Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Love in the Shadows by Barbara Wallace Love in the Shadows. Teacher Jenny Travolini doesn't care that the town's reclusive, cold-hearted tycoon millionaire won't see her. They have business to discuss—like how his dog knocked up her dog. However, Nicholas Bonaparte isn't exactly what Jenny imagined. Arrogant and icy? Absolutely. But the shadows can't conceal the raw, sensuality of his voice. or how it sends shivers along Jenny's skin. Nicolas knows his reputation for being cold and aloof. He welcomes it, in fact. He prefers to stay in the shadows, hiding the scars that mar both his skin and his soul. Yet something in Jenny calls to him, lights a raging fire that deep within him. There is more here than mere lust . More than passion. But the past is a shadow that won't be left behind. even when it threatens the hope of true love. Genre: Romance. Love in the Shadows by Barbara Wallace. "Today in History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture. On this date in. 1940: On The , Rose Kransky (Ruth Bailey) and Charles Cunningham had dinner together after a chance meeting on the street. The episode opened with the following narration: "Where we are free to act, we are also free to refrain from acting. And where we are able to say no, we are also able to say yes. And yet it seems so strange that so many times what we will to be, and what the facts strictly are contrary one to the other." 1949: The final episode of John Haggart's A Woman to Remember aired on the DuMont Television Network. 1966: On Dark Shadows , the Collins family learned Roger had been in an accident. 1968: The daytime soap opera premiered on ABC. The original planned title for the series was Between Heaven and Hell . This was still the plan as of late April, and Don Wallace was expected to be the executive producer. The original cast included Ernest Graves as , Paul Tulley as Dr. Larry Wolek, Trish Van Devere as Meredith Lord, as , Antony Ponzini as Vince Wolek, Doris Belack as Anna Wolek, Ellen Holly as Carla Benari (Gray), Lee Patterson as Joe Riley, Niki Flacks as Karen Martin, Terry Logan as Dr. Ted Hale, Allan Miller as Dave Siegel, Lillian Hayman as , Donald Moffat as Dr. Marcus Polk, Thalmus Rasulala as Lt. Jack Neal, Patricia Roe as Eileen Siegel, and Thurman Scott as Dr. Price Trainor. One Life to Live aired on ABC until January 13, 2012. It premiered online via Prospect Park's The OnLine Network on April 29, 2013, and ran for one season before being canceled again. Check out some clips from a 1969 episode below. Here's a montage of OLTL opening sequences during the ABC years. 1975: On Another World , Mackenzie Cory (Douglass Watson) visited Rachel Davis Frame (Victoria Wyndham) at the home of her mother, Ada McGowan (Constance Ford), and implored her to come home, and to forgive him for doubting her fidelity after falling prey to the manipulations of his daughter, Iris Carrington (Beverlee McKinsey). Later, a distraught Iris begged Mac not to sever their relationship, and Ada and Gil tried to convince Rachel to stay in Bay City. 1977: Soap opera spoof All That Glitters , from Norman Lear, aired for the final time after 65 episodes. Eileen Brennan, Greg Evigan, Lois Nettleton, Gary Sandy, Tim Thomerson, Linda Gray, Louise Shaffer and Jessica Walter were among the stars. 1982: On , Holly Sutton (Emma Samms) reunited with her father, Charles Sutton (Mark Roberts), to review the details of their scheme involving . 1983: On , Phoebe Wallingford (Ruth Warrick) fretted over her "dreadful brawl" with Opal Gardner (), and Opal took to the streets to make her case. 1983: Lauralee Bell debuted as Cricket Blair on The Young and the Restless . 1986: On Another World , at the police station Jim LaRusso (Walt Willey) and Cass Winthrop (Stephen Schnetzer) each made accusations against each other. 1992: Celeste Holm taped her last episode as Isabelle after being dismissed from Loving . She passed away exactly 20 years later on July 15, 2012, at age 95. 1993: On One Life to Live , Wanda Wolek (Marilyn Chris) reflects on having lived in for 25 years. The episode closed with a montage and voice over by longtime star , who began playing Victoria Lord in 1971. At the time of the 25th anniversary , One Life to Live was executive produced by Linda Gottlieb, with and serving as head writers. The writing team included , Susan Bedsow Horgan, , Lloyd Gold, Becky Cole, David Smilow and David Cherrill. directed the episode. 