Poetry Hour

She was born into a world that wasn't her own
She never felt safe
Not even in her own home
Conceived by a child that never grew up
Disregarded by a woman who never knew love
Cast aside without a second glance
Tossed out like pure street trash
Turned away by the one that bore her
Taken advantage of
By the only one who claimed to love her
The only one who had the power to destroy her
He spoiled her
But it came at a price
Her body
For the finer things in life
When she resisted
She saw a side of him that she thought never existed
A demon
Instead of her savior
A dark entity
Instead of her serenity
He ruined her
And made her irrelevant
A victim of her environment
Another statistic fallen by the waste side
An unplanned pregnancy she couldn't afford
An unborn child she was forced to abort
She could be anything she wanted
But no one believed in her
So she chose not to believe in herself
No one ever loved her
So she doesn't know what love is
Never took the time to learn to love herself

A Couple Developments & Random Shit

It's Thursday people! What you doing with your life?

I'll start with the developments and end with the random shit.  Here we go.

I'm currently in the process of rewriting my horror short FEAR, wrote a detailed outline and everything cuz it felt rushed, which would make this the 6th draft but I'm gonna stop until it hit 10. Until i'm completely and utterly confident cuz rewriting is writing. Rewriting is fundamental.
Still learning how to master the horror structure.  I'm sticking to it because this is  the genre I picked.  This is the genre I live for.  I LOVE horror and gore at the same damn time.  Grew up on Tales From The Crypt, Carrie, Psycho and some other scary shit.  I could be Hitchcock's illegitimate black daughter, you don't know.

The deadline for Stage 32's Search For New Blood contest has expired and I'm sad to report I did not have a finished product to submit.  However, that's not gonna stop me from finishing the script.  I feel like every vampire movie or tv show I've seen pales in comparison to my kind of vampires.  I feel like i'm the only one who can introduce the world to my breed of vamps, and I'm more than grateful for the privilege.
The last vamp tv show I watched was Van Helsing, and I couldn't get into it.  Let's forget the fact that they look like extras from The Walking Dead.  Are they vampires or are they zombies? Do they want brains or do they want blood? I can't tell.  Anyway,  it's the zombie apocalypse and the survivors are held up in this hospital, along with the soldiers, the zombie doctor and the main character one of the soldiers (Axel) is sworn to protect.  The main character (Vanessa) is laid up on a operating table, a zombie comes in and bites her neck.  Afterwards, he starts spitting out blood.  She awakens and punches the shit out of him.  Later on, the zombie reverts back to a human and we find out there's something special about her blood.  Her blood is the cure.  So they basically ripped off I Am Legend.
All that aside, I still couldn't get into it.  I didn't care about the storyline or the characters or what happens if the zombies got a hold of Vanessa.  I'm not knocking the show. It gets points for being kind of original.

While we're on the subject, it kinda has that Warm Bodies feel to it.  Horrible movie by the way.  The zombies aren't all bad, all they need is TLC. Like they have a cold and chicken noodle soup is the cure. GTFOH.  You think these lovesick zombies would stand a chance against the Resident Evil Zombies?

Right now I'm at my desk sipping on a big ass mug of tea.  I'm going back to tea since I feel like coffee makes me more irritable.  And the strange thing is, coffee used to have a revers effect on me but now up is down and down is up.  I love coffee, my favorite is Folger's Black Silk, but I find myself cranky all the time when I don't have it.  I don't know.  I can't be the only one.  I still love coffee, i love tea too but it's a different kind of love.  I'm a coffee addict now, itching for her next hit.

Let's talk about these telemarketers, OMG they blowing up my cell, blowing up my home phone.  I'm like lee me lone(leave me alone).  I ain't humoring you.  If I don't recognize your number or got it in my memory bank, I ain't picking up the phone.  I hope you stay broke. Cuz ya'll work on commission.




Until the next time...........

