Beverly Jenkins writes independent women in African American Historical & Seasoned Romance. #Giveaway

"Love is love. We all love. And the industry should reflect everyone." 

Beverly Jenkins

The romance genre has come a long way since bestselling author Beverly Jenkins published her first novel, "Night Song," in 1994 — and it's fair to say that she is, at least in part, to thank for its advances. 

Beverly Jenkins is one of my seven favorite romance authors. If you haven't yet read her, you are missing so much great romance. Beverly's historicals always enlighten me about little known historical personages and events. The knowledge serves as a wonderful background for her strong feisty heroines. Independent women for whom romance is the icing on the cake. They are already complete.
And then there's her seasoned romance series, The Blessings.
It's listed on Amazon under Contemporary Women's Fiction, Women's Domestic Life Fiction and Women's Romance Fiction. They haven't caught up to the term Seasoned Romance. Which is a shame since both my time travel romances are seasoned.

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The Blessings series is Pure wonderful wish fulfilment as far as I'm concerned. I just finished book ten  - On the Corner of Hope and Main. (No spoilers. It isn't out yet. I won a copy on Goodreads.)
Because I love this series so much I am giving away a Kindle copy of book one of the series, Bring on the Blessings.

If you don't know her work, you are missing so much good stuff. Right now I am reading Vivid - about the first female African American doctor in Michigan. I started it last night and I can't wait to get back to it.
Beverly Jenkins’ first romance, Night Song was published in 1994, Since then, she has been leading the charge for inclusive romance. She was featured in the documentary about the romance industry, Love Between the Covers (My sister Kelly and I rewatched this Saturday on Amazon Prime. Wonderful.) 

Her forty-plus books have made her a constant darling of reviewers, fans, and her peers alike, garnering accolades for her work from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, and NPR. And now she has a romance movie, Deadly Sexy which you can rent on Amazon. 

From Wikipedia Jenkins calls herself a "kitchen table historian." She likens American history to a quilt with some pieces ripped out—the pieces belonging to minority history. Jenkins uses her books to weave the quilt back together by revealing patches of black history that are rarely taught in school.[6] Slavery and the Civil Rights Movement are important pieces of African American history, but they aren't the only pieces. For example, her first three novels, Night Song, Vivid and Indigo, feature characters such as a schoolteacher, a cavalry officer, a female doctor and Underground Railroad heroes. They were all inspired by true history.

I messaged Beverly to see if she would be willing to be on my blog. She replied that she was on deadline but would be happy to allow me to post. After she posted that she'd sent off her book, I asked her my favorite question. The other answer came from an interview I read online.
ME: I love firsts. Can you share what it felt like to get "the Call" from your agent? From what I have been able to find online you got an agent before you got your publisher. 

BJ: My first agent was Vivian Stephens founder of RWA. Having her call me at my job to say she wanted to rep my book was an incredible experience. I will always be grateful to her.

From an interview on Shondaland: 

What do you hope readers take away from your work?
Romance is such a broad genre that you can do so much with it.

BJ: I call it “edutainment”: entertainment and education. Romance is such a broad genre that you can do so much with it. I mean, basically we’re writing about people and their feelings and people having second chances and people taking chances. I think it’s one of the best genres out there. So, if you can put that history along with these great women that we write about, and show that female empowerment, and show women making decisions that changed not only their lives, but maybe their families’ lives — the history becomes a lot more palatable. There’s no test on Friday, so [the readers just] drink up the history. They just inhale it.

When you educate a woman, you educate a race. So these African American women and white women and women of Chinese extraction and Asian extraction, who are reading these books, are able to share [these stories] with their children and with their grandchildren. And it changes their lives, because kids can’t be what they can’t see. To see that history, it gives them a pride that maybe they didn’t have before, because they were more than just the people that laid the railroads, or they were more than just slaves, or they were more than whatever back room that history has relegated people of color. I call it inclusion. Give me a seat at the table and let me show you what I can do.

One of my other seven favorite authors, Alyssa Cole says Beverly Jenkins was her inspiration. She's mine too. Thank you for your books and for answering my question.

