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Username: H_i_c_k_s_o_n
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 - 01:41 pm: | 
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"Read My Lips" Project
"Read My Lips" is the new initiative began in November 2006 to encourage reading and writing among those both young and old. We want to help feed a passion for the written and spoken word to help individuals continue to mold the future. Our project, like so many others began by Shadow Play Entertainment/ Free2Flow Productions depends on your help. Your donations are welcome and appreciated. Email us at thebestbookclub@hotmail.com.
Mississippi Burns with GHETTOHEAT
Conversations talks with Bestselling author Sha, author of HARDER
Conversations talks with Bestselling author Mika Miller, author of AND GOD CREATED WOMAN
Conversations talks with Bestselling author Damon "Amin" Meadows, co-author of CONVICT'S CANDY
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Introducing Sha: The First Lady of Ghettoheat
The life that belongs to bestselling author Sha is one that many strive to have. She is a recent college graduate who went from working at a Waldenbooks store to having a book that was lining the shelves in Waldenbooks in stores all over the world.
When Conversations talked with her via conference call she told us that her father was the one who instilled in her the desire to read around the age of 3 or 4. “Wright was something that I always did. Beginning in the 3rd grade I began to write poetry and continued from there.” Sha said that her favorite author is Maya Angelou.
In 2005 she decided to take her love for writing to the next level. “A group of my co-workers decided to write a book of short stories. The others didn’t follow through with it, but I continued.” The result was HARDER.
The journey from manuscript to published author seemed to be just as seamless. “Hickson (author/founder of GHETTOHEAT) signed me to a book deal after a phone conversation on December 31, 2005. This gained her the title of being the First Lady of the publishing company, a title that Sha doesn’t take lightly. “I have to make sure that all the authors are well-represented. When I am out marketing or promoting my book, I am carrying the banner for them as well.”
What drew her to Hickson? “I loved Hickson’s desire and passion. “When he would come to Waldenbooks for a booksigning, he was very proactive. He knew his book (also entitled GHETTOHEAT) and knew how to sell it. He could leave there with cases sold when others were only selling a few.”
The character Kai that pulls readers into her book is someone we can all relate to in some way or another. “She has a sense of invincibility about her,” Sha explained. “She wanted what she wanted when she wanted it and didn’t want to accept anything less. I wanted to make her real because the life she lived was real to so many people.
“Its one of the most wonderful feelings when I see that people really get it. They follow the story and can relate to the world I am trying to convey.”
What does Sha want aspiring writers to know? “If this is something you want to do, then just do it. Life is too short to have second thoughts later or regrets. You have to take advantage of the time you have right now.”
When asked by a member of Conversations book club where she saw herself in five years, she responded: “I want my writing to affect people and encourage change. I would love to win a Pulitzer Prize or a Nobel Prize. After all, Langston Hughes did it. Why can’t I?”
To find out more about this author, feel free to visit http://www.ghettoheat.com.
Posted by C. A. Webb at 12:54 PM 0 comments
Labels: ghettoheat conversations bookclub, sha conversations book club ghettoheat, sha ghettoheat
Mika Miller: Moving confidently in the direction of her dreams
Bestselling author Mika Miller has been a creative individual all of our life. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she has always enjoyed writing poetry, short stories and plays so it seemed like a natural revolution that she would write a book.
In talking with her in our exclusive interview, Miller told Conversations that she “never had any doubt” when it came to the success that is now hers. “Even when things do go the way you expect, you can’t dwell on the trouble.”
She was working a corporate job that wasn’t fulfilling to her and found the courage to step out on faith and pursue her passion as a writer. “I wondered what type of legacy I was going to leave for my son,” she said. This gave her the courage to do everything she could to make her career as an author work.
“African-American women need to seek the beauty of being a woman,” Miller said when discussing her book AND GOD CREATED WOMAN. “The characters naturally evolved. I didn’t really know their (the characters’) stories. At the end of the day I wanted to show the different facets of a woman. That was the message I wanted to convey. If life’s circumstances bring you trials, work to overcome them. Don’t give up.”
Miller went on to tell us that the manuscript for what was AND GOD CREATED WOMAN was already complete when she met Hickson, the man behind the publishing company GHETTOHEAT. She was drawn to his vibe and felt what he was talking about when it came to promoting literacy. The rest of their relationship is literary history.
