Award-winning novelist Pearl Cleage says she couldn't resist fictionalizing the 2008 presidential campaign season in 'Till You Hear From Me,' her latest release.

"The subject was all around me,'' she said in an email interview with BV on Books. "The 2008 campaign season was an amazing series of events that truly showcased the best and worst of country.''

The New York Times bestselling author has earned a reputation for her skillful of fictionalization of current events. She delved into the Iraq war in her last novel, 'Seen It All and Done The Rest.'

For her latest novel, she couldn't have picked a better issue than President Barack Obama, whose politics and personal beliefs command headlines. Cleage latched onto the story of the president's former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who was propelled into the spotlight after a television network reviewed his fiery sermons at Trinity United Church of Christ.

The character, Rev. Horace Dunbar, is based on Rev. Wright, she said. His daughter, Ida B. Wells Dunbar, who made it the West Wing after working on the presidential campaign only to find out that was the easy part!

Cleage talks about 'Till You Hear from Me,' post-Obama America and future projects with BV on Books:

A surprising thing to learn about Louis Gossett Jr. is that he has an easygoing spirit. It's unexpected because some of the characters he has played on the big and small screen and on stage over the decades have been aggressive and sometimes downright mean.

One time he played George Jefferson's womanizing best friend on the popular 1970s sitcom The Jeffersons. With the look of lust in his eyes, Gossett chased George's wife, Louise (Weezy), around the house every time George left the room.

"Yeah, Weezy would run every time I got out the breath spray,'' he said, laughing in an interview with Blackvoices.com. "I had a good time doing The Jefferson, Good Times and other sitcoms.''

And what about his formative role as the officious gunnery sergeant in An Officer and Gentleman for which he won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in 1983? As the hardcore GySgt. Emil Foley, he helped Richard Gere's slacker character, Zack Mayo, complete his work at Navy Flight School.

Here is are some memorable lines from an An Officer and Gentleman:

After churning out a record 12 New York Times bestsellers and selling more than three million novels over the past 14 years, novelist Eric Jerome Dickey tells us that he is going on an indefinite hiatus -- but not before stirring up a lot of trouble --the literary kind, that is.

His latest novel, 'Tempted by Trouble' is a taut crime thriller about love and deception that will keep you riveted to the page.
The protagonist is Dmytryk Knight, a college educated family man, who had job at a car factory in Detroit until the economy went belly-up and obliterated the auto industry. After two years of struggling to pay the mortgage and other bills, he and his wife, Cora, decide honesty does not help keep the lights on.

Then in walks Eddie Coyle like new money in a safe. Coyle, a ruthless crime boss, gives them chance to return to the lifestyle to which they were accustomed. The catch: Dymtryk has to be the wheelman for a ring of bank robbers.

With each heist, money becomes Dymtryk's drug. But when a bank job goes bad, Cora turns up missing and he finds himself engulfed in a life of crime. And there always will be that time before he started robbing banks and the time after -- a diminishing point of no return that will even make readers questions decisions in their lives.

Blackvoices.com caught up to the Memphis, Tennessee,native. Excerpts of the conversation are below.

The other day, Pam Grier was upset. The former 1970s blaxploitation pinup queen was lamenting the effects of the economic downturn on families.

"You're seeing more and more abuse with the economic crisis today,'' she said in an interview with Black Voices from her home in Colorado. "People are upset. It's hot. They are frustrated and angry. Abuse is through the roof. It's on the rise.''

Yes, the former gun-toting, pimp-slappin' beauty, who won the hearts of men and inspired scores of young black girls to forge their way to Hollywood, has metamorphosed into a philanthropist who helps women, children and animals. She recently released 'Foxy: My Life in Three Acts,' an illuminating and poignant memoir written with Andrea Cagan.

The reason Grier is so concerned about the effects of the economic downturn is because she knows it can destroy families in more ways than one. Grier experienced two sexual assaults as a child during household economic turmoil. The actress hid her hurtful past by playing strong women in films such as 'Coffy,' 'Foxy Brown' and 'Sheba Baby.' In addition, she writes about the glaring racism she experienced on the road and her heartbreaking romances with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Freddie Prinze, Sr. and comedy king Richard Pryor in this must-read memoir.

Excerpts of the conservation are below.

For those of you who have seen Mr. Marcus "at work,'' it's hard to imagine the porn star as a family man, married with two children, ages 14 and 7.

The Pomona, Calif., native admits that the nature of his work has challenged his 16-year marriage, but it also has made it stronger. His wife, whose name he did not reveal, is a so-called civilian -- meaning she does not work in the porn industry. He revealed that the couple met more than 16 years ago in Santa Monica through a woman he was dating at the time.

"It has its difficulties, you know,'' the man legally known as Marcus Spencer said. "It's one of those challenges we had to overcome. I'm a good dude. I just happen to work in porn. You've got porn and you've got your family. You want your job and you want your family. It's a constant struggle. A long time a go, she [his wife] wanted me to walk away. I told her I couldn't. I just had to do something more with it. I wanted to make an impression. Hopefully, it will take me in a different direction.''

