And Speaking of Karma...

It's been that week.
You know the one that has you wondering what you did to the gods to deserve this? Was it coz I said Tyrese is an idiot? I'm sorry...
So anyways, first of all, on the personal front, my dog had pups. Now, the thing is, the pregnancy was unauthorized as in fuck knows who the father is...But there it is, bitch got pregnant and we all just had to deal. So she gave birth sometime on Saturday night, to two pups much to the excitement of my son. Personally, I thought that it might be too soon because we just fucking noticed she was pregnant. Anyways, she gave birth to two on Sunday, then one more on Monday.
Freaky? You haven't heard the half of it.
On Monday night, the new one died. Maybe it was a stillbirth I don't know. I left all the midwifing to my son since he was so enthused.

The next day, I find one of the other two outside my kitchen door. Now it's too small to have climbed out of the nest my son made for them in a suitcase so I'm thinking someone carried it out and MURDERERDT it. My suspicions are of course on Becky, it's mother. As far as I know, there are no other dogs that come into the compound and Eagles don't fly at night...do they?
Anyway so there's one puppy left, I don't  have much hope for it now that it officially has The World's Most Negligent Mother. And my son left to visit his pops, so I'm all alone with Stranger Things 2 happening on my verandah.
So I wake up the next day and there's a new pup in the box. I don't know where it came from but Becky's behind is bloody.
Today I look in the box and the new pup hasn't moved. It might be dead. I really don't want to touch it to check. Where's my son when I need him? Damn shared parenting!

And then just for shits and giggles, Pronoun, my publisher sends me a random email on Monday informing me that they are shutting down and that I should take my books and fuck off.
Of course, their email was much more polite but that was the essence of it. Sooo, just when In Search of Paradise has gone live and I'm launching a new promo month, I have to unpublish all my books and shove off somewhere else...

Just to add icing on the cake, two blogs I was targetting to get interviewed on both call me this week like, "Hey! Let's do an interview!"
Yeah okay.
So my books are not available on my links, and not available to buy anywhere and these two people want to do interviews, one of which was gonna be on TV.
Sigh.
Well...had to postpone those, the TV one I don't even know, probably permanently and just wait patiently while my books get republished.
Icing on the cake?
Child of Destiny being blocked because of non-consensual sex.  On the very channels where it was for sale last week! I don't even know man. I'm appealing, it is under review. But just know that you can't find Child of Destiny anywhere at the moment.
Yes. I am crying.
Oh and don't think you've escaped because unlike pronoun, draft2digital is not able to sell books on permafree from Amazon, so if you want to download The Swamp is full of Mystery or Lunchtime Stories free, you have to go elsewhere. Or you can buy them on Amazon for $0.99
How has your week been?

Karma is a Bitch

"How people treat you is their karma. 

How you respond to it, is yours."

Do you agree?
I was thinking about this while I read an article interviewing author Jodi Picoult. She was reflecting on her own racism and telling a few stories of how black Americans seek to make the environment 'comfortable' for their white countrymen. One lady apparently carried a bottle of Voss water on the train to indicate to her fellow travelers that it was okay to sit next to her.

Frankly if it was me and no one wanted to sit next to me because of my very dark skin color, I would take it as a chance to spread myself out, put my bag on the bench next to me, extract a book, make myself comfortable, maybe put my feet up, and read for the rest of the journey. Because you know what? You not wanting to sit next to me is absolutely not my problem. And to make it my problem is to add stress to my life that I don't need.
Then she told this story about a black nurse. Some nazi wannabe had a baby born at the hospital where she works and when he saw the nurse working in the NICU he complained to the hospital admin that he did not want a black nurse touching his baby. Apparently, the hospital just made a note of it in his file...NO BLACK NURSE SHOULD TOUCH SO AND SO'S CHILD.

