AALBC.com eNewsletter - November 22nd 2011

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Anchor books is an AALBC.com sponsor and publisher of Chinua Achebe's Chike and the River - "a story for children of all ages"

AALBC.com Best Selling Books

AALBC.com's 25 Best Selling Books For September 1st through October 31st 2011
http://aalbc.com/books/bestsellers.htm

Fiction

#1 - Children of the Street: An Inspector Darko Dawson Mystery by Kwei Quartey
#2 - Justify My Thug by Wahida Clark
#3 - The Golden Hustla by Wahida Clark
#4 - Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste
#5 - Dark Matter: Reading the Bones edited by Sheree R. Thomas
#6 - Every Thug Needs A Lady by Wahida Clark
#7 - Finding Forever by Keisha Ervin
#8 - In A Cold Sweat by Roy Glenn
#9 - Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang by Ashley and JaQuavis

Non-fiction

#1 - The Tithing Hoax: Exposing the Lies, Misinterpretations & False Teachings about Tithing
#2 - Ethical Ambition : Living a Life of Meaning and Worth by Derrick Bell
#3 - How could my husband be GAY? by Ondrea Davis
#4 - Acts of Faith: Daily Meditations for People of Color by Iyanla Vanzant
#5 - Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust by John Henrik Clarke
##6 - Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans
#7 - Donald Writes No More by Eddie Stone
#8 - Love Prescription: Ending the War Between Black Men and Women by Dr. Jeffrey Gardere
#9 - Raising Black Boys by Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu

Read all 25 best selling books for September and October of 2011

Authors You Should Know

Jesmyn Ward
http://aalbc.com/authors/jesmyn_ward.html

Ward's second novel, Salvage the Bones, was awarded the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction.

Her debut novel, Where the Line Bleeds (2008), was an Essence Magazine Book Club selection, the recipient of a Black Caucus of the ALA Honor Award, and a finalist for both the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. She lives in Alabama.

James Alan McPherson
http://aalbc.com/authors/james_alan_mcpherson.html

James Alan McPherson was born in Savannah Georgia on September 16, 1943. He was the first African-American to win the Pulitzer for Fiction, in 1978, for his short story collection Elbow Room.

McPherson was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1973, and the MacArthur Foundation Award "Genius Award" in 1981. In 1995 McPherson was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He teaches at the University of Iowa Writers Workshop and lives in Iowa City.

Kevin Reeves
http://aalbc.com/authors/kevin_reeves.html

Kevin Reeves grew up on the South Side of Chicago and in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. These contrasting worlds helped him develop a sharp eye for many different kinds of people and cultures. Winning a scholarship to a prestigious prep school in Princeton, New Jersey for a post graduate year of high school, he went on to attend Harvard University.

In his last semester at Harvard, acclaimed novelist Jamaica Kincaid recognized his talent and encouraged him to pursue writing for a career. Kevin's debut novel s.m.i.l.e was published in April of this year.

Carl Phillips
http://aalbc.com/authors/carl_phillips.html

Phillips was born In 1959. As of 2011 Phillips has authored 10 books of poetry, including two which were finalist for the National Book Award.

Phillips is also the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Fellowship, an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Pushcart Prize, the Academy of American Poets Prize, induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Library of Congress.

Jacqueline E. Luckett
http://aalbc.com/authors/jacqueline_e_luckett.html

In 1999, she took a creative writing class on a dare, from herself, and happily found her love of writing re-ignited. By a lucky coincidence, that same year she discovered the Voices of Our Nations (VONA) writing workshops and participated over the next four years in workshops with Christina Garcia, Danzy Senna, Junot Diaz, Ruth Forman and Terry McMillan. VONA provided a safe haven for a new writer still unsure of her abilities, yet eager to learn. She attributes much of her growth as a writer to the VONA workshops.

Searching for Tina Turner (2010, Grand Central Publishing) is her first novel. Her second novel, Passing Love will be released in January 2012.

Yusef Komunyakaa
http://aalbc.com/authors/yusef.html

Komunyakaa (born April 29, 1947) served in Vietnam as correspondent and editor of The Southern Cross and revived the Bronze Star. He was a Professor of English at Princeton University and is now the Global Distinguished Professor of English at New York University.

