Original music, Sapphire and more

Just read an interesting post at M.J. Rose's blog about original music being the next big thing for book promotion. Not exactly new, but perhaps it will be hotter now. I seem to remember that there was original music, or maybe a compilation "soundtrack" for one of E. Lynn Harris' novels. And I think Erica Simone Turnipseed had some music hookup for A Love Noire. Oh well, as fast as the promotional trend globe is turning, everything two years old is new again.

In an interview with Mo'nique, the comedian talking about being cast in the film version of Sapphire's Push. The novel is about a young Black girl who's been sexually and physically abused - that's not the whole story, so go read it if you haven't. It's one of the best serious books I've read and one of the hardest to take in. I've read it twice and didn't think I could read it again, but I do want to see the movie. It's amazing that Sapphire could write this particular story, make it nearly impossible not to read and finish and yet it is such a terrible tale in some ways.

[Warning - I'm totally in a change the subject without warning mood.]

The latest Easy Rawlins mystery, Blonde Faith, will be out in October. And I have a galley copy. I'm going to find a place to review it, I hope, but am very excited that Easy is back.

Reviews, more Blair

Here's a couple of recent reviews:

The Girl with the Golden Shoes, by Colin Channer (WaPost review by Tina McElroy Ansa)

Oscar Micheaux: The Great and Only, by Patrick Mcgilligan (Miami Herald review [originally in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel] by Eugene Kane)

Casanegra is getting good press, again. Another article, in the LATimes, mentions that Tananarive Due did the first draft of the novel.

I bought the novel a little over a week ago - and knowing that Tananarive Due did the draft was what put me over the edge. I really love her fiction, so I felt like it was a book I would enjoy. And I really did. It was fun, a little racy at times, and I kept being distracted by wondering which of the three authors wrote which sections. Though I have my theories about which parts Blair had a particular hand in.

I also learned in the LATimes article about just how much work Blair is doing. It will probably make me tune in to even more television... oh well.