Seressia Glass: Blog Me

Seressia February 28th, 2008

I blogged over at the League of Reluctant Adults today.  My topic was about, what else? Black books in the AA section of some bookstores.  Check out the blog and any comments here.

Also, tomorrow I’m chatting with my co-authors in the What White Boyz Want anthology in the Interracial/Multicultural Romance Readers group on MSN. We’re chatting at 9PM EST, so even you West Coasters can join in the fun! You have to get a password for the chat system, so it might be a good idea to go early now to get a password.

Hope to see you there!

• Writing , Blog
• Comments(0)

Seressia February 21st, 2008

For some reason, my weekly Harlequin newsletter didn’t mention it (and neither did the front page) but Kimani romances are currently 40% off.  If you haven’t read one (or have non-multicultural friends who haven’t read one) point them to this link and tell them to get their shop on.

• Publishing , Blog
• Comments(1)

Seressia February 20th, 2008

It being a lunar eclipse and all, I decided to do some housekeeping.  Everyone with a Russian email address has been deleted.  Don’t take it personally–glasnost is great, spam is not.

As for the legitimate commenters, I’m trying to ind the source of the issues.   If you can’t post, please use the contact form (also fixed now) and let me know.

• Blog
• Comments(0)

Seressia February 17th, 2008

So yesterday, my sister and I went to the Michael C. Carlos Museum on Emory University’s campus. This museum is most famous for having the mummy of Ramesses I and donating it back to the Cairo Museum in Egypt. I went because my sister and I have both long been fascinated with Ancient Egypt, and they have a great collection. They also just opened a special exhibition of Nubian Treasures and I wanted to see it.

For $20, my sister and I got admission to the museum and the audio tour. The Nubian exhibition was great and did what it was supposed to do–made me hungry to know more about this ancient civilization that gave the 25th Dynasty to Egypt. I’ve been doing some research ostensibly for an urban fantasy and my hero is an immortal Nubian, but really I’m completely fixated on the history.

The exhibit was awesome, and I bought some books from the museum store that will further my research.  There are lectures coming up later this month and next that I hope to attend as a human sponge.  I won’t be able to work on that urban fantasy for a while, but I’m so glad the exhibit’s there.

After the museum, we went to the movies.  Unfortunately at 4 pm, there was only one show we wouldn’t have to wait 40 minutes for: Jumper, based on a 1992 novel by Stephen Gould.  Apparently Regal Theaters has abolished not only the matinee, but the $9 ticket.  Jumper cost us $10 each.  Add to that $7 for a large popcorn (we stopped and bought candy and sodas at a convenience store) and the movie cost more than our museum trip did.

As for the movie, all I can hope is that the book is better.  Too many holes and unanswered questions.  How does a guy in Post-911 America get through airport security with a backpack stuffed with loose cash?  If the NSA knows who he is (Samuel L Jackson visits his apartment) then why not flag his passport so he can’t fly out of the country with his girlfriend?  ANd please don’t get me started on the girlfriend.

The bottom line is, no more so-so movies for me.  If movies are going to cost me $20 (I can’t go without my popcorn) then it better be a fla-damn movie from now on.  Otherwise, I’m going to buy books instead.

• Life , Blog
• Comments(0)

