Friday, February 26, 2010

The "Glorious" Book Blogger Contest!


We are just two months away from the publication of GLORIOUS and in order to spread the word I'm going to need YOU to spread the LOVE....the GLORIOUS LOVE..!

I've just started a contest for Book Bloggers with 50 followers or more who live, read and blog in the USA, Canada and UK.

If you would like to have a chance to win autographed books as well as a $50 American Express Gift Card, then visit the I Love Bernice L. McFadden Blog and get in on the fun!




  • Bernice L. McFadden
  • Wednesday, February 24, 2010

    You gotta stay strong and keep the faith links..

    I woke up today feeling pretty down. We all have those days, right? I did my usual, prepared my breakfast and ate while listening to The Steve Harvey Radio Show. Tommy's mother called into the show and stole the spotlight from the hosts (she was hilarious!) and this prompted a smile from me.

    I turned on the television just to find out what was going on in the world and was soooo moved by the heartbreaking news that the mother of Canadian figure skater, Joannie Rochette's mother suddenly passed away from a heart attack on Sunday...and even with all that grief, Joannie hit the ice and performed beautifully. She did it for herself, her fans, her country but mostly for her mother.....

    I felt ridiculous! Me and my little problems....

    So I picked myself, brushed away my tears, sat down at the computer, checked FB, tweeted-good morning to my tweet-hearts, checked my emails and was pleased to find a note from a blogger/reviewer with a link to her review of SUGAR.....and just like that, my spirits were lifted another five notches!

    Ten years after hitting the BOOK SCENE, people are still discovering the MAGIC that is SUGAR and are helping to spread the word by spreading the Love!


    March 10th is National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and in recognition Reads4Pleasure has invited to join her and other readers on Wednesday, March 10, for an online discussion of my e-book, Keeper of the Keys.



    This moving story of a young woman who considers suicide when she learns she has AIDS is only available through Amazon.com and only in e-format for the low price of $ 1.99. If you don't own a Kindle, you can still join in by reading on your iPhone or on your computer, using Amazon's new Kindle for PC app. Both apps are free.


    Please don't miss out on this opportunity to discuss such an important topic in our community. Happy reading and we'll chat Wednesday, March 10 at 8 pm EST/7 pm CST --!








  • Bernice L. McFadden
  • Monday, February 22, 2010

    And the winners are............!



    Congratulations to Shalema & Lady Chi !!!

    Please send your addresses to bernicemcfadden@hotmail.com and in the subject write: Uptown Winner

    Thank you all for participating and be encouraged you have another chance to win over on author Carleen Brice's Blog starting 2/23






  • Bernice L. McFadden
  • Thursday, February 18, 2010

    Book Give-A-Way (Uptown By Virginia DeBerry & Donna Grant)



    New York Times and Essence Best-Selling Literary Duo, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant, are back this year with Uptown- a story of how one prominent Harlem family’s bonds are strained to the breaking point by the high-rolling world of Manhattan real estate.

    What is the true price of greed, unfettered ambition---and forgiveness? New York Times bestselling co-authors and best friends, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant, who brought you Gotta Keep on Tryin’ and What Doesn’t Kill You are back with a story as big as New York City itself, following a wealthy, prominent family caught in a storm of sexual scandal, secrets, betrayal, and politics…

    In UPTOWN Dwight Dixon’s dream is to take over the real estate empire his father King has painstakingly built and to bring to fruition Dixon Plaza, a luxury high-rise complex on Central Park North. Everything, including his wife and daughter, comes second to his goal of changing the last undeveloped border of New York’s emerald, Central and finally earning his callous father’s approval.

    Avery Lyons, Dwight’s estranged cousin, returns to New York City after the tragic death of her mother, who also held a stake in King’s real estate company. After nearly two decades abroad, Avery reluctantly re-enters the life and neighborhood she had fled after Dwight, with whom she once shared a close bond, betrayed her trust. To Avery, Dwight’s lies cut deeper than the hurt and shame she felt after being attacked by one of her cousin’s friends. With her spirited and hot-tempered high school best friend Alicia at her side, Avery wades through the papers and deeds her mother left her, including the key piece of property Dwight needs in order to get his precious Dixon Plaza off the ground.