Don't You Just Love Updates Part 2

Happy Tuesday beautiful people! Hope you started your day off right.  I sho nuff did.  You know they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Steel cut oatmeal with blueberries and..turkey sausage on the side.

Gotta get rid of this gut I'm sporting.  I keep cheating but I don 't stop trying.   Back at week 1.

A lot has changed in a month's time...well maybe not a lot.  But a significant amount where I feel like I need to update y'all on some shit.

Regarding Black Lives Matter, still not giving up on that..just putting it to the side for a minute.
In other news, a producer from Stage 32 hit me up on Facebook saying he was looking for a short film to produce.  He liked the logline of my horror short on my site.  FEAR was reborn.  After more than a couple rewrites and emails back to back, I finally completed the short and now I'm waiting for feedback.  If all goes how it supposed to go, I will see FEAR in development.
Now I before I looked him up, I thought he was some random..and being the suspicious person I am, I asked questions and did my homework and IMDBed him.  He's legit so...I'm all for making magic when magic happens...or something to that accord. (I'm not good with words).

I've also been offered a proofreading gig.  Let be clear, I hate proofreading.  I applaud the people who can actually without killing themselves.  I commend the people who actually love it. I don't see how you can love it..but to each their own.
I did it once. I can't, for the life of me, do it again..but money is a great incentive.  That's all I gotta say about that.
I'm currently writing a vampire horror script for Stage 32's Search For New Blood Contest, and when I say horror I mean horror.  None of them watered down or lovesick vamps, REAL vampires.  Savage beasts.
I grew up on The Lost Boys and Fright Night.  I want it to take it to the next level,.
I just need more time on this deadline.  Pray For me.

Last but definitely not least, Blood Is Thicker Than Water.  The pilot is still going strong.  Still on Act three.
I didn't do an outline before I began.  I LOVE the purpose of an outline but I rarely do them.  I like to dive right in and what happens is, it takes me about 5 or 10 minutes to come up with something new to write (roughly).  But that's my process for now.  I plan to outline in the future, if my brain will allow it.
I gotta say i'm loving my 40's! So much better than my 30's.  And I only have GOD to thank for that.  For giving me this amazing gift and all HE's done for me.  I'm blessed.

I want to thank you  for reading.  Thank you for visiting, and thank you for sharing.  Live, Laugh, Be happy.  Love more and hate less.  Blessings xo

Progress Is Progress. Even Progress

It's Thursday...meaning one less day til Friday.  But for a boss it's just another day.  Hope y'all are well and when i say ya'll I mean my followers, friends, family, lurkers, fans, admirers and haters.

When I last checked in, I was informing ya'll of the latest with Black Lives Matter.   The short is actually finished am I will be hosting my very first table read...to see how everything flows and if it doesn't flow, i'll see how i can make it flow.  I'm really looking forward to it.

Next on the agenda will be shooting it. Getting a cast and film crew together.  

After that, getting the film into Stage 32's Short Film Contest......and winning that shit.

My pilot, Blood Is Thicker Than Water(formerly named Next Of Kin) is officially on Act Three!

 Two more acts to go, considering it is an hour long.   This pilot is different from book one but i plan on taking parts from book one and implementing them in this project but i have to choose wisely because this pilot is different from what I started with it....good different.  I'd say 40%  from book one and 60% will be some awesome shit I'll create.

I just mentioned book one like there's a book two and book three, like it's not sticking out like a sore thumb right now on Amazon and iBooks.

More to come.....

It's A Marathon Not A Sprint

Happy Thursday people!  Hope ya'll are off to a great start x
Do what you love and love what you do..and if you happen to get paid in the process it's all for the better.

I'm finishing up the third draft of my short,  Black Lives Matter (RIP to LOU, changed the title cause it fits in with the theme of the movie. Corrrrrrrrrdinate!) , and plan on getting a film crew so we can shoot it next month.  So we can get this baby to the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and..win! Of course win, I mean what other alternative would there be?  All joking aside, I'm hella HELLA excited.
I'm sure there will backlash because of the issue it tackles but I'm sure there was some backlash for Free State Of Jones but that didn't stop Matthew Mcconaughey or the director from taking care of business and doing what they wanted to do.
I'm sure there were a plethora of movies that are involved as well.  But it's a small thing to a giant.  I'm not being full of myself, i'm just keeping it a 1000% real.    Love me or hate me.

