A Natural Woman by Lori Johnson . . . Coming Soon!

Dr. Aliesha Eaton is a young anthropology professor who seemingly has it all--a nice teaching gig, a respected role in her church and an adoring boyfriend. However, while searching for the right someone to cut and style her natural hair, she finds herself drawn to a dark, handsome, mysterious barber, named Dante. Unfortunately, Dante's complete disappearance within hours of their first night together leaves Aliesha wondering if he'd been out to play her from the start, or if he's become a victim of foul play at the hands of either her spruned boyfriend, or . . . . yet another man from her recent past.

A Natural Woman contains a hint of mystery and a touch of the paranormal, and is scheduled for release by Kensington/Dafina in November of 2009.

Feel free to preorder a copy via Amazon today!

Preorder via Amazon

Men Don't Read? Says Who?!

All Caps, Glasses & Teeth!

From Lori's Picture Collection

Memphis, TN 2008

Lori & A Memphis Fan

From Lori's Picture Collection

Memphis, TN 2008

At my last book signing in Memphis, I'd dare say, just as many men as women purchased a copy of After The Dance. The fellas you see above are members of the Men's Renaissance Book Club, a group which meets on a regular basis at the North Branch Library in Memphis, TN. They kept me laughing!

Thursday Thirteen #39 . . . 13 "I'm not" statements . . .

1) I'm not gay, but I think gays ought to be allowed to marry.

2) I'm not a fan of beauty pageants, but I think Miss California has a right to hold and express an opinion that differs from my own.

3) I'm not typically a blonde basher, but the more Miss California speaks, the dumber she sounds.

4) I'm not typically a basher of big-mouthed, celebrity bloggers, but the more Perz Hilton speaks, the dumber he sounds.

5) I'm not Catholic, but I see more positives than negatives, when it comes to allowing priests to marry.

6) I'm not a heathen or a hussy, but I think Father Alberto Cutie, the priest who recently got caught being "unpriest-like" on the beach, is a total hottie.

7) I'm not a goody-two-shoes, but I think Bristol Palin needs to try practicing abstinence before she starts preaching it.

8) I'm not opposed to the average Joe or Jane trying to claim his/her 15 minutes of fame, but I do wonder why anything Levi Johnston (Bristol Palin's baby's daddy) says or does is worthy of reporting as news.

9) I'm not a bleeding heart liberal, but if Palin, Steele and Limbaugh are the best Republican party has to offer, I can't help but wonder if they truly want to be taken seriously.

10) I'm not much of a cartoon buff, but I do see an uncanny resemblance between Palin, Steele and Limbaugh to the likes of Minnie Mouse, Daffy Duck and the Tasmanian Devil.

11) I'm not a big supporter of the war in Iraq, but rather than subject military service men and women to multiple tours, I'd much rather see the draft re-instated.

12) I'm not typically a gambling woman, but I'm willing to wager all of my meager assets that had the draft been activated, the war in Iraq would have ended months ago.

13) I'm not, by any means, a psychic, but I'm guessing I've said something in this post that will piss off more than a few people (smile). So with that, my work here is through . . .

If you'd like to visit other Thursday Thirteen Participants

Be My Guest!

My New Motto . . .

Last week, I caught a bit of a PBS program about the artist/quilter/writer Faith Ringgold. During the course of a discussion about the stereotyping of African American women, Ringold had the following to say . . .

"I don't want to argue about it, I just want to retell the story."

Hmm, I SO love the energy, spirit and simplicity of the statement, I think I'll adopt it as my own new motto (smile).

A No Show . . . For The Soloist . . .

After watching a news profile of the real characters, I was all set to go see the movie, The Soloist. But then, I read a couple of reviews. The reviewers praised the movie, but both made mention of a peculiar aspect, which unfortunately killed my desire to see the movie at the box office. Both reviewers stated that the schizophrenic street musician (played by Jamie Foxx) came to view the reporter (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) as his "personal God," something which, one perceptive reviewer readily pointed out, didn't appear at all in the book.

I'm not sure why filmmakers feel the need to keep breathing life into this archaic, Tarzan-flavored paradigm. It's either the ole "primitive in need of a Savior" scenario, magic Negroes or the Black wisecracking sidekick or best friend. Why can't we just be equals, sometimes? Why can't we just learn from one another on a playing field where there are no White Saviors or primitives of color in need of rescue from themselves . . .

I'd planned to take my music-loving son to see this movie. But something imbedded deep within my spirit and psyche, won't allow me to shell out good money to sit up in a movie theatre and passively subject him or myself to such debasing, unimaginative and unnecessary mythologies. I'd still very much like to see the movie. But I'll wait until it appears on cable or DVD.

Violence Against Women . . . A Few Righteous Responses . . .

Granted, my own first response to the alleged Chris Brown & Rihanna beat-down was a glib one and in full keeping with my "sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying" take on life.

But I do consider violence against women very much a serious matter. When it comes to the aformentioned incident, the apathetic, callous and "she must have done something to deserve it" type of responses I've heard from so many young women, young women of color in particular, truly saddens me.

Even Rihanna's own alleged response to the alleged attack defies what I was raised to view as common sense and sound logic. Okay . . . so you find hard-cold evidence that ole boy has been cheating on you and when you call him out on his low-down, ho-ish, trifling behavior, his response is to go outside your head--choking, biting, punching and all of that . . . But after filing a police report and suffereing through the pain and humilation of seeing both your story and your own bruised and swollen mug flashed across tabloids and TV screens across the nation within days you're laid back up with the fool?!

Umm, with all due respect, that's NOT love baby-girl, that's madness . . . on his part and yours. And to quote Biggie, if I might, "If you don't know, now you know."

Of course being a woman ( and a Black woman at that), I've lived long enough to know my opinion doesn't count for squat. Like a lot of intelligent women (Black, White or Other), I've had the experience (one too many times) of voicing an opinion in a group setting and seeing it nixed or ignored, only to have a man turn around and give voice to the exact same idea and have his opinion heralded as the truth, the way and the light . . . yeah, go figure. LOL

So, I'm thrilled that a few male media types like Kevin Powell and Ed Gordon have been vocal about domestic violence and the abuse of women and young girls. Not only has journalist Ed Gordon been brave enough to speak on the issue (see here), but he's also spear-headed an initiative called, Daddy's Promise, which encourages men to nurture their daughters and to be active participants in their lives. Big Ups to both Mr. Powell and Mr. Gordon for being willing to step up, speak out and do something about such an important issue.