Obstacles in My Way

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

First the internet died and then a dear family member. I'm away on grief leave but will return soon.

Please keep checking in.

Thank you for your patience.

Peace!

And the Winner Is...

Melissa!!!! (The last poster)

You won the autographed copy of Carleen Brice's new novel, Children of the Waters!

Please send Carleen an email with your mailing address to Carleen@CarleenBrice.com. Mention the Meltingpot and she'll send you your copy right away.

For the rest of you, thanks for posting your comments, and I should be (fingers crossed) back online tomorrow.

Thank you for your patience.

Peace!

The Meltingpot is Offline--Temporarily

Hi People,

Due to the lameness of my internet service provider, I have no internet service at home for the next several days. (I also have no TV, but that's kind of my fault). I also have a sick child and no child care...

So I know your lives won't be the same without my posts, but might I suggest you use this time to mourn Michael Jackson and think about how incredible his legacy will be. Really, he did so much in the world, touched so many people. I don't even pretend to understand it, but everybody in the world knew Michael Jackson and could probably hum the tune of at least one of his songs. Apparently there is a run on the US embassy in Sri Lanka for visas to come to the United States to attend MJ's funeral!

And for your reading pleasure, check out this article by my friend Jesse Washington, who wrote for the Associated Press about Jackson's own unique color complex.

And remember, I'm starting with the Man in the Mirror. Cha-mon!

Peace!

Healing and a Video

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

Yesterday I had my four wisdom teeth yanked from my skull. I don't remember any of it of course, but today I am in much pain. So instead of a fun filled post chocked full of multicultural enlightenment, would you please take a moment to check out the video my partner and I created for our company ?RU. You know the one where we sell t-shirts and accessories for people who don't fit nicely into a single identity category. Be warned, I cried after watching it.

Please tell me what you think and I'll be back on Friday.

Peace and Painkillers!

p.s. And don't forget to post your comments on Monday's entry about Carleen Brice for your chance to win a free copy of her new novel, Children of the Waters. Thanks to those of you who already have!

The Meltingpot Interview -- And a Giveaway Too!

Tomorrow, June 23rd, award-winning author Carleen Brice's highly anticipated second novel will debut. Her first novel, Orange Mint & Honey won a slew of awards, was optioned by Lifetime Television and is a personal favorite of the Meltingpot.

Because Ms. Brice is a friend and a fan of the Meltingpot, we wanted to ask her for a little preview and background about her new novel, Children of the Waters. So without further ado:

The Meltingpot: Can you tell us what your new book Children of the Waters is about?

Carleen Brice: It's about 2 women, 1 white and 1 who has been adopted and raised by a black family and thinks of herself as black, but finds out she's biracial and is the birth-sister of the white woman.

MP: What I loved about your first novel, Orange Mint & Honey is that your main characters happened to be Black, but the book wasn't about race at all. But race plays a central role in Children of the Waters. In writing the book, did you want to say something about race or did you just come up with this story idea of a family dealing with a secret?

CB:Both. I wanted to explore ideas about race and I wanted to tell a story about family secrets.

MP: As a Black woman, was it difficult to write the character of Trish, the White sister in Children of the Waters? Why or Why not?

CB: No, it wasn't hard to write Trish. I would hope I captured her humanity as well as I tried to do with all the characters, regardless of their race. I wanted to write about a character who didn't see herself as being racist, but finds out she does have some stereotypes and prejudices buried inside her. I think most people do.

I got sort of dinged in a review because the two sisters, Trish & Billie, weren't seen as being different enough from each other. I know difference leads to conflict and that leads to drama. But I didn't want to tell a story about a stereotypical white woman and a stereotypical black woman and place them in the south. I think that's a cop-out--racial issues are more nuanced that that. I was interested in telling a story about 2 well-rounded women and in saying something about people, which is we have more in common than we do differences.

MP: Well said! I know many writers get their fiction ideas from real-life events. I'm wondering if you know someone or ever heard about a family situation like the one you write about in this book? It wouldn't surprise me.

CB: Yes, this is loosely based on a true story that happened to one of my sisters-in-law. In real life she was adopted and raised by a white family so when she met her white birth sister race wasn't really an issue.

MP: I recently sold my first novel and it's written in the alternating voices of a Black woman and a White woman, much like Children of the Waters. Yet and still, the editor who acquired my book had to convince the rest of the house that non-Black people would read the book. You've written a book here with a strong White female protagonist, does your publisher still treat this as a "Black book?" And if so, how do feel about that?

CB: Oh Lori, I hate to hear that! I'm not sure I know how my publisher completely sees my book. It is being published under the One World imprint, which publishes black books. However, it's also part of their Reader's Circle program, which is a general book club program, and my publicist is working on reaching a wide variety of media. I think they do a good job marketing, but, there's always room to grow...which is why I started my blog, White Readers Meet Black Authors. I'm hoping publishing, booksellers and readers get hip to the idea that a good book is a good book, no matter what race the author or characters are.

MP: I hope so too. Now, your first three books were non-fiction titles. What made you switch to fiction?

CB: Fiction is where my heart is, though I went through a time when I was reading more nonfiction and felt that it was an easier transition for me to make. My degree is in journalism, so it wasn't as big of a stretch to try nonfiction first.

