Book Promotion for An Angry Ass Black Woman

It's June 22nd . . . time for me to start getting my promotion game in gear for my new book, An Angry Ass Black Woman. I would advise everyone to start really pushing their book as soon as as they get a jpeg for the book cover. And the first thing step should be getting postcards.

I ordered 500 postcards on June 4th, and was out by June 11th. I attended the Go On Girl! Book Club annual conference, stopped by a literary panel -- moderated by Vanessa Irvin Morris, and featured Nakea Murray as one of the panelists -- at the Celebration of Black Writers Conference, and attended the Black Pack Party hosted by Troy Johnson, Linda Duggins, and Ron Kavanaugh. So, I ordered another 500 postcards and went through those in about two weeks. I'm picking up another 1,000 this weekend.

Let me give you all a tip . . . postcards are an author's best friend! I usually order 5,000 at a time, although I'm doing small numbers right now for a reason I'll explain later. Another tip: Don't bother putting your picture on the postcards. No one cares what the author looks like. And it's not likely that your picture will be in the bookstores when people go browsing looking for books.

One side of the postcards should feature your book cover. You can also add a banner announcing the release date of the book if it's not out yet - as is the case of An Angry Ass Black Woman. On the other side of the postcard should be: The book title, the author, ISBN, the publisher, the synopsis, and someplace for the reader to go for more information i.e. your website or Facebook page, and contact info (I use my twitter and facebook page)

I'm showing an example here. My actual postcards have a white background on the back, but I "yellowed" it here so that it would show up. Also, I've lost some of the formatting while attempting to upload it to this blog, but my title is usually centered, bolded, and underlined.

What do I do with the postcards? Well, if I know someone is having a book signing I'll stop by and ask if they'd put one of my postcards in all of the books they sell.

I get to conferences early, and place a postcard in all the empty seats so that in order for someone to sit down they have to pick up my postcard.

When I have to go out to take care of business I make it a point to go to the restrooms, on each floor, and place a card in each stall.

I give them out to the toll booth clerk whenever I go through a toll.

I go up to people reading books and offer them information on a new book about to be released.

I go to bookstores, and give people a card on their way out.

Yep, I do all that and more . . . because I want to be selling some books!

Hope

Book Review - Passing Love by Jacqueline E. Luckett

Passing Love By Jacqueline E. Luckett
Grand Central Publishing. 320 pp. $14.99 paperback
Reviewed by Karen E. Quinones Miller for The Philadelphia Inquirer

 
Going to Paris was a dream Nicole-Marie Handy had cherished all her life — or at least since age 9, when she’d secretly opened the cedar trunk in her parents’ bedroom and discovered an old French dictionary, along with other keepsakes from her father’s stint in World War II. Now, at 56, she’s decided to make the dream come true.
Even though Tamara, the friend whom she’d wanted to accompany her, has died.

Even though the man with whom she’d been in love for years has finally proposed.
Even though she’s scared to death.
One of the last requests that Tamara made as she lay dying of pancreatic cancer was that Nicole go on with their travel plans without her. And while it was true that Clint did finally say he wanted to marry her, he hadn’t said what he planned to do about his present wife. As for her fear of traveling to a foreign country by herself?,?it was nothing compared to her fear of eventually regretting — at the end of her life — that she’d never pursued her dream.
Nicole’s father, Squire, has Alzheimer’s disease, and her mother, Malvina, is old and tired and doesn’t want her only daughter traveling to a foreign country. But Nicole has gotten her courage up, and refuses to change her mind.
And so it is that Nicole finds herself in Paris; as did RubyMae, more than 60 years earlier.
RubyMae was a young girl who hailed from pre-civil rights Mississippi and wanted more than what her little town had to offer. Light enough to pass for white, she bristled more than most at the racism so rampant in many parts of the South. When strangers met her, they treated her well, but when they learned her ethnicity, they treated her horribly. Those first moments before new acquaintances heard about her African ancestry, moments when she knew what it was like to be treated as human, made the subsequent mistreatment all the more hurtful.
Sneaking out of her parents’ home in the middle of the night to go to a juke joint with one of her mother’s boarders, she met Arnett Dupree, a sexy saxophonist, and fell in love with him, his music and his stories of Gay Paris. Though much older than RubyMae, Arnett was also smitten, and the two eventually ran off together, with Paris as their ultimate destination.

