fannie mae johnson 1932 - 2014

On July 22nd my grandmother passed away. It was no surprise because, first of all, she was up in age and her health had been failing for some time. But even when the writing is on the wall it's not an easy thing to except.
    I decided I was going to speak at her funeral. I am not a good extemporaneous speaker, so I wrote a speech/tribute to her. I had several goals when I set out to do this. First, I wanted to be truthful and honest with my feelings about her and with the final analysis of my forty-six years with her. I also wanted to move people through those years in a visual way. I wanted people to be able to visualize me as a boy in the 70's, a teen in the 80's, a young adult in the 90's and 2000 zero's[if that's the correct term for the first decade of a century] and a middle-aged, but still hot and sexy, man in the present. Look, you can call me conceited but I say if you've got it don't deny it - amplify it![LOL] Anyhow, I also wanted to move listeners emotionally with a little sentimentality, a little humor and a little personal nostalgia. Listen to me- a little sentimentality, a little humor... was I writing a speech or seasoning a dish? But on the other hand, maybe crafting a good speech is the equivalent of a chef crafting a gourmet meal. Spices/seasoning can make or break a dish. And just as food is nourishment for the body, words are nourishment for the soul. So, I guess I was right to be concerned about that delicate balance of ''flavors'' just as a chef would be, and I was given just two minutes to convey that balance! It was my ''quickfire challenge'' like they have on Top Chef[one of my favorite reality shows].
    The funeral was held on July 30th. I had written my speech several days prior and I did read it but I just barely got through it before I broke down into tears in front of the other mourners. After the service an aunt of mine from my mother's side of the family[it was my father's mother who passed] came up to me and told me that I had had her in tears as she sat way in the back of the church and listened to my tribute. That let me know I had done what I intended to do, but I will post the speech on this blog next week so you can decide.

gay games and google dispalys

First I would like to welcome the 2014 gay games to Cleveland! The kick-off to the games and the other week long events started yesterday. The city is buzzing with activity and my pride in being a Clevelander is magnified tenfold.
   Last week I left off talking about tenacity, so I would like to talk about my latest example of tenaciousness. Remember tenacity is basically the willingness to do whatever it takes [short of a blood sacrifice but not ruling out the writer's couch] to succeed as an author. Scratch that comment about the ''writer's couch.'' I guess I'm just super horny these days. Right now I'd get on that couch book deal or no book deal! Anyhow, let me get my mind out of the gutter. Where was I? Oh yes, tenacity. My latest example of doing whatever it takes is buying a Google display marketing network ad. These are those ads that appear on web site for people to click on and be taken to another web site to buy something. In this case it will be to Iuniverse's web site to buy Rainbow Plantation Blues. It will appear on 2,000,000 web site world wide.
    It's going to cost me $500.00 which I will pay in three monthly installments from August through October. The ads will begin just in time for the book buying season in November and run for thirty days. I know it sounds like a lot of money for only thirty days but 2,000,000 web sites is an ambush and it will [I'm certain] increase awareness of my novel by well over a million in a very short time. Everybody who sees the ad wont click on it and everybody that clicks on it wont buy it but they will at least know about it and there will be a percentage of people that will buy it.
   I will be working with Iuniverse for the next few months to design the ad, select key words and go over the web sites it will appear on. But I'd better not miss any of my payments or I'll be subject to all kinds of late fees and penalties if I want to continue the project. The package is normally $699.00 up front but I talked them down to $500.00 and a payment plan, so I'm sure I'll be okay. Things will be tighter for the next couple months though.
     I'm really excited about his project and I'm sure it will have some sort of impact. I'll be back next week with another electrifying, spine-tingling, intoxicating, titillating and just plain exciting post[LOL]. Happy Gay Games 2014!
   
