I’m very excited to be touring Carleen Brice today, and her second novel, Children of the Waters, the follow-up to her best-selling debut novel, Orange Mint and Honey.

Carleen doesn’t just write and blog about racially diverse characters - in the age of exploding Hispanic and Latino populations in the US, a half-Hawaiian, half-Kenyan President at the helm of the world’s sole Superpower, and, my personal favorite, an Arab version of American Idol on my mother’s kitchen TV set, you have to have something more than a racially diverse cast of characters to contribute to the dialogue.

In Children of the Waters, Carleen presents us with two sisters on opposite sides of the racial divide, and spins a tale of reconciliation through a maze of rejection, lies, and pain.

Here’s the author, in her own words…

Q. Readers of this blog know I am very seriously into traveling - what’s your idea of the perfect travel destination and why?

A. Someplace with a beach, turquoise waters, a hammock & drinks with umbrellas in them. Self-explanatory I think.

Q. How do you go about choosing a setting for your novel? Does it, like New York in Sex and the City, almost play the part of another character in the book, or could the plot be transported to another setting and work?

A. So far, my books have been set in Denver and I kind of like writing about this city, but setting isn’t really a character in either novel.

Q. Who’s your favorite literary (or movie) villain? Why?

A. The monster in Aliens. I love that it’s a kick-ass female monster vs. a kick-ass female heroine!

Q. What would you change about your life if you became the next Sophie Kinsella?

A. I’ve fantasized a lot about winning the Oprah lottery or having one of my books pictured in Michelle Obama’s hands. But really my imagination fails after paying off debt, helping out my family and taking a trip to some destination like the above. I think I’m pretty much living the way I want to be living, so I don’t think much would really change.

About the author

Carleen Brice’s debut novel, Orange Mint and Honey, was an Essence “Recommended Read” and a Target “Bookmarked Breakout Book.”  For this book, she won the 2009 First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and the 2008 Break Out Author Award at the African American Literary Awards Show. Orange Mint and Honey was optioned by Lifetime Movie Network.

Her second novel, Children of the Waters (One World/Ballantine), a book about race, love and family, just came out at the end of June. Booklist Online called it “a compelling read, difficult to put down.” Essence says, “Brice has a new hit.” You can read an excerpt at her website http://www.carleenbrice.com/.

She is at work on her third novel, Calling Every Good Wish Home, and she maintains the blogs “White Readers Meet Black Authors” www.welcomewhitefolks.blogspot.com and “The Pajama Gardener” www.pajamagardener.blogspot.com.

Thanks so much for stopping by, Carleen!

I’ve finally done it.

I’ve put together A NEWSLETTER.

And only four years into my publishing career… Well, at least I’m doing it in style - I’m GIVING AWAY 11 AMAZON GIFT CERTIFICATES!

All you have to do is:

1) Sign up for the newsletter (just comment below with your e-mail)
2) Sign up a few of your book-loving friends who you think would get a kick out of funny, light women’s fiction with a little bit of travel, social, and cultural commentary thrown in.

Here’s the prize breakdown…

5 gift certficates worth $5
3 gift certificates worth $10
2 gift certificates worth $15
1 gift certificate worth $25

Sending me the e-mail addys of…

3 buddies will get you entered in the $5 Amazon GC draw
5 buddies will get you entered in the $10 Amazon GC draw
10 buddies will get you entered in the $15 Amazon GC draw
15 buddies will get you entered in the $25 Amazon GC draw

Deadline to enter the draw is Tuesday June 30th so get cracking!

And did you also happen to have read the book and want to give me an Amazon review ? Just let me know through the contact link on my blog, or by commenting below and I’ll send a signed book plate to the first 10 people to do so.

Is this a form of bribery? Perhaps. But I live in the Cayman Islands and your mere-mortal rules do not apply to me. Bwahahahaha.

And WHAT can you get out of the newsletter that you can’t out of the blog, you ask?

… the newsletter contains an EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEAK at the first chapter of my THIRD NOVEL, not in stores until Summer 2010. And a few short stories to tie you over until then : )

Good luck, and happy reading!

Weather forecast here in the Cayman Islands… rainy enough to qualify as the kind of climate that makes people in most countries not want to get out of bed.

But, oddly enough, a spot of thunder and rain has the adverse effect here in the Caribbean (within reason, bien sure). You see, when you are assailed with unrelenting, bright, happy sunshine everyday of your life, it does, on occasion, make you want to throw something at the gorgeous sun and yell: “don’t you ever get depressed, you asshole? Do you not fat days? PMS? The I-can’t-possibly-go-to-work-today blues???”

