Saturday, May 1, 2010
Happy May!
Hello RSJ family,
It’s so hard to believe that the cruise is over and Dee has us all working hard again for 2011. No Breaks. LOL. I’d like to personally thank Savannah Frierson for posing her blog about the cruise. It helped to make me feel as though I had been on the cruise with the rest of you.
Now we’re focusing out sights on Baltimore and the Sweet Sixteen party that A.C. Author and her team is planning. We’ll do our best to keep you up to date with what’s going on. Of course we’ll get A.C. to tell us some of her plans without giving away too much.
Then of course we have the Emma awards. Authors if we don’t know you have new books out we can’t recommend them to the readers of RSJ and they won’t be able to nominate your books because they didn’t know of its existence. Please don’t be shy, send me a note about your upcoming release and I’ll post it. Email me and we’ll do an interview. If I fail to answer don’t read anything into it other than I misplaced it or forgot. Email me again. I really do try….but hey, I have my senior moments.
Now that we’ve gotten the preliminary out of the way let’s get down to our first interview that leads us into waiting for our next conference.
Dyanne Davis
It’s so hard to believe that the cruise is over and Dee has us all working hard again for 2011. No Breaks. LOL. I’d like to personally thank Savannah Frierson for posing her blog about the cruise. It helped to make me feel as though I had been on the cruise with the rest of you.
Now we’re focusing out sights on Baltimore and the Sweet Sixteen party that A.C. Author and her team is planning. We’ll do our best to keep you up to date with what’s going on. Of course we’ll get A.C. to tell us some of her plans without giving away too much.
Then of course we have the Emma awards. Authors if we don’t know you have new books out we can’t recommend them to the readers of RSJ and they won’t be able to nominate your books because they didn’t know of its existence. Please don’t be shy, send me a note about your upcoming release and I’ll post it. Email me and we’ll do an interview. If I fail to answer don’t read anything into it other than I misplaced it or forgot. Email me again. I really do try….but hey, I have my senior moments.
Now that we’ve gotten the preliminary out of the way let’s get down to our first interview that leads us into waiting for our next conference.
Dyanne Davis
Interview with Author Lissa Woodson/Naleighna Kai
Dyanne: Lissa Woodson/Naleighna Kai, Welcome to Romance Slam Jam. I know a lot of the members have heard of you and read your work. And you got to meet a lot of the family in person on the cruise. For the ones who weren’t able to make the cruise can you tell a little bit about you the person and the pseudonym you write under?Lissa: I’m a Chicago native, an inspirational speaker, a Mercedes Benz Mentor Award Nominee, the national bestselling author of Every Woman Needs a Wife, and co-author of Speak it into Existence with my minister, Rev. Renee Sesvalah Cobb-Dishman. I work for a major international law firm and I’m also the CEO of Macro Marketing & Promotions Group, as well as marketing consultant to several national bestselling authors and aspiring writers. I’m the mother of J. L. Woodson, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature for his book, Superwomanís Child: Son of a Single Mother I’m currently working on my next novels, Slaves of Heaven, Wife-in-Law, and Open Door Marriage.
I began writing under a pen name of Naleighna Kai to protect my son, who at the time was in grammar school. I didn't want him to experience any backlash because his mother wrote erotica. It didn't matter though. As soon as my first book came out, he told everyone who would listen, "that's my mama!" By then the name was set and I couldn't use my real name for writing. Well, unless I decide to write under a different genre. :)
Dyanne: Congrats on all of your past success. I love the titles of your upcoming books. So, tell us Lissa, how did you get started in the writing aspect of this business?
Lissa: I started writing in December of 1999, self-publishing my first three novels before landing a book deal with an imprint of Simon & Schuster. It all really started when someone challenged me to write because they were writing erotic things to me. Later my minister encouraged me to use writing as a form of therapy. My minister is also a sexual abuse counselor with a licensed private practice. I've been writing ever since, but it was the novel that I threw together at the last minute, trying to get a book deal that put me out there. I had never aspired to be a writer, and it still amazes me to this day how much I have to say and how much I enjoy writing.
Dyanne: Lissa, something in me wants me to ask you to elaborate on a couple of things….but this one time I’m not going there. (G) You're a busy woman. Is that why your son titled his book Superman's Mother?
Lissa: You know, I have to say yes to that. Just today, March 11, my son had to have a little "Come to Jesus" meeting with me, taking me to task for expecting him to be like me--able to multi-task, hold down a regular job, consult for other people trying to get their books down, editing for other authors, marketing for other authors, and writing my own books, doing interior layout for books, etc. He says, "Mom, I have to do projects one at a time so that nothing gets missed." And the kicker is that I just sent my new novel, The Pleasure's All Mine, up to be printed recently--and he said, "I don't know how you do it." Me either. It's just that I'm driven by something I can't name. I love the end result of finally reaching a goal, but it's the journey of getting there that I appreciate most.
