Four Books, Four Days, Free

Try saying that fast four times.
Yes indeedy, four is the theme of this post.
I love marketing. It's so fun. You come up with creative posts for your social media, and catchy slogans so people will remember to do what you want them to. It's almost like procrastinating except without the guilt. Because you're still working, but it's fun. The returns might be far in the future but one thing I've come to learn is that returns are not the point.
It really is about the journey. I am not even being facetious.
It might be different if I was planning to live on the returns of writing. Maybe one day, but I'm not there yet. I won't get there without your help. So, thank you for reading and downloading and participating and engaging. I do very much appreciate it.

And that does not mean I am not super thrilled by every sale I manage to make. But unlike most people who are discouraged by slow results, I am zen. I am prepared.
That said, go to my author page and at least download the free books - I've gone a year when I've made at least one sale a month, and I mean for that streak to continue and grow. Help me out guys.
So anyway, to create super hype for Marcus Devereux what we're gonna do is help you to read the first four books if you haven't. Now I remember those days when I was too poor to buy books and I came across a good story in a series but it was book five...
Man, the frustration.

So I'm doing this for you guys who genuinely want to read but are financially challenged - the rest of you buy the boxset. It's like...the price of three beers or coffees and you get to enjoy them more than once.
So we're gonna start with In the Shadow of the Styx, which will be free from 1st to 4th April. Four days of free books for four months. In the Shadow of the Styx, The Swamp is Full of Mystery, Child of Destiny and Requiscant In Pace free for the first four days of April, May, June and July respectively.
(I admit, since The Swamp is Full of Mystery is permafree, May might be superfluous but it's the poetic symmetry of it, ya dig?)
Hov and B think that the number four is significant. Seeing their life, I'm gonna assume they are on to something. So I'm basing my marketing strategy on the number four.

Let's see what happens.
Here is an excerpt for your enjoyment.

The Battle Against Ignorance is Neverending

I got in a twitter argument the other day.
Oh, don't look at me like that. You get into social media spats too. Unless you're not on Social Media which yay for you. Stay away. It's a mess.
Anyways.
I got into the spat because of this post.

I love my horrible son who ruined my life pic.twitter.com/RWF4LxwEIf

— qanon gambino (@lib_crusher) March 11, 2019

Now the post was bad enough but some guy replies to it saying that 'most parents' feel this way, they just don't say so. Now I'm not saying what I did was right but sometimes the stupidity on Al Gore's Internet gets to me.
You have a child and then later realize that "oh my, I actually don't want a child." which okay, maybe you can't help that. But then you proceed to tell the child and the public all about it? What is that child supposed to do with that? The one person who is supposed to show you unconditional love, instead views you as their biggest regret.
I mean...come on people. Talk about fucking up your child for life.
I'm not saying you're not allowed to feel that way. Feel however you want - that's between you and God. But if you decided to be the vessel through which this life entered the world, then it is your responsibility to nurture that soul until it can stand on it's own two feet.
Regardless of your feelings.

Fuck your feelings.
Love is a doing action. Hate the kid all you want but you better make sure they ate. You better make sure to remember their birthday, change their nappies, listen to their problems and pay their school fees. There are no days off. You do not get a break and you don't get to be a self-indulgent little millennial and talk about how much you're missing out on traveling to an ashram in India. Nobody cares. Take care of your kid.
Anyway...so I told the guy to please speak for himself when he says 'most parents feel like this' because I just couldn't bear it anymore. I have limited tolerance for stupidity on a normal day and when social media takes too much of my time, that tolerance just drops and drops until I start replying to such posts instead of ignoring them.
Sigh...

