AN ENDING AND A NEW BEGINNING






Last night was the mark of a completion of a goal. I submitted my last paper for class, and thus went to bed an MBA graduate. This morning, I woke up to a new beginning and a new challenge. With school a fresh 8 hours in my past, I had already put it off to a distance. I had a fresh goal. I awoke to a writing focus and desire to plan the completion of this new goal. That's how it is with writing.

From the time I set foot on floor, my mind began to think about how to lay out the new project and what I need to know. I'm thinking about where I need to go, what I need to listen to, and what I need to experience. For this project, I need a new set of eyes. I need a new voice to convey it. Pretty much, I need to become someone else.

What does a writer do to do that? Research.

Today (well, honestly, three days ago) I began my research for my next writing project. Research is one of the most important parts of writing. It helps you to allow your story to "ring true," as they say. But it helps you to do all of the things that I mentioned above. When you research, you gain the knowledge and understand and allows you to write from another point of view. It allows you to see, feel, and understand what your character feels. Once you understand your character's world, you become your character. Research helps you to do that.

Research is also a fun part of the writing process, I think. Because, it can open another world for you. Research can be like traveling to another city, country, or another world. Takes you places you've never been before and gives you a voice you never had before. If you're not careful, you can get lost in research. At least, I can. LOL.

I love researching for writing. Or maybe I just love the fact that I'm writing again. Writing for a purpose. :-)

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I noticed I have a morning routine before I do anything. Whether it be going to work, school work, writing, or just getting up in general. I have a list of things that I do, but not necessarily in the exact same order.

Before I start my day, I must relax and reflect. Meditate. It's hard for me to just get up and go. I have to take at least 30 minutes to lay while away, or else, "my ass is grass" for the rest of the day. This rolls right into lighting incense and meditating. Right now, I meditate in my bed. When I get around to it, I want to buy a new zebuton and zafu set to meditate on the floor, at sunrise, in front of the sliding glass door.

Then I have to have at least one cup of coffee. Two cups on Saturday and Sundays, spaced between a couple of hours. While I'm drinking coffee, I'm on the net. Twitter and Facebook are routine. I browse for inspirational quotes to post for status updates. I then look at my phone to go through emails in 3 different email accounts. One is for motorcycle related stuff, one is for author stuff, the other is for personal stuff like bill payment alerts, receipts, bank account info, etc.

Okay, from there, if I have time, I'll browse a couple of blogs and comment if I have something to say about it. I'm trying to get back into writing to my own blog. Right now, the goal is once a week. In September, I want to increase it, but no set goal yet. I also want to increase my surfing on the net. Not spend hours a day, but a quick browse. The internet is such a great and fast tool for writers to use. This thing is a godsend. Although you have to be careful, a lot of information can be gathered and shared.

Another thing that I want to add to the routine is a quick early morning workout a couple of days during the week.

So those are my must do morning routine items before I'm able to get into anything on the agenda for the day. Do you have a set routine?

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As I'm slowly easing back into writing, I'm slowly getting a look at the big picture ahead of me. Conversations with two authors helped to bring home the point of the larger task that is ahead of me. I'm speaking of that giant monster of marketing and promotion.

This weekend, I read the blog of author-friend Peggy Love, who wrote about Social Media's Exploding Frontier. I also had a chat with author Michelle McGriff and the conversation turned to marketing and promotion and social networking. The last time I was heavy into promotion was not that long ago. I spent the years 2004 through 2008 doing heavy promotion for my self-published book, then the traditionally published version of Counting Raindrops, plus the second book, First Fridays. I LOVED doing promotion. Despite my shyness and disdain for public speaking, the actual work behind marketing and promotion is enjoyable...if you just do it and don't think about it. Meaning, take it step by step and don't let it overwhelm you by looking at the big picture and trying to do everything at once.

Yet, that's exactly what I find myself doing, even as I have not completely finished book three. So much has changed since I've stopped heavy promotion, and it hasn't really even been two years. My promotion was book clubs, book events, postcards, business cards, bookmarks, mailings, newsletters, website, and blog. These things seem to still be good promotional tools, however, now we're in the age of social media and I have to admit that I'm lost on some of it. Myspace was already going and I fell right into FB and twitter. But even these are expanding and I'm probably only using 25% of their networking capabilities. Then there are sites and terms that I hear flying around that I don't yet know the ins and outs of and I don't have time at the moment to research and investigate.

