McMillan, Rosalyn 1953- (Rosalyn A. McMillan)

PERSONAL:

Born October 13, 1953, in Port Huron, MI; daughter of Edward McMillan (a factory worker) and Madeline Washington Tillman; married John D. Smith (second husband; a business executive), March 2, 1984; children: four. Ethnicity: African American. Education: Attended writing classes and seminars.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Detroit, MI.

CAREER:

Writer. Previously worked twenty years as a seamstress at Ford Motor Company before medical retirement, c. 1976-96.

MEMBER:

Toastmasters.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Blackboard Book of the Year for Fiction, 1999, for One Better.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Knowing, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1996.

One Better, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Blue Collar Blues, Warner Books (New York, NY), 1998.

The Flip Side of Sin, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2000.

This Side of Eternity, Free Press (New York, NY), 2001.

Served on the Executive Advisory Board of the Memphis Black Writers Conference and the editorial board of VIP Memphis magazine, the official publication of the Memphis Black Writers Conference.

SIDELIGHTS:

Rosalyn McMillan, the sister of best-selling writer Terry McMillan, spent twenty years working for the Ford Motor Company in Detroit before following in her sister's footsteps as a novelist. In her first romantic novel, 1996's Knowing, the author tells the story of a factory worker named Ginger who wants to get her real estate license despite her husband's objections. An Entertainment Weekly contributor referred to the novel as "minutely realistic," which is Knowing's "emotional strength." Rhonda Johnson, also writing in Entertainment Weekly, noted: "Rosalyn McMillan has had the nerve—or the naivete—to stage a romance amid the down and dirty details of a woman's day-to-day life, in which the real adventure is balancing ambition, motherhood, sexuality, spirituality, friendship, and housework."

McMillan's second novel, One Better, features wealthy community leader and widow Spice Witherspoon as she is pursued by two handsome suitors. The novel also follows Witherspoon's two daughters, one the first African American female pilot, and the other an artist looking for love. "Each character has a compelling story to tell," Lillian Lewis wrote in Booklist. Sheila M. Riley, writing in the Library Journal, referred to One Better as "a lusty, melodramatic novel."

Blue Collar Blues focuses on both the blue- and white-collar worlds of Detroit. The story revolves around the friendship between two women: Thyme Tyler, a manager for a motor company who has hit the proverbial "glass ceiling," and Khan Davis, a plant worker who fears being laid off. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that the author "keeps the story lines mercifully clear."

In The Flip Side of Sin, Isaac Coleman has spent years in prison after accidentally killing the governor's niece. When he is released and returns to Detroit, Isaac faces doubts about his acceptance by—and role in—the local community. The book follows Isaac as he tries to win back his estranged wife, keep his son from making the same mistakes he has made, and pursue his dream of establishing a career in the music business. "For all the dramatic twists and turns which keep the readers guessing, this book just may be McMillan's best work to date," wrote Andrea King Collier in the Black Issues Book Review. A Publishers Weekly contributor commented that "the author blends family secrets, redemption, sex and sensitive racial and gender issues into a bold and dramatic … tale."

McMillan's fifth novel, This Side of Eternity, takes place in 1968 in Memphis and features a working-class family whose main wage earner, Walter Russell, is killed on the job, leading to his fellow sanitation workers rising up to demand better working conditions, wages, and respect. The novel follows Russell's five children, as they struggle to survive and enter adulthood. "Racial bigotry, poverty, infidelity, mental illness, murder, life-threatening illness, alcoholism and gambling addiction figure prominently," wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Henderson, Ashyia, editor, Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 36, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 2002.

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, September, 2000, Andrea King Collier, review of The Flip Side of Sin, p. 21; July, 2001, Susan McHenry, review of This Side of Eternity, p. 34.

Booklist, July 1, 1997, Lillian Lewis, review of One Better, p. 1775; June 1, 2000, Vanessa Bush, review of The Flip Side of Sin, p. 1860.

Entertainment Weekly, February 23, 1996, Rhonda Johnson, review of Knowing, p. 112; April 25, 1997, review of Knowing, p. 65; June 30, 2000, Clarissa Cruz, "Family Fare: Does Having a Famous Last Name Lead to Literary Fame? It Sure Doesn't Hurt," p. 124.

Essence, August, 2000, review of The Flip Side of Sin, p. 70.

Library Journal, November 1, 1995, review of Knowing, p. 80; November 15, 1995, Andrea Caron Kempf, review of Knowing, p. 99; September 1, 1997, Sheila M. Riley, review of One Better, p. 219; August 1, 2000, review of The Flip Side of Sin, p. 159; May 1, 2001, Jennifer Baker, review of This Side of Eternity, p. 127.

People, April 1, 1996, Kim Hubbard, "Little Sister Act: Taking Her Cue from Terry, Rosalyn McMillan Knew She Could Write a Novel—and Now She Has," p. 107.

Publishers Weekly, October 23, 1995, review of Knowing, p. 58; March 17, 1997, review of Knowing, p. 81; August 11, 1997, review of One Better, p. 383; August 10, 1998, review of Blue Collar Blues, p. 369; May 22, 2000, review of The Flip Side of Sin, p. 70; April 30, 2001, review of This Side of Eternity, p. 58.