When Art Imitates Life

By Dr. Maxine Thompson
http://www.maxinethompson.com
http://www.maxinethompsonbooks.com

According to Wikipedia, The quote, “Art imitates Life” “has its most notable proponent in Oscar Wilde, who held in his 1889 essay The Decay of Lying that ‘Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life’.”

As an African American, I see things differently. I’ve always felt, in spite of having an African American President (President Obama) in the United States, racism is still like the elephant in the middle of the room in our country. We don’t want to talk about racism or deal with it—until something explodes.
Case in point. In my second novel, Hostage of Lies, (originally self-published as “No Pockets in a Shroud,” in 1997,) a white editor from New York challenged a scene that was clearly a case of racial discrimination. 

The year was 2009, and I was reissuing this same book (HOL) through a New York Publisher when this editorial comment was made. 

 She said that a black male being pulled over because he  was black and driving a Mercedes was out dated or unrealistic. True, I wrote this scene in 1996 in the original self-published book. I pointed out to her the scene was set in 1993.

 However, the word “racial profiling” wasn’t in our lexicon at that  time.

As a historical fiction writer, I was just capturing what happens to professional Black men, who were treated like criminals.

 Shortly thereafter, a high profile case where prominent Black Professor Henry Louis Gates was arrested for entering his own home took place. This incident hit the media like a tsunami.

 I sent the information to the editor, and the scene was left as it was. Racial issues had not changed much from 1993 to 2009.

When I wrote my urban crime novel, L.A. Blues, in 2008, I was perturbed about several murders of young Black teen athletes, which were perpetrated because of gang wars between the Blacks and Latinos here in LA.

Ironically, in my novel, the murder victim, 15-year-old basketball star hopeful, was named Trayvon. He was wearing a hooded black Starter jacket, and later, you find out why he was assassinated because of this outfit. Sadly, we now have the tragedy of Trayvon Martin’s murder.

As I re-read the funeral scene from LA Blues at the Black Writers on Tour Conference (www.blackwritersontour.com) which just took place on this past Saturday, 4-21-12, a chill rippled through me. It was taken from my poem, “Son of God Called Home Too Soon,” which I’d originally written for my 18-year-old nephew, who’d been murdered the year before (2008) in Detroit. (Since then, another great-nephew was murdered in Detroit on 1-10-12.) I used the poem in the funeral scene in LA Blues. As I asked in my poem, SOGCHTS:

“How many more of our young men must we lose
To acts of senseless violence and rage?
When will we learn to love and not hate,
To cherish and not exterminate?
Let’s wake up before we lose our entire future Black Race.”

Although I live in L.A., and my other family is in Detroit, our family is still suffering the loss of these two young family members.

So here we are again, except this time,  it’s real life. The year is 2012. Another young black male gone senselessly. Only this murder has been widely publicized.

Reminds me of the Emmet Till murder, though, this dog and pony show and travesty of justice  that went on with the subsequent arrest, then release of George Zimmerman.

In my novel, Hostage of Lies, I dealt with the LA riots, which is now celebrating its twentieth anniversary, as well as the Detroit riots, (both civil unrests’ which I lived through). In fact, LA Blues opens with the LA riots. I drew on my memory of being out making home calls in West Los Angeles and almost being barricaded by walls of fire and smoke on every street I drove down.

I could have stayed home that day, but being a dedicated social  worker, I went out into the field. I guess it was the writer in me that wanted to bear witness to our explosive history. That day reminded me of what Langston Hughes called, “A Dream Deferred” in his poem. All the deferred dreams found their way into ignited gas cans and Molotov cocktails.

Today I write about things I would like to see changed. I’d like to see no murders among Black or Brown young men. I address this social problem  in LA Blues’s acknowledgment.

After all, isn’t that our job as writers? To bear witness to the truth.

Today I celebrate my tenth year anniversary of hosting on Internet radio shows. I’ve worked on 4 different networks, but the longest one has been with Artistfirst.com.

Over the years, I’ve made contacts I would not have made otherwise, gone to conferences, and built my literary agency and literary services business.

Internet radio, like ebooks, is here to stay. It can really help an author reach an audience one might not have been able to reach.

 Thank you to the Artistfirst.com Network and to everyone who has listened to the show over the years.

BLACKBUTTERFLY PRESS NEWSLETTER  10-16-11

Dr. Maxine Thompson

http://www.maxinethompson.com

http://www.maxinethompsonbooks.com

Happy Autumn to all readers and writers!

This has been a hectic summer! I had the honor of participating  as a literary agent panelist guest at the National Black Book Festival Conference in Houston, TX on 6-8-11 to 6-10-11. I had a great time! I met new writers, and reconnected with other writers.

