<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:blogger="http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2024 07:37:24 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>urban book reviews</category><category>urban books</category><category>urbania magazine</category><category>book marketing</category><category>top urban authors</category><category>urban literature magazine</category><category>african american books</category><category>eric nyamor</category><category>hip hop artists</category><category>top 50 urban comedians</category><category>urban authors</category><category>urban book publicity</category><category>African American Authors</category><category>Anieshea Dansby</category><category>Behind Those Books Documentary</category><category>Blackface by Q.B. Wells</category><category>Book Marketing Columns</category><category>C.J. Domino</category><category>Chicago playwrights</category><category>Dana Pittman</category><category>Deshawn Taylor</category><category>Gangstar</category><category>Getting out the Game</category><category>Guru</category><category>Hip hop marketing</category><category>Kaven Brown</category><category>Killer Mike</category><category>Mass Appeal</category><category>Mike Epps</category><category>New York Times Cartoon Spoof</category><category>Nia Promotions</category><category>One Hundred Miles and Running by Q.B. Wells</category><category>Purposeful Buzz</category><category>Put on Your Crown</category><category>Queen Latifah book</category><category>Rawsistaz ebook reading challenge</category><category>Should African Americans be Critical of Obama?</category><category>Sponsorship</category><category>State of Black America</category><category>Twitter comic strip</category><category>Urban cartoonist</category><category>We Count</category><category>a drug dealers dream</category><category>african americans</category><category>africn american books</category><category>art official Media llc</category><category>author nicola mitchell</category><category>black author interviews</category><category>black comedians</category><category>black playwrights</category><category>black woman playwrights</category><category>book promotions</category><category>charles hamilton punch</category><category>chicago theater companies</category><category>domestic violence</category><category>edc creations</category><category>ella curry</category><category>internet book promotions</category><category>james brown</category><category>new york post response</category><category>obama reaction</category><category>omar powell</category><category>over and over again</category><category>q.b. wells</category><category>rapper dirt bomb</category><category>street marketing</category><category>the urban book source reviews</category><category>tremayne johnson</category><category>urban art</category><category>urban author</category><category>urban author books</category><category>urban author reacts to parade</category><category>urban author response</category><category>urban domestic violence</category><category>urban fiction</category><category>urban magazine</category><category>urban media</category><category>urbania magazine cover</category><category>ustreet lit books</category><title>Urban Books and Media Blog</title><description>Welcome to my urban books and media blog. This blog and my related website ArtOfficialMedia.com are designed to help you make more friends, to sell more products, and find ways to have fun while growing your business. Success to you, Q.B. Wells - Author of "Blackface"</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Art Official Media, LLC)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>40</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><language>en-us</language><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:keywords>urban,literature,urban,books,urban,media,black,books,urban,book,promotion,black,book,promotion</itunes:keywords><itunes:summary>UrbaniaMag.com is an urban literature and art magazine.  Interviews, features, artwork, short stories, essays and commentary from leading urban authors and artists. </itunes:summary><itunes:subtitle>www.UrbaniaMag.com</itunes:subtitle><itunes:category text="Arts"><itunes:category text="Literature"/></itunes:category><itunes:author>Q.B. Wells</itunes:author><itunes:owner><itunes:email>qbwells@gmail.com</itunes:email><itunes:name>Q.B. Wells</itunes:name></itunes:owner><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-8223144381685644326</guid><pubDate>Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-03T00:51:20.704-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">book marketing</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Sponsorship</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urbania magazine</category><title>Urbania Magazine Call for Sponsors</title><description>&lt;iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/z5VH3vohYGU" width="560"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Urbania Magazine Call for Sponsors&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As part of the goal to engage readers and interact with advertisers, I have decided to have fun all year... We are having contests! To lesson the load of planning and to automate some of the features of the website, I am calling for anyone who wishes to be considered a sponsor of the winter contest by donating a prize. All you have to do is send the prize and cover letter to our address.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As an alternative for digital products, you can email our address &lt;a href="http://urbaniamag.com/about/contact/"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; and we will get back to you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Here's what we are looking for:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Prizes that directly relate to literature and art.&amp;nbsp; It may be &lt;br /&gt;
an e-book &lt;br /&gt;
physical signed book&lt;br /&gt;
photograph/illustration/print&lt;br /&gt;
website membership&lt;br /&gt;
online course&lt;br /&gt;
dvd film&lt;br /&gt;
website review&lt;br /&gt;
consultation time&lt;br /&gt;
anything you provide as an expert to help authors market their book&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What do you get as a sponsor?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I will promote the contest during its Winter run...hard.&amp;nbsp; Links to your website and your prize will be on the contest page and will expose you to new visitors. There is no fee involved to be a sponsor. Only the "cost" is providing what you're known for as a prize.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A paid sponsor option is available &lt;a href="http://urbaniamag.com/get-involved/become-a-sponsor/"&gt;here &lt;/a&gt;if interested.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;To get started as&amp;nbsp; a sponsor, send the prize with a cover letter or complete the &lt;a href="http://www.artofficialmedia.com/contact.html"&gt;contact form&lt;/a&gt; of our publisher Art Official Media LLC and tell about your idea.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;Thanks for considering to be a sponsor this year. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail.&amp;nbsp; I look forward to hearing from you soon.</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2012/01/urbania-magazine-call-for-sponsors.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/z5VH3vohYGU/default.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>1</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-4611655570021179204</guid><pubDate>Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-31T15:27:35.538-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">One Hundred Miles and Running by Q.B. Wells</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">top urban authors</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban books</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">ustreet lit books</category><title>One Hundred Miles and Running Free on Kindle New Year's Day</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4hy_gLgi1lNuYgvUEJN62WMDHKn59epbqgJJrTkkwAWhkLhz84fAdlv1PjbJVoFjNXtYI51Picy1XA0QM5xcnO7GSSgdqVuHg3dsk5tJV8O43QJruNE0jQfp2QcAzT0G71n9xA/s1600/0976806177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4hy_gLgi1lNuYgvUEJN62WMDHKn59epbqgJJrTkkwAWhkLhz84fAdlv1PjbJVoFjNXtYI51Picy1XA0QM5xcnO7GSSgdqVuHg3dsk5tJV8O43QJruNE0jQfp2QcAzT0G71n9xA/s320/0976806177.jpg" width="207" /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To celebrate the New Year, we are running a promotion for a free download of One Hundred Miles and Running by Q.B. Wells for the Amazon Kindle. If you do not have a Kindle, download the application on your computer, Ipad or smartphone.&amp;nbsp; The promotion will end at midnight.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Get the follow up to Blackface: A Novel today. A link to the page is below.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hundred-Running-Blackface-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B006GCV1G8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1325362338&amp;amp;sr=8-1"&gt;One Hundred Miles and Running download&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;Remember to leave a book review for the book on Amazon. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Note: If you are a member of Amazon Prime, download the book with no due dates! Get your copy of One Hundred Miles and Running (Blackface 2) on your Kindle App or device today.</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2011/12/one-hundred-miles-and-running-free-on.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4hy_gLgi1lNuYgvUEJN62WMDHKn59epbqgJJrTkkwAWhkLhz84fAdlv1PjbJVoFjNXtYI51Picy1XA0QM5xcnO7GSSgdqVuHg3dsk5tJV8O43QJruNE0jQfp2QcAzT0G71n9xA/s72-c/0976806177.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-4343240500138064778</guid><pubDate>Tue, 15 Mar 2011 02:57:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-03-14T22:57:47.455-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">African American Authors</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Behind Those Books Documentary</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Kaven Brown</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban literature magazine</category><title>Behind Those Books Documentary (Extended Trailer)</title><description>When I first saw the trailer for &lt;i&gt;Behind Those Books, &lt;/i&gt;I was excited because urban authors finally made it to the screen.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; There had been talks of many movies to be made from urban books but none came through.&amp;nbsp; This documentary breaks grown and is the first in history.&amp;nbsp; Check it out and leave comments.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;object height="390" width="640"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/DTBmn3JKQco?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/DTBmn3JKQco?fs=1&amp;amp;hl=en_US&amp;amp;rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="390"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2011/03/behind-those-books-documentary-extended.html</link><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-949321628731356298</guid><pubDate>Tue, 04 May 2010 05:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-05-04T01:00:43.799-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Put on Your Crown</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Queen Latifah book</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban books</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban literature magazine</category><title>Queen Latifah Put On Your Crown Book Giveaway</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-yoTknnIzJddhufLBgWJlcCW5JZGu8a_kBRbxtrc-iRIlovi-mdX40590yC3cY4rLtZ3PpA9c0tr96XFKunwVVPKROzI8aU8GuFyPc-5rH_Wp0V_yt4WwlqubFu7zxfOI6jxNw/s320/urbaniamasthead.jpg" /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.amazon.com/Put-Your-Crown-Life-Changing-Queendom/dp/0446555894?