A lesson that 15-year-old entrepreneur, storyteller, performer, and podcaster, Ssanyu Lukoma, has embraced amid the journey of her nonprofit organization, Brown Kids Read Inc., is that the worst thing someone can say is ‘no.’ “Whenever I want to ask people to help support Brown Kids Read or I want to ask people to get people involved in this contest or do something, I always think that it’s best to … Read the rest
Interview With TheBlackShoppingNetworks.com Founder & Author Janice McLean DeLoatch! (PART 1)
Award-winning entrepreneur and TheBlackShoppingNetworks.com founder, radio host, journalist, and author, Janice McLean DeLoatch, recalls how a hole in her Nylon stockings led to one of her first companies, Pantyhose Vending Machines. DeLoatch, who had a full-time job in addition to her fashion shows and event-planning businesses, was on her way to a job interview when the material of her pantyhose deteriorated. At that point, she had to decide if … Read the rest
Interview With DJ, Record Label Exec & “Free the Music Business” Author Adam Cruz!
In his own words, DJ, producer, record label owner, radio host, and Free the Music Business: Tips and Tales from an Indie Music Nerd author, Adam Cruz, wants to write music that heals. Having recently lost several friends to the pandemic, Cruz is reminded of how short life can be. “I am talking about the feeling of people dying,” he tells So Booking Cool. “I am talking about politics. … Read the rest
Interview With Author & Composer Jay Coles!
Many of us at some point have looked back on some of our early work and cringed (or simply uttered something along the lines of, “I’ve come a long way!”) Author of several novels including the starred-reviewed Tyler Johnson Was Here and critically acclaimed anthologies (Black Enough and Hungry Hearts), Jay Coles, explained why he thinks his first few books are bad. Instead of being authentic in … Read the rest
Interview With “The Hidden Opponent” Founder & Resource in “Geese Are Never Swans” by Kobe Bryant & Eva Clark!
When former Division 1 player and PAC-12 champion, Victoria Garrick, met with Kobe Bryant to discuss her organization, The Hidden Opponent, an advocacy group for student-athlete mental health, she learned he was developing a project that aligned with her passion. That project was the new book, Geese Are Never Swans (Granity Studios, July 21, 2020), a multi-category #1 New Release on Amazon. “After that, I received an alert from … Read the rest
Interview With Speaker & “Unoffendable” Author Ryan Leak!
With his book, Unoffendable: No Offense. None Taken, executive coach, speaker, author, podcaster, and viral documentary-maker (The Surprise Wedding), Ryan Leak, seeks to help people change the way they handle an offense, and ultimately, not stay offended. He references author Brené Brown’s ‘generosity hypothesis’, which encourages the offended to consider the most generous assumption for something one did or said. “Because all of us are Christopher … Read the rest
Interview With “Something to Say” Author Lisa Moore Ramée!
Voice is a common thread in So Booking Cool’s conversation with bestselling, critically acclaimed children’s book author, Lisa Moore Ramée. There’s the beloved ‘Shay’, Ramée’s debut protagonist from A Good Kind of Trouble (which has garnered renewed interest and now an Indie bestseller in paperback), whose voice has been praised and prompted whether it is important for Ramée to create resonant voices within her characters; there’s Ramée sharing the time … Read the rest
Interview With Businesswoman & “The Heart of a Leader” Author Kristin Harper!
If award-winning businesswoman and former Fortune 15 executive of 30-plus years, Kristin Harper, could tell her younger self something about the woman she is today, she probably would have said to have more fun. This prompted the next question: should professionals carve out time in their schedules to have fun now or wait until they reach their milestones? The Heart of a Leader: 52 Emotional Intelligence Insights to Advance … Read the rest
Interview With Journalist & Book Collaborator Jeannine Amber!
It’s no secret that publishing is full of collaboration, from the authors, agents, editors, and illustrators to the marketers, publicists, salespeople, reviewers, and influencers, etc. Then there are the professionals who help authors tell their stories by way of memoir: book collaborators. Multi-award-winning journalist, writer, and co-author, Jeannine Amber, who recently collaborated on I Tried to Change So You Don’t Have To: True Life Lessons (Hachette Go, June 23, … Read the rest
Q&A Industry Spotlight: Patrick “PC” Sweeney of EveryLibrary!
As we all know, COVID-19 has vastly impacted the world, including libraries. We recently chatted with Patrick “PC” Sweeney, the political director of EveryLibrary, a non-profit companion organization that commits to securing public and political support for library funding. Sweeney, a recipient of Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers award and the 40 Under 40 award by the American Association of Political Consultants, has raised more than $1.7 billion … Read the rest