Showing posts with label life. Show all posts

Happy New Year, everyone!

I'm not going to bore you with resolutions that I'll a) forget about or b)blow off. To me, this is the perfect time to look back on what I've done and make plans for the coming year, kinda sorta how businesses do at the end of their fiscal year.

Authors are worried, feeling like they're being laid seige to with lines and houses closing and consolidating, e-piracy, used book sales, and mean girl reviewers. Oh, and the economy. Now I could easily sink into the mire and wail and gnash my teeth, but I'm not going to. Why? 'Cause I can't control that crap. It's too easy to focus on the negative and get all Eeyore on life. But Goddess, doesn't that just make y'all tired?

Publishers are not going to stop buying books. That's how they make money, by buying manuscripts and putting them out there for the reading public to purchase. Maybe they won't buy as many as they normally would, but when you have folks ponying up 6- and 7-figure deals, you realize publishing as we know it will still continue for a while at least.

Case in point: I found this blog today which I heartily recommend you adding to your daily or weekly industry reading. (And if you as an author aren't doing any industry reading, please navigate to another webage now.) Mr. Rinzler's December 31st post was all about two major deals he was outbid on, and why writers should keep writing:

Those of us in the book business are both the beneficiaries and victims of an authentic passion. Editors literally fall in love with books, authors, ideas. It’s our job. I’m always prowling, scouring the print media and internet, stalking writers and creative thinkers at parties and conferences.

I still wake up every morning with acquisition anxiety. If I don’t sign, I don’t thrive.

Mr. Rinzler takes a long view on the publishing industry. The publishing world is changing and it's an overdue change. As the old saying goes, "Adapt, or die."

Which brings me to my goals for 2009. I have three titles on tap for this year, all shorts. The first is in the Coming Together anthology that will be out in a couple of weeks. It's a erotic scifi romance short that I think you'll enjoy, and the proceeds go to a good cause, Amnesty International. Then I'll have Carnivale Diabolique, an urban fantasy romance about a travelling carnival that protects us regular folks from the big bads that go bump in the night. That will be late spring. And of course, I'll be in the next White Boyz installment coming in April.

I'm sure some folks have noticed my swerve into paranormal romance and are either alarmed or encouraged or just curious about it. So I'll come clean. I've been a fantasy/sci-fi/paranormal reader since I started reading. Fairy tales fsacinated me, then comics, then fantasy. Some of my favorite books are books I read as a kid: A Wrinkle in Time, The Left Hand of Darkness,Asimov's Foundation series, everything by Anne McCaffrey. The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman is one of my all-ime favorite series. Honestly, the first novel that I tried to write happened when I was 12 and was about three sisters who were protectors of a mystical land--while trying to navigate school: The Seneschals of Kirin. Where my 12 year-old self picked up the world seneschal, I have no idea. Now I'm wondering if I still have those pages in my old notebooks.

But yes, I love fantasy and paranormal. It's what I read first. If there's romance in it, it's a bonus, not a requirement for me. So this year, I'm writing an urban fantasy. It's a story idea I've been kicking around for a while, and I'm finally knuckling down and doing it. I've gotten some good feedback on it so far, and I'm hoping to make it my first New York sale. The story allows me to indulge in some of my faves: Egyptology, African gods and goddesses, History International. And I'm having a good time with it, which I think is the important thing.

Does that mean that I'm abandoning romance? No. It means I'm expanding my portfolio, my market. My goal is to be a career novelist, which means at some point having the income from being a writer outpace the expenses of being a writer. And as a writer, we have to push oursleves, and grow. Some venture into romantic suspense. Some try their hand at erotica. But the bottom line is the bottom line. So I'm going to adapt. Because the alternative isn't something I'm considering.

Uh, I mean the inauguration!

All you have to do is answer the question: "What does this inauguration mean to you?" and you could win a trip to the swearing in, the parade, and one of the balls. Oh, and you also get plane fare and hotel for two nights, for two people.

Come on, writers. Y'all know y'all want to be there. Go to: http://www.pic2009.org/page/s/tickettohistory which will divert to a fundraising page, but donating to underwrite the inauguration isn't required.

Then you should check out some of the results of this survey that Blackromancereader posted on her blog.

Actually, if you really want to know more, you can download the full PDF yourself from here.

Some interesting points:

When asked the question Why haven't more African-American authored books gained large mainstream
readership? 62% of the respondents said that most African-American authored books are only marketed and distributed to an African-American audience.