Seressia February 17th, 2008

>***PERMISSION TO FORWARD GRANTED***
>
>
>There’s 1 Month left to register to win $1500.00 towards the cost of
>RWA National Conference in San Francisco!
>
>
>Valley Forge Romance Writers
>presents
>The 1st Annual VFRW Writers’ Rafflemania
>to benefit the Sheila A. Conway Memorial Fund
>
>The Prize: $ 1,500.00 Check
>
>To Defray Your Costs For…
>2008 RWA National Conference Fee
>(Held In San Francisco, CA,
>July 30 - August 2, 2008)
>4 Nights Hotel Accommodations
>Roundtrip Airfare To San Francisco
>Raffle tickets cost $5.00 each or (3) for $10.00.
>Grand Prize drawn on March 28, 2008.
>
>Any checks received after March 7, 2008 will be returned.
>Prize is non-transferable.
>All entries must be postmarked by February 29, 2008.
>
>For a printed copy of these rules, send a self-addressed stamped
>envelope to
>VFRW Rafflemania, PO Box 248, Lenni, PA 19052.
>
>Valley Forge Romance Writers’ Rafflemania Rules:
>
>The Prize: Winner will receive a check in the amount of $1,500.00 to
>be used for one 2008 RWA National conference registration fee, one
>single room, including tax, single room rate for July 30 through
>August 2nd, 2008 at the San Francisco Marriot, the conference
>location, and one round trip coach class airfare. Winner is
>responsible for registering for the conference and for making their
>own travel reservations and itinerary. The total amount awarded will
>be $1,500.00 regardless of total cost of conference, hotel and
>flights to winner. No amount over $1,500.00 will be reimbursed and
>any extra monies due are the sole responsibility of the winner. Prize
>package is non-transferable for any reason and non-refundable.
>
>To Enter: All raffle sales are final. There will be no refund of
>raffle chances for any reason. By entering the raffle you acknowledge
>that you have read and agree to the conditions and rules as listed on
>the VFRW website and/or VFRW Rafflemania flyer. Raffle chances are
>valid only for the San Francisco, 2008 RWA National Conference.
>Contest is open only to residents of the United States and members in
>good standing of Romance Writers of America who are at least 18 years
>old as of February 29, 2008. All funds must be received in US
>currency drawn on a US bank or money order.
>
>To enter USING WHITE 3″X5″ CARD(s), Print The Following:
>Name, Address, Phone Number
>RWA Number
>Email Address
>Place your raffle cards in an envelope along with a check or money
>order for the appropriate amount.
>
>Make Check or Money Order payable to: VFRW
>Mail your 3″X 5″ card(s) and check or money order to:
>VFRW Rafflemania
>P.O. Box 248
>Lenni, PA 19052
>
>A confirmation of receipt will be sent out via email but raffle
>chances will not be valid until all funds clear. If a check is
>returned for insufficient funds, the entrant will be notified by
>email that they are no longer eligible and the check will be
>shredded. It is up to the entrant to send another check to re-enter
>the contest (including any NSF fees incurred by VFRW) postmarked by
>the deadline of February 29, 2008.
>
>Any raffle entries received that are not on white, 3″X5″ cards will
>be pulled, the entrant notified and given a chance to correct the
>error before the contest deadline. If the entrant does not provide
>the correct 3″X5″ card entry postmarked by the February 29, 2008
>deadline, the check will be shredded and the entrant will not be
>eligible for the drawing.
>
>The Drawing: All 3″X5″ raffle tickets will be placed in a large bin
>for a random drawing on March 28, 2008. Winner will be notified by
>phone on or about March 28, 2008.
>
>The Winner: For IRS tax purposes, the winner must supply in writing
>his/her social security number before receiving the prize check. A
>1099 form will be issued to the winner by Valley Forge Romance
>Writers. If the winner does not supply his/her social security number
>in writing by April 15, 2008 to the president, vice-president or
>treasurer of VFRW, the prize is forfeit. Any and all taxes are the
>responsibility of the winner. The winner agrees to allow VFRW to use
>his/her name and/or likeness for publicity purposes.
>
>Winner agrees to hold VFRW blameless for any credit card finance
>charges incurred, and from liability for events beyond control,
>including an act of God, conference cancellation and/or hotel
>overflow. If the official conference hotel site does not have any
>rooms available, the winner is welcome to make reservations at an
>overflow hotel; however, no amount above the $1,500.00 will be
>reimbursed.
>
>Questions: may be directed to ask_vfrw at yahoo dot com.

• Writing , Blog
• Comments(0)

Seressia February 15th, 2008

After recovering from a slight cold that prevented me from speaking at Roswell Regional Library this past Monday, I’d let you know about a couple of chats you can listen to in the comfort of your home!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29

I’ll be on the “Poetry & Prose & Anything Goes with Dr. Ni” show on BlogTalkRadio.com from 2-3 PM EST.  Click here for more information.

Later that evening at 9 PM EST, I’ll be chatting with my fellow authors in the WHAT WHITE BOYZ WANT anthology in the Interracial and Multicultural Readers group on MSN.  Click here to find out more about the group.  They are a very lively group of ladies (and a few guys!) and if you’ve ever wondered what book you should or shouldn’t read, this group will let you know!  (PS: I have it on good authority that copies of WWBW will be given away!)

• Blog
• Comments(0)

Seressia February 12th, 2008

When people tell you that your story ideas are far-fetched and set up unrealistic expectations , just point them toward France.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy married married former supermodel Carla Bruni just nine weeks after they first met.