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;tag=artoffimedill-20&amp;amp;link_code=bil&amp;amp;camp=213689&amp;amp;creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="Put on Your Crown: Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&amp;amp;ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;amp;ID=AsinImage&amp;amp;WS=1&amp;amp;Format=_SL160_&amp;amp;ASIN=0446555894&amp;amp;tag=artoffimedill-20" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=artoffimedill-20&amp;amp;l=bil&amp;amp;camp=213689&amp;amp;creative=392969&amp;amp;o=1&amp;amp;a=0446555894" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgievJBoVX-XS7UxyD8auIlNraclIRPAONuRWzO56t9NoVG0UuKwiLFYwqhqOprhyphenhyphenhVM2QeIebnjuTHR8aXsHpNWHQ3JhU9KccyHtVTi3Bkib0XUqZCDhJNXYescSwPaEhArj9oEg/s1600/queenlatifah-crown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;Urbaniamag.com is giving 25 lucky winners the opportunity to win a copy of Queen Latifah's new book &lt;i&gt;Put On Your Crown&lt;/i&gt;.&amp;nbsp; In addition to that, entrants will automatically qualify to win a digital camera, camcorder, and accessories prize pack from Vivitar.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;The promotion ends May 30, 2010 &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;Fill out entry form &lt;a href="http://urbaniamag.emgpromotions.com/"&gt;here&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgievJBoVX-XS7UxyD8auIlNraclIRPAONuRWzO56t9NoVG0UuKwiLFYwqhqOprhyphenhyphenhVM2QeIebnjuTHR8aXsHpNWHQ3JhU9KccyHtVTi3Bkib0XUqZCDhJNXYescSwPaEhArj9oEg/s1600/queenlatifah-crown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgievJBoVX-XS7UxyD8auIlNraclIRPAONuRWzO56t9NoVG0UuKwiLFYwqhqOprhyphenhyphenhVM2QeIebnjuTHR8aXsHpNWHQ3JhU9KccyHtVTi3Bkib0XUqZCDhJNXYescSwPaEhArj9oEg/s320/queenlatifah-crown.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2010/05/queen-latifah-put-on-your-crown-book.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-yoTknnIzJddhufLBgWJlcCW5JZGu8a_kBRbxtrc-iRIlovi-mdX40590yC3cY4rLtZ3PpA9c0tr96XFKunwVVPKROzI8aU8GuFyPc-5rH_Wp0V_yt4WwlqubFu7zxfOI6jxNw/s72-c/urbaniamasthead.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-8603125191752639251</guid><pubDate>Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:03:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-04-20T12:03:47.325-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Gangstar</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Guru</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Mass Appeal</category><title>RIP Guru</title><description>Guru, Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal died today.  I'm just as much saddened as I have questions.  With all the aggregated content, no one reported on the type of cancer he suffered from. To have a heart attack at 42 and die at 43 is not normal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Guru was one of my favorite MC's of all time. The three videos below are dedicated to him.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
"Ex Girl to Next Girl"&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;object width="480" height="385"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CwSXfocnt48&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CwSXfocnt48&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;object width="480" height="385"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0EWJ9JrxU0g&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0EWJ9JrxU0g&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;object width="480" height="385"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kT4jQld_FiE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kT4jQld_FiE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2010/04/rip-guru.html</link><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-616093370663970224</guid><pubDate>Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:19:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-03-29T21:52:16.991-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Should African Americans be Critical of Obama?</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">State of Black America</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">We Count</category><title>Should African Americans Critique President Obama?</title><description>&lt;iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=artoffimedill-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=8&amp;l=bpl&amp;asins=B002VPE9HW&amp;fc1=000000&amp;IS2=1&amp;lt1=_blank&amp;m=amazon&amp;lc1=0000FF&amp;bc1=000000&amp;bg1=FFFFFF&amp;f=ifr" style="align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;"align="left" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I missed the We Count! program on CSPAN a few weeks ago. Nothing big, the critique of the black culture occurs annually with The State of the Black America and other panels that "talk" about the main issues. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In past years, the conversation was necessary because there was no talk of a black agenda and most certainly no ear in the White House. Very little changed for Black America.  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There has been a lot of black mayors in major cities, but no huge upward shifts in the black population. Critique President Obama as we may, but know that we should hold him to the standard of those that have gone before him. Nothing less. Nothing more. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Do you think African Americans should be critical of President Obama in public? Leave a comment.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;object height="374" width="448"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/e/16711680/wshhMcddWCj4ouE6BVIE"&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/e/16711680/wshhMcddWCj4ouE6BVIE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" width="448" height="374"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2010/03/should-african-americans-critique.html</link><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-4379085893467204387</guid><pubDate>Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:14:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-03-24T17:14:23.193-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Blackface by Q.B. Wells</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Rawsistaz ebook reading challenge</category><title>Free Download - Blackface: A Novel by Q.B. Wells  (7 Days)</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnmbY8QL5jGDcBbBfUSmRrUsqXoxos2H_uUVnuHExburcZN_wFKcxBnBLgUHt6IPPZrnIi3UZg8ItM6MnziJ49_EgRbNVc-AJy0M_ydguGcJKM-vdSyp11GgIgQuTI5zAr-7S2w/s1600/blackface.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnmbY8QL5jGDcBbBfUSmRrUsqXoxos2H_uUVnuHExburcZN_wFKcxBnBLgUHt6IPPZrnIi3UZg8ItM6MnziJ49_EgRbNVc-AJy0M_ydguGcJKM-vdSyp11GgIgQuTI5zAr-7S2w/s320/blackface.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Reading and writing is infectious. So much so, I'm giving away Blackface: A Novel, my novel for 7 days. Register and download now &lt;a href="http://ebookreadingchallenge.eventbrite.com/"&gt;here&amp;nbsp; &lt;/a&gt;or http://ebookreadingchallenge.eventbrite.com/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Rawsistaz decided to hold the E Book Reading Challenge and book chats, I cringed. Although Rawsistaz has earned the respect of the the publishing community and provided honest, informative free reviews for African American authors, I couldn't envision a free download of &lt;i&gt;my&lt;/i&gt; book. Why?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There are enough free e-books on the net.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Furthermore, unless the work is charity, no one works for free.&amp;nbsp; And anyone who does work for free has an empty plate.&amp;nbsp; At the same time, I realize during tough economic times, some people want to purchase but don't have the ends or resources to get the book. Finally, the purpose of the E Book Reading Challenge is to promote AA e-books and usher in the new wave of publishing.&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For everyone who couldn't purchase from a local store,&amp;nbsp; download Blackface on your computer or mobile device. Book reviewers, readers and anyone who would like to read can download for seven days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To download, register for free @ &lt;a href="http://ebookreadingchallenge.eventbrite.com/"&gt;E Book Reading Challenge &lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; I hope to talk to you next month and chat about images and characters in Blackface at &lt;a href="http://www.rawsistaz.com/"&gt;www.rawsistaz.com&lt;/a&gt;. If not, catch me at a bookstore, in the street or grab a book from my &lt;a href="http://www.artofficialmedia.com/"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Note:&amp;nbsp; There are several other authors participating in the e-book reading challenge, get their books too. It's free!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Reading List&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class="description"&gt;&lt;span style="text-decoration: underline;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Black Diamond Prequel by JaNese Dixon – fiction&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;How to Make Money as a Writer in a Down Economy by Maxine Thompson – writing guide&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Keeping It Tight by Shani Greene-Dowdell – fiction&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Love Like This By Sylvia Hubbard – romance&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Love Stories of Some People I Have Known by acVernon Menchan – short stories&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Moving The Furniture by Barbara Joe Williams  – non-fiction, marriage&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Seeds Of Bible Study By Carole McDonnell – non-fiction, religion&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The Education of Black Dickey by Kenneth Bowens  – literary&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;When We Were One by Zaji – speculative fiction&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Blackface by Q. B. Wells - fiction&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2010/03/free-download-blackface-novel-by-qb.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKnmbY8QL5jGDcBbBfUSmRrUsqXoxos2H_uUVnuHExburcZN_wFKcxBnBLgUHt6IPPZrnIi3UZg8ItM6MnziJ49_EgRbNVc-AJy0M_ydguGcJKM-vdSyp11GgIgQuTI5zAr-7S2w/s72-c/blackface.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-7640648009474116215</guid><pubDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:48:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-03-15T09:24:30.272-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Mike Epps</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">top 50 urban comedians</category><title>Moody Monday - Mike Epps</title><description>Moody Monday calls for some humor, edge and conscious creativity to last throughout the week. Mike Epps can make that happen.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Mike Epps is a comedy icon. The jokes come off his tongue quick, flawless and witty. So witty you don't realize he flips a social and cultural issue on the head. