Many exciting things have been happening since I last updated this blog, and I will be sure to post information about them. Today, I am thrilled to let you know that The Black Girl Next Door will be featured in the One Book, One Stratford community-wide reading event in this lovely Connecticut town.  I will [...]

Later today, tune in to The New York Times Book Review podcast to hear my conversation with Sam Tanenhaus, the editor of The Book Review. Tonight, at 6:05 pm, you can listen to WQXR, 96.3 FM when they will play the same interview as part of the program, Inside the New York Times Book Review.  [...]

This morning, both The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times reviewed my first book, The Black Girl Next Door: A Memoir. The New York Times review made the front page of the Weekend Arts section and featured both pictures of the book cover and me.  The Los Angeles Times article was similarly prominent [...]

The only think more remarkable than having the Los Angeles Times review my first book is having The New York Times write a review the same day!
This is amazing.  I’ll need time to digest the actual reviews, but I am grateful for the recognition of the book and my work.
Here’s the link to the New [...]

The key elements of book and author website design made easy.

My editor emailed me to say that the advanced reader’s edition of The Black Girl Next Door are headed out to book buyers.
Each time I get this kind of news, I smile and get scared all at the same time.
Does it get easier or more difficult as a writer approaches the release of her book?

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Welcome to HEAT ON THE PAGE, a blog about my writing life, adventures in publishing, and my insatiable appetite for passionate prose.
What is heat on the page? It’s the feeling I get when I strip back each layer of artifice, cast aside every trick or gimmick of the craft, dump every unnecessary word, and [...]