Dyanne: Well said. You're one of the P.R. reps along with Barbara Keaton for L.A. Banks in the Chicago area, and you put together the Cavalcade. Can you tell us just a tiny bit about each of those jobs?
Lissa: Well, I'm not so much her public relations person as I am her marketing and promotions consultant. I LOVE L.A. Banks and all the books she's written--in every genre!! I have a connection here in Chicago to several book clubs and avid readers and I host events that keeps my name out there while I'm in between books or book deals. It's not just L.A. who I have invited to be a part of the Cavalcade and other events; I've hosted ones for Mary B. Morrison, Karen E. Quinones Miller, Victoria Christopher Murray, Herb Kent "the Cool Gent," as well as several debut and self-published authors (who really carry the event. There would be NO event without all of the authors).
As a published author, I had to learn to think outside of selling books in stores. Creating a signature destination event where people can mix, mingle, eat fantastic food and have a great time is key. The Cavalcade was a happy accident. I was contacted by someone at the City of Chicago and they encouraged me to do the first one. With the marketing and promotion support the City of Chicago, Chicago Public Library and Chicago Park District puts behind my event--it has become one of the best experiences I've had.
Dyanne: Lissa, up to now I've kept your questions straight, no craziness. Are you ready? The last space ship is leaving earth for an unknown planet. (Yes, you have to leave. And I don't want to tell you why.)You can only take three personal items with you. What are they?
Lissa: Three things ... hmmm? Well, I have to take my Octavia Butler collection, because her books are "out of this world," I'd take cosmetics and personal care products (a sister has to be sure to look good and wash her possible and impossible no matter what planet she's on). They have to have some type of water, right? I'd also take my sex toys, just in case they don't do things quite our way here on earth. I can always find a reason to smile and feel good. LOL!!!
Dyanne: I should have known what your third thing would be. LOL.. Lissa, thank you for playing along. Since we're trying to let the family know about all of the books that are available to them can you tell us about the book you had that came out a few weeks ago?
Lissa: My new novel, The Pleasure's All Mine was released on April 9th at the Romance Slam Jam Event. I wasn't going to release it until BEA, but since I was going to be there--and then on a cruise (y'all just don't know---a sister can work a ship), and another event two days after the return that was honoring me with a luncheon, I decided to release the book earlier.
The novel is a spin-off of Every Woman Needs a Wife. Here's the synopsis which says it best,
Raven Armand’s son and agent are hell-bent on finding the perfect man for her—even if she kills them. The two unlikely matchmakers’ brilliant plan is to pair her up with Pierce Randall, a music industry mogul and the only man who’s ever piqued her interest. Just when it looks as if their plan is working, Raven risks everything for a one-night rendezvous at the Castle to discover where her fantasies will take her. Unfortunately, it could turn out to be the costliest experience of her life.
Meanwhile, Pierce has his hands full putting out fires as fast as his shady business partner starts them. He hasn’t been looking for love, but it finds him packaged in a voluptuous and fiery woman unlike any he’s ever known. It doesn’t bother him that Raven was tricked into meeting him, but when she lays down her relationship rules, then disappears on a mysterious trip she won’t explain, Pierce realizes Ms. Right might be all wrong.
Will sexual curiosity cost Raven the love of a lifetime?
Dyanne: Thanks Lissa. I heard that you can work a ship. Congratulations. Now tell us, where can readers reach you?
Lissa: On the following websites ....
http://www.naleighnakai.com/ {my son is updating it to include the new book)
http://www.macrompg.com/
lissawoodson@aol.com or 888.854.8823
Dyanne: Thanks Lissa. Just a gentle reminder to the readers and authors: Please keep us informed if you hear of any new books that the RSJ family would like to check out. Authors especially, drop us a line and tell us of your new releases. Until next month, stay well
Dyanne Davis
http://www.dyannedavis.com/
davisdyanne@aol.com
Dyanne: Thanks Lissa. I heard that you can work a ship. Congratulations. Now tell us, where can readers reach you?
Lissa: On the following websites ....
http://www.naleighnakai.com/ {my son is updating it to include the new book)
http://www.macrompg.com/
lissawoodson@aol.com or 888.854.8823
Dyanne: Thanks Lissa. Just a gentle reminder to the readers and authors: Please keep us informed if you hear of any new books that the RSJ family would like to check out. Authors especially, drop us a line and tell us of your new releases. Until next month, stay well
Dyanne Davis
http://www.dyannedavis.com/
davisdyanne@aol.com
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