Nicknames.......

 

With all the seriousness that is wrapped around race, this week I thought I would lighten it up a bit.

One of the reasons that Jamie and I have lasted as long as we have is because we love to have fun and we love to laugh! Even better, we like to make each other laugh by poking fun at each other. Only in a nice way of course…well, most of the time. You gotta be able to laugh, right? Otherwise, what’s the point? One of the ways we make each other giggle is by having very silly nicknames for each other and using them often. Now of course, because we are an interracial couple the names we give each other pretty much relate to that. Our nicknames have just become part of our daily conversations and they always make us smile.

Our silliness in a nutshell:

Jamie’s names for me depending on the day…
Snow Bunny (he uses this one a lot!)
White Woman
Crazy White Woman (some days that’s just how I roll)
Vanilla
White Chocolate
Vanilla Ice
Patty Hearst (this one just makes me laugh)
Wifey
Light Bright
Sunshine (cute)
Lily White A$$ (really depending on the day and the mood….now, now get your mind out of the gutter!)

My names for Jamie (also depending on the day and of course my mood!)…
Big Sexy Hunk O’ Chocolate (my favorite and I use it often)
Hot Chocolate
Black Maaaaan (remember, from Designing Women?)
Chocolate Bar
Chocolate Deliciousness (Mhmm)
Big Bald Black Man
Hubby
Hubs
Big Daddy (He is known as this)
Big Black A$$ (as in, get your B.B.A. in here! Tee hee)

So that pretty much covers it. Goofy nicknames for goofy people. That’s us! I hope you got a little smile or maybe even a giggle out of our silliness. Now I’m off to see what my Big Sexy Hunk O’ Chocolate is up to!

"The House"

One of the many joys I get from writing, aside from the writing itself of course, are all the wonderful Authors that I'm getting to know.  I'm in awe of all the talent and feel very blessed to be a part of their writing journey.  One of the talented Authors that I am referring to is Anjuelle Floyd.  Her first book, Keeper of Secrets: Translations of an Incident (2007) was received with rave reviews.  Anjuelle is now preparing to release her first novel, The House, which will publish this Fall. 

The House:

On receiving the very thing she wants—a divorce and the power to sell their house—over which they have fought the past year—Anna Manning learns that Edward, her soon-to-be ex-husband is dying from cancer.  A faithful wife for three decades, and stay-at-home mother of four children, Anna endured Edward’s constant absence due to travel for his international real estate firm and numerous extra-marital affairs. With their children now adults, Edward has less than six months, possibly three, to live.  Anna takes him home to die in the house she has fought so vigorously to sell. But letting go of someone who has caused so much pain in your life doesn’t come easily. Edward has changed. There are Anna and Edward’s four children, three of whom who are married and struggling to endow their families with meaning and purpose.  The House shows what happens when one adopts the belief that: All hold regret and are seeking forgiveness. Our salvation rests in the hands of others—most particularly the ones we love, and who have treated us wrongly.

I recently had the opportunity to read The House, and let me just say, it captivated me.  The book is a novel, yet the characters were so strong I felt like I was reading someone's memoir.  Anjuelle sent a copy of the book to me back in August and I just finished it last week.  Life tends to get in the way of reading and relaxing, and due to time, or actually lack thereof, it took me much longer than I intended to finish this book.  However, most of the time when I have to walk away from a book because time is not on my side I tend to forget who the characters are and where the plot left off.  I find myself having to go back and re-read so I can refresh my memory as to where I was in the book.  This was not the case at all with The House. The characters felt like family to me, so each time I picked up the book I "fell" right back into their lives like I had never set the book down.  It's like talking to an old friend after not speaking to them for years, but for some reason once the conversation starts it seems like it was just yesterday.

The characters in the book had many types of relationships that all of us could relate to in one way or another.  One of the aspects of the book that I loved, were the interracial relationships that were intertwined amongst the characters.  This wasn't a focus of the book or focus of the relationships, it just was.  Exactly like life, there were real feelings and real views expressed about the interracial relationships and how they affected the family dynamics.  I could relate to every single thought because I have lived them all and then some.  I truly appreciated how Anjuelle's characters reacted to these relationships.  She did this with a subtlety that rang very true to life.

The House is a book that I didn't want to end because I didn't want to say goodbye to the characters.  I laughed, I cried, I related....as will you.  This is a must read that you will also want to recommend to your friends. 

Thank you Anjuelle for letting me be a small part of The House's journey!

African American Section......

I have received so many emails and comments from my latest story on The Next Family and She Writes that I had to share the story here.  Normally I try and have different stories on my blog and Next Fam because  I don't want to bore!  =)  However I think this one needs to be shared on both sites.............

So I have a question: Did you know that in general books written by black authors are shelved in the African American section? Did any of you out there realize that? Unless of course you are Toni Morrison or friends with Oprah, black authors are pretty much housed in their own “special” section.

A fellow writer who happens to be black recently published her first novel. A few months ago, just prior to her publication date, she sent out an interesting request. We are all on a writers’ site together and one of her posts was: “Wanted: White Ambassadors to Help Me Cross Over”. Seriously, that was her post! After I read this request she sent out, I wrote about it on my blog at "I'll Be Your White Friend"

I thought she had such guts and honesty by asking that simple “favor.” She knew that unless she got the word out to others outside her “circle,” her book would end up in the African American section and her audience would be limited. Her post caused quite the stir and received both sympathy and “are you kidding me?” responses. I get it though. You spend all this time writing and coming up with this wonderful story that has nothing to do with being black or white, and then boom, you are put into a category that many readers will never venture to. It’s so silly. A lot of people who read her request had never thought of her situation because of course, if you are a white writer there is no “white section!” Romance, mystery, memoir, self-help, religious…yes…but “white section”? No way!