For more nuggets on hard core parenting read the stepchild.
I wanted to have a word about fifty people dying in two mosques in New Zealand. We mentally abuse ourselves and cause trauma to our psyches when we read about these stories and their aftermath. The difference with this story is the aftermath though.
There is often a sense of hopelessness sometimes, when we hear about a mass shooting, the inevitable thoughts and prayers, nothing is done, new mass shooting news cycle CNN gives us. If the shooter is white, there is usually an attempt to brand them a mentally ill 'isolated incident' and interview his relatives, so they can tell us what a gentle little lamb he usually is.
But this time, we actually got action taken, empathy given and the focus rightly on the victims of this attack with no attempt made to demonise them or imply that they are actors hired by George Soros.
Dude.
You don't even know.
When I watched CNN - it was Max Foster though, in London - they were talking about ways in which we can change the narrative in order to change mindsets about Muslims in general. and one of the guests said something profound which will get lost in the shuffle. He talked about how in all these terrorist tv shows like Homeland and 24, the terrorist is always a Middle Eastern Muslim. and that permeates people's psyche especially after 9/11. So it would be good if these shows switched it around and showed some episodes featuring white supremacist terrorists. That way ignorant people like Jess Hilarious can stop profiling anyone with a head dress as a terrorist.
That would indeed be something.

I cannot speak to anyone else's experience, but in mine, when I encounter a Muslim gentleman in any capacity, I know I don't have to be on my guard. He won't sexually harass me, or try to harm me in any way. If they're a vendor, I know they're not gonna try to fleece me. Muslims are some of the most honest people I have ever met.
And okay, 9/11 was horrible, but people act like it was the most horrible thing that ever happened. Why? Because it happened to America? There was a reason why it happened to America. Years and years of oppressing others. They do this shit to other people and then act shocked and scandalized if anyone dares to fight back.
Don't get me wrong.
Killing people is just wrong. It's not the solution to any problem. But why is killing Americans a bigger sin than killing other people? Why is the fact that the only motivation White Supremacists have is hatred, while even ISIS are trying to get free from oppression, not highlighted? Let's call a spade a spade. White people have been terrorizing the rest of us for centuries. But when it happens to them, wow.
So so bad. Demonize everyone.
When they do it, it's an 'isolated incident.'
I'm tayad.

Can you tell that the stress is telling on me? We all have PTSD on here, that is if your soul is still intact. Everything is upsetting and ignoring it only makes the fall out worse. So I write about it and then escape into my stories to bring some sunshine into my life, and maybe into yours. I don't know.
Speaking of stories, my next promotion goes like this.
For the first four days of the next four months, you get one book in the child of destiny series free. Of course, the Swamp is Full of Mystery is always free.
We begin on April Fools' Day with In the Shadow of the Styx so mark your calenders. If you've ever wanted to read this story and not pay for it, here's your chance.

It's all in the lead up to the release of Marcus Devereux on October 9th; a book that shatters all the stereotypes on baby thoughts and teenage parenting.
Are you excited?

Unpopular Opinion: Life Edition

What is an unpopular opinion do you think? Personally I tend to view it as the truth you don't want to admit. And we are all so concerned with being popular or 'liked' that we would do anything, including turn your backs on the truth, to stay that way.
My sister would tell me to shut up and talk about how great my books are or something. I probably should do that. Unfortunately, I like living on the edge so here goes.
1. The Israeli government are terrorists.
For years, Israelis and American Jews have labeled any critique of the Israeli government as 'antisemitism'.
A Palestinian teenager gets arrested for 'beating up' heavily armed and armored Israeli soldiers, and we're supposed to believe she was a threat to them. If you propose a different narrative then obvi, you're antisemitic. They throw the specter of being a Nazi in the face of anyone who might try to check their genocide of Palestinians. The victim has become the abuser, but we're not supposed to say anything because they were once victims. I think it's the same argument R. Kelly fans used to defend him.
Nelson Mandela called it. Palestine is the last country officially living under apartheid. And in the same way that England and the West consistently defended the Boers for years until it became unsustainable to do so, they are doing the same for Israel.

2. There is not much difference between the ideologies of Black and White Americans.
America is a land cursed. It was born of blood and death and karma like that doesn't just disappear. It's a sick, sick place full of sick sick people. The opioid epidemic is about people trying to escape reality because it's a horror movie.
Despite the fact that Black America has been persecuted by White America for centuries, they have very much the same philosophy. Both of them view violence as the solution to all problems. This reality hit me hard in the face with the release of Black Panther, when all Americans, black and white, seemed to think that Killmonger's solution was the best.
"Kill everyone who disagrees with you" is the mission statement of America LLC.

