TOO MUCH BOOGIE - A New Anthology from LL Publications
Selected stories inspired from the recorded gems of the Delta blues, Chicago blues, Memphis blues and Texas blues. Called "the Devil's music," the stories of the blues goes beyond jump turns, slow drag ditties, reel, jigs, minstrel songs, ragtime, or the buzzard lope. These lyrics connected to these stories celebrate heartache, separation, distrust, betrayal, lust, but they promise a healing love of revival and renewal. It's a celebration of the present, of the now, and it's totally mad at the past and suspicious of the future. But who are kidding? Let us tell the truth. Really, the themes of this raucous collection often wallow in carnal pain, in the weakness of the flesh, and the temptation of sin. Taboo love, forbidden love. Sometimes it's just plain nasty. All of the good stuff.In Too Much Boogie, the spirit of the blues afflicts everybody. Within the emotional pull of the lyrics and its stirring music, there is a common language of the heart and the soul. Although the blues were born and bred in the land of Jim Crow by black people, it has nothing to do with class, color, or category. Even the rich get the blues and do dumb things. The book shows there is a pulse beating within each of us and that pulse is the blues.
BUY THE BOOK *** BUY THE eBOOK
Stories include:
1. The Things I Used to Do by Alegra Verde
2. For Love or Money by Alice Sturdivant
3. Rocking Chair Blues by Jayme Whitfield
4. What's in the Box by Kalamu ya Salaam
5. Mother's Milk by Kevin James Breaux
6. Ask the Heart by Akua Lezli Hope
7. She Had to Go and Lose It at the Astor by D. L. King
8. The Summer of Bobby by Jolene Hui
9. Can't Be Satisfied by Gary Phillips
10. Midnight Special by Victor J. Banis
11. Tricked by Zander Vyne
12. Come for Me, Dark Man by Anne Tourney
13. Heaven is a Blues Café by Hzal
14. Red Eye by Lisabet Sarai
15. The Backup Singer by Rebecca Kyle
16. Hole by Remittance Girl
17. Once You Go Black by Amanda Fox
18. Goodbye Blues by Thomas S. Roche
19. Effects of Moonshine by Dorla Moorehouse
20. It's Tight Like That by Cole Riley
21. The Principal of the Thing by Savannah Stephens Smith
22. P.K. by Art Nixon
23. Warming Up by Maxmilian Lagos
24. My Strongest Weakness by C. Dennis Moore
25. Head Games by Robert Buckley
26. Sunday Morning by Dean Jean-Pierre
27. The Room by Nick Nicholson
28. Hurricane Love by Alicia Night Orchid
WIN - Leave LL Publications or any of the authors in this anthology a question today at their Cyber Launch Party and your name goes in the hat for your choice of this anothology in print or ebook! Please leave your email address so we can contact you if you are today's winner - Good Luck!
for all authors: where did your inspiration for your stories come from? how long does it take you to write a book? thanks!
ReplyDeleteshadow_kohler(at)att(dot)net
Hi Shadow - my inspiration for the story Rocking Chair Blues came from the song "I'll Keep Sittin' On It (If I can't Sell It)"- you can listen to a clip on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Ill-Keep-Sittin-Cant-Sell/dp/B000WQVAVU
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the other authors included in the anthology, but it takes me several months, sometimes even a year to finish a novel-length manuscript, though a lot of that time is spent doing research. Shorter pieces, like this story, can take only a week or two.
My story, Midnight Special, was obviously inspired by Leadbelly's song. It was a complete departure for me. In teaching writing I had always advised against trying to write in dialect, and had avoided dialect myself, but in this instance, the story seemed to demand it. Normally a short story like this takes a day or so for me, but this one took me weeks and weeks of rewrite before I was satisfied.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to all the authors included in TOO MUCH BOOGIE! Please stop by and tell us about your book and share a link with us where we can learn more about you!
ReplyDeleteWow what a great collections of stories! I love anothologies, not only because I find new authors to love, but also, because they are wonderful reads for a busy on the go summer!
Have a question - are the titles of the stories all from titles of songs? And who came up with the idea for this great collection of stories?
