Christian fiction is easily one of the fastest growing genres in the African American fiction arena. As publishing options becomes more accessible, more writers than ever before are breaking the mold and stepping out with bold and creative Christian fiction. But, in a marketplace where erotica dominates book sales, can Christian survive? In today’s Sunday Brunch edition of the open thread series, we ask you to leave a comment and answer some of the following questions:

Is there an audience for Christian fiction outside of those who write it?

Is there a stigma associated with writing or reading Christian fiction?

What do you think it will take to get the attention of practicing Christians who might like to read, but don’t think that reading Christian fiction is for them?

Leave a comment and let’s get this discussion going!

One of the biggest reasons for having diverse literature is because readers tend to like books where they can “see themselves” in the characters (aka the character looks like them).

So today’s discussion question is: Do you agree? Can you relate to non-black characters in books? Is it just a preference or something more?

Leave your comment and let’s get this discussion going!

Rapper and producer Common has been busy these days.  In addition to his new album and upcoming TV show, he also revealed to Details that he is working on a memoir entitled One Day it Will All Make Sense. The Book is slated to hit shelves next month.

Here is what he had to say about what inspired him to write a memoir:

“My manager approached me with the idea. The acting roles were picking up, and I was just becoming more assertive and more defined as a man, and I had accomplished some things that needed telling. But at first, I was like, “No, man, this is something older people do,’ ” said Common, adding that his mother, Dr. Mahalia Ann Hines, provided several of the words for the book. “My mom has obviously had a powerful influence on my life, and her voice can describe certain things that I couldn’t see in myself. Somebody told me, ‘It’s hard for the eye to see itself.’ Some things only my mother would be able to tell.”

Click here to read more.

Many authors need to connect to book clubs and make the connection that realest experience they can have. How can you tap into this enormous market and get book clubs excited about your books? The answer like everything else, lies within your reach it’s all about your approach.

There are places like Author Buzz that have more than six ways for authors to reach book clubs via Book movement, which now has over 30,000 registered book clubs and more than 11,000 reading group guides listed. Here is what Pauline Hubert – who started Bookmovement.com in 2003 had to say about what authors need to keep in mind about trying to reach book clubs and interact with them.

“Book clubs don’t always find publishers’ reading guides helpful. This maybe considered controversial but based on speaking to people in hundreds of reading groups across the country. Some find the guide questions too simplistic, and others complain that they reveal plot points. This controversy has resulted in some groups actually boycotting books with guides in them.”

So how do you help clubs discuss a book without the expense of writing a reading guide?
1. Create your own discussion.
2. Great discussion questions help groups focus on overarching themes that apply not only to the book and its characters but to their own lives as well.

Having the final word on how to reaching book clubs. Tanisha Webb President of KC Girlfriends Bookclub and founder of BookClubUniversity101.net said: “Most book clubs that attend conferences and events are looking for new books to discuss or better yet looking to invite authors to their upcoming meetings and events. Authors should focus on building an ongoing relationship with book clubs and not just securing that one book sale. If book clubs are impressed by you and purchase your book on the spot, try to secure a book club meeting with them right then. Use social media to stay connected to book clubs that you meet. Regular interaction with book clubs will keep your books relevant and you’ll become a book club favorite author in no time!”

Not every single book that is written is going to make the book clubs want to meet you. So if you don’t get invites, don’t take it personally, and don’t force it or think that you’re failing.

Welcome to the official web home of the Urban Literary Review! This journey has been a long time coming, and I’m so excited to finally be able to share everything that we’ve been cooking up over the past several months.  So feel free to poke around, read a few articles and even a few excerpts from some of your favorite writers (we have some phenomenal excerpts this week).

So one huge goal of mine as the editor of ULR is also to be really accessible to readers and get to know as many of you as I can. I want this to be a community where everyone feels like they can discuss whatever happens to be on their minds, whether it be book related or otherwise. So to kick the introduction off, I’ll give you my short and sweet bio and a few fun/fast facts about me:

Full Name: Cortnee Chanice Howard

Date of Birth: October 17

Sign: Libra

Hometown: Twinsburg, Ohio

Current Location: Atlanta, GA

Twitter: artlifefreedom

Personal Blog: The Vicious Yankee

Currently Reading: John Henry Days by Colson Whitehead

Favorite Book: Absalom, Absalom  by William Faulkner (everyone needs to read this book in my opinion)

My thoughts on E-readers: I actually don’t own an e-reader. Still lugging my suitcase full of books . I have the  Kindle app installed on my Android phone though for emergency reading. E-readers are the future but I’m still a little slow on the uptake.

What’s on my “to read” list:  I want to start reading the Hunger Games before the movies come out.  I’ve been told it’s a great series.

