Seressia Glass: Blog Me

Seressia April 23rd, 2007

Atlanta’s Literary Community Rallies Against Newspaper’s Elimination of Book Review Editor Position - 4/19/2007 9:32:00 AM - Publishers Weekly

So the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently eliminated their Book Review Editor. They claim that the section itself isn’t going away, just the position as it had been for years. The new position would manage the book reviews section, which will be populated by wire feeds and other sources.

So why is this a bad idea? Well, those wire services wouldn’t have a local slant for one. In a city and paper that gave rise to Margaret Mitchell, Lewis Grizzard and so many others, to a state that has a plethora of notable writers all across the spectrum, this can only be seen as a blow to the literary community. And yes, there is a literary community here. Atlanta is #15 on a list of most literate cities ahead of New York, Charleston, Miami, and many others. Last year, in this report, we made #3.

Granted, romance books weren’t even a gleam in this book editor’s eye, for the most part. But if headway had been made before, that forward motion has been stymied now. National feeds will only forward news of national interest, so only those big blockbuster books will get mentioned on the Books page going forward. Discovering a hometown gem will be rendered impossible.

This from a paper who is the primary sponsor of the Decatur Book Festival Labor Day weekend.

There is a petition online that you can add your name to, brought to you by the folks at the National Book Critics Circle. You can read the petition and add your name by clicking here.

More info:

Wordsmiths

Critical Mass National Book Critics Circle blog

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Seressia April 16th, 2007

“The received image of a writer is that of an unproductive sensitive who suffers from the vapors, is enslaved by his gonads, falls victim to romantic swoons and passes out at deadlines.”

- George V Higgins, Harper’s September 1984

I wish I could talk more on this subject today, Dear Readers, but frankly I am traumatized. Two deadlines loom over my head like twin Swords of Damocles: taxes and a novella. Both are filled with similarly agonizing stresses that leave me almost not wanting to eat my Mongolian Beef entree.

Almost. I can’t stress if I don’t have the energy, now can I?

I’ll post more on deadlines and other muse-killers over at Blogging in Black on Friday. Hope to see you there!

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Seressia April 15th, 2007

I will be a columnist over at Blogging in Black beginning this week.  My posts will appear once a month on the 20th.  I’m thrilled they invited me to blog there

Also, for those in the Houston area, look for me at the Romantic Times convention starting April 25th!  There will be a huge booksigning on Saturday featuring more than 300 authors.  If you’re not attending the convention, you can still come to the signing for a $5 admission fee.  Hope to see ou there!

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Seressia April 12th, 2007

Click here to read the full article.
On June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling in the case of Loving v. Virginia. In their decision, the highest court in the land struck down a Virginia ruling that criminalized the union of Richard Loving, white, and his wife Mildred, black.

(Hope no one thinks these were activist judges)

Since that ruling, which also toppled laws in some 15 other states, IR marriages have climbed: marriages between blacks and whites have increased from 65,000 in 1970 to 422,000 in 2005, according to Census Bureau figures.

Unfortunately, it is still more acceptable for black male-white female pairings than white male-black female. The article states:

“In some categories of interracial marriage, there are distinct gender-related trends. More than twice as many black men marry white women as vice versa, and about three-fourths of white-Asian marriages involve white men and Asian women.”

Really, why is it okay for the male to go outside of his race, but not the female? Someone needs to do a paper on that.

As a writer of interracial and multicultural romances, I’ve always tried to show that, despite apparent differences, there are common things that unite us: the quest for love, acceptance, and family. Whether you find that with someone who looks like you, has the same parts you do, or just accepts you as you, my wish is that you do find that.

The article concludes:

“Malignant racial biases can and do reside in interracial liaisons,” [Harvard law professor Randall] Kennedy wrote. “But against the tragic backdrop of American history, the flowering of multiracial intimacy is a profoundly moving and encouraging development.”

I don’t think I can add anymore to that. Peace and blessings.

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Seressia April 11th, 2007

We’ve had a busy couple of days, Dear Readers.

Duke lacrosse players cleared of all charges. Don Imus and his producer insulting a female college basketball team. Thousands of nameless faceless folks all over the country weighing in on both, pointing the finger at the black community.

Maybe they should.

Read on before you start blasting me. I don’t excuse anyone in this mess. I don’t excuse Imus and his producer (who should also be reprimanded.) People who make their living by talking should know by now what words should and shouldn’t come out of their mouths. I don’t excuse the DA or the “victim” in the Duke case. They’ve just made it that much more difficult for real victims to get support and understanding.

And I certainly don’t excuse the people who have proliferated the use of “hos” and other assorted words to such a degree that others think it’s acceptable to use the words when talking about people they don’t know.

Neither do I excuse the people who point fingers at the entire black community for accepting double standards and use rap music as the prime example of said standard.

Psst. Here’s a little secret. Non-black people buy rap music too. Non-black people produce rap music. Non-black people sign new artists to their labels. Non-black businesses sign marketing agreements with rappers. Non-black people have been known to rap. (I have actually witnessed it with my own eyes).  http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB111521814339424546-jbiOjTvHax_46Lh8icANlyR2buk_20071216.html?mod=blogs
May I hold the mirror while you stare into it? I’ll try to keep it steady.

There are words that, at this point in American history, should not be “owned” by a culture or group. The N-word is one of them. Hos is another. The C-word (as in C U Next Tuesday) is one I particularly despise. (Might make my foray into erotic romance difficult, but if I sell one it will be on the condition that if that word gets used in my story, the speaker will get slapped.)

Simply put, these words were never meant to be nice words. They were always meant to degrade and inflame. Perhaps this is just my Southern Sensibility coming to the fore, but if you wouldn’t call your mamma or your sister by that term, don’t use it on anyone else.

And to the finger-pointers, four words: do something about it. Start a campaign or boycott or petition. As for me, I’m trying to do my part by showing my heroes and heroines as accomplished, contributing members of society who are part of the human race. I show them as examples of what we can be when we refuse to let labels define us.

And so many people play the race card, and they don’t realize they’ve dealt themselves a losing hand.
Peace and blessings.

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Seressia April 4th, 2007

I’m taking the next couple of days away from the Internet. (Gasp! Thud!) It’s necessary, as I have a novella due Monday and an outline for another to create and send in at the same time. I love being busy on fiction projects (and having the work, lol) but the deadline pressure isn’t for the faint of heart–or the pantser.

If you don’t know, the pantser is the writer who “waits for inspiration to strike” and then runs with a story idea. No outline, no synopsis, just a general idea in her head of the beginning middle and end of the story. She allows the characters to “talk” to her and through her, believing the end result will be a sparkling vibrant piece of literary steak.

Yeah. Doesn’t quite work when you have contracts and deadlines and a day job. Turns into chopped liver pretty quickly.
I try not to be a complete pantser anymore. It is a luxury I simply can no longer afford if I want to build a career. Unforunately, I have a Crow mentality. I am distracted easily by the sparkly. As in, “Gianni’s motivation is that he always gets who he wants, when he wants because he–ooh, shiny!”

So I at least attempt to write down a one page synopsis or story concept. Even if I don’t look at it often, I know it’s there for those instances when I become paralyzed by that frickin’ blinking cursor on that very empty screen.  I still pants it when it comes to dialogue.  I love to get my characters to talk to each other–their personalities really shine that way.  I think that also helps to avoid Big Mistunderstanding Syndrome, in which the main issue between the hero and heroine could be solved by just talking to each other for five minutes.

Speaking of which, my five minutes for this post are up. I must finishing packing ot go check myself into a hotel room tomorrow.  See you next week!

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