I hope you all had a good Christmas. Be sure to check your email to see if you were a winner.  I have several books to give away. Please respond back with your address ASAP if you are so I can forward to the publishers to have your book shipped directly to you.

 or

The winners have been chosen for the eSpot CD Prize Pack (check your email to see if you were one of the winners). There were three winners and may end up being more if more CDs come in. One of the CDs the winners will get is Keyshia Cole’s new one:

….each prize pack may contain different CDs…so congrats to the three winners.

Be sure to check your email Friday or Saturday of this week to see if you’re one of 8 winners in the book contest that was announced here on my blog www.sheliagoss.com/blog.

Intimate Conversation with author Shelia M. Goss

Shelia M. Goss’ journey into the literary world began several years ago. She’s received recognition in Writer’s Digest and The New York Times. Her books have been on bestsellers lists such as the Dallas Morning News, Essence Magazine, and Black Expressions Book Club.


My Invisible Husband, Roses are thorns (Violets are true), Paige’s Web, and Double Platinum are published under Kensington Books Urban Soul imprint. Be on the lookout for two new books in 2009 from Shelia – His Invisible Wife (July 2009) and her first teen book, The Ultimate Test (June 2009).

To read the rest of the interview, CLICK HERE.

Nathasha Brooks-Harris is the author of Panache, Can I Get an Amen, Can I Get an Amen Again, etc. I first met her back in 2003 during a writing workshop she hosted. I still utilize the things I learned from her workshop today.

What’s one thing (besides writing) that you enjoy doing?

Actually, there are two things besides writing that I enjoy doing: making cloth dolls and quilting.  I took a dollmaking class in 1993 because I was bored and wanted something to do, and I’ve been making them ever since. My grandmother quilted and I’d been fascinated by them since I was a child. When I found out there was a local quilting guild, I joined and started making quilts. So far, several of my dolls have been exhibited in museums, art shows, galleries, and in Mount Vernon City Hall. A couple of my quilts have been in quilting magazines. Those t hings made  very happy because they began as hobbies and became something else.

To read the rest of my interview with Nathasha Brooks-Harris, click here.

I am excited to announce my new Young Adult Series – The Lip Gloss Chronicles. The first book, The Ultimate Test, will be in stores in June 2009.

Advanced Review:

The Ultimate Test: The Lip Gloss Chronicles by 

Shelia Marie Goss
ISBN: 978-1-60162-186-3

Publisher: Kensington Books/Urban Books

Imprint: Urban Renaissance

Young Adult (4 Stars)

Girls Will Be Girls? 

The Ultimate Test by Shelia Marie Goss is the prolific author’s first novel for and about young adults. From the first page, the reader is caught up in the flavor, authenticity, and language of young adults and how they feel, think, and respond to what goes on around them. Britney Franklin is a young, beautiful, rich fly-girl. She and her friends, Sierra and Jasmine, have been girls since grade school and they share everything. The three of them are very excited about their freshman year at Plano High School . However, they are going to find out that with growing up comes growing pains.  

On the first day of school, the young ladies set their eyes on D.J. and immediately Sierra and Jasmine are smitten. Britney is not impressed with him and is amazed that her friends will potentially allow a boy to come between them. There are also other girls on the scene, such as Tanisha who is also interested in D.J. and will possibly fight for his attention but, surely these classy young women know better than that?  

The trio face other issues that are as important as boy troubles. Britney is horrified to discover her parents are expecting another child when she is a teenager and has been an only child. Sierra is dealing with weight gain and how that affects her self-esteem. And, though she will never admit it, Jasmine is dealing with jealousy of a friend. Will these young ladies be able to grow up and stay together or will the tests they face tear them apart?  Ms. Goss answers these questions and more in her wonderful novel about young girls in today’s world.  

I recommend The Ultimate Test to all readers. Teens will be able to relate and appreciate and older readers will reflect and remember.  

Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub

That’s right Usher and Tameka have a new baby boy–baby makes two for Usher. Here’s my favorite picture of him with his first son:

The Raymond household got an early Christmas present as Usher and Tameka welcomed their new baby, Naviyd Ely Raymond, around 2:33 A.M. on Wednesday. The baby weighs in at 5 pounds and 13 ounces, according to Usher’s rep Simone Smalls of Simone Smalls Public Relations. To read more, go to Essence.com.