I'll be on the lookout for local talent..

On the pilot writing front, NEXT OF KIN is still going strong.  I'm getting closer to finishing it.  Thank you Jesus!  I'm easily distracted and need to put my tablet down from time to time.  I listen to a lot of August Alsina when I write which helps me to stop overthinking...but then it's not an exact science.

Regarding BLOOD OF SECRETS, i'm still undecided.  I have two ideas for two separate stories, different beginnings but the middle and the end are the same.  And you know what they say about writing the same shit, soooooooooooo...i don't know.  If it's meant to be, it'll be.  If not, you'll see my work on the screen instead of in bookstores.

Change

Happy Monday people!  It's the first day of the week.............

Hope you had a good weekend x A lot of disheartening shit going on the in the world.  Cops killing innocent people based on the color of their skin.  I'm not saying all cops are the same.  There are some good cops out there, men/women that will put their life on the line for anyone, regardless of the color.  But the majority needs to be stopped, needs to be reprimanded.  My heart is still heavy over the violent slaughter of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, not to mention (WE MUST NOT FORGET) Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Rekiyah Boyd.   I pray for their families as well as the families of the officers who were killed in Dallas.   They didn't deserve that.  NO ONE deserves that.  Violence is not the answer.  Violence only begets violence.  It's so easy to hate but it's more powerful to love.  In order to effect change we must use our brains instead of our fists.  In order to effect change, we must lift our voices and do something about it, make the world safe for our kids to live in.  In order to effect change, we must band together.  In order to effect change, we must be that change.



When I first heard about Alton Sterling, I just turned 40.. so you can imagine how difficult it was to celebrate this milestone in this life, knowing that the world is in the shape it's in.   My thoughts of Alton and his family overpowered everything else.  I spent my birthday with my mother and Maker's Mark (I had to get my drink on regardless)  I had plans of going to Vegas for my birthday.  A milestone birthday is huge and I wanted a huge celebration, but due to lack of funds and the way my money's set up, it wouldn't be possible.
It was pretty ok as birthdays go.  Had a cake, my mom cooked one of my favorite meals and a bottle of Maker's....Mediocre.  I have a laundry list of mediocre birthdays and didn't want to add this milestone to the list, but it's too late for that.   Still not giving on Vegas though.



Some news on the writing front.........I just finished the first draft of my short, LOU.  Now the real magic can begin aka the rewriting process.   Also an update on the pilot, I have Act Two down.  Three more acts to go.  I can't lose this momentum i got right now.  Gotta keep building
                    WE gotta keep building.

Getting That Old Feeling Back

Happy Friday people!  Hope you are blessed and stay loving what you do and doing what you love.

Speaking of, I'm actually writing another book, which is crazy because I said i wouldn't write another book.....welllllllllllll i got that old feeling back and falling back in love with prose writing again.  I'm really feeling screenwriting as well (I'm all over the place right now) .  For those who have enjoyed my first volume of the Next Of Kin series, THERE WILL BE A BOOK TWO.  Also a tv pilot in the works with the same name but it will be an alternate version to the book.    In the book, Alex/Henry's mother dies while giving birth to him, his father attempts to take his life but is stopped by a dirty cop who kills him and raises the baby as his own.  In the pilot, Alex/Liam is ten years old, kills both his parents and gets sent to an asylum until he's seventeen.

Screenwriter, novelist, poet.  I'm a writer damnit! No labels.  Period point blank.  Point blank period.

I'll post excerpts from the book and the pilot as soon as I get rid of the shitty first draft.  Not a big fan of the shitty first draft but there's something to be said for making it as shitty as possible...there's nowhere to go but up.