So, come September, I see the need to start over. Just like it was in marketing and promoting book one, I'm going to have to sit at the computer and do research and catch up with the latest social networking and media tools. Being an author or any type of entrepreneur, keeping up with the latest marketing tools are a must if you want to have any chance of success or survival. If we didn't know it before, we should know it now by witnessing the election of President Barack Obama and as we can still see it throughout is presidency. We've been able to connect with him and keep up and informed, and even participate on town halls through Facebook and the White House website. We've also been able to track him on Twitter and YouTube. Social Media is not an optional thing for the author, but a must in order to reach a wider audience. It's not instead of the old tools, but in addition to the older tools.

To be an author or any type of business person, one must accept being an eternal student of marketing and promoting. You can't rely on publishers to do it for you. You can't rely on old promotional tools being the end and be all to targeting and reaching a wider audience. And even with all that it is today, social media and promotional tools will no doubt continue to expand. It is a must to keep up and stay on the cusp of new changes and new tools.

Yep. Time for me to take off the graduate student hat and put back on my marketing and promotion hat...and keep it on.

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I'm starting to get excited now. Six more weeks of school and I will have all my classes completed for my Master's Degree. So much has been on hold since I started school last September. I've been taking one class at a time, but the semester long class is squeezed into six weeks. Plus I'm trying to study periodically for a quality certification and a project management certification. When I started back, I tried to balace everything: work, school, writing, working out, and me time. But after awhile, things started dropping off. First the me time. Gym went from 5 - 6 days a week to 1 -2 on the weekends. Work hours got longer after three rounds of layoffs. I'd come home from work with about an hour and a half of study time, then prep for work the next day, then sleep. Weekends are filled with writing a weekly paper or doing a weekly assignment, plus all the errands of life (groceries, laundry, cleaning, etc.).

Writing was sporadic until it fell off. I tried to keep in touch with the creative side by listening to audiobooks whenever I got into the car. Everything else with writing has fallen by the wayside. No time for blogging. Website is down; no time to maintain one or to put information together. Newsletter writing and book promotion...gone. The writing life is a very busy life. Writing is the easy part. But whether you self-publish or you're traditionally published, there's a lot of work in promotion and maintenance. It's a full-time job within itself. Something that writers know, and most others don't realize. There's a lot of time and work that goes into trying to be a successful author.

One thing that most authors need is a day job. My day job helped me to publish my first book. I'm considering the time I've spent working on my MBA as an investment in my day job to further advance my writing career. And now, six more weeks to go and I'm getting pumped because I can get back to the writing life. I'm not actually even thinking about graduation or anything. My thoughts are on finally having my time freed up to concentrate on writing again. August 17th is the last day of class. August 18th, I start reviewing the first draft of my third book. Can't wait.

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So right after my post last month about my apparent underlying quest to be busy and innundated with chaos at all times, apparently I decide it's the perfect time to move. (Huh???) And move, like, now. And, of course it's just me and I'm in school so I have to work around all that. So I spend 2 full weeks arranging for a mover, and packing a little each night and on weekends. Move one weekend. Then unpack a little at a time and on a weekend. So that brings me up to March. Who know's what I'll decide to do this month. Your guess is as good as mine.

Anyway, I think it was a good choice. Decided to move from the spacious 2 bedroom to a 1 bedroom. Since I hadn't yet bought any furniture since living in my studio apartment in St. Louis, well, it was kind of empty. And I had too much time to come home to an empty apartment to think about what it would take to fill it up. Not necessarily buying the stuff. But the fact that I would HAVE the stuff. And if I HAVE stuff, when I move again, I'd have to move stuff. And I guarantee you, I will be moving again. It's gonna happen. Then I got to thinking that with the economy the way it is, now would be the perfect time for me to organize and get funds together for my FINAL move. Meaning, the next move will be the purchase of a permanent location. It will definitely be here in Georgia. I'm feeling that. So I decided to downsize now to prepare for that final move later.

Even before doing everything, I missed reading. Don't have time to do it at the moment. I'd always listened to audio books here and there, but I decided to do it more since I have no time for reading. Got my library card and I go faithfully every two weeks for new "reads." Couple of weeks ago, I decided to pick up a lecture series on Plato and Aristotle and now, I'm hooked on revisiting Greek literature. I haven't read or studied since high school and even then, I don't remember it being as interesting as I'm finding it now. I don't know if it's just because I'm older and have more of an appreciation for it now. Or if it's because since high school, I've become a writer and I'm now more interested in the early works of literature. In any respect, my mind feels like it's drinking. Like it's been thirsty and it finally found something satisfying enough to qwench its thirst. I can't wait to get in my car and drive to work every morning or on the weekends because I'm ready to listen to more.

