Reflections of a Writer/Author/Storyteller

           Okay , so it is 2013 and I am a few months away from my fifth full length novel being released( May The Best Man Win -August 27th 2013).
            I sit back from time to time and think about the process of writing Both Sides of the Fence 1(January-May-2008
) and I smile because it was new and scary to let someone read something I had written. Positive review followed and then you spring forward a few weeks and i was being offered a two book deal/contract. That was exciting and very scary. I didn't have a clue of what to do next. Yes or no? Do i take it or leave it? Well after talking to tons of people in the industry, my pastor and my best friends, I apprehensively signed on.
           Fast forward to where i am now; a writer that is still learning to focus, fuse and forge ahead. I am working on a novel that i hope to finish in four more months. I think several times during the writing process, trying to get that high back from my first breakout character, James Parks, A supreme Antagonist. I didn't know that he would take over the series and forge a small spot in the minds of readers forever. He was 'something else' as tons of readers say to me. But, i was just writing him. I was in sync with him and his story, because he was me on some levels, many levels. No i didn't threaten to tear the lives of a husband and wife apart and do all sort of unthinkable trickery but ...lol.... I did some stuff. :)
          So i want  every character or characters to have that same fire that i brought with James, Mona, Shawn, and the rest of the characters of 'The Both Sides of the Fence Trilogy. The problem is that i can't and no matter how hard i try it just doesn't happen. And guess what, i am glad that i stop trying with my other works of fiction. It was futile to say the least. Now I sit back and just let it flow. i have fun and let my characters have fun. i take my time. I don't rush it, well sometimes, if i'm behind on a deadline. But even then some of my most outrageous drama comes during crunch time.
        Over time i have learned that writing fiction, stories and even this blog, takes time. I don't like to wait, like my readers, but i have no choice in the matter. Rushing a product can lead to bad results and loss of readership.
         I also think of my catalog of fiction, short stories, anthologies, and full length novels and awe at the twelve titles that I written or collaborated in. It seems small to me at times and in comparison to some other authors, but many would say that it was a great feat for anyone to have twelve titles circulating in a five year span.
         So now after 5 years some would say that i have a career on my hands. A career that i didn't have a plan to seek out or conquer because yes i believe i conquered me and stepped out of the box to write about a still very taboo subject. Who cares, is what i say most of the time. But over time i have learned that plenty of people care and plenty of people share their stories after reading one of my own.

       The money you make from books is really, really, nice after a really really long time...lol. But getting great feedback and gaining new friends and confidantes makes it that much more exhilarating. Sure you get some people that may strongly disagree with what you write, how you write, grammar  story line ...blah, blah, blah, but it is the whole experience, to me, that makes it worth it. It is WORK to start, continue and finish a project, but finishing is such a great feeling. Sometimes i fumble over what's next even when it comes to story lines and such but after having a mental gun held to my head i get it moving and press through each page.  I take week or month long breaks because sometime i just have to walk away from it all and live my life 'book drama' free...lol. Then when i get back at it  it's like a fresh loaf of bread going through the oven of my mind and waiting to be served, hot, to the readers.
        Being a writer takes up so much of your time, especially the marketing part, I hate it. It is fruitful after the fact but after doing book signings, updating websites, reading/writing blogs, appearing on radio shows, online mags, Facebook-ing, Twitter-ing, Instagram-ing, LinkedIn-ing, and so many other sites, i get fatigued and turned off of people and the world wide web. Then i shut down and shut out for a few day, which means i stay in the house, when i'm off, for days at a time. I mean no going outside at all, well, maybe a Wal-mart run, but other than that it's adios amigos..lol.

This is my latest rant for now. hope you enjoyed! Until next time...Peace.