Male Authors of Colour Wk#3: Urban King’s Take Over! #blacklivesmatteruk #blacklivesmatter #blackauthorsmatter

Urban Kings

If you’ve been tuned in since the 1st July,  you would have met some great male authors of colour. All month, each day one author who represents a certain genre has been featured. Myself and a few other female authors have campaigned to help them reach new readers. This weekend, we’re on to the final genre ‘Urban Kings.’ Here we have a line up of ten male authors, who represent all different areas of fiction. The one thing they have in common is that they’re all ‘urban’ writers, be it fantasy,  erotica, general fiction etc they bring an urban vibe!

In the line up we have:

Alexzander Christian

Anthony Monroe

Joel Daniel

Teddy Mack

Nick Adams

Kevin Casey

Thomas J

Julian Foster

Author Pugh

Mike Wilson

We’ll get to know some fun facts, interests and a little bit about what each author brings to their urban genre. I’m rather looking forward to this group, as there is a big misconception that there are not many authors of colour who rep the fantasy or paranormal genre. I had this discussion just last week with a fellow reader and author on Facebook!  There are many of them, they just need to be elevated.

If you’d like to catch up on what you’ve missed from the 1st July, we had the ‘Street Lit Kings’ week one, week two ‘Book Boyfriends/romance/poetry and non-fiction’ and the final week ‘Urban Kings.’  Just look back and the most recent blog posts to meet authors and their books.

On reflection I must say that I am really happy and proud, to have come up with this month long promo. As I said in my previous posts Dear African American Man, and  Why Does He Trigger You   I am a mother to a Black- British male who is just six, and my boyfriend is an African American man, from a state where the police are far from kind to black men. The UK is not innocent in it’s handling of Black-British men either, we’ve had cases like George Floyd. I covered this in my article  in the up and coming July issue of Aspiring Authors Magazine LLC which can be checked out here.  So, it’s really important to me that the world starts to change, following George  Floyd and Rayshard Brook’s deaths at the hands of police officers.  I will do all that I can to help support this demographic of men, who are often tossed aside, hurt, killed, and looked at as if they are some kind of public enemy number one. My son simply can not grow up in this environment,  he deserves better as he grows up, and so does every man who identifies as a man of colour. Regardless of his descent be it Black-British, Caribbean, African, African-American, Asian etc.

So as we enter the last week of promo for male authors of colour, let’s not forget that #BlackLivesMatter and they always will, until statistics can dispute the fact that the lives of black men are under threat, and have been for sometime. No one can dispute this, especially when you use statistics to prove it. By saying ‘Black Lives Matter’ does not mean no one else does, it just means in order for ‘All Lives  Matter’ to have any real meaning or relevance,  we need to recognise that  black lives are and have historically  been wiped out brutally by police, and racism is still very much alive. I make no apology for saying it or supporting it #blacklivesmatter.

Have a wonderful weekend! We’ll kick off with the final group here soon.

Book Review: ‘Chance At Love’ by DaKiara (AA Contemporary Romance) 4 lovely stars! #amreading #romance

Aww I really am a sucker for these cute little novella love stories. I came across this author’s work on Facebook, it was on pre-sale for just .99 cent so I snapped it up! This is the first romance I have read by the author, but I have read her book of poetry, which was an excellent five star read for me. Let’s get into what I enjoyed with the romance!

chance at love

Holly Mitchell thought she had it all, a successful career, owns her own home, a best friend who would get her out of any jam she found herself in. But the one thing she desired most in life was missing—someone to spend her life with. So, she decides to delve into the tumultuous world of online dating.

Brandon Thompson has always been there through thick and thin for his best friend, Holly

has seen him through some dark days with his constant relationship drama. When Holly tells him, she has started internet dating, his whole world shifts. He realizes that he might have more than friendship on his mind.
Will the two best friends realize that they have some deep seeded feelings for each other, or will they continue the cycle of random hookups and short-lived relationships?

