WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

Release Day Update:

BN.com is already out of stock! While they await a new shipment, you can still place your order at Amazon.com or at www.parkerbordeauxbooks.com. Thank You!!

WHERE CREDIT IS DUE [SEPTEMBER 30, 2010]

We're 24 hours away from the official release, and today is the last day to get the book at BN.com for the special "preorder" price of $8.73. Save over 30%!!!

Write ready for a challenge?

Writer's Digest Popular Fiction Awards

Deadline: November 2, 2010

The Grand Prize-Winner will receive a trip to the Writer's Digest Conference in New York City, $2,500 cash, $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books and the 2011 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market.

The First Place-Winner in each of the five categories receives $500 cash, $100 worth of Writer's Digest Books and the 2011 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market.

Honorable Mentions will receive promotion in Writer's Digest and the 2011 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market.

Compete and Win in All 5 Categories
Romance
Mystery/Crime Fiction
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Thriller/Suspense
Horror

Click here for a breakdown of genre and sub-genre definitions.

Click here for details, FAQ's and to enter!

WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

After witnessing the miraculous recovery of her young son after he was critically injured in a car accident, Leandra Brooks is reborn in every sense of the word. With her faith renewed and old wrongs righted, she feels ready to take on the world. Little does she know, life is about to afford her the biggest opportunity yet to test her faith as well as that of those around her.

For Vince Mitchell, the God-given new sparkle in Leandra’s eyes is just the sign he was waiting for. However, when the winds of change blow in some serious competition and news of Leandra’s mother’s devastating medical condition, Vince finds himself on the losing end of a tug-of-war for Leandra’s attention.

At some point in life’s journey, everyone reaches the intersection of fear and faith, tears and trust. In our own time, we discover that the road gets easier for those who ultimately learn to give credit…


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Prince of Egypt? No Problem...???

I was delighted when my son Mykal watched The Prince of Egypt (Dreamworks Pictures 1998) and loved the movie as much as I did when I saw it for the first time. True to form, being like most children, he wanted to watch the movie again and again. I had no problem with that. Then about a month before his sixth birthday, he decided that all he needed in this world was a Moses and a Ramses figure to play with.

I could not remember ever having seen any toys from the movie, and even if any were made, that was over a decade ago. I did a quick internet search and found no Moses or Ramses. Mykal was adamant that I look again. This time I refined my search, and much to my surprise, Dreamworks had made some Prince of Egypt toys but in short supply. They are now collector's items with varying hefty price tags. I saw Moses, Zipporah, and the camel (lots of camels) but no Rames. So once again, I was stumped.

When I told Mykal that I was not going to be able to buy him the figures, he said (without so much as a blink), "You can make me some." I was proud that my son had such confidence in "Super Mommy," but this time I felt like I was in over my head. However, you know I do try to move the world for my children on their birthdays, so not having a Moses and a Ramses was out of the question.
Enter: the black Malibu beach Ken dolls.

I had watched the movie a half-dozen times even before Mykal made me watch it two dozen more, so I had a pretty good image in mind of these two characters. I thought of the best way to capture their essence with the least amount of headache. Lucky for me, the two did not wear much in the way of chothes in the movie. The short "skirts" I could accomplish with little effort and very little fabric. Enter: an old white sock. (Really). With no sewing at all (thanks to super glue), I fashioned the skirts and finished them with thin gold ribbon.

Their scarce clothing alone would not do. In order to make them authentic, they had to have the royal accessories. You remember the bicept bands and bracelets? Enter: those little fake wedding bands you can get about 200 for $1. I beaded two little "necklaces" onto craft wire and attached these to two more wedding bands. I broke a nail bending these to fit on all the strategic places, but after the jewelry was added, they really did start to look kind of like the characters. I knew that the very last thing that would transform the chocolate Kens in to Moses and Ramses were the headresses.

I looked for a doll wig for Moses' bob but had no luck. I thought about using black t-shirt fabric but could not get the folds to lay right to look enough like hair (from a distance, with one eye closed). Later, more out of desperation than ingenuity, I settled on cutting up a pair of black stockings. Add some thin gold ribbon for the band, and Moses has a bob (sort of).

