Friday, April 26, 2019

The Story Behind The 'Real' American Diet by Kevin C. Alston


Cancer killed my dad. Cancer killed my mom. Cancer killed several coworkers & close friends. Cancer killed my 'other' daughter. I'd had enough!  It was high time to fight back, really fight. So
after a lot of research, & a lot of analysis, this is how The 'Real' American Diet was born. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something was causing this 'spike' in disease-related deaths. I looked at what we were eating. GMO's, pesticides that are outlawed in other countries, etc. I'd been thinking about this for at least a couple years, but it wasn't until the suffering that I saw my 'other' daughter endure, is when I knew I had to do something. Putting to paper what I had already analyzed in my head, just so others could see the 'solution' that I had come up with to not only combat cancer, but to put all the other diseases on the 'Real' radar of destruction. God gave me all of the information, or access to it. I was already given the gift of being very analytical, at just about all aspects of my life, from God. Where Xlibris came from, again, it had to be God's doing, because I knew absolutely nothing about writing or publishing a book. Xlibris has been trying to get me to market the book, their way, but I just wasn't feeling it. I had already spent a lot of money to get the book published, & I decided that I wasn't going to spend another king's ransom to market it. I knew that God would show me a way, a better way, His way, & I sincerely believe that he has done that with Pump Up Your Book. It seems as if it has been a long time, but God does things at his pace. I just feel blessed that the vessel I've been looking for has finally arrived. It's going to be quite a voyage, I do believe.

About the Author

Born & raised in the small town of Mullins, SC, by God-fearing parents who instilled religion into his life at an early age, he's had an insatiable appetite for knowledge since birth. God blessed him with a keen, analytical mind, & an almost feverish desire to help others. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran, married to the love of his life, with five wonderful kids, & a deep passion that still burns within him to help the less fortunate, through whatever means necessary.  The correlation between what we eat & the epidemic-like rise in diseases of today has the author on an impassioned mission to get to the bottom of what he thinks is a big conspiracy by our government & Big Business.

His latest book is The ‘Real’ American Diet.



BOOK BLURB:
This book is a culmination of the author's life, but mainly the past 10 years, where personal tragedies have led him to discover more about the correlation with food, nutrition & the diseases of today, & how it affects us all. 

This program is an experiment of sorts, with the author using himself as the guinea pig, with positive results having been discovered, & hopefully, in time, even bigger positive results yet to come. 

Between our government & Big Business, we, the people, are already involved in an experiment.  It's like a big laboratory.  With all of the harmful toxins that are allowed in our air, food, &  water, diseases are at epidemic-like levels, & the author, for one, would like to know if there is more to this than is being told to us. It speaks volumes when other nations refuse to accept grains & meats from us, or at least it does to the author. 

Most of the ailments we suffer from today emanate from our guts, & our poor diets keep the sickness-wheels turning, costing each of us millions of dollars, a whole lot of heartache, pain, & suffering.  It's time to make a change, & that change started with the author's experiment on himself.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon

Monday, April 22, 2019

The Story Behind The Brave Art of Motherhood by Rachel Marie Martin

I’ve been writing my website Finding Joy for over ten years
and one of the most common questions I would receive was
regarding if I had a book. My readers had seen me go through tremendous life challenges – divorce, dealing with finances, starting a successful business – and wanted to learn the steps to finding joy, happiness and purpose again. At a certain point you either look at opportunity and run after it or you ignore it.

Clearly, I chose to follow opportunity and from that The Brave Art of Motherhood was born.  

My book is published by Waterbrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House. I self-published the Dear Mom Letters books previous to this, but I didn’t want to pass up on this opportunity to work with them.

How I got published is a different story. Publishers do want
Michelle Obama homerun books for sure. They want the
Oprah’s and Tim Tebows. But they also want books that will have low consistent sales (as weird as that sounds). So they
look, or perhaps book agents look, for people who’ve
amassed an audience. In my case most people that I’d
already had a deal with someone so few approached . . until
finally one did.  

I didn’t get a book deal because I wrote a perfect book pitch,
it’s because I wrote consistently for 10 years. And more than
it’s because I’ve been thankful to anyone who has read and
enjoyed what I’ve put out. I’ve really paid attention and loved
the audience and more often than not have used their
comments, insights and suggestions to write again the next
day. I am them.