 

Kim’s Review 4 Enjoyable Stars

This is a classic ‘friends to lovers’ story between Holly and Brandon.  Both characters for me were extremely likable on the off set. I did fall for them both and what they really wanted in life and love. I found that the story flowed well, it held my attention, I read it in one sitting. I enjoyed the journey that both characters go on from friends to lovers. The writing style was nice and easy to follow too. My only feeling as I read was that, I would have loved if the author allowed the characters to lead me, and showed rather than told parts.  Things characters did, conversations they had, or who said what to who. For me as  just one reader I would have loved to have seen this play out, in dialogue or character’s actions, rather than being told what had happened. This did not spoil my enjoyment, but it for sure could and always does develop the reading experience.  I could feel closer to the characters and experience their situation,  be pulled in deeper– show me it. Let them (characters) do it and lead, with less narrative from the author. But like I said, this is just me as one reader. Do not let this put you off this is a wonderful novella, I do recommend it.

Holly and Brandon initially are both looking for love in other places, however while this drama plays out ( which was fun to read about),  there are two other men that take an interest in Holly via a dating app. This is the plot twist… I guessed it. No spoilers from me at all. Oh no! That does not mean the plot is predictable, far from it I just saw it coming,  maybe as I tried to imagine  how Holly and Brandon would become one. This is a really sweet and touching  plot, with plenty of moments that made me personally smile even if imagined what the author had in store correctly before the end.

Overall, this was a lovely introduction to the author’s romance stories, and I would for sure read more no doubt about it I am a fan. I do highly recommend that all lovers of contemporary romance give this novella a try.  It’s less than $2.00 at the time of writing this,  and free to read on Kindle Unlimited so why not! Get wrapped up in Brandon and Holly’s  sweet and beautiful ‘friends to lovers’ story, you won’t regret it. We need more of these beautiful stories especially in the African -American genre.  Four enjoyable stars from me. Check out Amazon here.

Writing Prompt: Tell Us About Your English Teacher… Damn! Okay

Stealing one of the personal blog prompts today from 365 Days of Writing Prompts for Romance Writers .  Wow my English teacher in what we’d call in the UK ‘secondary school’ I guess ‘high school’ to the rest of the world, in a nutshell he was a bit of  a mess! LOL.  I won’t name him, for now I’ll call him Mr. X.

 

writing

Where did I go to school?

In the depths of south London, Mum actually sent me out of the local area to school. At the time she didn’t feel the standard of education was great in our local area.. It was just a short bus ride away, about no more than thirty to forty five minutes from where we lived. It was a mixed gender school also, generally the school did have a good reputation back then. Lots of parents sent their children there. The only thing was, while the general reputation of the school was good….some classes were unruly! My English class was one of them LOL. Not me personally, when I was in school I behaved well, I was there to learn. I actually really enjoyed this subject, languages and design and technology too this is where I excelled. But my classmates were a hoot, to say the least. It was mainly the boys, we had a group of popular boys who loved to wind up our English teacher. There was also one particular female student who had a big problem with listening and behaving. To me, sitting at my table I just bit my lip and tried not to laugh!

What was your teacher like?

At the time when he taught my class Mr. X must have been in his late thirties to early forties. He was tall, very skinny! Had long, stinging , dirty blond hair, ALWAYS wore black and had bad breath. Thinking about it now all these years later, I bet he was some kind of goth. I left school in ’99 at sixteen, but it never really occurred to me why  he may have always wore black.

Anyway, like I said the class was a little troublesome and he spent a lot of his time shouting, mainly at the same students. His favourite line was ‘siiiiiiillllleeeence!’ Then, he’d slam a book or his hand on the desk, *cringe*. Nope, nine times out of ten that did not work, and he ended up splitting up the tables of students. In the end he gave us a seating  plan, so certain students couldn’t sit together.

As a teacher, looking back now all these years later was he a good one? No, not really. I say this as I myself after I left school went on to be a high school teacher, and spent ten years in the profession in the classroom. I worked my way up to head of my subject. On reflection compared to what  I know now , after teacher training he wasn’t a good one.