Rames, of course, being the Pharoh had to have just the right look. Enter: the remainder of the old white sock, more gold ribbon, and a (what's that thing, a crown?) made with more craft wire, a gold button and another wedding band.

Just like in the movie, Moses can remove his wig, but due to an unfortunate incident with the super glue, the pharoh's headress is permanent. (If that thing comes off, the head is going with it.)

All in all, it was a pretty interesting project and I was proud of the finished product. I was even more pleased that Mykal liked them, because after all, that was the whole point.



Ahh...the things mothers do for their chidren...

Anybody know how to safely remove super glue from hands and nails?

The Haunting Intersection of Fact and Fiction

I added the novel Leaving Atlanta to my shelf some time ago, but a recent CNN news article has brought the story to my attention again. Here is a little more information about the book and the author from her own website, www.tayarijones.com:

Tayari Jones was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia where she spent most of her childhood with the exception of the one year she and her family spent in Nigeria, West Africa. Although she has not lived in her hometown for over a decade, much of her writing centers on the urban south. “Although I now live in the northeast,” she explains, “my imagination lives in Atlanta.”

Her first novel, Leaving Atlanta, is a coming of age story set during the city’s infamous child murders of 1979-81. Jones herself was in the fifth grade when thirty African American children were murdered from the neighborhoods near her home and school. When asked why she chose this subject matter for her first novel, she says, “This novel is my way of documenting a particular moment in history. It is a love letter to my generation and also an effort to remember my own childhood. To remind myself and my readers what it was like to been eleven and at the mercy of the world. And despite the obvious darkness of the time period, I also wanted to remember all that is sweet about girlhood, to recall all the moments that make a person smile and feel optimistic.”

Jones released another novel, The Untelling, in 2005.

This morning's challenge...

Even though it was short notice, I did something fun this morning. Checking my email, I ran across this Writer's Digest one-sentence contest:

For the September "Big 10" issue of Writer’s Digest we’re doing something a little different for the Your Story Contest. We’re featuring the 10 best story openers based on the [displayed photograph] incorporating the number 10. (This is a bonus contest that was not announced in the magazine.)

Here's how it works: Simply write the opening sentence to a story based on the picture below. Please limit your sentence to 35 words or fewer.


I thought about posting my entry here this morning but figured I should probably wait until the contest results were announced. If you are a writer and can beat the deadline (TODAY), you should give it a shot, or just for kicks, you can post what your entry would have been as a reply to this blog entry. (Remember, 35 words or fewer.)

ESSENCE asks: Where Is the Love?

In February, Essence covered the front of the magazine with Reggie Bush for its "Live your Fantasy" cover story featuring "10 of the sexiest men you've ever seen." That cover attracted far more attention than the editors ever expected. They got a boatload of letters like this one from a Baltimore reader..."I am saddened that ESSENCE chose to highlight Reggie Bush. There are so many other Black men, dating Black women, who would have made a great cover. This issue left a bitter taste in my mouth."

Although all of the feedback was not from people who had a problem with the magazine highlighting interracial relationships, that discussion does continue into the March Issue with the On Her Mind column, "Why it still hurts when a Black man chooses a woman from another race."

The February issue was just the beginning of the magazine's focus on the plight of Black love in the media. Also catching major attention are the online articles, including Black Love Under Media Attack and The Myth of the Perfect Man.

Literally Gems Book Club will get together this weekend to take this discussion to new heights. You and your friends and/or book club should do the same.

Orange Mint & Honey...Hmm...

I just figured out what I want to be when I grow up. A writer, of course. Nothing new here; It's what I've always done and what I've always wanted to do, but today I saw something that made me dream again. One of my writer friends posted a Facebook status update about an upcoming Lifetime movie called Sins of the Mother, starring Jill Scott. I had seen the movie preview a time or two but never knew the movie was based on a book. In fact, before today, it's sad to say I had never even heard of the title or the author: Orange Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice. And just like that, Carleen Brice is one of my new sheros as I can think of very few things I would like better than to have one of my books made into a movie, big screen or flat screen.

