For my writing group friends 

Defending Senator Clinton

David Brock,President and CEO of Media Matters for America, wrote a chastising letter to Susan Peterson Kennedy of Penguin Group. I didn't know you could do that? Is writing to publishers effective? Your opinions

An open letter to the Penguin Group from David Brock

June 20, 2005

Susan Peterson Kennedy
President
Penguin Group
375 Hudson Street
New York, N.Y. 10014

Dear Ms. Peterson Kennedy,

I'm writing today to seek a public explanation of what, if any, editorial standards and fact-checking processes the Penguin Group applies to its imprints. Specifically, I believe the public, and the Clinton family, deserve an explanation for why Penguin has chosen to publish through its Sentinel imprint Edward Klein's attack book on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It and How Far She'll Go to Become President, which pre-publication reports have already exposed as an obviously false and defamatory tract.

In light of its false and defamatory charges, many of which are easily discredited, your publication of this book constitutes gross negligence at best.

Throughout his book, Mr. Klein engages in gay-baiting innuendo. One of the most striking examples of such negligence occurs on page 94, where...

Click on title to read letter in its entirety.

Dee

Church & State: GOP vs Red Cross

I should be writing, but every now and then you have to read about your world and I decided to bloghop over to Body and Soul and low and behold I found something else to get crunk about.

Senate Republicans are calling on the Bush administration to reassess U.S. financial support for the International Committee of the Red Cross, charging that the group is using American funds to lobby against U.S. interests.

The Senate Republican Policy Committee, which advances the views of the GOP Senate majority, said in a report that the international humanitarian organization had "lost its way" and veered from the impartiality on which its reputation was based. The Republican policy group titled its report: "Are American Interests Being Disserved by the International Committee of the Red Cross?"

-LATimes

Now I don't know what to make of this, since I am a proponent for the International Red Cross, especially what they are doing in Haiti and other places our government doesn't find value in. So if someone can enlighten me on why this makes sense I would appreciate it?

HE MEMOIRS OF A WRITER: Batman Begins is the Prequel of the Year

THE MEMOIRS OF A WRITER: Batman Begins is the Prequel of the Year

Check out Shelia Goss's Review of Batman Begins.

My 2cents:
I really liked that movie script. The dialogue meant something and the hiding guns pulled together nicely at the end. Christian Bale is stunning.

Zondervan Blog - Verbal Collage: Justice in Sudan? One Church Seeks to Make a Difference

Zondervan Blog - Verbal Collage: Justice in Sudan? One Church Seeks to Make a Difference: "One church in the Washington DC area has not forgotten. In the months of June and July, Cedar Ridge Community Church, founded by Brian McLaren, has planned 'Worship in the Spirit of Justice,' a series of worship services at various points in the DC area. The goal of the services is to pray for God's mercy on the suffering people of Africa, particularly Sudan; call on the media to keep the issue before the public; and call on the church to not forget the poor and oppressed, particularly those in Africa."

Zondervan Blog - Verbal Collage: Remembering Ken Taylor

Zondervan Blog - Verbal Collage: Remembering Ken Taylor

Remembering Ken Taylor

(The creator of The Living Bible, Kenneth Taylor, died in his Wheaton home last Friday, June 10 at age 88. The funeral service will be 10:00 a.m., tomorrow, June 15, at Edman Memorial Chapel, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois. Read more info at Kenneth N Taylor and Christianity Today.)

Third Thursdays: Third Thursdays: June Reader Series Announced

Third Thursdays: Third Thursdays: June Reader Series Announced

Check out the hot Atlanta event I'm hosting.

Dee

Where's Dee?

I am all over the blogosphere and rarely here--my first blog. You can find me commenting about Christian Literature at Christian Fiction Blog.

You can also check out the news I uncover and the news sent my way at Gospel Diva.

And you can find me preparing for my live Christian artist event at Third Thursdays.

And sometimes I might be posting my WIP.

Other than that find me on the faith*in*fiction discussion board.

See why I'm never here:)

Writing to see what the end gon' be,
Dee

Third Thursdays: CCM Magazine presents Third Thursdays

Third Thursdays: CCM Magazine presents Third Thursdays: "

Chris well at CCM Magazine interviewed me about Third Thursdays. The interview will broadcast on CCM Magazine, TheFish.com and Crosswalk. Thanks Chris, for the publicity.

Contact me this week to get on our performance roster."

