GROOVE

I'm not saying - I'm just saying...

2007-01-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

So, I see on Zane's myspace page she wanted feedback on what people thought about authors writing outside of their genre.

She was basically referring to writers who have crossed over into her territory - let's call it the sexy side of literature....

But it seems to me that she as well as her posters were under the misconception that the authors were pressured by their publishers to do so. And furthermore, it was mentioned that none of the posters would bow to such pressures - Zane herself stated that "Hell would have to freeze over" before she'd be forced my a publisher to make any changes to her writing style or content -- **I'm paraphrasing here**

What I did not find were posts that suggested the fact that maybe - just maybe authors have minds of their own and chose (without pressure) to write in another genre. Maybe these are multi-talented people that can write effectively and successfully under numerous genres....I'm just saying -- maybe the change has everything to do with pressure and nothing to do with pressure. Maybe it has everything to do with money and nothing to do with money??

How many eyebrows were raised when Mosley started writing Science Fiction or when Donna Hill went from romance to mainstream? Did we claim pressure then?

I'm just saying since when did a genre become a holding cell?

Me personally, I applaud everyone! It might not be my cup of tea - but it doesn't have to be for me to support them in their endeavors. I like to see people get ahead - I like to know that people are doing their thing - no matter what that thing is -- even if it happens to cross genres.........

Dang -- yeah, again

2006-12-04T15:23:00.000-08:00

Okay I know - I suck!

How can I neglect this blog for so long? Here it is December and nothing since August!

A'ight already -- I promise to be better in 2007 and besides, I have a new book coming out in 2007!

Stay tuned for the cover -- it's hot!

In the meantime, my good friend and author, Bernice L. McFadden's novel,

Nowhere is a Place

, has been chosen as one of the best fiction titles of 2006 by the The Washington Post!

If you haven't already read it, you should...shit, you might learn something...I sure did!

Dang!

2006-08-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the entire summer has gone by without a word from me!
Well let's see --- Ill catch you up. My sister got married on the island of St. John, My daughter graduated High School -- we just had a slamming going away party for her and we hit the road for college on the first. I will offically be an empty nester.
So I joined e-harmony - hey I'm not ashamed to admit it! I need some help - I don't get out as much as I use to and my favorite NY spot "Lola's" has not yet re-opened - sooooo...I say, why not. And if nothing comes of it - at least will have some interesting material for my next novel, right?
It's been a week and I have yet to be matched with someone - does that mean that I am unmatchable??? :)
I'll keep you all posted!

Crossing the water and returning to SHIT...only me

2006-06-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

So, I spent a few days in Caribbean getting my tan on amongst other things...(smile)
I also got my read on and was able to finish a lovely and engrossing tale by Christopher Wilson, entitled: COTTON

The story was nothing like I'd ever read before and I would love to discuss it here on my blog. My thought is that this White British author really "gets" us Black folk. All I have to say is the phrase, "The Chosen People," kept coming to mind throught my reading of the story.

I also finished the small paperback copy of Annie Prouix's Brokeback Mountain
I really loved this story. I'd recently watched the dvd release of the movie and was very moved. I was surprised, after reading the story that Hollywood remained true to the story -- which is very powerful.

I started and half we through the History of Love
by Nicole Krauss. This is a very beautifuly written story -- even though I have no idea where she's going with it yet, but know that I will keep you posted on the outcome.

So to say the least, I had a wonderful time with my books, my friends, my rum punch..the sea, the sun and the sand. I've heard it said that if you are torubled by something, travel across the water and on your return those troubles will have either disappeared all together or just seem insignificant. Which was the case until I climbed the stone steps of my home and stepped in shit.

Yes, shit! A nice little pile of designer/toy dog poop! Left with love (spite) on my welcome mat.....

Let me say this, jealousy is a terrible thing. Hate is even worse...I've got a neighbor that harbors both of those traits -- hence, the dog shit.

But alas, I will not allow this to ruffle my feathers.....life goes on and Karma is a hell of a bitch.....hmmmm.

Oh and some of you out there will be tickled to hear that leaving the country I sat next to yet another BALL SCRATCHER! Maybe it's me? I dunno.

Where did the Month go?... and Booksigning Photos

2006-05-31T03:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know. I've been working so hard on HEAT - that I've neglected this blog. But HEAT is finally finished and I have to say.....it's HOT!

Anyway, I'm finally going to sneak away for a few days. Well I deserve it don't I???

I plan on taking in lot's of sea, sand, sun and well that other "thang" that naturally goes along with an island vacation.....hehehehe!

In the meantime, check out these photos from my booksigning event at Black Images Book Bazaar in Dallas, Texas. The first picture of me and the owner Ms. Emma Rodgers!

The pictures are courtesy of photographer Mr. Alfred L. Long III who can be reached at: dallasdigitalphotographer@yahoo.com

I know what I said...but....

2006-05-09T05:02:00.000-07:00

I know I said I would be posting while I was on tour -- but, I fell off. Hey, it happens. Besides, I was so busy -- and by the time I arrived at my hotel at night -- in a different city mind you....all I had strength enough to do was shower and fall into bed.

So let me give you the brief run down...I visited Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and St. Louis.

The turn out at the Shrine in Atlanta was very intimate...we had a round circle, great conversation and plenty of laughs..thanks guys!

Ms. Emma Rodgers of Black Images bookstore in Dallas, always does it up right. Fellow wordsmiths Vincent Alexandria and Victor McGlothin came out to support me, which of course helped to make my venue extra special.

Now ya'll know, I love to travel and having been in the travel business for so many years, I'm always excited to stumble upon a property that is unique. In Houston I stayed at the The Icon Hotel -- it has a Louisiana feel to it. I loved this small boutique property!