Question; does that mean that they had to take a look at their rotation to make sure there was always a white nurse on staff? Or were there times when that child was left unattended because there was no white nurse currently working? What about black doctors? Were they also exempt? What if the only pediatrician was a person of color? Would the hospital have hired a new one to cater to the skinhead's kid? Just how far would everyone bend over backward to accommodate this racism? Americans really blow my mind sometimes. Not to say that there is no bias or racism anywhere else on earth, but America is the only place where it is a semi-official policy. Where segregation is still very much publicly tolerated. Like if that happened here, everyone would look at you like you like you just lost your damned mind and go about their business as if you hadn't said anything.
It must be stressful to live in that kind of environment. All the more reason not to make other people's actions your problem. That nurse should look at being banned from touching that future nazi like a break from work.
"Oh, the time I would have spent looking after this child, let's see, I could apply for a Ph.D. program with the money I'm going to get from the discrimination lawsuit imma file. Get out of this bullshit ward and go work for Johns Hopkins or something. The CDC."
Because you can wallow in the unfairness of life or you can take that lemon and make lemonade like nobody's business.

Speaking of lemons, dude! Have you heard +Rihanna rap on the new N.E.R.D song? Straight fire. Is there nothing my president can't do? I am further inspired. Now if I can turn that inspiration to focus, I would be on fire myself. My cousin posted an excerpt from a self-development seminar she was attending stating that focus was about feelings.That hit me right in my solar plexus because I've had difficulty finding focus for my ghostwriting work. I realized it is because I've been bored by it. Ambivalent. And if my feelings don't change, my work will definitely suffer. I think with nostalgia how much I used to enjoy putting pen to paper...okay fingers to keyboard; and I wonder where I lost it. I still have it with my own work, but for other people, not so much. I probably need to get that back; like yesterday.
Knowing the problem is half the solution right?
My problems are not entertaining, are they?

Tyrese's are though. I used to follow him on Instagram long ago, but I stopped because he's an idiot. No seriously, I'm not trying to insult him. He's a legit idiot. An idiot with lots of talent but not much sense. Kind of an idiot savant. But this last week or three he's managed to get himself in all the blogs with his Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson/Baby Mama feud. I kind of felt like, second-hand embarrassment for him because chile...You have to have some sort of chill. Some self-awareness. Otherwise, it gets real painful outchea in these streets. I suspect that secondhand embarrassment is what made the Smiths (Will and Jada) raid their petty cash and send him 5million to stay off the gram. Because seriously...ouch.
I think back to all the franchises Tyrese has been in, and I wonder at him saying he's broke. I remember that he fucked up the joint album he was supposed to do with Ginuwine and Tank because he wanted more money than them. And ended up making no money. Meanwhile, he's broke, or so he says.
Make good decisions people.
Same thing with Mary J. Like thirty years of hits and she's on negative eleven million.
What the fuck?

Meanwhile, my president lost almost all her money when she was just barely out of her teens, worked hard to make it back tenfold, and successfully sued her management to get her original eleven million back. What does she have that they don't? Good management? An education? what? And can they possibly get it? Is it too late?
It's nice to see that other people's lives are a mess right? It makes you think that you're not doing so bad. I rather look at people like Rihanna and feel inspired to do better than look at Tyrese and wonder what went wrong. A man has talent, he has opportunity, what does he do with it?
I'd rather ask that question of myself.
What I am trying to do with it, is edutain y'all with stories.
This month, November is horror month.
Don't question it, just go with it.
Have you read In the Shadow of the Styx yet?

Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws: #Interview with Annamarie Musawale, #Author of In ...

Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws: #Interview with Annamarie Musawale, #Author of In ...: About the Author: Annemarie is a writer of several published stories as well as a ghostwriter of many more. She enjoys writing stories ...

The Power of Words

Hello. How was your weekend? Mine was...eventful. I'm still recovering. I'm sleepy and tired and behind in my work. Also, I haven't been paying any attention to you because I haven't had the energy to spare.
Does that happen to you too?

Sometimes you have just about enough energy to keep breathing and that's it. Ugh, speaking of breathing...I'm not doing that so well either.
Anyways, so I want to talk about words today. Words have power. They can cause revolutions, break hearts, change minds, elevate the spirit, or depress it. Kill. Hurt. Heal.
And yet we use them so carelessly every day, don't we? We fling them about like confetti, letting them land as they will without thought to consequences or impact. We're just talking, just joking, just being honest...