3. Colonialism never ended.
Emmanuel Macron was just here in Kenya (I don't know if he's left yet) "making deals" with our own little petty criminal president. The only consolation I feel these days when I think of Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta is that "well, it could be worse...look at Trump."
Anyway, as he continues to sell our country to the highest bidder, I am here musing upon the
"We are doing you a huge favor"
attitude that the West have when they come to make these deals when the truth is that they need us more than we need them. Without their colonies, Europe would be the struggle as fuck. Hell, Africans won the World Cup for France last year. They plunder our resources and sell them back to us as 'finished goods' and worse, they have most Africans believing that it's because we can't do for ourselves what they do for us. They prop up corrupt leaders so that they can continue to have access.
p.s. Guys? Trump is doing to you what Mugabe did to Zimbabwe. You're already on a downward spiral but do you even know?
Our education system sets us up to fail; the proof of this is how much we succeed in other environments. These education systems were set up by colonialists and perpetuated by their corrupt avatars that they keep in office. Watch their 'election observers' insist that everything is legit when a president has blatantly stolen an election. Africa needs to turn their backs on the world, get in a huddle and whisper to each other how to take back our own land.

4. Above average implies that average person is stupid.
When my teachers used to write 'above average' on my report form, I thought it made me special. I didn't know that it implied I had actual brain cells instead of primordial soup swimming about aimlessly in my mind.
Then I grew up.
And I found out how much the assumptions we had as kids about grown-ups were lies. I got to know random people and realized I had to talk slower, repeat myself at least twice and dumb down my language just to be understood. I couldn't follow the reasoning behind the dumbass things I saw people do. I saw people elected as leaders and wondered what could have possessed anyone to vote for such stupid trash?
It goes back to the education systems of course. They do not train people to think. None of them. So you have to be born into a family that does more than the bare minimum in terms of discourse, reading and educating their children if you have a hope of being 'above average'.
Reading is not considered fundamental anymore. Thus begins the death of thinking.

If you're reading this, it's not too late...for you.

Does Your Writing Spark Joy?

Good morning! I'm so energetic today after sleeping for ten hours last night. The night before that, I slept for one hour. I think the resultant spike in endorphins or whatever (a very technical term) has led to awakening of a further 10% of my brain.
It's science.
So I have been getting an awful lot of comments on my new chapter of my Mombasa Raha Malec fanfiction. (If this sentence is gibberish to you, I apologise. If you look at the top of this page, you will see a link to 'fan fiction' which will lead you to my home page where you can scroll down and see a story labeled "Mombasa Raha" which is an Alec Lightwood/Magnus Bane story).

The reason I think I am getting all these comments is because I left a note on my last chapter in the hopes of sparking conversation on the whys and wherefores of leaving kudos, comments and author expectation of the same.
I think maybe because of the age and/or mindset of both fanfic readers, what I got instead of discourse was an avalanche of compliments/reassurances. I can't blame readers for misunderstanding my intentions. I've seen too many posts on all my social media feeds from writers begging for comments on their fics, reassurance that people 'like' their stories...I can't relate.
The reason I even posted the note was because of a tumblr post I read in which writers were complaining that "only" 20% of fanfic readers leave kudos, even less leave comments.
Now for a seasoned indie novel writer this complaint is laughable because we're lucky if we get 1% of readers writing reviews am I right?

However, I also don't blame them for misunderstanding my intentions because most writers don't seem to write because it sparks joy in themselves but seemingly for the attention. I cannot count the number of posts from writers, both indie, traditional and fan fiction, complaining about how much attention their books are not getting.
It's such a sense of entitlement.
I'm not sure where it comes from. Who told y'all that just because you wrote something that people are obligated to read it? Y'all better be grateful for that 20% leaving kudos. Nobody is under contract to leave you even one.