Pop The Cherry

Happy Friday ya'll!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is officially Friday The 13th

Which means there will be a Halloween marathon on for the rest of my horror fanatics.
If you are a suspicious person (and I'm not) try not to walk under any ladders or run up on any black cats, or have the black cats run up on you.

The title of this post has absolutely nothing to do with the topics.  I just find it so ridiculous and people have called me ridiculous so it fits.

I woke up at 8 o'clock in the morning, grateful and blessed to see another day.  Still tryna get me myself and I back on schedule but it hasn't happened yet..but I'm not giving up.  Cuz when you find something you like you can't go back to bullshit.
Life is not promised.   Everyday we wake up, do what we love, spend time with the people we love is a blessing.  Something we must cherish and not take for granted.


Topic #2
I recently lost three pounds due to my vegan-esque diet (no bread, pasta, beef, pork, rice, potatoes unless baked sweet potatoes every other day, no dairy, no eggs unless they're white, no flour, no sugar, no salt only Mrs. Dash, no corn, no peas, no cabbage, only four baby carrots a day, only raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries, no bacon unless turkey bacon or turkey sausage, no oatmeal unless steel cut, no meat except fish and has to be baked, chicken or turkey)
I plan to stick to this until I reach my goal weight...180
I'm not gonna say I haven't cheated when I have.  When I was babysitting my niece and nephew, of course they weren't gonna eat what me and my mother were eating so we got some extra food and fired up the grill.  Hamburgers and hot dogs.  Calling my name!  I ate a hot dog and later on a bowl of ice cream.    I guess that makes me weak.  We all fall down but we get back up.  Man, Donnie McClurkin's song is in my head right now.

Topic #3
Regarding my pilot, the last post I made I was fifteen pages in.  There have been some changes since then.   I haven't felt like doing anything, let alone writing until recently.  I hadn't written an outline before I started and was stumped.  I would sit in the chair, laptop on my lap and stare at the screen.  Writer's block, overthinking or too much in my own head...call it whatever you will.  It had got so bad that literally i felt like crying.  I wanted to write so bad but instead of everything coming up roses, everything was coming up crap.  I couldn't even make crepe'.

Things are looking up for me though.  I've had a creative breakthrough.  I'm unblocked.  Ideas are pouring in.  Loving where the story and the characters take me.  I plan on riding this mother^^^^a out til the wheels fall off.  Also I'm changing the setting, bringing the beginning into the new millennium instead of 1963, which would make it inspired by my novella.  Have someone in mind to play the dirty cop but it's too soon to tell.   Finished 6 pages yesterday, after starting from the beginning and getting my breakthrough.  I'm still fifteen pages in...but now I can see over the horizon.
It's gonna be a dark and twisted beautiful journey.

Don't Just Talk About It, Be About It

I'm back for another round.    Today is officially Wednesday

Hey ya'll!  How's it going?  

I've been busy.  Busy writing, networking, hanging with my family from LA.  I love them and everything (we had a blast! but I'm so glad they're gone so I can get some rest.  Every time they leave, I'm tired.  But there's a different level of tiredness every time)

Side note: I'm not too tired to jump start my career and get this money.

Aside from working on LOU, i'm working on a dark thriller TV series (I'm fifteen pages in as we speak)

It's based on my novella and the ideas I have for a prequel and the sequel, which means I've decided not to complete my novel series (that shit would be redundant as hell)  After weighing the pros and cons of a feature film vs Pilot, TV pilot is more my speed, considering the characters I've created an how I'm not remotely done with The Alex/Henry character (my beloved creation) and the longevity of it.

The Teaser:   A dark man's past collides with his future.

The beginning of the pilot is set in 1963.   We see his story and what transpired to make him the monster he becomes later on.   

As of now anything that i haven't put in FD is still up in the air.  But i'm hella excited about where it goes, where it takes me, where it leads.  

