Ondrea L. Davis is a native of the Washington, DC area. In 2010, she graduated from college, earning a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. In 2012, she received a Master of Arts degree in Christian Counseling. Davis is a mother of three who resides in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and is a member of Foresight Publishing, LLC. She enjoys reading, writing, traveling, singing and spending time with her family. Ondrea co-authored her first book entitled How Could My Husband be GAY? the autobiographical sketch of her life, which garnered multiple awards. Find more information on her website at www.ondrealdavis.com.

About “How Could My Husband be GAY?”

How could my husband be GAY? is an autobiographical look into the life of Ondrea L. Davis. On the outside, Ondrea’s life is nothing short of a fairy tale. She has a dream home, the perfect husband and three beautiful children. Ondrea soon discovers that her husband, Marceous King, is not the man she thought she married.

Exhausting all efforts to salvage her marriage, Ondrea finds herself in the fight of her life. In the process, she uncovers a highly sophisticated web of deception and shocking secrets. Marceous will stop at nothing to keep Ondrea from exposing the truth and derailing his plan even if it means destroying her in the process. In this battle of good versus evil, who will be the ultimate victor?

Purchase a copy: http://www.amazon.com/How-could-husband-Ondrea-Davis/dp/061541026X/ref=la_B005H0ON56_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365098907&sr=1-1

Find Ondrea on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorOndreaLDavis

Follow Ondrea on Twitter: @OndreaLDavis

Quiniece Sheppard is the author of “The Seven Deadly Sexual Sins,” published in April 2009; co-author of an e-book anthology entitled “Christmas is More than a Myth: There is a Reason for the Season,” published as a free e-book in December 2010; author of an e-book entitled “Walking the Path to Real Love: 12 Steps to Practicing Abstinence and Celibacy,” published as a free e-book in January 2011; and author of “Before the Lights Go Out: 11 Keys to Achieve Real Physical Intimacy” published in June 2011.

Ms. Sheppard also established Chasing Books Book Club in March 2011 for self -publishers and independent authors. Ms. Sheppard is founder/CEO of “I Am the Chase Ministries, LLC,” a single women’s ministry whose mission is to promote abstinence and celibacy. Ms. Sheppard wants to help every woman define and understand her self-worth and value so she can live out her purpose and destiny.

Ms. Sheppard has spoken at several women’s conferences and a parent-teen retreat speaking on sexual purity. She’s held her own seminar in September 2010 and held her first single women’s conference in April 2011. Ms. Sheppard is currently planning her 3rd Annual Worth the Wait Women’s conference to be held on April 13, 2013 in Arlington, VA. Ms. Sheppard resides in Alexandria, Virginia but frequently travels as a Christian inspirational speaker to deliver messages of inspiration, transformation and enlightenment to make a lasting impact on audiences everywhere. Ms. Sheppard speaks at workshops, conferences, seminars, book clubs, churches, youth groups and more. To contact Ms. Sheppard, please visit her website at www.iamthechase.com or www.chasingbooks.com for more information about her ministry and book club.

About her book, “The Seven Deadly Sexual Sins”

This book is raw, uncut and uncensored in which Quiniece talks candidly and openly about her personal battles with sex and exposes the issues that society as a whole deal with. It reveals God's intentions relating to sex and the way God instructs us to use our bodies. For far too long, we have been careless with our bodies and have been using our bodies in the wrong way and now it's time to start doing things the right way. This book exposes what we have been doing wrong and gives you tools and advice on how to start doing it right.

Purchase a copy: http://www.amazon.com/The-Seven-Deadly-Sexual-Sins/dp/1438960190/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1364855329&sr=8-2&keywords=quiniece+sheppard

Find Quiniece on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/quiniece.sheppard

Find Quiniece on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DLadyQue

Beginning her career in 2008, Paulette is an award-winning, bestselling author and the founder of WNL Coaching and Marketing Services.

Along with being an ordained Elder, she is the author of several books and founder of Write Now Literary Virtual Book Tours, a service to help promote authors of the Christian genre and authors of clean books.

As an inspirational and motivational speaker, Elder Paulette’s desire is to empower, influence and cultivate women to move forward while dealing with issues that hinder them from becoming all they are created to be.

Her topics are biblically sound and pertinent to the needs of today’s women. Paulette is a wife, mother, grandmother and Bible teacher. Paulette has appeared on numerous radio and Television shows.

