2013 Ohioana Book Festival
I just learned that I am confirmed to participate in the 2013 Ohioana Book Festival! I’ll be signing copies of my debut novel LESSON IN ROMANCE.
This is my very first festival so I’m really excited to be one of the participating authors.
Event details are below. I hope to see you there!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
10 am – 4:30pm
Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center
546 Jack Gibbs Blvd.
Columbus, OH 43215
February 2, 2013
In celebration of Black History Month, I’m participating in a short segment on WPGC 95.5 FM (Washington D.C.) talking about the impact that author, Toni Morrison, had on Black History.
Here’s what I had to say:
“She took the fear away… and made black literature more accessible to everyone. Her writing is complex, yet so beautiful, so poetic. Toni Morrison opened a path for black writers.. .to tell their own stories… to journey on their own paths to self-discovery. And that’s really… what writing is all about. When I learned that she wrote her first novel, “The Bluest Eye” while working and raising her children, I thought to myself. ‘I can do that too’…and I did.”
Listen on-air to the Black History segment!
Harmony Evans, Harlequin Kimani Romance author, has been named a finalist for the 2013 Emma Award “Debut Author of the Year”. The Emma Awards are named after Emma Rodgers, the co-founder of the Romance Slam Jam Conference, and is the premier awards event for readers and authors of Black romance.
This is the second prestigious nomination that Harmony Evans has received. She is also a 2012 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Awards Double-Finalist (First Series Romance and Kimani Romance).
Her debut novel, LESSON IN ROMANCE, tells the story of a famous jazz saxophonist who can’t read and the literacy teacher who has to teach him how in 3 days. If she fails, she could lose a substantial donation that will prevent the Harlem literacy center she owns from shutting its doors forever.
LESSON IN ROMANCE was released in October 2012 and received a 4 1/2 star rating from RT Book Reviews. Her second novel for Harlequin Kimani Romance will be released Fall 2013.
See the complete list of Emma Award finalists.
All of us are busy and for me, it’s takes a lot for me to slow down and savor all that life has to offer. Usually, the only time I’m forced to slow down is when I am sick, but thankfully, I’ve been pretty healthy lately. Technology is supposed to make our lives more organized and accessible, but somehow it just complicates things. Sometimes when my energy or will is sagging, I feel like I have to break away from “life” for a while. Below are my top five guilty pleasures that help me recharge and reset my energy.
1.) Reading
Not only does reading help me be a better writer, but it also helps me be less stressed. According to a study done by the University of Sussex, reading a book just 6 minutes a day can reduce stress by 68%! It’s no wonder that the longer I read, the more relaxed I feel. Actually, in the last few months, I’ve made a real effort to read EVERYDAY. I primarily read at mealtimes and before bed, and it’s been fun to track my progress on GoodReads. My daughter is a voracious reader so I am definitely trying to catch up with her. It makes me feel good to know that my novels can be a stress reliever too!
2.) Gummy Bears
No, it’s not chocolate, but these squishy, -ishy, fruity, bears of delight make me happy all the same. These are my favorite candy and have been since high school. Instead of gum, I was chewing gummy bears in Chemistry (yuck) and Algebra (double yuck). It made being in those classes more (pardon the pun) “bearable”. I try to always have a bag or two on hand for those really bad days at work when I just want to escape. HINT: My favorite gummy bears are Haribo!!
3.) Daydreaming
My sister and I were latchkey kids and my parents couldn’t afford expensive summer camps. So when she wasn’t cutting the hair off my Barbie Dolls, I would escape to my room, lie on my bed and just dream. It’s when I first decided I would put some of my daydreams on paper in the form of journaling, which transitioned into writing songs, and now, novels. It makes me feel good that all those lazy summers I spent mostly daydreaming paid off.
4.) Browsing
Now…browsing is something I rarely do. Either online or offline. Between working full-time, parenting and my writing responsibilities, I don’t have time. But when I am able to carve out a few minutes or an hour, I love to browse sites like Amazon (for books and beauty products), Etsy (for unique, handmade items) and Craiglist (for antiques and collectibles). It’s fun and relaxing to “shop” and put things in my shopping cart, even though I normally have no intention of purchasing them. I also love to see what new products are out and available, just in case I have an inkling to buy. Offline, I love to go to the mall, flea markets, antique shops or anywhere “off the beaten path”. I am always amazed and overwhelmed at all the products that are out there!
5.) Silence
Ahh…the sound of silence is something I really treasure. I’m fortunate to live in a neighborhood that is extremely quiet most of the time, but at night especially. At night, just before I go to sleep, I lie in bed and just try to focus on the silence that is all around me. At times, it “sounds” hollow, like I’m in a tunnel. Sometimes it sounds warm. But, the silence is always relaxing and lulls me to a peaceful sleep and a good night’s sleep is just about the guiltiest pleasure of all!
What are some of your favorite guilty pleasures?
Much love! Be blessed,
Harmony
Occasionally, I’m going to blog about some of the writing books that I’ve found really useful. First up, and probably the most important, is Goal, Motivation & Conflict: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction by Debra Dixon. This book was introduced to me by my good friend and fellow Harlequin romance writer, Ann Roth, and let me tell you, it was a LIFESAVER. Before I read and studied this book, I didn’t even know what GMC was and how it is the crux of writing novels.