If it weren't for the jerk that broke my heart and showed me the stranger within him, this Alex/Henry character wouldn't have been born.....so again I thank him only for that.

I have him in mind to play the character he inspired once this series is off the ground and on a cable network, but I'm not holding my breath.

Not only have I talked about my business, I'm about my business..

Don't believe me just watch.

LOU

Happy Friday everyone!

Hope ya'll are well and staying blessed.


I have not posted or wanted to post anything on here lately..which is why I haven't been posting..until today.

We all know the drill.  Same shit.  Different day.

But I have something new to share with my readers, my followers, my fans and to the people who are reading this.

I'm writing a short film under the advisement of my director friend who will co-produce it and get it to The Sundance Film Festival.  The short is called LOU (i'm only two pages in so far so the title is indeed not set in stone) about a woman who is diagnosed with full blown AIDS and finds out she contracted the virus from her husband's secret lover,

It's very deep.  Very personal.  And very foreign to me.

But why just limit myself to writing what I know?  It's the challenges in life that make us great.  And i'm striving for greatness with this piece.

When I was presented with this opportunity to write a short, I was all over the place with ideas (well kinda) until God planted this seed in my head about awareness, not just with AIDS but the choices we make and how they can affect our lives.

I'm sure it's a story that's been told before, but it's her own unique story.

After the script is written and polished, that's when the real fun begins.

Dilemma

You ever feel like your heart is pulling you in two different directions?

It's happening to me today.  The only time it happened was 2, 3 years ago.

Thought i was over this, seriously.

Picture me, working on Blood Of Secrets (I had 15 pages so far and went up to another) the words are flowing so far.  I'm feeling good about it.  Then BAM! i run out of words and now everything i type is crap...i don't want to do it anymore, i mean i want to write the script, which i plan to after the book comes out but I don't even want to write the book.  What kind of shit is that??  I love all forms of writing even though i feel screenwriting comes more natural to me than novel writing.   The feedback I got from the people at Stage 32 told me my story structure was off but nothing about the story within itself.

Is God trying to tell me something?  Is this the end for me as an author?  Or am i just bullshitting?

Monday Motivation

Yep yep!

Happy Monday ya'll!

I'm FINALLY over my cold.  I had a cold that i caught from my niece (nothing but cold medicine and chicken noodle soup for five days straight, and I had the nightime NOT the daytime so you know once that' medicine hit me

Back to business.  Back to me.  Back to life.  Back to reality.

There's nothing new to report.  I'm finishing up my 8th draft and still querying by the way.  Still no response.  It's a waiting game unfortunately...just learning to be patient and cold call when i need tto.

Brainstorming the third installment of the NEXT OF KIN series, BLOOD LUST

Stay tuned xo

Hard Out Here For A Pimp

Happy Tuesday folks!  Let's get it!!

Where did I leave off?  Rhetorical question.

Talking about the sequel to my dark thriller series, BLOOD OF SECRETS, and how I'm progressing with my novel turned script, BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER, networking on Stage 32, querying and all that good stuff.
I'm still querying agents as well as managers and producers via email and snail mail.  I haven't heard from anyone yet but I'm hopeful.  Just send off five letters today.  One from Code Black Films, 7 Bucks Entertainment,  Aspire Entertainment, Heroes and Villains Entertainment and The Cartel.

In the midst of all this, I switched screenwriting software.  I don't know why I put FD (Final Draft) on my computer when i'm comfortable with MMSW(Movie Magic Screenwriter)
The only reason I put FD on there in the first place was because my director friend suggested it so we could try out that collabowriter, which they don't even have anymore.  I only had access to the new version.   Well anyway, it's MMSW from here on out.

Submitting my script to Amazon Studios would be my last resort.  Or if I see another movie with Amazon Studios attached, I'll consider that a sign from God.

Did i forget to mention I have a director attached to my project?
We met on Myspace some odd years ago when it was still cool.  She was looking for writers to be a part of her Independent Film Company, Got Next Films, in one of her writing groups.  She put up a freestyle challenge, where she posted a few original scenes and each one of us had to add to it.   She liked what I posted and called me the next day.