When asked "Was the last book you read written by an African-American author?" 52% of respondents said no.

Hhm, so black people don't just buy black books. Who'd a thunk it?

When asked what was most important to their social standing, respondents listed a stable family first, a good education second.

Just the name alone makes me smile. :-)

Anyway, I'll be blogging over at the League of Reluctant Adults next week, thanks to December Quinn, AKA Stacia Kane. God help them--hopefully no one will be bored to tears.

D/S made a great post about the Carl Brandon Society and the list of books by black speculative fiction authors they recommended to be read this month. From her post:

THE CARL BRANDON SOCIETY
recommends the following books for BLACK HISTORY MONTH:
So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Science Fiction & Fantasy edited by Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due
The Coyote Kings of the Space Age Bachelor Pad by Minister Faust
Mindscape by Andrea Hairston
Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell
Futureland by Walter Mosley
The Shadow Speaker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu
Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

As a further incentive, you can go buy these at your local Borders, which is having a Buy One, Get one for 50% off of African American studies and black fiction all this month--and you even have an extra day to take advantage of it.

Hey, if you have some suggestions for me to blog about (considering that it IS Black Folks Month and we ain't exactly representin' in record droves in science fiction or fantasy) feel free to comment here or use the (now working) contact form.

It's that time of year again, the time when people acknowledge the accomplishments of black people then promptly forget when March 1st comes around.

Okay, yeah, that was a little harsh. I've always been of two minds about Black History Month. On one hand, it's the best way to discover little known facts about black folks in the historical context of America. On the other hand, I resent that we have to have a month in which to highlight black people. In my rose-colored-glasses world, the accomplishments of all people would be covered in our schools, history books, and media. But we know that's not the case.

Which means it could and should fall to writers to show just how rich the tapestry of American history is. I personally would love to see more Black historicals.

Unfortunately, when people think of black folks and American History, their minds immediately go to two eras: slavery and the civil rights movement. It's quite easy to ignore that there were free blacks roaming the country. According to BlackPast.org, free blacks came over with Columbus during his second trip to the New World in 1494. In 1526, slaves who'd been brought to work in the Spanish colony of San Miguel de Guadape in Georgia escaped to live among the native Americans. Then there is the rich and proud history of the Black Seminoles.

One great resource was recently published, and I think would be an excellent investment for schools, libraries, and black writers. It's called the African American National Biography, and it profiles some 4000 well- and little-known black folks in American history.

One such figure was profiled in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's coverage of the AANB:

Stagecoach Mary Fields

Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Ursuline Convent, Toledo, Ohio

Stagecoach Mary Fields was a gun-toting, hard drinking, cigar smoking frontierswoman who gambled, brawled and reputedly even killed a man. Well into her 60s, she dependably steered her coach through some of Montana's harshest weather to deliver the mail.

She was also a beloved housekeeper at a convent, tended her own vegetable garden and late in life presented bouquets to men who hit home runs during baseball games in Cascade, Mont.

How could you not want to write a story about this woman?

The African American National Biography is a joint effort of Havard University and Oxford University Press, and is edited by Henry Louis Gates, Hr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, both of Havard. The eight volume set covers the lvies of some 4100 well-known and obscure people. You can order it through the Oxford University Press website for $795. I think it's worth part of an advance, and for writers it's tax-deductible. There is an online version forthcoming, and they are soliciting donations to make the collection available for libraries.

Like everyone else, I'm wishing you a very happy new year! I spent the evening with a few close friends--I just can't stomach the crowds, especially being a height-challenged person.

Later today friends and family will descend to partake of the traditional Southern New Year's Day meal: collards, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and pork. Collards of course, symbolize the green of money, the peas symbolize the coin, cornbread symbolizes gold, and the pork...well, I suppose we could say it's extraneous money used for pork-barrel spending, but that wouldn't be fair, right?

I'm not making any resolutions this year. Why set myself up for failure and cracking under pressure? Didn't we see enough of that last year?

BTW, I've updated my main website, located at http://www.seressia.com. I thought it was time for a change, and New Year's Day seemed as good a time to launch as any. Besides, the Gemini in me won't let me keep one style for long!

Anyhoo, I hope that you'll return again and again. I've got five releases coming this year that I know of, and two of them are back to back January and February anthologies, Vegas Bites Back, and What White Boyz Want. See? No need to resolve to be more productive--that's already being taken care of!

Hhm? Maybe resolve to save more money? Good thing I'm having those collards. Let me know if you want a plate.

