You're Invited......

To a wine and strawberry reading and signing to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the publication of SUGAR..

When: January 7th, 2010 from 7PM - 9PM

Where: Brownstone Books 409 Lewis Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11233

RSVP: bernicemcfadden@hotmail.com

Bernice L. McFadden

And the winner is.............!

Bernice L. McFadden

The "Break-Through" that came disguised as a "Break-Down"

This past October I suffered what my doctor described as a “break-down.”

I was returning from a thirty minute walk, my mind a whirlwind of what I had to get done on that day, the remainder of the year and the rest of my life – when suddenly I became over-heated, my heart began to race, my stomach soured, my legs turned to jelly and I truly believed that I was having a massive heart attack. I thought about my daughter, my mother and siblings and how sad it would be to receive a call from a stranger telling them that I had expired.

I struggled over to a group of young men and asked if they would hail a taxi for me, which they did and in addition had to help me into. I made it home, practically crawled up the stairs and into my house where I collapsed onto my sofa.

I was still alive, but my nerves were shot – hence the term “nervous break-down.”

The next day I went to the doctor where I was reduced to a mess of tears. We had been down this road before. I have suffered from panic attacks since I was child, but this by far was the worse attack I had ever experienced.

I have a tough exterior, but am all pink and soft at the center and I’ve always secretly thought that the famous line in Zora Neale Hurston’s wonderful novel Their Eyes were watching God: …set me down gently Janie, I'm a cracked plate". ...” best described me.

So medication in hand, I returned home and started working on getting better. I was well aware of what had brought on my unraveling – and so I turned my attention away from the problems and worries that had plagued me for more than a year.

Now you may be reading this, clutching your chests, sighing “Poor her.” but don’t. God has a way of swooping in and setting you on the right path. I was going, going, going…spinning in one place and accomplishing very little. God slammed me into a brick wall (thank goodness he didn’t throw me under a bus) a brick wall that at the time seemed unconquerable, but over the past eight weeks, I am proud to announce that I am now straddling that wall and the view is magnificent!

If I had not hit that brick wall, I certainly would not have thrown the amount of effort I have into my 10th Anniversary, 10,000-book campaign. Every new day brought with it a new idea, a new way to reach readers that had never heard of my work or me. In a matter of weeks, the remaining stock of SUGAR books in my publishers warehouse was shipped out and sold.

Prior to my “break-through” my future as a published writer seemed dreary. I felt that the industry had pressed a great, big, black book against my throat that was ever so slowly cutting off my air. It angered me to know that certain people and entities had sought to extinguish my life's purpose and livelihood!

So I got mad and then as the saying goes, then I got motivated! And the 10th Anniversary, 10,000 book campaign was born!

Of course I could not have done this without the assistance of my readers and fellow authors who purchased books and helped to spread the word.

I am supremely grateful for my “break-through” that came disguised as a “break-down” and I know that I am a better person and author because of it.

Don’t ever let anybody steal your joy or your purpose, hang on to both with your life.

Know that I am grateful for each and every one of you and that I am wishing you and yours all the blessings you can stand! See you here on the 26th....Merry, Merry xmas and happy - happy break-throughs.............

Bernice L. McFadden

Final December Book-Give-A-Way

In the next few days I will be in possession of a few ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) of my novel GLORIOUS which will be published on May 1st 2010. So I've decided to give one of those copies away.




• – If you’d like to enter you must be a Blogger Follower with Google Friend Connect (Make sure your Blogger ID/Name goes to your Blogger profile page and that your setting is on Public instead of Anonymous.) In the comments section, state “I AM A FOLLOWER.” And please leave your email address.

***EACH EXTRA ENTRY MUST HAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT***


+1 – Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave the URL in the comment section.

+1 – Post about this giveaway on Twitter and leave the URL in the comment section.


• – You must be 18 years or older (Under 18, get your parents to enter.)

• – US & Canada residents only.

• – Winners will be posted here on Saturday December 26th, 2009. If you don’t want to miss the announcement post, be a subscriber to the blog. Not sure how? Look in the right sidebar under Subscribe.

