PAULA'S JORT TOO

Raising a Princess

2010-03-03T07:02:00.002-05:00

There used to be a time when the word Princess had a certain dignity to it. That was before the tiara - world wide symbol of princess status, became associated with bridezillas screaming for obedience from their wedding party and vendors and twenty-one year olds wearing them in a bar on their birthday in an attempt to hold on to a youth quickly slipping past them.

Now you call somebody a princess and it's almost tantamount to a backhand compliment.

That's the problem with how fast the world changes and people's ignorance of the past. Too many words have been permanently redefined based on changing behavior.

But I still hold on to princess as a positive. In royalty, a princess is someone who is groomed in not only social etiquette but community awareness. Real princesses are aware that the world does not revolve around them, but that they're fortunate for their status and must continue to nurture the world and people around them. Pay it forward and back, simultaneously.

I'm raising two princesses. Yes, they're slightly spoiled. In my opinion, every kid should be to a degree. But they're also aware that there's a difference between good fortune and good luck and that the bulk of their lifestyle and values are based on the former.

They're being taught to treat others as they want to be treated. To have good judgement without being moralistic and to surround themselves with those who love them and can be trusted.

One day they'll be queens of their own household and maybe have little princesses of their own. And maybe by that time the true definition of the word will have righted itself.

You know what time it is...

2010-02-02T19:16:00.002-05:00

I have fought this whole only focus on all things Black during February. But you reach a point in your life where you must say - well at least we have February. And the biggest event of the month for me is 28 Days Later, over at The Brown Bookshelf.

The little project I began with Varian Johnson, Kelly Starling-Lyons and Carla Sarratt still endures. We're in our third year and though we've had some changes - Carla had to move on, and Tameka F. Brown and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, joined, ushering in a new phase - we're strong as ever.

Stop by and check out the hottest in brown children's literature. Pass on the link and support the authors with a book purchase or borrow from your local lib.

Agent Appreciation Day: She Gets Me!

2009-12-11T13:38:00.003-05:00

If someone asked you why you married your spouse, you'd probably have a few dozen reasons, among them things as small as, I love his eyes. We'd all say something different. But one thing we may all say in common is, he/she gets me.

There's nothing like having someone "get" you. Better still, when they love you in spite of some of your less than admirable traits.

Choosing an agent isn't like marriage - the agent chooses you and you date around quite a bit before you get that "ring."

But it is like marriage because, in the end, no matter why you were chosen the grand hope is that your agent gets you. Mine does. And she has from the beginning.

When Jen Carlson read the manuscript for So Not The Drama(can it really be 4 years ago?!), it wasn't love at first sight (unless, it was. Jen?). There was definitely some affection there, yes. But, more importantly, between the manuscript and my query she got me and my mission, right away.

All I've ever wanted to do was write books where the characters were diverse but the story was not about race. And I do. But I needed Jen to explain how important that sort of literature was to the publishing industry. She's been my voice to editors. She's been my advocate who has to constantly point out - her books appeal universally to teens but they put African American protags on the stage. Her work is good. It's needed. It's marketable and it's fun.

Imagine that having to be your job all day - convincing someone of something you believe in. That's what agents do, day in and day out, across their list of rosters.

It's got to be exhausting. I only do it for my books and it burned me out in less than three years.

On top of all that, she's had to talk me off the ledge many days. Explain that damned royalty statement over and over. Ease my anxiety over the ever so slow submission process. And, be a cheerleader when I feel like saying, to hell with it.

I laugh when people question if the 15% paid to agents is worth it.

Do all of the above on your own AND still write books and then you tell me.

Jen Carlson, today, I salute you!

Look at all this agent love over at Lisa and Laura's blog.

Schizophrenic P

2009-11-30T15:23:00.002-05:00

Newsflash:

I am Black.

I am a woman.

I am a writer.

Yes, yes, I know. Astounding. Who knew, right?

Well, the problem, it seems like lately these three different traits are fracturing me more than they're melding. I've come to realize it because my social networking revolves a great deal around them.

I have sites/forums and circles of friends I frequent because I'm a children's author. Others where the point is I'm a Black children's authors. Others because I'm a female author.

It's all very...headspinning.

Diana Peterfreund and I, made a bet, that we could go 14 days with only being on the 'net for 90 minutes daily. Today, I popped onto Twitter and found that some of my other peers are taking a total hiatus from Twitter until January. And it's sounding like a damned good idea. If nothing, it'll give me time to pull myself back together so I'm just P again. Not P, the Black, YA author chick.

Social networking is great, but it also leads to a bit of over exposure to social circles that, while has plenty positives, has one really huge negative: it's too fracking distracting!

