Entries from February 2008 ↓

In Sin No More the Reverend Curtis Black tries to mend his wicked ways, and Kimberla Lawson Roby has penned another hot one.

I enjoyed this book trailer. I liked the voice of the actor who plays Reverend Black. It’s smooth and has a nice tone. You can feel the conflict building up in his voice and in the video.

But tell me, what do you all think? Did it hold your attention? Does it make you think about picking up a copy of Sin No More? Is it well done? Why or why not?

Want to see more? Featured book trailers.

Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant met as plus-size models competing for the same modeling gigs, and now they’re the award-winning authors of six novels–all written together. Here the two tell us how they work so well together and so much more.

Connie Briscoe: When was your first novel published and how many have you written?

DeBerry and Grant: We’ve written six novels all together. Gotta Keep on Tryin’, which is the sequel to Tryin’ to Sleep in the Bed You Made, is just out. And right before we left on book tour we finished our sixth book. What Doesn’t Kill You will be out in January ‘09.

The very first novel we wrote together was called Exposures. We wrote it under the name Marie Joyce–a combination of both our names–Donna Marie and Virginia Joyce. It was published as a Warner paperback original in 1990.

The book is somewhat different from our others. It is centered in the fashion business, which is where we met. It is a romance, which is not what we currently write, and the characters are white. The book was an experiment to see if we could write together and get our work published. Despite the obvious differences from our more well-known titles, the themes of friendship, family and dealing with the consequences of our choices were present even back then.

CB: That’s certainly an unusual beginning. Why did you decide to write a novel together in the first place?

DeBerry and Grant: After working on a newsletter and a magazine together, we realized we had a unique ability to work together. Neither of us remember whose idea it was to try writing a novel, but we found it creatively fulfilling and fun too–who can beat that? Somehow the sum of our talents makes for a greater whole. Our backgrounds and perspectives are enough alike to provide common ground but different enough to give us the basis for conflict in our stories. And even after all these years we still have a great time working together.

CB: Who comes up with the story ideas or themes for the novels?

DeBerry and Grant: We both do. We talk all the time about what’s in the news, situations we’ve encountered, pieces of our pasts. When we’re plotting a novel all of that goes in the pot and we spend a lot of time “what if-ing,” until we have cooked up a story.

CB: How do you come up with your characters?

DeBerry and Grant: They are often composites of physical and emotional characteristics we have borrowed from a variety of sources in both of our lives. We do work to make them fully rounded and unique, so that they remind readers of people they know or even themselves. We give our characters complete biographies, often with details that don’t make it into the story, but it’s a way for us to know why they behave the way they do and it allows us to stay true to them.

CB: How do you pull it all together? Do you each take a turn writing chapters or do you each pick your characters and write for those characters?

DeBerry and Grant: It’s really a completely collaborative process. We have spoken to other teams and it seems nobody does it the way we do. We work side by side–literally–in front of the computer. One of us may start a sentence that the other finishes. The keyboard passes back and forth between us. The words are all fair game, so much so that it’s nearly impossible to remember who wrote what by the time we’re done.

Our aim is to have one voice telling the story. If readers can feel the shift between us, it takes them out of the storytelling and we never want to do that. We don’t know why it works, but at this point we don’t question it. It’s a great gift and we’re grateful for it.

CB: It really is a special gift. I’m not sure I could ever pull it off. How much do you draw from your real lives for your novels?

Continue reading →

I call them the pocket-size paperback. And You Only Get Better, which was first issued as a trade paperback (the bigger size paperback) a year ago, is now available in the smaller pocket size.

You Only Get Better has three novellas, one penned by me and the other two by Lolita Files and Anita Bunkley. That means you get three bestselling authors for the price of one. What could be better than that? To read all about You Only Get Better go here and scroll down.

Pocket-size (or mass market) paperbacks are cheaper than trade paperbacks, and You Only Get Better is generally available wherever books are sold. So if you haven’t picked up a copy, you have absolutely no more excuses!

You Only Get Better, by Connie Briscoe, Lolita Files and Anita Bunkley

Nelson Mandela walked out of prison on this day, February 11, in 1990. He had been in prison for 27 years.

I went to see him speak when he came to Washington, DC, and it was a very memorable and exciting day.

Nelson Mandela Foundation

I enjoyed this book trailer for the novel Sweet Georgia Brown. It’s simple and gets to the point of the novel–which is about two dueling radio personalities who are married to each other–without hitting you over the head. In other words, it’s smooth. It also leaves you wondering what might happen next.

Sweet Georgia Brown, is by Cheryl Robinson, and by the way, we have an interview with the author coming up here in a couple of weeks on “Connie Briscoe Presents.”

If you have a book video trailer that you think I’ll find interesting enough to display here on Page One, send me a link and I’ll check it out. I can make no promises, and you have to realize that my selections are somewhat subjective–in other words they are based on what I like. If I decide not to feature a book trailer here, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad trailer.

Want to see more? Featured book trailers.

Connie Briscoe Presents–
This week, double the pleasure, double the fun with Essence bestselling authors Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant. Best friends for 25 years, this writing duo has penned five novels together. Their latest, Gotta Keep On Tryin’, was released just last month, and DeBerry and Grant took the time out from a very busy tour schedule to talk to us about a whole bunch of stuff, from how they write together to what they like to do in their free time.