I signed at the Shrine in Houston, again another "intimate" affair....but wonderful!

My final stop was St. Louis, where after my event I was able to hook up with a long time supporter and friend, Evan Hilliard...the brother is a very talented poet and I'm sure in no time he'll be taking the spoken word scene by storm. Please visit his blog: Copasetic Soul

Also, I was interviewed by the awesome Lizz Brown...look out for this radio personality.....she'll be going national in a minute.

For the next week or so I will be working....yeah, I'm behind on the next novel, but don't fret...I'm back home and focused....and ready to throw myself into the final installment of the GROOVE series...did I mention the title?

HEAT.............

Ahhhh sookie-sookie now!

Atlanta what the F%@K!!!????

2006-04-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well I'm writing to you from Hotlanta -- NOT -- It's freaking freezing here!! And foolish me only came with open-toed shoes! And I kid you not, 'round about five o'clock it started to hail....!

So this is the first leg of the FEVER tour and I've gotta tell u that it's starting off on a very interesting foot.

I came down from New York on Delta - First class dontchaknow! The man sitting next to me was traveling with his dog, who he kept checking on like a new mother with an infant -- now I like dogs - really I do -- but come on now -- you take away my right to cigarette and now I have to share first class with a canine???

Anyway, in between him checking on his "pooch" and reading his Balducci paperback - he kept scratching his balls! I swear on my mother -- I ain't telling no lie.

Chronic ball itching! For nearly two hours this man scratched and scratched and scratched -- he scratched so much I starting scratching. Is it catching? I mumbled...he of course was not amused.

So I get to my hotel, The Westin in Buckhead - and what a surprise to me -- the entire hotel is NON-SMOKING!

This is the south -- tobacco land and I can't light up in my hotel room??? You know I was fit to be tied. So I smiled sweetly at the front desk person-- well its not her fault - and I hope she takes the news calmly when she finds out she won't be getting her yearly increase because the hotel has lost thirty percent of their clientele -- meaning the heaving puffing Europeans and Asians....

Anyway, I mozied on over to the Lenox Sqaure Mall -- lawd, you Atlanta chicks ain't nothing to fool with, huh? You believe in your hair, nails and shoes.....the women here are slick! And there I was, in my flip-flops and capri's trying my damnedest to hold my gut in!

I passed this one young woman in a BeBe outfit -- which was basically - and I'm not speaking in hyperbole here -- a pair of bikini briefs and bra top -- red of course, with her ten inch heels -- mine you the child wasn't no bigger than a size two - but still............

I left there and went to this seafood restaurant - I figured I'd sit outside and have a glass of wine along with some fish and chips. Humph! The cod must have been a year old -- I've never had fish so tough in my life -- isn't cod flaky? This was like chewing on a rubber tire....

I'm ranting, I know....but I've got to flush somewhere...and this is MY blog.

So here I sit, waiting for my dinner -- seared tuna w/veggies -- my day starts early tomorrow so I'm going to hit the treadmill and sauna in the morning. I will blog when I get to Dallas tomorrow night and let you know how the Atlanta signing went.

Thanks for letting me bend your ear.

Nite - nite

Sun, books and a little flirting on the side....

2006-04-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I attended the Pan African Bookfest and Cultural Conference in conjunction with the Broward County Library and Pyramid Bookstore, located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I had the pleasure of sitting on the "Urban Stories" panel with authors Mary B. Morrison, Travis Hunter, Victor McGloughlin, Rhonda Swan, Daaimah Poole and the infamous Omar Tyree.

We were all supposed to be there for two days - Omar however, had other ideas and took off on Friday. If anyone of ya'll out there see him, tell 'em I said, "Dang, can't you tell a sister good-bye?"

Anyhoo, one of the highlights of the weekend, besides meeting my readers, was seeing an old friend from my childhood. Michelle (now a spoken word artist living in New Jersey)and I grew up together back in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. We hadn't seen each other for nearly twenty-three years!

On the last night us author's and a few supporters went to the Hard Rock Casino Complex for dinner and a few laughs. Accompanying us was my sister-friend and partner if Vino, Andrea Knight

As you can see, "her" night ended on a high note!

How Viswanathan got a contract, got published, got a movie deal and got caught......

2006-04-25T04:57:00.000-07:00

It seems as if Ms. Viswanathan "unconsciously" borrowed a few pages from the novels of YA booksmith, Megan McCafferty. Read what the Washington Post had to say about it.

Well hey, it worked for J.K. Rowling, didnt it?

I must be doing something wrong -- oops, I mean right....I mean wrong...I mean right....okay I forget now, which one pays the big bucks???

When Good Writer's Do Bad Things...or James Frey to the tenth power

2006-04-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

You "Book Heads" out there may remember this scandal which began to reveal itself a few months back. Well Vanity Fair has the scoop on the author who fooled the literary world, and made quite a few dollars in the process.

The Boy Who Cried Author
The literary parlor game of “Who Is J. T. LeRoy?” got its final answer in February: The mysterious boy novelist with the horrifying tales of childhood abuse was the invention of a 40-year-old San Francisco woman. But the untold story behind this literary hoax is even more outrageous than the fictions.

Click here to read the entire article.

EYE C U

2006-04-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

Geneva is in South Florida - she's suppose to be back on Saturday...but I'm not sure, 'cause she's just a hop skip and a jump from the Caribbean -- and you know how she loves the islands......
I hope she comes home soon - my bird seed is starting to run low....

Eve's talk with God...

2006-04-19T04:23:00.000-07:00

"Lord, I have a problem."

"What's the problem, Eve?"

"I know that you created me and provided this beautiful garden and all of
these wonderful animals, as well as that hilarious comedic snake, but I'm
just not happy."

"And why is that Eve?"

