Really Rashida's Blog, page 14

Details For The AAMBC Literary Awards

I got my fingers crossed that I'll be at the event this June but if not I'll be tuned in via the live Ustream broadcast. Shoutout to Tamika Newhouse for always putting together professional quality events to honor African American literature. Will you be there?
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For Rashida's books, podcasts, and more look around the site or click HERE. 

No Sister Of Mine Now FREE!

My latest book No Sister Of Mine is now FREE to read with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. It's only $0.99 otherwise. The link to get yours is below. 
No Sister Of Mine shows the bitter rivalry between two sets of sisters. They have different mothers but share the same father, a wealthy entrepreneur and retired street legend named Henry Cooper. With sisters like these who needs enemies?
Read FREE with Kindle Unlimited.
http://amzn.to/1uzES3z

Can Black Authors Make As Much Money As White Ones?

On the original post over at Madame Noire there was a picture of Terry McMillan sitting proudly at the top and I understand why. When you think about black authors who have crossed boundaries and made millions of dollars that is the first person that you think of. Since this is an urban fiction blog we're gonna pay homage to the one who represents that in urban fiction. She my be crooked but Vickie Stringer is the pioneer of making it big in urban lit.

Now that that's out the way I can give my two cents on the topic at hand. Do I think that black authors will ever be compensated on the same level as our white counterparts? Yes and no. Let me explain...

Black entertainment will always be big business. - Even during times of slavery and lynching the negroes that can make white folks laugh or dance were highly favored. Now that we are in modern days that mentality hasn't changed. People of all colors enjoy what Black people have to offer the entertainment scene. There will always be a place for our talent in this world.

Too much crooked shit going on. - Every time I turn around there is another independent publishing company cheating authors out of their hard earned royalties. I get so tired of it. The company that I signed with is showing signs of not being legit. That's a shame! If this is how black publishing companies will continue to treat our authors there won't be an industry that pays the bills for us.

Who runs the world? Girls. - Without the author there is no publishing company. That leaves no literary industry. And the ladies are running the industry. Now, y'all now I love the men. I'm no man basher. I can make a list of black male authors that have set the industry on fire. But the ladies? Women like Zane, Terry McMillan, and Ashley Antoinette have burned up the NY Times Seller's charts, had their books turned into blockbuster movies, and highly rated television shows. In that aspect the fellas need to catch up.

Despite lack of book sales in general, Black books continue to sell! - I totally agree with MN on the below point:

With the advent of the Kindle and other digital alternatives to the book, the publishing industry is having its share of struggles.  Major bookstores are closing locations, while publishers are cutting back the number of releases and reducing author advances. As early as 2006, bookstore sales had begun to fall and have yet to rebound.Despite these factors, a number of major publishers report that Black books are doing well.  Black Expressions Book Club, which is owned by Bookspan, has over 460,000 members.  That’s 100,000 more than the number taking part in the company’s popular Book of the Month Club.   Markus Wilhelm, the parent company’s CEO, expects that Black Expressions will have double-digit growth in members and sales over the next several years.The Association of American Publishers recently reported that U.S. publishers had net sales of $23.9 billion dollars in 2009.  It’s estimated that African-Americans contribute more than $300 million a year to this number.Despite strong sales, Black literature still has some challenges with which to contend.   Among them are judgments made about content, unequal compensation, and segregated sections in bookstores.- See more at: http://madamenoire.com/104639/how-can...

With that being said I'll leave you with this: men lie, women lie, numbers don't!

Gotta story to tell or some advice to share? Leave a comment below and give your two cents. Make sure you never miss a post! CLICK HERE and I'll send my posts straight to your inbox. 
For Rashida's books, podcasts, and more look around the site or click HERE. 

Vickie Stringer Set To Release New Book!?

Facebook was a chirppin' today with the urban lit tea, honey! One of my Facebook friends updated a status asking did anybody hear that the one and only Vickie Stringer has a new book coming out.
Of course the comments starting going crazy. For those of you that don't know, Ms. Vickie is known for being crooked by duping her authors out of royalties. And the comments also revealed that word on the street is that she likes to tell on folks...



Wahida Clark and David Weaver were also mentioned. I am NOT surprised that gossip about her signing to his publishing company was met with tons of negative reviews. The consensus is that she would be moving backwards by signing with him. Some people just flat out said they wouldn't buy anything else from her if this whole thing is true.
And I'm gonna ignore the comment about him linking little girls. You can judge that for yourself...
I bring the tea but I don't like to be too messy so I always do my research. Here's what I found out on Dirty Love by Vickie Stringer of Triple Crown Publications:

Looks like it will be the final installment of the Dirty Red series. I read the first two. They're good books but I can't support somebody that is fraudulent. However, the book cover was posted on 12/30/14 but there is still no word on a release date.

