Featured Authors

Sisters Sippin’ Tea - 8th Annual Reunion

Each year African-American authors are invited to participate in our annual reunion. This year we are honored to feature the following authors: Anita Bunkley, Donna Grant, Shelia Dansby Harvey, Donna Hill, Karen “Jaaz” Jones, Jewell Parker-Rhodes, ReShonda Tate-Billingsley, Karen C. Brown, Ebony Farashuu and S. Jyla Kuykendall.

Three of the authors, Anita Bunkley , Donna Grant and Donna Hill have the distinction of having participated in previous reunions. In fact, Anita Bunkley was the guest author at our very first reunion in 2001.

Three of the authors, Karen C. Brown, Ebony Farashuu and S. Jyla Kukendall are active members of their respective Sisters Sippin’ Tea chapters.

       Karen C. Brown

Karen is a native of Louisiana and a graduate of Grambling State University with a degree in Social Work. Karen is an avid reader and is co-founder of Sisters Sippin’ Tea Literary Book Club, Houston Chapter. Her first book is in production with a release date of summer ’08. Karen lives in Houston with husband David, daughter Patience and son Daniel.

        Anita Bunkley

An NAACP IMAGE AWARD nominee and a member of the TEXAS INSTITUTE OF LETTERS, author, Anita Bunkley was voted one of the 50 favorite African American authors of the twentieth century by the on-line African American Literature Book Club. She is currently nominated for a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine, the foremost trade magazine for writers of romance.

Published by major houses such as Penguin USA, Harper Collins, Kensington, and

Harlequin many of her eleven novels and anthologies, have appeared in Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, Black Expressions Book Club, and on Essence Magazine's Best-seller list in both hardcover and paperback. She is a former teacher of English, French, and Spanish, and was a participant in Houston's Writers in the Schools Program.

Anita, who speaks regularly at national conferences traveled to Cairo, Egypt to speak to the Egyptian Women's Writers Association at Ains Sham University. She also conducts writers workshops and offers her editing services to new authors seeking publication.

One of Anita's favorite pastimes is international travel, which inspires many of her story ideas. She is also an inventor who holds a patent and several trademarks. She stays busy promoting her popular invention for readers, the Read-EZ! Reading pillow, available on her website www.anitabunkley.com.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Anita lives in Houston with her husband, Crawford. She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Mount Union College, Alliance, Ohio. She is represented by Denise Marcil Literary Agency, Inc. New York, NY.

Current Releases:
BETWEEN GOODBYES (Kensington/Dafina January 2008)
SUITE EMBRACE (Harlequin/Kimani Press January 2008)

Ebony Farashuu, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, began reading at an early age. Her love of the written word soon progressed to writing stories and poems. As a teen, a typical crush on an R&B singer and the friendship of a fellow writer inspired her to write all of her thoughts and dreams down on paper. What started out as a joke between friends soon transformed into, literally, thousands of pages about the life that she dreamed of living one day. She eventually grew out of her superstar musings and grew into the art and creativity of writing down whatever her mind could imagine. Throughout the years

Ebony started several books but never felt enough inspiration to finish them. Her love of poetry took over and she began writing each and every emotion down on paper in the form of verse.

In 2002, she self-published “Butterfly Kisses: Poetry for the Many Faces of Love”. This book won Honorable Mention in the SCBC Self Published Author Awards for Poetry Book of the Year. Coincidentally, as she was writing her book of poetry, Ebony was simultaneously working a novel called Romantic Treason. The emotions that she felt while writing the novel inspired many of the poems featured in her poetry book. For the first time, she poured her heart into a novel and blank pages and her wishes soon manifested into a finished project. Upon the completion of Romantic Treason, Ebony began shopping the book to several agents only to be rejected at every turn.

In 2005, on the advice of fellow author and friend, S. James Guitard, Ebony re-wrote the first sentence of her novel. The first sentence, she’d been told, could be the deciding factor as an agent or publisher decided whether or not they wanted to read the second or third line. Ebony took his advice and re-wrote that first line. Before she knew it, she had re-written the entire book. With her new novel in hand, Ebony was once again ready to seek out a publishing company willing to take a chance on her talent. Unfortunately, without an agent, and after several more rejections, a frustrated Ebony was on the verge of giving up. It was at that time that she met Jeremy Braggs of the Braggs Literary Group. He saw something in her writing and decided to make her the first author to be represented by his newly formed agency. Within two weeks of signing with Braggs, Ebony had a publishing deal with Kobalt Books. Romantic Treason, the novel, was accepted, but during the planning phase, the title of the book was changed to Slow Burn.

Ebony now divides her time between being a devoted wife to her husband, Darrel, caring for her daughter, Kannon, and her son, Tre’, working as a tech support specialist and of course, promoting her latest project, Slow Burn. She is currently working on two spin-off books featuring characters she fell in love with and wanted to know more about.