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="640" height="385"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sHt9_gSLO64&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sHt9_gSLO64&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2010/03/moody-monday-mike-epps.html</link><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-7587497458038133056</guid><pubDate>Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-03-03T13:29:29.015-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">african american books</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Book Marketing Columns</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">book promotions</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Dana Pittman</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Nia Promotions</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Purposeful Buzz</category><title>New Urbania Magazine Column  - Purposeful Buzz with Dana Pittman</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhle_zrkysIrg7X-OCoOf82DJfzSEiJvXVkQnFeHamm7ip3sRr6T48HNaRaEHkKNfc-n99sXLlXOKhfUF-bDhOgyUFd-ACGmehN5DzAX7Vsw6L0f6bLuBHZlU5dDyDlwqtA_ngLOQ/s1600-h/urbania2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 114px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhle_zrkysIrg7X-OCoOf82DJfzSEiJvXVkQnFeHamm7ip3sRr6T48HNaRaEHkKNfc-n99sXLlXOKhfUF-bDhOgyUFd-ACGmehN5DzAX7Vsw6L0f6bLuBHZlU5dDyDlwqtA_ngLOQ/s320/urbania2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5444473850384971650" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You wrote your book. The cover is hot, you have a Fan Page on Facebook, and you have 500 glossy full-color bookmarks.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now what?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You posted a few Status Updates. You receive comments on the Note with your brief excerpt and people are loving it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now what?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You have a box of books from your publisher. You took those glossy full-color bookmarks and nicely tucked them between the pages of your baby.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now what?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Urbania Magazine is excited to announce that Dana Pittman is ready to take your questions.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Purposeful Buzz with Dana Pittman is a new column you will find on Urbania Magazine. Purposeful Buzz provides personal advice and opinions for your book marketing and promotion questions. The most unique and helpful questions and responses will be submitted to the column.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;Need help with marketing your book? Let Dana assist with practical and no-holds-barred advice for the issues ailing you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Want to submit your question? &lt;a href="http://www.danapittman.com/purposeful-buzz-questions.html"&gt;Get started here&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;About Dana&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dana Pittman, is the marketing strategist for Nia Promotions. She has worked with authors such as Anita Bunkley, TL James, Jean Holloway, Evelyn Palfrey, and she recently established S.I.R. Authors, a book marketing promotion group. Books are her passion and marketing is her lifeline.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For more information visit &lt;a href="http://www.danapittman.com"&gt;www.danapittman.com&lt;/a&gt;.</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-urbania-magazine-column-purposeful.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhle_zrkysIrg7X-OCoOf82DJfzSEiJvXVkQnFeHamm7ip3sRr6T48HNaRaEHkKNfc-n99sXLlXOKhfUF-bDhOgyUFd-ACGmehN5DzAX7Vsw6L0f6bLuBHZlU5dDyDlwqtA_ngLOQ/s72-c/urbania2.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-1995750981050956600</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-01-23T20:15:33.573-05:00</atom:updated><title>formspring.me</title><description>    &lt;p class="formspringmeQuestion"&gt;        &lt;strong&gt;Where&amp;#039;s your favorite place to buy clothes?&lt;/strong&gt;     &lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p class="formspringmeAnswer"&gt;New York or the boosters. Where else could I get all the fresh new new without the money!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="formspringmeFooter"&gt;    &lt;a href="http://formspring.me/qbwells"&gt;Ask me anything&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2010/01/formspringme_3066.html</link><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-1892635906523417372</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:13:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-01-23T20:13:33.285-05:00</atom:updated><title>formspring.me</title><description>    &lt;p class="formspringmeQuestion"&gt;        &lt;strong&gt;Do you believe there&amp;#039;s intelligent life on other planets?&lt;/strong&gt;     &lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p class="formspringmeAnswer"&gt;Of course, Mars.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="formspringmeFooter"&gt;    &lt;a href="http://formspring.me/qbwells"&gt;Ask me anything&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2010/01/formspringme_23.html</link><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-5197392207649116768</guid><pubDate>Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:12:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2010-01-23T20:12:29.600-05:00</atom:updated><title>formspring.me</title><description>    &lt;p class="formspringmeQuestion"&gt;        &lt;strong&gt;Who was the best boss you&amp;#039;ve ever had?&lt;/strong&gt;     &lt;/p&gt;    &lt;p class="formspringmeAnswer"&gt;My best boss was Larry at the Chicago Department on Aging. Left me at my desk and just sent me memos of projects to complete.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="formspringmeFooter"&gt;    &lt;a href="http://formspring.me/qbwells"&gt;Ask me anything&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2010/01/formspringme.html</link><thr:total>1</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-5462834727068159679</guid><pubDate>Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:11:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-11-06T01:15:03.259-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">eric nyamor</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Twitter comic strip</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban magazine</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urbania magazine</category><title>Twitter by Eric Nyamor</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQk7EcU0kGNCg5zqpGTwQBIPR_iCv7N-N3tMU6a_l_5wCsMLK75er9CXvTpYptLgRKMggk3f2dsWG3J1HBS8icYFhLJqrAx7lKbmCoRZm5Ar5iFeWwfZ1OV75DwKVRBRuKIAVFg/s1600-h/twitter.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 106px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQk7EcU0kGNCg5zqpGTwQBIPR_iCv7N-N3tMU6a_l_5wCsMLK75er9CXvTpYptLgRKMggk3f2dsWG3J1HBS8icYFhLJqrAx7lKbmCoRZm5Ar5iFeWwfZ1OV75DwKVRBRuKIAVFg/s320/twitter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400869574767314098" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Enjoy the "Twitter" episode from www.hiphopillustrations.com.  Check out the website or www.UrbaniaMag.com for more installments.</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/11/twitter-by-eric-nyamor.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQk7EcU0kGNCg5zqpGTwQBIPR_iCv7N-N3tMU6a_l_5wCsMLK75er9CXvTpYptLgRKMggk3f2dsWG3J1HBS8icYFhLJqrAx7lKbmCoRZm5Ar5iFeWwfZ1OV75DwKVRBRuKIAVFg/s72-c/twitter.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-1482490793699071771</guid><pubDate>Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:25:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-10-16T21:37:24.120-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban book reviews</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban literature magazine</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urbania magazine</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urbania magazine cover</category><title>Urbania Magazine Cover</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVszzHJVqeX4dDqZpnps-Oz3757W5FOY1qtvYTDyZUF-JL6WSafQVoRGkUmMxk49H1PVV6qPX0wx8YWQ9X8k-812foqRkBPzDfKwI41hzmg9cFtyUS20wyt6NxVjk69_fGXDEvlQ/s1600-h/UrbaniaMagcover2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVszzHJVqeX4dDqZpnps-Oz3757W5FOY1qtvYTDyZUF-JL6WSafQVoRGkUmMxk49H1PVV6qPX0wx8YWQ9X8k-812foqRkBPzDfKwI41hzmg9cFtyUS20wyt6NxVjk69_fGXDEvlQ/s320/UrbaniaMagcover2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5393376998338628834" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The magazine cover for the Urbania Magazine issue was inspired by the illustration "An American Evolution" by Jon Edwards.  An edgy piece, that begs the question is evolution all about appearance? An why some readers may say no, I ask them to go look at top grossing companies in any industry and look at the images of the CEO, VP etc. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'm stuck.  My hair is long and nappy. Ironically, I never liked long hair and laughed at my friends that had braids. I kept my hair short and clean. I always had a job and never had employment issues.  However, with the long hair and not-so clean cut, I find myself creating the jobs and money I get  ,</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/10/urbania-magazine-cover.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVszzHJVqeX4dDqZpnps-Oz3757W5FOY1qtvYTDyZUF-JL6WSafQVoRGkUmMxk49H1PVV6qPX0wx8YWQ9X8k-812foqRkBPzDfKwI41hzmg9cFtyUS20wyt6NxVjk69_fGXDEvlQ/s72-c/UrbaniaMagcover2.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-2130009427108968050</guid><pubDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:38:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-13T12:49:41.370-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">book marketing</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Hip hop marketing</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Killer Mike</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">street marketing</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban book publicity</category><title>Killer Mike Discusses Marketing</title><description>&lt;embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/823433080" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=1119245623&amp;playerId=823433080&amp;viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&amp;servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&amp;cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&amp;domain=embed&amp;autoStart=false&amp;" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This Killer Mike video shows the man talking about the independent grind of an artist.   Whether you sell and market books, music or any other product, you must have the think like an animal. What good is it to be known around the world, if you can't sell in your city?</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/09/killer-mike-talking-about-marketing.html</link><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-6538537508086401388</guid><pubDate>Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:19:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-09-13T10:33:50.573-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">african american books</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">book marketing</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">edc creations</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">ella curry</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">internet book promotions</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban book publicity</category><title>Interview with Ella Curry of EDC Creations</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimi3VcdQ3ymDTgNjBm6TQD1KLJ-MNQQpyAzJEE3KlyfC3yksrxWVmDYChR6cYLsy7PCtRXe_CqYtnR_0SYDOJjIMzbwBnstGS54dJMgEvQd7D6AtW5GqM5rBTbxUGCDJzIYZOLPg/s1600-h/edclogomed.gif"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 291px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimi3VcdQ3ymDTgNjBm6TQD1KLJ-MNQQpyAzJEE3KlyfC3yksrxWVmDYChR6cYLsy7PCtRXe_CqYtnR_0SYDOJjIMzbwBnstGS54dJMgEvQd7D6AtW5GqM5rBTbxUGCDJzIYZOLPg/s320/edclogomed.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380960130146414786" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Interview with Ella Curry of EDC Creations on the making of her media network.