• – Unclaimed books will be entered in a Quickie Twitter Giveaway the following month.

• – Make sure your entry ID is distinguishable by others who post. Remember, you might not be the only John or Jane commenting below.


Comments that aren’t an entry will be deleted.

Good Luck!

Bernice L. McFadden

Nappy Headed Hos Authors.....

Was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the current cover of Publisher's Weekly. The photograph brought on a Don Imus brain freeze.

Maybe a decade ago I might have been able to appreciate the cover for what it is: ART - but these are sensitive times for Af-Am authors; marginalization is claiming an Af-Am author almost as frequently as cancer claims a chain-smoker.

Instead placing a photo on the cover that wages war on SEG-BOOK-GATION, a photo that portrays the brilliance, beauty and diversity of Af-Am writers, PW took another route (one that we have become quite accustomed to ) and chose to use a photo that stripped away forty odd years of achievements and hurdled us back to a time and a place where few Af-Am writers were being published/and or read. They chose to use a photo that screams "Black Power" - a slogan that has always made white folk uncomfortable.

I understand that the cover was supposed to be a "tongue-in-cheek" sort of thing - but with the onslaught of criticism pouring in from the public - "tongue-in-cheek" has turned into "foot-in-mouth"

Good job PW (she said sarcastically) this will most certainly lure our paler brothers and sisters into the segregated section of the bookstore!

The article makes a number of points some valid some not so valid.

Side Rant: The claim that "readers are out there but are hard to find" - is baffling to me. You can't get blood from a stone - stop looking in the same place - we black folk reproduce - but not as quickly as the racist media lets on. We (black folk) only make up 7% of the population - look across the color line - you'll find those "so called" hard to find readers over there. Remember them? They voted for Obama, so I'm sure they won't object to reading a book written by someone who looks him. [end rant]

I find it very interesting that we - the descendants of a people who established the very first university known to man - a university that produced a number of great scholars (you think some of those scholars wrote books?) Now find ourselves on the outskirts, crawling through the badlands of the literary landscape with Big Publishing scratching their chins trying (not really) to figure out just how they can effectively market the descendants of the "original" purveyors of literature to the rest of the world.

Bernice L. McFadden

And the winner is.............!

Bernice L. McFadden

One Month Left...Book Contest...Dear Oprah..

Happy Hump Day Ya'll!

First off CONGRATULATIONS to Shalema who won last weeks book give-a-away. She will be receiving an autographed copy of Loving Donovan. *applauding*

Before I announce the next book-give-a-way I'd like to remind you that we are exactly one month from SUGARS 10th Anniversary, 10,000 Book Campaign. So again, if you have not already purchased a copy (or two) please do.

Secondly, friend and Librarian extraordinaire Vickie Beene made an interesting suggestion that readers of the blog send a copy of SUGAR to Oprah. I love that Idea -- but I'm going to change it a little bit. Of course I would love for you to send a copy of SUGAR to Oprah, but if you have a favorite AF-AM author that you feel Oprah should spotlight on her show or in her magazine - then please send a book by that author.

The Oprah Winfrey Show, PO Box 909715, Chicago, IL 60690


This week I am giving away a signed Hardcover First Edition copy of This Bitter Earth (The sequel to Sugar) along with a booktrack CD with the title song SUGAR. <----- (Collectors alert: You can't buy this CD in any store!)

This Bitter Earth picks up where Sugar left off-on the dirt road leading to Sugar's childhood home in Short Junction, Arkansas. Here, Sugar hears a shocking revelation about unrequited love, and about one man's hatred-and the black magic that has cursed generations. Her travels take Sugar to St. Louis, where the bonds of an old friendship test the limits of her courage and compassion-and the sacrifices she will make for another young woman in desperate need of a caring friend.

