Did you know that the power of WORDS are so strong that it could move mountains? That rumors, gossip, chat, talk, email and effective communication could not only (sometimes) ruin your life, but also start life anew?

Well, through my newsletter - "The QUICK TIMES," I'm hoping that whatever you use as a form of communication that you "faithfully" use it for me. That you tell a friend or forward to a co ‘worker so that the POWER OF WORDS continues it's journey and flow.


In this newsletter, I intend to shamelessly promote my new book "Addicted to You." There will be an excerpt from the book, comments and sometimes suggestions. My goal is to enlighten you on this deep dark subject, as well as get the word out of ATY "ADDICTED TO YOU."

Now, "ATY" is the story of a baby born addicted to cocaine. This baby, baby Nickie takes you a journey from the seed in the womb (as the unborn baby literally narrates her journey from the womb) into a scandalous adulthood filled with lots of heartache and pain. Her battles are many, but the end results will clearly shock you.

EXCERPT:
"Two months in the womb and my mom (Joslyn) was feeding me Cocaine." Cocaine that for six months of my womb life made me very happy and in the very same breath, made my womb life very sad. I remember the first time; it seemed like only yesterday....
Floating in what I know now as the amniotic sac, I remember lying on my back and staring up. Suddenly a burst of raging smoke came hurdling down mom's passageway.
I didn't know at the time what to do so I did nothing; but the smoke sort of wrapped itself around me and started to choke me without my consent. My lungs, although not completely formed yet, still allowed me to cough and choke. I had no choice; in fact there were no choices. My hands and fingers, although in the midst of forming, were not completely formed yet. Pint size feet and legs, what could they do?
I could hear though. Most of the time muffled and unclear, but I could hear; and for the most part what I heard was that mommy needed to smoke Cocaine all the time... And so did I.
END OF EXCERPT

MESSAGE/GOAL:
For me, this book represents the voice of EVERY unborn child and even if I didn’t write it, I would still share in the marketing strategy and try to get this message out... "I AM REAL AND I AM ALIVE, PLEASE DO NOT HURT ME.

BLESSED WORDS:
A good friend of mine, Kathy Bosworth, she’s the author of "Your Mother Has Suffered a Slight Stroke" contacted me a few days ago and was telling me (again, the power of words) how she believes my book would make a great reading selection for women who were living in shelters, or women who attend AA or NA (narcotics anonymous). As a result, I followed up on her idea, did a little research of my own and found a couple of shelters located right here in Chicago that I’ve not only, donated some copies of my book to, but, was wold that shooting a short documentary film of the women was not out of the question. In fact, my contact person not only embraced the idea, but welcomed it. Thank you Kathy!

So, I say all of that to say this… NEVER under estimate the power of words because the end result will tell all.

DID YOU KNOW…
· That the teen birth rate for African Americans ages 15 to 17 declined 21 percent between 1991 and 1996; despite this decline, the African-American teen birth rate remains at 91.7 births per 1,000 women, almost double the rate for Caucasian teens of 48.1 births per 1,000 women.
· African-American teens accounted for 23 percent of teen births in 1995.
· Illinois has the third-highest rate of all states for teenage pregnancy among African Americans ages 15 to 19; each year 126.2 babies per 1,000 teens are born to African Americans.
· 9% of teenage girls have low-birth weight babies. Every 26 seconds another adolescent becomes pregnant and every 56 seconds another adolescent gives birth.
· 9 million children living in welfare families. 2/3 of never married mothers now raise their children in poverty.
· Children of teen mothers are far more likely than the children of older, two parent families to fall behind and drop out of school. Their also at risk of getting into trouble with the law, to abuse drugs and join gangs, to have children of their own out of wedlock, and to become dependant on welfare.

Well, for more statistics and detailed information on this subject as well as contact info, visit my den at http://www.authorsden.com/den/NewsDen.asp

UPCOMING PROJECTS:
· November 17, 2001 I will be at African American Images bookstore signing copies of my book and meeting my (for now) very small fan base and hopefully collecting new fans. 1909 W 95th Street, Chicago IL 60643 at 12:00pm. It would surely make my day to see you there.
· 107.5 WGCI radio has secured me an interview spot on their morning show in November 2001.
· I’m working diligently trying to get on V103 – The Tom Joyner Morning show.

CONGRATULATIONS TO:
· Tyrone Godfrey – Author of Ledgends of Prophecy - Tyrone has an excellent book out and just secured a review with Myshelf.com. http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?id=3700
· Diane Wattles – Author of “Today I Smile” – Diane’s book is a powerful read and a must read.
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?AuthorID=3905
· Lynn Barry – Author of “Puddles” – Lynn book was recently released by AmErica House... Her book design is just as amazing as her story.
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/msgboardpost.asp?AuthorID=4254


MARKETING STRATIGIE:
· Did you know that the one of the most important strategies a writer should have is being published in Ebook? According to the May 2001 issue of Publishers Weekly our best weapon of promotion is getting our book published as an Ebook. See, that way we can generate a larger audience for free, which eventually leads to better sales.

IN CLOSING:
Almost any author will tell you that they don’t care about the money, they are just happy that they are published. Well, once that author wakes up from that dream, you better believe the first thing they do is WRITE. The payoff of a well written story, PRICELESS.