Monday, December 1, 2014

La Rose Book III Le Baton Chronicles - December 1, 2014



June 30, 2014

August 1, 2014

November 1,2014

December 1, 2014

After three delays, I have finally completed and released Book III of Le Baton Chronicles. A huge THANK YOU to all my fans who patiently awaited the release. I hope you will enjoy it, becoming outraged, enticed, intrigued, and  tantalized with every twist and turn.

La Rose Book III Le Baton Chronicles by Claudia Helena Ross

New Orleans smolders with the heat, civil unrest, and passion of the 1963 American South. In the Chevalier family’s Garden District mansion, 116 year old Lela Chevalier Roberts presses on with her narration of the family history to her incorrigible great-grandson Julian Charles Chamberie. Julian defies Hell and requests to return to the land of his testing and heartache, the palatial French estate in the mist of Floridian Louisiana, La Rose Plantation. Much to his great-grandmother’s joy and trepidation, the pair returns and Lela narrates to Julian the life of her protector, Toussaint Bailey, who traverses the perilous path from slavery on La Rose Plantation to the life of a prominent mortician in late 19th century New Orleans. With the help of his patron, Archangel Barachiel, and his mother, Sarah the Slave, Toussaint receives his supernatural powers and uses them to combat the evil forces seeking to destroy the Chevalier family and the people who love them. Julian’s soul is tormented by his grandmother’s stories, finding himself caught between the tyranny of his past life and the liberty available to him in the present. Resolving all within his heart, Julian comes one step closer to spiritual emancipation, enabling him to continue his quest to hold the hand of the End Time King, Le Baton. 

Friday, November 14, 2014

Scandal - The Last Supper



The Last Supper was the most heartbreaking exchange I've seen on TV in a long time. Scandal blew it out the water with Olivia Pope's betrayal of her father Rowan Pope, or as I affectionately call him -  Papa-san Pope. He discovers Olivia's plot with Fitz and Jake to kill him.

Rowan doesn't retaliate against his daughter. He's emotionless for Olivia's had cut him on a level so deep, to experience it could have catastrophic results. Instead, Rowan tells her how much he loves her. In fact, Rowan reveals to Olivia she's pretty much the only person he'd ever loved in the world.

It was all for her.

Olivia was her father's heart. Rowan tells Olivia he's done and walks away. I watched my television in disbelief. My heart broke for Papa-san Pope.

I can't talk about it anymore. Just watch the video. Rowan can tell it better than I can.





See you next week.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

TGIT Down to the wire

I have no life.

But good news! TGIT's Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder have become my spice in life this fall season. I sit on the couch every Thursday night, finish my homework by 9pm (aka editing my book La Rose Book III Le Baton Chronicles due out December 1, 2014 [SHAMELESS PLUG? Yes, but it's my blog]), fire up TweetDeck and behold, my social life streams into view.


So, there are only two episodes remaining before my shows go on break. What am I suppose to do after the last show? I guess there are other shows to watch. I could stream reruns of HTGAWM and Scandal.

Maybe I could read a book.

Or, maybe I could work on writing the mystery series that's been bouncing around my brain for a couple years.

Can there really be life after TGIT?

Sniff.

Enough whining. Here are the promos for tonight's shows.

SCANDAL

Olivia and the Prez need to step off my boy Papa-san Pope. OK, so he's a bit evil, manipulative and controlling. So what? Daddy is who he is. We need to accept him for that.


HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER

Ummm Umph! Annalise will be asking all the tough questions tonight. No getting off easy with this one. She will be rocking the 'fro and the nightie, while slathering on the Vaseline to prep for her fight against the world to figure out #WhoKilledSam, her no good cheating man.

Annalise's dalliances are inconsequential. I think we all agree on this.

Meanwhile, back on the Net...

"Tweeting has been berry, berry, good to you?" 


Why yes Chico Escuela, Garret Morris, or whatever name you're using these days. It has been good.

Look Mama! I made the top 100 tweets with #SmellieMellie on twitter.whostalking.com:



I'm in the Major Leagues now.

I'll Tweet ya'll back.

@lafleur2009

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Big Bank Hank

Big Bank Hank

August 5, 1957 -  November 11, 2014
Driving into work this morning, I heard the news Big Bank Hank had passed away from cancer. He was 57 years old.

In 1979, I was standing on the playground during recess wearing my red gingham Toughskins jeans, my white eyelet top and some worn out Converse navy blue hightops gymshoes. A seventh grader (I was in sixth) named Tanya Morris ran over to where I was standing. We walked home from school together most days, along with my younger sister, D'mona. Tanya was very excited. "I know the whole thing," she said.

"What?" I asked. I was trying to read my book.

"You haven't heard it?"

I put down my book. What was she talking about? "Oh, you mean that new rap song?"

"Yeah. The Rapper's Delight." Tanya stared at me. I could see her thought bubble floating away with the word NERD threatening to rupture it. Even then, I didn't take fast to the latest trends.

Tanya stood before me and rapped the entire song -  the long version. Never forgot it.



Thanks Big Bank Hank.

Oh yeah and thanks to Tanya Morris too.

