Ok, this week has been crazy. I'm still working on last week's read which is not like me at all. Usually I read a book in like two days but school and writing is taking up most of my time but I do have a book that you guys can check out.
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke
A little tease about the book:
Houston, Texas, 1981. It is here that Jay believes he can make a fresh start. That is, until the night in a boat out on the bayou when he impulsively saves a woman from drowning and opens a Pandora's box.
Told you I was going to tease you. Enjoy!
Friday, October 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Publisher
I'm excited. I've found another Urban publishing company to look into so I will be submitting to them soon. Not going to say the name just yet until I actually email my work to them but keep your fingers crossed!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Book to Read this Weekend
Each week I've decided to post a book that I think everyone should read if they have nothing better to do for the weekend. You know us black people need to read more! And it's about to get cold outside so cuddling up with your boo and a good book really isn't that bad of an idea. Now when I publish my book you know I'm going to be name dropping myself for at least a year. But anywayz let me get my Oprah on!
This week's book:
72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell
This week's book:
72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell
Money, Cars, Clothes, the Strippers
Ok, so I got a couple of ideas for my next project. The book that I wrote a year ago originally called Dulce De Leche has now been renamed Can't Knock the Hustle. This book is as hood as it gets! If you are into any of the books that Vickie Stringer from Triple Crown Publications represent then you will definitely feel this one. Yes it is about a stripper and there are a lot of books out right now about strippers in their books. But this book right here does not focus strictly about the stripping industry. This is about a chick who is raising a five year old by herself while they are living in her beat down Grand Cherokee. It's about the decisions we as black women make in order for our kids to eat, for us to just live day to day; it just so happens that stripping was the only opportunity at the time or otherwise her child would have gotten taken away. I don't want to give too much away. But I will start re-editing it soon while trying to get my current novel published, so please look out for a sistah. Peace.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Ch. 17
Sorry I left for so long but here is another sample of Without Consent:
Izzimiyaki cologne snatched at her nose hairs, taking hostage of the oxygen trying to circulate through the small openings. The feeling of being stuck under ocean water overcame her whole being. The jack hammer pounding in her chest swallowed any sound around her. Her nose started to burn the more she engulfed the putrid smell. It was amazing how at one point she was in love with that smell when Bryan would rock it. She craved it like it was her life support. Bryan. Where was he? She opened her mouth to call out his name but her throat sealed itself shut. Her tongue felt like sandpaper against the roof of her mouth. Something slimy wrapped itself around her neck. It felt like a cold, anaconda was crushing her wind pipes. Dreams were not suppose to hurt like this!
Izzimiyaki cologne snatched at her nose hairs, taking hostage of the oxygen trying to circulate through the small openings. The feeling of being stuck under ocean water overcame her whole being. The jack hammer pounding in her chest swallowed any sound around her. Her nose started to burn the more she engulfed the putrid smell. It was amazing how at one point she was in love with that smell when Bryan would rock it. She craved it like it was her life support. Bryan. Where was he? She opened her mouth to call out his name but her throat sealed itself shut. Her tongue felt like sandpaper against the roof of her mouth. Something slimy wrapped itself around her neck. It felt like a cold, anaconda was crushing her wind pipes. Dreams were not suppose to hurt like this!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Knowledge for your mind. Did you know....
1. There are more Black authors than any minority group
2. Black authors are finding success in e-books
3. Black authors are self publishing at a faster rate
4. There are more conferences for Black authors than ever before
I got this information via blackauthorsconnect.com.
2. Black authors are finding success in e-books
3. Black authors are self publishing at a faster rate
4. There are more conferences for Black authors than ever before
I got this information via blackauthorsconnect.com.
Alford G. Harris
I put a link to this poet who has been sending me poems since I started my myspace page. His name is Alford G. Harris. Please support a brotha, he is nice! And he has a book of poetry out now so go get it! Go to his website as well as read more of his work.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Finished
I have got it together. The last bit from this chapter. This is a continuation from yesterday's post but revised. Want to hear it, here it go!
Her unblinking almond shaped eyes sent daggers at Nia. For a moment Nia had thought her sister was suffering a stroke. Never had Renee gone this long without so much as a twitch!
Renee however was at a lost for words. Looking at this skeleton trying to pose as her sister, threw her off. Did she have the right room? A flash of familiarity made its way to the surface of her tinged colored eyes for a brief moment. That was her confirmation. She was scared to look too long for fear of falling into the black holes of the abyss known as Nia's eyes. Her cheeks sagged down her face like two plastic bags that had been used to the max and could not hold anymore produce. Renee had no idea a black person's skin color could turn so gray. Nia's voice did not even sound human.
"Mama sent you?"
