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Unika Welcomes AAMBC Winter Tours Featuring Author Kire Senoj

2012-02-11T12:34:00.000-06:00

Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH; Kire Senoj discovered his gift for writing while attending Wilberforce University. His writing talent has afforded him the opportunity to present on various platforms throughout the nation and has garnered mass appeal.

His direct and in your face writing about uncomfortable situations such as homophobia, racial prejudice, HIV/AIDS, religion, and the absence of positive role models for youth has been applauded by all that have had the privelage of hearing his writings.

Kire has a desire to share his message with the world and bring light to some very dark situations. He believes that his voice has been created to aid in bringing about change by any means necessary and will not stop until he has witnessed a transformation in the attitude and thought of those he targets. He is passionate about his work and the impact that it can have on a person’s psyche and will continue to ignite flames of change from every microphone he utilizes.

In order to bridge the gap between people of diverse backgrounds, my words have been penned to provoke thought, provide insight, inspire change, and prove that struggles have no respect of person.

Getting to know Kire:
1. How long have you been writing?
“I’ve been writing since childhood; writing song lyrics and short stories, but I never took writing seriously until 2002 when I was entered into a spoken word class project without my permission by a close friend. Reciting my words, seeing the reaction from the audience and the comments made afterwards pushed me to into for real.

2. What inspires you to write?
“I’m inspired by GOD, family, LOVE, music, people, places and all things beautiful. Also, by what I see every day outside my window or on the news and what I and others around me go through.”

3. Who are some of your writing influences?
“Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Dianne Warren, Lalah Hathaway, Deana Dean, T.D.Jakes, E. Lynn Harris, Ledisi, Carl Webber, Rahsaan Patterson Jean Toomer and so many others; I love writers who write straight from the heart.”

4. Is My Mind’s Eye vol.1 autobiographically written?
“Not entirely. The short stories are purely fiction, but only a few of the poems are about me or involve me.”

5. With the poems about or involving you, was it easy to be so open about yourself and the things you’ve been through?
“Well, yes and no. It surely made me think and rethink about revealing myself, my insecurities, failures and some of my weaknesses to the world, but thinking about the reactions and comments I receive after reciting some of my poetry made it an easier task. If I can help anyone with my words then it’s all worth it.

6. What is your goal or objective with this book?
“My goal and objective is to inspire, motivate, encourage, and provoke thought”

7. What future projects do you have in store and are you working on anything else at the moment?
“Currently I am working on an as of yet untitled novel. The last short story of My Mind’s Eye vol.1 titled One More Chance is the prequel to this upcoming novel. I’m looking to release it the last quarter of 2012 or the first quarter of 2013.

My Mind’s Eye is a collection of poetic works inspired by what I see, hear, and feel throughout everyday life.

I use words to express the passion and pain of love; the struggles of race; the self-conflicts between sexual orientation and religious freedom; and the ever consistent delirium of genocide within the African American community.

In order to bridge the gap between people of diverse backgrounds, my words have been penned to provoke thought, provide insight, inspire change, and prove that struggles have no respect of person.

Excerpt:
It’s sick’nin… Reading a newspaper or turning on the news
afterwards feeling the Miles Davis kind of blues. Everyday someone is killing their child or molesting a baby. Babies havin babies, Mother’s throwing their babies away; such an awful price 2 pay when WE lay. Damn! Why are things turning out 2B this way? GOD R U Lis’nin 2 the wordz I say? A fellow lyricist wrote “I believe the children are our future, teach them well”…but all we’re doing is sending them 2 a mental hell, holding their mindz, heartz, body and soul hostage in a locked Unpadded cell.

How can a parent kill their child? Sik MuthaFuka! telling the judge it was a build up of stress because your husband left and you feel your life’s a mess? Uuh Uuh Uuh…U Sik MuthaFuka I guess. U killed your child because your husband went bucwild, Gave his time, money and lovin’ 2 anotha chick

You’re a sik demented little witch. I hope hell has a seat waiting while you’re sitting in jail contemplating on what U should do Sik MuthaFuka I’ve had enuff ov U and the so called king of R&B who has a fetish for urine and teenage girls, U know the 1 who says he has the best of both worlds. Sik MuthaFuka got a wife and children ov your own, No longer can U command respect when U step 2 the microphone. Singing your song I believe I can fly Sik MuthaFuka Y U Lie? U don’t see nuthin wrong with a lil bump n’ grind?

It is when it fucks with the mind of a girl under developed and underage because U had her lay center stage While U took the time to degrade her body and yourself, Risking your own and her health. Everyone’s bringing the noize because you’re famous and U sing, but didn’t father so-n-so do the Xact same thing? Now the Cardinal wants trust restored into the catholic priests, My GOD when will this madness cease?

For centuries, decades, and years little boys have gone home crying so many tears; afraid 2 tell and ashamed 2 say that a sik muthafuka touched them the wrong way. Saying:”U must never tell, or your soul will surely go to hell”. Help me understand; is this apart of GOD’s divine plan? 4 my life? Is filled with much pain and strife. All this has caused major confusion; I don’t know if my life is real or an illusion. 2 much shit 4 a young mans’ mind, 2 much shit 4 a mental rewind.

Going back 2 the day when momma asked, R U gay? Where did I go wrong? I didn’t raise U that way! Get the fuck out, and find some other place 2 stay!

(ahahhahahaha)I have 2 laugh 2 keep from crying because inside momma I am surely dying. My mind nor my heart can conceive that it was a sik muthafuka U chose 2 believe instead of ….me…
The 1 U nursed, nourished and carried for 9 months, but later pushed me aside 4 some alcohol, a dick, and some blunts. Your boyfriend took sumthin from me I can never get back, but I was the 1 U choose 2 attack? He stole my purity, my innocence, and my childhood I was only 10 so I never understood how 1 could or why 1 would do that 2 a child, momma your man is nothing more than a pedophile!

This poem is dedicated to the sik muthafuka’s who have killed or wounded their children sittin in jail awaiting their final sentence 2 Hell. This is a shout out 2 that R&B singer, songwriter and producer who used his lyrics, his voice and his status 2 seduce a slew of little girls robbing them of their virginity and stealing their precious pearls. This goes out 2 every minister; mother’s boyfriend, teacher, and priest living or deceased that have used a little boy for their favorite past time sexual toy.

Children are supposed to be handled with care they’re not put here to have so many burdens 2 bare. Children are a gift from GOD above they are to be kissed and embraced only with LOVE; because LOVE is what GOD is all about!

Find the Author:
www.facebook.com/kire.senoj
www.twitter.com/kire_senoj
kire_sennoj@yahoo.com
lifepainlove@gmail.com

Find the Book:
www.amazon.com
www.barnesandnobles.com
www.lifepainandlove.blogspot.com

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Winter Tours Featuring Author RAE

2012-02-06T14:57:00.002-06:00

As a child Rae ran across a copy of James Baldwin’s novel Giovanni’s room. It was James Baldwin’s stirring and provocative writing style that fueled her with the passion to write. Rae spent the hours she wasn’t at school or doing household chores writing short stories and poetry.

At age twelve Rae abandoned her pen and pad and became engrossed in the drama of her hood. By age sixteen Rae was a single mother and dropped out of school to raise her newborn child.

Rae spent her twenties hopping from one job to the next, disgusted with the lack of ethics and integrity in her work environments. After resigning from her umpteenth job, receiving the news of her fiancé’s death, and awaiting a criminal trial, after not being in trouble with the law since she was a juvenile, Rae laid back in her bed replaying the events of her life over in her mind.

Feeling like she had no one to turn to, Rae turned back to her pen and pad. She decided no matter what she would accomplish her goal of being an author. But this time her writing wouldn’t include rescues and fairytale endings. She would write about the drama of urban life and incorporate scenarios regarding social and domestic issues that plague urban communities. Soon after Abnormal Lives was born.

Get to Know the Author:
1. When did you start writing, and did you always envision being an author? I start writing when I was eight years old and I’ll tell you, more than a decade has past and I still enjoy how a story can excite, shock, and expand the minds of readers. I knew I would be an author ever since the day I finished reading Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. I laid across the bed thinking about how emotive the novel was and that’s when the thought of being an author entered my mind. From that day forward I knew I would be an author I just didn’t know during what phase of my life it would occur.

2. Where do you get your ideas? Life, that’s where I get my ideas from, things happen in our families, personal lives, and communities every day that we are uncomfortable discussing and those are the topics I like to focus on in my writing.

3. Are there any particular authors that have influenced your writing? I would have to say James Baldwin and Iceberg Slim. James Baldwin’s stirring and provocative writing style instilled me with the passion to write and Iceberg Slim’s raw unadulterated voice gave me the valor to express myself freely as a writer.

4. If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published that you would change? As far as my novel goes it was originally written in the first person viewpoint after I finished writing it I read through it and realized the story would read better in third person. I wish I would have realized that from the start but if nothing else it was a learning experience. The only thing I regret doing when I was searching for a publisher is not submitting my work simultaneously instead of sending a copy of my manuscript to a publisher and waiting six months or more for them to say yay or nay before I submitted my work to another publisher. When you don’t submit your work simultaneously it gets to be a bit daunting.

5. What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why? I enjoyed writing the scene in chapter twelve when Paris exposed Michael by airing his dirty laundry in front of the police. Michael was a lying conniving dog and I couldn’t wait to write the scene where Paris called him out.

6. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? I learned that writing a novel takes dedication, not only to your work but to your readers also. When writing a novel you want to produce an enjoyable product without jeopardizing your voice. If you’re constantly going back over your work changing things because you’re worried it will rub someone the wrong way your voice will fail to shine through. When you’re writing be yourself readers will appreciate you for it.

7. Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers? I’m new to this so the only advice I feel confident giving is, don’t let self-criticism or the criticism of others prevent you from pursuing your dream.

Simone and Stefan are cousins, who are more like brother and sister, having been raised by their now deceased maternal grandmother. Both of their mothers abandoned them at various ages, leaving them to fend for themselves. Years after their grandmother’s death, the two of them are still residing in her home; sliding under the government’s radar by keeping up the property taxes and hoping that no one will ever notice that she is deceased.

In order to make ends meet, they are both prostitutes. Stefan is openly gay and in love with a man named Eugene who is really using him for his money. Simone is living life on the edge and picking up random men who are willing to foot the bill for her special skills. Stefan tries to get Simone to straighten up and fly right, suggesting that they both seek employment at a local bank.

While Stefan sees their new positions as a chance for redemption, Simone only views the bank as a way to pick up wealthy men to sleep with for money. After attending a festival in New Orleans, Stefan decides to rip off some drugs from a man he hooked up with; pulling Simone into something that she certainly had not bargained for. Will the two cousins abandon their reckless lifestyle or will their lifestyle lead them both to a tragic end?

Chapter 1
It was ten o’clock on a Friday night. Simone sat inside of the fitness center, entertaining her client, Mason. Mason was the director of the center and usually planned their meetings there after-hours. Simone sat on the edge of the hot tub wearing a pink G-string and Mason stood inside the encircling pool with Simone’s thighs resting on his shoulders.

“My wife saw the present you gave me a few weeks back,” Mason announced proudly, as he walked his fingers up Simone’s thighs.

Simone sighed. It’s not like it’s the first time and it won’t be the last, she thought. “Well, what did she think of it?” Simone tried not to disclose how humored she was by her remark.

“Let’s just say she didn’t like it as much as I did.”

The present Mason referred to was the hickey Simone had placed on the shaft of his penis. That was her trademark. Men from all over the Tri-City area contacted her to see could and would the pretty, petite, wavy-haired, fair-skinned doll baby pucker up her plump pink lips to perform the act that all of their friends and colleagues bragged about.

Once she proved that she could and would, if they were willing to pay her fee for the priceless experience, they became loyal customers that contacted her on a regular basis to have the “O”-shaped bruise on their genitals that they held with the same regards that bikers and gangsters held their tattoos, retouched before it faded away. It had only been three weeks since she had last provided Mason with her services and there he was, standing in front of her waiting to be retouched, among other things.

Simone liked dealing with Mason. She understood what to expect from him. He never showed up drunk or flying off of the handle as a result of hallucinogens. That was behavior she’d tolerated from the petty, low-class criminals she’d started out servicing. They would beat, belittle, and refuse to pay women in her profession after they’d romped around with them on old, pissy mattresses.

Simone had paid her dues to earn the status she now held in her profession and refused to deal with that nonsense. That was one of the reasons why most of her clients were upper middle-class whites; the few that were black held the same social status. The other reason for that was they were willing to pay more money. Money that the lower-class troublemakers couldn’t afford to let leave their pockets.

Mason also referred a lot of his friends to Simone, which was good for business. Simone also liked the fact that Mason wasn’t long-winded. She could get it down as fast as she could get it up and when it was over, it was over. Mason didn’t try to stall to keep her around while he tried to have another erection. Her terms of service were, once her client ejaculated while she performed the service he’d requested, her job was done.

Some of her clients had her perform one act, some paid for two or three, but after they ejaculated as the result of each service, or lost their erection, whichever came first, she was off the clock. Mason stuck to those terms. Being that Mason wasn’t what she considered to be endowed, after she finished with him, she would still be in adequate condition to service another client before calling it a night.

What Simone didn’t like about Mason was how he never seemed to be able to put an end to his idle chitchat. Her time was more valuable to her than her services were to him. The more time she had, the more money she had the opportunity to make. She didn’t want to be rude. After all, he was a longtime customer. So she sat there in a rut while he rambled on about the weather.

It was times like those that made her wish Stefan had come along. He had a way of nipping things in the bud. Although Mason was a huge fan of anal sex, he wasn’t one of her bisexual clients. She often heard him bash gays that attended the fitness center. He would go out his way to express how sickened he was by them.
Simone thought Mason might have been nervous. They had been together numerous times but, for some reason, he always seemed scared to touch her.

Simone’s legs shivered as a result of Mason’s jitteriness. She looked down at him and sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Mason asked.

“Nothing.” Simone removed her legs from Mason’s shoulders. “Come up here with me.”
Mason lifted himself up on the wall of the hot tub and sat beside Simone. Simone stood up, grabbed Mason’s hands, and pulled him closer to her. She knelt down in front of him and blushed at the sight of semen seeping from his partially erect organ. “You mean to tell me you’ve been in the pool hiding this from me all this time.”

“I wasn’t sure if you were ready for it.”

“Oh, is that right?” Simone drooled on his shaft and gently stroked it with her hand.

Mason stood up and began to slide his dick back and forth in her mouth. “That’s right; get it nice and wet.”
That’s a first, Simone thought. Usually, Mason would lay there lifeless, not uttering a single word while she did all of the work.

Simone slid her hands up Mason’s thighs and onto his hips. She thrust him forward, taking him entirely in her mouth. She could feel Mason’s dick pulsate as she secured it in her mouth and gathered saliva to create a massaging motion.

Mason pressed his lips together and looked up at the ceiling. He hoped Simone wouldn’t notice the ugly faces he was making while she pleased him.

Simone slid her index finger inside Mason’s rectum. His knees became weak and he plopped down on the wall of the hot tub. Simone followed his motion, never releasing her grip. Mason tugged on Simone’s weave and moaned at the top of his lungs as he reached his climax. He squirmed, unable to tolerate the overwhelming sensation he was being subjected to.

Simone stroked his organ with her hand to quicken his release. She almost laughed when Mason stood on the tip of his toes like a ballerina and cried out with pleasure.

“Whoo,” Mason cried out in between a series of pants. He looked back up at the ceiling and ran his fingers through Simone’s hair. “You’ve got my head spinning. If you can do all that with your mouth, I can’t wait to see what the pussy is like.”

Simone was puzzled. For as long as she had serviced Mason, he had never asked for pussy. Ass was his thing. Mason loved the way she slid her hips down on his dick until he fully occupied her anus and rode him like a jockey. He would want it tonight when I’m on my period; just my luck, Simone thought.

She sucked on Mason’s lip as she reached between her legs and freed her tampon into the hot tub. She straddled Mason and pushed herself down on his tool. It wouldn’t be long before he reached his climax. Simone could hear Mason’s breaths quicken as she pressed herself down on his dick harder and harder, lingering for a few seconds so he could feel the softness of her walls. In less than two minutes, Mason clutched Simone in his arms and called on the Lord.

Stefan lay in the bed with his man, Eugene. He threw his arm over Eugene’s chest and kissed him.
“Could you move over?” Eugene asked.

Stefan was fed up with Eugene’s attitude. Eugene had changed since he’d landed a job. When Eugene first came home from prison, things were wonderful. They would make love all night and sleep late into the day. Eugene would beg Stefan to let him take the condom off so he could feel his flesh. But now he didn’t even want Stefan to hold him. It was blatantly apparent that their relationship was only a ploy to help Eugene get on his feet. Now that Eugene had found a job and saved some money, he didn’t need Stefan anymore and he was ready to free himself from their relationship.

Stefan wondered if Eugene modeled the clothes he bought for him for some female when he wasn’t around. Stefan was sure Eugene was having sex with a woman in the apartment he paid the rent for. The thought of Eugene trying to impress some random chick with the things he had purchased for him made Stefan sick to his stomach.

Eugene liked females. Stefan saw the way he looked at them. Not only did he admire their beauty, he wanted to be entangled in it, he wanted a piece for himself. He’d noticed Eugene checking out the curves on his cousin, Simone, when he’d introduced them. He never brought them around one another again. He could not trust Eugene and he realized that Simone was weak.

Stefan attempted to kiss Eugene again.

Eugene pulled the covers over his head. “Come on with that. I’m tired,” he grumbled.

Life is too short for shit like this, Stefan thought. If Eugene was willing to throw away the security that Stefan provided him with over a female, then he could go right ahead. He was sure Eugene would run into some shabby whore that would fool him into believing that she was a lady. She’d be a little girl who had no clue where she was going; only what she wanted from him. She’d convince him that she was high-class when she was extremely high-maintenance. Eugene would exhaust his little savings trying to keep up with her and, when his money was gone, she would be also.

Stefan got out of bed and put on his clothes.
“Where you going?” Eugene asked.
“Home.”
“You’re not gonna fix me nothing to eat before you leave?”
“No.”
“Come on with that; a nigga’s hungry.”
“You’ve got two hands; fix it yourself,” Stefan said as he opened the bedroom door and made his way down the stairs.
“Don’t forget the rent is due next week!” Eugene yelled.
“And don’t forget you’ve got a job now and you can pay it,” Stefan said as he slammed the front door.
© 2011 Rae

Find the Author:
Web links: http://www.facebook.com/DomainRae
http://www.facebook.com/AuthoressRae
http://twitter.com/Itsjust_Rae
Email: itsjustrae@ymail.com
Link to buy at Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/abnormal-lives-rae/1102568444

Unika Welcomes Tywebbin Virtual Tours Featuring Author Stephanie Perry Moore and the Morgan Love Virtual Book Tour

2012-02-06T08:45:00.000-06:00

About the Author

STEPHANIE PERRY MOORE is the author of many YoungAdult Christian fiction titles, including the Payton Skky series, the LaurelShadrach series, the Perry Skky Jr. series, the Faith Thomas Novelzine series,the Carmen Browne series, and the Beta Gamma Pi series. She is also theco-editor for the impactful BibleZine, REAL. Mrs. Moore speaks with youngpeople across the country, showing them how they can live life fully and do itGod’s way. Stephanie currently lives in the greater Atlanta area with herhusband, Derrick, a former NFL player and author, and their three children.Visit her website at www.stephanieperrymoore.com.

About the Books

The Morgan Love Series is a chapter bookseries written for girls, 7 – 9 years old. The series provides moral lessonsthat will aid in character development. It will also help young girls develop their vocabulary, English and mathskills as they read through the stories and complete the entertaining andeducational exercises provided at the end of each chapter and in the back ofthe book.


A+ Attitude
Morganis sad and mad at the world because things are not going the way shewants. Why does my daddy have to leaveagain to save the country? Why do I haveto go live with mommy and her new husband? Why does my mommy have to have a newbaby? Why do I have to go to a new school? Why do I have to make new friends?  Why? Why? Why? Though she ishaving a hard time adjusting to all the new things in her life, especially hernew baby brother and stepdad, Derek, Morgan makes up her mind that no matterwhat is going on, she is going to have an A+ attitude.

Speak Up
WhenMorgan discovers that Antoine and Alec, the new kids on her block are bigbullies she doesn’t know what to do. When she goes back to school, she findsout that Alec is the also the new kid in her class. When her friend Trey, stopshanging out with her and the others and hangs out with Alec instead, she isworried. She doesn’t want Trey to get into trouble nor have the other kidsthink she’s a tattletale. Morgan is having a hard time knowing what she shoulddo. Should she continue to keep quiet oris it time to speak up?

Something Special
Morgan,wanting to fit in with the crowd, teases a large girl and a special-ed kid atschool. When she is caught she has to goto the principal’s office. When shefinds out how much her teasing hurt her classmates she feels bad. Later, whileplaying together, Morgan and her cousins all share a secret wish. Morgan wants to be prettier. Drake wants tobe taller. Sadie wants longer hair. Whenshe goes to vacation bible school Morgan learns that God made each person justthe way they are for a reason, even those kids she laughed at and teased. Justthe way they are, is okay and they are all something special to God.
Right Thing

When Morgan lets her best friend, Brook talk her into doing something hermommy tells her not to do, she gets into trouble. But that does not stop Morgan from disobeyingher mommy again. When she ignores hermommy and takes her iPod to school, she not only gets in trouble but is badlyhurt by one of the older girls. She learnsthat when she doesn't obey her parents she is not only letting them down butGod too. The next time Brook tries to talk Morgan into doing what she knows is wrong;Morgan decides to do the right thing.

No Fear
Don’t be afraid. Have no fear. That’s what Morgan’s parents andgrandparents were always telling her. But she was having a hard time doing what they said as she thought aboutthe big test coming up and wondered if her daddy was on the navy shipped thatwas recently attacked. When Morgan shares her fears with her mommy, her mommytells her about the good news from God and about Heaven, Morgan begins tounderstand why her parents and grandparents are always telling her to have nofear.

Purchase the Books Online at:
Amazon.com
BarnesandNoble.com

Book Trailer:
A+ Attitude-Morgan Love Series

Book Review
Stephanie Perry Moore is a great storyteller and has a creative and descriptive voice that children can easily relate to in her books. A+ Attitude is the story of witty second grader Morgan Love. Young Morgan is having a difficult time adjusting to the grown up changes that are happening around her. Her main question is why. She wants to know why her life has to change because of the grownups in her life. She begins to develop a nasty attitude and is very mean. Soon, something happens that makes Morgan really sad and she realizes that she needs to change her attitude for good.

This is a wonderful story that teaches life lessons about attitude, character, and personal growth. I rated this book 4.5 Chocolate Stars according to my rating scale.

For More Information

Visit the author online at:
www.stephanieperrymoore.com

View the blog tour schedule at:
http://www.tywebbin.com/blog-tours/authors-on-tour/2012-tours/

Unika Welcomes EDC Creations Winter Book and Blog Tours Featuring Author Lutishia Lovely

2012-01-24T16:30:00.000-06:00

Lutishia Lovely burst on to the scene with Sex In The Sanctuary, a novel that crosses genres and shakes up comfort zones. Billed as the book “where sex and spirituality collide,” the year of its release SITS positioned Lutishia as a Debut Author Finalist at the Southeastern Arts Association’s Literary Awards. The novel was a bestseller on Amazon, Black Expressions and other internet sites and the subsequent books in this ongoing series: Love Like Hallelujah, A Preacher’s Passion, Heaven Right Here, Reverend Feelgood and Heaven Forbid, have enjoyed tremendous success as well, and have made her a popular guest with book clubs, magazines and radio stations.

Thankful to be living her dream, Lutishia is also humbled to be the voice for so many who feel silenced. From molestation, homosexuality and infidelity in ministry to her latest series, The Business, that examines the dynamics of dysfunction among family and society, she approaches each topic with compassion and unconditional love—offering a safe place for those who’ve experienced such challenges to come forward and be “seen,” and also encouraging dialogue along with the space for healing and understanding. “You’re the only you that we will ever see,” she says, in celebration of individual uniqueness. “To thine own self be true or, in other words…do you.”