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;UM - In general, how did you become involved with books? Specifically, how did you get involved marketing black authors online?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;EDC Answer:  Working at Karibu bookstores was where I first came into contact with new authors. As a Buyer and the Product Submissions Manager, I would receive their book submissions and press-kits. It was a real shame how under educated most of the authors were at that time. I turned my web design and event planning company into EDC Creations and started helping the authors with their branding and marketing materials.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;As a single parent, who spends all her spare time on the Internet, I realized that there were more and more businesses taking their business to the web. What I didn’t see on the web in 2000, when I started my online company, was an abundance of black people. I knew this was a market I could dominate with my skills and passion for reading and my people. At the time, I was attending UMUC and taking graphic design and business management, I merged all my talents into a profitable business, doing what I loved—reading quality literature. Today, I review books for publishing houses, interview celebrities as well as new authors on BAN radio and represent some of the hottest authors in African American literature.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;UM: Does online marketing generate an increase in online sales? Offline?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;EDC Answer:  Online marketing definitely increases online and offline sales. You can reach millions of potential customers in one day, via the Internet. You can conduct business in several countries from the comfort of your home, via the Internet. The use of online marketing is one sure way of increasing your territory and getting the word out about your product or service. Micro-blogging, social network marketing, RSS feed syndication and article submissions are just a few of the ways that business owners can connect and create relationships with their target audiences. Internet marketing has so many components, but a great business plan, marketing plan and solid publicity strategies can put it all together and definitely increase awareness and sales.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Name three online marketing strategies that no new author should do without. &lt;br /&gt;EDC Answer:   a) Article placements on Internet sites is an important strategy and should be included in all authors overall publicity plan. Writing for Associated Content or becoming a professional blogger is a great way to build followers and to show your range of writing. It can be essential in building your overall brand.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;b) Using Internet radio interviews should become an important part of the authors overall media and publicity strategy. Internet radio and the syndication of the shows to iTunes can award authors overnight popularity and cause a great deal of viral responses to their books. I am the producer for Black Authors Network Radio; we reach over 118,000 fans per show via RSS feeds delivered to their personal email accounts!  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;c) Creating a strong relationship with readers is the most important strategy of all. Authors can do this by social networking with their target audience. Finding out where their potential readers shop, socialize and play online and making meaningful conversation with them, can create repeat buyers and establish brand loyalty for life. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Authors should share their news with the readers, as well as take sincere interest in the reader’s daily lives. Combining just these three strategies can take authors a long way, but there are hundreds of other more industry savvy ways that could be explored. That’s why people come to EDC Creations Media Group, my publicity company, to help them find those unique and cutting edge ways to reach the readers….LOL.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In what ways can EDC assist authors in online marketing?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;EDC Answer:   EDC Creations coaches each client on how to capitalize on what they already have in place. Be that a tight focus group to sell their first books to or to use their every day careers as a platform to showcase the books. We help the authors to get major book publicity in radio, local TV, print and on the Internet. The most important thing that EDC Creations does for our clients is bring out their strengths and weaknesses and address both in the most productive manner. We take the vision of our clients and chart the course to turn it into a reality!  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Additionally, we offer services in: &lt;br /&gt;• Web Business Consultation &lt;br /&gt;• Marketing Strategy Creation &lt;br /&gt;• Marketing Plan Development &lt;br /&gt;• Corporate Identity creation &lt;br /&gt;• Comparative SWOT Analysis &lt;br /&gt;• Branding &amp; Book Coaching Programs &lt;br /&gt;• Competitive Research &lt;br /&gt;• Marketing Communications &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How does the economy affect book marketing? What can still be done to effectively market in downtimes?  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;EDC Answer:  The economy being in this slump can play a significant part in the success of an independently published author. Traditionally published authors have the benefit of the publishing house presenting their books to libraries and bookstores via seasonal catalogs and through sales reps pushing the books. The self-published author has to write the books, market the books, distribute and promote the books. All of this can be very costly! In this economy the authors tend to start taking shortcuts to control the costs, sometimes this brings down the quality of the product. This is a serious no-no!  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Also, when readers have less money to spend on entertainment, they tend to cut down on their book purchases. Some readers will turn to the libraries, online book swap groups and such sites as Book Crossings to find free or used books. The authors can work around this by creating personal relationships with their readers that will stimulate loyalty period. Some ways to do this is to create video blogs of the author in their every day life talking about the books and what’s going on with them. Create podcast readings from their books and post them all over the web. Use sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Ning networks to meet the readers on their own turf. Create blogs about their daily lives or what’s going on with their characters to give readers something to chat about amongst themselves. Virtual book/blog tours are the hottest thing going in the book world right now. The online tours are a great way to reach people without breaking the bank. At EDC Creations, we offer blog and radio tours starting at $199.00, which will increase the author’s territory and put them before thousands of readers per day!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;UM: How can people contact you for your services? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;EDC Answer:   For book promotions and publicity the best way to reach me is to visit my EDC Creations website. On the main website you can find Black Pearls Magazine, Black Authors Network Radio Show and all the packages we offer authors and publishers. The readers will also meet the authors we are featuring for the month.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;To meet new authors and to explore the latest books, readers can visit the BAN Radio Community blog. We have two online bookstores established to suggest great literature for all our readers. The stores are updated monthly with new releases. It’s like going into any brick and mortar store; you can skim the books, and meet the authors. The site addresses are listed below for you and your readers to enjoy. It is a pleasure to meet new readers weekly!  On BAN radio we always have gifts and prizes for the visitors. Frequent visitors and bloggers to our community, win books by posting regular and truly joining the conversations. Check us out…you won’t be disappointed!  Thank you so much for this opportunity to share the world of EDC Creations Media Group with your network.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;EDC Creations’ Main Website&lt;br /&gt;http://www.edc-creations.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.blackpearlmagazine.com"&gt;Black Pearls Magazine&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;http://www.blackpearlsmagazine.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://edccreationsbooktours.ning.com"&gt;EDC Creations Internet Book Promotions&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Meet the authors on book tours in 2009&lt;br /&gt;http://www.edccreationsbooktours.ning.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.profilesinblack.blogspot.com"&gt;BAN Community Blog&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;http://www.profilesinblack.blogspot.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://edcmagazine.blogspot.com"&gt;Black Pearls Magazine Blog&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;http://edcmagazine.blogspot.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;EDC Creations Bookstores:&lt;br /&gt;http://astore.amazon.com/edcmagazine-20&lt;br /&gt;http://astore.amazon.com/sanklitesoci-20</description><enclosure length="0" type="" url="http://www.edc-creations.com"/><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/09/interview-with-ella-curry-of-edc.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimi3VcdQ3ymDTgNjBm6TQD1KLJ-MNQQpyAzJEE3KlyfC3yksrxWVmDYChR6cYLsy7PCtRXe_CqYtnR_0SYDOJjIMzbwBnstGS54dJMgEvQd7D6AtW5GqM5rBTbxUGCDJzIYZOLPg/s72-c/edclogomed.gif" width="72"/><thr:total>1</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Interview with Ella Curry of EDC Creations on the making of her media network. UM - In general, how did you become involved with books? Specifically, how did you get involved marketing black authors online? EDC Answer: Working at Karibu bookstores was where I first came into contact with new authors. As a Buyer and the Product Submissions Manager, I would receive their book submissions and press-kits. It was a real shame how under educated most of the authors were at that time. I turned my web design and event planning company into EDC Creations and started helping the authors with their branding and marketing materials. As a single parent, who spends all her spare time on the Internet, I realized that there were more and more businesses taking their business to the web. What I didn’t see on the web in 2000, when I started my online company, was an abundance of black people. I knew this was a market I could dominate with my skills and passion for reading and my people. At the time, I was attending UMUC and taking graphic design and business management, I merged all my talents into a profitable business, doing what I loved—reading quality literature. Today, I review books for publishing houses, interview celebrities as well as new authors on BAN radio and represent some of the hottest authors in African American literature. UM: Does online marketing generate an increase in online sales? Offline? EDC Answer: Online marketing definitely increases online and offline sales. You can reach millions of potential customers in one day, via the Internet. You can conduct business in several countries from the comfort of your home, via the Internet. The use of online marketing is one sure way of increasing your territory