Thank you Beverly J. and Red Dirt is HERE!
First, I want to thank Beverly Jenkins for commenting, she’s a great Romance writer and we appreciate her words.
I hope everyone has signed up for Red Dirt Book Festival in Shawnee this weekend, but if not there are still events you can get in at the door. So don’t be afraid, come on over. I’ll be there, lots of authors, vendors, publishers, panels, Billie Letts!, and just come to see what’s literary in Oklahoma in November. Meet an author, you’ll be surprised how nice they are.
It’s mostly free (except for a few meals) and lots of fun. Get your book signed, listen to the authors, ask questions, hang out, and I hope you’ll like this event as much as I do.
Where Are Oklahoma’s Black Romance Authors?
Young Bill Young, here. I’m working with the Oklahoma Center for the Book, arranging an event in Tulsa to celebrate Oklahoma’s romance writers. Obviously, we wanted to invite authors representing different genres within romance: i.e. Christian romance, romantic thrillers, historical love stories. It was interesting that our invitation list did not include any African American romance authors who call Oklahoma home.
During my search, I did come across some interesting information. For example, the incoming president of the Romance Writers of America is African American. In fact, RWA will have its second black president this decade. The news comes from Angela T and her blog, Saving Black Romance. Angela T is also a contributer to Romancing the Blog, and she offers this recent column on the marketing of African American romance novels. (Be sure and read Angela’s related posts and the comments to get a better gist of this issue.)
Love stories are universal, and they are relevant in all cultures and times. Michigan’s Beverly Jenkins (whose book “Captured” illustrates this post) specializes in African American romances set during the 19th Century — a time rife with all kinds of political, social and, er, lustful possibilities. And just think about the kinds of Black romance novels that could use Oklahoma history as a backdrop, a history that includes black slaves coming to Indian Territory, the movement of black families into the Territories, the Green Corn Rebellion, the lunch counter sit-ins. No matter the times, places or situations, love finds a way.
So does this white boy want to read a steamy black romance? Maybe. I could always use a break from my sci-fi stories and geeky graphic novels. My Twitter friend Literary Nobody in Tulsa is a writer who’s always looking for different subjects and issues to address. Hey, LN: want to write us a love story? 
And, of course, if you’re a black romance author in Okieland, or you know one, I’m depending on you to set me straight!
Grab a good one off your library shelf. Beat the drearies.
It’s cold and dreary, there’s still a week before Red Dirt Book Festival. So I was browsing the new book shelf at work and here’s what I came up with.
Dark Mirror: A Brock and Kolla Mystery by Barry Maitland. Gotten to page 6 so I best not comment, except to say it’s good so far.
Stalking the Dragon by Mike Resnick. On Page 25. This one is really different. There’s a life size office cat, a talking mirror, a lost Dragon that basically resembles a Paris Hilton pet and a demon suspected of kidnapping.
Now to clear off my desk, load those dishes in the dish washer and begin.
The PHANTOM: Generations #3
Finished The Phantom: Generations, #3 written by Mel Odom (Oklahoma’s well-known author) and illustrated by Michael Stribling. Published by Moonstone.
The comic is written in the narrative style, no balloon bubble dialog boxes. The story is about evil pirates, a damsel in distress and our hero The Phantom, coming to the rescue. Mel Odom always writes a good tale. This is 15th century Phantom, a student of Will S. himself. The art is a collage of realistic photos with artistic overlay. I’m sure that’s not a very clear description, but suffice to say, the art is terrific.
This was a good introduction to Moonstone comics, hope Mel will be doing some more for them.
Looking for a pirate tale, try this one on for size. My only complaint was the printing type, I kept thinking the periods were commas and wondering why the sentences were so long. I know I’m aging. The NewsOk Nerdage guys have a short video review on their podcast site.
OKWriters Blog
Marilyn Hudson has just reminded me of the OKWriter’s Blog. Thanks Marilyn. Just going there I found out that Blue Clark
and Diane Glancy are both signing at Full Circle Bookstore.
The University of Oklahoma Press has new titles out. The Red Dirt Book Festival is on everyone’s mind. (I’ll be there, probably sitting at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries booth on and off)
Lots of other Okie related book news and events, a great one stop shop for Oklahoma author information. Adding to my Blogroll.
Awards abound for literature
National Book Award Finalist are announced. Interesting choices.
Of course we know who won the Nobel Peace Prize, but who won for Literature? It goes to Herta Müller.
If you’re like me you think WHO?
And I love the Booker award being an anglophile at heart and here’s the winner (no suprise), Hilary Mantel. Just take a look at their long list. I have one of those.
Listmania has begun.
Midnight Ink publisher, and G. M. Malliet author
After Death of a Cozy Writer by G. M. Malliet won the 2008 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, I noticed we had picked up several other titles from her relatively new publisher, Midnight Ink. I read the second in the series, Death and the Lit Chick,
and found it very enjoyable. Chief Inspector St. Just goes to a writer’s conference in the delightful Dalmorton Castle. His boss has assigned him to do a presentation on police procedures for PR purposes. Amid a backdrop of jealousy, flirtations, backstabbing and bad blood between writers, agents and publishers, our new star on the mystery circuit, Kimberlee Kalder, ends up at the bottom of the bottle dungeon. And the game is afoot…
Check out Midnight Ink books, they’re fast reads, clever plots with fun characters. Here’s what they have to say about themselves.
What is Midnight Ink?
Midnight Ink is a fresh new voice in mystery fiction. Aiming to satisfy readers of all tastes, we are committed to publishing suspenseful tales of all types: hard-boiled thrillers, cozies, historical mysteries, amateur sleuth novels, and more.
Moon blast and books
I stayed home for a little longer this morning to see the rocket blast into the moon’s surface. Well the news coverage was less than spectacular and ended up being mostly nasa folks high fiving themselves and clapping. But the freaky thing, it immediately reminded me of the Young Adult novel, Life as We Knew It. What a great book, and it was only an asteroid hitting the moon not some giant rocket. Hope those guys at NASA read it first.
Here’s a review from TeenReads, and speaking of teens reading, check out the information about Teen Read Month in Oklahoma. Thank you Young Bill for bringing it to our attention while I was away. http://blog.newsok.com/okiereads/2009/10/02/beyond-reality/
This would be a perfect book to start the reading fever. Scary in a reality sort of way, and very well written.
Tracy Letts does it again with “Superior Donuts”
Tracy Letts’ new play is getting great reviews! “Superior Donuts”
Check out Bloomberg.com
Chicago Tribune theater critic Chris Jones interviews playwright Tracy Letts (”August: Osage County”) and lead actor Michael McKean
The Word
Young Bill Young here. Kitty should be rejoining you tomorrow.
It’s amazing the things you find on the Internet. Seeing news about this particular project, on the heels of Banned Books Week, is a little disorienting. Seems there is an effort to “conservatize” The Bible. Lord knows (pun intended) the good book has been through lots of translations, selective editing, and the purging/inclusion of particular books. And that was even before the King James version! Today, we even have a Green Bible.
Truth is, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read about this. I’ll lead you to some links, and then you can decide how to react: tears or guffaws:
The Conservative Bible Project at Conservapedia
Beliefnet: Conservatizing the Bible
Pharyngula: Conservapædia has a new project
