Announcing My Book Launch!

Surprise!

I have a present for you; an #newbook is out and will be available from November 3rd everywhere ebooks are sold. 

Even more exciting? It's only 99 cents!

This book is science fiction/fantasy which I'm told is a topic not many African authors tackle. I'm not even going to give my opinion; once the book is available on amazon I'll just post the link to the preview and y'all can judge for yourselves if it's worth buying.

I think it is.

In honor of the launch of Erase and Rewind Creativity Defined will carry out a promotion and here's what's gonna happen.

• Like my Facebook page
• Sign up for the launch party event
• Click on 'shop now' and buy the book.
• Fill in the form below
• Or leave a review on Facebook or the book site
• Get the chance to win the prize (pics in the form below).
• BONUS: All of my other books will be half price during launch party week!

Now isn't that a great way to begin November?

Here's the form; don't fill it out until AFTER you buy the book.

A Post About Writing A Blog Post

I just completed an assignment and the sense of achievement is heady. It's a book about a fashion blogger who meets a CEO and they fall in lurve. Ghost writing endless stories with more or less the same theme can get boring sometimes and you end up looking for different ways to spice things up even if it's giving people names which have personal meaning to you...for example, I was watching Luke Cage for a good part of the latter writing, so the heroine's father is called Luke. Anyway I won't bore you with my self-stimulating quirks; my point was, I've been away for a while and I was able to come back today because of the surge of energy resulting from satisfactorily finishing a story.

While I've been working, I've also been studying this business called writing. And having the right type of blog seems important for that. The type of blog I'm talking about involves pre-planning, knowing what you're going to write about three months in advance, SEO, content marketing....it's not just writing. It's writing with purpose.
My problem is I write from the heart. It's all spontaneous. Many times I don't even read through the post before publishing.
I have MAJOR hubris.

So as I have been studying the art of writing effective blogs that win you friends and influence people and trying to reconcile it with my more laissez faire style...Doesn't look good does it? How am I ever going to be a serious writer if I can't even get my blog to behave?
Worse.
I like that my blog doesn't behave.

Which reminds me, remember when I told you my dog disappeared? Well she was found.
Yep.
She's back.
Just today actually.
She was a bit frisky, not wanting to be touched and what not when she was brought but it's been twelve hours and she's back to her old self. She houdinied out of her leash (clever dog) and managed to open the back door and come into the house.
I ain't hatin'.
Apparently I like things that don't behave the way they're supposed to.
Now I gotta go update my Thoughts on Supernatural blog as well because damn Daniel....
Buy my books. Here are the links.

Between Death and Heaven
A ghost romance story about surviving the afterlife; Beetlejuice meets Supernatural

Child of Destiny
The only thing that remains undefeated when you pit love, mixed couples, teenagers and magic is the truth.

Into the Bar

Harpreet's story part deus. Part one can be found here.

Jon stepped out of his bar to find a hot Indian chick dithering outside, lookin like she might be lost or searching for something she couldn't name. He took a step toward her, figuring he could help with that. His eyes traveled up and down her body, taking in her petite little bod; flat ass, long legs, perky small breasts...he could work with that.
"Hey babe, what's poppin?" he said to himself before stepping toward her.

They talked, he offered her a blunt and she took it readily. So maybe the naive look was just that - a look. When he invited her into his bar, she came readily taking a seat on the bar stool he indicated. He lit the homemade cigarette, taking a puff before passing it on to her. She reached out for the spliff, examining it like it was some curious new species she hadn't yet heard about.
"Go on, take a hit", Jon encouraged. His eyes dropped to her bosom again. She would make an excellent honey pot. I mean having that Devereux boy in here now and then had proved pretty profitable. Imagine if he could add this little exotic flower to the repertoire. Jon had dollar signs in his eyes just thinkin' about it. And on top of that, he could maybe hit that. I mean not that he was averse to doing it with the Devereux kid - Fuck knew he was prettier than most girls in this town - but he just didn't swing that way. And as far as he knew, neither did Leo. Harpreet's soft delicate voice cut into his reverie.
"I don't know vhat you mean", she said.
"You don't know what....?" Jon asked totally distracted.
"Vhat do you mean by take a hit. And this is a cigarette? I do not smoke", she had that delicate Indian accent going on and Jon could feel his pants getting tight as she handed the spliff back. So maybe she was as innocent as she looked.