Currently, Lutishia is busy at work on her second series, which features All Up In My Business, Mind Your Own Business, and Taking Care Of Business. Fans of the Hallelujah Love series will be happy to know that that series continues in 2012.

In addition to juggling these two projects, she also keeps close tabs on her alter-ego, Zuri Day, who whips up sizzling romances for the lover in us all. When not writing, Lutishia indulges in her other loves: sports, cooking, international travel, and entertaining family and friends in southern California.

Explore Business Series and The Hallelujah Love Series

Purchase Mind Your Own Business by Lutishia Lovely

Purchase All Up In My Business by Lutishia Lovely

Mind Your Own Business
by Lutishia Lovely

Lutishia Lovely dishes up a decadent helping of love, lust, greed, and secrecy in this riveting tale of a family's soul food dynasty...

Life is good for the Livingstons. Business is booming, Taste of Soul is launching a West Coast division, and Bianca Livingston and her brother, Jefferson, are vying to head it up—which means their long simmering rivalry is about to boil over...

Having completed a culinary course in Paris—along with a hot love affair—Bianca feels more than ready to take the reins in L.A. Her parents' insistence that she marry a man of their choosing only fuels her ambition. Jefferson is hoping the position will free him to be with the secret L.A. love his family would never approve of. But the two soon realize that between their meddling cousin, Toussaint, and the return of an enemy bent on crushing the Livingston empire, they aren't the only ones in this competition. And when company money mysteriously starts disappearing, they'll find it's hard to run a business when no one can mind their own...

Peer Reviews for Lutishia Lovely

"Lovely once again expertly illuminates the wacky world of the devout and devoutly devilish. " —Publishers Weekly on Reverend Feelgood

"Vibrant characters, artful storytelling, and an original voice make Lutishia Lovely worth every moment. " —Donna Hill

"A great new taste in the literary world. " —Carl Weber

Chapter One from Mind Your Own Business

"Why can't a woman be on top?" Bianca Livingston demanded, tossing shoulder-length, straightened hair over her shoulder. She stood over her older brother as if ready to strike, looking totally capable of kicking butts and taking names. Her quick smile, short stature, and girly frame had caused many men to underestimate her—to their peril. But anyone seeing her now—shoulders back, hands on hips, her perfectly tailored black suit and four-inch heels adding to her aura of power—would believe her capable of running almost anything. "I'm as qualified to run the West Coast division as you are, even more so, matter of fact."

"You're qualified to run the kitchen, maybe," her older brother retorted. Jefferson suppressed a smile. He'd taunted his sister from birth, and he did so now. Her fiery personality was the perfect foil for his laid-back teasing. But even with his ongoing provocations, this time Jefferson's antics masked the seriousness of his quest. He had every intention of being the Livingston who moved to LA to establish the Taste of Soul restaurants both there and in Nevada.

But unlike most Livingstons, he didn't like confrontation or competition. He'd quietly made his bid to step away from his cushy position in the finance department to run the West the same way he cooked his ribs: low and slow. "Isn't that why you spent the last nine months in Paris?" he queried to underscore his point. "Learning the fine art of cooking so that you could give our soul food some class?"

Actually, Bianca had fled to Paris to get away from the chain around her neck otherwise known as fiancé Cooper Riley, Jr. But only one other person knew this truth—her cousin, Toussaint Livingston. Initially, forestalling the marriage everyone else believed was a fait accompli was also why she'd expressed interest in running the West Coast locations. But now, after months of talking with Toussaint, who, besides being her confidant and a Food Network star, was also the ambitious brainchild behind their company expanding out West, Bianca wanted to relocate to put her mark on the Livingston dynasty and make the West Coast Taste of Soul restaurants shine.

Bianca replied, "Need I remind you that I have not only a culinary certificate from Le Cordon Bleu, but also an undergrad and a graduate degree in business administration?"

"No, little sis, you don't need to remind me." Jefferson's smirk highlighted the dimple on his casually handsome face, his sienna skin further darkened by the November sun. His deep-set brown eyes twinkled with merriment. "But do I have to remind you that I have double masters in business administration and finance?" Jefferson had been the first Livingston in two decades to follow up his stint at Morehouse with two years at Wharton's School of Business.

Bianca, knowing that she couldn't go toe to toe when it came to her brother's education, tried a different route. She walked away from Jefferson and sat in one of the tan leather chairs in the artistically appointed office. Reaching for a ballpoint pen that lay on his large and messy mahogany desk, she adopted a calmer tone, yet couldn't totally lose the petulance in her voice. "Jefferson, the only reason Dad is promoting the idea of your heading up the location is because you're the oldest."

"And the son, don't forget about that. You know Dad doesn't want to see his baby girl fly too far from the nest."

"Okay, probably that, too," Bianca conceded. It was no secret that when it came to her father, Abram "Ace" Livingston, she was the apple of his all-seeing eye.

"Besides, how are you even considering relocation when you've got a fiancé champing at the bit to get married? Cooper has been more than patient with you, Bianca. Not many men would let the woman they love move to the other side of the world, even if it was, as you successfully argued, for the union's greater good. What did you call it? Increasing your company value and the marriage's bottom line? As if being a Livingston isn't value enough? No, Bianca, Cooper allowed the wedding to be pushed back once already. He's not going to delay it a second time. And you know he isn't moving to LA."

Tears unexpectedly came to Bianca's eyes. She abruptly rose from the chair where she'd been sitting and walked to the window. The glory of the day, boasting colorful autumn leaves framed by a sunny blue sky, was lost on her. "You're probably right," she said, quickly wiping her eyes. "If everyone has their way, in six months I'll be married and in nine have a baby on the way." But how can I marry Cooper after what happened in Paris?

"Hey, sister, are you all right?"

Bianca jumped. She hadn't heard Jefferson rise, hadn't been aware that he'd walked from his desk and joined her at the window. "Actually, no, if you want to know the truth. Jeff, I—"

"Hey man, oh, Bianca, I'm glad you're both here." Toussaint Livingston burst into Jefferson's office, and now rushed toward his cousins on the other side of the room. The seriousness of his countenance took nothing away from a face that models would envy, along with six feet, two inches and almost two hundred pounds of delectable dark chocolate. "We need to roll to y'all parents' house right now. Emergency family meeting."

Their conversation forgotten, both Jefferson and Bianca turned at once, talking simultaneously.

"What's the matter?"

"What's going on?"

Bianca's heart raced with concern. "Why are we meeting at Mom and Dad's house, Toussaint, and not in the conference room?"

Toussaint turned and headed for the door. "That's what we're getting ready to find out. I'll meet y'all there."

Fifteen minutes later Toussaint, Jefferson, and Bianca joined their family members in the living room of Ace and Diane's sprawling Cascade residence. Toussaint's parents, Adam and Candace, and his brother, Malcolm, were already there. The trio from the office was the last to arrive and as soon as they sat down, Ace began speaking.

"We've got a situation," he said without preamble. "Somebody's stealing company funds."

Reactions were mixed, with bewilderment and anger vying for equal time.

"Who is it?" Bianca demanded, ready for battle though the culprit remained unnamed.

"We don't know," Ace replied. "But it's definitely an inside job."

The family members looked from one to the other, a myriad of thoughts in each mind. Who could it be? How did this happen? Is the guilty party somehow connected to someone in the room? One family member even pondered the impossible: Is the thief one of us?

"What kind of money are we talking about?" Toussaint

asked. "Hundreds, thousands ... more?"

"A couple hundred thousand," Ace replied, his tone somber and curt.

Again, responses were symphonic.

"What the hell?"

"Who could do such a thing?"

"Oh, hell to the N-O. We're not going to take this lying down."

"You're absolutely right, baby girl," Ace said to Bianca. "We're not going to stand for this, not at all. Nobody steals from our company without feeling the wrath of a Livingston payback."

(Continues...)

Copyright © 2011 by Lutishia Lovely. Excerpted from Mind Your Own Business by author Lutishia Lovely. Excerpted by permission of DAFINA BOOKS. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Excerpts are provided solely for the personal use of visitors to this website.

Mind Your Own Business by Lutishia Lovely
Purchase from Amazon or Barnes & Noble Today!

Download to Nook | Download to Kindle
ISBN-10: 0758265794
ISBN-13: 978-0758265791

Unika Welcomes EDC Creations Winter Book and Blog Tours Featuring Author Electa Rome Parks

2012-01-24T13:06:00.001-06:00

Electa Rome Parks currently resides outside Atlanta, Georgia. Aftersuccessfully self-publishing her debut novel, The Ties That Bind, New AmericanLibrary, a division of Penguin Group, bought the rights. Electa signed athree-book deal with New American Library. All three books were immediatelychosen as Black Expressions Book Club main selections and embraced as Books ofthe Month by book clubs across the country. Dubbed a "book clubfavorite," avid readers have embraced Electa's true to life characters thattackle prevalent and heavy hitting issues.

Since then Electa has become an award-winning, national bestselling author ofeight books. Electa was highlighted in Literary Divas: The Top 100+ Most AdmiredAfrican-American Women in Literature and has written articles for severalon-line magazines such as Black Pearls Magazine. The self-proclaimed, Queen ofReal, Electa has been a frequent guest on radio shows, has been nominated formany industry awards and has been interviewed by AOL's Black Voices, Vibe Vixen,Upscale Magazine, Today's Black Woman, Rolling Out and Booking Matters, to namejust a few publications.

With a BA degree in marketing and a minor in sociology, she is following hertrue passion and working on her next novel, The Stalker Chronicles (coming Feb.2012), and first non-fiction book. Electa is also currently touring withAtlanta's GA Peach Authors tour.

TheStalker Chronicles
By Electa Rome Parks

Pilar isback, and this time it's all about revenge.

Tall,dark, and handsome bestselling male author Xavier Preston thought hisnightmare—in the form of Pilar, a fanatical stalker/fan—had finally ended.Little does he know it’s only beginning.

When Xavier met Pilar, he got much more than he bargained for. What started outas an erotic one-night stand quickly turned into a dangerous game of obsessionand pain, with both parties playing to win. Then she simply disappeared.

Stunning Pilar hasn't gone away, though. In fact, she has been very near,watching his every move and patiently waiting for him to realize they were meantto be together forever. She still believes they’re soul mates, and the onlyoption for her is “Until death do us part.” If she can't have Xavier, thenno one can. Now no one is safe—not his friends, and definitely not him.

Revenge can be a real killer...

TheStalker Chronicles by Electa Rome Parks

Prologue

It was getting easier and easier now.

She moved quickly and efficiently throughout the spacious three-car garage. Shewanted to remove any traces of evidence that she had ever been there. She hadalways been good at simply disappearing and being invisible. That was easy.

She was definitely more confident, and it showed in her cool, calm, andcollected demeanor. She was no longer afraid of being caught, because the urgeto punish those who had hurt her was stronger, much more overwhelming, andurgent. She probably couldn’t stop herself even if she wanted to---she wasoperating on pure animal instinct. The need to survive and protect herself byany means necessary overrode anything else. Fight or flight. And she had longbeen tired of running.

There had been others over the years, more than she could count on one hand.They were mere vague gray memories that occasionally crossed her mind, like onemight think of a stray pet one owned as a child, but she dismissed the imagesjust as quickly. She never held on to them for more than a few fleeting momentsin time. Denial was her refuge.

Only one had successfully escaped her sharp talons and womanly wiles. Or had he?Maybe she let him get away, just that one time. She hadn’t determined which.Sometimes she thought of him, when her mind wasn’t a jumble of darkness,discontent, and madness. There were moments. . . .

She missed him, yearned for his special touch, the touch that only he coulddeliver with precision and skill. His touch brought heat and desire. His liesbrought pain and sorrow. She hated that he escaped her grasp, or that possiblyshe let him walk away, unscathed. She still considered him her soul mate, theone who made her complete and safe and sound. She yearned to feel complete,because most days she realized she was broken and damaged beyond repair.However, she couldn’t think of that one just yet. Not now. That would comelater. The strenuous act of positioning this one just right was over. Now shehad serious, delicate cleanup work to complete. Within seconds, that one, theone who got away, was pushed to the dark, cold recesses of her mind. Forgotten .. . for now.

It was painstakingly slow work because everything had to be absolutely perfect.She had observed and respected what a perfectionist he was. He thrived on it.She softly snickered to herself and had to catch herself before it became anall-out rambunctious laugh. He didn’t look too perfect right now, slumpedbehind the steering wheel of his black BMW like a deflated, tossed-aside bag ofrags and bones. Another snicker escaped. She tightly clamped her gloved handdown over her mouth to stop it, to keep it from spilling forth.

When he was discovered—hopefully, within a day or two—she wanted him toappear perfect in death. That was the least she could do, because she honestlyfelt she owed him that much. With a gloved hand, she carefully took thetypewritten note out of his jacket pocket, typed from the personal computer inhis home office, and gently placed it next to him on the soft leather passengerseat of his car. Laughter escaped freely and drifted into the still air.

She took one last hopeful look at him and placed a single kiss on his leftcheek. She wanted to remember him at peace. Happy. So handsome. She sighedbefore she carefully closed the driver’s side car door. Then she continued towipe down any surface she might have touched that bore her prints. She waspatient as perspiration dotted her forehead. From her experiences, she knew thatpatience was a virtue.

She dreamily thought, We could have been so deliriously happy together. Theyalways fucked things up. Always. She hadn’t met a man yet who didn’t. It wasnever a matter of if, but when. If only he hadn’t started to question or doubther because of that damn movie, Diary of a Stalker, which had been released amonth earlier and was a blockbuster success. Everyone was talking about it;already there was talk of Oscar nominations for best actress and best actor. Shecouldn’t escape it, no matter where she turned or what it signified for her.

No, you didn’t reject me and attempt to walk away, without a backward glance,she thought. How dare he? She didn’t do well with rejection. Never had. Neverwould. She chuckled to herself, thinking the joke was definitely on him. If hewere alive, he would probably appreciate the joke as well. She had decided yearsago that no one, especially not a man, would ever hurt her again. Never again.So far, she hadn’t broken her promise to herself, nor did she have anyintentions to going forward.

She exited the beautiful, spacious home that screamed quiet elegance, luxury,and money. She let herself out and quietly disappeared into the night, under thecover of darkness. She craved the darkness for its mystery and power. Shewhistled a happy tune to herself as she walked away. No worries. No rush. Shewas lost in her own demented world. Enter at your own risk.

She reminisced about a man—a beautiful, tall, dark, and very sexy man withdeep dimples and gorgeous teeth, a man she couldn’t wait to be reunited with.Her body craved him, and she could hardly contain her excitement and joy at justthe mere thought of being in his presence again. It had been too long. As forthe one in the garage, with the car engine running and the towel stuffed in theexhaust system, he had already slipped her mind, before his body was even coldand stiff. Her last thoughts of him were that when they found him, she hoped hewould look perfect. She knew he would want it that way. After all, that was theleast she could do. She hummed a lively tune and strolled off into the darkness.

TheStalker Chronicles by Electa Rome Parks
Coming January 31, 2012
Purchasefrom Amazon Online
ISBN-10: 1601623348
ISBN-13: 978-1601623348

Connectwith Electa
Website: www.electaromeparks.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/electaromeparks
ERP Blog: www.electaromeparks.blogspot.com

Unika Welcomes Tywebbin Creation Blog Tours featuring Authors Derrick Moore and Stephanie Perry Moore and The Alec London Series Virtual Book Tour

2012-01-23T08:09:00.000-06:00

INTRODUCING THE ALEC LONDON SERIES
The Alec London Series is a serieswritten for boys, 8 – 12 years old. Alec London is introduced in StephaniePerry Moore’s previously released series, The Morgan Love Series. In this newseries, readers get a glimpse of Alec’s life up close and personal. The seriesprovides moral lessons that will aid in character development, teaching boyshow to effectively deal with the various issues they face at this stage oflife. The series will also help boys develop their English and math skills asthey read through the stories and complete the entertaining and educationalexercises provided at the end of each chapter and in the back of the book.

Making the Team
Alec London is a fourth grader whosehave a tough time. His dad is the newassistant principal at school; his classmate Tyrod is bullying him; hisbrother, Antoine is mad with him and his mom is going away for a long period oftime because of her job. Through thegame of football, lessons from his dad and a story about a man named Joseph,Alec learns that God cares about him and will help him out when he isstruggling.

Learning the Rules
Alec feels abandoned by his mom. Now hisbrother Antoine and their cousin Little P are mad with him. At school when histries to take up for a new kid in school he gets into trouble. Alec is tryingto do his best but he just can’t seem to get things right. When he goes tochurch on Easter Sunday, the pastor shares a message that helps him to look ateverything a different way.

Going the Distance
The school year is ending. Alec islooking forward to sleeping late and no bullying. But dad and mom have otherplans for him this summer. Dad wants him to play baseball and mom puts him inan acting camp. He doesn’t want to do either but decides to try anyway. Alechates baseball but dad won’t let him quit. He loves acting but mom won’t lethim continue when he gets a part in a Disney show. Alec is upset with hisparents but he learns that even when things don’t go his way he must still obeyGod by honoring his parents.

Winning the Battle
The summer is over and Alec is back inschool. Tyrod has a new friend Zarrick who also bullies Alec and mom is stillaway. In response to all that's going on in his life Alec begins to act out inschool, sleep in class and hang around with the wrong crowd. And, to protect himself, he starts takingkarate lessons. With the help of his karate instructor, parents, old friends,Alec learns that being disciplined and learning to respond to things in a waythat pleases God are important when it comes to winning the battle.

Taking the Lead
Alec is voted class president and joins thetrack team. Though Tyrod continues to bully him, Alec tries to become friends.Everything is going well for him until he loses his grandmother. Alec becomessad and gets off track but running track and working with the Special Olympicskids helps him work through the things happening at home and school. When histeam wins the county title Alec thinks about how proud his grandmother was ofhim for learning how to take the lead.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
STEPHANIE PERRY MOORE is the author ofmany Young Adult Christian fiction titles, including the Payton Skky series,the Laurel Shadrach series, the Perry Skky Jr. series, the Faith ThomasNovelzine series, the Carmen Browne series, and the Beta Gamma Pi series. Sheis also the co-editor for the impactful BibleZine, REAL. Mrs. Moore speaks withyoung people across the country, showing them how they can live life fully anddo it God’s way. Stephanie currently lives in the greater Atlanta area with herhusband, Derrick, a former NFL player and author, and their three children.Visit her website at www.stephanieperrymoore.com.

DERRICK MOORE is a former NFL athletewho played for the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, and Arizona Cardinalsfollowing his successful college football career. Since his retirement from theNFL in 1998 he has been in demand as a motivational speaker for professionalteams, civic groups, churches, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He ison staff with FCA, serving as the chaplain of the football program at GeorgiaTech. Derrick is the author of The Great Adventure and the general editor forthe Strength and Honor Bible.

BOOK REVIEW

Making The Team is a great young adult novel about a young man who learns several lessons through his family relationships. Not yet a man, young Alec London must deal and learn to adapt when things are different and change comes about. As time passes and he opens his heart, Alec learns that through his trials he is surrounded by love all along. It is that love that helps him overcome situations at school and with his brother.

Making The Team is the first book that I have read by this husband and wife literary duo. Derrick and Stephanie Moore penned a great young adult novel about family dynamics, overcoming trials, and God's love through the eyes of a fourth grader who seems to be wise beyond his years. This may be the first book that I have read, but it will not be the last. I rate this novel 4.5 Chocolate Stars according to my rating system. I would highly recommend this book.

The Series Includes

Purchase the Books Online at:

Amazon.com

BarnesandNoble.com

For More Information, Visit the author online at:

http://www.stephanieperrymoore.com

Viewthe blog tour schedule at:

http://www.tywebbinvirtualevents.com

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Author J. Elliot Howard

2012-01-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

Jerry Elliot Howard was born in Findlay, Ohio. At the age of sixteen, his family moved to Sugar Land, TX. Shortly after moving, he began to write. No matter where he went, his writing followed. He wrote while attending University Of Houston, transferring and graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, graduate school at Bowling Green State University, marriage, fatherhood, and all points in between.

Poetry is his snapshot in time because words mean more than pictures to him. They allow him to look, remember, and truly embrace each new experience. He loves the city of Houston. Writing has enabled him to express himself thoroughly and creatively.

Life is more than “happy love.” At times, he has had to say good-bye. Sometimes, he has had to give chase. In other situations, he has had to sit still. Nevertheless, in all of the places he has lived, and moments he has experienced, all are worthwhile.

Poetry book excerpts:
GENUINE
I have approached you real,
With the truth, no less, I have approached you correct.
But a question still remains,
Not from me but from you

It is of interest with me what your intentions are,
Because sometimes your mind has the appearance of being afar.
I told you I loved you from the bottom of my heart.
Your actions say those feelings you also share,
But your mouth is saying words that keep people unaware.
Either way it does not matter because in time I will not be there.
It is unwise to go after a love that I cannot win, Because of your indecision one can see you are not genuine

No More Reminiscing
I remember when we used to talk
daily in your life.
you would inquire of advice
that would help you in your constant walk.
I knew you and you knew me,
I was in you and you were in me,
and even the slightest care
you gave to me.
I took your cares and did not think twice.

the road of victory, together we traveled.
helping those along the way
I helped and watched you grow.
sharing, in those days with you
great and unsearchable things unknown.
however the present has become past,
and the past has become history.

after walking in unceasing victory
you turned.
breaking my heart, away you walked,
and with a boastful mouth you basked
in what you felt was your own glory.

for you, my heart will grieve,
but it is you who are in harm.
in the deadly vice of a world
that would sooner let you die
for a sign of weakness,
than have love for you to give.

no more reminiscing of the past
I see your pain,
and if you turn from the world
I will take you back with a love that will last.
unconditional love which will remove your sorrow
and give you a new life.

though time may have passed
you are not out of the running.
I will redeem the time
if you just ask.
we will again walk in victory,
and together, no more
will we reminisce.

Website: www.rewrittenlives.com

Facebook Rewritten Lives book page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rewritten/372263284211

Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/Jelliot72688
Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rewritten-lives-j-elliot-howard/1100376456?ean=9781450022699&itm=1&usri=rewritten%2blives

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Rewritten-Lives-J-Elliot-Howard/dp/1450022693/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317702199&sr=8-1

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Author Jae Henderson

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

After embracing careers as a radio talk show host, marketing and media professional, freelance writer and voice over artist, Jae Henderson is making her debut as an Christian/Inspirational romance author.

Through her website, www.imagoodwoman.com, Jae is constantly motivating women to embrace their virtue and accomplish great things. The I’m A Good Woman series, beginning with her debut novel, Someday, is an extension of that spirit of success and will impart lessons of love, perseverance and triumph. Join Jae as she uses her wit and way with words to take us on a most entertaining journey that imparts some sage wisdom and assists readers in further realizing that we may not be perfect but we serve a perfect God.

Jae Henderson is a graduate of The University of Memphis where she earned a BA in Communications and an MA in English. She is the former host and producer of On Point, a popular talk show geared toward youth and young adults. Other accomplishments have included serving as a contributing writer for the award-winning, syndicatedTom Joyner Morning Show and a successful career as a voice over artist. Her signature voice has been heard in hundreds of commercials and even a couple of cartoons. Jae currently resides in her hometown of Memphis, TN.

Get to Know Jae:

1.What type of stories do you write? What is it about those stories that draws you to that subject?

I write urban inspirational romance. I enjoy being able to share God’s love for us while depicting Christians in realistic, fun and relatable ways. We, as human beings, are flawed but with faith and God’s help we can overcome our trials and tribulations. My stories illustrate that.

My books also contain what I call moral messaging. I am concerned about the decline of morals in America, especially in the African American community. It has been proven that women set the standard within American society. We may not be looked at as the traditional head of a family and we may be considered the weaker sex but we have always been the backbone of society. We support and encourage our mates while rearing the children–teaching them how to behave, manners and right from wrong. We determine the type of respect we receive from the opposite sex by determining what is and isn’t acceptable. I’ve noticed that there seems to be a lack of positive role models and influences in the home and many women and men are looking to television and other forms of entertainment for guidance.

