Troy

The Pink Panther Clique a new novel by Aisha Hall, Sunshine Smith-Williams, Jamila T. Davis, and Wahida Clark: Enjoy the book, but check the stories behind the book. All four of these Sisters were incarcerated for at least 8 years! Now I've known of Wahida since she was locked up with Martha Stewart (they were friends). She was a popular author while she was still jailed up. We have become friendly over the years and she is a supporter of AALBC.com. I was always struck by Wahda, because she is just a hard working woman. On top of that she is real cool people, a very likeable and friendly person. Wahida took out a banner advertisement for the book above (if has not started running yet), but I took the opportunity to update her page with the new book. Since the book had three other co-authors that meant I had to add three more authors to the site. While researching information about the three other ladies I was just amazed by their stories. Aisha, for example was convicted for lend leasingloan fraud,. Basically people pay to have a bank account set up and a large deposit made so that they can then go out and borrow money, or get a or get mortgage. I had not idea this was even legal. The people lending the money charge a relatively high fee in return for the service. What jammed Aisha up was that they created fake bank statements, never depositing the money, and keeping the fees. She was just in her twenties and quite wealthy at the time. They all have really have remarkable stories. I also stumbled across this video of an interview with Sunshine when looking for videos of each author. It was a little too raunchy to post on her page, but I found it really interesting and it is entirely appropriate of our forum

No problem. I only deal with them because that is how many reads want to buy books. If you send me the links to where people can buy the book from you. I'll be happy to update my database with the information!

Hi Brenda there are so many resources available nowadays I can't even begin to cover them all. I've greatly expanded out coverage of children's books. You can find many good books for children on our bestsellers lists, Here, for example, is our bestselling books for all of 2016: https://aalbc.com/books/bestsellers-by-year.php?year=2016&genre=Children%26rsquo%3Bs I also produce a list every two months. Here is the most recent list for Jul/Aug: https://aalbc.com/books/bestsellers.php?newperiodname=July/August - 2017&genre=Children%26rsquo%3Bs I also have a curated list of more than 126 important books for children. The lists covers books going back over 50 years. It is one of the most popular sections of the website: https://aalbc.com/books/children.php As far as other sites, have you check out The Brown Bookshelf? It is a wonderful site covering all areas of children's literature: https://aalbc.com/booksites/index.php?store_name=The Brown Bookshelf I frequently reference it myself. Just Us Book is a publishing company that has been doing great this for decades. You can find many of the books they have published here: https://aalbc.com/authors/imprint.php?imprint=Just+Us+Books There are childrens book events going on all over the country. The African American Children’s Book Fair is almost 30 years old and is a great event: https://aalbc.com/events/index.php?st=Pennsylvania#African+American+Children%26rsquo%3Bs+Book+Fair Our course there are indie authors like you, Brenda M. Tillman, doing their thing and making an impact. I could go on and on. It is actually a great time for Black children’s literature There is a lot happening all we need are more folks to share the good news!

Hi Brenda thanks for the comment. One of my kids told me her friend, a young lady in her twenties, middle class, educated, professional, said the movie was "horrible." I never expected the film to have any socially redeeming values. That fact that the writers tried work something in is commendable, but somewhat formulaic (think: Tyler Perry). I was just expecting a Black female version of The Hangover, which obviously is a formula that has been working for Hollywood. I'm sure there will be a Girls Trip 2, 3, 4 until the franchise becomes a parody of itself and fails to make as much money. Further to your point, about the images we put out; I agree. White white folks can make films like The Hangover without a concern for adverse cultural impact, because there is far more diversity in the variety of films featuring their images. For Black folks, this is not the case. We usually just get buffoonery or what I call the "victim/triumph" narrative; stories of us rising up from the ghetto, racist south, or some plantation. Of course our stories are so much more than this, but i guess people don't want to pay see that side of us.