Bummer.
"Oh...well, can I offer you a soda then?" he asked.
"Do you have Fanta?"
"Er...Yeah I think I have a crate somewhere. Gimme a minute to find it." Jon was wondering if he should just roofie her drink and see what happened or let it go. His eyes dropped to her soft brown bosom again.
Damn.
He reached down, searching for soda. Ain't nobody came to Jon's bar to have a soft drink but sometimes the underage kids wanted to dilute their alcohol...
The door of the bar burst open, "There you are!", a male teenage voice said, "We been lookin' all over for you."
"I am sorry." Harpreet said and Jon could hear her get to her feet. He straightened up to see who had ruined his potential good time and saw the Devereux boy with his friend. The one who was a clear closet case. Mike or something.

Leo was staring at him, eyes narrowed, "Did he give you anything?" he asked Harpreet. Which kind of surprised Jon. It wasn't like he'd ever tried anything with the boy. Jon was kind of hurt at the suspicion he saw in the kid's eyes. That boy was too old for his age. He needed to calm down.
"No. He is just getting me a Fanta", Harpreet replied.

"Never mind that. We'll get you a Fanta from the corner store if you really want one", Leo said hand curled protectively around Harpreet's arm eyes still on Jon.
"Yeah", his friend said, "Let's get outta here."
"Okay", Harpreet replied agreeably, following the two boys out of the bar with a wave and a smile at Jon. Jon waved back, watching her go with regret.
'She coulda been a contendah' he thought with a sigh, 'Oh well.'

This is an outtake of Between Death and Heaven from the Child of Destiny Series.

East African Friday Feature

Guess what's back? Back again. East African Friday Feature's Back. Tell a friend.

People don't realize the earth is not just theirs. It's like wilful blindness. At least that's what Oran's mother told him when he was old enough to understand.
"Stay away from the man places." she warned.
"They will kill you if they see you", his father added.

But Oran was a pup, brimming chock full of curiosity. He wanted to smell all the plants, pee on every tree and smell every other animal he came upon. As his limbs got longer and stronger he ventured further and further away from his home; the cave where his family gathered in the evening, well hidden and safe from other predators. His mama and papa were apex predators, but they had pups to protect. They took that very seriously.

Oran's brothers and sisters were less adventurous than he was. It was a source of great agitation to his mother and secret pride to his father. He was leader of the pack and Oran was shaping up to be an excellent heir; if he could keep himself out of trouble long enough to achieve adulthood.
Oran was nosing around in the woods one day, following a strange scent when his forehead bumped into something. The something was standing upright clearly, with brown stalks which were thin and straight and also the source of the scent he was following. Oran butted his head against the stalk again seeing if it would move and it made a sound startling Oran so badly he reared backwards, lost his balance and rolled over on his short fat legs. The stalks made another sound, it seemed happy. Delighted. Like Oran did when he yipped because his mother brought a particularly juicy morsel for him and his siblings to share.

Then the stalks were moving! There were two of them, one right next to the other but they did not move in tandem. First one stepped forward, then the other.
Oran had to admit he was a bit afraid. He didn't know what these were! Would they eat him?!?
Then the stalks bent, one lower than the other and suddenly paws appeared in his vision; funny looking ones; not like his and there was a face in front of him, mouth open and teeth on display. It was a scary sight. The thing was much bigger than him.
"Hello. What do we have here puppy? Are you alone?"

The thing was making sounds but Oran couldn't understand them. They didn't sound threatening though, so he unfurled himself and stood on his feet. He was a wolf of the Berach Pack. He would go down fighting if he could not vanquish this enemy. He showed his teeth too, so the enemy would know that he meant business.
"Awww. Are you growling at me? So sweet. I won't hurt you. Promise."
The thing kept on making sounds. And they still didn't sound threatening. It extended one of its paws, like it wanted Oran to scent it! The pup looked up at the thing's face and found that it's teeth weren't showing anymore. Instead it's mouth was spread wide as if it was happy and it had folded it's paw so it's claws were away from Oran. The thing's eyes were staring into Oran's and the pup detected no threat from it. His curiosity got the better of him and he leaned forward to sniff at the paw.

He reared back again, almost losing his balance for a second time. The thing's smell was strong! And definitely alien to the forest. What was this thing? Oran crept forward again, sniffing delicately.
"That's a good boy. See? Not dangerous at all."
The thing was talking in a soothing voice and Oran found he was letting his guard down. He sat on the ground in front of the thing, and it sat too, staring back at Oran.
"Can I take you home?"
The thing was still making sounds. Oran thought it might be trying to communicate. Suddenly he heard a howl from deeper in the woods. He knew that voice; it was his father. It was a warning.
Men.
There were men in the forest; time to get home. Oran stood up and talk off.
"Wait! Pup!"
The thing was shouting behind him, which scared Oran even more; he ran faster disappearing like a ghost into the shadows determined to get home before his father felt it necessary to find him. Before the bad men found him.

