Source: Phaedraparks.com/ Robert Ector

Although there is one tell-all book on the market supposedly exposing her criminal, unladylike past and another on the way, Real Housewives of Atlanta star Phaedra Parks doesn’t appear to be phased by the dirt that her former friends have attempted to throw on her name. She continues to maintain her southern belle persona and now she’s ready to teach you to do the same. We’ve just exclusively learned that Phaedra is gearing up to release a personal growth book titled, Secrets of the Southern Belle: How to Be Nice, Work Hard, Look Pretty Have Fun and Never Have an Off Moment.

According to Barnes and Noble, the 256-page book will offer be a “no-nonsense guide to life” brought to life by Phaedra’s “witty” advice. The book’s description reads:

“She’s the voice of reason on the Bravo’s massively popular The Real Housewives of Atlanta, known for her major career, happy home life, redonkulous caboose—and for being the ultimate Southern Belle. Phaedra Parks has spark, but she’s also got serious savoir faire. She’s spent her entire life as a Southern Belle and she has a lot to share. What’s more, she honestly believes life as a Belle is simply better, for you and for the people around you.

As Phaedra knows better than anyone, if you are a Southern Belle, men would find you fascinating and women would want to be your friend. You would always be perfectly put together and never at a loss for words. You would have access to the very best of traditional Southern ways as well as the freedoms and opportunities of the twenty-first century. You would be charming and impeccable. You would never wear sneakers outside the gym.

In Secrets of the Southern Belle, Phaedra dispenses invaluable advice about fashion, etiquette, dating, and the workplace, giving a modern twist to traditional values and Southern etiquette. From nailing an interview to hosting the perfect backyard barbeque to the art of playing hard to get, Phaedra will help you tackle whatever comes your way—without ever breaking a sweat.”

The publisher is Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. In a press release, Phaedra promised that SOSB will help women an every aspect of their lives.

“This book is Southern Belle Savior Faire 101 and is sure to school you on how to leverage the wit, grace and charm of a true Southern Belle in all aspects of your life.”

Vice President, Editor-in-chief of Gallery Books, Jennifer Bergstrom also boasted her confidence in Phaedra’s capabilities to help the women of this generation.

“I think Phaedra represents the new Southern Belle—confident, poised, fun, smart, opinionated, and ladylike – that women in all parts of the country can aspire to. I’m thrilled to be publishing her book.”

After doing some digging, we found that the book was originally scheduled to be released this spring, but got pushed back to the fall. As of today, Secrets of the Southern Belles official release date is November 12, 2013.

I’m not going to lie, the nosy girl in me is a little curious about what she has to say.

Does this sound like something you’d be interested in reading?

From EurWeb

Atlanta-based pastor Sabrina McKenzie is about to enforce the stereotypes of the lavish lifestyle of preachers as she is scheduled to star in a new reality show, “Big Rich Atlanta.”

As controversial as it sounds, the God-fearing shepherd is coming up from a background of secular dancing. She was a huge success, touring with Bobby Brown and TLC.

Read more at EurWeb.com.

Getty

From ESSENCE

The road to success for Gabby Douglas hasn’t been easy. Thankfully, the young gymnast relied on her mother, Natalie Hawkins and three siblings, Arielle, John and Joyelle. But one person’s been noticeably absent from her life, Gabby’s father Timothy Douglas, an Air National guardsman.

According to an interview with People, the Olympic gold medalist says she didn’t see him much growing up—especially after her parents divorced in 2007. And things haven’t changed much since then. “I haven’t heard from him,” said Gabby. “He’s doing his own thing. What can you do? Everyone has hiccups in their families.”

She hopes to receive an apology from him “at some point.”

Read what else Gabrielle has to say about her family over at ESSENCE.

WENN.com

Mike Tyson just keeps on doing it.

The former heavyweight boxing champion, reality TV star (Taking on Tyson) and movie actor (The Hangover franchise) can now add author to his resume. Tyson’s memoir, Undisputed Truth, will be published next summer by Blue Rider Press. Of course, the book will also chronicle Tyson’s tougher times, including the loss of his $400 million fortune and his trip to prison for rape. He’s collaborating with another writer, Larry “Ratso” Sloman, who worked with Howard Stern on his book Private Parts.

Over the summer, Tyson made his Broadway stage debut in a one-man show of the same name. That show was also staged in Las Vegas and toured around Europe. He’s next headed to Australia.

It’s also worth mentioning that Tyson has just launched a nonprofit organization, Mike Tyson Cares, which helps at-risk kids.

This is really an epic comeback. Will you be reading this book?

Keys and Douglas backstage at the VMAs, photobombed by Santa Claus. Image: @AliciaKeys

Gabrielle Douglas really is the “girl on fire.” Fresh off of her Olympic gold medal wins, her whirlwind celebrity appearances and a mini-gymnastics performance with Alicia Keys during the MTV Video Music Awards last night, we have news that she’s got a two-book deal with HarperCollins.

Her first book will be a memoir, Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith, which will be out in time for Christmas. Bonus! It’ll come with a free poster.

“Of course, there’ll be a lot of stories about gymnastics, but the book will also be about how much my family and I have overcome during our journey. It hasn’t been easy. I want people to read my story and say, ‘If Gabby can do it, I can do it too. Anything is possible,’” the phenom said in a statement.

