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AALBC.com eNewsletter - October 31st, 2002

Celebrating Our Literary Legacy! 

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Join Black Expressions Book Club and get 3 Books for $3!
Choose from the books below and many more.  Visit Black Expressions Book Club for more information.


THE HEAT SEEKERS
by Zane

THE EMPEROR OF OCEAN PARK
by Stephen L. Carter

GONNA LAY DOWN MY BURDENS
by Mary Monroe

I'M TELLING
by Karen E. Quinones Miller

LESLIE
by Omar Tyree

 

AALBC.com RECOMMENDS

Transcircularities: New and Selected Poems, Vol. 1 by Quincy Troupe
Click to order via Amazon

Much like the vibrant, riveting reading performances for which he is so well-known, Quincy Troupe's award-winning poetry is pure rhythm and deep bass beats that barely stay on the page. This magnificent new volume captures Troupe's voice stronger than ever as he issues celebratory and pointed statements on jazz, sports, love, art, literature, American life, and the sublimity of it all.

Winner of a Peabody and two American Book Awards, Quincy Troupe has published several books of poetry and two bestselling books about Miles Davis. He is a professor of literature and creative writing at the University of California, San Diego.

 

It's a Sistah Thing: A Guide to Understanding and Dealing with Fibroids for African American Women by Monique R. Brown
Click to order via
Amazon

Even though this book deals with a common ailment (fibroids), it is unique because it specifically addresses African American women, who suffer from this condition three to nine times more often than women of other races. Written by an African American sufferer, this well-researched work pulls together an enormous amount of information on conventional and alternative therapies that will be useful to its readers
~Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

 

Across Time: Love Eternal: An adventure with beginnings in ancient Africa by O.J. Harp
Click to order via
Amazon

"Across Time: Love Eternal has everything, history drama, imagination, creative expression. We have too few novels that have acted as a vehicle for teaching timeless messages. Dr. Harp is well versed in his historical material. He has taken history one step further. He engaged the challenge of conveying complex impressions and insights rooted in ancient Kemetic (Egyptian) history and culture and merging these notions with contemporary youth culture. As such, a wide audience should find this novel exciting and informative at the same time. Teachers can find many uses for the content. Adults in general and young people in particular can simply relax and enjoy the work as a novel, and return to it for further study. All praises to Dr. Harp for giving us a solid model of how to bring our culture to life."
- Dr. Asa G. Hilliard, III  Fuller Callaway Professor Georgia State University

Across Time: Love Eternal is filled with mysticism, magic, future technology, and the history and lore of ancient Egypt. (Published August 2002 by Seaburn Publishers)

 

RECENT AALBC.COM BOOK REVIEWS & ARTICLES
AALBC.com publishes scores of articles, books reviews and author profiles each month.  Below is sample of the most recently added content.

It's All About Love: Romance Readers Speak Out
by Gwendolyn E. Osborne
http://reviews.aalbc.com/guest_contributors.htm

Many Americans hold preconceived notions about romance fiction without having read one. Their knowledge of the genre involve perceptions about Harlequin romances, terms such as "bodice rippers" or "purple prose," and book covers with Fabio embracing a blonde, blue-eyed ing�nue deep in the throes of passion. It is widely believed that romance fiction only appeals to the type of women one Washington Post reporter called "the bored and the brain-dead."

Despite stereotypes of the novels as "poorly written" or "trash," readers spend nearly one billion dollars on romance fiction each year. Approximately two out of every three paperback fiction titles purchased are romance novels. Sales of romance fiction surpass those of mysteries, science fiction and westerns combined. Surprisingly, African-American readers make up the fastest growing segments of the romance community, accounting for about 25 percent of the romances sold.  Why?

Read the rest of this insightful article and find out: http://reviews.aalbc.com/guest_contributors.htm
 

Maximizing the potential of the World Wide Web
by Troy Johnson, Founder AALBC.com
http://writers.aalbc.com/maximizingwww.htm

What makes the Web so compelling it that it is truly the great equalizer.  The Web and all of its related technology allows individuals to compete successfully with major corporations.  Indeed, many of the Web sites, I�m about to mention, were started by individuals with a good idea.  The Web does not care about your age, race, or how much money you have.  All the Web cares about are good ideas.  There is a popular phrase on the Web which says; �content is king�.  The phrase may have become trite, but it remains truer today than ever before.