Komunyakaa won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the Kingsley-Tufts Poetry Award for his book Neon Vernacular. In additional to many other awards, Komunyakaa's The Chameleon Couch (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, March 2011), was a finalist for the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry.

AALBC.com Book Reviews (Fiction)

Zone One: A Novel by Colson Whitehead Zone One: A Novel by Colson Whitehead
http://aalbc.com/reviews/zone_one.html

As one of the finest word craftsmen of his generation, Colson Whitehead has shown a high degree of imaginative skill and creativity, turning each genre inside out to meet his purposes. He never writes the same book over, improvising and tinkering within the boundaries of each fictional setting like a master jazz musician.

A MacArthur Fellow, Whitehead, a literary novelist with acclaimed six books to his credit, tackles the horror realm and the popular zombie fad with his latest book, Zone One. Influenced by horror wizards George Romero, Max Brooks, Stephen King, and David Wellington...

AALBC.com Book Reviews (Non-Fiction)

My Song My Song: A Memoir by Harry Belafonte
http://aalbc.com/reviews/my_song.html

Belafonte, the 84-year-old Harlem-born trailblazer, was born of Caribbean immigrants, a cleaning lady and a ship’s cook, and grew up in the New York’s Black neighborhood in its heyday.

My Song: A Memoir is the story of a blessed life, that of Harry Belafonte, the mythic musician, actor, humanitarian, and social activist. With the assistance of Michael Shnayerson, a frequent contributor to Vanity Fair, this glorious account of an Old School brother, who has used his time and energy well to enable most of the human rights campaigns for a half century, came from a host of stories that could not be elaborated in his recent HBO bio-documentary, “Sing Your Song.”

Raceball: How the Major Leagues Colonized the Black and Latin Game by Rob Ruck
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/raceball.html

The harsh Jim Crow laws made life hell for Negro or Latin player playing in white America because of second-rate accommodations, inferior equipment, shoddy ball fields and outright harassment and insults. Most of these athletes steered clear of trying to break the color barrier until World War II finished and the money men saw "the colored players" could be a commercial boon to the established leagues. Enter the pioneer Jackie Robinson and his stellar achievement through hate and back.

However, Ruck notes that progress always has its drawbacks: "While baseball's integration meant that African American and Latino athletes could finally join the team, and helped the United States embrace the movement to desegregate its core institutions, it came with little consideration for its impact on those whose needs should have been foremost. As a result, baseball's integration was predatory as well as salutary. It cost black America a piece of its soul plus a crucial part of its social cohesion and economic sustenance."

My Long Trip Home: A Family Memoir by Mark Whitaker
http://aalbc.com/reviews/my_long_trip_home.html

As Managing Editor of CNN Worldwide, Mark Whitaker is currently in charge of content and reporting for the world’s largest, global television network. Previously, he made history as Newsweek’s first African-American Editor-in-Chief.

Whitaker has achieved his phenomenal, professional success in spite of being raised in a very dysfunctional family by parents as different as night and day, literally and figuratively. His mother, Jeanne, was in her fourth year as a French professor at Swarthmore College when she found herself being pursued by one of her students, Syl.

Ashamed to Die: Silence, Denial, and the AIDS Epidemic in the South
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/ashamed_to_die.html

When the AIDS epidemic exploded about 30 years ago, it initially ravaged the gay community. But the number of homosexuals infected dropped dramatically due to a combination of safe sex education and medical breakthroughs.

Simultaneously, however, the AIDS rate among blacks has continued to skyrocket to the point where two-thirds of the new female cases in the country are African-American, meaning a sister is 15 times as likely to become HIV+ as a white woman. And these statistics are even worse in the South where eight of the states with the highest infection rates are located.

Is Marriage for White People? by Ralph Richard Banks
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/is_marriage_for_white_people.html

Banks' basic thesis is that because black females are generally better-educated and make more money than brothers, it’s silly for them to restrict themselves to a dating pool of just black men. Besides, he says black males tend to take them for granted, and to think nothing of sleeping with more than one woman at once.

Paradoxically, the author ultimately arrives at the counter-intuitive conclusion that "For black women, interracial marriage doesn't abandon race, it serves the race," because "If more black women married non-black men, more black men and women might marry each other." That humdinger of a plan might very well be the answer, but it sure sounds to me a lot like traveling East in order to go West.

