Attorney and Author Featured at 103rd NAACP Annual Convention

Attorney and Bestselling Author Pamela Samuels Young appears July 7, 2012 in the NAACP Author Pavilion

Noted American attorney and Essence Magazine Bestselling author Pamela Samuels Young will appear at the 103^rd NAACP Annual Convention’s Author Pavilion in the George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas on Saturday, July 7, 2012 from 4-6 PM. Sponsored by the NAACP, this event is hosted by The Oracle Group. Please visit http://www.naacp.org/pages/convention for the full schedule.

Samuels Young will be appearing alongside 2012 BET AWARDS Best Gospel recipient Yolanda Adams, NBA player youth advocate Eton Thomas , and many others. She will present her new release ATTORNEY CLIENT PRIVILEGE (July 2012) and her bestselling novel BUYING TIME in the pavilion. The Black Caucus of the American Library Association honored BUYING TIME with its 2010 Fiction Award, calling the book “a captivating, suspenseful thriller.” The novel received so much acclaim that BET’s “The Monique Show” had her on as a guest, to showcase the legal thriller.

The NAACP Authors Pavilion features bestselling authors and those nationally known. Meet and greets, Presentation Panels and book signings are the heart of the NAACP Author Pavilion experience, which is designed to bring readers together with their favorite writers and poets. Author interviews and Author Pavilion Highlights will be seen and heard throughout the convention and on the NAACP convention site. Samuels Young will appear between 4 and 6 PM Central Standard Time. Visit her at www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com

Legal Thriller Author Pamela Samuels Young Appears at 2012 ALA Annual Conference

American Attorney and Bestselling Author Pamela Samuels Young signs June 23, 2012 in the Sisters in Crime Booth at the ALA Annual Conference

Noted American attorney and Essence Magazine Bestselling author Pamela Samuels Young will appear at the 2012 (ALA) American Library Association Annual Conference in the Anaheim Convention Center Anaheim, California on Saturday, June 23, 2012 from noon-1 PM CT. Please visit http://www.alaannual.org/ for the full schedule.

Scheduled for June 21-26, 2012 in Anaheim, the Annual Conference is the world’s largest event for the library community. Bringing together more than 25,000 librarians, educators, authors, publishers, literacy experts, illustrators and the leading suppliers to the market, the Annual Conference gives you a once-a-year opportunity to advance your career and improve your library. Follow any of the links above to find out more about the Annual Conference and reasons for you to attend.  Authors appearing alongside Samuels Young include: Glee’s Chris Colfer, Acclaimed author John Irving, and Sapphire.

 

Pamela Samuels Young is a practicing attorney and the author of Every Reasonable Doubt, In Firm Pursuit, Murder on the Down Low, BUYING TIME and ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE(July 2012.) She has been featured on BET’s “The Monique Show” and is a member of the board of directors of the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Los Angeles. Samuels Young will share BUYING IME and her 2012 summer release ATTORNEY CLIENT-PRIVILEGE between 12 and 1 PM Central Standard Time. Visit her at www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com

Christian Fiction Author Rhonda Bowen Shares Writing Journey with Toronto, Canada

Congrats to our Rhonda Bowen . She will be writing a column for Toronto's Word on The Street Festival Blog. The Word on The Street Festival is Canada's largest annual book and magazine festival, boasting 200,000 attendants.

The Journey of a Thousand Pages

I guess if I should talk about writing I should start at the beginning. But what is the beginning? Is it that January morning when I excused myself from my meeting to answer the first ever phone call from my would-be-editor? Or was it several years earlier when I sat in a cubicle working my dead end job and decided to start writing for real so I would have something sensible going on in my life. Those were beginnings of sorts.  But I think the real beginning was with a girl named Simone, a boring Geography class, and a $1.25 notebook.

Read Rhonda's first article here:http://torontowots.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/my-journey-to-getting-published-rhonda-bowen/

DeeGospel PR is accepting new clients for the fall and winter 2012 complete this form if you're interested http://www.deegospelpr.com/request

Rhonda Bowen featured on the Cover of Christian Fiction Online Magazine

The February 2012 Library Journal features the Christian fiction genre with a spotlight article, “Christian Fiction: A Born-Again Genre.” One of the authors mentioned is Kensington Books author Rhonda Bowen. Rhonda’s spotlight is special because she does not write for a Christian publisher. As the genre grows, acquisitions of these works by secular publishers have grown, especially for multicultural authors. This month Christian Fiction Online Magazine chatted with Bowen about her upcoming release, One Way or Another.

