In the days of old, stories were usually told orally from a tribal storyteller or one of the wise elders or chiefs. The next progression in storytelling came with the first hieroglyphics and visual representations of actual and mythical events.

About six years ago, during a guerilla-marketing effort, I would sell books with a fellow doll maker/artist in what I can only euphemistically describe as street-corner campaigns.

Money blinds. It's as simple as that. Aspiring authors ask about the money issue all the time, in varying forms, (How much does it cost to publish?

What are three words that authors hate to hear? Promotion, promotion, promotion! A writer is someone who generally prefers to stay locked away in a small writing studio (perhaps in an undisclosed tropical location), to speaking in front of crowds, answering questions on national radio, or God forbid, have their un-photogenic faces filmed beside Oprah's!

Your book has been written and you're holding the final copy in your hands. If you think the fun is over, think again.

Walk into any bookstore and you may experience sticker shock. Book prices have risen dramatically with new books costing $20, $25, even $30 or more.

You can express your happiness and show that you care when you give a baby gift at a celebration for the arrival or for the impending arrival of a baby.

Today's society is more productive than ever. All of that increased productivity leaves little time for leisure activities.

An increase of African American authors started in the 60s, the same time as the civil rights movements, but their influence was noticed before America became a nation and black authors were slaves and abolitionists.

A First Edition book is a book that is the first printing of the first edition of a book. That does not mean the first book to be printed but the first run of books that are printed of a newly published book.

Some book club and reading groups are in limelight now-a-days and why not? Those who love to read would have more fun in discovering mind-blowing books, or authors they have never came across along a group of like-minded people.

On any day of the week, all across the United States, men and women (well, mostly women) meet in homes, libraries, Y's, churches-any where with lots of chairs-to talk about books.