Did I learn…? Very little. Partly due to the class behaviour, but when the class was under control even then as I sit here and think, ‘what did I learn from Mr. X?’ I draw a blank!

Was it his fault? Hmmm it’s  a hard one. In all honesty, I think he was at that stage of what we call ‘teacher’s burn out’. When a teacher is so jaded about the profession they just collect their pay and that’s it.

Did  you get on?

In all honesty, I never really interacted with him much! I was one of the good kids there to learn, I just sat back and watched the ‘show’ every lesson. The battle of wits between him and the unruly kids. Did he ever shout at me? Yes, there were times when I got so bored I would talk, doodle, not really tune into what was going on. You could hardly blame me though if you were a fly on the wall. Did I ever talk back to him? Yeah, a couple of times as in all honesty I was one of the good kids, I felt ‘why are you picking on me!?’ as any teenager would at that time.

So in a nutshell, while English was one of my favourite subjects at school, sadly I never had a very inspirational or even dedicated teacher. It was more ‘crowd control’ at times in my lessons. Which is sad, because yes my grades in English did suffer, generally. And of course he did predict me and a lot of that class with low grades…. did I get a low grade  for my GCSE exams? yeah I got a C grade. This is not ‘low’ technically A-C is good, especially back then this was the 90s. But I was capable of so much more.

What happened after school?

Believe it or not, after school when I left I re-studied  English. I went to what you could call an  ‘online’ community school and sat some extra tests for another English qualification. I came out with a B, now that’s more like it! I didn’t do this right away, I was probably in my early twenties as it was at this point I was searching for work, and what I wanted to do. Employers (at the time) wanted A-C grades in English, okay I had that I got a C but I wanted to re-do it so I did.

Generally I feel on reflection that my English teacher at school had a lot on his plate, but even if the class was golden he was very jaded and job hardened I think, on reflection.  Sadly my English teacher did not spark my love for reading or writing, this came myself! Just something I enjoyed with little inspiration from the person who really introduced myself and classmates to it. You can’t win them all I guess!  I  don’t think I would go back and change things, as in the end it panned out okay. I just hope if Mr.  X is still alive if he ever thinks about his time in the classroom, that at some point in his career he can look back and say, ‘I loved that job even if class 7PU were little shits’ LOL.

 

 

 

 

Male Author of Colour Wk#2: Adrian Walker Non-fiction and Inspirational Author #blacklivesmatter #blacklivesmatteruk #blackauthorsmatter

AdrianIt’s Friday! And our last male author of colour to get to know in the ‘Book Boyfriends’/romance, poetry and non-fiction genres is this man in a suit! Who is that? It’s Adrian Walker the non-fiction /inspirational debut author, he has published his first book.

Fun Facts About Adrian:

NAME: Adrian C Walker II

FUN FACT(s): I am the oldest of 13, I have been to all but 10 states and been tons countries outside of the US, I’ve beat cancer twice, have my own clothing line, and I have been on a no red meat, or chicken journey for 3 years.

 Star Sign: Although I don’t believe in astrological signs, I am a Libra.

( Well that’s a shame Adrian, as your star sign’s energy is absolutely lovely! I’ve really loved every Libra I have crossed paths with…just sayin’)

Here’s a book Adrian would love to share with us…

Adrian BookFrom his youthful perspective, Adrian C. Walker II, who is the eldest of thirteen siblings and now author instantaneously and subconsciously discovered that growing up sooner than later was his determining factor. In retrospect, leading a sheltered way of living was inevitable but normal, up until his vibrancy became unexpectedly shifted at the age of twelve. The plague of bad news surfaced when he and his parents got a diagnosis of Mr. Walker having a bone tumor, in which was expected by the doctors to end Walker’s life or living his life as a leg amputee. However, Mr. Walker’s distressful event of receiving his diagnosis was nothing short of the storms he faced in years to come; cancer, two failed marriages, multiple near-death experiences, alcoholism, non-illusionary premonitions, and more. As a reader of this written story, Adrian C. Walker II will guide you through the fire and into his journey as a survivor of many events that were deemed to be his breaking point of life itself. His hope is for you to master the art of humbly doing the same.

