SORMAG INSPIRATION - SEPTEMBER Inspirations

Before there was a SORMAG there was the Delphi group – Aspiring African American Romance Writers. I started it in hope of meeting other romance writers to share in our journey of writing. To my surprise it blossomed into a beautiful support group. Many published authors stopped by to share their wisdom.


Today I wanted to spotlight the authors who were a part of this group.  I don't know if they ever knew how much we appreciated them answering our many questions and sharing their writing journey with us newbies. A few were newly published authors and we all were excited to see their books on the shelves.  We could say we knew them when.


I didn’t have enough months to acknowledge them all, but I wanted to make sure that I let them know that I appreciated them sharing with us and encouraging us in our writing.

THANK YOU so much for inspiring SORMAG.

Nathasha Brooks-Harris


Nathasha Brooks-Harris, the co-author of the Kimani Books (Harlequin Books) anthology, Can I Get An Amen Again, for which she developed the concept. It is the sequel to the ever-popular, Can I Get An Amen. In addition, she currently has a short story in the anthology, Erogenous Zone, and an essay in Gumbo For The Soul anthology. Her debut novel, Panache, earned her an Emma Award as Best New Author in 2002. She is the former editor of Black Romance and Bronze Thrills Magazine and the Associate Editor of True Confessions Magazine at Dorchester Media, and she edits independently under her company, NBH Literary Services. She is also a Contributing Editor at Today's Black Woman Magazine and freelances for several other publications. In her spare time, this Brooklyn-born and bred author and editor creates cloth dolls and quilts under her recently-created Studio 447.


http://www.nathashabrooksharris.com/

Lynn Emery


Mix knowledge of voodoo, Louisiana politics and forensic social work with the dedication to write fiction while working each day as a clinical social worker, and you get a snapshot of talented author Lynn Emery. Lynn has been a contributing consultant to the magazine Today’s Black Woman for three articles about contemporary relationships between black men and women.


Lynn sold her first novel in 1995 to Kensington publishing for their groundbreaking Arabesque line. NIGHT MAGIC went on to be recognized for Excellence in Romance Fiction for 1995 by Romantic Times Magazine. Her third novel, AFTER ALL, became a movie produced by BET and aired on December 3, 1999. Holly Robinson Peete was the female lead as Michelle Toussaint, an investigative television reporter. In 2004 Lynn won three coveted Emma Awards. She was chosen Author of the Year and her novel KISS LONLEY GOODBYE won Best Novel and Favorite Hero. GOOD WOMAN BLUES (August 2005, HarperCollins Publishers) was nominated by Romantic Times Magazine for Best Multicultural Mainstream novel of 2005.


Lynn is a licensed social worker with a special interest in mental health issues as they affect women, and in particular women of color.

http://lynnemery.com/

Wayne Jordan


Wayne Jordan has been reading authors’ bios for years, and often dreamed of having his own Web site as a published Harlequin author. Years passed, and his dream of being published finally became a reality in 2003 when he received the call just two days before Christmas. In November 2005, his debut novel, Capture the Sunrise, was released by BET/Arabesque as part of a special 2-in-1 volume entitled Slow Motion, along with prolific author Devon Vaughn Archer.


Along with his career as a published author, Wayne is a high school teacher of literature, language arts and theatre arts. He’s a graduate of the University of the West Indies, and holds a B.A. in literature in linguistics and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics.


Wayne lives on the beautiful tropical island of Barbados, which with its white sands and golden sunshine is the perfect setting for the romance stories he loves to create.


http://www.waynejordan.net/

Kim Louise


Kim Louise is a hopeFULL romantic who still cries at the end of Love & Basketball even though she’s seen it a gazillion times. She’s written 10 romance novels and five romance novellas for Kensington/BET Books, Genesis Press, and Harlequin. Her stories range from sweet hand-holding of the inspirational type to sizzling and seductive in erotica. Her books have been required reading for college sociology and humanities courses and nominated for 3 Emma Awards. Her most recent romance SWEET LIKE HONEY was nominated for 2008 Multicultural Romance of the Year by Romantic Times Magazine.

http://www.kimlouise.com/

Gail McFarland


Gail McFarland is the published author of more than 100 short romantic confessions and stories and seven novels including: SUMMERWIND (BET/Arabesque), WHEN LOVE CALLS (BET/Arabesque), THE BEST FOR LAST (BET/Arabesque), BOUQUET (with Roberta Gayle and Anna Laurence, BET/Arabesque), LADY KILLER (LULU Books), and ALL FOR LOVE (LULU Books), and DREAM RUNNER (Genesis/Indigo).


A dedicated wellness/fitness advocate, Ms. McFarland is currently an active fitness instructor and wellness consultant. She happily admits that DREAM RUNNER is the first of her novels to combine her love of sports and fitness with the passion of romance. DREAM KEEPER, the much anticipated sequel to this well received novel, is slated for December, 2009. Also in 2009, Ms. McFarland returned to her romantic roots with short stories and confessions, in conjunction with Lady Leo Publications, and is looking forward to being a part of the February, 2010 anthology, CAN A SISTAH GET SOME LOVE?


A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Ms. McFarland now makes her home in Atlanta, Georgia.

http://fitwryter.tripod.com/

Evelyn Palfrey


Evelyn Palfrey, a native Texan, lives in Austin. She writes for the "marvelously mature" and is the author of The Price of Passion (a #1 Essence bestseller), Everything in Its Place, and Three Perfect Men, and was a contributor to two Chicken Soup books. She is an attorney, a gardener, and an avid motor homer.


http://www.evelynpalfrey.com/

Deirdre Savoy


Native New Yorker Deirdre Savoy spent her summers on the shores of Martha's Vineyard, soaking up the sun and scribbling in one of her many notebooks. It was here that she first started writing romance as a teenager. The island proved to be the perfect setting for her first novel, Spellbound. Since then, Deirdre has published more than a dozen books and two novellas, all of which have garnered critical acclaim and honors. Deirdre has won two prestigious Emma awards. Her work has been featured in a variety of publications, including Black Issues Book Review, Romantic Times, Affaire de Coeur and Blackboard Bestsellers List. Deirdre lives in Bronx, New York, with her husband and their two children. She enjoys reading, dancing, calligraphy, and "wicked" crossword puzzles.


http://www.deesavoy.com/

Janice Sims


With the publication of Temptation's Song in July 2010, Janice Sims celebrates fourteen years as a romance writer. In fourteen years she's published seventeen novels and had nine stories included in anthologies. When asked why she writes romances, she smiles and says it's the only genre in which happily ever after is a foregone conclusion. Plus, where else are you going to find a perfect male?

http://janicesims.com/

 Alice Wootson


Alice Wootson grew up in Rankin, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Cheyney University and a former teacher and reading specialist with the School District of Philadelphia. She is an award-winning author of ten published novels as well as being an award-wining poet. She teaches writing workshops and will meet with groups of readers.


http://www.alicewootson.net/



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