Big Bank Hank’ of The Sugarhill Gang dies at 57 - NY Daily News

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Friday, October 24, 2014

TGIT Week End Review

I'm distrubed I feel the need to recap my two favorite shows: Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder. So, I will keep it short and sweet today. Just a few of my favorite tweetings...


Scandal



Oh yeah, this was nice. Jake receiving a beat down from the Prez while reminiscing about doing the nasty with Liv on vacay - And he lets old Fitz know how much he enjoyed doing his girlfriend. Bet.







My girl Mellie. Forget them. Drink until you feel better. Then write a best-selling, tell-tale bio on your low down husband.







How to Get Away with Murder 


Let's get down to the git down.

Lies
Round 1
Poor Sam. That hot little hussy seduced him and he couldn't help but to sleep with her and text her pictures of his ding dong. Of course he didn't love her. It was all her fault. She was a student in his class, just sitting there looking pretty. What was he supposed to do?

Q: How many times did it happen?
A: Is 'a lot' a number?

Q: Do you love her?
A: No! It was HER FAULT.






LIE












Lies
Round 2



Repercussions 
Sam, Sam, Sam. You're going to have to come stronger than this if you want to convince Annalise of your lies.





Until Next Thursday...

@lafleur2009 

Thursday, October 23, 2014

TGIT Previews

I don't want to hear about how I'm a Scandal and How To Get Away with Murder junkie. Apparently, you are too.

Here's the Scandal promo that aired following the October 16th broadcast for tonight's show (sorry about the ads):




Here are Annalise's scheduled events for October 23rd. She poses a great question. Yes Sam, can you explain to us why your penis is on a dead girl's phone?


See you on Twitter tonight. @lafleur2009.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Valerie June


On Saturday, October 18th, I was lying in bed, flipping through the TV channels, hoping to fall asleep. I stumbled across Austin City Limits on PBS. What I saw amazed me. I watched an electrifying performance by a musician named Valerie June. Her "organic moonshine roots music" is a mixture of R&B, Blues, Jazz, Blue Grass, and Country. She swirls it all together, adding a little bit of this and pinch of that, creating a sensuousness, hypnotic, hybrid marriage of folk rhythms and lyrics, serenading and captivating our imaginations and souls.

A master at the guitar, banjo, and other string instruments, Valerie spins her musical tales while tossing about her dreadlocks, up-swept into a curly coif. "Working Woman Blues" is one of my favorites by her. Here's video of Valerie performing the song in the Music Lounge at the Bumbershoot Music Festival in Seattle:


Another favorite was "Pushing Against A Stone" at the AFROPUNK Fest:


Valerie will be playing Carnegie Hall on February 13, 2015. For ticket information, please click here.

To learn more about Valerie and her music, please visit her website at valeriejune.com.

Friday, October 17, 2014

TGIT Got Me

It's official! I've fully surrendered my soul to the #TGIT on ABC, aka the #Darkside, aka #Scandal, aka #How to Get Away with Murder, aka, #ImNotEditingMyBookBecauseImWatchingTGIT. It's all so entangled, lowdown, smart, treacherous, devious, and delicious. You can find highlights from ABC's Thursday night tour of Shondaland all over the net, but here are some my takeaways.

Scandal
 1. I'm need clarification on what #EiffelTowering is? Please keep your explanations as clean as possible .

2. Those bottles of wine have started talking to my girl, Mellie. Don't feel shamed Mellie. Trust me, you're not alone in Outer Limits of Merlot. In any case, wine therapy has made our girl 'as crazy as a Betsy bug,' as my Southern mother would say.



 



3. Wine courage (a byproduct of wine therapy) can get you in trouble. Shaunte Bell shared Chaz B (@chazbeasley) Twitter post on +Google:






4. Mellie, Fitz doesn't respect you anymore. He snapped hard on you. That was wrong, but I guess he was fed up, thinking, "My Liv wouldn't break down like this." Thanks to Luvvie A for summarizing.

  


How To Get Away with Murder

I'm still getting into this show, but it isn't short stopping on clips and quotes.

I was on Twitter, so I missed the scene leading up to this. This is a classic scene of a woman who is outdone and outraged by her man's mind blowing betrayal. Watch out for her quiet, controlled fury. It's time for Annalise to go to war with the man she loves. When the wig, makeup, and jewelry comes off, the sh## goes down. Sam's betrayal has left her soul bare and exposed, or so it seems. If you ask me, Annalise just strapped on her armor.


 
Until next Thursday #TGIT nation. See you on Twitter!!! @Lafleur2009

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

On My List: Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore

I'm a Pinterest fanatic and maintain several boards. Some time ago, I started a board called On My List, tracking books I fantasize about reading in the near future. Today, I encountered...



The cover art and intriguing title author Walter Mosley chose for his novel definitely compelled me take a second look. Here's the summary provided on Amazon:

In this scorching, mournful, often explicit, and never less than moving literary novel by the famed creator of the Easy Rawlins series, Debbie Dare, a black porn queen, has to come to terms with her sordid life in the adult entertainment industry after her tomcatting husband dies in a hot tub. Electrocuted. With another woman in there with him. Debbie decides she just isn't going to "do it anymore." But executing her exit strategy from the porn world is a wrenching and far from simple process.

If you've read the novel, I'd be interested to know your thoughts.