Isis: Samurai Goddess Now Available in Paperback and e-readers

  

Samurai! When Isis stops an assassination attempt in the sauna of a gym she gets up caught up in a mystery involving corporate espionage, a high-tech device, and a trio of female assassins skilled in the martial arts. Can the goddess next door solve the case?

The SJS DIRECT 2017 Catalog launches this February with Isis: Samurai Goddess. Featuring a MIND SHATTERING cover by Hero Business artist Bill Walko, this action packed martial arts adventure features the goddess next door taking on Kung-fu killers. If you love oldschool Bruce Lee Karate movies, and action movies like Kill Bill, you’re gonna love Isis: Samurai Goddess! 

Get Isis: Samurai Goddess in Paperback & e-readers today! 

Samurai Goddess Ad February

Shawn Reviews the CW’s Riverdale

There’s been a lot of buzz about CW’s Riverdale for the past year. And I can see why everyone is so enthusiastic about this show. This adaptation of the world of Archie presents a darker, more dramatic take on the iconic comic book teens but stays true to the spirit of the characters. In some ways it’s just like Archie comic has come to life for the 21^st Century.

The story of Riverdale does a great job of introducing the characters of the Archiverse onscreen and telling their stories. Everything starts with the mystery of the death of Jason Blossom. And in that death we see a reason for Cheryl’s erratic behavior in the comics. Then we see girl next door Betty hanging out with her gay best friend Kevin Keller who is pining for Archie and looking to make a friendship into a romance. And Veronica Lodge moving in. She sees him at Pop Tate’s when she’s hanging out with Archie…and he sees Veronica. 

We see Archie coming back from a summer job with his dad and getting an interest in music. So we know the Archies are coming. And football. Along with Betty and Veronica trying out for cheerleaders. Betty’s mom has an issue with Betty being a cheerleader. And a lot of other things.  The façade of Wholesome Betty’s family seems to hide very dysfunctional reality and that’s going to be an interesting story to see explored.

And Big Moose is on the Down Low. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  Because it does give us a reason for his angry outbursts with Reggie and how he overcompensates by being so overprotective in his relationship with Midge.

And Jughead being kind of an enigma is really cool. I like how he narrates the story and in some ways is like a ghost. Is he a storyteller? Or a Ghost MGTOW?

There’s a lot to like about Riverdale. It’s not a faithful adaptation of the lighthearted humorous world of oldschool Archie Comics characters like Archie’s Weird mysteries or The New Archies. And while it doesn’t stay true to the letter of Archie Comics, it stays true to the spirit of them. In some ways it’s like a real world version of Archie, a bit darker, and a bit more intense. If Tim Burton made an Archie show I think it’d be Riverdale.

The production cinematography is beautiful and the acting is strong on Riverdale. Design wise, everyone looks like an Archie character come to life. The writing is tight and the characterizations are on point. Riverdale digs deep into the Archie mythos. I loved seeing the sign referencing PEP, the comic where Archie first appeared, hearing Veronica calling Archie Archiekins, and seeing Archie’s classic 1950s Bow tie at the dance. I really loved the mention of Betty’s sister Polly and the hotel called the Pembrooke, referencing the private academy Jason and Cheryl used to go to in the comics. Presenting that obscure fact shows the writers really studied the source material! 

I also like the fact that Archie is NOT A SIMP. This version of Archie seems to have a backbone and testicles, and seems determined to make his own way. He doesn’t want to be stuck in a dead-end life in a dead-end town called Riverdale. He’s working on becoming his own man and standing on his own two feet. In between football and music I think he’s going to learn some hard lessons about becoming a man. I love the focus on Archie establishing his masculine identity and his relationship with his father, this is definitely a step in the right direction for the character.

While I enjoyed Riverdale there are some things I don’t like about this adaptation. And the shoehorned diversity is one of them. Pop Tate and Josie and the Pussy Cats are Black. As I see it, that’s kind of a Loss for diversity. I really can’t stand this passive-aggressive diversity SJW crap, especially when there are already Black characters available in the Archiverse who are ready to use in this show. Instead of shoehorning diversity in where it doesn’t belong by making Josie and Pop Black, give me Chuck Clayton and Nancy and give them interesting stories.

I’m also not a fan of fact that Archie was tappin’ Miss Grundy’s MILF teacher ass. I know Archie Andrews got around, but this is kind of sleazy. I know it’ll relate to the hard lessons Archie is gonna learn about being a man, but turning sweet old Miss Grundy into a pedophile is just reaching into the sewer.  