Why do we write?
Personally, when it comes to fan fiction, I began writing for my own entertainment, was vastly surprised when people started reading it. Was even more floored when people started asking for updates, and was flabbergasted by the following I garnered. That was on tumblr and my first fan fic was Chrianna.
It gave me the confidence to know that my writing was good enough to share with the world, but I would have continued writing anyway, whether or not my audience found me because I was and still do write, for me.
I write stories that I enjoy reading. I do not need to be 'reassured' about the epicness of my writing although I do appreciate your appreciation. I know my shit is good. I don't really understand writers who go about slagging their own writing. Is it a play for pity buys?

("Oh no no no, you're writing isn't really horrible. See? I bought your book! And I'm even gonna read it. See, I left you a five star review. Now stop crying please?")
I don't get it. It's not proud or boastful to know that you write well. Each one of us has at least one thing that we're good at in this life. For me, this thing is playing with words and making them sing to me. These are just facts.
So, if you're writing for any other reason than you want to, then stop. Life is too short. Go and find something else that you truly enjoy doing. Maybe like leaving kudos.

But if you truly believe in your writing, then stop the negative self-talk. It serves no purpose apart from making you feel bad about yourself and that is no good for your mental health, or your work ethic.
I slept for one hour the night because I had to finish up an assignment. Trust I would not have been able to do it without the total belief that I was doing what I was supposed to, and doing it well. According to Maya Angelou, that is the very definition of success.
Have a successful day, won't you?

Story Time

Hey guys.
Did you mother tell you stories when she tucked you in at night? Or your dad? Uncle? Guardian? Adult in charge of you? Do you miss it.
I miss telling my son stories at bed time :(
They grow up so fast...*sniff*
Anyway, like any self respecting adult with an empty nest and an active imagination, I am replacing my son with you guys. So I'm gonna tell you a bed time story. Tuck yourselves in and hit play.

Thank You, Next

So Khloe Kardashian is out here posting 'inspirational quotes' about betrayal and being strong in the face of it, Jordyn Woods is out here going to the Red Table for heaven's sake, to 'tell her side'.
Which personally is, I think, an abuse of the Red Table - it's not meant for gossip and fake redemption.
Meanwhile, Tristan Thompson has moved on to the next one.
Khloe by now should be over it. Seriously she went through years of emotional abuse with Lamar Odom, and then she kind of held Tristan hostage, and now she's all wallowing in victimhood.
It's sad.

I mean, first of all, did Tristan even want  her to move to Cleveland? My head canon says they dated for a while, and he maybe used to come home every night, and to Khloe, that's her standard for true love. So she kind of glommed onto him; meanwhile this twenty-six year old was not looking for that kind of commitment.
Before he knew it, he was living with her, and she's talking about 'forever'.
She was.
He never said a word.
Then she was pregnant.
I mean, judging by his patterns with his former baby mamas, this is the point at which Tristan Thompson makes tracks. But you can't just leave a Kardashian, can you? Have you ever seen anyone actually break up with them? They do all the breaking up. Isn't that a little weird?
Anyways.
So Khloe's pregnant and despite the fact that they can't break up, Tristan sticks to his patterns and moves on to the next one(s). TMZ does its thing and catches him. And Khloe does her thing and clings to him like a limpet.

Tristan is now officially in a hostage situation. He's locked into this relationship he probably outgrew several f**ks ago, with a woman and her family who have locked him in but keep him in the doghouse. If you want to know he wasn't the slightest bit remorseful, the fact that he was blocking her family and friends left and right rather than sitting in their judgement is all the clue you need.
Compare him to Kiari Cephas a.k.a Offset who was not only ready to take Cardi's judgement, that of her family but also random people on the inanetz who took it upon themselves to judge him for his actions and project their own hurt and pain onto him - since he was at least remorseful and their significant others were not.
So in front of God and random strangers, Tristan Thompson makes out with Jordyn Woods.
There's no coming back from that is there.
Probably much to his relief.
I don't know why Khloe even bothers with the whole, "How could he?" act.
How could he not? You sold yourself so cheap sister. He probably thinks he can come back at any time should he feel like it.
And the saddest part is, he probably can.

I see people like that and I wonder what it is that makes them not want more for themselves. I want to send them copies of Child of Destiny. Perhaps they can learn from Mya that yeah, mistakes can be made but redemption takes action, and not words.