Zane 1967(?)–

(Kristina LaFerne Roberts)

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1967, in Washington, DC; married, c. 2002; children: two sons, one daughter, one stepchild. Education: Howard University, graduated.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Strebor Books International, Box 6505, Largo, MD 20792. E-mail—zane@eroticanoir.com.

CAREER:

Strebor Books, Largo, MD, founder and publisher, 1999—; Zane's Endeavors Books and Gifts, Baltimore, MD, owner; partner, dePasse/Zane Entertainment (film production company); has also worked as a sales executive. Executive producer, Sock It to Me (DVD). Member of board of directors, the Negro League Legend Hall of Fame.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Black Expressions Book of the Year, 2004, for Addicted, 2005, for Nervous, 2006, for Afterburn; Blackboard Fiction Book of the Year, 2004, for Nervous; Blackboard Erotic Fiction Book of the Year, 2005, for Skyscraper; Award for Outstanding Fiction, NAACP, 2006, for Breaking the Cycle.

WRITINGS:

The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth (short stories), Strebor Books International (Silver Spring, MD), 1999.

Addicted, Strebor Books International (Silver Spring, MD), 2001.

Shame on It All, Strebor Books International (Silver Spring, MD), 2001.

Gettin' Buck Wild: Sex Chronicles II, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Heat Seekers, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Of Royal Blood, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2002.

Nervous, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2003.

The Sisters of APF: The Indoctrination of Soror Ride Dick, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Skyscraper, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2003.

(Compiler) Chocolate Flava: The Eroticanoir.com Anthology, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2004.

Afterburn, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2005.

Dear G-Spot: Straight Talk about Sex and Love, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2005.

(Editor and contributor) Breaking the Cycle, (anthology), Strebor Books (Silver Spring, MD), 2005.

(Editor) Caramel Flava: The Eroticanoir.com Anthology, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to books including Blackgentlemen.com, Best American Erotica 2004, Best Black Women's Erotica, Brown Sugar 2,Twilight Moods, Dark Dreams, Becoming Myself: Reflections of Growing Up Female, edited by Willa Shalit, and Love Is Never Painless:Three Novellas, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2006. Also contributor to Music from the Motion Picture the Fighting Temptations, Sony Music Soundtrax (New York, NY), 2003.

ADAPTATIONS:

Addicted has been adapted for film by Lion's Gate Films.

SIDELIGHTS:

Zane is the pseudonym of Kristina LaFerne Roberts, a writer of best-selling erotic fiction and nonfiction. Roberts, who holds a degree in chemical engineering, began writing erotica as a hobby and would send it to friends and acquaintances she met on the Internet. Before long, she had developed a cult following and decided to try and get her work published. She subsequently has sold more than six million books and has made the New York Times best-seller list with Afterburn and Love Is Never Painless, the latter a collection of three novellas to which Zane contributed. As a result, she joins Toni Morrison and Terry McMillan as one of only three African American women to make the New York Times fiction best-seller ‘print list’ since 2000. ‘Whenever I had creative writing assignments and stuff in school, the teachers would almost be shocked at what I turned in because it would be so far-fetched and so imaginative,’ Zane said in an interview with Ben Nuckols on AZ Central.com. ‘Most of my teachers told me I should be a writer, but I just never took it seriously until I got bored enough to do it."

Zane self-published her first book, The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth, a collection of short stories. She also self-published two other titles, selling more than 250,000 copies by word of mouth, before signing with Simon & Schuster, which has become the distributor for Zane's publishing company, Strebor Books International. As a result, Zane is the first black author to obtain a distribution agreement for a small press with a major publishing house.

In addition to The Sex Chronicles, Zane is the author of the follow-up book, Gettin' Buck Wild: Sex Chronicles II, which includes more erotic short stories, featuring everything from traditional couples to sorority sisters out looking for a wild time. Zane has also written numerous erotic novels. The best-selling Addicted features an arts dealer named Zoe who risks everything, including her family, because of her addiction to sex. Review Stream contributor Carrie Ann McMillian noted that readers will be ‘‘addicted’ from the very first page."

In her next novel, Shame on It All, Harmony, Bryce, and Lucinda are sisters and the closest of friends who protect each other, including from the wrong men. Romantic Times contributor T.L. Burton noted that the story contains ‘a plethora of sex, scandal, humor and ongoing fun.’ The Heat Seekers finds friends Jessica and Tempest looking for a good man after their continuous encounters with losers. When Dvonte and Geren arrive on the scene, Geren and Tempest form a close relationship while Dvonte and Jessica seem only to have sex in common. ‘This insightful look at young love works because Zane draws realistic characters,’ wrote Harriet Klausner on AllReaders.com.

Nervous tells the story of a woman whose suppressed sexual aggressiveness eventually comes out in an alternate personality. Jonquinette has been shy around men, but her alter ego, Jude, enjoys numerous sexual escapades. Eventually, Jonquinette seeks help from psychiatrist Dr. Marcella Spence, sending Jude on a sexual rampage while seeking to stop Jonquinette from forming a lasting relationship with her next-door neighbor. The Sisters of APF: The Indoctrination of Soror Ride Dick features the adventures of the sorority sisters first featured in the author's debut short-story collection. The story revolves around Mary Ann Ferguson, who grew up on a chicken farm and is attending law school in Washington, DC, leaving her high school sweetheart behind. Before long, Mary Ann is introduced into a secret and wild sorority with the acronym APF. Sharon Hudson, writing on Bookreporter.com, commented: ‘Not for the faint of heart, this book will definitely elevate your blood pressure. It is so wonderfully written, the imagery is quite vivid, and it begs to be read in a day's time."