I also don’t like idea of Archie’s dad and Veronica’s mom being divorcees. Yeah, it adds grit to the wholesome world of Archie, but I’d like to see functional two-parent families presented on an Archie show. It’s kind of a hallmark of Archie Comics and I’d like to think it’d work well on Riverdale.

Riverdale is like a darker version of an Archie comic come to life. The show is true to the spirit of the comics but has a special energy all its own. In some ways it reminds me of Marvel Studios films and how they adapt their comics to film. The producers have done an amazing job of adapting Archie Comics to the screen; I’m eager to see more of this show. Riverdale is an intriguing town, I’ll hang around town for a season.

The 2017 White Women’s Farce on Washington

On Saturday January 21, 2017 women had a series of marches across the country and the world to protest president Donald Trump in the name of equality.

For all the hoopla it was just Feminists showing how full of shit they are. And how their words contradict the actions of most American women.

What most people need to understand is that 53% of White women and close to 30% of Hispanic Women voted for Trump. In fact, if it weren’t for those majorities of women voting, Donald Trump would have never won the election.

Most of these women protesting on Saturday said they were marching for equality. However, that’s a lie. When you look at the poll numbers most White and Hispanic women didn’t want equality. In fact, most American women don’t want equality.

The truth is Most White women and American women of color are some of the most privileged people in the world. American Men elevate them to a higher position in society above them. And from that privileged position they get a whole host of benefits they wouldn’t get in other parts of the world.

The truth is Women weren’t marching for equal rights for women. They were marching to protect Gynocentrism.

What is Gynocentrism? Gynocentrism is the social, political and economic system created by men to give women benefits and privileges above men. It’s the reason why American women are given preferential treatment above men in society, and why American women are given a pass for all the of irresponsible, reckless and egregious behaviors they couldn’t get away with in other parts of the world. 

When feminist say that President Trump is against equality, that’s a smokescreen. What they’re afraid of his administration doing is dismantling Gynocentrism.

And what many Women, especially feminists fear that if the Gynocentric system is dismantled men will start taking away many of the privileges they’ve been granted.

Most women know there’s been a rumblings of Male revolt for the last couple of years due to oppressive gynocentric policies established by Democrats like Yes means Yes, excessive child support, child custody, and other laws that oppress the rights of men to favor women. Because of these policies in America, Canada, Australia and Europe, Men’s movements like MGTOW, Men’s Rights, and MRA have been building steam and growing in popularity.

Many women who didn’t subscribe to Feminism feared that the election of Hilary Clinton as the first woman President would have led to a male revolt in America similar to one going on in Japan right now. That social revolt by the sons of Japanese men who watched their fathers get emasculated by their mothers from the 1950s to the 1990s led to men changing their social interactions with the women of their generation. And thanks to that revolt, birth and marriage rates have declined in Japan and the economy has flatlined in a two-decade long recession.

 With all the numerous pressures applied to American men by oppressive gynocentric policies, many American women who didn’t subscribe to feminism feared the election of Hilary Clinton as President would have been the straw to break the camel’s back with frustrated American men. At this point American men would have felt so emasculated they would have withdrawn their economic resources from the gynocentric state of America leaving American women to fend for themselves in a society that would have become truly equal.

White and Hispanic Women understanding that the gynocentric system was never truly equal sought to protect the institutions that provided them with a privileged position in society and an unequal supply of economic resources. Realizing that they get most of their financial resources from men, they voted for Donald Trump to protect their economic, social and political interests.

Most White, Hispanic and Asian women understand get their economic resources from men. Many of the businesses women work at are owned and operated by men. Most of the homes married women live in are run by men. Much of the spousal and child support women benefit from comes from the income of men. And many of the government services and social programs women benefit from are run and controlled by men. If those men revolted and stopped participating in the American economic system like MGTOWS do right now on a nationwide scale, those women would feel the impact almost immediately as they’d be forced to carry their own weight in an economic system that truly became equal.

And because those women would be ill equipped to carry that load American society would crash. So they voted for Trump to keep things going in their favor.

Many feminists are terrified of a Trump Presidency. Not because he’s so-called sexist, but because they fear that his administration will dismantle the Gynocentric system that has benefited them since Woodrow Wilson gave them the right to vote in 1912. However, that’s not going to happen. It’s doubtful that Donald Trump will have the political power dismantle Gynocentrism in America. In order to do that, he’d have to literally repeal the Women’s right to vote.

And we know that’s not going to happen.