    Unwilling to waste energy on Dwight, Avery is quick to agree to sell Dwight the building he so desperately needs, but after she meets and falls for New York Spectator reporter Jasper Christmas, aka Jazz, she begins to realize that she was not the only one her cousin has hurt or is willing to run over in order to get what he wants. The more Avery looks into the changes in the residential neighborhood that will result from Dwight’s project, the more she is inclined to join Jazz on his mission to uncover the lies and shady dealings that surround Dixon Plaza.

    With new obstacles threatening to put an end to Dixon Plaza, how far is Dwight willing to go and who is he willing to destroy in order to keep his dream alive? And now that Avery knows the truth, is she ready to break away from her past and the passive role she has played in her own life to do the right thing? DeBerry and Grant fans will not be disappointed with this look into the high rolling, no holds barred world of New York City real estate development.
    UPTOWN will have you asking, when money, power and respect are at stake, how do friendships and the bonds of family survive?

    I'm pleased to be offer two (2) autographed copies of Uptown!


    • – 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.

    • – 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 Feb 22nd, 2009 @12Noon. 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.



  • Bernice L. McFadden
  • Tuesday, February 16, 2010

    And the winners are............!


    Congratulations!!

    Jane Maritz owner of Winning Readings Blog

    and

    Katy owner of A Few More Pages Blog

    Each one of these participants has won a copy of SUGAR!

    (Ladies please send your address to bernicemcfadden@hotmail.com with the words: I am a winner - in the subject and also include your blog url in the message)


    For those of you who did not win this contest, don't despair - you still have a chance to win an autographed copy of SUGAR as Gerbera Daisy Diaries is running her SUGAR give-a-way over at her own blog!






  • Bernice L. McFadden
  • Saturday, February 13, 2010

    How Can You Fall In Love With Me if You Don't Know Me?

    *Big Sigh*

    I have been squawking, screaming and squealing for months about Seg-Book-Gation and the importance of diversity in reading, and in doing so I have hit some walls, but I have also made some breakthroughs.

    The most recent "wall" (walls and obstacles are only stair steps to triumph!) is the Book Club wall.

    Recently, my publisher contacted me to advise that he had received a "small" offer from Black Expressions Book Club. This offer was to acquire the Book Club Rights for my novel GLORIOUS.

    Yes, the offer was small compared to the money I've received for my previous books...but this post is not about money...this post is about PRINCIPAL...and *yawn* yes, about Seg-Book-Gation in publishing.

    Once upon a time, way back when there was only one commercial Book Club (Doubleday) where many books were profiled (no matter the color of the authors skin) the works of African-American authors were offered to the mainstream reading public. Ten years ago, Black Expression Book Club was created and MOST authors of color were relegated to that club, hence the beginning (or the middle) of Seg-Book-Gation.

    But here is where it gets interesting...

    When my publisher told me that Black Expressions was interested in acquiring the book club rights to GLORIOUS, I was like...cool...but can GLORIOUS also be featured in the mainstream (cross over) Doubleday book club? And the response he received from the powers that be at Black Expressions was this:

    "... Black Expressions is going to reach out to several of the other book clubs, but ... warns me that ---has had very little success with crossing over to other clubs recently."

    *Clearing throat*

    But here is the thing...the national bestselling novel: The Help written by WHITE AUTHOR Kathryn Stockett is available at Black Expressions...

    I'm done.

    Talk amongst yourselves...but please leave your comments here.........







  • Bernice L. McFadden
  • Tuesday, February 09, 2010

    Book Reviewer/Bloggers Contest


    As you know this is the 10th anniversary of my debut novel SUGAR and to commemorate the auspicous occassion I rallied to sell 10K copies of SUGAR by January 9th. I won't know if I achieved my goal until I receive my next royalty statement - but I'm confident that I did.

    While the campaign has come to an end, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary all year long and so will continue to get SUGAR into as many hands, hearts and minds that I can.

    As you also know I am an advocate of diversity in reading and have sqwaked endlessly about the marginilization of works written by African-American writers, so it does my heart good when I come across book reviewer blogs by non-African-American book enthusiasts reading works by writers of color.

