Zane

She originally self-published three titles in 2000 and went on to sell more than 250,000 copies; virtually by word of mouth alone. After almost four years, she is embarking on her first tour this summer aboard "The Zane Love Bus."

For the second time, one of her books has been chosen as the book of the year by the Black Expressions Book Club. Nervous was voted the #1 book of 2003 by Blackboard, with its closest runner-up being another book by Zane, Skyscraper. Zane was awarded The Architect of Contemporary Culture Award by the B & B Society in 2003.

Having first signed with Simon and Schuster in June 2001, Zane has contracted fifteen books to a single publisher in less than three years. She has been on the Essence Magazine bestseller's list consistently since she began her published career. She is the only author to ever have three out of five of the top fiction sellers in one month and she accomplished the feat for several months in a row. Recently, Zane held down seven of the top fifteen African American fiction titles at Waldenbooks Nationwide, including the first, second, and third positions. She has sold more than two million books since April 2000.

She is also the editor of Chocolate Flava, which sold nearly 100,000 copies during its first month of publication (January 2004) and it recently went into its ninth printing. This is highly unusual for erotic fiction collections and Caramel Flava is already in the works.

In addition to being an author, Zane is the publisher of Strebor Books International. She has twenty-eight authors signed to her house and the titles are distributed through Simon and Schuster. She is also the executive producer of Sock it to Me, a DVD based on one of the stories in The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth.

Zane's Endeavors Books and Gifts, her newest venture, will open its doors for business in 2004. Located in the historic Fell's Point area of Baltimore at 1622 Thames Street, Zane is truly excited about the possibilities that owning a bookstore will bring. She was also recently awarded An Architect of Freedom award.