Is Donald Trump’s administration going to take away Women’s rights like feminists fear? Doubtful. With a large majority of Women voting for him he is obligated to support them and their political platform. And thanks to that obligation he’s going to continue supporting the Gynocentric system that put him in office. So women will continue to receive benefits from the Gynocentric gravy train throughout his presidency.

However, with the election of Donald Trump as President, more men in America now have the motivation to start pulling back their social privileges to women like the men of the MGTOW movement have been doing for years. Passively revisiting the Gynocentric system in Western countries by changing their social interactions with women. And those small changes men have been making as they go their own way in their lives have women terrified.

Regardless of who is President, change is coming to male/female relations. And many women know things are no longer going to benefit them. Men aren’t going to be as free about giving things to women. And all those women who are used to a privileged lifestyle of free dinners, free drinks, and easy access to do-nothing jobs are scared to death about the fact that they might have to actually pull their own weight in an truly equal society.

What’s sad is American Women have said they’ve wanted equal rights for over a century. And when they had a chance to elect a Woman president to make things truly equal, they voted for the man they called sexist to protect their access to all the economic resources they got from men. It’s clear from all the feminists marching in the streets in the Farce on Washington that they want the equal right to protest, but don’t want to take the equal responsibility as citizens of the United States of America. 

E’steem: Little Girl Lost Sample Chapter

The second book in the SJS DIRECT 2017 catalog is E’steem: Little Girl Lost. In this E’steem series adventure, The Devilish Diva helps a lost little girl in Times Square find her way home.

E’steem: Little Girl Lost is a story inspired by a picture I saw of some DC Comics cosplayers talking to a child. And after I saw that picture, I wanted to do an oldschool superhero story about the obstacles a hero faces in their quest to do something simple like helping a lost child. With all the epic sagas going on at Marvel and DC, we don’t see these kinds of stories in comics anymore and it’s a shame. Superheroes were originally designed to be people who made every effort to serve the people in their communities and help those who can’t help themselves. The way I see it, we need more stories like this. Unfortunately, the comic book industry won’t give them to readers.

If I had the money, I’d pay to have a cover designed based on this picture for Little Girl Lost. But due to a lack of funds It’s just gonna have to be a basic Black one like Witches of Eastland. Enjoy the sample chapter!

Chapter 3

The air gathers under my bat wings while I make the turn around the antenna at the top of 4 Times Square. As I start my descent into the cross roads of the world, I smile looking down at the throngs of tourists rushing out of the theaters and gathering in the pedestrian walkways. Since we have a couple of days off next month, maybe I’ll ask John if he wants to go to a Broadway show-

Hold on. One of these kids just doesn’t belong here. One of these kids just isn’t the same.

Among the children wearing jackets and sneakers coming out the theater showing Frozen, I spot a little black girl wearing a nightgown tucked into a pair of rumpled jeans and a pair of untied sneakers. Someone’s out way past her bedtime. I better keep an eye on her.

While she stares blankly into the screen of her Smartphone, she walks blindly into the crowd of tourists not looking where she’s going. As I land on the rooftop of one of the theaters and rush across the moldings on the edge, I notice a man in a hoodie, baggy jeans, and sneakers looking at her. He smiles and brushes the elbow of his friend and they start following behind her. When the girl turns into the alley behind the theater on 45^th Street, they rush up behind her and snatch the phone right out of her hands. Before she can start screaming, they’re bolting up Broadway.  Time to scare some crooks straight.

As I rush across the rooftops I change myself from my human form into my demon one. Long black horns shoot out of my forehead, my brown eyes turn into reptile ones, and my fingernails and toenails change into black cloven claws. Before the men get halfway up the block, I jump off the rooftop and land right in front of their path. “I don’t think that belongs to you.” I tell them. 

“OH MY GOD!” One of the thugs screams on seeing my demonic visage. 

With his fight or flight response kicking in, the terrified thug grabs his friend and starts getting ready to run. “C’mon man, let’s get outta here!” He pleads.

Unfortunately his partner isn’t feeling as repentant. He yanks out of his grip and reaches into his waistband for a nine millimeter pistol. “Man, I ain’t going nowhere!” He insists.

“But she’s a demon!”

“I don’t care if she’s Mother Theresa!” He barks. “This phone is worth over three hundred dollars! I’m not giving up that kind of payday for nobody!”

The thug fires a series of shots that echo in the alley. I see the bullets coming at me and catch them before they can even hit me. In any other situation I’d just let them bounce off me, but the last thing I want to do is ruin my new nightgown. “Ouch.” I chuckle as I present him with his bullets.

