Positively Positive

(Author Bhatupe Mhango)

About the author
Bhatupe has a background in political education, gender mainstreaming and HIV management. She has worked with a number of international organizations, including UNDP and the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

In her home country, Malawi, Bhatupe was involved in the networking and management of various social groups at national level and served as the Chairperson for the Young Women Leaders` Network and as Vice President for Public Relations for the Lilongwe Toastmasters Club.

She also served, by presidential appointment, on the board of the Malawi Institute of Management. In 2004 she produced a personal documentary of her experience of living with HIV titled Open Up that was disseminated both nationally and internationally for the use of youth empowerment programs in the area of HIV.

In 2005 she founded a women`s non-governmental organization called The Crisis Center which offers telephone counseling services to local women. Today, Bhatupe is a competent Toastmaster and is currently working as the 1st International Coordinator of UN Plus, an advocacy initiative within the United Nations, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Positively Positive, a devotional on overcoming the challenges of living with HIV for young, Christian women (Kachere Series, 2006) is Bhatupe`s first publication. She has knowingly been living with HIV for 7 years now and is now working on her first novel, ``To all my sisters``, due end 2009.




About the book

Positively Positive is Bhatupe`s first book. It is a devotional written for the reader`s use over a period of one month. It delves into complicated issues of self-esteem and personal motivation. It asks difficult questions about purpose and drive and prompts the reader into developing a life-plan and a renewal of mindset on sensitive issues, such as those posed by HIV and AIDS.


The author can be contacted at:
watupe@yahoo.com

Soulful Strut

(Author Lynn Emery)

About the author

Mix knowledge of voodoo, Louisiana politics and forensic social work with the dedication to write fiction while working each day as a clinical social worker, and you get a snapshot of author Lynn Emery.

Lynn has been a contributing consultant to the magazine Today's Black Woman for three articles about contemporary relationships between black men and women. Lynn is a licensed social worker with a special interest in mental health issues as they affect women, and in particular women of color.



About the book

New life, New love
Monette Victor spent 15 years in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Now she's free, and making up for stolen time. She's bared her soul in a best selling tell-all memoir, hosts a hit radio talk show, and has more speaking gigs than she knows what to do with. And she's counseling young black women at risk. Monette's suddenly the hottest sister in the city--and she's got no time for romance.

But here comes Jayson Odum, a self-made businessman and a sweet, black Adonis in overalls. It's all wrong and Monette knows it. His folks are the Huxtables, her's are pure, messed-up 'hood'. She's an ex-con, he's so clean he squeaks. Monette's had to stay tough to gain respect, and she can't afford any more mistakes in her life. But she's about to be blindsided by a big dose of bad trouble--and maybe driving Jayson away would be the worst mistake she ever made.

Learn more about Lynn and her novels at:
www.lynnemery.com

Hungry For It

(Author Fiona Zedde)

About the author


Fiona Zedde moved to the United States from Jamaica as a sweet, yet misunderstood, preteen. After spending a few years in Tampa and getting her undergraduate degree in Gender Studies and British and American Literature at New College of Florida, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she currently lives. At the moment, she is to quote a pithy bumper sticker "the artist currently known as starving" but she someday hopes to eat regular meals at the Ritz.

Her fiction has been published in various anthologies including Wicked: Sexy Tales of Legendary Lovers, Best Lesbian Erotica 2004 & 2007, and Iridescence: Sensuous Shades of Lesbian Erotica. Her erotic lesbian romance novels, Bliss, A Taste of Sin, Every Dark Desire and Hungry For It are available now in bookstores. The novellas, "Pure Pleasure," "Going Wild" and the soon-to-be-published "Sweat" appear in the collections, Satisfy Me, Satisfy Me Again, and Satisfy Me Tonight, respectively.




About the book

With good looks, limitless sex appeal, and the wealth and popularity that comes from owning the city's hottest jazz bar and restaurant, Remi Bouchard can have anyone she wants. Lately though, the allure of wild one-night stands and no-strings flings is starting to wear thin. Remi craves something more.

At her best friend's wedding, she looks across the crowd and finds exactly what she's been searching for an intense, soul-searing connection. But passion this deep has its dangers" especially when it means falling in love with the one person who should be off limits.

Raise the Red Teddy

Kobina Wright

About the author

Kobina Wright is many things, including the creator of the Hodaoa-Anibo language, but a by-stander, she is not! Whether you see her as a genius or something else, her work is sure to leave an impression on you.

Wright is a second generation Southern California native and attended the University of Georgia for two years before transferring to California State University, Fullerton, where she earned her BA in journalism, minoring in Afro-Ethnic Studies.

Performing on stage since the age of 5, Wright took to the arts of acting, singing and dancing early in her childhood and by the time she reached her mid-teens, she began taking her painting seriously. A portion of her painting titled "Dissonance" can be found on the cover of the first printing of second book titled "Growth Spurt." In her teens Wright also began studying choreography and in her third year of high school, co-founded the dance group "Ten Rows of Beans." Also in this year, with the help of her mother, Ernesta Wright, published her first book, a volume of poetry titled "Oh Yeah!" to help offset the cost of college expenses.

While attending the University of Georgia, Wright joined and performed with the dance group Pamoja. In Georgia, she had the opportunity to study modern dance and four years later, while attending California State University, Fullerton, founded the Likizo Dance Troupe, which performed for two years throughout Southern California, from Hollywood to San Diego. After graduating from CSUF, Wright published her second volume of poetry, " Growth Spurt" and worked as an assistant editor at Entrepreneur Press.

Pursuing her passion for acting, Wright attended the Gloria Gifford Conservatory for the Performing Arts for two years where she discovered that her training in acting made her a better writer. At the GGC, Wright performed scenes from plays such as "Laundry and Bourbon;" "The Dreamer Examines His Pillow;" "Cheaters;" and "Savage in Limbo." She also directed a reading of scenes from her screenplay titled, "Snapped Back." Her experience at the GGC was instrumental in preparing her for her roles in movies such as "Sunday Morning Stripper;" "Messed in the Head;" and her notable performance in the horror film, "Dark Town." Other stage productions include "Soon As I Get Home;" "The Storm is Over;" "Teachers are Human Too;" and "The Little Red Hen."

Wright has written for publications such as LACMA Magazine, The Daily Titan, and CYH Magazine. In 2004 she wrote her third volume of poetry titled, "Say It! Say Gen-o-cide!!" dedicated to the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. In 2003 Wright created the Hodaoa-Anibo language and in 2004 published the first edition Hodaoa-Anibo Dictionary.

"I've been told so many times to just pick one or two things and concentrate on being good at that, but I've started out with one" then two" then three " then four" now how can I go back to one? In my world, I get to do everything, or almost everything I want to do. It may slow my pace of progress a little, but it lays a good foundation for inspiration in all my artistic interests." Kobina says.



About the book

There are so many single mothers around making
the same dating mistakes over and over and over
again. So why are there no warning signs? Your
children may not come with a handbook, but a single
mother sure would benefit from some tried and true
guidelines.

Raise the Red Teddy explores the some
of the pitfalls of dating that non-mothers don't have
to take into account. It's a whole different world to
consider from when you should allow your children to
meet Mommy's new "friend" to dealing with their
rejection of your new beau.


More about Kobina Wright:
www.dramaticpause.net