I finished Plato and Aristotle and just picked up another lecture series on the Epics. Greek and Roman, and others. And I also picked up the first epic being discussed, Odyssey by Homer. Listening, somehow I feel like I'm learning something about me. It's like getting an understanding of early writers and what made them write. That's the question people ask writers all the time: Why do you write? Although writers will have an answer, if they're like me, the real answer is "I have no earthly idea at all." Honestly, it freaks me out that I can't answer that honestly when asked. It's like there has to me an understandable reason that I can convey to people and they can understand. But truthfully, how can I do that when I don't.

All I can say is that it has nothing to do with being published or making money or being famous for writing. Just like now, I don't get a chance to write much and I miss it so dearly. I still think about my story. I think about writing all the time. I think how much I'm going to write when I finish school. I don't think about publishing or making money. I don't care. Don't get me wrong, when it comes time to promote and sell, I'll do what it takes. It's just that that's not the motivation. I don't think about publishing and money. It is truly like and urge within. It feels like anxiety. And it feels personal. Nothing I want to wear on my chest to announce to the world. I want to write for my own satisfaction. And why that is, especially when there could be nothing to gain, I honestly cannot truthfully explain to anyone. Listening to these lectures feels like a path to understanding myself, because I'm understanding the ancient works of some of the earliest writers. And I feel like I'm reading in between the lines, trying to find and understand me.

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I'm feeling good about the ending of this year. It's been a chaotic one for me, but chaotic good. Like the past four years, I spent the first few months of this year toggling between on and off employment contract assignments. Trying to get on somewhere permanent in my hometown of St. Louis. But frustration set in after the last assignment ended and I decided to open myself up to relocation to selective areas. Within six weeks of doing so, I was packing up to move to Georgia.

Writing-wise, nothing got accomplished through all of this. Through job hunting and interviews, I had been able to write a page or two here and there. All which more than likely was either done away with later or severely modified. It was difficult to get into the space of the story. By the time I got there, it was time to get and do something critical.

Then, I decided to take advantage of work benefits and go back to school and finish my MBA degree. The plan was to completely finish the book first, but no, didn't happen. So then, I was in a place of trying to finish the book while working and going to school. It's moving slowly. Yes, draft one was completed, but the story is currently only plot and dialogue and even with that, is so disjointed, it's still a no-go. So the second draft is going slowly. And I'm feeling that I will need a third draft on this one as well because of the major things I'm fixing and adding in the second draft. But because I've finally come to grips with the fact that I needed to let some additional writing projects fall to the side like guest blogging and article writing.

But all in all, I feel good about going into 2009. That's because of the way I've been blessed to end this year. I'm fortunate in that my job closes the plant between December 19 and January 5th. The original plan in this was to do nothing but write for two weeks straight. But then, I looked at all the stuff around me that added chaos to my life and decided that now was the time to organize. I'm so glad I did. It took a good week to unpack, shelve books, go through stacks and stacks of papers and sort and either trash or store. Still got a few wall hanging to put up but other than that, I feel relieved. I don't feel as anxious. I feel relaxed. Because chaos is not staring me in the face everytime I walk through my front door.

So I'm back to writing now and I'm able to get into my writing space and write without rushing. Even when school and work starts back up January 5th, I feel writing time will be better. It will still be short, but better because I will have quality writing time. I will be able to sit in peace and not have all this stuff hanging over my head, trying to figure out when I'm going to get it done. As much as I tried to block it out before, it interfered with my thoughts.

Hopefully, this will be the longest amount of time its taken me to write one book. But who knows, maybe not. But I'm no longer worried about how long it's taking me. I feel comfortable in knowing that it's within me. That I'm continuing to write while I advance myself and grow. That I continue to indulge in books, the craft of writing, and the literary industry.

Writing is now my life. No matter what else is going on, I know that writing is something that I will always do, no matter what. It's not really a choice. It's something I just have to do....or else I'll die.

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Whoa! Since August, huh?

Well, the good news is, I finished the first draft. The bad news is...that thing is a mess! It's disjointed, it doesn't flow, and in some places, just plain doesn't jive. I'm thinking now that it just doesn't pay to try to rush something just to get it done. Yes, I had the story all outlined and I was doing only plot and dialogue, so there was going to be a second draft anyway. But I blew through it so fast that it's bound to almost be like writing from scratch just to correct it.

