Chencia C. Higgins

Dr. Julie E Moody-Freeman and co-host Dr. Carole Bell interview Chencia C. Higgins, best-selling writer of D'Vaughn and Chris Plan a Wedding. Chencia C. Higgins is just a girl from Texas writing about sassy, southern women finding love. In 2019 she won an Emma award for her debut paranormal romance Janine: His True Alpha, and in 2022 her traditionally published debut D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding was named one of the best romances of the year by the New York Times. When she isn't daydreaming about imaginary people, Chencia can be found with her nose in a book (or two, or three), saving recipes on Pinterest for things she'll never make, and dreaming of traveling even further south for the winter. Dr. Julie E. Moody-Freeman is the Director of the Center for Black Diaspora, Co-Director of the Social Transformation Research Collaborative, and an Associate Professor in the Department of African and Black Diaspora Studies at DePaul University. She is the co-editor of The Black Imagination, Science Fiction, and the Speculative and The Black Imagination: Science Fiction, Futurism, and the Speculative. Her work on African American Romance has appeared in Romance Fiction and American Culture, The Routledge Research Companion to Popular Romance Fiction, and the Journal of Popular Romance Studies. She is also the creator and host of the Black Romance Podcast, which is building an oral history on Black Romance writers. Dr. Carole Bell is a Jamaican-born communication researcher, writer, and critic with two decades of experience working at the intersection of media, culture, and politics. A lover of books, TV, film and democracy, her writing has appeared in print and digital media outlets including NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and the Grio, and she is a contributor to the Black Love Matters essay anthology. She earned her PhD at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Media and Journalism concentrating in political communication, public opinion, and public policy and communication effects. She also holds an MS in Television and Radio from Brooklyn College, and a BA in English and American Literature from Harvard College. Thanks to the Center for Black Diaspora at DePaul University for sponsoring this podcast! Creator, producer, and host of the Black Romance Podcast: Julie E Moody-Freeman Co-creator, Co-producer, and Co-host of Season 4 of the Black Romance Podcast: Carole Bell @cvbell Marketing and Promotions: Jennifer Gardner @jpgm.a and Miya Jefferson Sound Editor: Miya Jefferson Black Romance Artwork: Kyle Gabb @Marciano_arts