Vixen Chronicles

Editing an anthology has left me feeling like a therapist and a bill collector.  When I wrote my part, I thought I was done but now, after receiving almost all of the submissions I was expecting, I realized I have so much more to write.  I had no idea the project would impact so many people the way it has or that I would find out all the things that I have about my writer-friends.  For them to be so fabulous after all they have experienced makes me respect them that much more.  I feel like a bill collector because there are still a few more submissions that have been promised that I have yet to receive.  I know that everyone has deadlines for much bigger projects, but its time to hound people for their 4000 words now, and I hate that. For some of them, its because they do have a very busy schedule, for others, the delay is because is because I asked them to write about a hard subject that they are not ready to face.  Creative non-fiction is like that. ...

I am on the hunt for flat shoes that don't make me cry.  I haven't had any that don't hurt my feet in years.  Even sneakers hurt if I wear them too long.  Either my arch starts to ache, or they hurt around my foot where my toes connect.  I know I am the Empress of the stiletto heel, but I'd like a pair of shoes that I can slip on to walk the dog that don't look like I've had foot surgery, or I can put on to drive that so I won't ruin my heels. The other requirement is that they can't make me feel as if I have flippers.  Too often I feel less confident in flats because they feel as if my feet are flipping along in front of me. I found a pair of simple looking ballet type slippers on sale at gilt.com, but my foot started to scream before they were even in there good, so those suckers are going back. I came across Tieks.  (www.tieks.com).  I'm not an Oprah watcher, so I had no idea they were one of Oprah's favorite things.  They come in tons of ...

If you haven't read it yet, here's something to get you started.  I'm diligently working on Eastern Spice, the next installment in the series, and reminiscing on how my characters met. Just a head's up, it's hot and steamy, but packs a real twist,  so if you don't want to read that kind of stuff, skip now. If you do continue, I promise you will enjoy it.  If you want to read more than is presented here, the book is available at all your book outlets.  You  can ask  your library, your local independent bookseller, or Barnes  and Noble to buy it, or you can get it at any online outlet.  it is also available electronically on Nook, Kindle and IBook. Enjoy. One/Sería I have to face it, I’m dick-whipped.  That could be the only explanation for why I was standing in the doorway of my apartment, wrapped in the sex-smelling sheets off my bed, answering my door while James was still laying in my bedroom, delirious with the aftermath of the g...

     Yesterday, I met a man who was far too young to be as racially ignorant as he seemed to be.   Or maybe he was just ignorant, I’m not sure which.   We had a business appointment, and he was very comfortable with me, so much so that his mouth seemed to have a bad case of the runs.   Though he had moved to California in High school, he professed to be a former New Yorker.   He still wore his New York accent, and it was a thick as if he’d just left there last year.                 As it often happens when I met a New York refugee, we quickly slipped into questioning mode.   I pulled my own accent out of my bag and slipped into it as comfortably as I might my favorite pair of jeans.   After the normal “where did you go to school” and “what part of town did you grown up in” questions, he started to ask the questions that, in other circumstances, gotten him a ton...

FoxxTale Productions is seeking talented passionate actors for a staged reading of Baby Mama Drama in San Diego. Baby Mama Drama by Nina Foxx Based on the best-selling book Just Short of Crazy Directed by Nina Foxx Baby Mama Drama is set in modern day Texas where Attorney Alexis Pearson is getting her life together after being left at the altar. With her new hair and new hobby, she finds herself in hot water and falling in love when she accidentally breaks a man’s arm in her Tae Kwon Do Class. Unfortunately, her love interest, Remedy Brown, has a seedy past and an ex-wife from the other side of the tracks who is not quite ready to let go. The two ladies discover that the road to “happily ever after” isn’t always a neat and clean yellow brick road and must discover their own self-worth before truly moving on. Roles Available: ALEXIS PEARSON: 30s, African American professional, newly minted short hair cut. Left at the altar prior to start of play. Sings. REMEDY BRO...

