Tuesday, 14 February 2017

Playing Around With Design

As an independent author, it is important for me to keep expenses down. To that end, I gathered my art education around me and designed my own book covers.
Oh sorry, hello.
How are you doing?
Are you as mad as me that Rihanna didn't win any +GRAMMYs? I am upset.
Anti is a masterpiece.
And Beyonce!
Man I don't even like her like that but even I know that Lemonade was some ground breaking shit. For them to give her 'best contemporary urban' or whatever that category is was an insult.
Hell the existence of that category is an insult.
She should have won something more significant. But Album of the Year should have been Anti's.
Anyway, I did not begin this post to rant...I am calm, and I am cool.

I was speaking very calmly about the challenges of being an independent author. And how I design my own covers since I have a background in art. Also I have never really liked any cover that anyone did for me except possibly one done by my brother-in-law. He took my suggestions and synergied the hell out of that bitch. But...copyright issues with one of the pictures means I can't use it.
Anyways...
Oh do you like my new wallpaper?
So today, I had some time in my temporary job (with unlimited internet access) and I decided to play around with some social media posts. It's Valentine's day after all, the day hallmark designated for gift giving on pain of epic sulks. Why not join in the madness?
To that end...

You like?
Good. Go buy it for your boyfriend/girlfriend/self. Click here and lose yourself in some madness. It will help mask the disappointment of unmet expectations.
I also did a more cynical one for those of you, who like me, feel absolutely nothing for today except that it's a great excuse to eat chocolate.

What do you think? It might be too busy or cluttered. However, it's the message that counts and you know Child of Destiny is worth drowning your Valentine's Day sorrows in. Better n' alcohol...and no hangover. Maybe a boner. I've been told I write soft porn.
You know sex is part of life right? I don't see how one can write about life and avoid talking about sex, betrayal or lies.
I also did a cute lil' video to remind you that Between Death and Heaven became In the Shadow of the Styx.

Admit it.
It's cute as fuck right?
And lastly in my own fucked up version of show and tell is an EXCERPT! Yaaaaaaayyyy!
Remember I told you I was writing a gay African post-apocalyptic romance? Here's a sneak peek.

Chapter One: Denial isn’t Just a River in Egypt

They trudged through a particularly muddy portion, shoes dragging in the sludge-like terrain, heads hanging low as the sun shone on their uncovered heads.

“Shit. Water.” Andrew mumbled. He did not have enough energy to articulate himself any clearer than that.

Zawadi stopped and glared resenting him for making her raise her head to answer him, “Yes well…what else is new?”

Andrew clicked his tongue as he shot her a nasty look, “Always so snappy Zawadi. Maybe you need to get laid.”

“I would if I wasn’t travelling with a couple of homosexshuls.”

“One of whom is your brother so show some respect.” Andrew snapped playfully.

“You said it.”

“Okay okay”, Kevin physically pushed himself between the two of them, “enough. We’re all tired and thirsty and energy’s running low. There’s nowhere to stop in sight so we have to keep walking. How about y’all save your energy for putting one foot in front of the other?”

Kevin was way thinner than Andrew who still managed to maintain his muscled athletic frame in spite of the diminished circumstances in which they found themselves. He had the body of the rugby player he’d once been when the world still had rugby teams. Kevin on the other hand was a product of his genetics. His father had been a Scandinavian runner who had come to the Kenyan coast for holiday. There he’d met a young Maasai woman who stole his heart. Kevin was the result. Tall as berserker with the runner’s body of both his mother and father’s people.

Two years later, his mother had Zawadi by a Muslim man she was shacking up with. Kevin’s father was long gone by then nothing but a dog-eared photo for them to remember him by. Zawadi’s father stuck around for a bit longer before he too moved on. One too many rude comments about Kevin’s ‘deadbeat dad’ and him following in his father’s footsteps had their mother fed up to here. She threw him out on Kevin’s fourteenth birthday. Best birthday present he ever got. Zawadi wasn’t too pleased though. And who could blame her? He was her father. And say what you would about him, but he doted on her.

Kevin and Zawadi didn’t talk for three years after he left.

That had been twenty years ago when the world still kind of worked. People had jobs, professions, went on holiday, and played sports. Then one day, an asteroid hit the earth and all hell literally broke loose. And now here they were, trekking in the Sahara desert. Three refugees from the apocalypse trying to make it in this travesty of an afterlife.

Eight days.

That’s all it took to turn the earth into a bleeding husk; a mocking remnant of the planet it used to be.

“I’m tired. Let’s stop here”, Zawadi said not half an hour later.

“No. We gotta keep going. Another day and we’ll be out of water.” Kevin replied.

“So we’ll dig! There’s water under the sand, we just have to siphon it to the surface.” Zawadi said much to Andrew’s amusement.

“Siphon it? Great idea Indiana Jones. How exactly do we go about doing that exactly?”

Zawadi just glared at him, and continued walking head held high.

“That’s what I thought”, Andrew murmured under his breath. But not so far under that Zawadi didn’t hear him. She whirled around ready to fight him but suddenly found herself in the air as Kevin slung her over his shoulder. He pointed back at his boyfriend.

“You. Shut up.” He said and then slapped Zawadi’s ass, “You as well smartass.”

He walked on, Zawadi growling at him to put her down as she ignored him. She was very tired and wouldn’t really have minded the ride but having her stomach pressed against Kevin’s bony shoulder and the gently swaying motion engendered by his stride was making her nauseous.

“Kev, I’m serious. Unless you want me to vomit on your shoes, put me down.” She said.

Kevin immediately lowered her slowly to her feet.

“Okay, walk in front of me.” he said pushing her a bit to get her to start walking. She turned around and stomped away, not sure if she was annoyed or relieved.

Andrew wisely kept his peace.

They walked silently for what felt like forever before Zawadi spotted what looked like a cluster of palm trees in the distance.

“Tell me you see those too!” she exclaimed, turning back to face her brother and Andrew.

Kevin squinted, “Looks like an oasis.” He said.

Zawadi whipped her head round to look at him, “So you see it too?” she said her tone urgent.

Kevin nodded slowly, “Yeah I see it.”

They stopped, staring at the oasis, waiting to see if it was a mirage or not. Then Andrew walked around both of them, at a fast clip, heading for it. They followed reluctantly behind. So thirsty. So ready for something good to happen.

The oasis did not disappear.