Trying a new book blog meme I came across at Words and Peace. It’s Books are my Favorite and Best’s Six Degrees of Separation. As I understand it, you start with an assigned book and link up other books connected to that in some way. Do I have that right? This week’s starting book is Long Island by Colm Tóibín. Since I don’t know anything about this book, rather than connect themes, I think I’m going to do like Words and Peace did and do a word chain using the titles, drawing, and here’s the personal spin, from books I’ve reviewed over the life of my Blogger on Books series.
Still maybe it will lead you to some books of which you might not otherwise be aware. Do like I am going to do with the lists by the two linked bloggers and find one book to add to your TBR. My additions are The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland and Lies told in Silence by M. K. Tod. Let me know which book you will be adding to your TBR from my list – if nothing strikes you, maybe check out one of my books.
I found out this week that John Amos died…in August (?). I mean, 2024 already has a high body count of celebrities who were on the TV in my early growing up years (e.g. Louis Gossett Jr., whose Fiddler from Roots and drill sargeant from An Officer and A Gentleman are enduring early memories; James Earl Jones, one of the most iconic voices in the business – Darth Vader to Mufasa to “this is CNN” and also actor in cable staples like Conan the Barbarian and Field of Dreams, and Black classics like Coming to America; Carl Weathers, i.e. Apollo Creed himself; and Tito Jackson, who, yes, was a member of the The Jackson 5 and The Jacksons but who I first came to know as a cast member of The Jackson 5ive cartoon series though it had completed its original run a year before I was born). A Caribbean childhood in the late 70s and early 80s (up to now, really) meant a lot of American television (some Canadian, British, Caribbean, and other, too, but mostly American). John Amos was adult Kunta Kinte in Roots (iconic), my first Black TV dad on Good Times (iconic), Seth in The Beastmaster (yes, that was iconic to my 9 or so year old self), Mr. McDowell in Coming to America (a classic of 80s Black cinema), and, of course, he would have popped up in so many TV staples from my childhood, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show. John and James etc are, of course, not the first celluloid heroes from this era to pass on. Besides, they were all getting up there in years, so I can’t say their deaths have shocked me in the way the premature passing of musical icons from my teen years – Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Prince, George Michael – did, but it does feel a bit, especially in the case of John Amos, like we’re changing channels on an era. Inevitable but sad nonetheless. Just here to pour out some rum for them and to say, in memory of James Evans, “Damn, damn, damn”.
It’s a three-fer actually because here’s what I’ve been watching –
Notorious (one of Hitchcock’s early films, starring two of my classic era faves Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman) and Spike Lee’s documentary Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall. & I’m looking forward to two basketball docu series Netflix’s Starting 5 and ESPN’s Clutch.
Have I been reading?
I just finished Demon Copperhead(audio book) and added my thoughts to Quick Reviews 3. Having documented my reading struggles, a couple of times this week, I haven’t gotten any further in anything else…except this Creative Colouring: colour these beautiful illustrations and soothe your mind adult colouring book. Don’t judge me. It’s stress relief. Anyway, with Demon Copperhead, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler (audio book), and Mr. Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo (paperback), that’s 3 books finished in September; 3.5 if you count the Catapult Resident Blog Issue 1 Vol 1, which I do, though it’s not a book; 4.5 as I’ve mostly finished My Name is Marcus but haven’t written about it yet – that’ll be my next CREATIVE SPACE column, I think. And as the column is due tomorrow, I’ll need to finish the book tonight. That’s it for book/reading update, except I’ve used my last audio book credit to buy Eve’s memoir aptly titled Who’s That Girl?written with Kathy Iadoli (the audio book version), and have started listening to it.
(ETA: Since writing this, finished Who’s That Girl and My Name is Marcus. The latter is this week’s CREATIVE SPACE)
Have I been writing?
The last few days have included transcription of a recently written story which took longer than expected due to me trying to decipher my handwriting and the writing and re-writing that happened as the story transformed in the process of transfer to my ‘stories in progress’ e-folder; revisions to a flash fiction story, poem, and story – the latter taking several many hours and a couple or more revisions – ahead of submission; revisions to the same story in my collection in progress that I’ve been working on for the past week – the frustration of it all (mostly because I want to move on). That said, the work on the stories is the work I want to be doing. The frustration comes mostly of feeling like there’s not enough time to do this work and the other things I need to be doing. Like probably sleep; I should definitely be sleeping more (ETA: After writing this, I sprayed some sleep mist on my pillow that knocked me out – what magic is this?).
Any post from the past week’s blogging that I want to highlight?
