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Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Reviewing Tuskegee Heirs-More Great Manga From Black Manga Creators!

Monday, December 30, 2019

Celebrating 10 YEARS OF SJS DIRECT IN PRINT

Friday, December 27, 2019

Isis: The Main Event Cover by Bill Walko

Just Got the cover for Isis: The Main Event Cover from Bill and I AM FLOORED at this MASTERPIECE!


Bill’s cover EXPLODES with ACTION! It’s so dynamic that it looks like animation from an Isis animated series! I feel like I’m right up there on top of that steel cage!  

I love how bright everything is, it feels like the climatic moment of a main event of a pay-per-view like WWE’s Wrestlemainia, WCW’s Starrcade or AEW's Double Or Nothing. The action featuring Isis, Nemesis and Umbuttra is BIG With Isis in a precarious situation, but it’s the all the little things make this cover POP like the signs and the worried expressions of the commentators in the broadcast booth. It reminds me of the awesome covers of the late 1970s and early 1980s comics I used to buy from the newsstand with so much ACTION on them that I’d just study to find something new in them every time.

I want to thank all the patrons who donate to the Patreon, Paypal and Cashapp for your continuing support, if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be able to hire Bill Walko, Mike Williams, and Josh Howard to design the covers for SJS DIRECT books. It’s a blessing to have you continuing to support me and my work and I’m going to keep making every effort to continue giving you my very best.


Isis: The Main Event will be available in April 2020 in Paperback and #KindleUnlimited. You definitely want to get this one because it’s the turning point of the second Isis series story arc and the turning point of the entire Isis series!

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

John Haynes: The Man With Nothing to Lose Cover By Mike Williams

Just got the cover art for John Haynes: The Man With Nothing to Lose from Mike Williams. And it's a MASTERPIECE!
 
This one is inspired by Billy Graham's Luke Cage Hero For Hire #14 where Cage took on Big Ben! I love the David & Goliath struggle in this one and the contrast of the kids on the street  watching as John and The Block duke it out in the schoolyard in a re-match of their junior high school brawl!  
This will be the "A" Cover for John Haynes: The Man With Nothing To Lose. And Josh Howard's cover will be the "B" Cover. So you have your choice of covers to choose from on this action packed John Haynes series adventure that'll be coming in 2020! 

Friday, November 29, 2019

E'steem: The Sands of Time FREE ON KINDLE THIS BLACK FRIDAY AND SATURDAY!

The terrific teen time travel romance E'steem: The Sands of Time is FREE ALL THIS WEEKEND ON KINDLE! t's just like a Disney Princess movie!
Get your copy of E'steem: The Sands of Time on Kindle this Holiday weekend! 

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Eternal Night Sample Chapter

Been busy working on my new Vampire novel Eternal Night. With me being I'm midway through the second act of the novel, I'm ready to share an excerpt with you!
NOTE: This is a draft and things can change in revisions.