For example, women now refer to themselves as female dogs and allow men to do it as if it is a compliment. That used to be unacceptable from a man or woman. Women are running around half naked and it’s considered cute. Bedding multiple people or sleeping with every person you date is talked about as if it’s appropriate behavior and having babies by several different people is starting to be considered the norm. Much of the entertainment we are presented with contains messages about casual sex, money, materialism, drugs and other negativity.

I wanted to offer an entertaining alternative with Someday and the I’m A Good Woman literary series. I wanted to create something full of positivity, light and love that helps people to understand that we are contributing to our own detriment and that asks people to think before they act. Living in the moment isn’t always harmless. There could be serious consequences to deal with afterward.

So, I guess my short answer is I’m drawn to asking people to try things God’s way because the way of the world isn’t working. We are hurting ourselves.

2. How did you start your career as a writer?

I’m a writer by trade but I mainly do public relations related pieces–press releases, bios, web site content, letters–that type of thing. One day I sat down at the computer and started writing a fictional story and the words began to flow. I haven’t stopped since.

3. Tell us a little bit about your current book? Is it a series?

My current book is Someday and it is the first book in a three-part series. The sequel, Someday, Too, is due out by the end of January. Someday is about a woman named Tee who is going through what I call “The Someday Factor.” She has worked hard to achieve success on her own but now that she has the lucrative job, the nice house and the nice car she is yearning for someone to share it all with

She knows he’s coming–Someday. But while she’s waiting on her prince unfortunately, she’s had to kiss a few frogs. Then, one day she meets a gorgeous retired NFL player named Michael Stokes who appears to be everything she ever wanted and much more but there’s one problem. He has a stalker who is convinced Michael should be with her. The story takes an interesting twist from there as they fight to stay alive in order to stay together.

Now, the I’m A Good Woman literary series will probably be comprised of everything I write. Positive stories that encourage women to be the best they can possibly be in their personal lives and their careers. The Someday books are just the beginning.

I really hope your readers will take the time to check it out. For the month of January, the online version of Someday is only 99 cents.

4.What was it like trying to get your story published? Did you have many rejections from

publishers? Did you need an agent?

I’m self-published but I’m blessed that my good friend, Latrivia Nelson, is a book publisher and accomplished author. She read my book and agreed to allow me to become a part of the RiverHouse family and helped me get my book out. I didn’t have to deal with rejection because I didn’t go the route of trying to get signed by a traditional publishing company and at this point, I don’t have an agent.

It feels so good to have something you worked very hard on in completed form. Such a sense of accomplishment comes with that. I’m on cloud nine!

5. Is this book inspired by personal experience? Where did the idea come from?

This book is based off my experiences and the experiences of thousands of other single women. Dating, love and relationships can become a challenge. Especially, when you are trying to live according to God’s will. Yet, there are also some wonderful aspects of it too. You have no idea how many women have told me that I was peeking into their lives. They see so much of themselves in Tee.

I’m proud of the response I’ve gotten. Someday not only has romance but comedy and suspense. I’ve had people tell me repeatedly that they love the humor in it and they can’t put it down. It feels so good to release a product people enjoy. I am very blessed!

6. What do you do for promotion? Booksignings? Online chats?

As a self-published author, I’ve made myself responsible for my own promotions and I do whatever I can. If I’m invited some place to do a booksigning, I definitely try to get there. If I’m invited to a book club meeting, I’ll go whether it’s in person or via Skype. I’ve done interviews for radio, television, Internet and print publications. I love connecting with readers.

I also help promote the book with my website,www.jaehendersonauthor.com. The first three chapters of my book, my schedule and a few interviews I’ve done can be found there. I also have a blog for single women called My Side of the Single Life and a women’s motivational website, imagoodwoman.com, that helps women stay encouraged. People can sign up for my e-newsletter on both sites. I am able to stay connected to my readers and update them that way as well.

7. What is the oddest or most challenging thing you had to do to research this book?

I really didn’t have any challenges researching this book. God told me to do this. He wanted me to put out a book that entertained women while encouraging them to live a life that is pleasing to Him. I had to be obedient. The hardest thing for me was writing a full-length novel. I’m used to short projects. It took me a little while to get into the swing of things but once I did, I completed the book in about a year.

8. How can readers find you and your books? Twitter? Facebook?

My book can be purchased at any retail book store and if they don’t have it in stock, they can order it. It can also be purchased on my websites as well as Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and other online bookstores. I also have a Facebook page and fan page, www.facebook.com/imagoodwoman. You can find me on Twitter as well,www.twitter.com/imagoodwoman.

9. Tell me about the sequel.

The sequel, Someday, Too, picks up where the first book left off. This one not only focuses on Tee and Michael but Tee’s best girlfriends. One is dealing with animosity toward men gained from a failed relationship, another has weight issues that are affecting her marriage and another is learning how to be self-sufficient after breaking up with the married man who took care of her and their son for years. Each has her own challenges, unique personality and a story to tell.

Of course, there’s plenty of romance, suspense and drama involved.

As a child Tina “Tee” Long dreamed of having it all and as one of Memphis’ most sought after event planners everyone believes she’s achieved it. Even though creating breathtaking events and rubbing elbows with the social elite seems fulfilling, there’s one thing missing from her fairy tale life—her prince charming.

After a string of failed, faith-challenging relationships this woman of God refuses to give up on meeting the man of her dreams. Tee knows in her heart that God will answer her prayers–SOMEDAY. Until then, she tries to remain prayerful and content by occupying her time with work, her sister’s drama-filled marriage and counseling wayward youth.

When Tee is introduced to an incredibly handsome, retired NFL player named Michael Stokes, it seems that someday has finally arrived. There’s one problem. He’s been marked for death.

Michael Stokes thought life was over after a knee injury claimed his career as a NFL superstar. He realized just how wrong he was after dedicating his life to Christ and beginning on a wonderful new path as a motivational speaker and book author. He even meets Tee, a woman that makes all the other women he’s dated seem like a waste of time.

But when his past comes back to haunt him Michael’s greatest fear is not the loss of his lucrative contract but losing the woman who must be heaven sent. Will Tee accept a man who has a killer on his trail and a surprising new addition to his family? Someday is full of adventure, excitement, thrills, laughter and love as Tee and Michael fight to stay alive in order to stay together.

Unika Welcomes Tywebbin Creation Blog Tours and the Guilty By Association Blog Tour Featuring Author Patricia Simmons

2012-01-09T07:00:00.067-06:00

Author's Website

Author's Blog Tour Schedule

About the Author

Pat Simmons is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth. She is passionate about digging up the dirt on her ancestors, then casting them in starring roles in her novels. She has been a genealogy enthusiast since her great-grandmother died at the young age of ninety-seven years old. Pat has won numerous awards for her novels which include: Talk to Me, Grace and Humility and Still Guilty, which was voted the Best Inspirational Romance for 2010.

Pat is best known for her Guilty series: Guilty of Love, Not Guilty of Love, and Still Guilty. She is continuing the series through the Jamieson Family Legacy trilogy: Guilty by Association, The Guilt Trip, Free From Guilt. Pat has recently been nominated for the best Christian fiction award by the African American Literary Awards for her latest release, Crowning Glory. Pat and her husband live in Missouri and have two children.

The Jamieson Family Legacy series follow the lives of two Jamieson brothers in Boston, Kidd and Ace, and their cousin, Cameron, from St. Louis. The older brother, Kidd, is struggling with anger and resentment issues toward his absentee father who never married his mother. Yet, he had the audacity to demand his illegitimate sons carry his Jamieson name.

Ace, on the other hand, is on his collision course to be a chip off the old block when it comes to women. Their highly MIT educated cousin, Cameron Jamieson, is all about saving family from self-destruction. Through genealogy research, Cameron's mission is to show his cousins their worth as the eleventh generation descendants of a royal African tribe and to give them a choice: live with the stereotypical "angry black men" syndrome or to crush any obstacles that try and stop them to become strong successful black men.

There are three books in the Jamieson Legacy series: Guilty by Association (Kidd's story), The Guilt Trip (Ace's story), and Free from Guilt (Cameron's story). Each of the three Jamieson men have to accept that their past and present are in God's hand, and without Him they can't advance to their future blessings. The bonus storyline in Guilty by Association is one that progresses the story of the much-loved character in the previous three book Guilty Series, Grandma BB. This time, she picks up a sidekick Mrs. Valentine.

Guilty by Association is the story of Boston bad boy Kevin "Kidd" Jamieson. His gripe is with his father who dared to insist that his two illegitimate sons carry his last name. To add insult to injury, the man never bothered to stick around to provide love and guidance as his boys matured into men. Kidd's anger overflows into every area of his life. As his animosity festers, Kidd becomes as a roaring lion, seeking whatever and whomever he can devour. He's as gritty as his cousin in St. Louis, Parke Jamieson VI, is polished. The two strong-willed men clash when Kidd relocates to St. Louis where his cousin assures him it's a land of milk and money in job opportunities. Where is lands a job is far from it.

Through a series of events that involve Grandma BB, her dog named Silent Killer and her Stacy Adams shoes, Kidd meets two women who recognize his hostile tendencies and immediately begin to administer CPR to his soul. LPN Eva Savoy eventually becomes his "Eve," a woman God created from the underlying goodness hidden in Kidd's own heart.

Reluctantly, Kidd allows Parke to divulge information about their royal family heritage. While everyone's care and compassion begins to smother Kidd, he struggles to keep up the bad boy attitude as his walls start to crumble. Kidd learns it's not his association with the name that identifies him, but the man he becomes that defines him.

Purchase Books:

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Book Review

Guilty By Association is an incredible story about how associations can affect family dynamics In this novel, the reader is introduced to the men of the the Jamieson family and their feisty significant others. Bonds are tested and lessons are learned as this family strives to uphold a legacy that has spanned many generations. Can this family full of misguided egos and strong wills survive long enough to fully get to know one another?

Pat Simmons penned a dynamic tale of family, faith and love. I most admit that this is the first novel that I have read by Ms. Simmons, but it will not be the last. I rated this book 4.5 Chocolate Stars on my rating scale. Great read!!

For More Information

Visit the author online at:

www.patsimmons.net

twitter.com@patsimmons

facebook.com/patsimmonsauthor

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Author Armond E. Mosley

2012-01-07T08:56:00.000-06:00

Armond E. Mosley is the founder of Kingdom Workshops, LLC, a Christian-based organization focused on educating, motivating and activating individuals to fulfill their God-given purpose(s) in life. Through Kingdom Workshops, Armond has had the opportunity to work with many churches, universities and civic organizations to provide solutions to the issues facing their respective constituencies.

Utilizing candor, transparency and humor, Armond challenges workshop attendees to yield to the voice of God in their own lives to secure the joy that has been promised to them. Some of the signature workshop offerings are: Finding Your Passion, Biblical Entrepreneurship and Dating God’s Way.

Born in Huntsville, AL, Armond now resides in Norristown, PA (a suburb of Philadelphia) with his wife Nneka. Currently, Armond is active promoting his first book publication entitled, Rededication: A Story of Sex, Repentance and Restoration, which will was released in May.

In his spare time, Armond enjoys reading, watching sports (though he admits he doesn’t have a favorite team) and spending time with family and friends. For more information on Kingdom Workshops, visit www.kingdomworkshops.com. For more information on Rededication, please visit http://www.godzchildproductions.net/publications.html.

1. What is Rededication about?

Rededication is an honest account of one man’s struggle with faith and sexuality. Most who’ve grown up in the church have been in positions where what the Bible says and what the world says contradict one another. This reality has the potential to cause much anxiety and strife for a Christian seeking to live God’s way. If we’re honest about it, the church typically avoids the issue of fornication aside from admonishing it when evidenced by pregnancy or shacking up. It’s easy to deal with the outcomes or consequences of sexual impurity, but rarely do we deal with the origins in a preventative manner. Rededication takes an introspective look into my past and delves into the deeper motivations behind my desire to turn away from God and do things my way. Additionally, it walks the reader through my moment of sincere repentance and ultimately, my road to restoration.

2. Why did you write Rededication?

As I went through my journey of rededication and began to diligently seek out help to aide me in my efforts to become sexually pure, I realized that there wasn’t much content available from a male perspective (especially black). I looked and looked and what I found most common were books written by women or white males. Nothing against those authors and one in particular did help me, but I was looking to affirm my journey through the story of someone who looked like me. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much that I could relate to and so, as I began my journey God made it clear that I was to keep note of my own trials and tribulations as one day I would create the very content that I had longed for. So, I wrote it 1^st out of obedience to God and 2^nd to fill a gap that I believed (and still do) existed in the market for books on sexual purity written by black men.

3. What makes Rededication unique from other books that speak to celibacy/abstinence?

Of the books that exist that deal with the issue of celibacy/abstinence, most in my opinion are told from an existential viewpoint and seem to shield the author’s own indiscretions along the way. Rededication is transparent, authentic and personal. No punches are pulled and no stone is left unturned. Why? Because it wasn’t my story to keep to myself! God made it clear to me that I had to tell the WHOLE story…not just the parts that I was comfortable with. And so, I believe what you get with Rededication is a real account of a real person dealing with a real issue that many face everyday.

4. Do you think your message of celibacy until marriage is relevant in today’s society?

Absolutely! Society would have us believe that it’s a lost cause and that serial monogamy is the best that we can hope for. However, I think the number of “kids raising kids,” STDs and divorces in our country (especially within the black community) point to a more pervasive issue at hand. That said, I think if you bring this question under the context of the Christian faith, it becomes even more interesting. Part of the irony of my story is that while I was engaging in premarital sex, I was also proclaiming Christianity. So, I lived much of my young adult life in a “spiritually inconsistent” manner. So much so, that when I did rededicate my life to Christ, many who knew me pre-rededication would make comments like “Oh, you found Jesus, huh?” or “You’re on that church kick now?” This was a very shameful period for me because I had always known who He was…but obviously, my actions didn’t show it.

I say all of that to say, in writing Rededication I didn’t set out to convert the non-believer as a primary objective. I wrote it to speak to the hearts of the professing Christians who have found themselves in a “spiritually inconsistent” state and are looking for a way out…a window of opportunity for their own rededication to Christ. So, for this group, those who’ve felt the conviction (whether they acknowledge it or not) associated with being outside of the will of God, I feel that the message of celibacy until marriage is very relevant.

5. How have readers responded thus far to Rededication?

I praise God that readers have found the content within Rededication to be beneficial to them in their lives. This journey has really been a faith walk and I can’t say that I had any enormous expectations around reader response to start off with. That said, I’ve been blessed tremendously by their feedback. One in particular is the following:

“After I put this book down, the levees broke…the flood gates opened and all the issues of my past paraded through. I finally began to understand the sinful appetite I myself had conjured up as a result of my own struggles with carnality. Fortunately, there’s one thing that this book ultimately helped me realize…that God is and always will be in control. In the book Rededication, Mr. Mosley vividly recounts his struggles with sexual immorality as it relates to premarital sex. Even as he took the road less traveled (celibacy), he pulls the veil that so many Christians dare not to reveal as they take the “walk”: that you slip up, you have doubts, you may even become disappointed in God, and you can start all over again. I appreciated his rawness, his desire to tell it like it is and through his faithfulness, demonstrate how God orders our steps. I hope that this isn’t the end for Mr. Mosley’s writing career…that there are more books to come and guide us on a journey towards rededication! FYI – I took the pledge and rededicated my life to Christ. Thanks Armond Mosley.”

6. What are the major themes in Rededication?

I’d say there are probably four major themes within Rededication. The first would be Rebellion. Much of the first few chapters depict my adolescent and early adult years where I fought to find a sense of self. In this fight, I subconsciously (or consciously) bucked all teachings instilled by my parents and upbringing in church. The second theme is that of Repentance. I knew what I was supposed to do for much of my adult life and yet, I didn’t do it. And it wasn’t until I arrived in a most humbled state that I was able to see the “error in my ways.” As I recognized where I had erred, I realized that I needed to repent because the life I was living was not the life that God intended for me.

The third theme would be that of Forgiveness. Regardless of all the “bad” things I did, God still forgave me. No matter how hard I tried to ignore Him or be mad at Him at times for not giving me what I wanted, God still remained God and in the end, welcomed me with open arms as I sought His forgiveness. The fourth theme would be Restoration. In the end, God restored me to a better place than that which I had begun. The process of becoming celibate and wholly submitted to God caused me to lose some people and things. And because of that, there was some grieving that I experienced for their loss. But, at the conclusion of the journey, God filled ALL the vacancies left behind.

7. What is the one thing that you would want our readers to know about you?

The one thing I’d want your readers to know is that I’m not perfect. I’m just as flawed as the next man/woman. Rededication clearly shows that and I want the readers to know that just because you aren’t perfect does not mean that you are unworthy of God’s love. If that were the condition of His love, none of us would ever receive it. At the end of the day, though we’ll never be perfect, our goal in life is to strive for perfection as taught through the Word of God. Thank you for taking the time to read and may God bless and keep you is my prayer.

One of the biggest Achilles’ heels that hamper the Christian walk for men and women is that of sexual sin. Sex and all things considered sexual plague us from the time we’re old enough to have a crush on someone. Though innocent at first, if not tamed, our sexual urges have the ability to fully manifest themselves in ways that are detrimental spiritually, emotionally and most identifiably physically.

Rededication takes us on that all too familiar journey that many of us have traveled. Beginning with the “first time”, Armond Mosley shares with the reader some his most intimate moments while providing insight into the vexing reality that faith and sexuality create for a man. As he wrestles with stereotypes, stigmas and misplaced expectations, Armond eventually comes to a point of decision as a result of God’s divine intervention.

With somewhat of an ultimatum in hand, he chooses to yield to the Lord and commit to a life of celibacy until marriage. While it would appear that things would get easier from there, in actuality his journey had really just begun. For the remainder of the book, Armond invites us into his personal journey as a celibate man in his 20’s, the sexual prime of his life.

Though many discouraging moments along the way, Armond continues to faithfully press through until one day, he’s just about had enough. And in that moment, in a most hopeless and vulnerable state, God shines a light on him and reveals to him “a woman of noble character, whose worth is far greater than rubies”.

Rededication is passionate, humorous and most of all honest about the realities of the battle between faith and sexuality.

Armond reveals himself in a most authentic manner in an effort to really connect with the reader. In each chapter, while the story is about Armond’s journey, the reader will be remiss if they aren’t convicted to recall their own relevant personal testimony. If you are a Christian, fighting against sexual sin yourself, this book will take you on a journey of restoration that you can apply in your own life.

Find the author:
Author Site:  www.kindgomworkshops.com
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/iammosley

Buy Book:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Rededication-Story-Sex-Repentance-Restoration/dp/1937095002/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320706660&sr=8-1-spell
Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rededication-armond-e-mosley/1102047630?ean=9781937095000&itm=1&usri=rededication

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Winter Tours Featuring Author Sibylla Nash

2011-12-15T07:53:00.000-06:00

Sibylla Nash is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and author. She has written about a variety of topics that have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers.

She is also the author of several books including DreamCity, Baby Modeling & Beyond: From the Stroller to the Red Carpet and her newest novel, Bumped.

She holds a degree from the University of Southern California in print journalism and is the extremely proud mom of a young actress. You can find her on the web at sibyllanash.com, divaluscious.com, starbabyla.com, bumpedthenovel.com on Facebook and tweets @starbabyla.

Get to Know the Author:
1.) How did you begin my journey as an author?
I started off as a freelance writer but as an avid reader, novels were always in my future. This is my fifth book – all independently released - and it’s been a long work-in-progress! When I released my first novel eleven years ago, life was pretty different. The author tag line on the back of that book (DreamCity) read something like “Sibylla Nash lives in Los Angeles with her dog.”

Since then, I became a mom, the dog died, I moved back to NJ and then moved back to LA. Life happens and I think that’s part of what helps one grow as a writer. Experiencing and living life and then obsessing and rehashing the details, exploring the “what if’s” and “could be’s” in the pages of the worlds we create.

2.) What compelled or inspired you to write this book?
Who hasn’t had that one relationship where you’re scratching your head after the fact asking yourself, how could I not see this? I wanted to explore betrayal in such way that seemed more organic. You really go through stages of grief after being betrayed and I wanted to show a character dealing with the ultimate betrayal, which is not necessarily the physical, cheating act.

I wanted to take this character from point A of thinking everything’s great to point B where she’s like oh my gosh, who is this person? I can rattle off a list of women in that past few years that have been through a very public and humiliating scandal like Sandra Bullock, Maria Shriver, Elin Woods, etc where they’re with someone who totally turns out to be so different with the emotional and physical cheating. For the public, that’s the big story but for them, life goes on and they have to pick up the pieces.

3.) How do you develop the plot?
I use index cards, and I like to break the story up into three parts, which is from Syd Fields screenwriting technique. I plot it out and usually deviate from many of my plot points, but I always have an idea of where I’m going and I definitely know where I want to end up.

4.) How long did it take to write Bumped?
Bumped has been a labor of love for quite a few years. I always thought my second novel after DreamCity would be a sequel but the characters in Bumped demanded to be written. DreamCity was written before I became a mom and Bumped was written late at night, in between auditions for my daughter and play dates. It has taken quite a few years and revisions and was finally birthed in August 2011.

5.) What types of books do you like to read?
I have a very eclectic taste and will read everything from horror, mystery, thriller, self-help, history and anything else that catches my eye. I’ll read it on the Kindle or in printed form, whichever I can get my hands on first. I’m not a die-hard purist and love the opportunities that e-books offer.

6.) How do you feel about selling digital books vs. selling in a brick and mortar store?
I love it! That coupled with social media allows me to find and connect with a wider audience that was harder to reach with my previous books. It certainly levels the playing field and allows new voices to be heard without having to fight through the gatekeepers of the old guard.

7.) What’s next?
I’m updating my guide, Baby Modeling & Beyond. So much has changed since I wrote it six years ago and there seems to be an even bigger market of moms who are curious about getting their kids started in the business.

I’m also re-releasing my first novel DreamCity at the end of the year. There’s a fun sequel to that which will be out next year. I’m staying pretty busy. I have so many stories in my head bouncing around that are demanding to get out and strut their stuff on the page or screen.

Find Sibylla Nash at:
sibyllanash.com, bumpedthenovel.com, facebook.com/bumpedbysibyllanash, Twitter @starbabyla
Email address: sibylla22@gmail.com
Buy Book at: http://www.amazon.com/Bumped-Sibylla-Nash/dp/0970170637/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318560856&sr=8-1

What happens when you’re blindsided by betrayal and happy hour is no longer an option?
Elle Nixon seems to have the perfect life. As a music PR maven and party girl on the L.A. social scene, she attends the hottest parties and has a roster of artists that reads like the who’s who of Billboard magazine. Her upwardly mobile bound boyfriend lavishes her with plenty of gifts and attention until he disappears…during the middle of a high-profile fraud investigation into his investment firm by the FBI. Add an unplanned pregnancy to the mix and suddenly, it’s not so fun anymore to walk a mile in her Louboutins.

Will Elle’s search for answers help or destroy her as she confronts the past and tries to reinvent her future?

Excerpt:
AFTER A FULL DAY of sightseeing in Paris with eight writers and then a sound check at the famed Olympia, I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and sleep. Long and hard. I unlocked my hotel room, took two steps in and flung myself face down on the bed, landing on top of the scratchy, green bedspread with my high heels and short trench coat still on. My room was the length of my arm span, which was fine on a day like today. Tiny, dark, enclosed spaces couldn’t make me feel any worse.

I buried my face in the pillow and tried to stave off the nausea. It felt like the beginning of the flu and it had followed me from Los Angeles to Paris, and had dug its heels in at the hotel along the Champs Elysees. It didn’t help that Paris hadn’t gotten the memo that it was spring, or maybe I

didn’t read the memo that said to pack layers of clothes. Either way, it was damp and chilly outside.

