Happy 4th of July! Here in Phoenix we've consistently been over 100 degrees for over a week, but I'm not complaining (at least not as long as the air conditioner works). You all have a safe and fun holiday. On the Anniversary cruise front, all is good. I know I say this about every month, but if you haven't gotten your passport, please start the process now. We have someone who needs a cabin mate. If you are interested in splitting the cost of a cabin, please contact me at deatri@romanceslamjam.org. On a different note, some of you may wonder why we didn't use romanceslamjam.com as our URL. Well when I went to purchase the URL, someone else owned it and didn't want to turn it over or sell it at the time. Soooo, occasionally I'd check back and-y'all gonna laugh at this-the representative of the person who owned the domain said they'd sell it to me for $5000. I literally laughed at the person for even offering to sell the domain for so much and told them to enjoy it. Anywhoooo, a few weeks ago I received a little message that the domain was being auctioned off and guess who purchased it for an extremely reasonable price? Yep! The RSJ organization owns romanceslamjam.com. So stay tuned.
I've launched the Novel Hearts blog on my Web site, www.PatriciaSargeant.com. The direct link is www.PatriciaSargeant.com/Blog. Novel Hearts is a forum to raise awareness of the charitable causes some of our favorite authors support. Each month, authors will share with us their experiences with and information about the nonprofit organizations they help, either with time, money and/or materials. To date, author guests have included Marcia James, Lori Foster, Dianne Castell and Janie Mason. Upcoming author interviews include Karen McCullough, Donna Hill, Deatri King-Bey, Francis Ray, Dyanne Davis, JoAnn Davis and Beverly Jenkins. Please contact me at BooksByPatricia@Yahoo.com if there are other authors you'd like me to interview about the charitable causes they support.  |
• It's Gettin' Hot Out Here • News From Patricia Sargeant • At It Again • Sailing the Seas with some Literary Sistahs! • Last Words | ||
Hello RSJ family. It seems once again I’m coming to you after the
news of the passing of music legends: Michael Jackson and Koko
Taylor. One Now head on over to the RSJ Blogspot and show our contributors some love. Until next month, enjoy,
Dyanne Davis |
||
I’ve never been to Jamaica. I haven’t been to Grand Cayman Islands
either. But I’ve always wanted to go mon, and now I have the perfect
opportunity because in April, ’10, I’ll be sailing the sunny seas
with the Romance Slam Jam Caribbean Cruise! I am so excited,
especially since this is a special celebration: toasting RSJ’s
fifteen years in the business and honoring author Donna Hill for an
amazing twenty years and counting! Donna Hill is a pioneer in the world of romance and women’s fiction. With over sixty books to her credit, she began in the industry at a time when publishers had forgotten that Black people read, and before Terry McMillan had everybody exhaling. There was no African-American section at Borders, no Arabesque, Dafina or Kimani lines at major publishing houses, no Zane Presents and not even one crown, let alone three (as in Triple Crown Publishing) on the horizon. No, there were simply people like Donna Hill, Gwynne Forster, Sandra Kitt and Rochelle Ayers (who is this cruises's special guest speaker!!!) writing the plots that would pave the way for popular romance novelists like Brenda Jackson, mainstream writers like Kimberla Lawson Roby newcomers like Trice Hickman, and Zuri Day…and me. So when I heard that Donna Hill would be honored on this cruise, it didn’t matter who else would be there. I just knew I would be—to lift my glass in toast to great writers, voracious readers and an amazing art form, of which I am privileged and blessed to be a part. So if you haven’t made your reservation, what are you waiting for? I want you to be one of the literary sistahs I sail with on the sunny seas! Lutishia Lovely Lutishia Lovely is author of the Hallelujah Love Series. The latest installment, Heaven Right Here, comes out July’ 09.
Ads for the RSJ Anniversary Souvenir Booklet are on sale now. If you or your book club would like to congratulate the conference or you have something you'd like to advertize, please refer to the website for details. Welcome back to those of you who attended the Brenda Jackson cruise last month. Her next cruise will be in 2011 and there will be a limit of 300 people, so be sure to visit her website to stay informed. I know a lot of you are gearing up for the Beverly Jenkins PJ party coming up. I'm tired of y'all going places and not bringing me anything back (SMILE). I hate to rub it in , but those who missed the last discussions of our online book club really missed it! Maureen Smith and Iris Bolling were our guest authors and Cilla and Sweet were our moderators and a whole gang of folks came in and had a good ol time. We have one "official" book discussion every other month, but are going to start adding discussions throughout. So come on and join in on the fun. I know you want to talk about some of these books we're reading with others who enjoyed them. Our online book club is hosted at http://www.shelfari.com. You'll need to sign up for a membership, which is free, and join the Black Romance Book Club. REMINDERS: If you plan to attend the RSJ Anniversary Cruise. 1. Reserve your cabin on the cruise space is limited. If you need a cabin mate, contact me at deatri@romanceslamjam.org. We presently have one person who is looking for a cabin mate. 2. Register for the RSJ Conference Registration for the RSJ Crystal Anniversary Conference to be held on the cruise is open. The fee is $50. RSJ Registration.3. Get your Passport
Americans are required to have a passport to enter into the
United States. Check out
http://travel.state.gov/ for information on requirements and
locations to obtain a passport. Side note: For those of you who have never been on a cruise, yes it is true, your meals are included in the price of the cruise. Now don't you all laugh. This was a legitimate question, and I was wondering the same thing when we went on our first cruise. Don't be afraid to ask questions folks. I'm here for you. Important dates, prices, passport information, attending authors and
all that good stuff for the
RSJ 15 Year Anniversary Cruise can be found at:
That's it for now. If you have questions, I'm here deatri@romanceslamjam.org As always, much joy, peace, and loveDeatri King-Bey http://www.romanceslamjamconference.com |
||
 Affaire
de Coeur is the sponsor of the Romance Slam Jam Newsletter. You
know how we do, let's show
Affaire
de Coeur some love. Subscribe to the magazine, enjoy the
reviews, articles, interviews, short stories and spread the word. A
subscription would make a perfect gift for the
read-a-holic in you. |