1996: On Another World , Gabe (John Bolger) ordered a forensics report on Yvette's body and learned the person who killed Yvette also committed the other murders. The same killer would murder Frankie Frame on August 19. 1999: On Passions , Eve Russell (Tracey Ross) visited the fortune teller who knew about her deep dark secret. Meanwhile, Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald (Galen Gering) found his sister, Theresa (Lindsay Korman, now Lindsay Hartley), a job at the cannery. 2005: Actress Lisa Lindgren died at age 45. She played Kathy Summers in General Hospital in the early 1980s. 2013: One One Life to Live , passion ignited in Llanview, and () and (Kassie DePaiva) made love. By its 45th anniversary, One Life to Live had moved online and was produced by Prospect Park. The show was executive produced by Jennifer Pepperman, along with Jeffrey Kwatinetz and Richard Frank. The reboot was written by Susan Bedsow Horgan and Thom Racina, along with (at this point) Jessica Klein, Michael Slade and Marin Gazzaniga. Celebrating a birthday today: Judson Earney Scott (ex-Sacha, The Colbys ; ex-Clay, One Life to Live ; ex-Peter, General Hospital ) - 67 Terry O'Quinn (ex-John, Lost ; ex-Jerry, The Doctors ) - 67 Anne Rose Brooks (ex-Stephanie, The Doctors ; ex-Diana, Another World ) - 56 Shari Headley (ex-Mimi, All My Children ; ex-Heather, The Bold and the Beautiful ; ex-Felicia, Guiding Light ) - 55 Leonard Stabb (ex-Hart, Guiding Light ; ex-Hunter, One Life to Live ) - 55 Stan Kirsch (ex-Carl, General Hospital ) - 51 Scott Foley (ex-Patrick, True Blood ; ex-Henry, Grey's Anatomy ) - 47 Brian Austin Green (ex-David, Beverly Hills, 90210 ; ex-Brian, Knots Landing ) - 46 Lana Parrilla (ex-Regina, Once Upon a Time ; ex-Trina, Swingtown ) - 42 Laura Benanti (ex-Carol-Lynne, The Playboy Club ) - 40 Mishael Morgan (ex-Hillary, The Young and the Restless ) - 33 Tristan Wilds (ex-Dixon, 90210 ; ex-Michael, The Wire ) - 30. Love in the Shadows by Barbara Wallace. As we close out 2012 ("The Year of the Soap") We Love Soaps wants to pay tribute to those we lost this year both in front of and behind the camera. Below is the 2012 In Memoriam list which includes a number of legends from the world of soap operas. Click on the name to read the obituary. Ian Abercrombie SEINFELD's Mr. Pitt, Abercrombie appeared in recent years on and DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. He was also on GENERAL HOSPITAL in the '80s (playing Mr. Diamond, part of Celia's storyline) and again in the '90s (Clive), and had roles on SANTA BARBARA (Phillip, the Capwell's butler), GENERATIONS, THE COLBYS, DYNASTY, TWIN PEAKS, KNOTS LANDING and FALCON CREST. Phillip R. Allen Pplayed a policeman an episode of DARK SHADOWS in 1970. In 1981, he guest starred on DALLAS as Lloyd Bettinger. Joan Anderson Began her professional career as 'Joan Barton' in radio dramas heard over WHK and WGAR in Cleveland. One-time casting director that selected actors for hundreds of commercials for Procter & Gamble soaps ANOTHER WORLD and . Dimitra Arliss In 1996, she appeared in GENERAL HOSPITAL as Helena Cassadine. She memorably guest-starred in DALLAS as Hatton, the nurse who gave Sue Ellen alcohol while she was in the sanitarium in 1979. R. G. Armstrong In 1982 he guest starred in DYNASTY as Alfred Grimes, Little Blake's kidnapper. Dick Beals Starred in radio soap opera ONE MAN'S FAMILY. Zina Bethune Played Barbara Sterling on LOVE OF LIFE, Robin Lang Holden on GUIDING LIGHT, Priscilla MacIntosh on SANTA BARBARA, and Lisha Steele on YOUNG DOCTOR MALONE. Her role as Gail Lucas, the student nurse on the 1960s primetime soap, THE NURSES (later known as THE DOCTORS AND THE NURSES), may have been her most famous role. (NOTE: Bethune is pictured above with THE NURSES co-star William Shatner.) Peter Breck Played Magus (and Agent Masters) as part of the David Grey story line in GENERAL HOSPITAL in 1982. Bob Brunner Brunner was showrunner at the time of the now infamous "jump the shark" HAPPY DAYS episode where Fonzie travels to Hollywood and engages in a water-skiing challenge. Since then, the phrase "jump the shark" became known as the point where a TV show begins its decline. Philip Bruns Appeared on two seasons of MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN, playing Mary's father. His daytime soap roles included Mr. Schaeffer on RYAN'S HOPE and Dr. Porchenko on GENERAL HOSPITAL. Gene Bua Became a soap opera idol as Bill Prentiss on CBS TV's long-running daytime drama, LOVE OF LIFE, where he met his co-star, Toni Bull (pictured above). Bua and Bull remained married until his death. Bua's other soap roles included Dr. Robert Monday in HOW TO SURVIVE A MARRIAGE and Steve Slade in SOMERSET. Barry Cahill Husband of longtime GENERAL HOSPITAL star Rachel Ames, Cahill played Sam Powers during the early years of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. He also appeared in SANTA BARBARA and DYNASTY. Leonardo Cimino In the early 1980s he replaced Dominic Chianese as Alexei Vartova (Joe Novak's rival) on RYAN'S HOPE. He later appeared in 'V' and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Dick Clark AMERICAN BANDSTAND host and producer of several Daytime . Gary Collins Soap roles included Bob Kerry in DIRTY SEXY MONEY and Harry Curtis in THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. Carolyn Conwell Played Mary Williams on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS for many years. Linda Cook Played memorable roles on a number of soaps including (Laurie Ann Karr), RYAN'S HOPE, LOVING (Egypt Jones Masters), ALL MY CHILDREN and (three different roles in) AS THE WORLD TURNS. Jerome Courtland Director for primetime soaps KNOTS LANDING, FALCON CREST, DYNASTY and THE COLBYS. Miguel Couturier Appeared in the telenovelas in MIRADA DE MUJER and MAREA BRAVA, and the American-produced series EL DIEZ. Lillian Cvecich Longtime hair stylist for , ANOTHER WORLD and AS THE WORLD TURNS. Sahara Davenport Contestant from RUPAUL's DRAG RACE that once appeared on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Richard Dawson Host of game show FAMILY FEUD which featured a number of Soap Opera Showdown weeks with the stars of daytime. Phyllis Diller Guest starred in THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL as Gladys Pope. The Bell family friend also appeared in Lauralee Bell's hit web series FAMILY DINNER. In 1984 she made a memorable appearance in AS THE WORLD TURNS as Marcy's (Marisa Tomei) Fairy Godmother. Michael Clarke Duncan Played Slash on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL early in his career. Virginia Dwyer Her roles included Mary Matthews in ANOTHER WORLD, Janice Turner in AS THE WORLD TURNS, Janice Turner Hughes, Ruth Jannings Holden in THE GUIDING LIGHT, Tracey Malone in YOUNG DOCTOR MALONE, Jane Edwards Ames in , and Jocelyn Brentof in THE ROAD OF LIFE. Charles Durning From July to November 1972, Durning played Gil McGowan in ANOTHER WORLD. Elizabeth Eis Played Nelle Gunston, Buffie Harrington, and Mildred Ward in the original series of DARK SHADOWS. She appeared in a total of 15 episodes. Barbara Esensten In 1987 DYNASTY producers Esther and Richard Shapiro hired two ex-news reporters to write several scripts for the new season. Esensten, who worked for an all-news radio station in Los Angeles, and James Harmon Brown (pictured with Esensten above), a former reporter for the Los Angeles Times , signed on to make the show more vital and realistic. Along with Brown, Esensten went on to write for LOVING, THE CITY (a show she co-created), GUIDING LIGHT, , ONE LIFE TO LIVE and ALL MY CHILDREN. They were nominated for two Writer Guild of America Awards and five Daytime Emmy Awards for their soap opera work, winning for GUIDING LIGHT in 1993. They were part of the ALL MY CHILDREN team nominated earlier this year. Chad Everett Played Thomas Sterling in the original MELROSE PLACE and Dr. Joseph Vernon in PACIFIC PALISADES. James Farentino Had recurring roles on DYNASTY (Dr. Nick Toscanni), MELROSE PLACE (Mr. Beck) and ER (Ray Ross), on which he played George Clooney’s estranged father. Al Freeman Jr. Best known to soap opera fans from his long-running role as Captain Ed Hall in ONE LIFE TO LIVE, opposite Ellen Holly's Carla. Freeman also played Assistant District Attorney Ben Lee in THE EDGE OF NIGHT. Jonathan Frid Best known for his role as Barnabas Collins on the original DARK SHADOWS afternoon soap opera on ABC. Kevin Gill Director at LOVING (January 1989 – January 1990) and GENERAL HOSPITAL (January 1990 – March 1991). Director and producer for ALL MY CHILDREN (August 1996 – August 1997). Cliff Goodwin For several played roles in GUIDING LIGHT, AS THE WORLD TURNS and THE EDGE OF NIGHT. Larry Hagman Played Curt Williams in SEARCH FOR TOMORROW. In 1961 he joined the cast of THE EDGE OF NIGHT as policeman turned attorney Ed Gibson (he had played a smaller role on EDGE in the past). Best known for the iconic role of J.R. Ewing in DALLAS, which he reprised in 2012 on the new TNT version of the show. Mary Hanes Teaming with husband Ken Hanes, co-executive produced five episodes of ABC Family’s primetime soap opera MAKE IT OR BREAK IT. Robert Hegyes Best known as Juan from WELCOME BACK KOTTER, played one of the Vipers (Pete's gang) on DAYS OF OUR LIVES in 1985. Brian Hibbard Member of the a cappella group The Flying Pickets. Appeared in CASUALTY, CORONATION STREET (Doug Murray) and EMMERDALE (Bobby-John Downes). One of his last roles was in EASTENDERS, playing a former social worker named Henry Mason. Celeste Holm Soap opera credits included roles as Clara and Lydia Woodhouse (guest appearance in 1986) and Isabella Alden In LOVING (1991-1992), Lauren Roberts In AS THE WORLD TURNS (1981) , Anna Rossini In FALCON CREST (1985). During her LOVING appearances Holm was married to Wesley Addy (pictured with her above), who played the role of Cabot Alden on the series. They were married in 1966 and stayed together until his death in 1996. Whitney Soap viewers recall an early public appearance by Houston with Jermaine Jackson on AS THE WORLD TURNS in 1984. Houston garnered much acclaim from her role, which led to her first single, "Saving All My Love For You," hitting the Billboard charts just months after appearing in Oakdale. Geoffrey Hughes The actor was perhaps best known as Eddie Yates in CORONATION STREET from 1974 to 1983, reappearing in 1987. John Ingle Played Edward Quartermaine in GENERAL HOSPITAL until his death. Daytime soap opera fans also remember Ingle from his run as Mickey Horton in DAYS OF OUR LIVES. His primetime soap roles included guest appearances in DALLAS, KNOTS LANDING, MELROSE PLACE and BEVERLY HILLS, 90210. Caroline John Best known for playing DOCTOR WHO's companion Liz Shaw. Davy Jones Prior to his fame on THE MONKEES, Jones had roles on other shows including British soap opera CORONATION STREET, where he played Colin Lomax in 1961. Kathryn Joosten Emmy Award-winning actress who played Karen McCluskey in DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES. Other roles included Ida Warren in GENERAL HOSPITAL and Dolores Landingham in THE WEST WING. Bobbi Jordan In the mid-1970s had a three-year stint as former nightclub owner and singer Terri Webber Arnett on GENERAL HOSPITAL, Rick and Jeff's older sister. Steven Kanumba One of Tanzania's most famous soap stars. David Kelly Known for comedy FAWLTY TOWERS, soap fans remember his appearances in the British series EMMERDALE in the 1970s as Mick Cavan, and in the Irish serial GLENROE in the 1980s as Sylvie Dolan. Jack Klugman Began his career in 1954 on the NBC daytime soap opera THE GREATEST GIFT where he played Jim Hanson. Johnny Lewis Played motorcycle gang member Half Sack in SONS OF ANARCHY. Had recurring roles on THE O.C. and AMERICAN DREAMS. Michael Lipton Starred as Neil Wade in AS THE WORLD TURNS, Dr. Stan Kurtz in SOMERSET, and Augustus Harper in ONE LIFE TO LIVE. (NOTE: Pictured above on right with ATWT co-stars Peter Brandon as Donald as Deborah Steinberg as Amanda.) Milla Louw Known for her role as Tannie Schoeman in the South African soap opera 7DE LAAN. Claire Malis Played Dorian Lord on ONE LIFE TO LIVE from February 1977 to April 1979. Mabel Manzotti Argentine film, stage and television actress whose telenovela credits included the role of Amanda in the telenovela VIDAS ROBADAS. Walter Matthews Recurred on GENERAL HOSPITAL (Clyde Bingham in 1981) and ANOTHER WORLD (Rachel's father, Gerald Davis, from 1970 to 1974). Russ Mayberry Longtime director who work on DALLAS, THE SECOND HUNDRED YEARS and GLITTER. Gemma McCluskie Played Kerry in EASTENDERS from 2000-2001. Nolan Miller Fashion designer responsible for glamorous looks seen on DYNASTY, THE COLBYS, PACIFIC PALISADES and MODELS INC. Andrea Moar (Scheck) Played Carrie Sanders Tyler on ALL MY CHILDREN in the early 1980s. Norma Monty Former at GENERAL HOSPITAL. Sister of the late Gloria Monty. George Murdock Guest appearances included