Werk Werk Werk


Hey peeps! This week was crazy busy. It was my first full week back to work after being unplugged for two weeks. I definitely was not ready lol. I may have even cried about it for a bit (my husband was very amused). 

That being said, I’m pretty recharged and ready to jump back into the swing of things. On the writing front, I sent out my first newsletter of the year with some pretty exciting announcements for upcoming projects and a sneak peak into my next book, Taming the Succubus

I’ve been fleshing out the story’s outline and I have to admit I’m excited to write this book simply because the main character is so fun! Discovering characters is one of my favorite parts of being a writer.

I’ve also been filling my Pinterest board with inspiration pins. I find that plus listening to my favorite musicians really helps my creative muse. I have to be careful though. I can spend hours on Pinterest because it feels like a fantasy land full of fantastical images and portals to information. It’s truly a playground for the visual geeks like myself. :)

For next week, I’ll be focusing on continuing to draft Taming the Succubus and working on the next few episodes of my newest project. Stay tuned!

Excerpt: TRANSFERENCE, book 2 of the Two Worlds series


Hi peeps! Here's a little gift from me to you for your patience...an excerpt from the upcoming new installment of the Two Worlds series, TRANSFERENCE. Enjoy! :) 

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A small blue fairy flew up to us, notepad in hand. “What can I get for you?” she trilled.
“We’ll have the Narzel sampler and three glasses of ale please,” I ordered, not bothering to look at the menu. Since coming to Turgor, Molly's Tavern had been the staple and main supplier of my diet. Blue Fairy nodded and zoomed off, leaving behind a trail of fairy dust in the air.
Rena sneezed, causing her skin to grow bright orange. “I’ll tell you”—Rena sniffled—“working in the archives is ramping up my allergies.”
“Could be a lot worse, right?” I offered, sipping the cold glass of ale that had suddenly appeared on the table.
“Yeah,” Nia grumbled, “we could have to clean the Harpie nests on the top floors in Caldbeck.” We all shuddered in agreement.
The table began to sparkle and before I could blink, a large, piping-hot pizza surrounded by a few plates appeared. I grabbed a plate and dug in and the girls followed suit. The sounds of our chewing blended into the noisy ambiance of the small little hut. Rena and I locked eyes and she smiled briefly before her smile slid off her face. I tracked her gaze to a lanky figure advancing quickly over to our table. I swallowed my chunk of pizza and braced myself.
Erika Williams sneered as she approached, bumping into our table. I steadied the glasses of ale and matched her sneer.
“What do you want, Ericka?” Nia sighed, pushing her plate away. “I’m not up to arguing today.”
“Oh, I’m not here to argue,” Ericka replied sweetly. “I’m here to tell you that I know about your little dirty secret.”
My heartbeat began to speed up. Erika pushed her way in to our booth next to me, forcing me to slide over and give her room. She grabbed a slice of pizza and began chomping away.
“Do you mind?” Nia growled.
Erika gave her a smirk. “Not at all.”
“What dirty little secret do you think you know, Erika?” I demanded.
“Oh, you know. The one where you lie about Awakening Larius.”
I let out a shaky breath. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m sure you don’t.” She laughed and grabbed another slice. “But I can be very persuasive. Larius didn’t mind telling me all about your little lie.”
“Is that before or after you destroyed his tombs in Giza Graveyard?” Rena asked.
Erika rolled her eyes. “All in the name of justice, I’m afraid. Besides, no one really cares about those dusty old tombstones. The Brozek Ledger is just looking for a story.”
“I’m sure.” I bit into my own slice of pizza that was now cold. “You better be careful whom you go around admitting that to.”
“My father will take care of the police.” Erika laughed. “Have you forgotten who I am?”
“A spoiled, bratty kid of a politician with too much money and far too much time on his hands?” Nia replied sweetly.
Erika snarled. “Watch what you say, Nia. You’ll need all the allies you can get.”
“Thanks, but we have plenty of allies,” I snapped. My patience was wearing thin. Ericka gave off another laugh and this laugh was so chilly, I was surprised my ale didn’t freeze.
She slipped out of the booth, grabbed another slice of our pizza, and gave a small salute before sauntering off.
I let out a sigh of relief and turned back to my girls. “So what do you think?”
Nia scoffed. “I think she’s full of—”
“She might know something, Nia,” Rena said, interrupting. “Her father does have high connections in the Council.”
“Yeah, yeah. But so what? No one will believe her if she told. It’s her word against ours.”
“Still, we might want to be careful provoking her. She could cause more trouble than we can handle right now." Nia chomped on her pizza, silently conceding that Rena was right.  


On Seeing Color

In one of the writing communities I frequent today, a writer asked if there were any active groups for people of color. Folks immediately jumped on her, telling her it was a bad idea to segregate herself (one even reminding her that we've come so far from segregation, why continue it?).

I had to laugh. Some people are nuts.

Look, if you honestly believe that you go through life without seeing race, I've got an island in the Caribbean I'd like to sell for you at a great price. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging our cultural differences. There is nothing wrong with being different. I repeat. There is nothing wrong with being different.

Somewhere along the line, we confused acknowledging and celebrating racial / cultural differences with being reaping the benefits of privilege. And sweet baby Cupid, most folks don't even know what privilege is! In my opinion, it's far easier to say "Let's not talk about race" instead of saying "Let's talk about privilege and how we can change this system because yes it still exists just ask any minority on the street." Why wash your dirty laundry when you can just hide it under the bed?

One could hypothesize that the reason kids today struggle with rejection among peers is that we currently live in a society that touts political correctness to the point of homogeneity. So what happens if you don't fit in? It's not okay, right? Cue depression. Bullying. All of that nasty stuff.

