It's scorched-earth, all-or-nothing war for Memphis' most merciless ride-or-die women, and even their survival skills are no guarantee. Once alliances splinter and explosive revelations rip apart their empire, one diva's revenge will become the ultimate deadly reign. Between total gang exterminations and brutal collateral damage, the stakes have never been higher for the women of the Dirty South.
From the eponymous star of one of the most popular reality shows in Fuse’s history, this no-holds-barred memoir and “snappily dictated story of inverted cultural norms in the wards of New Orleans” (East Bay Express) reveals the fascinating truth about a gay, self-proclaimed mama’s boy who exploded onto the formerly underground Bounce music scene and found acceptance, healing, self-expression, and stardom. As the “undisputed ambassador” of the energetic, New Orleans-based Bounce movement, Big Freedia isn’t afraid to twerk, wiggle, and shake her way to self-confidence, and is encouraging her fans to do the same. In her engrossing memoir, Big Freedia tells the inside story of her path to fame, the peaks and valleys of her personal life, and the liberation that Bounce music brings to herself and every one of her fans who is searching for freedom. Big Freedia immediately pulls us into the relationship between her personal life and her career as an artist; being a “twerking sissy” is not just a job, she says, but a salvation. A place to find solace and escape from the battles she faced growing up in the worst neighborhood in New Orleans. To deal with losing loved ones to the violence on the streets, drug overdoses, and jail. To survive hurricane Katrina by living on her roof for two days with three adults and a child. To grapple with the difficulties and celebrate the joys of living. In this eye-opening memoir that bursts with energy, you’ll learn the history of the Bounce movement and meet all the colorful characters that pepper its music scene. “Whether detailing the highs or the lows, Freedia’s tales pop as much as the booty that made her famous” (Out Magazine).
Hollywood Divas, Indie Queens, and TV Heroines offers an entertaining and critical look at the representation of women in recent movies. Written in a refreshingly accessible style, the book analyzes over thirty box-office hits. The authors explore the screen personae of top stars such as Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, and Renée Zellweger, as well as independent movie queens like Parker Posey and TV heroines like Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A must-read book for all film buffs who are tired of the mixed gender messages of mainstream culture.
In the first book of a fierce new series, meet Memphis's hardest ride-or-die chicks as they fight along with their infamous men to lock down the Dirty South. Memphis is the crime capital of America, and no one knows that better than the women born and raised on its mean streets. It's put sisters Ta'Shara and LeShelle on opposite sides of the street game, where blood means nothing and loyalty doesn't last long. It's also got Yolanda, an ambitious drug mule, and Melanie, a police detective, caught up with the same man--the notorious hustler Python. These four women think they've got the game figured out, but the one man they have in common will have them living double lives and wondering who will come out on top. Forget what you heard about East Coast/West Coast, 'cause real vendettas are born in the Dirty South. "Diamond's ear for street talk comes across loud and clear. . .a violent and profane tale, which launches a gritty new series. The divas here are realistic characters, and the pacing zooms. . .one of the best constructed street lit stories of 2010." --Library Journal "A nonstop, hard-hitting page-turner." --Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker
The deadliest ride-or-die chicks in Memphis have a new rival. But when all’s said and done, only one gang can reign supreme... The streets of the Dirty South have never been meaner as the ruthless women of warring hoods are just a few body bags away from total domination. Determined to rain bullets on Shotgun Row, lieutenant Lucifer teams up with Profit, head gangsta of the Vice Lords and a man bent on revenge. Good girl gone bad Ta’shara sets her sights on knocking her evil sister off the throne—but she’s unprepared for what’s ahead. Qiana’s deal with the devil to take ambitious Yolanda out of the picture plants her at the center of a manhunt that will jeopardize her own position. And as Queen G LeShelle’s list of enemies multiplies, the final knockout may come from the last person she expects. While the war zone expands, these gangsta divas take no prisoners for the chance to rule it all...
ComicsAlliance and ComicsBlend Best Comic Book of the Year BUST Magazine “Lit Pick” Recommendation Certified Cool™ in PREVIEWS: The Comic Shop’s Catalog “Mike Madrid gives these forgotten superheroines their due. These ‘lost’ heroines are now found—to the delight of comic book lovers everywhere.” —STAN LEE Wonder Woman, Mary Marvel, and Sheena, Queen of the Jungle ruled the pages of comic books in the 1940s, but many other heroines of the WWII era have been forgotten. Through twenty-eight full reproductions of vintage Golden Age comics, Divas, Dames & Daredevils reintroduces their ingenious abilities to mete out justice to Nazis, aliens, and evildoers of all kinds. Each spine-tingling chapter opens with Mike Madrid’s insightful commentary about heroines at the dawn of the comic book industry and reveals a universe populated by extraordinary women—superheroes, reporters, galactic warriors, daring detectives, and ace fighter pilots—who protected America and the world with wit and guile. In these pages, fans will also meet heroines with striking similarities to more modern superheroes, including The Spider Queen, who deployed web shooters twenty years before Spider Man, and Marga the Panther Woman, whose feral instincts and sharp claws tore up the bad guys long before Wolverine. These women may have been overlooked in the annals of history, but their influence on popular culture, and the heroes we’re passionate about today, is unmistakable. Mike Madrid is the author of Divas, Dames & Daredevils: Lost Heroines of Golden Age Comics and The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines, an NPR “Best Book To Share With Your Friends” and American Library Association Amelia Bloomer Project Notable Book. Madrid, a San Francisco native and lifelong fan of comic books and popular culture, also appears in the documentary Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines.
"Gritty, down and dirty, and raw." --Urban Reviews In De'nesha Diamond's explosive series, the fiercest ride-or-die chicks in Memphis are battling alongside--and against--their ruthless men to be the last diva standing. . . On these Dirty South streets, revenge is sweet opportunity. Now the women who help rule the hood are out to take ultimate control. Merciless lieutenant Lucifer drops as many bodies as she can to avenge a devastating shooting and consolidate her new power. Loyal gang member Essence discovers friendship has lethal limits when she falls for her best friend's man. Ever-ambitious Yolanda is angling hard to go from a king hustler's baby mama to his one and only. But Queen G LeShelle will betray any trust and take out any obstacle to make the game hers alone. And when these four women push their vendettas past the point of no return, it's a war only the most deadly diva will survive. . . "The raw prose will burn itself in readers' minds, leaving them screaming for the next installment." --Library Journal "These women will have readers turning pages. . .a suspenseful and entertaining book full of deceit and revenge." --APOOO BookClub
If the King Divas can't reign, no one will: one merciless kill vaults good-girl-gone-bad Ta'Shara into gangland's power elite - but an enemy she doesn't see is targeting everything she can't afford to lose.
Michelle Visage is not your average diva. Powerful, positive, and polished, this diva's not only glamorous, she's a savvy businesswoman with serious credentials who works her tail off. From her days vogueing in the downtown Manhattan clubs in the '90s to her successful career in radio and her ultimate cult status as a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race, Michelle has achieved her dreams and then some! In The Diva Rules, Visage shares her rules and advice for living life to the fullest and finding success no matter the hand you're dealt. With her no-nonsense style and super sassy voice, Michelle tells readers to Keep Your Shit Together
