Here’s a question:  Is a quiet mind a prerequisite for good writing?  How do can a writer quiet her mind?
I began a meditation class a few weeks ago in the hopes of centering my energy.  I’ve been distracted lately and my powers of concentration have felt nonexistent.
I know exactly why.   I’ve been gathering papers, meeting [...]

Yesterday I met a wonderful woman for lunch. (I’m not going to mention her name because I did not  secure her permission before writing this post.)
This woman bought my book for Touchstone/Fireside.  When she met me for the first time she said something I’ll never forget:  “From one black girl next door to another, welcome.”
After [...]

I am thrilled to report that The Black Girl Next Door has been reviewed for the first time!  Check out Publisher’s Weekly of September 15th.
Here’s just a bit of the review:
“In elegant prose, Baszile shares enlightening observations throughout: “Dad never complained about being a black man… but he couldn’t disguise its particular perils.” Proud and [...]

I confess that I’m feeling a bit stuck in my writing.
I have another memoir project in mind.  But I worry that I lack the distance or the detachment from the experiences to write about them at just this moment.
I have a fiction project that I find fascinating.  Then I read a book with very similar [...]

What’s the difference between honesty and truth?
Conflicts in some of my closest relationships have made me consider the question.
I first learned the value of honesty as a child. In a horrible episode I describe in The Black Girl Next Door, I lied to convince some kids to like me, and it turned into a complete [...]