Karen's View - July, 2007
I
Hello All . . .
First let me say thanks for all of the wonderful feedback on my June Newsletter (which I actually sent out in May!). I hope everyone enjoys this newsletter as much, and find it just as interesting and informative!
Here are some of the topics contained in this, my July 2007 newsletter!
1. July Essence Bestseller’s List
2. Free College Tuition for
African-American Males 
3. My Recommended Book List 
4. Harlem Book Fair
5. Publishing/Self-Publishing Seminar 
6. Mastectomy Bill Petition – Impt!
7. Joke of the Month 
1. July Essence
Bestseller’s List
Hardcover Fiction
1. Love and Lies – Kimberla Lawson Roby
2. She Ain’t The One – Mary Morrison & Carl Weber
3. Love is Never Painless – Zane, Eileen M. Johnson, and V. Anthony Rivers
4. Red River – Lalita Tademy
5. Changing Faces – Kimberla Lawson Roby
6. When Somebody Loves You Back – Mary Morrison
7. Do You Take This Woman – RM Johnson
8. I Say a Little Prayer – E. Lynn Harris
9. God Don’t Play – Mary Monroe
10. The First Lady – Carl Weber
Paperback Fiction
1. The Millionaire Mistress – Tiphani
2. The Ex-Factor – TuShonda L. Whitaker
3. In Cahootz – Quentin Carter
4. One Love – Bill Holmes
5. Hood Rat – K’wan
6. Eva: First Lady of Sin – Storm
7. The Aftermath – Anna J.
8. The Candy Shop – Kiki Swinson
9. Little Ghetto Girl – Danielle Santiago
10. Hoodwinked – Quentin Carter
Hardcover Non-Fiction
1. The Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama
2. What I Know For Sure – Tavis Smiley
3. It’s No Secret – Carmen Bryan
4. Letters to a Young Brother – Hill Harper
5. We Speak Your Names – Pearl Cleage
6. A Hand to Guide Me – Denzel Washington
7. Don’t Make a Black Woman Take Off Her Earrings – Tyler Perry
8. Mama Made the Difference – T. D. Jakes
9. The Pursuit of Happyness – Chris Gardner
10. If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs – Big Boom
Paperback Non-Fiction
1. The Willie Lynch Letter – Kashif Malik Hassan-El
2. The Covenant With Black America – Tavis Smiley
3. The Mis-Education of the Negro – Carter Woodson
4. Girl, Get Your Money Straight – Glinda Bridgforth
5. Life is Not a Fairy Tale – Fantasia
6. The Flag of Remembrance in 1865 – Rodney David Deal
7. Turn Up The Heat with G. Garvin – G. Garvin
8. Our Savior, Our Sisters, Ourselves – Rev. Dr. Jo Browning
9. The Isis Papers – Frances Cress Welsing
10. Holy Lockdown: Does the Church Limit Black Progress – Jeremiah Camara
Everyone’s
talking about
Passin’
the new novel by Karen E. Quinones Miller set
to be released by Grand Central Books in February 2008.
SHE’S LIGHT, BRIGHT, AND DAMN NEAR WHITE.
AND NOW SHE’S CROSSING OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE!
Shanika Ann Jenkins is the pride of her family: blonde, blue-eyed, and beautiful—the result of years of passing down light skin and marrying well. But when she’s turned down for a job at a New York City PR firm, she changes her name to Nicole and gets another position. It’s not her fault, she reasons, that everyone assumes she’s white. But the more she gets, the more people she hurts. When a successful African-American businessman thinks Shanika is the white woman of his dreams, her world spins out of control. With her future on the line, she’ll have to go beyond skin-deep to discover what’s really worth reaching for—and the person she truly wants to be.
You can pre-order your copy from Amazon.com by clicking here!
And Click here to read an excerpt from Passin’
2. Free College
Tuition for African-American Males
PLEASE PASS ALONG TO ANYONE
WHO MAY BENEFIT!!! (Thanks to newsletter subscriber Karen Scott for sharing
this valuable information!)
The following HBCUs are looking for future Black Male teachers and will
send them to college for four years free:
Benedict College , Claflin University, Greenville
Technical, Midland Technical College , Morris College, Orangeburg-Calhoun
Technical College , S.C. State University,
Tri-County Technical College , and Trident Technical College .