I'm starting to ponder how I ended up to my eyeballs in nings, blogs, forums, chats and tweets.

I love the socializing but I'm also feeling more than a little schizzy, right now trying to keep up with all these different outlets that represent the many facets of myself.

I've not yet dedicated myself to a hiatus but if you don't hear from me, you'll know what I decided.

Time To Read

2009-11-27T16:29:00.003-05:00

I know Stephen King says that serious writers should read four hours a day, but I'm venturing a guess here - the serious writers he's talking about are either:

NOT mothers.

- or-

DON'T have full-time jobs

Since I am and do, the luxury of reading time comes down to this - sleep or read. And funny thing, I usually choose sleeping. However, I did give up two solid nights to finish King's latest tome du jour, Under the Dome. Uncle Stevie, you're welcome.

Anyway, these days my reading is done in mad obsessive spurts. One, because if I take too long it won't get finished, two, it's a kind of escape and three, were I to read every day like that, I'd be horribly sleep deprived.

My lack of time to read more doesn't mean I don't have a whole slew of books I'm eyeing to put on the list. So, as the year comes to a slow wind I'm looking to beef up my reading over the holidays and beyond.

Suggestions for my TBR list are welcome.

Looking for Adult and YA.

When it comes to my adult lit, I like thrillers, suspense and true crime novels. Non-fiction, in general, doesn't really interest me. That's what good TV docus are for, in my opinion.

And girlfriend and Chick lit don't interest me as much because it's too close to the type of YA I write. So reading them feels like work research or something. I over analyze!

For YA I'm a bit more open to whatever's good. Be it a Scott Westerfeld fantasy or a Sara Zarr-type novel, I'm down if you say it's good (and mean it!). Not looking for anyone to pimp a book to me. If you sincerely liked it, suggest it. I'll be highly pissed if I read something that ends up being a waste of my time just because someone wants to hype a friend's novel.

Don't do it!

Otherwise, I'm a pretty easy person to please.

Whaddya reading and will I like it?

Another nail in the coffin...

2009-11-18T13:51:00.003-05:00

I've been longing for innocence, lately. In a way, I think that's why I'm a writer anyway. Specifically a YA writer.

I'm sure the average teen would hardly consider themselves "innocent." After all, many are quite worldly. But you never realize how innocent you are until you realize you aren't anymore.

As a kid it didn't matter to me that the stories I loved so much didn't have one Brown face in them. Didn't matter a whit. I escaped into them, saw myself in their place. It didn't matter how they looked, what they went through I was going through with them.

But now, as an adult I'm constantly offended by the lack of diversity in mainstream anything - TV, film, books, anything. Because the lack of color makes me feel invisible in a way that I never ever felt when reading or watching TV as a kid.

So it's with great joy and, yes, some amount of frustration that I await Disney's, The Princess and the Frog.

Joy because it's about time.

And frustration because, what the hell took so long?!

Disney has Jasmine (Arabian), Mulan (Asian), Pocohontas (American Indian) and Ariel (Mermaid...oh, that's not a race, is it?). So where has the Black princess been all these years? Where?!

Should it matter anymore? Let's pretend it doesn't for a second because I'd rather focus on the fact that my daughters will see a Disney movie that depicts them as the princess. It's especially important for my five year old because, she's just now starting to distinguish race, a practice that can be somewhat embarrassing when she calls out in the store, Mommy, that white woman...

Oy.

But cut her some slack. She's just trying to put the whole different shades thing into context. And in our house context is, race doesn't matter. Something I can say til I'm blue in the face, but it doesn't mean much if things outside our home don't reinforce it.

So this Disney movie means more than some may know.

Althought, let me be clear, my daughters already think they're princesses. We have an oddly significant amount of tiara's in the house because they buy them every chance they get. And I guess it doesn't help that my husband and I treat them like they're royalty sometimes (lazy, spoiled kids).

But still, that's as it should be with any parent/child. We want them to feel special.

The problem lies in the reality they're faced when images reflected back to them from TV and magazines tells them - Oh you're beautiful to your parents but this is what AMERICA deems beautiful. This, right here and it ain't you.

So I wish great box office success for The Princess and the Frog.

So ONCE more we can squash the myth that black folk don't go see movies AND that white folk won't go see a movie with a black protagonist.

The more nails we can put in those coffins the better.

Check out the trailer here.

Is Greatness Overrated?

2009-11-02T08:33:00.002-05:00

I was an A and B student, in school. A's in subjects I really liked (English) and B's in pretty much everything else. I could pull a B with minimal studying and a C without studying (mostly). My mother would always say, "If you truly applied yourself you could be a Straight A student."

