I should have good news, but do not. And it most certainly is not my editor's fault. She was ready; I was not.
I wanted to cut about 25,000 words from the novel and doing so has been a slow endeavor. Trying to decide what goes and what stays, what is important and what is of no consequence is not an easy task. We want to release a perfect product and cannot afford to cut corners. The work is anything but mainstream, yet we hope to attract a mainstream audience. To do so, we need the writing to be as tight as possible. Thus, I need to revise some of the wording. Again.
So, the release will be in 2016, though I can't say when. Can't even guess at it. Sigh.
Until then, I have survey results to analyze.
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Friday, May 1, 2015
Research, research, research...
I'm almost done with the preliminary research for my next title. I've learned so much stuff that I simply didn't know before, and I think it's awesome. I also found a beautiful, old map of West and North Africa with which I am totally smitten. So may towns/cities that I knew by name are listed on the map. It's been very exciting!
My next novel, by the way, is going to feature the 16th century Borno Empire. Idris Aloma and all that. There will be muskets! And Turks.
Why did I choose Borno for my subject matter? Because I think there is, as Ahmad Ibn Fartua (Idris Aloma's Grand Imam) put it, an "obligation placed upon later generations to follow the example of their predecessors and to bear a likeness to the honorable."
As an African--Nigerian, to be precise--I fear we have lost our way. We've forgotten our past. I want to help my fellow Africans remember the deeds of our forefathers, remember the honor of our ancestors, remember to strive to be the people we were meant to be and not the people 'they' tell us we are.
My next novel, by the way, is going to feature the 16th century Borno Empire. Idris Aloma and all that. There will be muskets! And Turks.
Why did I choose Borno for my subject matter? Because I think there is, as Ahmad Ibn Fartua (Idris Aloma's Grand Imam) put it, an "obligation placed upon later generations to follow the example of their predecessors and to bear a likeness to the honorable."
As an African--Nigerian, to be precise--I fear we have lost our way. We've forgotten our past. I want to help my fellow Africans remember the deeds of our forefathers, remember the honor of our ancestors, remember to strive to be the people we were meant to be and not the people 'they' tell us we are.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Afrocentric Books
I probably should have posted this sooner--marketing and all--but I have partnered with someone to bring Afrocentric Books to the world!
Now that I've said it, I think that sentence is a little misleading. So, instead, let me post the company's Mission.
As you can see from the mission statement, we are hoping to publish novels with an African twist. By African, we don't mean "bred in the Motherland", we simply mean that at least one main character is of African descent.
I am a HUGE fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy stories, but I have to admit that over the years, I've read less and less of them. Why? Because of the dearth of Black characters. My search for characters with whom I could relate took me further and further away from the traditional SciFi/Fantasy that has dominated the mainstream for so long. I no longer wanted to read about pasty white vampires or Saruman the White or good white elves and evil black elves.
I know that our preference towards stories featuring characters of African descent makes Afrocentric Books about as biased as the Big Houses who apparently think SFF is strictly white bread. Indeed our slogan is "Unapologetically Biased".
So how do we differ?
1) We are a tiny publishing company.
2) We don't give a shit about the status quo--White people aren't the only ones living on alien planets or facing down dragons with a sword in one hand and a flaming ball of magic in the other.
3) We haven't forgotten about the other people of color--the remaining characters can and should be diverse--Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Maori, whatever! Only one main character must be of African descent, and as you can see by our submission guidelines, that character doesn't necessarily have to be Black.
4) Afrocentric Books is but a single imprint of a larger company, a larger company with other imprints that do not require one main character to be of African descent.
If you're an author with a kick-ass story to tell, particularly if it is unconventional or non-mainstream, check us out.
Afrocentric Books's first novel is scheduled for release in May or June of this year. It is a work of Historical Fantasy, which takes place in medieval West Africa. To be exact, it is a Fictional Autobiography with a dollop of Mythical Realism and a dash of Paranormal Romance. Make what you will of that.
In the meantime, stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen!
UPDATE:
My editor says that June is too optimistic a timeframe for the novel's release. Boooo! However, it will be released in 2015. There, I said it! Now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Now that I've said it, I think that sentence is a little misleading. So, instead, let me post the company's Mission.
People of African descent live and thrive all over the world. Yet, when it comes to the most popular literature, the settings and the characters are decidedly Eurocentric. We are here to change that. We are here to start a new movement. We are here to immerse you in the colors of the African diaspora.If you immediately clicked on the above link, please bear with us. The website is in progress and we are toying around with the colors, fonts, and everything else.
As you can see from the mission statement, we are hoping to publish novels with an African twist. By African, we don't mean "bred in the Motherland", we simply mean that at least one main character is of African descent.