Essence magazine-endorsed Orange Mint and Honey was published in February of 2008, but a little research shows me that Carleen Brice has been on the scene for quite a while, having both fiction and non-fiction titles to her credit that date back to 2003, perhaps earlier.

I was a bit bothered by the fact that I'm finding out about this gem along with the masses who generally don't read. It is most certain that the book sales will skyrocket as the movie is advertised. Already Literally Gems is considering it for the book of the month at some point this year.

I'll be the first to admit that I am not a regular Lifetime Movie Network viewer (I'm more of an Investigation Discovery addict), but I will be tuning in this weekend to catch Sins of the Mother. Do I have time to read the book first?

Watch the trailer.
Buy the Book.
Check out the author.

The Little Feet in Haiti...

For a while I was trying to think of a literary way to support and/or help publicize relief efforts in Haiti. I have to admit, I was struggling for ideas. I mean, I sent a few donations via text-messaging and by clicking into a Red Cross link I found online, but I wanted to do something more, something related to books.

I considered researching Haitian authors and highlighting a few on the Literally Gems website just to encourage people to read and learn more about the culture. That's still not a bad idea. However, at work the other day a coworker mentioned that she had heard of a local husband and wife team (physicians) who were traveling to Haiti to assist in some of the smaller villages that have not received much help. They had the idea to request donations of old shoes to give to those who were walking barefoot through the streets and risking injury and infection.

Right away, I thought of the box of shoes under my boys' bunk beds. I had prepared to take them to the local Salvation Army, but of course now Haiti sounds like a much better destination. My boys loved these shoes and would still be wearing all of them now if 3 and 5-year-old boys didn't grow out of new shoes every other week. They are too young now to understand what their donation will mean to some other little boys so many miles away, but I hope they will grow into the kind of men that think of others before thinking of themselves.

The shoes are now on their way to an area not mentioned in the news as often as Port-au-Prince. I wish I could do so much more to make a tangible and lasting contribution, and, in some ways, maybe I have. One day, I will be able to pull this photo out again and remind my sons of the small gift they gave to the little feet in Haiti.

Raise Your Book: A Toast to A Year of Excellent Reads...

As the new year came in, I was reminded of just what it means to be a part of a book club...the opportunity to fellowship with a wonderful group of like-minded sisters who see an afternoon curled up with a good book as a mini-vacation...that once a month I am guaranteed a good date with great food and stimulating conversation...and that, yes, every once in a while, I will have to read a book that I would have never chosen for myself and that I have to will myself to keep turning the pages.

This month Literally GEMS Book Club is reading The Vow (Denene Millner, Angela Burt-Murray, and Mitzi Miller), and while I certainly would not have chosen this book for myself, it had it's redeemable moments, and I learned a lot about myself as a reader in the process. There will be two more books chosen by respective members of the club before it's my turn to choose the book of the month for April. Is there pressure to pick a book that absolutely everyone will love? Not really. We are a group of nine very different women, ten if you count the guest reader of the month. Chances are, not everyone will love every selection. Has it ever happened that everyone (finished) and was in love with the book of the month? Yes, I think I recall that happening once or twice. Then there were the times when the individual ratings for a selection (we give books one to five gems; one being "poor" and five being "excellent") have ranged from "4.75 gems--let's read it again") to "let's torture the member who chose that one."

No matter what the book or the projected rating, I always look forward to the meetings, the discussion, the various perspectives, and the moment when the new book of the month is revealed. I am very excited to have completed The Vow (whew!) and am truly looking forward to a new year of book-by-the-cover judging, first chapter skimming, margin note-taking, thematic menu creating, and character motivation arguments...

Won't you join us? www.literallygems.com

Run with it...

I had an unspoken agreement with myself not to blog about Michael Jackson. That's such a funny statement coming from me, who at age 8 was his "biggest fan." However, with such extensive coverage of his life and death over the past several days, I figured there would be no reason for me to add my two cents. Well, in the wee hours, something changed, and while I know somewhere in TV-land, even at this hour, there is a tribute of some sort still going on, I have to share the two lessons in life I got from the King of Pop loud and clear.

(1) Michael Jackson did his thing. Are you doing yours?