I have issues with characters and their backgrounds and storylines. As with any story and outline (at least in my case), it can change as you get into the story. That's fine, but I kept changing things as a result of the story, but saying I would rectify the character later. Well, I did this a lot. So now...it's a mess.

So, I started school. I'm back in grad school finishing up my MBA degree. If I stay on course, I'll be done at the end of August. With the first class, I had to get used to the scheduling. I swear I was doing 20 - 25 hours of school work EVERY week. We had a paper due every single weekend and team project due of a couple of them. I'm in my second class now and I have a better feel for things, so now I'm working my writing back into the schedule. It's going to go a lot slower now, but it looks like that might be best.

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I'm like having the most relaxing morning ever! I don't think I've had a morning since I've been here where I'm not getting up, ripping and running all day, doing this and that, then trying to squeeze in some writing. So this weekend, it's reversed. I'm having my coffee and 8:30AM. I'm sitting here calmly drinking it, reading blogs, and blogging myself.

Then I'm going to go to the gym. Get my workout on for about an hour and a half. Lost 5 pounds in the last 10 days. Now I'm focusing on the next mini-goal of 3 pounds by next week.

Then, it's writing ALL DAY!!!! Nothing else pressing on the agenda. Now, if I can, I will squeeze in finally shelving my books and removing all the packaging from moving that I have stored in the dining room. But that's not pressing. :-)

It's going to be a wonderful weekend. Hope yours is the same!

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Let the countdown begin....two days til D-DAY!!!!

It's 5AM and I just finished up another chapter! I don't know how many times I've started over on this book. Not having a hard time with it at all. But everytime I'm away from it for a prolonged period of time, I find it's best to start over from the beginning so I can get into the flow of it. And each and everytime, I come up with what I think is a better idea. So I end up going back and making changes to my outline, cutting old chapters and building new ones. One the one hand, I feel like I'm constantly building a better story. On the other hand, I'm so ready to have uninterrupted time so I can get out of this beginning phase and get through the story! LOL

And now, I just added another factor. I'm just a glutton for punishment! LOL So, now that I'm settled in Georgia, I've decided last week to go back and finish up my MBA. I started it years ago, before I wrote my first book. I got a year into my program, then set it aside to chase after my dream of writing and publishing my first book. Now that it's accomplished, I want to finish up book three, then go back and take a year to finish up my MBA program. And the goal is to start this the beginning of August! :-)

Ahhhh! Pressure. You gotta love it! :-)

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Okay, you know the drill...boy have I been swamped! LOL So you know how I've been saying that lately, everytime I have a deadline and a good groove going, life steps in a throws a curveball? Well, needless to say, opening day has started early this year. So, my last contract assignment ended for me and it's one of those things that's both good and bad. Good, because it frees me up and lets me make some changes.

Bad, because the timing is when I really need to focus on finishing up book three. So, while I feel relieved, I just wished the change could have been a month later.

However, good again because I found something else on a permanent basis and if it had been month later, then I might not have this.

Good because now, I'll have a regular routine and be able to have a regular writing schedule again and be in control more because I know what to expect.

So, basically, the good outweighs the bad and I'm excited! Okay, you know the trip to Atlanta? Well, it was for job interviews. The day my last contract assignment ended, I decided to throw out my resume out there and open myself up to relocation, JUST TO SEE what was out there. And I was only looking at the only area where I had a large amount of family members. I didn't want to start all over in a new area where I knew absolutely no one. Been there, done that. Too old for that now. LOL So, anyway, long story short, after putting out the feelers, in two weeks, I had not only one, but two job offers. Two companies that really wanted me. It was like being torn between two lovers. I mean, not that I've ever experienced that before, but I imagine that's what it would feel like. LOL

So, anyway, yes, now there's another major delay in getting the third book to my agent (*note to self...think of excuse to provide to agent tomorrow and beg her not to drop me). But on the exciting end....I'M MOVING TO GEORGIA!!! Macon, GA to be exact. It's a great move. First of all, the company seems to be a great one. And I believe I'll be in an area that actually will be good for my third book. I have family in Atlanta, which is an hour north of Macon. Plus a ton of friends and sorority sisters. Come to think of it, it seems like I know more people in Atlanta than I do here in St. Louis! LOL