In August, I was offered a book deal for LA Blues II. I’m working on the sequel to LA Blues II, so I will be brief. The deadline is approaching—11-30-11. I’ve done a lot of prewriting, research, but now it’s time to bite the bullet, so I’ll be going underground.

  I will be joining the Nanowrimo, which I’ve done 3 times before and never completed, but this time I’m more motivated.

NEWS:

Congratulations Tamika Newhouse, my latest literary agency client, for  winning as self-published author of the year & best anthology of the year. Kudos to you! http://literaryawardshow.com/ 

Check out The Miraculous Power of Massage by Van T. Womack http://alturl.com/efve8

Look for upcoming book published by Black Butterfly Press: The Woman Behind the Badge: The Journey by Joanne Neely.

Please check out LA Blues Book Trailer http://alturl.com/qhu77

Healing the Racial Divide: Book Review of LA Blues by Yvonne Perry http://alturl.com/37xpw

WRITING TIPS AND RESOURCES:
Nanowri month is coming up! Write your novel in one month!http://www.nanowrimo.org/

Blog regarding Nanowri month:

http://abundance-blog.marelisa-online.com/2009/10/12/nanowrimo-how-to-write-a-novel-in-30-days/
Using research to find Writing topics http://alturl.com/9h9nq 

“There’s a word for a self-published writer who never gives up… rich.” –Joe Konrath, Successful Author.  

“There is … no such force as the force of a person determined to rise. The human soul cannot be permanently chained. – W.E.B. Dubois

Small Press vs. Self-publishing in the new Millenium http://alturl.com/2vm9u

 Sell More Books to Schools and Libraries:

http://www.facebook.com/sellmorebookstoschoolsandlibraries

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, “the
Snowflake Guy,” publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing
E-zine, with more than 28,000 readers, every month. If
you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction,
AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND
have FUN doing it, visit
http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Book Review

Suzetta Perkin’s novel, Betrayed,   has such a riveting storyline, I read the book in one afternoon and couldn’t put it down. What made the read so compelling is that the characters felt so real, I could relate to all of them.

The major plot line reminds me of the first time I heard the term, Project Twins on the popular BET show, “The Game.” “Project Twins” is an urban term for when two women are pregnant by the same man and have a baby within close proximity of weeks or months of each other.

Ironically, this is just one of the family secrets in Suzetta Perkins’ latest novel, Betrayed. Setrina “Mimi” Bailey  has a nineteen-year old secret which comes home to roost when she moves to Durham, North Carolina so that her daughter, Afrika, can attend college there.

We learn that, while still in college, Mimi was raped by her best friend’s fiancé, Victor Christianson. This is a realistic scenario and sadly does happen. But what happens when Mimi marries someone else, doesn’t report the rape, or divulge the paternity of her daughter?

What happens when this rapist is allowed to continue to wreak havoc in others lives? What happens when this family secret opens a pandora box?

 Filled with suspense, this story has numerous twists and turns, which kept me glued to the page.

The story deals with topical issues, such as rape,  adultery, AIDS, HIV, and family secrets.

“Betrayed” truly proves the Biblical warning,  “You reap what you sow.”  I love this novel!  Great book, Suzetta. Keep them coming!