and getting the word out about your product or service. Micro-blogging, social network marketing, RSS feed syndication and article submissions are just a few of the ways that business owners can connect and create relationships with their target audiences. Internet marketing has so many components, but a great business plan, marketing plan and solid publicity strategies can put it all together and definitely increase awareness and sales. Name three online marketing strategies that no new author should do without. EDC Answer: a) Article placements on Internet sites is an important strategy and should be included in all authors overall publicity plan. Writing for Associated Content or becoming a professional blogger is a great way to build followers and to show your range of writing. It can be essential in building your overall brand. b) Using Internet radio interviews should become an important part of the authors overall media and publicity strategy. Internet radio and the syndication of the shows to iTunes can award authors overnight popularity and cause a great deal of viral responses to their books. I am the producer for Black Authors Network Radio; we reach over 118,000 fans per show via RSS feeds delivered to their personal email accounts! c) Creating a strong relationship with readers is the most important strategy of all. Authors can do this by social networking with their target audience. Finding out where their potential readers shop, socialize and play online and making meaningful conversation with them, can create repeat buyers and establish brand loyalty for life. Authors should share their news with the readers, as well as take sincere interest in the reader’s daily lives. Combining just these three strategies can take authors a long way, but there are hundreds of other more industry savvy ways that could be explored. That’s why people come to EDC Creations Media Group, my publicity company, to help them find those unique and cutting edge ways to reach the readers….LOL. In what ways can EDC assist authors in online marketing? EDC Answer: EDC Creations coaches each client on how to capitalize on what they already have in place. Be that a tight focus group to sell their first books to or to use their every day careers as a platform to showcase the books. We help the authors to get major book publicity in radio, local TV, print and on the Internet. The most important thing that EDC Creations does for our clients is bring out their strengths and weaknesses and address both in the most productive manner. We take the vision of our clients and chart the course to turn it into a reality! Additionally, we offer services in: • Web Business Consultation • Marketing Strategy Creation • Marketing Plan Development • Corporate Identity creation • Comparative SWOT Analysis • Branding &amp; Book Coaching Programs • Competitive Research • Marketing Communications How does the economy affect book marketing? What can still be done to effectively market in downtimes? EDC Answer: The economy being in this slump can play a significant part in the success of an independently published author. Traditionally published authors have the benefit of the publishing house presenting their books to libraries and bookstores via seasonal catalogs and through sales reps pushing the books. The self-published author has to write the books, market the books, distribute and promote the books. All of this can be very costly! In this economy the authors tend to start taking shortcuts to control the costs, sometimes this brings down the quality of the product. This is a serious no-no! Also, when readers have less money to spend on entertainment, they tend to cut down on their book purchases. Some readers will turn to the libraries, online book swap groups and such sites as Book Crossings to find free or used books. The authors can work around this by creating personal relationships with their readers that will stimulate loyalty period. Some ways to do this is to create video blogs of the author in their every day life talking about the books and what’s going on with them. Create podcast readings from their books and post them all over the web. Use sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Ning networks to meet the readers on their own turf. Create blogs about their daily lives or what’s going on with their characters to give readers something to chat about amongst themselves. Virtual book/blog tours are the hottest thing going in the book world right now. The online tours are a great way to reach people without breaking the bank. At EDC Creations, we offer blog and radio tours starting at $199.00, which will increase the author’s territory and put them before thousands of readers per day! UM: How can people contact you for your services? EDC Answer: For book promotions and publicity the best way to reach me is to visit my EDC Creations website. On the main website you can find Black Pearls Magazine, Black Authors Network Radio Show and all the packages we offer authors and publishers. The readers will also meet the authors we are featuring for the month. To meet new authors and to explore the latest books, readers can visit the BAN Radio Community blog. We have two online bookstores established to suggest great literature for all our readers. The stores are updated monthly with new releases. It’s like going into any brick and mortar store; you can skim the books, and meet the authors. The site addresses are listed below for you and your readers to enjoy. It is a pleasure to meet new readers weekly! On BAN radio we always have gifts and prizes for the visitors. Frequent visitors and bloggers to our community, win books by posting regular and truly joining the conversations. Check us out…you won’t be disappointed! Thank you so much for this opportunity to share the world of EDC Creations Media Group with your network. EDC Creations’ Main Website http://www.edc-creations.com Black Pearls Magazine http://www.blackpearlsmagazine.com EDC Creations Internet Book Promotions Meet the authors on book tours in 2009 http://www.edccreationsbooktours.ning.com BAN Community Blog http://www.profilesinblack.blogspot.com Black Pearls Magazine Blog http://edcmagazine.blogspot.com EDC Creations Bookstores: http://astore.amazon.com/edcmagazine-20 http://astore.amazon.com/sanklitesoci-20</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>Q.B. Wells</itunes:author><itunes:summary>Interview with Ella Curry of EDC Creations on the making of her media network. UM - In general, how did you become involved with books? Specifically, how did you get involved marketing black authors online? EDC Answer: Working at Karibu bookstores was where I first came into contact with new authors. As a Buyer and the Product Submissions Manager, I would receive their book submissions and press-kits. It was a real shame how under educated most of the authors were at that time. I turned my web design and event planning company into EDC Creations and started helping the authors with their branding and marketing materials. As a single parent, who spends all her spare time on the Internet, I realized that there were more and more businesses taking their business to the web. What I didn’t see on the web in 2000, when I started my online company, was an abundance of black people. I knew this was a market I could dominate with my skills and passion for reading and my people. At the time, I was attending UMUC and taking graphic design and business management, I merged all my talents into a profitable business, doing what I loved—reading quality literature. Today, I review books for publishing houses, interview celebrities as well as new authors on BAN radio and represent some of the hottest authors in African American literature. UM: Does online marketing generate an increase in online sales? Offline? EDC Answer: Online marketing definitely increases online and offline sales. You can reach millions of potential customers in one day, via the Internet. You can conduct business in several countries from the comfort of your home, via the Internet. The use of online marketing is one sure way of increasing your territory and getting the word out about your product or service. Micro-blogging, social network marketing, RSS feed syndication and article submissions are just a few of the ways that business owners can connect and create relationships with their target audiences. Internet marketing has so many components, but a great business plan, marketing plan and solid publicity strategies can put it all together and definitely increase awareness and sales. Name three online marketing strategies that no new author should do without. EDC Answer: a) Article placements on Internet sites is an important strategy and should be included in all authors overall publicity plan. Writing for Associated Content or becoming a professional blogger is a great way to build followers and to show your range of writing. It can be essential in building your overall brand. b) Using Internet radio interviews should become an important part of the authors overall media and publicity strategy. Internet radio and the syndication of the shows to iTunes can award authors overnight popularity and cause a great deal of viral responses to their books. I am the producer for Black Authors Network Radio; we reach over 118,000 fans per show via RSS feeds delivered to their personal email accounts! c) Creating a strong relationship with readers is the most important strategy of all. Authors can do this by social networking with their target audience. Finding out where their potential readers shop, socialize and play online and making meaningful conversation with them, can create repeat buyers and establish brand loyalty for life. Authors should share their news with the readers, as well as take sincere interest in the reader’s daily lives. Combining just these three strategies can take authors a long way, but there are hundreds of other more industry savvy ways that could be explored. That’s why people come to EDC Creations Media Group, my publicity company, to help them find those unique and cutting edge ways to reach the readers….LOL. In what ways can EDC assist authors in online marketing? EDC Answer: EDC Creations coaches each client on how to capitalize on what they already have in place. Be that a tight focus group to sell their first books to or to use their every day careers as a platform to showcase the books. We help the authors to get major book publicity in radio, local TV, print and on the Internet. The most important thing that EDC Creations does for our clients is bring out their strengths and weaknesses and address both in the most productive manner. We take the vision of our clients and chart the course to turn it into a reality! Additionally, we offer services in: • Web Business Consultation • Marketing Strategy Creation • Marketing Plan Development • Corporate Identity creation • Comparative SWOT Analysis • Branding &amp; Book Coaching Programs • Competitive Research • Marketing Communications How does the economy affect book marketing? What can still be done to effectively market in downtimes? EDC Answer: The economy being in this slump can play a significant part in the success of an independently published author. Traditionally published authors have the benefit of the publishing house presenting their books to libraries and bookstores via seasonal catalogs and through sales reps pushing the books. The self-published author has to write the books, market the books, distribute and promote the books. All of this can be very costly! In this economy the authors tend to start taking shortcuts to control the costs, sometimes this brings down the quality of the product. This is a serious no-no! Also, when readers have less money to spend on entertainment, they tend to cut down on their book purchases. Some readers will turn to the libraries, online book swap groups and such sites as Book Crossings to find free or used books. The authors can work around this