In The Name of the King

Okay, I know this is probably going to be a train wreck of a movie, but I'm going to see it anyway. It's got a head-scratching cast combination Jason Statham, Will Sanderson, Burt Reynolds, and Kristianna Lokken and a plot you could drive a tank through, but I don't go to the movies to learn, I go to be entertained.

Oops, now I know why it's going to suck. Director/Producer Uwe Boll has "attracted worldwide attention in the gaming community for his film adaptations of popular video games." These include Alone in the Dark (who can believe Tara Reid as a archaeologist?) and BloodRayne (which could have been a good movie, but even Meatloaf in a bad weave surrounded by naked prostitutes--to save on production costs-- couldn't save that trainwreck--and they rewarded Lokken for her open-mouthed performance by giving her a series on Scifi. Or maybe that's punishment.)

It just goes to show you that a doctorate in literature doesn't mean you know how to tell (or direct) a story.

Sigh. I think I just typed myself out of going to see this movie.

But I did see I am Legend yesterday, and I'm not really sure what I expected, but I was surprised. There were moments of laughter and moments of tears. It almost had a Pan's Labyrinth feel in that the tearjerker moments kept on coming. Oh, and Wil Smith doing pull ups shirtless didn't hurt either.

Hhm, I was pulling for Rajko or Brad

More rajko

Yummy.

Though I have to admit, I wouldn't eat testicle soup either, at least not the testicle portion.

From Publisher's Weekly:

Essence Magazine will honor African-American writers and help public libraries by launching two overlapping initiatives this winter: the Essence Literary Awards and the Save Our Libraries campaign.

The nominees for the awards--in fiction, nonfiction, children's, poetry, commentary/public affairs, memoir and photography--will be selected by the editors of Essence and will be announced on December 19th. The winners will receive their awards during Black History Month, on Feb. 7, 2008, at a ceremony in New York city that will also kick off the Save Our Libraries campaign. Emcees Hoda Kotb of the Today Show and Dr. Ian Smith will preside over the event, which will honor the winning writers, as well as a "Storyteller of the Year."

Terry McMillan will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to contemporary African-American literature. McMillan, who is writing her eighth novel, Getting to Happy, added, “There are so few venues for African-American writers to get attention. This is a positive way to draw attention to African-American writers whose work is of high standards and merits attention.”

“We love books,” Bass said, describing editors at the magazine as committed to coverage of African-American authors and their work since Essence launched in 1970. Essence currently dedicates at least 3-1/2 pages to authors and books each month, second among women’s fashion/beauty/ lifestyle magazines only to O: the Oprah magazine.

You can still vote. Go to http://www.essence.com/essence/literaryawards/ and pick your choice, or nominate one.

I’m now in the holiday spirit. Oh, I’m not singing carols yet, or listening to them on the radio, but I’ve started the process.

The bah humbug has as much to do as going into the Macy’s LABOR DAY WEEKEND to find it piping in carols and Christmas decorations as the general holiday blahs. Perhaps I’m entering my approaching-forty crotchety phase, but I believ eyou celebrate Labor Day in September, Halloween in October, Thanksgiving in November, then Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwaanza, and Yule in December. Nice, neat, orderly.

Yesterday I went and bought a fresh wreath and some pine bough. I love the smell of fresh pine. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any live trees under 6 feet. But I did find a wonderful rosemary tree for the dining room table. I’ve always wanted one, and it’s making the bottom level of the house smell wonderful. Also picked up a trio of poinsettias–two to punch up the earthtone colored living room and one on a stand outside the front door. Decorated the pine wreath and mounted it over the bough-draped fireplace, put the weathered grapevine wreath on the front door along with some extra bough, hung stockings on the mantel for my niece and three nephews. Rearranged the living room and bought a nice single-sized tree and trimmings. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and Yule, and I’m beginning to feel it.

Just call me Marquisha Stewart.

So last night was the ending of Volume 3, Generations, and the beginning of Volume 4, Villains. As 10:01 rolled around, I sat on the couch and thought, "WTF?"

Don't get me wrong—it was a good ending for a show that even the creator Tim Kring admits lost its way. Some great moments include:

1. Parkman jumping off Nathan's back, saying, "We'll never speak of this again."
2. Hiro putting Kensei in the coffin. Entirely human, poetic justice. And when Adam claws his way out in a decade or so, he'll be even more twisted.

But am I alone in feeling this way?

