Simply Cheris. . .

Twitter is a great place to meet new authors. That's where I met Kimani author Judy Lynn Hubbard. I knew she was cool because she's a Dallas Cowboys fan! Then she shared an excerpt from her debut novel, These Arms of Mine . It left me wanting more and more. Thankfully, the wait is almost over! Hubbard's book is set to be released on January 24. Judy spoke with me about her first novel and writing. 1. When did you decide to write romance?      When I was 14, my sister gave me my first Harlequin Romance novel to read and since then I knew one day I wanted to write a book for Harlequin. Many years later, I finally completed my first novel and after many re-writes and submissions, I went on to write my second novel (These Arms of Mine) that was accepted by Harlequin Kimani after corresponding with them for about 10 months.   So, persistence and having faith in oneself definitely pays off! 2. What is your debut novel, These Arms of Mine about?  It’s ...

God bless the Miami Heat's Dwayne Wade. He fought for custody of his children when he and his wife divorced. He's a real dad. Good for him. But does this make him news worthy? I mean, do we write about the sun rising in the east every morning? When you have children your job is to raise them and take care of them. Have standards in this country, in the black community especially, dropped so low that when we see a dad doing what he's supposed to that it deserves a Nightline story? His nickname is Mr. Mom--and? The definition of fatherhood is taking care of your children regardless of how you feel about the mother. You have so many men who make their kids suffer because of a bad relationship with the kids' mom. Then you have men who become Boy Scout leaders to spend time with their sons, men who take their daughters for pedicures and talk about what's going on in her life. Then you have the fathers who shut down their business early every night to watch their ...

Do you cook as good as you look? Can you come up with a Recipe For Desire ? Author Cheris Hodges’s new novel Recipe For Desire introduces readers to sexy Chef Devon Harris, a good looking man with skills in the kitchen. Basically, he’s every woman’s dream. A Party Girl's Work Is Never Done. . . At twenty-seven, Marie Charles is still Charlotte's number one party girl. But when she adds a DWI arrest and a totaled Jaguar to her list of tabloid news-making escapades, her daddy is done bailing her out. Sentenced to five hundred hours of community service at My Sister's Keeper, a homeless shelter for women, Marie won't have much time left for partying. . . Renowned chef and TV star Devon Harris volunteers at My Sister's Keeper. And he's not happy Marie is joining him. He may be single--and she may be gorgeous--but the last thing he's interested in is a superficial southern belle. But as Marie outgrows the selfish girl she was, Devon is turned on by the woman ...

I'm 34 years old. So, when the original Shaft was released, I wasn't even a twinkle in my mom's eyes. After all, she had just given birth to my older sister. However, she was a huge fan of Richard Roundtree and his iconic character John Shaft. Because of her and my cool Daddy, who had a John Shaft leather coat, I became a fan of the Gordon Parks film. Shaft was that dude. A sexy black man solving crimes, kicking ass and romancing the ladies. 40 years later, this movie is still one of the best pieces of cinema out there. Let's forget about John Singleton's horrid remake with Sam Jackson in the title role. What made Shaft an iconic character was the fact that he was a black man making his own rules, talking shit to white folks and doing it all with style. He made women fall in love with him and no one wears leather like John Shaft. (Sorry PETA) Some people call this "blaxplotation" but movies like Shaft and Foxy Brown led the way for big budget act...

Veteran editor and writer Carlton Hargro knows what a good story looks and reads like. With 20 years in the journalism business, Hargro has been in charge of award winning publications, worked in every form of media, from TV to magazines and newspapers, and built informative websites. Who better to give advice to writers? What can fiction writers learn from journalism?  I'll tell you a few things they can learn, some times you read some books and they just go off the damn rails. One thing, that we talked about, is (knowing) what is the story about. With a journalism story, you have to know what it is about. Two, brevity. I think a lot of times people write a book and they think you have to put in all of these big ass words. Or you have to make a description of a wall go on for two pages. People are flipping the pages. Keep it short and sweet, to the point. Another thing is keep things moving. In a journalistic piece, you don't have time to have all of these asides and stu...

Have you ever had a moment where you thought things couldn't get worse? Then the bottom falls out and things go from bad to the absolute worst. That has happened to me. Full time job gone right before Christmas. Ouch. But, I'm not looking back with tears, anger or disappointment. I'm looking up. Here's hoping that you will do the same. Things have to get bad so that you know when they've gotten better. :) So, are you in need of a weekend read? Check out If It Isn't Love : His star rose, but their love faded. . . Jason Campbell, known to his adoring fans as Jay Slade, has had enough of the spotlight. When he returns home to Elmore, South Carolina, he has one thing on his mind: winning back the love of his life, Ingrid Russell. But Ingrid isn't ready to take him back. She's a widow with a restaurant to run and son to raise. There's no way she's going to let Jason back into her life. Especially when she has a secret that she's de...

                  Layla’s story about Reed was a big success, even if she did have to fudge a few quotes. She was done with hip-hop and Reed Clarke.   Glancing to her right, she saw that copy of Glamour magazine and the unopened wedding invitation. She still hadn’t figured out who was getting married. She hadn’t really inspected the envelope either.   Layla picked it up and for the first time notice the Atlanta postmark.                 “I know that sorry son of a. . .” She ripped the invitation open and read it. A smile spread across her face as the words sank in. She grabbed her iPhone and dialed the R.S.V.P. line at the bottom of the invitation.                 A week later, Layla was back in Atlanta, dressed in a shimmering strapless ivory dre...

Reed didn’t want to let her go and he didn’t want to open his eyes. This had to be a dream.                 “Get off me,” Layla said, pushing against his chest.                 “Wait,” he said.                 “OFF!”                 Reed eased off her and shook his head. “I can’t believe this, I can’t believe that I allowed this to happen,” Layla said as she snatched her clothes on. “This was some . . .”                 “This was meant to be. Layla, you came back into my life. . .”                 “To write a damned story, not to be your last...