The East Africa Friday Feature has been revived; the prompt was "People don't realize that the earth is..." which came about because of the number of trees being cut to make way for the concrete jungle. Participating blogs will be added as they update.
This is my first story I've written from the point of view of an animal. I need critiques. Go crazy.

A Post About Becky; A Post About Life

It's been one of those weeks. You know them? The ones which tell you for sure that God is a woman and this is that week.

First of all...well actually I can't keep track of the order that things happened so I'll start with the one which is foremost in my mind; and that is the disappearance of my dog. I go out to brunch with the sis and her fam right? Well Becky's already outside when I'm leaving so there's no chance to lock her in the house. She follows me to the bus stop. Now usually when she does that, I get back home and she's back. There was that one memorable occasion where she arrived after me. Like at midnight. And dirty as hell. I don't know what happened to her but I do know that a lot of people covet my poor lil pretty Becky. So this time, I come home and she's not back...she hasn't returned since.

Now when there is uncertainties about my babies; the human one or the canine one, I torture myself with imaginings about the myriad of things that could have happened to them. And my stomach twists and the acidity rises. This time though, I mean...it's not like I don't want her back. I do. I really really do. I can't bear to think that she might be er...deceased. It took actual bravery for me to walk to the bus stop the next day just in case I found her body on the side of the road.
She's not there though which means I can realistically revive the kidnapping idea. She's locked up somewhere and can't get away. When she does, she'll come home. Don't think I'm not thinking about if she doesn't though. I have. And even that hasn't managed to break me. I have decided to look on it as a learning experience. And what not to do, or to do, if I have to adopt another dog. And if I do, I'm definitely choosing a huger breed because bitches be loco around here.

Then...
One of my clients tells me they're scaling back on work...actually that might have happened like on Friday or something. Considering they're my main source of income I should really be in diabetic shock right now. But no, I'm taking it as a clearing of space to allow other things to manifest.
What other things you ask?
Oh I don't know. More diverse stories perhaps? A kick in my butt to get me out of my comfort zone? I don't know. Of course I've put feelers out. The fact that nobody's biting yet is a source of disappointment. I can't believe all these guys aren't rushing to collaborate with me. It's enough to make a girl insecure.
This coupled with the fact that I actually had to rewrite a chapter for one of my clients...well really I should be in the fetal position by now.

But I'm not. It's like I have naturally occurring Xanax pumping through my veins. Whatever is happening, I hope it continues; I wish I could control it though. I've been beset by anxiety and tried to will myself into the calm I'm feeling now and it's just never worked. Is it possibly hormonal? Different sleep cycle? I wish I knew.
Anyway, so because I was feeling so in a rut I decided to do something that was completely out of my comfort zone. I joined okay cupid. Yep. The dating website. I had this love scene to write and I felt like I've become so distant from the whole romance aspect of life. What with being a hermit and shit. I feel like I'm getting stale in my writing because of it. So I signed up and then started to browse. Now the peculiar thing about me is I've never once been the aggressor in any relationship I've ever had. I'm pretty much eternally in prey mode. So stepping into the predator role was pretty scary. Add to that, it's been so long since I actually indulged in flirting except to write about other people doing it, that I had no idea if I could even pull it off.

Well I browsed a few pics, couldn't find anyone matching my Leo Devereux level standards of poise, height and beauty so I decided to read profiles instead.
The first guy I chose had a dog in his pic that looked like Becky.
:(
So I messaged him to tell him he had a nice dog. Turned out the dog wasn't his. He was very interested in seeing my pic first thing (my avatar was the RBF Black Mona Lisa that's been circulating on twitter.Which was really boringly predictable and not what I was after. The next guy wanted to argue about what con artists women can be. I'm not averse to arguing. I thrive on it. But I've yet to meet a man who can match up to me. And they get so mad if you win the argument. But I long ago gave up on 'dumbing it down' for the fools in the back so...yeah. Next guy was just after my jokes; and after knowing me for exactly zero minutes he had made enough assumptions about me to be 'surprised' that I knew what the word 'heifer' means. Like...huh? Also, three guys in, no flirting done yet. Predictability levels still at def con five. Number of jokes cracked (not by me) zero. It's a jungle out there.
So anyway, the next guy didn't know who Getafix the druid was; did not read comic books...You notice I didn't say books? I have a son; I know guys don't read books. But comics people? You don't read comics? I cannot.
The last guy was twenty, was telling me what to do in the first sentence, and in the next sentence he was proposing.
I blame your faddas.

So that's  been my week. Make my day and buy, read, and review a book of mine?
Thanks.
All the links are on top of the page.