About the Author

Rachel Marie Martin believes in the power of the human spirit to overcome, to thrive and to find deep joy and because of that she pours out her heart via these platforms: she is the writer behind the site FindingJoy.net, partner of BloggingConcentrated.com, co-host of the Amplify Podcast, and a featured writer for The Huffington Post. Her top blog post, "Why Being a Mom is Enough" has surpassed 1.9 million Facebook likes and she has had her articles translated into over 25 languages. Her site reaches millions of visitors and has a robust, engaged Facebook community. Her articles have been featured in The Huffington Post, iVillage, The Today Show, Star Tribune, iVillage, Stuff New Zealand, PopSugar, Parents, What to Expect, Mamalode, NBC Parents, Dr. Greene, and many more. Her first book, "The Brave Art of Motherhood", published by Penguin Random House, was released on October 9, 2018.

She speaks worldwide about a variety of empowering topics ranging from motherhood to social media marketing to website strategy to writing to creating an authentic community. She believes in living each day intentionally and loves working with others to cultivate a vision, realize their potential and see their dreams become a reality.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

The Story Behind Chicano Homeland by Louis R. Negrete


I was born in Los Angeles in a house within sight of the Watts Towers in an area my family knew as La Colonia. The neighborhood consisted mostly of low to medium income families that were friendly with each other. Growing up I heard stories about the mistreatment of Mexican families, especially immigrants. Over time I developed an awareness that we lived in racist times.  I wrote the book based on my life experience of wide spread anti-Mexican American racism in my neighborhood which I later realized was nationwide. 
Before 1848, Los Angeles was part of Mexico. Most recently the people used the term Chicano to identify themselves as the first residents of Los Angeles and the Southwest. We were a proud people living in this country. We were bilingual speaking both English and Spanish. We maintained our culture. In the 1960’s to 1980’s community activists in different groups created the Chicano movement as community resistance to injustice slowly increased.
As I grew up my uncles and cousins told me to avoid contact with the police because they were anti-Mexican. I then saw my uncle chased down the street by sailors and police during what the media called the Pachuco Riots, a dangerous time downtown for young Mexican Americans. My sense of anti-Mexican racism became more realistic when I was in high school and got stopped by the police near my home. I was unable to answer their questions because I was having an asthma attack. The police got angry and beat me on my body, not my face, then they took me to the police station and phoned my parents to pick me up. Afterwards, the police kept driving slowly by my house. It seemed they were looking for me, so my parents rented a room for me in El Sereno where I stayed for a few weeks. This too made me aware of racial discrimination. As an adult, I was fully aware of anti-Mexican racism in society but in my high school and college education, I never learned about our contributions to society nor of racial discrimination against us. Ironically, I was encouraged by white Anglo men to pursue my education and career opportunities.   
Racism became a background for my growing up. I became aware that people were resisting injustice on the streets and places where they worked. By the time I became a university professor, I was fully aware that separate protest events formed the beginnings of a Chicano community movement for justice. Eventually protest events, even if separate, formed a united movement of thousands of men and women activists, many unknown, in different groups. The evolving movement included protest events like the high school student walkouts for better schools, formation of the farmworker’s union, opposition to the war in Vietnam, demands for return of Southwest land grants taken from Mexico after the U.S. war with Mexico, organization of the militant Brown Berets, and the Chicano Moratorium Committee against the war in Vietnam and creation of the nation’s first academic university Department of Chicano Studies. Other activist groups were also part of the growing movement.
The work of the Chicano movement was a success. Since then, Mexican Americans can be found employed in government, business, schools. nonprofit agencies, law enforcement, all across the range of employment and careers, and as elected officials. But resistance to continuing poverty, homelessness, and racism must compel younger generations of minorities to keep the movement alive. I believe that minorities in America must fight back against racism in local and national politics. Anti-immigrant government policies popular today pose a major threat to democracy. The struggles of the Chicano people must continue as a united community opposition against racism. Younger generations of Americans must know this part of our national history.  
About the Author

