COVER GIRLS by T.D. Jakes: I read it in like 5 hours yesterday. Great read. Jakes integrated passages from Woman, Thou Art Loosed into this piece of fiction. I liked it because it showed FAITH + Works. My fave character was Miz Ida. We need more Miz Idas in the world. I recommend.


Naughty or Nice: This book was reminiscent of EJD in the early days. My favorite character was Tommie -- I guess because of her restoration. I dang near died though every time Frankie had a blind date. The ending with PANTHER took me totally by surprise. I was really feeling Carpe too :( til that whole plot twist where his wife showed up. :mad:

Next I will read the new book by Franklin White.

Dear Friends:

I wanted to be among the first to wish you and your family a happy, healthy holiday season filled with blessings and joy for the upcoming year.

Here's some exciting news! My sixth novel, Not A Day Goes By will be an exciting stage musical and will debut January 11, 2004 in my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, and will travel to seventeen cities, so it's very likely that it will be coming to a location near you. Please visit my website http://www.elynnharris.com for dates and tour cities. Tickets (a great Christmas gift) can be purchased via http://www.ticketmaster.com or at your local Ticketmaster outlet. Jackee from 227 and Sister, Sister fame and American Idol favorite,
Trenyce will star in the production.

I also want to share some news from the classroom. I had a great time down in Arkansas and we finished the semester with Eric Jerome Dickey’s Naughty or Nice and we really enjoyed it--and it's the perfect book for Christmas. My students selected Kimberla Lawson Roby’s Casting the First Stone as their favorite book out of the six we read this semester.

Right now I am finishing up my new novel,THE GREAT PRETENDERS, which I hope to have in bookstores by summer’s end. As always, I thank you for your wonderful support.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

~e. lynn harris

This was such a nice email! I can't wait for his book to come out!

E Lynn Harris is coming to Charlotte:
 

Sunday, June 4 - 2:00pm
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
4345 Barclay Downs Drive
Charlotte, NC 28209

He will also be at the Books-A-Million at Northwoods Mall (North Charleston, SC) on June 25!:D

New Tupac book to be released in August (BV)
 

June 16 would've marked the 35th birthday of late hip-hop superstar Tupac Shakur, who died tragically in Sept. of 1996 from gunshot wounds inflicted during a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

Considered an icon of his generation, Shakur (born Lesane Parish Crooks) was a platinum-selling gangsta rap icon that went on to make Hollywood movies -- subsequently becoming a key figure beyond the recording industry.

On Aug. 29, Atria Books will release 'Tupac Shakur Legacy,' a spectacularly packaged, illustrated biography featuring removable documents, rare memorabilia, and an audio CD-offering the first real interactive way to experience his life and career.

Jamal Joseph, an acclaimed author, film director, activist, and educator who credits his time spent in prison as the inspiration for all of his creative output, is one of the minds behind the 'Legacy' -- which was authorized by Shakur's estate. The Bronx native befriended Afeni Shakur (Tupac's mother) while a teenager -- then became a Black Panther.

"Tupac was more than a music star, more than an actor," Joseph told Black Voices. "Tupac was a prophet and a seer for his generation. He captured the imagination, the voice, the feelings of his generation."

"He had a message that came out of his experiences growing up in Harlem, Baltimore and California," he continued, "and being the son of Black Panther parent and seeing the tragedy, death and drug addiction in his own family; he talked about it in terms that the black community could relate to, that white kids could relate to, that kids around the world relate to."

Now the Acting Chair of Columbia University’s Graduate Film Division and the artistic director of the New Heritage Theater in Harlem, Joseph called the project (a hard cover coffee table book designed by Becker & Mayer) a true labor of love. "It's a wonderful piece of work where you can feel everyone's love of Tupac and you feel his presence all through it."

Joseph, who has contributed to previous posthumous projects, believes that what seems like Shakur's never-ending impact on pop culture reached far beyond commercial viability.

"I have international students at Columbia telling me that in Jamaica, in Africa, in New Zealand that they bump Tupac ten years later because he speaks about the anger, the rage, the hopes, the dreams, the disappointments and the tenacity of a whole generation. That’s what it is. It's music for people, that is of the people. His quotes, his words, his music, his acting performances just really transcended and it's in that moment of time that makes him this historical figure that we relate to, as we relate to people like Malcolm X."

E. Lynn has a number of dates coming up....here is the link

http://www.elynnharris.com/tour.htm