This Program is called "Call
Me Mister." It was started by Clemson University to
increase the number of Black male teachers. The hope is that if young
black males are exposed to positive black male role models early that more
young black men will escape a life in prison.
There is more information at
www.callmemister.clemson.edu/index.htm
3. My Recommended Book List
1.
Living Breathing Lies –
Gloria Mallette
2.
The Ex-Files –
Victoria
Christopher Murray
3. Knocking Boots –
Tracy Price-Thompson
4. Black and Ugly –
T. Styles
5. Thong on Fire –
Noire
Previous Recommendations: Mommy’s Angel, by Miasha; All I Want is Everything, by Daaimah S. Poole; Deliver Me From Evil, by Mary Monroe; Sweeter Than Honey, by Mary Morrison; The Guide To Becoming The Sensuous Black Woman (And Drive Your Man Wild In and Out of Bed!) by Miss T.
Have you heard about the sizzling hot book,
The Guide To
Becoming The Sensuous Black Woman (And Drive Your Man Wild In and Out of Bed!)?
Topics include: Fine Tuning Your Senses To Enhance Your Sensuality; Becoming
Comfortable With Your Own Body and Building Your Self-Confidence; How To Attract
A Man From Across The Room; and a host of sexual tips.
This is a book which should have been written years ago. The Sensuous Woman by ‘J’ was published in 1969, and it’s a shame that we had to wait around 36 years for someone to step forward with an informative, entertaining and well-written book for African-American women who also want to explore their sensuality.
Click Here to purchase your copy from Amazon.com, or ask for it at your local bookstore!
4. Harlem Book Fair 
The Ninth Annual Harlem Book Fair is being held Friday, July 20th – Sunday, July 22nd.
If you’re a book lover, and haven’t yet experienced this event, you’ve truly been missing out! There are literally hundreds of authors and book vendors out in the street (It’s ON the street – 135th Street between Fifth and Seventh Avenues) selling books – often at HUGE discounts!
The HBF also features some very informative seminars and panel discussions. One panel discussion I’m really looking forward to attending is the “The Elusive Market – Is Urban Latino Fiction the Answer?” – which is being held on Saturday, noon – 1:15 p.m. in the Countee Cullen Library Auditorium (corner of 136th and Lenox). Scheduled panelists are: Marcela Landres, Editorial Consultant; Robert Rose, CEO, AIM Tell-A-Vision Group; Jeff Rivera, Author; Paolo Soto, Ad/Promo Coordinator – Harper Collins; and Sulay Hernandez, Editor at Simon & Schuster. I have to say, though, that I’m very disappointed that they didn’t include Latina authors such as Danielle Santiago, Shelley Halima, and Black Artemis – all of whom have been holding down the Latino/a Urban Fiction genre for a few years now. I’m sure Jeff Rivera is very good, but since he’s not Latino himself (his surname is courtesy of his being adopted by his Filipino stepfather) I don’t know that’s he’s the proper author representative for a panel on Urban Latino fiction . . . since they’re only having one author on the panel. But, hey . . . that’s just me! <smile> Still and all, I intend to attend . . . and hope you will, too!
For more information about the Harlem Book Fair, please visit www.qbr.com
5.
Publishing/Self-Publishing Seminar 
I got a lot of flack last time for not publicizing my Publishing/Self-Publishing Seminar in a timely manner (I think I gave 10 day notice), so I’m letting everyone know NOW that I’ll be conducting another seminar in my Philadelphia home on Sunday, August 19th, 2007 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Click here for more information. To register for the seminar, please contact me at authorkeqm@aol.com
Have you read
I’m Telling, the hit novel by Karen E.
Quinones Miller which was on the Essence Bestseller’s List for four months?
From
Booklist
At the age of 10, Faith was certain that her twin sister, Hope, and her
stepfather "were doing bad things." When she actually sees them in a
compromising position, her disgust, fear, and anger compel Faith to tell her
mother, Irene, who makes the difficult decision to choose her relationship with
Papa over the safety of her daughter. Almost 20 years later, Papa abandons
Irene, who eagerly replaces him with another boyfriend. The family secret has
taken a heavy toll on the twins: Faith is involved with Henry, the man who
rescued her as a teenager from her stepfather and her unbearable home life; Hope
is battling drug addiction, promiscuity, and homelessness. It isn't until Hope
jeopardizes Faith's relationship with Henry that the family finally acknowledges
the depth and burden of Hope's victimization. Miller deftly shares the pain and
desperation of a family shaken to the core by incest. Lillian Lewis- Copyright ©
American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Click here to purchase your copy from Amazon.com, or ask for a copy at your local bookstore!