Dr. Louis R. Negrete was born and raised in Los Angeles. During his distinguished career, Dr. Negrete served as Director of Project Head Start for the Council of Mexican American Affairs and was also a founding member of the new Chicano Studies Department at the California State University in Los Angeles. He served as professor of Chicano Studies for some 35 years at Cal State LA. CHICANO HOMELAND is his first book. Dr. Negrete makes his home in Los Angeles, California. 
Web site for book at www.ChicanoHomeland.com
Title: CHICANO HOMELAND
Author: Louis R. Negrete
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 136
Genre: Historical/Nonfiction

BOOK BLURB:
Los Angeles author-educator Dr. Louis R. Negrete lived and now tells the compelling, dynamic story of the movement for the rights of Mexican-Americans in the USA, particularly those In California.  In his riveting, powerfully written historical book, CHICANO HOMELAND,  retired college professor Dr. Negrete vividly describes the issues that sparked the Chicano civil rights movement, that saw unbridled police brutality, institutional poverty (that still even exists today, he says), demands for better schools, the  anti-Vietnam war protests and the support for undocumented immigrants.
Mr. Negrete’s CHICANO HOMELAND captures in its historical pages the early Mexican settlement in Los Angeles to the 1950s Zoot Suit riots in L.A. to where Chicanos stand today in the California culture. He gives us a colorful, vivid history of a people that every Hispanic should read, especially as he says, “Chicanos and Chicanas, so they can know where they came from, how they got here and be inspired to chart a course to a genuine, lasting political power for what is now the largest ethnic minority in the United States.”
Commented author Dr. Louis R. Negrete on his book, “I believe that Americans must fight back against racism and national politics. The Chicano movement was a success but resistance to racism must continue, especially with the anti-immigrant policies popular today. I wrote the book based upon my experience growing up in Los Angeles, aware of persistent demands for justice and an end to racism. Younger Mexican-Americans and other minorities should know this part of United States history.”

ORDER YOUR COPY:

Amazon

The Story Behind The Guild Saga Series by John Joseph Goody


In the late seventies I wrote several poems that grew into an idea for a novel. The book took me a couple of years to write and I should have done my homework on preparing a proper manuscript. Fortunately, friends loved the book even if agents didn’t. I kept it in my closet for many moons. In 1993 I had a short story published and I was disappointed with a lot of things regarding writing and its place in my life. I stopped writing that year. I’m a Christian and I believed back then I needed to give it up and focus on other things more important—I had been married again two years before and we had our first baby that year. Fast forward to 2009. I sat at my desk thinking
about our later years and what we would do for a living when our legs gave out, and I said a prayer about it. I sensed maybe it was a good time to go back to writing, so I gathered the family together and told them, then I read my poetry to my kids and told them about books I had written. It was a great moment in my life. My family was totally supportive. I should have told them my muse doesn’t rise until midnight, but I’d forgotten. So now we are a family of night owls.
A month later I got this idea about a tall, handsome pilot, a Guild officer in civvies, taking a shuttle down to an odd planet—a Las Vegas of sorts in the distant galaxy—in order to steal something of great value. I mined my old book for various things and out of that work I got this idea for seven or eight
books.

I felt in my gut The Wonk Decelerator would be published once I finished it. I chose the small press route, so I could learn the publishing process. The book was accepted almost immediately, but the publisher went under. I sent a partial to another publisher and received a very positive response and sent in the rest. That publisher also went under! Anyway, eventually the book got published and the publisher is still in business! I have had four Guild books published, though one of them is a very short prequel I did for laughs at my publisher’s request and is only available in ebook. The other three are available in ebook and paperback.

I’ve come full circle now and I’m back to looking for an agent for my current book (unrelated to the Guild books), The Dark—a supernatural, sci-fi suspense novel. Apparently, you’re not supposed to call them horror stories nowadays.

About the Author

I earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Coral Ridge University and Seminary, as well as an M.A. in Political Science from George Wythe College. My first publication was a short story, TELEPIO 690, which appeared in Sidetrekked Magazine, Issue #48. My other publications are, my first novel (actually a novella), THE WONK DECELERATOR, my second novel, THE LATE, GREATBENJAMIN BALE, my third novel, RETURN OF THE CRIMSON WITCH and a fourth mini-book, a prequel to the Guild Series, THE DAUGHTER OF GETH, which is available only in ebook. I am currently working on a science fiction/horror novel, THE DARK. One of these days I might even finish it.

