Sunday, November 10, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Reader Of The Week Rita King
Understanding your
target audience has a big say so in whether or not you will succeed at being an
author. It helps to sit down and listen to what readers has to say from time to
time. So this week My Urban Books sat
down with avid reader Rita King and asked her questions pertaining to the
literary world. Be prepared to take notes authors, because this week’s reader
of the week tells all.

My
Urban Books: Who is Rita?
Rita
King: Rita, who by the way is Cherita Smith -King, is a sexy,
strong-willed, loving, fun, supporter, well-wisher, confident, God fearing
woman and wife, mother of two. A cosmetologist and confidante friend to few but
still an acquaintance to others. I enjoy whipping up hair, cooking, eating, shopping
for gadgets, going to book signings, entertaining, and I love NFL and
getaways!!! Who's Rita?? This is me!!!!!
My
Urban Books: What genres do you read? Which is you
favorite and why?
Rita
King: I enjoy
reading urban lit, epic contemporary & fantasy, erotica, crime, and comedy!
For me it’s a tie between urban lit & crime because it the excitement of the
plot that has me enthralled.
My
Urban Books: Approximately how many books do you
read in a week?
Rita
King: It usually is 3-4 books a week depending on length
and my schedule.
My
Urban Books: What are your reading pet peeves?
Rita
King: NO EDITING and TYPESETTING, and using the same
models and poses from other peoples work!!! Ugh.
My
Urban Books: Besides a novel having a good storyline
what else must it have in order for you to pick it up?
Rita
King: It has to have great eye-popping, originality with the cover designs
and graphics that say "Open me!!!” length and the texture of the paper.
My
Urban Books: Are you team paperback or team ebook?
Rita
King: I am definitely team paperback but because of the literary times and limited
area of the African American section in bookstores in my area (WDC) I seem to
have been buying more ebooks.
My
Urban Books: Have you ever written anything?
Rita
King: LOL actually I was 8 when I wrote it and the name
was The Bird Which Lost His Song! It
was based on my young life with me singing, in the church choir, but as a bird
who lost my voice in the park. My name was in pig Latin, Iritache!!
My
Urban Books: The social media, do you think it
helps, or harms authors?
Rita
King: Both!!! Pro: it can get your name out there
but...Con: if you depend on social media to promote for you then you will never
get established in the literary world because we won't know who you really are.
That's pimping us for you!
My
Urban Books: How long is to long for an author to
release a sequel to a book?
Rita
King: 12 months and more. Personally I can forget the
storyline whether good or not and have to waste time rereading the last novel.
My
Urban Books: What advice would you like to give
authors?
Rita
King: My first advice would be to take pleasure in your
books. These are your babies, a replica of you. It should be a story in which
you want to read yourselves. Secondly, take pride in your work by editing,
typesetting and communicating with your readers either by personal appearances,
email or social media.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
It Ain't Easy Being Jazzy by Quanie Miller
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| Jazzy secretly wants to get back together with her ex boyfriend, Curtis, so when he calls and reveals that he’s got something important to tell her, she’s got no idea that he’s about to propose—to her first cousin and bitter rival, Mercedes.
The annual family dinner is coming up, and fearing that she will spend the evening seething while Mercedes flaunts her four carat engagement ring in her face, Jazzy asks Reggie, an Adonis she met at the mall, to accompany her. As fate would have it, not only did Reggie and Mercedes used to date; that backstabbing, leopard print wearing cow is still carrying a torch for him! Revenge. It’s never been so sweet.
But falling for Reggie? Holy crap! That wasn’t part of the plan! She’s got enough on her plate as it is with a mother who spies on the neighbors and a sister and best friend with man problems that could land them on Jerry Springer. So when Curtis comes sniffing around again—this time, with an accusation that sends her blood pressure shooting through the roof—the one good nerve that Jazzy’s got left has just about run its course.
Quanie Miller grew up in New Iberia, Louisiana. She fell in love with reading at an early age and spent most of her time at the Iberia Parish Library discovering new authors like R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike (she was often found walking back home from the library with a stack of books that went up to her chin). She holds degrees from Louisiana State University and San Jose State University. She has been the recipient of the James Phelan Literary Award, the Louis King Thore Scholarship, the BEA Student Scriptwriting Award, and the Vicki Hudson Emerging Writing Prize. She loves writing humorous stories about strong willed, sassy women who can’t keep themselves out of trouble. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband and is currently, as always, working on another novel. To find out more about Quanie and her works in progress visit quanietalkswriting.com.
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Monday, October 14, 2013
A Secret Worth Keeping by Lakisha Johnson
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