It was hard to look chic in goose bumps, no matter how cute my shoes were, and my Louboutins

were hot; save for the beating they were taking from all the cobblestone walkways. I checked the time on my cell phone. I had less than two hours before I had to wrangle everyone back on the bus for the main purpose of the trip, watching one of the biggest hip hop artists in the world, Cameron perform at the Olympia, one of the oldest concert halls in Paris. He was signed to Savage Rhythms, the record label that employed me as a publicist and subsidized my stiletto habit. My phone chimed and a text message from my friend Justine came through. Growing up, we used to live four doors down from one another in New Jersey and had been as inseparable as cake and ice cream at a birthday party. Now, living on opposite coasts, we were like caviar and a bottle of
hundred-year-old scotch, only on special occasions.

Happy B-day Ellie! Hope ur enjoying ur trip in city of love!

She included her usual assortment of happy faces and other crazy icons that always made me wonder if she dictated her text messages to her 12-year-old. Bleh! Another birthday. I grabbed a pillow and put it over my face. Born four years apart, my sister Evie and I shared the same birthday. I’d much rather pretend the day didn’t exist. I moved the pillow and rolled over on my stomach to send Justine a quick message. 35. Yaay. I’m working & how much fun can it really b w/my man on another continent?
Before she could reply, my phone rang.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!” Diego Rivera’s baritone sang in my ear with

only the slightest of interference from across the Atlantic. I smiled, happy to avert a trip down

memory lane. Even after two and a half years of dating, the sound of his voice still made my

stomach tingle with erratic butterflies…or it could have been the escargot from the other night. Two words. Never. Again.

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Author Fabiola Joseph

2011-12-10T12:07:00.000-06:00

Fabiola Joseph was raised in Silver Spring Maryland. While in Middle school, she found her passion for writing and wrote her first book Among Us. She has not stopped writing ever since. She continues to develop new stories and poems at her home in Florida.

Interview with the Author:
How did you get the idea for this book, The Art Of Deceit?
Answer. - One day I was watching a rap video and it contained the normal rump shaking, enticing, gorgeous women that we are used to seeing when one of these videos are played. But the more I watched, the more I asked myself, what happens when “Cut” is yelled and the women go home? We all hear about the so called “groupies” but we don’t really know their story.

Did the success of the infamous SuperHead books encourage you to write this book?
Answer – Yes and no. She is a well known… how can I put this…. groupie and I know her story. But I didn’t want to do a “down and out, they all used me and now I am coming into my own” book. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to have fun with it. I wanted to have this character do all the things I would never do, say all the things that, as the poem at the end of the book says, get us “normal people” tongue-tied. I wanted to portray a bad bitch that lives an “All or Nothing” lifestyle. And even then, I wanted to make sure that she had many layers to her. She may seem coldhearted and calculating on the outside, but deep within the lines, she has another side to her.

So what do you think the readers are going to think of her actions? This character Tangie, has a lot of sex, deceives, uses the people in her life to get what she wants, and seems to not have any remorse. Do you think that this book sends out a bad message?
Answer – NO! I do not, and here is why. Nothing bad that is done in this book goes unpunished. In life, we all pay for our actions, good or bad. It may take minutes, an hour, a month, or years for it to come back, but it does. It may take Tangie, till book three, which will be the last in the series to get what’s coming to her, but that’s how life works. We never know where our actions may lead us, or the consequences. And as far as all of the sex, I made sure to put a disclaimer in the beginning of the book.

In The Art Of Deceit, one of Tangie’s love interest is a famous female R&B singer. And you also lightly touch on the issue of closeted gay rappers. How did you think this would impact the book and the readers?
Answer – Well, when I write, I don’t think. At the time that I wrote this book, I wasn’t so into typing. I used to say “I can’t flow if I’m not writing with a pen”. Things have changed. But when I wrote this book in 2008, I didn’t stop and think oh, what will people think if Tangie has sex with a woman, or what will they think once they find out that one of the rappers is on the DL. I just let my mind and my hand do the talking. There were times when I was writing this book that I couldn’t stop the pen from moving. There were times that something was happening, and in my heart, I wanted to stop. But my mind and hand were moving too fast. It was as if I was in a trance, a writing trance. So as far as giving those two issues too much thought,,,, I didn’t. I just let the story become what it was meant to be.

So as an author, how would you describe your writing style?
Answer – My style will evolve. It will grow and be different with each book. I don’t want to be that writer that is stuck in one place, telling the same story. My style will change with each character that forms in my head. If he or she is straight ghetto and in your face, well that will be the style of the book. I am very open to whatever comes to my mind, laid back, quiet, murderer, or bad ass bitch. But if I had to pick a style,,, I would just say RAW! I won’t sugarcoat anything. If it’s on my mind, it will be down on paper, no second guessing.

So in a way, is reading your book The Art Of Deceit, allowing the readers a chance to get a glimpse into your mind?
Answer – Most definitely. My books are on my mind even when I am asleep. And before I write or as I write, I see it all in my head, playing out like a movie. So yes, if you read a book that I wrote, you’re also getting to know a part of me, sometimes a part of me that I didn’t even know myself until that very moment it was inked or now typed on paper.

So where do you go from here, as far as your writing career?
Answer – My next project will be out early 2012 and was written with new comer Matthew Ramsey. I will not say too much about that right now but that it’s just as hot as The Art of Deceit, so make sure to check it out. And after that, just more and more writing. I am already working on my third which I hope to release mid 2012. Writing for me is like breathing. I can’t live without it. So as long as I breathe, I will write.

Sex, drugs, lies and video tape all dwell in the shadows of hip hop. A world that is glamorous and alluring can blind its participants to certain truths. This euphoric illusion which is full of money, women, and power, can also be deceiving. You start to believe that the fame will last forever. That the people around you are really your friends, and that the scandalous woman at your side really loves you for the person that you are.

Stardom can become dangerous for the naïve souls who rise to success without armor. Tangie, who has mastered The Art Of Deceit, slithers her way into the heart of many and into the wallets of even more, her latest victim being Hip Hop’s newest sensation Tay’von-Too Fine- Miller.

Tay’von is told by his record label that he needs a better looking woman on his arm because the public will deem his plus size girlfriend unbefitting for a rising star. So he pulls Tangie into his world hoping to use her for her looks, only to get rid of her when he is done. But he has highly underestimated her.

Her charm is hypnotic, that of a snake charmer, and as strong as the magic from a voodoo priest. Once she has cast her spell, she is sure to bring any man or woman down to their knees. She rules with a blackened heart and shows no mercy to people like Shamika, the spiteful girlfriend of equally talented but not as successful rapper Black Dialect. Tangie will stop at nothing to secure her lifestyle, even if that means shaking hands with a record label owner who Tay’von has proclaimed a sworn enemy.

Carmello wants Tay’von to sign to his record label, and Tangie wants revenge. Together they hatch a plan that will give them both what they want. What will happen when Tay’von, his bodyguard, the sexy R&B tour mate Amira, and Carmello all fall under Tangie’s spell? Death, Debauchery, and Deceit, now, if only everything would go as planned.

Excerpt for The Art Of Deceit:

I pulled her hair back and handed her a napkin for her bleeding lips.

“Now pull yourself together Mika, everyone is watching. Don’t let them see you break down.”

I said as I continued to whisper.

“Tay’von called a limo for you. I want you to go back to the house and get your things packed.”

She looked at me as if she didn’t want to leave Miami just yet.

“Now you know that you can’t stay anymore. Black is going to try and hurt you if you do. Just give him some time to cool off and get his mind right. But there is one favor I need you to do for me. After all that has happened, there’s just one thing that I want you to remember—.”She cut me off before I could make my grand statement.

“But Tangie, I don’t know how this got out. I didn’t make a copy or anything. The only person that could have put this out is you know who.”

I put my arms around her and got real close to her.

“You may not know how this got out but I do.”

She looked at me with shock on her face, I wanted to spit in it but that was too low class for me.

“Come on Shamika, don’t look so surprised. Try and look like we’re having a normal conversation. If you don’t, I won’t tell you what I know.”

She tried her best to keep it together but her body was shaking uncontrollably under my hand.

“Look at me Shamika, cause I’m responsible for the tape getting leaked. That’s right, bitch, I did it.” She tried to pull away from my grip but I held on tight.

“It fucking hurts doesn’t it? I have been setting this up since we were on the road. You fucked me over so now I’m fucking you with the biggest dick I can find. Tell me, how does it feel? Because I’m feeling damn good!”

“YOU BITCH!”

She screamed, but I didn’t break. I still kept the concerned look on my face and made myself look confused and hurt.

“Calm down little Mika, don’t be so mad. You got to admit that you’ve had this coming. I’m the last bitch that you should have fucked with. You messed with my life so now I’m ruining yours. I hope that you never find a man to spend another dime on you again. I hope that life gets so bad for you that you’ll need to borrow money just to get a sandwich off the dollar menu at McDonald’s. Rot in hell you dirty bitch, and may you never rest in peace.”

She was speechless as I let her arm go. The thought of me getting her first had never crossed her mind. It had just hit her that she had gravely underestimated me, and that bad choice was to her disadvantage. She had lost the game that she thought she played all too well. That’s why my motto has always been, before you sit down to play a game, you must not only know the rules to the game but you must also know all of your opponents, even if that means skipping a hand or two just to make sure you know their skill level. Having this knowledge gives you an upper hand every time, and an upper hand always wins the game.

Contact information:
Facebook author page- http://facebook.com/Fabiola.Joseph3
Twitter – @soulofawriter
Email – soulofawriter3@aol.com

Where to buy The Art Of Deceit.
E-book kindle – www.amazon.com/The-Art-Of-Deceit-ebook/dp/B005MGOY6S
Nook - www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-art-of-deceit-fabiola-joseph/1105945594?ean=2940013416024&itm=1&usri=the%252bart%252bof%252bdeceit
E-store – https://www.createspace.com/3691417
Available in paperback at all three places.

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Tours Featuring Author Silk White

2011-12-09T10:55:00.000-06:00

A native of Harlem, New York, Silk White began his writing career in 2006. He is the author of the three part Urban Fiction series Tears of a Hustler and Co-Owner of Good2Go Publishing and Good2Go Films.

Silk has No Way Out and Black Barbie as a film credit under Good2Go Films and in his spare time, loves to write and act. He is currently producing a new movie and is hard at work on his next novel.

Interview with Silk White

1. Tell me about the finale to your critical acclaim trilogy Tears of a Hustler?
This book is the finale to a trilogy that was written 2 years ago. We took our time with releasing part 2&3 to help build up our fan base in between releases. It’s a classic finale that all our loyal fans have been waiting for. I promised I wouldn’t let them down and according to the reviews we have received so far, everyone is happy. Check amazon.

2. What made you decide to start your own publishing company rather than signing with an establish publisher?Well after Tears of a Hustler PT 1 was released I had several offers on the table, but from a business standpoint it just made more sense to release my titles under my own company. In the short term it’s a lot of work because you have to build your fan base one fan at a time, because you don’t have any distribution.
But once you’ve established your brand like we have, you make 100% of the profit. At the rate we’re going we should be one of the biggest independent african american owned publishing companies out there in a few years. We’ve reached over 70,000 households in two years with no help. Right now we have good2go publishing and good2go films our movie Production Company and Third Lane Marketing.

3. What is the hardest part of writing for you?
Writing was a natural process for me, growing up in the environment that I grew up in and my life experiences help enhanced my already vivid imagination. My ability to translate my imagination thru writing was a god gifted talent that I discovered when I was going thru unforeseen circumstances.

4. What’s the best thing about being an author?
I really appreciate all the love and support that I get from the fans. They are the ones that keep me motivated. It’s amazing to see all the support that I get from all parts of the country, outside the country also. Shout out to all my UK Fans. I never thought that one day my work would have reached over 70,000 households.

5. What are you working on now?
Well I just wrapped up my 5th book which is slated to be released Nov 25 2011. Its called The Teflon Queen. So be on the look out for that. You can pre-order an autograph copy now from www.good2gopublishing.com I also just finished shooting my 2nd movie under good2go films its called Black Barbie. The first movie is called No Way Out you can get that at www.good2gofilms.com

6. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
This piece of advice is not just for writers but any aspiring entrepreneurs out there. Especially, the youth coming from underprivileged communities. Sometimes in life we get a bad hand to play with. You have to make the best out of the hand you’re given. The best piece of advice I can give is, spend all your time and energy focusing on accomplishing your goals whatever it may be, you’re going to get results. Surround yourself with good people you trust, Sleep 5hrs work 19hrs.
I just want to say Thanks to everyone out there for the love and support. Keep supporting me and Good2go Publishing
Silk White

Tears of a Hustler 3 picks up right where part two left off. Things get serious when Marvin the leader of a powerful up coming gang decides he wants to take over Pauleenas empire. With her back against the wall Pauleena defends her territory by any means necessary even if it means killing everything moving.

With her main soldier gone she has step up to the plate and get her hands dirty. The streets will rain money or blood it s their choice but giving up her throne is not an option. Who will be the last hustler standing? Once against Silk White takes readers on a ride they wont ever forget.
Excerpt:
Four all black Denali SUVs pulled up back to back in front of the projects. Pauleena sat in the third SUV with her legs crossed sipping on a glass of wine. Today was a day in her life that she would never forget. “You sure this where this cat lives?”

“Yes I got a man in the staircase right now who’s been watching Carl’s crib all day” Eraser Head told her.
Pauleena sighed loudly. “Let’s go get this shit over with.” Her big Muslim body guard Malcolm quickly hopped out of the driver’s seat, and walked to the back door, and opened it for his boss. Pauleena stepped out looking like a million bucks followed by Eraser Head. Seven black Muslims all wearing black suits hopped out of the SUVs and escorted Pauleena in the building, and up to Carl’s floor. Eraser Head and Malcolm kicked open Carl’s front door, then quickly barged inside.

Carl sat in his couch watching TV when his front door came crashing open, followed by men busting inside with guns pointed in his face. “What’s all this about?” Carl asked with a confused look on his face.

“You know exactly what this is about” Pauleena said entering the apartment. From the look on Carl’s face she could tell that he didn’t know who she was, but he was definitely about to find out. “Did you kill G-Money?”

“Yes I did” Carl said confidently. “He disrespected, and violated me in front of my son, and for that he had to pay.”

Pauleena smiled. “And now you have to pay” she said as she pulled a .380 from the small of her back. Just as she was about to pull the trigger, little Bobby came running out the back room. “No please don’t hurt my daddy” he cried as he hugged his father.

“You kill me in front of my son?” Carl asked looking Pauleena dead in her eyes. He didn’t fear no man or woman, but if it was his time to go he didn’t want it to be in front of his son.

Pauleena looked down at Carl with a straight face, and pulled the trigger blowing his brains out right in front of little Bobby. She then trained her gun on the young boy, and sent bullets into the boy’s boney chest killing him instantly. “A body for a body” she said as she turned, handed her gun to Malcolm then made her exit.

Back in the Denali everyone was quiet, they knew Pauleena had just crossed the line, but they knew she had to do what she had to do. If the streets spotted any signs of weakness, every stick up kid in the world would be looking for her, and hustlers would be looking to take her spot. Pauleena was on top, and she planned on doing whatever needed to be done to stay on top.

“I heard Marvin is supposed to be having a birthday party next week” Eraser Head said breaking the silence.
“Word where at?” Pauleena asked helping herself to another glass of wine.

“Some club downtown.”

“Keep me posted” Pauleena said with a smile. “I wouldn’t miss that party for the world.”

Find Silk at:
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Silkwhite212

twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/good2gobooks

author site: www.good2gopublishing.com

blog: http://www.good2gopublishing.com/blog

Email address for readers to contact you : G2g@good2gopublishing.com

Buy Books at http://www.amazon.com/Tears-Hustler-PT-Silk-White/dp/0578084740/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Author S. Monique Smith

2011-12-09T10:17:00.000-06:00

Energetic, engaging, dynamic, inspiring, and industrious are just a few adjectives that capsulate this phenomenal woman. S. Monique Smith reared in Baltimore, Maryland, received her formal education from the Baltimore City Public School System. She holds numerous certificates and certifications in various disciplines. Ms. Smith is a full-time student of life, and prides herself in being a lifetime learner.

Armed with undeniable wit, charm and personality, she has faced numerous challenges and over-come tremendous obstacles throughout her life. To her credit, Ms. Smith has only used them as motivators while carving out her place in the world as a savvy business woman, a prolific entrepreneur, and most recently added to her long list of achievements Ms. Smith is an accomplished author.

There are certainly multiple dimensions to this woman and they are constantly unfolding, however amidst all her accomplishments the one that resonates and remains a constant in her life is that of “Mother.”

As a mother, she wants nothing but happiness and a “real legacy” for her four beautiful children. Ms. Smith has often said that her children are her reason for breathing. She manages to balance both the role of motherhood and professional with fineness and her own unique style. But it doesn’t end there. Ms. Smith is an involved parent, a mentor to many, a philanthropist and an activist.

Some of her interest and hobbies include bike riding, white water rafting, swimming and skating. S. Monique Smith is a multi-talented, and vibrant powerhouse of a woman. She is indeed a force of nature, and once you’ve had the pleasure of making her acquaintance, you will be left with a indelible impression.

Get to Know Monique:
1. What’s so special about your book with so many others out there?
A. That I’m living the life as a ‘Missing Person’…because I am.

2. Have you ever written a book before?
A. I have never neither written nor desired to write a book before now but felt the need to not only share my story with my children, but to the world in hopes of HELPING anyone….another innocent child more so.

3. Why a book now?
A. Sharing! It’s time for me to share MY story and to step out on faith with another project . . . Why now? Once one knows they are ready for something . . . IT IS TIME! I had opportunities before that were small….’it’s the season now I guess”. Also, the resources I have now make it so much easier for the novice in this writing/publishing area.

4. What challenges are you facing?
A. This a whole new arena for me. Way out of my scope. …Did I say WAY? So researching, educating myself and cherry picking the resources that could directly aid me in this process was priority…and COSTLY! People are NOT the professionals that they THINK they are.

5. The release of the book?
A. Sunday October the 2nd, followed by a bus tour on Sunday October 14th, and a Book signing on Sunday October 7, 8, 22nd EXCITED!! I’m going to do a state tour in hopes of finding out what state I’m from while raising awareness and funds for my charities.

6. Are you getting any help?
A. People are amazing. I’ve shared my story and have often received an abundant amount of tools, aids, resource, leads and unbelievable support…BRAVO TO ALL WHOM TAKE ACTION FOR THEIR CAUSES!!

7. Can you share anything exciting about the book?
A. Yes I can . . . my book is not just for me to share with my children. It will inspire people in so many other areas of their lives…I know and have been told DAILY since I’ve started. With that being said…I’ll be launching and advocating the importance of instilling in not just our youth, but how EVERYONE is an Ancestor….Stay Tuned.

I am the proud mother of 4 awesome and amazing children and I take my role as a mother VERY seriously. My primary reason, main purpose and my true desire for writing my book is gift to them. I have used every bit of knowledge, strength and capabilities that I’ve self-developed to raise and developed their individual personalities while building a mini empire.

I refuse to just leave behind businesses, a life insurance policy, homes and other materials possessions, without sharing with them my true identity and my life’s journey. They must know who their mother really is, my experiences and what it took for me to become the women I am today.
I want to leave them a TRUE LEGACY.

As I started writing my story, I became overwhelmingly compiled to bring awareness to many areas that have affected my life. The immediate are:

Sharing of one’s history is nothing new, but are people really educating their children about their roots and the importance of them. Good or bad, parent must continue to empower them with that knowledge; they may even enlighten themselves during the process. Thus: GENEALOGY
Elementary children with cell phones may be ok for many, but do parents and care givers have a STRONG plan enforced with them about their safety and surroundings. Let them know that the boggy man is not just something that they imagine under the bed or peeking from the closet—it’s lives amongst us. Oh yea, the boggy grows as they grow and changes often. Worst of all, it’s not always a deformed evil looking creature, which only appears once they’re alone. Thus: PREDATORS

Blinded eye people – Any person who KNOWINGLY fails to perform their duties are partially responsible for damages and harm they allow to take place. There are all types of signs and processes that are being ignored by them which should immediately be acknowledge in any possible way. Blinded eye people are aiders and abettors for sharing in wrongful acts because their actions or, lack of. Family, Friends, Neighbors and Municipalities: Thus “ROLE PLAYERS”.

If I can bring hope of any, to show proof that light IS at the end of the tunnel, that a cloud can be lassoed and can proudly shout…..I AM ABLE……………..GET READY, BE READY AND STAY READY……………………Thus: INSPIRED

Excerpt:
Throughout all of this, I still make time for myself. I have to! My social life is pretty average for a woman who has her children’s best interest first. Over the years, I’ve dated and enjoyed hobbies like sewing and knitting. I also make time to connect with other women at social events and outings. On a monthly basis, I attend a recurring women’s event and every time I leave I am pumped and charged to work even harder. By all accounts, I feel like the most powerful woman in the world when I take into consideration what I have vs. what statistics report I should have.

Unfortunately, I am also a woman without a true identity on a quest to find out where it all began for me. Imagine a world with no links, no attachments, and no existence. Can you picture yourself walking down the street wondering if the person who just passed you is your brother, sister, or cousin? Do you know what it’s like to get tested more frequently than most persons because of an unknown family medical history?

Have you experienced not being able to enjoy a simple cruise to Aruba, Jamaica, or the Mediterranean because you cannot produce proof of your identity? I can’t obtain a passport because my vital statistics are not correct. For too many years, I have lived this way and still I have no real answers. This is the reason I gave birth to I Am the Ancestor. After 15 years of endlessly searching for the truth, I suddenly realized that I must tell my story before I die in an attempt to leave behind a true legacy for my four children. Leaving this burden on Courtney is completely unacceptable to me.

I Am the Ancestor is an inspirational account of my life as a woman living in a world without a single connection. Thanks to being abducted, exploited, and raised by a woman named Tammie Smith who never showed any love and various municipalities such as the public school system, the Department of Social Security, Bureau of Vital Records, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and police departments who dropped the ball at one point or another in my life, I am like many victims of abduction: left to put the pieces of my life together. What’s worse is the impact this is having on my children. Now, it’s my duty as a mother, the only dear title that I really have — for I’m not a daughter, a sister, an aunt, nor a cousin — to make sense of my history.

With this book, I truly want to share my strengths, expose my weaknesses, develop in all areas of my life, and survive by any means for my children and myself. When this book is finally released, I will be free, my children will be empowered, and the minds of many will be wide open! Not only that, but this book will open the door for other people in the world, like me, who are determined to put together the missing pieces of their lives. I believe that there are thousands, if not millions, of people like me in the world! As a matter of fact, just recently I saw two different news accounts of women who had been abducted as children and were reunited with their family. It shocked the world to know that we, adults who were abducted as children, are still out.

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Author Norwood Holland

2011-11-30T20:08:00.002-06:00

William Norwood Holland, Jr. or Norwood Holland also his nom de plume was born on July 22, 1951 in Washington, DC and grew up in Gum Springs the historically black enclave in Virginia’s suburban Fairfax County once apart of the Mount Vernon plantation then willed to George Washington’s slaves and their descendants.

Holland traces both maternal and paternal lineages to Washington’s slaves. During the post Brown vs. Board of Education desegregation period he attended the County’s segregated Drew-Smith Elementary School named after the pioneering African American physician Dr. Charles Drew and 19th Century Gum Springs resident and educator Annie Smith. Holland credits his early childhood reading and education with inspiring the name of his lead protagonist Drew Smith.

Desegregation was complete by the time he entered the County’sFort Hunt High School. There he witnessed limited social and extra-curricular opportunities for blacks and sought out the historically black college experience entering Fisk University in the fall of 1969.

There he majored in English and Education studying under the late Harlem Renaissance writer Arna Bontemps. Holland graduated a member of Lambda Iota Tau International Literature Honor Society in 1973 then worked briefly at the Graduate School, USDA counseling military veterans and foreign students before enrolling at Howard University School of Law receiving a Juris Doctor in 1978.

