The Two Star Review

I am not conceited I don't think. But I do have a healthy appreciation for my own work, what I can do. Some call it arrogance, some call it self awareness. I call it realism.
I'm not used to getting bad reviews for my work.
But today...today I have my first two star review.
It hurts. I won't lie. It hurts like hell. My books are my second babies and anyone can tell you I don't much tolerate people talking bad about my babies.
And yet I asked for it.
Yep.
I asked that the person who wrote this review put it up.
Why did I do that you ask? I'll tell you. Or rather let me show you. Here is the review, go read it.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1842842592

When I wrote Child of Destiny I expected that it would generate some controversy. I mean hell my editor couldn't help going on about 'what am I teaching people about relationships' and there is too much sex, it's gratuitous. We sat down at Java and had a really loud er, discussion, about the sex scenes. Me explaining exactly why each was relevant and he still insisting I needed to tone it down.
I didn't.
Because the purpose of even writing on this was to bring the topic right in your face. It wasn't to draw a delicate veil over the nastier aspects of what happens in relationships. I'm sorry, in Child of Destiny you're probably getting a lot more reality than you're maybe comfortable with.

When I was writing I had a vision of people setting up discussion boards to argue about whether Mya was right or wrong in what she did and how she acted. Was Leo a hero or anti-hero? Do we like them, or do we loathe them; best case scenario, we like them and we loathe them?
And that's exactly what this review is giving me.
She didn't stop at, "It's a good book, or it's a bad book."
She let us know how it made her feel; the characters were real enough for her to be affected by their actions on a personal level. And so two star rating or not, I think this is the best review I've ever received.
+Toinette Thomas is an author as well as a book reviewer. You should check her out. (she did not tell me to write this.)

Telling Yourself Stories

Let me begin by telling you a story.
So there was this man hunting in the woods, he came across a tiny baby poison snake whose mother had died of bullet to the head. The man was going to pass by but the snake pleaded with him to stop.
"Please help me", it said, "I'm all alone. I need you."
And the man shook his head resolutely and turned away, "If I help you, you'll bite me." he said.
The snake reached out to him, "No I won't! I swear. I'll treat you like my mother and father. I would never hurt you."
So the hunter sighed and said, "Okay then. Come home with me."

So the man took the little poison snake home. He fed it, nurtured it, gave it a place to sleep. They lived together happily for some time. Then one day, the man reached for a hot poker to stir the fire in the cold winter months and startled the snake. Quick as...well...a snake the snake lashed out and bit the man on the arm.

As he lay dying by his fire, the hunter looked at the snake all betrayed and said, "Why did you do that? You said you'd never bite me."

The snake looked at his dead keeper sadly, "You knew I was a snake when you brought me home" it said.

THE END.

Now boys and girls, who can tell us the moral of this story?

And why did I choose to share it with you today?

It's about choices y'all.

I was surfing through my +Instagram this morning when I came across a post on baller alert of +Robert Kardashian in his feelings because, he says, +Blacc Chyna left him and took all the baby furniture. His voice was all shaking and shit and I was inclined to believe she actually left. 

So I was like "Aww tooo bad. And with your 'baby special' airing soon and all, it must be hard." and then I moved on with my life.

Not two minutes later, a screenshot of a post by Blacc Chyna appears on my timeline saying that yes, she did in fact leave Rob's ass because he's a bipolar, emotionally abusive baby and she's sick of it. Especially since he 'promised not to be like Tyga' (I'm paraphrasing heavily). 

So she has two kids with struggle baby daddies and she's starting all over again. Once again.

Two things I want to say before I get with the harsh reality:

1. I have come to really respect Blacc Chyna. She's strong, intelligent and has a good heart. At least as far as I can see. She made the best of her life when she didn't start out with many aces in her deck. 

2. I can't remember what the second thing was.

Now to harsh reality.

She knew he was a snake when she brought him home.

Let me tell you a little something about weak ass men and single moms. Just as a warning in case you haven't figured it out.
When a man sees that a woman is a passably good mom, that she looks after her child, puts him first, shows up as a parent; he immediately extrapolates all that love and attention to himself and he wants it. He wants that woman to look after him too. Trust he'll be proposing within weeks of knowing you. And he will want to have a child with you, like right now!
Why?
Because the child is a guarantee that you'll never leave. At least that's what they think. And once they have you they start emotionally abusing you so you feel worthless and maybe not leave them for somebody better. Because they want you to believe you don't deserve better.
You're allowed to believe this bullshit once.
But twice?
How many times people? What is your count? I'm guessing it can be deduced by how many kids you have by different baby daddies.

