Thursday, September 26, 2019
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Progress Report
Summer 2019 has been an extremely productive time for me. In
between writing, making YouTube Videos, doing livestreams and making
appearances on radio shows I’ve barely had time to blog.
In May I made an appearance on the True Power Is Mine Show where we talked
about numerous issues in the Black community and my books. It was a very
productive discussion.
I also made my second appearance on the Judge Joe Brown Show in
July. On that show we discussed the New Female James Bond and the social
engineering agenda to feminize iconic male characters like James Bond. I talked about how there were so
many great original characters like E’steem out there and how Hollywood doesn’t
want to spend money on new characters, but wants to push an agenda.
In August I made an appearance on Shawn Stewart In the Morning
Radio show. There I promoted THE MAN CRISIS and talked about Men’s issues
in the Black community and issues in the Black community.
And I made multiple appearances on Obsidian Radio over the
course of the summer to promote THE MAN CRISIS and talk about a series of
issues in the Black community. Thanks to Obsidian’s help THE MAN CRISIS has
been selling briskly, and is now past 250 paperback and eBook sales and on its
way to 300 copies sold.
THE MAN CRISIS has gotten a lot of positive feedback from
readers and many say the book has transformed their lives.
On the nonfiction side the Simp Trilogy books continue to
sell well, with Stop Simpin in the Workplace and Misadventures ofCaptain-Save-A-Hoe selling the strongest.
Along with the appearances on radio shows I’ve been doing
livestreams every Wendesday and Friday for my viewers and producing daily
YouTube videos. So Far I’ve produced over 2,200 videos and I’m getting closer
to 11,000 subscribers.
While I’ve done a lot of appearances on shows about Black
issues I would love to do a comic show and a Goth show. Possibly something
where I can talk about Black fantasy, comic books and sci-fi or the Black Goth
Subculture. If anyone is doing those kinds of shows you can hit me up on
Facebook or Twitter and we can schedule an appearance!
On the publishing side I’ve been building momentum on sales
of the 2019 catalog books.
John Haynes: Dark Succubus has come out of the gate with
strong sales. Building on the momentum of John Haynes: A Conversation With
Death, Dark Succubus has been getting a lot of positive feedback from readers on
social media who tell me they loved the story.
From what I’ve been hearing from readers John Haynes is
starting to build a fanbase and a following. I’m hoping that readers come back
for John Haynes: The Man With Nothing To Lose next year. I posted a teaser of
one of the TWO covers for the book by Josh Howard and I hope to have Mike
William’s cover up when I get it.
I know it’s kind of crazy to put two covers on a paperback,
but I figure if comic book can publisher can sell a book with a variant cover a
paperback publisher could too.
Isis: All That Glitters also has sold well this year. The
book has had strong paperback, and Kindle sales and has picked up readers on
KindleUnlimited. People seem to like the story where the Goddess next door
takes on GoldenShine the bikini clad bank robber.
E’steem Goddess of? Also sold strongly over the course of
the last nine months. It’s sold well in paperback, Kindle and has gotten a
couple of Kindle Unlimited downloads.
On the backlist E’steem The Sands of Time continues to sell
well. The Teen Time Travel romance has continued to move over the summer. My
take on the Disney princess story has been building momentum over the summer
and I’m hoping it continues to keep building an audience.
As I promoted E’steem: Goddess of? I saw readers picking up
back books in the E’steem series. Books like E’steem: like Little Girl Lost,
E’steem Ascension sold strongly over the summer.
And to my surprise readers who picked up older E’steem books
like The Beast From The Bowels, Faerie Tale, Demons Anonymous and Baptism of
Blood. Looks like
John Haynes: A Conversation With Death also continues to
sell well. Readers of John Haynes Dark Succubus are coming back to to pick up
the first book in the John Haynes series and new casual readers continue to
pick up the title.
In addition readers picked up The Temptation of John Haynes
and The Man Who Rules The world along with Isis Bride of Dracula and Isis:
Escape From Transylvania.
Isis: Imitation of Life continues to sell well. The Fantasy
Flashback tale about Isis helping a girl during Jim crow continues to get
positive feedback from readers who
Other Isis series backlist titles that continue to do well
include Isis: The Beauty Myth, Isis: House of Isis, Isis Bride of Dracula,
Isis: Wrath of the Cybergoddess, and Isis: Escape From Transylvania. Usually
the Bill Walko Cover Isis books do better than the hand drawn ones. I’m hoping
to do something to put new covers on the books of the first Isis story arc so
readers can feel confident about picking up those books. There are so many
great stories there that readers are missing out on and I want readers to
discover those early stories and why they’re so much fun!
On the Goth side of the catalog, the books of the
Spinsterella trilogy continue to sell well. Spinsterella and Spellbound sold
well over the summer, and Legendary Mad Matilda gets a lot of Kindle Unlimited
reads.