It’s hard to stay in and do nothing (and feel validated about it) when it’s all lovely and sunshine-y outside and your conscious nags you about those poor, sun-starved souls in places like Britain, and northern Canada, so you begrudgingly turn off the TV and force yourself to go out and enjoy the lovely day. Again. So today, it is blissfully stormy and I shall neither play tennis, do yoga on the rooftop of the Beach Suites hotel at sunset, nor go enjoy an outdoor lunch. I will stay in and rent a movie, guilt-free.

And now, here are links to the latest reviews for Cutting Loose unleashed upon the cyber world…

From Jenny loves to read

“I just started this book over weekend and like it so far. It’s a quick, fun read… and it’s giving me a little background on what it’s like to be a young Palestinian, Saudi Arabian, or South American, woman. Cultures I don’t read much about.” (read the whole review here)

And over at Book, Line, and Sinker…

“Told from multiple points of view, Cutting Loose weaves the lives of three women into an entertaining novel with solid characters and plenty of conflict. Offering more than just the standard ‘chick-lit’ fare, Nadine Dajani draws on her own her own exotic life experiences to create characters who struggle to reconcile their culture with life in sultry, hedonistic Miami…”

Read the whole review on Amazon, or on Natalie’s gorgeous book blog here.

And finally, from Book Fan Mary…

“I found the book entertaining and would recommend including it in your summer reading. Yes, it wraps up neatly - but I wouldn’t want it any other way!”

Both Jenny and Natalie are giving away copies of Cutting Loose, so what are you waiting for?? Go enter!

And if you’re an avid reader and bargain chaser (and really, who isn’t these days?) then check out this blog which does the dirty work of tracking down book giveaways for you.

Happy Monday, and thank you to Jenny, Natalie, and Mary!

I’m still slogging through difficult rewrites with my back to an unmet deadline (how, how, how do other writers meet deadlines when they work full-time, how??).

I had run head-on into the dragon of writer self-doubt. It had been in hiding for some time - I was in love with my current novel, I thought it kicked my last novel’s ass, my characters felt deep and fully drawn, the writing light and lyrical. Then I hit a rough patch and suddenly, the same characters that felt so real to me that we could’ve sat down and had martinis together - those same characters started to feel unrealistic, unbelievable, wooden. Their troubles suddenly went from vivid to contrived. Plot fog overtook me. I was paralyzed.

Then, like a sign straight out of a Charlton Heston movie, I got a Google alert for this:

“All I can say is ‘WOW, what a book!!!‘

When I received this book in mail, my only intention was to scan the book, read a couple of pages and then keep it aside for future reading. I mean I do have a TBR pile and I would feel kind of guilty reading this book immediately. But honestly, once I read the first couple of pages I couldn’t stop. It was just that good.”

You can read the rest of the review here at VioletCrush.

How’s that for a kick in the behind? I thanked Violet for her lovely review (Violet’s blog by the way, is a great read in its own right with a well-attended community of readers. The Internet is fabulous for this - I never realized how FEW people I know actually read novels until I started writing myself. It’s lonely being a bookworm these days, so thanks to bloggers like Swapna and Violet for creating these communities)

Then, just days after that, fan mail started trickling in. It had been a while since I’d gotten any of that, and to be honest, Fashionably Late was so long ago for me that I feel completely removed from it. Until I got a a couple of lovely, heartfelt e-mails - one from a reader for whom a trip to the Dominican Republic had changed her life. For another reader, the magic had happened in Mexico.

In “On Writing” Stephen King says that writing is telepathy. It an intimate conversation that crosses the boundaries of time and space and convention. Let’s face it, if you happened to be introduced to a woman at a lounge one Saturday night and struck up a polite conversation, you might walk away from it twenty minutes later knowing a few basic facts about her: claims administrator at a medium-sized insurance firm, just got out of a committed relationship, last vacation was to Barcelona, likes dancing, loved Slumdog Millionaire.

You wouldn’t know that that trip to Barcelona changed her entire outlook on life, that things were never quite the same afterwards, or that while she complained about how boring her job was - like everyone does - that she wonders why she feels like she’s living life in the tedium of black and white instead of in vivd color. You won’t walk away from that conversation knowing that the two of you are profoundly connected - that you share the same struggle of trying to figure out your place in the world without the benefit of a guidebook to help you out. Without novels, chances are you would have never met that woman in the first place.

