paulahy

Happy Anniversary to me

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:36:33 GMT

It's been approximately one year since I've posted on LJ.

Woo!!

::throws confetti::

The truth is, I was just blogged and social networked out. And even now it takes more time than I want to give to cross post between here, Paula's JORT, The Brown Bookshelf and God help me, Twitter.

I miss my LJ friends. Really, I do. Letting LJ go wasn't personal, it was more of a last man in, first man out thing. LJ was the last blogging forum I joined so...

How very corporate of me!

But I've reconnected with quite a few of you via Twitter. So if you're tweeting and we aren't following each other yet, reach out.

My Thinkie Thing's Tired!

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:06:14 GMT

Some days I long for the days when I was in college, home for the summer waitressing. Not to glamorize it, because being the relative low gal on the totem pole of the food service industry is no joke. Long hours on your feet, demanding customers and that icky, food residue smell that saturates your clothes.

But what I enjoyed about being a waitress was how when my shift was over, it was over!

I went home, shed my smelly garb, showered and turned into someone else for the rest of the day - sometimes I was reader girl lounging in my parent's sunroom, other times I was date girl, hanging out with a guy friend at the movies.

Don't you love jobs like that?

I'd simply hang up my server's pad and pen for the day and didn't lose any sleep worrying about whether or not a customer received the right order or fretting if maybe I'd forgotten to refill all the ketchup bottles.

I haven't had a job where I could leave my work at the job in a long time, because though I rarely take work home from my full-time job, writing and promo are always there waiting on me.

In other words, my thinkie thing is operating at full-tilt eighteen hours a day. But that gravelly crunching sound you hear are my gears grinding to a halt.

In January, I already knew what my April and May would bring: travel to RT, a few local library visits, my cheer squad's final Nationals and a trip to Canada with Princess A's French class.

I also knew, that despite some of the activities being purely personal and fun, it would make for a very tiring two months. So I was doing my best to get as much writing done on my fifth, DRB series book, Flipping The Script, as I could.

Good thing I did because I've hit the wall.

Yup, right here at the very start of my busy period, P's thinkie thing has left the building. It's simply incapable of doing anymore deep thinking.

Don't get me wrong. I can handle the lightweight stuff. Hell most of my daily routine I can do with my eyes closed, though I wouldn't recommend doing that while behind the wheel in rush hour traffic. But where writing goes, I'm fooling myself to think it's happening until life has settled down to a more natural rhythm.

Too bad that's another 40 days from now!

You know what the hardest part of slowing down is? Admitting you need to.

I had a good time at last week's RT Convention. Had fun with some cool authors and networked with a good number of booksellers and librarians. Woke up every morning at 6:30, worked out, got a little writing in on Friday and was in bed fast asleep by 11:30 every night.

I know, I'm such a party poop. No faery ball for me.

I honestly didn't feel tired until I woke up Sunday morning. Never underestimate how tiring being "on" is! I've been dragging ever since and the writing has suffered.

I pushed myself to write yesterday, got in two hours. The prose didn't titillate me, but I got it done.

However, today, as I dragged my butt to the post office for stamps (remember the rates go up on May 12th...don't get me started on the postal service and these near annual rate hikes!) trying to see ahead to what the next chapter would tackle, I realized my brain was muddled. So muddled, in fact, that even my desire to write can't help me produce something coherent.

Normally, I'd rather write drivel then write nothing at all. But if you don't re-energize the thinkie thing it goes on strike.

I need to stay away from my characters long enough for them to come looking for me. I love those times when they won't leave me alone, no matter how I try to block them.

Right now, they're seriously MIA.

If you see them, send them my way. I'll be the one poolside sipping a Seven & Seven.

Extreme Author Visits & Romance

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:55:07 GMT

Do you hear that? It's the sound of the P promo train leaving the station, first stop The Village Learning Place, a private library in Baltimore. Second stop, the Romantic Times Convention.

I've become increasingly cynical about book promotion. As a PR person for more than sixteen years, needless to say this realization is a bit disturbing. After all, PR has been my bread and butter since college.

But the truth is, the more I promote the more I resent/on the edge of hating it.

But my resentment is often kept in check after a library visit. Invited by Ms. Andrea, of the VLP, I was asked to do the author thing with their middle school group. I had a good time, a little rusty since I haven't done a visit since November, and the kids...well I think they enjoyed it. It's so hard to tell with middle schoolers. If it's not something they're currently obsessed with, you only register mildly on their radar.

But I think they had fun. Ms. Andrea said something that really struck me and may help other authors who find themselve hesitant about visits- she said with this age group they know what they don't want but not really what they do. I think that's so true. Which is why exposing young readers to as many experiences as possible is key.

So while they may not jump up and down, greeting you like their latest rock star crush, I think they appreciate meeting authors and I'm a firm believer that somewhere down the line - days, months maybe years later - the visit positively impacts them in some intangible way.

I'm fairly certain the young patrons enjoyed making posters to promote their chapter more than they did creating it, but I've learned when it comes to young readers - take what you can get and be happy. If they're geeked to get your book - and they seemed to be - then Ms. Andrea and I did our jobs.

The point of my Extreme Author Challenge is to help young readers experience life as an author. They get fifteen minutes (a deadline) to write a mini-chapter as a group. Then they must promote their "book" within their library and encourage patrons to read and comment on their chapter (promotion).

I hope they get some comments on my blog. They're far too young to experience the deafening silence that's the norm for authors.

Their chapter is based on Don't Get It Twisted.

The Set-up:
Mid-way through the book, Mina is warned by Brian, at a party, that she may not be too happy when she finds her crush/sort of boyfriend, Craig. Here's what the clique at Village Learning Place thought happened after:

Mina gets hit by Kelis, the girl Brian was secrety dating. So Mina punches her back. The neighbors called the police and cleared the area. Then Mina went home and told her mom. Her mom asked what happened for her to get into a fight. Mina tells her mom what happened and her mom says, "That was a very stupid thing to fight over." When Mina finished talking to her mother, she went up to her room and slammed her door. She found out Kelis was talking to a friend they met at camp. But Craig came over and he and Mina went to Mina's room. She found out he was cheating and Brian was like, "What I tell you?"

On another note - I'm heading to the RT Convention tomorrow. I'll be on a panel with my cyber buds Melissa Marr, Stephanie Hale and Mari Mancusi.

Now this, I'm truly looking forward to. Speaking to aspiring writers is my favorite. I love paying it forward with advice and sharing my experience.

If you're going to be at RT please try and stop by the panel or the book expo on Saturday. It's always so cool meeting writers I've befriended online.

Sweet Mother of Anorexia

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:23:04 GMT

What was Random House thinking when they changed the size of the Sweet Valley High twins from a size six to a size four. And what on earth made them bother to highlight it in a letter to the press announcing the re-issue of Sweet Valley High?

Are there not enough images on television and in film of the ultra-thin? Now, books must also emphasize someone's size?

I was a first-generation Sweet Valley High reader. Loved those books to death. I never knew the size of the twins, much less would recognize a change in a re-issued version of the book. I'm completely clueless as to why it was an essential fact to "update." Or why it's worth noting in relation to what is otherwise a grand moment in the life of this series and teen literature.

