The Heat of June

 We are now in the month of June.  JUNE!!!  The year is already half over!!  Where has the time gone?  Weren't we JUST celebrating the coming of the new year...?  :-O

A bit of house keeping, first.  As always, I need to start by celebrating my latest publishing anniversary.  For the month of June, I will be celebrating the seven-year publishing anniversary of my Erotica novel "Demure Nights" (CreateSpace, 2015).  This was my fifth book, and second novel that I released.  It's a little gem of mine, and a bit of a passion project.  It was a test to see if I could write something different, something that I wasn't really known for.  It was the first book that I'd written that wasn't political in nature, whether fiction or nonfiction.  You would think that, because of the subject matter, my sales for it  would be much different; much higher that they would be.  Even when I write books that would be considered garbage, I still can't seem to gain any support for my works, smdh...

 

My latest fair "Second Chance Points" (Kindle Direct Publishing, 2022) has been out for close to a month, now.  Sales for it so far are slooooooow.  I had four initial purchases for it (2 downloads, two physical copies), and then...that's it.  People know how to press the 'like' button on social media, but don't seem to know how to follow that up with a purchase.  Maybe if I was being backed some corporate literary nonprofit, or highlighted by some celebrity, I might have better sales.  Now that gathering restrictions have been eased somewhat, maybe doing face-to-face events will boost my sales.  This cyber bullshit just ain't cutting it.

 

Speaking of doing some face-to-face events...I've been giving some strong thoughts on doing my whole Black/Brown Bookstore Book Tour idea.  I've been doing a bit of research, and I know of at least three here in the state of North Carolina.  One is a Black-owned children's bookstore here in Raleigh, there's a Black-owned  bookstore in Durham & Charlotte, and one Latino-owned bookstore in Chapel Hill.  That would at least cover the state.  All I would have to do is reach out to them for their available dates, and see if I want to spread them out over a one month period, or knock out two of them in 2 months.  That's a bit of traveling, not to mention, money outta my pocket for ordering books & booking travel.  BUT...you gotta spend money to make money, right?  If I spread them out over a 4 month period, that should ease the financial burden.  At the same time, if I do two appearances in one month, that will build momentum for my book(s).  Plus, I wanna eventually spread out to the other surrounding states to develop more of a fan base out here.  I would definitely love to head out back to my old stomping ground of (central) Virginia, and eventually hit up Tennessee.  I know of some indie Black-owned bookstores in Nashville, and one in Memphis that I definitely wanna hit up.  At least I'm now living in a state where people actually read...not like in fuck ass Delaware..

 

But, I digress...

 

I was able to do a radio/podcast interview covering my writing career overall, as well as the release of Second Chance Points, on a local radio station out here in NC based in Carrboro.  I was interviewed on May 13th on WCOM-FM, appearing (via call-in) on "The Chris or Jenny Show".  I had an absolute BLAST doing the interview, and hope to be back on there, again.  You can check out the podcast on YouTube via the link:

 

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuULm4I3a94&t=172s

 

Hope that you guys enjoy the show!!!  :-)

 

Well...that's all on my end, folks.  Hope to keep you guys informed on my future plans.  I will definitely let you guys know how my plans for the book tour turn out.  Hope that you guys will actually come out to the tour locations, and support me.

 

Keep the fist raised.

 

#AlwaysOnMyliteraryGrind

 

  

May Flowers Blooming/Second Chance Points Book Release!!! :-)

Welcome to the month of May!!!  We are almost at the halfway point in the year.  Time sure is flying by.  Spring is now officially here, and new energies are blooming.

 

With the coming of the month of May, I would like to announce the official publication of my FOURTEENTH book, "Second Chance Points" (Kindle Direct Publishing, 2022).

 

I'm ecstatic about the release of this book.  It was originally a big budget screenplay that I'd written back in 2001.  Since I never got the chance to produce & release it as a film, I decided to converted it into a novel.  You can purchase a copy of it here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZP2JV3T

The book was released on May 6th.  It is now available in paperback & eBook formats.  The eBook formats are still clearing, though it is currently available on Kindle and Nook.