And my thought was always: Why, when I can get good grades without overexerting myself?

I've never had a problem with the fact that I'm really good at a lot of stuff but perhaps not great at anything.

Now, with kids of my own, I definitely see why my mom was frustrated with my nonchalance, but I still don't regret my outlook.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not advocating slacking. Quite the opposite. I don't think the word slacker ever defined me, nor would it apply now. I approach near everything I do with ferocity but I also enjoy things 100% while I'm doing them, so I never feel like I need to be immersed in it 24-7.

It's been proven that those who achieve greatness often do so by the sheer volume of time they spend doing whatever they're great at.

Me, I'm a huge fan of being well-rounded and to be so, you sort of sacrifice the pinnacle of greatness for goodness. I'd love to be a great writer instead of a really good one, but literally the only thing I could sacrifice to write more is sleep or time with my family.

Call me crazy, but I sort of need sleep and I really like my family, they're kind of fun to be around. I feel like this approach I've always had has prepared me for juggling writing along with a full-time job and an active family.

Writing is addictive and I could very easily let it take over my life. Very easily.

I have incredibly manic phases where all I want to do is write. I give in to them, but not nearly at the level I'd like to. I'm afraid if I do, I'll emerge from the office and my kids will be grown and my husband off with another woman. I mean, the mania gets that bad.

Thank goodness, I know how to control it. Years of being satisfied with goodness has taught me how.

And I've passed that trait down to my kids.

In my oldest, I see myself. She can get good grades with minimal effort and as much as she loves anything (her friends, cheerleading etc...) she always reaches a point where it's like - Okay, enough of that for right now.

Some might see our quest for a little taste of it all as fickleness. But I don't see it that way.

It's more like living in the moment and cherishing experiences rather than letting any one thing define us.

I see the pros and cons of our mentality. But I'm totally at peace with being like this. After all, I am the goodest! Ask anybody.

Promote My Novel

2009-10-19T07:21:00.002-04:00

No, not MY novel, yours.

Jeff Rivera, the columnist for Galley Cat's People of Color blog and Gumbo Writers has started a vlog - Promote My Novel.com. It's a string of sixty-second videos where he gives advice on query letters, marketing and other fine points of making it in the pub business.

Promote My Novel is an extension of Jeff's pub advice. If you haven't visited Gumbo Writers, do so. It's an informative site with agent interviews and features of those who have hit promotional gold in book promotion.

Here's an example of his new venture:

For more, check him out here.

Hellooo, Alexandria!

2009-10-14T07:26:00.002-04:00

So, if you're in Northern Virginia and have always had this burning desire to meet me and talk about books I'll be Old Town Alexandria this weekend at Hooray for Books! on Sunday, Oct. 18th at 2 p.m. along with YA authors:

Caroline Hickey of The Longstockings (Isabelle's Boyfriend) and Elizabeth Scott, a fellow Class of 2K7 classmate of mine (Something, Maybe).

I'm sure the three of us can amuse ourselves talking about writing life, but it would be way more fun to have some young folk come to chat with.

Stop by.

P.S. This is part of the Kidlit Conference '09, which is Saturday. Not sure if there are still spots open, but you can check that out here.

Irony thy name is Racism

2009-10-10T22:47:00.003-04:00

What if you walked into the grocery store one day and they no longer carried your favorite brand of hair gel? You'd probably ask management about it and they might tell you that the demand wasn't high enough to warrant them using the shelf space for that gel, so they stopped carrying it.

Maybe you'd be annoyed because now you have to find another store, nearby, who sells that gel. Or maybe the store would be customer service oriented enough that they'd start keeping a tiny stock of the product to appease you, the only customer who bothered to inquire about it.

Maybe.

Truth be told, customer service is hard to find, these days. So if the store went through all of that for you, they deserve your patronage.

Just about everything is about supply and demand in our country. I get that. It annoys me, but I get it.

But what I don't get and staunchly refuse to get is why a world, that's increasingly diversifying, continues to try and mainstream every product. Why does everything have to be stamped and approved as used by this mythical "everybody" to be validated?

I went into Walgreens tonight to buy some hair perm. I walked the lone hair care aisle for about five minutes, puzzled. Not only did Walgreens not sell my brand of perm but they didn't sell ANY black hair care products. Any!

I asked the cashier if they were kept in a different area and she explained if they had it, it would be down the hair care aisle. So they simply don't sell it.

Walgreens is literally one minute away from my house. Giant is two, but hair care products at the grocery store are too expensive. So I had to drive seven minutes down the road to get what I needed.