    It made my day when I stumbled across Gerber Daisy Diaries Blogspot and her review of Sugar...

    ""In my quest to find the alternative to The Help I’m trying to immerse myself in African-American authors, whose points of view lend more authenticity and credibility to the stories of African-American characters. I hit gold with Bernice L. McFadden’s, Sugar."

    Read the full review here.

    So in honor of Black History Month, Sugar's 10th Anniversary and Non-African-American Book Reviewers reading works by people of Color - I will be giving away (2) copies of SUGAR to Book Review Bloggers who are NOT of African descent..

    To Enter:

    • – If you’d like to enter you must have your OWN blog and 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. You must NOT be of African Descent and MUST have at least 25 Followers of your blog.

    ***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 Monday Feb 15th, 2010. 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 given away in a future drawing.

    • – 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. Participants who do not meet ALL of the requirements will be deleted...





  • Bernice L. McFadden
  • Wednesday, February 03, 2010

    Nowhere is a Place


    In 2006 I published my last novel of the that decade. Nowhere is a Place was a homage to my family history. I used the names of my ancestors for many of the characters in that book. Nowhere is a Place went on to be nominated for a Pulitzer and was chosen by The Washington Post as one of the best novels of 2006.

    I've always thought of Nowhere is a Place as my version of Alex Haley's, "Roots" and so you could imagine how disappointed I was when the publisher printed up one edition, decided not to reissue it in paperback and then put it out of print.

    But as I am learning, sometimes hindrances and disappointments can be stepping stones and opportunities.

    In the next few months Nowhere is a Place will once again be made available to the reading public, thanks to the ebook phenomena.

    But I have digressed from the main focus of this post.

    At the end of the book there is a page entitled: Are we related?

    On that page I listed a number of my ancestors that I am still seeking information on. The one family member that I've been especially curious about is my great-grandmother Chappo. Chappo has been so elusive that sometimes my frustration with her has brought me to tears.

    Ever since I discovered her, I've felt a connection and have even begun to think of her as my guardian angel and my muse. In fact I give her life yet again as the owner of the boarding house in my new novel GLORIOUS.

    Up until last week I had only four documents that proved she even existed.

    Then last week I received the following email and a million doors opened:


    Dear Bernice,

    Hi! My name is Valerie Beaudrault. I just finished reading 'Nowhere is a Place.' It was such a moving family story. Then I read "Are we related?", which led me to your blog, which I read with great interest.

    When anyone poses a family history mystery and I hear it or read about it and can't seem to help myself - I have to see what I can find out.

    Wednesday evening I started looking and after about 4 hours I found
    Chappo Robinson McFadden's marriage to Samuel Elliott. They married in Grand Rapids, Michigan on May 9, 1922 (record # 15159). I have attached
    a jpeg of the record to this email.

    The really exciting thing is that Chappo's parents are listed in this record - Rev. T. M. Robinson and Louise White. It looks as though Chappo listed 'musician' as her occupation. Is this how she got to Michigan? Samuel Elliot is a music teacher.

    I found this record in the Michigan Marriages 1868 - 1925 database in the Pilot Search records section of www.familysearch.org. I did a general search of all records for Chappo McFadden and this was the only record with her name found in all of the databases.

    With the name of Chappo's father in hand I did a search of Georgia newspapers in a 19th century newspaper database. I found a Reverend T. M. Robinson, as minister of the Cotton Avenue Baptist Church in Macon Georgia, dying in December 1895. (The Macon Telegraph, Macon Georgia,
    December 14, 1895; pg. 5; col A) The article title: Death of a Prominent
    Negro.

    The First Baptist Church's website also talks about Reverend Robinson (http://www.firstbaptistmacon.org/index.cfm?PageID=3). He started preaching at the church in Macon in 1887, one or two years after Chappo's birth, as she reports, in Augusta. I cannot prove that this is Chappo's father, but it seems promising.

    I was very excited about this discovery. I've done lots of research on my family, the families of friends, acquaintances, and strangers because I enjoy a good mystery. I hope this helps to open more doors into Chappo's origins and life.

    Best Regards,
    Valerie


  • Bernice L. McFadden
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