Enjoy your cyber launch party and I hope the new book is a huge bestseller!
Hi folks! I'm Zetta Brown, editor-in-chief at Logical-Lust Publications and I want to thank everyone who stops by the launch party today!
ReplyDeleteTOO MUCH BOOGIE is a wonderful book, not just because of the stories but because the stories take their inspiration from the "dirty blues." And if you have never heard the dirty blues, you are missing out. In fact, you can start your education by reading this book because there's a short list of CDs in the back that you can find on Amazon.
I don't want to take up too much space, but hope y'all come out throughout the day and night to chat.
Have fun!
@AuthorIsland.com - since I'm here, I'll go ahead and answer:)
ReplyDeleteNot all of the titles in the anthology take their names from song titles.
As far as the dirty blues theme--I came up with it! LOL Originally I had planned to write a collection of stories centered on the dirty blues, but with my schedule, that would take forever, so I figured an anthology would make the dream a reality much faster.
Luckily I had just worked with the editor Cole Riley when he accepted my story "Hung" for the anthology MAKING THE HOOKUP: Edgy Sex with Soul that he did for Cleis Press. He was the first person I approached about putting the anthology together--and I'm glad I did!
I'm here. I took the long way.
ReplyDeleteThis is Cole. It took awhile to gather all of the stories. I got more stories than I needed. Every story had something to recommend it.
ReplyDeleteHi all, contributor Kevin James Breaux here.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for having me. First let me say that I am very proud of the short story I submitted to this anthology and even more proud about how I came to be included.
One day I received a random email through my author website from Cole Riley asking me to submit a short story to his new anthology.
What an incredible honor that was! As a writer nothing is better than being asked to write something for print. So I got to work on my ideas and passed them by Cole a few days later. He was excited about my concept for a short and I was excited about starting it.
When he first approached me, it was based on the fact that I had written horror and erotica. He asked me to put a touch of horror in my story, something dark and sinister, so I came up with the idea of MOTHER'S MILK. Setting my story in post Hurricane Katrina, La, I felt added to the Blues theme and gave the reader something to relate to. It also allowed for me to show that my main character had the skills to overcome great adversity.
"Charly has a voice like an angel, but Mother thinks he needs a little taste of the Devil to go dirty."
When I was approached by Zetta about the project, I was delighted because I had an intimate knowledge of the blues. My father is from the Mississippi Delta. He and my grandma used to play the blues when I was growing up. Now he is 90 years old. He still loves the blues.
ReplyDeleteJayme, Kevin, and Victor all supplied some wonderful tales. It's a great book.
ReplyDeleteI've approached some of the blues blogs and they have agreed to post images of the book for their followers. I think we will get some very good response from these folks.
ReplyDeleteI am ready to do it again! :) Seriously one of the best projects I have been a part of. Cole was great to work with.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say thanks to Cole and all involved for including my story, "Can't Be Satisfied" in this fine collection. We should make sure to talk up the anthology on our blogs, Kindle groups and so forth.
ReplyDeleteMr. Gary, thanks... Yes, I'm encouraging all of the writers to do just that. Spread the word.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I want to make this book a total success and expose the blues far and wide.
ReplyDeleteWe should pass along a few copies, and sign them, try and get as many contributors as possible to do it. Then send it back to Cole.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a good idea. I'm ordering another box of books and see if I can get them out to the other blogs affiliated with Cleis. It's a shame that Oprah is over because my last book was mentioned on her show and sales leaped.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to all of the contributors to Too Much Boogie and LL Publishing.
ReplyDeletewww.totsymae.com
Greetings, Authors.
ReplyDeleteAre the characters featured in this anthology present in any of your other works?
Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com
Hi Booklover- The characters I included in this piece were unique, inspired by the music. Because of that, they not appear in my other stories.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I wanted to take a moment and thank Cole Riley, Logical-Lust Publications and all the other authors who contributed to this project. It really is a wonderful compilation and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.
Thank you Jayme. I agree with her. The characters were inspired by the lyrics of blues songs. I don't think any writer contributed something that was a part of a novel or any other piece.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, some of the writers looked up some of their favorite songs or something from one of their favorite singers. I know D. L. King did that and I believe Alicia did that as well.