Skyscraper features various shenanigans going on at Wolfe Industries, including the romantic involvements of a mail clerk, a secretary, an executive assistant, and the company's CEO. Zane's 2005 novel Afterburn tells the stories of chiropractor Yardley Brown and bank employee Rayne Waters, whose steamy relationship is constantly troubled by outsiders, including Rayne's off-kilter mother, his buddies, and past lovers. Dennis Rivera, writing on the Review Stream Web site, appreciated the author's ‘ability to let you see her characters grow."

Zane has also served as editor or compiler of anthologies, including Chocolate Flava: The Eroticanoir.com Anthology, Caramel Flava: The Eroticanoir.com Anthology, and Breaking the Cycle. She gathered the stories for Chocolate Flava and Caramel Flava from the ‘Featured Erotica’ section of her Web site. The stories primarily focus on African American and Latino protagonists. Zane also contributed stories to the immensely popular collections, with Chocolate Flava selling 100,000 copies in its first month of publication. Chocolate Flava features stories written specifically for either men or women. Romantic Times contributor Lauren Brathwaite called Caramel Flava ‘hot and fast-paced."

Breaking the Cycle marks a departure for Zane in that it features stories of domestic abuse and the lasting effects they have on individuals and families. ‘The stories are very harsh,’ Zane told Margena A. Christian in an interview for Jet. ‘I wanted them to be that way because I want people, when they put the book down, to say, ‘Wow, I really need to get out.’ And if they know someone in that situation, for them to say, ‘I've really got to help them.’"

Zane also contributed to Love Is Never Painless with a novella titled ‘Staring Evil in the Face.’ The story features Robier, who seems to have the perfect life and family until his wife, Tiphanie, has a terrible car accident and Robier is forced to face his wife's subsequent addiction to painkillers. Debbie R. Sims, writing for the Romantic Times, called Zane's tale ‘tremendously powerful, detailed."

Zane's 2005 book Dear G-Spot: Straight Talk about Sex and Love is a collection of letters from women and men who have written to Zane seeking advice on their sex lives.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, September 1, 2003, William E. Cox, ‘From the Editor-in-Chief,’ p. 1.

CNW Group, May 10, 2006, ‘Lionsgate Becomes Addicted to Zane and De Passe; Studio Acquires Worldwide Rights to Best-Selling Erotic Thriller by Female African-American Cultural Phenomenon."

Essence, July, 2003, Asha Bandele, ‘Bedroom Bliss! Can Our Sex Lives Be Safe, Spiritual and Satisfying? Dr. Hilda Hutcherson and Erotic Novelist Zane Share Their Secrets for Steamy Intimacy,’ p. 156; December, 2006, Lynya Floyd, ‘Supersexy Speed Dating: Erotic Author Zane Puts a Fresh and Freaky Twist on Dating for Encounters That Aren't All Talk,’ p. 194.

Jet, October 4, 2004, Margena A. Christian, ‘Meet Zane the Queen of Erotic Novels,’ p. 56.

New York Times, June 9, 2005, Edward Wyatt, ‘Sex and Simon & Schuster,’ p. 2.

PR Newswire, May 10, 2006, ‘Lionsgate Becomes Addicted to Zane and De Passe."

Publishers Weekly, June 13, 2005, ‘S&S Buys Strebor Line,’ p. 5.

ONLINE

African American Literature Book Club,http://authors.aalbc.com/ (October 29, 2007), reviews of The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth, Shame on It All, Addicted, Gettin' Buck Wild: Sex Chronicles II, The Sisters of APF: The Indoctrination of Soror Ride Dick, Nervous, Skyscraper, Chocolate Flava: The Eroticanoir.com Anthology, Afterburn, Breaking the Cycle, Caramel Flava: The Eroticanoir.com Anthology, Love Is Never Painless, and Dear G-Spot: Straight Talk about Sex and Love.

AllReaders.com,http://www.allreaders.com/ (October 29, 2007), Harriet Klausner, review of The Heat Seekers.

AZ Central.com,http://www.azcentral.com/ (July 11, 2007), Ben Nuckols, ‘She's Famous but Anonymous: The Enigma of Erotic Author Zane."

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (October 20, 2007), Sharon Hudson, review of The Sisters of APF.

Review Stream,http://www.reviewstream.com/ (October 30, 2007), Dennis Rivera, review of Afterburn, Carrie Ann McMillian, review of Addicted.

Romantic Times,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (October 29, 2007), T.L. Burton, review of Shame on It All, Lauren Brathwaite, review of Caramel Flava, Debbie R. Sims, review of Love Is Never Painless.

Simon & Schuster Web site,http://www.simonsays.com/ (October 29, 2007), brief biography of Zane.

Strebor Books International,http://www.streborbooks.com/ (October 29, 2007).

Zane Home Page, http://eroticanoir.com (October 29, 2007).