Supposed to be moving into corporate housing later this week, so now I'm in the midst of packing up as much as I can load in my car and whatever I'll need over the next month or two. So, naturally, that means loss time from writing my book and on my blog. But hey, that's a writer's life for ya! :-)

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I scheduled in fun yesterday and by golly, I had it! LOL I made it to Atlanta. Got in last night and hung out with friends. I watched them play Madden and I made one of the guys choose the Rams. The other one refused to play my Rams. He chose the Patriots and guess who got SPANKED!!!!! Yep, Patriots. This game is just like real life! (NOT!) LOL Well, this got me to thinking about my own Playstation. The one that's lying on the floor, next to the TV and not connected. The one that I bought maybe 4 years ago so I could learn to play Madden and spank butt. Yeah, that Playstation. So now since I finally bought a second controller for it last year, even though I've only played it twice, maybe now I'll finally buy Madden and learn to play. I'll have to pencil that into the schedule.

So I did have Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Moseley and I listened to it on the way down. It was great listening. Walter Moseley's Easy Rawlings stories are awesome to listen to on the road. They are so engrossing, funny, and enjoyable. I love them. Then had time to listen to my Jack Johnson's Brushfire Fairytales CD. I like this CD as well, but I do like In Between Dreams better.

And now, here I sit at a Panera's in Lithonia, getting some writing done before I welcome the in the New Year. Even though I bring my camera, I'm bad at remembering to take pics. Even worse at posing for them. But I'll try to put up a couple of good pics of tonight's New Year's party with my motorcycle club.


Here's to wishing you have a happy, healthy, safe, and prosperous NEW YEAR!!!!!

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It's the 30th of the month which means it's my day to post at BloggingInBlack.com. You can check it out by clicking the link. I also place an RSS feed on the side of my blog. Check it out today, and any other day to see what the writers there are blogging about. :-)

Well, I'm up and packing. I'm heading to Atlanta to bring in the New Year with friends and members of the Atlanta Chapter of my bike club. It's also part work too because I'm doing a write up on their New Year's activities. Along with doing that write up, I'll be working on a short article for Urbanburnout.com. And between working on Book 3, I'll think of ideas for my feature at Sportwave Online. I'll have fun too because I do plan to get some socializing in. That's actually going to be one of my New Year's resolutions because I don't spend enough time socializing, I think. :-) Still something I have to push myself to do. Maybe the first step would be to actually TALK on the phone though. LOL I don't know. I'm a text queen. My coworkers joke with me about basically having a computerized phone on my hip and I do everything on it except talk. I rarely pick up the phone and when I do, I'm anxious to get off. I'd rather text our conversation. It's just that I prefer talking in person rather than on the phone. The phone to me is just for the set up. When, where, and what time. But, of course, for me to have a person to person conversation, that means I have to uh, get out and socialize. Sigh. I'll work on it for 2008.

Well, I'm all geared up for the ride! :-) I bought Jack Johnson's Brushfire CD. A coworker let me borrow his Between the Sheets (?) CD and I absolutely LOVED it. He told me Brushfire was even better, so I bought it for the ride. I already listened to the first couple of songs and I've enjoyed them so far. And, I also have 20 hours worth of books on CDs. I have something by Walter Moseley. I think Devil in a Blue Dress, but I'm not sure. And I have The Price of a Child. So, believe it or not, the drive to and from Atlanta will be exciting. I'm looking forward to it. I love long driving trips specifically for this reason. Also gives me time to think about what I'm writing as well.

Toodles!

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This is surprising to me, but I'm tickled pink. :-) I have to admit, the best gift I got for Christmas actually came from my manager. Now, who would have thunk a thing like that? A manager actually picking out a gift that fits you as an individual rather than say, one of several fruit cakes that was distributed to every employee alike? No, rather than give a "one gift fits all" present, he gave all of his team gifts that fit their individual personalities. He gave me this cute little writing inspirations book. I'm in a unique situation where my manager actually knows I'm a writer and thinks it's cool. He even asked me a few questions about writing, as he dreams of writing his own novel himself one day. So, anyway, the book is The Pocket Muse - Ideas and Inspirations for Writing by Monica Wood. It's just a tiny book with tips and writing prompts to get you writing. This is my first little book like this and flipping through it makes me anxious to try some of the writing prompts and put them on my website. It probably don't sound as fascinating as I'm making it out to be and actually, I don't know why I'm so fascinated by it. LOL But I just think it's the coolest little thing.