Renee continued to throw daggers Nia's way before answering. Her brain still churned loudly over powering even the whirring of the machines. "Damn, you were in the wrong and still you have ignorant shit to say." A thick blanket of silence fell between them. Renee could literally hear the angel and the devil arguing with each other on her shoulders over what she was going to say next. She briefly looked at Bryan and then back at her sister. A sliver of an unbearable pain flickered in her eyes that Renee has never seen before. The intensity almost made the room shake. For that minute moment Nia's ten layered steel wall was down, but only for that moment.
Before she knew it, Renee was up and walking toward her sister. Nia's eyes remained in the same spot her sister was at seconds ago. From the corners of her eyes Nia watched Renee storm towards her. Renee wrapped her motherly arms around Nia. Her body jerked uncontrollably in Renee's arms as all of the tears she had been holding inside for over three years burst out. She could feel her ribs poking out of her Indianapolis Colts hoodie. A heavy weight clunked down at the bottom of her stomach. Her sister was disappearing right in front of her.
She held on tighter to her. Nia's body no longer shook. She leaned in heavily against Renee. Renee shifted her body weight. Now her butt was on the arm of the chair. Nia's limp head fell with a thud on her lap. Her hair feeling like straw. "Damn gi...," she started to say. "Nuuuurrssse!" Renee jumped up off of the chair then started to shake her sister. "Somebody! Help!" she screeched again.
Two nurses flew into the room. Both eyed Bryan with bewildered expressions on their faces. They had not heard any of his machines go off from the nurses' station. The last nurse to enter the room shifted her head a little and stared at the lump in the chair. Two seconds later she realized that the small lump was an actual person. Her nursing skills kicked in.
"Oh my god, what happened?"
"I don't know, one minute we were crying and the next I look down and she wasn't breathing! Help her please!" Renee begged. By then the other nurse had come over and threw the chair out of the way so they could lay Nia down flat on the floor.
"Are you getting a pulse?"
"None," the first nurse answered. Her fist and palm pushed into Nia's chest. Everything Renee had learned in nursing school went away. Seeing CPR seemed foreign. She had to tell herself to breathe as she watched. Nia's chest bounced up and down with each thrust. Renee's lungs wanted to collapse. Pressure filled her head; now she was unable to hear, unable to breathe, unable to...
Her unblinking almond shaped eyes sent daggers at Nia. For a moment Nia had thought her sister was suffering a stroke. Never had Renee gone this long without so much as a twitch!
Renee however was at a lost for words. Looking at this skeleton trying to pose as her sister, threw her off. Did she have the right room? A flash of familiarity made its way to the surface of her tinged colored eyes for a brief moment. That was her confirmation. She was scared to look too long for fear of falling into the black holes of the abyss known as Nia's eyes. Her cheeks sagged down her face like two plastic bags that had been used to the max and could not hold anymore produce. Renee had no idea a black person's skin color could turn so gray. Nia's voice did not even sound human.
"Mama sent you?"
Renee continued to throw daggers Nia's way before answering. Her brain still churned loudly over powering even the whirring of the machines. "Damn, you were in the wrong and still you have ignorant shit to say." A thick blanket of silence fell between them. Renee could literally hear the angel and the devil arguing with each other on her shoulders over what she was going to say next. She briefly looked at Bryan and then back at her sister. A sliver of an unbearable pain flickered in her eyes that Renee has never seen before. The intensity almost made the room shake. For that minute moment Nia's ten layered steel wall was down, but only for that moment.
Before she knew it, Renee was up and walking toward her sister. Nia's eyes remained in the same spot her sister was at seconds ago. From the corners of her eyes Nia watched Renee storm towards her. Renee wrapped her motherly arms around Nia. Her body jerked uncontrollably in Renee's arms as all of the tears she had been holding inside for over three years burst out. She could feel her ribs poking out of her Indianapolis Colts hoodie. A heavy weight clunked down at the bottom of her stomach. Her sister was disappearing right in front of her.
She held on tighter to her. Nia's body no longer shook. She leaned in heavily against Renee. Renee shifted her body weight. Now her butt was on the arm of the chair. Nia's limp head fell with a thud on her lap. Her hair feeling like straw. "Damn gi...," she started to say. "Nuuuurrssse!" Renee jumped up off of the chair then started to shake her sister. "Somebody! Help!" she screeched again.
Two nurses flew into the room. Both eyed Bryan with bewildered expressions on their faces. They had not heard any of his machines go off from the nurses' station. The last nurse to enter the room shifted her head a little and stared at the lump in the chair. Two seconds later she realized that the small lump was an actual person. Her nursing skills kicked in.
"Oh my god, what happened?"
"I don't know, one minute we were crying and the next I look down and she wasn't breathing! Help her please!" Renee begged. By then the other nurse had come over and threw the chair out of the way so they could lay Nia down flat on the floor.
"Are you getting a pulse?"