1. I cheered when Maya was "killed." It has nothing to do with the actress and everything to do with the fact that she was a whiny, TSTL heroine, and no romance writer worth her salt would ever write a main character this way. I mean, come on. Killing people by crying black goo—shouldn't you have been working on that way before Sylar tested you? And you're on the run from the Mexican authorities for killing said people with said goo, so of course, you're gonna stop and rescue a guy lying in the middle of the street, and be so wrapped up in your "I'm a crying murderer" misery that you don't notice the creepy vibe Sylar gives off, but you immediately take his word for everything over your brother? Then you happily believe that your brother took off without saying goodbye and then proceed to break into some guy's apartment and cook like you're one big happy familia, only to be shocked when Sylar turned out to be bad? YOU DESERVE TO DIE.



2. All of these people believing going public with their abilities is the right thing to do. THIS IS AMERICA, PEOPLE. This nation don't cotton to people being different. Ask me if you should go public, and I'll answer with two words: Area 51 (okay, one's a word and one's a number, but you know what I mean.)

3. What's with the cheerleader saving the world yet again? How is it that Claire's blood can bring the dead back to life? I asked this question to fellow viewers and they pointed out that Claire and Peter never died. Well Claire and Peter had the abilitiy swimming in their bloodstream before they bit the big one. These others were already dead. Noah, as far as we know is normal. He was shot in the eye, obstensibly the brain, DOA at the Company. He shouldn't have been able to come back. Maya, yeah she's got the strain or whatever, but if she was dead, her blood wasn't circulating, so how did the injection anywhere but in her heart bring her back to life? WHY BRING HER BACK TO LIFE AT ALL?

4. You once again punk out with Micah's parents. It was a punk way to kill DL, and it was a punk way to (allegedly) kill Nikki. The only way to redeem this is to show how these senseless deaths affect Micah and make him turn into a villain, or at least Batboy. Bruce Wayne is a great vigilante hero with a bad streak.

5. Someone on USAToday commented that Sylar has more lives "than a soap opera character." I so agree. I remember being stunned last year when all the Heroes let Sylar slide his bloody, battered ass down into the sewers AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT. You knew he was bad, you knew he was gonna blow up NYC—so of course you let him get away. (How did he get that manhole cover off by himself anyway?) And I just loved how he was still bruised and bloody in the middle of the Central American jungle, yet was somehow able to walk through the wilderness unscathed to the road the Wonder Twins were riding on in Calire's stolen SUV that Claire had the keys to.

6. I don't get Monica's powers. I thought that once she saw how something was done, she retained it. Didn't she make the tomato flowers more than once? So how come she didn't get all WWE on the thieves? I guess because they didn't write it that way. And how did dude afford all that gas he had to burn that building?

7. One thing I've noticed is that these writers start their female heroes strong, and then they completely wimp out on them. The fact that a third personality popped out of Nikki and went clubbing proves that her super strength is a part of her, Jessica's just able to use them better. DL's death should have made her more determined to use her powers to protect the family she had left. It wasn't her super strength that got DL killed, it was her multiple personality disorder. Like Nikki, Claire started off cool, then went to whiny-ville. Yeah she's a teenager, but she should have learned enough over the last year to know that laying low keeps you alive. Elle is fascinating, but if they turn her good (I hope they don't) they'll make her wimpy too. And I think I've said all I need to say about Maya.

::DEEP BREATH::

Okay, I'm over it now. I would say now back to your regularly scheduled programming, but we're going to inundated with reality shows until the writer's strike is over.

So there was a period of about an hour this morning in which I believed that my oldest nephew, helping me in my pre-Thanksgiving cleaning frenzy, took several boxes to the trash. It was only this morning as I was preparing to start my writing weekend, that I realized I was missing a black tote with a couple of my notebooks in it.

So of course I recreated the mess we’d cleaned up in an effort to find said tote bag, only to have a sinking feeling that it had been a casualty of the make-house-look-nice-for-guests mandate. These two notebooks contain the beginnings of the sequel to Dream of Shadows and my third entry for the Vegas Bites trilogy anthology, both of which need to be worked on this weekend. Because they’re both due at the beginning of the year.

So thinking that these notebooks were currently being incinerated, needless to say, filled me with a certain panic. Sure I know how each story is supposed to progress, but sometimes it hard to get back the way the words were written, the momentum back.

And I know some of you are thinking, “why didn’t she just work on her computer? This wouldn’t have happened.” Well, computers crash (check), jump drives can break or get wonky (double-check) or you can crack your laptop monitor (triple-check win the t-shirt). Besides, te paper notebooks are great for taking to the coffeeshop and maximizing my lunch break at work. And when I’m facing writer’s block or deadlines or creative slumps, putting pen to paper and unchaining my mind is very freeing.