One thing that really got me though was the writer's opening. She talked of leaving her job and becoming a full-time writer. And how, after a while, she longed for her old job. She longed to be amongst people again on a day to day basis. I could really relate to that. When my first book was published, I wrote full time for a while. I felt blessed. I felt like it was such a dream fulfilled. But after a while, I wanted to go back to work. Writing is definitely a lonely profession, and I confess to having somewhat of a reclusive personality. It's nothing for me to go days without seeing a single soul or weeks without socializing, and I don't get lonely. I'm comfortable. Too comfortable. I can easily see myself becoming a total recluse closed off from the world. I have to force myself to socialize as it is. Not working, I think I'd end up being the reclusive senile drunk we've all heard of a time or two. LOL Besides, I agree with Monica's quotation of the paradox: You can't write without fully living and you can't live fully and still find the time to write. So true.

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Aaaahhhh!!!! I've finally found another groove. Another writing groove. Now, after work, I head straight to Panera's in the Loop and get in my writing for today, as well as do a little reading. All while sipping a latte or eating a toasted cinnamon crunch bagel (or brownie on naughty days). It's a relaxing environment and I have the background noise going on so I can write (I can't write in total silence. Silence is loud and distracting. I can't concentrate). And often times, like right now, you can find some interesting characters for future use. Listening to dialogue is fun too. Ahem...not eavesdropping....but um...research. lol So there's a couple of older gentlemen sitting at a table across from me. Got to be late 50's. One black, one white. Old managerial fogey look. And they're sitting here gossiping their behinds off! If I was reading it in a book with no tags attached, my mind would conjure up two teenagers or two women sitting on a porch with curlers in their hair. The conversation just does not match the looks.

There's another group of older gentle a few tables over. Hey, it's not my fault if they're talking loud enough for me to hear. But the white male (and I know that he is white not because I look at him, but appaarently, he feels the need to make this known to the men he's sitting with. And I look up to find that they perhaps have roots in India, and from what I can tell, not blind) is emotionally talking about a verbal conflict with another what sounds like co-worker, and talks about speaking to each other from the heart and with understanding. It's just the emotion in it all. Makes me want to sing kum-baa-yaa.

Lesson learned....if you're in a coffee shop and there are people by you with laptops, keep your voice to a minimum because you never know when someone is randomly blogging about you under your very nose. lol

So anyway, I'm making consistent progress on getting book three done. Finally. :-)

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*walking slowly into the room, whistling, like I've been here all along...*

,,,so as I was saying, the solution to health care, immigration, and global warming is all evident. Ahem.

Okay, so yet another long lapse in blog posts, and yes, things were still busy. I know I've said this before, but I think I'm on the verge of some normalcy now. LOL We'll see.

Well, in the meantime, I've started book three over from scratch. Hopefully, this will definitely be the longest period it's taken me to write a book. It's funny, because it's certainly not due to writer's block. On the contrary, it seems like the longer it's taking me to write it, the more ideas I come up with for it. The only problem is finding the time to sit and write. Lots of changes in my life this past year that has prevented me from doing a lot of writing and reading. But the last couple of weeks is an indicator to me that things are turning around.

I'm reading again. Yea! I'm in a few online reading groups, plus my co-workers and I are talking about starting our own little book club. Nothing structured yet but the plan is to discuss during our after work beer sessions. Now, THAT should be a fun book club. I can imagine our discussions already. Our first book is Moby Dick. LOL But in addition to that, my manager introduced me to Clive Barker. A couple of weekends ago, I went to the bookstore to look him up and ended up reading one of his short stories called the Book of Death. I really enjoyed it. This made me realize how narrow my reading choices have been. I never would have picked up a horror or sci/fi book. I did enjoy a mystery here and there though. But now, I want to read a book in each and every genre to see what I've been missing. Right now, I'm reading Imajika by Clive Barker and Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult. Just picked this one up yesterday and I'm starting Chapter 5 today. I'm also listening (in my car) to Chasing the Dime, by Michael Connelly. I've purchased on audio The Husband by Dean Koontz and Snow Falling on Cedars by David G. And purchased Can't Wait to Get to Heaven, by Fannie Flagg. Plus, I still have a lot of good reads on my bookshelf. :-)

So much for the reading, I'm also writing again too. Like I said, I'm pretty much starting from scratch with book three. Not really major changes, but major enhancements. This weekend, I went over all the main characters's sketches, back story and story line. Today, I want to go back over the outline, then re-evaluate the first four chapters. The time away from it gave me time to things more about it and come up with ideas that will make it more authentic. So, actually, I think the time away from it will serve me well. All in all, I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of the year, so I can immediately start my next book, which will be the beginning of a series. Yes, I do have it all mapped out in my head!