As someone who is always curious about the give and take of the publishing industry, I asked her about the development of her book, beginning with the cover. “The vision (for the cover) was a 50/50 one. We talked about how the cover would be. Since there are so many books out there, I didn’t want it to be lost on the shelf. It had to stand out, but I wanted all women to feel comfortable about carrying the book. Hickson is a mastermind at whatever he does.”
I asked her what it was like to see and hear the feedback of her debut novel. “When someone praises your work it feels like you are being accepted. This is your life’s work and you want people to like what you write. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.” Miller also told Conversations that the lesbian community has been very supportive of her, embracing the story because it shows same-gender-loving women in a more positive light.
How did she feel when she first saw her book in a store? “It was very surreal,” she confessed. I guess it’s like an artist hearing their song on the radio for the first time. It was a lifelong dream come true.” She then adds: “I didn’t write this book for the money. I wanted to reach people.”
At the end of the day Mika hopes that she can encourage others to follow their dreams. “I want them to know that if I can do it so can they.”
And what helped her from the very beginning? “You just can’t give up. Dream big and then move confidently in the direction of your dreams.”
For more about the authors of Ghettoheat, visit http://www.ghettoheat.com.
Posted by C. A. Webb at 12:51 PM 0 comments
Labels: ghettoheat conversations bookclub, mika miller, mika miller ghettoheat
Damon “Amin” Meadows: True to his Faith. Truth to the Game
In what was Conversations’ first “jailhouse” interview, it was an honor to talk with bestselling author Damon “Amin” Meadows, the co-author (along with bestselling author Jason Poole) of one of the most controversial novels I have ever read: CONVICT’S CANDY. After reading a book that intense, it was an honor to get the opportunity to speak with the author about the inspiration of the book as well as why he felt it was important to tell the story of Candy. Conversations met at the Medgar Evers Library in Jackson, MS for this discussion. The original interview was set for 15 minutes, but it became so good that Amin extended his time with our discussion group, and the result is here for you to enjoy.
Amin, tell us about the person that is Amin.
“I was a young brother from South Philly involved in things that many were doing at the time. In 1993—just seven days before I was to turn 21 years old—I was given a life sentence. I was at a seventh grade reading level at the time and didn’t have a lot to look forward to. In time I made the best of my situation by getting my GED and became a mentor for others that were also incarcerated. I knew I was going to have to rehabilitate myself because I wasn’t trying to get caught up in the system.”
Thank you for your honesty, Amin. What led you to writing?
“I knew I had to do something to help others protect themselves and face reality about the lives they are living. For me, I didn’t want to be just another writer. I wanted to educate and entertain, but above everything else I wanted what I wrote to be beneficial.
And the idea of Convict’s Candy?
“It began in letters, keeping in touch with the women in my life. I was seeing a lot of things… and wanted to write something that would be of help to my daughters and those like my children. There was a reality that was going on that needed to be exposed.”
You are a Muslim. How did it affect you personally to graphically portray sex scenes between men and in effect get into the mind of a transgender?
“You’re right, it was hard. Again, I wanted people to face reality about what they are doing no matter who their sexual partner is. On the streets of Philly, being a Muslim is somewhat of a fad on the streets. For me it’s a real commitment. A lifestyle. Some of the stuff I had to stomach in writing the book was unreal, but had to make it real. We interviewed transsexuals that were locked up to make sure that authentic what we were saying. What they told us helped us to write the story. There is so much of a code in prison, just like on the outside. Some of the transsexuals I spoke to told me that they prey on a certain type of individual to get what they want. It’s just like anyone who has a weakness and is tempted.”
Getting through the book is one thing, but did you really believe that it would be accepted?
“I expected for it to be successful. In fact, I said to Jason: ‘We have a hit.’ I wanted to touch on topics other than just sex. The book deals with not just HIV but drug use and racism, too.”
The book that Amin and Poole have unleased to the world through Ghettoheat ignited much discussion during the interview with author. Laura Turner, the Librarian for the Medgar Evers Library remarked: “To me the prison system is part of the ‘Aggressor’. The system is the villain, a modern-day slavery.” Rose Wright—President of the Savvy Book Club in Jackson, MS and a school teacher for Jackson Public Schools—had this to say about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and “down low” lifestyle: “We love our men to death and stand behind them, and they are taking us to death.”
Amin pointed out near the conclusion of the interview that Poole and he were not the only men who kept their integrity and resisted the vices that come with prison life. “The book is called CONVICT’S CANDY, meaning they are not the majority of those locked up, but the actions of a few can affect all of us.”
For more information about Ghettoheat and any of its authors, visit http://www.ghettoheat.com.
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