I Ain't Said Nothin' But A Word...

Wow! I am in awe of this place I have found myself in. Double WOW! I have had my hands full for some time now. Finishing two books and meeting my deadlines have been at the top of my to-do list. Putting together a kick-ass fundraiser has also been way, way up there. And then suddenly, drama decided to make a pit stop at my front door. First, I had an issue with a relative. The woman pushed my last button and she doesn’t know just how badly I want to whoop her extremely wide behind. I still might if she doesn’t get her head out of the crack of her behind and recognize that family is about other people and not the world revolving solely around her. My mother defended her actions by saying she is “going through some stuff”. I had to remind my mother that we all are and our relative’s “stuff” doesn’t’ even begin to compare. Our “stuff” got thrown at us without warning. The relative has been picking up her “stuff” by choice and she didn’t have to make the decisions she made. She had options

It's hard to fathom any loss, but when we lose one of our own, it is particularly heartwrenching. Best-selling author E. Lynn Harris has died. He was 54. Harris was on tour, promoting his 11th novel, 'Basketball Jones,' which involved an NBA player and his gay lover. His personal assistant confirmed that his health had declined but would not provide details as to what caused his death. A cheerleading sponsor and coach at the University of Arkansas and a passionate Razorbacks fan, Harris' books dealt with black gay culture. More recently, the Detroit native served as a visiting professor in the English department at the university.The former IBM executive had just celebrated his 54th birthday on June 20. I had the pleasure of meeting him years ago as he was thoroughly enjoying the fruits of his success. At a local booksigning, in a room packed with fans, I was able to ask him a question, wanting to know his advice to aspiring authors who wished to garner the success he h

Hattie Joanne Woody October 7, 1945 - July 23, 2007 Two years ago today God called one of his angels home. Mrs. Hattie J. Woody was an incredible woman whose compassionate spirit, no-nonsense wisdom, and firm hand touched many, many people during her short lifetime. Miss Hattie passed away from cancer shortly after being diagnosed and her death left family and friends asking why and questioning what the good Lord had to have been thinking. I like to imagine that calling her home to rest finally gave her peace and comfort that she would not have found here on earth. I like to imagine that in heaven Miss Hattie is being cared for and catered to instead of being the one everyone calls on to fix what they broke like they did when she was alive. Miss Hattie made quite an impression on people when they met her. She was a woman who loved her children fiercely, who freely gave everything she possibly had to give, who never once asked for anything in return and whose simple life was rich and fu

I listen to a lot of music when I’m writing. It’s like fuel for my spirit, my go-go juice that sets a mood and defines the tone of a story. I’m smack dab in the middle of finishing the last two books of my Stallion Brothers series and it took much music to help me regroup and find my balance to get a feel for brother Matthew and a Stallion family cousin. For those of you who have been keeping up with my Stallion boys, I finished baby brother Luke’s story, LOST IN A STALLION’S ARMS , late last year. It will be released in May 2010. I loved writing every bit of Luke’s story. The boy is twenty-something young and every bit a stallion stud. He is a walking sex machine, bringing much pleasure to the vivacious Joanne Lake, a full-figured beauty who captures his heart. The couple has become one of my favorites to have written about. Tracy Chapman’s 1997 hit single Give Me One Reason was the inspiration for much of Luke's sexual bravado. Then the writing schedule went a little haywire. Pu

Three years ago today I warned that my blog presence would be one heck of a ride. I could say so with much certainty because I knew that life could throw you some serious curves when you least expected. You all have followed me through the end of my marriage, the death of my child, my writing highs, my publishing lows, and the beginnings of what has proven to be an incredibly beautiful and loving relationship. You’ve read me rant and rave about absolutely nothing and about some things that have been exceptionally important to me. I’ve introduced you to family and friends and have told a few secrets some would probably have preferred I not disclose. But through ever single word I hoped I have entertained you, lifted your spirit as some of you have lifted mine and just been a good time you could slip away to if only for a brief reading moment. If not, if you were ever bored or insulted, tough cookies. Like I’ve said many times before, you do you, ‘cause I can’t do anything else but do me

Two old people inspired a beautiful love story. Some eight years ago my grandmother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Subsequent surgeries made for a very lengthy recovery. She spent months in a nursing facility struggling to get back on her feet. Within weeks of her arrival she began to get visits from another patient. “The Mister” would wheel himself into her room every morning shortly after breakfast. He’d pull his wheelchair up beside her bed and there he would sit for the rest of the day. They were a strange pair, this elderly black woman and even older white man. And most interesting about the two of them was that they never spoke one word to each other. Not one single word. At first we didn’t know what to make of the stranger who had attached himself to the old woman. But he seemed harmless enough and so we did what granny appeared to do. We ignored him. Family would come and go, moving around the room as if “The Mister” wasn’t there. He didn’t seem to mind, nor did he seem inter

I’m really starting to think that arranged marriages really aren’t a bad thing at all. There was something to parents sitting across a table and negotiating a union between their children. After all, whether they realize it or not, most times we do know best. SIGH My baby boy has a new gal pal. The girl was sent straight from hell to haunt me. Yes, I said it and I have no earthly intentions of taking it back. Besides, both he and she know perfectly well how I feel about them together. They both know I would much prefer they not be. To say I haven’t bitten my tongue is putting it mildly. This new friendship brought back memories of my oldest son when he brought his future wife home for us to meet. I didn’t like her either. But back then, he was still my baby too, and there wasn’t any girl that he brought home that I was going to take any kind of shine too. But that future Mrs. Mello had great potential under her rough and much-too-young exterior. That son also had a good head on his sho

Make this a celebration to remember. Stir up some fireworks and have your selves one heck of a good time!

I’m on a diet. It’s not a “lifestyle” change because that’s not what I need. I needed something that would give me a good swift kick in my very wide derriere and jumpstart my weight loss. So my very special friend and I embarked on a “diet”. I won’t say which one because I don’t necessarily condone the philosophy of most “diets”. I will say though that this one is depriving me of the foods I love most and has put me in an evil frame of mind. What keeps me enduring though is my man proclaiming that he will last longer than I will and lose more weight than me. He knows my competitive spirit won’t allow me to back away from a challenge. Not even for the chicken fettucine I’ve been craving like crazy. There is much going on in my life right now. I’ve seriously got my hands full and I am loving every minute of it. First on my list is the benefit fundraiser I’m hosting in August. I’ll give you more on that at a later date. The other biggie on my list is my new company. It’s something I start