Vocal Expressions

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, renowned poet, writer, civil rights activist and winner of several awards including the Langston Hughes Medal and NAACP Image Award, Nikki Giovanni. She has been dubbed the “Poet of the Black Revolution” for her early work bearing a strong, militant African-American perspective and addressing racial, gender, sexual equality, social and other issues.   She has also written children’s literature, non-fiction essays, and made poetry recordings. Of note, in 2004 she was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection , a selection of poems she read against the backdrop of gospel music .   She has taught at various universities and is currently a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.  A few months ago, I tuned into the Well-Read Black Girl (“WRBG”) Virtual Festival where Gi...

It’s been some time since I read a sexy/erotic romance novel. Anyway, One Night Only definitely delivered explicitly on the sex. So let’s meet Ivy Carmichael a hotel heiress in need of a bodyguard because she had a stalker that got too close to her and doesn’t feel protected.  She fires her personal security and hires Callum Blackwell who is just the right man for the job in so many ways. Not only does he watch over her and makes sure she is safe to build the hotel empire that her parents left her and her twin sister, Sage; but he also wants to fulfill her every desire. Ivy is a professional by day who is consumed with sexual fantasies at night. She enjoys watching throuples make out heavily in the hotel bar. Seeing how much she enjoys watching, Callum offers to arrange a threesome to have her live out her fantasy. They approach Stone, Callum’s best friend and a musician Ivy hired to perform for one night to boost the club’s profile. Stone didn’t hesitate to say yes once the groun...

When I saw the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s announcement that Terry McMillan would be in conversation via Zoom with Victoria Kennedy about her book, It’s Not All Downhill From Here , I was super excited . So I quickly registered and settled in for a treat on March 11, 2020 at 7 pm to 8 pm. Terry McMillan, New York Times best-selling author needs no introduction as most of us have already read many of her novels and/or seen the movies and TV shows adapted from some of them like Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Disappearing Acts (HBO Pictures) and A Day Late and a Dollar Short (Lifetime).  Victoria Kennedy is a Baltimore-based writer, and MFA graduate of the University of Baltimore Creative Writing & Publishing Arts program. She is also the founder of Zora’s Den (of which I’m a member), a social and supportive group for Black women writers.  For starters, I enjoyed the way Victoria eased into her conversation with Terry and how she set the stage nicel...

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, New York Times and USA Today best-selling romance, women’s fiction, suspense, dark fantasy/horror and non-fiction author, L.A. Banks. She wrote under several pen names: Leslie Esdaile, Leslie E. Banks, Leslie Esdaile Banks, Leslie Banks, and L.A. Banks and won a variety of literary awards including the 2008 ESSENCE Magazine Storyteller of the Year. She has written over 12 novellas and 40 novels across various genres. In 2010, Dynamite Entertainment (comic book publishing imprint) acquired the publishing rights of her dark fantasy series: The Vampire Huntress Legends. Additionally, in 2000 Paramount/Showtime gave Banks the contract for her to write a series of books adapted from the hit television series, Soul Food, giving readers a peek into the lives of Teri, Maxine, Bird and their families. I remembered meeting Banks many years ago at a writers’ conference when she taught a session about c...

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, Nobel Prize in Literature (1993), Pulitzer Prize (Beloved, 1987) and National Book Critics Circle Award (Song of Solomon, 1977) winner, Toni Morrison.  Morrison was a literary icon having written plays, children’s books, essays, fiction and non-fiction books that have earned her several prestigious awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.  She worked as a book editor (first black female editor at Random House in New York City, late 1960s) and was a college professor at various universities. Her prolific style of storytelling explored the African-American (mostly women) within the context of several themes such as racism, sexism, freedom, abandonment, violence, etc. Her best-known novels include The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Beloved and A Mercy.   In 2019, her hometown of Lorain, Ohio passed a resolution to designate February 18th, her birthday, as “Toni M...

Author’s Bio: Lanny is a native mid-westerner transplanted to Philadelphia. A self-described city guy, he has lived for the past few decades near the University of Pennsylvania. He has been writing fiction for ten years and very active in the writing community. Four of his earlier short pieces were first-prize contest winners. He is also the author of the novels, I Detest All My Sins and Death in the Family . His most recent novel, Fire in the Belly , is currently being shopped and he is hard at work on another novel.  He also writes non-fiction in the form of memoir and articles published in various magazines. Drop in on his website for a good idea of what Lanny is about at http://lannylarcinese.com Deliah Lawrence: What inspired you to write Death in the Family ? Lanny Larcinese: Family dynamics and its legacy on children fascinate me. Death in the Family began as a notion of a talented young man whose father is a low-level mob wannabe and mother, an ex-nun. The sub-text of...