Gossip Girl and my own Del Rio Bay series owes our debt to SVH - it's the mold from which all teen pop series were formed.

I met Francine Pascal at the SCBWI Mid-Winter conference in 2006 when I attended her workshop "Writing The Teen Series." I remember her saying she wrote SVH because she wanted to create a teen soap opera. And SVH was definitely that, right down to amnesiacs, evil twins and mysterious sometimes near-fatal diseases among key characters.

Pascal's plot lines were homages to the Guiding Light, Days of Lives and All My Children soap rage that personified much of the '80's. The SVH twins being "a perfect size six" wasn't a marketing angle. It merely mirrored the petite women of daytime soaps.

But what purpose does diminishing their size serve? And what the heck is wrong with being a size six?!

As the momma of an athletically-built, curvy teenager who hasn't been a size six since she was in the fifth grade, I'm disgusted that size matters. As a YA writer, I'm saddened that within all the words we writers put together to make a fun read, the one which bears the most significance, in this case, is a number.

See, this is why I'm not a numbers person!

I Heard You Died

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:47:24 GMT

At least that's what regular readers of any blog feels when their blog goes on unannounced hiatus only to come back out of the blue.

I am alive and well, thank you. But blogging is harder and harder to keep up with in between writing to pay the bills, working to pay the bills, helping to make bills aka family time and of course the ever present coaching - as you know cheer season runs the same amount of time it takes a woman to carry a baby to term. That makes me perennially pregnant for the last six years. Oy!

And I doubt I'll return to any sort of regular blogging schedule until something gives. This includes but is not limited to:

- Cheer season ends once and for all culminating in the most bittersweet moment of my life. I'll have to resume blogging to add meaning to my life - after all, isn't that what coaching cheerleading was about?

- I get a multi-million dollar book contract allowing me to become arrogant and big headed, leading both to a drinking problem that somehow enhances my ability to write the world's best prose and an obnoxious need to rub my new riches in people's faces via daily blogs outlining my new luxe lifestyle that may or may not involve a manservant named Chauffery.

- My boss at the FTJ decides for reasons only known to her that blogging is somehow an essential part of my job duties, regardless of subject matter.

- I decide to begin videotaping my family (secretly of course) 24-7 and launch my own Reality Blog show titled, "Meet The Hymuses," a hilarious but incorrect spelling of our last name according to some random junk mailer. Now the whole world can feel the pain of a mother caught in the maelstrom of both teen angst and toddler tantrums, as she and her husband raise a 13 and 3 year old.

- I decide writing for pay is for suckers and that the only writing with any true merit is speaking from the heart about random topics, grammar be damned.

- A publisher decides my blog entries are so witty, I'm forced to begin blogging again which immediately freezes my creative juices and earns me the title of a dried up has been. This would be crushing except for the immediate offers from the producers of Dancing With the Stars, Gone Country, and every other show on Vh-1 not titled something "of Love."

Should I start blogging again with any consistency, one or all or none of these things have happend.

So, how the hell have you been?

The 28 Days Spotlight Widget is here!

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 13:35:41 GMT

Interested in spreading the word about the authors The Brown Bookshelf is highlighting for Black History Month?

Look no further than our handy-dandy widget, created by Jacketflap.

It's stylish, fashionable and all the author blogs have one.

Get yours today!

Okay, so I'd never be a Price is Right model, but you've got to admit, those colors are very Brown Bookshelf. But you can customize them, ya know, in case you're into hot pink and chartreuse.

And if you are...I'll reserve comment.

Commitment-Phobe, Thy Name is P

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:45:43 GMT

I used to be such a nice girl. So dedicated and devoted.

At one time, I was strictly a one-show gal, commited to the end.

Seinfeld
Law & Order
X-Files
Oz
Sex and the City
The Sopranos
Friends

Name it and I watched it religiously. I knew backstory. I cared about the characters, even had a mini-meltdown when X-Files moved from Friday to Sunday because it threw off the karmic energy of my week.

I rebounded from the X-Files move and all was well in my world until the HBO Block fiasco.

Sunday nights were for The Sopranos, Sex and The City and Oz. But slowly, the schedules changed. Sex and The City moved. Then The Sopranos took one of their notoriously long hiatuses. And Oz was near impossible to find anymore.

I was then stupid enough to try my hand at one of Showtime's original programs...something about Pro-ballers. Hoop Dreams, I think, with Mykelti whatshisface (Bubba from Forrest Gump). The show was moderately interesting but then with no warning they stripped it off the air.

Just gone, no story lines tidied up or anything.

I'd been burned one time too many. Kept waiting one month too long for a show to return. My viewing habits changed, gradually, at first.

I switched to procedurals: Law & Order, CSI, Without A Trace, Cold Case.

Nothing wrong with that right? Then, I realized I'd get annoyed anytime one of those shows focused on the character's lives.

I don't care about their lives. Just get to the case!!

Next thing I knew my viewing was nothing more than a tawdry list of reality TV shows. Flavor of Love (I do however draw the line at Flavor of Love 3 and I love New York 2), Survivor 110 (I mean, 11 or 12...whatever season they're on), America's Next Top Model, Project Runway.

TV and the erratic scheduling has made me into a fickle, bitter commitment-phobe.

I've had so many shows recommended to me, that I've simply refused to get into. 24 in its prime. Alias before things went to pot. Heros, which sounds interesting but...no, thanks.

I even tried getting into a few on my own. I watched the first season of Big Love. Enjoyed it too. But I've never gone back.

I'm too resentful and salty.

What's the point of getting into a show when it's going to take a hiatus long enough for me to raise a kid in? Why invest the time and brain power into learning the characters and what's happening to them from week-to-week, knowing that just as it gets juicy the show goes off for four weeks because of the World Series or the Wide World of Bug Eating?

Seriously, why bother?

Then I watched Lost, Thursday. And I'm reminded that when TV is good, it can be something truly amazing. When a group of writers get together and dedicate themselves to spinning a yarn until it can't be spun anymore, it'll have you so caught up you forget it's just a TV show.

Still, right now, I have no intention of making any long term commitments to any show.

Lost only has eight eps anyway thanks to the writer's strike. I'm all in for those eight episodes. But if the show comes back next season? Meh, I may watch. I may not.

Another show that's kept me amused is Nip/Tuck, the modern day soap opera complete with ass shots and bawdy language. This show has everything but the amnesiac, split personality. We're talking:

- Two guys laying claim to one son and okay with being joint dads
- The son getting addicted to meth by his ex-wife who leaves him once she gets clean to go back into the porn industry
- Gruesome plastic surgery shots
- Rosie O'Donnell as a total crack pot (wait, is she acting?)
- And a sex scene shot on a roof ending in someone falling over the ledge

Any show with the cojones to write those kind of wild, outlandish and mostly inappropriate storylines has my vote. I'm watching...when I remember to.

You Brown Bookshelving Today?

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:25:04 GMT

Today's the day !

Since receiving that fateful email from Varian Johnson in September, I've been burning the midnight oil with fellow Brown Bookshelf members gearing up for this day. I don't think I was this excited the night before Release Day for So Not The Drama.