"Lord, I am lonely, and I'm sick to death of apples."

"Well, Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for
you."

"Man? What is that Lord?"

"A flawed creature, with many bad traits. He'll lie, cheat and be vain;
all in all, he'll give you a hard time. But he'll be bigger, faster and
will like to hunt and kill things. I'll create him in such a way that he
will satisfy your physical needs. He will be witless and will revel in
childish things like fighting and kicking stones about. He won't be as
smart as you, so he will also need your advice to think properly."

"Sounds great," says Eve, with ironically raised eyebrows, "but what's the
catch Lord?"

"Well ... you can have him on one condition."

"And what's that Lord? "

"As I said, he'll be proud, arrogant and self-admiring .. so you'll have
to
let him believe that I made him first. And it will have to be our little
secret ... you know, woman to woman

(Thank you Aunt Laura for passing this on!)

FEVER HITS STORES NATIONWIDE TODAY!!

2006-04-18T04:44:00.000-07:00

Happy pub date to me! Happy pub date to me, happy pub date to meeeeeeeeeeee!

FEVER is the follow-up to my debut novel GROOVE.

Do you have your copy yet???

NO! well what are you waiting for???

Get on out there and get your summer started early! Me, Chevy, Noah and Crystal get ourselves into even more outrageous predicaments than we did in GROOVE!

Hey, Do you know if you order your books from me directly - you automatically get a signed copy???? Makes a nice gift for that special someone who loves to read.

It's simple, just click here and place your order.

Summer 2005 and five was a hoot as well and I've been busy putting that story down on paper. I'm almost done. The third and final installment to the GROOVE trilogy - entitled HEAT - is going to send you all for a loop. Looking back, I can't even believe that it really happened - whew - but we survived it, because we're still here to talk about it.

Hold onto your seats - HEAT will be in stores next year -- and it's going to be Hot............

Can I get serious here for a minute?

2006-04-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

I watched The Constant Gardener this weekend. Talk about movies that take you through a number of emotional changes before dropping you off at the corner of angry and hopeless??

The movie takes place in Kenya and is based on the novel by John le Carre.

The main character Justin Quayle investigates the murder of his wife Tessa. What he finds out is that her murder was ordered because she’d come across information proving that a major pharmaceutical company was testing its drugs on the Kenyan population.

This is the quintessential example of art imitating real life.

Don’t think that it can’t happen right here in the USA – because it has happened and still is.

I remember my grandfather telling me about gas experiments taking place in the New York Subway System. He was a motorman. That information stuck with me for years – so I went searching:

“In the 1950s and sixties, scientists from the Fort Detrick biological weapons program ran a series of tests to determine how easy it would be to expose large numbers of people to a lethal bacteria. Containers of nontoxic bacteria were planted in the New York subway…... And germs that were meant to sicken but not kill humans were tested on conscientious objectors in the military. “

Of course when my grandfather told it – the gas was just another way to kill off Blacks….not that I disagree with him. We have been used as guinea pigs for years. Black people are considered expendable, always have been.

There are people who want us gone – poof !

And "those" people do everything and anything to rid the earth of us – but we are some breeding people, aren’t we? It’s not going to be that easy.

And why do they want us gone so badly? Could it be that we hold the key to the kingdom?

And what of Mother Africa and all of what she is going through – is Africa not God’s Garden of Eden?

I’m just saying……we all need to take an hour out of each day and think about the things – they don’t want you to think about.

I’ll leave you with this quote from my friend, Bernice L. McFadden:

“Black people are magical at their centers and biblical at their cores.”
- Camilla’s Roses

Do you want to read more about government conspiracies? click here.

The History of the Easter Egg

2006-04-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

I was speaking to my good friend last night - she was in Target at 9PM buying easter baskets, egg-dying kits, chocolate eggs and such. She couldnt talk long because she had to call home and tell her husband to put the eggs on to boil. I assume they were up until the wee-hours of the morning coloring eggs and then hiding them through out the house. It's like Christsmas all over again - just with eggs and dye.

My Mom did the same for us. It was a thrill and yes, one of the highlights of my youth.

I have to admit, I became a little nostalgic and went searching for the history of the Easter Egg --

As Per Fireworks.com:

Easter Eggs also predate the Christian holiday of Easter. When Christians first celebrated Easter, the exchange of eggs in the springtime was already a centuries-old custom. Eggs have long been a symbol of rebirth in most cultures, and they were often wrapped in gold leaf, or colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of colorful flowers

Big Love - the new Desperate Housewives?

2006-04-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

The ladies of Wisteria Lane don't got nothing on BIG LOVE.

I don’t watch a lot of television – but I do watch a lot of HBO – ‘cause you know: It’s not TV it’s HBO…

Desperate Housewives never really pulled me in, but BIG LOVE had me hooked from the giddy-up!

HBO has kept me riveted over the years with their serial drama’s and comedies. My new favorite is BIG LOVE…

Don’t let the title fool you! BIG LOVE is chock full of drama….not to mention the Seven Deadly Sins!

"Think having three wives is a dream come true? Meet Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), a modern-day Utah polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives, seven children, and a mounting avalanche of debt and demands. The owner of a growing chain of home improvement stores, Bill struggles to balance the financial and emotional needs of Barb, Nicki and Margene (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin), who live in separate, adjacent houses and take turns sharing their husband each night. While managing the household finances together and routinely sharing "family home nights," they try to keep simmering jealousies in check and their arrangement a secret — polygamy is illegal in Utah and banned by the mainstream Mormon Church. Adding to Bill's woes are a series of crises affecting his parents (Bruce Dern and Grace Zabriskie), who live on a fundamentalist compound in rural Utah, and his ruthless father-in-law, Roman (Harry Dean Stanton), the powerful head of the polygamist commune where his parents live. Bold, funny and wholly original, Big Love explores the evolving institution of marriage through a typical atypical family."

