Patricia Woodside at http://readinnwritin.blogspot.com tagged me. I believe I’ve been tagged before but I’m not sure I’ve ever participated.  Thus, today is a day for new things.

Here’s how it works:

I list three categories of books.
5 MUST Read Books.
5 Books on Your Nightstand.
5 Look For These Soon.

Keeping with the theme, I tag bloggers. They should put these same lists on their blog but SUBTRACT one book from each list and ADD one of their own. Then they should tag at least 5 more bloggers.

It will be fun to see how the lists change as it goes around the blogosphere. Please come back to this post and leave a comment so I can see how the lists are changing as they go around the blogosphere. Since this is Book Buzz…please keep your lists to titles released in 2007-2009.

My additions are in BOLD.

5 MUST Read Books:

Rhythms of Grace by Marilynn Griffith
Demon: A Memoir by Tosca Lee
Yellow Moon by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Conception by Kalisha Buckhanon
Better Than, Leslie Esdaile

5 Books on the Nightstand:

Secrets of a Sinner by Yolonda Tonette Sanders
Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon
From Harvey River by Lorna Goodison
My Soul Cries Out by Sherri Lewis
Murder Mayhem & a Fine Man, Claudia Mair Burney

5 Look For These Soon:

Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins
Nailed by Jennifer Lauren
The Hood Life: A Bentley Manor Tale by Meesha Mink and De’nesha Diamond
Wounded by Claudia Mair Burney
Rainbow’s End, GiGi Gunn

I’ve tagged: Marilynn Griffith, Missy, Angela, Cashana, and Shelia.

Please tell me this isn’t the equivalent of a chain letter.

Okay, here’s another interview.  This one done today with Steve Kendall at Write On, Right on, Write On! I share this with you even though I’m not sure I stayed on topic.  

My next post won’t be an interview of me, promise. 

Well, not exactly roar.  I did an interview with Radiah Hubbard from Urban Reviews earlier this month. I’m posting it here for your listening pleasure.  You know, sometimes I need a script.  Here’s the link:  Urban Reviews Interview

Radiah also did a review of Up Pops the Devil that you can read HERE.

1. Harlequin is a good place to be.  They had four authors on the tour, three of whom started with Arabesque books in the mid-nineties around the time I did–Donna Hill, Rochelle Alers and Brenda Jackson.  These authors could write for any publishing house they want and they’ve chosen Harlequin.  That speaks volumes for Harlequin. 

2. HarperCollins is a good place to be.  Harper had three authors on the tour, including me.  I was the newbie beside New Yorks Times Bestseller Kimberla Lawson Roby and the perennial favorite Beverly Jenkins.  HarperCollins stepped up to the plate for us.  They hosted an online interview with us while we were on the road and they equipped Beverly with a video camera so she could record our stops.

3. New York Times Bestsellers come in all shapes and sizes.  Street lit author Wahida Clarke made the list and she’s only published three books, two of which were written while she was in prison.  Romance writer Brenda Jackson made the list and she’s published 56 books over about a 13-year period.  Women’s fiction author Kim Roby made the list and she self-published her first book.  Street lit author Vickie Stringer made the list and owns a publishing house.  Vickie also started writing while in prison.

4. Readers read across genres.  I sorta knew this but the tour drove the point home.  Readers who bought me, Victoria Christopher Murray and Marilynn Griffith also bought Vickie and Wahida as well as erotica author Allison Hobbs.  Of course, there were some readers who only wanted Wahida or Vickie, while others only wanted me, Marilynn or Victoria. Most of them though read widely though.

5. Authors are generous.  There were a lot of personal stories and business insights shared on this trip.  We talked about the pros-and-cons of being a Black Expressions main selection.  We shared tips on effective marketing and promotion.  We bought each others’ books.

6. Romance readers turn out for booksignings.  I’d guess that Brenda Jackson, Donna Hill, Rochelle Alers and Beverly Jenkins probably had the most readers visit them.  These readers had their full backlist so they’d been fans for a while. 