"None," the first nurse answered. Her fist and palm pushed into Nia's chest. Everything Renee had learned in nursing school went away. Seeing CPR seemed foreign. She had to tell herself to breathe as she watched. Nia's chest bounced up and down with each thrust. Renee's lungs wanted to collapse. Pressure filled her head; now she was unable to hear, unable to breathe, unable to...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Let me take you back
The lady behind the computer slapped her hands down on the keyboard. “Do you not see me assisting these people? You’re going to have to wait your turn.” The high pitched voice that had called her only fifteen minutes filled up her last nerve with irritation. That response did not sit well in her stomach. Nia rolled her eyes and stormed off toward the automatic doors. “Ma’am! You can’t go back there!” Nia heard the word security being yelled out right before the door closed behind her.
The lights around the nurse’s station glowed like it had its own halo. A few nurses and what appeared to be a doctor stood in a group to the side. As she looked closer the nurses circling the extra long doctor looked like interns. She could see the mix of anxiousness and complete confusion on each of their faces. The smell of fear evaporated off of them. But they drank in everything he was saying like it was their air supply. On the right side of Nia a nurse in Betty Boo scrubs wrote names in red on an easel board. Blue, pink, and gray curtains covered each opening to the eight or nine cubicles representing rooms for patients coming into emergency. Her pupils swiveled around to some automatic doors that read ‘surgery’; below that ‘personnel only’. Her eyes remained fixed on those white letters as she slammed through the doors. The smell of disinfectant hit her nose. The white walls seemed to mock her as she stood at the end of a long hall; she thought she had walked into an asylum instead of the surgery hall. She only was able to get to the first plexiglass window before a hand gripped her shoulder pulling her backwards. Bryan’s body lay without motion but for the occasional tug from the doctors. Everyone moved around so fast.
“Bryan!” she screeched.
Her blood curdling scream made one of the doctors look up. “Get her out of here! This is a sterile environment!” he demanded.
“Ma’am, you can’t be back here!” Nia’s body flew to the cold floor. She looked up and looked into a caramel sistah’s eyes. Her large dark brown eyes seemed to swallow everything they focused on. “My man is in there,” Nia whispered. Tears already had formed in her eyes; she swallowed not wanting to give the time of day. The black nurse softened her grip on Nia’s shoulder as well as around her eyes. The fear in Nia’s eyes blazed through the wall of tears.
“I know baby girl, but I can’t let you in this area. You can contaminate the sterile rooms. Come on I’ll help you up.” She put her arm around Nia’s waist and lifted her up like she was a porcelain doll. “I’ll take you back to the waiting room and I will personally give you updates myself alright? Don’t trust these other nurses. You know they don’t give a damn about us, you know what I’m saying?” Nia nodded in agreement. She was right, all of the nurses that had not given her the time of day moments ago now looked her up and down with their noses so far up their faces it became a part of their receding lines. “See, they act like we carry some disease, it don’t make no sense.”
The lights around the nurse’s station glowed like it had its own halo. A few nurses and what appeared to be a doctor stood in a group to the side. As she looked closer the nurses circling the extra long doctor looked like interns. She could see the mix of anxiousness and complete confusion on each of their faces. The smell of fear evaporated off of them. But they drank in everything he was saying like it was their air supply. On the right side of Nia a nurse in Betty Boo scrubs wrote names in red on an easel board. Blue, pink, and gray curtains covered each opening to the eight or nine cubicles representing rooms for patients coming into emergency. Her pupils swiveled around to some automatic doors that read ‘surgery’; below that ‘personnel only’. Her eyes remained fixed on those white letters as she slammed through the doors. The smell of disinfectant hit her nose. The white walls seemed to mock her as she stood at the end of a long hall; she thought she had walked into an asylum instead of the surgery hall. She only was able to get to the first plexiglass window before a hand gripped her shoulder pulling her backwards. Bryan’s body lay without motion but for the occasional tug from the doctors. Everyone moved around so fast.
“Bryan!” she screeched.
Her blood curdling scream made one of the doctors look up. “Get her out of here! This is a sterile environment!” he demanded.
“Ma’am, you can’t be back here!” Nia’s body flew to the cold floor. She looked up and looked into a caramel sistah’s eyes. Her large dark brown eyes seemed to swallow everything they focused on. “My man is in there,” Nia whispered. Tears already had formed in her eyes; she swallowed not wanting to give the time of day. The black nurse softened her grip on Nia’s shoulder as well as around her eyes. The fear in Nia’s eyes blazed through the wall of tears.
“I know baby girl, but I can’t let you in this area. You can contaminate the sterile rooms. Come on I’ll help you up.” She put her arm around Nia’s waist and lifted her up like she was a porcelain doll. “I’ll take you back to the waiting room and I will personally give you updates myself alright? Don’t trust these other nurses. You know they don’t give a damn about us, you know what I’m saying?” Nia nodded in agreement. She was right, all of the nurses that had not given her the time of day moments ago now looked her up and down with their noses so far up their faces it became a part of their receding lines. “See, they act like we carry some disease, it don’t make no sense.”
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