Happily, I have a wife and four children and live in Florida.
Website Link: www.johndoody.com
Twitter Link: @johnjosephdoody
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/authorjohnjosephdoody/

Monday, April 15, 2019

The Story Behind A Lady's Virtue by A.S. Fenichel


I was first published in 2011 after seventeen years of submitting to publishers and being rejected. It was a spectacular day! I wrote a short, paranormal, erotic romance. In the following three years I wrote ten books for that publisher. Not knowing where my voice should rest, I wrote: Paranormal, Dystopian, Historical and contemporary, everything from sweet too erotic.

After three years the publisher went out of business, but I managed to find a new publisher who liked my voice. I wrote a paranormal series set in Regency England. The Demon Hunters is a fun, action packed series and it was the sign I needed to make me to stick with historical romance.

Since then, I’ve written seven traditional Regency romances including the Everton Domestic Society.

The inspiration for A Lady’s Virtue started a long time ago. When I was thirty-five, my first husband died suddenly. After, I wanted to write about that kind of loss, but just couldn’t do it. There’s nothing like losing a spouse. Every moment of every day of your life changes in an instant. It’s devastating, but I just couldn’t bring myself to write that book. Finally, almost fifteen years later, I wrote and published A Lady’s Honor about Markus Flammel losing his wife, Emma. Since I was blessed enough to fall in love a second time, I knew Markus could as well.

Once the Everton Domestic Society was created, I had all these fabulous women who needed their stories told. Each Everton book highlights an Everton Lady; how she landed at the Everton Domestic Society, what talent she has that can help others, and how she finders her Happily Ever After. A Lady’s Virtue is the third book in the series, but all of the books can be read as stand alone. 

Thanks so much for having me here today. I hope you enjoy A Lady’s Virtue!

About the Author

A.S. Fenichel gave up a successful career in New York City to follow her husband to Texas and pursue her lifelong dream of being a professional writer. She’s never looked back.

A.S. adores writing stories filled with love, passion, desire, magic and maybe a little mayhem tossed in for good measure. Books have always been her perfect escape and she still relishes diving into one and staying up all night to finish a good story.

Multi-published in historical, paranormal, erotic and contemporary romance, A.S. is the author of The Forever Brides series, the Everton Domestic Society series, and more. With several books currently contracted, A.S. will be bringing you her brand of edgy romance for years to come.

Originally from New York, she grew up in New Jersey, and now lives in the Southern Missouri with her real-life hero, her wonderful husband. When not reading or writing she enjoys cooking, travel, history, puttering in her garden and spoiling her fussy cat. 

Website Link: http://asfenichel.com
Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/asfenichel
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/A.S.Fenichel
 
Click below to sign up for her newsletter!

About the Book:

Can a broken engagement ignite the spark of true love?

Sylvia Dowder had almost made it to the altar when her fiancĂ© unexpectedly became a viscount, and dropped her like a stale crumpet to make a more “suitable” match. Though Sylvia’s heart has been crushed, her spirit has not. She puts her wits and social savvy to use as a secret gossip columnist—and as the Everton Domestic Society’s party planner to the ton. Luckily, she’s not in danger of ever falling for an aristocrat again…

Especially not one like Anthony Braighton, Earl of Grafton. Raised in America, Anthony sees no reason to marry when he can enjoy all the perks of being an eligible earl. Determined to convince his family he doesn’t need a wife, he hires Sylvia to act as hostess and decorator for upcoming parties. Yet Sylvia is as adept at captivating his interest as she is at beautifying his home. And despite this Everton lady’s aversion to titled men, some attractions can’t be denied—and love rarely does go where it’s told . . .

ORDER YOUR COPY:


Tuesday, April 2, 2019

The Story Behind Josephine Baker's Last Dance by Sherry Jones


I cried while writing my last novel, THE SHARP HOOK OF LOVE, about the star-crossed 12th-century lovers and scholars Heloise and Abelard. For my next project, I decided, I would write something light-hearted and fun. JOSEPHINE BAKER’S LAST DANCE was to be that book.

