Another Black Bookstore Bites the Dust

From Shelfawareness...

After "the worst holiday season in record," James Drayton is closing the African American Heritage Bookstore, West Palm Beach, Fla., which he bought 15 years ago, according to the Palm Beach Post. The store was founded in 1991.

Drayton indicated he believes the economy will get worse and won't improve for at least two years, adding, "I don't have that kind of financial staying power for that period of time."

This marks the second African American bookstore to close in the last week. Last Tuesday, Karibu Books, with six stores in and around Prince George's County, Md., announced it was closing. In its case, the cause was not the state of the business so much as what CEO Simba Sana called a "destructive" dissolution of the company's partnership (Shelf Awareness, January 22, 2008).

Okay. I'm very concerned. Granted, Christian Fiction Blog book sales have increased last year, we need black bookstores. We need a place to connect with our readers kneecap to kneecap across the cafe tables. What are we going to do y'all? And how does this affect Essence bookstore reporting?

Join CFB's Twitter Book Tour Experiment

A few of my Facebook friends have a superlative for me as most creative. Thanks, guys. And I don't know--the idea of me being most creative gave me an idea for the blog. This month I was asked to participate in my friend and fantabulous author, Jill Elizabeth Nelson's The Reluctant Smuggle Blog Tour. I was sent the book to read and review. I love the book. And Jill has been nice enough to participate in my 1question author series this month. So of course who better than to do this experiment with than her. She's game for anything. But what about you?

If you're a Christian Fiction community member, author or book reader why don't you participate? Let's see if this experiment really works.

So what the experiment, Dee?

See that pretty blue bird at the top of this post. Her name is Twitter, She is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send "updates" (text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website, via short message service, instant messaging, email, or an application such as Twitterrific. You can also send messages through your cell phone.

We are going to use her to talk to each other. Why?

It's faster.

• It's easy to read.
• Comments are kept under 140 words.
• You don't have to log into your blog or email to read and respond.
• You can use your cell phone.
• You can meet a lot of people very fast.
• You can share your life with a lot of people very fast.
• It's a great way for people to learn about Christ without even knowing it.
• It's a chance for you to see how twitter can help you promote your ministry or book.

Fare enough?

So what do you do now?

1. Click on the blue bird. It will take you to Twitter.
   
2. Get a twitter account. It's free.
3. Then find me. I'm right here.
4. Come back to Christian Fiction Blog and leave a comment that you're ready to chirp with me and Jill.
5. Come back tomorrow as I talk about Twitter and how this tool can help you chirp with your readers better and promote your book to an audience who would not have known about you otherwise.
6. Thursday we will meet Jill at Twitter and talk Christian Fiction, smuggling art, white collar crime and the Twitter Novel Phenomena.
   

Chirping,
Dee

Never Could have Made It

Last night I thought I had something profound to say until I watched Marvin Sapp sing this song last night. Then I thought...It's Monday. Some of us already need to be reminded that we never could have made it without the precious, magnificent, glorious Jesus Christ. I want you to watch this performance. We're always talking about The Master's Artist over here. I want you to watch this performance and notice you forget you're watching a man sing. You aren't just listening to the words. Your heart catches a cord. Your soul digs into the beat, and your arms leave your side and stretch toward Heaven. If you don't do anything else for God today listen to this song and think about Him. Think about you don't have to be here. You never wouldn't have gotten here. Glory be to God. Be blessed today. Click here to see his performance at The Master's Artist and tell me what it did for you.

Dee

Trailer: Tyler Perry "Meet the Browns"

Here is the trailer for "Meet the Browns" the Movie, which will hit theaters in March 2008. Enjoy.

Update: I changed the date to 08.

Win When the Morning Comes Gift Basket

Win a copy of best-selling author Cindy Woodsmall's latest novel When the Morning Comes,
the second book in the Sisters of the Quilt series and a gift basket.
To enter this free giveaway contest, simply send us an email at: giveaway@waterbrookpress.com
Include When the Morning Comes Gift Basket in the subject line as well as the following information: Name, Address, Email address
Contest ends January 31, 2008.
Winner will be selected at random and will be individually notified of the results by email. The prize may not be sold or exchanged for cash value. One entry per person only please. Open to entrants 13 years or older at time of entry. Any entrant who is under 18/a minor must have permission of his/her parent, or both parents, or legal guardian where required by law to enter. Not open to employees or freelanced employees, or immediate family members of the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. This contest is void where prohibited by law.

Race Doesn't Matter

Senator Obama's South Carolina speech...
What we've seen in these last weeks is that we're also up against forces that are not the fault of any one campaign but feed the habits that prevent us from being who we want to be as a nation.
It's a politics that uses religion as a wedge and patriotism as a bludgeon, a politics that tells us that we have to think, act, and even vote within the confines of the categories that supposedly define us, the assumption that young people are apathetic, the assumption that Republicans won't cross over, the assumption that the wealthy care nothing for the poor and that the poor don't vote, the assumption that African-Americans can't support the white candidate, whites can't support the African-American candidate, blacks and Latinos cannot come together.
We are here tonight to say that that is not the America we believe in. Read full transcript here

Henry Louis Gates' Ancestry Tracing in Atlanta

Trace Your Roots!Find out how with NBAF's DNA Project and African Ancestry...
SAVE THE DATES FORTHE NATIONAL BLACK ARTS FESTIVALJULY 18-27, 2008 visit National Black Artis Festival for more information