Click here to read more.

GoodReads Book Giveaway for Kensington Books Author Rhonda Bowen

 

One Way or Another

by Rhonda Bowen

From the author of "Man Enough for Me" comes a witty, compelling novel about a woman who thinks she has her job, family, and friends under control until the night she meets a man who changes everything.

For the next 15 days readers can enter a chance to win a free autographed copy of the book at GoodReads by visiting this link:

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/19235-one-way-or-another

Purchase a copy:

• Barnes & Noble

• online stores ▼

• WorldCat

More…

Rhonda Bowen featured in Publishers Weekly

Rhonda Bowen. Dafina/Kensington, $14 trade paperback (320p) ISBN 978-0-7582-5958-5

Less a traditional romance novel and more a story of faith and redemption, Bowen’s sophomore outing (Man Enough for Me) enchants from the first page. Click the link to read the full review.

One Way or Another releases February 28, 2012.

D.C. Gospel Music Producer Deborah E. Bradley: The Master’s Artist

Happy Monday!

Although many are spending today gearing up for Halloween, many of us are working on new content to glorify God and celebrate Christ through these holidays season. Today I wanted to share an interview with artist and gospel music producer, Deborah E. Bradley. This month she released her Christmas CD and is also offering a free concert to D.C. local non-profits, who serve the needy during the holiday season

 

What separates Tis the Season from other Holiday CDs releasing this year?

This year there is a want for nostalgia. By the television shows we’re watching, the clothes we are wearing, we want to remember the great things. Tis the Season reminds us of the greatness of God. There is at least one or two songs that every listener will love dearly and may choose to listen year round, because these are classic Christmas songs. Songs we can hear over and over again.

Click here to read Bradley’s full interview at The Master’s Artist

Related articles

• 2012 GMA Dove Awards To Return To Atlanta's Fox Theatre (christianfiction.blogspot.com)
• Le'Andria Johnson Set to Release First Christmas CD...Johnson Returns to #1 (theindustrycosign.wordpress.com)
• Michael Bublé: Christmas Album First Listen! (justjared.buzznet.com)

D.C. Music Producer Releases ‘Tis the Season’ Christmas Gospel CD and Gives Free Concert

  Deborah E. Bradley releases Christmas CD Tis the Season.

Washington, DC – Fans say that D.C. Gospel Music Producer Deborah E. Bradley combines the spiritual intimacy of Mahalia Jackson with the jazzy gospel infusion of Dottie Peoples in a contemporary and nostalgic way in her Christmas new release, Tis the Season. Enjoy ten tracks of classic Christmas songs and Gospel hymns compromise this fusion of contemporary and nostalgic Christian music perfect for the holiday season.

“TIS THE SEASON reminds us of the greatness of God. There is at least one or two songs that every listener will love dearly and may choose to listen year round, because these are classic Christmas songs. Songs we can hear over and over again,” Bradley states.

Bradley has appeared at Seaton Memorial AME Church of Lanham, MD and Montplier Arts Center in Laurel, MD. As a gift to the community that has supported her, Bradley is offering a free concert to local non-profits, which service the needy during the 2011 holiday season

Visit her at www.deborahedwardsbradley.com to listen to Tis the Season. To book her to appear at your holiday event, contact please complete this form or contact Dee Stewart at DeeGospel PR.

Are you Screaming at Your Book Synopsis?

• Are you planning to attend a writer's festival this fall or submitting a query to a publisher or agent?
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1. A fact sheet about the book and author
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Do You have a Book Marketing Plan? Get it Here. Limited Time.

Ok. So I've been praying and contemplating about my Book Marketing Dee-Mystified Planning Workbook. Should I give it away or charge a fee? It's no mystery that I'm living under a money crunch, but I'm doing okay. Thank you, JESUS! Thank you for your prayers, friends and family stepping up and getting Selah prepared for school and keeping me from driving off into a ditch. Y'all have held me up, and I'm grateful. But I've been dealing with this. I want to give you guys something from me that's a great tool I created that I know will help you become more confident about your next book title launch. This fall I will be doing more coaching and writing and reviewing and seeking a literary agent, then in the trenches with authors. So've decided to give this workbook to my Mastermind Session attendants for free(I think that's fair,) but for you guys you get it for $3. One for the Father, One for the Son, One for the Holy Ghost, but for a limited time like August 7, 2009. Then I may up the price or put it in my vault. lol.