At the time of writing this Adrian’s work has some wonderful reviews, and it’s also available in audio book too! Check out the book here.  on Amazon.

 

Check out Adrian’s Author page on Amazon here, if you do pick up a book leave him a review, I’m sure he’d love it.

Male Author of Colour Wk#2: Non-Fiction Author Tyvon Price! #blacklivesmatter #blacklivesmatteruk #blackauthorsmatter

AuthorT What a lovely picture!  Another male author of colour to get to know today is our 2nd  non-fiction author, Tyvon Price. Here he is with his family. 

Some fun facts about Tyvon

My star sign is a Gemini.

My hobbies are fishing playing with my kids , taking family trips , and expressing my feelings by writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s Tyvon’s debut book he’d love to share with us today.

Tyvon BookAdopted by the Streets is to give the reader a little insight on how growing up in a hood environment you are introduced to a lot of things at an early age and how you are born with a curse over your life passed down from generation to generation. Until one person tries to fight his whole life to break his generational curse. Sacrificing his life for a better future for the generations to come.

This book as some great reviews at the time of writing this, check out the book and the author’s Amazon page here.

 

 

Male Author of Colour Wk#2: ‘Book boyfriend’ #3-Romance Author Lawrence Hall! #BlackLivesMatter #BlackLivesMatterUK #BlackAuthorsMatter

LH picOhhh we have another ‘Book boyfriend’ alert! It’s #3,  one of our male authors of colour to take note of, romance author Lawrence Hall! Let’s get to know some fun facts before we dive into this author’s large amount of books. He has some great reviews, and  a very interesting author bio.

Fun Facts About Lawrence

Hobbies and interests: include video games, coaching youth basketball and listening to music.

Star sign: Taurus

Meet The Author

What do you get when you mix Spartacus with Spaceballs? We’re not sure either, but somewhere in there is Lawrence Hall. A man of few words until he begins speaking, you can often find him with a smile on his face, until he takes a picture. Then he tries to put on his best 1990s hardcore hip hop persona, which would be a mix of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls. Unless MC Hammer is on the radio. Hailing from the capital city of the USA, he has over 10 years of teaching experience. This means Lawrence has mastered the art of daydreaming and not listening, but pretending he hears and sees everything. He’s the perfect chameleon. An avid film buff, and lover of HEA, he’s too much of an optimist to want anything else. His motto: I may fall like Autumn but I’ll rise a new season. Making his debut in May 2019 as a bona fide romance author, you can find him all over your favorite social media. Lawrence loves to engage and invites you to come stalk…I mean…follow him!

Follow Lawrence!

FACEBOOK AUTHOR’S PAGE
https://www.facebook.com/lhall5819/
FACEBOOK READERS GROUP
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hallsofromance/
· Instagram: @lawrencehallauthor
· Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lhall5819/
· Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lawrence-hall
· Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14627599.Lawrence_Hall
· Amazon: amazon.com/author/lawrencehall
MAILING LIST
mailchi.mp/55564ef8364c/lawrenceshallpass
WEBSITE –
www.lawrencehallauthor.com

Here’s a couple of books he”d love to share

LH book1

Maggie Lane is a professional Wing Woman. It is her job to teach men how to attract the woman of their dreams. Her goal is to give men the tools to create lasting memories, and she is very good at it. One day, after a mind-blowing one-night stand rocks her to her core, her best friend hires Maggie to teach her shy, older brother. The problem? Maggie hadn’t seen him in years, so imagine her surprise when she discovers that her best friend’s brother is the man she had the one-night stand with. Can Maggie overcome her personal feelings and help him find the perfect woman?