Chapter 19

My eyes flutter open as I stir out of a state of unconsciousness from the orgasm. When I see burgundy satin sheets under me I smile. If Malus’ could lay me out with just that golden tongue and those fingers of his I can only imagine what his dick would’ve done to me.
As I look over at the mahogany nightstand across from me I catch the time on the clock. 11:15! Man, I must’ve been out all night. Sadly, I won’t be able to get a chance to take a ride on Malus’ cock this morning, I’ve got a kajillion things to do in order to get ready for work at Merrill on Monday Morning. So I guess I’ll have to make something up when I tell Mattie about my sexcapades last night. I wrap the burgundy satin sheets around me, grab the phone off the night table and punch in Mattie’s number. “Hello?” Mattie yawns into the phone.
“Guess where I’m calling you from this morning babybat?” I tease.
“Don’t tell me you slept with him-” Mattie sighs.
Technically I didn’t. But she doesn’t need to know that. “I did. And I found out Malus sleeps on burgundy satin sheets.”
“Dude, way too much information on the skank moment-”
“Just wanting you to know what you missed out on-”
“The only thing I’ll be missing out on is the penicillin shot you’re gonna need in a few days after you take that walk of shame back uptown.”
“Nothing to be ashamed of Mat.” I sing. “At least I got to say I slept with a celebrity before I died.”
“A skeleton bone is a skeleton bone.”
My future husband doesn’t need to know what’s in my graveyard. “Yeah, but it’s a story I’ll be proud to take to my grave.” I say. “Now that I’ve had my fun I’m gonna get out of here so I can get ready for my big day on Monday.”
"Taking that ride of shame on the LIRR?”
“I’ll call you when I get back in the city.”
After I hang up, with Mattie, I punch in the number to
Exellence Cab company in Harlem. “Excellence Cab?” the dispatcher says over the phone.“Yeah, I need a car sent to 187 Ocean Avenue.” I tell the dispatcher.
“Malus Manor?”
“Yeah.”
“We’ll have a car sent out there in ten minutes.”
“Great, I’ll be outside the front gates.”
With the cab taken care of, I streak out of bed and search for my clothes. I soon find my stuff folded up neatly in a chair on the far side of the room. As I’m grabbing my lace thong off the top of the pile I notice something odd about my fingers. I can’t feel the texture of the material between my fingertips. Maybe it’s the wine is giving me a bad hangover. Or I’m still woozy from the blood I lost from that bite Malus gave me playing vampire.
But is that possible? I only had one glass of wine and a wine cooler last night. That’s not even enough alcohol to get buzzed on. I eyeball the leg holes of my panties and fishnet tights and step into them. Then I bunch up my dress, put it over my head and slip it on. Once I step in my heels and sling my purse over my shoulder I find the door across the chaise. It’s a challenge getting the knob to turn with my fingers feeling numb but I manage to get it open once I look down at my hand. The faster I get out of here the faster I can get home to start getting ready for work at Merrill on Monday morning.
As I march down the tall staircase I notice all the black curtains and shades over the windows in the foyer are still down at eleven in the morning. Maybe Malus is sleeping in late since he had a really late night. That works for me. Saying goodbye after a one-night-stand would just make things awkward.
I’m at the bottom of the stairs when Griselda rushes over to me. “Excuse me Miss Lilith, where are you going?” She asks.
“Home, Griselda.” I reply.
A worried look falls on Griselda’s face. “I don’t think that would be wise in your condition.”
Condition? What’s she talking about? “Yeah, I’ve got a little hangover from the wine, but I think I’ve recovered from last night-”
“I really think I should wait until later this evening before you do any traveling Miss Lilith.”
Looks like Malus wants to go another round with me in the bedroom. As much as I’d love to spend the day with my favorite musician, I’ve got to get back uptown. “Could you thank Malus for a wonderful evening? I’ve got to go.”
“Miss Lilith-”
I rush down the limestone steps of Malus’ mansion and hurry down the cobblestone path towards the front gate. As the sun radiates down on me I start smelling smoke. Who would be barbecuing at this hour?
Whoever it is must not really know how to shop for groceries, I start smelling the scent of rotting chicken burning as I’m halfway to the gate. When I see the cab in the distance the rancid stench of the meat gets worse and the smoke starts getting my eyes. I’m about to gesture to the driver that I’m here when I notice my hand blistering and blackening as flames start erupting on my skin. OH MY GOD I’M ON FIRE!
I’m about to panic when I see my skin peeling and flaking off my body. Before I can scream for help I hear footsteps rushing behind me. From the scent of the perfume I know it’s Griselda. She wraps a blanket around my shoulders and pushes me back towards the manor. “YOU’VE GOT TO GET BACK IN THE HOUSE!”
She has a point; the paramedics can help me out here. It takes all my strength to run back up the stairs into the house. I let out a scream seeing the skin and muscles on my arms and legs and blackened and blistered from the burns. Things start going black I collapse onto the carpet. Please God, don’t let me die like this…

I'm hoping to have Eternal Night out in 2020. But if you want to learn more about Lilith's story you can pick up Isis: Night of The Vampires!

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Progress Report

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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! 
John Haynes: The Man With Nothing To Lose where The Man Who Rules The World takes on a The Block, a man who lost everything he challenged John in the first Chapter of The Man Who Rules The World. This one is ACTION PACKED and is gonna be a CLASSIC!

