Progress Report

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It’s been a while since I last wrote a progress report. Well, that’s because I’ve been incredibly busy. Making a lot of power moves and moving forward.

In Late November I moved from my old South Bronx Apartment to a new Place in Parkchester. The new room I have is a lot bigger than my old one, and I have space for things like a desk to do my YouTube Videos. I didn’t have much time for writing or blogging for the last two months because I’ve been busy packing and adjusting to life in another part of the Bronx. So that’s why there were vlogs and those vlogs were so sporadic. But with me getting settled I’m trying to get back into regular blogging.

Thanks to the donations of patreon and Paypal donors I celebrated a major milestone in 2018. 2018 was the first year where ALL the SJS DIRECT Universe books had covers on them done by comic artists. Every book from Isis: Escape From Transylvania, Isis: Imitation of Life, E’steem: The Sands of Time and John Haynes: A Conversation With Death had covers done by Bill Walko, Mike Williams, and Drew Swift.

And two of the SJS DIRECT 2019 books have Bill Walko covers on them. Isis: All That Glitters and E’steem Goddess of? Both feature Bill’s art on the cover. Both of these covers really POP, I especially LOVE all the little nuances in the All that Glitters cover. And Bill’s Avarisk The Tormentor is PERFECTION!

 Having the covers 90-180 days in advance helps a lot in the pre-promotion of these two awesome books Hoping that leads to paperback & eBook sales! 

In early November I made my third appearance on Obsidan Radio. On that show we discussed my new nonfiction book THE MAN CRISIS. It was a very productive two hours and I was able to discuss many of the struggles today’s men are going through, struggles most mainstream media just won’t talk about.

Sales for THE MAN CRISIS have been brisk, the book has sold close to 80 copies so far in Kindle and Paperback and has received several international sales. It’s received three-five star reviews on Amazon and every man who has read it has told me that the book has helped them in some way.

With THE MAN CRISIS I’m planning on taking the book out of KindleUnlimited this Spring and launching a Smashwords and Nook edition for readers on those digital platforms.

SJS DIRECT Fantasy Flashback Fall was a success. E’steem:The Sands of Time was a HUGE hit (Well, for POD standards) and it’s the best-selling E’steem series book to date. E’steem: The Sands of Time has received two five-star reviews on Amazon and most readers who have picked up the book enjoyed it.

Isis: Imitation of Life was slow out the gate, but managed to get a lot of people reading it on Kindle Unlimited. The book is starting to pick up a little momentum, but I’m taking a wait and see approach to it.

I’d love to do another series of Fantasy Flashback stories, but I need to see where sales go. I have a Golden Age Isis story I’d love to do involving Mobsters and an LEON the Electronic Negro, I’m eager to write and I’d love to show readers more of E’steem’s past in Ancient Egypt.

John Haynes: A Conversation With Death has been a HUGE HIT this year. Most people who have bought it love this book, and many tell me it reminds them of DC’s Constantine.  Everyone raves about the Mike Williams Cover and say it’s exactly how they imagine John looking.

John is starting to become one of the most popular characters in the SJS DIRECT Universe, and building a following. Readers like the strong masculine presence he has and they relate to him on a personal level. 

With the success of John Haynes: A Conversation With DeathI’m eager to get the second book of the John Haynes Series John Haynes: Dark Succubus out. The manuscript is already edited and laid out. All I need is a cover.

I’d love to have Mike Williams design the cover for Dark Succubus and a refresh cover for The Temptation of John Haynes.  But he’s been having some health issues, so I don’t know if he’ll be available. 

Dark Succubus out sometime in 2019, so be on the lookout for it!   

Right now I’m finally getting back to work on the third John Haynes series book, John Haynes: The Man With Nothing to Lose. This one is a follow up to events in the early chapters of The Man Who Rules The World, and has John taking on an old enemy from his troubled past.

Still trying to iron out John Haynes: Taking Care of Business story which expands Lilith Graves role in the SJS DIRECT Universe. That story will take us to Williamsburg Brooklyn and have John dealing with The Manga Girls and…Hipsters. And maybe John will run into a certain baker from a downtown Brooklyn bakery who readers haven’t seen in a decade.

Thanks to the success of A Conversation With Death, people are picking up The Temptation of John Haynes and its sequel The Man Who RulesThe World.   And they’re also picking up John’s appearances in Isis: Wrath of the Cybergoddess, Isis: Bride of Dracula and Isis: Escape From Transylvania.

Isis series books continue to pick up sales, Isis: Wrath of the Cybergoddess, Isis: Samurai Goddess, Isis: Night of the Vampires, Isis: Bride of Dracula, and Isis: Escape From Transylvania. All the second story arc books with the Bill Walko covers sell strong, But Isis Bride of Dracula is the runaway sales leader, People especially LOVE that cover!

And I recently had someone pick up the entire run of Isis series books in November. In paperback. That made my Holiday.

The Spinsterella Trilogy books continue to do well.  Spellbound, Spinsterella and The LegendaryMad Matilda get strong digital sales.

I’d love to bring Matilda back for more stories. Started a short called Spinsterella & The Spooky Girl and I have a concept in my head for Spinsterella’s Summer Vacation inspired by proposed Beetlejuice sequel Beetlejuice Goes Hawaian movie that never got produced. I thought it’d be hilarious to see Harlem’s Goth Girl head to L.A. in a comical story set between The Legendary Mad Matilda and Spinsterella.  

I would also love to do another story featuring a Goth heroine. I want to get to work on Lilith Graves story in Eternal Night. Maybe I can finally get started on that book along with 2020’s Isis and E’steem stories soon. I want to have Isis throw down with Nemesis in Isis The Main Event and E’steem take on SJWs before the next big story Isis: Revenge of the Cybergoddess. Still have those loose plot threads with D’lilah from Samurai Goddess that need resolving.  

Currently I’m working on an indiegogo for the first Isis graphic novel. If I can get the funds I’m planning on hiring Bill Walko to design the first comic book in the SJS DIRECT imprint. The graphic novel will feature TWO stories Isis: All That Glitters feature and the E’steem: No Good Deed short.

I’ve already talked to a letterer, and I’m currently in the market for a colorist on the project.

If the indiegogo for the Isis graphic novel is successful, I’d love to offer readers comic adaptations of earlier Isis series stories and possibly an adaptation of John Haynes: A Conversation With Death.

The official launch date for the Isis Indiegogo is March 5, 2019. Mark your calendars!

At the request of my viewers I started doing livestreams three weeks ago. The livestreams have been a tremendous success, with me connecting with my audience talking about books, comics and fantasy and generating book sales. I’m hoping to use the streams as a platform to launch the Isis graphic novel indiegogo when it launches in March.

I passed 9,000 YouTube subscribers last week, and I’m at 9,200 so far. Getting closer to 10K subs and I’m hoping to pass that milestone sooner rather than later.

I’ve decided to give up on the Job search. October marked 10 years since I lost my last job at City College and I realize I’ll never work at another person’s job at this point. I’ve been looking for work for 10 years now and at this point it’s a lost cause. A decade out no one in corporate America is gonna give me a chance to work for them. So I’m just gonna focus on building up SJS DIRECT, my YouTube Channel and my projects like the upcoming indiegogo. Since I can’t work for someone else, I’m just gonna have to work for myself.

Working hard and making progress. Moving forward. Hoping that I get my big break soon.