I can't begin to tell you how much this pisses me off. Not only because I had the gall to believe having the Walgreens right across the street would be convenient but because apparently, Walgreens has moved into my progresive, upwardly mobile, some say upper middle class neighborhood and decided there are NO black customers so they don't need to serve me.

Yes, Walgreens, that's what you're saying.

Have I just stepped back into 1950? What the hell?

I left that store blazing. I did what I do, wrote my letter to them letting them know I'm perfectly content giving my business to Rite Aid who has figured out a way to serve us non-existent Black customers. Rite Aid who is more than happy to stock products in case a black person happens to wander in lost from the outskirts.

I'm not real happy with the systemic ignorance that continues to seep into our society's bloodstream. It's so uncalled for.

I just talked about racism at Amy Bowllan's blog and then it subtley rears its head, thumbing its nose at me like I thumb my nose at it by making my fictional worlds as diverse as the real world always should be.

And yes, it is racist that Walgreens doesn't carry black hair care products. If you don't think so, then think about some silly, yet necessary mainstream item you need and think about how you'd feel if your local retailer decided to stop selling it because you were invisible to them. Then tell me how you feel.

In Good Company

2009-10-07T09:09:00.002-04:00

There are a few facts I've come to terms with about my writing life that, nonetheless, still stress me now and again.

1) The chance that I'll always have to maintain a FTJ even as I continue to sell books.

2) My writing time is more likely to shrink than grow, especially since I'll always have a FTJ. I'll always have a family. I'll always want a life outside of those things. I sort of enjoy sleeping.

There are days when I feel as if I'm the only writer in the world continuing to angst over these things. Forget that I can't control either one or that it's been a stark reality almost from day one, so six years later it should be like, whatever. It's not.

The reality is easier to swallow when I'm reminded that I'm not alone in my feelings or my struggle.

Like manna from heaven, Emily St. John wrote a sobering, yet enlightening post about Working The Double Shift (also known as Paula's life) and YA author, Sarah Dessen posted about the special challenges us mothers face when we've got to get some words on screen.

Both pieces calmed my usually frazzled nerves. I'm not thrilled about the prospect of being on a professional treadmill my entire career. Nor can I say, I'm totally at peace with having to squeeze writing time in where I can. I consider writing what I do. It's my job, albeit not my sole job. So "squeezing" in time to do it offends my writer's sensibilities. I mean what would my supervisor at the FTJ say if I said "well, let me see if I can squeeze coming in, today?"

Yet, it's my reality - good, bad, or ugly. Glad to know I'm in very good company.

Del Rio Bay Blog Tour

2009-09-29T07:52:00.001-04:00

It's funny. I've heard different sides of what life's like writing adult fiction. On some accounts, I hear adult authors are "much more" supportive of one another, helping one another to push books into hands of readers. And then on the direct flip side, I hear that they're really not close or connected at all.

I'm sure there's truth in both sides.

But let me say this, in the children's writing community, it's all love. That's been my experience from the moment I joined the Yahoo Chick Lit Group (now the Teen Lit Group) to the day Varian Johnson, Kelly Starling Lyons, Don Tate and Carla Sarratt and I decided to launch The Brown Bookshelf. I've had nothing but positive experiences.

The community is close, eager to spread the word about new work, encouraging when you're having a bad writing day and simply a huge shoulder to lean on during the tough and often lonely times. True enough, some days I've got to pull myself totally out so I can focus more on writing. But if I had to decide - go it totally alone so I wouldn't have the distraction of socializing vs. having a cadre of writing buds to call on - it's a no brainer.

I'm still deep in the hole writing and I don't know how long I'll be there. But before I disappeared-ish, I called on some of those friends and asked them to host my blog tour. I wanted to do a big push of the series now that all five books are out. And even though every person I called on was busy promoting and/or writing, they all said yes.

Check me (and them) out:

Chicklit Gurrl - Shon Bacon goes above and beyond the call and makes a trailer for the DRB series! *mwah*

Musings of A Novelista - Karen Strong asks me about the importance of authors having a web presence and why it matters to label my work "multi-culti."

Devyn Burton - Devyn hosts me and makes me feel all edgy and stuff.

Rawsistaz - I have a great talk with the Rawsistaz lit group about their thoughts on the series.

Linda Gerber - I'm Gerb's Freebie Friday feature. Hey, say that fast five times!

Melissa Walker and Readergirlz - I'm double-booked at Melissa Walker's and Readergirlz talking about the story behind my covers. Ever wondered why I have both graphic and photo covers? I spill...