I haven't blogged in quite awhile, instead, I've been using twitter and facebook to say what I had to say. Mother's Day was a few weeks ago and it left me with remembrances that need more than just a few characters to get out. My mother's day was wonderful,probably the best I ever had. Many who know me might think I took some fabulous trip or got some great gift, but I didn't. It was very simple and that is mainly because my sweetie took control. He insisted that mom's get one day a year--even when my teen pushed back and in her own teen way, tried to make it about her. (Because that is what teen's do). I had breakfast in bed, saw the movie I wanted the family to see together (its funny how my mother's day wish was about EVERYBODY seeing this one movie), and had the dinner I chose at a place I wanted--sushi. It was perfect. I was able to start my week so relaxed that I felt like a different person. What sticks in my mind about Mother's Day though, is...

Minolta C.White: Nina Foxx

So NBA all Star weekend is Black Thanksgiving, or least it is according to David Aldridge in an article he wrote for CNN. Well, thanks for letting me know. You see, I was busy celebrating Thanksgiving with the rest of America, I missed the turkey and dressing I apparently am supposed to be having in March. I took offense to this article. Many of the statements made in the article had me cussing at my desk. Had the article been written by a white columnist, I'm sure it would have never made its way onto CNN's homepage. The author was black, and because of that, it seems like he was given a pass to freely use the N-word (metaphorically) to describe people he obviously doesn't know, or perhaps he was just being allowed to do some shuffling and jiving to appease a larger audience. Just say, "Yassuh, boss" and get it over with. I'm sure that there is a subset of folks who wait, with bated breath, for NBA ALL Star weekend. Like he said in the article, they c...

Last week, I came across an article (I think it was on EUR Report) that told of how Cathy Hughes (TV ONE) slammed both Halle Berry and Mo’Nique. Halle, for her award winning role in Precious and Halle, for hers in Monster’s Ball. She said that the stories never should have been written and she knew of no black woman that acted like Mo’Nique’s character. I will admit that neither film was easy to watch, but I thought both were stunning in their performances. I don’t know of any WOMAN, period, that would have done what either of those characters would have done, but I have no doubt that some variation of those characters exist.         Cathy also said that those were films that never should have been made. Hmm. Let’s examine that. True, they were difficult stories, but rather than blast the actors who were just that--actors, consider what the films did do. In an industry where there is a dearth of roles for Black actors, black women in parti...

I had a reunion with my literary life this weekend. I haven't promoted a book In awhile, mainly because I haven't written one in a minute. I went back to San Antonio to kick off the promotions for my new book, Southern Comfort. When I lived there, I wasn't sure I liked the city. As my plane flew over the town, I took in its brownness and for a minute, I missed the sandy beaches of southern california that I've come to love. In 24 short hours I discovered that I could love the grime and romance of the RiverWalk, too. My boo Surprised me and met me there for no other reason than he could; he flew from the other side of the country to give me support, to laugh at my goofiness, to take pictures and to share a glass or two of good wine with some of our friends. He has been so much a part of my literary life from the beginning; as an early reader of all my work, one that always told the real deal about what he thought, then as a fellow book club member and now as some...

Foot Fetish- By Nina Foxx I don't buy clothes, I buy accessories, specifically shoes. I have shoes for every occasion, including going to the supermarket. I hate grocery shopping,so adding a little pizazz to my shopping outfit makes it easier for me to get there every week and avoid a mutiny by my always hungry family.         I thought the shoes I'd chosen for the task were no big deal; snakeskin strappy shooties in an almost natural color. They felt good and looked just as good and after I put them on, I skipped happily from aisle to aisle in modern hunter-gatherer style, filling my basket with staples while I alternated between chatting on my iphone with my sister and humming "Like a G6" to block out the MUZAK. I'd reached for some turkey bacon and found my path blocked by a middle-aged, pot bellied, average, suburban looking man. His blue shirt was interrupted by his technology access badge and his khakis were riding just a hair too low a...