Combining enthusiasm with an energetic speaking style, audiences describe Paulette’s presentation as inspiring, enriching and encouraging. She is committed to speaking a message that is always uplifting and edifying.

Her books have ranked consecutively on the Black Christian Publishers Bestsellers List for Independent Publishers (non-fiction category).

Paulette Harper Johnson serves in ministry with her husband Sr. Pastor Tony E. Johnson at Word of Faith Worship Center in Bradenton and North Port FL.

About her book, “Completely Whole”

“Completely Whole” takes you on a journey of wholeness by identifying areas that hinder you from becoming whole— spirit, soul and body. Trauma (stress, shock, suffering, pain,) impacts everyone at one point or another. It has the ability to leave scars imbedded in our hearts. We know we hurt but don’t know how deep the pain goes until we find ourselves trying to hide behind the pain through temporary remedies that leave us still not healed. Oftentimes, many people try to seek fulfillment from money, relationships, accomplishments, or material things. Others choose to cope with difficult problems by using drugs or alcohol, but they often come up short and soon have to realize that such things do not bring true happiness and fulfillment in life. Completely Whole is a resource filled- guide full of practical and Biblically-based principles, real-life application strategies and prayers to give the readers a holistic approach to living a life of wholeness through Jesus Christ.

Purchase a copy: http://www.amazon.com/Completely-Whole-Paulette-Harper/dp/0615331017/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1333226632&sr=1-1

Find Paulette on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PauletteHarperAuthor

Follow Paulette on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/pauletteharper

Phillis T. Forrest, a native of Detroit Michigan, raised two daughters and has three grandchildren. Once a hairstylist in Oak Park Michigan, Phillis now resides in Nashville, Tennessee, pursuing her new passions as an author. “Through A Child's Eyes” is her first self-published book. Her objective is to educate and bring awareness to society about child sexual predators that anyone raising a child may unintentionally bring into their lives.

About “Through a Child's Eyes”

Stephan watched in front of the school as the young mother kissed her four children goodbye. My mother was oblivious to his plotting and scheming to become a part of her existence. Every day he found ways to make contact with her. A seemingly accidental meeting got them on speaking terms and consistently crossing paths made it feel natural to stop and have a chat for a moment.

Feeling confident that he had established a rapport with the young mother, he blatantly followed her home one day. Sophia, my mother noticed him, stopped and playfully teased him about following her. He continued to walk her home as they joked about him being a stalker.

My name is Toni, and I was seven years old, the day my mother invited Stephan into our home. It was the beginning of my nightmare. Through my eyes I want to bring to your attention a man that watched, stalked and preyed on my family and many other families. It was his intentions all along to violate the sanctity of our family for his own self-gratification.

After you have read my story, you will grab your children and cover them with a blanket of protection because just when you thought he was a part of a childish fairytale, you find out the boogey man does exist.

Purchase a Copy: http://www.throughachildseyes290611.com/get-a-copy.html

Find Phillis on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Through-A-Childs-Eyes/400630186632533?ref=hl

Follow Phillis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorPTForrest

Deidra D. S. Green has frequently been quoted as saying, "Writing is like breathing. Without it, I would die." Deidra continues to be fascinated by the power of the written word. She has always been a writer, and most recently decided to share her craft with the rest of the world. Deidra has authored several highly praised public works including "The Twisted Sister Series," "Exiting Gracefully," “Woman at the Top of the Stairs," “Here Comes Katrina," and "From the Outside In." Deidra has also penned a number of novellas and short stories including “Trent,” “A Letter to My Mother," and “The Candy Man.”

Deidra has continued her literary prowess as a freelance writer, literary coach, ghostwriter and professional editor, as well as authoring several children’s books for all age groups. In 2009, she founded The Mahogany Writers Exchange (MWE), a writing group for adults interested in honing their writing craft. MWE became a virtual literary writing group in 2012.

Deidra continues to move in her passion and embraces all her writing journey has to offer. She has several projects slated for release in 2013 including The Suddenly Single Series, “Sick, Sicker, Sickest”, “Dark,” and “Interstate 64,” another in the thriller genre.

About “From the Outside In”

A five year old little girl is brutally murdered by her mother’s boyfriend. His true identity is questioned from the very beginning. Her mother, a social worker, is found culpable but is not the primary killer. The people responsible for her protection have ultimately failed the little girl… and not just once. The story makes national headlines and is covered on every major news station in the local area. The media doesn't have the whole story, but someone else does. She is looking, “From the Outside In.”