That’s what’s so wonderful about novels - they might not have the answer the you’re looking for, but they do show you that we’re all in it together.

I should have posted this ages agom when the hilarious Jackie Kessler had it up on Cat and Muse, her great website (which you should really check out for her laugh-ou-loud funny alter-egos, Jezebel and Melpomene interviews with fictional characters of guest authors).

Ranya had her turn in the spotlight back in January, and since it’s a slow news days, here’s Ranya, star of Cutting Loose and reigning Princes Charming (if only in her own head).

Enjoy!

***

Princess Charming

JEZEBEL:
Heya, Avid Fans! Welcome back to Cat and Muse, the Internet talk-radio show run by and about fiction characters. I’m your host, the former demon Jezebel, coming at you live from the sordid depths of Jackie Kessler’s website. With me, as always, is the lovely, lamentable Muse of Tragedy…Melpomene!

[APPLAUSE]

Hi, Mel!

MELPOMENE:
YO.

JEZ:
Our next guest on Cat and Muse is a modern-day princess, and no, that’s not code for JAP. She was brought up behind the gilded walls of Saudi Arabian high society and winner of the Dream Husband sweepstakes . . . until said husband turns out to be more interested in Paolo, the interior-decorator-slash-underwear-model, than in his virginal new wife. Yikes!

MEL:
I KNOW WHAT BOYS LIKE…

JEZ:
Heh. Publishers Weekly calls CUTTING LOOSE “engrossing,” and Romantic Times says, “Dajani spins a tale of three women and their individual journeys to find happiness. Through strong writing and distinctive characters, readers are drawn into their lives, their loves, and their internal struggles. Dajani wraps it up nicely in the end, leaving us with a delectable tale that is hard to put down.”

Delectable? Yum! Boys and girls, say hello to one of the stars of Nadine Dajani’s CUTTING LOOSE…Ranya!

[APPLAUSE]

Heya, Ranya!

RANYA:
Hello, darlings.

JEZ:
So you’re this hot young woman with a rich dad, and…[GLANCES AT CUE CARDS] Is this right? You’re really 32 and still a virgin? Mel, is this a typo?

RANYA:
[SIGHS] I’m a virgin who’s been saving herself for Mr. Right for the past 32 – that’s right, 32 – years.

JEZ:
And then you meet the One…

RANYA:
And my Mr. Right turns out to be gay. That’s total [BLEEP]!!!

JEZ:
Oh, sweetie. I don’t know what to say.

RANYA:
I’ve always fit everywhere. I used to be the playground princess, and then the popular girl in high school—even if it was an all-girl high school in Riyadh, Saudi. Hey, I rubbed shoulders with real royalty, okay? And then I was this super eligible bachelorette. And then one day, poof! I find my husband at my favorite department store, making a grab for our decorator’s ass while he buys him that totally hot Hermes red croc passport holder.

JEZ:
That bastard.

RANYA:
I don’t know what was worse: that he was buying it for someone else when I’d begged and pleaded for it to no avail, or that the someone else was a dude!

JEZ:
The former. Definitely.

RANYA:
And just like that, I turn into a social pariah, in the circles I roll in at least—rich girls with too much time on their hands and access to other people’s money.

JEZ:
Ack. Surely, nothing can be worse than that. Right?

RANYA:
Besides the being cut off from any income from my parents thing? [TICS OFF POINTS ON FINGERS] I have no skills. Unless you count rolling vines leave into little rice-stuffed fingers of gastronomical goodness a “skill”…

JEZ:
Every little bit helps…

RANYA:
There’s also that total biatch of an editor I work for.

JEZ:
[READS CUE CARDS] That would be Rio.

MEL:
AND SHE DANCES ON THE SAND.

RANYA:
I swear, if Georges wouldn’t kill her for it, she’d have me cleaning toilets at the Suleltate offices.

JEZ:
The say what now?

RANYA:
[SIGHS] I know, I know, I can barely pronounce the name of this magazine I work for, either. It’s supposed to mean “Cut Loose” or “Let Loose” or something like that in Spanish. Also another brilliant idea of Rio’s.

JEZ:
Gotcha. Workplace issues. I can relate.

RANYA:
And let’s not forget the other bane of my existence, my roommate Zahra, who Georges totally guilt-tripped into taking me in. Isn’t he a sweetie?

JEZ:
I like him already!

RANYA:
I think all the fat from those Krispy Kreme doughnuts is cutting off circulation to Zahra’s niceness glands… I have no freaking clue what her problem is, but that girl has it in for me.

JEZ:
With all this badness, there has to be some good, right?