The man’s eyes grow wide watching me I drop all the spent rounds on the sidewalk. Before he can fire a second round of gunfire, I rush over to him with a burst of super speed and snatch his gun out of hand. When I hold him up in the air I notice a wet spot forming on the front of his pants. “The phone.” I say crunching his gun up in my hand. “Or I do to you what I just did to your gun.”

As he watches the pieces of his former pistol litter the sidewalk, the thug nervously hands me the child’s phone. After I take it from him, I toss him into his friend and laugh as they tumble onto the sidewalk. While the terrified criminals scramble to their feet and scurry up Broadway, I hurry back down the block to reunite the little girl with her lost iPhone. 

E’steem: Little Girl Lost will be coming out this April in Paperback and e-readers everywhere!

How Does a Woman Become a Side Piece?

How does a Woman become a Side Piece? Is it because a married man or a man in a relationship has dick so good she’d rather share it than get her own? Or is it because she becomes addicted to the steady stream of cash and gifts? Or is it because a man makes promises to her of marriage in the future?

The truth is that Women make themselves into Side Pieces. And that decision to cheat shows a man everything he needs to know about her character.

When a woman makes a decision going to be a Side Piece she is lowering her value as a woman. She sends a message to men that she has low self-esteem and that she doesn’t love herself. That she sees herself as second best and is willing to settle for less than a man’s best.

Women who become Side Pieces send a message to men that she’s not worth making a commitment to. That she’ll take whatever crumbs are thrown at her. Because they are Hoes, no Smart man has any serious interest in making a woman who is his Side Piece his wife.

The only men who usually deal with Side Pieces are Simps, Manginas, and Tricks. Because these guys have low self-esteem and don’t understand their value as men, they’re willing to pay for some half-price pussy from a part-time prostitute.

The only thing a Simp wants from a Side Piece is Pussy. And the only reason why he wants her pussy a Side Piece offers men Pussy at half the price of a woman he would date in a relationship. In most cases a Side Piece is cheaper than a girlfriend and is easier on his reputation than seeing a prostitute. All a Simp has to do is buy her a two piece-chicken dinner, a tall can of Colt 45, and she’ll provide him with pussy. If he continues to offer her cash, clothes, and gifts he can have that pussy provided to him on demand.

Why? Because that woman doesn’t believe she deserves a man who will fully commit to her in a relationship. In her eyes half a man is better than going home to no man.

Most women who are Side Pieces will delude themselves into believing that they’re having a relationship. That one day the man they’re having an affair with will eventually leave his wife for her.

But it’s never going to happen. Why? Because he has no incentive to do so. Most women who are Side Pieces don’t understand that the men who they’re involved with are getting the pussy they want at a bargain basement price. So why would they be interested in spending more to put a ring on it?

The Woman who becomes a Side Piece believes that she’s getting the best of both worlds. A man to warm her bed, lots of gifts and cash, and the scraps of a relationship. But at the end of the day she just winds up being turned out like a prostitute. Tricks pay her for pussy, then send her on her way and go back to the woman they want to be with.

At the end of the day a Side Piece either becomes a Baby Mama or a resident of BUSTDOWN TOWN where old Hoes go to die. Side Pieces long for a committed relationship with a good man, but most Smart Men don’t want anything to do with her because she’s shown them she has no morals, no values, and no character. 

Smart men know that a Side Piece is just a Hoe. And a smart man knows he can’t turn a Hoe into a housewife. Women who are Side Pieces just don’t have the moral position that will make them a helpmeet to a man who will be the wife that teaches morals and values to his children. All she brings to the table for men is Pussy. And because all she brings to the table is pussy she fucks herself out of a long-term relationship with a man.

The only way for a woman to avoid being a Side Piece for a woman is for her to decide from day one to establish standards for herself. The woman who refuses to settle for less with men will always be associated with the best of them. The woman who takes a step down heads down the road to BUSTDOWN TOWN.

Shawn's Measure of Success Vs. The Negro Standard

Taking the Mystery out of Mystery Writing

A couple of years ago I wrote my first mystery Isis: AllAbout The Goddess. And it was one of the most challenging Isis series stories I had to craft.

I’ve always said that writing a mystery is like making a cheesecake. All the elements of the story have to be structured exactly and formed precisely in order to create a satisfying story for the reader.

Most traditional stories are simple and all you have to do is answer three questions in three chapters: Who is the main character? What do they want? And Why should we care?

