Now that The Talking Drum has launched with great fanfare, I’ve been able to spend some noodling with the draft of my second novel, a historical piece taking place in Boston in the mid-1800s, but I’m not quite ready to make a full pivot to Manuscript Number 2. The Talking Drum only hit the virtual bookshelves on May 29th. I’m hoping to generate additional attention for the book in the…

We are excited to welcome to The Debutante Ball Ava Homa, who is the critically-acclaimed of the novel DAUGHTERS OF SMOKE AND FIRE which is hailed by the Independent in the UK, the Globe and Mail in Canada, and the Reader’s Digest as one of the best new fictions. Her collection of short stories ECHOES FROM THE OTHER LAND was nominated for the Frank O’Connor International Prize. She holds a…

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, composer, pianist, and jazz orchestra leader, plays a pivotal role in the life of Omar Bassari, one of my main characters in The Talking Drum. Omar is a drummer growing up in a small village in Senegal. He’s been training to become a master drummer under his father Ibrahim’s direction. One day, in the mid-1960s, Ibrahim pulls him aside to tell him of an important event…

It is my pleasure to welcome Nicole Mabry to the Debutante Ball today! Nicole and I have met virtually through our Debut Authors of Color group. PAST THIS POINT, an apocalyptic women’s fiction thriller, tells the story of one woman and her dog fighting to survive during a deadly virus outbreak that renders New York City a ghost town. About Nicole Nicole Mabry grew up in Northern California but has lived in…