Thanks! Lots of nuggets here.

Love it!

I am feeling this way too. I've read my own book what seems like a thousand times, through the re-write process and working with my editor; the marketing phase is here and I'm sort of like, "blah!" But I think I keep going because I know that no one...

Thanks, Persia! Good information.

Happy to "meet" another female Af Am mystery/thriller writer. Whenever I meet white readers, they're shocked and intrigued to realize that there are black female mystery writers. They seem to have no idea that we exist. Now, part of that might be...

I agree that fiction can be one way that people "escape" from the every day. It's just one aspect of the various media,though--media being television, gaming, social networking and other online pursuits. I don't know if we can help them, but I...

Thought provoking. Very much like ... especially the "ghettoizing" part. And I know it goes beyond this point, but at least some people realize we're not all writing "urban fiction."

@ Anastasia Ashman ... I totally get what you mean. In fact, that's the marketing angle I'm taking--I'm trying to "normalize" my work. I do understand the perspective that I'm going to be labeled as Af Am fiction by booksellers, publishers, etc.,...

Unless things change greatly, your work will carry the Af Am fiction label. But that's not always a bad thing. It puts some people off and attracts others. Labels do help publishers and booksellers in a way. My beef is that when buyers (at...

I agree with Lori, it's not what we label ourselves, it's what THEY (book sellers/publishers) label your work. They, not we, determine how it is marketed and sold. All you can do (and this is big) is network, meet lots of different people and get...