6. Mastectomy Bill Petition – Impt!
(Thanks to Newsletter Subscriber Dr. Millicent King for sharing!)
Subject: Mastectomy Bill
From a nurse:
I'll never forget the look in my patients eyes
when
I had to tell them they had to go home with the
drains, new exercises and no breast. I remember begging the Doctors to keep
these women in the hospital longer, only to hear that they would, but their
hands were tied by the insurance companies. So there I sat with my patient
giving them the instructions they needed to take care of themselves, knowing
full well they didn't grasp half of what I was saying, because the glazed,
hopeless, frightened look spoke louder than the quiet 'Thank you' they muttered.
A mastectomy is when a woman's breast is
removed in order to
remove cancerous breast cells/tissue. If you
know anyone who has had a mastectomy, you may know that there is a lot of
discomfort and pain afterwards. Insurance companies are trying to make
mastectomies an outpatient procedure. Let's give women the chance to recover
properly in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.
Mastectomy Bill in Congress
It takes 2 seconds to do this and is very
important … please take
the time and do it really quick!
Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill - Important
legislation for all
women.
Please send this to everyone in your address
book.
If there was ever a time when our voices and
choices should be heard, this is one of those times. If you're receiving this,
it's because I think you will take the 30 seconds to go to vote on this issue
and send it on to others you know who will do the same.
There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient
Protection Act which
will require insurance companies to cover a
minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about
eliminating the 'drive-through mastectomy' where women are forced to go home
just a few hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctor, still groggy
from anesthesia and sometimes with drainage tubes still attached.
Lifetime Television has put this bill on their
Web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year over half the
House signed on.
PLEASE!! Sign the petition by clicking on the
Web site below. You need not give more than your name and zip code number.
http://www.lifetimetv.com/breastcancer/petition/signpetition.php
.
This takes about 2 seconds. Thanks.
7. Joke of the Month
(Thanks to newsletter subscriber Mollye for sharing!)
One morning the
husband returns after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap.
Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out. She
motors out a short distance, anchors, and reads her book.
Along comes a Game Warden in his boat. He pulls up alongside the woman and says,
"Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?"
"Reading a book," she replies, (thinking, "Isn't that obvious?")
"You're in a Restricted Fishing Area," he informs her.
"I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading."
"Yes, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at any
moment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."
"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," says the woman.
"But I haven't even touched you," says the game warden.
"That's true, but you have all the equipment. For all I know you could start at
any moment."
"Have a nice day ma'am," and he left.
MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think.
Have
you purchased your copy of
Satin Nights
yet? This Essence bestselling novel by Karen
E. Quinones Miller has been on the Essence Bestseller’s List for three months,
has only recently been released in paperback. Click here to get your copy from
Amazon.com, or ask for it at your local bookstore.
Regina Harris has been through it all, orphaned at 13 and forced to use street wits to survive. Now living in Harlem with her four-year-old daughter, she thinks her life has finally stabilized--but where there's Regina, there's always drama. She runs into a former boyfriend and, against her better judgment and the advice of friends, she resumes their steamy affair. Sparks fly when her U.S. Congressman ex-hubby decides he wants her back and her boyfriend decides he won't let her go. Life is no less dramatic for her three best friends--Yvonne can't tear herself from a lawyer turned violent junkie, Tamika and her family are being targeted by street thugs bent on revenge, and Puddin' still can't resist using any man in her sights to support bad habits.
Click here to read an excerpt of Satin Nights.
Click here to purchase to purchase Satin Nights.
Well, that’s it for now. I hope this newsletter finds you in both good health and good spirits. Please sign my guestbook and let me know what you’re thinking.
And I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you – once again – for all of your love and support!
Until Next Time . . . Keep Reading!
“The artist must elect to
fight for Freedom or for Slavery.
I have made my choice, I had no alternative.”
Paul Robeson
Read Karen's View
June 2007
Read Karen's View - July 2006
Read Karen's View - May 2006
Read Karen's View - July 10, 2004
Read
Karen's View - May 19, 2003
Read Karen's View - November 28, 2002