The Sweetest Thing by Deborah Fletcher Mello
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I do like to read books by authors I have met in person, even though I don't often read romance novels. I have enjoyed Deborah Mello's "Stallions" series, but she hits this one out of the ballpark. And she is anything but "mellow;" she is hot and sizzling. The story starts out sweet and lovely and gets more lusty as the book goes further.
I enjoyed the scenes from Memphis and the presence of elderly women in Baton Rouge who gave wise counsel to the young people who came of age in their presence. I'm waiting for the next installment of "Just Desserts."
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I read in somebody's blog that a good way to stir up interest in the next book is to show the cover even before the book is complete. My favorite cover artist, Cynthia Colbert, did this one for me, and I spent $5 on Facebook to promote it. I'm still working on the main short story, Adventures in Blackface. I'll tell you this much about it. It's an out-take from my memoir, Motherless Child - stories from a life, one of those stories that didn't make the cut. I scraped it up from the cutting room floor.
I have ulterior motives behind this collection. It will be my first venture into KDP Select. You know Amazon's exclusive Kindle book offerings that are supposed to make me a ton of money. (HAH!) I thought it would be easier to do it with a new book than to unpublish an old one from all other ebook stores. I promise to have it ready in 2015, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.
I have been slack lately in writing movie reviews, but (the operative word) I have been jarred out of my slump. I'm a late-comer when it comes the the X-men series, and I know I have a lot of catching up to do. But (!!) the latest "X-men: Days of Future Past" brings another spin to the series. If there is anyone more ubiquitous than Hugh Jackman on the screen these days, it has to be my girl J-Law. From Katniss Everdeen to Raven/Mystique, Jennifer Lawrence is one busy actor.
Sorry if I nodded off in the dark dark scenes, but I didn't miss much. Halle Berry even had a cameo appearance as Storm. I give it four out of five stars.
Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
You know the story. Solomon Northup, a free black man living in New York is kidnapped and sold into slavery, where he struggles to regain his freedom after twelve years. I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie. So many of my friends have said the movie was difficult to watch.
Of course there is violence and torture in the narrative of Solomon who has to take on the name of Platt to avoid further floggings. But beyond the descriptions of the vilest nature of slavery in these United States, we hear the voice of Solomon who sees his life as evidence against the myth that slaves are better off on the plantation.
As a side note, I remember the history books of my elementary school days during the years of Jim Crow, saying slaves were happy and sang a lot.
What is most fascinating for me about this book is its being published and achieving best seller status before it went into obscurity, only to be rediscovered in the 1960's. What a treasure this book is.
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