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Showing posts from March, 2020

A Review of Down the River unto the Sea by Walter Mosley

Well, Walter Mosley has done it again by introducing readers to a new and complex character, Joe King Oliver, a NYPD detective who was framed for a sexual assault by powerful enemies within the force. King is a flawed man who loves the ladies, jazz music (Thelonious Monk, Louis Armstrong, etc.) and books (Tolstoy and Hermann Hesse). Since his release from Rikers, King (often called by his middle name) has started a detective agency (King Detective Service) and his “wise beyond her years” teenage daughter, Aja-Denise is his assistant. But every now and then thinking about his experience in Rikers “left an aftermath of isolation” and makes him realize how human connection especially with his daughter is very fragile. But he finds solace in the work he does as an investigative private detective. So when he receives a letter from the woman confessing she was paid to set him up by the police, he decides to find out who was behind wanting him gone from the force and why. At the same ...

Black Writers' Guild: "Women Writers Rock" Panel Discussion

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, I attended the Women Writers Rock Panel discussion presented by the Black Writers’ Guild of Maryland at the Enoch Pratt Free Library (Edmondson Branch location). The panel members included authors: Cheryl Barton (romance and inspirational), Rosa Griffin (short stories), J. Hawki (mystery/suspense), and Odessa Rose (contemporary women’s fiction) and the discussion was moderated by Henry Westray, Jr. (poet). The meeting was well attended and we were all excited to hear these authors talk about their writing journeys and to read from their various works. Henry Westray did a wonderful job in facilitating an informative panel discussion and we all came away with quite a few nuggets of wisdom. Here are some highlights taken from each author: Rosa Griffin   ·          Current WIP: 2 nd book of short stories. ·          She started writing in 1999 just to vent and t...