Tune in Sundays - repeats on Mondays - check air times in your time zone!

Cabin Fever.....Spring Fever......Island Fever....FEVER!

2006-04-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

It’s already April and I’ve only been on holiday one time. ONE TIME. Now those of you who know me – I mean know me well – know that that’s not like me at all!

Back in January I took a quick over to the city of lights. My first time there – it was a wonderful experience, but to be perfectly honest with you, by idea of a holiday is one that takes place on an island – or at least a small country with a fabulous beach.

It’s my own fault really. In my mature age I’ve become terribly responsible; paying attention to deadlines, paying creditors on time, mammograms……u know.

I attribute my conscientiousness to the current feeling of cabin fever. Yes, even though spring has sprung, and some of the fairer skinned sisters and brothers have donned flip-flops – the days haven’t warmed enough to make me feel like winter is behind me.

So based on this “blue” feeling – I’ve decided to visit one of my favorite places (albeit in pictures) to get me out of the rut winter has thrown me into.

This is the Blue Monkey Beach Bar and Restaurant located in Paynes Bay, St. James Barbados. The Gold Coast. See that table right up front, that's MY table. That’s where I spend the majority of my day, people watching, reading and sipping rum punch.

Of course I take frequent dips in the beautiful Caribbean Sea

This is Marc Anthony. (Yeah that’s his name) He’s a real cool guy and one of my favorite bartenders.

*Sigh*

I really need some tropical weather.......wait a minute, I'll be in Florida next week to promote FEVER.............I'm sure to get some tropical...somethin'- somethin', huh?

Books, Books and More Books

2006-04-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

I buy books they way some people by shoes. There are books all over my house. My book shelves are full and so now I have stacks of books piled high on the floor of my office.

I need to move, because what I really want is a library.

I was at the Strand Bookstore the other day, roaming the aisles and it occurred to me, with thousands and thousands of books published every year, how does one even get noticed?

As a writer, walking into a bookstore can be very disconcerting and overwhelming - at least that's how it is for me at times - I immediately feel like a little fish in a big pond.

But I shake it off, because I must be doing something right - I'm supporting myself as a writer, right?

I guess if you believe in yourself and your ability, you can become the big fish in the big pond....even if only in your mind.

The Writing Life I

2006-04-05T05:25:00.000-07:00

So I stopped eating meat some months ago and I have to say that I hardly ever miss it - unless of course I walk by a Subways or happen upon a Bodega in the morning when the fry cooks are doing their thing with the eggs, ham and bacon - then I become very nostalgic and wonder why it was I gave up something I loved so much!

I know why I gave it up - I'm trying to be a healthier human being. Now I know, some of you are turning your noses up and saying - healthy - we read yesterdays post, we saw the picture beside it - the one the pack of cigarettes!

Yes, I know -- nicotine has been my down fall for many years - but I'm trying my best to quit -- AGAIN -- it's a process ya'll, dang...

I'm an early riser, my eyes usually pop open anywhere between 5:30 and 6:30. I get up, do 125 sit-ups, some stretches and then head out the door for my twenty minute power walk.

Any-hoo, some mornings after I return from my walk and feel the need for something hot and heavy on my gut, I make a bowl of oatmeal, other times when I want to be naughty - like this morning - I make two pancakes. But most mornings I blend a health shake with the following:

Half a cup of Grapefruit Juice
Half a cup of Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness
Two dropper of Green Tea Extract
Two ounces of Chlorophyll
A scoops of Collagen Powder
A scoop of Ruby Reds
One Banana
Half pack of frozen Sambazon Acai

After I consume my shake, I take my vitamins:

Biotin
CoQ 10
Coral Calcium
Flax Seed Oil

That holds me for a good three to four hours and then if I'm really good, I'll have the same shake for lunch and a light dinner of steamed fish and greens or Soba noodles with mixed vegetables - and a glass of red wine of course!

I bought a bike a few weeks ago and took it for the first time on Sunday. Well, who knew how out of shape I was! I thought because I could walk the 3 1/2 miles around Prospect Park in an hour - that certainly could do it on a bike in 15 minutes!

NOT!

Forget the Hills have Eyes - what about the hills have humps - huge humps that I just could not manage - so I walked my Schwinn for most of the way and that fifteen minutes - ended up being an hour and half.

But I won't let it beat me - I was going out today but this morning was cool and rainy - the sun is out now - but I think I need to get out from behind this computer and spend sometime in the city. Browse the bookstores, people watch, maybe even catch a movie.

Look out for me -- I think my haunt today will be Union Square.

HELP, I'M A WRITER!!!

2006-04-04T06:32:00.000-07:00

Okay friends, I wrote for twelve straight hours yesterday and I am beat! But I did want to share something uplifiting with those of you who are published or are on the road to being publsihed. We all know that sometimes this life can be a difficult one - sometimes the money ain't right and your space ain't right and your head ain't right - so thank goodness for grants, fellowships and colonies. Just click HERE and begin your search. Me I'm going to take a little nap and then jump right back into it!

OMIGOD! Angie Stone, Mel Jackson and Geneva Holliday - who knew?

2006-04-03T07:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of spending my Sunday afternoon at the theater. Well the Beacon Theater - that artistic haven for Black talent in New York City.

Currently on tap at the Beacon Theater was the Gospel musical "Issues: We All Got 'Em"

Starring Neo Soul Superstar ANGIE STONE, from the movie Deliver us From Eva, MEL JACKSON, VANESSA WILLIAMS from the TV show Soul Food, DAVE HOLLISTER, CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS, and from American Idol, LATOYA LONDON.

