Denise is an Afrofuturist. A Dreamer. A Creator of new and enchanting Black worlds. In her debut novel, Where It Rains In Color (Angry Robot Books, December 2022) she unveils Swazembi, a glitzy resort planet of floating colors and bizarre tourist attractions. Before conjuring up this paradise, she was a journalist for at least three decades, covering crime, politics, social issues and human-interest stories as a staff writer for The Detroit News and The Kansas City Star.

In 1994, she became the first woman to serve as editor-in-chief of the NAACP’s national magazine, The Crisis (founded in 1910 by W.E.B. Dubois). Later, she was founding editor of a Michigan-based lifestyle publication for Black families.

After writing two manuals that empower youth, Girl in the Mirror, A Teen’s Guide to Self-Awareness and Life is a Party That Comes with Exams, Denise entered the new-age healing movement and began delivering motivational talks to teens. 

Her numerous honors include the “Spirit of Detroit Award,” the “Mary J. Ball Children’s Advocacy Award” and selection as “One of the Most Influential Black Women in Metro Detroit” along with writing awards from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Parenting Publications of America, (PPA) Associated Press (AP), Best of Gannett and runner-up for the prestigious Livingston Award for Young Journalists.

Where it Rains in Color won the 2023 Indie Author Project Award for the State of Nevada. The novel also earned a 2023 Outstanding Book Award from the National Association of Black Journalists.

A ghostwriter on the side, Denise has written books for a host of high-profile clients, including William F. Pickard, Ph.D. (Millionaire Moves: Seven Proven Principles of Entrepreneurship). She divides her time between Spring Valley, Nevada and her hometown, Detroit, Michigan.