I'm African American. I'm a woman. I'm able-bodied. I'm heterosexual. I'm middle-class. I'm college educated. All of these life experiences color (no pun intended) how I write. There's nothing wrong with that, either. If I was just like Tom, Dick, and Sally...well, my writing would be sad indeed.

There were quite a number of people who came to the original poster's defense, which I'm glad to see. But it still bothers me that she needed defending. I will continue to point out my cultural difference and celebrate my background because it is who I am. And I encourage all of you to do the same. 

*tosses glitter in the air* 

Now back to your regular programming.

May Updates


Hi there! I figured it was definitely time to update my fellow fans and authors on what I've been up to these past five months. :)

On New Year's Eve, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and then proceeded to be kicked into the deep end of the parenting pool. It's been a crazy wonderful experience and my husband and I are completely in love with our daughter. That being said, for the first three months I had no time to properly shower let alone write and so I was forced to take a break from writing.

In late March I returned back to work and a some what normal schedule. I completed the mystery novella I was working on before giving birth and began the first draft of the sequel to The Two Worlds. I also had to rework my production schedule for the rest of 2015.

Late last year I mentioned how I was fatigued of Kay and crew while writing The Two Worlds. Turns out, being on maternity leave was just what the doctor ordered! Now that I'm back at work, I find that I can't wait to tell more of their story. I've decided to keep them on my production schedule and finish up their tale this year. Here's what the rest of the year will look like:

July: The Two Worlds (revised and re-released)
July: The Two Worlds: On the Run 
August: The Two Worlds  #3
September: The Two Worlds #4
October: The Two Worlds #5

It's a lot of writing, but I'm determined to wrap up this series by the end of the year. And I think it will be a fun challenge.

Wish me luck and stay tuned for updates on my progress!




Writing the Dreaded Second Draft

There she was. A new story. A bare bones first draft of 47,000 words staring at me. I had a great time writing her. I flew through the story in thirty days last year and added a few more lines over the past week.
But now it was time to face the music.

The dreaded second draft.

I still haven't mastered revising a first draft. The Two Worlds was a nightmare because it was written over a long period of time and I learned so much while writing it. I used different techniques of writing, wrote different parts at various points in my life (and that always influences my writing) and wasn't organized at all. No outline, no clear vision, nada. Just a girl and her notepad.

This time around, I wrote with a clear focus. NaNoWriMo allowed me a clear deadline and I had an outline to work off of. Being organized allowed me to have fun with writing instead of stopping every few chapters to figure out my next move. I'm definitely NOT a pantser!


But I still have so much to learn about the writing process. And I find myself hesitant on how to approach this latest WIP.  I'm going to wait a few days and try to find a good book that touches on the subject (suggestions welcome!). Have you ever struggled with revising a raw draft?

What on Earth Happened to The Two Worlds Sequel?

Character fatigue. Plain and simple. I began writing The Two Worlds seven years ago, when my brother was eleven years old and totally interested in the wizarding world. The Harry Potter series was super popular and I wanted to write a book for him--so I did. Over the course of the seven years, I would email chapters to him and he loved it. The Two Worlds was definitely a labor of love and I used it as an entry way into the world of indie publishing and marketing.

It was on my schedule for three more sequels but I've fallen out of love with the characters. I still care about them, but not enough to write their stories right now. I found myself wanting something fresh after seven years of the same tale. It was why writing my current paranormal mystery was so fun.

That being said, when I write my next business plan I'm strongly considering leaving The Two Worlds series out of the production schedule. I might come back to it in 2016 as I have big plans for Kay and friends, but right now I want to focus on different things and I'm really excited to start a new journey with a new character. Stay tuned for more updates on my new book!

2014: Year in Review

My last post was quite awhile ago and I was writing about needing a business plan. I was right on target for following that business plan when BAM! things changed. You know the saying: Life happens while you're busy making plans.

In March, I was pulled in to be a project manager on an important proposal at my day job. That lasted for an entire month, and just when I was able to breathe again, BAM! I found out I was pregnant. That sent my husband and me into a tailspin and by the time I had wrapped my head around creating a new human being, I was dragged into another project as project manager and dealing with HORRIBLE first trimester symptoms.

The intensity of the first trimester plus the project left me with little room for having any kind of personal or writing life. And when the work project wrapped up mid second trimester, I was placed on bed rest for a pregnancy induced herniated disc. Once I came back from that, I finished up my role with the current project and that brings us up to mid August.

The rest of August, September and October where spent taking a breather. I was tired--mentally and physically. Not to mention, I had neglected my personal life and hadn't began doing anything baby related. Who knew being pregnant was such hard work? I took a much needed break to refocus. And I decided late October to do NaNoWriMo to get my creative juices flowing again.

The problem? November 1st came and went and I wasn't motivated to start the sequel to The Two Worlds. I actually felt bad about it and began to panic--what if I was losing my writing mojo? What was wrong with me? I scoured my writing vault (where all unfinished works live) and found a paranormal mystery I had written last year for NaNoWriMo and never touched again. So I brushed off the dust, added a few more thousand words and now I have a first draft of a story that I'm really excited about.

For the rest of the year, I will be finishing up prepping for the new kid and wrapping up things at the day job. I usually write a plan for the upcoming year, but since I have no idea what life is going to be like with a baby, I'm forcing myself to take it bit by bit until we get into a routine. Ideally, I would like to have a second draft of the paranormal mystery done by April 2015. And I'm currently working on that right now.


All in all, life happened. Lots of surprises, good and not so good, and lots of adjusting my schedule and my mentality. The most important lesson I learned in 2014 is that you can only take things day by day and you have to be flexible--especially as an indie author. I have to admit: I can't wait to see what 2015 brings!