7. Publishing regularly and often has it benefits.  Brenda, Donna, Rochelle and Beverly are all wonderful writers but I think the fact that romance demands publishing multiple books a year comes into play in the characteristics of their readers.  These readers have gotten to know Brenda, Donna, Rochelle and Beverly through 15 years of books coming out multiple times a year (Rochelle will have 12 out next year!) so there’s a special relationship with them.  As an example, Brenda sponsors a cruise with her readers every two years.  A cruise!  Beverly Jenkins does weekend pajama parties with hers.

That’s all I can think of now. If I think of something else. I’ll start another list.

So how much of this did you already know and what was new to you?

UPDATE:  Marilynn Griffith has her list up HERE.  It’s well worth a read. 

If you attended the Faith and Fiction Retreat this past weekend in Destin, FL, I’d love to hear about it. I’m sorry I missed it.  So details please!  You can post here as Comments or drop me an e-mail if you want to do a full-fledged conference report.  I welcome both.

UPDATE 3:  Ty has an excellent recap of the Retreat as well.  She even has pictures. See HERE.

UPDATE 2:  Patricia shared her Retreat experience HERE. You know, I think I’m breaking a commandment: Thou shalt not covet thy fellow bloggers’ Retreat experiences.

UPDATE 1: Rhonda McKnight blogs about her time at the Faith and Fiction Retreat HERE.  It’s great reading.

I couldn’t wait for Rhonda’s post.  I had to call the Retreat sponsor and founder, author Tiffany Warren.  I kept the poor woman on the phone for about an hour.  I got the scoop though.  This conference is on my list for next year.  It’s about time for me to become a regular conference-goer again.  I think my last one was RWA in 2001.  It was in Houston.

What conferences do you attend regularly and why?

I’m blogging today at FreshFiction.com. The topic is siblings. I originally wrote this piece back in December when I did my blog tour for The Amen Sisters. I’ve revised it a bit to include Up Pops the Devil.

You know, siblings are getting to be standard in my work. Francine and Dawn in The Amen Sisters. Preacher and Loretta and Barnard and Natalie in Up Pops the Devil. The manuscript I’m working on now has siblings, a son born within the marriage and a son and daughter born outside the marriage.

One of the reasons I have so much fun with siblings is that I have such a good relationship with my brother.  It’s a good relationship but not without its bumps.  I was talking to him on the phone the other day and I told him that there were times I had stopped speaking to him, but he hadn’t realized it. He started to laugh, really hard. When he finally piped down, I asked him what the laughter was about. He laughed again before telling me that he had stopped speaking to me, too, but I hadn’t realized it. Isn’t that a kicker? Now it’s your turn to laugh. It’s even funnier when you think that my brother and I talk multiple times a week.

Now that you know about me and my brother, tell me about you and your sibling(s). And don’t be surprised if you find yourself in one of my upcoming books.

You know, I had planned to take a lot of pictures during the tour.  My plans went awry even before I left the airport.  Guess what I did?  I left my cell phone in the car.  Yes, that same cell phone I was going to use to take pictures.  As a result, I have no pictures.  Fortunately for you, others didn’t copy my mistake. 

Radiah Hubbert of Urban Reviews and her husband Charles came out to visit us at the Country Club Hills stop on Saturday.  They have pictures and a video. 

Jeanette blogged about her visit with us in Fort Wayne.  She and fellow members of the Motown Review Book Club drove all the way down from Detroit.

Author Marilynn Griffith blogged about the tour also.  Marilynn’s hometown paper did a great article on her and the tour.

If you’re in a listening mood, Beverly Jenkins, Kim Roby, me and a few other authors did a stint on blogtalkradio during our bus ride from Indianapolis to Fort Wayne. It’s only about 20 minutes.

And then there’s my recap HERE.

That should keep you busy. 

Quiz time: Can you find me in the pictures/video?  If so, what colors am I wearing?

UPDATE:  Check out Jeanette’s slideshow.

Author Evelyn Coleman is one of my dearest writer friends.  I met her early in my career and we hit it off immediately.  We used to spend what seemed like hours on the phone but now we rarely speak.  Time and distance have a way of doing that to a friendship.  But when we do speak it’s as though there’s never been a lapse.  Evelyn is one the smartest and kindest people that I know.  Sometimes I think she’s too kind. 

