Halima Sahar Muhammad is an avid reader who has been a Texas State Finalist in the Letters About Literature writing contest in 2010, 2011, and 2012. After successfully completing National Novel Writers Month challenges in 2010 and 2011, Halima decided to edit and publish her first middle-grade novel, Riley and the Kitchen Katastrophe.

Her novel will be self-published on CreateSpace.com and will also be available on Amazon.com, Amazon Kindle, and Barnes and Noble NOOK starting June 7, 2012.

Riley and the Kitchen Katastrophe is a middle-grade novel about an 11 year-old girl and her ongoing feud with her pesky big brother, Atticus. When her parents are called out of town for business, Riley and her brother find out that they will be spending six long days in the country visiting family.

During their stay, Riley volunteers her brother to help throw a dinner party for their aunt's new neighbors. When the kitchen goes up in smoke, will Riley and Atticus stop fighting long enough to salvage a potential disaster?

Halima's mother, Raychelle Muhammad, assisted her with the editing, formatting, and cover design. She insists, however, that the hardest work was done by Halima herself: "Halima created the Riley character during NaNoWriMo 2010. When the 2011 challenge began, she was determined to write the next title in the Riley series and publish it. Halima finished her first draft, took a month-long break, and resumed edits and rewrites in January.

On the day before her self-imposed deadline, May 14, 2012, the manuscript was done. I am incredibly proud of Halima and I am grateful for the outpouring of support and well-wishes she is receiving from friends, family, and the literary community."

Halima is 12-years old, homeschooled, and will be entering the 9th grade in the fall. She is an excellent student. One of her favorite mantras is, "Nothing can quench the thirst for knowledge." In her spare time, Halima enjoys reading, fashion, swimming, painting, and hanging out with family and friends.

For updates about her launch, visit her Facebook fan page at https://www.facebook.com/RileyAndTheKitchenKatastrophe.

Better Than Alright: Finding Peace, Love & Power

by Ledisi  

Essence Books

Hardcover, $16.95

176 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-1-60320-182-7

Book Review by Kam Williams

“I can’t believe someone found my journey interesting enough to want to put it in a book…Being on display as an artist is never comfortable for me. 

Behind my songs and my words lies a very shy little girl who has become a strong woman. Luckily, there are people around me who push and lift me to be open and transparent…

So here I am, and in every chapter of this book are fragments of my life between the lines and spaces of music. Pivotal moments that are filled with ups and downs, challenges and triumphs. Experiences that shaped the woman and singer you have come to know as Ledisi…

I hope you will be inspired by my journey.”

-- Excerpted from Chapter One – The Journey (pg. 7)

In recent years, hip-hop icons from Eminem (The Way I Am) to Jay-Z (“Decoded) have written memoirs in which they ruminate about their private lives while deconstructing the deeper meaning of their poetry and song lyrics. R&B diva Ledisi is the latest star to take just such an approach in terms of an autobiography.

Ledisi Anibade Young was born in New Orleans on July 9, 1978 to Nyra Dynese and Larry Sanders, a musician who abandoned the family when his daughter was still an infant. The name Ledisi, which means “to bring forth” in Yoruba, was picked because of the spunk she exhibited during her valiant struggle to survive a host of life-threatening ailments as a premature baby.

In the book, Ledisi lets us know that she admires First Lady Michelle Obama (“I love her!”), Nina Simone (“Reminded me to be proud of my skin”), Malcolm X (“A class act”) and Miles Davis (“My muse”). However, she credits another role model, her beloved Aunt Gussie, a choir member who only performed for the Lord, with helping her cultivate that soulful singing voice, a blessing she had to learn the hard way not to take for granted

Overall, Ledisi paints a stylish self-portrait, here, via a vibrant mix of artistically-illustrated rhymes, proverbs, photographs, personal anecdotes and introspective journal entries. Wearing her heart on her sleeve, the unguarded author tackles such subjects as love, forgiveness and faith with an enviable vulnerability.

For example, in the chapter on Beauty, she suggests that “When you don’t know how beautiful you are, you will always be in search of happiness.” By opus’ end, expect to feel oh so nurtured by the practical pearls of wisdom reflecting the essence of the insightful and likable lady who goes by Ledisi.

And that’s better than alright.

To order a copy of Better Than Alright, visit Amazon.com:

Kansas City, KS -- Award winning children's book author, Margaree King Mitchell, has a new book that inspires children to sing their own song when deciding their life's goal. When Grandmama Sings reunites Mitchell with James E. Ransome, the award-winning author and artist of Uncle Jed's Barbershop. Mitchell's books are set in the segregated South and focus on ordinary people who achieve extraordinary things for the time period in which they live.

She writes to inspire children to dream great dreams for their lives. "If children can see that the characters in my stories, which lived during a time of racial barriers and discrimination, could achieve their dreams, surely they will believe that they can too. I'll never forget the little girl who said to me that because of Uncle Jed's story she now believes she can become a doctor even though her grandmamma told her she would never be one," says Mitchell. She adds, "In all of my school visits I always ask the kids to tell me their dreams. I want them to be heard. I want them to feel that their dreams matter to someone."

Mitchell has listened to thousands of children sharing their dreams about the future. More children will be sharing their dreams with Mitchell in the coming months as she has programs scheduled in Northern Mississippi, South Florida, Little Rock, Atlanta, Memphis, Houston, and places in between.

Although she now lives in Kansas City, Mitchell grew up in the South. "I was born and raised in Holly Springs, Mississippi on my grandfather's farm. My grandfather owned his own farm during a time when not many black people owned their own land. I was a firsthand witness to the struggles he went through in maintaining his farm, which is why I put obstacles to be overcome in my stories," Mitchell says. "I want children to know that their dreams will not be easy to achieve. It seems like the bigger the dream, the bigger the obstacles that come your way. But with persistence and focus and determination, dreams can and will come true."

Mitchell also takes time to explain the historical aspects of her books to children. "Valuable lessons can be learned from history," Mitchell says. "If children learn the lessons of the past they will not repeat those mistakes."

Set in the 1940's, When Grandmama Sings follows eight year old Belle as she accompanies her grandmother, Ivory Belle Coles, a jazz singer, on a tour of southern cities. What she sees affects her deeply. But her grandmother's handling of the obstacles she faces makes a profound impression on Belle. At the end of the tour Grandmama Coles is offered a record contract and moves up north. Belle realizes she also has a song to sing and one day her gift will takes her places. James Ransome's imaginative watercolors breathe life into every page and every situation encountered on the tour.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with James again," says Mitchell. "His work on Uncle Jed's Barbershop and on When Grandmama Sings is filled with passion and exemplifies the era."

Mitchell's presentations also touch her adult audiences as she talks about the value of southern history in children's literature. "I'm surprised by the way my stories affect adults, especially the ones who grew up in the South. I hear countless stories of their experiences. They tell me their stories with as much emotion as if the incidents occurred yesterday," Mitchell says. "In some cases it is the first time they have shared family stories from the past. I hear stories from white and black people. They tell me that my books encourage them to talk to their children about the past."

When Grandmama Sings is available online and in bookstores everywhere.