How Could My Husband Be Gay? by Davis and Lee
http://aalbc.com/reviews/how_could_my_husband_be_gay.html

For some reason, dudes on the down-low seem to be more of a problem in the black community than in society in general. Perhaps that’s because the pressure to be macho in African-American culture leads to a lot of gay guys to pass themselves off as straight.

That’s what happened in the case of Marceous King who bodaciously deceived his bride on May 15, 1999, the day they exchanged wedding their vows. Ondrea now admits to being so "blinded by love" that she failed to heed warning signs like her husband having teenage males "spend weekends over our house" and his subsequently developing a particularly close relationship with one, Fernando, who came to accompany the couple almost everywhere they went.

Oil and Water and Other Things That Don't Mix: An Anthology to Raise Fund to Aid the Gulf Coast Clean-up
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/oil_and_water.html

If you take a trip to the once-scenic Gulf Coast, you will see there is more to be done in the restoration and rejuvenation of the area. The mammoth oil spill, resulting from the deadly Deepwater Horizon explosion on April 20, 2010, not only devastated the families of the workers on that oil rig but wreaked havoc on the lives of the citizens and wildlife along the Gulf.

This anthology, Oil and Water and Other Things That Don't Mix, is an honorable endeavor, piloted by editors Zetta Brown and Nicky Wheeler-Nicholson Brown, to raise funds for The Bay Area Food Bank and MOBILE Baykeeper, two fine agencies sustaining the communities near the oil-tainted water. The editors gathered up a stunning group of poets, bloggists, journalists, and authors, new and old, to entertain readers for a good cause.

Mind Right, Money Right: 10 Laws of Financial Freedom by Ash Cash
http://aalbc.com/reviews/mind_right_money_right.html

Given the frightening trajectory of the economy and the staggering unemployment numbers, the time is ripe for a self-help book with some decent financial advice. Mind Right, Money Right fits the bill, despite its being a derivative work ostensibly based on the 7 tried-and-true investment principles originally delineated in The Richest Man in Babylon, a classic from 1926 that this critic read many moons ago.

Written by business consultant and motivational speaker Ash Cash, this opus rehashes most of the The Richest Man's advice, while adding a few fresh ideas of its own for good measure. Plus, the author breaks it all down in a fashion to make the material readily accessible to an African-American audience by employing a few Ebonics-laden literary flourishes here and there.

Second Chance: The Martha Marie Preston Story
http://aalbc.com/reviews/second_chance.html

Martha opened a diner and then a nightclub to provide for herself and her daughter, Cheryl, and quickly discovered that she had a knack for business. Regrettably, she also allowed selling cocaine to become part of the operation, a decision she would come to regret when it eventually led to her downfall despite making millions of dollars and owning a Rolls Royce, a suburban mansion and other trappings of success.

Convicted by a jury of her peers and sent up the river in 1998...As gritty and as forthcoming an autobiography as you’re ever apt to encounter.

AALBC.com Videos

Nikky Finney Nikky Finney, 2011 National Book Awards acceptance speech
http://aalbc.it/nikkyspeech

Poet Nikky Finney won the 2011 national Book Awards for Poetry. The awards ceremony was held Wednesday November 16th. Host John Lithgow described Finney's acceptable speech the best acceptance speech he'd head for accepting anything.

More importantly, as one industry icon relates "I was moved and speechless by Finny's acceptance speech... the woman spoke the truth with such grace and elegance....She done herself, and all of us Damn proud!"

Video: Founder of African-American Literature Book Club On Supporting Our Works
http://aalbc.it/troyontap

Troy Johnson founded the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC) in 1998 to nurture the love of reading African American books amongst African American readers. He’s certainly made a lot of headway. It’s now one of the most popular websites of its kind online. TAP correspondent Kevin Brown sat down with Johnson to discuss the success and the impact of his website and organization.

AALBC.com Articles

top 100 sites The 100 Best Web Sites for African Americans
http://aalbc.com/blog/index.php/2011/11/16/the-100-best-web-sites-for-african-americans/

On April 4, 2003, EarthLink announced a partnership with MOBE (Marketing Opportunities in Business and Entertainment) to present The 100 Best Web Sites for African Americans.

Having observed the dramatic changes that have occurred on the World Wide Web relative to sites that produce content for Black people, I decided to visit all 100 sites. The results were pretty interesting.

