“I’m not going to make any money off this book,” Marcellas Reynolds tells So Booking Cool. “I spent my savings. I spent my advance. I took out credit cards to finish it, the licensing fees were double what we estimated them for. But if this book…makes one person happy, and they see it and they go, ‘I’m beautiful, too,’ then this book is worth it.” Prior to this … Read the rest
Interview (PART 1) With “Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion” Author Marcellas Reynolds!
Many of us can agree that loving a career or industry does not mean we love or even like everything about it. The Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion (Abrams Books, October 8, 2019) author, Marcellas Reynolds, is no exception. Reynolds, who recently appeared on the Tamron Hall Show, asserted that black models should not have to show up to work with their hair and makeup … Read the rest
Interview (Part 1) With Songwriter & “Permission to Fly” Author, Layng Martine, Jr.!
He’s written hits for the likes of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Pointer Sisters, Reba McEntire, and Billy “Crash” Craddock (whose “Rub it In” song inspired the “Plug it In” jingle) to name a few. He wrote an essay about his marriage of 54 years for the New York Times Modern Love column that moved the world. Now, he has written his debut bestseller, Permission to Fly: A Memoir … Read the rest
Interview (Part 2) With “For Black Girls Like Me” Author Mariama J. Lockington!
“Writing and storytelling is such a powerful tool for building confidence in young people,” novelist Mariama J. Lockington tells So Booking Cool in part two of our conversation. This statement arrives when we ask the “For Black Girls Like Me” author about the story behind her passion for leading youth. Lockington, who noted in part one that her work with middle schoolers contributed to the dialogue for … Read the rest
Interview (Part 1) With “For Black Girls Like Me” Author Mariama J. Lockington!
Books can help people escape the world they are living in. Books can also help people navigate their world. It is just as powerful to have refuge as it is to have something or someone you can relate to. When she was a young girl, Mariama J. Lockington couldn’t find books about black female youth adoptees like herself. Her forthcoming novel For Black Girls Like Me, the book she … Read the rest
Author Piece: Bosom Friends & Pen Pals in FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME by Mariama J. Lockington
FOR BLACK GIRLS LIKE ME, MARIAMA J. LOCKINGTON. Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), $9.99 (336p) ISBN-13: 978-0374308049
Publication date: July 30, 2019
Before I’d ever read the books by L.M. Montgomery, I fell in love with the 1985 Anne of Green Gables film adaptation starring Megan Follows. From the opening scene, where Anne is wandering through the woods reciting poetry dramatically from a worn book, to her first love-sick … Read the rest
Interview (Part 1) With “A Good Kind of Trouble” Author Lisa Moore Ramée!
While the novel A Good Kind of Trouble has pretty much been dubbed the junior high school version of The Hate U Give, also a Balzer + Bray title, it is a book that had been more than 20 years in the making. It is based on the author, Lisa Moore Ramée’s experiences in elementary and middle school as well as her daughter’s, who is now in college. … Read the rest
Interview With Journalist & Author of “Truthteller,” Stephen Davis!
It is a fact of life that some people do not watch the news because they find it depressing. It is another fact that many people are fascinated by conspiracy theories such as the Illuminati. Award-winning journalist of 30 years and author of the new book, Truthteller: An Investigative Reporter’s Journey Through the World of Truth Prevention, Fake News and Conspiracy Theories (Exisle Publishing, May 7), … Read the rest
Interview With Ben Philippe, Author of “The Field Guide to the North American Teenager”!
If you are passionate about writing and want to pursue it professionally, you might want to keep certain skills off your resume. Ben Phillippe, author of the forthcoming debut novel, The Field Guide to The North American Teenager (Balzer + Bray, January 9, 2019) is one of many who had jobs that he disliked, but when he removed Microsoft Excel from his resume, he yielded opportunities that … Read the rest
Interview With Romola Hodas, Author of “The Princess of 42nd Street”!
Romola Hodas is a reminder that we should stop putting time and age limits on our aspirations. At 61-years-old, the author is working on a new business and career in public speaking, a journey she describes as “a lot,” but fun. One of her tricks is telling herself she is 21 and will live past her nineties. As you will note from our interview with Hodas, she champions having a … Read the rest