   

calling my woot! part three

Tenacity. This is the last word represented in the ''woot'' acronym, but it is most certainly not the least important. In fact, if the acronym's letters were placed in order of importance it would have to read ''twoo'' [tenacity,willingness, objectivity, optimism]. personally I don't know which reads worse, woot or twoo. But that's neither here nor there. The point is that tenacity is key to successful authorship. Actually, tenacity is key to successful anything!
    The article "The Four Characteristics of Author Attitude and Why You Need Them,'' from which the woot acronym comes from, says that an author has to be willing to do whatever it takes to reach his/her goals. It talks about the need for determination, persistence and perseverance. It also talks about the need for a shear love and/or passion of writing, authorship, publishing, etc. and how money cannot be ones prime objective. These things might seem like common sense but, first of all, everybody doesn't have common sense and many people are simply not trained and/or experienced in them. They're almost like a set of skills that some people are born with and others have to study, learn and practice.
    I personally see myself as someone who has them naturally to various degrees and from time to time. They seem to fluctuate with me. But I am always aware of tenacity and it's power because I've seen it work for me. Refer back to my July 13th, 2014 post entitled ''I Love New York'' for an example of tenacity at work! I have a number of  experiences over the six years since ''Rainbow Plantation Blues'' was published where the principles of tenacity have worked for me, but by no means have I mastered them. I wonder if anybody ever does 100%. Anyhow, I really do have a strong belief that my novel is well written, unique and timely and those beliefs drive me forward.
     Speaking of tenacity, my next post will impart another example of my being tenacious. I'm starting a new promotional project that I'm really excited about. Stay tuned next week, same time same channel, for details!

calling my woot! part two

 Last post I talked about an article called ''The Four Characteristics of Author Attitude and Why You Need Them.'' Willingness and objectivity represent the first two letters in the acronym that reads ''woot''. Well, actually willingness and optimism represent the first two letters of the acronym but I mixed them up because I'm an airhead! Anyhow, with this post I'll talk about optimism and tenacity, the other two letters of the acronym.
    Everybody knows the basic definition of optimism but how does it apply specifically to authors? Well, we authors have to endure a lot of rejection and criticism for one thing. Whether it's from agents, publishers, readers, reviewers, you name it, somebodies going to have something to say! And somebody having something to say is never a bad thing no matter what they say! With that said, how do you deal with this whirlwind of advise, opinions, etc.? The article says that one must see everything that happens to them on their writing journey as ''pushing them closer to successful authorship''. I agree with this 100% because whenever somebody takes the time to give you their honest opinion it's a gift simply because they gave your work some attention. I would like to add that nothing worth having is going to be easy to attain, so one could also view criticism and rejection ''optimistically'' by seeing it as a sign of progress. Not only does it give you a chance to improve your work but you can strengthen your resolve to reach your goals and have breakthroughs from it. I have experienced this firsthand. I also try to remember that fiction writing is an art form and all art is subjective. So, it's insane to take rejection and/or criticism personally because you have no idea of peoples personal prejudices, taste, etc. Authors have to take it all with a grain of salt and learn how to go inward and discern the meaningful feedback from the rest.
    Wow! Author optimism is a huge topic in and of itself. Writing this post has really got me to reflecting on my own optimism. I'm going to stop here and do a part three to discuss tenacity. I'm worn out!

calling my woot! part one

July 6th 2014. What's so important about that date you ask? Well, only that it's the last day I've written anything, unless you count this blog. And why haven't I written anything since July 6th you ask? Well, it's not because I've been lazy or unmotivated. It's because I been blocked. I've had writer's block! To be perfectly honest I've never really had writer's block in all the years I've been writing, only motivation problems. But now, for the first time, I'll sit down to write and nothing is coming out! I don't know where to take my story. I don't have any ideas! This has been going on since July 6th.
    Rather than wallow in my writing problems by stuffing my face and watching DVDs I decided I must find creative ways to get myself out of this rut. So, I've been reading articles about writing in effort to get my writing juices flowing again. A member of my writer's support group gave me an interesting article called The  Four Characteristics of Author Attitude and Why you Need them by Nina Amir. It talks about the importance of willingness, optimism, objectivity and tenacity, which make the acronym woot! Anyhow, willingness means to be able to sit back and reflect upon where one is as an author/writer and what it will take to get one where he/she wants to go. Am I willing to look at my self objectively and change some of my old habits and/or beliefs in order to get myself where I want to be? I would add to ''willingness'' by saying am I ready to take risk!
    Objectivity means can one look at their work/idea from a business standpoint. This means to craft ones work to meet industry standards and needs, which are always focused on marketability and sales in the end. You have to be willing and able to take criticism and make changes that you, as the author, may not be able to see or understand. Authors are very close to their work, I know this for a fact, but learning to see/write it in a way that would appeal to masses of people is a skill in and of itself. It's like a comedian telling a joke that's funny to him/her but not considering whether their audience will get it.
    I just realized that I skipped optimism and went straight to objectivity, which tells me that I'm not focused on what I'm doing. Luckily there both O words in the acronym. Anyhow, I'm going to split this post into two parts and go focus on stuffing my face and watching some DVDs. Hay, I didn't say I never wallowed in my writing problems!