He has served in several government agencies including the National Labor Relations Board and a number of Washington’s top national law firms. In the mid 90s Holland began freelancing for the local media. In 2008 The Writer Magazine published his How I Write profile of local best selling novelist George Pelacanos.

Holland identifies with Pelacanos’ writing style and hometown setting also adopting the same hard boiled noir fiction genre. For the past 10 years Hollandhas devoted much of his writing to completing the 4 volume Drew Smith series. He launches the series with the publication of Sleepless Nights, where the practicing attorney/bon vivant keeps it real both at work and play.

Holland currently blogs at editorialindpendence.com . More information on Sleepless Nights is available at SleeplessNightsNovel.com and his web site Norwood Holland.com

Get to Know Holland:
1. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am a freelance writer and lawyer lobbying on behalf of police and security officers. I received my law degree from Howard University School of Law and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English at Fisk University. A native of Washington DC, I favor D.C.’s local color in my fiction and currently write the offbeat blog editorialindependence.com devoted to diversity issues and labor law, book reviews, and social commentary.

2. Describe your book ‘Sleepless Nights’ in 30 words or less.
Sleepless Nights is suspenseful with larger than life characters based on a true crime story changing the lives of three young men and those around them–an engrossing legal thriller.

3. What was the hardest part of writing your book?
For me the most difficult part of writing Sleepless Nights was developing the plot line, and trying to come up with creative ways to raise the stakes for Drew Smith. A fundament rule for legal thrillers is to make your protagonist suffer and with that in mind the challenge was to make Drew Smith suffer while seemingly enjoying the high life. Drew Smith an urban bon vivant in his favor why should he be troubled? So I had the difficult task of causing him trouble. Once I had a central plot down then subplots and characters began to unfold naturally in the development.

4. What books have had the greatest influence on you?
I love biographies and particularly writer’s biographies. I’m a student of African American Literature so my taste may be a little esoteric. Two great books which I considered my favorite autobiographies are James Weldon Johnson’s Along This Way and Langston Hughes I Wonder As I Wander. As for popular fiction I’m a big fan of Harold Robbins and James Michener, I like epic adventures. I can say unequivocally the works of Langston Hughes have had the greatest influence on me.

5. Briefly share with us what you do to market your book?
Marketing is a challenge and a whole new experience for me. I’m targeting book clubs and reading groups to develop a core readership or fan base. I’m also targeting the Library market. I have found the local and national independent publishing associations to be valuable resources. They have also been instrumental in introducing me to book fairs and trade shows as possible venues for selling books. My promotional strategy is combination of both on line and off line. I plan to implement an intense internet promotional plan primarily made up of a bog blog tours to promote the ebooks and book signings at independent book stores and reading groups.

6. How do you spend your time when you are not writing?
Lately I’ve taken up golf as a hobby. When I’m not working I’m usually involved in some type of self improvement project like trying to teach myself new skills like building web sites and learning a second language. I also like to travel something I hope to do more of as I attempt to promote my book at book stores across the country. I enjoy reading, visiting art museums, and music. According to Auntie Mame, “life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving.” I try to end each day sated.

7. What are you working on next?
Minus One, the prequel to the Drew Smith Series is in its final editing stages. I expect to see it in print by Spring 2012. Drew Smith finishes law school and takes a job as a hotel concierge while awaiting his bar exam results. He makes new friends with two Bell Men and after a night out on the town suddenly finds themselves the center of a murder mystery.

Trial attorney Drew Smith a solo practitioner takes on shady clients solving cases fraught with danger and romantic intrigue. Through Sleepless Nights the urban legal wizard while frolicking with an exotic dancer succumbs to a midlife crisis. Haunted by foreshadowing nightmares an awakening reveals an empty life but Smith finds solace with therapist Zöe Settles.

In an already complicated life Smith is pressed into service when a vicious robbery leaves three dead and the city enraged. Drew Smith and his devoted sidekick Julio Mejia work to free his young client on the trail of a crazed gunman responsible for a growing body count.

In the end, the gunman and the dancer combine forces to bring Smith down. When death comes knocking Drew Smith faces the fight of his life.

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Fall Tours Featuring Author Tina Sinches

2011-10-27T08:55:00.001-05:00

Catina Sinches has always had a love for writing. Short stories and poems served as her foundation. A new chapter in her life has begun as she pursues her dream of becoming an author. Coupled with women she knew and her own life experiences motivated her to write Full Figure Monologues. ” I wanted to create something on a personal level that was not centered around losing weight nor what was going on in the fashion industry.” She hopes to inspire and encourage women through writing.

Catina currently resides in Texas. She earned her degree from Texas Southern University and she is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.

Interview with Catina Sinches

How did you come up with the title Full Figure Monologues?
I honestly think the title chose me. For a long time, we were not always afforded a platform to express the way we feel as women without focusing on our size. I felt as if no one truly heard what we had to say. I wanted a title that would encourage dialogue for full-figured women. In the book, I wanted readers to feel that if they heard just one story, they would be able to see themselves or someone they know in the book. We have the same issues just as anyone else. With that, I thought the title was appropriate.

Why are you passionate about writing for full-figured women?
I have been full-figured all my life and I had to face challenges because of my size. By me writing this book, I wanted to give women a sense that they are not alone.

What advice would you give aspiring writers?
Step out on faith and pursue your dream. No one can take that away from you. Take time to research your craft and don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s okay if you make mistakes along the way, learn from them and keep moving.

Do you have time to read works by other authors when preparing your own?
I don’t have the time that I would like to read a lot when I am working on my own projects. But I do take time to read a little.

Did you always want to be a writer?
I have always had a love for writing. When I was younger, I would always write short stories or poems. At this time in my life, I decided to take it seriously and pursue it.
How do you prepare to write?
I have to be in the mood to write. I don’t force any ideas on paper if the feeling is not there. If I am not feeling my all, I don’t want that to reflect in my writing. But I make sure that I always have pen and paper around all the time so when the feeling hits, I will be prepared.

Are there other genres you are interested in writing?
I would like to continue non-fiction, but I am also interested in fiction as well.
Who has been your source of inspiration for becoming an author?
My parents have been my source for inspiration. Being that they were both educators, that encouraged me to pursue writing.
Where can readers contact you such as Facebook, website, etc.?
Facebook: Author Catina Sinches or Catina Sinches
Website: www.catinasinches.com
Twitter: @CatinaSinches
LinkedIn: Catina Sinches
What’s next for Catina Sinches?
I do plan to continue to write, I absolutely love it. But I would like to take on new projects like film and stage production. Who knows what else, the sky is the limit and you only live once.
Find Catina at: www.catinasinches.com

Full Figure Monologues was written to inspire and lend a voice to full-figured women. It focuses on real life issues and captures our hopes, worries and triumphs. The intent is to open up dialogue and encourage people to sit back and look at life from the point of view of women who are realistically the population within society.

Women will be able to truly see themselves or someone they know who has dealt with the struggle to love their curves, entertaining negative thoughts, their relationship with food, letting go of the past as well as the courage to pursue their dreams.

Along with our curves, we are real women with everyday struggles. The women in the book put life into perspective and open up to show others that they are never alone. Life is not always going to be easy no matter what size you are, but the journey is absolutely worth it.

Full Figure Monologues

Excerpt

Now It Begins

No one can truly understand what it is to be a full figured woman

until you have worn the outfit and walked in our beautiful shoes. For many,

the outfit has been our armor – a shield of unparallel strength that we have

worn since we were cute chubby little girls. Teasing was a cruel reality that

we had to continually endure . The teasing had many faces as it came from

our own family members, friends, kids at school as well as strangers. Our

pretty faces were often covered in tears and were a source of comfort to

reveal our pain as we were too young to truly understand why people were

being so mean to us. The arms of a loving adult or older sibling was also our

refuge as they wiped our tears because we could not understand why they

called us names.

Now take a step back and look at what you have endured and the

blessing that you are still here standing tall. Despite the bumps and bruises

during our journey, we had the strength to carry on. We can’t change the

past but we can take control of the present and begin enjoying life right now

and the many years to come. I know for myself that I can never be mistaken

for anything else, other than a courageous woman. It is with a sincere heart

that I hope you wake up everyday to the sun rays caressing your beautiful

face and start living. When you take the first step and use your heart as your

guide, you will have the courage and strength to stand against anything.

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Fall Tours Featuring Author Clifton J. Dutton

2011-10-19T20:11:00.000-05:00

Author, Clifton J. Dutton is a multi-faceted man that has confronted life’s positive and negative moments with courage and tenacity. His endowment of writing allows him to share these enthralling real life events, and allows the awaiting public a glimpse into his creative mind.

Born in 1972 in Sandy Spring, MD, Howard County, Clifton was raised in a middle class family of one sister and two brothers; Clifton being the youngest of the four. He earned a full athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee where he studied Criminal Justice. Once college was over and the dreams of a career in the NFL never materialized, he pressed on with aspirations of working in the music industry.

Although Cliff is blessed with a wide range of gifts and talents, he quickly discovered that his mastery is indisputably writing. This expert author possesses the ability to bring his readers the gritty intense reality of the same streets that many experience every day. Cliff’s vivid imagery causes his audience to truly understand and feel what they otherwise could only speculate, traveling from DC boardrooms and South Beach bedrooms to this nation’s most powerful courtrooms.. Readers who are lovers of action, thrills, suspense and drama, get ready to brace yourself as he brings you powerful anthology which highlights the pleasure (and pain) of relationships, along with the dangerous and seductive world of the street life leaving no truth untold.

Brace yourselves as he releases the first of many in the Clifton Dutton Novel Series, Prince to a King!

Get to Know Cliffton:

1. Where are you from?

I am from Howard County, MD.

2. Where did you attend school?

I went to the university of Tennessee on a full football scholarship.

3. What made you begin to write?

I loved to write at an early age but once sports took over my life writing was put on the back burner. Once I was incarcerated I used the time wisely to re-invent my gift of writing.

4. Where did the concept of Prince to a King come from?

The concept literally came from the first sentence of the book. I wrote the first sentence and then let the story come to life.

5. As a writer who is Clifton Dutton?

A man that is not scared to tell the truth and creatively have the ability to fictionalize the truth of life and make written words become visual as you read.

6. how many books do you plane to release under the Clifton Dutton novel series?

The plan is for the first four releases to have three parts making 12 in all.

7. Finally what makes you different then the other hundreds of Urban authors?

My opinion is this, my upbringing is completely different then most of my fellow authors in my demographic.Most of them have a “HOOD” upbringing. Myself, I was raised in a 98% whit area which gives me uncanny ability to write and be able to expand on the interest of all demographics. I just got a great review back from a 75 year old white country woman from Nevada.

Prince to a King is a novel set in an urban environment, but is also relatable to all societies. The love story that unfolds and proves to grip the plot, can take any reader of any backgrounds heart. How often do you find yourself cheering for the bad guy?

Based on elements of true events, new author Clifton J.Dutton takes the reader on a journey that proves to be electrifying.This novel captures the audience of the passionate type, while never losing the interest of the action and drama reader. This combination is often lost when trying to reach one core audience.
Prince to a King is an urban novel, but stretches the boundaries of the term taking you deep into the mind of a confused young black man that desperately seeks the love that was taken from him so long ago.©
DC, the murder capital, city of terror; It’s within these streets where a Prince will come to rise. Prince is a young man with a sadistic inner soul that was created by the tragic events of his early childhood.

Though these events have been suppressed deep in his mind, these are the traits that make him the man he is. As the pages turn and the roller coaster ride of Prince races toward the Man that stole his young life as he knew it, you can’t help but to cheer for the one American Gangster you hate to love.

Excerpt-
“Nigga drive, why the fuck you sitting here..?” Before he could finish his head was flung back from the force of the truck speeding away. Fear is the worst enemy of a man. This concept was described as the fifth law of power in the book, 48 Laws of Power written by Robert E. Green. Prince was another Sun Zu of sorts. As the smoke cleared Prince stood unmoved by the events.

The niggas ran like bitches even though everyone of them was strapped. The presence of Prince made them afraid. He was living proof that fear is indeed the worst enemy of any man. The truth of the streets of DC stood strong on that sidewalk that hot summer night. The urban legend stood tall for all to see!!

Find the Author at:
www.cliftondutton.com

cliftondutton@twitter.com

cliftondutton@facebook.com

cdutton007@gmail.com

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Fall Tours Featuring Author Winkk

2011-10-14T09:08:00.000-05:00

Once you open one of Winkk’s novels, you won’t be able to stop until you’ve navigated every twist, turn and tragedy in the lives of her relatable and fascinating characters. Winkk’s deft storytelling and experience as a former model, actress and professional dancer for artists, including R. Kelly, Avant, and Ronald Isley made “Tour Secrets” and “Tour Secrets 2,” a rousing success.

The two novels–which follow the lives and torrid love affairs of dancers and best friends, Raven and Music–flew off virtual shelves when they were published in 2009 and 2010, netting acclaim from outlets including Rolling Out, Power 92.3 FM, Parle magazine and Raw TV. She is a “Breakout Author of the Year” nominee for the 2011 African American Literary Awards, an honor also bestowed upon fellow nominees and celebrity writers Iyanla Vanzant, Tavis Smiley and CNN anchor Don Lemon.

Winkk follows that credo in her own life. That is why, despite dancing for some of the biggest names in R&B and modeling for Ebony magazine among others, she opted not to go the tell-all route. Instead, Winkk focuses on fictionalized stories based on her experience and imagination, broaching topics from “down low” men to transsexual entertainers.
Winkk also is building her brand beyond writing novels. In 2011, she founded Ailam Publishing. Though she is currently publishing her own projects, she wants to assist other authors in finding their voice.

“When I first started writing, I wanted to tell the story of the tour experience from the dancer’s side…that’s a side that never got out,” Winkk said of the books and innovative video teasers she produced on her own. “Misleading” too will get the visual treatment, as part of Winkk’s holistic literary vision. “Now, I want to tell as many stories as I can as many ways as I can in print and eventually on the small and big screen.”

Get to Know Winnk:

What inspired you to write the novels Tour Secrets and Tour Secrets 2?
I’m a former dancer/choreographer and have worked for artist including R. Kelly, Avant and Ronald Isley. Traveling on the road as a dancer inspired me to write the Tour Secrets series so the readers could get a glimpse of what dancers experienced. I felt it would be interesting to write some outrageous and sometimes unbelievable, but realistic things that dancers deal with. Tour Secrets is not a tell all, but will give you a heart-stopping, jaw-dropping inside look into the music industry. The novels have been re-released under Ailam Publishing, and are available in paperback an Ebooks.

What character did you enjoy writing about the most in the series Tour Secrets?
Raven and Que were the characters I enjoyed creating and writing about the most. Raven revealed a big secret in the book and her sassy, humorous personality was exciting to write. Que is scandalous and ruthless, and creating his character was fun.

Was it easy making the transition from a dancer to an author?
The literary industry is very similar to the entertainment business, so the transition was very easy. Since I’ve been writing for many years and used to write while traveling, I felt comfortable making the change.

Tell us about your new novel Misleading?
My new novel Misleading is about a nightclub owner who is focused on money and being successful. He realizes that he can’t control the world with money and finds out that the people closes to him are more interested in bringing him down then helping him succeed. Revenge, deceit, sex, drama and scandal are all tied up in this novel. The novel will be available on September 30, 2011 and you can pre-order it now on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com. It will be available in paperback an Ebooks.

What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most?
The part of the writing process I enjoy is creating the story and seeing all the elements come together. I usually create the cover in my mind first and everything else falls into place. I love creating so writing a novel is like choreographing a dance routine to me. I enjoy the process from the beginning to the end.

Why did you decide to self-publish and what are your plans for your new publishing company?
I started Ailam Publishing to publish my novels and to keep the creative control over my projects. I will continue to publish my novels and would also like to publish other authors in the future.

What can we expect next from Winkk?
I will keep writing novels and producing video book trailer. I will turn my novels into movies and continue mentoring and sponsoring local artist. I’ve got a few things up my sleeves, so be on the lookout.

You can catch me at www.winkkatme.com or info@winkkatme.com. Also facebook.com/winkkatme2, Twitter.com/winkkatme.com, Myspace.com/winkkatme and Youtube.com/winkktv.

Sexy, wealthy and handsome is what best describes Jarvis Denttin, the owner of the exclusive popular Denttin nightclubs. His posh lifestyle has women flockingis love to him regularly, and they feed his strong appetite for sex. Having his choice of any woman, has created a selfish, deceiving, controlling man. Women are attracted to his alluring demeanor, until they are invited into his life and introduce to his devious side.

Expanding his company, Jarvis Denttin is excited to open a new nightclub in Chicago. He is devastated when his close friend is killed and his businesses become in jeopardy, that he is now reconsidering his move to the Windy City. Just as attractive and charming as Jarvis, his friend and employee Antonio Flink, is being well trained to become a duplicate of him, but Antonio proves that he is more conniving then Jarvis could imagine.

Candace Mourton, the personal assistant to Jarvis Denttin is a smart opportunist and knows that he is capable of providing the lifestyle she deserves, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the money flowing. She enjoys her professional and sexual relationship with him, until she breaks her own rule and falls in love. Jarvis takes care of her financially, and she caters to him daily, but realizes that isn’t enough to keep him interested in her.

With money dominating Jarvis’s successful life, he is unaware of the scheme being orchestrated to bring him down and he gets caught up in a web of deception. Knowing all the wrong he has done to people, he’s ready for a fresh start, but karma gets to him first. Oblivious of his acquaintance motives, puts him in a deadly situation. Will his life crumble before he finds out that the people around him have been misleading him the entire time?

Unika Welcomes Tywebbin Blog Tours Featuring Author Patti Lacy and The Reclaiming Lily Blog Tour

2011-10-09T17:24:00.000-05:00

Blog Tour Schedule

About the Author

Patti Lacy graduated from Baylor University in 1977 with a BS in education. She taught at Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois, until she retired in 2006 to pursue writing full time. She and her husband, Alan, have two grown children. Visit Patti at http://www.pattilacy.com/.

Two Women. Two Cultures. A Troubled Teen

About the Book
A storm the size of Texas brews when Gloria Powell and Kai Chang meet in a Dallas hotel. They have come to discuss the future of Lily, the daughter Gloria adopted from China and the sister Kai hopes to reclaim. Kai is a doctor who had to give up her little sister during the Cultural Revolution and has since discovered that an inherited genetic defect may be waiting to fatally strike Lily.

Gloria's relationship with her daughter is tattered and strained, and the arrival of Kai, despite the woman's apparent good intentions, makes Gloria fearful. Gloria longs to restore her relationship with Lily, but in the wake of this potentially devastating diagnosis, is Kai an answer to prayer...or will her arrival force Gloria to sacrifice more than she ever imagined?

Video Trailers for Reclaiming Lily
BOOK TRAILER #1

Unika Welcomes Tywebbin Blog Tours Featuring Author Patricia Raybon

2011-10-06T09:32:00.001-05:00

Author's Website

Award-winning writer Patricia Raybon is author of two critically acclaimed books, “I Told the Mountain to Move” and “My First White Friend.” Her personal essays have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, USA Weekend, Charles Stanley Ministries’ In Touch Magazine and have also aired on National Public Radio. She writes full-time on life-changing faith.

What is the most “Unique Experience” that you have had during your literary journey? Please explain in detail.

I was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on her show back in 1995 for my forgiveness memoir, My First White Friend. That was significant. However, my most unique experience was getting published by a major publisher right out of the gate.

I’d worked as a newspaper reporter for a dozen years, working eventually as Sunday Magazine editor at The Denver Post. From there, after a year’s break, I started teaching at the University of Colorado’s School of Journalism, where I was required as a faculty member to be published on a national level. So I started writing personal essays about my life as an African American, a wife, a mother, a Christian and so on. Almost every time I submitted an essay—to USA Today, USA Weekend, National Public Radio, then to The New York Times Sunday Magazine –the essay would sell and get published.

Then, after publishing a couple pieces in The New York Times, agents started contacting me, asking if I’d written a book and could they represent me. I hadn’t written a book. But after about the 30th or so agent contacted me, my husband gave me a pep talk, saying, “Maybe it’s time you wrote that book.” So that’s what I did. I wrote a racial memoir, My First White Friend. However, I had an agent before I even had a book idea. Highly unusual. It doesn’t happen like that anymore.
But there’s more to the story. That agent was friends with an editor at Penguin Putnam, a major publishing house, and they offered me a book contract. But my agent turned it down, asking for more money, and Penguin agreed. Again, it doesn’t happen like that anymore. So I’m grateful this unique aspect of my journey to publication.

Many writers struggle for years to find representation. But, for some reason, I was blessed to land an agent, a publishing house and a contract for my first book—which is still in print. I learned a lot in that experience. The main thing it taught me is to believe in yourself, especially as a writer. I didn’t know a soul in New York, but I submitted my essays to the New York Times and the magazine editor bought them. I also learned to always present my best work. I’ve had success selling my articles and books, I believe, because I aim for excellence. Editors appreciate that. Readers do, too. So that’s what I try to offer. Quality work.

I also try to watch what God is doing—and let God lead. When I get ahead of God, whether in my book life or my family life, I get off track. The Bible says God sees the beginning from the end, so I try to follow where God is going. When it comes to book writing, His path for me is always uniquely best.

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Fall Tours Featuring Author Syretta A. Walker

2011-10-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

Syretta A. Walker was born in South Carolina, but raised in Dayton, Ohio. She is a single mother of one little boy. Currently, she is obtaining an associate degree in real estate property management. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, cooking, and eating. Her debut novel Upgrade You was written as a form of therapy after some of her old baggage began to surface. Upgrade You is loosely based around her life story. Syretta hopes that her novel can help at least one girl that is facing similar struggles.

Get to Know Syretta:

What is your first title called, and what is it about?
A: My first street lit title is called ‘Upgrade You’, and it is about a “broke dog”{ who goes through on trial after another on a promiscuous journey to find love; maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t.

Where did you get the inspiration to write ‘Upgrade You’?
A: My baby sister, and my son. Got to do it for the kiddies, and leave my next few generations secure.

What sets ‘Upgrade You ‘apart from other books in the same genre?
A: I wrote the book while going through schizophrenia before being diagnosed with the disease. I was hearing voices and characters in my head.

Who was the biggest influences in your life coming up, and why?
A: My late great-grandmother because I would watch her tend house for others, sell baked goods, and remain a gracious woman while instilling a hustler’s mentality in me. Second,the late rapper Tupac Shakur, for sharing his trials with the world, and still trying to help in the crisis of poverty.

As an author, what are the keys to you success that lead to getting Upgrade You out to the public?
A: Word of mouth and attending seminars to get recognized as an upcoming serious author.

As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take to write Upgrade You?
A: It took me a month and a half. My writing process was eating a great deal of chocolate, drinking lots of sodas, and consuming lots of Newport cigarettes.

What other projects do you have available, and what’s next for Syretta Walker?
A: Chocolate Rose 2 is available on Kindle, and Nook. And I will be releasing Behind Tha Chastity Belt coming early 2012.

Anabella Carter is alone and miserable. The only thing that brings her happiness is a blunt and a pint of Hennessy. Due to a number of misforturnes, she doesn’t know where her life is headed until she enters a urban fiction contest. As she journeys through her tale, she discovers the meaning of love and pain. Anabella realizes one person has stood by her side during the good times and the bad. She wants to tell him how she feels, but doesn’t want to risk losing him. Will Anabella will succumb to the pain? or Will love prevail?

Excerpt:
That was also part of the reason Anabella decided to tell her story. She had been unable to talk about the point when her life took a turn. Anabella hated that point and most importantly she hated the way her life was headed at this point. She was twenty-one years old now with a child of her own, and most times she couldn’t believe she was a mother herself.

Anabella had gotten pregnant at seventeen, had her daughter at eighteen, and had continued to see hell every since. Currently, her National City checking account held a balance of twenty-three cent, and she didn’t have anything else to lose.