Sure we are going to miss him, but will he ever truly be gone? Think about it. He made his mark on the world a million times over. Whether or not he got everything right while he was here, he was given a gift to reach the masses, and he used it. When that much talent is invested into an individual (and we all have it on some level), you better believe there is a great deal of responsibility that goes with it. He certainly did not hide his light under a bushel but set it on a hill for all the world to see. He touched the world with the work of his hands (and feet), and he left a trail of light and inspiration for others to come after him and continue the work. Somewhere down the line, a spark he ignited has or will bring somebody to the knowledge of divine purpose.

(2) If you don't plan on dying early, take care of yourself.

Just like talent, good health is a gift from God, and just like talent, we are allowed to do whatever we want with it. If it is indeed possible for one to die before his or her time, Michael Jackson showed us how to do it. If he weighed a hundred pounds when he died, it was with all his clothes on. The man was frail -- and apparently deathly ill. No, you don't have to be sick to go when your time comes, but the fact remains that we are given one vessel, one body, in which to live out our lives and purpose. If we neglect it, abuse it, misuse it, our vessel can malfunction and stop short of what was intended.

Taking care of our physical bodies (eating right, getting enough rest and exercise, not ingesting recreational toxins, etc.) is our responsibility. Likewise, so is preserving our mental and spiritual health (through professionals if needed) but most especially through connecting with our Creator and daily unloading our hearts and minds so that we don't lose sleep, miss meals, or poison ourselves with an overdose of the same and the other harmful things we turn to for self-medication.

As I think about this, I'm reminded of my father, a very talented man I never got the chance to know because his life ended just as mine was beginning. I was 10, he was 28. Twenty-eight. Full of promise and inner demons that won the battle for his vessel. It is such a shame when very young people die. We say they died before their time, that they left their work undone. Is that possible? My father had his own set of goals and dreams that were never realized, but was his purpose fulfilled on earth? Well, I'm here. Maybe like Michael Jackson, my father's painfully short life was just the spark to light the torch I was intended to pick up and run with.

Are you running with yours?

"Your Black is Beautiful, Baby."

I'm not going to be able to be my usual flippant self in this entry. Something happened that made me just want to cry then dry my eyes and find somebody to smack. My heart-breakingly handsome, extremely thoughtful, highly sensitive and deliciously dark-skinned son informed me that he did not like his skin and wanted to be "just a little bit brown" instead. It took me off guard. I mean he's only four, and until now, I never knew he had a problem with his self image. Why does he have a problem with his self image? Can somebody tell me? I mean, really. Is there any good reason for a child that young to hate the skin he's in?

Anyone who knows us also knows that my son adores his mother. That's an understatement. The boy thinks I hang the sun every morning just for him. He was born his daddy's biggest rival for my attention, and he recently announced to his doctor with great pride that "Mommy is going to be my wife when I turn 25." So, knowing how he worships the skin I'm in, I pointed out that his skin ans my skin are close to the same shade. He quickly pointed out that his daddy and little brother are just "a little bit brown." I kept trying to find ways to quickly end the conversation until one look in his persistent and teary eyes told me he was very serious. Now it was my turn to start blinking back the sting behind my eyes. I needed something, anything to help me show him how beautiful his skin is. Then I saw it.

My new copy of Upscale magazine with Tyrese on the cover looking smooth wearing a tailored suit and all of his glorious blackness.

I showed him the magazine and asked him, "who does that look like?" He looked at the magazine, then at me, then back at the magazine and finally said with a piece of a smile, "Me?" I smiled back at him. We talked about how cool the man looked and how special he must be to be on the front of Mommy's book. When the conversation waned, he asked, "Am I really going to look like that when I get 25?" (because to him 25 is grown up).

My answer: "Yep, well, that is if you don't turn into just a little bit brown." He had a puzzled look on his face and asked, "Mommy, do you like that boy [Tyrese]?" I knew where his thoughts were going. "Oh, yes, baby," I said, "you know Mommy loves a chocolate man." I hugged him close, and after about a minute he pulled away, head held high, bird-chest puffed out. "Then I'm going to be a chocolate man just like that boy!"

Those. Those are the moments that both warm and pain a mother's heart.