(ETA – since I’ve finished a couple of books this week, I’ll also add this one as my WWW Wednesday – I’ve already mentioned what I’m reading and what I’ve finished reading so I’ll pull from the top of my TBR for something I may be reading next – The Prophets by Robert Jones Jr. and/or Above the Noise by Demar Derozan – the former a work of historical fiction and the latter a work of non-fiction by the basketball player)
Ever have those days when you’re reading the words but nothing is registering?… That.
I’m up to page 322 of Private Eyes by Jonathan Kellerman, which means I’ve covered almost but not really one additional page since my last Reading Journal of a book I’m actually enjoying.
It’s one of those pain all through my body mornings. I remember when I first started having chronic pain issues, I’d wake up and there would be a blissful few moments of no pain; then my brain would catch up with my body or something, I guess, and my body would be on fire. It would drag me down mentally, especially as doctors seemed unable to identify the cause. Why am I writing about this? I never write about this…I don’t know, because I’m in pain and I don’t know if it’s one of those pain-riddled days or just my body waking up, as a woman of a certain age, with certain health issues…sigh.
Have I written lately? Actually, I have some since my last writing journal. I took a walk to the baobab tree mentioned in that post and opened myself to it inspiring a piece of writing. I don’t know if it’s a story yet; I still have pages of chicken scratch to transcribe. But the existence of those pages means that the writing bug is still in there somewhere, though it’s mostly been about that revising life for many months with only drizzles of new writing.
The revising on the graphic novel project is pretty much done. I’ve just got to stop dragging my feet and start sending it out…somewhere. Do something, you know. The short story collection has snagged on a story that has required more reshaping than anticipated. I considered cutting it for expediency – snip and move on – but then I remembered what I was trying to do with it in the first place…so, I’m still trying. But I have the stories colour coded by which ones I’ve put to bed and which ones are at various stages of not yet ready for bed and I’m about 2/3s of the way, give or take, to lights out. Yes, the ‘what next’ anxiety is still bubbling but below the surface as I realize there’s still work to be done.
And…today I have errands to run…so I’m about to try to push the pain to the back of my mind and move. Which is, I know, not healthy on several levels.
When you’re not quite ready to DNF a book but are also not quite feeling like reading on …what is that? re-shelved? Whatever it is, that’s where I am with A History of Antigua, the Unsuspected Isle by Brian Dyde. I opened it today and started reading and haven’t budged from p. 60. Still, I’m not ready to give up on it yet. But I probably won’t be finishing it this month.
I’ve meanwhile made progress, since my last reading update roughly 5 days ago, on Private Eyes by Jonathan Kellerman (p. 321), Things you may find hidden in my ear by Mosab Abu Toha (p. 52), and another one I’m on the fence about continuing Transfer by Apple Gidley (p. 177).
I’ve already read it because I edited it and that’s why it’s only temporarily on my bookshelf, I’m giving it away to someone in the target age group (and local to me) as a promo for my CREATIVE SPACE art and culture column.
He offers her a smile but she keeps her face blank and observes him coldly, as though he were not standing in front of her but happening instead on a television screen that she can switch off whenever she chooses.
-p. 93, Crossing Over by Ann Morgan
Though I had set this aside several books ago (in fact, I haven’t mentioned it since April, I think), I was immediately clear on where I was, which is more than I can say for the two main characters; one an Englishwoman slipping in and out of realities in her head and an African immigrant who may be experiencing PTSD. The quote above is from a chapter in which he ventures out to buy food; the her in question is the cashier.
I am currently paused at page 98 and am hoping to keep this one in the reading rotation.
This week’s active reads (or reads active since my last update on September 10th) also included Private Eyes by Jonathan Kellerman (p. 294), and audio book of Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (track 66), and My Name is Marcus by Geoffrey Philp (p. 99). The latter launched this week before I was able to finish the e-ARC sent to me by the author. It’s like that sometimes (I actually have several in the queue) which is why I’m sometimes hesitant to take them.
Speaking of new books, I’ll add one I had a hand in editing – my third time working with this author – which has its launch this Saturday.
It’s Tete’s Butterfly by Floree Whyte and put out by her own Moondancer Books, which also published two of her earlier books also for children, The Wonderful World of Yohan and Dance on the Moon.
Listening to this Eve interview, specifically the section where she talks about being dropped by Aftermath before her breakthrough with Ruff Ryders, I’m thinking a few things: 1, I’m going to have to get her book, aren’t I? 2, life is made of second (and third and fourth and …) chances 3, A reminder that sometimes you need to get out of your own way.