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, New York Times best-selling psychological thriller author, Lisa Gardner. Her interest in police procedures, forensics and twisted plots was sparked when she worked as a research analyst for an international consulting company. Since then and over the course of her writing career, Gardner has over 22 million books in print, sold in 30 different countries. Her books have received various awards: International Thriller Writers ( The Neighbor – Best Hardcover, 2010), Romance Writers of America ( The Other Daughter - Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, 2000), etc.  Although she is best known for writing thrillers, she also writes romance novels under the name Alicia Scott. Of note, four of her bestsellers have been adapted and made into TV movies ( At the Midnight Hour , The Perfect Husband , The Survivors Club , and Hide ). Her latest release, Before She Disappeare...

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, 2013 NAACP Image Award nominee and USA Today best-selling historical and contemporary romance author, Beverly Jenkins. She has also been voted one of the Top 50 Favorite African-American writers of the 20 th century by the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC).  Jenkins began writing romance novels for fun when she worked at the Parke-Davis Pharmaceuticals’ reference desk in Michigan. In 1994, Avon published her first historical romance novel, Night Song . Although she is well-known for writing romance novels inspired by true history, I enjoy reading her contemporary romance novels, like Deadly Sexy . This book was adapted and made into a movie (2018) available on Amazon Prime Video. I will have to check this out as well as her latest release, Wild Rain (Book 2): Women Who Dare series (2021) that follows a female rancher in Wyoming after the Civil War.   WRITING TIP: When...

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, best-selling horror fiction, Christian literature and erotic literature author, Anne Rice. She has written over thirty novels. However, she is best known for her horror fiction novel series – The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches . She has won the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement Award (2003) as well as the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award (1994). Some of her books have been adapted and made into movies and miniseries. My favorites being Interview with the Vampire and The Queen of the Damned . In 2020, AMC Networks acquired the rights to Rice’s major book series: The Vampire Chronicles and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches . This acquisition totals 18 titles which have sold more than 150 million copies. I look forward to seeing what projects AMC develops. WRITING TIP: When writing horror fiction remember to tap into the fear factor whether it is psy...

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, science fiction author, Octavia E. Butler. Winner of multiple awards including the Hugo and Nebula awards, Butler became the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship in 1995.     She published her first book in 1976, Patternmaster , about people with telepathic powers. Since then, some of her other works have been adapted and are in development for various platforms: Amazon Prime Video ( Wild Seed , 1st in the Patternist series – Viola Davis and Julius Tennon’s JuVee Productions); Amazon Studios drama series ( Dawn – Ava DuVernay and Victoria Mahoney); and most recently, FX TV pilot ( Kindred – Branden Jacobs-Jennings).   In 2020 and fourteen years after her death, she finally made the New York Times best seller list ( The Parable of the Sower , 1993). This was something she had envisioned many years ago. And most recently, NASA has honored her by info...

Hello book lovers! For Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you, British author and philanthropist, J.K. Rowling (Joanne Kathleen Rowling). She is well-known for writing the popular Harry Potter fantasy book series which has garnered her multiple awards having sold over 500 million copies. The movie franchise film series has made more $7.7 billion worldwide.   Although she has made billions of dollars on all things Harry Potter, I admire her philanthropic work giving to organizations related to overcoming poverty, children's welfare and literacy, and so many more. I also admire her belief that, "You have a moral responsibility when you've been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently."  Of note, J.K. Rowling also writes crime fiction novels under the pen name Robert Galbraith. Although I haven’t read any of them, I have no doubt they will include compelling storylines that will captivate the audience.  Well, I guess...

Hello book lovers! In celebration of Women’s History Month, I would like to present to you my all-time favorite female author, Maya Angelou (real name Marguerite Ann Johnson). She graced the world through her poetry, essays, autobiographies and a list of plays, movies and television shows that spanned over 50 years. Throughout her life and in her creative works she dealt with issues of economic, social, racial and sexual oppression. I loved that she was also a civil rights activist who was vocal in bringing these issues to light.  I was introduced to her work in college when I had to write an essay about her first autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and I was hooked. Since then, I have read the majority of her autobiographies and her poetry which are lyrical, poignant, powerful, and still lift us up. "Still I Rise" and "Phenomenal Woman" are two of my favorite poems. Although she is gone, she will definitely not be forgotten for the trailblazer that she ...