5 Things  I can’t live without: Phone, Rosebud Salve, Bible, my glasses and Pellegrino water.

Now enough about me…leave a comment and introduce yourself! And feel free to include links to your books and sites

1

“Why can’t a woman be on top?” Bianca Livingston demanded,
tossing shoulder-length, straightened hair over her
shoulder. She stood over her older brother as if ready to strike,
looking totally capable of kicking butts and taking names. Her
quick smile, short stature, and girly frame had caused many
men to underestimate her—to their peril. But anyone seeing
her now—shoulders back, hands on hips, her perfectly tailored
black suit and four-inch heels adding to her aura of power—
would believe her capable of running almost anything.“I’m as
qualified to run the West Coast division as you are, even more
so, matter of fact.”

“You’re qualified to run the kitchen, maybe,” her older
brother retorted. Jefferson suppressed a smile. He’d taunted his
sister from birth, and he did so now. Her fiery personality was
the perfect foil for his laid-back teasing. But even with his ongoing
provocations, this time Jefferson’s antics masked the seriousness
of his quest. He had every intention of being the
Livingston who moved to LA to establish the Taste of Soul
restaurants both there and in Nevada. But unlike most Livingstons,
he didn’t like confrontation or competition. He’d
quietly made his bid to step away from his cushy position in
the finance department to run the West the same way he

cooked his ribs: low and slow.“Isn’t that why you spent the last
nine months in Paris?” he queried to underscore his point.
“Learning the fine art of cooking so that you could give our
soul food some class?”

Actually, Bianca had fled to Paris to get away from the
chain around her neck otherwise known as fiancé Cooper
Riley, Jr. But only one other person knew this truth—her
cousin, Toussaint Livingston. Initially, forestalling the marriage
everyone else believed was a fait accompli was also why she’d expressed
interest in running the West Coast locations. But now,
after months of talking with Toussaint, who, besides being her
confidant and a Food Network star, was also the ambitious
brainchild behind their company expanding out West, Bianca
wanted to relocate to put her mark on the Livingston dynasty
and make the West Coast Taste of Soul restaurants shine.

Bianca replied,“Need I remind you that I have not only a
culinary certificate from Le Cordon Bleu, but also an under-
grad and a graduate degree in business administration?”

“No, little sis, you don’t need to remind me.” Jefferson’s
smirk highlighted the dimple on his casually handsome face,
his sienna skin further darkened by the November sun. His
deep-set brown eyes twinkled with merriment.“But do I have
to remind you that I have double masters in business administration
and finance?” Jefferson had been the first Livingston in
two decades to follow up his stint at Morehouse with two
years at Wharton’s School of Business.

Bianca, knowing that she couldn’t go toe to toe when it
came to her brother’s education, tried a different route. She
walked away from Jefferson and sat in one of the tan leather
chairs in the artistically appointed office. Reaching for a ballpoint
pen that lay on his large and messy mahogany desk, she
adopted a calmer tone, yet couldn’t totally lose the petulance
in her voice.“Jefferson, the only reason Dad is promoting the
idea of your heading up the location is because you’re the oldest.”

“And the son, don’t forget about that. You know Dad
doesn’t want to see his baby girl fly too far from the nest.”

“Okay, probably that, too,” Bianca conceded. It was no secret
that when it came to her father,Abram “Ace”Livingston,
she was the apple of his all-seeing eye.

Lincoln

CHAPTER 1

May 2000

“Promise me you won’t get upset.”

“Upset? About what?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you in a minute, but first you have to promise me,” he insisted.

Lincoln was in love with Katherine Clinton. When she strutted into

his eleventh-grade homeroom class wearing a sleeveless dress and

high heels, she instantly became the hottest girl in all of Selma, Alabama.

He had to make her his girlfriend before any of his teammates

got to her. His breakup with Mona Lisa was fast and to the

point. He respected Mona too much to use her or string her along.

Besides, two years of dating one girl in high school was not only commendable,

but highly remarkable for an athlete with his stats.

Sitting on the sideline at the fifty-yard mark with Katherine

brought tears to his eyes. Unlike being alone with Mona a half hour

ago, Lincoln really felt like he and Katherine were the only two in the

football stadium.

“Okay, I promise. Now tell me,” she said.

Lincoln removed a gold band from his pocket, held it in his hand.

He knew she expected a proposal and she was right. But first he had

to tell her the bad news for her, good news for him.

“Katherine, I’ve joined the Marines.”

Katherine hugged him tight. Her arms clamped around his shoulders

as she cried uncontrollably. “Say it isn’t so, William Lincoln.

When did you decide this? What happened to all your scholarship offers?

What about your going to USF in Tampa and my going to UFL

in Miami? I was excited about us being in Florida together. That’s all

I’ve dreamt about since I got my acceptance letter. You know this.”

That was one of the differences between Katherine and Mona that

he really loved about Katherine. She always made him feel manly. As

though he was the only guy in her world. Everything he did excited

her. Nothing he’d done excited his parents. Not much of what he’d

accomplished thrilled his grandparents until he agreed to enlist. His

family’s apathy was the main reason he refused to sign a letter of intent.