While we get the answer to those first three questions with the introduction of the lead character and the obstacles they face in the first three chapters, a writer has to answer more questions in those first three chapters when they write a mystery. And in order to keep them compelled to read, a writer has to keep the reader asking questions until the climax of the story. Usually after the inciting incident shows us what crime was committed, a good writer will have their readers asking questions like:

Who committed the crime?

Why did they commit the crime?

And why should we care?

As the main character continues to face a series of obstacles thrown in their way by a series of suspects, the reader gets clues to their possible motivations and their possible reasons for committing the crime in the inciting incident.

For example in Isis: All About The Goddess Isis had to figure out which of the students at the Next School was stalking Marilyn Marie, a former child star. As she takes her place modeling nude in the art classes she finds a series of clues left by the stalker in the form of notes after each class. Each note and each new piece of evidence leads her to interview a different suspect between classes.

As the story builds to a climax, there are plot twists right after the plot points that spin the action around and has them asking more questions. In Isis: All About the Goddess, the first plot point reveals that there’s a note left for Marilyn in the class that Isis posed in. However, the door only locks from the inside. That first plot point has the reader asking questions.

Who put the note there? And how did they get inside?

And it points Isis towards a prime suspect. That note and an interest in sculpting wax has her thinking that Kyle the sculptor who works with Marilyn in the Fine Arts office is the prime suspect because Marilyn rejected his request to model for her. And his frantic search for a soft wax in the office closet has her believing he’s going to strike that day. As Isis goes to model in her second class the next day, she gets another clue: the same sculpting wax jammed in the door. That answers some questions and points towards the prime suspect who seems to run away from the door after leaving a second note.

It’s looking open and shut against Kyle. But mysteries are never solved that easy. The suspect is never who the main character or the audience usually expects it to be.

While it’s looking open and shut against Kyle, plot point two features the first plot twist that spins the action around and has the reader asking more questions. On a tip from one of the students, she learns that they can print documents wirelessly on their phones. While the evidence still points to Kyle, Isis goes to print a document in the computer lab. When she notices the ink patterns are different on the note and the documents printed at the lab, that first plot twist spins the action around for plot point two.  

The greatest challenge for a writer in crafting a mystery story is the pacing. If the story moves too fast, it gives everything away too soon. If they pace the story too slow, the reader loses their incentive to care. There has to be just the right amount of suspense and red herrings in between the plot points and the plot twists to throw the reader off the trail of the prime suspect and keep them compelled to keep reading until the final chapter.

After the second plot point in Isis: All About The Goddess I had the challenge of keeping the pace up. Yes, Isis had a lead on Kyle, the sculptor. And the story is looking like it’s building towards that climax. However, the notes were still leaving questions unanswered. If Kyle used the computer lab like all the other kids, why did the notes left in the dressing room have a different ink pattern?  After an interaction with Brody, an outspoken student from the class, and a confrontation with Kyle, and a discussion with Jessica, another student she soon learns things in the second plot twist that spin the action around for the third and final act.

In that sequence with Jessica, Isis learns more about how the stalker is making their notes. And after talking to Marilyn about her routine she learns more about the pattern of the stalker.

Right around the second plot point and second plot twist the mystery should be building towards a climax. In Isis: All About The Goddess everything is building towards a confrontation between Isis and the stalker. In this final confrontation, the stalker gets the drop on Isis. But afterward Isis realizes who that person truly is out of all the suspects. In the climax the action gets spun around in a plot twist that finally reveals who the stalker is and leads to a satisfying conclusion.

To my surprise Isis: All About The Goddess is one of the better selling Isis series stories. I still have a long way to mastering the mystery genre, but from the response of readers I seem to have done well writing my first mystery story. I’d love to do another Isis series mystery, but I want to make sure I have a better understanding of how to pace out the plot points and plot twists in the structure of the story.

The challenge of writing a mystery story together is like assembling a puzzle. Each piece on its own makes no sense to the reader. But as the reader starts putting the pieces together they all come together to form a bigger picture that shows them who committed the crime, what their reason for committing the crime was and why they wanted to do commit the crime When the pieces come together in a logical sequence it leads to a satisfying reading experience that has the reader eager for the next story.

DC & MARVEL- I’M JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU

When I was a kid I used to get really excited about Marvel Comics and DC Comics. When I’d see their comics on the rack I’d be filled with anticipation pondering what I wanted t buy.

These days I’m just not into them anymore. I haven’t read an article about either company in months or even considered making a blog or video about either company.

While I still love the medium of comic books and the work of all the great artists in the industry I’m not feeling that passion about superheroes at the Big Two anymore. 