“for us, it even seemed slow,” says Bruni. “I know you don’t get married in an instant and that even more, we were in the spotlight. But lovers, you know, have their own sense of time.”

I like that.  Lovers…have their own sense of time.  Quel romantic!

From People.com 

• Writing , Life , Blog
• Comments(0)

Seressia February 11th, 2008

This weekend I’ve been over at Teach Me Tonight adding comments to a post called “Voyage of Discovery” in which Sarah Frantz shares some romance books that she’s introducing her class to.  Jane Austen, Jenny Cruisie, Loretta Chase, Suzanne Brockmann are the main books, then alternates could be Emma Holly (erotic romance) or Francine Rivers (inspirational.)  She opened the semester with Monica Jackson’s free online read, The Choice.

Did I mention that the class consists of all black women?  Kimberly Kay Terry pointed out the need for these women to be exposed to black romances, and rightfully so.  Sarah has substituted Loretta Chase with Beverly Jenkins, which I think is a great choice.  (I’m not a fangirl–if I didn’t squee over meeting Coretta Scott King back in the day, I’m not going to squee over meeting a writer–but Beverly Jenkins writes a great historical romance with realistic black people doing something besides being slaves.)

Talk progressed well, but there were some assumptions (it’s been a couple of weeks for assumptions–see my whole Super Tuesday post for my thoughts on people assuming things about me because I’m black.)  There was an assumption that black people only read books by black authors.  This isn’t true, especially in romance.  The survey I spoke about earlier this weekend proved that black people do buy books by non-black people.  I have to wonder, however, how many white people buy books, romances or otherwise, by black authors.

I admit, I got irritated.  This assumption irritates me to no end.  The conversation went to people wanting to read about people who are like them (a specious argument, given the glut of paranormals and historicals out there) to well obviously readers are more accepting of other ethnicities in their books because look at all the white authors putting black people in their stories.

Excuse me while I roll my eyes.

Why is it that when people talk about the invisibles of romance, they mention all the white people who are breaking ground and being daring by including black characters?  At least they admit that they were supporting roles–hey, we’ve been the all-wise, joke-cracking, sexless sidekick for years.  Let me break it down for you:

1. Black romances have been around for more than a decade.

2. The black experience is rich and varied–and so are the characters in black romances.

3. You can’t say that “mainstream” readers are accepting of black characters in lead roles when black romances by black authors aren’t on any bestsellers list.  Kayla Perrin and Brenda Jackson have both made the USA Today extended, but I think we can (assumption warning) count on one hand the black romance authors who’ve cracked the top 100.

4. Black romances are not “fringe”.

Sometimes I despair of ever getting my point across.  I think I understand why Monica got tired of doing this.

• Blog , romance racism
• Comments(0)

Seressia February 9th, 2008

Then you should check out some of the results of this survey that Blackromancereader posted on her blog.

Actually, if you really want to know more, you can download the full PDF yourself from here.

Some interesting points:

When asked the question Why haven’t more African-American authored books gained large mainstream
readership? 62% of the respondents said that most African-American authored books are only marketed and distributed to an African-American audience.
When asked “Was the last book you read written by an African-American author?” 52% of respondents said no.

Hhm, so black people don’t just buy black books. Who’d a thunk it?

When asked what was most important to their social standing, respondents listed a stable family first, a good education second.

• Blog , romance racism
• Comments(0)

Seressia February 7th, 2008

No, I don’t mean it like that.  I just heard (and went to verify) that Nocturne is going for short stories for an eBook program called Nocturne Bites.  The length is 10,000 - 15,000 words.  Both published and unpublished can submit, though unpubs need to submit the entire manuscript.

Many of the elements that make a successful Silhouette Nocturne remain true for Nocturne Bites. Stories should deliver a dark, highly sensual read that will entertain readers and take them from everyday life to an atmospheric, complex world filled with characters struggling with life and death issues. A strong alpha hero is of the utmost importantance—he should be powerful, mysterious and totally attractive to the heroine.

While action-packed and mission-oriented, the scope of these stories should be more contained, with more focus turned to character development. All stories should be capable of standing alone; all loose ends need to be tied up, and the relationship between hero and heroine should resolve itself in a satisfying manner.

You can read the full announcement here.

• Writing , Publishing , Blog
• Comments(0)