On Sunday my son and I went for dinner at a nearby hotel because we were too lacking in energy to cook. When we got back home, it turned out that my son had left the house keys at the restaurant. I'm sure many of you are familiar with that surge of irritation that happens when someone else is careless with our stuff. What do we tend to do about it?
Berate.
Belittle.
I was reminded of (spoiler alert) Jamie Fraser when Claire got lost on her way from a birthing. Her horse threw her and then disappeared so she was alone in the forest in a major downpour and with no way to get home. Anyways, bish bam boom, Jamie, and Ian found her and took her home. And as he was giving her a bath, he tells her that while he's aware that it wasn't her fault, he still feels like giving her a scolding to relieve his feelings. So Claire tells him to scold her in Gaelic because she'll only understand about half the words anyway. And that's what he does.

Back to my son.
So he says he left the keys, and I feel that surge of irritation. But just as I'm opening my mouth to tell him what a careless buffoon he is I pause. And I ask myself, who would you be helping by shouting at him? The deed is done. You can see by his face that he's expecting the word vomit you were about to pour on him. So instead I just held up the 100 bob I had in my hand and said: "Well go and get it."
I was still irritated so I called him a whole bunch of names in my head. Then I settled down and waited for him to come back. Just by his posture, and the way he moved fast to do anything I asked of him that evening and the next day, I could tell he was...relieved? that he hadn't gotten The Lecture. And it took me back to my own childhood and the endless lectures about every little wrong thing I ever did. And I resolved to always think before I opened my mouth, to anyone. Because what could be relieving feelings to one person might be a lifetime of trauma for somebody else.

Do you think Kevin Spacey thought about the impact of his words when he wrote that struggle apology? I think that he did. I think that he was thinking that if he said he was gay people would hesitate to come for him about Anthony Rapp because they would be scared to be labeled homophobic. And for sure, most news outlets led with the "Kevin Spacey comes out" part of the story and not the "Kevin Spacey molested a 14-year-old boy."
I have been Anthony Rapp and the way he says he feels even now was so familiar, I was like yeah, that is exactly how I would feel if I came face to face with that guy again. You're transported right back to that age, that level of fear, that level of helplessness. I'm glad I haven't seen him again. I can't imagine how it must be to see someone's face on TV every day. But back to the power of words; Kevin knew just what his words would do; he was trying to take the wind out the sails of Anthony's words. I'm glad people didn't let him succeed.

My son told me that three boys in his school were expelled for homosexual behavior. So I asked him "if they were caught having sex with girls would they have been expelled?" Because seriously, people being denied their education over their sexual orientation seems a bit harsh to me. And to think that gay people already have all these problems and Kevin Spacey is adding to them by saying, "Oh by the way, when you're drunk and you're gay sometimes you molest small boys" is just not helping.
So watch your words. Think before you speak and all that jazz.

Speaking of using my words, the National Gay and Lesbian Human rights commission could use your help. Whether you subscribe to the idea that gayness is wrong or right, surely you can see that to suppress someone's human rights because of their perceived immorality is not only hypocritical but just plain wrong. Hopefully reading In Search of Paradise will make you see that people are just people, regardless of who they love. Pre-order period is winding down. Three days and it's awverr. See you on the other side.

The Spoils of War

Book Launch for Charity is winding down. We're on like the last seven days on what has been an epic journey of learning and getting the hang of an aspect of writing every writer hates: marketing. I want to thank you for sticking it out with me bombarding your inbox almost daily with my ramblings and musings.
Thank you for your time.
I've been thinking about writing a companion piece to In Search of Paradise. My ableiest of able beta reader asked me a number of questions while we were reading through the manuscript. She was curious about some things which I took for granted as obvious. Things which maybe only Kenyans might understand. Now I put in footnotes to explain those, but I feel like I might just take the time out and flesh things out. What do you think? Should I do that?