“Goodreads is one of the bookiest online places to be. It’s got avid readers, book lovers, and tons of reviews. With over 300 million pageviews and 45 million unique visitors a month, GR also very influential and I recommend you join if you haven’t already.” I got this in an email today. Well actually it was linked in an email to an article with the headline, "Goodreads is a great spot for readers." Of course I was intrigued and read the article. The author, who is Black, was promoting a giveaway on Goodreads. Of course this is a reasonable way to promote one's work to a broad audience. However, I did find great promotion of Goodreads, which is owned by Amazon, striking. The promotion of Goodreads was even more prominent than the promotion of the giveaway. The quoted paragraph above started the article. This struck me because not only is the author giving Goodreads a great endorsement, they are giving away products on the site. Amazon's Goodreads does not have to lift a finger and they are getting all of this for free! This is the environment in which I compete. This author actually happens to be one of the top 100 bestselling authors on AALBC.com. Sadly, I see no mention of that accomplishment anywhere on the author's site--indeed no mention of AALBC.com at all--at least not that I can find in a Google search. I do not mention the author by name (you can Google the quote if you are interested), because it is not about this author but about all Black authors. My coverage of the author, like thousands of other authors, is qute substantial. AALBC.com comes up on the first page of a google search on just the author's name. Of course Goodreads and Amazon out rank me. The biggest difference is that the author also actively supports the other sites with active engagement. I'm not suggesting that the author should shun Goodreads in favor of AALBC.com. What I don't understand is why they have shut AALBC.com out? From time to time, I'll check out an author's site, who I know has benefited from AALBC.com, and check to see if AALBC.com is mentioned. Often AALBC.com goes unmentioned, while Amazon (and social media) are prominently promoted. , Fortunately, there are a great many other websites that do link to AALBC.com, here are a couple hundred thousand (I removed social media sites from the result set). As I said before AALBC.com exists because of Black folks and if AALBC.com will thrive it will be because of Black folks too. @The DW_Perspective, I'd be interested in your perspective. Of course anyone my feel free to comment as well.

Well you do make a good point about archives @Cynique. Indeed, I make it a point to ensure that everything that has even been posted, on these forums, remains online. Most sites don't do that. Not even social media (at least not historically). As you said it would definitely be easier for someone reading these 100 minutes, or 100 years, from now if there were fewer typos. I know I said it before, but I will be more careful. Thanks.

Well Cynique regarding the typos. I think expecting perfection is a bit much in informal conversation. I strive to be clear not 100% type free. You can have perfect syntax and be completely obtuse. Of course I don't try to misspell words, but if I do I'm not going to sweat it here, if I misspell a word and it changes the meaning of what I intended to say I'm edit it if I don't catch it on the first pass. I'm not aware of anyone making a comment based upon a misunderstanding of what I wrote because of a typo. You know the old thing, werhe if yuo rwite a nesetence ithw eht leertts rscamlbed ti si llits leiglbe. It must really be a slow day if it has come down to nailing us on grammar. Now on the web site proper, even for my stupid bestseller seal, I do strive perfection (100% free of typos), I know I don't get it and it does indeed irk me. But I'm a believer that something is better than nothing in most cases.

Well I'm in Tampa which is in Hillsborough county so I'm in Hillsborough. Tell your sister iI'm in an area called "New Tampa" which is north west of downtown near the wiregrass mall. She'll know where that is. No I did not have any comment 'cause I did not know enough about the track of the storm to know if you were right. Where you? It does not sound like you used astrology to make the prediction did you?

yeah it will be available for streaming in October I think.

Thanks Wendy. I never did proof read the seal. Basically if someone gave me something with my name misspelled I would assume I would notice that without formally prooffing it. Similarly, I just took it for granted that something that had five words on it, the name of my company, would stand out but alas it did not... and I never occurred to me that I had to slow down and actually really look at.

I was concerned about my property in FL. It escaped relatively unscathed, whew! This is based upon a neighbor's report. I just now listen to reports. It seems Tampa dodged a bullet. I also heard that a tropical storm warning was issued for ATL--the first one ever! Any prediction for the next storm Jose?