I don't think any of us knew just how much was involved in researching authors and having to, in essence, judge our peers to determine who deserved and/or needed the light shone their way. But knowing what I know about this group of people, had we known how much work it was, I think we all would have still dove in head first.

Because this thing, to quote a cliche, is bigger than us.

The Brown Bookshelf isn't a political statement.

It's not about creating a separate "club" of children's writers who share a common race.

It's not even a sigh of frustration, taking our ball home to play on our own field because the indusry-at-large tends to forget about so many of the African American children's authors out there.

It's actually about inclusion, reminding and tooting the horn of authors who sometimes are easily overshadowed due to the sheer number of children's books on the market.

The literay community could use more Brown Bookshelves and ReaderGirlz - working together to pool resources, serving as portals to anyone genuinely interested in finding books that may not have big publishing budgets, critical acclaim or wide distribution.

I have never been more tired than I am, right now. I think when February ends I'm going to sleep for two days straight.

But it's that good kind of tired. The kind that comes from knowing you've done something so satisfying, you're too wired to care about being tired.

So, go forth and discover, while I get some shut-eye.

My New Covers...Well, One of Them

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 13:26:11 GMT

You guys know better than most how much I angsted over the new photo covers that will grace books 3-5 of my YA series.

I've had enough time to get used to the idea now. So while I don't love the new covers, I like them. And more importantly, I understand what my publisher is trying to do by putting the photo covers on them. Raise sales. And that's never a bad thing.

They kept the models multi-cultural, which in the end, was the sword I was willing to throw myself on had there been push-back.

The live version of the cover is embossed - which I really liked.

And the models' expressions definitely evoke the proper amount of drama that my books portray.

So, I'm pleased. I just hope they have the impact on sales my pub thought they would. I'd hate to think we sacrificed my vivid graphic covers for nothing.

And secretly, I believe graphic covers will become all the rage - because I was ahead of my time - and I'll be the only one left with photo covers. That will be the last straw and I'll spiral into madness, officially becoming an author.

But, while I still have a shred of sanity left, here it is - the new face of my Del Rio Bay Clique Series:

Who Needs Sleep?

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:27:04 GMT

I don't. And it's a darn good thing, too, because things have been jumping in my world.

I just turned in the final manuscript for That's What's Up! - book three in the Del Rio Bay Clique series. I'm putting the final touches on the draft of book 4, Who You Wit'? and have been preparing for today, Brown Bookshelf announcement day.

We've selected our 28 authors and four illustrators for the 28 Days Later campaign. And I'm tickled to death.

We started reaching out to the finalists last week and the response has been touching. Some of these authors have no real "need" for a spotlight, having run into some recent good promo fortune (a John Steptoe winner, a National Book Award finalist, an author who's been on CNN and Tavis Smiley) or simply having been in this game for a number of years. And yet, words like "honored" "excited" and "thrilled" have been used when they've responded to our emails informing them.

So, between research, outreach and writing, I haven't gotten much sound sleep lately. Please tell me it's not in vain.

Visit The Brown Bookshelf and check out our spotlight authors. And come back every day next month to find out a bit more about these authors and their passion for children's literature.

I've listed them below. But you'll miss out on Don's wonderful poster, if you don't visit the page.

Key:
Authors in bold are vanguard authors
Illustrator spotlights are in italics

Feb 1 Christopher Paul Curtis - Elijah of Buxton

Feb 2 Michelle Meadows – The Way The Storm Stops

Feb 3 Dana Davidson - Played

Feb 4 Rita Williams-Garcia – No Laughter Here

Feb 5 G. Neri – Chess Rumble & Sean Qualls - Phillis’s Big Test

Feb 6 Janice N. Harrington – The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County

Feb 7 Eleanora E. Tate – Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance

Feb 8 Patricia McKissack – The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll

Feb 9 M. Sindy Felin – Touching Snow

Feb 10 Jabari Asim – Daddy Goes To Work

Feb 11 Mildred D. Taylor – The Road To Memphis

Feb 12 Nina Crews - The Neighborhood Mother Goose & Leonard Jenkins – Sweet Land of Liberty

Feb 13 Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu – The Shadow Speaker

Feb 14 Allison Whittenberg – Sweet Thang

Feb 15 Walter Dean Myers - Game

Feb 16 Tonya Bolden – George Washington Carver

Feb 17 Troy Cle – The Marvelous Effect

Feb 18 Eloise Greenfield – The Friendly Four

Feb 19 Sundee T. Frazier – Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything In It & John Holyfield - Bessie Smith & the Night Riders

Feb 20 Carole Boston Weatherford – I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer

Feb 21 Karen English - Nikki & Deja

Feb 22 Coe Booth - Tyrell

Feb 23 Irene Smalls – My Pop Pop and Me

Feb 24 Stephanie Perry Moore – Prayed Up: Perry Skky Jr. #4

Feb 25 Kyra E. Hicks, Martha Ann’s Quilt for Queen Victoria

Feb 26 Celise Downs – Dance Jam Productions & Shane Evans- When Harriet Met Sojourner

Feb 27 Valerie Wilson Wesley – Willimena Rules!: 23 Ways to mess up Valentine’s Day

Feb 28 Sherri L. Smith - Sparrow

Or(ganization)gasm

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:08:51 GMT

I'm Type A.

I know it. Everyone around me knows it. I embrace it because that's half the battle.

So, you know I'm simply loving what Santa brought me for the holidays. A custom closet!

Woo-friggin'-hoo!

You would think Type A's would master organization without the help of some fancy schmancy closet company. But umm...no.

I have way too much on my plate and abhor domestic duties. So after I've taken precious time out of my day to organize my shoes, no way I'm going to re-do them after Princess Bea decides to play dress up and scatters them everywhere.

So my closet remains in a constant state of disarray. Until now!

The best thing about the custom job is:

1) It forced me to think about what sort of space I needed.

I've come to discover that I dislike drawer space. I tend to hide my clutter within them. And instead of putting summer things away they end up side-by-side with winter stuff making it difficult to find what I need.

So I opted for open shelving, hanging space and cubbies for my shoes (26 pair and counting).

I have so many pair of heel boots, my mom said if anyone came in they'd think I was a hooker. Hmmph, a well-dressed hooker, mind you!

2) It forced me to get rid of anything I don't currently wear.

I have no idea why, but I still had suits that I hadn't worn since I had Princess A. That's 13 years and 25 pounds ago!

Since the entire fam got custom closets, we had somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty bags of clothes to giveaway. Crazy!

3) Now, I can actually look in the closet and know what pieces of clothing I need to round it out.

No more going into the store and buying a purple shirt wondering what I have to go with it!

A) I don't need any more shirts B) What I actually need more of are jeans. Go figure. I suspected I had very few casual pants, but now I know for certain, as my two pair of jeans and one pair of cords sit lonely on the shelf among a bunch of shirts.

4) It has single handedly made my mornings more efficient.

At first, I'd get up and angst over what to wear. I'd have to scramble around the closet and my bedroom looking for items. Not anymore!

Everything is in plain view. I'm picking up a shirt, pants, socks and shoes in a matter of seconds. Not to mention, there's finally been a detante on WW III or as we call it around here, morning!

