My findings aren't scientific. Hell, they aren't even findings so much as they're a realization from my own experience as an author of a series of Brown books.

I wrote the Del Rio Bay books back in 2006. From 2007 - 2009 the books graced the shelves. I remember being frustrated at how few stores I saw the books in. I'd have writer friends from all over the nation report DRB sightings at their local stores. I was always uplifted when I'd get one. But in my own home state of Maryland, I rarely found the books. And I did my fair share of book fairs, library visits and conferences - so let me be clear - I hit the road and internet promoting these books. So much so, it killed my creative mojo a little. To stump so much for the books and then hear from readers that they couldn't find the damned things was...de-motivating.

Still, my eye has always been on the health of the industry overall - not just on how well my books sold. It was the reason I co-founded, The Brown Bookshelf.  So what's the verdict?

I find the industry is still not quite clear what to do when it comes to marketing Brown books. On one hand, they want to fill the void. On the other, the racial aspect frightens people into analysis paralysis. The marketing of the books are either over thought or over simplified.

Back in 2007 Dafina, Kimani-Tru, Jump at the Sun, Amistad and Lee and Low were at the forefront of putting these books on the shelves. Where are they now?

Dafina was Kensington's African American imprint. At the time there was no effort to keep the YA line separate and there should have been. They've figured that out now so, K-Teen was born. The line features a wide variety of books, which  means the focus on Brown books has taken a backseat. Good strategy for Kensington...jury's still out on if it's a good move for their Brown books.

Kimani-Tru had the most promise in the arena. They were putting out a good number of very diverse books each year and the Kimani-Tru label on the spine signaled it was a YA book (great branding technique). So I'm sad to see that it seems to have been absorbed into Kimani-Press (primarily adult fiction by and for African Americans). From a marketing perspective, that's a step backward. I believe they're still producing YA but nowhere near 2007 levels.

Jump at the Sun published more "traditional" books featuring Brown characters i.e. historical fiction and stories revolved around urban protags. I always hoped they'd go outside of that specialty and embrace more diverse contemporary stories and some popular fiction. They didn't and from what I can tell, they're no longer around.

Amistad remains in the game and continues to produce high-end literary books. A plus, of course. But leaves little room for any Brown book outside of the literary niche.

Lee and Low produces a wide variety of children's book, targeting Brown readers. It's Tu Books imprint focuses specifically on sci-fi, mystery and fantasy books featuring diverse characters. It fills a much-needed void, for sure. They remain a key character in the Brown books game. The key being they've stuck to the original strategy - producing Brown books but marketing beyond that readership.

Conclusion
I think Brown books are spread far and wide across the industry. So they're still out there. That means the effort itself is far from dead.  However, there remains an underlying struggle to get these books noticed. But I stand by the solutions I've proposed throughout the series.They're a more simple fix than you'd expect.

• Let the YA authors write YA
• A book is a book is a book. No matter the race or ethnic background of a character, 99.9% of books are about the journey of the character. The marketing needs to revolve around that journey, period.
•  Use the formula: First, it's a book. Second, it's a YA book. Third, it falls into some sort of genre. Last, it's a book featuring a brown character.

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The third in my Autopsy Without Blame series to find out what has happened to the effort to ensure that there are more brown books available to readers. A brown book is simply a book that features a Main Character of color.

Note: The key words here are "without blame."  I have too much love for readers of YA and respect for the publishing business to be malicious. And finger pointing is a waste of energy.

My only goals are to make sure that YA remains open to diversity and that every book find its proper home with a reader that will love it. Pollyanna? Maybe. But if just one editor, publicist or bookstore owner thinks just a second over what I'm covering and it changes their tactics just slightly to ensure brown books are given an equal share of shelf time...mission accomplished!

The third issue, I believe contributed to the struggle of this effort:


Placement Uncertainty

Back once again to the "confusion" on where brown books should be shelved or categorized.

First, it's a book. Second, it's a YA book. Third, it falls into some sort of genre. Last, it's a book featuring a brown character.  See where the race of the character fell in that spectrum? LAST. The race, in no way, should play a part in where it's shelved in the bookstore or how it's "categorized."

Yes, I risk contradicting myself since I categorize these as Brown books. But I do so because our current structure forces categorization. What I'm saying is, when placing these books they need to be shelved with other books of its kind based on genre.