What does this workbook contain?

• 60 page workbook
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• step by step guide to help you create a marketing plan you can use now or as a part of your book proposal's marketing section
  

I think that's good. I wish I had this when I began writing. In fact, I'm using it myself and it's $3 until next week. Remember?

So how do I get the workbook?

It's an ebook. I will email it to you after you make your payment via paypal. my account is vidae at writing dot com. That's it. I will not take your email and add you to a mailing list or sell the listing. If you would like to receive my monthly Dee's Goody Email, hit me up on Twitter and I will add you. Otherwise, your email addy goes into the vault.

Please pass this short time offer on and give me some feedback here on how you like the workbook. Once again thanks for being here for me.

Dee

Oh and that book I'm holding is Claudia Burney's Wounded.

Could You Be The #1 Reason Why Christian News Coverage is Dwindling in Local Media?

Garbage- My lovers box photo by cordero_pastillero

Last week the Dallas Morning News moved its religion reporters to covering suburban news. However, today their Religion Blog is still up and running. When Christianity Today asked the Bob Mong, the editor why the section was cut in '07. He stated:

In a time of flat revenues, we simply could not generate the advertising to break even on the section," said Bob Mong, editor of The Dallas Morning News. "I don't think any paper in the country tried harder than we did over the years."

So why dropping the two writers who remained? I think a combo of interest and poor ad campaigns on the part of Christian businesses is at hand.

Here in Atlanta Faith and Values is now infused in the Living Section of the AJC. As a Christian and a publicist who specializes in promoting Christians I wonder if local media's decision to cut these sections are reflection on our current society, a paradigm shift in what it means to be a Christian or stinking thinking on the part of the Christian business community?

Even when I look at some of the artists I represent and writers I applaud the ones that get the most media attention and the most buzz from the peanut gallery are artists who are shifting from proclaiming their Christianity. They believe that their base would be broader if they move from calling themselves Christian artists to urban inspirational. It leads me to wonder if Christian singers, playwrights, authors, actors are being on the DL about their faith, then why should the media be responsible for singing their praises. Afterall, don't they automatically and voluntarily opt out of being covered by Christian news now?

Moreover I wonder for those artists seeking PR (pr = print media placement, not public relations/marketing support as they should be seeking) realize that their silence bears the fruit of dwindling PR opportunities.

On the other hand, when I share advertising opportunities to Christian biz friends, clients and colleagues they continue to have a "marketing my ministry should be free/if He builds it they will come" mentality. If God called them to write, act, sing, build a church, pastor a congregation then why should they pay to advertise? Why should they pay for praises to be sung? Why should they shout God's message to as many who have ears to hear?

A few months ago Christian authors registered and attended The Christian Book Expo. Although I had my own misgivings about the project that was unrelated to the outcome of this event. (Let's face it: The AA Author's Pavilion wasn't its downfall.) What concerned me was reading many posts by my author friends, who were disappointed in the turn out--who lived near the area and/or had a significant readership around the area--but did poor if any marketing to alert their readers that they were coming. How can you be upset that noone came to your table when you told no one you would be here?

I am always shocked by events we create at DGP, then to find many of my author buddies do not advertise the events they will participate in or at least contact their readers via blogging or email marketing. I am never shocked, but always floored.

Granted. It is a fine line between being humble and being a shameless promoter. With prayer and hiring marketing pros who share your faith (and I'm not plugging me or Christian Fiction Blog at all: Jean Wynne, Pam Perry, Kathleen Y' Barbo, Robin Ware, Marina Woods, Rebeca Sietz, Don Otiz, Amy Curry, this list goes on) they can help you stay on the right path toward glorifying God in your business. But if we don't market effectively and that includes working alongside your publicity department, publicist, marketing team, street team, and ad execs to ensure that you receive the best coverage. I don't think it's fair to knock Dallas News when the only ads I've seen consistently for months is Fireproof.

I fear if we don't wake up, then another religion that has no problem spending marketing dollars toward promoting their philosophy will shift religion news that is covered.

Your thoughts...