I was also left with the nagging question: If a similar list was created today, which websites would be included and who would own them?

Huria Search Supporting the Global Black Community
http://aalbc.com/blog/index.php/2011/11/05/huria_search/

Huria Search was created in reaction to the current trend in search results that favor large corporate entities and sensational content over independent websites and more serious content. While this trend effects all independent websites, the impact on the global Black community (GBC) of websites is more severe. As a result, some of the best content generated for and by the GBC is buried too deep in traditional search results to be found.

Sensational and celebrity driven content typically produced by the larger corporate entities is crowding out independent voices. This degrades the web experience reducing by the variety and quality of content we can find. Huria Search's goal is to improve the internet experience for people looking for content created by the GBC and to help support the efforts of those websites.

Taking Over Wall Street with Books by Charisse Carney-Nunes
http://aalbc.com/reviews/taking_over_wall_street_with_books.html

This year, a number of African-American writers have been nominated for awards including the late Dr. Manning Marable, Nikky Finney, Yusef Komunyakaa, Jesmyn Ward and Carl Phillips… Congratulations and best wishes are in order for all especially given that the National Book Awards is one of the most prestigious literary ceremonies in the industry that, in the past, have given awards to the likes of William Faulkner, Ralph Ellison, John Updike, Toni Morrison, Norman Mailer, Alice Walker and Charles Johnson

Free eBook Free eBooks -- Great Reads Available for Download Now
http://aalbc.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/04/free-ebooks/

There are so many free, high quality, eBooks available for immediate download, it is really quite astonishing. One can download a free eBook and begin reading it while they are waiting for a bus or in a doctor’s office. A computer isn’t even required; inexpensive eBook reader or even a smart phone will do.

Here I share information on several resources for learning about and downloading free eBooks.

The Revolution Will be Televised, Googled, Tweeted,...etc By Lowell Thompson
http://aalbc.com/reviews/revolution_will_be_televised.html

When I first heard of the Occupy Wall Street initiative, I thought it was just a group of overfed and overeducated and underemployed "white" boys trying to get their own generational street cred. "New Millennial Hippies" (Mippies?) out to gain a little attention, smoke a little grass (or whatever they call it these days) and hopefully get laid by some arty-cutey from the Upper East Side or Jersey (Or both).

That was just the cynic in me talking. Deep down, the "better angel of my nature" was begging to be heard. But the devil in me still thought... as soon as the cops grab and twist a few arms, break some legs, spray a few faces with mace and kick a little ass, the kids would cry "foul, unfair, not nice" and scurry back home.

AALBC.com Homepage How do I get my book featured on AALBC.com (for free)?
http://aalbc.com/blog/index.php/2011/08/28/how-do-i-get-my-book-featured-on-aalbc-com-for-free/

"How do I get my book featured on AALBC.com?" is the question most frequently posed to me, in one form or another, by authors, publishers and publicists.

Of course the best and fastest way to obtain prominent placement on AALBC.com is to purchase advertising. However when the above question is posed, subsequent follow up sometimes reveals, the inquirer does not have a budget for advertising. This is fine, because there are many ways one can promote their work, and still reach AALBC.com's large audience -- for free.

AAALBC.com Film Reviews

The Story of Lovers Rock - Nostalgic Documentary Celebrates Influential Black Brit Music Genre
http://aalbc.com/reviews/lovers_rock.html

Have you ever even heard of a smooth type of British music called Lovers Rock? Don't let that stop you from checking out this alternately entertaining and educational documentary detailing the history of what was actually a very influential, if underappreciated, genre.

Directed by Barbados-born Brit Menelik Shabazz, The Story of Lovers Rock chronicles how the unique sound became the rage around London back in the Seventies. A blend of apolitical reggae and American-style R&B, it was created by the young offspring of Caribbean immigrants living in Brixton and other ghettos in England.

J. Edgar - Biopic Uncovers Skeletons in Closet of Legendary FBI Director
http://aalbc.com/reviews/jedgar.html

This overambitious flashback flick unfolds against the backdrop of some of the FBI’s most-celebrated cases, from the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby to the bloody showdown with mobster John Dillinger to the monitoring of the movements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. However, of far more consequence here than any of these touchstones in Hoover’s career is the shadowy specter of him and his life mate secretly sharing stolen moments, whether holding hands in the back of a limo, whispering sweet nothings in each other’s ears, or enjoying makeup sex after a heated argument.