Virginia DeBerry & Donna Grant, authors of GOTTA KEEP ON TRYIN'.

With five novels to their credit, Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant, best friends for 25 years, have turned a friendship into the most successful and enduring writing collaboration in African American fiction.

Donna and Virginia first met as plus size models vying for the same assignments. They were both featured in catalogs, ads, magazines and made national television appearances. Their modeling careers led to the opportunity to launch Maxima, a fashion and lifestyle magazine for plus size women, where Virginia was editor-in-chief and Donna the managing editor. When publication of

Maxima ceased, Virginia and Donna decided to try writing a book together. The result, Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made (1997), was a critical success, an Essence magazine bestseller, as are all three of their books, and won the Merit Award for Fiction from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, as well as the 1998 Book of the Year Award from the Blackboard Bestseller List/African American Booksellers Conference-Book Expo America. More than that, it hit an emotional nerve with hundreds of thousands of readers from all over the world who continue to write to Virginia and Donna ten years after the book's publication. Far From the Tree (2000) became a New York Times bestseller, and Better Than I Know Myself (2004) received two Open Book Awards, and was included on the Best African American Fiction of 2004 lists of both Borders and Walden Books.

Donna, an only child, attended Barnard College and is a graduate of New York University. A Brooklyn native, she currently lives in the borough with her husband. Before becoming a novelist, she spent more than a decade as a plus size model, represented by the 12 + division of Ford Models. During that career, Donna was featured in catalogs and national ads, on the pages of such magazines as Essence, McCalls, Family Circle and Woman's Day, and made appearances on "Today," "Good Morning America," and "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee."

Virginia, a former high school English teacher from Buffalo, New York, attended Fisk University and is a graduate of SUNY at Buffalo. After almost 10 years in the classroom, she moved to New York and started a successful career as a plus size model. She was frequently featured in

catalogs, advertising, magazines and appeared on several television programs including "The Today Show." She retired from modeling after two years and became Vice President of BB/LW, an agency for plus size and petite models as well as a spokeswoman for Hanes hosiery. Virginia now lives in New Jersey.

GOTTA KEEP ON TRYIN’, the long awaited sequel to their first novel Tryin’ to Sleep in the Bed You Made is being published by Touchstone Books, a division of Simon & Schuster in January 2008.

Shelia Dansby Harvey is a writer by early morning, a lawyer by day and a Texas swing-out dancer at night. She is the author of the popular Raven Holloway mystery series which includes Illegal Affairs, Bad Girls Finish First and Aww Sookie Sookie: Omar’s Revenge. Shelia has served as a visiting professor at Texas Southern University’s School of Law and an adjunct professor at Rice University’s Graduate School of Business. She is a board member with Inprint, Inc., a national leader among non-profit literary organizations. Shelia is a member of the National Bar Association, the Houston Lawyer’s Association and former board president and strong supporter of

Houston’s Northeast YMCA branch. Shelia hosts Stimulating Conversations, a monthly public discourse that discusses thought provoking issues from health to hip-hop. She is also a frequent public speaker at literary and other events. Shelia’s deepest passion is helping young people achieve academic excellence. To that end, she recently established the Edna Merle Green Academic Scholarship, which annually helps one student pay for an extracurricular academic activity that he or she could otherwise not afford. Shelia and her husband, Henry published Black Tie, the first regional black lifestyles magazine to achieve statewide distribution in major retail outlets throughout Texas. Shelia has also had several opinion pieces published by the Houston Chronicle. Over the years she has received countless honors, including Southwest Region Attorney of the year by her employer.

Donna Hill began her writing career in 1987 writing short stories for the confession magazines and non-fiction articles for newspapers and magazines. Her first novel, Rooms of the Heart, was published by Odyssey Books, a small black publishing company in Silver Springs, Maryland in 1990. Since that time, Donna has more than 50 titles in print, including full-length novels and short stories. Three of her novels have been

adapted for television, and she is the only African American romance author with that distinction. Donna has also overseen the creation and publication of several anthologies, two of which were nominated for awards, and also co-wrote the screenplay Fire which saw limited theater release

Donna is the recipient of several awards including The Career Achievement Award, The Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award, The Trailblazer Award and others including awards for her public service.

She teaches novel writing at the Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center in New York, and lives in Brooklyn, NY with her family.

Karen ReG’ena, known as “Jaaz Jones” to her friends, contemporaries and business associates is President and CEO of Seeds of Success, a Lifestyle Enrichment Institute and most recently Harvest Time Publishing. Achieving twenty years experience in personal and professional development training, meeting, event and seminar planning, Ms Jones is also an award-winning public speaker. She holds a degree in Interior Design and a B.S. Degree in Business Management. Through her combined knowledge in these two educational disciplines Ms. Jones

has created her trade marked and signature workshop, 4C Your Future: A Blueprint for Joyful Living.