I never understood why my series was never shelved with other series books at the bricks and mortar store. When I questioned this, I was told it was the publisher's call how it was categorized. And my publisher's answer was, it was the book store's call.  To this day, I have no idea who makes that call. But it hardly takes a genius to know that a series book should be with other series books. That way, readers who LOVE series books will find their way to it. Marketing 101A.

See how marketing sort of takes care of itself when simple things are done?

For those who wonder why I don't support the "Black" book section, go back to Part Two in this series. My books were meant to appeal to readers who wanted to explore a few basic high school themes - didn't matter what race they were. Placing the book in the "Black" section went against the whole point of my series' ensemble cast.

Ironically, since my book wasn't among the Teen Street-Lit pool, most African American bookstores didn't bother to carry it because they figured the book didn't cater to their customers. So the series ended up a mutt unable to find a home on either side of the fence. A simple fix using the formula: First, it's a book. Second, it's a YA book. Third, it falls into some sort of genre. Last, it's a book featuring a brown character.

Proposed Solution: Use the formula.

Last in the series: Coroner's report

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The second in my Autopsy Without Blame series to find out what has happened to the effort to ensure that there are more brown books available to readers. A brown book is simply a book that features a Main Character of color.

The second issue, I believe contributed to the struggle of this effort:

Schizophrenic Marketing Efforts

So it's a book featuring a Black or Latino MC...do you market it only to readers of the same racial make-up or do you market wider? Don't know? Neither did most people in the industry.

Using my own series as an example, I wrote the book with an African American protag and an ensemble cast of varying racial backgrounds. The whole point was that the themes within the book - friendship, popularity and pressure to find your place in high school - touched nearly any kid in or about to enter high school. The original marketing strategy was to primarily focus on those themes and play up the fact that the MC was African American so African American teen readers knew they were playing a featured role. It's a savvy strategy because it doesn't exclude anyone.

My library visits and book signings attracted a diverse pool of readers, proving the strategy worked. But by my third book, the strategy was altered to reach a primarily Black readership. Problem there was, by that time my series was competing with teen street-lit. So some African American teens picked up the book and were turned off because it wasn't street enough. We confused the readership by changing strategy. And quite a few other books, like mine, experienced a similar switcheroo.

Marketing is dynamic. It has to change. But readers look to marketing to help them understand if a book will please their palate. Changing the strategy for a series is a delicate matter because pick the wrong plan - you risk losing the original reader and turning off the potential new reader. Sound the death bells.

Proposed Solution: A book is a book is a book. No matter the race or ethnic background of a character, 99.9% of books are about the journey of the character. The marketing needs to revolve around that journey, period. Extract the themes, promote them and the readers will find their way to the book. Race is too tiny a tether to keep a consumer doing anything - reading a book, watching a TV show or movie or listening to a certain song. Marketing 101.

Next in the series: Placement uncertainty

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A few weeks ago, I was in a strategic planning session for my FTJ and the facilitator used a term that resonated with me: autopsy without blame.

I'm a crime procedural fan, so the phrase brought up vivid imagery of the coroner delicately probing a body searching for cause of death. But maybe that's just me. Obviously the facilitator didn't have my wacky imagery in mind. She meant every organization should embrace a process of dissecting organizational issues/problems to get at the root of those problems without pointing fingers at who was to blame for the "death," of a project or initiative.

The truth is, too many organizations don't do that. Everyone's so quick to cover their own ass that it can be near impossible, in many cases, to do a tried and true autopsy without blame.

But it's never too late.

I hesitate to say that the publishing industry's efforts to offer a wider variety of brown YA books is dead, but my recent search to locate the players that initiated that venture back in 2007 turned up disheartening evidence. So hesitant or not, it's time for an autopsy. And if we're able to fix the issue before the effort flat lines, all the better.

The first issue I think contributed to the struggle to get more brown books out there among YA readers:  

YA authors vs. Authors writing for YA readers
Pee, what the hell are you talking about, you're asking. What's the difference?

When the YA boom exploded all over the place, quite a few authors who traditionally swam in the adult fiction pool saw an opportunity. I mean, who wouldn't? If mom is an avid reader and likes my work, why wouldn't I try and write something for the kiddies? Keep it in the family.

Problem is, YA authors are pretty...err...special. We don't write YA because we're cutting our teeth on the market. We're obsessed with that period in a young person's life and we want to put a mirror up to it and make sure that the voice of a young character is heard. But from a marketing perspective, having an author with an existing base is too attractive to refuse.