Read the rest of this article at: http://writers.aalbc.com/maximizingwww.htm
 

Through the Storm by Sha' Givens - Reviewed by Linda Watkins
http://reviews.aalbc.com/through_the_storm.htm (excerpt below)

In a seemingly quiet Los Angeles neighborhood we follow Givens two headstrong, naive seventeen-year-olds, Mahogany Malone and Jennifer Jones, through their secrets of misguided love, deception, and tragedy. Givens describes the emotional roller-coaster mind-set of teenage girls making the transition to womanhood with great insight and she possesses a descriptive writing style that is smooth and refreshing. 
 

Inner City Miracle: A Memoir, by Judge Greg Mathis - Reviewed by Thumper (excerpt below)
http://reviews.aalbc.com/inner_city_miracle.htm

Judge Greg Mathis makes his debut on the literary stage with his autobiography, Inner City Miracle: A Memoir. Mathis is the star of the popular The Judge Greg Mathis Show, a syndicated court show that features litigants who have filed a small claim case, and want the matter settled in Judge Mathis' TV court. In the book Judge Mathis lays open his life, from his days as a juvenile delinquent, his college and law school years, his lawsuit against the Michigan State Bar Association to obtain his license to practice law, and, finally, starring in his own television show.

Gonna Lay Down My Burdens by Mary Monroe - Reviewed by Thumper (excerpt below)
http://reviews.aalbc.com/gonna_lay_down_my_burdens.htm

Mary Monroe's latest offering is Gonna Lay Down My Burdens, a novel of redemption, secrets, lies and friendship. Gonna Lay Down My Burdens is not the kind of novel that I expected from Monroe, for it is the closest she's come to presenting a romance/relationship novel. But I was swept up and I cheered for a happy ending. I got a little ticked when it became apparent a happy ending wasn't going to materialize. I continue to be bewitched by Monroe, and Gonna Lay Down My Burdens is the latest contribution to her long-spun spell.
 

The Upper Room by Mary Monroe - Reviewed by Thumper (excerpt below)
http://reviews.aalbc.com/the_upper_room.htm

Mary Monroe initially caught my attention and admiration with her second novel God Don't Like Ugly. I loved God Don't Like Ugly, as I previously stated in my review and I am even more enthusiastic about Monroe's latest novel, The Upper Room. I laughed till my sides hurt and my throat got clogged with previously cried but unreleased tears. I was chilled to the bone and awestruck by the events and characters. The Upper Room is a remarkable novel I will not soon forget.
 

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow by Francis Ray - Reviewed by Thumper (excerpt below) http://reviews.aalbc.com/i_know_who_holds_tomorrow.htm

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow is the first book that I've read written by Francis Ray. I hesitated to pick it up because it shares its title with an old hymn and I thought it was an inspirational book. After I read the synopsis, I was praying that it wasn't an inspirational/fiction novel, and it wasn't. I Know Who Holds Tomorrow is about redemption, forgiveness and betrayal. It is a novel with twists, turns and drama. I loved it! I started and finished this novel in one 24-hour period. I ate it up with a fork and spoon.
 

Sittin' in the Front Pew by Parry A. Brown - Reviewed by Thumper (excerpt below)
http://reviews.aalbc.com/sittin_in_the_front_pew.htm

Sittin' In The Front Pew is the latest novel by Parry "EbonySatin" Brown. This tale showcases the reactions a family to the death of its patriarch, Sittin' In The Front Pew is an enjoyable novel that contains a nice mixture of tragic loss, pain, confusion, anger and love, filtered through an emotionally charged family drama, Sittin' In The Front Pew had me laughing, crying, and amen-ing.

 

AUTHORS WITH A STORY TO TELL

Monica Carter
http://authors.aalbc.com/monicacarter.htm

Ms. Carter grew up in Jackson, Miss. She graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi. She began her professional career as a general assignment and cops reporter, before covering education. She also was an education reporter at The Times newspaper in Shreveport, La., where she now serves as education editor and is a columnist. As If Nothing Happened is her first novel. She is now working on her second, Sacrifice the One.
 

Crystal Winslow
http://authors.aalbc.com/crystalwinslow.htm

Brooklyn-born author Crystal Winslow began to write creatively at an early age drawing inspiration from her travels and the many colorful people she encountered. The result is a unique and melodramatic storytelling technique evident in both her deeply personal spoken word/poetry book Melodrama, and in her recently released character-driven and remarkably visual novel Life, Life & Loneliness.
 

