Black Paris Profiles™: Monique Y. Wells

As the author / compiler of Black Paris Profiles™, I debated whether I should include my story in this book. Then someone said to me, “How can you NOT include your story? It is one of the most unusual of those in Paris’ African-American community today.” I had to agree that this is true, so I am presenting it below.

Monique Y. Wells
Photo courtesy of Kim Powell
I first came to Paris in 1989. I was with four of my dearest friends, sorors from the undergraduate chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority at the University of Pennsylvania, and we came here as part of a three-city jaunt to London, Paris, and Amsterdam.

************

Black Paris Profiles™ is now available on Kindle.  Only excerpts are available on this blog.

To get your copy of Black Paris Profiles™, click HERE.

************

Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.
We are proud to have been selected as one of 10 BEST Paris blogs!

If you liked this article, share it with your friends and colleagues by clicking on one or more of the social media buttons below!

Entrée to Black Paris is One of 10 BEST Paris Blogs

Entrée to Black Paris has been named one of 10 BEST Paris blogs!

Mike Gerrard is a full-time, award-winning travel writer and publisher. His numerous publications about Paris include the Top 10 Paris - Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide (DK Travel; penned with his wife, Donna Dailey), Colors of Paris (Thunder Bay Press), and Paris: A City Revealed (Metro Books). As a man who knows the city intimately, he recently made his selection of 10 BEST Paris blogs. We were thrilled to find our blog among them!

Here's Mike's description of Entrée to Black Paris:

What it is: Monique Y. Wells covers a fascinating niche subject – black history, culture and contemporary life in Paris.

Why we like it: Specialist passions make for some of the best blogs, and the relationship of Paris with its black population (for better or worse) provides some stimulating reading. Monique doesn’t just cover the well-documented ground of black writers, musicians and other artists in Paris’s past, like Chester Himes and Josephine Baker, but keeps it current by interviewing black chefs, lawyers and other prominent figures.

Find Mike's entire list of 10 BEST Paris blogs on the Web site 101 Holidays.

************

Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

If you liked this article, share it with your friends and colleagues by clicking on one or more of the social media buttons below!

Secrets of the Black Bloggers: A Book Review

As the creator of Entrée to Black Paris, I was featured in the e-book Secrets of the Black Bloggers a few months ago. Here is a review of the publication.

************

Secrets of the Black Bloggers by Zhana takes a fresh look at blogs that focus on topics of interest to people of African descent. This e-book provides readers with the opportunity to go behind the scenes at several blogs to see exactly how they are created and how their creators think.

Through her interviews with fourteen writers, Zhana explores issues such as selecting topics, post frequency, and driving traffic to blogs and monetizing them. The bloggers that she features write on a wide variety of subjects, with business, author, and international blogs predominating. The majority of these writers (twelve out of fourteen)—and all who write about business, authorship, and international topics—are women.

Among other things, each writer presents his or her top three tips for blogging. These are invaluable to newcomers to this form of online communication and for those who are struggling with the medium.

As one of the bloggers featured in the book, I was curious to read the responses of fellow interviewees regarding what they enjoy most about blogging. I love the research aspect most, but suspected that others would have a wide range of sentiments about this topic.

I was right! Responses included getting feedback for expanding thoughts and refining ideas and strategies, providing analysis and viewpoints that others have not considered before, connecting with people and inspiring them, and freedom to discuss whatever one wants without censorship. Our motivations are as varied as our blog content.

I was most pleased to see Adrianne George and her Black Women in Europe blog featured in the international section of the book. Adrianne is one of the most dynamic women I have encountered on line and I strongly recommend that you visit her blog!

If you are thinking of starting a blog and want some insight into the process, problems, and priorities associated with blogging, Secrets of the Black Bloggers is a great resource.

************

Entrée to Black Paris!™ is a Discover Paris! blog.

If you liked this article, share it with your friends and colleagues by clicking on one or more of the social media buttons below!