 

Speaking of books, since it's the month of May, I have to go into my publishing anniversary.  For the month of May, I will be celebrating the five-year publishing anniversary of my novel "Seductra, Web of Desire" (CreateSpace, 2017).

I have to admit, this is one of my favorite books that I've released.  I feel like this project is criminally underrated, as far as the lack of support is concerned.  But...I'm doing what I can to continue to promote it.

 

I'm still giving a lot of thought to doing my Black/Brown Bookstore Book Tour.  I'm hoping to be able to target the fall to do it.  I know of a few bookstores here in North Carolina alone that I want to target.  Since a lot of Covid restrictions have been lifted, I want to try to take advantage, and get back to doing in-person appearances.  Since my online sales game is pretty much stagnant & nonexistent, I need to get back to doing hand-to-hand sales.  I want to use my smartphone to shoot some footage, and post it on YouTube for a couple of episodes of "The Rough Draft".  We shall see....

I will be having a radio/podcast interview on Friday, May 13th on a local radio station out here, based in Carborro.  It will be on WCOM-FM 103.5 FM.  The interview starts at 9pm.  Looking forward to it.  It will be my first interview in two years, not since during the pandemic.  You can tune in at www.wcomfm.org.  Hope that you guys get to catch the show!!!  :-)

 

That's about all for now.  I hope to keep you updated, as far as my other plans.  I hope that you will all go out and support my recent release in Second Chance Points.  It's a very good story that I think that you'll all enjoy.

 

Keep the fist raised.

 

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind

  

 

Possible Book Tour/What the Future Holds in 2022....

 Things are starting to look up for me.  2022 is starting to manifest itself in a very positive way. I was able to do a podcast interview on "Anansi Reads", and I also have an upcoming radio interview on a local radio station out here in North Carolina; WCOM 103.5FM in the Carborro/Chapel Hill area, scheduled for May 13th.  I'm pretty happy about that.  It's my time to shine!!!  :-)

I was able to shoot & post the latest episode of "The Rough Draft".  Episode 45 has been posted on YouTube and Vimeo.  In that episode, I talk about my publishing anniversary for April, the upcoming release of my next novel "Second Chance Points" (KDP, 2022), and a future venture that I want to do. My idea for an in-person event is a Black/Brown Bookstore Book Tour, or 3BT Tour for short.  Catchy title, huh...?  ;-) 

The Black/Brown Bookstore Book Tour is basically a series of bookstore appearances/signings where I focus my signings in primarily black-owned & Latino-owned bookstores.  Firstly, I'm focusing on promoting my latest literary work, as well as the other titles that I have in my arsenal of books that I've published. Secondly, I want to be able to use my platform to support black-owned & Latino-owned businesses. That's just the activist in me, wanting to support my peoples, and remain true to my political beliefs.  Hopefully, I can shoot some video footage to use for "The Rough Draft", post them online, and use the episodes to help promote these bookstores/independent businesses.

If I am able to do the 3BT Tour, I'm shooting for late Summer, if not the Fall.  The Fall would probably be more ideal, as it leads into Latino Heritage Month, and I would be able to promote my book titles that feature my Latino/Afro Latino characters. Right now, I want to target local bookstores in the North Carolina area; primarily here in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, and Greensboro.  I also want to target black-owned/Latino-owned bookstores in nearby Tennessee, and also Virginia; primarily Richmond, since that's my old stomping ground.

I'll let you guys know the details, as the tour comes together.  I'm debating if this should be a solo tour, or a joint book tour with another author, or a few other authors.  Still haven't met any other brother-scribes or sister-scribes out her yet, so I'm holding out hope. I'm still ironing out the details of it, so it's still in the planning stages, for now...

Uhuru sasa, y paz.

Keep the fist raised.