Angel*on*the*Back*Pew: Finding Fun in Writing Fiction

Angel*on*the*Back*Pew: Finding Fun in Writing Fiction

Grown Folks Business 

The Religious Left

The Religious Left

Pope John Paul tribute 

Selah turns Five Today

Selah 6mths/5yrs 

Happy Birthday to my sweetheart, my daughter, Selah.

Selah's name means pause for praise and meditation. It is an instruction scattered throughout the Book of Psalms, to stop and observe God's message,and to continue our praise more uplifted than before. A perfect name for my child, who was the catalyst for me to take pause in my fast paced life and to hear God's message for me.

"I love you." Is a sentence my soul heard from a clear whisper in my ear the moment she looked at me right after she was born. And I knew then that God was with me.

"I love you." Kept me, held me when I wanted to die from the pain that congestive heart failure, lung failure and kidney failure torments the body. But I heard "I love you" and I planted my feet and waited on my HELP.

"I love you." My daughter kissed my cheek the Christmas before we moved back to Atlanta, my first Christmas in recovery/therapy/poverty/aloneness.

"I love you." My boyfriend shed tears for me the day he moved away to complete Grad School, a day I understood that waiting with God for the right man takes your relationship to a seperate peace.

"I love you." The day I turned 32, last month. I have lived longer than Christ and haven't suffered as much, and haven't accomplished as much, and haven't brough as many souls to the Kingdom as I could have, but He loves me inspite of it all.

"I love you." Today. My daughter has her fifth birthday. I pause this morning. OOOH, Glory. Hallelujah. Thank you Jesus. Hallelujah. You are a Healer. You are my Glory. Hallejuah. I love you, Lord. I praise you this morning. I cry out in praise.
I pause...
Pause with me.
Where is your faith?
Pause some more.
Who do you belong to?
Pause some more.
Who do you fight for?
Pause...
Who do you write for?
Hallelujah.
Somebody praise the Lord with me.
Angels on High!
Help me, Holy Ghost.
Selah.

Writing to see what the end must be,
dee

Cheadle or Foxx vs Smith or Washington

Hotel Rwaanda and Ray 

In 2002 Denzel Washington and Will Smith made Black History when the two African American actors went head to head for best actor for the 2002 Oscar Awards. Although Smith's performance was impressive. Come on...beating Denzel...No WAY!!

Three years later another heavy weight bout, but this time we have a real showdown--
Jamie Foxx vs. Don Cheadle.

My opinion, Don Cheadle is off the hoozook for Hotel Rwaanda. Off the hook. And he should have received best supporting for Devil in a Blue Dress a decade ago, and an Emmy for his role in ER, but who's going that far but me. Cheadle is just too many things and deserves it.

However, Foxx, should have gotten best supporting for Any Given Sunday, and Ali. He tore the thing down in Ali. You hear me. To be honest, he should get the best supporting for Collateral and the best actor for Ray. Anyman that walks around blind to get in character should get the thing.

So I have I made you more confused or more excited? Whoever wins; wins. And whoever loses, watchout!!

They both win in my book.

Rise of the Sistah Agent-Kimberly Matthews

Last year, I began to seek literary agent referrals. Two friends in the writing community- Christian fiction, author, Jacqueline Thomas and RAW SISTAZ Book Club President, Tee C. Royal both referred me to the same person—Kimberly T. Matthews. For me I found that coincidence very interesting and so, I had to make contact with her and she has been kind enough to grant me an interview. You can click on Suite 101.com's African American Women Writer's Finding Voice to read the interview.

And stick around in my suite... I have some interviews from Pam Perry, Owner of Christian PR Company, Ministry Marketing Solutions, christian fiction author, Kendra Norman Bellamy, Tia McCollor's literary agent, Sha Shana Crichton and christian small press publisher, LaMonica Smith.

I hope you enjoy!

Writing to see what the end gon’ be,

Dee

Tia McCollor's Book Release Party & Me

Tia McCollor's Book Release Party 

Click on my link it will direct you to my Christian Fiction blog.
Why Writing Groups Matter

Fight Club Author, Chuck Palahniuk sent me a Valentine/birthday Package

Fight Club a Novel 

Yesterday my fiancee sent me a Valentine, and my author mentor, Chuck Palahniuk sent me a package! I must admit. I was more excited about my package, then the love letter. Let me correct you. Chuck lives in marital bliss, so it was not that kind of package. And I love the G-man, my betrothed.

What did Chuck send me?