Ms. Jones has implemented corporate training for Continental Airlines. She has developed and facilitated seminars and meetings for Dept. of Commerce, The City of Austin, Caribbean Basin Initiative, Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages, Literacy Volunteers of America, Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation, Pleasant Hill Community Development Corporation and the Board of Tourism for Barbados just to name a few.

Ms. Jones other achievements included becoming a certified travel planner to enhance her Public Relations and Event planning business. She relocated to Houston and worked as a Corporate New Hire and Subject Matter Expert Trainer for Continental Airlines for six years before establishing the company she now heads up as a CEO, Seeds Of Success, Lifestyle Enrichment Institute. Jaaz also has established a successful online travel agency, www.traveljaaz.com, to combine her talents in travel and event management. While at Continental Jaaz fine tuned her training skills and became a certified trainer in diversity, customer service, sales and conflict resolutions. Throughout her career Jaaz has engaged in public speaking and received a host of accreditations and certifications from a variety of well touted organizations, systems and programs such as the prestigious, Toastmasters International where she served two terms as the president of the Barton Springs Branch in Austin.

She has been certified through such acclaimed programs as Myers-Briggs, Steven Covey and an Associate representative for the Grandfather of Inspirational Speaking, Jim Rohn. Jaaz recently completed her first inspirational book, “In My Mother’s Voice”, released, spring 2007. She is currently working on her second book inspired by, “in My Mother’s Voice”. Jaaz continues to look for ways to stretch her talents and redefine her purpose.

Her first book Soulful Gourmet is a healthier collection of traditional soul food (and Cajun) recipes & more for “Everyday Cooking – With Everyday Food Items – For Everyday People” using poultry, seafood and vegetables – no red meat or pork, and promotes the use of whole wheat products and reduced fat substitutes. In the book, Jyla shares her wonderful recipes through her memory of growing up surrounded by a family of southern cooks who carry their southern ways and love of southern cooking to the big city, and how health issues later require her to cook smarter. The book is touching and funny, and packed with prepared dishes and family photos, which are certain to make your mouth water and your heart smile.

Jewell Parker Rhodes is the author of four novels: Voodoo Dreams: A Novel of Marie Laveau, Magic City, Douglass’ Women, Voodoo Season, and a memoir, Porch Stories: A Grandmother’s Guide to Happiness and two writing texts: Free Within Ourselves: Fiction Lessons for Black Authors and The African American Guide to Writing and Publishing Non-Fiction.

Her fifth novel, Yellow Moon (Atria) is forthcoming in August 2008.

Her novels have been reprinted in Germany, Turkey, Italy, and the United Kingdom, and reproduced in audio, including, National Public Radio’s “Selected Shorts.” Some of her honors include: selection for the Barnes and Noble “Discover Great New Writers” series, a Finalist Citation for the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award, a Yaddo Creative Writing Fellowship, the National Endowment of the Arts Award in Fiction, two Arizona Book Awards: for Outstanding Memoir and Best Multicultural Book, the Black Caucus of the American Library Award for Literary Excellence, the PEN Oakland/ Josephine Miles Award for Outstanding Writing, and the American Book Award.

ReShonda Tate Billingsley always did have an active imagination. From making up stories to crafting award-winning poems, the national bestselling author has always maintained a love for telling stories. After numerous rejections from publishers, ReShonda stepped out on faith, established her own publishing company, and released her debut novel, My Brother’s Keeper. The book caught the attention of one of the country’s top literary agents, who secured a deal for ReShonda with megahouse publisher, Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books. The rest, as they say,is history.

ReShonda went on to sign one deal after another with Simon & Schuster/Pocket Books, and to date, has published eleven books with the company, including her latest, The Pastor’s Wife and the national bestsellers, Let the Church Say Amen and I Know I’ve Been Changed (both of which are currently being made into movies where she will serve as Executive Producer). ReShonda’s other projects include the sequel to Let the Church Say Amen, Everybody Say Amen and her teen inspirational novels, Nothing But Drama, Blessings in Disguise (which was voted a #1 pick by Ebony Magazine) and With Friends Like These, as well as her non-fiction title, Help! I’ve Turned into my Mother. She is also a contributor to the bestselling anthologies Have a Little Faith, Four Degrees of Heat and Proverbs for the People. She has won numerous awards for her journalism, fiction and poetry writing skills, including an international honor as Best New Author from The Black Writer's Alliance and she is a five time winner of the National Association of Black Journalists Spirit in the Words competition. Let the Church Say Amen, was voted best Christian Fiction book of 2004 by the Library Journal.

ReShonda’s upcoming projects include Can I get a Witness (July 2008) and the teen novels: Getting Even (April 2008) and Fairweather Friends (Sept. 2008).

ReShonda’s literary career is such a success that she recently left her job as a television news reporter at FOX 26 News in Houston to write full-time. ReShonda is a Houston native and graduate of The University of Texas at Austin. A much sought after public speaker, she is married with three children.