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

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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!

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.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Isis: The Main Event Color Cover Art & Color Umbuttra Model Sheet

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Finally got to coloring the Isis: The Main Event Cover Concept. With the colors it really POPS. I want this cover to have BIG action with  an imperiled Isis held over the edge of the cage by the Umbuttra, Hell’s Beast from the Bowels, with Nemesis the Greek goddess of Retribution trying to come to the rescue with a steel chair. I can't wait to see what Bill Walko does with this one! 

I drew inspiration for this one from the 1998 Hell in a Cell where Mankind fought The Undertaker. With this being a battle between goddesses and one of Hell’s most powerful demons, I wanted to present a battle that was EPIC on the level of that match. Anyone who has seen the Taker/Mankind Match knows it set the gold standard for Hell in a Cell Matches and I wanted the fight between Isis, Nemesis and Umbuttra to be as big a spectacle as that one. 


 When I was writing this story a lot of parallels between wrestlers, gods and superheroes. and I wanted to design a cover concept that showed how all three of those worlds were similar.  


Also did Umbuttra’s model sheet. Wanted to give her dreadlocks to contrast her ram  horns. And with her being in the Ninth Level of Hell, she ain’t gonna find a hairdresser.   

I got inspired by TNA and WWE superstar Awesome Kong’s ring attire but I wanted to put a Jack Kirby spin on it. Really wanted her outfit to look like something Kong would wear while capturing the spirit of Jack Kirby's New Gods and Eternals designs.


Isis: The Main Event will be available in 2020. Still in the middle of edits and trying to get the cover done! 


Friday, August 23, 2019

Isis: The Main Event Cover Concept Art

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Finally got some ideas on paper for the Isis: The Main Event Cover Concept. The cover concept is inspired by the 1998 Hell in A Cell, where Mankind took on The Undertaker. Umbuttra, the Beast From The Bowels has an evil grin on her face because she’s got Isis beat and has her dangling from the top of the cage. She’s making plans to toss her 20 feet into the announce table. Nemesis, seeing her in danger is running behind her with a steel chair in an effort to make the save. With Isis and Nemesis taking on one of the most powerful demons in the Legion it’s literally Hell in a Cell!




Also did a model sheet for the main villain Umbuttra, The Beast From the Bowels. Umbuttra was last featured in E’steem: The Beast From The Bowels. I’ve had this image of her in my head for five years and I finally got it to paper.

The inspiration visually for Umbuttra is primarily former TNA and WWE wrestler Kia Stevens, also known as Awesome Kong. Kong was a human wrecking machine who practically DESTROYED TNA Knockouts and WWE Divas in the ring.

The other inspiration for Umbuttra is Batman villain Bane. Underneath Bane’s powerful physical exterior is the mind of a cunning master strategist.  When I imagine Umbttra she looks like Kong with dreadlocks and but sounds like an articulate well-spoken African woman.

With her incredible power and her brilliant mind, Umbuttra gave E’steem a run for her money in Beast From The Bowels. And in Isis: The Main Event she uses her brains and brawn to give Isis one of the biggest challenges she’s faced since the Cybergoddess.

And I finally got around to doing a model sheet for Nemesis. Nemesis made her first appearance in Isis: The Ultimate Fight. Nemesis was supposed to be the Greek Counterpart to Isis so I wanted some similarity to her outfit. The one-armed Toga was meant to contrast Isis’ blouse and kilt.
 
Personality wise, Nemesis was inspired by Lucy Lawless, TV’s Xena Warrior Princess. Whenever I write Nemesis’ dialogue and narration, I hear Lucy Lawless’ voice in my head.

Like Hercules in Marvel’s Thor comics, Nemesis is a rival to Isis. She’s a heroine, but she’s out to compete with Isis. And just like Isis she’s trying to find her way back on the road to being a heroine after the events of Isis: The Ultimate Fight and Isis:Power of The Princess.