Just when you complain about not finding enough time to write, fate turns your toe and puts you on crutches with an acute fracture of the fifth phalanx. Now it's just me and the laptop. Who will I blame now if my characters just sit and stare at each other? Wow. I just thought of something. I may be on crutches for my trip to Vegas. Nice. Let's see how long it takes me to get through the security checkpoint. And how am I supposed to wear my presentation powersuit in this contraption on my foot. Does anyone know where I can find some stylish orthopedic platforms?

Black Writer's Reunion & Conference 2009

Although the Black Writer's Reunion & Conference has been a favorite writer's haven for several years, this will be my first time attending. I have the added pleasure of being a conference presenter this year, educating fellow and aspiring writers on the growing virtues of a career in Technical Writing.

This year's conference will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the beautiful Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino. Check out the event and list of scheduled presenters (which include ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Gwyne Forster, Lutishia Lovely, and many more) at www.blackwriters.org. Don't let the conference venue fool you. Whether you are aspiring writer, and accomplished author, and avid reader or all of the above, BWRC 2009 will definitely not be a gamble. You are guaranteed a memorable experience! I hope to see you there!

If for some reason you cannot make it, be sure to check back here for photos of the event and conference highlights.

Back at it...

People kept asking me to leave the Senegal trip photos and journal up. I think finally the interest has waned. I (think) I have done my final formal presentation on the trip and everything I learned. So, now it's time to move forward with the blogging. Admittedly, if you know me, you know I keep a written journal that I'm much more dedicated to. I can never seem to stay faithful to this blogging thing, but I'm going to try...again. (Perhaps if I stay off the social networking sites--the latest craze being facebook--I would have more to say here every day.) I do see the value in it. It's a way to stay connected to those who may care to see my perspective on the world or those who are intent on following my writing...I owe you a lot, by the way...

So, my thought for today...
Is there a way to put the benefits of sleep into a capsule? I swear there are not enough hours in the day to get stuff done. We say it all the time, and we hear it all the time. I was reading once that Einstein slept 12 hours a day...12 hours!? I kept reading that thinking surely they must have meant 1 - 2 hours. (I mean, really, does he look rested to you?)

How could anybody be that productive sleeping half of the day? It's hard enough for me to get six hours and feel like I'm getting anything done. I know that means I have too much going on in my life...too many distractions. I suppose if I were more focused on what really matters (and less on the things we feel we just "have to do," my waking hours would be more productive and I could sign out for 12 hours too...

A Brief Senegal Slideshow...

I would never have guessed it, but I took nearly 800 pictures while in Senegal! Even flickr.com wouldn't let me upload them all without paying for a pro account (which I'm still considering). In the meantime, I thought you all might enjoy a slideshow of my favorite memories from the trip. Enjoy!

A Day Like Any Other?

I did this for my boys today.

It's the first "Stars and Stripes" cake I have ever made. But what better way to instill a sense of patriotism in a 2 year old and a 4 year old than with cake?

They are napping right now, but they will see it when they wake up--just in time to join a few friends and family members for a barbecue and to play on the swings in the backyard. What a life they have. Right now, they have no concept of what it means to have won one's independence. It will be years still before they fully understand the tumultuous history of this country and what this day represents.

Although I worry about the world they have to grow up in, I thank God that they are here now rather than 50+ years ago. Perhaps it is my recent return from Africa that inspired the thought this morning, but one of the first phrases that came to mind was "What to the Slave is the 4th of July?", so I thought I would post a link to Frederick Douglass's Independence Day Speech at Rochester, 1852.

Independence...how sweet it is.

Still organizing...

...and writing captions. For those of you who just must see some photos RIGHT NOW (which apparently is everyone I have talked to in the last few days), I will share with you the flickr files of a few of my fellow travellers who went and were kind enough to share (and quick enough to have theirs up already).

The photos here are credited to Emily Williams (who I believe slept with her camera in her hand. Every time I saw her, she was zooming in on something) : Emily's Photos

The photos here are credited to Brian Hill (who thoroughly enjoyed the trip and single-handedly boosted the local economy by buying everything that wasn't nailed down--oh yeah, he made some friends): Brian's Photos


Photos from other trips are on both of their sites. Be sure to click on the Senegal albums.