great source of reviews of African-American books.
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers were a the group of 13 women who are members of the Reading and Writing (RAWSISTAZ) Online Book Club, Top 500 Reviewers on Amazon.Com, and avid readers focusing on books by and about African Americans. The group’s main focus was to act as a promotion vehicle for AA Authors, especially the self-published authors who are struggling to get their books to the reading public. They produced two newsletters>: African American Books: RAW Style (weekly) and the RAWSISTAZ Review (monthly).
As of September 2016, RAWSISTAZ are inactive.
Tee C. Royal
is the founder of RAWSISTAZ, RAWSISTA Momz, and The
RAWSISTAZ Reviewers. She is also a webmistress for several literary websites and
authors, and a freelance proofreader residing in AL. In her former "real job"
she was a Computer-Communications Captain in the U.S. Air Force, specializing in
the field of Software Development and Project Management. She is married and has
one child and enjoys reading, writing, working cryptograms and other puzzles,
and also playing racquetball and volleyball. Her friends call her "T" which is
how she came about being called "Tee" online. She started this team of reviewers
to meet the demand of those interested in having their work reviewed and also as
a means of getting information out about AA Authors to the literary community.
~Founded group 12/16/01
aNN Brown
is currently employed as a Computer Systems Analyst for the Federal Government,
she works primarily in the field of Software Design and Development. She is an
avid reader, so she is a member of several on-line book clubs. Some of her other
hobbies include of course discussing and reviewing books, watching Tennis,
Basketball and Football. aNN resides in Virginia. (Yep, it’s aNN…small a, big
N’s)
~Reviewer since 01/01/01
Diane Marbury
is a Program Supervisor for a Non-Profit Mental Health Housing Agency in
Long Island, New York. She is the co-author of a forthcoming short story
collection entitled, Scattered Pieces. Diane is also involved in several other
writing projects including a serial novel as well as penning her first solo
novel. She spends her free time reading, shopping, surfing the net, chatting
with her friends, and spoiling her husband of six years. Diane belongs to
several on-line book clubs and writer groups. She prescribes to the theory that
a woman can never have too many books or too many shoes.
~Reviewer since 1/01/01
Kalaani,
originally from Atlanta, now works and lives in Massachusetts. Her love of
books, reviewing, and co-moderating author chats on RAWSISTAZ has been a great
learning experience allowing her to work and interact with others who are also
avid readers and reviewers. Kalaani is co-host of FOSB (For Our Sistahs and
Brothas), a weekly online chat discussing a variety of positive topics. She is a
"warrior" for quality childcare (Kal loves children); and an advocate against
domestic violence. Her favorite phrases are "let’s do this" and "keep your eyes
on the prize." Kalaani enjoys working with an aim and purpose. She’s hoping one
day that time will allow her to go back to school and pursue her Ph.D. If not,
Kalaani will be a cheerleader for others. She enjoys traveling, walking,
dancing, listening to jazz and R&B, going to concerts, plays, book events,
bookstores, (of course) and has a great sense of humor. She truly can get silly
<smile>.
~Reviewer since 1/02/01
New Jersey native
Simone A. Hawks
is definitely an avid reader, on average she reads between 15-20 books a
month. She is a member of several online book clubs including RAWSISTAZ, enjoys
shopping and she loves listening to music. Simone is also a member of Journeys
End Literary, an offline book club. In her spare time she reads, shops, and
spends time with friends. Sometime in the near future Simone plans to pursue a
Masters Degree in Library Science so that she can spread her passion for reading
to others. She enjoys this position as well as the friendships and sisterhood
that has developed from it. She currently resides in North Carolina where she is
happily involved.
~Reviewer since 2/22/01
Dorothy Cooperwood
is a registered nurse with sixteen years experience and
works in the field of Geropsychiatry nursing. She is an avid reader and enjoys
reading books of all genres and you will always find her with a book. In her
spare time she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren. One of her greatest
pleasures in life is to chill out with a good book. She lives in Mississippi and
plans to return to school to take computer courses, specifically web page
designing.
~Reviewer since 5/16/01
Dawn Reeves
is a Program Coordinator for a public school system and
actively participates in numerous community service organizations whose focus is
on children. In addition to participating in on-line book clubs, she is the
manager of a local book club. She is the mother of twins and in addition to
reading, her hobbies include spending time with her family and friends,
traveling, dining out, shopping and attending sporting events. She resides in
Pennsylvania.
~Reviewer since 8/02/01
Stacey Seay
is a native of Northern Virginia where she currently
resides. She works for a small child advocacy non-profit and enjoys working with
children and families. She is an avid reader and particularly enjoys
biographies, mainstream and Christian fiction. On the rare occasion that she
does not have her nose stuck in a book, she enjoys watching movies, surfing the
net and shopping (especially for books). She also enjoys spending time with her
friends and family, especially her husband, who always keeps her laughing.
~Reviewer since 9/18/01
CandaceK
currently resides in Dayton, OH and grew up in WV (no
jokes) and moved to OH from Washington DC about 3 years ago. She’s a webmaster
for the Children’s Medical Center in Dayton and likes what she does, but would
rather be at home doing it. She also does some freelance web design/development.
She averages anywhere from 5-10 books per month, and some of her favorites are
Toni Morrison, Rainelle Burton, Brian Keith Jackson, and Alexs Pate. She likes
all kinds of books, as one could surmise from the 50-11 unread books she has on
her shelves. (It’s already been established that she has a book-buying problem).
She is a member of The GRITS and APOOO and is also a blues/jazz/R&B singer.
She’s working on her debut single and a major commercial, but would love nothing
more than to go to a lil’ old hole in the wall and wail on some down home blues.
She’s not married and has no children.
~Reviewer Since 2/06/02
KaTrina Love
(aka misslove) is a bibliophile, book-a-holic, ’wanna be’
writer, and book collector. Most of the time she’s reading, writing, and online
discussing books with her sister readers. She lives in Atlanta. No kids. No
husband. So, she can spend all the money that she wants on books, readers’
conferences, and writing workshops. The literary world has opened wide for
African Americans, and she’s taking full advantage of it.
~Reviewer since 4/03/02
Robilyn
is an avid reader sometimes reading up to 20 books a month. Her love of
reading began at the early age of three and she has been reading ever since. She
attends book signings and other literary events and she volunteers for a local
African-American bookseller, Sibanye. She credits the owner of Sibanye with
bringing out the book addiction in her. In addition to being a member of several
online book clubs, Robilyn is the founder of the Girlfriends Reading Circle. She
is a divorced mother of two children, 17 and 12. She is a resident of Baltimore
and works for the Baltimore City Department of Social Services.
~Reviewer since: 8/01/02
Nika
is a 23 year old college student from Columbia, SC.
Currently she is working toward her Associates of Arts degree at Midlands
Technical College and starting in the summer of 2003, she will pursue a
bachelors in Elementary Education (minors Spanish and English) at South Carolina
State University. Her goal is become a middle school educator teaching Language
Arts. Besides being an avid reader, her many hobbies include singing, fitness,
art, and writing. :-) She’s a single young lady who is learning and growing, but
most of all enjoying life.
~Reviewer since: 8/17/02
**Special thanks also to the previous members of our review team
for their service while a member of TRR…we wish you continued success in your
personal and literary endeavors.**
Are you the author profiled here? Email us your official website or Let us host your primary web presence.