Author Archive

Be My Guest: Luvvie

August 5, 2009

anonymous

Be My Guest: Luvvie

Luvvie makes me laugh. Out loud. Not the fake LOL that you just type out without really smiling. I mean real guffaws that fly out of my mouth as I’m reading her witty comments on Twitter, her own blog and even in the comments section of my own blog.  I love her sharp-tongued wit and her use of slang is hilarious.

A few months ago, after a particularly side-splitting exchange on Twitter, (subject: Stevie Wonder’s hairline), I began to wonder. Who is this chick? I know she lives in Chicago. I know she’s funny as hell. But who IS she? On her blog and on Twitter, she shares very little personal information about herself. Her avatar is an illustration.

I’m always curious about the way people present themselves online. When I first started blogging all those years ago, (read: six months), I shared a lot about my personal life. Maybe too much. I’ve reigned it in a bit. But you can still read every post here and get a good sense of who I am and what makes me tick. (Scary!)

Luvvie doesn’t share. Anything. Ever.

I asked her to explain why. And she has. Good stuff here.

Enjoy.

__________________________________________________________________

(more…)

Dear Aliya: How Do I Score A Celebrity Memoir Book Deal?

July 30, 2009

From my Inbox:

Dear Aliya:

My name is [name redacted] and I have been a freelance writer covering
Hip hop, R&B and politics/community activism for several years. I have
an idea for a celebrity memoir but have no clue where to start.

I thought that this might be one area you could speak
on (if you haven’t already) at some time in the future.

I would be extremely grateful for any insight.

I’d like to know:

1. Do you reach out to the “Star” first, or do you go through
management to see if they have interest in writing a book with you?

2. Do you then, if the star wants to do the book, proceed to put
together a book proposal and see if you can get a book deal?

3. Do record labels sometimes reach out to writers to co-write
memoirs?

There are probably many more details involved in writing a celebrity
memoir that i am not asking about – please feel free to include any
pertinent info about writing a celebrity memoir if you decided to post
this question.

Thank you very much and have a blessed day!

Here’s my reply:

(more…)

Be My Guest: Tanisha L. Alston

July 22, 2009

broken-heart-divorce

Last week, I got an interesting email in my inbox. Tanisha, a dear reader of this blog, sent along something she’d written, just for herself.

It’s the kind of therapeutic writing you do to get through a difficult moment. It was something personal, raw and private.

When she read my post about freaking out over tree fungus, she thought about how writing makes us brave. And she shared her essay with me. For no other reason except that it needed to be shared.

And I asked her to share it with us.

For no other reason except that it needs to be shared.

Enjoy.

(more…)

No Tea For The Fever: EDITS!

July 21, 2009

bordesholm

I have a very bad habit.

I use my Blackberry as a bedside alarm clock.When it goes off, I pick it up, turn it off.

And then I check my email.

Not cool, I know. When you wake up in the morning, you should be giving thanks for another day and plotting how you will take over the world–not checking to see if anyone has emailed you since the night before.

So, Sunday morning, my Blackberry buzzes. I roll over and pick it up. I can hear Tog in her room singing “Where Is Thumbkin” very softly.

Just one new message.

(more…)

Commercial Break: We will soon return to your regularly scheduled programming

July 16, 2009

I had a scheduled of blog posts this week. And then Life came in and made mincemeat of my plans.

I shall return.

If you’re a new dear reader, check out some of my favorite posts: conversations with generally dope folks, writing and journalism lessons you may find helpful and some background on a story I’d love to write one day.

And if you’re a super new reader, find some information about me here.

See you all soon.

And now, a word from our sponsor:

pizza sponsor 3

logo: Designed by Britteny Watkins exclusively for aliyasking.com