The film, which open July 21, has already earned $113,360,470 at the box office. It was directed by Malcolm D. Lee, the screenplay was written by Kenya Barris and Tracy Oliver, the film was produced by Will Packer, has 4 Black female leads and more Black people in that I even care to copy and paste. No other Black film with so many Black folk responsible for the production has ever earned more than $100MM, Have you seen it yet? What do you think?

Sorry for the typos in my last message sometime I dictate my responses into my cell phone. That last post was pretty bad, I just edited it. Del is "religion" the right word to describe your beliefs. When I think of religion I think of faith. Which can mean for example, that a man can say he is God and you must accept what he says as divine revelation as gospel. Any proof or evidence to the contrary is ignored and shunned as heresy. By the same token science can not be a religion, it is concerned with what can be tested or proved. The are many things that are real things which humans and their machines can't prove, test, sense, measure, or experience. We are being bombarded by neutrinos at the instant, yesterday we had not clue this was happening. Today we have no clue what impact these neutrinos have on us. The universe is full or things that or unknown and unknowable. Starting with why so many people are spiritually moved by a stupid solar eclipse

The Children’s Africana Book Awards are given to the best children’s and young adult books on Africa. The awards have been given for 25 years. I just learned both last week, via email. I just added the 2017 award winning books, I'm working on getting all 25 years added too. I have also added these awards into my calculus to determine the most critically acclaimed books (about 3% of all the books in my database) None of these books are on that list yet, but as I add compile more information this may change. The database was expanded beyond African American literature a great deal over the last year many more authors from all over Africa and the rest of our Diaspora are included.

Secrets of a Housewife, written by J. Tremble Premieres has been turned into a full length film SECRETS which will premier on BET next Saturday, September 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Azarel, who runs the company Life Changing Books, published Secrets of a Housewife is also the producer of the film. I rememebr when these folks started out. If is always fun to see folks "blow up."

Actually Cynique Del is right, I'm actually pretty open. I took a TM class couple if years ago, though I don't practice it. I don't do much with astrology either. I believe I actually study more of these types of things than most people. I was not raised to believe in Astrology; it is the work of the devil. Even playing with a ouija board is consider opening the door to evil. Who else do you know would drive 600 miles to experience the eclipse? Just because I'm not moved the way most people are does not mean I'm not open, but I am skeptical. But that is my nature, and growing up in the hood it is a survival skill...

Interestingly, I met a woman the other day who actually got on the bus in New York City to view the eclipse in the path of totality. The way I traveled to see it but her trip was much more arduous. She was no more than a 15-minute drive from where I was in South Carolina. We saw essentially the same event. She went on about how spiritually moving the eclipse was for her. She expressed that feeling after I said did not understand why so many people were so excited about seeing it. As I said before, the experience was nothing like that for me. This is profound evidence that different people experience the same event entirely differently.

Hmmm. There really is a lot to pull apart in what you wrote. First I need to ask did you watch the video or read any of the accompanying documentation? It would be helpful if I knew for sure that you have a basic understanding of the environment. Do you understand why the EU took Google to court, and why the court penalized Google with a multi-billion dollar fine? If so, I gather you disagree with the decision. That is fine; one's perception of right or wrong is a personal decision. However, in this case, Google violated the law, which is far less subjective. No one said Google or Amazon were waging a war against Black people specifically. I'm saying their behavior adversely impacts us; perhaps morese than any other group, because we own so little on the web. @The DW_Perspective, are you or have you even been a bookseller? If so, could share how you come to know so much about the business? That would be helpful. The music business model was under assault before Itunes came along. How old are you? Do you remember Napster? Itunes as a music platform is growing increasingly irrelevant as more people move to simply streaming music or downloading it instead of buying it. I'm glad to read you like and use Bing. Unfortunately, the reality is that only a small minority of people use Bing. Bing has little impact in search. Do you run a website? If so, what percentage of your traffic comes from BIng? Your mention of Obama and the contributors to his campaign is lost on me. I watched the video. "net neutrality" is a serious issue. If 45 gets rid if it that would be bad, really bad.

