Reviews
Greetings O’labumi! Today is the big day, and Between the Covers—An Adult Romance Anthology is now public and available. Thank you so much for joining us on this publishing journey and for lending The Red Penguin Collection your words.
JK Larkin: Editor and Literary Manager of The Red Penguin Collection
Thank you again and we can’t wait to work with you in the future! :)
I don't know how many times I've declared that writing is an ass-in-the-chair business. But it wasn't until 6 years ago that I met a true ass-in-the-chair, and her name was O’labumi Brown. By then, she had cranked out 100s of pages of her in-progress memoir, tentatively entitled Hairalujah: One Woman's Knock-down Drag-out Struggle for respect, recovery and love which she shared with me and of which she sought my opinion. I was struck, first, by her naked, warts-and-all honesty. But also by how vividly she had brought certain moments of her life to the page. Next thing I knew, she was at it again, ass in the chair, polishing her prose to even greater levels, with me cheering her on all the way and, in the process, she has become a close friend. I have no doubt she has the stuff to cross the finish line and get this, her first book, into print. I can't wait till the hardcover is out!
Lee Stringer: Author
Michel Marriott: Author
Lifelong journalist (former staff writer for the Washington Post, Philadelphia Daily News, Newsweek magazine and 19-year veteran of the New York Times), adjunct professor of journalism for the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and leader of the African Voices Memoir Workshop.
O’labumi Brown is a most extraordinary creative force of practically supernatural power on the page. First, she is a remarkable storyteller with an uncanny sense of knowing what story to tell from what I am certain are multitudes of multitudes of stories she has lived and experienced with open eyes, mind, and soul. Secondly, she has a quality that eludes many highly recognized writers; she possesses a wildly inventive approach to prose. Words, even familiar ones, pulse, inflate, fly, dive, and explode right in the reader’s face to delightful and insightful effect. And this is when she isn’t outright creating words that should have existed in the first place. Trust me, there is never a dull page found among any penned by O’labumi Idorian Brown.
Hakimah N. Abdulmalik
My first taste of O'labumi's stimulating writing was at The Magic Table, the very inspiring writing workshop at which we met. The richness of her writing always provides an unexpected tingling ingredient that never fails to satisfy the appetite. It's impossible not to know her love of the writing process when reading her work. She is my sister, my friend, and a constant literary example that I strive to emulate.
Dan Simon: Publisher, Seven Stories Press
Dear O'labumi,
I've read the six chapters you sent me, and it was a pleasure. You're able to laugh at yourself, with an open heart, and that's a huge plus. The characters are interesting. And you're able to thread different stories together into one narrative. You have talent and a fire burning, which is to say, stories to tell.
All the best, Dan