Nicole and RubyMae are African American women from two different generations, who have had vastly different existences — but their sojourn in the City of Light changes both lives in ways that neither could ever have imagined, and connects them in a way neither will ever be able to ignore.
Passing Love is the second novel by Jacqueline E. Luckett, a writer from Oakland, Calif. Her first book, Searching for Tina Turner, was published last year. The pacing of the book is leisurely, and you feel as if you’re taking a long, unhurried trip to France. The story moves back and forth in time between modern-day Paris and the Paris of the 1950s, with its abundance of American expatriates and rich jazz scene.

Passing Love on Amazon 

Text of Pres. Obama's speech on Trayvon Martin case

Text of Obama comments on Trayvon Martin case
     
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | March 23, 2012 11:26 AM EST |
Text of President Barack Obama's comments Friday about the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, as transcribed by the White House.
Well, I'm the head of the executive branch, and the attorney general reports to me, so I've got to be careful about my statements to make sure that we're not impairing any investigation that's taking place right now.
But obviously, this is a tragedy. I can only imagine what these parents are going through. And when I think about this boy, I think about my own kids. And I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this, and that everybody pulls together – federal, state and local – to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened.
So I'm glad that not only is the Justice Department looking into it, I understand now that the governor of the state of Florida has formed a task force to investigate what's taking place. I think all of us have to do some soul-searching to figure out how does something like this happen. And that means that examine the laws and the context for what happened, as well as the specifics of the incident.
But my main message is to the parents of Trayvon Martin. If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. And I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves, and that we're going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.

Trayvon Martin and Florida's "Stand Your Ground Law"

We've all heard, over the past week or so, that George Zimmerman might avoid prosecution for the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin because of the controversial Floridian statute, "Stand Your Ground" Law.

There's been a lot of misconceptions about exactly what this law means, so I thought I'd post it here so everyone can read it for themselves.

It's clause (3) that Zimmerman's attorney will likely cite for his defense.
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  The 2011 Florida Statutes

Title XLVI CRIMES Chapter 776 JUSTIFIABLE USE OF FORCE View Entire Chapter

776.013Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm.—

 (1)A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:

 (a)The person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against that person’s will from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and

 (b)The person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.

 (2)The presumption set forth in subsection (1) does not apply if:

 (a)The person against whom the defensive force is used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence, or vehicle, such as an owner, lessee, or titleholder, and there is not an injunction for protection from domestic violence or a written pretrial supervision order of no contact against that person; or

 (b)The person or persons sought to be removed is a child or grandchild, or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under the lawful guardianship of, the person against whom the defensive force is used; or

 (c)The person who uses defensive force is engaged in an unlawful activity or is using the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle to further an unlawful activity; or

 (d)The person against whom the defensive force is used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who enters or attempts to enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person entering or attempting to enter was a law enforcement officer.

 (3)A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.

 (4)A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to enter a person’s dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.

 (5)As used in this section, the term:

 (a)“Dwelling” means a building or conveyance of any kind, including any attached porch, whether the building or conveyance is temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile, which has a roof over it, including a tent, and is designed to be occupied by people lodging therein at night.

 (b)“Residence” means a dwelling in which a person resides either temporarily or permanently or is visiting as an invited guest.

 (c)“Vehicle” means a conveyance of any kind, whether or not motorized, which is designed to transport people or property.

History.—s. 1, ch. 2005-27.

Weight-Loss Surgery . . .First Appt!

I had my first appointment with the Dr. John Meilahn today regarding my weight surgery. Yeah . . . I'm on my way!
I went to orientation at Temple University Hospital's Bariatrics Program back on January 25th, and I had to wait two months for this appointment so I was psyched! It was at the orientation that Dr. Meilahn talked about the different types of weight surgeries -- specifically gastric bypass, lap band surgery, and the gastric sleeve. Based on what was said at the orientation I decided I wanted to do the gastric sleeve . . . I believe I mentioned in an earlier post why.

Anyway . . .

I showed up for my appointment at 11 a.m., and was horrified to find out that my primary doctor had not faxed over my referral, although they were supposed to do so yesterday. So then I had to get them on the telephone and beg them to send it. And while I was on the phone begging, the reception at Dr. Meilahn's office was saying that she would have to cancel this appointment and reschedule me . . . FOR MAY . . . since I wasn't ready and they were already on a tight schedule. Talking about panic!!!!

I finally got the referral faxed over (actually it was sent over by something called Navnet), but by then the doctor had gone to lunch . . . so I didn't actually get to see him until after 1 p.m. Let me tell you, I did NOT mind waiting the two hours . . . so much better than waiting two months, you know?

First I saw the nurse, who weighed me, interviewed me about my medical history -- even though I had filled out this long-assed form detailing all that -- and went over the types of surgeries again. Then she talked to me about the various things I'd have to get done before I would be able to get the surgery.