Yep I'll be ready to handle everything from edit to printing. All I really need are a couple of reliable book cover designer I can count on and I'll be ready for you when your book is ready.

The scientist said "models" (plural) as if there are multiple studies. After a cursory look I could not find one to satisfy me. I will have to dig deeper, my friend. Seemingly, these models should not be that hard to find. Stay tuned...

I was thinking about you this morning while listening to NPR this. I know NPR is a bastion of liberalism and are all over climate change, some may call that bias... anywho, they were interviewing a scientist was was talking about models that show ocean water temperature due to climate change are creating more powerful storms. There is actually a another powerful storm right behind Irma (though current models do not predict it hitting the United States. At any rate, I thought about looking up those models, but figured you would have come across them by now. I just ran a quick query to see if I could find something to correlate ocean temperatures with the strength of hurricanes (assuming something that simple exists) but did not find anything worth posting. I'll keep my eye out and will share anything I find.

Man you and the other regulars here are truly a blessing Obviously I enjoy the conversation even when we disagree--you force me to assess my own assumptions and beliefs. If you are talking about the book project cover highlights from the discussion forum. Sure I'll keep you posted. I actually just added another piece to the publishing pie. AALBC.com Prints Books: aalbcprintsbooks.com

I think at the end of the day people simply wanted profound changes in the way the government worked because people felt it was failing them. They thought Obama could do this, and now think that 45 can will do it. Between a profit driven mainstream media and social media and all of the influence money plays in our political process, we are all terribly misinformed. Anything Obama did that was great can go completely unknown to much of the country. Anything terrible that 45 did can be whitewashed and appear innocuous or turned into lies manufactured by the liberal media. Hillary was doomed from jump. Whether the reasons where valid or fair was irrelevant. The environment was what it was. Hillary was a Clinton and that probably hurt her more than her gender. Hillary was perceived as more or less a continuation of Obama, which too many people felt was not a good thing. Meanwhile 45 and his Russian conspirators were utilizing Facebook to influence public opinion, while American journalists were asleep at the wheel, failing to investigate the nature of social media, but instead serving as broadcasters and validators of 45's stupid tweets. Becoming president is not based upon merit. I think this is abundantly obvious today. A first term Senator can become elected and even someone without being elected to any office can win. Whoever has a lot of money and is willing to say things that make of feel good (whether they are true or not) has a great chance. Hillary had the money, but maybe not the willingness to just say anything to make people feel good. She had too much integrity to win.

Well Cynque at least you are not saying all of these people belong to different "races."

@Del, I'm actually going to push back a little more on your statement and actually modify a statement previously made. Just today I was talking to another Brother, older, who runs a business as well. He employs several full time staff, in other words he runs a much larger business. We were discussing the relative advantages of his competitors and what advantages he offer tat they don't. One of the advantages he cited was that his business was Black owned. I told him that I actually did not find that being Black owned was an advantage. He explained that were it not for other Black people, he would not have a business. Upon reflection I had to recognize that the same was true for my business. Now I may not have as much support has I want from my community, and on too many occasions I may not have as much as I need, but I would not have a business were it not for my Brothers and Sisters. Indeed Del, while you are not writing checks to me on a regular basis your participation here makes this forum possible. You and all the regular contributors to this forum could be doing anything else, but you are a Black man who is supporting a Black business. In all seriousness and gratitude; thank you. Almost all of the active participants on this forum have been Black. If I depended upon white folks to keep this forum alive it would never have gotten off the ground. Now I'm not dismissing the support of white folks in keeping AALBC.com alive, but to be clear: there would be no AALBC.com with the support of my people. My sincere thanks to all of you