DYNASTY, DAYS OF OUR LIVES, and TORCHWOOD: MIRACLE DAY. Michael O'Hare Played Commander Jeffrey Sinclair on BABYLON 5. In 1988 he had a recurring role in ONE LIFE TO LIVE as George Vasquez, Maria's brother. Lupe Ontiveros Played Juanita 'Mama' Solis in DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, which earned her an Emmy nomination. Starred as Lucia in the web series LOS AMERICANS and was nominated for an Indie Soap Award earlier this year for her work. Ron Palillo In 1994 appeared as underhanded blackjack dealer Gary Warren in ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Frank Peppiatt Creator of HEE HAW, with the memorable long-running sketch "The Culhanes," a take on soap opera-esque storylines. Eileen "Mike" Pollock Along with husband, Robert (Bob) Pollock, wrote for LOVE OF LIFE, then THE DOCTORS in the early 1970s, which earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Best Writing for a Drama Series in 1974. After a five year run, they moved out West and wrote for GENERAL HOSPITAL. She was best known as a writer and producer for DYNASTY in the 1980s as well as its spin-off series, THE COLBYS. Al Rabin best known for the 17 years he spent as a director and then, starting in 1980, executive producer at DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Rabin started at DAYS in 1975, took a 7-month sabbatical in 1989, and left for good in 1992. Rabin was nominated for nine Daytime Emmy Awards during his run at at the soap. He previously directed at GENERAL HOSPITAL. After DAYS, he was executive producer of 1994's VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Bill Rafferty On July 14, 1981, the game show host made a guest appearance in TEXAS interacting with Roy and Bobbie Sue. David Rakoff Played modeling agent Rich Tuchman in AS THE WORLD TURNS in April 1998. Served as vice president of CBS daytime programming in the early 1970s before leaving to take over as executive producer of ANOTHER WORLD (1971-1983). Went on to produce ONE LIFE TO LIVE (1983 to 1991), SANTA BARBARA (1991-1993) and GUIDING LIGHT (1996-2002). His most recent work was as executive producer for THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS from 2008 to 2011. Rauch also created ANOTHER WORLD spin-off TEXAS (1980) and (1977), which transitioned into FOR RICHER, FOR POORER. (NOTE: Pictured above with and .) Lee Rich TV credits included working as executive producer of primetime soap operas DALLAS, KNOTS LANDING, FALCON CREST, KING'S CROSSING and FLAMINGO ROAD, as well as longtime CBS favorite THE WALTONS. Ken Sansom Played Dr. Frederick Powell in DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Nick Santino Played small roles on GUIDING LIGHT (Father Soto) and ALL MY CHILDREN (Officer Anton). Tony Scott He was a partner with his older brother in Scott Free Productions, which makes THE GOOD WIFE. Sandra Silvana Gallardo In 1988, Gallardo appeared on DAYS OF OUR LIVES. as Rosa Ramirez, the mother of April, Emilio and Julio and wife of Monty Dolan. In the storyline, Rosa ended up comatose after being hit by a car and Monty decided to pull her life support plug. Doris Singleton Appeared for a short time on DAYS OF OUR LIVES as Kay Stanhope in 1976. Eugene Smith He appeared in many television soap operas such as ANOTHER WORLD (Ed Berns), THE EDGE OF NIGHT (Steven Adler), AS THE WORLD TURNS, SOMERSET (Lt. Will Price), THE GUIDING LIGHT (Bill Bauer) and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Emily Squires For several years, while directing SESAME STREET, she also wrote for daytime soap operas GUIDING LIGHT, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, THE SECRET STORM and AS THE WORLD TURNS. She won a WGA Awards in 1985 as part of the SEARCH FOR TOMORROW writing team. Warren Stevens Career in stage, film and television spanned 60 years including roles in the soaps RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE (Elliot Carson) and FALCON CREST (Senator Bundy Silverlake). Yale Summers n 1964, Summers joined the cast of GENERAL HOSPITAL as Dr. Bob Ayres. In 1972 he starred as Rodney Harrington on RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE, a role he would play for two years. Mary Tamm Following her one-season stint on DOCTOR WHO Tamm appeared in BROOKSIDE in the mid-1990s, where she played snooty Penny Crosbie. Bill Tarmey For 30 years played lovable