Lincoln stared over the field. He was trading a football field to fight

in the field, as his sergeant called it. Truth be told, going into the military

terrified him. The money he’d make excited him. He never had

a steady income. His grandfather told him, “Football players come a

dime a dozen, son. Only the few and proud can serve the greatest

country on earth. What you gon’ do if one of the big ole linebackers

break your leg? When I was your age, I fought in World War II.”

Grandpa was right about the potential injury. Several of his teammates

had had offers, but once they were injured, the colleges didn’t

want them. Grandpa said, “The university will use you up, make

money off of your talent, and not put a dime in your pocket for all

your hard labor.” But if the decision were Lincoln’s alone, he’d take

the full ride, go to college, and be the first in his family to graduate

from a university.

Since joining “the few” would make his grandfather proud, he’d

sacrifice his dreams. He doubted his mother and father would keep

in touch with him after he walked across the stage. It might appear

selfish on his part, but having the two women who loved him the most

wait for him was better than returning home to no one who cared.

He’d given up on going pro.

“I’m leaving today. Right after I get my diploma.”

Chapter One
Ameen

Federal Court House

Beaumont, Texas

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury . . .” Rudolph Sabino rose from the defense table and addressed the courtroom. “Everything you just heard from the government is speculation and pure hyperbole. There are many things about this case that we don’t know and we won’t know. Even once this trial is over. The defendant, Antonio Felder is on trial for his life. It’s an important matter to him because if he’s found guilty, he can be sentenced to death. So it’s your job to hold the government to the highest standard in the land . . . beyond a reasonable doubt. Think about that for a minute, please. Beyond a reasonable doubt. That means that there can be no doubt in your mind that the defendant committed the crime. And ladies and gentlemen, this case screams out reasonable doubt. Why? Three reasons:

“One, there is no physical evidence that links the defendant to this crime. A murder as vicious and as heinous as this one definitely left physical evidence behind. But none of it connects to the defendant. No hairs, no fibers, no fingerprints, no blood, no bloody clothes, no murder weapon, no motive, nothing.

“Two, the government wants to show you a videotape from the prison’s surveillance system. They’ll show you the housing unit where the deceased lived, which happened to be the same unit that the defendant lived in. One hundred thirty-nine other inmates also live in that unit. The tape will show you several people coming and going in the unit and that’s it. But what it doesn’t show is the actual murder scene or the actual murder.

“And lastly . . . and this is important; four other men were taken off the compound and investigated for this murder—”

“Objection, your honor. I think we need to approach,” government counsel, Ed Northern said.

“Approach,” the judge replied.

Ed Northern’s girth around his midsection threatened to pop buttons on his shirt with every step he took. His grey seersucker pinstriped suit had definitely seen better days. Beads of sweat coated his forehead as he leaned on the judge’s bench. A scowl crossed his face as his skin took on a pinkish hue that made him resemble Porky Pig. “Your honor, I’d like to renew my objection to the pretrial order to suppress the defendant’s signed confession. Mr. Sabino is asserting that the Bureau of Prisons made the mistake of releasing the other men—”

“I don’t believe I heard that,” Judge Phillip Thomas interjected while adjusting the glasses perched at the end of his nose. “Is that what you are asserting, Mr. Sabino?”

“I never got a chance to, your honor, but yes, that’s my assertion to the jury.”

“He has that right, Mr. Northern.”

“But, your honor,” Ed Northern argued, “the truth is probative—”

“Mr. Northern, your objection has been noted and denied. The confession was mishandled by the prison officials, there was no Miranda given, and the statement was not videotaped. So it’s now more prejudicial than probative. That was the position of this court before trial and that is the position of this court now. Proceed, Mr. Sabino.”

“Reasonable doubt, ladies and gentlemen, reasonable doubt. There were four other men investigated for this crime. Luther Fuller, Vernon Dammons, Harold Howard, and Charles Gooding . . . but the only person on trial here today is Antonio Felder. Why? Listen carefully to everything you hear in this trial, but remember  . . . beyond a reasonable doubt. Hold the government to that and then you decide whether or not Antonio Felder is guilty of murder.”

Rudy walked back over to the table and sat down beside me. “How’d I do, big guy?”

“The jury looked attentive,” I replied, eyeing the twelve people sitting in the jurors’ box. They were a tough looking crowd of eight white people, three Hispanics, and one black man. I glanced over at the red-faced prosecutor. “What did the judge say to the prosecutor? He looks like he wants to kill me.”

“Let’s take a twenty minute recess and then we’ll reconvene and the government can call its first witness,” the judge announced.

“He tried to get the judge to let your confession in, but Judge Thomas wouldn’t do it. Ed Northern is angry at us, but fuck him. He’ll get over it. Back to what I was saying, I think the jury liked my opening. My argument was short and concise. They looked like they understood everything I said. And that’s most important. In order for us to prevail, that jury has to understand what the videotape the government plans to show doesn’t show and what it does. You being the only person charged with the murder helps our case.”

“Can the prosecutor bring up that other situation that happened in the rec cage? The one the FBI is still investigating?”

“Luther Fuller?” Rudy asked.

I nodded my head.