Purchase a Copy: http://www.amazon.com/From-the-Outside-In-ebook/dp/B00810X7NI/ref=la_B0079LSQV8_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363374096&sr=1-16

Find Deidra on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deidra.d.green

Follow Deidra on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeidraG

Margaret Dawson Brown was born in Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Martin Luther King High and Catherine Scott Secretarial School. She worked for the United States Postal Service for 23 years. She is the author of “As I Travel through the Valley of Death”

This book is about a sister's fight for justice. When the justice system refused to investigate the death of James Dawson who died while being detained for a traffic violation under very unusual and suspicious circumstances, his sister Margaret did not let that stop her. For 10 years she spent documenting, gathering as much incriminating evidence as possible, and reconstructing the day in question. Her book is like a Murder She Wrote mystery, only it's the reality of what she had to go through to get this story out. Margaret's journey was like no other and she stands on the belief that God chose her to be her brother's voice.

Purchase a Copy:  http://www.amazon.com/As-Travel-Through-Valley-Death/dp/1605943487

Find Margaret on Facebook: Authoress Margaret Dawson Brown

Follow Margaret on Twitter: Margo Brown

Founded in 2007, Illuminnessence Publishing is the brainchild of Essence M. After experiencing health issues and unable to continue her candle & gift basket business (Sweet Treatz), Essence M turned to writing. As a young child, "Essence" has always been fond of writing about life, love and other short stories that were age appropriate and during her teen and young adult years created an extensive catalogue of unpublished works. As time went on and maturity set in, her mind was challenged to continue and being recently bed-bound gave her the opportunity to hone her craft once again .

Her first venture into self-publication was "Broken Promises Never Mend" which is available on www.amazon.com. She is currently working on the sequel "Bound by Lies" and other works for slated for release in 2013 through 2014 under her own imprint "Illuminnessence Publishing." 

Skillful at networking and using every opportunity to inspire others and be inspired, Essence joined forces in 2008 with the elite group The Cartel Publications Street Team/Pep Squad. This group of individuals was spearheaded by Essence Bestselling Author of A Hustler's Son and CEO/Founder of The Cartel Publications, T. Styles.

"Working with Ms. Styles has taught me how to manage time and how to work hard to attain success" Allison says.”

It’s an attitude like that, that causes Essence to press forward regardless of the obstacles that present themselves. Surrounded by authors and publishers has given Essence the insight and encouragement needed in order to pursue her dream. With so many positive forces around her that are there to assist and help her obtain her dream, there's no stopping this unmoveable force. Her Essence Will Shine Through!

Essence’s Titles Include:

B*tch Clique - a 6 part short story series

All She Wants for Christmas is Love (short story)

Bittersweet

Christmas Kisses (short story)

Bound by Lies

Broken Promises Never Mend

About “B*tch Clique”

You see them daily.... They call and give you the latest gossip. They speak on the latest shoes, clothes and styles. They refuse however to tell you they are stealing your money or sleeping with your husbands. They smile in your face in one instance and then turn around and roll their eyes. They wish they were you and when they can't, they opt to destroy you. Welcome to the BITCH CLIQUE!!! ;)

UBAWA: When did you first decide you wanted to become an author?

Allison: I’ve been writing all my life. It was when I was in a bad romantic relationship that I began writing my poetry to voice my feelings regarding his infidelity. Those poems turned into a full length novel.

UBAWA: How did you decide on the idea for your 1st book? 2nd book? 3rd book, etc?

Allison: I dream them. Usually the idea comes to me and I write a brief outline. Once the characters begin speaking loudly to me I listen. Writers aren’t crazy. We are inspired by voices in our head.

UBAWA: How long did it take you to complete your first book? What was the process like?

Allison: It took over a year for me to publish my first novel. The process was tedious and I published it three times before I was satisfied with how it came out.

UBAWA: What’s so rewarding about writing books and being an author?

Allison: For me, it was reaching out to those that I might not otherwise be able to touch and for them to hear and know that they are not alone in the struggle.

UBAWA: Was there ever a time you felt like giving up?

Allison: Yes but I thought about my sons and how they look up to me and realize that I am their example of faith and perseverance.

UBAWA: There’s more to being an author than writing a book. How do you manage to handle the business side of things?

Allison: With prayer and patience. It's very hard but I make it work. My hats are versatile.

UBAWA: Do you have an editor or do you edit your own books?

Allison: Yes the editor I've used is Brandie Randolph of Editing Couture.

UBAWA: Who does the cover art for your book(s)?