I am a HUGE fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy stories, but I have to admit that over the years, I've read less and less of them. Why? Because of the dearth of Black characters. My search for characters with whom I could relate took me further and further away from the traditional SciFi/Fantasy that has dominated the mainstream for so long. I no longer wanted to read about pasty white vampires or Saruman the White or good white elves and evil black elves.
I know that our preference towards stories featuring characters of African descent makes Afrocentric Books about as biased as the Big Houses who apparently think SFF is strictly white bread. Indeed our slogan is "Unapologetically Biased".
So how do we differ?
1) We are a tiny publishing company.
2) We don't give a shit about the status quo--White people aren't the only ones living on alien planets or facing down dragons with a sword in one hand and a flaming ball of magic in the other.
3) We haven't forgotten about the other people of color--the remaining characters can and should be diverse--Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Maori, whatever! Only one main character must be of African descent, and as you can see by our submission guidelines, that character doesn't necessarily have to be Black.
4) Afrocentric Books is but a single imprint of a larger company, a larger company with other imprints that do not require one main character to be of African descent.
If you're an author with a kick-ass story to tell, particularly if it is unconventional or non-mainstream, check us out.
Afrocentric Books's first novel is scheduled for release in May or June of this year. It is a work of Historical Fantasy, which takes place in medieval West Africa. To be exact, it is a Fictional Autobiography with a dollop of Mythical Realism and a dash of Paranormal Romance. Make what you will of that.
In the meantime, stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen!
UPDATE:
My editor says that June is too optimistic a timeframe for the novel's release. Boooo! However, it will be released in 2015. There, I said it! Now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Natural Hair Woes
Seriously, the Aundre Walker system of hair categorization is so very useless for me. Granted I do have some 4b hair, but it's right at the back of my head. Around the edges, I consider myself a mix of 4b and 4c. But everywhere else is nothing short of 5b/5c. That junk is ridiculous!
I have no coil pattern--except in the 4b/4c areas. the rest is just hard, jagged zig-zags, all twisted up and higgeldy-piggeldy. That's Category 5 if ever I saw it. But the texture, in and of itself, isn't an issue. I have such a tiny head that I can still style my hair with relative ease. The problem for me is breakage.
In my natural hair journey, I've 'trimmed' my ends three times, cutting off 2 inches each time. I stress that I have voluntarily cut off 6 inches of hair! And each time, I thought that I was cutting off old, thin hair that had not quite grown in properly. After my last trim, I noticed that the remaining hair was, in fact, beautiful, lustrous, and thick (relatively speaking). At that time, my hair was 6-7 inches long. My 'bangs' reached the tip of my nose. Needless to say, after 18 months of natural living, I was rather pleased with my progress.
This was in January. To avoid tampering with my lovely growth, I put my hair in braids for three weeks.
Just three weeks, y'all.
When I took my hair out during the first week of February, I noticed A LOT of shedding and hair fragments. I thought to myself, "Three weeks worth of shedding would look like a lot, wouldn't it?"
I proceeded to wash/condition/oil my hair. While I was oiling the hair, I noticed yet more fragments in my palms. Finally, I combed it all out and was mortified to the verge of tears. My hair was noticeably shorter than it was before the braids. I had lost another 2 inches. And this time, it was ALL involuntary.
It took a while to collect myself, but I eventually got it together. After some thought and considerable gnashing of teeth, I came to the conclusion that the braids had not protected my hair because my locale had been unusually cold and dry in January. Further conclusion: my hair could no longer be exposed to the elements.
Since February, I have worn my hair under a headwrap at all times. Almost all times. I keep it covered even in the house, but do remove the covering occasionally. Like to shower and/or wash my hair.
Initially, I worried that the constant headwrap would damage my extremely fine and fragile edges, as that has happened to me in the past. However, I bought a satin scarf, which I wear as my base wrap before putting on a more 'ethnic' looking wrap, and it seems to be working (knock on wood).
Because I am W. African by birth and upbringing, wearing a headwrap isn't particularly out of the ordinary for me. Wearing a headwrap every single day is different, but not extraordinary. Very rarely, I get odd looks from people. And no one at work seems to mind, despite the fact that we have a policy against head coverings.
Since that day in February, when I relegated my hair to the warmth, humidity, and darkness of the headwrap, my hair has grown 3/4 of an inch. That is 50% faster than average. I've seen this sort of accelerated growth in the past, though infrequently, and I've never been able to pinpoint the reason for it. This time, however, I'm pretty sure it's the 'green house effect'. Here it is again. And again. And again. Who knew this was a thing! Am I sure it's the GHE? Not really, but I can attest that my hair has ALWAYS grown better in the high humidity and warmth of summer, with growth all but stalling in winter. So 3/4 of an inch in February is very, very unusual for me.