To make a long story short, we connected and became good friends.  Good to know Myspace was good for something.  Joke.

It goes to show, you don't know who you'll meet in this virtual universe.


For your listening pleasure It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp

Bring It Back

Happy Friday ya'll!

Anyway, i finished my seventh draft.  Now FINALLY i can finish working on Blood Of Secrets (as I've said before and I will again, I suck at multitasking.  My multitasking skills are at zero.  I'm a good multitasker when it comes to other things but when it comes to my craft I can't seem to do it, it's so weird)

When I left Blood Of Secrets (the sequel to Blood Is Thicker Than Water)  William was arrested for the attempted murder of his son, after hearing his wife died in the delivery room he didn't want to be a father anymore and blamed Henry (his son) for her death and convinced himself he had to get rid of him.

After the cop (Frank) booked him and threw him in a holding cell, he wrote a phony police report charging William with murder so he could steal his son and raise him as his own.

Frank leaves the department while planning on what to tell his wife without raising suspicion.  

It's A Process

So here I am, on my seventh draft... 105 pages down and 16 more to go.  Add all that up it comes to 121, which is too long according to most people.  The industry standard is 120 but correct me if I'm wrong when I say it's not written in stone.
It's not one of the ten commandments Moses read to the Israelites or anything but I do think more than 135 pages is too much.  Just find your happy medium.

I will post my revised copy as soon as it's done.


What else is there to talk about?

I joined Stage 32 last year.  For those of you who haven't heard, it's a premiere social networking site for Film, Television and Theater creatives (i sound like an ad).  In my own words it's for industry professionals and people want to break into the industry.  It's keep track on of your participation (karma points) Mine is 39, which is the prolly the lowest.  I'm working on being more vocal and networking and putting myself out there ( all that good stuff)

50 % networking and 50 % honing your craft.

.......that's it.


Stay Tuned X

Don't You Just Love Updates

Good morning ya'll!

I'm on the sixth draft of my screenplay and recently I got some feedback after posting it on Stag 32.  I have to say that most of the feedback was accurate.  However, some of it was like

it gave me the impression he didn't read it in its entirety.

I'm willing to do whatever it takes and i appreciate his notes, even though he didn't red the whole thing.  

Goodbye to the sixth draft and hello to the seventh. 

Whatever it takes. I can't stress that enough.  

If you are born to do something, you do it regardless of how many drafts you have to do.  Regardless if how much work you have to put in or how many rewrites you gotta do.  WE do it because we can't do anything else.

Bam! That's my philosophy 

Until the next time...

Back To Business

Today I will be working on book two and querying agents for my script

Whoever said women are great multitaskers, didn't mean me.  I suck at it but since I'm determined imma do it one mo' gain

I have a director attached to this project.  I just need an agent (not as easy as it sounds) to give me the green light (I'm ready to go right nowwwwww lol how can you not hear that song and spontaneously harmonize)  I will be querying them via snail mail.  I express myself better creatively than I can verbally.  I will work on being more verbal but I'm better on paper right now  (gotta play to my strengths ya know?

   Stay tuned :)

Snowing in Kentucky

I'm 39 years old, knocking on 40 and snow on the ground still makes me smile.  There's something beautiful about it.

What can I say? I'm a big kid at heart.  That prolly will never change no matter how MATURE I get.  I know I'm not alone though.

I was tempted to make snow angels but the way my gloves are set up....


                           

Audiobook mission

To be honest this is in my "maybe" pile.   I created an ACX account last year and decided to turn my book audible but it wasn't that simple ( at least for me), there was one major thing that factored in my decision to put it on the back burner.

For anyone following my blog/checking my blog regularly, i leave in your hands (my readers/fans/friends)








If you enjoyed/are enjoying the snippets and want more, go to the site and like them.  If I get 1000 likes I will raise money to complete this project