So, my loves, about my giveaway, Bring on the Blessings:

On Bernadine Brown's fifty-second birthday she received an unexpected gift—she caught her husband, Leo, cheating with his secretary. She was hurt—angry, too—but she didn't cry woe is me. Nope, she hired herself a top-notch lawyer and ended up with a cool $275 million. Having been raised in the church, she knew that when much is given much is expected, so she asked God to send her a purpose.

The purpose turned out to be a town: Henry Adams, Kansas, one of the last surviving townships founded by freed slaves after the Civil War. The failing town had put itself up for sale on the Internet, so Bernadine bought it.

Trent July is the mayor, and watching the town of his birth slide into debt and foreclosure is about the hardest thing he's ever done. When the buyer comes to town, he's impressed by her vision, strength, and the hope she wants to offer not only to the town and its few remaining residents, but to a handful of kids in desperate need of a second chance.

Not everyone in town wants to get on board though; they don't want change. But Bernadine and Trent, along with his first love, Lily Fontaine, are determined to preserve the town's legacy while ushering in a new era with ties to its unique past and its promising future.

Enter below to win a Kindle copy.

Beverly's books are available at your local library in eBook, Audiobook, and paperback on Amazon, B&N, and Indie bookstores everywhere. Happy Reading.

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Authors, Editors and Books, Oh My! 2015 RWA Nationals

Everyone has a different conference journey. This is mine.

I am giving away goodies at the end of the post. Two Books and a Notebook.

I started my stint at RWA Nationals by Volunteering in the Goody Room, a room set aside for authors to promote themselves by offering free stuff to conference attendees. I met some lovely people dropping off wondrous things. From bookmarks and postcards through lip balms, flash drives, chocolate and books. One author, JS Scott, offered beautiful beach bags with sunscreen, a towel and a host of mini goodies. I was lucky enough to snag one of those.

Annette Bower, Cheryl Yeko, me, and Char Chaffin at Juniors.

If you have been to RWA Nationals, you know it’s a jam picked whirlwind of seminars, keynote speeches, conversations with your favorite authors and much more. Drop that event into the heart of Times Square and you have a kind of madness I only want to do once in a lifetime. But oh, what a lovely ride.

On Wednesday, the NY Public Library held an author reading in Bryant Park. The event, hosted by the dry and witty Joyce Lamb, USA Today’s Happily Ever After editor featured, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Robyn Carr, Kristan Higgins, Beverly Jenkins, Elizabeth Hoyt and Meredith Wilde. Imagine sitting outside in a beautiful park listening to three of your top favorite authors read!

Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Robyn Carr, Beverly Jenkins, Kristan Higgins & Meredith Wilde

Plus, the new documentary film Love Between the Covers featured Beverly Jenkins and I was fascinated by her. I got to speak with Beverly and I bought two of her books. I also got to speak to SEP, Robyn and Kristan. I am a huge fan of all three.

Cheryl Yeko & Char Chaffin

Wednesday night I went to see On the Town with my editor, Cheryl Yeko and one of her best friends, Char Chaffin. Char is queen of the Purple Font Nag at Soul Mate Publishing. Getting to know these two was one of the highlight of Conference for me. Another was meeting my publisher, Debbie Gilbert. A truly charming gracious, human.

The main part of the conference began on Thursday. From breakfast buffet and 8:30 AM Keynote speech by Barbary Freethy to 4:15PM the action never stopped. (Note chandeliers. Did they put those up for RWA? So very suggestive.)

First thing you need to know about RWA is you can’t do it all. Heartrending choices have to be made.

I started with the PRO Retreat and a thirty minute session with Christy Craig on Rejecting Rejection (Christy has more than 10,000 rejections and is a NY Times best selling author with her YA Shadow Falls series. I just finished the first one, Born at Midnight. Loved it. I moved on to Laura Drake and Log Lines (dense thirty minutes full of great suggestions. Don’t use names. Use adjectives. i.e. a spunky marine biologist.)

Christine Ashworth

Maggie Marr, President LARA

I skipped my own beloved chapter mates, Maggie Marr Books into Film and Christina Ashworth, Pros and Cons of Small Publishers, figuring I would pick their brains at home. I repeat. You cannot do it all.

