Sherrod Story – Here lies your book boyfriend…naked.

One of my train friends Shaan got engaged. I gushed over the ring and the proposal – he got down on one knee in front of her family – and came in to work with a smile on my face. It’s still there, actually. Our other train friend Damita rolled her eyes at my glee … Continue reading Stealing from Real Life

I’ve been scrapping via email with someone who honestly believes the romance genre has no value, that it debases women and get this, contributes to the degradation of literary genres in general. A, could someone be more pretentious? And B, how could a billion dollar industry be without value?!?!?!? Romance novels are loved by women literally … Continue reading Romance Genre Haters Suck

Had an interesting conversation with a recent romance convert. She favors good old fashioned Harlequins, which I started reading at like, age 13 (shhh!!) and still love dearly (Robyn Donald emailed me not too long ago!), but she recently discovered erotica: the Jaid Blacks, Lori Fosters and Susan Johnsons of the genre. She likes the freedom and enjoys the sex, but … Continue reading In Defense of Alpha Males

So I just came from seeing Transformers 3. It was a good time. I love war movies. One, America almost always wins, two, they’re full of buff beautiful men shooting guns and throwing themselves head first into danger to save the girl. Three, they’re full of emotion and daring and tears and fear and conquering … Continue reading The Power of Transform(ers)ation

I figured something out the other day: I get sick when I don’t write. My symptoms are not unlike a grueling bout of PMS: irritability, difficulty concentrating, the usual hormonal issues that crop up when your insides are doing the dance and preparing for cycle’s end. PMS, however, can be managed. Diet, exercise, sleep, water, … Continue reading Psychological Trauma

If you ever doubt the presence of black love. If you are ever discouraged or feelin’ mean or mad ’cause somebody hurt your feelings or let you down, turn on damn near anything by Jill Scott, and be uplifted. Of all the artists that push positivity that I admire for their vocal skill and lyricism, … Continue reading Loving the Spirit of Ms. Jill Scott

…and I love it! Just finished Between Love and Madness, an excerpt from Erica Jong’s new book My Bowl: Real Women Write About Real Sex. It appears in the July issue of Elle, and now I am so looking forward to the book. The excerpt walked that lovely line Jong does so well between romantic angst … Continue reading Erica Jong is a Freak…

All self-help fans raise your hands. If you’re anything like me, you’ll take the quizzes in magazines like O and Self, and pay attention to those rather simplistic tally-the-points summations that appear at the end of the article. I took one recently and found that a fear of perfection could be stalling my writing…I suspected it … Continue reading Making Myself Sick

…Jennifer Hudson’s new song No One Gonna Love You would be it. I loved it instantly. Her production value has increased ten fold since she first came out, and it wasn’t had to begin with. She’s a stealthy story, for real – a lesson in perseverance, class, talent and self-made success. Love stories like that. Continue reading If ever there was an anthem for romance…

I spent the weekend with my head in several old Jayne Ann Krentz novels. I started stalking her a few weeks ago – stalking meaning reading all of her old work, not hanging out near her home hoping she’ll drop a Kleenex – and while I’ve always been a fan, I must say reading several … Continue reading Stalking Writers