by creating personal relationships with their readers that will stimulate loyalty period. Some ways to do this is to create video blogs of the author in their every day life talking about the books and what’s going on with them. Create podcast readings from their books and post them all over the web. Use sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Ning networks to meet the readers on their own turf. Create blogs about their daily lives or what’s going on with their characters to give readers something to chat about amongst themselves. Virtual book/blog tours are the hottest thing going in the book world right now. The online tours are a great way to reach people without breaking the bank. At EDC Creations, we offer blog and radio tours starting at $199.00, which will increase the author’s territory and put them before thousands of readers per day! UM: How can people contact you for your services? EDC Answer: For book promotions and publicity the best way to reach me is to visit my EDC Creations website. On the main website you can find Black Pearls Magazine, Black Authors Network Radio Show and all the packages we offer authors and publishers. The readers will also meet the authors we are featuring for the month. To meet new authors and to explore the latest books, readers can visit the BAN Radio Community blog. We have two online bookstores established to suggest great literature for all our readers. The stores are updated monthly with new releases. It’s like going into any brick and mortar store; you can skim the books, and meet the authors. The site addresses are listed below for you and your readers to enjoy. It is a pleasure to meet new readers weekly! On BAN radio we always have gifts and prizes for the visitors. Frequent visitors and bloggers to our community, win books by posting regular and truly joining the conversations. Check us out…you won’t be disappointed! Thank you so much for this opportunity to share the world of EDC Creations Media Group with your network. EDC Creations’ Main Website http://www.edc-creations.com Black Pearls Magazine http://www.blackpearlsmagazine.com EDC Creations Internet Book Promotions Meet the authors on book tours in 2009 http://www.edccreationsbooktours.ning.com BAN Community Blog http://www.profilesinblack.blogspot.com Black Pearls Magazine Blog http://edcmagazine.blogspot.com EDC Creations Bookstores: http://astore.amazon.com/edcmagazine-20 http://astore.amazon.com/sanklitesoci-20</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>urban,literature,urban,books,urban,media,black,books,urban,book,promotion,black,book,promotion</itunes:keywords></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-2290846750745987449</guid><pubDate>Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:35:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-08-17T22:46:22.330-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">author nicola mitchell</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">black author interviews</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">over and over again</category><title>Interview with Over and Over Again Author Nicola Mitchell</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFBWoejUJKVHrBhLojP3ddtCSRhE_p60aPkGPBbbgA-hKLn5Xgbuwq_e_opL7Lqt0qjBCLm0Bs0gimw5f7kvG7wXjW8B-1xoCvY31yISHRZrVmuXUdWzhDMTwV-yMRa6szlmsIQ/s1600-h/over-and-over-again-cover.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFBWoejUJKVHrBhLojP3ddtCSRhE_p60aPkGPBbbgA-hKLn5Xgbuwq_e_opL7Lqt0qjBCLm0Bs0gimw5f7kvG7wXjW8B-1xoCvY31yISHRZrVmuXUdWzhDMTwV-yMRa6szlmsIQ/s320/over-and-over-again-cover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371128091446491202" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. UM: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.  What inspired Over and Over Again?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I started writing the book it was supposed to be a tribute to my children.  I had a daughter that passed away named Dionni.  She lived to be 40 days old.  The combination of all of my daughters is who I created this character to be.  I combined the features of my other daughter's Destani 15 and Diamond 10, and came up with this character.  I believe the characteristics, and the description that I created in this story is how my real Dionni would have been. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Then like other artist who has written about relationships, I was hurt.  The pain that I was feeling allowed me to take the story line and my characters to another level. It allowed me to express how my self and the way other women in the world may feel after trying to make things work over and over again. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. UM:  The writing process is different for every writer.  Describe your ups and downs when writing Over and Over Again. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Like I stated before, in the beginning it was a story created as a tribute to my children, but once I got into it, I went into another direction.  At times I had writers block, but I would just stop and go to another section.  I work a full time job and I am getting my MBA.  So when things would come to me at work or at school, I would just jot them down, and work on it in the wee hours of the night.  Once I established the pain in the story line, it was a lot easier for me to complete.  A natural flow was then established, and while listening to music I was able to complete the manuscript.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. UM: Is there a moral to the story or a message you want to communicate to readers? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I want my readers to be entertained but at the same time display that even through the trials and tribulations that life may bring, us as women can still be independent and successful.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. UM: What is next for you? Any future events or information you want our audience to know about?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have already started my next book "The Appetizer," and right now I am just promoting and preparing for my book release in July.  I was just at the Las Vegas Black Book Festival as one of the 20 a featured author, and I have a host of other events such as:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Apr 4     Maryland Writer's Conference&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;May 28 – 31 Book Expo of America – New York City, NY&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jun 18 – 20   Black Writer's Conference – Las Vegas, NV&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;June 13-14 AAMBC National Meeting – San Antonio, TX&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;July 18 Harlem Book Fair – Harlem, NY&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;July 31- Aug 2 National Book Club Conference – Atlanta, GA&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;5. UM: How can our readers contact you and support your endeavors?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The readers can check out my website: www.nicolacmitchell.com or join my fan club site nicola.ning.com.  My email is nicola@nicolacmitchell.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/08/interview-with-over-and-over-again.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFBWoejUJKVHrBhLojP3ddtCSRhE_p60aPkGPBbbgA-hKLn5Xgbuwq_e_opL7Lqt0qjBCLm0Bs0gimw5f7kvG7wXjW8B-1xoCvY31yISHRZrVmuXUdWzhDMTwV-yMRa6szlmsIQ/s72-c/over-and-over-again-cover.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>1</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-7392961706961918202</guid><pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:26:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-07-16T10:29:18.817-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">hip hop artists</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">james brown</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">rapper dirt bomb</category><title>D Bomb Born Sinner</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4GhHOOOU7_JfscEhQsSs1WFaM0d4R8NOttYr8vt2lPU9zLxodai90vbw3SREk0RPdx-6t7HxP6IEEVe-CMML_Uq50cqUXuxopkY7wV9e3pCORjVi2Tm_s65Ax0duaoUnMLNlMg/s1600-h/BORNSINNA_FRONT_1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4GhHOOOU7_JfscEhQsSs1WFaM0d4R8NOttYr8vt2lPU9zLxodai90vbw3SREk0RPdx-6t7HxP6IEEVe-CMML_Uq50cqUXuxopkY7wV9e3pCORjVi2Tm_s65Ax0duaoUnMLNlMg/s320/BORNSINNA_FRONT_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359064679737280386" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;With the release of Nookie, I've been hitting the streets of Baltimore heavy and often.   The idea to build a company on sweat equity wasn't new. I 'd heard of authors like Relentless Aaron, Vicky Stringer, Terri Woods and others selling there books independent in the streets.  However, with my own eyes, I never saw anyone hustle and get money from the block until my partner Dirt Bomb came to Baltimore and hustled his CD's.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Check out the video. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aHdkW8a_--Y&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aHdkW8a_--Y&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I'll add a link to an interview later.</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/07/d-bomb-born-sinner.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4GhHOOOU7_JfscEhQsSs1WFaM0d4R8NOttYr8vt2lPU9zLxodai90vbw3SREk0RPdx-6t7HxP6IEEVe-CMML_Uq50cqUXuxopkY7wV9e3pCORjVi2Tm_s65Ax0duaoUnMLNlMg/s72-c/BORNSINNA_FRONT_1.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-8236402284011896523</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:47:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-06-01T23:38:08.016-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">charles hamilton punch</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">domestic violence</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">hip hop artists</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban domestic violence</category><title>Urban "Domestic Violence" Situation</title><description>&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vmmAzVAaKPY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vmmAzVAaKPY&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Even after the Chris Brown domestic violence situation, I confess a woman has hit me in the mouth before and I have put my hands on a woman. The domestic violence situations occurred as a teenager and I regret the situations ever happened, but I ponder what I would do as an adult today. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I watched this clip on &lt;a href="http://www.theroot.com"&gt;The Root&lt;/a&gt;, I was reminded of the manner anger and violence erupt and are used in the urban environment and relationships.  At one point in my life violence had become integral in daily interaction.   It took time and effort to unlearn violent behavior, situations and people.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;However, if a person power jabbed you in the face with a stiff punch like this young lady did with Charles Hamilton, What would you do? I had to think real hard before I proceeded to answer the latter for several reasons. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;1. The young lady is his size or larger, she might be stronger. That punch was no slap or scratch.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;2. The sexual exploit he discussed and experiences about the relationship were probably true. She was cute!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;3. The truth hurt so much that she had no other way to resolve the situation other than to use violence and punch him.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;4. She punched him because she could. She thought he was a punk and that she could beat his ass if he pissed her off - every violent person thinks alike!