There’s no word yet on what her second book will be about.

Douglas was joined by her Fierce Five teammates at the VMAs. She also appeared this week at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC.

bossip.com

Ahhh, the video chick.  We hate them, we love them and then we hate them again.  I know its not the most respectable job in the music industry but if the women can manage to parlay that into something better for themselves, I say more power to them! Let’s check out a few of the ladies who’ve made it past the drop it like its hot stage…

Source: carltonjordan.com

If you were tired of talking about the possibility of a biopic on Whitney Houston’s life, there’s now something new to talk about: There’s going to be a memoir on her life  and it will be written by her mother. Cissy Houston will go in depth about the joys and pain of her daughter’s life in a detailed memoir that will be distributed by HarperCollins and will be available next February. In a statement released via HarperCollins, momma Cissy says she hopes, in doing the book, that she can leave a little bit of Whitney with her fans and give folks a better understanding of her life:

“When I lost my daughter Nippy (Whitney Houston’s nickname), the world lost one of the most beautiful voices and an extraordinarily beautiful and charitable woman. In sharing our story in this book, I hope to give her fans something to treasure, the way we all treasured Whitney. We are still receiving thousands of letters each day from her fans, and I hope reading this book will provide a deeper understanding into my daughter’s true story.”

According to NY Daily News, a portion of the proceeds from the book will be given to New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J. where Whitney’s voice first was able to have a stage. This is also where people got to see their last glimpse of the star during her funeral. Reports say that Houston will receive seven figures through the book deal. Cissy is slated to discuss everything that went on with Whitney, including her drug addiction, troubled marriage to Bobby Brown, her iconic career, and her own grief from losing her daughter. According to HarperCollins, “Ultimately, Cissy will go behind the headlines to show the true, human side of this strong, successful yet complicated musical icon, capturing the dramatic depths and soaring range of an extraordinary woman, along with the pain and heartbreak of a grieving mother as she struggles with impossible loss.”

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Source: Terezowens.com

Ever since Dwyane Wade won sole custody of his sons last March he’s become the poster child of single fatherhood among celebrities. There’s no doubt the Miami Heat player’s situation is a rare one, and he’s decided to share more personal aspects of his experience in an upcoming book, “A Father First: How My Life Became Bigger Than Basketball.”

Dwyane will talk about his transformation as a child of a single parent and playing basketball in Chicago where he grew up, to becoming a single father of two young boys as a part of the Heat’s Big Three and an American Olympics Team.

The book will be published by William Morrow of HarperCollins Publishers in September, and falls in line with the need for positive examples of fatherhood Dwyane says he observed, particularly in the past few years. While he was going through his custody battle with ex-wife Siohvaughn, he says so many people came up to him asking why he fought for custody of his kids and why he thought he could handle being a single parent. For him, it was pretty much a no brainer.

“As a child, I grew up with aspirations to one day be a professional basketball player, and I am living that dream every day as a proud member of the Miami Heat,” he said. “However, the daily role I play in the lives of my two children is the single most significant undertaking of my life, and the job I take most seriously.”

Gabrielle Union’s found herself a good catch. This book definitely sounds like a great read. Will you check it out?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Source: MTV

Nicki Minaj wasn’t playing when she told Jay Z “I’m coming for your spot, Mr. Mogul.’” The rapper recently told Allure magazine in her April cover feature that she had a little chat with Jay about expanding her empire at the Victoria Secret Fashion Show last year, and now it seems she’s making good on that promise. According to Eurweb, Nicki was recently asked whether she’d ever consider writing a book, and she tweeted that she’s actually already working on two.

The jump isn’t totally surprising since most artists eventually drop a memoir, and Nicki has already expanded her scope far beyond music with a MAC lipstick line and nail polish line through OPI. Nicki didn’t say what the focus of her books will be, but whatever they are, I’m sure they fit in perfectly with her carefully crafted career. She told Allure:

‘I never thought about music as just being the end-all, be-all. I always looked at it like a business, something that I could create an empire out of. So that’s why I’m only about to put out my second album and I’m already thinking about this.”

What do you think about Nicki Minaj as an author? Would you check out her books?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Source: kplr11.com

I’ve pretty much come to the conclusion that Steve Harvey is the black version of Ryan Seacrest…or better yet, the black male version of Ellen. These are people who a lot of other people seem to like, and therefore, they get asked to hold like every job available in entertainment. Already  the host of a highly popular radio show, an author, and the host of “Family Feud,” Steve Harvey is now set to host a syndicated talk show in Chicago that will be ready in the fall. According to a statement given to the Chicago Sun-Times, Harvey’s show will bring a “funny, fresh, insightful and common sense approach to life’s everyday moments.”On top of that, he’ll be covering everything from family issues, to parenting and you guessed it–dating and marriage. Sounds like we will have a TV-version of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man on our hands. The 55-year-old TV and radio personality will definitely be trying to save some relationships and doing so in a comedic manner. Sounds like a pretty good idea and not too many people are doing it anymore…but I’m just saying, can he share some of the many forms of employments he’s got? Next thing you know, he’ll be trying to be a judge on American Idol…

Will you be watching Steve’s new talk show?

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