Simply Cheris. . .

Jazz is a dying art to some, but not the Jazz Diva, Tammy Greene. If you've been to a jazzy affair in the Queen City and had a good time, you probably owe Greene a hand clap of thanks. Greene spoke with me about her quest to make Charlotte a jazzier place. What made you decide to make Charlotte a jazzier place?  Jazz music is a passion for me. with all that goes on around me, its the one thing that makes me happy when i hear it.  I have always been a music lover, specifically jazz.  In my hometown of Philadelphia, a person could find live music happening 7 days a week!  when i moved to Charlotte in 1997, there weren't many options for live jazz.  In 1997, my 2 sons moved here with me, so I did not have time to go out and explore the music scene.  In 2005, while working for The Vanguard Group (which is how I relocated here) two of my co-workers mentioned that thy were going to open a jazz restaurant offering dinner and live music.  ...

I know next May seems like a long time from now. But that's the release date of my next book. I'm excited. Now comes the task of naming this book. I've always had a slight problem coming up with titles. Unlike playwrights, I think authors go story first, title last. I learned this tidbit about playwrights from listening to Victoria Christopher Murray's Destiny's Divas book chat on Thursday. :) Want to know what my May release is going to be about? Check it out: BACK COVER: Crystal Hughes is mad as hell … No one is going to tear down the farmland that’s been in her family since the turn of the century—certainly not multimillion dollar Welco Industries. And until Welco's president meets with her, Crystal will wage a fiery one woman protest to prove it! But when he finally appears, Douglas Wellington III is far from the elderly curmudgeon she expected... Tall, lean, and fabulous, Douglas is in for a surprise of his own. Crystal...

Hot M.A.M.A. Land: Summer Lovin' : Hello Romance Reader.  I'm Cheris Hodges . As I sit here watching the temperatures rise; I can't help but think about summertime and why...

I'm bringing the heat today on the web's hottest blog featuring Multicultural Authors of The Mid-Atlantic. Or, Hot M.A.M.A Land . And when I say I'm bringing the heat, I mean it. My blog is about this heat wave and why we're more apt to give it up in the summer. I know you're interested! Tune in at noon.

Want to see part of the inspiration for Recipe For Desire ? Click here and read "The Homeless Diaries."

I've been complaining about not getting my summer glow. I've been spending hours and hours in the house working on two books--who has time for sunbathing? Well in the last 48 hours, I got some good old South Carolina sun and that sun kissed look I crave. Yay! But that's not even the best part of my weekend. Let's start with Saturday in Columbia, S.C. -- The Midlands. Latoya Morris Guider. Photo by Sheryl Montgomery Photo by Sheryl Montgomery Photo by Sheryl Montgomery LaToya Morris Guider hosted a meet and greet for me. And let me tell you, Miss Lady did her thing! Toya is a member of the SistaFriends Book Club, an avid reader, and an all around cool person. You can tell that from one conversation with her. And you know cool people have cool friends. I can't thank Toya and everyone who came out to the Columbia meet and greet on Saturday.     Photo by Sheryl Montgomery And because Devon -- my hero from  Recipe For Desire -- was so into chocolate,...

Author and blogger, Michele Grant isn't just one of my favorite writers (have you read Sweet Little Lies and Heard It All Before ), but she's an Investigation Discovery addict just like me. So on Wednesday she watched the newly launched "Love Gone Wrong Wednesdays." The new show, titled Dates From Hell , prompted Grant to ask--on her BougieLand blog -- "Do Black Folks have trust issues?" These are her words: I was watching Dates from Hell on @DiscoveryID the other night. Wednesday nights are their "Love Gone Wrong" episodes with Who the Bleep Did I Marry followed by this new Dates from Hell. These are stories where a woman goes out on a date and ends up fighting/running for her life. Grim. Puts my BougieTales of Dating Woe in proper perspective. But anywho...  The premiere episode Wednesday night was about (in a nutshell) a woman who was vacationing in Rome. On her last night there, she and her friend were at a cafe....

In Charlotte, N.C., there are at least 450 people who are HIV positive and don't know it. It's scary to take an HIV test, even if you've been careful and practice safe sex. The questions that the test administrator asks you will make you think. Did I use a condom the last time I had sex? Is my boyfriend cheating with one of those 450 people who don't know they have HIV? Putting all of that aside, I took a rapid HIV test today. Here's how it went down: I pretty much knew my status when I went to take this test. But, according to ABC News, the HIV rate among black women living in some U.S. cities is the same rate as that of some African countries. "This disease is alive and well in this country," said Dr. Carlos Del Rio, principal investigator for the Atlanta area of the study and professor of medicine and infectious disease at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. "But this epidemic is the face of the forgotten people." ...

Basically, she's not a killer but don't push her. I think I have PTSD from this relationship. When I met Ethan Morris, I was ready to spend the rest of my life with him. Too bad Ethan was ready to spend his life sticking his little -- and I do mean little -- head into every woman who offered him a taste. If I wasn't too cute from prison, I would've put two in the back of his skull when I walked into my townhouse and found him on the sofa with some random plastic broad. God. I. Need. A. Vacation. --Mimi Collins.

Attention!! The price has been updated on Amazon! $1.99 until July 16th!  Order If It Isn't Love from Smashwords.com with the coupon code:  MZ95R Order If It Isn't Love from Amazon.com starting July 12 for $1.99

South Carolina native Aaron Ashford has always been an avid reader and a closet writer. While he was a student at South Carolina State University, he started writing his first novel. But it wasn't until he started his own counseling service that he decided to follow his dream and become a published author. His first book, Closure, was released in 2009. Ashford talked to me about writing and his latest works. 1.        Tell the readers what prompted you to start writing.  I have always had a love of both reading and writing that goes back to at least third grade or so. It was something that came easy to me, because I am always imagining "what if?" I was prompted to write a novel after I finished college and found time for leisure reading again.  One night, I had some bad insomnia and just started writing and before I knew it characters started getting acquainted with one another, a plot was formed and a resolution was had. 2.  ...

Make sure you check out the Hot M.A.M.A Land Blog ! And who's your favorite Cheris Hodges Hero? 1. Malik Greene -- Revelations 2. Nathan Wallace -- Cautious Heart 3. Chris Johnson -- A Love of Her Own 4. Calvin Jackson -- Second Chances at Love  5. Darren Alexander -- The Business of Love  6. Darius McRae -- Just Can't Get Enough 7. Cleveland Alexander -- More Than He Can Handle                                    8. Maurice Goings -- Let's Get It On  9. James Goings-- Betting On Love   10. Solomon Crawford -- No Other Lover Will Do 11. Antonio Billups -- His Sexy Bad Habit 12. Devon Harris -- Recipe For Desire 13. Jay Slade/Jason Campbell -- If It Isn't Love 14. Dr. Raymond Thomas -- Too Hot For TV