Dallas-based playwright Laterras R. Whitfield is changing the rules by confronting Christians and theater goers with the unadulterated truth in a refreshing, raw, candid, and unapologetic play. Let it be known: This is not your typical gospel stage play. Issues: We All Got Em brings you infidelity, unmet expectations, abusive relationships, paternity, and the hard won lesson that love and sex aremutually exclusive.

The highlight of my afternoon was getting to go back stage to meet Angie Stone!!!! Angie is a favorite songstress of mine.

And with us is the very talented and not hard on the eyes actor Mel Jackson.

Angie don't know it yet - but she's going to play in the movie version GROOVE -- as non other than Geneva Holliday.

Hey, don't laugh, you know the old adage -- speak it into existence and it shall be yours!

PSEUDO-CELEBRITY SIGHTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-04-01T17:35:00.000-08:00

So today I was strolling through the village and stopped in at Barnes & Noble Astor Place and then ventured onto my favorite wine store:Astor Wines, which by the way has moved and expanded. They are now at 399 Lafeyette Place.
I picked up a very nice Spanish red (2001 Navarra) put out by AROA.
Anyway, from there I headed back up Lafeyette and around the corner where there was a street festival taking place. I ventured in, picked up a spring roll from a Thai cart and to my surprise who was walking past me with her little dog? None other than the woman (sorry her name slips me at the moment) who appeared on Oprah last year. She was four hundred pounds and underwent Gastrobypass surgery. She has since lost, I believe close to two hundred pounds. However, if you all remember, her massive weight loss left her with loads of hanging skin. When she appeared on Oprah she'd undergone quite a few surgeries to correct the problem and had many more to go.
I stopped her. Asked if she was who I thought she was, she smiled and said yes. I congratulated her on the weight loss and she said thank you, I still have a ways to go. And then I lowered the bomb - "Can I take a picture with you? Would you mind?" Her response was, of course, I get stopped all of the time.

Very nice woman. I wish her well.

Eyebrow rings, waxing and Ms Celie's Blues

2006-03-30T04:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went get my eyebrows waxed. I have a piercing just like the one pictured to the left of this entry. I didn't go to my usual place, which is kind of old and run down..instead I was sucked into the glitz and glamour of a new nail salon that recently opened in my area. Even as I stepped over the threshold, the alarm in my head started going off -beep - beep- beep

I ignored it.

I was guided to a barber like chair and settled myself down into the soft red leather.

"Lean back." the young Korean girl ordered, and I immediately thought about that scene in the movie The Color Purple. You know the one, Celie is fed up with Mister and all his abuse, she's found the letters from her sister and she's mad as hell. Well they're on the porch of the house - Mister and Celie, and he's just ordered her to shave him. And be advised, weren't no Bic shavers back then, just straight razors.

Celie is pissed beyond pissdom and she sharpens that straight razor for a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong time, until Mister orders her to, "Get on over here and shave me, now!"

Celie mumbles a very dark, "Alright," and walks with such morbid purpose over to Mister that you know he's about to die. When she gets to him she says, "Lean back." And you know the next thing your going to see is Mister's jugular whipping about like a loose water hose, spraying the movie screen red with his blood.

Anyway, that's what came to mind.

I leaned back.

She did the left eyebrow first, the one without the piercing and then she moved to the right one. The alarm was going full blast now --- beeep! beep! beep! -- but I remained calm.

She slathered the wax on, pressed the linen strip down over the wax and ---rrrrrrrrrrriiiippp

"Oh!" she yelped, her hand going to her mouth in horror.

"What!" I screamed, fearing that she had removed the entire eyebrow. She guilty showed me the piece of linen she held in her hand, the tiny ball to my eyebrow ring was stuck to it.

I began to shake. My hand came slowly up to my eyebrow to check the damage, there was no blood, just the loop, open and hanging from my skin.

Where was Shug when I needed her?

"I put back, don't worry." The girl nervously announced, and she did.

I've got to say, even with all of that drama, my eyebrows came out really well.

Bodacious booty's a health risk?

2006-03-29T05:42:00.000-08:00

Browsing the internet news yesterday I ran across an article that immediately caused me to panic.

"If there's too much fat in your buttocks, it could be a major health concern."

Hmmm, my interest was peeked and rightly so, have you seen my Ba-dunk-a-dunk?

I read on...

"Researchers at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital in Dublin, Ireland say the problem is particularly evident in women."

I'm a woman. My panic level rose a notch. How much fat is too much?

"A best estimate of fat thickness can me made by depressing the upper outer quadrant of the buttock."

Ah shit, I thought I'm in trouble. I thought to myself. But before I run and make an appointment to get some layers shaved off my behind, what is the real concern here?

""If there is too much fat in your buttocks....medicine from pain killers to vaccines -- injected into the large posteriors very often do not reach the bloodstream."

Well, what's the solution?

"A longer needle maybe be needed for those who have fatter buttocks."

Now why couldn't they just have said that in the beginning?

A, B, C...DOUBLE D's - OH MY!

2006-03-28T05:39:00.000-08:00

So when I was about twelve years old, I received as a birthday gift, a magic eight ball. You were supposed to ask it questions or make wishes -- I'm not sure which, but that was the premise. Me, I had just three questions/wishes.

1. I wish/will I ever have long hair? (didn't we all want long hair?)
2. I wish/will I ever write a book? (this does not need an explanation.)
3. I wish/will I ever have breasts? (I was flat as a chalk board then)
All I have to say is....be careful what you wish/ask for or you may surely get it.

Okay so the other day I strolled into Victoria's Secret intent on buying some sexy underwear, even though I knew with every step I took(jiggle, jiggle)that what I really needed was a new bra.

