Simply Cheris. . .

 When I met Melanee Banks at the Taliah Waajid Natural Hair Show in Atlanta, the first thing I noticed was her amazing spirit. Some people are just so nice that it radiates. Then we had the chance to do a Social Circle interview together. Hearing her talk about the book and her writing path made me smile. And then my niece -- who is 20 by the way-- had to have a copy of the book. My niece's name is Briana. My niece loves fairies so much that she has a fairy tattoo on her back. Melanee's heroine is a fairy named Bryana. The book was sold. This is a book that I wish was around when my Briana was three or four. One day, I'm sure Briana will share this with her little girl. 1. What was the inspiration for Bryana's BiggestWish ? My children Immanuuel (7 years old) and Ky (4 years old) were a huge inspiration.  I wanted to give them a sense of pride and demonstrate that with hard work and patience, anyone can achieve their goals. The sec...

Harris Teeter reopened on Central Avenue today. It's pretty. I'm sure the grocery selection is amazing. I went for ONE thing. Starbucks. Starbucks with roof top seating. It was everything that I thought it would be. And one thing I didn't count on -- it was hot up there. And sitting directly in the glow of the sun didn't help. I realized today, even though I was Supergirl for Halloween, I'm a mere mortal who should've had an iced coffee rather than that grande HOT dark roast. Sunlight gives her power, but its my Kryptonite The view from above The pros: The upstairs of the Starbucks/Harris Teeter is beautiful. From the winding staircase, to the sofas on the inside facing the wide windows, it is lovely. And then there is the free wifi-- a writer's best friend other than coffee is wifi. The outdoor tables are wide and great for your laptop, iPad or even your lunch. I guess some people will come up there to eat, drink and look at the skyline. Ch...

Speed Street is over. And some folks think the week after Memorial Day is a blank page. NOT! Starting Wednesday, On Q Productions will host a limited run of Miles & Coltrane: Blue (.) RLO, The Jazz Diva and Quentin Talley present Miles & Coltrane: Blue(.), by Concrete Generation May 29 through June 2 at Duke Energy Theater at Spirit Square located at 345 N College St in Uptown Charlotte for a limited engagement.  This special performance will serve as a fundraiser as the show returns to the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival August 3 through 26 in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Donations will be used to assist with associated production and travel costs. Miles & Coltrane: Blue(.) captures the galvanizing energy of the 1950's, an element of time when American society was rapidly changing. During this era, jazz was the soundtrack to a new social revolution. And at the forefront of jazz music was trumpet blaring Miles Davis and skillful saxo...

Jon B is not washed up. Robin Thicke didn't eat him and steal his career. More importantly, Jon B is not afraid to tell y'all that he was always R&B and didn't start off as a pop singer and then cross over in his "suit and tie." Well, he didn't say the suit and tie part, but that's what he meant. While he performed at Speed Street in Charlotte, Jon B kept telling us all that he's been in the game for 20 years. Remember is first album Bonafide ? He was 18 when he and Babyface sang about Someone To Love. Sadly, the majority of the crowd obviously didn't buy that amazing first album. How can you not love Pretty Girl? But I think I have figured out why Charlotte doesn't get good music shows. As a music town, we suck. We're horrible. We let radio tell us what's hot and believe that BS. When Jon B sang Hall and Oates I Can't Go For That , 85 to 90 percent of the crowd either didn't know the song or didn't like it. But wh...

It's stories like this that make me want to leave Charlotte and never, ever come back. A mother had her son arrested for stealing. Stealing Pop Tarts. Stealing them from the house. Not Food Lion. Not Harris Teeter. Not Wal Mart. But the house where he lives. What a mother ! (If you want to add an f-word to that, feel free.) According to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report, the mother called investigators on Monday to report her Pop-Tarts had been stolen. She fingered her own son, who is a juvenile, as the culprit. Neighbor Fred Patrick could not stop laughing when he first learned an arrest had been made over Pop-Tarts.  He knows the young boy. "He seems real nice to me.  I mean, he is real respectful," Patrick said. The report said that the boy was placed under juvenile arrest and was charged with larceny/misdemeanor. Another neighbor, Tiffany Covington, said in her house, food is there for everyone. "It would be nice if they asked, but th...

Kianna Alexander This summer, Kianna Alexander is turning up the heat with Freedom's Embrace. This is a story that she believed in. And now, Ellora's Cave is releasing it this summer. August 1, to be exact. When Kianna visited the blog earlier in May, this is what she said about the journey to get her novel published. I was having a very hard time selling a story very near and dear to my heart, about a runaway slave and a quadroon doctor in the late 1840's. Five or six publishers had rejected it and I was about to tuck it away under my bed, never to be seen again. I felt this book needed and deserved the broader audience a publishing house could provide, so I didn't want to self publish it. I was at the end of my rope. Beverly Jenkins told me to write the book of my heart, and everything else would fall into place. Sure enough, I sold it when an editor finally saw my vision. It's now titled Freedom's Embrace , and is coming this summer ...

Hot M.A.M.A. Land: Biltmore Adventure : What's Biltmore? Located in Asheville, North Carolina among an unbelievable mountainous landscape sits a breathtaking mansion, estate, c... Read the rest on the Hot M.A.M.A Land blog.

  Aja "The Writer" Graves  Click to join her on Facebook. To me the interesting main character is never the one without flaws. -J. J. Abrams There’s only one person I know of who walked the earth that was perfect. But the rest of us? The rest of us are far from perfect, despite what some would have you to believe. Reality is, they are as flawed as the people they love to talk about. I’m not casting aspersions- I’ve done my fair share of judging(because I’m not perfect) and it’s still a challenge to not continue to do so. But even when I don’t judge, sometimes I just don’t like someone. There- I said it. I could really care less about the reasons they came to be the person they are. I don’t need a biography or history lesson. There’s just something about them that makes me cringe. It’s usually from what I view as some sort of flaw. And so, because I don’t like them (notice I didn’t say hate- hate is not in my heart) I avoid them, not spending any quality time w...