I'm also thinking about what next. In about seven days, In Search of Paradise will launch, the price will rise, we'll know how much was made on pre-order and give that to the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. Hopefully, the book will have gained some momentum and I might turn to something else. I am dithering between finishing Cinderella By Any Other Name which is a forced marriage story, and Child of Destiny - Marcus Devereux in which we finally meet the Child of Destiny. Both of them are somewhere about midway or thereabouts. Which one to finish next? Shall I put a poll on my facebook page? What's the best way forward?

Meanwhile, +Rihanna did a shoot for Vogue Arabia where she channels queen Nefertiti. Which is only right since she has Nefertiti under her boobs (as a tattoo). Anyway, I was looking at one picture in particular and it was giving me SPOILER REDACTED vibes for In Search of Paradise. There is this one scene in which seriously if there was a visual representation, she in that outfit would be it...okay I'll give you a slight hint. It involves Zawadi, but it doesn't.

Either way, +Rihanna is the only true ruler I acknowledge. The - fake - ruler of my country just sent his thugs to beat up people and kill them in a slum neighborhood of Nairobi. I think he wants to provoke chaos and blame it on the other guy. Only, the other guy isn't playing those games. I can't believe I'm saying this but I think I've officially joined the resistance. Is this a worldwide thing now? Is it something in the atmosphere or is the apocalypse truly upon us? Anyways, maybe I should pack a small bag of necessities and keep that ready.
Just in case.
Question: What does one pack for the apocalypse? Apart from toilet paper that is...

Blogger Recognition Award

So I got nominated by another blogger, Oursamyatra for this 'blogger recognition award'. I don't usually get picked for things, so this is a big deal to me just because it makes me feel seen. So yay!
A big thank you to Oursamyatra for picking me; if you have an interest in traveling in India, you should check them out.

What is the Blogger Recognition Award?

The blogger recognition award is given to bloggers, by bloggers to show appreciation for the work and dedication they put into their blogs. Now y'all know I put in work on this blog...So it's nice when somebody says, "Hey, here's lookin' at you kid!"
It's also a great way to keep the love going so do make sure to click on all the links and visit all the blogs mentioned. I also want to take this time to say thank you to my constant readers. Kisses and hugs to all of you.

What is Oursamyatra and who are they?

Samyatra means journey together and this blog chronicles the travels of two Indian students, Debabrati and Aniruddha around Kolkata and the rest of India. They combine photos and descriptions to provide a window into their world. If India is on your list of places to visit, this is a good place to start doing your research.

The Story Behind The Writing-A-Book Diaries

I started this blog when I took my book back from a traditional publisher and decided that from then on, I was going to do my own publishing. Of course, I did research, and one of the most common recommendations was that you can't be an author of note without a blog. I had no idea what to blog about being a very bohemian sort of person and just wanting things to be what they would be. However, with time and learning, I have reached the point where I know what this blog is for and hopefully so do my readers? It's been a trip and hopefully, it's just beginning.

My Advice to New Bloggers

1. Be yourself: I've seen people on the facebook writers' groups asking questions like "should I post such and such a thing or will it make me seem..." Stop trying to be a persona, and just be a person. Not everyone's going to like you, but that's okay. You'll find your tribe.

2. Post on a regularly scheduled non-schedule schedule: Okay I just wanted to say that; it's a quote from Frank Devereux in Supernatural season 7. However, the point is, don't go long periods of time without posting. The more reliable you are as a poster, the faster you will grow your audience.

3. Share, share and then share some more: when I started writing this blog, I would like put whatever heading jumped at me (okay, I still mostly do that) and write my piece and that was it. Whatever will be will be, remember? However, if you want to find your tribe, you have to make it easy to find you. So write a blog heading which gives your reader a clue as to the subject, and share your post everywhere so that you increase your readership.

4. Find out who your audience is: You might think that you're writing to elderly ladies in Scandinavia when it turns out that it's young gay men in Czechia reading your blog. Use bit.ly and google analytics to find out who you're talking to.