Princess Bea can now also choose whatever she wants to wear, because instead of me still having out-of-season clothes in her drawers (yes, some days to avoid argument she went to school in November in a cotton skort) only clothes fit for the weather remain on her shelves. And I only gave her two drawers opting for more shelf space so she can actually see all of her clothes.

It is friggin' awesome!!!!

I'm telling you, life can't get any better than this. It has changed our lives. No, I'm serious.

And we've coined a new phrase "closet-worthy."

The hubster spent a few hours putting his clothes away when we first got it because he realized he didn't feel every item was worthy of being in the closet.

Bingo - more giveaways!

Our closet is the least cluttered it's ever been.

Great way to start the new year.

Blocking Blessings

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 16:31:48 GMT

I'm on deadline for two manuscripts, so blogging will suffer.

It's the end of the year and that makes me (and everyone else) reflective. I'm also right in the middle of Brown Bookshelf research. And having to decide what books deserve a spotlight has required me to strip away my competitive veneer (hard to do) and give each and every author/book their fair shake.

As I ask myself, "Is this book under-recognized?" I'm having to define "under recognized" for each and every book.

There's one contender that's been a National Book Award finalist three times! Surely she can't be classified as under the radar.

Yet, I'd never heard of her. And unless I'm totally alone, it's likely there are actually plenty of kids who may not be exposed to her book, as well - maybe because of her NBA final status. After all, how many books do kids clamor for merely because the book has some sort of national acclaim?

It's an odd position for a writer to be in - to be a critical darling and a commerical question mark. Part of my mission with The Brown Bookshelf is to help - what little I can - to balance that out for the authors we'll select.

And by turning off my competitive voice, I'm better able to think through these things. But until I did, I found myself thinking about "recognition" in terms of my own place in the publishing market. Bad idea.

Because some of the contenders are not so under the radar. And I found cattiness creeping into my thinking as I thought - Well they don't need this recognition.

Since I'm an author who's having to choose some of my peers to uplift, there's a very thin line I'm walking between unselfish support for a deserving author and blocking my own blessings by summarily dismissing someone who, in my opinion, has already gotten their fair share of influencer attention.

So as I go over my list, I'm reminded of hearing the comedian, Tommy Davidson, doing a press junket about seven years ago.

He was saying how, toward the end of In Living Color's run, he often found himself looking around at the success many of his fellow castmates were experiencing. Keenan Ivory Wayans, the show's producer, had ventured off into movie making, Damon Wayans was about to get his own sitcom, Jim Carrey had straight blown up on film and was even getting Oscar love for his more serious portrayals.

Davidson found himself spiraling into bitter jealousy wondering when his time was going to come. He wanted commercial success, not to have to hit the stand-up circuit again. He had the good fortune to be frank about his envy to his grandmother. And she told him that by holding on to that bitterness he was blocking his own blessings. That he'd never experience any real success of his own until he stopped sitting around hating on others as he waited on it.

Like all good grandchildren do, he heeded her advice. Soon after, he got the voice over gig with Disney's The Proud Family. During the interview, he marveled at his grandmother's advice and confessed that, while it had still been a challenge to rejoice in his peers success as his slow-mo'ed its way to him, he no longer looked at things from that angle.

As much radio and TV I listen to, that interview stayed with me as things that touch on a personal note often do.

At the time, I was still a PR flack for a tech company. I was successful, if corporate status and a certain salary are any indication. So I couldn't relate directly to what Davidson was saying. But, 1) his grandmother's advice sounded like something my own would say and 2) it just made sense.

When you dwell on the negative, you're not doing anything to make positive things happen.

Now, as my book competes in the YA market, I'm constantly reminded that to stay the course, I can't block my own blessings.

I'm even more aware of that, as I look to uplift authors for the 28 Days Later Campaign. In a way, for me, The Brown Bookshelf is about good karma.

I know what type of success I'd like to have. And what little of that I can control, I work hard at. But in the end, I can't help but feel that I'm racking up a lot of good karma points for focusing some of my attention and what little free time I have on putting someone else on shine.

I'm not sure how or even if it will ever connect to my own success in the book market. But I do know this - no blessing blocking going on over here.

In case I don't blog anymore this week, Happy New Year!

I want the sky, baby!

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:07:52 GMT

"What don't kill me, makes me stronger than be-fo'"

Who's been listening to too much American Gangster, by Jay-Z.

Mm-huh, me!

The title track is nothing short of the shiggity. Not simply because the beat is majorly old school, 70's, Shaft/blaxploitation delicious, but because I'm in a very "I want the sky, baby" state of mind. And Hov utters that during the hook, in his best Bootsy Collins impression.

Alright, if you have no idea who Bootsy Collins is or only know Shaft played by Samuel L. Jackson - please stop reading now because you're way younger than me and I've had a good night of writing and don't have the energy to search for links for a tutorial.

If you were born before the greedy 80's ride with me...

It's the end of the year and time for reflection and a little spiritual housecleaning.

I'm seriously trying to let go of some of my neuroses for '08. The only problem with that is, I want the sky, baby! And when you're shooting for the sky, it's hard to pretend you're fine with anything less. See how one begets the other ending in a vicious cycle?

I'm not big on a whole bunch of New Year's resolutions. So, I'd be insincere to start ticking off all the things I'm going to do differently, knowing the only thing that truly changes on January 1st is the date.

But here's what I can live with. For the new year, as I reach for the sky, I pledge to:

* Always uplift other writers as I promote my own books

* Channel more positive energy into new writing projects

* Shed the practice of frenetic promo (i.e. no implementing promo as if I'm playing catch up, from now on, only sewing promo seeds and watching it grow exposure)

* Chillax more! I've been working hard but not playing hard enough.

* Only drive my editor and agent crazy when I really, really, really, really...really can't help myself (really).

* Sell more books, cause... (say it with me)

I want the sky, baby!

1st Annual Pauly's

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:01:20 GMT

It's award season. That means a lot of movies, books, music and TV shows that I've never watched/read/heard of will be honored in the coming months. I'm a strange duck, that way. I always end up attracted to the stuff off the radar. Or maybe it's just I'm not big on critcally acclaimed fare. ::shrug::

But since everyone and their sister has an awards show, I've decided to host my own - The Pauly's. Ahh yes, very original P.

In the grand tradtion of all award show missions, please check out the winners and exit stage right to your nearest retail location to purchase the mentioned item.

What's that you say? That's not what award shows are for?

Could have fooled me.

So...the Pauly goes to:

Verizon Wireless
Most snort-worthy commercial
I'm talking about the one where the chick gets a pony for the holidays, instead of the latest hot phone. I lose it everytime when the one girl says "Does he bite?" and she snaps, "Yeah!"

The iPhone
Hottest product I can't afford
As soon as I get a real job to afford it and a few months to dedicate to learning to use it...that phone is so mine!

I Know, by Jay-Z ft. Pharrell
Most infectious track
Hov captures the sexy allure of addiction. Sure, he's talking about drugs, but the lyrics are fitting for anything we can't get enough of - a lover, or even a Grande Starbucks coffee frappe, two pump vanilla, double blended with whip. (Hey, you got your addiction and I got mine!)

