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Yes, it's like publishers feel they honor their obligation to their black readership by opting for African authors as opposed to black American ones, almost as if books by African women will be better written and taken more seriously. Sistas just can't catch a break.

You're so kind, Del. LOL Is it too late to correct the newsletter, Troy, along with that out of date picture of me?

Cynique you are still sharper than most knives in the drawer.

Any comments I post are actually my musings; I don't really observe any journalistic guide lines because I am not a journalist. I am just an opinionated person who takes advantage of the platform provided on this site. BTW, I can't believe nobody questioned the title of my essay. I just now noticed that I left out the word "not" so that What I meant to be a play on words as To Be(n) Or Not To Be(n)" came out as something that made no sense: "To Ben Or To Ben". I just now corrected it. I think it's time for me to retire.

Yes, judging by these names, African women seem to be the flavor of the month for the publishing industry. To me, African-authored books could almost be a genre unto themselves because they all seem to be serious, character- driven books whose protagonists are struggling, solitary, sensitive souls on a mission to rise above their circumstances and liberate their inner goddess/warrior. Of course this is pretty much the standard formula for any novel by any sex or nationality but I've been there and done that and have outgrown all genres of fiction except mysteries ala James Patterson. I know, I know. Shame on me! But my defection to the non-fiction arena stems from my late life desire to read bios and books and documentaries about real people and historical eras. (Could be why I'm close to even losing interest in my own book.) However, I am always glad to see women get ahead and do well, so to all the black sistas out there, scoring book deals, I say a hearty "you go, girl!"