The 39-year-old adult film star certainly has made an impression. He is one of the best-known names in the industry -- with more than 1,000 skin flicks to his credit. He is in the midst of a tour for his new book, 'The Porn Star Guide to Great Sex,' an illustrated hardcover tome of sexual positions that also provides advice to men and women on how to give and receive "great sex."

During a recent book signing at Harlem's Hue-man Bookstore & Café, author Helena Andrews regaled visitors with tales of her adult life and childhood as she read from her compelling memoir 'Bitch is the New Black.'

The title is what screenwriters like to call a MacGuffin, a Hitchcockian way of saying a red herring.

While it conveys a story about bitchy blacks prevailing over the universe, it really is the tale of a young woman who was raised by a lesbian mother as the only black kid on Catalina Island. In this touching, yet humorous memoir, Andrews tries to answer the perennial question of whether a "strong, single and successful black woman can ever find love.''

"A lot of my story is unique, but it's extremely universal,'' she told the audience, explaining that the book is not just for black readers.

The impressive Ivy League graduate (Columbia University), who has worked at O magazine, Politico and as a clerk at the New York Times' Washington Bureau, recently spoke to BV on Books about her memoir. Below are excerpts from the conversation.

Zane Sex

Jessica Holter has never been known to mince words. For over a decade, she has transfixed audiences with her poetry that explores sensuality and sexuality.

In 2007, she hit a milestone when Zane, the critically acclaimed author and publisher of erotica, released 'Verbal Penetration,' which propelled Holter into the spotlight.

Now comes 'The Punany Experience: The War Between Tops and Bottoms, Not Your Average Down Low Story' by Holter, which is sure to raise eyebrows.

It is the story of Stormy Talbert, a bisexual, Korea Smith, an androgynous businesswoman and Hartford, a married man. And it takes you down mental alleyways and passages you never imagined.

Black Voices caught up to Holter. Below are excerpts from the conversation.

BV on Books: How did you come up with the title?
Jessica Holter: The first part of the title is what I call the theatrical episodes fans have when they attend a show by The Punany Poets [which she created in 1995 after the untimely death of gangsta rapper Eazy-E]. "The War Between Tops and Bottoms" is the title of a poem published by Zane in 'Verbal Penetration.' The novel is based on that poem, which details a night of taboo love making between two lesbians and a married man. The last part of the title "Not the Average Down Low Story" intends to let readers know that this book is not about a gay man, but a straight one, who happens to be curious about anal sex -- though not with a man.

'Platinum,' a new novel by music journalist Aliya S. King is a summer hot pick full of fabulosity that will keep you reading from front to back in one sitting. So, grab some lemonade, a visor, sunscreen and head for the beach or a nice shady seat on the porch.

The sizzling tale gives a behind-the-scenes look at what happens when the social exigencies of the hip-hop lifestyle surpass the importance of love and commitment.

While interviewing several wives of hip-hop artists for an article for Vibe magazine four years ago, King said she witnessed the trials and tribulations of marriage and relationships. She saw that the worlds of wives and girlfriends were not all made up of Jimmy Choos, red carpets and private jets, which inspired the novel. While 'Platinum' is fictional, the stories are based on what she learned about the women for the article, she said.

'Platinum' revolves around Alex Maxwell, who is about to marry Birdie, a rising star in the hip-hop industry. Meanwhile, she is ghostwriting a scurrilous tell-all by video vixen Cleo Wright, who claims to have bedded all of the famous hip-hop stars, executives and producers. And she's got videos of some sexcapades!

Raegan L. Burden grew up thinking she needed to gain weight to get more "play,'' or attention, from boys.

Floree Williams learned the hard way that her negative internal voice could be far worse than that of any enemy.

And Shalena Broaster learned that sharing too much information about a lover's spat with friends and family could cause them to stand in judgment of them both even after they make up.

These powerful lessons appear in, 'Souls of My Young Sisters: Young Women Break Their Silence with Personal Stories That Will Change Your Life,' written and edited by Dawn Marie Daniels and Candace Sandy.

It is a collection of poignant stories by 60 women, ages 18 to 30, who share their personal stories to inspire other young girls at a time when surveys suggest that young women continuously struggle with self-image, skin tone and self-esteem.

Take E. Lynn Harris' posthumously released novel, 'In My Father's House,' to the beach this summer and you just might burn under the hot the sun trying to finish it.

Yes, it is just that hot.

Harris completed it nearly a year ago just before his unexpected death. The book hits shelves today to commemorate the iconic author's lifetime of achievements.

His novels, 'Basketball Jones,' 'Just Too Good to Be True' and 'I Say a Little Prayer' hit the best-seller lists of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. They are among his 10 celebrated novels, as well as his memoir, 'What Becomes of the Brokenhearted.'

'In My Father's House'' will definitely be added to the best-sellers list. It's a potent tale of love, lust, betrayal, murder and redemption spun around Bentley L. Dean III, who jeopardizes his right to his family's multimillion family fortune simply because he reveals his homosexuality. The owner of Picture Perfect, one of the hottest modeling agencies in Miami, comes out to his beautiful fiancée, Kim Boston, in order to be with his lover, Warren Stubbs.