I'm sorry.
But I'm not.
Somebody has to tell you and I guess I've designated myself den mother.
Stop it.
Stop choosing the same type of guy over and over.
Stop telling yourself that this time will be different.
Open your eyes and see who the guy is, or girl.
See them, and make a decision with your eyes wide open.
Not your eyes wide shut.
Please.
The only stories you should be telling yourself are the ones you're writing that will hopefully make you some money.
And I'm not saying you can't date a weak ass little boy if you want. Just go into it knowing what you're doing.
Remember in 2012 when +Rihanna gave +Chris Brown a second chance? (I hate to even bring it up but it's like the most perfect example) And everyone was trying to tell her what to do? What did she say?
"If it's a mistake, it's my mistake."

She didn't say "I love him and we're gonna be happy and you're just trying to break us up because you're jealous..."
Yes I'm looking at all a y'all who say such things with a straight face.
She saw who he was and she was giving him another chance because she accepted that this is who he is and she still wanted to take the chance on him. Of course when she discovered that no, she didn't really want to deal with all this bullshit, she was out.
So was Chyna.
So I commend her for knowing when to look after herself first.
But let's not make the same mistake a third time. Please.
So many new types of mistakes to make. Let's try one of those.

Sex and Violence Themes in Child of Destiny

This morning I received an email from a reader who won one of my giveaways. She had finally got around to reading Child of Destiny and she had some concerns.
She started the email with all the positive things she had to say about the book which I really appreciated and it also put me in the mind set to really hear her concerns. I need to learn that skill; I don't think I'm good at it AT ALL. I mean well though.
Anyway so she said that the book grabs you to begin with but then she wasn't prepared for all the 'gratuitous sex' and stopped reading. Now you would think that since this is how the book begins, it would have occurred to me to maybe wonder if it was too much or maybe that I should place a warning. Probably a trigger warning because the sex is in no way consensual.
But I didn't.
I didn't think.
So I really want to thank +Toinette Thomas for pointing it out to me.
I want you to be prepared when you open the book.

The email came in the wake of some feedback I'd gotten from a writing group on +Facebook where two people point out that I have three punctuation errors on the first page of the book. The question I had asked was why more people don't leave reviews so that really threw me.
Is punctuation that important?
I was dubious.
But then I remembered that yeah, I always notice when tenses change when I'm reading something so if I've made such mistakes I'd like to correct them.
This weekend I'm editing Child of Destiny to see if I can catch those. It really made me wonder though; is that really why y'all haven't reviewed the book?
- Are you unable to get past the sex to see the story?
- Are you put off by punctuation errors?

Tick the box which applies to you.
I want to talk about the sex and violence a little bit. Give a little background.
Child of Destiny begins with a sex scene which has dubious consent AT BEST. I want the reader to decide for themselves what they feel is going on.
It's stark.
It's in your face.
You'll probably be embarrassed and/or turned on and/or triggered and/or put off and/or disgusted. It's not gratuitous. It's essential to story progression and it's also a subject that tends to be glossed over to 'protect sensibilities' and yet it's an issue that plagues many girls in the world, of that age.
Including me.
I wrote the beginning from two perspectives; jumping from Mya's head to Leo's. The same Facebook page and many people before have said that that's confusing. But it's essential for you, the reader, to be in both their heads. To follow their trains of thought. To come along with them so that you can understand what is happening. To write it any other way is to make it gratuitous.
I am accepting all emotions but I want you to go in there prepared for what you'll find.
So if you've read it, or started reading and abandoned it, talk to me. Help me to help you. Whichever means you use, I'm listening.

Last Day for Half Price Book Sale!

Yes, it's these four books that have been on half price since beginning of November...until today. Cop it while you can.
Read extracts below and take your pick.
Since Requiscant In Pace is at the lowest price and The Swamp is Full of Mystery is free on this site they are not included in the offer. So it's  two books;
Between Death and Heaven



And Child of Destiny

Social Media Creativity

So I'm sure you've seen this pic on +Twitter or +Instagram of +Rihanna and #SarahPaulson probably on set for +Oceans 8. And it has just led to an explosion of memes that had me laughing my ass off.

