Check it out. A very fun and exciting anthology. My character was a demon whom I found a little too easy to write. That should worry me but instead it makes me smile.

Namaste


Dyanne

Happy Valentine Day

Wow it's been a long time since any of us have posted here. It's funny how good plans get lost in the day to day busy lives. We all have several blogs, book signings, talks and so many other things that it stops us from doing the one thing that makes us feel connected to the reader. WE forget to blog.


But, I'm going to tell you one reason for me that pushes it to the back of my mind. It feels like I'm talking to myself most times. Granted I do talk to myself but not necessarily through a blog. I think if we had some hint that anyone was reading or gave a darn about what we blogged we would be more apt to do it. Writers write in part to entertain so that means we want readers. So if you're out there and you're reading this how about not letting me feel so lonely or the rest of the authors on this blog. Say hello. PLEASE.

Happy Valentine 's Day everyone.


Namaste


Dyanne

I'm going on tour

Santa Baby 2008 Virtual Book Tour for Hopeless Romantics
The Santa Baby 2008 Virtual Book Tour allow hopeless romantics to flex their very vivid imaginations and soar as they hear from ten beloved romance writers just in time for the holidays!

All The Buzz Reviews and The GRITS COM Literary Service have teamed up to host the Santa Baby 2008 Virtual Book Tour headlining some of today’s exciting African American romance writers, December 1-12, 2008!

This exclusive ten-day virtual book tour will give romance readers, and new readers to the genre, a chance to hear from ten popular writers about their new and upcoming book releases just in time for the holidays!

This virtual book tour is inspired by the sultry sex-kitten, Eartha Kitt. Her Christmas song, “Santa Baby,” topped the charts in 1953 making her one of the most popular entertainers in the world. The same sensuous mix that Eartha Kitt brought to this Christmas song many years ago, is the same sensuous mix - Gwyneth Bolton, Niobia Bryant, Dyanne Davis, Gwynne Forster, Bettye Griffin, Donna Hill, Andrea Jackson, Deborah Fletcher Mello, Farrah Rochon, and Stefanie Worth - bring to their work and to this tour!

Romance novels made an astonishing $1.4 billion last year, making the romance genre one of the top sellers in the publishing industry. Though some complain that the formulaic plot and “happily-ever-after” endings in romances aren’t always indicative of real life; the staggering number of romances sold each year is testament to its popularity and staying power!

The Santa Baby 2008 Virtual Book Tour begins Monday, December 1, 2008. So join the tour at AllTheBuzzReviews (www.allthebuzzreviews.com) or TheGRITS.com/virtualbooktour (www.thegrits.com/virtualbooktour)
About All The Buzz ReviewsAll The Buzz Reviews is the book reviews and literary event blog of Renee Williams, the CEO & Owner of Literary Signature Service, an event planning business specializing in literary events for authors of every genre.
About The GRITS COM Literary ServiceThe GRITS COM Literary Service is an online book promotion service that specializes in serving the unique web publicity needs of authors and publishers.

CONTACT:
The GRITS COM Literary Service526 Kingwood Drive, Suite 404Kingwood, TX 77339
281-973-6919

Seressia's Interview on Blog Talk Radio

Yesterday I had the very distinct and real pleasure of being interviewed on BlogTalkRadio by Dr. Niama Williams for her "Poetry and Prose" show. You can hear the hour-long discussion and reading of No Commitment Required by clicking here.

I think I did all right. I've listened to a portion of it and I'm glad that I managed to sound confident and knowledgeable. And Dr. Williams actually invited me back to discuss my paranormal work! God bless her!

Happy Black Folks Month!

It's that time of year again, the time when people acknowledge the accomplishments of black people then promptly forget when March 1st comes around.

Okay, yeah, that was a little harsh. I've always been of two minds about Black History Month. On one hand, it's the best way to discover little known facts about black folks in the historical context of America. On the other hand, I resent that we have to have a month in which to highlight black people. In my rose-colored-glasses world, the accomplishments of all people would be covered in our schools, history books, and media. But we know that's not the case.

Which means it could and should fall to writers to show just how rich the tapestry of American history is. I personally would love to see more Black historicals.