Readers will see how much progress Nemesis has made on the road to redemption in Isis: The Main Event. And they’ll see how their relationship makes a major turn as they take on Umbuttra in the steel cage of the Dangerous Divas of Wrestling!



I’m hoping to have Isis: The Main Event out in Spring of 2020. This one is one you want to pick up, because it’s the turning point of the second Isis story arc that started with Isis: All About The Goddess and the turning point of the overall Isis series!

Friday, August 16, 2019

The Black Man's Survival Guide Sample Chapter

I've been busy working on books, making videos and livestreams. And I've been busy writing and editing four projects on the 2020 SJS DIRECT catalog. So I haven't had much time to write blogs.

One of the projects I'm working on is The Black Man's Survival Guide.  After seeing many young brothers like Bakari Henderson lose their lives and others like Albert Wilson wind up in prison on false rape charges I realized that Black boys and young Black men aren't being taught the unwritten social rules Black men need to follow living in a White Supremacist world. 

 I'm hoping the book can help young brothers plan a course of survival in a world that hates them and possibly save some lives.   I'm working hard to get this book done and I hope to have it done in early 2020. 




Chapter 3
Unwritten Social Rules For Black Male Survival.





How do Black men survive in a world that sees them as an enemy? By having a protocol for navigating hostile territory.
During slavery and Jim Crow, Black men understood there was a target on their backs from overseers and slave masters. And in order to survive the oppression and terrorism they encountered, they developed a set of rules to follow so they could live to see the next day.
Because many of the emancipated slaves couldn’t read or write they weren’t able to write down this protocol. Instead they taught these rules to their sons orally. And with the oppression they faced daily, many Black men realized it was better to keep their rules for engaging and interacting with Whites and nonblacks oral so that White racists and their supporters couldn’t find out their code and make plans to thwart it.
These Unwritten social rules for Black male survival were passed on from father to son from generation to generation. And as the generations passed from slavery to Jim Crow To the Civil Rights Era Black men added more unwritten social rules to this code to so they could adapt to the times and avoid the pitfalls and traps racists set up to destroy their lives.
However, as Black men transitioned from the Civil Rights Era to today they weren’t able to pass these unwritten social rules for survival to their sons. As Black women got involved with the feminist movement and the welfare state they prevented their sons from having relationships with their fathers. And because those boys didn’t have that relationship with their fathers they weren’t able to learn these unwritten rules regarding how they were supposed to carry and conduct themselves in the White Supremacist world.
Most Black single mothers in the late 1960s and 1970s thought they could raise a boy to be a man on their own. However, without a Black father there to teach their sons the unwritten social rules of engagement in America many young Black boys wound up getting caught up in situations where they were harassed by police officers, racially profiled by store owners, and threatened and attacked by neighborhood racists just for walking in the wrong neighborhood or looking at the wrong woman. 
Without a father and men in the community to teach Black boys and Black men the unwritten social rules to they aren’t able to identify the racist predators in and out of the Black community and avoid dangerous situations with racist Whites and nonblacks who hate Black men. Nor are they able to develop the critical thinking and problem solving skills to diffuse situations with racists and other enemies from the state when they run into confrontations with them.
A Black man who doesn’t know what the unwritten social rules for living in a White Supremacist world is a sitting duck. And the reason why he’s vulnerable is because he has absolutely no understanding of how to carry and conduct himself when he goes out in a world that’s against him. So any reaction he takes can lead to racists taking actions that could cost him his life.
Only a Black father can teach his son the unwritten social rules of engagement of White Supremacist America because he has to live by that code every day. Unfortunately, since two three generations of Black men and Black boys who have grown up without fathers and men in the community to show them the protocol for interacting with the White Supremacist world this is why so many young black boys and young black men are becoming easy targets for imprisonment or extermination.





Thursday, August 1, 2019

Planet of the Nerds #2 Presents a Great story on Black Manhood

Saw a Story in the back of Ahoy Comics Planet of The Nerds  #2 that presented an incredibly positive image of Black Manhood and Black Masculinity.

This one shows a young Black teenager with a father in his life and shows him changing his perception of self and self image. He goes from seeing himself as the sidekick in a White Man's comic book stories to realizing he can be his own man and make his own way in the real world. It's a powerful story.