Double Blended
Best word I've recently added to my personal lexicon
Yes, I've become one of those obnoxious peole who knows exactly how to order my Starbucks coffee, the way I want it. See above for ordering accuracy.

Uggs
Trend I'm late to but glad I've arrived
Better late than never. Love these things! Only downside - they make me want to dress down everyday. On the flip side, jeans and sweats are an upgrade from wearing pajamas all day.

Starbursts Berries n' Creme
Commerical I can recite line for line
Berries?! Berries and what else?! Aww-hah...Berries n' creme, berries n' creme, I'm a little lad who loves berries and creame. BERRIES N' CREME, BERRIES N' CREME. I'M A LITTLE LAD WHO LOVES BERRIES N' CREMMMMMME-MAH!

Thank you, thank you!

"Mazoltov, it's a celebration, bitches!"
Most deliciously inappropriate lyric I can't resist singing
This line in Roc Boys makes me sing with gusto. You know, sometimes you just gotta go blue.

Kiss, Kiss, by Chris Brown ft. T-Pain
Song that makes me wish I were 16 again
Let's get one thing clear: the only time it's appropriate for a thirty-something year old woman to have a crush on an eighteen year-old is when it's a MUSICAL crush. End lesson!

The Hills
Sign that the apocalypse may not be as bad as we think
Yes, it's terribly melodramatic. No, I never ate out as much as these girls in my 20's. And, damn, Brody Jenner is hot. Look, I like what I like. Deal!

The Prestige
Movie that had me simultaneously frustrated and enthralled
Man, that Christian Bale is so hot, right now (nod to Zoolander). This movie had my mind all messed up. I love magic!

Murphy & Goode Merlot
Elixir of the Gods
You know you're grown when alcohol consumption is something done primarily to complement a good meal or reward a trying day. Lightly smoky without a hint of bitterness, this wine is simply the shit. But it's only for the grown folk.

Law & Order: CI
Beneficiary of the writer's strike
I was hot when it moved to Thursday and on USA to boot. I miss every other ep simply because I keep forgetting it's changed days and channels! But it's moving back to NBC on Wednesday because NBC doesn't have enough programming to fill out its schedule. Woo-hoo! Writer's rock!

Why Did I Get Married?
My First Tyler Perry opening
Many firsts here - first Tyler Perry movie I saw in theatres AND on opening night, no less. I'm no longer a Tyler Perry virgin. Okay, Tyler...now, we've got to get married.

Lovestoned
Song that made me love it
I started off only liking the last two minutes. Then I started feening for the whole thing. Damn you, Justin, that's like nine minutes of my life I lose everytime I listen to this track!

And there you go - my Pop culture best and brightest - shorter than the Emmy's, less entertaining than the Grammy's, more fun than the Golden Globes and more publicized than the ALA's.

Cheers!

Why Blog?

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:08:48 GMT

When you can just re-post a much more informative article from someone else's?

Editorial Ass ::snort, snort, chuckle:: helps the rest of us poor, writing slobs figure out that whole sell-in/sell-through thing.

I never considered myself a dumb person until I had to figure out publishing jargon. To this day, I still say "buy-in" when I'm actually referring to sell-in.

As informative as this article is, it also means very little considering - the way royalty statements come out (twice a year)- you're left reconciling that whole sell-through thing on one book for years. All you can do is pray the friggin' reserve number goes down.

Amen!

Big Win Friday!

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:12:36 GMT

I know you thought I forgot all about announcing the winners of the Teens Read Too Don't Get It Twisted Girl Power Hidden Contest.

Whew! How's that for a contest name?!

But I didn't. I didn't forget. I...okay, I didn't forget but it sort of fell off my radar. No fault of Jen's - she sent me the names. But blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's me not bothering to list the litany of things that came up between her giving me the names on December 1st and me just NOW posting them.

Okay, enough from me!!!

I asked you guys to send me your Girl Power stories, because my characters may sometimes be flaky, every now and then materialistic but always, the DRB Clique chicks are about girl power and doing what's right (even Jessica, I think).

I received stories about doing the unpopular thing at the risk of ridicule and forgiveness and turning the other cheek. Great entries!

So, you want to know who won, right?

The winners of a copy of Don't Get It Twisted are:

Tiffany L.

Lauren P.

Audrey B.

And the grand prize winner of a copy of the book AND a designer wristlet is...

Charlotte S. for her girl power story about standing up to a close family friend for their sexist and racist remarks. Do your thing, girl!

Ladies, your books will be on their way, soon.

Congratulations and thanks for entering my contest!

Happy Reading.

Chatter-A-Rama

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 23:10:06 GMT

So, you like reading my rantings, insight and ponderings - how about chatting in real-time?

Check me out tonight at Enchanting Reviews at 9:30 Eastern Standard Time

We'll talk YA fiction, my books and pop culture. And there's a contest. You can win a designer wristlet.

And tomorrow, at the
Sankofa Book Fair at both 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.

This chat's a little bit more "serious" we'll talk about the state of African American literature where young readers are involved. Chatters are eligible for book giveaways.

Whether you prefer a little girl chatter or more serious lit talk, choose a chat, any chat!

Statistically Speaking

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:21:05 GMT

PR is a trial and error type of field.

What other industry do you know where you can charge a client, yet be frank with them that there are no guarantees their money will yield results?

Few. But, that's also why PR is the step child of Advertising and why you can't charge nearly as much as a PR company as you could if you were an Ad company.

It's hit or miss, at best. And even the best miss, because it's the nature of the beast.

Still, as an author, I'm my worst nightmare as a client. I scrutinize every promo activity to decide if it's worth my time and money as if I were dissecting a worm in Freshman Biology. I'm the type of client I used to grit my teeth at when I was working at a PR agency.

I spend a good deal of time blogging, reading other people's blogs, sometimes commenting (most times, not), blabbing and sharing in writer's forums etc... I do this, primarily, because writing is lonely and the Internet has fast become my version of water cooler talk.

While writers book talk one another often, if indeed I purchased the book of every author I befriended I'd be broke with a capital B. I'm sure other writers feel the same. Still, late this summer, I started to wonder how much of my viral networking was resulting in traction. If not book sales ('cause I have no way of knowing) at least traffic to my site.

Here's what I found:

Googleosity, it Works
A great deal of my hits are from Google searches (75%). And get this, many are actually googling me! Ha, who would have thought? But there are equally as many who are googling other things and end up being pushed to my website because of some key word.

For example, The Book of Luke by Jennifer O' Connell gets googled a lot from foreign countries and they end up on my blog because I have a Ten Questions That Rock on the book. No idea why so many from foreign countries, but I've had visitors from Chile, France, Japan and many other places searching for her book.

Next comes Yahoo with 14%. The rest of the search engine hits are so minimal as to not count.

Waving The Banner
For this second book, I thought I'd try banner ads. So I'm running banner ads on two websites, right now. One just started - so I've gotten minimal traffic. But the other went live November 1st and I've had decent, not great, but a decent amount of traffic from there.

I have no idea what a good click through rate is on a banner ad. But if I took a guesstimate, I'd say in the last month I've had about 20 click throughs from their site to mine. So that's less than one a day.