Appropriately narrated in an almost confessional tone by the title character, J. Edgar stands in sharp contrast to the dozens of previous screen portrayals of Hoover which had studiously avoided the sexual preference question. Credit iconoclastic Clint Eastwood for belatedly bringing a more balanced treatment to the screen, even if the shocking truth about such a tortured soul is apt to make audiences squirm in their seats.

Tower Heist - Victims Turn Tables on Con Man in Murphy-Stiller Buddy Comedy
http://aalbc.com/reviews/tower_heist.html

This is the promising premise of Tower Heist, the latest buddy comedy directed by Brett Ratner. While the teaming of Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller doesn’t come close to matching the inspired, screen chemistry of Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in Ratner’s Rush Hour trilogy, the talented twosome nevertheless manage to generate enough laughs, with the help of a colorful support cast, to make you forgive the fact that the crime caper grows increasingly improbable the further the film unfolds.

A funny, if farfetched, revenge fantasy for folks bilked by the likes of Bernie Madoff.

13 - Remake of French Thriller Revolves around Grisly Game of Russian Roulette
http://aalbc.com/reviews/13.html

Sometimes you have to wonder why they keep foisting English-language remakes of great, little-known foreign films on the unsuspecting public. While these knockoffs might make it easy for folks who hate reading subtitles, that demographic might be better off watching a dubbed version of a sleeper than a watered-down imitation lacking sophistication and charm.

Despite a big, Hollywood budget allowing for a more grisly and more graphic, high attrition-rate adventure, it all somehow still adds up to less. Rent the original.

Courageous - Who says they don’t make wholesome movies with uplifting messages anymore?
http://aalbc.com/reviews/courageous.html

When Pastor Alex Kendrick read a report back in 2003 alleging that movies had become more of an influence on impressionable young minds than the church, he decided to do something about it. He and his brother, Stephen, co-founded Sherwood Pictures in order to make their own faith-based films.

Courageous, Kendrick's latest cinematic offering, is an alternately action-oriented and thought-provoking adventure which thoroughly entertains while ever so subtly issuing a clarion call for a cultural rededication to traditional family values. The story specifically telescopes tightly on the trials and tribulations faced by a quartet of colleagues serving on the Albany Police Force.

America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments - Darryl Roberts Stars in Sequel Again Exploring Body Image
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/america_the_beautiful_2.html

Are you overweight? There’s a very good chance that the National Institute of Health (NIH) might consider you obese. That’s because in 1998 it lowered the threshold from 28 to 25 on the Body-Mass Index (BMI) index.

In America the Beautiful 2, director Darryl Roberts suggests that the NIH’s redefinition could be the result of lobbying from pharmaceuticals and the $50 billion dieting industry. After all, there’s a lot of money to be made if millions of healthy Americans are made to think that their weight was unhealthy.

The Mighty Macs - Coach Inspires Team to Overachieve in Touching Tale of Female Empowerment
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/mighty_macs.html

When Cathy Rush (Carla Gugino) was hired to coach basketball at Immaculata College in the early Seventies, athletics were a low priority at the all-female, Catholic institution. It didn't even have a functional gym, so the team had to host its home games at a nearby high school.

What makes this hoops saga unique is the fact that its hero is a female at a pivotal moment in the emergence of women's intercollegiate athletics. The pioneering Cathy Rush was rightfully recognized for her critical contributions in this regard in 2008, the year she was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

AALBC.com Interviews

Wendy Williams - "The Wendy Williams Show" Interview
http://aalbc.com/reviews/wendy_williams.html

Prior to making the transition to daytime television, Wendy built a devoted audience over the course of an enormously-successful 23-year run in radio. "The Wendy Williams Experience" was a top-rated, nationally-syndicated show which reached over 12 million people daily. In November of 2009, she was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame—one of only a handful of women to enjoy the honor.

Wendy resides in Northern New Jersey with her husband, Kevin, and their 11 year-old son, Kevin, Jr. Here, she talks about her life and career.

Common

Common - The "Happy Feet Two" Interview
http://aalbc.com/reviews/common2011.html

Born Lonnie Rashid Lynn in Chicago on March 13, 1972, Common rose to prominence as one of hip-hop's most poetic and respected lyricists, having garnered multiple Grammy Awards for his first eight albums. Common's ninth, The Dreamer, The Believer, will be released in December by Warner Brothers Records.