Mitali's Fire Escape - Mitali and I talk about how I was as a teen and whether or not I'd write a boy protag or one who isn't African American.

YA Fresh - Kelly Parra and Tina Ferraro's blog is the place to find the freshest YA and I was lucky to be a catch of the day for the tour.

- Color Online is all about strong women writers. They make me put my thinking cap on and talk about who/what made me the writer I am today.

APOOO Books - Hopefully, APOOO can still squeeze me in. I turned in my interview answers late. But check out the site, anyway. It's chock full of literary goodness.

Real Teen Talk: Landsdowne PL

2009-09-24T06:44:00.002-04:00

*waves* Hi ladies! I'm posting this hoping you won't notice it's late but umm....you probably do. Sorry!

I had a great time with you, the other day, during my first live Real Teen Talk. It's visits like this that remind me why I enjoy writing for teens.

For everyone else who doesn't know what I'm talking about - I visited the Landsdowne Public Library and had the pleasure of meeting several young readers. And because I love torturing, er spreading the joy of writing to others, I did what I always do on these visits - gave them a tough writing assignment with an ungodly deadline. The ladies were tasked with writing an advice column solving an issue straight out of one of the Del Rio Bay books. Their deadline? Fifteen minutes.

The winning entry gets the spotlight here.

Ladies, just so you know, my mom thought everybody should be a winner. And that's a very mom thing to say, isn't it?

But P's a hardcore competitive person. So...an A for effort for everyone participating. Love that! But I've gotta give the top spot to...

Rena Crandell

The problems they solved weren't easy and they only had fifteen minutes to create a magazine-type advice column to share their wisdom.

In the game of Real Teen Talk there is no judgement, just an opportunity for teens to say how they might help one another through an issue. No easy task. All the ladies were great sports and took on the task willingly. And special kudos to their Librarian who took a shot at the task and tore it up! Her entry was great.

Still, I promised a winner and Rena's it. Read on...

Caught Up!

[The PROBLEM]Dear Real Teen Talk,
My boyfriend saw me talking to another guy and got jealous. As I was trying to explain he smacked me. He apologized right after. He's never hit me before and I believe that he's sorry but people say if he hits you once it'll happen again. Do I give him another chance?

Step To Him
Go up to him and tell him that he really hurt your feelings and that he should handle things more maturely.

We're done-ish
Leave him alone, for like three days. Let him earn your trust back.

This is the last straw
What I'd do is...call him up and tell him to stop being insecure or you're out. Let him know, if he has you already it should be no problem when you talk to other people.

P.S. Love to Saquetta Crandell and Valyncia Davis!! You guys were a lot of fun. Of course I was going to shout you out, even if you didn't win! :-)

Pardon My Absence

2009-09-01T11:49:00.002-04:00

Let me just go ahead an apologize, now. To everyone whose call I don't return. For all the emails that may get backlogged. Hell, for all the dinners that may not get cooked. Sorry, y'all!

I'm writing again.

Yep, back in the saddle.

Immersed in the writing pool.

Down in the hole.

Call it what you want, but it means that mentally a large chunk of my brain will simply not be paying attention to much else.

I have my issues with Diddy, but he said something on Making His Band (yeah, I'm watching it. So sue me!) that resonates deep with me. He was talking about his new CD and how important working on it was for him. Then he said something to the effect that in order to succeed at something you have to be obsessed with it.

That's an entirely true statement.

People have asked how I wrote five books in three years while still working full time, raising a family and coaching a cheer squad. You'd think the person who took part in it would know, but I don't. I don't know how I did it except I was obsessed with writing. It wasn't something I wanted to do as much as it was something I had to do - literally and figuratively.

Literally, I was under contract. The funny thing about getting paid is, it makes you want to get the job done.

Figuratively, the voices of my characters possess me, forcing me to pay heed to their whisperings lest I lose what's left of my mind.

This go round, I have no contract to spur me (and that's a huge bummer) but I do have several stories sitting on my chest. They're not pressing so hard I can't breathe, but that's only because so far I haven't let them.

Now I'm going to let them. I've put everything in front of writing, the last year, because I needed to. You don't stay obsessed for three years and not have some making up to do. So I had to take the break the last nine months or so.

But I'm about to gear up into pure selfish mode, which means I won't let anything get in front of my writing time. Sorry fam. Sorry friends. Sorry social networks. That's the life of a writer - letting the voices control you for awhile.

I'll check in periodically. So, be good while I'm gone or they'll be hell to pay.

This is why it's hot!

2009-08-30T15:50:00.002-04:00

The best part about being an author is, people think you know things. So they call you and ask you questions and you can spout off about anything you want.

