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AALBC.com eNewsletter - October 5th, 2004 |
Celebrating Our Literary Legacy! |
AALBC.com BEST-SELLER LISTS - AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2004
http://books.aalbc.com/bestsellers.htm
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Fiction
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- Let That Be the Reason by Vickie M. Stringer 
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- The Measure of a Man by Martin Luther King Jr.To view the entire of bestsellers list visit http://books.aalbc.com/bestsellers.htm
RECENT AALBC.COM BOOK REVIEWS & ARTICLES
http://www.aalbc.com/reviews/book_reviews.htm
 Handling
Your Finances � Lessons from an Author in Transition by
Lynnette Khalfanihttp://reviews.aalbc.com/handling_your_finances.htm Little did Electa Rome Parks know that her unforeseen downsizing in 2003 would actually serve as a catalyst for her biggest career blessing to date. As it turns out, getting the axe from Bank of America cut Parks off from corporate America, but it jumpstarted her literary career: Six months after receiving a pink slip, Parks went from part-time writer to full-time author, landed a high-profile literary agent, and got a six-figure book deal with a major publishing house.
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AUTHORS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Electa Rome Parks, one of the rising stars in contemporary fiction. She is the author of the best-selling novels, The Ties That Bind and Loose Ends. These titles were originally self-published through her own company, Novel Ideal Publishing and Editorial Services Company, a company now dedicated to quality editorial services. Recently, Mrs. Parks, signed a 3-book deal with New American Library, a division of Penguin Group.
"You may have seen my name in the magazines and newspapers you read all the time: Essence, VIBE, Honey, XXL, The Village Voice, The Charlotte Observer, The Chicago Sun-Times, on Africana.com, etc. You may have heard my commentaries on National Public Radio's The Tavis Smiley Show. Years ago you may have even seen me during the first four years of Black Entertainment Television's "Teen Summit." But it's fiction that I've been doing the longest. I wrote my very first story at the age of nine, and I'll keep going as long as my lungs have breath." � Kenji Jasper
Glenville Lovell is the author of four novels, several short stories and a number of prize-winning plays. His first novel Fire in the Canes (Soho Press) was published in 1995 to wide acclaim, as was his second novel, Song of Night (Soho Press) published in 1998. Mr. Lovell�s noir novel from Penguin-Putnam, Too Beautiful To Die, published in 2003 and introducing volatile ex-cop Blades Overstreet, garnered praise and comparisons to some of the most illustrious names in the mystery genre. His newest novel, Love and Death in Brooklyn (Putnam Publishing Group) continues the Blades Overstreet saga.
June Dade�s life long passion for writing is highly evident in her epic tale, Layers of Peace. The author�s debut novel is a powerful drama, depicting the lives of three women living in the Washington, D.C. area. The three characters are bonded by childhood friendship and against all odds they pull together in time of need and manage to peel off layers self-doubt, depression, separations, and find laughter, peace and romance. |
Kenji
Jasper
Glenville
Lovell
AALBC.com RECOMMENDS
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Felicia Pride is the founder/editor of BackList, a monthly publishing and literary newsletter of African-American interest. BackList is like an online magazine. Each issue contains interviews with authors/publishing professionals, book commentary, publishing news, new book releases and literary announcements. They try to focus on those books, authors, and issues that don't receive the shine they deserve. Be sure to check out their Round-Up: Publishing News Recap it is really quite good.
RAWSISTAZ focuses on reading, writing, and discussing books primarily by African American Authors. Their groups (both online and off) are not only book clubs, but resources to readers, writers, and literary enthusiasts; thus their founder's motto of "Keeping You in the Know Regarding the African-American Literary Community."
Neshee publication was founded in 2001 as a self-publishing company that focuses on the creative works of black writers/poets helping them to become black voices of authority. "We are now the one-stop shop for your publishing needs. If you are in need of editing, data entry, marketing material or more, we got it. And with Neshee's Distinguished World Affiliate Program, we are able to connect you with our large network of literary businesses that will suit your literary needs, if we were not able. We are in the business of making sure that your book is a success." |
Back
List
RAWSISTAZ
Neshee
Publication�
OCTOBER RELEASES
http://books.aalbc.com
Also visit http://books.aalbc.com to view a complete list of books coming out over the next 6 months.