Why can’t I get into Marvel and DC’s superheroes anymore? Plain and simple the big two are just a jumbled mess.

With all the reboots over the past two and a half decades nothing makes sense anymore. I don’t know who is who in either company, and I just can’t follow the storylines anymore. In between the Rebirth at DC and the All-New All-Different Marvel, The superheroes I grew up with no longer exist.

I was a fan of superheroes at the big two since I was four years old. But these days I just don’t feel the same way about either company’s catalog of characters. I was upset about the post New 52 DC in 2011 and All-New All-Different Marvel about a year ago, but these days I just don’t care anymore.

They say there are several stages to grieving the loss of a loved one. And in the last seven years I’ve experienced them all seeing all the superheroes who were my childhood friends pass away in every event and reboot.

 Now I think I’m past them when it comes to the superheroes I grew up with in between the pages of newsprint. I’ve been felt all the feelings anyone could have about the changes of DC’s Rebirth and Marvel’s post Secret Wars universes, and even the Archie reboot. And now I just want to move on.

Have I accepted things? I think so. When I went to the New York Comic Con last year I realized I changed. Sure, I enjoyed the show, but I didn’t have that same excitement I had many years ago when I was emotionally attached to DC and Marvel’s characters. Last year they just didn’t light that same spark inside me like they did when I was a kid. My heart wasn’t into them anymore.

I’ve accepted that the Marvel and DC Superheroes I grew up with are gone for good. And my life is going to go on. I’m looking to move ahead these days, not back.

A long time ago in a ghetto far, far, away I wanted to be a comic book writer. And I’ve come to terms with that dream not coming true because now I see something better for myself in the future. While I was writing Spellbound last year, I saw my writing craft take itself to another level. As I was working on that novel, I found myself exploring new writing techniques, and doing things with storylines and character development I was never able to do with any of the ideas I had planned for comic books. I broke past my creative limitations and now I’m looking to push myself further to the next creative level.

I owe a lot to the characters in the catalogs of Marvel and DC. They were my inspiration for many years. Comics were how I learned how to read and how I learned more about writing. However, now that I’ve mourned the passing of my childhood super friends, I’ve decided that the passion I had for comics could be used to pursue other more constructive things like the fantasy stories I write in the Isis series or Young Adult novels like Spellbound.

These days I’m just not into the superheroes at Marvel and DC anymore. I’m just into other things. It’s not Marvel or DC, it’s just me. 

Isis: Samurai Goddess Cover By Bill Walko!

Last year I received a donation from one of my readers to pay for the next Isis series cover. And I asked Bill to design the cover for the next Isis series book Isis: Samurai Goddess. And this cover isn’t MIND BLOWING it’s A MIND SHATTERING MASTERPIECE!

The Isis: Samurai Goddess cover looks like it was RIPPED from my imagination and turned into a cel of an Isis animated series! I feel like I’m looking at a still of a TV show, not a book cover! This cover POPS with color and ACTION and SCREAMS at the reader BUY ME!

Bill tells an AMAZING story in a single image! There are so many details in this picture that just make it come to life. From Tanara’s evil grin in the background to the smug look on Wakana’s face, the and the little details in Cassandra Kachimura’s blouse, The Isis: Samurai Goddess cover looks like it’s moving even though it’s a static image. I found myself studying this picture again and again and finding something new to smile about!

Bill says this is his best rendition of Isis. And I’d have to agree with him. He’s really captured Isis’ spirit in this one. From the costume to the ankh’s to Isis’s teased out tomboy hair, he captured her essence in this image. She looks tough and determined, but still graceful and ladylike at the same time. This is the essence of who the Goddess next door truly is.

If I only had the money I’d be hiring Bill to work with me on an Isis comic! I think we’d make a great team. He takes my words and turns them into pictures that literally are like stills out of my imagination. I think readers would be in for a TREAT if we ever worked together on an Isis graphic novel adapted from any of the Isis series stories!   

Isis: Samurai Goddess will be available in Paperback & e-readers this February! If you love karate movies You’ll WANT to get this one! It’s an ACTION PACKED MARTIAL ARTS ISIS SERIES ADVENTURE!

Isis: House of Isis Sample Chapter!

 Next Month I’m going to be releasing the latest Isis series book, Isis Samurai Goddess with a MIND SHATTERING MASTERPIECE of a cover by Bill Walko! Those who followed my Twitter and Facebook got a Sneak peek of that cover, and on Monday I’ll be revealing it here for the rest of my regular readers!

