As a writer, I am always seeking to better understand readers. That's why I decided to post this discussion theme about Black women's fiction. Please read and comment on the statements and questions below.
1) Take a look at my recent press release about my debut novel, Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One contained below. Let me know what you think.
2) What type of stories would you like to see written about Black women?
3) Please share the names of books and authors who write similar novels.
4) If you like to read, please share your favorite and/or current reading list.
Thank you for sharing your views!
Peace and HU Love,
Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke
Author, Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One
www.lovestroubadours.com
kiamshaleeke@yahoo.com
HU LAW - Class of 1989
PRESS RELEASE
Washington Woman Writes Self-Discovery Novel Celebrating Black Women's History, Culture, Art, Music, and Sororities (SGRHO, AKA, and DST)
Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke, yoga teacher and debut author of powerful women's self-discovery novel, Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One, to celebrate Women's History Month, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Month, International Women's Day, National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and the Spring Equinox with a local morning news television interview, radio interview, three book readings, and two free yoga events in Washington, DC.
March 4, 2008 – Washington, DC -- On Tuesday, March 11, 2008, Channel 9 News NOW (local CBS affiliate) will interview Author Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke about her debut novel, Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One for Women's History Month at 9:00 am. Leeke will discuss the cast of amazing female characters, artists, and musicians featured ! in the novel. She will also address the role that her novel plays in promoting National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
Leeke will launch a new and improved Love's Troubadours web site during the first week of March. The new web content celebrates Women's History Month and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Month, provides information about International Women's Day (March 8) and National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (March 10), features Author Tim'm T. West's book review from the perspective of a feminist Black man, includes Leeke's brief review and recommendation on two books by Authors Toni Blackman and Natalie Lue, and offers new links for writers and yoga lovers.
Leeke will participate in three book readings held on: 1) March 6 from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm at Howard University Bookstore, 2225 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20059, 2) March 9 from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm at for the Third Annual Women's History Month Exhibition Reception at Peace & A Cup of Joe, Inc, 713 West Pratt Street Baltimore, MD 21201, and 3) March 22 from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Maruka School for Yoga, Healing Arts, and Retail Boutique, 1300 9th Street, NW (9th and N Streets), Washington, DC 20001.
Leeke will offer two free community yoga events at Malcolm X/Meridian Hill Park on: 1) March 8 from 9:00 am to 9:30 am to honor International Women's Day, Women's History Month, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Month, and National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and 2) March 23 from 11:30 am to 12:00 pm to honor the Spring Equinox and National Nutrition Month. The group will practice kind and gentle Hatha yoga in front of the waterfall located near the reflecting pool and park entrance facing 16th Street and Florida Avenue, NW. Each yoga class will last thirty minutes and include an opening meditation, warm-up, kind and gentle poses, and closing meditation. Yoga lovers should bring their own yoga mat and bath towel for seated positions. They should also dress comfortably in loose clothing and avoid drinking or eating two hours before the yoga class.
On March 13 at 8:00 pm, Leeke will be interviewed on the Black Women's Roundtable, an Internet radio show hosted by Gina McCauley, an African American female blogger/founder of What About Our Daughters blog (http://whataboutourdaughters.blogspot.com), that discusses current events affecting African American women such as politics, relationships, and negative portrayals of Black women in popular culture. www.blogtalkradio.com/blackwomen - The call-in number is 646.478.4750.
Love's Troubadours - Karma: Book One by Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke tells the story of Karma Francois, a thirtysomething California-born BoHo BAP (Bohemian Black American Princess) with Louisiana roots and urban debutante flair. The book shows how a woman uses therapy, yoga, meditation, art, music, poetry, and support from family and friends to confront the effects of her poor life choices and embrace a spiritual journey of healing and love. The book was published by iUniverse, Inc. and is available through Amazon.com, Barnesandnobles.com, Borders.com, Target.com, and Bookamillion.com.
The novel was written to encourage self-discovery and healing, illustrate the diversity of loving relationships (straight, lesbian, and gay), emphasize the importance of yoga and meditation practice, and cultivate HIV/AIDS awareness. It was also written to celebrate women's history, art, literature, community organizations, culture, and music; Washington, DC neighborhoods such as U Street, Shaw, Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle; and the cultural connections that Americans share with Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, and Latin America.
Love's Troubadours features the artwork and photography of many female artists from the African Diaspora, Americas (USA and Mexico), Europe, and Japan such as SGRho member Annie Lee, AKA members Lois Mailou Jones and Margaret Burroughs, DST member Elizabeth Catlett, Kara Walker, Renee Stout, Yayoi Kusama, Faith Ringgold, Frida Kahlo, Maria Izquierdo, Betye Saar, Alison Saar, Amalia Amaki, Joyce Scott, Lorna Simpson, Sister Gertrude Morgan, and Adrian Piper.
Reading Love's Troubadours is a perfect way to learn about women of African descent and their achievements, spiritual practices, life experiences, fashion sense, and community service organizations including the Links, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. The novel pays special tribute to AKA member and Broadway actress Etta Moten Barnett; entertainer and human rights activist Josephine Baker; cultural preservationist and dancer Katherine Dunham; activists Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, and Elaine Brown; Reverend Johnnie Coleman of Christ Universal Temple; designers Denise Goring and Cassandra Broomfield; and entrepreneurs Gladys Joyner Holcombe of Gladys' Luncheonette, Dawn Griffin of Dawn to Dusk bed and breakfast, and Lisa Price of Carol's Daughter.
Love's Troubadours pays homage to Black female writers such as AKA member Toni Morrison, Margaret Walker, Lorraine Hansberry, bell hooks, Ann Petry, Nella Larsen, Connie Briscoe, Zora Neale Hurston, Thulani Davis, Ntozake Shange, Dorothy West, Paule Marshall, Alice Walker, Gloria Naylor, Pearl Cleage, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Sandra Kitt, Sheneska Jackson, Donna Hill, and Tajuana Butler.
Love's Troubadours also celebrates the contributions of female singers, spoken word artists, composers, and musicians such as Alice Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter, Victoria Spivey, Edith Wilson, Maria Callas, Mahalia Jackson, Deva Premal, India.Arie, Amel Larrieux, Julie Dexter, Les Nubians, Susana Baca, Sista Shree Regina, Rickie Byars Beckwith, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, J. Scales, Monica McIntyre, Doria Roberts, Suresha Hill, Jill Scott, Patti of Tuck and Patti, Terri Knox, and Jazzyfatnasties.
The main character Karma Francois, her cousin Colette Baptiste who works as a social worker for The Women's Collective, and several of her Sista7 friends in Love's Troubadours are actively involved in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness. The novel also gives a shout out to The Women's Collective, a Washington. DC-based non-profit organization that provides HIV Care Management and HIV Prevention Services to women and families. It was founded by Patricia Nalls, a woman living with HIV/AIDS, who used her personal lessons learned to create this unique organization. www.womenscollective.org
About the Author: Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke is a writer, artist, yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner, and member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority. Her poetry appeared in Beyond the Frontier: African American Poetry for the 21st Century. Leeke is a graduate of Morgan State University, Howard University School of Law, and Georgetown University Law Center. She lives in Washington, DC.
Contact Information:
Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke
Kiamsha.com, LLC
kiamshaleeke@yahoo.com
http://www.lovestroubadours.comhttp://kgyoga.blogspot.com
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