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Whew! Been a while since I posted. It's been over a year now since I've been saying that things are going to slow down and I'll be back on a regular schedule in a minute. Yet things keep getting busier and busier. So busy that I'm not meeting my own personal deadlines on my books, and well, you know that's gotta stop. So, I made up my mind, starting today, everything else comes secondary to finally finishing books three AND four, and, uh....making money. LOL

But guess what? I'm finally getting over it. I thought it would never happen, but I'm finally getting over my fear of public speaking!!! It was so cool. Yesterday, I was the Keynote Speaker at the 4th Annual Indianapolis Book Fest. I'd been knowing about this for months (which probably helped) so had time to mentally prepare myself for speaking. Usually, when I speak before an audience, I get that queasy feeling in my stomach, I'm a-sweatin' and my voice is a-trembling... LOL But this time, I really thought about it. I mean, what am I afraid of? The audience is my friend. :-) No but really, I thought about myself before I wrote my first book or being a reader. And when I went to events, I wanted to receive any information the author could give me. So, instead of looking at the speaking opportunity as me having to talk about myself or promoting my book, I looked at it as giving others information and sharing my experience with them so that they can know what they could possibly expect. WOW! It worked. I wasn't nervous because I felt like I was giving useful information in a casual way. Man! I could do that again! That was my best speaking experience thus far.

Don't get me wrong. My inner critic evaluated me and pointed out areas where I could improve, and, to me, that's okay. I just feel like I've gotten over a major hump in public speaking, and now I can move on to making a core speech and perfecting it! :-)

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Hey peeps!

It's been a while again, but as always, I'm busy plugging away. Hope you've been checking out my posts on BloggingInBlack.com. I do a monthly post there on the 30th of each month. I also post it on my myspace blog when I post a new one.

I'm also the new feature writer at Urbanburnout.com and my first article posted yesterday. Yea! This is exciting for me. Because I'm combining two things I love: motorcycles and writing. I was never interested in freelance writing until this opportunity came. There was never a subject that I was interested in enough to make it not feel like WORK! LOL But when it's something that you love, you don't mind doing. Only thing is, I so wish I had more time to write more than one article a month. Hopefully, in the future, I will.

Anyway, check out my first feature!

THE EVOLUTION OF THE URBAN BIKER SET:
Have Motorcycle Clubs Changed Their Focus?

PART I

If you’re ever blessed with pleasure of conversation with motorcycle club (MC) riders who have been on the set long before the biker boom of the ‘90’s, almost immediately you begin to feel their sense of pride in the unity and solidarity they possessed. You come to know their strength in having bonds tighter than any blood related family. You feel the cohesiveness that was formed by their common, undying passion of both living their life and in experiencing the world on two wheels. You feel a brotherly love that just has to surpass that of any love known or felt even in the deepest pocket of the city of Philadelphia. You come to know of a family fully committed to life on the road, to each other, and to living life to the fullest. And of these old school bikers, as their children, and their children’s children began to rise and go forth on two—two wheels, that is—and as technology has advanced and wealth increased, the black biker set of old has exploded and evolved to what best can be described now as the new urban biker set. In that evolution, with the additions of many new MCs, along with the exponential increase of Riding Clubs, the sprouting of Social Clubs, the movement of female riders from “riding bitch” to making some of the boyz eat dust, and the relentless flow of money onto the urban biker set, one has to wonder if all of these things have had an effect on the committed and strongly bonded brotherhoods of MCs of yesterday. One has to wonder, have motorcycle clubs changed their focus?

READ THE REST AT: www.urbanburnout.com/Features.html

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Just like life to get in the middle of your book promotion! LOL Well, it's been a hectic two months. Things were going great with promotion of the book, then I had to tend to some unplanned personal things that popped up at the most inconvenient time. And, as I've been saying, the day you stop promoting your own book is the day your book doesn't get promoted at all. And so it goes. But that's the life of an author and something you have to adjust for. So, now, things are back in order and I have to get caught up (once again) and get back on track.

Through it all, some great opportunities have come my way. I've never been interested in freelance writing because most of the topics I've seen never piqued my interest. And when I'm not interested in what I'm writing, that's when it feels like work. And I've got enough of that. LOL But over the past months, I've had 3 freelance writing opportunities to come my way that I'm very much interested in.