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by Nikki Turner and Chunichi While Lady Bug's dope slaying boyfriend, Took sat in the city jail waiting to stand trial. Lady Bug was busy, recklessly spending, allowing Took's money to pass through her hands like running water. Never completely understanding that the stash money was for a rainy day. And when it rains, it pours. It is not until Lady Bug's phone is disconnected for non-payment that she is hit in the face with the reality, that Took won't be around to pay the phone bill, or any bill for that matter. Even with the best defense attorneys that money could buy, Took had to give the state of Virginia at least the next seven years of his life. With an empty refrigerator, a stack of bills piling up, a tenth grade education, a big butt and a smile, it could not have been any clearer to her, that she has to stand on her own just to survive the everyday struggle. It didn't take long for her to learn to pull the wool over the eyes of any joker who was blinded by her good looks. She was sure that one day some clown's slip up would be her ultimate come-up. And when it fell in her lap, her days of nickel and dime swindles would all be a thing of the past. Lady Bug knew that every scandalous chick had her day, but never thought her day would some too! |
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Some People, Some Other Place is Cooper's biggest, most far-reaching novel to date. A multigenerational tale, it is set in a town called "Place," on a street named "Dream Street." In the words of the novel's narrator, "the block surely had about it a feeling of long accumulation of history, of life, of many lives intertwined." As she chronicles the interlocking lives of the residents of Dream Street, Cooper places the stories of the individuals and their families within the wider context of America's social and economic history. We meet the narrator's great grandparents, who left the poverty of the Deep South in 1895 and made their way to a farm in Oklahoma; her grandparents, who continued the northward journey with their eyes on the promised jobs of the industrial Midwest but were forced to settle without reaching their goal; and her mother, who finishes the journey and discovers that life at 903 Dream Street carries new burdens as well as rewards. The neighbors on the block are people of all colors, all striving to overcome personal troubles and disappointments, and all holding fast to their dreams of a better life. |
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by Omar Tyree, Angela C. Allen, Monica Jackson, Linda Addison and Donna Hill, and Kevin S. Brockenbrough
Writing as The Urban Griot, Omar Tyree sizzles the senses with "Human Heat", the
erotic memoir of a darkly handsome Creole in antebellum New Orleans. In Donna
Hill's "The Touch", a hypnotically beautiful vampire has the power to seduce any
man with a glance, yet yearns for more. One woman's quest for the perfect body
has hilarious results in Monica Jackson's "The Perfect Diet", while Linda
Addison's "Whispers Between Still Moments" pits a fierce vampire against a
powerful vampire hunter determined to end her life. Whether seductive or scary,
hilarious or haunting, each story is a groundbreaking collection of all-original
vampire stories penned by Black American writers. The perfect read for anyone
who wonders what it is that goes bump in the night. |
 The
Artificial White Man: Essays on Authenticity
In this penetrating collection of original essays, legendary gadfly and esteemed critic Stanley Crouch tackles the notion on authenticity-what it is, what it isn't, and what we make of it, for good or for bad. While the question of who's the real deal and who isn't has now seeped into nearly every corner of American culture, nowhere does the idea of authenticity hold greater sway than in the realm of ethnicity. In this bracing collection of original essays, Crouch brings all his rhetorical skills to bear on this animating-and polarizing-idea, and investigates the motives behind those who present themselves as authentic, those who claim to expose the inauthentic, and what this all tells us about the state of the arts-from the vaulted halls of literary fiction to the arena of soft drink-shilling pop stars-in America today. For Crouch, this is not simply an academic exercise, but a summation of our peculiar historical moment. Living in a time in which much of the conventions that defined and limited people's futures-whether it be race, class, or sex-have been obliterated, we're both liberated from bigotries and yet-still-facing profound disillusionment. As influences come and go at breakneck speed, as traditions are remade and re-imagined, it has become hard to tell which metaphorical end is up. The result, Crouch argues, is not only a national paranoia that someone may have put something over on us-i.e. that we have too often been duped into believing that the counterfeit is authentic-but also a deep retrenchment of imagination and artistic expression, from white and black alike. As he promises in his introduction: "This book is an argument with all of that, however sympathetic it might be to the search for alternatives to our disappointments. It hopes to present, through affirmation, a new form of rebellion in our time of cosmetic dissent." |
Girls
From Da Hood 
Some
People, Some Other Place
Dark
Thirst: An Anthology
EVENTS
http://www.aalbc.com/events
Workshop: I Want to Write... But!