As far as Wahida Clark being the newest Team Bank Roll Squad member under David Weaver I was able to dig up this:

She called him the "ebook king" so that's what the connection is all about. She wants to position herself so that she can get that Amazon money. David Weaver has learned how to do just that. His Instagram boasts how well he's doing thanks to them. She has a project coming out with him so it's probably a one book deal like he did with Tamika Newhouse.

All I can say is good luck to all that are involved. Get money y'all. I'm no hater I'm just a blogger.


Post by Vickie Stringer - Triple Crown Publications.



Post by Author David Weaver.
Gotta story to tell or some advice to share? Leave a comment below and give your two cents. Make sure you never miss a post! CLICK HERE and I'll send my posts straight to your inbox. For Rashida's books, podcasts, and more look around the site or click HERE.

No Sister Of Mine II - Cover Reveal

Ty Marshall Interview

Check Out Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with AuthorSharnel on BlogTalkRadio

Tajana Sutton Is Helping Need Families This Christmas!

This Christmas Tajana Suttton, author of the Deja series, wants to bless some families in need. She announced via Facebook today that she needs help from her friends to do it.
From the GoFundMe page:

In 2013, I sat and listened to one of my readers describe her current living conditions to me. By the end of our phone call, I was in tears. My heart ached for this woman/ mother. At that point, I decided to start a drive to help her give her children a Christmas. Then I wondered, are there more families out there that is struggling and have  no clue how they were gonna give their young children a Christmas? With that on my mind, I decided to extend the help to other families. We ended up with a list of families that needed help but because  I started so late, I was unable  to help all the families even with me coming out of my own pocket, I still couldn't get everyone. So today, I ask for your help. Already, I have fifteen families on the list and growing. I'm asking for your help with blessing these families with gifts for their children and a hot meal on the table. Please take time to help me, help them. WHATEVER you can give will be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.

CLICK HERE to help out by giving what you can and click the cover image to get her latest book "And Then There Was X".

Thank You!

Here's to many more. :)

My Book Signing Almost Didn't Happen!

After celebrating my cousin's birthday with the family I gathered my tipsy strength and called my male friend to pick me up and take me home. It was the night before my very first book signing and in my procrastinating fashion, I had last minute details to wrap up. 
Three frustrating calls later, I was fuming because all I got was the voicemail. Once AGAIN he was m.i.a. in the middle of the night (that's another story) and I was forced to spend the night at my mom's. Before I drifted off into my drunken sleep I texted him:"On the most important day of my life u say fuck me. I hope whoever ur with is worth the pain u caused me."
The next morning, my sister-friend and I battled our hangovers to rush me home to get dressed for my event. I tore my room up looking for my strapless bra and couldn't find it. My guy friend still hadn't called. Suddenly, my pretty dress wasn't so pretty anymore. I threw it to the side and put on jeans and a top. I didn't have time to fuss over my wardrobe. I realized that I didn't have a table at the salon where the signing was going to happen at. After I called my aunt and asked her to bring me one, I broke down in the hardest cry ever. Things were going wrong one by one and I just wanted to say fuck it and cancel the whole thing.
Crying has always been therapeutic for me. After I have a good cry the strength I need to push forward suddenly bursts inside of me. Once I dried my tears, I left out determined to get to the salon and do my thing. There was no way I was canceling my first book signing! I didn't give a damn what went wrong. 
I arrived at the shop and started in on my sob story about why I'm late and unprepared. My homegirl smiled and let me know that somehow they already had a table there. My aunt walked up as I was talking to her so I had two tables that she and my friend helped setup while I put on my makeup and got my mind right. 
Once the event started and my guests started to arrive all of the nerves went away and things went surprisingly smooth. I sold out of books and the dessert table was a hit. I'm thankful that I didn't give in to the devil and his negative thoughts! One down side is that I didn't get to take any pics. I forgot to mention that I didn't have my cellphone at the event. As I get pics from those that were there I'll update this post and let you guys know. Thanks to my bff Lady. The photos in this post are courtesy of her. :)

My Current Read: Addicted by Zane

I haven't done a My Current Read post in months. I have been reading and keeping up with my progress on Goodreads. (Add me if you're on there.) Sorry for the neglect. :( But I'm back with a juicy read...
There is a ton of buzz about Zane going around right now. She owes the IRS a bunch of money and she has a new movie coming out in a few days.
Addicted is based on Zane's classic novel by the same name. It looks hella good so I wanna read the book before I see the movie. Click the book cover to get your copy and read along with me if you haven't already.
Check out the trailer below.
Have you read the book?
Are you excited about the movie?


Gotta story to tell or some advice to share? Leave a comment below and give your two cents. Make sure you never miss a post! CLICK HERE and I'll send my posts straight to your inbox. 
For Rashida's books, podcasts, and more look around the site or click HERE.