At least we got a roof over our heads and food to shove in our mouths, Anabella thought of her, and her daughter Isabella. She was due to start one of her last three semesters at Sinclair Community College tomorrow, and she didn’t know how she was going to swing that, and writing her novel as well. But, to Anabella it no longer felt like an option anymore. It was mandatory. Anabella loved the idea that she could erase the pain and hatred from her heart. She felt like she would be able to start all over again. Anabella just hated the fact that she would have to give the readers her triumph, before her tragedy. But, she thought, what the hell? Might as well get all this shit off me. Anabella decide she would use characters real names for the time being, although she knew it was risky. That is where an urban tale was born, five days into 2008, and the day before Anabella was due to go back to school…

Books can be purchased at a www.mahogneyinkpublication.com, amazon.com and a bookstore near you!!!

Email: Xmom9727 @att.net

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Fall Tours Featuring Author Luna Charles

2011-09-03T11:40:00.000-05:00

Luna Charles is a self-publish author and the Director of Hardcastle Enterprises Corp., a business dedicated to helping those who are ready to realize the full potential that they have within. As the oldest of 5 kids from a single mother, Luna learned early that life may not seems fair but hard work and dedication will get you to where you want to go.

Daily in her work, she strives for excellence using those early lessons to reinforce her spirit and those around her when times get tough. Her first novel Men Are Not The Problem is a heartfelt story of overcoming adversity and finding the love within which can conquer all wounds.

Along with writing, Luna spends her time speaking to the youth in her local Florida community, raising her two daughters and spending time with her husband. She is currently working on a journal due out later on this year. Luna is Haitian by birth but has lived in South Florida for the last 21 years of her life.
Get to Know Author Luna Charles :

1. When and why did you begin writing?
I started writing in Elementary school. I came to American when I was nine so; I picked up the language fairly quickly. I was pretty shy and anti social, so writing gave me an outlet for my emotions. I must admit some of my early stuff was pretty dark. I always thought I would be a thriller writer, but one cannot control the words that decide to come through you when you put paper on pen, at least that has been my personal experience.

2. What inspired you to write your first book?
Life, tragedy, a desperate need to make sense of the calamity that has become my life. I had spent years not writing, not thinking, not really involved in my own life. It was like I was a spectator. Waiting to see what would the next catastrophe Luna Charles would be involved in. Self pity I now understand is a lot more addictive then reality TV. You can take it with you anywhere and it doesn’t cost a thing to feed. It when I was at my lowest that I found a journal that a friend had given me years ago, the inscription begged me to write. So I did. And I haven’t stopped since then.

3. How long did it take?
From the moment I pick up that notebook to the day Men Are Not The Problem was published, it took an incredible five years to complete. I rewrote the manuscript 4 times. Had it professionally developmental edited and copy edited. I grew into a stronger person as I wrote. A more defined individual. It was like I took a part of my character’s strength and imbued it into myself. Really, I don’t feel like I was alive until I started writing this novel.

4. Have you ever thought about turning your book into a movie?
Yes, that would wonderful. I would love to see the characters brought to life and life lessons learned on the big screen or even the small screen. But the question is, are we as a society ready for a movie like that? I mean, I see men as men, black, white, or purple. If a guy’s is a world class jerk, like Michael our antagonist, it has nothing to do with his race. It just happens that she is a black woman who falls in love with an A$@, who happened to be white. But what I am afraid of is that most people will not even see the pain and suffering that Selene goes through or that she dated other guys of other races that mistreated her. That all they will focus on is that he is white and she is black. Instead of, she is a person lost trying to find herself.

5. Have you ever thought about writing a sequel?
Yes, I am currently working on the sequel to Men Are Not The Problem. I believe the readers want to know what happened after Selene walked through that door. Yes, she is in a better place. But life is not all roses and she does have some huge events she has to deal with. I can’t wait till it’s ready, but for now I think it won’t be ready for print till 2012.

6. What are you current projects?
Currently I am working a Journal due out this November. I’m so excited about it. It’s a mixture of short stories and exercises to help those that need that extra push, to take control of their lives. Apart from that I’m busy writing short stories for different project that will be published this year.

7. Name one entity outside of family that you feel supported you?
There is no way in the world that I could name just 1 person outside my family that supported me. My friends, Aneesha, Lucien, and Susie have been instrumental in me still being here. They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and they continue to push me onward. With them and my family, there is no going back for me, only forward and up.

Selene opens the door to her hand her heart melts. It was only two months prior that Michael dumped her, leaving her in Miami to return to his hometown of Sarasota, presumably to make something more of himself. It had been painful for her to let go, but at the end it was for the best. He had been a selfish and inconsiderate lover, escorting her around his white world as if she was his black Haitian Barbie.
Selene had taken charge of her life and overcame emotional and physical abuse, as well as the biased opinions of others regarding immigrants since coming to the US. Yet somehow still in love with this spoiled bad boy, she packs her bags and leaves with him, telling herself that love is worth the risk.

However, when an unexpected pregnancy and job loss turns her love sick world upside down, it is then that Michael’s true callous and cold heart is revealed. Struggling with the demons of her past and now the misfortunes of her present, Selene realizes Men Are Not the Problem.

Men Are Not the Problem knows no boundaries as this uplifting tale drives you from tear jerking moments to candid real life hilarity. Painfully blunt and remarkably inspiring Men Are Not the Problem will leave you knowing what real love is and should be.

Excerpt:
Two months later, as we piled up on the couch in the Florida room to watch TV, we heard the gunshot, then the sirens. My brother’s, my uncle and I looked at each other, then ran to the backyard to see what had happened. The Bradley’s arrived in their backyard at the same time. The fence was tall and wooden; we saw nothing on our end since we were caddy corner to the house. Lee and Lenard both grabbed the top of the fence directly behind their yard and tried to jump over, but failed. Not giving in, Lenard boosted his younger brother up to take a look. However, all they saw was the back of the house, which contained a couple of cops that warned them to get back to their side quickly before they got in trouble.

We all looked at each other from over the fence, but said nothing as we walked back inside our own house. Later that night Mr. Bradley came knocking on our door as we stood in the hallway in front of our rooms, the same hall I had sat in to listen to Mrs. J defend her husband’s actions to my mother. We heard that Mrs. Jean-Baptist’s husband had beaten her to death with the lid of a toilet reservoir and then shot himself in the head. Jack, their son, had been away and therefore spared from the massacre. The neighbor who had come over to explain to my mother what all the commotion was about, concluded as he happened to take a glance in the direction of our little group in the hall, that he heard the son would be staying with family in central Florida. My mother stood at the door, blank of expression at hearing the news. A minute later, she closed the front door and walked into the house. She gave us a stern look for eavesdropping and walked into her bedroom.
She didn’t cry and didn’t say anything to us about what had occurred.

My uncle, who had also been raised in the old ways, went to his room without a word of guidance to us. We were left on our own to learn from what had taken place and come to our own conclusions. My brothers, too young to fully grasp the information, were only upset that their new friend was gone forever now. I tried to explain as best as I could that the world was full of bad people and sometimes bad- things happened, but the news sickened me. Ghosts of the violent past that I had left in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, sprang up to pull me back into an old nightmare.

That night as my mother slept, I sneaked into the kitchen and quietly opened the door to the liquor cabinet inside the movable bar. Pouring some rum into a blue plastic cup I silently closed the door behind me and moved to the fridge to add milk to the drink. Drinking rum at my age was not normal in my culture, wine maybe on special occasions, but not rum. However, what my mother did not know wouldn’t not hurt her, but more specifically me. And what she didn’t know was that Gloria my Nicaraguan friend who lived across from Mrs. J and was in a grade higher than me kept a bottle under her bed. She always gave me some when I went by there. How she got the bottle she would not tell me, but drinking always seemed to make me feel better when I was sad. Therefore, it was with that intention in mind that I went into my room with the concoction.

As I sat on the white tiled floor, I started to weep as my baby sister slept soundly in her bed. I cried for Mrs. J’s unwarranted death and for my mother’s lack of emotion toward it. I cried for all the suffering that people endured and the lack of sympathy we have toward our fellow man. I cried just because in a situation like that ometimes crying is the only thing that can be done and the rum that I had hope would help had not.

I sat there letting the waves of grief and pain crash within me. I wanted the comfort of my mother, the reassurance that only a parent could give to a suffering child, the security that only her touch could bring. However, I knew better than to seek her out. I was not welcomed and would never be. It was not that she specifically disliked me, per se. I mean, it is the norm for daughters and mothers to fight while mothers and sons are best friends.

No, it was more like I reminded her of a past she did not want to remember. A past I knew nothing about except for the rare moments that she felt like inflicting on me accusations full of clues to a puzzle I had not yet pieced together to make a complete picture. I had tried through the years to be on my mother’s better side, but learned the hard way that it was impossible. She could not love me as other mothers loved their daughters. I guess like a rape victim’s spore, I was a constant reminder of what she believed was a horrendous mistake. Being a person of my age, I did not understand that.

Therefore, I tried to bribe my mother with more love and attention than other mothers received from their children. Breakfast in bed, meals when she came home from work, mowing the lawn, doing her hair, giving back massages, etc. My actions were useless, my loved denied, my heart empty. It was a sad thing when you have never had the loving hug of any parent, maybe even a self destructive thing.

Once when I was eleven as I sat in the passenger side of her brown Dodge Minivan that she used as a taxi, I flat out asked her why she never said I love you to me as she did to my brothers. Between trips to the rear to take the passengers’ luggage out she replied, “Why would I say that to a person that did nothing worthy of my love?” I died inside at those words. I had no answer. I stayed mute. Mind racing to find a reason why she should love me, but each one that came forward I tossed out, finding them inadequate. I spent the rest of the ride from the customer’s house to our house in silence.

That day I changed. It was not apparent in anyway. Just coldness grew around my heart like icicles on a windowpane anytime she was near. Her words had wounded me in a way I could not deal with. Not then, not anymore. Mentally, I put distance between us, knowing that no matter how hard I tried, the loving attention I sought from her would never be mine. Therefore, I ignored her curses, and only half-listened when she called me a whore or told me I would never amount to anything. She, I decided, was not going to love me, therefore I would not love her and the emotion I wanted would have to be found somewhere else. Nevertheless, her absence from me at a time like this made the coldness grow to a peak it had never reached before. For us to be only feet away, but eons apart hurt like my heart had turned to solid ice and the frost was traveling down my veins.

She had not had to tell me anything when she saw us in the hall. I knew what she expected of me in such a situation. She expected me to be her version of strong, to be without emotion, to show no remorse in the face of such a tragedy, to be her. I also knew if she were to walk in right now and find me in the midst of my sorrow, she would barrage me with words full of allegations. She would see my tears and believe that I was silently blaming her for what happened. Moreover, she would surely be using both profanity and threats that stated. She was not to be held responsible for any women who could not take care of themselves. Not her, she would not be responsible for anyone’s burdens, not friends, family, nor foe.

My mother was the strong one; the one who had chosen a life of solitude versus staying married to an unfaithful husband whom she had three kids with. She had chosen to divorce him when her youngest daughter was only eight months old instead of staying in a bad situation just to avoid people talking about the single mother with the five kids. She did not care about the way society looked at her or presumed she was not happy just because she was not married. On the contrary, I think she loved showing people how wrong they were.

Maybe that is why she ignored Mrs. J’s obvious need of support and left the woman whom she had been friends with, to die due to stupidity. It was not right, at least not in my thoughts. Yet, I suspect the reason she did this was that she was trying to teach Mrs. J tough love. She wanted the woman to stand up for herself without the need of a crutch like she herself had done.

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Summer Tours Featuring Author Eyone Williams

2011-08-22T07:12:00.001-05:00

Eyone Williams was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He is a publisher, author, rapper and actor representing urban life in a way that is uniquely his. Known for hard-core, gritty novels, Eyone made the Don Diva best-seller list with his first novel, Fast Lane (Fast Lane Publications). He followed up his debut novel with Hell Razor Honeys 1 and 2 (Cartel Publications). He then delivered his readers a short story entitled The Cross (DC Bookdiva Publications).

He’s also a staff writer for Don Diva Magazine, his most notable work is featured in Don Diva’s issue 30, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, where he outlined the rise and fall of D.C. street legends Michael “Fray” Salters and Wayne Perry. Eyone’s first acting role was in the forthcoming movie Dark City (District Hustle). His latest mixtape, A Killer’z Ambition, is a sound track to the novel, A Killer’z Ambition (DC Bookdiva Publications) by Nathan Welch.

For more information about Eyone Williams visit his Facebook page: facebook.com/eyonewilliams

Excerpt:

YOUTH CENTER I, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1975

“Ay, Blue!” Frank yelled through the vent in the back of his cell. He and Ronald were being sent to general population. Frank’s heart was pounding with apprehension of what awaited them on the compound. It was time to face the music. “Ay, Blue, get in the vent, nigga!”

“What’s up?” Blue yelled back.

“They ’bout to send us to the pound,” Frank yelled.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, they just came to see us.”

“Me and T-Bone gon’ be in here for ’bout another week or so. Y’all stay on point out there,” Blue yelled.

Ronald got in the vent. “Ay, Blue, remember what we talked about, man.” They had vowed to never let the Northwest/Southeast bullshit come between them.

“You know that, bro,” Blue confirmed.
“Tell T-Bone to get in the vent.”

“Aaaaayyyy,” T-Bone yelled through the vent.

“I’ma see y’all when they let y’all hit the pound.”

“Be safe, Ronnie.”

“I’ma do that if I don’t do nothin’ else.” Ronald could hear the C.O.’s keys coming down the range over the loud talking of other convicts. “I talked to Synthia, she should be hookin’ up wit’ your girl.”

“Okay, man. I’ll holla at you when we get on the pound. I’m ’bout to get out this vent,” T-Bone said.

Ronald and Frank stepped into the unknown world of the Center. Ronald was assigned to 3 Dorm. Frank felt those familiar butterflies in his stomach when he was assigned to 2 Dorm without Ronald. As Frank and Ronald crossed the compound, they saw people everywhere, just like in the hood. They saw a few people they knew from the streets and from down Oak Hill. Some dudes they hadn’t seen in years. One of Frank’s homies that ran the streets with Gangsta, a dude by the name of G-Train, pulled up on Frank and Ronald.

“Damn, what’s up, baby boy?” G-Train hugged Frank. “What dorm they got you in?”

“2 Dorm,” Frank said, pleased to see a homie of his. “You over there wit’ me,” G-Train said, looking at Ronald like, Who the fuck is you? Ronald looked back at G-Train the same way.

“This my man, Ronald,” Frank said, sensing the vibe.

G-Train and Ronald exchanged nods, nothing more.

“Come on, I’ma walk you over to the dorm,” G-Train said to Frank.

Frank gave Ronald five and a hug. “I’ma catch you after I get my shit together.”

“Cool. Be safe,” Ronald said. He then headed to his dorm.

Inside 3 Dorm, Ronald ran into a partner of his brother’s, a dude by the name of Fray. He had some juice with the female C.O. that ran the block; she was a bad-ass sister with a sexy body. Fray got Ronald moved on the wing with him and a few other Uptown dudes.

Going on twenty three, Fray was well respected and already established down the Center. He had always looked at Ronald like a little brother and had watched him grow up. Ronald had a lot of respect for Fray; it was Fray that gave him his first .32 revolver at thirteen.

“So, what’s up wit’ this beef you got wit’ the dude Keith Henderson?” Fray asked as he and Ronald sat in his cell smoking a KOOL. “You know how word travels.”

“That nigga violated, Mike.” Ronald said, addressing Fray by his government name. He went on to explain how Keith Henderson tried to rape Frank.

Fray nodded. “Y’all did what y’all was supposed to do.” Fray respected the fact that Ronald and his little crew were coming through the door standing up as men. There was no other way to be respected down Lorton.

“Who all fuck wit’ the dude down here?” Ronald asked, knowing that he had to deal with the dude’s peoples. Not to mention, the people that fucked with the dude Joseph Hall—the dude T-Bone and Blue stabbed.

“Most of the dudes that fuck wit’ them dudes over Big Lorton, but the dude Keith got a brother in this dorm on the other wing–”

“In this dorm?” Ronald cut Fray off. His antennas went up.

“Yeah, but he ain’t that type of dude, he don’t want no trouble. He ain’t nothin’ like his brother.”

Ronald was already shaking his head no. “We can’t sleep in the same dorm, that’s out, Mike. If the nigga don’t want no trouble, then he gotta go. Matter fact, we can’t be on the same compound.”

Fray laughed a little. “Let me holla at the dude. He from Northwest, so let me talk to him real quick.”

“Mike, I fucks wit’ you and everything, but it’s nothin’ to talk about. He gotta go or I’ma put the knife in him.” Ronald’s mind was made up.

Fray tried to talk Ronald out of it, but it made no difference. “Okay, I see you got your mind made up, so I got your back. At the same time, the dude Joseph got a cousin over 2 Dorm, he pull a little weight down here. He from Southeast. You know we gon’ have to deal wit’ that, too.”

“You don’t gotta get into this shit. I got it on my end, man. All I need is a knife,” Ronald said.

“Hell nah, I fucks wit’ your brother and you like family to me. I can’t let you go out there like that.”

Moments later, Fray had armed Ronald with a lawn mower blade that could decapitate a bull. Fray also pulled up on a few of his comrades and let them know what was going on. Wookie, Larry Williams, and Greg Royster backed Fray’s call to back Ronald. Eddie Mathis and Fly were on board as well. In a huge green army coat, Ronald walked down the wing followed by Fray and his comrades. Convicts standing out on the tier looked on, knowing something was about to go down. Seeing who was backing Ronald, the convicts knew that the youngster was not some young off brand.

Pulling up on Kenny Henderson, Ronald found him talking to another convict and cut into their conversation. “Main man, let me holla at you real quick.”

Kenny could tell that Ronald was strapped, the huge coat said so. Kenny also knew that Fray and his crew were backing the youngster. “I don’t want no trouble, youngster.”

“I’m tryin’ to holla at you alone,” Ronald said with authority.

Kenny’s buddie spoke up. “You can speak to him right here.”

Wookie spoke up and addressed Kenny’s buddie. “You want some work?”

The dude sighed. “Y’all know Kenny ain’t wit’ no beefin’.”

“Fuck all that. Do you want some work?” Wookie got up in the dude’s face.

“Nah, man.” The dude left Kenny for dead.

“Look, man,” Ronald said to Kenny. “We can’t both sleep in this dorm. One of us gotta go and it ain’t gon’ be me …”

“I ain’t wit’ that shit my brother tried. I know y’all did what y’all had to do.”

Ronald thought about what Kenny said, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He refused to be rocked to sleep. “Look here,” Ronald pulled out the lawn mower blade, “I said one of us gotta go. Either you start steppin’ or shit gon’ go to another level.” In a way, Ronald felt fucked up knowing the dude had no win, but it was what it was.

“You got it, youngster.” Kenny eased by, heading for Protective Custody. “I’m goin’ in.”

Meanwhile, in 2 Dorm, Frank and G-Train were suited up as well. Frank was hiding in G-Train’s cell with a ten inch blade, his palms were sweaty and he could feel himself trembling. G-Train told him that he would go get Joseph Hall’s cousin and tell him that they wanted to squash the beef. It was game. G-Train was rockin’ the joker to sleep. He had told Frank to stab the joker right in the neck with no talking as soon as he walked him in the cell. Frank was having second thoughts as he impatiently waited for G-Train to lure the joker to the cell.

“Yeah, man, that shit ain’t for us,” G-Train said to Freddie Hall as he walked him to the cell. “My man ain’t tryin’ to beef wit’ you. Frank just comin’ in, he really don’t know how this shit go.”

With his chest out haughty and cocky, Freddie said, “Yeah, I hope so, cause I’d hate for us to fall out over this shit here.” Freddie was twenty five, he’d been down the Center for seven years and had been known to be a thorough dude. He respected G-Train, but saw him as a young nigga that was still coming into his own. As far as Freddie was concerned, G-Train had a long way to go before he could even think about getting in his business.

This nigga just don’t know, G-Train thought, we gon’ bus’ his ass. G-Train was nineteen, and he’d been down the Center for three years at that point. During that time, he’d already gotten away with a murder and countless serious assaults. He couldn’t believe that Freddie was acting like he didn’t pull weight.

As soon as G-Train opened the cell door, Frank struck like an angry diamondback rattlesnake, stabbing Freddie right under his Adam’s apple. G-Train whipped out his joint at the same time and hit Freddie in the back.

“Aaahhrrggg!” Freddie screamed, making a gagging sound as he grabbed his neck and forced his way backward, getting stabbed over and over again. Frank became possessed, stabbing Freddie in the face, neck, and chest. Freddie got unnaturally strong and ran down the wing trying to get away. Frank and G-Train were right on his ass like piranhas. They chased him and stabbed him all the way into the TV room where he collapsed, a bloody mess.

“Come on, let’s go.” G-Train grabbed Frank’s shirt, pulling him along.

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Summer Tours Featuring Author Terri D

2011-08-21T22:08:00.000-05:00

Get to Know Terri
1. Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
I have always felt like I had a lot to say but I was a little shy. I started journaling or keeping a diary as a pre teen. I also started writing poetry and some short stories in my early teens.

2. What inspires you the most to write?
My life inspires me to write. Writing for me is like therapy. It allows me to be completely open and honest about my feelings. It is not that I have lived a very hard life because I consider myself to have been very blessed thus far in my life. It’s that I have always wanted to capture how I feel about things as they happen. That is why I journal. If someone found all of my journals and put them into chronological order, it would be a good reflection of my life.

3. Did you enjoy reading as a child?
Yes as a child, I loved to read. I remember reading all of the Judy Blume books but I also liked to sneak into my mother’s room and read some of her books. She liked V.C Andrews so as a teenager and young adult she became one of my favorite authors.

4. What do you like to do when you are not writing?
When I am not writing I enjoy listening to music and singing. My love for music overshadowed my reading and writing for a long time. I am glad that I have finally been able to find a good balance between the two. Now I write and listen to music and sing while I am writing.

5. What inspired you to write your first book?
I decided to write my first book because I had shared some of my journal entries with a friend of mine. They commented that they really enjoyed my writing style and asked if I had ever considered writing a book. I had not and did not act on it right away. One day I was reading a book and an idea for a story popped into my head. I sat down and started writing. Several hours later, I had approximately 50 pages written.

6. What does your family think of your writing?
My family has been supportive and is very excited about me finally tapping into my creative side. My family continues to encourage me to write and express myself.

7. What is next for you in your writing career?
I have started working on my second novel, which is a sequel to Yesterday’s lies, and I have some ideas for other books. I also have resumed writing poetry. I plan to continue to write as long as there are people who want to read what I write.

Find Terri:
http://www.authorterrid.com/
Follow me on:
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/AuthorTerriD

Excerpt from the book
Journal Entry
Tuesday
As each day passes my thoughts of you and desire for you increase. When I close my eyes, I can drift back in time and feel your touch and I imagine I hear your voice. Oh how I wish I could hear your voice. I’ve let you get under my skin, and I feel very vulnerable because I know I’m in a position to get hurt. You told me when we first met, you were not looking for a relationship, and I agreed to your terms. I never expected you to be such a nice guy. I really want to call you but I promised Jada I would wait until Thursday.

In the middle of my entry, I checked the clock and it was only 10:15 pm.

It’s not too late to call, I thought to myself. I grabbed my phone and dialed the number. The phone rang four times. I was just about to disconnect the call when he picked up and answered with a simple, “Hello.”

“Hi Darien,” I said. “This is Toni.”

“Well hello, Ms. Toni,” he said and I felt like he was smiling through the phone. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Really?” I said. “That’s funny because you didn’t call me I called you,” I said with a hint of sarcasm.

“About that,” he started, “I wanted to call you but I got sent out of town on business suddenly yesterday morning. I didn’t have your cell number on me. I’ve been in meetings all day long and have not had a minute to log in to send you an email.”

Trying to sound cool, I said “Darien its okay. I was just concerned because I had not heard from you since you left my house on Sunday, and I had not seen you around the office either. I thought maybe something had happened to you and I just wanted to check on you.”

“Oh I see, well as you can hear, I’m doing okay. I’m in Miami right now and am not sure, when I’m coming home. Hopefully this weekend, but not sure I really want to fly all the way back home just for the weekend when the only thing waiting for me there is my empty bed and my fish.”