James is fit, good looking, and financially stable. He also has difficulty speaking to women. The thought of engaging with them in conversation makes him want to dive off the nearest cliff. He wants more out of life but isn’t sure how to get it. One night, after a couple of drinks, he decides to take a chance and approach the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. She takes control and gives him the wildest night of his life. The problem? She’s his younger sister’s best friend. Now she wants to help him find the woman of his dreams, even though he thinks he’s already found her. Can James find a way to tell her how he feels before it’s too late, or will his fear cause him to settle for someone else?

*Warning – Wing Woman is a standalone, and is book one in the forthcoming The Ladies of Orias series. This book contains strong sexual content, language, and a brief mention of cheating. It should only be read by mature audiences*

Check Out This Book Here On Amazon

 

 

LH book2

Ashlyn Rivers is a detective in the Orias Police Department. Every day she goes about doing her part to protect and serve the people. Recently, a new criminal organization has moved into the city. If they continue to disturb the current crime boss and his empire, they will start a turf war that will hurt a lot of innocent people.

The mayor, meanwhile, has declared that the Vigilante is to be arrested on sight for fear others may try to copy him. Ashlyn cannot explain it, but she feels a connection with him and believes that he actually helps the OPD. If he truly has the abilities they say, she can sleep better at night knowing he has watch. Many in the department, however, will go out of their way to make a name for themselves by being the cop that brings him in. Even if it costs lives.

There’s a war coming and a lot of blood will be shed unless Ashlyn can stop it with help from the Vigilante. That’s if the Orias Police stay out of the way.

She works for the law, he works above it. Will they find a way to save the city and come together, or will their worlds forever keep their love apart? This debut novel puts a fresh spin on the female heroine, the man that loves her and those she’s sworn to protect.

Note- this is a series and there are more books!

Check Out The Book Here On Amazon

 

I  recommend all romance lovers check out this author, he has a shit-load of positive reviews at the time of writing this, and isn’t it just wonderful and  exciting to read a male’s take on this wonderful genre? Give him a follow on his links above, check out his Amazon page here.

Male Author of Colour Wk#2: Micheal Ediale- Non Fiction #blacklivesmatter #blackauthorsmatter

Mike EdialeMeet Micheal, one of our male authors of colour an author of a huge variety of non-fiction and children books! His Amazon page is loaded.

Michael Ediale is a leading expert and authority in the field of self- improvement, capacity building and potential effectiveness. His is passionate about inspiring,motivating and empowering people to improve their lives, achieve their dreams and maximize their potential. He has authored more than fifty books which cuts across self-improvement, personal growth and personal finance. Through his books millions of lives have been transformed and destines restored. His books are laden with great insights, wisdom and new ideas that will help you achieve anything in life. As an advocate of championing the course of providing better well-being to humanity all the proceeds from his books have been donated to charity. Getting copies of his books will elevate poverty, sponsor and feed a child is Africa. Michael Ediale is an author and impact maker to watch out for in this generation. If you need motivation, inspiration, encouragement and enrichment any of his books will give you that.

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All of Micheal’s books can be found on his Amazon page here has way too many to count! Check him out and do leave him a review, if you enjoy.

Male Author of Colour Wk#2: What D’ya Know About Cedric Logan- Poetry Author #blackauthorsmatter #blacklivesmatter

CedricMeet another poet today, from our male authors of colour line up. Cedric is a Leo and in his own words, ‘a triple threat I sing/rap write and act’. His favourite color is red. And his hobbies include sports, performing and karaoke.  He has a  beautiful daughter named Miracle.

Fun fact: I was the Warner robins division of the boys and girls club youth of the year in 2002.

Cedric appears to be a man with many words, and talents from his Facebook interaction. He published his first book in 2017 which he’d like to share today.

 

Do you ever wish you could go back in time, knowing what you know now? I know I do. In this book, I give my daughter real life experiences to show her how to become the best miracle she can be. I show her about-worth, love, life, and goals. I also set goals for myself on future memories I want to make with her. This overall time capsule of a father’s love is sure to touch the heart of readers for years to come.

 

Check out this author’s Amazon page here, and if you do pick up a book please leave him a review! I’m sure he’d appreciate it.