Perusing my always-growing idea-list of fascinating women in history, I saw Josephine Baker’s name and my switch was flipped. The beautiful, comedic African-American dancer in the famous “banana skirt” would be the perfect protagonist for a literary romp: I knew her as a frothy confection full of merriment and joy, the icon of Jazz Age Paris in the 1920s. She would be the sweet dessert after the heavy meal of love and loss served up by my medieval tragedy.

As I read about Ms. Baker’s life, though, I came to realize that hers was no tale of glamour and glitz—not exclusively.

Josephine Baker grew up in the slums of St. Louis, Missouri, a child of abject poverty and abuse. The theater was her escape, not only from her sorrow but also, on a more practical level, from the life of servitude and struggle that would have been her legacy had she remained in St. Louis. Her grandparents had been slaves. Her mother was a laundress married to a mentally-ill alcoholic. Josephine had a talent for dancing and buck teeth, and used these assets to their fullest extent. She went on the “Strawberry Trail,” the black vaudeville circuit, as a comedic chorus dancer, and stole every show.

The tour ended and she landed back in St. Louis with her sights on the Booker T. The Booker T. Washington Theatre offered vaudeville shows featuring African-American performers including Bessie Smith, “The Empress of the Blues.” Josephine landed a spot in one of the touring companies passing through and never looked back. She trained her body and practiced her moves until she was good enough for the chorus of “Shuffle Along,” the hit musical headed to Broadway. When she heard they were looking for a “hoofer” she took a train from Philadelphia, where she lived, to New York and slept on a Central Park bench the night before her audition. She was 15 years old.

Four years later, she hit the Paris stage in “La Revue Negre,” and became an overnight sensation. Soon she was headlining in the famous Folies-Bergère theater and traveling the world, Europe’s most highly-paid performer. She would also become the first black film star; the first black woman to headline with the Ziegfeld Follies in New York; the first black opera diva to sing in Paris’s Opera Garnier, and more. But Josephine Baker never forgot who she was, or the people she’d left behind.

In her 30s, as is true for so many women, Josephine Baker underwent a transformation. In her case, she blossomed from a needy, narcissistic youth to an empowered and formidable woman. The rise of Adolf Hitler was her catalyst: she joined the French Resistance as a spy to seduce and charm generals and diplomats into revealing their secrets, then smuggled the information across borders to deliver to the Allies. She risked her life many times because of her hatred of the Nazis and their racism, and when the Nazis invaded France, she helped a number of Jews escape.

After the war, having tasted the power to make a difference, Josephine Baker turned her efforts to fighting racial discrimination in the United States. Before agreeing to perform in Miami’s Copa City Club, she insisted that its audiences be racially integrated. The experiment’s smashing success inspired other clubs to follow suit, allowing black patrons for the first time because of Josephine Baker.

Buoyed by the response, Ms. Baker held a press conference to announce her U.S. tour—and stipulated that she would only perform in and patronize integrated venues. She continued to generate publicity throughout the tour: canceling her Atlanta shows after being turned away by city hotels; conducting a citizen’s arrest of a man in Los Angeles who made racist comments about her, and more.

She was relentless—and, in the minds of some, she went too far. Prominent white men including the celebrity journalist Walter Winchell and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, accused her of being a Communist sympathizer. Her agent warned her to tone down her criticisms lest she lose everything, including the film deal with a script by Ernest Hemingway.

Although she badly needed the money, Josephine Baker refused to back down. And she did lose everything, including her beloved castle in southern France, home for her multiracial “Rainbow Tribe” of children adopted from cultures around the world.

Josephine Baker’s life was no mere confection, as I had originally envisioned. She led a rich, full, active life with, ultimately, one goal: the elimination of racism. Although banned from the U.S. after her 1951 tour, she was invited to return in 1963 for the March on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She was the only woman to speak.

All my books thus far have featured real-life women who, in spite of the many forces against them, have realized their potential as human beings and made a positive difference for change.