So, when Wendy Coakley Thompson called wanting to inquire why YA is so hot, right now, I went on and on. And contrary to the aspects of the Sormag chat where it was debated if it were hot or not, YA is hot. There's a lot of focus on it, certain YA best sellers are getting total mainstream attention (Hello, Hunger Games) and well, I write it...so um, by association it's hot!

Check Wendy's article, leave a comment on her article and weigh in - is YA hot or not? And how come?

Top Teen Books in '09

2009-08-24T11:31:00.002-04:00

Ahh did you think I was going to list them?

Namp!

The list is all up to you, dear teen readers. Head over to YALSA and submit up to three books that you think are the tops for '09.

Yes, it would be wonderful if you submitted Flipping The Script, but I'm all about free love. I feel like if enough love is given - no matter to whose book, I'll get it back at some point.

So go, nom what you want.

BTW, YALSA stands for Young Adult Library Services Association. Consider yourself, schooled.

Real Teen Talk - Drama-Free, That's Me!

2009-08-18T08:40:00.001-04:00

Drama-free, That's Me!

Write, Damn You!

2009-08-12T13:10:00.003-04:00

It's no secret to most I've had a rough year. My dad passing, my fam's car accident and then there's the general burn out that comes from being a multi-slash (mom/wife, PR hack/writer/self-promoter).

Through it all, I've tried to maintain a writing schedule. For weeks at a time I managed to do so and then for weeks at a time I didn't. Usually when I need a break from something (like say exercise) I don't angst over it. My body or mind is tired, I know I need the break, so I take it. Guilt-free.

Not so with writing.

When I take a writing "break" either I outwardly angst or it bubbles underneath, the characters, story lines never too far from my mind making me want to run for a notebook even though I know a break is what I need.

I don't need excuses. Having a full-time job, a family and stomping the yard (aka promotion) for the Del Rio Bay series are pretty much explanation enough for why my mind is often too tired to properly engage with new imaginary characters.

But the light at the end of the break tunnel is - the new school year.

Yippe kay yay mo' fo's...school is back in session soon and I'm hoping it's the springboard to launch me back into a consistent and regular writing schedule.

We'll see.

On one hand, I wouldn't mind taking off a solid year from writing. I mean five books in three years, you do the math and if you're not tired afterwards, give me a call, I have some books I need you to tap out for me!

But on the other, these characters keep whispering in my ear. And while I rarely have the time or energy to hear them out, I also need to shut them up.

So, the countdown begins. In two blissful weeks both the Princesses will be back in school and I'll be back in the saddle...I hope!!!

Readergirlz Love Drama

2009-08-03T22:41:00.002-04:00

So Not The Drama that is.

The Readergirlz Divas and their Postergirlz advisory council has selected So Not The Drama as a recommended read.

It's no secret that I'm a Readergirlz fan. They promote great books that focus on the inner strength every woman, young and not so young, possesses. Having my book selected as a must read is truly an honor.

Mad girl-power shout out for the love!

What makes this doubly delicious is I'm a recommended read the same month my girl, Coe Booth, is the Readergirlz featured author. Coe's gonna be chatting at RGZ on August 26th 9 p.m. Eastern. Please drop by and show her some love as she talks about her book, Kendra.

And if you haven't read Kendra yet, run don't walk to the nearest bricks and mortar book store and cop it. You won't regret it!

I may never get rich, but...

2009-07-24T08:28:00.003-04:00

The odds of me getting rich off my writing are, hmm...about the same as me hitting the lottery. No wait. A little better than those odds because I actually do write books. I don't play the lottery. You get the picture.

Few authors write to get rich. And I'm no different. I'm right with the fact that I'm not gonna make J.K. Rowling paper. But I'm not okay with the ongoing falsity that is this belief 1) Black teens don't read and 2) only a teen of color would read a book about a protagonist of color.

I'm so not okay with it that it's been hard for me to keep my mouth shut about it. And since my middle name is diplomacy, allow me to diplomatically rant against the notion altogether!

Yesterday, Justine Larbalestier spoke out about the cover for her latest novel, Liar. The book's protag is a Black teenager who wears her hair short and natural. The U.S. cover of LIAR features a white teenager with long, brunette hair. Yes, it's a very WTF-moment.

Justine articulated her feelings about the cover, well. The cover isn't what this rant is about.

It's about the larger issue at hand, the belief that a cover with a brown face dooms a book to no-sales land.