Reviewed by Dr. Maxine Thompson

“Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are,” a special co-worker once told me. First, let me explain what special means. In Ebonics, we’ll say, ”She’s a special case.” Or if someone is not dealing with a full deck, but yet are loveable, we’ll say, ”She’s special.” So as you see, this was a ”gem” spoken out of a ‘’special” person’s mouth.
Although, at the time, I didn’t quite understand what she meant, I now know what she was talking about is called ”character.” In life, this could be a bad thing, but in fiction this is a good thing. Nothing works better for memorable fiction than strong characters with flaws. To get to the point, how does one create memorable characters? Sol Stein, in his book, Stein On Writing, points out that eccentricity is at the heart of all strong characterizations. In short, the most effective characters in fiction are to some degree bizarre.
Character is an essential part of the best fiction. Think of all the memorable characters in fiction. When you think of the books whose characters resound in your head, you don’t think about, well this happened and that happened, (plot), you generally think of who the protagonist was. Words such as ”Scrooge,” ”Pollyanna,” and even ”Uncle Tom” developed in our culture to express a personality, an outlook, a character trait. And in spite of my dislike for the Antebellum South, from my first reading at fifteen, Scarlettt O’Hara and Rhett Butler stenciled a place in my memory as colorful characters. (Who can ever forget Rhett Butler’s last sardonic words, ”My dear, I don’t give a d–?.”
As an African American, I grew up during the 50’s with no role models in my fiction. No archetypes that had any relevancy to my life. But now, I–and readers from all races– are blessed with a list of memorable Afrocentric characters. Janie ( who left 3 husbands), creator, Zora Neale Hurston. Sula, Milkman. Pilate. Sethe (who cut her baby’s throat rather than see her back in slavery). Creator, Toni Morrison. Nana Pouissant (who built bottle trees to protect her family), creator, Julie Dash/ Daughters of the Dust. Likewise, I’m hoping that my fictional characters–Jewel, Big Mama Lily, Nefertiti, Solly, Pharaoh and Reverend–will one day also become household names in the literary corridors of my reader’s mind.
Eccentricity has frequently been at the heart of strong characterization for good reason. Ordinariness is what readers have enough of in life. The most effective characters have profound roots in human behavior. Their richest feelings may be similar to those held by many others. However, as characters their eccentricities dominate the readers first view of them. The first time I encountered this is through the character of Pilate, from Song of Solomon. She has no navel, yet has the ability to communicate with her dead father. I am still haunted by her dying
Another reason character is so important in plotting your fiction is that people are different. The same tragic event can happen to two people and have different effects. One person can lose his job and never bounce back, and another will be galvanized by the same event. These are the types of points of departure you can examine in fiction through your characters.
These are the three major techniques I think will make the difference in creating memorable characters who leap off the page.
• 1) Point of view. Even if the character is eccentric, you should make the reader understand his world view.
• 2) Specificity in Details. Develop your character’s quirks, habits, motivations, and hobbies.
• 3) Challenges. Fiction that takes risks and challenges our smug assumptions about life.
Don’t just write about normal situations. Examine the human hearts and the depths of what people will go when faced with moral dilemmas. What will a mother do when she is broke and hungry and has children to feed?
To distinguish between plot-driven fiction and character-driven fiction is the same distinction you find between popular movies and serious movies. The former categories often satisfies you, but, like Chinese food, can leave you ravenous after a few hours. Character-driven fiction/movies will stick to your ribs like ‘’soul food.” It will make you examine the human heart and condition. Most of all, it often disturbs you like the book and movie, Beloved, yet you will find yourself driven to read these same books over and over.

L.A. Blues is Maxine Thompson’s masterpiece. Told in first person by main character, “Z” short for Zipporah Saldono, you were witness to life in the mean streets of modern day Los Angeles with its overwhelming serving of gangs and drugs and, of course, a corrupt police department. You couldn’t help but root for “Z” with the opening scene, a young lady trying to move past her generational curse by bettering herself but is almost raped in an environment that had claimed her family, although she’s rescued by a passerby who becomes a pivotal person in her life years later.

As an abandoned and orphaned child, she wants to do better…she wants to make something of her life and reunite with her younger siblings–with her father having been killed for protecting her, her mother in prison for supposedly killing the man who killed Z’s father, and her brother, a notorius drug dealer in prison. But the life of a cop may not be the best coping mechanism as Z is reminded on too many occasions of what her life was like growing up as she hauls in drug dealers, gang bangers, and the other elements of the streets. And then she finds herself a target, the reason not immediately apparent but is somehow connected with the slaying of her partner.

There are so many elements to Z that most people can identify with. I was drawn to her resolve to fight when she was thrown off the force and had taken to the bottle to relieve the stress. Having her foster mother in her life was was a healing force and through all of her struggles it appears Z found what looks like real love.

This is a gripping tale that is so vivid it almost feels as if you’re living it. I was there every moment with Z, trying to protect her from the rapists, shielding her from the volley of bullets that ended her partner’s life, pulling her up from her drunken stupor to breathe life into her again…admonishing her not to give up and let Romero have a chance, to embrace her mother…especially when she learns the truth of her imprisonment, and being the best friend she could to Chica and Haviland. EXCELLENT READ!!’

Book Reviewer: Suzetta Perkins, Bestselling Author, Look for Upcoming Release, Betrayed. It’s a pageturner and a tearjerker.

http://www.suzettaperkins.com

Book: LA Blues
Book Reviewer: Francine Craft

I’ve greatly admired many of Dr. Thompson’s books, both fiction and nonfiction, but this time with her L.A. Blues which tells the story of Z Saldano who rose from harsh beginnings to become an L.A. cop, then to temporarily fail due to alcoholism and the death of her beloved partner. But Z is a survivor and she becomes a private investigator. While I found the entire book fascinating with no dead spots, it really kicked in for me with her entry into the shadowy world of investigation. I compliment Maxine on her masterly handling of what quickly became a nasty situation, with Z’s life in danger. I intended to read slowly because I so admire this woman’s writing, but that wasn’t possible. I wanted to know what happens next in a hurry.

The characters in L.A. Blues are deftly defined, and I identified with them. They’re all part of the multicultural stew we live in today and will be living in in the future. There are several scenes I will always remember. One is when Z, steeped in alcohol, is cavorting in bed with a lover she doesn’t really like, but who knows how to get it on. The turnon of their actions, then the very touching part of a man she really admires knocking on her door just to see if she’s all right brings a remarkable pathos into the story. This kind of depiction happens in Blues.The ending satisfied me as much as any book I’ve read. The lady is good, no doubt about it.