In 2000, Common launched the Common Ground Foundation, with the mission to empower disadvantaged youth in urban communities by mentoring them. Here, he talks about serving as the voice of Seymour in the animated comedy Happy Feet Two.

Kal Penn & Obama

Kal Penn - Member of Obama Administration and Kumar (of Harold & Kumar movie fame)
http://aalbc.com/reviews/kal_penn.html

During his tenure with the Obama Administration, Kal served in a variety of roles, including that of the President’s Liaison to the Arts Communities, Young Americans, and Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Cinema, Sociology and Asian American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, too, and is currently pursuing a Graduate Certificate in International Security at Stanford University.

Kal is currently reprising the role of Kumar he made popular in "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" and its follow-up "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay." Here, he talks both about acting and about taking a break from his career to work for President Obama.

Troy on AALBC.com

Troy Johnson - Assessing the State of the Black Digital Press
http://aalbc.com/reviews/troy_johnson.html

Troy Johnson is the President of AALBC.com, LLC, whose main property is the website AALBC.com, for which Troy is the founder and webmaster. AALBC.com (The African American Literature Book Club) was officially launched in March of 1998 and has grown to become the largest and most frequently visited site dedicated to books and film by or about people of African Descent.

Married for over 21 years with two daughters, currently in college, Troy divides his time between East Harlem, where he was raised, and Tampa, Florida. Here, he talks about both the challenges and rewards of running AALBC.com

Melissa Harris-Perry - The "Sister Citizen" Interview
http://aalbc.com/reviews/melissa_harrisperry.html

Born in Seattle, Washington on October 2, 1973, but raised in Charlottesville and Chester, Virginia, Melissa V. Harris-Perry is a professor of political science at Tulane University where she is the founding director of the project on gender, race, and politics in the South. Her previous book, Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought, won the 2005 W. E. B. Du Bois Book Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists and the 2005 Best Book Award from the Race and Ethnic Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.

Melissa lives in New Orleans with her husband, James Perry, and her daughter, Parker. Here, she reflects on her life and career and on American culture and politics while discussing her new book, Sister Citizen.

Jamie Foxx - The "Thunder Soul" Interview
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/jamie_foxx2.html

Foxx He won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the legendary Ray Charles as well as an Oscar nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his work in Collateral. Furthermore, he won an NAACP Image Award for his portrayal of reformed, Death Row inmate Tookie Williams in Redemption. Jamie has since appeared in The Soloist, Horrible Bosses, Due Date, Dreamgirls, Miami Vice, Jarhead, The Kingdom and Law Abiding Citizen.

Here, he talks about producing Thunder Soul, a reverential bio-pic which pays tribute to the late Conrad "Prof" Johnson (1915-2008), the founder and conductor of Houston's Kashmere High's legendary stage band.

Micahel Steele

Michael Steele - former RNC Chairman, now MSNBC commentator
http://aalbc.com/reviews/michael_steele.html

Steele first entered politics in 2000, which is when he was voted Chairman of Maryland's Republican Party. A couple of years later he won the State's race for Lieutenant Governor, and by 2008 he had become the first African-American ever elected to serve as Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).

He is currently a commentator on MSNBC, where he's generally the lone conservative in a sea of liberal pundits. Here, the former RNC Chairman reflects on his life and philosophy, on his hopes for the GOP, and on the Party's prospects for attracting more African-American voters in 2012.

Ken Bevel

Ken Bevel - The "Courageous" Interview
http://aalbc.com/reviews/ken_bevel.html

As Senior Associate Pastor, his responsibilities include coordination of major events, coordination of the Security, Usher and Greeter ministries and, lastly, assisting new members and visitors with connecting to the Body of Christ and the Sherwood Family. He and his wife, Lauana, have been happily married for 14 years and they have two children, Kyra and Kaleb.

Ken is also recognized for having played Lieutenant Michael Simmons in the inspirational film "Fireproof." Here, the Marine Corps Captain-turned-pastor/actor talks about life and about his latest role as Nathan Hayes in Sherwood Pictures’ new movie "Courageous."