Writing Tips
Sweet book trailer by an up-and-coming author. Creative, provocative, brief! Be prepared to take notes.

And more…

All-in-all, a glorious, memorable evening of celebration for some of our finest authors and photographers. Hundreds showed up at Le Parker Meridien Hotel across from Central Park in New York City.

Unfortunately, Jewels: 50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50, didn’t win in the category of photography. Yeah, I went there. I really wanted Michael to win ’cause he’s a superb portrait photographer, and women should be screaming to be photographed by him.

Fortunately, many other very deserving people were recognized, including Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe in the photography category for her book Daufuskie Island. Moutoussamy-Ashe gracefully acknowledged the other photographers in this category. I’m very thankful that Essence decided to include the category and I hope it encourages more of us to document and capture African-American people and culture in photo books.

Here’s a list of the victors in all the categories.

First Annual Essence Literary Award Winners

Congratulations to each and every one of them. And hats off to Essence for beginning a wonderful tradition, especially to Essence Senior Editor Patrik Henry Bass for his hard work pulling off the event and to Hoda Kotb and Dr. Ian Smith for being so entertaining as hosts of the stellar evening.

And thanks to all the glittering stars who came out like T.D. Jakes, who received the President’s Award, and Terry McMillan, who got a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award. Then there was the Emmy-award winning actress Lynn Whitfield who presented the award for most inspirational book. Actress and author Victoria Rowell was nominated in the category of memoirs for her book, The Women Who Raised Me, and she also presented the award for best children’s book.

Just one complaint: It was way too crowded. The reception was packed and the room where the awards were presented was standing room only. Bass did promise that Essence would “have enough chairs” next year. Let’s hope they follow through on that for what promises to be a huge hit in the years to come.

Photo captions: Top–Hosts Hoda Kotb and Dr. Ian Smith; Middle–photographers and nominees Michael Cunningham and Carol Ross; Bottom–Connie Briscoe and AALBC Founder Troy Johnson

As many of you know, I attended the Essence Literary Awards Gala in New York City yesterday, and I just returned home a few hours ago. I’ll have details about the gala posted here this weekend. For now, I’ll just say that it was packed with people, and you could feel the excitement for this first-ever literary event pulsating through the atmosphere.

Author Lolita Files–that’s her real name–has five dogs and one bird. And she loves fried chicken, shoes and the internet. But don’t send her an IM. She can’t stand that. You’ll have much better luck getting a response if you send her a message through e-mail.

Connie Briscoe: How many books have you had published?

Lolita Files: I have six novels, one novella, and three short stories. I’m currently working on my seventh novel.

CB: How do you come up with your story ideas?

Lolita Files: Sometimes the stories just come to me on their own. Other times, I’ll get a spark of an idea from something I read in the news, see on the street, or hear about in pop culture.

CB: This week on my blog I talked about where I write. When and where do you write best?

Lolita Files: Sitting in bed with my laptop–usually during the day and early evening–with the television on the in the background. With the exception of one book, I’ve written everything this way.

CB: Do you outline or write character sketches? If not, how do you organize your writing?

Lolita Files: Historically, I do not outline or write character sketches. I just sit in front of the laptop and wait for the first few words to come–this part can be torture–then I let the characters take over and lead the story.

CB: Those first pages are always the toughest. How much do you draw from your real life for your novels?

Lolita Files: Not as much as readers would think. I may layer in a particular interest I have–travel, pets, food cravings–but beyond minor details, I prefer creating worlds and characters that are unique to the specific story.

CB: How has the publishing market changed since you had your first book published?

Lolita Files: More books by authors of color are available on the market, which is a positive in one regard. Major publishers, however, have attempted to marginalize the types of books that are published by writers of color, focusing heavily on street fiction and erotica-based literature, seriously limiting exposure to the wide range of voices and genres that deserve to be heard.

CB: So true, unfortunately. What can we expect to see from you next?

Lolita Files: I’m doing a sequel to Tastes Like Chicken, which was the last book in the Misty/Reesy series. It ended with a few cliffhangers that I needed to tie up. The book is called Next Day Feathers.

CB: Your books always have such interesting titles. Tell us something about yourself that most of us don’t already know.

Lolita Files: I love snow. I was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, so I never had true winters while growing up. I now live in a place with lots of snow, bitter winds, and freezing temperatures in winter…and I love it!

(Visit Lolita Files at her blog on pop culture–The Lo Zone)

Following on his success in tracing Oprah’s roots, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., returns on African American Lives 2 to journey deep into the ancestry of an all-new group of celebrities.

In part two of the series, Gates locates participants’ ancestors in Africa, Europe and America, including poet Maya Angelou, author Bliss Broyard, actor Don Cheadle, actor Morgan Freeman, athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, radio personality Tom Joyner, comedian Chris Rock, music legend Tina Turner and others who were selected from among more than 2,000 applicants.

African American Lives 2 premieres tomorrow, February 6, at 9:00 pm ET. Check your local listings.

African American Lives 2 on PBS