Trying to sound very nonchalant, I said, “Yes I can understand that.”

We talked for another few minutes. Then I said, “Darien it’s getting late so I need to go. Did you save my number in your phone?”

“Yes I did.”

“Okay so call me when you can.”

“I will Toni, I promise.”

Journal Entry

Tuesday continued…
I broke down and called you and even though Jada is going to have some choice words for me, I’m glad I did. I really enjoyed talking to you. Our conversation left me wanting more. I’m trying to put my finger on what it’s about you that intrigues me the most. I think it’s a combination of a number of things. First of all, I like your confidence. You carry yourself like you know exactly who you are and what you want. That’s a real turn on. In addition, you try to act like you’re a player and women do not mean that much to you, but I can tell that you really like women. The way you talked about your mom and little sister I can tell you really like women. I mean most straight men like women. They love us and want to make love to us, but they do not really like us. I can tell you do. It’s the way you listen that makes the difference. Women like to be heard more than anything else. I could write so much more but am very tired, so am closing for now. I’m looking forward to hearing from you tomorrow.

I placed my journal back in its hiding place, put my cell phone on the charger, and prepared to turn in for the night. As soon as I turned the light off my cell phone rang. I looked at the clock and it said 11:00 pm. Who is calling me this time at night? I thought to myself. I reached over to grab my phone off the charger to look at the number. It was an unfamiliar out of town number. I think the same one from the other day. Who is this who keeps calling me? I thought. I considered letting it go to voice mail again but I had a feeling I needed to take this call so I answered, “Hello”.

“Hey baby,” was the response on the other end of the phone. I could not believe my ears. I looked around my room and pinched myself to make sure I was really awake and I had not fallen asleep and this was a sick dream.

I said, “Hello”

Again and the voice responded with a chuckle, “Hey baby, it’s Benjamin. I know you recognize my voice.”

Okay so this time I did drop the phone and let out a little squeal. I sat on my bed staring at my phone as it lay on the floor beside my bed. I’ve no idea how long I just sat there before I knelt down to retrieve my phone. Once I did, I tentatively placed it back to my ear and listened to see if he was still there. I could hear him breathing into the phone. After another minute or so of listening to him breathe, I said, “Benjamin, why are you calling me?”

He responded “I’m calling you because I missed you and I was thinking about you baby.”

“Please stop calling me baby!” I screamed into the

phone. I closed my eyes in an attempt to block the painful memories that were coming back. Shaking my head, I said, “Benjamin I can’t do this right now. I do not know why you called me now but I cannot talk to you right now. Not like this.”

I heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone and then he said, “Okay listen. I meant what I said. I miss you and I’ve been thinking about you. Also I’m going to be in town this coming weekend so, I wanted to know if we can meet for lunch or dinner, so we can talk.”

I still could not believe this was happening and I didn’t want to commit to anything without consulting with Jada, so I responded “Um I need some time to think about it Benjamin. Your call kind of caught me off guard. Can I get back to you later about lunch?”

Sounding irritated, he said, “sure no problem. I will call you back on Friday. Is that enough time for you to make up your mind?”

“Yes,” I said, “that would be perfect.”

“Ok great, Toni I know I’ve a lot of explaining to do and I will, I promise. Just give me a chance, okay baby?”
Trying to hold back the tears that were pooling in my eyes, I said, “Benjamin I will talk to you when you call me on Friday. I’ve to go now. Good bye.”

After I hung up the phone, I sat for what felt like hours just staring at my phone and replaying in my head the brief conversation. I tried to force myself not to remember my time with Benjamin. I referred to them as the Benjamin years. Jada and I sometimes joked about my life in segments. There was the BB or before Benjamin years, and then the AB, or after Benjamin years.

Jada says I changed after Benjamin. She will never say if it was good or bad, she just says I’m different. Jada does not even know everything that happened between Benjamin and me. In fact, Benjamin didn’t even know the real reason why I went to Chicago for our final semester. I was not sure I was ready to open up those wounds. I spent years in therapy trying to get over Benjamin, and the guilt I felt for decisions I made without consulting him.

I had convinced myself that somehow, Benjamin had discovered the truth, and that’s the reason why he disappeared on me into thin air. I thought about all the plans we had made. He was going to be drafted into theNBA. We would get married and I would stay home and raise our children. What a great plan that was until he got injured and was unable to play basketball anymore. I knew that basketball was a major part of his life, but I never imagined him losing his chance to play would make him turn his back on me like he did.

I returned my cell to the charger, turned off the light and tried to fall asleep. I didn’t look at the clock, but I know I lay awake for hours remembering the Benjamin years. I wondered what Jada would say tomorrow when I told her about my phone call.

Author Spotlight featuring Author Nakia R. Laushaul

2011-08-09T22:13:00.003-05:00

Author's Website

Nakia was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and now resides in Houston, Texas with her lovable teenage son. She is employed as a Finance Administrator for a large furniture retailer. Nakia is an inspirational poet, novelist, blogger, and entrepreneur. She has always loved to read and early on in life guessed that writing would play a major role in her future after discovering the writings of Dr. Maya Angelou when she was only nine years old. Nakia is determined to present the truth as she sees it in all facets of her writing, and hopes that her work will inspire and serve a meaningful purpose for others. She is committed to challenging everyone in her reach to find compassion and empathy in the differences that exist among us all.

Inspired and fueled by attempts to be molded into the norm, she wrote and published her first collection of poetry and essays titled, The Truth As I See It: In Poetry & Prose which was released in early 2010 by Serendipity Bound Books. Running from Solace, her debut fiction novel was released in April 2011. She is currently working on her second novel, Do You Know Daisy McCloud?

About the Book

“She passed a hard candy over her shoulder as though whatever was in the tiny wrapper was supposed to make it all better. I clutched the peppermint in my hand and buried my face in the hard leather seat while she explained what was going to happen to me. She promised that I’d be safe from then on.”

And so begins the journey of Naomi, whose amazing story picks up where the past and future intersect. As Naomi struggles to hide the ugly physical and emotional reminders that insist on haunting her dreams, she crosses paths with a young boy, Xavier and his bad-tempered mother, Mona, who both share an interesting story much like her own.

Running from Solace is an emotional tale that will send you catapulting on a breathless journey beyond breaking points and will lead you to believe in the power of accepting what is to be.

Running From Solace is a strong debut novel, one that will pluck at your buried emotions and spark lively discussions for book clubs nationwide. Nakia R. Laushaul strings her words together so neatly and easily, pulling readers in with an almost melodic prose. The story launches you into a poignant and unforgettable journey. I'll never forget Naomi. Well-crafted. Gripping. Shocking. Awesome!

Monique D. Mensah, Author of Inside Rain and Who Is He To You

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Summer Tours featuring Author Benjamin Patterson

2011-08-09T21:40:00.000-05:00

My name is Benjamin J. Patterson. Unlike most authors my back ground does not include professional reading or writing much. I am a native of New Orleans,La.Throughout high school and college I have always been very good at writing except I really had no interest in it as a career. Even though, writing has always played a large part in my life.

I mostly write to either relieve stress and to relay feelings or emotions I can’t really express with verbal communication. That is pretty much how Stuff Happens came to be.

Hurricane Katrina caused many drastic and unexpected changes in my life. During my stressful times or just for things I wanted to remember I would write little things here and there. I encountered many situations I had never faced and constantly wondered if I would get through, well stuff happens is my testament to the fact that hard work and determination can over come diversities in life.

Interview on Stuff Happens:
1. Will I write a part two to Stuff Happens?
I have not decided on writing a part two of Stuff Happens although, I am writing another book.

2. Did I loose any family due to Hurricanes Katrina or Rita?
Fortunately, I did not loose any immediate family, but unfortunately I did loose a step-mother Sandra who is and will be missed greatly.

3. What Happened to Ebony?
Right now Ebony and I don’t really communicate, but I still do have a place for her in my heart and from what I know she is doing well inLittle Rockhosting shows for clubs.

4. What inspired me to write Stuff Happens?
There were several reasons I decided to write Stuff Happens. Even though I’m not an avid reader writing is a way I express ideas and emotions I can not do verbally. Going through the situations I faced after Hurricane Katrina I constantly asked myself am I the only one going through this, so I decided to share my personal story in case someone was wondering the same thing. I don/t expect them to face exactly the same problems but life comes with many challenges and I just saying “we can overcome.”

5. Why did I choose to self-publish?
I choose to self publish so I could tell my story the way I want it to be told. I received offers from publishers but most of them entailed changing something here or there. I wrote Stuff Happens as an ordinary everyday person just sharing a part of my life and that is the way I want to keep it.

6. Why is the book cover so basic with not even a picture in it or on it?
Stuff Happens is more like a part of my personal journal rather than a novel or biography. Stuff Happens was written from pure emotion so I just kept it as just words to focus the reader on the story more than myself. I am sure there are many others with stories of their own, but I just decided to have mine published.

7. Do I have any regrets?
Actually, I have no regrets of anything. I was not prepared for the hurricanes as I should have been, but if not for the hurricanes I would have not have experienced the good experiences I did have. I use to run from and try to bury my problems, but I have learned to face them head on and conquer them. That is another thing I did by writing Stuff Happens. It allowed me to face my problems, conquer them and move on.

8. Am I living back in Louisiana, and if so would I be scared if and when another hurricane comes through?
Yes, I have moved back to New Orleans and a hurricane here is always something to be concerned about. More than being afraid I would be more prepared the next time a big one hits. Hurricanes are part of living here just as mid America is home of the tornadoes. We just have to be more prepared for when and not if another one comes through.

Stuff Happens is my personal story of the effects Hurricane Katrina had on my life. There are many others out there with similar experiences; however, I decided to share my personal experiences in hopes of touching someone’s life.

Throughout the book, I will discuss my experiences before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. She took things from my life along with bringing other things into my life both good and bad. Katrina triggered a string of events that turned my life into a roller coaster for a few years. Even though Katrina took away my identity she helped me find love for the first time in my life.

This special woman, who I am still friends with today, brought me from the edge of existence to the door step of prosperity. I talk about almost every aspect of our relationship mental, spiritual and physical.

Along with trying to build a life with this special person, I was also trying to get my identity back. Losing my identity also caused me to lose real control over my life; for example by allowing small occurrences good and bad to have a large effect on my life.

With God on my side and faith in myself I have managed to keep a positive attitude. I have learned things are going to happen but we must have strength and courage to live on. I have managed to sail choppy seas and break many boundaries in my quest to find my identity.

Stuff Happens is merely my message to those who are out there facing similar circumstances. We can survive disaster by turning tragedy into triumph!

Excerpt

After the power went out we all went to sleep but were

awakened by a loud thunderous roaring. That was how

loud and violent the wind gust were. The rain came down

so hard it sounded like bricks were hitting the side of the

building. We actually heard the wind ripping the shingles

off the roof as the storm grew closer. We could also hear

debris on the street being tossed around by the wind.

The winds were so strong we actually heard trees snapping

or being ripped from the ground. I wanted to open

the door to take a look, but my survival instincts told me

otherwise.

Thanks for your time and patience,

Sincerely,

Benjamin Joseph Patterson

Unika Welcomes Tywebbin Blog Tours Featuring Author Connie Briscoe and The Money Can't Buy Love Blog Tour

2011-07-15T17:51:00.001-05:00

Blog Tour Schedule

Connie Briscoe's Website

About the Author

Connie Briscoe has been a full-time published author for more than 17 years. Her work has hit the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists.

About the Book

At age thirty-eight, instead of socializing with Baltimore’s A-list, Lenora Stone photographs them for Baltimore Scene, a glossy magazine filled with beautiful people who, unlike Lenora, never have to worry about car trouble and overdue bills. Lately even things with her boyfriend Gerald haven’t been right. They’ve been together for three years but he can’t seem to ask the one question she’s been waiting to hear.
Then just when she thinks things can’t get worse, Lenora wins the jackpot in the Maryland lottery. In a heartbeat, all her dreams become possible. She quits her job and indulges her every desire—starting with a shiny, silver BMW and a million-dollar mansion. Gerald is finally ready to put a ring on her finger, and the city’s most exclusive women’s group is dying for her to join.
Yet as her life starts to come together, the things Lenora holds dear begin to fall apart. Has her world really changed for the better, or does fortune come with a heavy price?

Purchase the Book Online at:

Amazon.com

BarnesandNoble.com

BooksaMillion.com

Unika Welcomes Tywebbin Blog Tours Featuring Author Miranda Parker and The A Good Excuse to Be Bad Blog Tour

2011-07-15T16:45:00.000-05:00

Blog Tour Schedule

About the Author

Miranda Parker is the author of the Evangeline Crawford Bounty Hunter Series. After graduating from college, she began working as a features editor for various magazines and spent many years as a publicist for national recording artists, actors, ministers, and authors. However, writing fun, fiesty, redemptive bad girl gone good stories is her passion. She resides with her family in Georgia near a horse ranch and her daughter’s Girl Scout Troop. On a perfect day she can be found curled up with a good book or in a movie theater with a bucket of popcorn.

Visit the author online at http://www.mirandaparker.com/.

About the Book

Smart gorgeous and too tough for her own good, bail recovery agent and single mom Evangeline Crawford moved to the burbs for a quiet life. Fortunately, it’s not turning out that way…

Angel has to admit she’s feeling restless. The only excitement in her life is her schoolgirl crush on the town’s new pastor, Justus-too-Hot-to-be-Holy Morgan. But a fateful encounter and a job gone wrong at Club Night Candy in Underground Atlanta is about to change all that…Soon, Angel’s trying to save her divazilla twin sister from her big mouth and a scandalous murder charge, and probing a church cover-up–with none other than Justus by her side. But Angel has one more pressing concern; will Bella be ready for kindergarten? Only time will tell for this bad girl gone good whose days are once again far from boring–and hopefully far from numbered…

BOOK TRAILER

Purchase the Book Online at:
Amazon.com
BarnesandNoble.com
BooksaMillion.com

For More Information
Visit the author online at http://www.mirandaparker.com/.

Visit blog tour schedule at http://bit.ly/AGoodExcuseToBeBadBlogTour

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Author GPA

2011-07-09T10:56:00.000-05:00

GPA, the poetic unsub, is a native of Chicago’s South Side. He is the author of the best selling,critically acclaimed book of poetry called The Confessional Heart of a Man,co authored the erotic anthology The Chocolate Rose, and released his own book of sensual poetry, The Book of 24 Orgasms. GPA has been featured in the Chicago Sun Times, Examiner, Urban Tymes Magazine, and Mattie’s periodicals. He won the Michael Baisden Poetry Slam, as well as the Poetry Penthalon hosted by the Waiting for the Bus Collective, in which, he is a member. GPA is the founding member of the League of Extraordinary Poets and a member of P.O.E.T.(People of Extraordinary Talent).My youtube channel is hchise22,and my website is http://www.iblowyourmind.com/

Get to Know GPA:

1) When did you know you wanted to be a poet and when did you realize you were good at what you do?
In August of 2007,I decided that writing a book of poetry,The Confessional Heart of a Man,was the thing for me to do.I have always thought that I was adept at writing and believe God gave me to green light to go all in now.

2) What are the traits you possess that you feel will allow you to succeed and accomplish your goal?
I have never ending faith in the Father that I will win,especially this year.Similarly, my belief in myself and my abilities is unequivocal.

3) Tell our audience something you’ve learned during your career that a person just starting out in acting may not know.Acting is not as easy as it looks nor is being in a video.
Everything has to coordinate according to the concept and the director’s vision. So even though poetry is my genre,the making of my video “120 Minutes before Midnight”

4) Which of your previous projects are you most proud of and why?
I am very proud of my first book, The ConfessionalHeart of a Man, both with its sales and critical acclaim. You have to understand that I wrote that book while incarcerated,so it wasn’t under optimum circumstances.But my new book,The Book of 24 Orgasms, is my “Red 13″,meaning I am banking my early career on this one.I wrote,rewrote,edited, reedited,promoted,promoting, and branding it myself. So I’m pleased and proud of my effort and hope the results reflect that.

5) What project are you currently working on?
The Book of 24 Orgasms is my current project.Okay, that’s not true.I’m working on a spanish version of The Confessional Heart of a Man and the followup to The Book of 24 Orgasms,The Next 24:The Land of Multiples.

6) What struggles in your life have you overcome that has strengthened you as a person?
Basically, just having been incarcerated was both a hindrance obviously,but a blessing as well.If i hadn’t been locked up, I wouldn’t have had time nor focus to actually write my first book.

7) What is the most challenging aspect of what you do?
The most challenging thing about being a poet is that our society is infatuated with the more mainstream form of spoken word. And that is not a slight to that genre,but my style of writing and performing lend more to the traditional concept of poetry. So a lot of times,I am not afforded similar opportunities

8) If being a poet was not an option for you as your life’s work, what else would it be?
Truthfully, I don’t know anything else.

The Book of 24 Orgasms is an electrifying book of erotic poetry.The major difference between it and other poetry or spoken word that deals with erotic or things of a sexual nature is that GPA does not use expletives,offensive,or vulgar language. The poetry contained in The Book of 24 Orgasms can be read and has been read in front of various age groups,genders,and people of different ethnic groups without slight. From Orgasm One through Orgasms Twenty-Four, there are different subjects that will appeal to everyone.

Excerpt from book: If These Walls could Talk

If These Walls Could Talk

If these walls could talk

Perhaps they would summon me

To do their bidding

Ask me if I have a password

And what be my purpose

Maybe they would widen and tighten

At their own volition

Seeking to ensnare obelisk

If these walls could talk

Perhaps in happiness they would sob relentlessly

Begging for me to paint them with several coats

Again and again

And I would depart for a spell

They would tell me to come again

If these walls could talk

Find GPA at:
http://www.iblowyourmind.com/
gpaloep@yahoo.com

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Authors Tha Twinz

2011-07-05T21:34:00.000-05:00

Tha Twinz (Sha Bee and Baby Born) were born and conceived in Panama before moving to the notorious borough of Brooklyn. The brothers grew up hard and fast, tutored solely by their instincts for survival. By the ages of fourteen and eleven, the family seeking change relocated to Harlem. Unbeknownst, the new environment would prove to be a major turning point in Tha Twinz lives.

Under the care of their mother who worked hard to make ends meet. And despite her numerous warnings of the pit falls attributed to the streets, and the importance of education. The powerful allure of Harlem’s sub-culture prevailed. The brothers became deeply entrenched in Harlem’s legendary Drug Trade.

After years of witnessing countless lives cut short, encountering several close brushes with death and too frequent contacts with the Criminal Justice System. Tha Twinz made a conscious effort to take control of their lives by relinquishing their criminal mindset and lifestyle. The brother’s returned to school and became students of learning and obtained Degrees. They re-channeled their entrepreneurial energy by writing as a means of shedding light on the plight of so many young men of color in the inner cities across America.

Additionally, they established the clothing lines Fortune Hunters & Diamond Girl apparel. It’s no secret that they have experienced a great deal of trials, errors and calamites in their lives. Nonetheless, those mistakes and failures of yesterday do not define who they are today, nor the possibilities of their future.

Currently, Tha Twinz are working on The Triple Cross, the final book of their bestselling Crime Pays? Trilogy. They are really committed to helping others with their company Prestige Communication Group. They offer an array of services for the individual who is debating if Self-Publishing or seeking a Publisher is best for them. Our Consulting services will walk them through the pros and cons as well as taking them step-by step.

Get to know Tha Twinz:

Without incriminating yourself or anyone else, tell our viewers what kind of lifestyle you lived before rceration?
We think that everyone has a past. Our story is no different from the average fatherless youngster, who grew up in the heart of the “hood” and was influenced by its hazardous subculture. As a youngster coming up, devoid of any real parental guidance and in somewhat of a poverty-stricken state, we quickly learned how to adapt to the elements of our environment and became deeply entrenched in Harlem’s legendary drug trade. We chased money out in DC, Pittsburgh and also in Washington (Seattle). Many of the lyrics that you hear in Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Jeezy songs mirror a large portion of our previous lifestyle. But we quickly learn that with every choice we make there is always gonna be consequences- be it good or bad. Unfortunately, some of the choices we’ve made eventually led us to the penitentiary.

Do you believe that there is a future in running the streets?
No, but we are firm believer that the fundamental principles of a true hustler do not have to change –only the commodities that they push. We think that the common mistakes that most of us make who come from the streets, is that we try to make a career out of our negative lifestyle as opposed to utilizing it as a stepping stone. Just look at Jay-Z and 50 Cent who transitioned from the streets to corporate America or those who have become great entrepreneurs in their own right. We believe that they all studied the mistakes of the people, who were in the game before them and realized at some point that lifestyle could lead them to either life in prison or death. So it is definitely in their best interest to switch up their hustle which we illustrate in Crime Pays? Unfinished Business.

Without giving away too much of the books, tell us what the stories is about.
Part I, is centered around the main characters, Manny and his younger brother, Rico Black, who fled Panama and came to the United States seeking a better life. Faced with the dilemma of trying to survive and to provide for their family back home in Panama, they become deeply involved in the criminal underworld where Money, Murder and Mayhem becomes their theme. Doing what is necessary to succeed at all costs.

Part II, finds Manny making it from the streets to the corner office in corporate America, only to have to face the reality of his past which pulls him back into a dark place that he tried to escape, but is forever a part of who he is.

Why did Tha Twinz name the book Crime Pays? with a question mark? And are you actually twins?
We are not twins. Sha Bee is actually two years older than Baby Born. We only used the name, Tha Twinz for the purpose of writing together. We chose to add a question mark to the title for the pure shock value. Contrary to what most people might think, we’re not in any way glorifying, suggesting or implying that crime pays. Rather, we’re merely asking the question, does crime pays? It’s a question we leave for our readers to decide for themselves after they read the story.
What was the purpose or message Tha Twinz had in mind while writing Crime Pays?
Most people would agree that books, music and the media at-large does have the power to influence people. With that thought in mind, my brother and I decided we would utilize our writing, not only as means to entertain people, but also as a platform to interject certain thoughts and ideas that would be thought provoking. More importantly, we wanted to examine and shed light on some of the psychological and socio-economic factors that often times contribute to a particular mindset, which produces a certain type of behavior.

What inspired Tha Twinz to become authors and independent self-publishers?
We were inspired by Zach Tate, who happens to be an Essence best-selling author. He was the one who was very instrumental in helping us develop as writers. He also taught us about the publishing business. Most independent publishing houses were not offering any real money to new authors to sign with them, so we decided to go ahead and self-publish. As thriving business men it made perfectly good sense. We are in position to control our work, reap more of the profit and help others get their work out.

So what can we expect next from Tha Twinz?
Now that the much anticipated Crime Pays? Unfinished Business has been released, we are really committed to helping others with our company Prestige Communication Group. We offer an array of services for the individual who is debating if Self-Publishing or seeking a Publisher is best for them. Our Consulting services will walk them through the pros and cons as well as taking them step-by step. All our individual services are listed on our website prestigecommunciationgroup.com. Unlike other Self-Publishing service provider, we are in the business of publishing ebooks and printed books, and other forms of media. In addition, we are excited as a company to sign authors in other genres including our latest signed author who will create a really buzz in the Fantasy writing world.

Manny Black fled the notorious streets of Colon, Panama as a deadly fugitive. With nothing but a plan to make it rich in the Big Apple, Manny used the power of his gun to pave his way. After crossing dangerous paths with a group of Cuban gangsters and meeting the love of his life, Manny becomes the leader of the M3 Boyz. Under the direction of his hotheaded brother Rico, the massive gang of hungry street soldiers reign terror on the East Coast. Until, the Marielitos, a Cuban organized crime family, puts things into a lethal mix of murder and mayhem. Their rags to riches story is filled with an inside look at urban love, treachery, and a passion for cash. With a host of characters that most men would idolize and many women want to love; this book finally provides the answer to that age old question… Does crime really pay?

Excerpt From Crime Pays?:

Five hours after Manny and Rico landed in Panama, they were up eating what their mother could put together for breakfast. Xia was still sleeping, and Manny liked it that way. For what he was about to do, he would either be considered the man of the house, or they would be sleeping in a hotel before the day was over.

