enough to wet your whistle, and let you read the rest. Besides, we still got books to sell and I don’t want to bore anybody.”
“You’re not boring us. Read some more,” one woman stated.
“They said your books are sold out tonight,” another woman pouted.
“They’ll have more in stock tomorrow,” Shareef responded quickly. The hustle was the hustle. He said, “And at this point, we’d like to start our Q and A’s.”
The crowd asked the usual questions about his writing process; his inspiration; how they could become writers; who he liked to read; what was his take on the state of African-American literature, sex, and relationships in the new millennium; books to feature film deals; e-books and Internet dating; science fiction and fantasy writing; how to sell poetry; how to get a publishing deal; how to market your work—the list went on before the sister in the lavender business suit asked her question.
“Have you ever thought about writing something other than romance? I mean, your writing skills are obviously above average. I just feel that you could do so much more by writing more universal subjects.”
The Spear looked at her and nodded his head in agreement. The woman continued to turn him on. Someone had to break away from the idolization and bullshit that was going on inside the store.
Shareef looked the woman over and answered, “Yeah, I’ve thought about it. But ultimately there’s no subject more universal than love. Don’t you think?” he asked her back.
She was easily one of the finest women in the room. She looked just below thirty, but her smooth, young face could pass for a fresh college grad.
“I mean, we have a million books published about black love, but how many great books do we have about the everyday struggle?” she questioned.
Shareef read her position and liked the woman. She wasn’t grandstanding at all, she was simply expressing her mind, just like he would.
Before he could answer her, The Spear spoke up and added, “Yeah, this Full Moon book, to me, sounds just like How Stella Got Her Groove Back. I mean, what’s the difference?”
Shareef backtracked. “Well, let me answer her question first, then I’ll come back to yours.”
He answered, “I would say, yeah, it is true, we don’t have many great books about everyday struggles. But who wants to read those kind of books? We want to get away from struggle when we read. So when those great books are written, how many of us are really willing to pay attention to them?”
He said, “And as far as The Full Moon being similar to Stella’s Groove, I would say that the only things in common between the two is the island romance, and the fact that a woman has to talk herself into saying yes. But this book is not about an older woman and a younger man. The Full Moon is about people in their prime years and beyond, having the courage to say yes to love in general.”
The Spear mumbled, “Yeah, all right, it’s all the same thing to me.”
Daryl overheard him and didn’t speak on it. Nor did the sister in the lavender suit.
Clara took center stage again. “Well, as everyone can see, Shareef has a gang of books to sign tonight, so we want to limit each person to two books.”
As soon as she made that announcement, some of the readers with three books or more to have signed began to grumble.
Shareef spoke up on their concern immediately. “Nah, if they bought my books, I wanna sign everything they bought. I’ll just have to sign them quickly. So please forgive my handwriting.”
The first young woman in line said, “Thank you.” She was holding five of his books to have signed.
So Shareef took a seat, pulled out his platinum pen, and started signing away while thanking the readers.
“Thanks for coming out tonight.”
“Keep reading my work.”
“Thanks for your love and support.”
“Okay, I’ll use your name in the next one. I promise.”
There were several women Shareef wanted to ask out
“You’re not boring us. Read some more,” one woman stated.
“They said your books are sold out tonight,” another woman pouted.
“They’ll have more in stock tomorrow,” Shareef responded quickly. The hustle was the hustle. He said, “And at this point, we’d like to start our Q and A’s.”
The crowd asked the usual questions about his writing process; his inspiration; how they could become writers; who he liked to read; what was his take on the state of African-American literature, sex, and relationships in the new millennium; books to feature film deals; e-books and Internet dating; science fiction and fantasy writing; how to sell poetry; how to get a publishing deal; how to market your work—the list went on before the sister in the lavender business suit asked her question.
“Have you ever thought about writing something other than romance? I mean, your writing skills are obviously above average. I just feel that you could do so much more by writing more universal subjects.”
The Spear looked at her and nodded his head in agreement. The woman continued to turn him on. Someone had to break away from the idolization and bullshit that was going on inside the store.
Shareef looked the woman over and answered, “Yeah, I’ve thought about it. But ultimately there’s no subject more universal than love. Don’t you think?” he asked her back.
She was easily one of the finest women in the room. She looked just below thirty, but her smooth, young face could pass for a fresh college grad.
“I mean, we have a million books published about black love, but how many great books do we have about the everyday struggle?” she questioned.
Shareef read her position and liked the woman. She wasn’t grandstanding at all, she was simply expressing her mind, just like he would.
Before he could answer her, The Spear spoke up and added, “Yeah, this Full Moon book, to me, sounds just like How Stella Got Her Groove Back. I mean, what’s the difference?”
Shareef backtracked. “Well, let me answer her question first, then I’ll come back to yours.”
He answered, “I would say, yeah, it is true, we don’t have many great books about everyday struggles. But who wants to read those kind of books? We want to get away from struggle when we read. So when those great books are written, how many of us are really willing to pay attention to them?”
He said, “And as far as The Full Moon being similar to Stella’s Groove, I would say that the only things in common between the two is the island romance, and the fact that a woman has to talk herself into saying yes. But this book is not about an older woman and a younger man. The Full Moon is about people in their prime years and beyond, having the courage to say yes to love in general.”
The Spear mumbled, “Yeah, all right, it’s all the same thing to me.”
Daryl overheard him and didn’t speak on it. Nor did the sister in the lavender suit.
Clara took center stage again. “Well, as everyone can see, Shareef has a gang of books to sign tonight, so we want to limit each person to two books.”
As soon as she made that announcement, some of the readers with three books or more to have signed began to grumble.
Shareef spoke up on their concern immediately. “Nah, if they bought my books, I wanna sign everything they bought. I’ll just have to sign them quickly. So please forgive my handwriting.”
The first young woman in line said, “Thank you.” She was holding five of his books to have signed.
So Shareef took a seat, pulled out his platinum pen, and started signing away while thanking the readers.
“Thanks for coming out tonight.”
“Keep reading my work.”
“Thanks for your love and support.”
“Okay, I’ll use your name in the next one. I promise.”
There were several women Shareef wanted to ask out
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