Raynetta Mañees is an African American

romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...

ist and entertainer.

Personal life

Raynetta Mañees was born and raised in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. After she graduated from

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

, she attended

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, obtaining a degree in

Mass Communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

. She worked as an executive administrator in the

US Federal Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fed ...

for 28-years before retiring. Today, Mañees works as a full-time author. Additionally, she owns an online antique and collectible shop called "Raynetta's Romantiques." Mañees has published novels, all of which have also released as

e-Books An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

. She is currently living in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and working on her seventh print novel.

Writing career

Mañees had published several

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

and newspaper articles before publishing her debut novel, ''All for Love,'' in 1996. Her second novel, ''Wishing on a Star'', was also became a bestseller and earned positive reviews from critics by critics. Mañees' third novel, ''Follow Your Heart'', received a distinguished 4½-star Gold Medal Top Pick Classic rating from

Romantic Times ''Romantic Times'' was an American genre magazine specializing in romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love betwee ...

and earned the "Award of Excellence" from RomanceInColor.com. In May 1999, ''Romantic Times'' gave her fourth release, ''A Mother's Touch'', a four-star rating. This work is an anthology featuring Mañees' novella All the Way Home. Additionally, in 1999, Mañees introduced her fourth full-length novel, ''Fantasy''. Her fifth novel, ''Heart of the Matter'', reached the top ten of Amazon's list of best-selling multicultural romances.

Other artistic work

When Mañees's was five, she started her career as a vocalist. She has performed as a solo artist in numerous venues in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

, and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. Her previous performances led her to perform in musicals, which in turn led to numerous non-musical acting roles. From 1994 to 1996, Mañees was a member of the Board of Directors of the Riverwalk Theater of

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

, and she has appeared at the Riverwalk in several productions, including ''West Side Story'', the Afro-American drama "Sty of the Blind Pig" where she played the leading lady. She also took on the role of Mrs. Murphy in the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

winning play "JB" at the Spotlight Theater in

Grand Ledge, Michigan Grand Ledge is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city lies mostly within Eaton County, though a small portion extends into Clinton County to the north. The city sits above the Grand River 12.7 miles (20.4 kilometers) west of downtown Lan ...

. Following her acting career, Mañees did

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (an ...

, and was an on-air personality on AM 1180,

WXLA WXLA (1180 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Dimondale, a suburb of Lansing, Michigan. It is owned by MacDonald Broadcasting and airs a soft adult contemporary radio format. It uses the branding "Easy 93.3". The dial positi ...

for in Lansing two years. She has also performed in radio and television commercials.

Works

* ''Heart of the matter,'' released January 2002, * ''Fantasy,'' released August 1999, * ''A Mother's Touch,'' an anthology containing Manees' novella, "All The Way Home", released May 1999, * ''Follow Your Heart,'' released September 1998, * ''Wishing on a Star,'' released August 1997, * ''All for Love'', released September 1996,

References

Raynetta Manees Website

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manees, Raynetta Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American romantic fiction writers American women novelists Cass Technical High School alumni People from Southfield, Michigan Wayne State University alumni