Next up – Horrible Choice time. Do I go hear a conversation with Nora Roberts or attend a craft lecture on research with Jude Deveraux? This choice was horrendous. I adore them both and have everything either one of them ever wrote on my Keeper Shelves. I compromised by dropping in for ten minutes of Nora (fabulous husky voice.) and on to Jude. Wonderful lecture. Her notebooks are amazing. (Note: Both Brenda Novak and RaeAnn Thayne mentioned Jude Deveraux's books as having started them on the road to Romance.)

45 minute Lunch break. (No you really can’t go anywhere in the Times Square area and be back in time for the 12:45 PM lecture. Get a coffee and a snack bar.)

Winnie Briggs, Michelle Grajkowski. and Tina James

12:45 Honing Your Pitch. Making the most of your appointment with Tina James (Harlequin Executive Editor), Winnie Griggs (author),and Michelle Grajkowski (Three Seas Literary Agency.) They emphasized high concept. Using the key points an agent or editor would have to use to sell the book. I didn’t take enough notes

2:00 Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jayne Ann Krentz Ten Things We Learned the Hard Way. I wouldn’t have missed this for worlds. Two of my top favorite authors together in one room? Be still my heart.

3:15 Emotion The Heart of A Novel with Brenda Novak and RaeAnn Thayne. Thank god I have notes. I only wish I could read them.

Some of the Soulies on their way back from dinner.

Deep breath before going on to The Soul Mate Author dinner at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. Debbie treated all forty one of us to dinner. My only regret is so many authors to meet. So little time. I didn’t get to converse with nearly as many people as I would have liked.

Friday. 

Keynote lecture was Julia Quinn another one of my keeper authors. Two of her books were at each place setting.

I started with Sarah MacLean’s  Mastering the Art of Great Conflict. RWA severely underestimated the probable attendance at this workshop. I was lucky to get a seat.Wonderful lecture. Must read her books!

Jennifer Crusie and happy me.

I could only attend one Jennifer Crusie lecture, Metaphor and Motif. Her second one was up against Kristan Higgins and my agent pitch. Fortunately Jen was gracious enough to put her notes for both workshops up on her blog ArghInk.

Another horrible choice:

Susan Elizabeth Phillips lecture on Writing Great Characters was up against a Chat with Robyn Carr. I went to Susan’s. Susan had some exercises for us including describe a character’s clothing in one paragraph and make your choices reveal important things about their character. I love this woman. Read the opening page of Heros Are My Weakness on Amazon for a great example.

I pitched to Jess Dallow of New Leaf Literary Agency. I chose her because hers was the only agency which also did mid grade and picture books. I think my pitch was good, but her response was she didn’t like romances with magic in them and I should pitch someone else. So that night I pitched it to Chery and Char that night. Cheryl said to send it. The delightful thing about Soul Mate Publishing is they don’t mind a little genre mixing.

Annette Bower, Linda O'Connor and me

  That night I went to Sardi's with fellow Soul Mate authors Annette Bower and Linda O'Connor before seeing my favorite musical of the trip, Something Rotten.  Sardi's is an historic actor hangout and they have an actor's menu with lesser prices. I had my Actor's Equity card with me so we could use it.

This was a blip back in time for me. We often ate here between matinee and evening shows during the run of The Robber Bridegroom. When I was in college, my stepfather took me there and we sat next to Ross Hunter and Carol Channing. I eavesdropped unashamedly. He was telling her she had to do his movie, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Or they'd never let her play Dolly in the movie of Hello Dolly. Well, she did Thoroughly Modern Millie and they didn't let her play Dolly. Bad decision on their part.

By Saturday I was mind fogged with exhaustion. Attended some publisher open houses, chatted with some lovely people. My notes for Saturday are almost non existent. Conference ended with the awards presentation. I am so glad I went.  I gave out and received far few business cards than I'd hoped. There wasn't much time for chat. I only saw my own chapter mates in passing. 

If you made it to the end of this post, I am giving away three gifts: Julia Quinn's When He Was Wicked,  Brenda Novak's This Heart of Mine, and a notebook from Melody Anne which has the complete conference schedule and lots of space to write. It's just the right size for a purse. Please leave a comment telling which one you would like if you win.

Which of you have been to a National Conference? What was your highlight?

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