What I wish for Z and the people she knows: sequels, a series, and just maybe Tyler Perry to take a peek and fall in love the way I did.

Francine Craft, Bestselling Author, Book Reviewer: Francine Craft
http://www.francinecraft.com

So many people will write a book without proper editing. The book often has poor structure, no plot or the pacing is off. Some books do not have dialogue (when it is needed), low word count, poor title choices, etc… (Believe me the list can go on.)

Well, if you fall into any of these categories, this workshop will serve as an excellent tool to help you with your literary work. Literary agent Dr. Maxine Thompson from Los Angeles CA, is also a National Best Selling Author, Editor and hosts her own international radio show “Artist First”.

In addition, she has worked with literary greats Carl Weber (New York Times Best Selling Author), Rosalyn McMillan, Vickie Stringer, Sheila Goss, Michelle McGriff and myself (Roslyn Hamilton) to name a few.

Please join us as we share industry secrets in which we will provide you with information on structuring, dialogue, prologues, epilogues and so forth. <p>
You will need to be present in front of your computer for this exciting webinar. You will receive a link for the webinar after you register.

So please get your notepad & pen because tonight we are literally yours~

http://authorsworkshop2011.eventbrite.com

9780982740323_CVR

Blog: How to Use Book Unveilings to Launch your Book.

 Yesterday, I witnessed with my own eyes the power of having a good network of friends. The author, Van T. Womack, is a very personable massage therapist.  His debut book, The Miraculous Power of Massage: The Handbook of Self-Repair, had over 50 people in attendance, and several more promised to give other book  parties. Not only did he do massages for those in attendance, he sold almost that many books within 3 hours.

Tips:

1. Before your book comes out, tell all your friends and enlist their aid.
2. Write a list of your friends as you build your list.
3. Ask your friends to give a party and invite their friends.
4. Have their friends you don’t know give you a book party.
5. Tell them to spread the word. Nothing sells like word-of-mouth.

Books are available nationwide. Books also available at Amazon, Kindle, and Barnes and Nobles.

Title: Fabulous Faces
Subtitle: From Motivation to Transformation through Facial Plastic Surgery
Author: Peter A. Adamson, M.D
Publisher: Osler Wood Enterprises
Release Date: 2011
ISBN-10: 978-0-9865742-0-7
Format Reviewed: Hard Back
Hard back: 266 pages
Language: English
Genre: Face-Surgery-Popular Works, Plastic surgery
Reviewer: Dr. Maxine Thompson
Email: maxtho@aol.com
http://www.maxinethompsonbooks.com
http://www.maxinethompson.com

Book Review:

Fabulous Faces: From Motivation to Transformation through Facial Plastic Surgery
By Peter A. Adamson, M.D.
Reviewed by Dr. Maxine Thompson

Do beautiful people have an easier time navigating the vicissitudes of life? Does how a person look on the outside, affect how he/she feels on the inside? Are people more comfortable with who they are when they get plastic surgery? These are just some of the questions posed in Dr. Adamson’s book, Fabulous Faces: From Motivation to Transformation through Facial Plastic Surgery.
In Fabulous Faces, you will find out not only what facial plastic surgery is, but why people opt to get augmentations/changes done in the firstplace.
The truth of the matter is that studies show that good looking people have an easier time in life, when it comes to getting jobs, getting married, and achieving success.
Although we say people are judged by how they are on the inside, the truth is, people make first judgments about you by how you look.
So who gets plastic surgery? Contrary to belief, plastic surgery is no longer just a luxury of the rich and famous.
Dr. Adamson sites example after example of ordinary people who felt they didn’t look normal. Sometimes, these flaws came from accidents, such as broken noses, but sometimes the patients felt they were born plain. Because their physical shortcomings were perceived as abnormalities in their mind, it shaped their entire way of relating to others throughout their lives.
However, after plastic surgery, the patients felt normal and, that transformation in itself, boosted their self-confidence and self esteem. Clearly, looking better made a person perform better and gave them more self-fulfillment.
Dr. Adamson’s book is an eye opener for the public. Another myth he debunks is that mainly women get plastic surgery. He showed cases where men have opted for plastic surgery. Ageism is alive and well, and many men, as well as women, in business, have to compete with younger colleagues.
With the coming of age of the Baby boomers, whose generation defined perpetual youth, we will probably see even more plastic surgery in the years to come. This is the first time in history that people have an option to look better, if they feel mother nature didn’t give grace them with good looks.
Fabulous Faces is a recommended read for those who want to enhance how they look, or for people growing older, who want to compete in a younger global society.
This book will help you understand plastic surgery is more than just a physical alteration, but often a change of a person’s outlook, heart, and spirit.