Zane | Zane Website | Borders Books Locations | Nook Updates | Borders Locations | Black Book Chat w/Zane (Book: Total Eclipse of the Heart)

Zane, an author who prefers not to use her real name, surprised fans at recent D.C. book signing by looking more like a Sunday-school teacher than a video vixen. "I'm the author," she said on many occasions that evening at B. Dalton Booksellers in Union Station.

The 43-year-old mother of three (ages 6,15 and 22) is best known for her books about erotica, but her themes run beyond mere sex. Zane, who has written more than two dozen novels, also writes about abuse and the disabled and advocates adult HIV testing. She has had nine books on the New York Times best-sellers list, and she won an award in 2006 from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for her book on domestic abuse.

A D.C. native, Zane was raised in nearby Silver Spring, Md., by a schoolteacher mom and a theologian dad who taught at Oxford University. She earned degrees in chemical engineering and English at Howard University. Before she began writing, she was living in North Carolina with her husband and children and working as a sales representative. She is now divorced.

In a wide-ranging interview, Zane talks about growing up as a world traveler, exposure to other religions and cultures, and her latest book, "Total Eclipse of the Heart, which, she says, is about "toxic relationships" and the disabled.

Q: How does your father react to your erotica tales, particularly since he is a very religious man?

A: It's like my daddy said to me, "People have sex." I know I got here because my parents had sex. I have yet to meet somebody who didn't get here because somebody had sex.

Q: Can you tell me something about you as a person?

A: I was born in Washington, D.C., and I grew up near Walter Reed Hospital but moved to Silver Spring when I was in elementary school. I went to Our Lady of the Woods out in Maryland for elementary school. I went to junior high in Silver Spring. I went to high school in Atlanta. And I went to Howard University. Both of my parents are retired educators. My mother is a retired D.C. public school teacher. She taught at Whittier Elementary School for many years, for many decades. My father is a retired professor of theology. He was actually at Howard University for 30 years, but he taught at several other schools as well.

Q: What kind of impact did the Washington area have on yougrowing up?

A: It's fascinating because there are so many different cultural groups here. And actually, because of what my father did - he's an expert on world religions. We would go to our regular church, and he would also take us to Buddhist temples and Jewish synagogues and that kind of stuff to teach us that it's OK for people to be different. We all have to exist in the world together. There are a lot of great cultural things here in D.C.

Did you miss the few days “off” from our Holiday Reading Challenge? Well, we’re back at it today with Total Eclipse of the Heart by Zane which is Book 8 of the challenge. For the RAWSISTAZ who have been around a while, you’ll remember Zane was one of our earlier members and a member of our review team for several years. We can all say we knew her before she became so famous. :)

So, let’s get the chat started. We will be here throughout the day, so come in and out as your time allows.

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART by Zane
Atria, December 2009
336 Pages, Hardcover, $25.99
ISBN-10: 0743499298
ISBN-13: 978-0743499293

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BOOK DESCRIPTION

Brooke Alexander, a waitress who has self-esteem issues regarding her lackluster existence and her fluctuating weight, is in love with Patrick Sterling, one of the most prominent attorneys in Washington, D.C. On his good days, Patrick is the man in every woman’s dream. On his bad days, Patrick’s behavior is demeaning and he is angry at the world.

Damon Johnson, who’s been married to Carleigh for four years, is one of “the last good men” — compassionate and honest, he worships the ground his wife walks on. But Carleigh treats Damon like a trophy husband, allowing her friends to salivate over him and disrespect their happy home. Damon has dreams beyond his six-figure corporate job, and Carleigh views his life aspirations as a joke. Her selfish nature makes Damon wonder if he made the right decision when he asked for her hand in marriage.

When a tragic event causes Brooke’s and Damon’s lives to intersect, truths unfold as they begin to reflect on their own relationships.

In this provocative tale of love and heartbreak, Zane explores what happens when you cater to your emotional well-being and discover the meaning of unconditional love…or, rather, experience a total eclipse of the heart.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zane is the author of Addicted, The Sex Chronicles, Gettin’ Buck Wild, The Heat Seekers, The Sisters of APF, Shame on It All, Nervous, Skyscraper, Afterburn, and Love Is Never Painless and is also the editor of Chocolate Flava and Caramel Flava. She is the publisher of Strebor Books, an imprint of Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, and lives in the Washington, D.C., area with her family.

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