The question remains, will the click through rate be good enough for me to invest in another banner ad from either? I'll wait out the entire run time and see.

Cyber Tours, Marketing Collabos & Jabber Jawing Online

Okay, here's where I've often wondered - just how much of me running my mouth in the name of cyber networking and collaborating with other authors actually works.

Unfortunately, I've had very little traffic from my involvement with Class of 2K7. However, the cyber stats do not reflect just how much word-of-mouth 2K7 received. Man, at BEA, we were practically celebs. Seems like every other author or librarian we ran into had at least heard of us. So, maybe we were just more popular with the bricks and mortar set.

The Brown Bookshelf, on the other hand, has drawn some good traffic in the thirty days since it launched. The irony being, I'm not even promoting myself with this intiative. Hey...I may be on to something.

I haven't had a significant amount of traffic from my Girlfriend Cyber Circuit touring - but admittedly, I wasn't checking or scrutinizing my stats as thoroughly when I did my tour, as I've done lately. So I'll have to wait until I do my next round, to truly analyze the impact. Since it's specifically a cyber tour, I'm now very interested in the number of click throughs to my site from the Girlfriends blog posts.

Similiarly uncalculated, is whether my chattiness in areas like Verla's Blue Board yields traffic. This is a support group/water cooler type forum for me. I'm not there to promote - well, not primarily. So I've never much paid attention to those who have clicked through from Verla's. I'll start paying more attention, now, though - out of curiosity more than anything else.

Blogging's Killing My Novel
Okay, not literally. But my stats reveal that my website's most popular pages are blog pages. Holy mixed feelings, Batman!

I love that people are reading the blog, but it would be nice to see the About The Book page be the top. "Books" is the 3rd most popular page, but remains a solid 100 hits behind the blog.

I've come to the conclusion that without a weapon or copious amounts of chocolate, I can't force people to the pages I'd like them to visit. But it's fun to play armchair quarterback to myself. Based on these stats, I will consider cutting down on some of my forum visits. Except, they're just so darn addictive!

Sunday Drive-by Signings

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 19:28:30 GMT

Since Don't Get It Twisted came out this week, I thought I'd stalk...errr, check and see if it were in my local stores. So I did a few drive-by signings today, offering to sign stock for any store that had them in.

The good news is, both Barnes & Noble, in Annapolis and Bowie had it and the Annapolis Borders had it.

What was really cool, upon introducing myself, the rep at Borders said the seven words every author loves to hear: "We can't keep them on the shelves."

Apparently they go quickly. And they're not even face out (like they are at B&N). Sweet!

The Borders Customer rep (who may or may not have been the Manager) was very knowledgeable of my book, too. She remembered the name of So Not The Drama with no prompting and remembered that it had been stocked downstairs where they keep Af-Am fiction. Don't Get It Twisted, happily, is stocked with its YA brethren.

Oh, and at B&N Bowie, there was a teen book-shopping with her mom. So I introduced myself and told her to check out the book to see if it might tickle her fancy.

The bad news is, Karibu is still not carrying my book in the stores. Seems you can order them online, but I've never seen my book on shelves.

They're my local indie. They're (I believe) the largest African-American owned independent book chain. I've supported them as both a customer and an author via the Black Writer's Guild. My book is made for their target customer (African American, not young adult). So why aren't my book and their store a match made in book heaven?

It's a rhetorical question. I've long gotten over trying to solve this puzzle. There's way more about the book business that I don't know than I do - I'm learning to scrutinize each issue to determine which are actually worth solving. And some may not have an easy answer, anyway.

I plan to do a couple of drive-by signings a week - reaching beyond my usual haunts. I'm excited to touch more indies. There are no Booksense indies where I live. So looks like I'll be gassing up the ol' SUV (and that's a lot of gas) and heading North.

Some people Christmas shop in December, I do drive-bys...signings, that is.

Oh, Go Pop Yourself!

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 03:23:27 GMT

Hi, I'm Paula and I'm an author of popular fiction.

Now here's your line: "Hi Paula."

I've started this support group, Pop Authors Anonymous, also known as "Paa!" because I'm no longer able to manage my anger problem at being considered a second-class liteary citizen among the literati, alone.

I hope to see some of my peers at future meetings. Membership is open, free of charge and in lieu of face-to-face meetings, simply blog your frustration and we'll come running, reminding you to tell all those who devalue your contemporary, fun, "frivilous" novel with a simple, "Oh, go Pop yourself!"

Ahh...that feels good.

Meanwhile, I'll get this first meeting started with my testimonial.

Make no mistake, I am not ashamed of being a popular fiction author. I love what I write, because I remember how much it meant to me to escape the dreaded required reading now and then. So I consider it my gift to the avid readers of the world who don't always want to be draped in the latest "great American novel."

But it's been an especially trying day for an author of bubble-gum flavored books.

First, my daughter's BFF relayed an exchange between she and her teacher. The conversation went something like this:

BFF: Miss P, my teacher said I can't do my book report on your book.

ME: No surprise. Many teachers like book reports to be on more literary novels.

BFF: Yeah. She said she doesn't like "those" kind of books.

Now see...I was okay right up until the "those" kind of books. That's what got my motor running. Princess A's teacher said the same thing earlier this year. Well, actually what she said was that she didn't like "Clique novel and Gossip Girl type books."

Umm, excuse me, my books actually are NOT like those (hell, I wish they were. The books are friggin' best sellers). But I refuse to try and convince anyone of that. Read the book for yourself - like it or don't. But spare the turning up of your nose until you're sure what you're snubbing. In other words, Go Pop yourself!

Okay, then I had an interesting request for help. A group is creating a library and they wanted some recommended reading for the older teens.

I was honored to be asked. But within the request I got the impression that one of the reasons they were stumped on books for the older kids was because among the criteria for eligible books was that they faciliate learning.

Umm...well, isn't learning facilitated in the classroom? Isn't it what kids do six hours a day in school? What on earth is wrong with them curling up with a book that allows them to escape their worries and real world for awhile?

And uh...isn't there something to learn from just about anything we read? Not literally, but being exposed to the struggles - not matter how deep - of a main character usually makes you think.

And, honestly, most teens read Gossip Girl and the like and know it's exxagerated. Geez, give today's teens some credit!

Gotta give it to GG, never has a series been so bashed and celebrated, at the same time.

But the icing on the cake was - I came across some information on one of the big awards. I was perusing past nominees of their lit categories. I was shocked that for one year, of the books nominated for their YA category, only ONE of the books was actually a YA. ONE!

And that book ended up winning. Thank God!

The rest were non-fiction accounts. It was, to me, an almost subliminal message that these were the type of books they wanted teens to read. It had little to do with what teens may actually want to read!

Look, we get it. Popular fiction authors have no delusions that we're changing the world with our stories, but could we get a little 'spect here?

Normally, I'm better able to blow off this sort of "discrimination." I chose to write what I write and knew how some viewed it when I came into this game. But it just seemed as if there were reminders all around me today of how some leaders, the same who say that literacy is important to them, are ignoring the fact that a true love of reading takes finding books that interest you.

Required reading in school is just that - REQUIRED. Some students may enjoy it, but a majority are reading it because you told them to.