Some of my Facebook friends have been really excited about the Isis series book I’ve currently been working on Isis: House of Isis. And in this story The goddess next door runs into HOTEPs, Brothers and sisters the ones who say that the Black Woman is God and that Black people are descendants of the Egyptian Pharaohs and kings! I got inspired to write this one after my interactions with real life HOTEPS and Pro-Blacks, and I thought I’d show everyone what I’ve learned about Egyptian and Nubian Mythology and African-American history in this story. 

Everything in Isis: House of Isis is still a FIRST DRAFT. So it’s likely to change dramatically in the actual published edition!

Chapter 2

I catch the reflection of the pouty expression on my face in a store window as we head down Lenox Avenue. I’m not happy about having my football game interrupted. But if Doc thinks going to this church is important, I can attend one service.

I admit I’ve been a pretty lousy Christian the last forty years. The last time I set foot in a church was for my best friend Alma’s funeral. Back in the early twentieth century Andrea Thomas Robinson was a regular member of Church in Oneonta County and Atlanta on the Spelman campus. But when I started seeing my friends and Theta sisters pass away in the 1970s I just did my best to avoid church. It was just too hard to focus on having a relationship with Christ in Church when I kept seeing people I loved leave this earth.

Doc gives me a curious look as we approach the corner. “What keeps you out of church these days Princess?” she asks.

“I got tired of going to funerals.” I sigh.

“You know you’re going to have to go to mine one day.”

And that’s gonna be one of the saddest days of my life. Doc is the last of my living friends from the 20^th Century. When she goes home to be with our Lord, I’m truly gonna be alone in this world for the first time in a hundred years. “Don’t remind me.”

“I know. But you have to face the fact that I’m not gonna be around much longer Princess.”

My eyes grow wide after she says that. “Are you-”

“No, my doctor says I’m healthier than most of the twenty-year-olds he sees.” Doc chuckles. “But I’d like to think it’d be prudent for you to start expanding your social circle before I pass.”

“Is that why you want me to go back to church?”

“You came back to resume your work here. It’s kind of hard to find out what’s going on today with people hanging around old timers like me-”

If it wasn’t for her I doubt I’d be as connected to some of the people I’ve met this go around the world. “Hey, I’m just waiting to go where I’m needed.”

“And you really need to spend some time in church while you wait. You know Alma’s granddaughter goes to Greater Abyssinian over on Fredrick Douglass-”

We just keep missing each other. “So she’s going to be at the afternoon service?”

Doc flashes me a playful smile. “She was at the morning service with me.”

“So we’re going to the afternoon service to meet the pastor?”

“Maybe next week.” Doc says. “This is a church you’ve got to see to believe.”

My curiosity is piqued when Doc turns the corner of 133^rd Street and starts heading down towards Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard. When she stops in the middle of the block, I peer up at the gold plated sign above the storefront decorated in hieroglyphs saying THE HOUSE OF ISIS in bold letters. I don’t know whether to be impressed or to sue for copyright infringement.

“I guess these sermons here would be right up my alley.” I say. “I didn’t know anyone still practiced the Old Heliopolitan faith.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But I thought you should take a look around before you decided to bring your wrath down on these blasphemers.”

Well, I wouldn’t the family putting a spell of pestilence on innocent people. I get the door for Doc and we step on the parquet floors of the storefront temple. I’m surprised to see it’s a full house. When I look over at the group of men and women dressed in Afrocentric formal wear sitting in the series of folding chairs arranged in front of the stage across the room. I peer down at the black leather jacket, white blouse, blue jeans, and Chelsea boots and wonder if I’m dressed too casually for this trip to the temple. “Maybe I should have dressed for service.” I say.

“I think you’re okay.” Doc replies. “Besides, you wouldn’t want to make a bad first impression on these mere mortals by tripping on the train of your New Heliopolitan gown.”

“Or have that blasted tiara fall in my eyes.”

As I peruse the shelves at the front of the store I notice that they have tubs of Shea butter, bottles of oils, and bars of Black soap for sale. “I guess these are for purification rituals.”

Doc is about to say something when a tall, muscular chocolate colored man dressed in a black tunic, pants and sandals approaches us. “When you purify your body you purify your mind my sista.” He says.

I greet his charming smile with a cheeky one of my own. “And how would these products allow me to purify myself…”

“Jamar, humble servant of the Priestess.” Jamar continues. “These processed products made by The White Man are filled with toxic chemicals that destroy your hair and your body.” The man says brushing back his long dreadlocks. “With the natural products made by our High Priestess, your natural hair and body will remain healthy and strong the way the goddess intended.”