This one was captioned: Don't Touch My Hair featuring Rihanna

I mean...seriously I try sometimes to come up with captions like this but my head just isn't wired that way. It makes me admire people who can do this even more knowing that it's impossible for me. The one line zinger is the new short story. This one wasn't even in my top ten for this particular meme. there was this other one:

That just had me dying. 

I mean can't you just see it? Some white woman going ahead to touch a black woman's dreads on a train; they probably don't even know each other, just happened to sit together and not only is she TOUCHING HER HAIR, but she's also at the same time spouting her offensive philosophies in the black woman's ear and thinking that they're just having a lovely conversation. 

All of this despite the look on the black woman's face and the fact that she's clearly restraining herself from inflicting physical damage.

It's funny because it happens. It's funny because it's RIHANNA and SARAH PAULSON but it's also #anyblackwoman and #anywhitewoman. It's a classic depiction of the trials and tribulations People of Colour go through on the daily, and it's also suggesting that no one is exempt. But all done with such comedic accuracy and in just one line. It says everything without giving you a long story, or preaching or hating. It's perfect and I'm jealous that I can't do it. 

However this still isn't the best meme.

Cries.In. Solange.
I've been trying to use the phrase 'Get out my Caucasian Mentions' for a while in the correct context and the other day I succeeded and ticked it off my bucket list.
This is my new goal; Find the perfect situation to use 'Cries in Solange' and come up with a caption that captures the emotion, the situation, the context so damn perfectly.
I mean....
Bow down to whomever came up with this phrase.
Bow down.
Today I landed a really lucrative ghostwriting gig and I tried to come up with similar phraseology to depict the state of my pysche. The best I could do is 'Dances in Dollar' which is just lame and unimaginative. Can anyone come up with something better? Hit me up in the comments.

Creativity Defined Now Has An App!

Creativity Defined

So I got myself an app which makes it easier for you to connect with me, talk to me, keep up with my books and interact with me. I've posted the link above so feel free to download it and let's get interacting!

Rihanna, An Inspiration

So in just the last month or so, I watched my idol +Rihanna go from the set of +Oceans8 to the set of +Bates Motel, back to Ocean's Ocho and then off to Dubai for her last +ANTI WORLD TOUR 2016 LIVE performance. She managed to avoid exciting talk about her and +Drake Aubrey Graham.

Do y'all think they broke up?
I don't particularly care but I am not convinced of it. Just taking history into account, +Rihanna isn't on social media enough to be single. When she's 'occupied' she tends to disappear. And she surely has disappeared. If it wasn't for paparazzi we would have no idea where she was. Also Leandra Simone, Riri's friend and social media manager, posted something about a 'dinner date'. My suspicion is that going public wasn't her idea and she wanted to get back under the radar with their relationship.

You remember I said once that everyone has a mental illness?
Well I really believe that she suffers from PTSD from that incident that shall remain unnamed.
So I do believe they're low key still together.
Anyway back to her grueling schedule.
So after going to Dubai for her last show, slaying it, she was back in BIM for the 50th Anniversary celebrations. There, she met Prince Harry and brought my ship to life for four five seconds. They did a HIV test in public together...

Speaking of HIV tests, y'all should go get tested. I understand that now you can get a 'to-go' kit and do the test in the comfort of your own home, without anyone's help. Also if you are positive, and you catch it early enough, you can go on medication and live a happy, loving long life. It's not a death sentence anymore. So go and get tested today. And use condoms.
Back to Rihanna's schedule; so after she was done educating us and making us die with feels, she was back in New York on the Oceans' set...On top of that, she released those velvet Puma Creepers that are giving me FOMO (whatever that is) and a new collaboration with +Manolo Blahnik, and accepted the award for Shoe of the Year - the first time a woman has ever gotten that award.

Meanwhile I'm just trying to get through this one novel. I tried doing Nanowrimo but couldn't find the time to write anything apart from my day job. When I watch Rihanna slaying like she does, it inspires me to try harder, do better. I wrote Child of Destiny because of Rihanna's Only Girl in the World then new album then Diamonds World Tour schedule. I was like, we all have the same 24 hours. Look at what she does with hers. I felt like I was drastically under-utilizing my own 24 hours. I still feel that way.
The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
However, so long as I wake up and Rihanna is still trying well then so will I.
My characters though, I think they do better than me when it comes to trying. Take Phil and Lillian for example. They're dead right? But they're still trying. What other possible excuse could there be not to keep at it?