For writerly Wednesday I wanted to share some non-fiction writing that I’ve done over at SoulBounce.com. Check it out and let me know what you think:
Are You “In The Mood” For Johnny Gill?
Is There Any “Love” for Aretha’s Return?
In other literary news, I feel totally vindicated in my assessment of Teju Cole’s novel “Open City,” based on the review it got over @ the New York Times. You can peep it here.
XO
NE
This is a post from my old blog, and it details a particularly…entertaining Mother’s Day experience in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago. Enjoy!
—–
There are many things that I despise about the Steel city, but church is not one of them. The church I attend is so downright slammin’, it is the only thing I think I’ll miss when I leave. It’s a black Baptist church; services are always packed to the brim with all different types of folks (young/old/hood/uppity/working class). A nice little mix. And pastor stay preachin’ that good wyud (lol).
Anyways, it is Mother’s Day so I decide to traipse my tail to church. I know it would make my mom happy since she is convinced that I am still on my Buddhist kick from two years ago. Praise and worship were winding up when I walked in so I settled down in a pew in the balcony. I’m right behind women who are clearly mothers, as evidenced by their hefty behinds and matching suits and church hats.
Pastor begins his acknowledgment of the moms on Mother’s Day, and what do you know, he has a few special gifts for a few special mothers! He has an assistant bring up 3 boxes and asks the congregation, “How many mothers have been members of this church for 30 years?”. About 20 people stand. “How many for 40 years? 50?”. About 10 people sit down. He keeps going until he gets to 70 years, and 3 elderly women are left standing. He gives them [GORGEOUS] church lady hats! You know they loved it 
Black church ladies love to have their hair and hats on point.
So he asks for the NEWEST moms in the church, the women with the newest babies. “How many of you have 6-month old babies,” he says. Twenty women stand. He continues until he whittled the standing women to 2. Do you know what he has for them as a Mother’s Day gift? A gift certificate for FREE LACEFRONT WIGS…the women in the congregation went wild with excitement. I guess future church ladies need their hair covered too? With lacefronts? iCant.
Beyonce I BLAME THIS ON YOU!
XO,
NE
Muze, author of the scandalous “Sliding Doors” fiction series over at Because I’m Write showed Kinetic*Culture some love recently and broke down the factual actuals on her inspiration for writing, her real life, and what’s next for Jade, Nigel and Nathaniel. Enjoy!
1. Tell me more about yourself! How did you come to be a writer? What attracted you to the form?
Well first, thanks for your interest and for everyone who is reading. I’ve been writing since I can remember. I started reading at age three and just became fascinated with stories. I won many awards for various storytelling contests in elementary and high school, but I didn’t look at it as an actual gift until my Creative Writing teacher in 10th grade told me that I should really explore my talent. I brushed that off until my English professor at Spelman pulled me aside and encouraged me to change my major from Psych to English. I kept that in mind but still, I’d never thought of writing as an actual potential career. I’ve always had scenarios and random characters living in my head (crazy, right? lol), but I didn’t decide to actually write them out until I read a book, Raising Fences by Michael Datcher. Even though it was his memoir, I was amazed at how similar he was to this character and story I’d had swirling in my mind for a few months.
2. You’ve only been blogging for a few months now, but your “Sliding Doors” series is already growing a fan base. How did you come with the concept?
Actually, I’ve been blogging since 2007. I started a personal blog She’s So Flyy back then, and used it as a venue to just write whatever I felt. I started noticing that whenever I’d post a short story in an entry, the response would be overwhelmingly positive. That and my transitioning to natural hair moved me to start my fiction blog, The Life and Times of Ata Nafia, about a woman and her hair and their adventures. It went on to win a Black Weblog Award for the judge’s pick for Best Fictional Blog in the 2007 awards, which was very cool. The interest from readers generated interest from professional sources and it is now a complete manuscript, soon to be novel, titled Snapshots. I got kind of burnt out with blogging for a while and let both the blogs slip into obscurity for a little while, so I was excited to start the new blog Because I’m Write a few months ago. “Sliding Doors” came about from my love of writing complicated stories. I try to challenge myself in different ways when writing short stories, and that was all it was intended to be. I wanted to see if I could write a storyline so crazy that I’d have to really do some word-winding to get the characters out of their mess. It is pretty different than any story I’d written up until then and any I’ve written after. I actually wrote the first installment a few years ago and posted it on She’s So Flyy, and because of the response, decided to expand it and bring it on over to Because I’m Write. Continue reading