I guess I wouldn’t know the difference between the natural hair care processes I used to use in Nubia and the shampoo I buy at Sepia with my invulnerability. But I’ll go along with the sales pitch. “Goddess?”

“Yeah, the Black Woman is God.”

I give him a curious look on the declaration of his faith. “God?”

“Yeah, The Black woman birthed the Universe from her womb. Everything on this earth came out of her.” 

That’s not what I read in my Bible. Heck, It’s not even what I know about my own family. But I’ll go along so I can find out what goes on in this so-called House of Isis. “Everything?”

“Yeah, everything. All you see here in this neighborhood was created by our goddess the Black woman.”

Yeah, Black women created all this. Thanks to them embracing the ideologies of White feminists and the welfare state of White liberal politicians in the 1970s they created all the out of wedlock babies, the drugs, crime, and all the poverty that have become staples of this neighborhood. But I won’t educate him on the truth yet. There’s still a lot I need to learn about this house of worship with my name on it. “So all Black women are goddesses?”

“Yeah. Even a mixed sista like you has some of the goddess’ spiritual energy flowing through her.”

If only he knew I was born in Nubia. “Mixed?”

“Yeah, with that light hair and that light skin you definitely got some Irish and Italian in your family.”

“Irish and Italian?”

“It’s clear you ain’t a full melanated person like myself.” The man continues. “True Black people like myself have darker skin because we have deeper connection to Kemet.”

Being the daughter of Osiris I’ve got far more melanin than everyone in the room. “Kemet?”

“That’s Egypt’s original name before the White Man changed it to suit his version of White Supremacist version of history.”

We never called it Kemet in any of the official Nubian texts. “They always called it Egypt when I was in college-”

“That’s the name the White Man gave our homeland in his education system.” Jamar continues. “The information about our true Black heritage is in the books the Priestess sells here.”

I look over at the series of paperback books on the bookshelf with hieroglyphs on the cover. “Where would I start learning more about the real Kemet in her books?” I inquire.

Jamar smiles on hearing my interest in Kemet. “I’d love to suggest a few titles to you right now my sista, but The Priestess is about to make her Afternoon Devotions and I have to help her with that.”

“Would you be able to show me a few later?”

I’m given a flirtatious smile filled with anticipation. “I’d be glad to show you all of the Priestesses’ literature after Devotions.”

“Great.”

Jamar hurries across the parquet floors, up the stairs and up to the stage. As he rushes behind a curtain, Doc and I find seats in the back. “He’s a sexy piece of hot chocolate.” Doc says.

“I think he likes me.” I say.

“Are you catching the spirit Princess?”

 “Maybe. I’m curious to what the Priestess will have to say during her Afternoon Devotion.

Isis: House of Isis is still being written as we speak. But if you drop enough donations to the paypal link at the top of the screen to pay for the cover, I can put it on the fast track for to be available for the Summer reading season!

Celebrating Ten Years of Blogging

Last month I passed my 1.8^th millionth hit on the blog. This month will marks a decade of this blog being online.

Ten Years. I’ve been writing blogs for ten straight years. I’ve been writing this blog longer than most jobs I’ve had.

Wow. Just wow.

You have to be really passionate about something to stay with it for an entire decade of your life. Especially to commit yourself to writing three blogs a week 365 days a year for ten years straight. 

And I’m very passionate about writing. Working on this blog means a lot to me, sharing information with people and helping them.

Originally, I got into writing this blog as a way to just promote my books and share my stories and art, and to discuss issues in the Black community. But over the past decade, the blog has grown and expanded to discuss men’s issues and my interest in comic books, science fiction and fantasy, and the Goth subculture. 

Oftentimes I look forward to sitting in front of the keyboard. And I’m filled with anticipation when I sharing a blog with readers on social media. It puts a smile on my face to hear from people on social media who say that my blogs on Men’s issues have helped them improve the quality of their lives. Or to hear from comic fans who learn more about the comic book business or about African-American fantasy or science fiction.  Or to hear from readers who pick up one of my books and tell me how they’ve given them a different perspective on Black culture with my stories.   

I really want to thank everyone who has stayed with this blog for the past ten years. I’ve got a lot of great stuff planned for this year’s blogs. There’s been a heavy focus on the comic and fantasy/Sci-fi and book stuff, over the past few years, but I do plan on getting back to writing more Men’s issues content too. I’ve taken a lot of that content to YouTube and eBooks like the Simp Trilogy where it can make me money, but I realize there’s still an audience of men that needs to learn on this platform too. Stay tuned!