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I don't condone violence against women or men.  However, I think it is too simple for someone who has never been involved in a violent situation with the other gender to say what they would or wouldn't do. People say what they are "supposed" to say and what is politically correct. No matter how hard she hit me, I would never hit a woman. Most men who are trying to impress and win favor of women claim, "I would never hit ..."  even if they have!  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I disagree. Every person is entitled to their 360 degree space. I will not put my hands on any person as long as they do not put hands on me. It is not personal or gender specific.  Don't you think everyone deserves that basic respect?</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/06/urban-domestic-violence-situation.html</link><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-3114946816890330859</guid><pubDate>Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-04-14T15:59:24.449-04:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">a drug dealers dream</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">q.b. wells</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">tremayne johnson</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban author</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban books</category><title>A Drug Dealer's Dream by Tremayne Johnson</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBXJ2pQZba-9utfzLSLO1kwhArrpoJWywfB_ctn6510JP-HfyAFRibGyEcjNUAZXNzCcNC3l3qWKKoJCojBopFprmH_m712pQFWYMI-FMWf-vSVOHfECNFdXWcjwic3JXBdmE7g/s1600-h/a-drug-dealers-dream.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 89px; height: 137px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBXJ2pQZba-9utfzLSLO1kwhArrpoJWywfB_ctn6510JP-HfyAFRibGyEcjNUAZXNzCcNC3l3qWKKoJCojBopFprmH_m712pQFWYMI-FMWf-vSVOHfECNFdXWcjwic3JXBdmE7g/s320/a-drug-dealers-dream.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321944441014392882" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;True Story.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When I was younger, I remember a dude Jimmy.  Jimmy was in a gang. Flipped like a pancake from Vice Lord, Gangster Disciple, Blackstone to a Mickey Cobra. For his dishonor, a few gangs put a price on his head.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jimmy cared less and spent most of his time with Marchell, a young chick that loved Jimmy.  They were always together on the block, at the basketball court or at the movies. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One day somebody caught up with Jimmy in front of his house and blasted a double-barrow shotgun at close range. Jimmy wasn't hit,but Marchell caught it in the chess.  Died instantly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After the incident, Jimmy acted like 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and never was the same.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In an odd way, "A Drug Dealer's Dream" by Tremayne Johnson reminds me of this incident.  A young lady in love with the wrong person and catches the consequences of the game.  Check out the &lt;a href="http://www.ideamarketers.com/?articleid531664&amp;wherefom=LOGINCFID=85138348&amp;CFTOKEN=10496031"&gt;review&lt;/a&gt;. Befriend &lt;a href="http://www.myspace.com/tremaynejohnson1"&gt;Tremayne Johnson&lt;/a&gt; and support the book.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You can view the book trailer too.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6AxIWlPzF-k&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6AxIWlPzF-k&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/04/drug-dealers-dream-by-tremayne-johnson.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXBXJ2pQZba-9utfzLSLO1kwhArrpoJWywfB_ctn6510JP-HfyAFRibGyEcjNUAZXNzCcNC3l3qWKKoJCojBopFprmH_m712pQFWYMI-FMWf-vSVOHfECNFdXWcjwic3JXBdmE7g/s72-c/a-drug-dealers-dream.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-1642631469407162654</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2009 16:04:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-03-01T12:09:58.113-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">eric nyamor</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban art</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Urban cartoonist</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban media</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urbania magazine</category><title>Urban Cartoonist Eric Nyamor</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5J4PSEQRSmgHBHy8R72v2aWA8gpAxYuHwqBkIgA7nk4nH59olVhJO-Qg5ugPLbMcOuwdjn18CLyLFC_ftc-LwUjnZx-VNHDWXK4e5e3nlqcBHbqlWhD3QglhsBNEUGvI5depaQ/s1600-h/everythingiam.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5J4PSEQRSmgHBHy8R72v2aWA8gpAxYuHwqBkIgA7nk4nH59olVhJO-Qg5ugPLbMcOuwdjn18CLyLFC_ftc-LwUjnZx-VNHDWXK4e5e3nlqcBHbqlWhD3QglhsBNEUGvI5depaQ/s320/everythingiam.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308265608032779442" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After the Sean Delonas comic strips debacle, I decided to search for more diverse images of blacks depicted in comic strips.  I found a cartoonist, Eric Nyamor who creates a unique take on perspectives in hip-hop and urban life. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He has a take on the &lt;a href="http://www.hiphopillustrations.com/comicstrip.html"&gt;Chris Brown situation&lt;/a&gt; in his latest cartoon. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Check out his website &lt;a href="http://www.hiphopillustrations.com"&gt;Hiphopillustrations.com&lt;/a&gt; to view more of his cartoons.  An interview with Eric Nyamor along with his cartoon will appear in an issues of &lt;a href="http://www.urbainamag.com"&gt;Urbania Magazine&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I will list another five to ten urban comic strips or cartoonists that offer in another post.  Feel free to list any other urban comic cartoonists in the comments section.  I will use the information to compile a list.</description><enclosure length="0" type="text/html" url="http://www.hiphopillustrations.com/comicstrip.html"/><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/03/urban-cartoonist-eric-nyamor.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5J4PSEQRSmgHBHy8R72v2aWA8gpAxYuHwqBkIgA7nk4nH59olVhJO-Qg5ugPLbMcOuwdjn18CLyLFC_ftc-LwUjnZx-VNHDWXK4e5e3nlqcBHbqlWhD3QglhsBNEUGvI5depaQ/s72-c/everythingiam.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>After the Sean Delonas comic strips debacle, I decided to search for more diverse images of blacks depicted in comic strips. I found a cartoonist, Eric Nyamor who creates a unique take on perspectives in hip-hop and urban life. He has a take on the Chris Brown situation in his latest cartoon. Check out his website Hiphopillustrations.com to view more of his cartoons. An interview with Eric Nyamor along with his cartoon will appear in an issues of Urbania Magazine. I will list another five to ten urban comic strips or cartoonists that offer in another post. Feel free to list any other urban comic cartoonists in the comments section. I will use the information to compile a list.</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>Q.B. Wells</itunes:author><itunes:summary>After the Sean Delonas comic strips debacle, I decided to search for more diverse images of blacks depicted in comic strips. I found a cartoonist, Eric Nyamor who creates a unique take on perspectives in hip-hop and urban life. He has a take on the Chris Brown situation in his latest cartoon. Check out his website Hiphopillustrations.com to view more of his cartoons. An interview with Eric Nyamor along with his cartoon will appear in an issues of Urbania Magazine. I will list another five to ten urban comic strips or cartoonists that offer in another post. Feel free to list any other urban comic cartoonists in the comments section. I will use the information to compile a list.</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>urban,literature,urban,books,urban,media,black,books,urban,book,promotion,black,book,promotion</itunes:keywords></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-4733984264699594388</guid><pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:25:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-02-23T13:07:39.625-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">black playwrights</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">black woman playwrights</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Chicago playwrights</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">chicago theater companies</category><title>Playwright Reshanda Henderson</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzN2WYwKjPdPrDiG-PaJt-mHTiL3eduzodHQE1Pjsbim1dZ1LCDZTlKCO_IH8II-kVPA8bu9FCVIxhNvcwvhqC7TwllSyeJyqOXWTH1wuFo5Ur-kQfG12BgJtR5LwPvVZzmg0FPg/s1600-h/final+poster.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzN2WYwKjPdPrDiG-PaJt-mHTiL3eduzodHQE1Pjsbim1dZ1LCDZTlKCO_IH8II-kVPA8bu9FCVIxhNvcwvhqC7TwllSyeJyqOXWTH1wuFo5Ur-kQfG12BgJtR5LwPvVZzmg0FPg/s320/final+poster.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306053924001930434" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tyler Perry is not the only black playwright in America! Chicago playwright Reshanda Henderson's "What Every Woman Wants in a Man" shows March 6 and March 7.  The play features Christan Keyes from Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail, What's Done in the Dark and The Diary of a Mad Black Woman.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Check out a trailer of another play she wrote and produced, "The Mr., the Mrs. &amp; The Lover".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;object width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MTpyQYLM9r8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MTpyQYLM9r8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a male dominated industry, woman voices are often overlooked. I can't remember the last time I experienced a play. Some of the reason is my circle of experience, more of the reason is the marketing of plays staged in local and community theaters. If you can, support your local theater. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Reshanda Henderson is the C.E.O of &lt;a href="http://www.xpressyoselftheater.com"&gt;Xpressyoself Theater Company&lt;/a&gt;.  Show your support for Reshanda Henderson and other &lt;a href="http://www.blackwomenplaywrights.org"&gt;black women playwrights&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Check out an interview with her in a upcoming issue of &lt;a href="http://www.urbaniamag.com"&gt;Urbania Magazine&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you know of other plays and playwrights that create plays that challenge ideas and are set in the urban city environment, please comment so that I can compile a list.</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/02/playwright-reshanda-henderson.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzN2WYwKjPdPrDiG-PaJt-mHTiL3eduzodHQE1Pjsbim1dZ1LCDZTlKCO_IH8II-kVPA8bu9FCVIxhNvcwvhqC7TwllSyeJyqOXWTH1wuFo5Ur-kQfG12BgJtR5LwPvVZzmg0FPg/s72-c/final+poster.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-404745929674574701</guid><pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:56:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-02-19T16:56:25.588-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">new york post response</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">New York Times Cartoon Spoof</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">top urban authors</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban author response</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban books</category><title>Response to Sean Delonas Cartoon</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwWFhUtSg0lNdnT7RM5yJBjBBJ_1M4w5kj8B-NZunarZiKTQWsk0csdgv4uLo10DPVZXGlqlO5m_kge7r7Iy8vKOmCGPH8QbuSLv40Ulr8xX6COzGMbHX-ns9mNP12B7_E8vjig/s1600-h/NYPostspoof.