What a Trip

The photos tell the story, but I will confirm, the Femme Tour got off to a really great start! We sold lots of books and met lots of our troops. Not to mention making memories that will last a lifetime. Besides meeting medics that looked all of fifteen and had already seen action, we visited the Oklahoma City bombing site. It was the most humbling experience I've had in a long time. After the tears passed, we left and went to Ihop where the girls ate like we hadn't been fed all day! Thank you to all the managers and PX personnel who helped us on this tour. We appreciate you so much and we hope to visit your base again soon. Enjoy the photos and stay posted for more blogs.
JBM-Carmen Green

Countdown to The Femme Fantastik Tour

Hi Friends,
Yesterday I saw Berta Platas at the GRW meeting, and I asked her had she started working out in preparation for the Femme Fantastik Tour. She gave me this quizzical look. No, was her cryptic reply. I told her no offense, but Lori and Nina get sick on tour. They eat the wrong food and the next thing you know, you're carrying Nina's bag of 2000 shoes and dragging Lori on a stretcher to the nearest ER for an allergy scare. ReShonda, well, she can't stop having babies, and Trisha, well, she's just special. I'm the only healthy one, I told her, sucking in one cheek. That usually means I'm lying, but, whatever. I suggested a couple chin ups, some bicep and tricep curls and jogging for endurance would be in order. Berta, for the record, didn't believe me. (Her mistake)

In all seriousness, in less than 30 days our tour will begin. Last year we had allergy scares, bootleg limousine rides, book and author no shows and funny radio interviews, but in the midst of it all we were honored to meet the service men and women who make it possible for us to sleep at night. We loved meeting their families on church Sunday's, their children on cheerleading and haircut Saturday's, and their mother's and father's shopping in the PX on Friday's. It was our pleasure to shake their hands, give a hug of encouragement and share a laugh with these brave young people. Selling our books was a gift to us, not them. I gained so much. Humility. Honor. Pride. I learned from these people about the meaning of bravery.
This year we're bigger and we're bringing a few guest authors with us. So get ready because here we come. We'll see you in a few weeks!
Carmen

Femmes on the Soul Expressions Tour

ReShonda (Deceptakon), Lori (Diva Lite), and Nina (Diva Goddess) standing by the Soul Expressions Bus--our chariot for four days as we traveled across Indiana and Illinois. The nicknames--those given to us by our bus Wrangler.




Lori and Nina working the table in Wal-Mart. We visited 12 stores in three days in two states. We were working it!




ReShonda, Billy Dee, Lori's little head, and Nina at the Wal-Mart in Country Club Hills, IL. The man is aging nicely. A bit slower than days past but still smooth as hell. He joined us at the Wal-Mart and then later in the evening for a public meet and greet with the public. There was a private reception with just the 19 authors and Billy where we got to speak to him and take pictures.

All these pictures are courtesy of Nina Foxx. Visit her blog, The Vixen Chronicles, for more highlights of the tour.

Back on the Bus

Look for four out of the seven Femmes on the upcoming Levy Home Entertainment's Soul Expressions Author Tour. ReShonda, Nina, Trisha and Lori will climb on board August 8-12 with several other authors visiting Walmart stores in Indiana and Illinois. It should be very interesting as we spend four days on a 'luxury motor coach' or as Nina puts it a Greyhound Bus with DVD players. ReShonda has already inquired if there is a first class section (she'll need the space as in the four days she's sure to knock out at least two books) and Trisha is threatening to bring her 'mop and shine' out in each stop! Lori refuses to sit a) in the back by the lavatory and b) next to Nina's shoe trunks. We're thinking of running a contest to have you guess how many shoes Nina brings on the bus with her but we can't come up with an appropriate prize. A gift certificate to DWS perhaps? We'll keep you posted.

We'll be blogging on the road and I know our budding movie director will be posting more embarrassing footage. God, please don't let me get caught in that oh so embarrassing "asleep on the bus, mouth open snoring like a lumberjack pose." I'll swear on the life of my kids that my head was superimposed on Carmen's body (wait, she can't be there because she'll be in NJ doing her residency weeks for her Masters). But if you hear of some lucky Walmart customer finding a pair of Jimmy Choos in the shoe section, you'll know I got my revenge on Nina but good.