I got an email from Evelyn today telling me about her granddaughter, Taylah P (aka Taylor), and the group she’s formed with a childhood friend, Kelci.  The group is Vistoso Bosses, which means gorgeous in Spanish, or so Evelyn tells me. 

As with any new group, they’re trying to build their fan base in hopes of moving on to bigger things.  If you’re willing, you can help them out by going to visit them on myspace, where they’re being featured for this week only, listening to their songs and viewing their videos. 

Now I’m going to be honest with you. I usually hate pages that play music automatically but I actually liked this one.  It’s such a cute song and has a nice tune and beat.  It seems appropriate for the teenagers.  We could be seeing the next Mylie Cyrus (times two, of course)!  Anyway give them a look and let me know what you think. 

You can find them on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/thevistosobosses OR you can find them by going to the main myspace page at myspace.com, selecting the Music tab and looking for the group among the Featured Artists.  Have it your way, as they say at Burger King.

They have a video series called The Hamiltons that you should check out.  You’ll see why Evelyn’s so proud of her granddaughter. They’re adding an episode every day and by Thursday they should be up to episode 4.  So let’s show Evelyn some love and support her granddaughter. 

For those of you who don’t know Evelyn, you can visit her at HERE at evelyncoleman.com.  She started out writing thrillers with What a Woman’s Gotta Do.  She’s written a number of acclaimed books for children of various ages including The Footwarmer and the Crow, White Socks Only, Born in Son and a mystery for ADDY in The American Girl series.  Freedom Train is her latest.  You can go diretly to her children’s pages HERE.

Don’t forget to tell me what you thought of Vistoso Bosses.

Grit for the Oyster: 250 Pearls of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers is an upcoming book by Suzanne Woods Fisher, Debora M. Coty, Faith Tibbetts McDonald, and Joanna Bloss.  I fell in love with it when Suzanne told me the title and I immediately asked her to share it with me and you.  She and her co-authors put together the following interview for you.  A link to a great excerpt is provided at the end of the interview.  It’ll have you running out to buy the book.

Grit for the Oyster Author Chat
Interview with Baba Waters

Baba: Would anyone care for another latte?

Faith: Absolutely. I never say no to a latte.

Suzanne: Oh, my gosh! I love lattes.

Joanna: Thanks, I’m good.

Debora: I’ve already got a monster caramel-mocha mustache. Is there any more Godiva?

Baba: So what’s it like for four gals to co-author a book? Any cat fights? Squalls? Secret cliques? Pajama parties?

Faith: If it was up to me, I’d probably still be wondering if the manuscript was good enough to send off to the publisher…it’s hard for me to take that step. But Suzanne’s drive, Deb’s enthusiasm and Joanna’s zest inspired me again and again. It was really fun to work with these girls.

Joanna: And I think our variety of perspectives added something-we’ve got very different personalities, levels of writing experience, and live in four different parts of the country: the northeast, south, mid-west and Pacific coast.

Baba: I know Grit for the Oyster was your baby, Suzanne. How was the idea birthed?

Suzanne: The idea came out of a need. As I was trying to figure out how to break through into book publishing from magazine writing, I kept wishing there was some kind of guide to let me know what felt normal (discouragement) and what I needed to do (persevere). I went to a writers’ conference and met Deb and Faith; the idea to share the book grew out of that conference. A blessed moment!

Baba: Word is that tons of famous authors contributed exclusive tips on how to be successful. Is this true?

Debora: We’re excited to include writing tips from amazing authors like Liz Curtis Higgs, Dr. Gary Chapman, BJ Hoff, James Scott Bell, Athol Dickson, Rhonda Rhea, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, Phil Callaway, Karol Ladd, and many others. And we couldn’t be more thrilled to have lovely endorsements from best-selling authors Terri Blackstock, David Kopp, Linda Danis, and Ruth Carmichael Ellinger. Oh, and the foreword is penned by none other than Sally Stuart.

Read the rest of this entry →

I’m back from the Soul Expressions Tour. I’m blogging today at Blogging in Black about my experience. Give me a day or two to catch my breath and I’ll be back to catch up on the posts here.

I also have a guest author coming this week.  You’re going to like her!