I Love Bernice L. McFadden

Gathering of Waters Book Blogger Contest

2011-08-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hello All!

I'm gearing up for the simultaneous release of my new novel: Gathering of Waters and the reissue of the 2001 classic: The Warmest December.

I figure the best way to get the word out is to hold a book blogger contest. But first, let me give you a little background on Gathering of Waters and The Warmest December.

GATHERING OF WATERS is a deeply engrossing tale narrated by the town of Money, Mississippi--a site both significant and infamous in our collective story as a nation. Money is personified in this haunting story, which chronicles its troubled history following the arrival of the Hilson and Bryant families.

TASS HILSON AND EMMETT TILL were young and in love when Emmett was brutally murdered in 1955. Anxious to escape the town, Tass marries Maximillian May and relocates to Detroit.FORTY YEARS LATER, AFTER THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND, Tass returns to Money and fantasy takes flesh when Emmett Till's spirit is finally released from the dank, dark waters of the Tallahatchie River.

The two lovers are reunited, bringing the story to an enchanting and profound conclusion. GATHERING OF WATERS mines the truth about Money, Mississippi, as well as the town's families, and threads their history over decades. The bare-bones realism--both disturbing and riveting--combined with a magical realm in which ghosts have the final say, is reminiscent of Toni Morrison's Beloved.

"In her new novel, Gathering of Waters, Bernice McFadden brings her own special vision to the unfortunate story of Emmett Till and his murder in Money, Mississippi. This moving and magical novel, which traces the generations leading up to and away from that horrible night in 1955, drew me in immediately and swept me along through its richly imagined world. I couldn't stop reading, caught up as I was in that enticing place between truth and fantasy, the here-and-now and the what-was, the living and the dead, the ugliness and the beauty, the hatred and the love. What a rich chorus of voices Bernice McFadden has fashioned from this place called Money."--Lee Martin, author of Break the Skin and The Bright Forever

You may be aware that recently Emmett Till has been brought back to the forefront of the American consciousness with the passage of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. In addition, a marker was placed on the Mississippi Freedom Trail in memory of Emmett Till and Emmett Till's casket was put on public display at the Smithsonian.

The Warmest December (with forward by James Frey of A Million Little Pieces)

"Now and then I forget things.... One day last week I forgot that I hated my father... " McFadden's graphic, poignant second novel charts the resonating legacy that alcoholic parents pass on to their children through the cycle of addiction and domestic violence. Narrator Kenzie Lowe, an African-American woman in her 30s on welfare, has used alcohol to repress the memories of abuse she suffered growing up in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, caught in the physical and emotional grip of her whiskey-swilling father, Hyman Lowe. Seamless transitions between Kenzie's past and her present life anchored by AA sessions imbue this difficult tale with dramatic suspense. Its cathartic message of forgiveness and recovery will elicit tears.

"Riveting. . . . So nicely avoids the sentimentality that swirls around the subject matter. I am as impressed by its structural strength as by the searing and expertly imagined scenes."— Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate author of Beloved

Gathering of Waters and The Warmest December will be released in USA, Canada and the UK on January 31st, 2012.

The Give-A-Way:

4 Lucky Bloggers will each receive one $25 Visa Gift Card & 3 Autographed Books from Authors published with Akashic Books.

The Rules:

• - The first seventy-five (75) Book Bloggers with fifty (50) or more followers to send an email to:

gatheringofwaters12@gmail.com

with your name/addresss/blog url - will receive a copy of Gathering of Waters

• - The Book Blogger must read Gathering of Waters and post his/her review on their blog no later 11PM on Feb 28th 2012.

• - In order to be considered for the prize Bloggers must leave the "Link" to their review in the comment section of this post.

• - You will receive a *bonus* entry if you hold a give-a-way for Gathering of Waters on your blog.

• - You will receive an ADDITIONAL entry if you review the reissue of The Warmest December (review must be posted by 11PM January 31st, 2012 and the link left in the comment section of this post)

• – You must be 18 years or older (Under 18, get your parents to enter.)

• – US/Canada/UK residents only.

• – Winners will be notified by email on March 5th, 2012.

GOOD LUCK!

THE GLORIOUS BOOK CLUB CONTEST!

2010-05-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

I LOVE BOOK CLUBS and because of this I wanted to create a special contest just for them!

O Magazine chose Glorious as a book to watch in May...but I think its a book to watch for the entire summer!

THE RULES:

1.Have your book club choose GLORIOUS as its June or July selection.

2.Email me picture of your book club gloriousbookblog@gmail.com

3.Tell me a little bit about your group--where you're located, how it started, the kinds of books you like to read.

Then, on August 1st a group will be chosen at random.

What do you win?

ME!

I will fly anywhere (on my dime!) in continental USA or Canada to meet with your book club and discuss Glorious.

FYI: The book club will be responsible for the venue and costs associated with it.

Regardless of whether or not your book club wins, I hope you will consider contacting me to speak to your group via Skype, Gmail's Video Chat, or speakerphone on the day you meet to discuss Glorious.

Good Luck!

The "Glorious" Book Blogger Contest!

2010-02-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

A decade ago Bernice L. McFadden burst on the literary scene with her award-winning debut Sugar, which touched the hearts of thousands.

Six critically acclaimed, award winning novels later, Bernice McFadden is back with GLORIOUS - her most thought provoking novel yet!

Glorious is an extraordinary story set against the backdrops of the Jim Crow South, the Harlem Renaissance, and the civil rights era.

The story opens on a hot, steamy July 4th in 1910 as “The Fight of the Century” comes to an end and Jack Johnson becomes the first ever African-American Heavy Weight Champion of the World. This event sets off a series of violent, racial eruptions around the country and in the small town of Waycross, Georgia, the life of a young Easter Venetta Bartlett is forever changed.

Glorious follows the life of Easter Venetta Bartlett, a fictional Harlem Renaissance writer whose tumultuous path to success, ruin, and revival offers a candid portrait of the American experience in all its beauty and cruelty.

It is a tale woven with historical events and figures of the time. Langston Hughes, Carl Van Vechten, A’Lelia Walker, Nancy Cunard, Marcus Garvey, Horace Liveright and many other historical characters make appearances through out the story.

Glorious will be released in USA & Canada on May 1st, 2010 and in the UK on June 3rd, 2010

The Give-A-Way:

3 Lucky Bloggers will receive a $50 American Express Gift Card + 3 Autographed Books from Authors published with Akashic Books.

The Rules:

• - The first seventy-five (75) Book Bloggers with fifty (50) or more followers to send an email to:

gloriousbookblog@gmail.com

with your name/addresss/blog url - will receive a copy of GLORIOUS.

• - The Book Blogger must read Glorious and post his/her review on their blog no later 11PM on April 30th, 2010

• - In order to be considered for the prize Bloggers must leave the "Link" to their review in the comment section of this post.

• - You will receive an extra entry if you grab the "I Love Bernice L. McFadden" button and place it on your blog.

• - You will receive a *bonus* entry if you mention this contest on your blog

• – If you’d like to enter you must be a Book Blogger

• – You must be 18 years or older (Under 18, get your parents to enter.)

• – US/Canada/UK residents only.

• – Winners will be notified by email on May 1st, 2010.

GOOD LUCK!