My sister Chrissy Love is a radio personality in The Bahamas – and a certified patchouli-wearing hippie. Where I’m tightly wound, she is loose as a goose. Probably comes from living in the land of endless sunshine, pristine beaches, and Bacardi Gold. Whenever I stress about the possibility of something going belly up, she tells me that I must relax and affirm a positive outcome.
I’m generally not a relaxer and affirmer; I am more of a planner and a strategizer. Lately, though, I am beginning to think that she has the solution for the author who always seems like that dog that keeps chasing its tail. And we all know what George Clinton said about that.
It is very easy to become consumed with the business aspect of storytelling. Every day, I receive Publishers Lunch via e-mail and learn which associate editor got promoted to editor, and which editor became an executive editor at [you, reader, can insert the name of any publishing house here]. I also devour columns by journalists [...]
Two Saturdays ago, I worked the Capital BookFest. For the uninitiated, the Capital BookFest is held on the grounds of the Boulevard at the Capital Centre in Largo, Maryland, treating attendees to readings, panel discussions, children’s storytelling, conversations, and talks by a wide variety of authors from different genres. The Borders Superstore was the center [...]
When I signed my book deal, an editor asked me to identify possible markets for my fiction. Dutifully, I included my ancestral home – The Bahamas – on the list. Immediately, the editor, though sweetly, told me that The Bahamas was not a viable book market.
Reflexively, I was offended. Though I am an American, [...]
Last week, Amazon decided to drop the price of its Kindle e-reader to $299. Apparently, they’ve been making so much money on the thing that they were able to pass the savings on to the customer.
From Cover to Cover radio show hosts ReShonda Tate Billingsley and Pat Tucker discussed the “HarperCollins Experiment” on their May 7 show. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the show. Nor, for some strange technical reason, could I listen to the archived version. I assume from the show’s PR blurb that the “HarperCollins Experiment” they mean is [...]
A recent episode of Ugly Betty proved to be rather timely. To give you the Cliff Notes, Daniel Mead and Wilhemina Slater came to D.C. to ask Congress for a bailout of the Mead magazine publishing empire, which was slowly hemorrhaging money. The great Vanessa Williams played her role as Wilhemenia to the hilt. I [...]
Two years ago, I wrote an entry here called The Grinch That Stole Valentine’s Day. In it, I advocated boycotting the manufactured holiday just on G.P., that real love meant showing your significant others year-round how much they mean to you in more substantive ways than gifts, flowers, and candy. When I wrote the post [...]
Living in the DC area, I’ve been excited about the Inauguration since November 4, when Barack Obama became simply “44.”