Allison: I do my own covers. I have collaborated with Tanisha Pettiford on the cover of a short story I'm working on. Her work is amazing.

UBAWA: Do you ever encounter writer’s block? How do you get past it?

Allison: With so many projects, I just tend to switch gears. It's easier than just quitting.

UBAWA: How often do you write?

Allison: I write at minimum an hour a day. Sometimes it's hard with the administrative part and promoting but I do it.

UBAWA: Tell us about your last book signing.

Allison: My last book signing was years ago and very successful. I had K'wan and Treasure Blue come out and support me. It was a good time had by all at the now defunct Deja Vu Book Lounge in New York City.

UBAWA: Beside social media, what other methods are you using to get the word out about your book(s)?

Allison: I find blogging and making myself seen at events very helpful. It’s been a while but I plan on venturing out more and utilizing more outlets.

UBAWA: As a Woman of Color, what inspires you the most?

Allison: My mother. She's the reason why I am here aside from God and my best friend. As mentioned before my sons are also my inspiration and the reason why I breathe.

UBAWA: Who is your biggest influence?

Allison: T. Styles. She's become a dear friend, mentor and inspiration. I've known her for about five years now and she's pushed me in ways one couldn't imagine.

UBAWA: Have you ever done something in the past you regret? How did you get through it?

Allison: Yes. I've done a few things that I'd wish I hadn’t but there’s nothing to do but move past it. Once you forgive yourself it's easier to move on.

UBAWA: How do you get through the tough times in life when life throws what it throws at you?

Allison: Prayer. God helps me through a lot and I am still standing.

UBAWA: What is one goal you want to accomplish for yourself in 2013?

Allison: My goals are to release 4 novels this year

Travel

Build a better relationship with GOD

Commit myself romantically

Lose 30 lbs

UBAWA: What do you have planned next?

Allison: I am currently working on 3 short stories and 3 full length novels. I also edit, typeset and proofread other novels. I keep busy.

UBAWA: How can readers and others in the literary community reach you?

Allison: www.facebook.com/fullofessence

www.twitter.com/fullofessence

www.instagram,com/fullofessence

www.fullofessence.com

3/10/13
Sheri Henry-Harrigan
Social Media Marketing for Self-Published Authors

Social Media has been a blessing for new authors. Before the social media age, authors did not have the luxury or benefit to connect with readers or book clubs via computer. They had to go out and look for readers and book clubs. Now because of social media authors can get up close and personal with readers and book clubs without ever having to step foot out of their front door. This article attempts to explain several ways authors can use social media to connect with their readers and do it all for free.

Facebook is not just for personal use. A person can create a fan page or business page and promote their work. They can use it to build a fan base, let their readers know about new projects and releases and a whole lot more. Authors can also join many social book clubs that are just for their genre. If used properly authors can quickly gain a fan base. However be aware that Facebook requires a lot of login time if you want to keep your readers and fans.

Twitter is another social media site that can be used for promoting. The posts word count is limited. However, sometimes less is better. I recently discovered that there are a lot of book clubs on Twitter. I haven’t made a decision yet about whether Facebook or Twitter is better. I can only say it depends on the author.

There are also other social media sites that authors use to promote their books. A lot of authors blog and have people subscribe. Some authors use Meetup. Meetup is a site where you can find book clubs in the area where you live. Just like Twitter and Facebook you create a profile and let people know who you are. There is also a site called Linked In. Linked In is a site just to promote yourself as a professional author. I’m sure there are a whole lot of other sites. These are just a few that I have utilized and found effective.

Social media is available twenty four hours, seven days a week. You can access it on a phone, tablet, pc or computer. Authors can always be connected to their readers. This can be a good thing when you have a new release coming and the readers can’t wait.

If you are shy or nervous social media works in your favor. No one has to hear you speak or even see you for that matter. You can let your fingers do the talking. Readers love the up close action with authors. Being that everyone is scattered all over the world, social media helps bring us all together.

The main benefit to social media is being able to showcase your work before it is released. You can release excerpts and book covers. Authors hold contest for readers. Readers like to know about things before they come out. Information coming directly from the author is special to readers. It makes them feel important. Making readers feel important helps to build your fan base and make and keep sales flowing in.

Social media is great but there is also a downside to it. Use caution with social media. Always stay professional. Everyone on these sites isn’t going to like you and your work. But that doesn’t mean that you have to respond. See something you don’t like. Delete it and keep it moving. You will save yourself a big headache in the end.