Exit 2020

 Today is the LAST day of 2020.  This has been a somewhat horrendous year to live through.  The country was struck with a deadly pandemic that has taken about 340,000 lives....no thanks to the incompetence of the political leadership of the country.  Celebrities and citizens alike have lost their lives, and ordinary citizens have lost their livelihoods, and even their homes/place of residence.  Others have lost their business(es), as well.  Not to mention, the rash of racial shootings by the police across the country, and many of the street protests, as well as the riots/rebellions that followed them.  Bigotry had shown its ugly face within the presidency, the general populous, and many of the political leaders too afraid to stand up to the (so-called) leader of the country.

Yeah....a lot of people are glad to see this year come to an end.  Who can blame them?

I lost my own job in this mess, even though I did get to release TWO books this year, to celebrate my Ten Year anniversary as a published author.  My lack of sales left A LOT  to be desired, but that's pretty usual for me, since most people would rather press a 'like' button, than to actually buy/download my books.  But, I digress...

Farewell to 2020.  It was a tumultuous year for one and all. If you made it through it, let's hear it for those of us who survived.  Let us continue persevering, and trying to maintain our sanity, and move forward.  Do what you can, and need to do, to deal with the trauma of this year.  Hopefully, 2021 will be full of better days.

Oh yeah...Happy Kwanzaa!!  Habari gani...?  Kuumba!!!

Keep the fist raised.

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind

End-of-Year Roundup

As I've stated before, we've reached the month of December.  We've finally reached the last month of what could be considered a really treacherous year.  The country was severely impacted by the coronavirus, having shut down for most of the year.  Due to the utter incompetence of the presidential administration, many lives were lost, as well as people becoming sick, and becoming jobless.  Many people lost their jobs due to the countrywide shutdown, and the sheer audacity of the political leadership offering pittances that they called 'assistance' to the populous.  Not to mention, the continued racial oppression of our people by the police, and so-called political leaders offering wordplay for assurance, trying to shield their complicity in such matters.  

But...I digress....

I released two novels this year to celebrate my TENTH YEAR as a published author.  My sales were lackluster, to say the least.  Part of it could be blamed on the pandemic, but people also had the option to download copies pf my books, new AND old, and still didn't support the releases.  I wasn't able to go out, and promote my released works in person, due to the rise of the pandemic, and the restrictions that followed.  At the same time, people have never really been all that supportive of my writing career.  None of my books have ever flown off the shelves, nor have my royalties ever been high off of online sales.  Even my in-person sales have been hit-or-miss, depending on the event that I vended at; whether it was a book signing event that I organized on my own, or a book fair/festival that I chose to vend at.

I am still preparing myself to repatriate to the African continent, hopefully by the end of next year.  I've downloaded some PDF files to teach myself to speak Swahili, as well as continuing to do my (mostly online) research on the countries of Uganda, Tanzania, and Gambia.  Every day, i grow more and more weary of living here, and dealing with people and their bullshit, and frustrating ignorance.  I'm done fighting; if the rest of you want to remain mental slaves, go the fuck ahead.  I choose to be free.  I'm hoping to do some outreach to let people on the continent know about my literary works, and hopefully be supportive of them.

Episodes of "The Rough Draft" are continuing to be produced.  I just uploaded our THIRTIETH episode to YouTube.  Not a bad amount of episodes to have, for having only produced the show for little over a year; a year and four months, to be exact.  This latest episode will be the final one for the year.  I'm planning on shooting more episodes in the new year, and posting them.  Feedback has been minimal, as usual.  Oh well...

 

Considering shutting down the Universal Africana Literary Arts Movement.  It's becoming a burden to me, as much as I like helping people, and passing on information.  I'm not receiving any type of assistance, or real support.  I've been doing this shit for twelve years, with little to no help at all.  With the impact of the pandemic, I really have to prioritize what's important to my own personal literary career.  I'll make a decision by next February...

 

That's about it for now.  Hopefully, I'll be able to hit you guys up again before the year is fully out.  Please stay safe & healthy.  Please, also help to download and purchase my books.  Help to spread the word!!!

 

Keep the fist raised.

 

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind     

December Is Finally Here!!! :-O

 We have reached the month of DECEMBER!!!  The years is almost over, and it is hard to gauge if that's a good thing, or not.  a lot has happened over the last 11 months, and it's quite hard to digest it all.  As of this posting, 275,000 people have died from the COVID-19 coronavirus in the United States.  a new president has been elected, and millions of people are out of work.

There is ONE MORE MONTH to go before the release of "Knuckle Up" (Kindle Direct Publishing, 2021).  Lock in the date of January 22, 2021 for the novel's release!  It's posted as a Facebook Event, as well as being sent out to the people on my Author Mailing List.  Mark your calendars!!  :-)

The #HolidayEconomicSupportInitiative is still going.  We are now heading into the Winter Solstice, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.  PLEASE help to support independent Black-owned businesses, Black/Latino entrepreneurs, and Black/Brown indie artists!!!  Use the hashtag to promote a business, entrepreneur, or artists that you know!!!

I usually go into a 'cleanse' at the start of the Winter Solstice, lasting until the New Year.  I generally shave my face and head, going into the new year with new energy.  With the shaving, I shed the old, negative energies of the past year, and go into the new year with 'cleansed', untainted energy.  I will be bald, and fresh faced in 2021.  :-)

Still considering my repatriation plans.  I FINALLY got back into contact with my little lady-friend.  Hopefully, I can convince her to move with me.  I'm now targeting the end of 2021 to repatriate.  She's also go some issues to straighten out, and if I am able to convince her to come, we need o tackle those first, before we finally leave.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

That's all for right now.  Hope that you are all staying safe.  If you guys don't hear from me, please enjoy the holidays, and looking forward to you supporting my latest literary release.

 

Keep the fist raised.

 

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind