Intimate Conversation with Niambi Brown Davis
In 2010 Sanctuary was released as an Apple iTunes application, and will be released in e-book format through Lady Leo Publishing. Sabor a Mi, Niambi’s latest novella, was released in September 2010 by InnerVision Books.
BPM: What are you most thankful for today?
Without doubt, my fabulous family. Second, would be gratitude for the lessons I finally learned: even in total darkness, keep looking for the light and it will find you.
BPM: Tell us about your fondest holiday moment or event. Do you have Holiday/Christmas rituals that absolutely, positively must be followed?
I have so many, but I’ll reign in my urge to share them all (lol). As a child the arrival of the catalog from Miles Kimball of Oshkosh meant Christmas was on the way. From that catalog my parents ordered our personalized Christmas cards (a snowy scene painted in white on midnight blue and inscribed “From the Three of Us” over our names). And then there was the yearly trip to Gimbels in Philadelphia to sit on Santa’s knee and later shopping for the one pre-Christmas gift I was allowed (usually a book, but when I got older it was a beautiful black watch plaid skirt).
In later years my mother would invite the little girls in our extended family over to bake Christmas cookies. She and I had our own ritual – we would leave one item on the list for the excitement of a last-minute Christmas Eve shopping sprint. And now each year my daughter and I buy a new pair of Christmas Eve pajamas. Lest I forget, we always put the Kwanzaa symbols up early so they don’t get left behind in the excitement that is Christmas. (I guess I didn’t reign in as much as I thought…)
BPM: How do you celebrate the holidays? While everyone else is asleep, I wait up until midnight, usually with a glass of eggnog one more gift to wrap. The next morning, we get up, open our gifts and get ready for a big family meal at one of my relative’s houses.
One year a family friend and his wife gave my parents and I a Christmas card that came with a holiday punch recipe. We still make it every year.
I grew up when black radio was found only on the AM frequency and went off when the sun went down. The next best alternative was Baltimore’s WCAO, where I first heard Brenda Lee’s “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” and Bobby Helms “Jingle Bell Rock.” They remind me of my childhood Christmas, and are some of my favorites to this day. It wouldn’t be Christmas for me without Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas”, Carla Thomas’ “Gee Whiz It’s Christmas” or any soulful rendition of O Holy Night.”
BPM: Tell us about your latest book. What are two main events taking place in the book?
Sabor a Mi is the story of Melody Walker and Raimundo (Ray) Santos, two people who love Latin dance, but hate each other on sight, especially when Ray cracks on her culture and her size. When they’re paired together for a competition, it’s make or break in more ways than one.
I started Sabor a Mi right after a ballroom dancing class, but it eventually grew into more than just my love of salsa and Latin music. It ended up being a story about the relentless pursuit of a dream, the unstoppable power of true love, real men, strong women, family first and second chances.
BPM: How may our readers contact you online and pick up your latest work?
Thanks so much for including me in the Holiday Book Tour. I can be reached by email at niambi@niambibrowndavis.com, or nbrowndavis@aol.com Sabor a Mi is available for download at http://www.innervisionbooks.com/, or for the Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/.
My web address is http://www.niambibrowndavis.com/. I look forward to hearing from readers and friends - Happy Holidays!