 In the brown market, in particular, more and more publishers began courting their big name adult fic authors to jump into the fray. Unfortunately, I ran across one too many of those authors who quickly grew disenchanted with the YA market for a myriad reasons, but chief among them - it's nothing short of a challenge to reach the readers. For some the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. While for authors focused exclusively on YA, it was the only juice we drank.

 By then, the damage was done. It was already a challenge for YA featuring African American protags to see the light of day. Some YA author voices got lost in the chorus as it became clear we weren't all really singing from the same hymnal.  

Proposed solution:Let the YA authors write YA. There are more than enough good YA authors and a slew of good aspiring YA authors out there to keep readers happy. It's about the reader and readers know when an author is talking for them versus at them.

You can debate me, if you like, but good YA authors write for lovers of YA organically. When an author writes out of their element because they're courted to, it's a challenge. It would be like me writing paranormal simply because it's whats selling. Sure, I can write well enough and given enough background to get basic paranormal elements down, I could probably produce something. But it doesn't mean I should.

Next in the series: Schizophrenic Marketing

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My penance for taking such a long hiatus from reading (YA at least) is to put myself through a grueling boot camp. Between now and early December, I will read as many of the YA novels nominated for the Cybils as possible AND...wait for it:

Provide a mini-review. Mini because boot camp is all about intense workout bursts, not marathon training. So my reviews will be true to the boot camp mentality - my bare thoughts on the book and what sort of reader I think they'll appeal to.

Why yes, I am a little crazy. But I'm also way behind on reading YA. I believe the last I read was the Hunger Games trilogy.

How much has the landscape changed since my last book hit shelves in 2009? I can tell you I'm still not seeing a boat load of brown YA - which may explain why they're also missing from Cybils noms.

I know you're out there, books!!!

So here we go. Day 1 reads...

Blink & Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones
I love a good suspense novel. Among the adult fic I read, it's my go-to genre. So, I was looking forward to reading a story revolved around young characters. The premise of Blink & Caution sets the reader up well - two "street" kids find themselves in over their heads. Blink is the only witness to a crime that involves corporate intrigue and Caution has stolen a guap (i.e. a lot of money) from her drug dealing manfriend. No not boy. He's a grown man.

What I thought right away is - wow how will they get out of this? Suspense novels are all about that ride you take as you see how the characters emerge (or not) from the mess they stumble upon.

That's where I walked away unsatisfied. I overlooked the revolving POVs even though Blink's chapters - told in second person - distracted me. Caution's chapters, in third, flowed more organically. I cared about the characters, but can't help but wonder if Blink would have been more rounded out had his chapters not been in second. That lack of well-roundedness played a part in why I felt the story was wrapped up too neatly and there were some character trait inconsistencies (Caution vacillated between tough girl and innocent) that stilted my believability.

I'll admit, as a hard core suspense fan my expectations were pretty high. It kept me turning the pages - and for sure that counts for something, but in the end I walked away less satisfied then I'm used to when I read that genre.

The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine
I'm not one of those adults who thinks all kids are totally naive. I know that mature characters such as fourteen-year-old Mike not only exist but may be more the norm than the not-so-worldly characters often portrayed in fiction. Problem is, there's maturity because of circumstance...which exists in Absolute Value:

* Mike's mom has died.

*His father is an engineer and genius who processes facts only, never emotion. My first thought was, how did this man ever got married and sire a child?

*Because of his father's total lack of connection, Mike has pretty much raised himself and taken care of his father.

So it's ripe for this kid to be mature. But then there's maturity because every adult around you is so loopy and over the top, that the character is forced to be the most reasonable person in the room. The difference is, the latter comes off contrived. Had it been left at the above facts, the reader would have understood why Mike is such a fixer/problem solver.

Instead, added to the mix, nearly every adult Mike comes into contact with is portrayed as half off their rocker or rocked by some past tragedy.

The Absolute Value of Mike is a warming story. Kid goes to live with distant relatives and finds himself needing to help an entire rural town get its act together. Nice, right? Yes. Pee isn't he

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If ever there was a case for how ridiculous banning books can get, just check out the books in the poster above. These were some of my favorite children's books. Sure those old hags in James and the Giant Peach were scary as hell, but it made the story all that more delicious!

Pee's celebrating Banned Book Week by sending you this PSA:

Don't give kids one more reason not to read. Support Banned Book Week!