Although, I'm pleased with the growth, I'm not celebrating yet. I'll wait for my hair to reach the 8-inch mark before I celebrate. Provided my hair keeps up this growth rate, I should reach eight inches in four or five more months (depends on how much the stylist removes at the next trim). I'll check back in a couple of months to update you on my progress.
For anyone else who's struggling with maintaining the natural lifestyle, as a good friend once said to me, "The devil is a lye!"
Hang in there ladies. I think we might all be in this together.
I have no coil pattern--except in the 4b/4c areas. the rest is just hard, jagged zig-zags, all twisted up and higgeldy-piggeldy. That's Category 5 if ever I saw it. But the texture, in and of itself, isn't an issue. I have such a tiny head that I can still style my hair with relative ease. The problem for me is breakage.
In my natural hair journey, I've 'trimmed' my ends three times, cutting off 2 inches each time. I stress that I have voluntarily cut off 6 inches of hair! And each time, I thought that I was cutting off old, thin hair that had not quite grown in properly. After my last trim, I noticed that the remaining hair was, in fact, beautiful, lustrous, and thick (relatively speaking). At that time, my hair was 6-7 inches long. My 'bangs' reached the tip of my nose. Needless to say, after 18 months of natural living, I was rather pleased with my progress.
This was in January. To avoid tampering with my lovely growth, I put my hair in braids for three weeks.
Just three weeks, y'all.
When I took my hair out during the first week of February, I noticed A LOT of shedding and hair fragments. I thought to myself, "Three weeks worth of shedding would look like a lot, wouldn't it?"
I proceeded to wash/condition/oil my hair. While I was oiling the hair, I noticed yet more fragments in my palms. Finally, I combed it all out and was mortified to the verge of tears. My hair was noticeably shorter than it was before the braids. I had lost another 2 inches. And this time, it was ALL involuntary.
It took a while to collect myself, but I eventually got it together. After some thought and considerable gnashing of teeth, I came to the conclusion that the braids had not protected my hair because my locale had been unusually cold and dry in January. Further conclusion: my hair could no longer be exposed to the elements.
Since February, I have worn my hair under a headwrap at all times. Almost all times. I keep it covered even in the house, but do remove the covering occasionally. Like to shower and/or wash my hair.
Initially, I worried that the constant headwrap would damage my extremely fine and fragile edges, as that has happened to me in the past. However, I bought a satin scarf, which I wear as my base wrap before putting on a more 'ethnic' looking wrap, and it seems to be working (knock on wood).
Because I am W. African by birth and upbringing, wearing a headwrap isn't particularly out of the ordinary for me. Wearing a headwrap every single day is different, but not extraordinary. Very rarely, I get odd looks from people. And no one at work seems to mind, despite the fact that we have a policy against head coverings.
Since that day in February, when I relegated my hair to the warmth, humidity, and darkness of the headwrap, my hair has grown 3/4 of an inch. That is 50% faster than average. I've seen this sort of accelerated growth in the past, though infrequently, and I've never been able to pinpoint the reason for it. This time, however, I'm pretty sure it's the 'green house effect'. Here it is again. And again. And again. Who knew this was a thing! Am I sure it's the GHE? Not really, but I can attest that my hair has ALWAYS grown better in the high humidity and warmth of summer, with growth all but stalling in winter. So 3/4 of an inch in February is very, very unusual for me.
Although, I'm pleased with the growth, I'm not celebrating yet. I'll wait for my hair to reach the 8-inch mark before I celebrate. Provided my hair keeps up this growth rate, I should reach eight inches in four or five more months (depends on how much the stylist removes at the next trim). I'll check back in a couple of months to update you on my progress.
For anyone else who's struggling with maintaining the natural lifestyle, as a good friend once said to me, "The devil is a lye!"
Hang in there ladies. I think we might all be in this together.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Research
I do a lot of research, both for my primary job and for my writing. I've completed a novel, which required boatloads of research and, I admit, it was very satisfying when it came to the end. Now I want to begin a new novel. I already know what it's going to be about, but I need to do research.
Like my first completed novel, this one will be historical fantasy taking place in Medieval West Africa. I like to keep the historical facts as 'factual' as possible and I prefer the fantasy to be as close to reality as manageable.
However, the very idea of researching my subject matter has me cringing. Researching for Queen of Zazzau was a massive undertaking--2 years of searching, buying archeological/historical books, journals, articles. Given the dearth of written history in W. Africa, it was very difficult to find the information that I sought. It was, metaphorically, back-breaking labor.