Click to Play Season Finale: Ayzah gets a visit and we see more of Prince's secrets.Starring Heidi Marie Wanser, Freeman White III, ;Written & Produced by Nina FoxxBased on Characters from Just Short of Crazy by Nina Foxxpublished by HarperCollins Publishers/Avon Acopyright FoxxTale Productions 2010

Alexis is a character that appears in more than one of my books. In Marrying Up, she was really secondary. The story belonged to the cousin Paris, and we don’t really even see her in Closer to Crazy, at least not yet. In Just Short of Crazy, Alexis takes the lead. When we were casting, I had a picture in my head of what she was like. she’d recently shorn her long, store bought locks for a hairdo that showcased her new found confidence, and when Shelli Boone walked onto the scene, I knew she was Alexis. As you will read, she has some skills on stage as well. I’m hoping to have the opportunity to cast her in a stage production as well. Who is Shelli? Since her first on-screen job co-hosting BET’s "Mad Sports", Shelli has appeared in over 17 films, national and international commercials, print campaigns, radio spots and several hit television shows. One of her most notable roles was as series regular Evan Reed in "Saints and Sinners", a primetime drama on FOX’s My...

Click to Play Book Trailer for (Nina Foxx Presents) Southern Comfort by Cynnamon FosterPublished by Stiletto Press Publishing, LLC ;Nov 2010 Book Video by FoxxTale Productions 2010

Click to Play We meet the good guy; ayzah and Alexis have an encounter.Based on characters from Just Short of Crazy, By Nina FoxxWritten & Executive Produced by Nina Foxx, Directed by Freeman WHite III, Produced by Paull Cho, Starring Heidi Marie Wanser, Shelli Boone and Featuring Omar Benson Miller.

Click to Play Ayzah can't resist and gets drawn further in, Alexis gets more interesting. ;starring, Heidi Marie Wanser, Freeman White, Shelli Boone, Mailon Rivera, Croix K. Sotowritten & Executive produced by Nina Foxxbased on characters from the book, Just Short of Crazy, By Nina FoxxDirected by Freeman White, Produced by Paull Cho,Score by John Forbescopyright FoxxTale Productions, LLC 2010www.ninafoxx.com

I met a guy once who left a serious impression on me. He wasn’t tall, he wasn’t overly handsome, or even very well-dressed, but somehow, he was fine . He had THAT THING. He oozed sexuality from every pore, the type of guy that walked into a crowded room and heads just turned his way, whether one wanted to look or not. In my book, “Just Short of Crazy”, the essence of that man became Remedy Brown, the ex-pot head from the hard streets of south Dallas turned single dad and sexy, successful proprietor of multiple hookah bars. He’d survived his hard knocks and his crazy ex-wife (Ayzah) and managed to come out on top. When we were casting for the part of Remedy Brown (in Closer to Crazy), I couldn’t picture an actor that made me feel how Remedy did in my head, but when Mailon Rivera walked onto the set, I immediately knew that he was the one. Mailon (THE FACE) looks nothing like the original guy, and I’m sure the real Remedy would be flattered, but in his performance, he mailed Remedy ...

I first met Barry Lyons is the hallway of a burlesque club--our location for the day. I was watching as they were shooting episode two of Closer to Crazy in a little room with four walls of mirrors. He came and sat next to me while I was trying to figure out how they were going to shoot the scene in this mirrored room with no equipment showing.         Barry quickly gave me the once over. I’m sure someone told him that I was the Executive Producer, ad I knew that he’d been recruited to play the role of Dexter Smalls, one that hadn’t quite jelled yet in my head, at least not beyond these first few episodes. I was nervous for two reasons. One, I was on a STRIP club, yeah, it was daylight, but we only had the place until noon. At that point the club would open and REAL STRIPPERS would come in, but more importantly, our rates would go up. The second reason I was nervous--he was a real preacher. A Pastor. Of a big church. He struck up a convers...