So you see why I needed those notebooks back.

After an hour of going through the coat closet, the sunroom closet, the office closet, the linen closet, and the two closets in my bedroom, I finally found the tote bag in a storage crate at the back of the second closet. I hugged that tote bag like a long lost lover. Then I ran downstairs to put a little Irish in my coffee.

So I apologize to my nephew for thinking he’d tossed my tote bag. And I think the moral of this story is to let sleeping piles lie. After all, it’s only when I clean up that I can’t find anything.

One of my local radio stations, Q-100, is trying to gather more than 375,000 thank-you letters to be delivered to overseas military personnel during Thanksgiving. In an effort to hit the target (no pun intended) the mission has been expanded beyond Atlanta. Here's the details:

Each letter should be heartfelt, handwritten, original, and free of any political statements. The purpose of the letter is to express thanks to the military personnel serving the United States. We reserve the right to eliminate those messages that are political in nature and that do not reflect a positive message in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Those letters will be destroyed.

All letters must be on 8.5 X 11 paper or smaller. Do not use glue, tape, staples, cardboard, glitter or otherwise attach anything to the paper. Decorate using crayons, pencil, etc. Use both side if you like, but use one page per letter only. Do not send cards or photographs. Feel free to include your mailing and email address, if you like and you may get a response. Individual letters should not be sealed in envelopes.

Do not send anything except letters. We cannot accept donations of any kind, and they should not be included or attached to letters..

You can mail your letters (individually or in bundles of 50) to:

The Bert Show's Big Thank You
3070 Windward Plaza, Suite F 350
Alpharetta, GA 30005

If you're in Atlanta, you can drop off letters to any Taco Mac location.

Again for more information, check out Q-100's website here: http://www.allthehitsq100.com/bertshow/BigThankYou/index.asp

I went to your concert at the Fox Theater on Thursday night. It had been almost a decade since your last studio album and at least that long since you toured, so it was my first time seeing you. The Fox, a National Historic Landmark and originally the Yaarab Temple Shrine Mosque, was designed in the late 1920's as headquarters for the Shriners organization. It looks like a your just outside a Bedouin tent or a Moroccan market at nightfall, complete with twinkling stars, a tent, minarets, everything but camels.



Basically the perfect setting for a composer who mixes Celtic and Middle Eastern influences in her works.

What I'd forgotten is that there are a couple of McKennitt's songs make me cry. I was just blithely enjoying the hurdy-gurdy, the oud and every other amazing instruments when I realized that if a certain song was performed, I'd be in trouble.

Then it started.

The Highwayman.

The Highwayman is based on a poem by Alfred Noyes, about...a highwayman who visited his sweetheart Bess, the innkeeper's daughter. Then the redcoats come, tie her up at her bed with a musket beside her, waiting for the highwayman to come back. She warns him away the only way she can--by pulling the trigger. It's not until morning that he realizes what happened and races back, only to be shot himself. The poem is dramatic all by itself and so's the recording, but to hear it live--did I mention I was in the fifth row from the orchestra pit?--was an emotional sucker punch.

Yep, I was blubbering by the emotional climax of the story. I hurriedly wiped my eyes and applauded along with everyone else, thinking I'd get a reprieve. But no, she launched into the other song guaranteed to reduce me to tears: Dante's Prayer.

There were other songs that were just as moving, but really, the whole concert was just amazing. The Old Ways, The Lady of Shalott, I could go on, but at the end--which came much too quickly, I and four thousand other people were just grateful that she'd decided to record and tour again.

It was simply an amazing concert experience. Damn you Loreena, and I have to get the live CD just to experience it again.

By now, you may have heard about the fallout from comments made a Glamour staffer during a presentation on dos and dont's of corporate fashion at the law firm of Cleary Gottlieb. In case you missed them, here are a few of the gems as noted by Vivia Chen The American Lawyer onAugust 27, 2007:

First slide up: an African-American woman sporting an Afro. A real no-no, announced the Glamour editor to the 40 or so lawyers in the room. As for dreadlocks: How truly dreadful! The style maven said it was “shocking” that some people still think it “appropriate” to wear those hairstyles at the office. “No offense,” she sniffed, but those “political” hairstyles really have to go.