Ladies, you know how you have your favorite bra and you just wear it until the underwire warps or you look down one day and find your nipple looking up at you. Admit it...We're just as bad about getting rid of bra's as men are of tossing away their underwear.

But I digress...

So the smiling saleswoman approached and asked the stock question, "Can I help you find something?"

"Uhm, well..." I actually had my eyes on some black naughty looking thongs, but the practical side of me responded, "I'd like to get measured for a bra, it seems the ones I own somehow ended up in the dryer and shrunk." I said with a foolish grin on my face.

The sales woman gave me a look that said, "Stop fooling yourself sista." But she smiled nevertheless and whipped her trusty tape measure from her pocket. "Raise your arms please."

I did as I was told. We cheesed in one another's face as she wrapped the tape around my back. "Thirty-eight." She announced.

"Well, (hee, hee) I have put on a little weight this year."

Her eyes said, "A little? Get real!" But her mouth curled and said, "It's to be expected."

What the hell did that mean?

She brought the tape around to my front and squinted at the numbers. Me I sucked in my stomach and my subconscious screamed, "FOOL! That move ain't going to help your tits!"

"Double D." The sales woman announced proudly. Me, I almost passed out.

I sit here now, sharing this life episode with you, comfortably fitted with my new "Body By Victoria Full Figure" contraption of wire, padding and clasps, having finally accepted that sometimes with age and girth come larger breasts.

This new found knowledge (and lifestyle)leads me to ask the question:

Does a man's penis grow longer, thicker with age and/or weight gain? I'd love to hear from the men on this one.

If so, maybe I've been hoping for the wrong type of man -- maybe I need to set my sights on someone old and fat, huh?

P.S.

So as to keep this blog some what "family friendly" I did not post a picture of my breasts -- (smile) but did find a site that shows an assortment of breasts - and explains why we grow or don't grow. Check it out: Normal Breasts Photo Gallery

Who I read

2006-03-25T06:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, I get this all of the time,"Ms. Holliday, who do you enjoy reading?" Well to tell the truth, I read across all lines: genre, color, religion..and so on.
So today I will compile a brief list of what I've read over the past six months or so - what I'm currently reading and who I look forward to reading in the future.

Current Reads:

Sex. Lies. Murder. Fame, Lolita Files

Future reads:

A brief history of the dead, Kevin Brockmeier

Past reads:

Third Girl from the Left, Martha Southgate
Leaving Cecil Street, Diane Mckinney Whetstone
An Almost Perfect Moment, Binnie Kirshenbaum
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
The Dew Breaker, Edwidge Danticat
Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee
1996, Gloria Naylor
Life of Pi, Yann Martel
The Untelling, Tayari Jones

Time to get this rolling!

2006-03-24T17:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, I've been neglecting this blog -- but ya'll understand, right? Life gets in the way. But I'm back now and gearing up for my book tour. I promise that I will blog everyday while I'm book tour. So stay tuned for interesting picture and narrative.

Next month I'll be at the Pan African Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida speaking on a panel with my friend and mentor; author: Bernice McFadden. Have you read her new novel: Nowhere is a Place....? Well the critics and readers are raving about it. She wrote a pretty deep essay for the Washington Post. All I can say is, I wish the dead were talking to me!

The critics are being pretty kind to my newest creation, FEVER!
as well, but I'm more interested in hearing what you guys have to say

The drop date of April 18th is quickly approaching so prepare yourself, because me and the gang get into even more precarious situations than we did in Groove!

Happy, Merry and all of that holiday Jazz

2006-01-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Its resolution time again, huh? Well, as always I've resolved myself to stop smoking -- it's not going well at all. All you non-smokers out there believe it when you hear people say that nicotine is a drug -- and yes, worse than Heroin! I went a whole day without one cigarette - chewed a lot of gum, had a few pieces of chocolate and made it through. This morning however, I screamed at my kids, cried over some xmas film that got stuck in my camera and thus was over exposed and ruined, threatened to kick my dog and finally blew my top over a wedding event that requires me to stay in a hotel not of my choosing -- that was it! I went out an bought a pack of cigarettes -- so four cancer sticks later -- all that previous mess, just doesn't matter anymore -- nicotine is a powerful sedatative!

Well, I get another chance (God-willing) tomorrow to try and quit. That's the thing about tomorrow's, we always have them to fall back on.

Now the second resolution is the weight -- well it's day two for me and my "all green" diet -- except for the gum and small piece of chocolate yesterday, I'm doing really well. Taking my Apple cider vinegar drink and making my Source of Life shakes and drinking plenty of water! So my aim is to drop twenty-five pounds by the FEVER is published in April -- I think that's doable -- a little over five pounds a month?

SO happy new year to you and yours and hope 2006 is a wonderful, safe, peaceful and successful one for all of us!

A Buddhist at heart on I95 with no hopes of goverment aid

2005-11-14T08:36:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend my daughter, her father and me, took a roadtrip to North Carolina for an open house at the University my daughter really wants to go to. This North Carolina city is very pretty, very clean and the people are over-whelmingly nice. I guess that is what is referred to as Southern Hospitality.

Turns out that my daughter has been accepted to this particular University and the tuition is a whopping $30K a year!

While we both make very good livings at what we do, we certainly don't have four years of college money socked away - and we've both agreed that dipping into our retirement funds wouldd be totally out of the question because we might have to kill her if after spending 120K on her education she graduated and suddenly proclaimed that her life's dream is to be a fry cook at Mickey D's!

That said, on the way back North, our minds grappling with how, when and exactly where we would come up with this money (while our daughter slept comfortably in the back seat assured in the fact that her dear parents, who've denied her little would magically present that "money" tree that we'd always insisted did not exist) - I, the person driving, experienced something so horrific, tht I'm sure it will haunt me for years.....