I’m starting to get feedback from people in the Goth scene
and they like what they’re reading in the Spinsterella books. I want to write
another Spinsterella book, but I gotta find time to do it.
To my surprise I’m starting to see a resurgence of sales on
A Recipe for $uccess in recent months. I had thought the cute funy romantic
comedy I published back in 2008 as The Cassandra Cookbook had run its course.
But it looks like readers are rediscovering the book. With the book being out
for over 10 years, I’m thinking it’s time for a paperback reissue!
I’m pushing hard to sell more fiction because I have so many
great stories and I want readers to discover them.
While I’ve been promoting the 2019 books on social media and
during my livestreams I’ve been working on the books of the 2020 SJS DIRECT
catalog. Those titles include:
 |
| Coming in 2020! |
Isis: The Main Event, where the Goddess next door steps in a
wrestling ring to conclude the Nemesis story arc and is the turning point for
the Isis series.
And E’steem: Blast From The Past which follows up on the
events of E’steem: The Sands of Time, where Hell’s aspiring Angel Takes on her
evil past self. It’s a battle of light and darkness and shows how much E’steem
has grown since her demon days.
And I’m hoping to release a new novel Eternal Night. Eternal
Night is the origin story of Lilith Graves and takes us further into the world
of Vampires in the SJS DIRECT Universe. As readers get a look into Lilith’s
early days as an undead and how she learned how to survive in the realm of the
Undead they’ll get to learn more about the SJS DIRECT vampire lore.
Spinsterella trilogy fans definitely want to pick up this one, Mad Matilda
makes a cameo in this book!
I’m in the middle of the second round of editing and doing
page layouts on Isis: The Main event and John Haynes: The Man With Nothing to
Lose. Mike Williams is working on the John Haynes: The Man with Nothing to Lose
cover, and I’ve got in toudh with Bill Walko about working on the cover for
Isis: The Main Event. If things work out, both these books will be the first
out the gate for Spring 2020!
And I’m in the middle of writing the second act of the first
draft of Eternal Night and plotting out E’steem: Blast From The Past. I’ve been working feverishly to get
these books done Hoping to have all the books of the SJS DIRECT 2020 catalog
out early Spring for the summer reading season.
Outlining out the stories to wrap up the second story arc of
the Isis series. I want to bring the Cybergoddess back for another story, and I
want to conclude things with Isis finally meeting Colleen, from The Thetas. I
think it’ll be a nice book end to the Imitation of Life and Death of a Theta
storylines.
Also planning the next two John Haynes books. One is titled
John Haynes: Taking Care of Business will feature John working with Lilith
Graves, his right hand woman. The second has John and Death teaming up again.
Readers LOVE Death and I have to bring her back for another story. This one
will be a bit more philosophical and get into Life and Death, love hate and
envy.
Got some fun stories planned for the second E’steem story
arc. Want to bring Morgan Le Fay Back for a Murder Mystery that’s like a mystic
version of CSI, and I want to have E’steem face off against the Witches of
Eastland again. Trying to keep the Post Ascension E’steem stories just a light
and fun as the Demon ones and trying to give her some challenging new rogues
like Avarisk, The Tormentor.
Over the last couple of months I’ve been working harder and
pushing to get to that next level. Trying to get my name and my work out there.
Trying to reach new readers and build that audience. Working towards that big
break and the sales that will allow me to find a way to make a living writing.
Monday, September 2, 2019
John Haynes: The Man With Nothing To Lose Cover "B" By Josh Howard
Josh Howard is one of my favorite comic artists. And I’ve
wanted to work with him for years. I always thought my characters would be a
perfect fit for his art style. And now that I’ve seen my characters in his
style, I’m FLOORED.
This cover is a MASTERPIECE. Josh did an AMAZING job on it! Josh tells a great story of
John and E’steem as a Black power couple ready to stand together to take on the
supernatural forces of evil.
Josh’s cover is inspired by a photograph of John Steed and
Emma Peel from the Classic 1960s UK series The Avengers. When I saw that image
of Steed and Peel standing together represented who were confident and assured they
could work together take on any challenge that came their way.
I love how Josh kept spirit of the formal UK Avengers image
but gave it American grit and ruggedness. There’s a lot of great nuances he put
in the piece, like John’s rolled up shirt sleeve symbolizing his strength and E’steem’s
light representing what inspires them both to keep fighting the good fight
against Lucifer and his Legion. It’s a great image of Black power and Black
love that I believe will inspire readers of the John Haynes series.
Now that I’ve got Josh’s version of John and E’steem I
definitely want an Isis to go along with it soon!
I couldn't have put this AWESOME Cover on John Haynes: The Man With Nothing to
Lose without the support of all you donors! So I thank you all for your continuing support!
Lose without the support of all you donors! So I thank you all for your continuing support!
John Haynes: The Man With Nothing To Lose will be available
in 2020. Josh’s cover is one of TWO covers that’ll be featured on the book,
Mike Williams will be designing a CLASSIC cover as well.
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