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Me and author Sapphire for "Push" at Borders, Dearborn, Michigan on September 18, 2009 Book signing with Author Mary Monroe on 9-02-2009 in picture: Me, Mary Monroe, Jean Winborn, Roberta Thornton

Some books are a sprint, most involve a few laps of your imagination but others require marathon-like endurance . Leo Tolstoy’s "War and Peace" is legendary for its length but there are many other novels that require patience and stamina from the reader. In the African American genre there is such heavyweights as "Mosquito" by Gayl Jones, "Roots" by Alex Haley or "Palace Council" by Stephen Carter and much more. But there are heavyweight readers for heavyweight novels. Some people take long novels in their stride. They enjoy characters that are extremely well developed, relish the enduring plots that twist and turn, and savor those massive novels or non-fiction books that offer so much background. I belong to a Book club and have been a member for 2 years now. Each person is recruited to select the book for the month and host the discussion on the book of their chosen. For the month of September, 2009 the biggest book I may ever read was selecte

E. Lynn Harris, the best-selling Arkansas author known for contemporary stories about African-Americans, died today during a West Coast book tour. His personal assistant confirmed an unspecified health event for us this morning. He was stricken while staying at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills. His death has been confirmed by the local coroner, but an autopsy will be necessary to determine the case of death. Arkansas Sports 360 provided the first formal report that Harris had died. The item did not cite a source, but Harris was close to the UA Athletic Department and had worked as coach and sponsor of the cheerleaders. Black Voices later confirmed the report, citing a spokesman for his publisher. Word of the health event began making the rounds on Twitter earlier in the morning. Born in Michigan, Harris grew up in Little Rock. He attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was the school's first black cheerleader. He continued to be a diehard Razorback fan. H

August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009 An Icon Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 were a big part of my childhood. The album "Ben" was a gift from my parents in 1972 when I was 10 years old. I played this album on my personal pink turntable in my room until the grooves wore out. May You Rest In Peace

Members of the African American Authors Book Group attended the discussion of "The Sacred Place" on April 28, 2009 at the Ypsilanti Distric Library. It was a wonderful night of discussions, good food, and picture taking with the invited author, Daniel Black from Atlanta. Mr. Black graciously accepted by request to attend our discussion on his second novel "The Sacred Place" We communicated by e-mail, text and as the days narrowed in, by phone. Upon Mr. Blacks' request to surprise the group, we were well into our discussion when he surprised the group and made his entrance into the room, where we all sat in a circle. What a wonderful surprise and a wonderfully written book. My husband made an Italian soup and served old fashion Faygo sodas' with fruit and vegetable trays and cheesecakes for dessert. Yuuummmy. The Motown Review Book Club was the invited guests to the discussion. All members had already read the book and stated in an interview with http://www.a

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the forty-fourth President of the United States, Barack Obama , and the first African-American First Lady of the United States . Michelle Robinson was born and grew up on the South Side of Chicago and graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School . After completing her formal education, she returned to Chicago and accepted a position with the law firm Sidley Austin , where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley , and for the University of Chicago Medical Center . Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention . She is the mother of two daughters, Sasha and Malia, and is the sister of Craig Robinson , men's basketball coach at Oregon State University . Michelle Obama - Photo Timeline from Bid Announcement

An unprecedented number of black characters inhabit today's mainstream fiction best-seller lists, but few of them are created by black authors. Meanwhile, a few books by African American writers manage to attract a crossover audience among white readers. Race/culture play an important part in books. Race is (often) a major component of someone's personal and cultural identity. Individually a book should be a unique experience that reflects the author's attempt to explain the human experience through his or her own creativity. Listed below are a few authors that are Non-African American in which the main character(s) in their novels are African American. ___________________________________________________________ Beulah Hill by William Heffernan - a strong black male character name Jehiel Flood, Heffernan placed him in a fabulously, complex murder mystery and examination of racial history which takes place in 1933 Vermont. This book has received outs

My Girl, Jill Scott is pregnant and made a HBO Series. This is one talented artist.I have yet to see her live in concert, but I love her music, and I have her book. She is going places. I'm just going to sit back and watch her make-way. Love ya Jill!

Eartha Kitt Entertainer, Born Eartha Mae Keith, she was raised in South Carolina and New York City. She appeared on film and television throughout the 1950s and 1960s while also establishing herself as a recording artist and nightclub singer. In 1968 Kitt made statements critical of the Vietnam War at a White House luncheon, reportededly reducing First Lady Lady Bird Johnson to tears. The public reaction led to her professional exile from the US, but she continued to perform overseas. Kitt also wrote three memoirs, 1956's "Thursday's Child", 1976's "Alone with Me, and 1989's "I'm Still Here: Confessions of a Sex Kitten." She died after being treated for colon cancer at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital on December 25, 2008 in Weston Fairfield County Connecticut. Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eartha_Kitt http://www.earthakitt.com/

Off-the-Rack Stock Photos Imagine all the energy and time invested into the creative writing, only to have it minimized by a duplicate image by another writer. Stock photography can be a useful tool, but knowing when to use it is beneficial. I've seen the same image on a book cover used in brochures, displays, CD covers, etc. Stock images are cheap - as little as $1 per image from companies such as iStockphoto, Fotolia, Corbis and Getty Images. Many stock photo companies will let you pay extra for a licensing agreement or a copyright buyout that will give you exclusive use of a photo going forward. But anyone who has alread downloaded the image, can continue to use it fair and square. They also offer services that stamp each image with the number of times it has been downloaded, which can help you decide whether the exclusivity is worth the extra expense (Inc.com Magazine, April 2007). Note: The images on the left were fo