Josephine Baker was one of the most influential people who have ever lived. Like Dr. King, whom she knew, she embodied love, peace, and equality. She inspired me to write JOSEPHINE BAKER’S LAST DANCE, and her example continues to encourage me, every day, to use my powers to make a difference in our crazy world.

About the Author

Author and journalist Sherry Jones is best known for her international bestseller The Jewel of Medina. She is also the author of The Sword of MedinaFour SistersAll QueensThe Sharp Hook of Love, and the novella White Heart.  Sherry lives in Spokane, WA, where, like Josephine Baker, she enjoys dancing, singing, eating, advocating for equality, and drinking champagne. 

Her latest novel is Josephine Baker’s Last Dance.



About the Book:

From the author of The Jewel of Medina, a moving and insightful novel based on the life of legendary performer and activist Josephine Baker, perfect for fans of The Paris Wife and Hidden Figures.

Discover the fascinating and singular life story of Josephine Baker—actress, singer, dancer, Civil Rights activist, member of the French Resistance during WWII, and a woman dedicated to erasing prejudice and creating a more equitable world—in Josephine Baker’s Last Dance.

In this illuminating biographical novel, Sherry Jones brings to life Josephine's early years in servitude and poverty in America, her rise to fame as a showgirl in her famous banana skirt, her activism against discrimination, and her many loves and losses. From 1920s Paris to 1960s Washington, to her final, triumphant performance, one of the most extraordinary lives of the twentieth century comes to stunning life on the page.

With intimate prose and comprehensive research, Sherry Jones brings this remarkable and compelling public figure into focus for the first time in a joyous celebration of a life lived in technicolor, a powerful woman who continues to inspire today.

Purchase Josephine Baker’s Last Dance in paperback,  ebook,  and  audiobook  formats on  Simon and Schuster’s website (available on Amazon,  Barnes and Noble,  BooksAMillion,  Indiebound,  Kobo,  and  other sites). Learn more about Sherry’s books  at  www.authorsherryjones.com

The Story Behind Josephine Baker's Last Dance by Sherry Jones


I cried while writing my last novel, THE SHARP HOOK OF LOVE, about the star-crossed 12th-century lovers and scholars Heloise and Abelard. For my next project, I decided, I would write something light-hearted and fun. JOSEPHINE BAKER’S LAST DANCE was to be that book.

Perusing my always-growing idea-list of fascinating women in history, I saw Josephine Baker’s name and my switch was flipped. The beautiful, comedic African-American dancer in the famous “banana skirt” would be the perfect protagonist for a literary romp: I knew her as a frothy confection full of merriment and joy, the icon of Jazz Age Paris in the 1920s. She would be the sweet dessert after the heavy meal of love and loss served up by my medieval tragedy.

As I read about Ms. Baker’s life, though, I came to realize that hers was no tale of glamour and glitz—not exclusively.

Josephine Baker grew up in the slums of St. Louis, Missouri, a child of abject poverty and abuse. The theater was her escape, not only from her sorrow but also, on a more practical level, from the life of servitude and struggle that would have been her legacy had she remained in St. Louis. Her grandparents had been slaves. Her mother was a laundress married to a mentally-ill alcoholic. Josephine had a talent for dancing and buck teeth, and used these assets to their fullest extent. She went on the “Strawberry Trail,” the black vaudeville circuit, as a comedic chorus dancer, and stole every show.

The tour ended and she landed back in St. Louis with her sights on the Booker T. The Booker T. Washington Theatre offered vaudeville shows featuring African-American performers including Bessie Smith, “The Empress of the Blues.” Josephine landed a spot in one of the touring companies passing through and never looked back. She trained her body and practiced her moves until she was good enough for the chorus of “Shuffle Along,” the hit musical headed to Broadway. When she heard they were looking for a “hoofer” she took a train from Philadelphia, where she lived, to New York and slept on a Central Park bench the night before her audition. She was 15 years old.

Four years later, she hit the Paris stage in “La Revue Negre,” and became an overnight sensation. Soon she was headlining in the famous Folies-Bergère theater and traveling the world, Europe’s most highly-paid performer. She would also become the first black film star; the first black woman to headline with the Ziegfeld Follies in New York; the first black opera diva to sing in Paris’s Opera Garnier, and more. But Josephine Baker never forgot who she was, or the people she’d left behind.