Today, Monday, April 30th, check out my first post at:

I'm excited about posting there every month along with my fellow authors. I'll post a commentary on the 30th of every month, so bookmare the site if you're not a viewer already, and check it out.

Also, coming soon, I will also be a regular poster at a sports website and an urban motorcycle community website. I'll let you know as soon as the first post is published!

Hey, if you're in Atlanta this weekend, I hope you can drop in and join me at a literary event hosted by my Sorors of the Atlanta Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. They are hosting "A Good Book and a Glass of Wine" event. Join us at the black owned restaurant and wine bar, Vino Libro at 933 Garrett Ave in Atlanta, GA. We will be there from 3 - 5 pm. Hope you can join us!

All right, gotta go get back on track!!!

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Ah! Finally getting a chance when I can breathe a little. Most of my activities this month are at home, so I’m finally getting to tend to some things during the weekends as well. And yes, while I did have to buy new underwear, I finally found the time to do laundry! LOL I’m telling you….trying to promote, do events, and write a book, all while going through the normal routines of life, is no joke. It ain’t easy. But it’s so true that if it’s your passion, you’ll do it no matter what’s going on around you. I’ve been fortunate to have opportunities to come my way. But even when they come your way, still, a lot of follow through and follow up is required. Sometimes quite a bit of back and forth. Sometimes requiring you to put additional promotional documents together (if you want it promoted). Dozens of phone calls, emails… Trying to create and supply everything needed, which can be different for each event. And then, add to that the event and opportunities you seek on a daily basis, in addition to finding and exposing your work on a daily basis, to readers who are not aware. Doing this on the internet, in addition to going out in your area on foot to network, street team and distribute promotional material at literary events, in stores, the post office, wherever you go and tagging cars…on a DAILY BASIS. Sit and imagine. Imagine how tiring it can be, how you have to squeeze in exercising, fun and relaxation; how while you’re at home alone doing all this, your friends think you’re sleeping or laying on the couch eating bon bons while watching a bootleg movie. Because no one SEES a writer working. Wondering why you don’t pick up the phone to just chit chat, maybe thinking you're just ignoring them. Dishes and bills are piling up and waving at you; the laundry basket is overflowing and if the mold in the fridge continues to grow, it’s going to open the fridge door itself to take a seat on the couch and say, "What's good?". And, because they can’t see all this, your friends say, “You can put it aside ONE day (and they say this every other day) to come hangout until the wee hours of the morning, or party, or go skating, or go on a date, or...etc. And you want to just shake your head, sigh, and say, “You think you know…but you have NO IDEA…”

It’s work, it’s a challenge, and it’s a rush…

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Okay, my apartment’s a total mess again and there’s no time to straighten in up. Can you say, tornado central? LOL Once again, I feel like I’m there for a few hours to sleep, do a couple of hours of “book work,” then shower and get ready for the next day. I’m embarrassed to say this, but I’m just going to have to buy a pack of underwear now because I haven’t had time to do laundry. Shame, I know. But I’m going out of town tomorrow morning and since I’m driving to Cleveland, that means I need to just get home, pack, and get to sleep so I can drive out at 4 or 5am. No time to do laundry! Well, if things are busy, that always means things are going good as far as promotions. To me it means I’m doing all I can. If I’m sitting at home doing something other than promoting my book, then I feel like there’s a problem.

So like I said before, the primary focus right now is my hometown peeps. So, I hired a local “publicist” and she is GREAT! Funny how we started working together. She’s a poet (Mocha Latte) with her own platform on Wednesday nights (at the Loft starting Feb. 28th). So, I’d been going to her shows, and she came out to my signing. Without any intent, sistergirl was selling my books for me like hotcakes. I mean, she literally convinced folks to give my book a try, since most had never heard of me. I’m still a little reserved. But she’s one of those open people that can walk up to someone and talk about anything. Plus, she LOVES to promote others in whatever they do. In seeing how she worked, I’m like, I need this lady with me! LOL So, we started talking, worked out terms and now I’m her first client. It’s something she’s always wanted to do and something everybody she knows has been telling her what she should do. I could relate to what she was saying. Same thing with me in becoming a writer. So now, we’re helping each other. I’m telling her what I know about the needs of a writer as far as a publicist. She’s helping me because she has a local literary fan base and connections, plus she’s a driver into getting what she needs to promote. To me, it’s a match made in heaven. We’re just getting started but having her on my team for local promotion has been a blessing already.

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