I'd like to see more influencers embrace popular fiction for young readers. At least reserve negative opinion on a case-by-case basis.

I believe the best way to guarantee we raise a nation of non or reluctant readers is to continue to devalue the books they turn to for pleasure.

Meanwhile, power to the pop cultists. And everyone else...(say it with me) Go Pop yourself!

Meeting Adjourned!

Library Visits: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 03:24:23 GMT

I am officially, the Queen of Library visits.

Okay, slight exxageration. But having done ten visits in the last 30 days, it sure does feel like I should be. Having done them in such an intense burst, I thought I'd share my insight:

The Good

1) Come on, it's a library! Libraries are where readers come to worship at the altar of the book. What's not to love about hanging out where books are appreciated and loved?

2) It gets you out of the house. Let's face it, if given a choice, us writers would be more comfortable behind our PCs in our sweats than the center of attention. But doing visits keeps us up on our social graces (no talking and mumbling to people who aren't actually there) and ensures we attend to hygiene that we could otherwise cut corners on.

Your computer may not care if you have onion breath, but the library patrons might.

3) Extra income! I'm a pretty cheap library visit date. But if I were writing full-time and needed a good income supplement, this would be it.

4) The exposure is killer. All of my visits have been within one county's library system. The library branches worked hard to promote my visits (surreal to see your name on the marquee) and even when the visit didn't yield many patrons, the name in lights and posters with my big head picture on them throughout the library likely picqued some people's interest enough for them to check out the book. How do I know? Because I checked the system's catalog and since my mini-tour, my books have consistently been checked out. Sweet!

But with some sun usually comes a little rain. So...

The Bad

A. Have you ever held a smile for a really long time waiting on the photographer to snap the daggone pic? You're smiling but you start thinking - Take it already! because your mouth hurts and you just want to go back to being yourself. That's what being at a visit is like. You have to be "on" - no easy feat for someone who normally works in total seclusion.

Furthermore, whether twenty people show up or two, you've got to engage the patrons. Just because only one person shows up, you can't tuck away your A game and only bring out the C. I won't say it's as tough as digging ditches, but definitely there's a degree of mental exhaustion that comes from being "on."

B. Planning time = no writing. For me, at least.

I suggest, planning like you're going to have a big audience but prepare yourself for way less.

With that in mind, planning an interactive presentation (the only type I like to do, because you've got to be incredibly charismatic to make talking fun) to keep teen patrons interested is no joke. Teens have been in school all day, the last thing they want to do is spend their evening hours hearing you talk. So my presentation always involves getting them up, out of their chairs and participating. Thinking of ways to do that means I can't focus too much attention on much else for fear I'll drop the ball on either my prep or my writing.

So split your attention at your own risk. Teens smell fear and lack of prep a mile away.

The Ugly

There's only one really...picture this: you've spent days/weeks preparing for this visit. You've gotten all your giveaways together. You know what you're going to say. Have timed it so you don't go over or under. And the day comes and the room is packed with you, the librarian and silence.

Not much you can do about it. It happens sometimes.

Of my ten visits, I've had one where no one showed up until the last five minutes and another where only one person showed.

I still gave my presentation, all the same. It's not pretty, but that's the biz.

Oh, one more ugly - I haven't written a lick since early October. So I'm looking forward to taking my promo hat off for awhile and getting back down to the business of writing. In the midst of promotion, it's easy to forget that you're in this for the writing.

As for these library visits - I'd recommend them to anyone who has a library system eager to sponsor them. Bring your "A" game though - teens can be a tough audience. Me, I'm taking a small break but plan on getting back on the library trail in the spring and summer.

Whew...light a candle for me.

Hang out or Get out

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:07:11 GMT

I've been thinking about Sean Taylor a lot the past few days.

When I heard he'd been shot, it was in passing while I was buzzing off to do something else. I remember thinking, "That's too bad." Then when I heard he'd died, I was sad.

Not because I'm a Redskins fan. I'm not.

Not because I'm a University of Miami fan. Although I am and Taylor was a former Hurricane.

But because anytime a young person dies, under any circumstance, I'm sad. I'm sad at the lost potential, the impact that person could have had on the world around them. And I ache for their family.

There's a great deal of commentary on Taylor's life and death in today's Washington Post but one tiny phrase within Michael Wilbon's column struck me, made me stop reading and think for a few seconds.

Wilbon tackles the issue of young, black men dying - taking Taylor's death out of the context of sports and putting it back into perspective of life in general.

He says, "Most of us, perhaps even the great majority of us who grew up in urban communities, have to make a decision at some point to hang out or get out."

He's talking about how tough it is for people to turn their back on those they grew up with or abandon the neighborhoods that nurtured them for good, bad or indifferent before they made it to the next level in their lives.

I'm not sure we - society at large - gives enough creedance to just how crucial that reality is.

Hang out or get out.

It struck me because I write YA fiction. And at the crux of a lot of teen angst is peer pressure of some sort. Sometimes pressure from the wider circle i.e. the student population of one's school or from the more intimate circle that is an individual's friends.

One of my series' characters, Jacinta, faces that very dilemma. She's from a low-income neighborhood, but is transplanted against her will to a middle class suburb in Del Rio Bay. Throughout the series, I deal with Jacinta's struggle to enjoy life in the 'burbs while staying loyal to her boyfriend and friend back in her old nabe. In other words, she's not sure whether to get out or hang out.

The way Wilbon put it sums it up so perfectly. I'd never thought about it so simply until now. And never, has the thought of having to choose to do one or the other, struck me so vehemently.
The truth is, we don't ever really grow out of peer pressure. We merely learn to deal with it better as we grow into adulthood.

If you say you don't run into peer pressure as an adult, you're either lying or unaware how to define that pressure. It could be as simple as your friends harassing you because you've missed one too many girls/boy's night out -or- family riding your back because you didn't bother to show at the last gathering.

The pressure's still there, we just don't lose sleep when we buck it.

I'm not going to wax on about whether or not Sean Taylor's "past" had anything to do with his death. Or whether he chose too late to get out. It's not my place. And I'm not familiar enough with him or his background to add anything articulate to the discussion.

But I've had my fair share of ribbing from people about the bad boy antics of Miami players, when they find out I'm a U fan. Miami players are notorious for their off-field behavior, to the point that it's no secret some view them little more as thugs pursuing a degree.

Unfair, because what's not emphasized is that these guys are still young. Very young.

Don't we all remember what it's like to be so young that we can't fathom there being any real serious consequence to our actions? Drugs, sex, violence, crime...whatever.

Don't we remember what it's like to go along with the crowd (be it our roomates, suite mates, or team mates) simply because we're caught up in life at the moment?

If we don't, we should.

Because many young people face the very real choice of hanging out or getting out within various situations. Some make bad choices because they can't see beyond their current situation. They may end up hanging out, because they don't realize they can get out.

They don't realize they can make other friends. That eventually, like-minded follks find one another.

True, it's not always easy. And it's damn lonely to be on your own until you find a new support system - but it can be done.

But we have to find another way to help them make that choice. It's not enough to present the choice, there have to be alternatives offered and close guidance on next steps for those who decide to get out.

