Month: March 2012

Tri-State Defender Does Great Story on Latrivia S. Nelson

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It’s always awesome to be highlighted at home. The Tri-State Defender did an excellent story on me. I just wanted to share it with you.  Thanks so much to the TSD for this.

http://tri-statedefenderonline.com/articlelive/articles/7411/1/Author-helps-power-explosion-of-interracial-romance-novels/Page1.html

 

Author helps power explosion of interracial romance novels
By Tri-State Defender Newsroom | Published  Yesterday | Arts & Leisure | Rating:
Making love a black and white issue
Special to the Tri-State Defender
Native Memphian Latrivia S. Nelson sat down in front of her computer in 2008 and wrote her first novel, “Ivy’s Twisted Vine.”

Latrivia S. Nelson writes interracial romance novels that “women from all walks of life can identify with and enjoy.” (Courtesy photo)

Today, “Ivy’s Twisted Vine” is recognized as the largest interracial romance novel in the black woman/white man (bw/wm) genre to date, with many readers referring to it as the “bible of IR.”
“I write interracial romance novels that women from all walks of life can identify with and enjoy,” said Nelson. “The heroines are strong, beautiful, curvaceous and smart. They know what they want out of life, and they go for it. What man, black or white, wouldn’t want them?”
Sales didn’t soar with her first book, but her dreams did. Since then, Nelson’s following has gone from 500 readers to over 50,000. She has fans in over 38 countries and across the U.S. In 2011, she wrote the number one bestselling novel on Amazon’s Multicultural bestseller’s list, “The Grunt,” from her Lonely Heart Series and stayed on the list for over four months. During that time, she also had a second book on the top twenty list for multicultural romance, “The Ugly Girlfriend” (2011).
Nelson’s love for books surfaced as a child. She wrote stories and regularly recited them to her families. In high school, she once sought her mother’s “true feedback” about one of her books by telling her mother that she’d copied pages from a reference book for a class project.
At The LeMoyne-Owen College, Nelson’s alma mater, she wrote for the “Magician” newspaper. She also served as vice president of the Student Government Association and as president of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., before she went on to be Ms. LeMoyne-Owen College in 2001 and graduate with honors in 2003. Later, she received her MBA from Strayer University.
With a long history in public relations and development, she has worked for nationally recognized companies such as The Carter Malone Group and Trust Marketing, and for the non-profits ALSAC/ St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, The Memphis Redbirds and the National Civil Rights Museum. And while she was afforded the opportunity to write, her passion was unfulfilled.
Trace Nelson’s inspiration for interracial romance and it leads to family roots.
“As one half of an interracial marriage, I wanted to dispel certain myths and give women and men in those types of relationships something to read that positively highlighted them,” she said.
Nelson married Adam Nelson, a decorated United States Marine in 2005, and the couple has two children.
Highlighted in hundreds of reviews and interviews, Nelson visits readers in myriad places throughout the nation. Her last stop was at the “Beautiful Trouble Eat and Greet” in Winston-Salem, N.Car., and her next appearance will be at the Romance Slam Jam in Little Rock, Ark., where she will be a guest speaker on the interracial romance genre.
“I surround myself with positive people. New York Times bestselling author, Brenda Jackson, is a dear friend of mine, and I look up to her and what she has done for the romance genre as a whole,” said Nelson. “On the home front, I have mentors like Beverly Robertson and Deidre Malone, who have groomed me for years. These women have also taught me to be vigilant in my desire to be the best and do the best that I can.”
In the last four years, Nelson has written 12 novels and novelettes. Five of those titles have been national bestsellers. From the popular romantic suspense series, “The Medlov Crime Family,” her next book will be out on March 28, 2011, entitled “Saving Anya.”
Nelson has ensured a way to get her work out to the world as well as help other aspiring authors. She founded RiverHouse Publishing in 2010 and has offices in the Clarke Tower in Memphis and on Broad in Manhattan, NYC.
“I wanted to give bold authors a chance to let their voices be heard on their own terms,” Nelson said about her publishing company.
And she’s done just that with five authors signed to RiverHouse Publishing, LLC and five new authors set to be introduced this year.
(For more information on Latrivia S. Nelson, visit http://www.latrivianelson.info or http://www.riverhousepublishingllc.com. You can also reach her at 901-322-6191.)

 

So Close to the Finish Line

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I know the question is, what happened?  Even as I sit here and right this, I’m asking myself the exact same thing.  I went to North Carolina to participate in the Beautiful Trouble Publishing Eat and Greet, which was awesome by the way, and then I came home to complete hysteria.  Deadlines were falling out of the sky like dead birds and the minute that they hit the ground, they infected me with more work.  In between traveling like a complete psycho, hitting the office, and taking care of home, I was getting four hours of sleep at most, but the one thing that I did accomplish was Saving Anya.  I have notes that go a mile long, at least.  I wrote on napkins and paper bags, on books and notepads.  I got great ideas that forced me to change the story at least ten times.  But you know what, somehow all of the hysteria in my life only made me more creative.

On the due date of Saving Anya, I had a choice.  I could drop a book that I would be embarrassed to put my name on or I could wait and give you something that was worth your money.  So that’s what I’m doing.  I’m literally on the cusp of this book being finished and I feel damned good about it.  I can’t tell you how good that feels.

Now, in order to that, I had to fade to black.  I didn’t accept any phone calls or send out any emails.  So, I promise that I’ll answer all of them once I’m done.  I didn’t get on Facebook, Twitter anyone, or even blog.  That was so hard not to do.  But I had to focus .  Every moment that I could, I wrote.  Now I am so close to the finish line.

Being such, I can finally get back to at least blogging with you guys.  There are things that I can’t wait to ask you, and I can’t wait to share like my experience with the best group of gals in the world from BTP.  That will be in a blog entry shortly following this one entitled The League of Extraordinary Gentlewomen. Even though I was under the gun, I got a chance to meet the world’s most amazing librarians, some seriously empowered authors and devoted fans. It was totally worth pulling away, and my mom even went with me.  That was so cool…even though she is more of a free thinker than I first knew.  That’s a whole other blog entry.

So, I’ve been taking care of Adam, who is getting better by the day.  I’m proud to report that he’s looking great these days.  I’m so proud of him, and so proud that he’s pulling through.  With everything that he’s been through, to see him smile and laugh (my brother-in-law and sister-in-law came down for a week to help out and totally made our month), is better than any amount of money.

You know, people always say that they’ll do anything for their spouse, but sometimes we have to prove it.  We have to put everything down and stand in front of the bus with it moving at top speed and say take your best shot because I’m not going anywhere.  Well, that’s what I’ve been doing in his healthcare.  I’ve been standing in front of that bus, and even though the impact hurt, I’m not flat yet, ladies.  I’m still standing.  But the bus…isn’tJ

So you want to know when the book will be out.  You don’t want empty promises.  Well, let me give you a real timeline.  This book will be finished in draft form by this Monday.  Our good friend Karen is going to look over it and give it her proofreading and editing seal of approval and then we send it to the printer for a week.  Basically, we’ll b ready to take e-book orders and pre-orders on March 27th or sooner.  Then it’s on to The World in Reverse.  Hey, no one ever said life was easy.

To everyone who has called and sent emails, I want you to know that I love you, appreciate you and pray for you also in return.  Thanks for being amazing, and having patience.  This has not been an easy time in my life at all, but God has given me strength, and I’m still here.  And as long as I’m here, I’ll be writing for you guys.  So, I may be late, but I’ll be there.

Until next entry, have a great one.

XoXo and all that jazz,

Latrivia