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwWFhUtSg0lNdnT7RM5yJBjBBJ_1M4w5kj8B-NZunarZiKTQWsk0csdgv4uLo10DPVZXGlqlO5m_kge7r7Iy8vKOmCGPH8QbuSLv40Ulr8xX6COzGMbHX-ns9mNP12B7_E8vjig/s320/NYPostspoof.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304588235153503538" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The &lt;a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/18/new-york-chimp-carto_n_167841.html"&gt;Sam Stein response&lt;/a&gt; to the Sean Delonas cartoon in the New York was fair and balanced. However, the ideas that can be inferred from the perspective of an African American are unique.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The reference to the stimulus package was narrow.  The history of the monkey and the comparison to African Americans by other races is wide, layered and politically charged. Not literal politics in elections, but the practical, figurative politics that is played in peoples private lives.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Calling African Americans monkeys and niggers is not a practice that takes place in public.  It takes place in the homes and informal meetings of individuals who believe the idea of racism has credence.  The New York Post cartoon spoke to these people.      They will all laughed behind closed doors.  But they are too coward to stand behind their ideas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;African Americans are not monolithic in thinking.  However, the inference in the illustration suggest that the President Obama should be killed for signing the stimulus bill.     &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The above cartoon spoof illustrates the larger conversation about racism that the Sean Delonas and the New York Post will not participate in or stand behind. Instead, the New York Post blamed Rev. Al Sharpton for being a publicity opportunist.  The latter may be true.  However, the Rev. Al Sharpton has taken the correct stance on this issue.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There is room for an individual to hide behind their art, images, and cartoons. They should just have to explain words behind them.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If the point was to incite. Then the cartoonist did his job.</description><enclosure length="0" type="text/html" url="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/18/new-york-post-chimp-carto_n_167841.html"/><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/02/response-to-sean-delonas-cartoon.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwWFhUtSg0lNdnT7RM5yJBjBBJ_1M4w5kj8B-NZunarZiKTQWsk0csdgv4uLo10DPVZXGlqlO5m_kge7r7Iy8vKOmCGPH8QbuSLv40Ulr8xX6COzGMbHX-ns9mNP12B7_E8vjig/s72-c/NYPostspoof.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>The Sam Stein response to the Sean Delonas cartoon in the New York was fair and balanced. However, the ideas that can be inferred from the perspective of an African American are unique. The reference to the stimulus package was narrow. The history of the monkey and the comparison to African Americans by other races is wide, layered and politically charged. Not literal politics in elections, but the practical, figurative politics that is played in peoples private lives. Calling African Americans monkeys and niggers is not a practice that takes place in public. It takes place in the homes and informal meetings of individuals who believe the idea of racism has credence. The New York Post cartoon spoke to these people. They will all laughed behind closed doors. But they are too coward to stand behind their ideas. African Americans are not monolithic in thinking. However, the inference in the illustration suggest that the President Obama should be killed for signing the stimulus bill. The above cartoon spoof illustrates the larger conversation about racism that the Sean Delonas and the New York Post will not participate in or stand behind. Instead, the New York Post blamed Rev. Al Sharpton for being a publicity opportunist. The latter may be true. However, the Rev. Al Sharpton has taken the correct stance on this issue. There is room for an individual to hide behind their art, images, and cartoons. They should just have to explain words behind them. If the point was to incite. Then the cartoonist did his job.</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>Q.B. Wells</itunes:author><itunes:summary>The Sam Stein response to the Sean Delonas cartoon in the New York was fair and balanced. However, the ideas that can be inferred from the perspective of an African American are unique. The reference to the stimulus package was narrow. The history of the monkey and the comparison to African Americans by other races is wide, layered and politically charged. Not literal politics in elections, but the practical, figurative politics that is played in peoples private lives. Calling African Americans monkeys and niggers is not a practice that takes place in public. It takes place in the homes and informal meetings of individuals who believe the idea of racism has credence. The New York Post cartoon spoke to these people. They will all laughed behind closed doors. But they are too coward to stand behind their ideas. African Americans are not monolithic in thinking. However, the inference in the illustration suggest that the President Obama should be killed for signing the stimulus bill. The above cartoon spoof illustrates the larger conversation about racism that the Sean Delonas and the New York Post will not participate in or stand behind. Instead, the New York Post blamed Rev. Al Sharpton for being a publicity opportunist. The latter may be true. However, the Rev. Al Sharpton has taken the correct stance on this issue. There is room for an individual to hide behind their art, images, and cartoons. They should just have to explain words behind them. If the point was to incite. Then the cartoonist did his job.</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>urban,literature,urban,books,urban,media,black,books,urban,book,promotion,black,book,promotion</itunes:keywords></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-8689688793157227324</guid><pubDate>Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-02-06T21:17:21.592-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Deshawn Taylor</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban author books</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban book reviews</category><title>Kissed by the Devil by Deshawn Taylor</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcsROFwOA7wAmpH2vcxpao3OeIow8PgxGoRAvuQ2S_96BWu6UPtho89L0an0loejpU6RwHcTrQcLYhdZ9D-ludIn_-iW65MOMsaqlJS-sBtXsXqOksOcdUlRNwj5JGk4JlcbGvQ/s1600-h/kissed+by+the+devil.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcsROFwOA7wAmpH2vcxpao3OeIow8PgxGoRAvuQ2S_96BWu6UPtho89L0an0loejpU6RwHcTrQcLYhdZ9D-ludIn_-iW65MOMsaqlJS-sBtXsXqOksOcdUlRNwj5JGk4JlcbGvQ/s320/kissed+by+the+devil.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299846560344732018" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I completed a book review on &lt;a href="http://www.theurbanbooksource.com/reviews/books/kissedbydevil.php"&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Kissed by the Devil&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; by Deshawn Taylor. I liked the book because the characters were criminal minded and witty.  One of the street hustles in the book was a basic &lt;a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ponzi_scheme"&gt;ponzi scheme&lt;/a&gt; used to generate money at the top. Just like in the real life &lt;a href="http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/06/bernard-madoff-investors-list-business-wall-0206_madoff.html"&gt;Madoff scandal&lt;/a&gt;, everything attached to the scheme crumbles.  In the book, the character involved in the scheme loses his life. Bernard Madoff lives in his penthouse while on house arrest.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Deshawn Taylor is the author of &lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;From Poverty to Power Moves&lt;/span&gt; and a finalist in the BET Ultimate Hustler Show.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://technorati.com/claim/xigpe8prnb" rel="me"&gt;Technorati Profile&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/02/kissed-by-devil-by-deshawn-taylor.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcsROFwOA7wAmpH2vcxpao3OeIow8PgxGoRAvuQ2S_96BWu6UPtho89L0an0loejpU6RwHcTrQcLYhdZ9D-ludIn_-iW65MOMsaqlJS-sBtXsXqOksOcdUlRNwj5JGk4JlcbGvQ/s72-c/kissed+by+the+devil.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16122535.post-2114637610333617873</guid><pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:15:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2009-02-05T11:44:20.375-05:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Getting out the Game</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">omar powell</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban authors</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">urban book reviews</category><title>Getting Out the Game by Omar Powell</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfcgy8bn1rTSUbGtGI0iWjJm0LN61S8U_fx8MPavCV8c3uNU9LBQsr_DWbPydFQMdAE_wu3gdsmAE-rYiJYxCafwiS2MrIEYEtQD8kw8gBjN83qCFBusy783_eyq6kHtm7OwmHg/s1600-h/getting+out+the+game.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 175px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfcgy8bn1rTSUbGtGI0iWjJm0LN61S8U_fx8MPavCV8c3uNU9LBQsr_DWbPydFQMdAE_wu3gdsmAE-rYiJYxCafwiS2MrIEYEtQD8kw8gBjN83qCFBusy783_eyq6kHtm7OwmHg/s320/getting+out+the+game.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5299023579225119714" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Getting Out the Game by Omar Powell was a &lt;a href="http://www.theurbanbooksource.com/reviews/books/gettingoutthegame.php"&gt;book review&lt;/a&gt; that I wrote for The Urban Book Source. The book had the right motivation but lacked execution.  I hope the book review will help people interested in urban literature.  I think that If the book was nonfiction, it could have offered more value for the reader.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Make sure to support Omar Powell with other upcoming projects.</description><enclosure length="0" type="" url="http://www.myspace.com/gettingoutthegame"/><link>http://urbanbooksandmedia.blogspot.com/2009/02/getting-out-game-by-omar-powell.html</link><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" height="72" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfcgy8bn1rTSUbGtGI0iWjJm0LN61S8U_fx8MPavCV8c3uNU9LBQsr_DWbPydFQMdAE_wu3gdsmAE-rYiJYxCafwiS2MrIEYEtQD8kw8gBjN83qCFBusy783_eyq6kHtm7OwmHg/s72-c/getting+out+the+game.jpg" width="72"/><thr:total>1</thr:total><author>qbwells@gmail.com (Q.B. Wells)</author><itunes:explicit>no</itunes:explicit><itunes:subtitle>Getting Out the Game by Omar Powell was a book review that I wrote for The Urban Book Source. The book had the right motivation but lacked execution. I hope the book review will help people interested in urban literature. I think that If the book was nonfiction, it could have offered more value for the reader. Make sure to support Omar Powell with other upcoming projects.</itunes:subtitle><itunes:author>Q.B. Wells</itunes:author><itunes:summary>Getting Out the Game by Omar Powell was a book review that I wrote for The Urban Book Source. The book had the right motivation but lacked execution. I hope the book review will help people interested in urban literature. I think that If the book was nonfiction, it could have offered more value for the reader. Make sure to support Omar Powell with other upcoming projects.</itunes:summary><itunes:keywords>urban,literature,urban,books,urban,media,black,books,urban,book,promotion,black,book,promotion</itunes:keywords></item></channel></rss>