RANYA:
[GRINS] Zahra’s condo rocks! It’s on this fabulous street overlooking Biscayne Bay, and hey, I’ve never had a single moment in my entire life where I didn’t have to answer to my parents or act like a lady of my social standing (or else face the gossiping hoards) or whatever. No one in Miami knows me, and even if I’m a total charity case that Georges took pity on when he found me dazed and confused on the executive floor of the London hotel I was hiding in (that would have been before my credits cards were frozen…), I’m earning some money now, which, I won’t lie to you, doesn’t beat a Chanel sample sale—but it is nice.

JEZ:
Congratulations on your anonymity. You mentioned frozen credit cards, poor thing. Have you adjusted OK?

RANYA:
[SHURGS] I had to really change up my wardrobe since moving to Miami. My standard black or otherwise chic, trendy-yet-sophisticated outfits that killed in Montreal would look totally wrong in Miami.

JEZ:
Yeah. No way would you blend.

RANYA:
[GIGGLES] But I’m poor now, so I’ve had to make some, um, tradeoffs.

JEZ:‘Spain, please.

RANYA:
Let’s just say H&M and Zara have come in handy. But you will never catch me in those second-skin white denim capris, yellow halter tops, wedge heels and curtain-rod-ring earrings these women wear. Ugh!

JEZ:
Not that there’s anything wrong with that…[COUGHS] So, you mentioned Georges…

RANYA:
[NODS] The big boss. Who, I suspect, has a crush on me. But I’m too pure-of-mind to actually notice.

JEZ:
Un huh.

RANYA:
Not to mention it would be totally inconvenient to fall for Georges, seeing as I am MARRIED…

JEZ:
To a gay dude. I think you should do Georges.

RANYA:
Really, have you no shame?

JEZ:
None. So, you and Georges. Who’s on top? Or are there other preferred positions?

RANYA:
I’m a prude sweetie—I don’t kiss and tell. Actually… I don’t kiss, period.

JEZ:
Come on, pretend. What’s your romantic fantasy? Don’t worry. It’s just us girls. You can be as graphic as you want. [GRINS] In fact, I insist.

RANYA:
Really?

JEZ:
Really really.

RANYA:
Wow… I’ve never thought about that before…. Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I’ve fantasized about every position, place, possibility I can imagine! I AM SO HORNY! I NEED TO HAVE SEX ALREADY!!!!

JEZ:
[BURSTS OUT LAUGHING]

RANYA:
On the hood of Georges’ Beemer, in his office, I’ll have sex with him in his mom’s living room if it means I WILL FINALLY GET [BLEEP] LAID!!!!!

JEZ:
I almost feel bad asking this. Which is better: sex or chocolate?

RANYA:
Umm… ahhh… let me get back to you on that.

JEZ:
Hee! So, in CUTTING LOOSE, were there any parts of the story where you were like, Nad, sweetie, what the Hell are you making me do? Or were you and your Creator in sync the entire time?

RANYA:
[GLARES AT COMPUTER SCREEN] She made me into a freaking SEX COLUMNIST!

JEZ:
Oh wow.

MEL:
DON’T BE CRUEL.

RANYA:
Can you believe it? Me – Ranya – the VIRGIN! Nuts, I tell you.

JEZ:
Some Creators are such total bitches. [GLARES AT COMPUTER SCREEN] Hear that, Kessler?

RANYA:
Oh, Nadine made it sound like it was Rio’s desperate bid to inject newness to the magazine, but I was onto her… Nad had it in for me too, just like the other two, Rio and Zahra.

JEZ:
If you had your way, what would you change about CUTTING LOOSE?

RANYA:
[GRINS] I’d get a piece of that luscious Diego too.

JEZ:
Ooh. Details!

RANYA:
No, I’m kidding. Rio can have him. Georges is a total catch. But couldn’t I have gotten a better job at the magazine? Also, why the hell do Rio and Zahra get to all the sex in the book and I get NOTHING? Isn’t 32 years of waiting enough? Jeez.

JEZ:
Aww. If you could make Nadine do anything, what would it be?

RANYA:
I’d get her to write another book about me. Actually, scratch that—she’s welcome to write about the other two while Georges and I get a chance to, um, take care of some unfinished business…

JEZ:
That’s what I’m talking about! Tell me one thing in the real world that you wish you could change.

RANYA:
Sigh. Okay – I’ll admit, I spent a big chunk of my life being really self-centered, not to mention, fairly delusional. But getting to know Rio and Zahra really opened my eyes. I got this big expensive education, while Rio had to fight tooth and nail to go to college—apparently, her family thinks education is wasted on women! Can you believe that?