Unfortunately, when people think of black folks and American History, their minds immediately go to two eras: slavery and the civil rights movement. It's quite easy to ignore that there were free blacks roaming the country. According to BlackPast.org, free blacks came over with Columbus during his second trip to the New World in 1494. In 1526, slaves who'd been brought to work in the Spanish colony of San Miguel de Guadape in Georgia escaped to live among the native Americans. Then there is the rich and proud history of the Black Seminoles.

One great resource was recently published, and I think would be an excellent investment for schools, libraries, and black writers. It's called the African American National Biography, and it profiles some 4000 well- and little-known black folks in American history.

One such figure was profiled in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's coverage of the AANB:


Stagecoach Mary Fields

Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Ursuline Convent, Toledo, Ohio

Stagecoach Mary Fields was a gun-toting, hard drinking, cigar smoking frontierswoman who gambled, brawled and reputedly even killed a man. Well into her 60s, she dependably steered her coach through some of Montana's harshest weather to deliver the mail.

She was also a beloved housekeeper at a convent, tended her own vegetable garden and late in life presented bouquets to men who hit home runs during baseball games in Cascade, Mont.

How could you not want to write a story about this woman?

The African American National Biography is a joint effort of Havard University and Oxford University Press, and is edited by Henry Louis Gates, Hr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, both of Havard. The eight volume set covers the lvies of some 4100 well-known and obscure people. You can order it through the Oxford University Press website for $795. I think it's worth part of an advance, and for writers it's tax-deductible. There is an online version forthcoming, and they are soliciting donations to make the collection available for libraries.

Conratulations, Sandra Kitt!

For being one of the five romances in Library Journal's best books of 2007!

Sandra's Celluloid Memories is up there with:

Victoria Alexander, Secrets of a Proper Lady
Eve Kenin, Driven
Loretta Chase, Not Quite a Lady
Jayne Ann Krenz, White Lies

In Celluloid Memories:

A writer goes to L.A. to visit her dying actor father, who deserted her as a child, and gains a new understanding of the man she never knew. With insightful flair, Kitt has written a poignant, thought-provoking, but gently humorous romance that illuminates the black experience within the entertainment industry.

The book is still available on eHarlequin.com or you can order it from Amazon.

Alice Walker's Archives going to Emory University

Local gal (she's from GA) does good. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

From journals and notebooks of poetry written when she was growing up in Eatonton, Ga., to drafts of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "The Color Purple," Alice Walker saved every scrap along her journey to becoming one of the leading literary figures of the 20th Century.

Her literary and personal archive contains many letters from such friends as Toni Morrison, Gloria Steinem, Quincy Jones and Oprah Winfrey, as well as a remarkable volume -- "Poems of a Childhood Poetess" -- that she composed when she was 15.

By the end of this week, her entire archive -- all 122 boxes -- is expected to arrive at its new, permanent home at Emory University. Emory announced Tuesday it had acquired Walker's archive for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition is a "major addition to Emory's collection," which will help students and scholars learn more about Walker's commitment to social activism, literary and personal growth and spirituality, said provost Earl Lewis.

At Emory's Manuscript, Archive and Rare Book Library, Walker's papers will join those of author Salman Rushdie, the late British poet laureate Ted Hughes and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney as well as significant collections related to Harlem Renaissance novelists and poets Langston Hughes and James Weldon Johnson.

Walker is the author of eight novels, four major poetry collections and many works of nonfiction. She became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1983 for "The Color Purple," which was adapted into a critically acclaimed 1985 movie as well as a musical that had its world premiere at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre in 2004 and made its Broadway debut a year later.

"I can imagine in years to come that my papers and memorabilia, my journals and letters, will find themselves always in the company of people who care about many of the things I do: culture, community, spirituality, scholarship and the blessings of ancestors who want each of us to find joy and happiness in this life, by doing the very best we can to be worthy of it," Walker said in a statement.

Walker said Emory's relationship with the Dalai Lama also played a part in her decision. The Tibetan spiritual leader joined the university's faculty in October as a presidential distinguished professor and plans to periodically visit Emory to give talks to students.

Emory is "a place where my archive can rest with joy in the company it keeps," Walker said.