It had gotten great response for the first month, with hundreds of letters coming in. For the February edition the response was even stronger as the bags of mail came in with over two thousand letters. We weren’t taking any e-mails or faxes. “Gotta separate the pretenders from the people who really want your help. Anyone will bang out an e-mail and hit send, but someone who takes the time to write or type a letter and mail it in this day and age is serious,” Jonetta had said. She’d come up with the idea of calling me Dr. C., instead of using my real name, and I loved it. Reminded me a bit of Dr. Phil. The magazine, Girl Talk, had gone through a total overhaul. A multimillion-dollar face-lift and advertising blitz had it placed everywhere you saw Essence, Vibe, and Ebony. The articles were given more of an edge. The topics were racier, more compelling; there was some exclusive celebrity gossip and interviews, and on top of that, my column was being pushed as a real sounding board for women.