Some people may think this is racist, but really the staffer was stupidly clueless more than anything. Really, what's political about dreadlocks and braids? Maybe she should try living in Atlanta during the summer with black folks' hair and see how long she lasts! But then, we're talking Glamour magazine. I haven't used the magazine as a resource for my fashion, makeup, skin, and hair care in...ever. Besides the general dearth of articles relating to black hair and skin care, there's nothing for plus size women or women not willing to spend a third of their paycheck on a skirt. Even the recent issue of the magazine that a friend left at my house, the issue with Queen Latifah on the cover with Mariska Hargitay and Claire Danes, had a stunning lack of articles helpful to women like me.

And I sure as hell ain't giving money to a magazine that spends 200 pages telling me how my hair, clothes, weight, skin, hobbies, and sex life all suck.

But never fear, Glamour is doing damage control. From Angela, a black romance reader, comes this letter from the Editor of Glamour:

Hello,

I read your post about a Glamour editor’s comments on hairstyles for work, and I’d like to share with you our thoughts. First, we regret the comments were made. The employee, a junior staffer, not a beauty editor, spoke to a small group of lawyers at a private luncheon without her supervisor’s knowledge or approval, and her comment — that Afros are not work appropriate — does not represent Glamour’s point of view.

Secondly, immediately upon learning of it, we sought to rectify the situation. The editor has been dealt with in a very serious manner, and the entire staff has been reminded of the magazine’s policies and procedures for making public appearances.

Glamour is proud of its diverse readership and celebrates the beauty of ALL women. We have responded directly and openly with readers to assure them of this fact. We have also apologized to the law firm, and we extend the same apology to you.

If you know others who were offended by this incident, To ask you to please pass along this letter. So they, too, know how sorry we are.

Sincerely,
Cindi Leive
Editor-in-Chief, Glamour

Wanna bet they do a whole series of articles and beauty advice for black women? More than likely it'll appear in the February issue. You know, during Black History Month.


EDIT: For the sake of clarity and disclosure, I work in a corporate office here in Atlanta. The black women here wear their hair in all manner of ways. I've worn my hair straight (which it is now) in braids (which it was during the summer) and sometimes in its naturally curly form. I'm actually thinking about going to Sisterlocks but since that's an almost forever-choice (and upfront expensive) I'm cautious about it. But I've never had anyone tell me I should change my hair, or that I can't advance by wearing braids. I make a damn good living at my day job, more than I've seen from writing, and I appreciate the fact that they care more about my work than my hairstyle.

Alison Kent - Blah Blog

Author Allison Kent is running a contest in conjunction with Phaze's new anthology Coming Together: For the Cure. Edited by Alessia Brio, the net proceeds of this anthology of erotic fiction will benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

In honor of my bestest friend and her recent battle, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to buy copies of this anthology and give them away as prizes here. I will buy one copy for every ten comments. So, yes, if there are 100 comments, I’ll buy 10 copies. And I’ll give them away randomly to people who drop in and help raise funds. I will limit the copies to 25 (250 comments/$175) if we go that high, so let’s do it!

Author Jessica Russell is picked up the challenge. She'll buy a copy of the anthology for every ten comments she receives, up to 100 comments. Go forth and comment!

You can also participate in one of several Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk events around the country.

Click here to read the full article.

On June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling in the case of Loving v. Virginia. In their decision, the highest court in the land struck down a Virginia ruling that criminalized the union of Richard Loving, white, and his wife Mildred, black.

(Hope no one thinks these were activist judges)

Since that ruling, which also toppled laws in some 15 other states, IR marriages have climbed: marriages between blacks and whites have increased from 65,000 in 1970 to 422,000 in 2005, according to Census Bureau figures.

Unfortunately, it is still more acceptable for black male-white female pairings than white male-black female. The article states:

"In some categories of interracial marriage, there are distinct gender-related trends. More than twice as many black men marry white women as vice versa, and about three-fourths of white-Asian marriages involve white men and Asian women."

Really, why is it okay for the male to go outside of his race, but not the female? Someone needs to do a paper on that.

As a writer of interracial and multicultural romances, I've always tried to show that, despite apparent differences, there are common things that unite us: the quest for love, acceptance, and family. Whether you find that with someone who looks like you, has the same parts you do, or just accepts you as you, my wish is that you do find that.

The article concludes:

"Malignant racial biases can and do reside in interracial liaisons," [Harvard law professor Randall] Kennedy wrote. "But against the tragic backdrop of American history, the flowering of multiracial intimacy is a profoundly moving and encouraging development."

I don't think I can add anymore to that. Peace and blessings.