It's easy to direct someone to make that choice, when you're secure in your own lifestyle. But next time you shake your head, in frustration, because a young person didn't get out fast enough or because you simply don't understand why they refuse to make the choice, ask yourself if you've done anything to help those near you to make a similiar choice.

Writer's, Listen Up!

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:30:36 GMT

I have a few soap boxes I get on, from time to time. I keep them stacked in the basement at my house and pull them out when I need to wax on about something that grinds my gears.

One of those things is how much (or rather little) writers make.

Despite the overall pay for writers being on the low-end, it's not actually the publishing industry in my cross hairs when I get started on low pay. It's those who want to pay nothing at all or those who pay so little, they may as well not be paying.

Those type of organizations undermine the profession.

It's nothing to see upstart magazines fess' up about their inability to pay - hoping that writers are eager enough to give of their services merely for the clip.

The existence of the world wide web is a testament to how often free labor is used to propel a site into popularity. Many websites are able to provide content because of writer's doing the pro-bono thing. I myself am not paid to blog for Blogging In Black or The Brown Bookshelf.

However, I write for them as a matter of paying it forward - guiding other writers through. You won't find me writing for free, elsewhere.

I'm annoyed anytime someone acts as if I pull my ability to write out of my backside and thus they need not pay me for my skill/talent. But if I'm annoyed by it, Harlan Ellison is downright testy. Fellow writer's heed his rant - get paid for your work, always.

Dirty bird word warning:

Deafening Silence

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 21:39:07 GMT

Hear that?

It's the sound of my second book being released.

I don't know why, but I continue to be amazed at how deafeningly silent a book release is. Maybe because I'm such a pop culture fanatic and read Entertainment Weekly...well, weekly. Between reading that, seeing commericals, and hearing music artists shilling their latest CD during radio interviews the white noise that is promotion of most other entertainment products is overwhelming.

The only way I know my book's ready to come out is that gnawing unease I feel at the pit of my stomach reminding me that yet another of my books is out there and I can't do diddly about how well it does.

Ahhh...pardon my tangent, but this is why I love LJ. For my Blogger and Myspace posts, I posted a much calmer, more commerical post about the book's release. Here, among writer friends, I can be so much more honest about my anxiety, frustration and overall worry about the whole process.

But back to my point - it's not that books don't come with their own set of white noise, but book buzz is primarily started and controlled by the publisher. I have no idea what, if any, buzz my publisher is creating. Goose egg on blurbs and so far no reviews. I'll plead the fifth on my thoughts to that.

On the other hand, I've done my own buzz building - did a book trailer this time around, a banner ad running on two sites, 10 library visits within the last 30 days and will be doing a book signing Dec 8th.

Still, Tuesday, November 27th will emerge just another day in the life of me. I have a library visit that night, so while I charm the patrons of Essex Branch library, I'll keep positive thoughts in my head that Don't Get It Twisted is finding its way into the homes of many teens eager to see what Mina and the clique are up to.

Don't Get It Twisted has always had a special place in my heart. Not to play favorites, but the pacing of the story flowed so naturally, it was practically a gift from my muse to me.

So, I've been especially pleased to get such fierce reaction to the cover. During my library visits and the last book fair, I attended, I had several teens say they knew the story was going to be good based on the cover.

Not sure if it's the orange or that little "Desperate times called for sneaky measures" tag line. But it's working it's mojo, for sure.

I hope so. I've long viewed this book as critical to anchoring my Del Rio Bay Clique series. And psst, remember, Twisted is the last of my eye-popping, graphic covers. After this, my books will go the way of the photo covers. ::sigh:: No fighting City Hall on that one.

But I digress...ironically, while Twisted is the sequel to So Not the Drama, I wrote it as a standalone. So you could read it without having read DRAMA - but umm...why would you?

So, look deeply into the "eyes" of my cover and let that vibrant orange hypnotize you. Then break the seal on that baby and get to reading, because in Don't Get it Twisted, the clique goes through the highs and lows of desire and wanting. For Mina, it's a crush that ends up in a love triangle. For JZ, it's his desire to be the star on the DRB basketball team that forces him to make a choice that could cost him both his spot on the team and a friend.

In this installment, everyone wants something and like the cover says, sometimes desperate times calls for sneaky measures.

How Much Fame Do You Need?

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 02:53:28 GMT

Tonight, I was riding home and a radio promo with Mario, the young R&B singer from Baltimore, came on.

You know, the standard "Hey, this is Mario and you're listening to W-blah, blah, blah."

It got me thinking...how much fame does a person really need? When you're a singer (or writer) isn't it cool that you're doing what you love? Isn't it okay that you may be super well-known in some places but can probably still shop at the mall virtually everywhere else?

Mario's very well-known in his home state. But I'm not sure he has any national or international type fame status.

The thing is, the guy's a decent singer. He's certainly as talented as any other young, R&B singer out there. But, you know how fame is. It's a slippery, fickle mistress who dips out on you just when you thought you figured out what it took to keep her by your side.

Even though Mario, Chris Brown, Trey Songz and Ne-Yo could easily go neck and neck when it comes to a voal show down...well actually, I think Trey Songz voice is a bit thin and if it came down to song writing, Ne-Yo would beat the pants off all of them - still, fact is, they're all young, talented and vying for fame in the music game.

Where fame and popularity are concerned, Chris Brown is the hands down winner with Ne-Yo running a close second. I don't think Ne-Yo's mad, you know, because of that songwriting thing I already talked about.

But, at the end of the day, when you're producing material for public consumption and popularity equals sales (mostly) how much fame do you need to consider yourself successful?

A few months after Kensington offered me a contract, I asked my then-editor, something that amounted to did it matter where sales came from as long as they were sales. And she said no. She said if I sold 10,000+ copies all in Maryland it would be as good as selling 10,000 from all different parts of the world. She didn't care, just sell them babies.

And that makes sense. A sale is a sale is a sale.

Problem is, without any or with very little concentrated promotion from a publisher, it's up to an author to make tough decisions on how they play the fame game.

Unlike singers, who can do radio promo and get the attention of listeners in a wide area, it's pretty much all grass roots and pounding the lit event pavement for writers.

My website is a good tool. I love looking at the stats and seeing what part of the world people are discovering me and my books, from. But, I have no idea how many visitors actually go out and buy the book. I can only hope that exposure to the website plants a seed, at the very least.

Definitely face-to-face interaction works best. My library visits sent my Amazon ratings up a bit for a week or two. No idea how many books were actually purchased, but obviously some.

Obviously, you see my tracking methods are quite...inaccurate and unscientific!

But, the rankings rising at the same time as my six visits was not likely a coincidence. It was certainly proof enough for me that face-to-face (or in a singers case, ear-to-ear) works.

Now back to the original question...how much fame do I need?

Going off my library visits, I'll have to stand by the notion that "fame" or at least being recognized or known definitely impacts sales. And with that in mind, I'm all about being, if not famous, at least recognized (my book, I'm saying) within my state and region.

I haven't yet worked out my strategy to sell 10K+ books, just in the state of Maryland. But in due time. I'd love to try some sort of in-state promo blitz in the summer.

Hmmm...I think I'm going to need to do a loootttt more library visits.