My mind immediately flashed to my first book deal (my first two book deals actually as those were with the same publisher). How grateful and eager and…respectful I was when I should have been…yes, all of those things but also a lot more proactive. Ask more questions, suggest more things, advocate for my books. Do I think they could have been more proactive too? Hell, yeah, but ultimately I’m just one of many authors to them. A nobody from a small market. They’d liked my storytelling enough to invest in those books but the books underperformed and I was dropped. To this day “pulp” is still one of my least favourite words because that’s what they said they were going to do to my books – and I have to give thanks that local bookstore Best of Books opted to save some of those books because I certainly didn’t have the resources to. I was down, down, down…I truly felt I’d had my shot and it was over. I had plateau’d. Forget has-been, I was a 30 something year old never would ever be. The self-pity!
It was the manager of Best of Books who helped me connect with the publisher who put The Boy from Willow Bend back in print. By then I had dug myself out of my depression enough to research what to do after you’ve been dumped by your publisher. I had re-secured my rights and put together a package for both books – critical reception, reader enthusiasm, the fact that the Boy had been tapped for the schools’ reading list etc – to market them to prospective new publishers. So I came prepared to that pitch meeting. It has been bumpy as all hell (still is) but I did (for a time) get both books (the other being Dancing Nude in the Moonlight) back in print. See the status of all my books here.
I was still too eager and probably didn’t ask all the right questions (girl, what do you mean “was”?) but one thing I was determined to do was be proactive. I remember researching and planning all the no and low fund (because I had no money) things I could do to market the books. That’s when I began to advocate more for myself and my books with publishers, in-house publicists, programmers, critics, readers, whomever could help me ripple the water as I like to say. Yes, it is the publisher’s responsibility to market and distribute the books but I had to (push past the shyness, the tentativeness, the fear of doing too much) and hustle too.
(For my first book launch, I accepted an invitation from a local bookstore to sign some books in the passageway outside the store – I was grateful and was told the book sold well; but for my re-launch as an author with Oh Gad! I approached the bookstore, planned a launch event, networked online and in person, before, during, and after said event. Both were special but I was much more passive in the event on the left happening. I didn’t even commission that t-shirt with the book on the cover, someone gifted it to me. I really just wanted the book to speak for me without having to show up and perform. On the right, I’m still not performing but I’m leaning into the understanding that the launch is another part of the marketing process, even if you’re not the outgoing type. See launch galleries and more.)
I said at the top the lesson was about getting out of your own way but for me that also meant sometimes getting in the way of those who won’t see you otherwise. I’ve made missteps and stepped on toes, and nobody hates it more than me when I can feel that that’s how my advocacy is being received. I try to learn and shift but I’m going to keep advocating for my books. I’m still working on overcoming my natural instincts (lol). I still am not the one to walk up on people for purpose but I don’t think I would be as active on social media, for instance, if I hadn’t made that decision to step out of my comfort zone.
I went there even more with Oh Gad! – my comeback, level up opportunity – as that book was represented by an agent (another decision I had made was to go through an agent next time) and published by one of the big US publishers.
It was, to reference the Eve interview, my “if I ever get this opportunity again…” moment.
I’ve been blessed with numerous opportunities since then, published several more books, but also have had many setbacks as well, in addition to constantly negotiating the balance between being an advocate for my books and being a nuisance to somebody, coming to the slow realization that #TheWritingLife is a journey and one sometimes as bumpy as driving in a car with no shocks in these Caribbean streets. But I’m still in it.
(My most recent book is To be a Cheetah, launched in 2023)
I want to thank God for so far always blessing me with other opportunities, even when I’m so down I can’t see them. I thank God for helping me shift my mindset when it comes to this writing and publishing game: respectful is good (your parents raised you right) but you’ve got to fight for your books (you wrote them, who else is going to fight for them). It’s not bragging to push them it’s actually part of the work.
I shared with one of my nephews recently, because I thought he needed to hear it and because I wanted him to know that we (the adults) didn’t always have it together either, an academic and career setback that I thought was the end when I was his age, but it was just another beginning. And life is full of them.
I’m sounding more pollyanna-ish than I normally feel but Eve’s comment hit me in the chest. I have been knocked on my ass but I have also been given a hand up, and I have had the blessing of being given other opportunities and positioning myself to make the most of them and hustle for them, boy have I hustled. Jah know.
Anyway, I don’t read a lot of celebrity memoirs these days but Eve’s Who’s That Girl? is going on the TBR. That’s my Can’t Wait Wednesday.
Nightmare Island by Shakirah Bourne to 
Ladies of the Night by Althea Prince to 
The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler to 
The Swinging Bridge by Ramabai Espinet to 
Like The Singing Coming off the Drums by Sonia Sanchez. Sorry for the half-words; this was harder than I anticipated.
(audio book) and added my thoughts to 
Don’t judge me. It’s stress relief. Anyway, with Demon Copperhead, 
written with Kathy Iadoli (the audio book version), and have started listening to it.
jhohadli 
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