MP: So what's next? More fiction or a return to non-fiction? And what can we expect from "White Readers, Meet Black Authors?" I'm hoping for a new video.

CB: Definitely more fiction. I'm hoping actually to try my hand at something new, but I have to stay mum on that for now. The White Readers Meet Black Authors site is still going. I'm hoping to post another video this fall. I printed up some buttons that say "I heart black authors" and I'm passing them around at book events. I plan to continue fighting the good fight.

Thanks Carleen. Good luck with everything!

And you all might want to thank Carleen too because one lucky reader of the Meltingpot will receive an autographed copy of Children of the Waters. You have until Sunday night June 28th to leave a comment stating one random fact you learned by visiting Carleen's website.

Peace!

Burning Questions from the Meltingpot

It's Friday, so that means I have questions. Hopefully some of you have the answers.

1. Does everybody who cares about Meltingpot America and loves good theater and uber talented actors worship Sarah Jones? If you don't, you should start now because she is the real deal. Or as the New Yorker magazine says, she is "a multicultural mynah bird [who] lays our mongrel nation before us with gorgeous, pitch-perfect impersonations of the rarely heard or dramatized." The Meltingpot totally (hearts) Sarah Jones!

2. Can you believe I actually sat through an entire Tyler Perry movie and not once felt the need to yell or throw something at the screen? I honestly enjoyed The Family that Preys and would recommend it for a Wednesday night home alone flick. I give all credit to the stellar cast, including Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan and Taraji P. Henderson. Yes, the storyline was rather predictable, but I have to give it to Mr. Perry that he did a fair job of portraying some of the subtle nuances of intra-racial relationships between Whites and Blacks in the American south. Anybody else see this movie and have an opinion?

3. Am I the only one who didn't bother to get cable or one of those converter boxes and now is forced to watch Tyler Perry movies from the library every night?

4. Is Fat Juicy Oyster the best name ever for a blog? Don't you want to just read it because of the title? Would you guess that Fat Juicy Oyster is living my dream life? Black woman living fabulously in Spain, dating a Serb, writing about it well. Okay, the Serb boyfriend wasn't really my dream, but still...

5. Does anybody else have mixed feelings about Juneteenth Day, which is today? Does anybody know what Juneteenth Day is? From the Juneteenth website:

"Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance."

So we're supposed to celebrate the fact that the slaves in Texas had to wait an extra two years to be free? I know that's not exactly it, but I'd love someone to tell me how they celebrate this day with pride?

And that's it for now. Enjoy the weekend.

Peace!

Books to Give, Books to Get.

Hi Meltingpot readers,

I'm going to ask for a couple of favors today. All for a worthy cause of course.

First, I want you all to go visit, Color Online today and see what great work they're doing supporting multicultural authors and young girls at risk in their Detroit community. And then when you're feeling like, "Wow, what can I do to support such an amazing organization?" You can send a book to their Summer Book Drive. You can buy one from their Wish List at Powell's online book store, or send a gently used book directly to their library. All the details are on the site. Try adding them to your list of links.

I know I'm going to send ColorOnline a few books that I have that folks who have won here at the Meltingpot never claimed. If that's you, you only have a few days to send me your address at myamericanmeltingpot@gmail.com. Check back to see if you were one of the lucky winners recently.

And speaking of winners. I need some help, so I can be a literary winner. Meaning, I have to get the word out about Kinky Gazpacho being available in paperback or I will never sell another book. It's all about numbers people. And since my publisher has set aside zero dollars for the publicity of the paperback, it all falls on me. This is typical for authors who are not superstars, like Stephanie Meyer or Stephen King. So, I am not surprised, but it still is daunting.

So, faithful readers, I'm trying to go about this Obama style. I'm going to the people and asking for help. Not money, just help. If you have a blog, Facebook or Twitter account, would you please post about Kinky Gazpacho? It doesn't have to be a review. In fact, I don't even care if you've read it. You can just mention that it exists.

For example, you could write: "Hey, there's this new book out in paperback called Kinky Gazpacho. I wonder if it's about hairy soup?"

Or "Anybody hear about this new book out in paperback called Kinky Gazpacho? I wonder if it's about weird sex acts in Spain?"

Or my all time favorite: "Have your heard about this book Kinky Gazpacho? I heard it's just like Eat, Pray Love, only the woman is Black not blond and she goes to Spain instead of Italy. And she gets married not divorced. But other than that, very similar story."

Honestly I don't care. The rule of thumb is that if people hear a name seven times, then it finally sticks. So I want to see if I can at the very least make a lot of people aware that Kinky Gazpacho exists. That way when they wander into a bookstore or library and see the book, they'll go, "Oh there's the book I keep hearing about. I simply must read it." See how this works. Eventually, if it really goes viral, it might make it all the way to Chicago and into the ears of one Ms. Oprah Winfrey and then, my dear readers, we will know that we made something happen! That we changed the course of history. We gave a relatively unknown author who had a story to share a chance to speak to millions of people. I think we can do this. Yes We Can!

Thank you so much for your help and let's get this Kinky revolution started!

Peace!