1. A two page letter reminding me of 2005 goals, how he would like me to approach my writing and description of a gift he made for me. (I'm blushing.)

2. A handmade beaded necklace made by Chuck that includes a light blue tear drop agate, semiprecious stones, sodalite, rose quartz,and real pearls. Near the clasp there Chuck wrote a message in the necklace with the beads "For Davidae Stewart by Chucky P." (Too much!!)

3. And autographed copy of The Fight Club with Brad Pitt(my onscreen crush) on the cover.

4. a lavendar beany bunny that I keep by my computer.

5. A valentine stamp kit for my daughter, Selah. She used it to make her PreK class Valentine cards.

6. A gag gift. (not telling that one)

7. a box of Whitman chocolates

8. more chocolates

9. a rubber ducky that my daughter took with her into the bathtub last night.
10. candles for my birthday(it was on the 3rd)

11. a packet of forget-me-not seeds(He didn't know that I love to garden, but we must be kindred spirits)

12. more candies and heart erasers.

All the gifts had me bouncing around like a firefly yesterday, but the most important thing was the letter. At the end of the letter he says:

"Long story short, I made this for you, bead-by-bead, to demonstrate the "Denny" metaphor from my book Choke . How all big projects(--like writing every day--) are just a lot of small tasks done job-by-job. Word-by-word. Moment-by-moment. And to demonstrate how your greatest "talent" can be stubborness and just not stopping...

So I got to get after it and write the rest of today.

Writing to see what the end gon'be ...

Dee

3 African American Authors Make NYTimes Best Seller's List

Three African American Authors sit on the New York Times Bestseller's List this week. Although my writing cronies applaud this feat, I question its deeper meaning. As I read which books made the list I see a peculiar similiarity, two of the books premise concerns black ministers with dirty secrets.

Now I know scandal sells, but I wonder does christianity do as well? The African American Christian Fiction Market struggles to have equal footing in its genre. Yesterday I went to one of my local Lifeway Bookstores to observe book placement in the store and I only saw one Christian fiction book written by an African American Author on all the shelves. This month I meet with the manager of the store to ask him about this oversight, to speak with him about the demographics of his store, and give him a list of AA written christian novels that will be released this year.

Yet, as I peruse this New York Times Best Seller's list, I know what he is going to say. "We don't place many books written by African American authors because they don't meet CBA(Christian Booksellers Association) guidelines."

And although both and he and I understand that Carl Weber and Kimberly Roby are not christian fiction authors, we will debate over a particular publisher of African AMerican christian fiction books that publish books just as racy as those. And I honestly don't know how to defend that.

Because what this list tells me concurs with the publisher in quesion's notion that black people don't care as much about faith, but about what go's on at church. Yet, how can christian fiction authors who refuse to sex up/dumb down their books find a place in this market?

Your thoughts...please post here or at my christian fiction blog at http://christianfiction.blogspot.com.