Now, I know I have to begin again. My research will take me into a culture that is very far removed from the Hausa culture of my first novel. And, truth be told, I really hate relying on the historical articles written by Europeans. They often got so many things wrong. I once read an historical article that said the people of the Niger Delta were salt deficient, because the salt was found in the North, and we did not have access to it. We most certainly did have access to salt, and still use it to cook. It is called 'native salt' and is found right there in the delta.
But I digress.
I need to start researching my second novel and I'm psyching myself out before I even begin. I need some vibes of support from you, my 4 faithful readers. Send me some mental encouragement.
Okay, I'm off. To begin Day 1 of background research.
Wish me luck!
Like my first completed novel, this one will be historical fantasy taking place in Medieval West Africa. I like to keep the historical facts as 'factual' as possible and I prefer the fantasy to be as close to reality as manageable.
However, the very idea of researching my subject matter has me cringing. Researching for Queen of Zazzau was a massive undertaking--2 years of searching, buying archeological/historical books, journals, articles. Given the dearth of written history in W. Africa, it was very difficult to find the information that I sought. It was, metaphorically, back-breaking labor.
Now, I know I have to begin again. My research will take me into a culture that is very far removed from the Hausa culture of my first novel. And, truth be told, I really hate relying on the historical articles written by Europeans. They often got so many things wrong. I once read an historical article that said the people of the Niger Delta were salt deficient, because the salt was found in the North, and we did not have access to it. We most certainly did have access to salt, and still use it to cook. It is called 'native salt' and is found right there in the delta.
But I digress.
I need to start researching my second novel and I'm psyching myself out before I even begin. I need some vibes of support from you, my 4 faithful readers. Send me some mental encouragement.
Okay, I'm off. To begin Day 1 of background research.
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
The State of Affairs
As my sister-in-law very deftly pointed out a few minutes ago (almost an hour ago by the time I finished writing this), I haven't been on this site since November. Well, technically, I've been here. I just haven't written anything.
As anyone who's been reading this blog (I thank all 4 of you from the bottom of my heart) can attest, I really just never know what to write. In real life, I'm not all that talkative--except when I'm making raunchy, off-color statements.
If my 4 faithful readers have been following US current affairs, I'm sure you've seen all the fall-out from the various Cop-on-Black killings. Several times, I wanted to talk about these killings and the resultant protests, but just thinking about them got me so emotionally charged that I couldn't focus my thoughts.
To summarize my thoughts/feelings on the topic, I'll simply say that:
1) I am sick and tired of people justifying the action of the police officers responsible for the deaths of Black men, women, and children who DID NOT deserve death.
Why is it okay for this to happen? Or this? Or this? Or this?
And how, in the name of all things just, do they get away with it? Again. And again? And again?
Every family who has been devastated by the brash actions of a police officer who, apparently, is unable to stay level-headed in a high-stress situation should file a wrongful death lawsuit.
There. I've said it. And now, I'm done.
P.S. Thanks a lot 'Zimmerman Jury' for letting this fucktard walk free.
As anyone who's been reading this blog (I thank all 4 of you from the bottom of my heart) can attest, I really just never know what to write. In real life, I'm not all that talkative--except when I'm making raunchy, off-color statements.
If my 4 faithful readers have been following US current affairs, I'm sure you've seen all the fall-out from the various Cop-on-Black killings. Several times, I wanted to talk about these killings and the resultant protests, but just thinking about them got me so emotionally charged that I couldn't focus my thoughts.
To summarize my thoughts/feelings on the topic, I'll simply say that:
1) I am sick and tired of people justifying the action of the police officers responsible for the deaths of Black men, women, and children who DID NOT deserve death.
- If a police officer cannot handle the stress of his/her job without shooting innocent people, then s/he needs to make a career change.
- If I shot an animal for snapping at me, I wouldn't be a veterinarian for very long, would I?
- If criminals were swayed by peaceful protests, there would be a lot less crime, wouldn't there?
- Criminals behaving like criminals, while only to be expected, is a problem. But police officers behaving like criminals is another thing entirely.
- People are protesting the violence exhibited by those who are supposed to 'protect and serve'. Protect and fucking serve. Not 'harass, ticket, arrest, and/or kill'. Just sayin'.
- How about, "If you want to be a police officer, make sure you aren't so afraid of Black people that you shoot the first one who moves."
Why is it okay for this to happen? Or this? Or this? Or this?
And how, in the name of all things just, do they get away with it? Again. And again? And again?
Every family who has been devastated by the brash actions of a police officer who, apparently, is unable to stay level-headed in a high-stress situation should file a wrongful death lawsuit.
There. I've said it. And now, I'm done.
P.S. Thanks a lot 'Zimmerman Jury' for letting this fucktard walk free.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)