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind

 

 

Interview on Anansi Reads Podcast

 Was able to recently do a podcast interview on April 2nd on AnchorFm.  Shout out to my brother Aaron Huff, aka Bilal Al'amin for having me on his podcast, "Anansi Reads"!!  You can listen to the interview here:

https://anchor.fm/aaron-huff7?fbclid=IwAR1x58o2gHyiID86g7Opya06jnnbG3TBhBOH_0w0ViW5PcgZ_oABzTILLnE

Please subscribe to the brother's podcast.  It is also available on Spotify.  Help to spread the word!!!  Also, please support my books, and buy/download copies of them!!!

Keep the fist raised!!!

Uhuru sasa, y paz

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind

The Rains of April

 Welcome to the month of APRIL.  We are now officially in the first quarter of the year.  It is also National Poetry Month.  Shout out to all of my poetic scribes out there!!!

As we enter into the new month, you know that I have to shout out my publishing anniversary for the month.  Entering into April, I will be celebrating the six year publishing anniversary of my short story anthology "Drum Speaking: Tales From An Inner City Griot" (CreateSpace, 2016).  It's a project that I feel is seriously slept on, just like many of my other literary works.  Spanning several different genres, it's a collection of thirteen different short stories, including continuing stories from "Demure Nights" and "The Chronicles of The Black Fist".

I am happy to announce that I will be doing a podcast interview, scheduled for April 2nd.  I will be interviewed on "Anansi Reads" at 6pm EST, airing on AnchorFm.  I'll probably be sharing the link here after the interview.  I'm really, really looking forward to it, as I haven't done an interview in at least 2 years.  I will be interviewed by my brother, fellow activist, and brother-scribe Aaron Huff, aka Bilal Al'amin.  We will be discussing my writing career, and a few of my books that may fall in the Black Speculative Fiction range, including "The Chronicles of The Black Fist"; my novel that he is a fan of. :-)

 

We have ONE MORE MONTH to go before the release of "Second Chance Points" (KDP, 2022).  I've made the Facebook Event for it, and have shared it on several of my social media accounts.  Not many people have joined the event, so far.  I'm hoping that changes over the next couple of weeks.  at the same time, I'm not holding my breath...

 

The new day job is going well.  I can hang with it.  I don't feel over-worked, and I don't hate going in to work everyday.  We have some really nice people working there, so that helps a lot.  I might stick around for a bit.  I still haven't told anyone about my creative endeavors; they don't need to know everything about me.  I'll give it a few more weeks.  Have to admit though...they got some niiiiice looking women working there, lol, lol, lol.  ;-)

 

This entry is going to be short.  That's all that I have for now.  Other than needing to shoot & upload a new episode of "The Rough Draft", I don't have much else planned.  Looking forward to Second Chance points dropping.  I also have a radio interview lined up next month after the books release on a local radio station out here, WCOM.  That interview will air on May 13th.  Mark your calendars for that!!!  :-)

 

Uhuru sasa, y paz.

 

Keep the fist raised.

 

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind

 

 

Tides of March

 Hello to the month of March.  We are now in the first third of the year.  Time really is flying by, isn't it...?

As we enter into the month of March, you know that I have to shout out my publishing anniversaries of my books published during the month of March.  I have three...

Celebrating the eight-year publishing anniversary of my comedic memoir "In My Lifetime: Funny Stories of Life Experiences" (Outskirts Press, 2014).  My third book that I wrote & published, it was a change that I wanted to make, as I felt that I was being a little stigmatized as just being "angry" because of my first 2 books.  I wanted to show my creative side, and a little bit of my wacky sense of humor.

 

March also marks the two-year publishing anniversary of my dual release for my Sci fi/Action/Time Traveling novel "Time Will Reveal" (Kindle Direct Publishing, 2020), and my Street Lit/Young Adult novel "Suicide Amy" (Kindle Direct Publishing, 2020).  Both book were released to celebrate my ten year anniversary as a author, and were both special project for me to write on their own merits.  Suicide Amy represented the very first screenplay that I had written (and liked), and Time Will Reveal was an interesting science fiction idea that I would loved to have produced; a time-travel story focusing on Black people, and coming from a black perspective.

 

Sales haven't been there for Black History Month.  It was a complete flatline on both the eBook and paperback fronts.  All I can do, is continue to push & promote, and continue to do outreach.  Hopefully, I'll be able to reach someone, and snag that target audience that I intended to reach.