Manny called Puncho to him in the hallway of the house, then stopped Rico from going back to sleep on a full stomach. He handed Rico a bag, then walked his two brothers out into the backyard. Their father was sitting in a rocking chair while smoking a cigar as Daniel Santos played through his old boombox.

Manny grabbed the cigar out of his father’s hand and had a seat on an old tree stump facing him. Mr. Black looked at his oldest like Manny lost his mind. Rico slid in next to his father, while Puncho sat on an old beer crate at his father’s feet. While father and son had a staredown, Manny puffed on the cigar as Puncho waited for the sparks to fly.

“You too tough to respect your father, Manuel Black?” Mr. Black questioned.

Manny took a puff on the cigar, then calmly said, “Papa, the time has come that you see me as a man.” Mr. Black ordered, “Puncho, Ricardo, leave. We have something to

settle.”

Puncho was ready to run, when Manny barked, “Puncho, stay.” Puncho looked at his father confused and then back at his brother. Manny said to Puncho, “Hermano, this will be the first and last time you disobey your father.”

Mr. Black surrendered, then said to Manny, “Okay, papá, you the father now. Say what you have to say and then get out of my house.”

Manny nodded at Rico, who stood, went into the house, and returned with the bag that Manny handed him. He placed the bag next to his father and returned to his seat.

When Mr. Black looked down at the bag, Manny said, “That’s two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cash. I have a half a million dollars in the bank here in Panama. This morning, Mamá had to scrounge up food from empty cupboards to feed us. Papá, you raised us to be men. Let us be men and take care of you and mamá.”

Mr. Black looked at both of his sons. In a voice filled with anger, he asked, “Where did you get this money from?”

“The money is ours,” Manny quickly responded, trying to downplay any suspicions.

“Esto es mucho dinero. What did you boys do to get it?” Mr. Black asked suspiciously.

“We’re doing some things over in the States,” Manny replied.

“What kind of investment give you so much money? Shouldn’t it be in a cheque or banco or something?” Mr. Black asked with a bit of sarcasm.

“That’s one of the reasons we’re here. Rico and me are interested in investing money in Panama for a family business. We have businesses in Nueva York, and we wish to do business with you in Panama.”

“Did you bring blood money into this house? With that amount of cash, it cannot be legitimate. I thought you two were working at the airport?” Mr.Black turned to Manny and said, “This is the reason you leave Panama!” He pointed to Manny. “You were running around with those maleante boys, robbing and hurting good people. You kill Señor Delecruz for money and brought shame to this family. Now you involve your brother in that life? Hijo, if we do business with blood money, anything that starts in blood ends in blood.”

Rico’s patience wore thin. When he couldn’t stand it anymore, Rico thought of the way his father demanded that his sons use articulation and said, “Look, Papá. The money is here now. It’s a fresh start. It’s good money. Look at your house, Papa. It has a hole in the roof. That is not how you raised us to be. Do you want to scrape all your life? You want you and Mama to die in this beatdown flat without seeing the better side of life? What about Puncho? Doesn’t he deserve more?” Rico was getting furious so he stood. “You slaved in that cement plant for what? You have nada! Where are the benefits? Pops, you always told Manny and me to be men. So now

we’re being men by taking care of our familia. You gonna deny us that? America stopped the money from coming into Panama when they took Noriega and the drugs. Now we gonna take the money out of America and bring it to Panama.”

Rico’s words cut his father deep. It forced Mr. Black to examine the injustice he received. He shut his eyes and concentrated. For twenty-eight years, he worked hard trying to keep a roof over his family’s head. Prior to the invasion of Panama in 1989, he worked as an executive at one of the biggest cement plants in Panama. After the war, his company was left badly damaged by the United States continuously bombing it. He thought of how the company he worked for was repairing the building and laid him off because his salary was needed to fix the place. He admitted that things had gotten bad. He didn’t like filing for bankruptcy. He didn’t like the way

Manny turned to crime and then left for the States because his father was an embarrassment. He was really upset when Rico followed in his older brother’s footsteps. Since then, his family had been getting by with the financial assistance his sons sent back home. Now that he was sitting before his two sons, he was reminded of how much he had fallen from grace. Mr.Black opened his eyes. He stared at his most loyal son Rico and felt a sense pride mixed with fear. He then looked at Puncho wondering what type of future he would provide for him.

He looked to Manny, who was always reserved and calculated, before saying, “What do you expect of me?”

A smile quickly spread across Manny’s face. He took a deep breath with a sense of relief. He said, “Papá, here’s what Rico and me have in mind. We want to move you to a hotel in Panama City so we can rebuild our house and land. Later this morning, we will go see the contractors and get them to start the work immediately. The hotel will give you and Mamá a chance to have someone take care of you for once. Papá, use that money to pay for

everything. From now on, we are going to send a hundred thousand a month to you. I want you to open up a food market with fair prices so the poor can eat. Let Puncho and Mamá run it. Me, you, and Rico will buy up the rundown property in Colon. We can fix the houses and rent them out at fair prices. With the rest of the money, you can keep it in the bank. It’s all clean.”

Mr. Black was stunned. He sat looking at his son’s great ideas, along with the money to finance them, and felt sad. In front of him were two men who could have done anything with their lives, but if Manny was behind

anything, he was sure blood had been shed for all of their riches.

Mr. Black sighed. “I was not always an old man who worked in a factory and became poor. The man that I was before I met your mother is unimportant. You are my sons, and I have lived my days. There comes a time when the parents must listen to the children. I just ask this of you. Remember, sons, that what starts in blood will end in blood. Do what you will with this house because it was built for you to share. I just hope Puncho will not be corrupted by greed, because before I die, I may have to bury the two of you.” Mr. Black stood and looked like a broken man. “Tell your mother where she will be living. Do not make her worry. I will not allow you to kill her, too.”

The sons of the Black family watched their old father walk away heading for his bedroom. Manny didn’t care how the old man felt. Rico was glad their plan was going to be in action, and Puncho was amazed that his tough brothers from New York could tell their father what to do.

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Author Michlle Kershaw

2011-06-23T20:24:00.000-05:00

Just how far would you go to save a friend? In a city where dead men tell no tells, and things are never what they seem who can you trust. Is all really fair in love and war? When hearts are broken and egos are bruised all bets are off. DeAndrea Patterson- Black is an all American woman looking for love, happiness and a successful career.

Greed and lust threaten to keep that all just out of her grasp. Friends and family rally to her side to bring her through her darkest hour. In trying to help DeAndrea everyone learns a little more about themselves, proving you can’t see the forest before the trees and what you are looking for just might be in plain sight.

This dramatic novel reveals the complicated nature of the relationships individuals hold with their families and close friends. I tried to develop the characters throughout the course of the novel as they face realistic scenarios in an effort to help the audience better relate to the storey line. I hope that “Fatal Deception: In Plain Sight” will inspire readers to look closely at their lives and their relationships.

Excerpt:

“Just chill D, we came here to relax and enjoy ourselves tonight. Besides, since you started working for Thomas and Associates, when was the last time you just let go?”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t. I had been working 70 hour weeks since I graduated from grad school. I hadn’t had much time for myself or for anyone else. I began to survey the room. The room was dark, that was to be expected in a lounge. There were at least 10 guys that look like GQ models and several women who needed a ham sandwich. There was a dark skinned average Joe sitting near the fire pit. Hell even the bartender was cute.

“Since I am here I might as well have a drink.” I begin to nurse a purple guppy when the bartender places another in front of me.

“I didn’t”….

The bartender cuts me off and said “It paid for by the gentleman at the window.”

I turn and notice it was the same man from the fire pit. “Tell him thank you, I said to the bartender. ” M cuts me off to tell the bartender that I will keep the drink and to tell the gentleman thank you.

“Girl when do we ever turn down free drinks, are you crazy? Now get up off your cute ass and go tell the man thank you.” I begin to protest but I am distracted by a light brush against the back of my arm.

I turn, and hear a man say,

“Hello. I am David.”

As I stand there taking stock of the man that is so brazen I hear M. say, “She is DeAndrea and I am Emerald.”

“Good evening to both you ladies. David appeared to be a well groomed man. He had an appeal to him. He was Taye Diggs dark, with the most beautiful eyes. There was huskiness about his voice. Little did I know that same voice would be saying “I do” to me a year later.

South Carolina native Michelle Kershaw attended Montgomery University, where she earned her degree in business administration in 2003. She then earned her degree in legal studies four years later at South University. While pursuing this degree, she came across the idea for her first novel.

Get to Know Michelle:
1. What inspired you to write?
I began writing as way to express myself. I am inspired by everyday life and the people in it.

2. Will you write more books?
Absolutely! I am currently working on the second novel in the Fatal Deception series, entitled Jaded Thoughts.

3. Who is your favorite author?
I just like a good book. I can’t pick a favorite. There are so many fabulous writers out there.

4. What are you reading now?
Current events, they give me comedy, tragedy, drama the news is better than television most day.

5. What puts you in the mood to write?
Neo-soul music is truly my muse.

6. This is your first published work?
This is my first published novel. I began publishing poetry at the age of 9.

7. Anything you plan to do differently the next time?
As I learn about this industry there is always something new. I would definitely network more.

Find Michelle at:
www.michellekershaw.com
Monk3300@gmail.com

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Author Kimberly Purpoz

2011-06-18T19:39:00.000-05:00

Purpoz has been a professional writer and author for over 12 years. She is the owner and founder of of Messenger Inc. and was the publisher of Creative Minds Magazine. Kimberly is an author of several books under her current name and her previous pen names (Kimberly S. Phillips and Kimberly Ware).

Purpoz started writing under her new pen name in February 2011. She has written several books and co-authored one book. The following are the titles of her books and series: “The Nia Trilogy”, “How To Release The Book In You” co-authored with Dr. Johnnie Swanson, “Heal My Wings: A Healing Guide for Women” and “Heal My Wings: A Healing Journal and Workbook for Women.”

Purpoz is also the author of the upcoming teen book series “Candace Green Mystery Series”. She completed the first two books to her urban fantasy novel series called “Foreshadowers”. The first book to “Foreshadowers” was released on Kindle in February 2011. The first book, “Age of Innocence” to her urban fiction series was re-released by Messenger Books. All of her novels are based on her dreams.

Under Kimberly Ware, She also writes for Associated Content and The Examiner.com. Kimberly is a graduate of Georgia State University. And is currently attending the American Institute of Holistic Theology to pursue her Master’s degree in Metaphysics. She is also a teacher and spiritual healer. Ware is also an artist and uses water color as a medium for her paintings.

She is a sought after speaker and conducts the Heal My Wings, Spiritual Pathway, and A Recipe for the Soul Workshop Series, seminars, and keynotes through out the country. She was also a speaker for the United Way Speakers Bureau. She is currently a speaker for the Great Black Speakers Bureau.

She has received many awards and recognition for her work. She was the 1998 Final Nominee for the Georgia Author of the Year. And she was nominated Who’s Who in Black Atlanta in 2000. She was nominated for the 2001 issue of Who’s Who National Registry for Business Executives. Purpoz was nominated for the Georgia Author’s Hall of Fame from the University of Georgia, under her previous pen name. And she was nominated and a member of the 2007/2008 Cambridge Who’s Who.

Q&A with Kimberly:

Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born on December 9, 1972. Oh no I am giving away my age! Ha, Ha, Ha! I am a Sagittarius, for those who are into zodiac signs. I grew up in Decatur, Georgia what some people from that area used to call “The Dec.”

Q: What types of books do you write?
A: I write spiritual books, romances, mysteries, urban fiction, urban fantasy, paranormal, and young adult fiction.

Q: Where do you get your ideas for your novels?
A: My ideas for my novels come from my dreams; that is why I keep a dream journal handy!:-)

Q: How long does it take you to write a book?
A: .It takes me about 3-6 months to finish both my spiritual books and novels depending on my schedule.

Q: Do you have a pen name?
A:My previous pen name was Kimberly S. Phillips. I will be phasing off of the Kimberly Ware name due to divorce. And my new titles will be under my new pen name, “Purpoz.” “Purpoz” is a play on the word purpose. The “Z” at the end of Purpoz represents zeal and zeal means power. “Purpoz” means power in your purpose.

Q: What do you do during your spare time?
A: I love to watch movies, go for walks, to work in my garden, and paint. I love to use watercolor for my art work. I am also into drawing comics. I am looking to turn my Foreshadowers series into a graphic novel series and comics. I’ll keep you all posted with my art projects.

Q: Tell us more about your current and future book projects.
A: “Age of Innocence”, book one to The Nia Trilogy Series, was re-released in March 2011 by Messenger Books. I have just completed the first two books to my new urban fantasy series called “Foreshadowers”. I will keep you all posted on my website.

A coming of age fiction about young love in da hood!

The Age of Innocence is the first book of the Nia Trilogy novel series. An urban classic street lit that foretells a saga of love, passion, hood life, street gangs, sex, violence, money, and power which weaves a web of deception.

Drug Lord, Q, has his eyes on his beautiful stepdaughter, Nia. Nia’s beauty and innocence is was what made Q want to draw her into his sinister world of human trafficking. Rachel, Nia’s crack addict mother gets entangled into Q’s illegal activities. Rachael witnesses a high profile murder spree; she vanishes with out a trace.

Nia finds the courage to run away and leave the dysfunctional home, but unfortunately she was placed back into the same dilemma by a social services system that failed.

Nia get some support from her high school sweet heart, Clay, but is he really there for her in the long run? Will peer pressure and gun violence ruin Nia and Clay’s lives? Will Nia be able to handle these problems that are beyond her age of innocence?

Excerpt:

Journal Entry #1

Dear God:

I am new to journal writing. So if I don’t use proper English please forgive me Lord. Grandma Maria gave me this journal so that I can write down my deepest thoughts. She said it was a great way to talk to you, God. I want to share my feelings with you. And I want to do right by you because I want to go to heaven one day. Right now I am only fifteen years old but I have to grow up real fast.

I miss Grandma so much that it really hurts deep down inside. It’s been three months since her death but my heart still yearns for her. Will this feeling of hurt ever go away or will it forever linger? God please bless me with a family and home.

Love,

Nia

September 1986

I reached the towering buildings of James Monroe Housing. I opened the door to my building and went up a flight of stairs.

When I got home I heard commotions going on inside mama’s apartment. From outside the door, I heard Rachel’s voice and a male’s voice yelling in the background.

I opened the door. Rachel was in the living room pleading with the local drug dealer name Q which was short for Quinton.

The living room had holes and stains all over the walls. Instead of having lovely curtains hanging in the windows, there were cheap floral sheets covering the window seals. On top of the battered wooden end table there was a picture of mama, during mama’s earlier years when she was not abusing drugs. In her pictures she was a beautiful woman, but years of street life was beginning to take hold on her body; her beauty was beginning to fade away.

“Rachael, where is my money?” Q cursed and grabbed her thin arms and shook her. He threw her on to the floor like a rag doll.

Mama was dressed in an extremely short, provocative, purple colored mini dress; her cleavage was showing. Mama’s once long silky shoulder length hair was now in disarray. Q was a chestnut complexion with gold streak in his hair. He had shaved line designs going through his hair and had the letter Q shaved into the back of his head. He had a gold herringbone necklace around his neck.

“Q, please-”

I closed the door and my heart was pounding as fast as a locomotive and my palms were clammy. I wanted to help mama but I knew it was too dangerous. He had a gun strapped to the back of his pants and he was known in the community for killing people with his street gang.

Rachael saw me standing by the door, Q’s gaze followed Rachel’s.

“Nia what are you doing here?” Rachel got up and adjusted her short dress.

“Mama-”

“Oh I see Rachael, you have a little girl. I didn’t know that you have such a fine little thang. Maybe we can keep it all in the family.” Q gave a sinister grin.

“Q, stay away from her your beef is with me!”

“I’m not going to give you anymore credits, Rachael!” Q turned around and approached mama.

“But there is one is thing you can do for me that would change my mind.” Q took his long index finger and caressed her cleavage. His dark evil eyes stared into hers.

“Come on Q, my baby is here.”

“You owe me! Don’t make me cut you in front of your baby girl!” He cursed and glared into her eyes. He grabbed her arms real tight. Rachael winced in pain.

“Ok, Q But not out here.”

“Baby, mama will be right back. This won’t take long.” Rachael blinked back her tears.

“Get your butt in here!” He cursed and smacked her hard on her bottom. He pushed her into the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

I sat in the living room and waited for mama. I could hear them moaning in the other room. I heard the head board from the bed banding against the wall. I shook my head in disgust.

Q opened the bedroom door. He adjusted his pants and had a dirty grin on his face.

Rachael’s hair was puffy and in more disarray, she stepped out of the room and pulled down her dress and adjusted her dress straps.

“Here’s ya damn drugs.” Q threw the crack rocks on to the filthy floor.”

Rachael plugged on to the floor in desperation. She was like a stray dog in the street foraging around trash cans for food.

Q shook his head, “You junky whore.”

Q then turned his attention to me. I was sitting on the corner of the couch.

“You are a cute thang. I can have you walk the streets and sale your sweetness,” he reached over and caressed my face. I turned my head away in disgust.

“You stay away from her! You got what you wanted now leave!” Rachael stood up.

“I’m leaving. I’ll be over again for some repayment options. You still owe me.” Q gave Rachael an insinuating look and winked. Rachael’s eyes were filled with tears.

Rachael closed the door.

I rushed towards mama and hugged her.

“Mama you don’t have to use those drugs. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, baby.”

“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be over Thelma’s house.”

“I know, but I wanted to see you, mama, and make sure you’re ok.”

“I’m fine.”

Mama was sweaty and was beginning to tremble.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need it baby.”

“Look baby, I need you to leave it is not safe out here.”

Rachael picked up her crack pipe and walked me towards the door.

“Now Nia, go back to Thelma’s and stay there. My life is complicated right and I just don’t need you in the middle of my mess.” Rachael scratched her head in frustration.

“Ok mama.”

Mama closed the door behind me.

Find the author:

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/purpozwrites

Twitter – http://twitter.com/kimberlypurpoz

Kimberly Purpoz’s Site: http://www.kimberlypurpoz.com

Kimberly Purpoz’s Wiki: http://www.purpoz.wetpaint.com

Unika Welcomes AAMBC Author Tours Featuring Author LaTonya G.Green

2011-06-02T09:55:00.001-05:00

LaTonya is an astute teacher and preacher of the Word of God. She lives her life by example, walking out the knowledge, wisdom and application that she teaches. LaTonya has a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources Management and Business Management and an Associate’s degree in Biblical Studies and Christian Education. LaTonya has been licensed and ordained as an Elder.

She has previously taught Bible Study through a Prison Outreach ministry for several years and has directed youth ministries. She is an active missionary. LaTonya travels domestically and internationally to minister the gospel and help build up communities. She has ministered as close as her next door neighbor and as far as Uganda, Africa.

LaTonya got started in ministry after turning her life over to God. She had spent many years being angry, bitter and hurt. She often blamed others for the outcome of her life. This caused her to hurt many people in her path. When she accepted the love of Christ, she took a different outlook on life. Accepting responsibility for her own actions and thoughts, caused her to mature mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Her main passion is motivating and encouraging women and teen girls to understand their full value and worth. She tries to use every opportunity she can to encourage others to pursue their dreams and live life on purpose instead of just living life.

She has appeared as a guest speaker on the Ester Davis show and on the radio with Chaplain E. Jean Jones in Dallas.

LaTonya lives near Dallas, TX with her husband Mark and their children.

Get to Know Latonya:

How can people get the book?

My book is available on amazon.com and barnesandnobles.com in paperback and ebook formats. It can also be requested at your local bookstores. There is also information on www.latonyagreen.com.

How did you come up with the title for the book?

I actually was almost done writing the book, when I realized I didn’t have a title. I prayed and asked God to give me a title for it. The title He gave me was Wounded In Darkness, Healed In the Light. I thought to myself that it was a great title, but surely it was already taken because it just sounded like a book that had already been written. I know there are lots of books that have the same title, so I didn’t concern myself with it too much. As soon as I had a chance I went to amazon and google to search for the title and to my surprise there was not a book with it. It just reminded me that when we seek God for answers, He always gives us the right answers. He is the creator and He can give us creative ideas.

What was your work schedule like when you were writing?

While I was writing the book, nothing in my life slowed down. All my responsibilities were still in place and needed tending to. My roles as wife, mother, minister and full-time employee never stopped. All of them require a lot of my time and attention.

The way I found time for writing was to write in the middle of the night while everyone else was asleep. Sometimes, I would just set my alarm clock for 2 or 3 a.m. in the morning and I would get up. It was not easy, but I didn’t see any other way. I was not willing to sacrifice the other areas of my life to accomplish my goal of finishing the book. It also meant I had to remain disciplined throughout the process. If I had not, I probably would still be in the planning or writing phase of the book.

Is there a sequel planned for your book?

Yes, there is more to come. Now that I’ve written the first one, I’m ready to write again. There is an evolution of the characters, their attitudes and their actions and reactions to Josette’s journey. I would love to share more, but I don’t want to give away the next book.

What is some of the feedback you’ve received so far?

The feedback has been awesome. There have been testimonies of deliverance, testimonies of healing and so many that found themselves in the book in one way or another. I’ve been told that the story is so captivating, that one doesn’t want to put it down. That has been very exciting for me because as a first time author I wasn’t quite sure how people would react. I knew that the story had to give something that would make others tell someone else since I’m an unknown author, for now. I’ve also had a lot of comments that this book should be a movie. The blessing in it has been that I’ve had people come back and buy 3 or 4 books because they say this is a story that almost anyone can relate to and also a story that will help so many.

What or who inspired you to write Wounded In Darkness, Healed In the Light?

My answer to this question might sound strange but I did not have a personal goal to write a book in the beginning. This truly was an assignment from God. I even responded back to Him by saying “God I read books, I don’t write them”. I then had a choice to make, would I or would I not write the book. God doesn’t force us to do anything He tells us to do. I decided I would put my own feelings aside and do as I was being instructed. Now that the book is written and I hear the testimonies from so many, I am so glad that I did it. It’s just like the Bible says “obedience is better than sacrifice”. I am blessed every time I hear a praise report about the book. I know there are many more to come as well.

What have you discovered since you published your book that has surprised you the most?

For me, the most surprising thing has been the commonalities of the reports by those who have read the book. My favorite comment is “I could not put it down once I started reading it!” especially when it comes from people who say they don’t normally read books and yet they read my book in one or two days. My other favorite comment is when people say this book needs to be a movie and I’ll get questions like “have you thought about sending this to Tyler Perry or to Oprah’s Book Club”?

Josette is the daughter of an abusive drug addicted mother and now her life seems to be on the same path to repeat history. She has learned how to lie, steal, get high and look for love in all the wrong places. An ultimate betrayal leaves her plotting murder. Will it take death for her to find life and be released from so much pain? Only God knows.

This book is a thought provoking novel that sends the reader through a range of emotions. It is a heart stopping, tear jerking, tickle your funny bone, page turner. It has characters you will love and characters that will have you asking, “where is the love?”.

Easy to pick up and hard to put down until the last page has been read!

Excerpt:
It had been another day of not eating. It was Saturday, so there was no school lunch to tide us over. My mother finally came home from wherever she had been. She had brought home a box of fried chicken from her favorite fast food restaurant. The only problem was that it was not a big box with enough chicken for all of us. It was a three piece snack sized box. She laid down on the couch and put the box on the floor next to the couch. I was peeping out the bedroom door and watching her every move. She was not even thinking about feeding us or the fact that we had not eaten all day. She finally fell asleep. I told my brothers that I was going to get that chicken for us.

I got a knife from the kitchen. I went into the living room, where she was still sleeping. I slowly and softly walked toward her. When I was directly over her, I looked at her lying on her back. I turned and saw my brothers watching me. I knew the only way I was going to get this chicken for us was to kill her.
I slowly raised the knife over my head with both my hands. I just stood there for a few moments, gathering up the courage to stab her. I held my breath and brought the knife down…