Filled with the lyrical language, haunting imagery, and compelling voice that imbued Sugar with its power and grace, This Bitter Earth is a novel about the inexorable power the past exerts over us and our ability to triumph over adversity and sorrow. Earthy and richly evocative, it is a testament to the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

• – If you’d like to enter you must be a Blogger Follower with Google Friend Connect (Make sure your Blogger ID/Name goes to your Blogger profile page and that your setting is on Public instead of Anonymous.) In the comments section, state “I AM A FOLLOWER.” And please leave your email address.

***EACH EXTRA ENTRY MUST HAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT***


+1 - Post about the Campaign to Sell 10,000 Books on your blog and leave the URL in the comment section.

+1 – Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave the URL in the comment section.

+1 – Post about this giveaway on Twitter and leave the URL in the comment section.

+1 - Friend me on Facebook (and leave a msg on my page about this contest)

• – You must be 18 years or older (Under 18, get your parents to enter.)

• – US & Canada residents only.

• – Winners will NOT be notified by email. The winner will be posted here on Monday December 14th, 2009. If you don’t want to miss the announcement post, be a subscriber to the blog. Not sure how? Look in the right sidebar under Subscribe.

• – Unclaimed books will be entered in a Quickie Twitter Giveaway the following month.

• – Make sure your entry ID is distinguishable by others who post. Remember, you might not be the only John or Jane commenting below.


Comments that aren’t an entry will be deleted.

Good Luck!

Bernice L. McFadden

Contest Winner Announcement

Happy Monday Ya'll!

We are just one month and 2 days away from meeting my goal of selling 10K copies of SUGAR. I appreciate all of the help and effort you've put in to this campaign thus far - but I need you to continue doing what you do best and that is SPREADING THE WORD -- we're down to the final stretch --- we're almost there.....

I hope this photo of Kimberly Elise, two-time NAACP Image Award winning American film and television actress inspires you to send in your own photos for the 10th Anniversary Album:



And now (DRUM ROLL) The winner is..........

Bernice L. McFadden

The First time i was called a Nigger...

...... by a white person I was ten years old and strolling down Rockaway Boulevard (Queens) with my seven-year-old brother in tow.

Back then South Ozone Park was made up of mostly Italians who were fiercely trying to protect their bedroom community from the onslaught of AF-AM’s who were escaping the tenement houses of Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx and pouring into their community in droves.

On that day, I was headed to my grandparent’s home. They lived (my grandmother still lives) on 134th Street and Foch Avenue. When I was a little girl going to their house was like “Going Down South”. The street was unpaved and people had fruit trees in the front and back yards. A truck delivered soda every week – it was heaven.

The incident happened a mile or so away from my grandparents’ home. My brother and I had just descended the stairs at Cross bay Boulevard when we found ourselves circled by a group of young, white boys who spat on our clothes as they called us all sorts of derogatory names. We were
terrified.

There were adults on the streets – white adults - and none said a word. None came to our rescue.

“Niggers go home!” the boys blared at us. “You don’t belong here!”

Suddenly there was opening in the circle and I grabbed my brothers hand and we began to run. A bottle shattered at our heels. “You’re not wanted here!”

I have never ever forgotten that day and thirty odd years later, that section of South Ozone Park is now inhabited by Afro-Caribbean’s and East Indians from Trinidad and Guyana – It is - as they say - a new day, but my heart still flutters whenever I walk down Rockaway Blvd. I still expect to encounter those boys. I still expect to be called a Nigger.

This is something that is ingrained in my psyche and no amount of We shall Over Come, will shake it from my memory.

But I knew that not ALL white people felt that way. I had white people in my family. I had white friends. This, I told myself, was an isolated incident - the world wasn't an ugly, racist place. It was beautiful place with a few bad apples.

I went on with my life and knew with all of my heart that one day I would become a published writer and I also knew that my books would be read by all people - not just my folks.....because you know...literature is suppose to bring people together, not pull them apart.