Edward Nubian James
http://authors.aalbc.com/edwardnubianjames.htm

Edward Nubian James is currently writing his next fiction novel called I'm The One You Were Born to Seek. He has been featured upon 1480 Talk with Courtis Fuller, and has upcoming appearances scheduled with various talk shows to discuss his novel, A Breath Away From Sleep.  Aside from writing, James works as a part-time print model and has appeared in numerous advertisements in Forbes Magazine, Business Week Magazine, and PC Magazine.
 

Evangeline Mitchell, Esq.
http://authors.aalbc.com/evangelinemitchell.htm

"I have not seen any law school admissions books written especially for African Americans interested in pursuing a law degree. The book (The African American Pre-Law School Advice Guide: Things You Really Need to Know Before Applying to Law School) I've written serves to fill that void," says Evangeline M. Mitchell, a June graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a Master of Education (Ed.M.) in Administration, Planning and Social Policy. She also holds a Doctorate of Jurisprudence (J.D.) from the University of Iowa College of Law,
 

Peggy Spiller
http://authors.aalbc.com/peggyespiller.htm

Peggy E. Spiller was born in Chicago, but spent the majority of her childhood in the northern Louisiana city of Shreveport. From an early age, she recalls creating characters in her head (for she would never dare tell anyone) and carrying their evolving stories around for years. She'd often fall off to sleep trying to force herself to dream about them. Thus, her first novel, Real Dreams, published in 1998, centers on a young woman's desperate prayer for a beautiful dream to return.

 

THE SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2002 BEST SELLING BOOKS
http://books.aalbc.com/bestsellers.htm

#1
Threesome: Where Seduction, Power and Basketball Collide by Brenda Thomas

Sasha is caught in the middle of the exciting, sexually charged underbelly of professional basketball, the sadness of suicide and constant self-destructive behavior. Follow along as the threads of love, happiness and self-worth are woven together to create the fabric of Threesome 

#2 - Boondocks Collection by Aaron McGruder

#3 - LONG TRAIN to the redeeming SIN: Stories about AFRICAN women by Kola Boof

#4 - Echoes of a Distant Summer by Guy Johnson

#5 - Every Tongue Got to Confess: Negro Folk-tales From the Gulf States by Zora Neale Hurston

#6 - Men Cry in the Dark by Michael Baisden

#7 - The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave by Frederick Douglass, Peter J. Gomes (Introduction) Preface by William Lloyd Garrison

#8 - Brown Sugar: A Collection of Erotic Black Fiction by Carol Taylor (Editor)

#9 - Black Mother Goose Book by Elizabeth Murphy Oliver, Thomas A. Stockett (Illustrator)

#10 - Spook Who Sat by the Door by Sam Greenlee
 

 

TWO NEW RELEASES FROM ONE WORLD/BALLANTINE
In 1991, One World was founded to publish multi-cultural titles encompassing subjects of African-American, Asian, Latin, and Native American interest across all categories and formats. Titles include; My Soul has Grown to Deep by John Edgar Wideman and Inner City Miracle by Greg Mathis. One World received a Literary Market Place Award in 1993 for Excellence in Trade Publishing.
 

Bombingham by Anthony Grooms
http://www.randomhouse.com/BB/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0345452933&view=excerpt

From the war-torn rice fields of Vietnam to the riot-filled streets of Birmingham, Alabama, Bombingham is the affecting story of a middle-class black family driven by its personal chaos. When Walter Burke is faced with writing a letter to the parents of a fallen friend and fellow soldier, he is taken back to his childhood amidst the Civil Rights Movement. From it, he recalls the segregated city, the fledgling movement, and the momentous responsibility to act.

Blame it on Eve by Philana Mar Boles
http://www.randomhouse.com/BB/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0345447123&view=excerpt

Shawni Baldwin has everything she has ever closed her eyes and wished for. She can wrap her arms around a devoted and very sexy fianc�, Bo Delaney, an entertainment attorney. She is living a glamorous life as a successful, jet-setting fashion model. But now, much to the dismay of her mother, Shawni has decided not to sign her next modeling contract. For beyond the pop of the flash bulb, beneath the glitzy trappings of fame and fortune, Shawni feels like just another empty doll on the runway.

 

AALBC.com IS UPGRADING

AALBC.com is undergoing some software and hardware changes and upgrades.  During this transition period you may notice some services will become temporarily unavailable.  Most notably our discussion boards, events calendar, and book club facilities will be periodically unavailable as these services are being relocated to new servers.  Typically we try to keep these changes transparent to visitors, but sometimes this is impossible.  Rest assured all AALBC.com services will be return, better than ever, as soon as possible

 

Peace, 
Troy Johnson, 

Founder AALBC.com

 

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