 

I'm really looking forward to the publication of  "Second Chance Points" (KDP, 2022).  I was finally able to create a Facebook Event for it, and sent out invites to all of my FB contacts.  Not too many people have accepted their invites, but I'm continuing to post content on there.  I'll do what I can to continue to promote it.

 

The day job front is very trying.  I don't like my current day job, as it is now not only becoming unfun, bust also biting into my savings.  I didn't move out here to be stressed out & unhappy.  Thankfully, to the ancestors & Creator, I was able to find me a new day job.  I'll get to start this week, sometime, and hopefully have something more stable, and less stressful.

 

That's all for now.  Hoping to produce a new episode of "The Rough Draft".  I'm also looking forward to celebrating the Veneral Equinox.  Hope to keep you all updated on my literary & life progress.

 

Keep the fist raised.

 

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind 

 

   

Black History Month/Author Anniversary Month

 We have now entered into the month of FEBRUARY!!!!  Celebrating Black History/Heritage Month, as we should ALWAYS celebrate our Black culture & heritage.  Blessings to all of the ancestors who have come before us, and laid down the foundations for us to be able to achieve, and reach greater heights.

As we enter into February, you know that I always have to do my thing, and help to promote Akoma Day, a culturally relevant alternative to Valentine's Day, lasting from February 14th - February 20th.  Celebrating the culture of Black love, and the blessed union between two ppl of Afrikan descent.  It's more about partnership in life, building a family, and forging a strong(er) bond with your soulmate.

 

Also in February, I have to promote my publishing anniversaries.  As you know, it all started with the publication of my FIRST book, "Raise Your Brown Black Fist: The Political Shouts of an Angry Afro Latino" (Authorhouse, 2010). That book is celebrating its twelve-year publishing anniversary this month; the catalyst to my current writing career.

You also have the seven-year publishing anniversary of my first novel, "The Chronicles of The Black Fist" (CreateSpace, 2015).  I've always been very proud of this particular book, as I feel that this is my truly first original book project.  Plus...it's about a Black superhero, and came out THREE years before that fuck ass Black Panther movie.  But, I digress...

 

Also, you have the four-year publishing anniversary of my novel "Fiesta Girl" (Draft2Digital, 2018).  This Afro Latino love story is a sentimental favorite of mine.  I just wish that it would get the support & traction that I feel it deserves.  All of these so-called Afro Latino activists out there, and ain't nobody really jump on this project to help support it.  Whatever...

 

Twelve years in the game.  TWELVE YEARS!!!  That's a decade, plus two.  I'm hoping to shoot an episode of "The Rough Draft" about this.  Episode 43 has already been shot & posted on YouTube & Vimeo.  Episode 44 will deal with this month, and my Author Anniversary.  Twelve years in, and soon to be fourteen books deep.  That's quite an accomplishment.  I don't think ppl really realize the level of hard work & consistency that I've put into this.  This ain't a game for me; never has been.  I've been working hard to promote myself, & my works to the greater public, for TWELVE years...AND I'm still going.  Let that marinate for a hot sec...

 

Things are going pretty well.  For Black History Month my digital publisher Draft2Digital is running a BHM sale through the eBook outlets of OverDrive and Baker & Taylor.  I'm hoping that will help to increase my sales a bit, as they've been quite stagnant.  At least five of my books dealing with Black history & culture are included in that sale.  Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

 

That's all for now.  Still steadily working on the release of "Second Chance Points" (KDP, 2022) later in May.  I'm still making last-minute changes to the ms, lol, lol, lol.  I'm really excited about the release, and looking forward to that particular project dropping. Luckily, I was able to secure a tentative date for a radio interview in May, coinciding with the release of the book, scheduled for May 13th.  I'll keep you guys updated on that interview, the closer we get to the date.  Keeping my fingers crossed for that!!

 

Take care, and hit you guys up on the next blog post!!  :-)

 

Keep the fist raised!!!

 

#AlwaysOnMyLiteraryGrind