rogue Jack Duckworth on British soap opera CORONATION STREET. Colin Tarrant Best known for his role as Inspector Andrew Monroe in THE BILL. Maureen Toal Best known for her role as Teasey McDaid in RTÉ's long-running soap GLENROE. Jenny Tomasin British actress forever known to hundreds of millions of television viewers as the clumsy, disheveled, Valentino-obsessed kitchen maid Ruby Finch in UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS. In the '70s she played the role of Ruby Finch in the British soap opera CROSSROADS, and she twice appeared on the British soap EMMERDALE — in the early 1980s and in the mid-2000s — and each time, her character was killed off. Gore Vidal In 1976, Norman Lear wrote him into seven episodes of MARY HARTMAN, MARY HARTMAN's second season. Garry Walberg Played Sgt. Edward Goddard on the 1960s primetime soap PEYTON PLACE. Mike Wallace In the early 1940s Wallace was the announcer for the radio soap operas THE ROAD OF LIFE, MA PERKINS AND THE GUIDING LIGHT. He was known as Myron Wallace at the time. Andy Williams In 2007 he appeared and sang as a special guest star on AS THE WORLD TURNS during the show's Branson location shoot. William Windom His soap appearances included roles in FLAMINGO ROAD, THE YELLOW ROSE and DALLAS, where he played Amos Krebbs, Ray's alleged father. C. Lindsay Workman Longtime television and voice actor that made appearances in THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. Richard D. Zanuck Producer of the recent Dark Shadows movie. BLACK LIKE WHO? Love and the Enemy. “If there’s any legacy of ’60s Black Nationalism I find ennobling and empowering, it’s that movement’s Pan​-Afrikanist embrace of Black folk every​where as brother and sister.” by Greg Tate. The question : Black Identity. The problem: Who names it, claims it, and decides who profanes it. Here at the crossroads, whose Black Consciousness movement is it any​way? Like the man said, Van Glorius’s. In other words, it’s every man for himself on that one, G. When I was younger and very much the aesthetician, I believed that Black cultural difference was gonna set us free​ — that our salvation and liberation would come in realizing how great Black art set us apart from the illin’ white boy and his cre​ations. If we could make Black political parties function like Parliament-Funkade​lic, we’d be kicking much ass. Having wit​nessed participatory democracy at work in our Black Power renascence of the past five years, that delusion has gone the way of P​Funk’s fabled mothership. (Park it in the dustbin of history, boys, and don’t stop for fading spotlights.) The resurgence of Goth​am’s Black Power movement has been both a welcome and a woeful affair. Welcome because of the bridge it has formed between today’s young rebels and the long-​toothed tigers of yon; woeful because fatuous male posturing, demagoguery, and gen​‐ erational envy have also made a sorry comeback. Related. Spike Lee and Amiri Baraka at each oth​er’s throats over who owns the legacy of Malcolm X is one more pathetic episode in our movement farce. For the record, I think Baraka has about as much business telling Spike how to make a politically correct movie about Malcolm X as Spike would trying to instruct Baraka on verse structure. I’ll be stunned if Spike overcomes his immaturity as a storyteller and makes a film with anything approaching the complexity of Malcolm’s world and worldview, but c’est la vie. Ain’t nothing but a movie y’all, and after those two hours in the dark are over we’ll all still have to get up the next morning and deal with being Black men and women in America. Which at the end of the day is about what? Learning to love and struggle with one another, end of story. Three weeks ago, at the funeral services for a flame of a life named E. Tamu Elling​ton Bess, I realized that the meaning of being Black is summed up in who comes to bury you, who gathers together in your name after you’ve gone, what they have to say about how you loved, and how you were loved in return. Offering such testimo​ny at Tamu’s services was a cross section of our community’s Afristocracy, politicos, artists, activists, bereaved friends, and fam​ily. People presented songs, dances, poems, and soliloquies in her honor. By the end, without knowing any more than the sketchy details of Tamu’s life, you knew she’d made everyone she’d touched more aware of the sacrifice, service, and devotion Black Con​‐ sciousness demands. Related. Though I didn’t know her that well, Tamu was revealed to me as one of those exceptional Black folk who are at home wherever African people are, regardless of geography, class, custom, cuisine, or crea​ture comforts. If there’s any legacy of ’60s Black Nationalism I find ennobling and empowering, it’s that movement’s Pan​-Afrikanist embrace of Black folk every​where as brother and sister . Recognizing a loss to our community like Tamu Bess’s, you realize that any liberation or empower​ment strategy that doesn’t grow out of love, in its most constructive, critical, and com​‐ passionate senses, is useless. What makes the oratory of Malcolm en​dure as a source of enlightenment isn’t just his clarity about how white supremacy works, but also his desire to see us love our African selves more than we love the world of the oppressor. We still listen to Malcolm because we hear the voice of a lover, some​times asking what Bob Marley asked​ — could we be loved — other times asking us why do we love white America, or at least its status symbols, more than we love our​selves. I find the essence of Malcolm’s criti​cal ardor for Black people lacking in most of our grandstanding spokespersons of the present. The Black love you find manifest​ed today is mostly a love for Black Male Posturing. Now, BMP is truly a marvelous thing. Yet do I marvel at it everyday. Where would hip-hop or jazz be without it? Basketball is defined by it, and the streets of downtown New York would be looking mighty shabby for its absence. But the im​potence of current Black nationalist politics comes from its being phallocentric to the core, so caught up in stroking its own hard​-on that it makes no space for the balance offered by feminine wisdom. We have nev​er in our history had a movement that wasn’t well-populated with female leader​ship. These days, part of the reason issues of daily violence and oppression never get discussed is because the people on the frontlines, women and the children in their care, have no voice where legal-eagle activ​ists prevail. So even when the victimization of a Black woman is at the heart of our rallying, it becomes reduced to what dream hampton refers to as a “nut-grabbing contest.” Related. The tragedy of this isn’t the gesture itself, but how misguided the movement is in terms of targets and objectives. When I look up to see hundreds rally behind Pro​ fessor Leonard Jeffries when he’s predict​ably attacked for Jew-baiting, I got to won​der what’s the goal beyond reactive rage. (And on the “Jew-baiting” charge, let’s be real. When you put the bait on your line, expect fish to bite, especially if the bait is live and in living color. Jews may be disin​genuous about holding economic, cultural, and political power and privilege and abus​ing it, but some Black folks can be just as disingenuous about admitting they despise Jews more than they despise the average cracker who isn’t a cop.) Large numbers of Black folk in this town get more upset over being disrespected than they do over being disempowered. Why look for respect from a power structure so greedy it would destroy the planet on which its grandchildren will have to live? I expect neither justice nor respect from white pow​er and certainly not love. What I expect from Black folks is for us to organize in such a way that we make the white power structure understand that it would be in its own best interest not to fuck with us. But no. We’re more concerned with scoring intellectual brownie points than we are with that kind of unifying. (Or, for that matter, with raising the level of reading and writing skills of Black kids in this city or even with improving the rude physical plant of their learning environment. Far as I know, there are currently no plans afoot for mass, fire-breathing demonstrations to protest toilet​-bowl classrooms.) Related. Favoring issues of disrespect over strate​gies of empowerment will keep us chasing after love from a muhfuh that don’t love nobody. Such folly leaves us with a politics of reactive rage and race-baiting that my friend Melvin Gibbs astutely defines as “just another form of Tomming and min​‐ strelsy because the audience is always the white man.” My suggestion is we give up the white man as the problem per se and start