JEZ:
Unfortunately, I can.

RANYA:
And Zahra… poor thing, no wonder she’s so bitter. Her whole family is trapped in the West Bank, under military curfew, and they’d pretty much starve if she didn’t work her butt off to help. Is it too much to ask for politicians who don’t play Russian roulette with ordinary people’s lives, and access to education for all? How else are you going to get anywhere in this complicated world? [BLINKS] Wow—did I really just say of that?

JEZ:
You did great! If CUTTING LOOSE goes Hollywood, who should play you in the movie?

RANYA:
Nadine thinks Aishwarya Rai—you know, that hot Indian chick from Bride and Prejudice—should play me. But I think I’m partial to Penelope Cruz.

JEZ:
Nice. What about Georges?

RANYA:
Who better to play opposite Penelope than the celeb I’m totally crushing on right now, Javier Bardem?

JEZ:
Perfect! Finally, if you could be evil for one day, and you were granted spiffy evil powers, what would the powers be and how would you use them?

RANYA:
I would turn my ex-husband’s penis into a button mushroom.

JEZ:
HAH! Perfect yet again!

Avid Fans, give another round of applause for one of the stars of Nadine Dajani’s CUTTING LOOSE…Ranya!

An award-winning British poet immortalizes Gaza’s pain…

(pictured - Katyusha rockets, deadly yet almost beautiful)

Katyusha, Katyusha

by Sean O’Brien

Katyusha, Katyusha,
Arrow of fire:
Kingdom Come, is it
Below or above?
Choked in a tunnel
With morphine and bread,
Or charred in the wreck
Of an olive grove?
Katyusha, Katyusha,
Spear of desire,
Are there green pastures,
A brave desert rose,
Or must it be prison
With pillars of flame?
Katyusha, Katyusha,
A grave, or a rose?
Katyusha, Katyusha,
God only knows.

I am very proud to present my longtime friend and agent buddy - Malena Lott!

Her latest -Dating DaVinci (how cute is that title??) - opens with the sad state of Ramona Elise’s life. Widowed, 36, with two children, Ramona is a pro when it comes to making her kids happy, but what about herself? Will a young Italian student help her find her way?…

Q. Readers of this blog know I am very seriously into travelling - what’s your idea of the perfect travel destination and why?

As a manic mod mama of three, I don’t get to travel nearly as often as I’d like. That being said, I love to get away with the whole family at least twice a year - this year we went to Branson, MO, Colorado and Ft. Worth (on the train!). I love spending as much time as possible in nature. My favorite vacay was Kauai, Hawaii -it’s just so picturesque and tranquil. Must. Return. Soon.

Q. How do you go about choosing a setting for your novel? Does it, like New York in Sex and the City, almost play the part of another character in the book, or could the plot be transported to another setting and work?

Picking the setting is one of my favorite parts of brainstorming upfront, because I do think it’s so important. I selected Austin, Texas as the setting for Dating da Vinci because I wanted a college town and Austin is the home of UT (rival to my beloved Sooners), because I needed Leonardo da Vinci to be in America on a student visa and Ramona is finishing her Ph.D. And I’ve actually been there several times, so that helps, too. 

Q. What would you change about your life if you became the next Sophie Kinsella?

After hiring the cook, the nanny and the housekeeper, I guess I’d start interviewing stylists and personal shoppers (loathe grocery shopping.) No, seriously, I don’t think much about my life would change except that I wouldn’t get “that look” from my darling husband when I’ve gone on a shopping spree and I’d get to vacation more and feel good that my kids can go to college easily and perhaps not have to work as much as I did. not that I’m complaining. On second thought, maybe I would spring for the housekeeper. Loathe laundry nearly as much as grocery shopping. That reminds me, that load needs to be changed out. Be back in a sec.

Q. Any tried and true tricks for beating procrastination?

I have to say, I’m pretty lucky. Hugh (Jackman) typically promises a shirtless steak dinner (him, not me)  if I meet my word count goal.  If that’s not enough motivation, Brad’s aromatherapy massages usually get me in the mood, though sad to say, it’s not for writing. Heck, usually my imagination can trick me into getting back on the laptop to write away into the sunrise. Like, “finish this and you’ll be as famous as Sophie Kinsella and you’ll never have to buy groceries again and you can spend all your time lounging on the beaches drinking frozen Flirtinis!” I’m so easy.

Thanks Malena!