Pardon me if I'm totally offended by that notion since I have three books with brown faces on them. Or do my books get a pass because one of those covers happens to also have a white face on them. *rolls eyes*

Here are a few facts (as I see them!):

* YA books by white authors sell better, whether they're about a person of color or not. This isn't because these books are better written, it's because they're marketed to the "mainstream" audience and in relative comparison to - ugh, I'll have to say it "black" books get more marketing push, period.

* YA books by authors of color don't sell as many because they're often niche marketed. LIAR may be causing a stir, but it's also the front cover of the publisher's catalog. Add that and the stir into the pot and tell me what bookstore isn't going to carry it? Any "black" YA book not by Walter Dean Myers or Sharon Flake would love that treatment. Talk good or bad about us, but dammit just talk about us!

One thing that Justine said that nailed all of this home: "Perhaps the whole “black books don’t sell” thing is a self-fulfilling prophecy?" It's starting to feel like it is.

L. Divine's Drama High series are some of the most popular "black" teen lit books out there. The success of her books is not an anamoly. But if enough people say it is, then it will be.

My books aren't pushing Drama High numbers. But then again, half the time readers can't find my books in the store. I know, because I get more emails from people saying "I can't find your book" than I do "I love your book." And I get lots of "I love your books" emails, thank you, very much.

I always direct those email senders to request the book. But let's face it - as a buyer you've already done the one thing advertisers hope you'll do: get to the store and buy it. Having to request it is a real downer. I love reading as much as the next guy, but just how much work do I, the reader, have to do?

Point is, my series has readers. Coe Booth's Kendra has readers. Sherri L. Smith's Fly Girl has readers. Tanita Davis's A La Carte has readers. Varian Johnson's My Life As a Rhombus has readers. Derrick Barnes' The Making of Dr. Truelove has readers. Deborah Gregory's Catwalk has readers. Dana Davidson's Played has readers. And every book on the Brown Bookshelf Teen Lit page has readers.

And I bet some of them are even white readers. *mock awe and surprise*

When I hear the statement "black books don't sell," I know it's false. Usually, when I hear something I know is false, I'm able to discount the statement as silly, ignorant or just plain, wrong. But, this time, we discount these false cries at our own risk. Because as I said, saying it may make it so.

If publishers believe brown books don't sell they'll decrease acquisition of them. Already, these books don't get the marketing push of their mainstream counterparts. Already brown books are piegon-holed and relegated to our cultural lanes. You would have thought the success of Troy CLE's novel, Marvelous World , would have increased the number of fantasy books with brown characters...but not so far.

If the notion that brown books don't sell continues we'll find ourselves back at square one - portrayals of brown characters as the historical fiction and street lit hero.

No. No. And no. We must continue to push toward having depictions of brown characters broadened.

Apparently sales aren't enough, at least if those sales aren't within a certain range. As long as there is a sales goal, publishers can use the generic "they won't sell" statement.

Readers, refuse to be ignored. Write to the publisher of the books I've mentioned or any other brown book you've read and enjoyed and let them know:

I'm a reader. I loved this book. Don't leave me out of the count!

Readers of my series, send your letters here:

Kensington Publishing Corp.
c/o Paula Chase's Books
119 West 40th Street
New York, New York
10018

Be heard. Be counted. Let the industry know, if brown books don't sell it's a total surprise to you!

The 1:30 Factor

2009-07-03T23:26:00.002-04:00

Like most everyone else in the world I'm a Michael Jackson fan. Not one of those conflicted ones who angst over how I should feel about the plastic surgeries and the allegations. I'm a fan, period. Of his music, of his ability to entertain, of what he's done to the musical landscape over the last forty years. And the greatest compliment I can pay to Michael is to say, he sure could tear up the last minute and thirty seconds of a song.

When someone takes that last minute and thirty seconds of the track and gets so lost in the song, he or she takes you with him, that - to me, is the mark of a great artist.

Back in the day, when songs were longer than today's three minute average, artists truly worked audiences into a frenzy. That last minute and a half was the climax, the time to turn it on thick - get some panties thrown on the stage or lure the crazies on stage, make security work for their paychecks. It was that minute thirty zone when the spirit hit the artist and they started going off.

I think a lot, if not all, of the Motown artists from the 60's had the ability to rip it the last minute thirty. But since then only some artists still manage to do so consistently.

Stevie Wonder is one of them. He sings the hell out of the last minute and thirty of his songs. It's when he starts getting "happy" jumps out of his seat, shouts the words like the audience has suddenly gone deaf, gets that head shaking, his fingers stabbing at the piano like the keys are burning his finger tips. It's where his songs cross the line from meaningful lyric to spirited jibber jabber. My favorite part!