Stay tuned...somehow I think this tour is going to be funny as hell.

Behind the Scenes with Femme Fantastik

Not sure if this falls under the category of "Too Much Information" but take a look. Remember, despite what you see or hear, we are all talent authors with genius potential!

Join the Femmes in Austin, TX

Halle a Femme Fantastik (Sort of)

Halle Berry is set to go bald for new movie
By Bob Tourtellotte
Reuters

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Her beauty trumps many a starlet in youth-obsessed Hollywood, but Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry , at age 40, is preparing to go where few leading actresses would dare. Berry is going bald. The actress, whose roles include sexy secret agent Jinx in the James Bond flick "Die Another Day," is shaving her brunette locks for a new movie that could start shooting as soon as this summer, Berry told reporters late Wednesday.

"I'm going to shave my head bald. I can't believe it," she said. Berry will shed her hair for a romantic comedy she said is currently titled "Nappily Ever After." The star plays a woman whose hair is starting to fall out, so she decides to shave it all. Afterward, she must deal with people's perceptions of who she is and how her hair defined her. Berry said her character "is forced to look at what beauty is, and it comes from inside." "I still struggle with this hair issue," she said. "I'm going to get the lesson on film, and hopefully other women will get it, too." Her plan is to shave her real hair on film and not fake it by wearing a cap. But it will be more than a year before moviegoers will see Berry go bald because a new draft of "Nappily Ever After" was only recently completed.

"As I've gotten older, I've become more comfortable with who I really am -- all parts of me -- knowing that my physical self doesn't diminish me in any way, or my talent," she said. Nor, for that matter, does her hair.

PS Don Imus this does not make what you said in any way correct!

Okay, now what does this have to do with the headline that proclaims Halle as a Femme (sort of)? Well, Nappily Ever After was written by none other than, our Fantastik Femme, Trisha R. Thomas! If you haven't read this amazing book, run to find it before the sequel, Happily Married, comes out in June. And be sure you come out to see her this fall when we're on tour!

Fantastik New Authors for 2007-2008

The Femme Fantastik Tour is back and better than ever. When last we spoke, the founding Femmes, Nina, Carmen and Lori, were all holed up in our respective offices working away on new books to bring to you this year. Well, we're finished and have done an awesome job, we might add. We've also added four new guest authors to this year's tour and you're absolutely going to love them. We're so happy they're joining us and we're looking forward to hitting the road together.


ReShonda Tate Billingsley joins the Femmes as our fourth permanent author. She is the bestselling author of several Inspirational books including, Let the Church Say Amen and I Know I've Been Changed. She also has a nonfiction book, Help!I've Turned Into My Mother, and launched a young adult series last year with Nothing But Drama and Blessings in Disguise. She's fast gaining on Carmen for most prolific Femme, though with 'only' eight books, she's still got a ways to go!

Guest author, Trisha R. Thomas, is the bestselling author of the books Nappily Ever After, Roadrunner, and Would I Lie To You? (she might try, just warning you now!). She's been nominated for an NAACP Image Award and the film rights to Nappily were optioned by Halle Berry. Her new book, Nappily Married, will be released in June.

Dr. Wendy Coakley-Thompson is the author of the popular novels, What You Won't Do For Love and Back to Life. She's also the host of the Book Squad, a radio show in Washington, D.C. You can listen by logging onto http://www.wmet1160.com/ on Fridays from 12-1:00 pm.

We're very excited to welcome Berta Platas, author of Cinderella Lopez and Friday Night Chicas to the tour. Berta gives the Femmes a little Latina flavor and is yet another shining example of how Fantastik women come in all shapes, colors and sizes. Nina and Lori are particularly happy to have another martini drinker on board!

The new Femme Fantastik Tour officially kicks off in September 2007 and will visit twelve military bases around the country. We'll also be planning signings and other Femme events in most of the cities we visit so listen out for the click, click, click of our stilettos when we hit your town this fall.