Then Dr. Meilahn came in an examined me. It was at first hoped that the surgery would be done using a laparoscopic procedure -- a minimally invasive procedure where they use very small incisions rather than one long one, but because of the gallbladder surgery I had in 1983 which left with a very long nasty scar, there may be some doubt as to whether I can have successful laparoscopic because of underlying scar tissue. They're going to try . . . but the decision may be made after I'm already knocked out to switch to the long incision. I don't care, though.

Dr. Meilahn also said that he would like me to lose 10 pounds before I get the surgery. Cool. One reason, he said, was by my losing weight I would be shrinking my liver which lies right on top of the stomach. I didn't know that!

Also, my losing the 10 pounds by using the guidelines they gave me proves that I'll likely stick by the dietary guidelines I need to abide by after the surgery.  No problem . . . I can do it!

In addition, before I get the surgery:

I have to get an upper and lower GI.
I have to see a cardiologist to get clearance.
I have to see a psychologist to get clearance.
I have to get a sleep study done.
I have to get all kinds of blood work done.

 I was like . . . cool! Can we do it next week??

No, we can't.

All of the above medical prerequisites have to be done through the Bariatrics Program so that they know it will be done in a way that my insurance company will accept. They estimate that it will take about two months to get everything done.

So, my next appointment to see Dr. Meilahn is set for May 19th . . . and if I have everything completed by then we can set the surgery for the next available date. Which means I might be able to get my surgery done in the next two months!

Hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ke-Ke

And the title is . . . An Angry Ass Black Woman!!!

Hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've just gotten the final word, the title of my new book will be An Angry Ass Black Woman, the title I'd originally given it.

Just some background . . . when the manuscript was first sold to Karen Hunter Publishing (an imprint of Simone & Schuster), it was sold as An Angry Ass Black Woman, and that is the title for the work on the book contract. That was back in January 2010.

I was supposed to turn the completed manuscript into them by June of that year, but then I got sick. Real sick. As in Multiple Sclerosis sick. My publisher is Karen Hunter, of Karen Hunter Books (an imprint of Simon & Schuster), and she was totally understanding . . . telling me not worry about the deadline, just concentrate on getting well.

So, the book was finally turned in right after Thanksgiving 2011. But right before it was turned in Karen called and told me that Simon & Schuster was having issues with the title. They were concerned that Walmart would not accept the book because of the word "Ass." I was disappointed, and argued a while that we should insist since they do stock other books with that word, but then Karen told me that they were also concerned that the title would not appeal to white people.

I have to admit, I was stunned.

So okay, I wanted white folks to read my book . . . so I was willing to consider changing the title of my book. But then . . . they said they might not stock the book anyway because of the book's content.

Now that puzzled me. It's not pornographic, ya know? And it doesn't have racist material, or promote hate . . . so why wouldn't they stock it?

From what I could gleam from Simon & Schuster, Walmart was vague as to why . . . but it seems they think it might offend white people, even if the title were changed. Now, I don't say I hate white folks or anything like that in the book (because I don't!), but I do say that Black Women in the United States have a hard time. Personally, I think it's true.

And that's not to say that other groups don't have it bad . . . or that Black Women even have it worse than others. But the phrase "Angry White Women" never hit the American consciousness the way "Angry Black Women," has. I don't know that I get any more angry than they do, though.

However, it's important to remember the Bebe Moore Campbell book . . . Your Blues Ain't Like Mine. Well, it's true. There are things I suffer from that white folks just don't.

For instance it's true that every woman has to worry about their child's safety as soon as they walk out the door. But, I'ma tell you . . . they don't have to worry their child being deemed a suspicion person and being targeted by authorities simply because of their skin color. And, oh yeah . . . I don't want to hear that B. S. that it doesn't happen anymore. Can anyone say "Trayvon Martin?"

So, okay . . . I think Walmart is wrong. I don't think white people will be offended by my title, nor do I think they will not buy the book because they won't think it pertains to them . . . white women get angry just like black. But there is nothing I can do about Walmart's decision.

But . . . since Walmart will not likely stock the book anymore . . . we get to keep the title!!!!!!!!!!

Hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The book will be published in October 2012 . . . I can't wait! Hope you guys are looking as forward to as I am. You can read an excerpt from the book by clicking . . . HERE

Hopefully . . . I'll be given a choice of covers soon; they're supposed to let me choose between three, and when I do I hope to have the readers pick which one will be used for the book. I think that will be cool!!!

Can't wait!

Karen