Why am I on such a rant about this issue so long after her post? Well, the writer that I’m talking about is now published and I promised her when the book was pubbed that I would buy it. So off I went to Borders this past weekend and I was so happy to find her book stocked in the store. There it was on the computer…Substitute Me, by Lori Tharps. I had looked in the store on previous occasions but it was only available online. I was thrilled to see that I could finally get her book, take it home and get to reading! Imagine the look on my face when I saw that her book was located in the….drum roll please….African American section! You have to be freakin’ kidding me! Yes indeed, that’s exactly where it was. I literally laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of it and how spot-on Lori was about where her book would end up!

Off I went to the African American section, perusing the shelves for Lori’s book while noticing the obvious glances my way. I truly wanted to share my dismay and story with the other women in the section, but I was so heated I didn’t want the guys with the white coats to show up for the crazy lady in the African American section at Borders! So instead, I bought the book, went home, and emailed my experience to Lori. She was irritated, but of course not surprised. Unless we stop putting people, books, music, and everything else in categories, that’s exactly where we are going to stay. Let’s all start thinking outside the box, people. You might be surprised at all the new things you will learn and enjoy. Until then, I’ll see ya at the bookstore…you can find me in the African American section. 

Interview With Crime/Mystery & Interracial Romance Novelist Stacy-Deanne

Stacy-Deanne

Melody ~

The Award-Winning

Crime/Mystery & Interracial Romance

2008 ~ Simon and Schuster

Amy: Stacy, thank you for joining me today. I'm very excited to have an Interracial Fiction Writer on my blog since all my writing is basically real life...or rather, my life!

Stacy: Thanks for having me. I appreciate the opportunity!

Amy: The first question I'd like to ask you is how did you get into writing?

Stacy: I started writing at nineteen when I got my first computer. I loved it so much I decided to do it professionally. It made me happier than anything else did.

Amy: What inspired you to make writing your career?

Stacy: The minute I started writing, something clicked and I knew this was what I was put on earth to do. I had many stories inside of me and I wanted to share them with the world. I got so much joy from writing that any rewards outweighed the risks.

Amy: What made you choose fiction?

Stacy: Well, I love to make up stories and I’ve always had a great imagination. If I couldn’t make up my own characters or plots than I wouldn’t want to write. Also fiction is what I read. I don’t read nonfiction.

Amy: Obviously I'm very interested in your writing because so many of your characters are involved in interracial relationships. Let me ask you this....are you in an interracial relationship or have you ever been in one? Nothing like cutting to the chase right!?

Stacy: Right now I am single and no I am not looking, LOL. Yes I've been in interracial relationships.

Amy: Is this why you write about interracial relationships? Because of your experiences?

Stacy: I write interracial romances because they are a preference and interest of mine personally. I think interracial romances are beautiful and very exciting. I always loved books and movies that centered on them and I enjoy writing those types of romances.

Amy: Will all your books have aspects of interracial relationships in them?

Stacy: I can’t say if all will. I write what comes to me and what’s right for the story but the majority of my books will definitely be interracial romances. My books also contain regular romances between other characters that might not be the main characters, so usually there is more than a few couples in my novels. Along with the crime and mystery of course. LOL!

Amy: I know you are currently working on your 4th book after writing Divas in '05, Everlasting in '07, and Melody in '08. Your newest book "Giving Up the Ghost" will publish in 2011....can you give us a "taste" of the story?

Stacy: Would love to! Here’s a sneak peek of Giving up the Ghost coming April 2011. It’s the first installment in my detective and interracial romance series:

Albany Detective Brianna “Bree” Morris is having the year from hell. A sadistic admirer has been stalking her for months and now her friend Cheyenne Wilson has been beaten and left for dead.

With her ex-lover and faithful partner, Steven Kemp, Bree thrusts herself into the case. It’s not long before they believe two unrelated British men are connected to the attack. Michael is a womanizing artist with a ferocious appetite for rough sex. Simon is a wealthy free spirit looking for love in all the wrong places, but has one too many skeletons in his closet.  Bree struggles to determine fact from fiction when it comes to Michael and Simon, but her attempts are blurred by Michael's manipulation and her sexual attraction to Simon, who Steven is convinced cannot be trusted. 

Meanwhile the stalker does everything in his power to get close to Bree and his obsession evokes a spiral of violence. 

Bree must trust her heart to find answers but her heart leads her to the most dangerous man of all.

Amy: Stacy, it sounds so intriguing! I can't wait to read it!  You are a busy lady writing so many books in a fairly short period of time. Do you write full time?

Stacy: Yes I am writing full time right now.  It's funny, I wish I'd had more books out at this point but the publishing industry is very slow. LOL.

Amy: What advice do you have for up and coming writers that want to follow the dream of writing their first book?

Stacy: I want them to know it won’t be easy if they hope to seek publication. I also want them to be realistic and realize that writing is hard work. There is a difference between writing a first draft and writing something that is publishable. It takes a lot of skill, learning and hard work to write something that is good enough to be published. I’d also let them know that rarely is your first book published. I’d written twelve books before my first published book. It’s not an easy career, believe me. I’d also tell anyone they’d better love writing and do it because they love it because there is no guarantee you’ll ever get published.

Amy: Stacy, thank you so much for being here today and for giving us such an honest perspective on your writing and the "writing world" in general. It's been a pleasure having an interracial fiction writer on my blog and I just wish you so much continued success! Congratulations on your new book, I'm truly looking forward it!

Stacy: Thanks so much, Amy! I enjoyed being here and I enjoy your blog very much. To the readers and IR fans out there, keep a look out for my work and check out my web site to keep up with me: http://www.stacy-deanne.net/