My Nominations are:

These are some blogs that I think are worth taking a look at:

Lesley Awino: http://www.jagombaka.wordpress.com/

Jackie Wanjiku: http://www.jack2y.com/

Valentine Kizito: http://kizitovalentine.wordpress.com/

Eva Muturi: http://evamuturi.wordpress.com/

Gloria Mari: https://nairobipedestrian.wordpress.com/

The Kenyan Camper: https://thekenyancamper.com/

Toi Thomas: http://etoithomas.com/

Bethany Perry: https://bperrywrites.com/

Glynis Jolly: https://ascriptedmaze.wordpress.com/

Debdatta Dasgupta Sahay: http://www.ddsreviews.in/p/about-me_27.html

Rules for Accepting this Award

Take the time to thank the blogger who nominated you, write a bit about them and their blog. Also, provide a link to their blog.

• Write a post to show your award.

• Give a brief story how your blog started.

• Give pieces of advice to new bloggers.

• Select 10 to 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to.

• Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them, provide the link to the post you created.

Stereotypically Unique

I never used to appreciate the significance of stereotyping in art until I began to watch Shadowhunters. Every character on there is the antithesis of what they're supposed to be. The gay head of institute, Alec Lightwood is as far from the stereotypical gay man as it is possible to get:

I think that subconsciously, Alec's differentness influenced my rendering of Ben in In Search of Paradise. Ben is the most like non-stereotypical gay guy too. He plays rugby, drinks beer, attends campus, has a typical rugby build. He's the guy all other guys want to be. He's the guy all the girls want. And he's gay. In fact, that whole book tries to throw out what your expectations of certain people are. You'll let me know if I succeeded yeah?
Back to Shadowhunters: Then we have Magnus, a bisexual warlock who knows how to be faithful. Apparently, bisexuality is associated with infidelity.

I have been aware of the debates and the importance of representation, mainly because of twitter. But I never applied it to me. After all, there are a finite number of ways in which female Africans are portrayed on screen; 

The helpless victim of oppression.

Or the exotic princess.

and that one's not even an African...
Or else they're background noise, especially Southern Sudanese people who do add a lot of color to the sea of white, don't they? Otherwise, they're Africans as African-Americans like Edi Gathegi in StartUp and Twilight and the myriad of other shows he's been in. Not that I'm complaining. He knocks it out of the park and I am here for it. I'm glad for his success but his characters are not me.

I sincerely do believe that someone on screen does not have to look like you or come from where you come from for you to relate to them. Still...some of the reason I'm soooo excited about Black Panther is it's almost all-black cast. Not just all black; but black people from everywhere. There's Kenya of course, Zimbabwe, Nigeria via the UK, African Americans, the islands...it's a veritable diaspora. That is exciting to me even though Wakanda is not my life. I also think its the first time an African location (albeit mythical) is portrayed as anything other than suffering and poor. It's the lack of stereotyping that is super exciting. Also Marvel. Also, black people being badass.

I was watching Rough Night the other day and with my new awareness of stereotypes, I realized that EVERYONE in that movie was a stereotype.
There was the pretty, popular blonde one who everyone wants to be friends with, the struggle fat girl who feels so grateful for the pretty one's friendship and is clingy, the black and bourgie one (p.s. has Zoe Isabella Kravitz kind of been typecast as 'your exotic negro'?), the struggle lesbian in flannel who doesn't comb her hair. They weren't even real people; they were just somebody's notion of how a certain cohort (I'm avoiding using stereotype so many times) of people behave and look.
I mean it was a good story, I enjoyed it. But...for once can the fat girl be the confident one? How about the black girl have other black friends? Oh, and I forgot the hippy, also doesn't comb her hair, doesn't stand up for herself when she's being insulted, gets to be the one who gets hurt, dirty blonde unwashed hair...
I mean, do you recognize yourself? Is this you? Or is this what people think you are?
Maybe we need to do away with stereotypes and focus more on characters huh? After all, we're all unique and special, right?

Book Launch for Charity is winding down. Have you got your pre-order yet? The price triples when the book goes live. So whether you're doing it for charity or to get a bargain, get that pre-order in now.