October 22nd and 23rd, 2004
Let
Marita
Golden show you how to get your
words
from your head and heart onto the page
In a two-day workshop retreat we will liberate your innate ability to write. We will show you how to eliminate the self censorship that often silences your writing voice. In a safe, nurturing, and supportive environment with others who are reclaiming their writing power, you will release and shape the stories you want to tell.
This is a workshop retreat for those whose natural inclination to write has been blocked or suppressed by lack of time, and life's obligations. Attend this workshop and learn how to use writing and full self expression as the underpinning that supports and nourishes the other aspects of your life. This is a workshop retreat for sporadic, occasional writers who want to write consistently for themselves and/or for publication. This is also a workshop for writers who want to write with more power. Participants can earn two Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) for the course. To apply visit http://www.maritagolden.com/apply.html Note Application Dead Line October 15th
"The best thing I've done for
my writing in years!"
�RETHA POWERS, Executive Editor of the Quality Paperback Book Club
AALBC.com to Hosts a Literary Salon Featuring Colin Channer
Sunday, October 24th, 2:00pm
Colin will
read from his recently published novel, "Passing Through". After the reading
there will be a Q&A session and book signing. Refreshments will be provided.
Books will be available for purchase for $14. (Cash or checks only please,
credit cards will not be accepted). RSVP by September 27th (http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=OKBYNQIUPHDURXDKKJZM).
Please keep in mind that space is limited. Only respond "yes" if you definitely
plan to attend.
Colin Channer is a true renaissance man. Channer is the author of two
bestselling novels, a novella, and a collection of stories. He is founder of the
Calabash International Literary Festival Trust, a registered not-for-profit
entity whose mission is � to transform the literary arts in the Caribbean".
Channer also is the founder and bass player of the reggae band Pipecock Jaxxon.
A dual citizen of Jamaica and the USA, he lives with his family in Brooklyn, NY.
For more information about this exciting author please visit
http://aalbc.com/authors/colin.htm
Queens
Book Fair - April 30, 2005
www.cbbooksdistribution.com
The Queens Book Fair is sponsored by C & B Books Distribution Inc. C & B Books Distribution Inc. was founded by Carol Rogers & Co-founded by Brenda Piper.
The Queens Book Fair is currently seeking various vendors for our annual Queens Book Fair, which will be held in Queens, New York.
Queens Book Fair will be held in the heart of, Queens, and will draw many of the following vendors to the Queens Book Fair. Children Authors, Christian Authors, Small Business Owners, Self-published & Aspiring Authors, Corporations, Literary Professionals, Vendors, Authors, Political Officials, Medical Providers, Organizations, Non-profit Groups, Insurance Representatives, Financial Representatives, etc.
This event will be advertised locally and abroad to ensure a great turnout. Wouldn�t you like your company/organization to be recognized as a part of this effort that would bring unity to our communities together under one roof? If you feel that your organization, business, or non-profit organization would benefit from such an event, Email C & B Books today at cbbookdist@aol.com to be placed on our email list to receive updates on the upcoming Queens Book Fair April 30, 2005.
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"Read More" Campaign initiated by the Literary Freedom Project: http://mosaicbooks.com/lfp.htm
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AALBC.com
& "READ MORE" PRODUCT ON SALE
Interesting Discussion Board Posts (we discuss other things besides
books)
http://www.thumperscorner.com/cgi/discus/discus.cgi
What is Thumper Reading
http://www.thumperscorner.com/discus/messages/1/1650.html?1096838441
1.
Red Light Wives by Mary Monroe: DA BOMB! I love me some Mary!