ReplyDeleteHi folks,
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to stop in to say that apart from finding TOO MUCH BOOGIE available at Logical-Lust.com, it's also on Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, and is available for Kindle and NOOK.
It'll also be available at All Romance eBooks in the near future :)
28 stories is impressive. TOO MUCH BOOGIE looks like a lot of great reading.
ReplyDeletemarypres@gmail.com
You're right. What makes this special is that many of these writers I had worked with before. The other thing is that many of them come from all over the globe and they all have an appreciation of the blues. Some of them come from Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. What makes this special is that many of these writers I had worked with before. The other thing is that many of them come from all over the globe and they all have an appreciation of the blues. Some of them come from Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.
ReplyDeleteI see Gary Phillips among the authors. Hi Gary!. That makes me wonder how many of you folks think of your story as a mystery?
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of mystery writers, I forgot Victor Banis. Sorry, Victor.
ReplyDeletewhen you guys wrote your stories, did you listen to the song your story represented the entire time you wrote or just once or twice?
ReplyDeleteI recommended a scene, a theme or a song. It depended on the writer and the area of their specialty. Gary and Victor did themselves proud with their tales of musical mayhem. And Kevin added that mojo flavor that really seasoned the collection.
ReplyDeleteNot forget Alicia, who is an incredible writer. She dazzled me with the sense of drama, place and texture in her story of man and woman vs. a big wind.
Also, the collection's power comes from the energy of forbidden sex, secrets, and betrayals, which are all things that comprise the blues.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of a postcard I recieved from a Caribbean writer which quoted James Baldwin:
ReplyDelete"It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive or who had ever been alive."
And that is the essence of the blues. The feeling that make you act a fool, the feelings that touch your heart, the feelings that twist your soul.
When you read Too Much Boogie, you go to that place. It's like going to a blues festival.
Hi, all,
ReplyDeleteLisabet Sarai here, checking in a bit late!
I have to admit I didn't write my story specifically for TOO MUCH BOOGIE. Cole contacted me to ask if I had a story I could submit that more or less fit the theme. As it happened, "Red Eye" was a great match to one of the songs he was considering. I'm proud to be in this collection, alongside so many other great authors.
The characters in "Red Eye" haven't appeared anywhere else, but who knows? They might!
On the subject of the blues, I want to publicly thank Cole for the help he gave me on another story I wrote recently, for an anthology focusing on menages and music. I asked him for suggestions about iconic blues songs - the touchstones of the musical genre. I love listening to the blues but I'm very far from an expert. "Wild About That Thing" was the result of Cole's assistance, a story about a blues club in New York that is one woman's dream. It will be published this September by Total-E-Bound.
Thanks, Cole!!
Warmly,
Lisabet
The other remarkable thing about putting together a collection is getting to know the writers. I've been blessed to gain some remarkable friendships during this book and previous ones.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you, Lisabet, RG, Alicia, Kevin, Mr. Buckley, Nick, Max, CDM, Mr. Roche, Becky, Amanda, Dorla, the Empress Verde, Alice, Jayme, D.L., Victor, Kalamu, Savannah, Dean, G. Dogg, Zander, Anne, and Jolene.
A tip of the Hatlo hat to my pals who knew me when I was in my rough-and-tumble days: Art, Hzal, and Akua. Old pals who knew you when you were starting out.
This book was a total blessing.
If anyone has any more questions, I will be happy to answer them. The book has several themes - musicial, cultural, sexual, racial, and emotional.
ReplyDeleteGet the word out about the book.
Tell your friends.
Too Much Boogie is a rocking. thought provoking experience.
I'd like to thank Zetta, Jim, and all of the writers who have participated thus far.
If anyone has any more questions, I will be happy to answer them. The book has several themes - musicial, cultural, sexual, racial, and emotional.
ReplyDeleteGet the word out about the book.
Tell your friends.
Too Much Boogie is a rocking. thought provoking experience.
I'd like to thank Zetta, Jim, and all of the writers who have participated thus far.