Quoting Dixon (page 10):
” Commercial fiction readers expect your characters to have goals, be motivated, and to face conflict. They expect you to answer four simple questions:
Who = character
What = goal
Why = motivation
Why not = conflict”
Dixon goes on to explain what each of these four questions are using examples from classic movies, such as the Wizard of Oz and Casablanca. Furthermore, GMC (Goal, Motivation, Conflict) are both internal and external to your characters.
Once I read the book, I looked for examples of GMC in other novels (romance, classic, suspense — even children’s). Even now, whenever I read a new novel, I am looking for the GMC of each character.
Structure is good. Identifying the GMC for each character in my books is an exercise that I enjoy doing (probably the only exercise I enjoy — lol!) and I believe it makes me a better writer. I highly recommend adding this book to your writing library. Thoughts?
I learned today that LESSON IN ROMANCE has been nominated for 2 categories in the RT Book Reviews 2012 Reviewers’ Choice Awards.The 2 categories are: First Series Romance and Kimani Romance.
Now that I’ve peeled myself off the ceiling, needless to say, I am stunned, humbled and very, very happy!
Being a debut novelist, it is indeed an honor to be nominated in the First Series Romance category in addition to the Kimani Romance category with other veteran Kimani Romance authors Farrah Rochon, AlTonya Washington and Kayla Perrin.
LESSON IN ROMANCE is my first novel for Harlequin Kimani Romance. It earned a 4.5 starred review from RT Book Reviews. See all the book covers and nominees here!
Over the years, my daughter has often been teased for her small stature and big brain. But the light teasing elevated to harmful bullying her first year of middle school. She learned very quickly that children can be mean, that adults can turn a blind eye, and that the life isn’t as happy-go-lucky as the Disney Princesses and Little Ponies claim it is.
Bullying was hard on her. She was often anxious and worried and sick to her stomach. And it was excruciating for me as a mother to watch. As a single mom, I had no other options for her but the public schools, and I didn’t learn till much later in the year about the option to transfer her to another school in our district.
I felt helpless and afraid for my daughter. And the guilt was almost unbearable.
I used each bullying incident as a teachable moment. And unfortunately, there were far too many of those. I muddled through offering words of advice, but mainly just listening and loving her. We both cried a lot last year.
This year, I transferred my daughter to another school within our district where the zero tolerance policy against bullying is taken seriously. Although she is much happier, the memories of her bad experiences remain. I pray they will lessen over time, but I know she will never truly forget.
That’s why I feel immense sorrow when I hear about children who take their own lives, or the lives of others, as a result of bullying. Amanda Todd chose to post her suicide note on the Internet, yet there are hundreds of thousands of kids who suffer (and commit suicide) silently.
Today I stand with all of the fabulous authors participating in this Authors Against Bullying blog hop and the children we love. Both our own and those we don’t even know. Children are a gift. We must be a voice for them. We must choose to act. Because when we advocate for our children and take a stand against bullying, we not only show our love, we protect their future.
*****
Were you or someone in your family ever bullied? How did you deal with it? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Post your comments below! Then, click on the links to visit the blogs of the other authors who are participating in the hop!
October 16, 2012 — The tragic suicide of Vancouver teen Amanda Todd, prompted author Mandy Roth to organize a blog hop calling for an end to bullying. The Authors Against Bullying blog hop will occur on Friday, October 19th. I will be participating along with 50 or so other authors. Be sure to follow #AuthorsAgainstBullying on Twitter for the latest updates.
I’m a writer. Made, not born. Crafted over several years of floundering and not knowing what to do with this artistic talent within me. I used to play piano – a lot! When I was a child, I would spend many hours at the keyboard, practicing my scales, those dreaded Hanon exercises that I actually came to enjoy, and performance pieces. Ensuring my hands and wrist were positioned correctly. Perfecting my fingering. Working on tone and color and dynamics. And I would compose songs with lyrics, and songs with no lyrics at all. All to satisfy this innate need to create something.
I am a writer. Made, not born. Crafted over a lifetime of success and pain, love and loss, broken promises and dreams fulfilled. Now, my need to create, to write, has a purpose of sorts. It’s more than creating a story. It’s creating another life. With a beginning, middle, and an end. It’s exploring the choices my characters make, and reflecting on my own life choices.
I am a writer. Made, not born. Writing becomes me. It IS me. With all my hopes and dreams and frailties. And I’ll pursue whatever writing, whatever story, whatever emotion, is inside me until the day when I can no longer create.
I can only remember.
How does writing become you?
Lesson in Romance was released on Kindle today!! It’s been out on Amazon.com and BN.com since my birthday. Wow!
But I have to tell you, I am sitting here in a fog right now. I never thought this day would happen, and all of a sudden it’s here. It’s funny how things sneak up on you.
I started writing 10 years ago…really, as a challenge to myself, and here I am…a published author!
It’s incredibly amazing and humbling.
I only wish my mom, who passed away suddenly on June 2nd of this year at the age of 82, could be here with me at this moment. I know she would have loved Cara and Alex’s story. She always wanted me to be “famous”.
Well, Mom, I may never be famous, but somehow I think, that up in heaven tonight, you’re talking about me.
And you’re proud…