And I still believe that...but I will admit sometimes when I am alone here in my house, monitoring what is going on in publishing where it concerns AF-AM writers, I feel a slight weight on my shoulder and I hear a tiny menacing voice in my ear whispering: “You don’t belong here…”

I hear that voice in these Best of 2009 lists that are sorely lacking in AF-Am writers:


Publishers Weekly

Oprah's Ten Terrific Reads of 2009

About.com Top Ten Books of 2009

In the Library Journal Best list of Best of Books for 2009 recognized a number of AF-AM Street-Lit Authors. (more on this in another post)


One response I received about my claim of “Seg-Book-Gation” and my claim that The Help gained the readership it did because of cross marketing by the publisher was this:


I read quite a lot; am Southern-born and bred myself. I do NOT believe AA writers are less promoted. If you are a good writer, and your book is good, you will be read. If people are not buying a book, it has nothing to do with color. It is quite simple. Either we like it or we don't. Think James Baldwin. He was successful above and beyond. I admit that books ABOUT the "old south" are outstanding for the most part, but I defy anyone to know whether the writer is black or white. The 'segregation thing' is OVER. Move past it and concentrate on your talent and your grasp of the English language. Even writing in dialect is exciting. Just stop blaming it on your color.

Several of Oprah's books and movies have failed for only one reason...there is too MUCH blackness of the tortured kind. The average age of an American Reader is younger and knows very little, if anything, about what we ALL went through. Nor do they care. Talk about the Bill Cosbys of the world. He focuses on all the GOOD that AAs do and how they do it themselves. Lazy, boring white people don't make it, either. I hope you know this has nothing to do with you. Why is "The Help" the best book to come out of the south since "Gone With the Wind?" Because it shows how we all FEEL about what our parents did. We aren't like that now. Maybe those in Newport, R.I. or Vicksburg, Ms. are. DON'T GO THERE.


Thoughts........?

Bernice L. McFadden

Tis' The Season for Book-Give-A-Ways!

I'm in the holiday spirit and so for the entire month of December I will be giving away books!

The first book I will be giving away is a signed, hardcover of my novel Loving Donovan. This book is autographed by both the author (me!) and the illustrator R. Gregory Christie.



Book Description:

"McFadden separately introduces Campbell and Donovan and their early lives of family tragedy and disappointment lived within the same gritty urban neighborhood. She ultimately brings these two wounded people together in a bittersweet story that shows the limitations of love and fate. Campbell is raised by a mother who has trapped her husband in a bitter and loveless marriage. Campbell gets her first lessons about longing and passion from the gay tenants who live in the apartment below, the sounds of their lovemaking and fighting drifting up through the vents. Teenaged motherhood from a hasty sexual encounter seems to seal Campbell's fate. Donovan is also the product of a troubled marriage--abandoned by his mother and raised by a father who is overly controlled by his overbearing mother. Donovan is introduced to sex by a charming hustler who lives in his grandmother's basement and seduces children. By the time Donovan and Campbell meet, they've both recovered enough to know what they want in an adult relationship, but have they healed enough to make it last?" - Vanessa Bush

Loving Donovan received the Fiction Honor Award from BCALA.

To Enter:

• – If you’d like to enter you must be a Blogger Follower with Google Friend Connect (Make sure your Blogger ID/Name goes to your Blogger profile page and that your setting is on Public instead of Anonymous.) In the comments section, state “I AM A FOLLOWER.” And please leave your email address.

***EACH EXTRA ENTRY MUST HAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT***


+1 – Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave the URL in the comment section.

+1 – Post about this giveaway on Twitter and leave the URL in the comment section.

• – You must be 18 years or older (Under 18, get your parents to enter.)

• – US & Canada residents only.

• – Winners will NOT be notified by email. The winner will be posted here on Monday December 7th, 2009. If you don’t want to miss the announcement post, be a subscriber to the blog. Not sure how? Look in the right sidebar under Subscribe.

• – Unclaimed books will be entered in a Quickie Twitter Giveaway the following month.

• – Make sure your entry ID is distinguishable by others who post. Remember, you might not be the only John or Jane commenting below.


Comments that aren’t an entry will be deleted.

Good Luck!

Bernice L. McFadden