Hardcover Fiction

Published: February 20, 2005


On List
1 THE BROKER, by John Grisham. (Doubleday, $27.95.) The C.I.A. arranges a presidential pardon for a power broker who may know crucial secrets, laying a trap for the foreign intelligence service that wants him dead. 1 4
2 THE DA VINCI CODE, by Dan Brown. (Doubleday, $24.95.) The murder of a curator at the Louvre leads to a trail of clues found in the work of Leonardo and to the discovery of a centuries-old secret society. 2 99
3 SURVIVOR IN DEATH, by J. D. Robb. (Putnam, $23.95.) In 2059, Lt. Eve Dallas has an eyewitness to the brutal murder of a family: the sole survivor, a 9-year-old girl; by Nora Roberts, writing pseudonymously. 1
4 THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN, by Mitch Albom. (Hyperion, $19.95.) An old man who died while trying to rescue a little girl from danger discovers that all will be explained to him in the afterlife. 3 72
5 STATE OF FEAR, by Michael Crichton. (HarperCollins, $27.95.) Reverse eco-terrorists create natural disasters to convince the public that global warming is real. 5 9
6 CONVICTION, by Richard North Patterson. (Random House, $25.95.) A lawyer comes to believe that her client — who is on death row for the sexual assault and murder of a young girl — may be innocent. 4 2
7 BY ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT, by W. E. B. Griffin. (Putnam, $26.95.) An Army officer tries to thwart a terrorist plot to crash a stolen 727 into the Liberty Bell. 6 6
8 CHAINFIRE, by Terry Goodkind. (Tor/Tom Doherty, $29.95.) The 10th volume of the "Sword of Truth" fantasy series. 7 5
9 LABYRINTH OF EVIL, by James Luceno. (Lucas/Del Rey/Ballantine, $25.95.) A new "Star Wars" novel, featuring Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. 9 2
10 I AM CHARLOTTE SIMMONS, by Tom Wolfe. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $28.95.) A very smart, very innocent freshman from the Blue Ridge Mountains is amazed by what she finds at a prestigious university. First Chapter 15 13
11 PREP, by Curtis Sittenfeld. (Random House, $21.95.) A scholarship student from South Bend, Ind., encounters a world of privilege when she attends an expensive boarding school in Massachusetts. First Chapter 1
12 *A SALTY PIECE OF LAND, by Jimmy Buffett. (Little, Brown, $27.95.) A cowboy's life is changed forever when he meets a 101-year-old woman who hires him to be a lighthouse keeper in the southern Bahamas. First Chapter 14 10
13 NIGHT FALL, by Nelson DeMille. (Warner, $26.95.) A husband and wife who work for an antiterrorism task force reopen the investigation into the crash of T.W.A. Flight 800 over the Atlantic, off Long Island, in 1996. 11 11
14 ALONE, by Lisa Gardner. (Bantam, $24.) A sniper with the Massachusetts State Police faces a wrongful-death lawsuit — and a killer who's on the loose. 12 3
15 THE LAST KINGDOM, by Bernard Cornwell. (HarperCollins, $25.95.) In ninth-century England, a warrior must decide where his loyalties lie: with the viking chieftain who raised him or with Alfred the Great. 8 2
16 *THE BEST-KEPT SECRET, by Kimberla Lawson Roby. (Morrow, $23.95.) The further romantic adventures of the Rev. Curtis Black, who, after two failed marriages, tries hard to be faithful to his latest wife. 1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also Selling
17 AFTERBURN, by Zane. (Atria, $24.95.)
18 LONDON BRIDGES, by James Patterson. (Little, Brown, $27.95.)
19 THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA, by Philip Roth. (Houghton Mifflin, $26.) First Chapter
20 UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS, by Barbara Taylor Bradford. (St. Martin's, $24.95.)
21 THE CAT WHO WENT BANANAS, by Lilian Jackson Braun. (Putnam, $23.95.)
22 CAT'S EYEWITNESS, by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown. (Bantam, $25.)
23 THE SAME SWEET GIRLS, by Cassandra King. (Hyperion, $23.95.)
24 DRAGONSBLOOD, by Todd McCaffrey. (Del Rey, $24.95.)
25 GILEAD, by Marilynne Robinson. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $23.) Excerpt
26 ANGELS & DEMONS, by Dan Brown. (Atria, $17.95.)
27 THE TEA HOUSE ON MULBERRY STREET, by Sharon Owens. (Putnam, $15.)
28 THE REAL MOTHER, by Judith Michael. (Morrow, $24.95.)
29 KAFKA ON THE SHORE, by Haruki Murakami. (Knopf, $25.95.)
30 ENTOMBED, by Linda Fairstein. (Scribner, $26.)
31 COME SPRING, by Tim LaHaye and Gregory S. Dinallo. (Kensington, $14.95.)
32 THE PREACHER'S SON, by Carl Weber. (Dafina, $24.)
33 A THREAD OF GRACE, by Mary Doria Russell. (Random House, $25.95.)
34 WHITEOUT, by Ken Follett. (Dutton, $26.95.)
35 LIFE EXPECTANCY, by Dean Koontz. (Bantam, $27.)

Cupcakes, Hoolahoops and My Birthday

It's My Birthday 

February 3, 2005. My twin brother, David and I celebrated our 32nd Birthday.

The most asked question that day was: "Do you feel any older?"

I guess once you past a certain age--let's say 29--your friends and family start talking to you about aging. Perhaps as a coping mechanism for themselves. However I don't feel like coping; I feel like dancing!! Five years ago my doctors thought I wouldn't live through the night let alone five years.

This year alone I am preparing my four year old for kindergarten, planning a disney cruise/wedding, increasing my workout, and completing my novel-The Gospel Diva's Chicktionary. So I guess my answer would be...NO! In fact I'm feeling younger than ever.

If you share my sentiment, head out to Walmart buy a hoolahoop, a goldfish, and some cupcakes and remember me.

Runnin to see what the end gon' be,
Dee