In the deep darkness of the 4AM morning, a squirrel shot out and onto the highway - right in the path of my vehicle - I was going too fast to stop and in an SUV - too fast to swerve - the poor thing was crushed under my wheels!

So there I was, in the safety of my vehicle, wondering if in the wider scheme of things, if this life taking would place a long black mark on my cosmic record and in some karmatic way come back to haunt me on the very day when I would have to addie up and pay the pied piper known as higher education.

Lawd, I hope not....

FEVER! COMING APRIL 2006

2005-11-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

It’s another sizzling summer of flirtation, lust, and desire for Geneva Holliday and her friends Crystal, Chevy, and Noah. The hotter it gets, the more quickly they learn that there are plenty of different kinds of FEVER and everybody’s got one!

It's been three years since that last hot hook-up with her ex-husband at the end of GROOVE and even though Geneva was talking like it wasn’t any big thing, she has that night to thank for her baby-girl, Chartreuse. She's not falling for anymore lines from Big Eric, but she wouldn’t have time if she wanted to—she’s a single mom all over again, waitressing in a diner and taking college courses online.

Our favorite diva Chevy breaks down and takes a job, believe it or not, as a personal assistant to “Anja the Anaconda,” a radio personality so melodramatic and megalomaniacal that she orders Chevy to wear a T-shirt that says “Anja’s Bitch” across the chest.

Crystal, the girlfriend who had it all together, has gone to the opposite extreme, adopting an ultra-conservative celibate lifestyle since Kendrick Greene broke her heart. So what happens when Crystal’s mother sends a gigolo her way for a “visit,” and Anja makes Chevy an indecent proposal?

What about when little Eric brings home a friend who turns out to be the handsome customer Geneva’s been secretly lusting after at the diner? For now, only Noah hears everyone’s secrets, taking their frantic phone calls thousands of miles away in London. But just you wait, with these friends, secrets don’t stay secrets for long!

AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE APRIL 2006

Hurston Wright Foundation Awards

2005-11-02T07:37:00.000-08:00

I went to the Hurston Wright awards last night at the Millenium Hotel in NYC. It was a wonderful event! Skip Gates and S. Epatha Merkuson hosted. Marie Brown famed literary agent, received an honorary award for her 40+ years of service. Edwidge Danticat received an award for the Dew Breaker ( i really wanted to meet her - but she just seemed to vanish!) I said a quick hello to Walter Mosley - we've met a few times in the past - but I'm still a stranger to him. Melvin Peebles was there too!

Afterwards, Donna Hill, Carl Weber, Venise Berry, Carol Mackey (Black Expressions) and Audra ? (literary agent), Valerie ? (bookspan) and another lady whose name I can't remember went out to dinner at McCormick and Schmidt - we closed the place down as we sat sipping, eating and discussing the plight, fate and circumstance of African-American literature.

All in all it was a wonderful and insightful evening.

Cruisin'

2005-10-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

Wellllll, just days ago I disembarked the Carnival Pride after a glorious seven day trip. My fellow passengers and I set sail on Oct 16th down to the Mexican Riverera -- it was wonderful, warm and something that I needed. Oh, did I mention that I was attending the African American Book Club Summit at Sea???? Yes, yes, surrounded by authors who gave insight into their processes and pet-peeves... it was very enlightning. I hung out w/Bernice McFadden and her daughter R'yane who is just shy of her 18th birthday. She will be going off to college next year and I asked Bernice what it was she had planned for herself in 2006 since she would be an empty nester. She said she planned on seeing more of the world -- a woman after my own heart! We have promised to keep in touch and maybe take a few trips together.

Anyway, I have developed a new appreciation for Margarita's and golden sand. I was very impressed w/Cabo San Lucas -- in fact the night before our arrival there I dreamed of hundreds of shooting stars and what greeted me on the dark morning of our arrival -- yep! a shooting star!
I liked the vibe of Cabo so much that I've already started investigating the realestate market. :)

Geneva Holliday wallowing in Love's light

2005-07-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

It is a hot, rainy, sticky day in NYC, but I feel good! I've decided after watching some video tape of myself that I need to lose these twenty or so nasty little pounds that I've gained over the past year. Is there a spa or weight loss program out there that would want to put me up to the challenge???

Drop me a line and lets talk!

The Book Tour

2005-07-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well, It has been a whirlwind of bookstores, radio stations and meeting my readers! What excitement My first stop was the Essence Music Festival and guess who I had the great honor of meeting - CORNEL WEST! I was soooo excited.
I have to send a shout out to all of of 'Nawlins -- ya'll sure do know how to party! And I have to say that I have not seen so many BIG beautiful black women in one place Now I know I got tits and ass but damn u women down there put me to shame!!!! I felt totally at home - I'm sure those petite women felt out of place!
Next stop was the town of Brotherly love - and I was shown plenty of that. Thank you Philly! Onto Baltimore and DC --- there are a lot of good lookin' brothers in those two towns -- I'm going to have to make it my business to get back there real soon.
Detroit was the next place I laid my head ----I was so busy --- shout out to The Shrine of the Black Madonna - thank you for receiving me -- I hope to come back and visit with you again real soon. On to Chicago - shi-town -- whooooo! Desiree held it down for me at her bookstore Afrocentric --- thank u girl and happy birthday again.
I've received so much love on this tour -- I think I'll sign off now and wallow in it!
'night-'night

Over The Rainbow

2005-04-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

I weathered a Tsunami and high tailed myself and my children right back to the good old US of A -- well at least until my novel GROOVE is published. After which I think I might try living in Anguilla. I havent been there in years but during my last visit; the tiny island left a wonderful impression on me.

So far the reviews that a pouring in for GROOVE are of a positive nature. For that I'm thrilled. I can't wait to meet my readers and hear what they have to say!