If I have time, I plan to participate in the Virtual Read-Out.

Interested in my longer view on banned books? Check out my post Eff The Censors at The Brown Bookshelf.

This PSA has been brought to you by the National Stop Hating on Books Foundation. Yes, I totally made that up. But please, by all means, return your regularly scheduled program.

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If you've found your way here you must love young adult fiction or you were looking for publishers clearinghouse, whom I unfortunately share initials with. If you were looking for pch dot com, sorry. Visiting here won't make you eligible for a million bucks, but it will introduce you to a great series. So if you're into reading, stay awhile.

My website tells you pretty much all you need to know about me and my books, but it's been awhile since I've updated the JORT and you've come all this way, so I thought I'd do a little tutorial.

Picture This
My author head shot is hella old. I took it back in 2006 right before Kensington Books launched the Del Rio Bay clique. At the time I had an 11 year old and a 2 year old and rocking a short curly 'do was the ultimate in time saved, come mornings. It also really fit my pie-face. But now I'm in the midst of the great twist experience. The goal is to grow out my perm and go back to natural hair but longer. Eeks!

This is my first try at the spiral twists.

A little more hair than I care for, but you have to start somewhere.


What's Up
If you're a first time visitor to the JORT it only takes a tiny scroll down to see it's been over a year since I last blogged. I could ignore that fact or I could claim the usual - I've been busy. But the truth is, if you're living life you'll always be busy. So it's a pretty lame excuse.

My life is always a whirlwind. Whether or not that wind includes writing is the X factor. From 2002 through 2008 I juggled writing the series with raising my family, coaching my daughter's competitive cheer squad and working as a local government PR chick.

2008 marked the year my life took a decidedly downward spiral and writing didn't just sink to the bottom of my priority list, it fell off altogether.

I won't bore you with the details, but between 2008 and March 2010 I had a major car accident which left me out of work for nearly 3 months and unable to walk, Kensington decided not to renew my contract so I had to end the Del Rio Bay story one book earlier than I wanted, my dad passed away and I was laid off from my job.

Many writers turn life's turmoil into good fiction. But the constant flow of challenges thwarted my ability to write and crippled me creatively. I never lost faith that I'd go back to writing, but writing took a backseat to my issues. I don't know if that's what it feels like to "find yourself," but it was three long years of constant unpleasantness.


Back in the ring
I started a new job last August (yay, I can pay my bills now) and thanks to a small circle of writing friends, I stayed connected (just barely, mind you) to the writing community. I officially started writing again about three weeks ago.

While things don't yet flow nearly as seamlessly as they used to, they're cranking up nicely. I'm loving my new WIP and if the writing Gods deem it so, in no time I'll be back to the crazy world of submitting my work and complaining about the level of promotion involved in pushing a new book. Stay tuned.

The Series
The Del Rio Bay series is my debut work. I love this series. And since this is my blog and they're my books, I don't need to be modest - they're damned good books.

They're as good as any of the bestselling

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jen Carlson, today, I salute you!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jen Carlson, today, I salute you!

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

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Newsflash:

I am Black.

I am a woman.

I am a writer.

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

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

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

It's all very...headspinning.

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

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

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

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

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

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Newsflash:

I am Black.

I am a woman.

I am a writer.

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

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

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

It's all very...headspinning.

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

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

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

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

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

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

NOT mothers.

- or-

DON'T have full-time jobs

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

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

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

Suggestions for my TBR list are welcome.

Looking for Adult and YA.

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

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

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

Don't do it!

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

Whaddya reading and will I like it?

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

NOT mothers.

- or-

DON'T have full-time jobs

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

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

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

Suggestions for my TBR list are welcome.

Looking for Adult and YA.

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

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

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

Don't do it!

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

Whaddya reading and will I like it?

Add a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

Joy because it's about time.

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

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

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

Oy.

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

So this Disney movie means more than some may know.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Check out the trailer here.

Add a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

Joy because it's about time.

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

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

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

Oy.

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

So this Disney movie means more than some may know.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Check out the trailer here.

Add a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Add a Comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Add a Comment

No, not MY novel, yours.

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

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

Here's an example of his new venture:


For more, check him out here.

Add a Comment

No, not MY novel, yours.

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

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

Here's an example of his new venture:


For more, check him out here.

Add a Comment

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

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

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

Stop by.

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

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