In her 30s, as is true for so many women, Josephine Baker underwent a transformation. In her case, she blossomed from a needy, narcissistic youth to an empowered and formidable woman. The rise of Adolf Hitler was her catalyst: she joined the French Resistance as a spy to seduce and charm generals and diplomats into revealing their secrets, then smuggled the information across borders to deliver to the Allies. She risked her life many times because of her hatred of the Nazis and their racism, and when the Nazis invaded France, she helped a number of Jews escape.

After the war, having tasted the power to make a difference, Josephine Baker turned her efforts to fighting racial discrimination in the United States. Before agreeing to perform in Miami’s Copa City Club, she insisted that its audiences be racially integrated. The experiment’s smashing success inspired other clubs to follow suit, allowing black patrons for the first time because of Josephine Baker.

Buoyed by the response, Ms. Baker held a press conference to announce her U.S. tour—and stipulated that she would only perform in and patronize integrated venues. She continued to generate publicity throughout the tour: canceling her Atlanta shows after being turned away by city hotels; conducting a citizen’s arrest of a man in Los Angeles who made racist comments about her, and more.

She was relentless—and, in the minds of some, she went too far. Prominent white men including the celebrity journalist Walter Winchell and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, accused her of being a Communist sympathizer. Her agent warned her to tone down her criticisms lest she lose everything, including the film deal with a script by Ernest Hemingway.

Although she badly needed the money, Josephine Baker refused to back down. And she did lose everything, including her beloved castle in southern France, home for her multiracial “Rainbow Tribe” of children adopted from cultures around the world.

Josephine Baker’s life was no mere confection, as I had originally envisioned. She led a rich, full, active life with, ultimately, one goal: the elimination of racism. Although banned from the U.S. after her 1951 tour, she was invited to return in 1963 for the March on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She was the only woman to speak.

All my books thus far have featured real-life women who, in spite of the many forces against them, have realized their potential as human beings and made a positive difference for change.

Josephine Baker was one of the most influential people who have ever lived. Like Dr. King, whom she knew, she embodied love, peace, and equality. She inspired me to write JOSEPHINE BAKER’S LAST DANCE, and her example continues to encourage me, every day, to use my powers to make a difference in our crazy world.

About the Author

Author and journalist Sherry Jones is best known for her international bestseller The Jewel of Medina. She is also the author of The Sword of MedinaFour SistersAll QueensThe Sharp Hook of Love, and the novella White Heart.  Sherry lives in Spokane, WA, where, like Josephine Baker, she enjoys dancing, singing, eating, advocating for equality, and drinking champagne.
Her latest novel is Josephine Baker’s Last Dance.


About the Book:

From the author of The Jewel of Medina, a moving and insightful novel based on the life of legendary performer and activist Josephine Baker, perfect for fans of The Paris Wife and Hidden Figures.

Discover the fascinating and singular life story of Josephine Baker—actress, singer, dancer, Civil Rights activist, member of the French Resistance during WWII, and a woman dedicated to erasing prejudice and creating a more equitable world—in Josephine Baker’s Last Dance.

In this illuminating biographical novel, Sherry Jones brings to life Josephine's early years in servitude and poverty in America, her rise to fame as a showgirl in her famous banana skirt, her activism against discrimination, and her many loves and losses. From 1920s Paris to 1960s Washington, to her final, triumphant performance, one of the most extraordinary lives of the twentieth century comes to stunning life on the page.

With intimate prose and comprehensive research, Sherry Jones brings this remarkable and compelling public figure into focus for the first time in a joyous celebration of a life lived in technicolor, a powerful woman who continues to inspire today.

Purchase Josephine Baker’s Last Dance in paperback,  ebook,  and  audiobook  formats on  Simon and Schuster’s website (available on Amazon,  Barnes and Noble,  BooksAMillion,  Indiebound,  Kobo,  and  other sites). Learn more about Sherry’s books  at  www.authorsherryjones.com

Behind the Mic: JOSEPHINE BAKER'S LAST DANCE with Adenrele Ojo. Listen as she discusses what it was like to narrate this epic book: https://youtu.be/lHd0amFM3oo