Hi Folks,

I guess it would be questions and answers, however, sometimes in finding our answers to a question, we evoke memories:

So please take a trip with me down memory lane as I share with you my off the cuff answers to a random question on Gather.com this morning:

Q: Who are some of your favorite authors, and why?

A: Off the top of my head and in no particular order:

Judy Blume, Enid Blyton, Lori Foster, Terry McMillan, Diana Palmer (in all her reincarnations), Sandra Brown (and all of her reincarnations), Eric Jerome Dickey, Michael Baisden, E. Lynn Harris, J.R. Ward, Marilyn Lee, Monica Jackson, Brenda Jackson (not related... LOL), Margaret Johnson-Hodge, Sandra Kitt.

Okay, I'll stop there because my fingers are getting tired... LOL.

Q: You forgot the why.

A: Oops... didn't see the why part of the question:

Judy Blume - If only for "Are You There, God? It's me, Margaret." She approached touchy subjects with sensitivity and the KIR factor even back then. (KIR = Keeping-It-Real)

Enid Blyton - Goblins, twins, mystery and adventure. She enhances a child's ability to imagine and see great things in everyday life

Lori Foster - Another favorite on my KIR Richter Scale. She represents the vagaries of human life with depth, sensitivity, honesty and humor. Oh and the love scenes are not too shabby either.

Terry McMillan - The lady of so many firsts. A trailblazer for AA fiction and chicklit. She made it okay for women to exhale and date younger men.

Diana Palmer - Most appreciated by me for elevating the plain of form or features to the status of the dearly beloved and of course beating out the prom queens, beauty queens, barbie like women etc. Gooooo Diana!

Sandra Brown - My first appreciation the flow within a writers work began with Sandra. No not Shakespeare... LOL. Sandra.

Eric Jerome Dickey - Whew! His first three books have a permanent place on my bookshelf. Chick lit from a man's point of view. Enlightening and enjoyable.

Michael Baisden - Affirmed the fact that Men reall do cry in the dark. His books deal with issues that are particularly male oriented without making excuses for the males.

E. Lynn Harris - I have E. Lynn to thank for clueing me into the Down Low trend at 17 before it became widely known. I was fresh to New York after High School and dating a guy who was gorgeous, witty and Hispanic. (All top three requirements at that point in time). However, there was just something that didn't click for me. Until I read one of E. Lynn's books. Via the clues listed in E. Lynn's book, I realized that the brother was ambivalent... to put it politely.

J.R. Ward - If you enjoy a great vampire book... J.R. is the new Queen of the road. Her vampires are not like any other.

Marilyn Lee - A gifted story teller, my only complaint, She writes mainly erotica which kinda curtails my enjoyment of her skills.

Monica Jackson - Another KIR sister who has written chicklit before it became popular. She's also a pretty nifty marketing diva who doesn't sleep on the job.

Brenda Jackson - One of the few African American authors who is published by Silhouette Desire.

Margaret Johnson-Hodge - Holds a great place on my bookshelf as well, because she was one of the few authors who represented locs in a positive light in one of her earlier books. She also did a great job on interracial relationships as well as the ghetto fab sister with the executive brother in a believable manner. Kudos Margaret!

Sandra Kitt - Sandra, Sandra, Sandra. Girl, you had me hooked from the first book. You were writing about one of my favorite topics: interracial relationships. Not only did you portray them realistically, you didn't go in for the quick fixes and the soppy happy endings. He/she wasn't perfect just because he/she was white; and he/she wasn't a disaster that needed a savior just because he/she was white. It was real people dealing with real issues and relationships who just happened to have differences in their pigmentation. You're still the undisputed queen in my book.

So there you have it folks. My long-winded but lovingly nostalgic, off-the-cuff response. Now the ball is thrown firmly back into your court: who are some of your favorite authors and why?

Labels: authors, memories, questions and answers

Good Morning Folks!

The Queens Book Fair went off without a hitch last Saturday. It was held in the lovely but sandy Rufus King Park. The sponsors Carol and Brenda of C&B Books Distribution, did it up nicely with an act that totally floored me: they'd purchased tents for each of the authors.

Although admittedly a smaller affair than the Harlem Book Fair, which I attended last month, I must say that it was a much more enjoyable experience for me.

The traffic was slower, which was not a bad thing, since it was just me manning my table. However, I practically emptied out my supply of handouts to browsers as well as to fellow authors.

My table was situated between Faye Thompson, author of In her Mother's Shadow and Bea Joyner, author of A Taste of Things to Come and Don't Need No Soaps, My Life is Soap Enough! two gracious women. It was a bit of a downer to not have any books to sell and at first the old green-eyed monster reared its ugly head as Faye proceeded to enthusiastically sign books for her fans. However, as the day progressed, I regained my perspective and began to enjoy her moment almost as much as she did.

After a while, with her mom's vigilant eye on my table, I was free to make my way around to the other tables to do what I love to do best: browse books, meet the authors who wrote them and obtain contact information to stay in touch and to give them a shout out!

So please bookmark this page and check back often as I commence my shoutouts. In the next few weeks I'll be introducing you to some rich and resonant voices starting with today's at age twelve.

Yes, age twelve. That would be Zykeya McLeod. A twelve-year-old author I was blessed to meet. I don't know if I was more flabbergasted at her age or her topic, but I was so proud, you would
have sworn that I was her mama. Her book, An Inner Child Speaks, deals with physical abuse. I found it to be a well-written, poignant, yet down-to-earth book, which begs for a sequel. (Hint, hint)

I also had a lovely conversation with Zykeya and her mother and promised to help get the word out about Zykeya's accomplishment as well at the topic which gels so closely with mine. I've two things in the works, on their behalf, but I
don't want to tip my hand until I get things nailed down, but do give them your support and be sure to tell them that Dee sent you. (By the way... when I say support... I was kinda talking about moving past the "Oh my! How wonderful" right on the, "I'll have one to go please."

Let's show that we know how to support our community--especially those hurting amongst us.

Till next time.

Peace,
Dee

Labels: authors, Writing Related