Michael Jackson was the same way. The last minute and thirty of many of his songs was when he'd start that crazy talk "you can't, you got, you have." Not one complete sentence because he's just in the groove and the emotion is more tangible than the lyric!

Minute thirty is when the heart of the song begins beating. If it's a dance song, it's when the artists forgets he's performing. Instead he's living the dance. If it's a ballad, it's when the tears spring, the begging becomes real.

It's the emotional core of the song.

I wish more artists, today, understood the art of the last minute and thirty seconds of their music. Too many keep the same tone and cadence from start to finish. It's too practiced. What changed in the music industry that artist stopped getting off on their music in the studio? Does it really take a stage and audience for their own music to touch their souls?

If so, that damn sure explains some of the industry's issues.

I'm a music fan. So if a song makes me move or sing or touches something in me, I like it. Still, there's only one contemporary artist that has the 1:30 factor: Ne-Yo.

Forget that he writes his own music (something he shares in common with Wonder and Jackson), young brother rips through the last minute and thirty like an old school soul singer. Sometimes, when I listen to "Do You" I rewind the last minute and thirty over and over, lost in his groove.

See if you do the same...

"Dirty Diana" Video

"Do You" Video

Real Teen Talk June Chat

2009-06-15T18:10:00.002-04:00

Buh-Bye Friend

Balls Dropping Everywhere...

2009-06-13T18:30:00.001-04:00

I've had to come to terms with the fact that there is no such thing as juggling it "all."

Sorry, future generation of writers, mommas and daddy's who think they'll be the ones to master the great lifefail that is having a career, family, social life all while eating healthy and exercising. Nope, just ain't gonna happen people. I know because I've been on a quest to do it "all" since I entered the workforce.

Now, now, it's not all doom and gloom. Honestly, once you come to terms with it, it's sort of nice - like seeing the white light leading to the pearly gates.

My realization came after I admitted that while I actually did achieve near daily blogging during BEDA and held on kind of nice to a regular schedule early May - the second I decided that maybe finishing my next novel was a bit more important than blogging, everything went to hell in a handbasket. No, I'm not sure exactly what that means but I'm pretty sure it's what happened.

Keep in mind that while blogging and a good deal of my social networking has been on the decline writing my next book, spending time with my family (working the dreaded full-time job FTJ) and working out regularly are on the uptick.

See, ALL of it can't be done, but most of it can.

For reasons I'm uncertain - possibly because writers have a natural case of the guilts, anyway, I always feel bad when my social networking suffers from me actually living life.

It's just like when you begin slowly losing touch with old friends - you feel like you need to make an excuse for why you haven't called more often.

So, truth is, I haven't called because I'm making an actual attempt to have a life. Hope no one holds it against me...working off the guilt in addition to the 19 pounds I'm trying to lose would be near impossible.

Real Teen Talk Chat - June 15th

2009-06-09T22:27:00.001-04:00

Has it been a month already?!

You betcha.

Monday is my second RTT chat. We'll be talking about when to cut a friendship.

If I were...

2009-06-09T10:52:00.002-04:00

A musician, would you expect me to answer the phone while I'm in the booth recording?

An artist, would you burst into my studio expecting me to stop mid-stroke to chat?

An actress, would you demand the cameras stop rolling so I could help you with your problem?

Doubtful. Yet, because I'm a writer, it seems the world around me thinks that it's okay to interrupt.

If this phenomena were germane only to me, I'd brush it off as my family and friends not getting the level of solitude and concentration I need to create. But it's an illness that afflicts many of my author friends.

What is it about writing that people take it so lightly as an art? Is it because sitting at the computer looks like any other type of work or play? Would I really look this focused playing Solitaire?

In order for me to write well, there's a level of detachment I've got to achieve. Not the loveliest word, for sure. But exactly what I meant. When I write, I detach myself from this world and float into the world I'm creating.

Maybe it seems pretentious to non-writers. Or maybe they think it's easy to fall in and out of the haze. For me, it's not and it's been awhile since I've truly given into the tug of detachment.

I'm enjoying the 500 Word Challenge. Got in over 5,000 words, last week.

The Challenge forces me to visit my manuscript, daily. But I've yet to reach that level where I block out everything - hunger, thirst, fatigue, and my family - to stay in that zone. I want to, but since I'm not a musician, artist or actress, walking into my office, apparently, is an invitation to the world to interrupt. I mean, somehow even people NOT in my house seem to know when I'm writing because that's when they call.

Not the ten hours before when I was sitting on my duff. Only when I step foot into the office to write.

Sounds like a writing retreat is in order.

Hmm...