thinking of him as a natural disaster, a catastrophe we may be unable to prevent but whose destructive effects can be over​come and reversed. I also think we need to let go of the idea that some real natural disaster like the dissolving of the ozone layer is going to wipe the white plague off the face of the earth. You know by the time that day comes, these muhfuhs will be liv​ing in bubble cities and have your ass in the cold paying for air sandwiches faster than you can say Jackie Robinson. Later for Black to the futurism. Your mind may be in Khmet, bro but, yo … When reactive rage is the dominant form of our politics, when it takes police or mob violence to galvanize us into reaction, it means that there is an acceptable level of suffering and misery. When quality of life issues are not given the same attention as our antilynching activities, it means we have a low level of life expectations. It also means, as Dr. Frances Welsing has pointed out, that there is a general state of depres​sion operative in the Black community that provokes other problems, such as drug abuse. The warriors we need to step forward now aren’t the confrontational kind, but healers. Folk who know how to reach into where we really hurt, to the wounds we can’t see and that nobody likes to talk about. Outside of Joan Morgan, no one has spoken on the traumatic impact John Sin​gleton’s Boyz N the Hood had on many young Black ghetto escapees for whom it screened more as a nightmarish flashback than as escapist entertainment. If Black male leadership doesn’t move in the direc​tion of recognizing the pain and trauma beneath the rage, as the work of Toni Mor​rison, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker, bell hooks and other women writers have done, if we don’t exercise our capacity to love and heal eachother by digging deep into our mutual woundedness, then what we’re struggling for is merely the end of white supremacy — and not the salvaging of its victims. Behind the Book with Susan Meier and the Billionaire Matchmaker Bundle. It isn’t often that Shirley Jump, Barbara Wallace, Jackie Braun and I have wiggle room in our schedules. Still, when we came up with the idea for THE BILLIONAIRE’S MATCHMAKER, we couldn’t resist writing these stories. A Jack Russell terrier who is a matchmaker? Too cute. But the stories aren’t all about cuteness. Barbara Wallace’s hero in LOVE IN THE SHADOWS , is a tycoon with physical and emotional scars. Jackie Braun’s hero and heroine in LOVE UNLEASHED had already tried a relationship once…wouldn’t it be asking for heartbreak to rekindle something they already knew didn’t work? And Shirley’s heroine Gabby IN DRIVING MR. WRONG HOME has her own secrets and issues. But saying no isn’t always easy when the sexual attraction that hums between characters is irresistible. Marny, my heroine in THE SHERIFF’S SECRET , simply can’t resist Dell O’Neil. The victim of a bad divorce, she’s been hibernating for years…but Dell wakes her up in a big way. She thinks she can handle a little affair, but there’s nothing little about Sheriff O’Neil. He’s a big guy with a big life and a big secret. As an introverted writer, I found it easy to write about a hero and heroine who’d rather hide than face a crowd. But how to get these two together? When they’ve both been burned by love? Enter the soup. LOL. I love the fact that life can be so weird sometimes. I love odd coincidences. I love fate. But more than anything else, I love it when life uses something so simple (like soup) to make a connection. Marny’s a great cook, so it’s a natural thing for her to offer a pot of soup and some crusty bread for an apology. Dell can’t cook…but he’s a guy. They don’t know how to apologize well. And Sheriff Dell isn’t above “borrowing” somebody else’s idea. Especially since it worked so well when Marny brought soup to him! (And since he has access to his mom’s maid who is happy to make him a pot of soup.) Life is absurd. Romance should be fun. And sexy. And those are the things that popped into my head when I took all the elements of this hero and heroine and rolled them into a story. Marny and Dell were two of the most fun characters I’ve ever written. Their story was equal parts of sweet and sexy and their challenges to happily-ever-after were very real. Just like the challenges for the Barb, Jacki and Shirley’s heroes and heroines.