This is such an exciting time in my life. In the world. In the universe!

Who knew that "over the rainbow" would be as close as my imagination and computer keyboard????

Changing Seasons/Publishing Greetings

2004-12-02T04:08:00.000-08:00

Well last month Krabi was a flurry of activity with the Krabi Berk Fah Andaman - the festival that celebrates the opening of tourist season here. What an event - all of the watersports competitions and cultural shows! Anyway - me and the children had a wonderful time and are blessed to have been here to experience it. Back in the Western world I know that all of you are preparing yourselves for the Christmas holidays -- yes, yes you are now entreanched in the season of "excess" -- lol

I sent my good friend and author a email a few days back, first to wish her the happiest of holidays and secondly, to find out when her next novel would be published. The email I received back was one filled with lament. She shared with me the fact that her current publisher had suddenly decided that her "work" was not "uplifiting" enough and had requested a severe over haul of her story.

Now this author is an award winning writer, with a legion of fans. True, she is a "midlist" author, and while she has become a bestseller on a few lists - she has yet to conquer the coveted New York Times bestseller list - and here in lies the problem.

Her publisher feels that while she is an excellent writer, a true lyricist and metaphorist (is that a word) her stories while often traipsing on the darker side of life - ring true. But truth, it seems, (at least for AA writers) unless it's non-fiction - does not a NYT bestseller make-- however, fantastic drama filled novels with happy endings - do!

That's what I write! I thought.

How can they - after so many novels - decide in the middle of your career - that you should change your style of writing??? I asked.

Her response was simple: MONEY

What happened to respect for the creative process, the great american novel?

Went out the window with the onslaught of the babymamadrama novels.

Damn!

Could it be you were marketed incorrectly? I asked.

Of course, but it's easier for them to point the finger at me than admit that.
Publishing is like love and war - all is fair and loyalty is scarce.

My friend went on to say that there needs to be a book written for newly contracted authors entitled: So You've got a book contract, now what?

1. Don't quit your day job because you will need the majority of that money to promote your book - unless of course you received a seven figure contract and know that the publishing house is going to pull out the big marketing guns to make sure that you become a household name.

2. Always know that you're only as good as your last book. The market is saturated with books - gone are the days when an author could ride a seemingly endless wave of notariety based on one notable work.

3. Develop a thick skin because critics, self proclaimed and otherwise - will go over and beyond to tell everybody and anybody just why your book is garbage.

4. If you happen to be an African-American literary writer, with no prestigious university, artist colony or fellowships to back you up -- be prepared for a long fight to become accepted in a communty run by whites that feel that they have their quota of literary writers of African descent -- and we all know who they are --(but I'm happy they allowed Edward P. Jones in) so even though you're style is literary - they'll continue to market you to the mainstream babymamadrama readers who may or may not comprehend what you're trying to get across.

Whew!

I think that my time as an author may be limited one. I mean, who knows when the shift in publishing is going to happen, sending my genre into the world of "obsolete" - will my books be dumped next to the AB Roller and the dot matrix printer??

Probably, my friend said, so you'd better ride this wave for as long as its cresting - because change is inevitable.

Mangos, Melons and Mangosteen

2004-11-09T05:53:00.000-08:00

Earlier today (it's night time in Thailand right now) as I was sitting out on my verandah sipping ice tea, watching the ocean and working on the follow up novel to GROOVE - I was wondering what the world will be like in four years - I've had a few days to allow the election to sink in - spoke to a friend of mine who told me that her polling station was suddenly moved and that know one in the neighborhood was advised about it.
I heard that flyers were dispersed in low income neighborhoods that said: "Republicans vote on Tuesday Novemeber 4th and Democrats vote on Wednesday November 5th"
I saw on the news that an elderly couple walking down the street wearing "Anti Bush" t-shirts were arrested.

It saddens me to think that it seems that America is starting to become a police state -- what happened to democracy, freedom of speech and expression and the right to vote???

I'm not saying things here in Thailand are perfect - but one can certainly fool herself into thinking that it is.....

The Hottest Book For Summer '05

2004-10-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

GROOVE
By Geneva Holliday

Geneva Holliday's juicy novel brings a lighter touch to African-American erotica, setting the sexual escapades amidst the real-life folly and drama of four very different friends during one incredibly hot summer in New York City. This funny, sexy book has something for everyone!

GROOVE is the story of Geneva Holliday and her closest friends. Geneva is struggling to raise her fifteen-year-old son, Eric, in the projects in Harlem with a low-paying job and no romantic prospects other than booty-calls with her ex-husband, even though he’s remarried. And she’s being stalked by the head of her weight-loss program. She feels like she’s down and out, but if she only knew what her friends were up to... Girl, she’d be patting herself on the back!

Noah is gay and out and has a wonderful man waiting for him in London, but he's recently gone on the down low—secretly dating women since Beyoncé Knowles videos started getting him hot. Chevy spends her limited funds on weaves, colored contacts, and silk wrapped nails hoping to snag a rich man. She just borrowed $5,000 from their friend Crystal for emergency surgery. Crystal doesn't know it was for breast augmentation—and she's got no idea that her wealthy, together-seeming boyfriend, Kendrick, only agreed to move in with her because his drug habit left him unable to pay his own rent. And is she the only one who thinks Chevy looks pregnant?

By the end of the summer the truth comes out and each of these friends has to face the music...and the DEA officers surrounding them in a hospital emergency room in Brooklyn.

Published by Broadway/Doubleday (a division of Random House)
Available in Bookstores nationwide June 26th, 2005

I'm putting together a mailing list - list members will be notified when the "Geneva Holliday" website is up and running and will also be eligible for wonderful pre-publication surprises! Just send your mailing address to:

genevaholliday@gmail.com