This story reminds me a lot of myself growing up and the things that motivated me to dedicate myself to writing positive stories about Black people back in 1991 and what motivates me to publish books like the John Haynes series today.









Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Isis: The Main Event Sample Chapter

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 Haven't had much time to blog over the last few weeks, I've been busy doing Radio shows, livestreams and promoting books. And in that time I finished writing the first draft of next year's Isis series story Isis: The Main Event. In this story The Goddess next door steps in a steel cage in an action packed Isis series story set in the squared circle! 



Chapter 10




I catch the serious look in Ashley’s eyes after I finish my molten lava cake. Now that we’ve outlined the story for our feud it looks like she’s ready to get to start getting to the business of having me beaten up by her wrestlers in the ring. Are you ready to see our facility Isis?” She asks.
Guess I better see where I’ll be working. “Sure.”
We ease up out of our seats and head out of the restaurant. After we walk through the busy mall of shops in the hotel’s lobby, Ashley stops at an elevator bank at the end of the hall and pushes the down button.” So where is the DDW facility?” I ask.
“Right downstairs.” Ashley replies.
“Downstairs?”
Since we’re a part of the Hotel’s live entertainment everything is in-house.” Ashley continues. “Our arena, training facility and production studio are all part of the hotel’s operation.”
“And here I was thinking I thought Vegas Hotels had only topless flamingo dancers and Elvis Impersonators-”
“In another era.” Ashley says. “Today’s Vegas has a whole different set of house shows.”  
The elevator opens and we all get on. After Ashley presses B3, the elevator descends into one of the hotel’s sub-basements. Once it opens I see a wrestling ring set up a few feet away. While two girls in spandex workout gear are practicing their moves, others are working out on top-of-the-line gym equipment on the far side of the room. When we step out of the elevator everyone stops what they’re doing and focuses their attention on us. “Okay ladies,  listen up.” Ashley calls out as we step out on the floor. “We got new talent in the house.”
After Ashley calls out to her wrestlers, the girls who were working on their moves slide out of the ring and almost all the women working on the gym equipment stop working out and approach me. While one woman still continues to lift weights on the bench press, I put on a professional smile as I’m introduced to my new co-workers. “This is Isis.” Ashely says. “She’s gonna be working with us until Divastation.”
Before I can introduce myself to the Dangerous Divas, the woman who was lifting weights on the bench press drops her barbell back on the rack hard and jumps off the bench. As the tall mahogany colored woman dressed in black spandex and sneakers pushes through the group of women she points daggers at me. “So this is the girl who will be in the program with Nemesis?” she says in a thick African accent as she brushes her dreadlocks out of her face.  
“Yeah, Umbuttra, Isis is the girl who beat Nemesis in The War of the Gods.” Ashley replies.   
Umbuttra scowls as she peers down at me. “She’s a lot smaller than the girls who usually work here.” Umbuttra says.
Don’t let her size fool you.” Nemesis says. “Isis can handle herself in the ring.” Nemesis says.
 “I would probably snap her in two if I had a match with her in the Octagon.” Umbuttra says glowering at me.
I’d like to think I’d beat the crap out of this playfighter if we had a real fight. Maybe after I give her a little demonstration of how strong I really am she’ll back off.  I scoop up the big woman and hoist her above my head. “It’s not the size of the girl, but the power of her punch.” I jab.  
The wrestlers gasp as I effortlessly hold the six-foot woman in the air and meet Ashley’s blue eyes. “Looks like you’ve got an understanding of how to do a body slam.” Ashley says.
“Just trying out some of the basic moves I studied on YouTube.” I say heaving Umbuttra onto the mats around the ring.
After a round of raucous laughter, Ashley gets to business. “Well, we’ll see what you have in the ring tomorrow during practice.” Ashley says. “Right now we got a show to put on. Everybody get into costumes and get ready for tonight’s matches.”


Isis: The Main Event will be out sometime in Spring of 2020 Until then you can pick up 2019's Isis series book Isis: All That Glitters on Amazon.com in Kindle and Paperback!