AALBC.com Recommends

Pam Perry, PR Coach & Social Media Strategist
www.socialmediaprsolutions.com

"I am a PR coach and social media strategist delivering online branding and marketing solutions for authors, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations. My company: www.socialmediaprsolutions.com"

Pam's company's solutions are centered on delivering social experiences and buzz through blogs, email management and creative content creation for major social networking and social media sites including Facebook, YouTube, Blogtalk Radio and Twitter. In addition, They manage the social presence, improve engagement and measure the results.

Of Kings and Thrones UrbanFaith.com
http://www.urbanfaith.com/

"From MLK to Jay-Z and Kanye, our global icons -- and our popular opinions about them -- reveal the danger of turning our gaze to the wrong throne. But Jesus offers a better definition of success."

Where can contemporary Christians go for stimulating conversation about the people, news, and ideas that are shaping our lives today? UrbanFaith.com -- UMI’s exciting new blog and online community.

At UrbanFaith.com, They’ll interact on a variety of topics related to contemporary Christian life from an urban and multiethnic perspective. We hope to become your online destination for relevant conversations about news, faith, and culture.

Welcome to A Chapter A Month
http://www.achapteramonth.com

You asked for us, you got us! 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. Each month the authors will offer you something behind the pages - whether it's a live interview with your favorite character or an ask-the-author-anything session, on this website it's more than just the story.

And there's even more if you're a preferred reader. Imagine having access to the author - through live streams - while their novels are unfolding. You will be able to let the author know what you're enjoying about the story, what you'd like to see happen...and who knows...your suggestion just may appear in the next chapter the next month. Whether it's live videos, a scene that appears as a short movie, or just the old-fashion written word, you'll relish your favorite authors and try a few new ones as well. So welcome to our world - where readers and writers are joined together in A Chapter a Month!

Check out new work by popular authors including, Bernice L. McFadden, Victoria Christopher Murray, Lolita Files, and AALBC.com's very own Cynique.

Book Events & Related Events

Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal -- Book Release of Shaq Uncut: My Story - interviewed by Kelly Wright of Fox News' "Beyond the Dream"

When: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 Doors open at 5:00 p.m.
Where: Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel 830 Westview Drive, SW, Atlanta, GA (on the campus of Morehouse College)

Shaquille O' Neal is a four-time NBA champion and a three-time NBA Finals MVP. An All-American at Louisiana State University, he was the no. 1 draft pick by the NBA in 1992. But there is a lot more to Shaquille O’Neal than basketball.

Shaq is famous for his engaging and sometimes provocative personality. Whether producing his own rap albums, challenging celebrities on his hit show “Shaq Vs.,” studying for his Ph.D., conducting the Boston Pops orchestra, hosting Saturday Night Live, or serving as a reserve police officer, Shaq has led a fascinating life. In this candid new autobiography readers will hear first hand about his colorful career, NBA victories, his candid thoughts on Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, LeBron James and Pat Riley, and so much more.

NBWC 2012 The Eleventh National Black Writers Conference - Brooklyn, NY - Thursday, March 29 - Sunday, April 1, 2012
http://www.nationalblackwritersconference.org

As our society becomes increasingly globalized, the themes in the literary texts and literature created by black writers throughout the African diasporic communities of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe are shifting and expanding in varying ways. There is recognition of the importance and value of preserving cultural memory and identity and of cultivating and nurturing cultural and geographical spaces. At the same time, there is also a recognition that politics and popular culture shape what we respond to, what we read, what gets published, what we teach, and what conversations we have in our literary communities, in the media, in our educational institutions, in our work environments, and in our homes.

Through novels, stories, poems, plays, memoirs, and essays, black writers have explored the importance of memory on our concepts of self and family. They have examined the impact of popular culture on our personal lives, belief systems, values, and traditions. And they have chronicled what happens when we neglect and do not nurture our natural environment. In essence, they have used the power of words and the literary arts to stir our imagination and to motivate us to affirm, critique, and reflect on our responses to personal, societal, and environmental issues in our lives. The Eleventh National Black Writers Conference will provide writers, scholars, literary professionals, students, and the general public with a forum for engaging in dynamic and spirited conversations, panel discussions, readings, workshops, and performances on themes related to migration, cultural memory, popular culture, and the natural environment.

Purchase your tickets for The Eleventh National Black Writers Conference today at http://aalbc.it/regnbwc

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