2. God Still Don't Like Ugly by Mary Monroe: I love me some more Mary!
It's official Monroe is definitely one of cream of the crop authors. Her winning
streak continues.
3. The Blackbird Papers by Ian Smith: The book was well written, but I
had some problems with it. Not bad for a first book; I've read better.
4. Blood On The Leaves by Jeff Stetson: Off the HOOK! Strongly recommend
it.
5. Brothers In Arms by Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Anthony Walton: Excellent
history of the 761st Black Tank Battalion. If you haven't heard of the 761st
Tank Battalion, I'm not surprised. Until I read this book, I did not know that
they existed. The book had just enough historical details to make the book
credible, while maintaining an easy to digest flow. Another strong
recommendation.
6. Pretenses by Keith Lee Johnson: Wonderful, wonderful novel. I am
hoping that this is the beginning of a wonderful suspense/smystry series.
7. Distant Lover by Gloria Mallette: GET IT! GET IT! GET IT! Mallette
does it again! I just love her!
8. Tell The Court I Love My Wife by Peter Wallenstein: I think I talked
about this one before, I still recommend it. It gave me slightly different
dimension on how this country deals with black folks.
9. Don't Want No Sugar by J. D. Mason: Listen, Mason is DA BOMB. This
novel is a prequel to her last year's hit, One Day I Saw A Black King! this book
will go down on many Top Ten lists in the upcoming months.
10. The Root of All Evil by Joylynn Jossel: The evil should have been
Jossel writing this "book". I couldn't get past page 10. It sucks beyond reason.
11. The Lion's Brood: The Story of Hannibal by Rafael Scott: Too short,
way too short. The real crime is is that Scott is truly a wonderful author, but
with a story that should have been treated as an epic story, worthy of a trilogy
of novels with each novel consisting of 300-500 pages easily, Scott shortchanged
me by giving me a 180 page book.
12. Ride or Die by Solomon Jones: Jones gives me his usual excellent
writing. He's beyond good. But I have to admit that I was disappointed with the
novel because it has the same basic format as his other two novels, Pipe Dreams
and The Bridge. That said, I still liked it, but I don't love it.
13. The Angel of Harlem by Kuwana Haulsey. I'm in the middle of this one
and Haulsey is off the friggin hook. I love her style and her treatment of her
main character, Dr. May Chinn. I can't wait to get back to it.
And From the "AALBC Anonymous" Discussion:
http://www.thumperscorner.com/discus/messages/179/1722.html?1096853445
"I think all of us regular posters are addicted in various degrees to the seductiveness of Thumper's Corner. Time and time again this little cyber realm has proven to me that personal identities reside in the spirit of our words, not in the physicality of our being. In the inner sanctum of this internet web, people are defined by the substance of their opinions rather than the superficiality of their appearance. We are all faceless entities sharing our thoughts and ideas and venting our rage and indignation. There are no physical barriers to inhibit us, no body language to expose us, no voice inflections to betray us. It is a unique venue where a shy person can be bold, and a bold person be vulnerable. It is a dimension where language rules and souls are bared. It is a community of minds that transcend their bodies, an arena that offers freedom of expression, a forum that provides an outlet for our passions and convictions. It is also a stage for our drama and our humor, one that gives wings to our imaginations. Is it addictive? Of course it is. Who can resist the chance to be who you really are. Who can resist an opportunity to extol what you believe to be the truth." �Cynique (a popular Thumper's Corner poster)
THE COFFEE WILL MAKE YOU BLACK ON-LINE READING
GROUP
http://thumperscorner.com/Reading_List.htm
September 2004 Selection
The
Coffee Will Make You Black reading group is currently reading Segu by
Maryse Conde
Our chat session is scheduled for Sunday, October 10th, 2004 at 6:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time . If you have already read Segu and would like to participate in our on-line chat session; please join us in our chat room http://www.thumperscorner.com/chat/
Visit http://thumperscorner.com/Reading_List.htm to view the rest of The Coffee Will Make You Black on-line reading group's reading list for 2004
Peace,
Troy Johnson,
Founder AALBC.com
55 West 116th Street #195
Harlem, NY 10026
(866) 603-8394
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