I love new york

Last Thursday [7-10-14] at 2:00AM I hopped a bus to NYC to nominate Rainbow Plantation Blues to be read by an LGBT book club that meets once a month at the NYC LGBT community center. Then, on Friday [7-11-14] At 12:35AM I hopped a bus to come back home to Cleveland. Yes, I spent a total of about twelve hours in NYC and a total of about twenty-three hours on the bus! It was a crazy, insane, whirlwind trip but it  payed off because the book club voted to read my novel. There were two other books nominated but mine beat them out. When the meeting was over a member told me that about a year ago an author showed up at their meeting to nominate his book for the group to read but it was still voted down. And to this day they still haven't read it!

    They nominate their books four months in advance to give everybody time to get the books and read them. So, they will be discussing mine in November and they asked if I could come back for the discussion. Of course I said hell yeah! Well, to myself I said that but out loud I said ''yes, I would be happy to do that'' all calm, cool and collected. There were ten people there including myself and I passed out the business cards I had made prior to the trip.

    My bus arrived in NYC around 11:30AM but the meeting wasn't to start until 8:00PM, so I had over eight hours to kill. I just explored the city on foot, did a lot of people watching and drank smoothies. I 've been to NYC many times before so I know my way around Manhattan but the one thing that was new to me was the city bikes they have now. You can rent bikes and explore the city, or whatever else you need to do, by bike as well as on foot. I love the hustle and bustle, the diversity, the pulse and the concrete jungle that is NYC, and It really is ''the city that never sleeps''. It was dark by the time I walked back to the bus station from 13th st to 42nd st but there were still as many people on the streets as there had been when I arrived at 11:30 that morning! There's no place else in America like NYC.

     The bus ride back was torturous! We went through upstate New York and stopped in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo along with a few other towns I've never heard of. Then it was onto Erie, PA and finally Cleveland. It was a fourteen hour ride. I got no sleep and I had to go to my writer's support group and  then to my day job when I got back. Still, I have no regrets and I'm glad I took the risk in going. The book club had no idea I was coming and I had no idea how things would pan out. It just goes to show that you have to roll the dice in life and see what happens because you never know!

call me kuchu : a review

Recently I watched a documentary called Call Me Kuchu[kuchu means queer in Swahili]. It's about the activism of murdered Ugandan Gay right activist David Kato. The documentary itself was good but I did have trouble reading the subtitles sometimes. The lettering was in white and the backdrops were often too light, so the words would blend into them. The subtitles also went fast and I had to keep pausing and backtracking. Other than that it was quite good and informative.
    Kato was murdered in 2011 for his activism, although the official story says that it was by a male prostitute over money. I guess we'll never know what really happened but I don't see how it was not an assassination. Uganda has a disgusting stance on LGBT rights. They recently passed the Anti-Homosexual Bill[ that's what it's called] that Kato was working to stop. The bill says that anybody found to be LGBT, abating anybody LGBT or not reporting somebody who is LGBT can be imprisoned and/or executed! It also says that this applies to any Ugandan living abroad! Of course the international community has spoken out against this but, lets face it, every county commits human right violations.
    Africa came to be so anti-gay in the first place because of the colonist who came there and imposed their anti-gay laws on the locals. Now, most of those colonial powers have changed their laws but most of Africa is still steeped in the prejudice and misunderstanding that the colonist created. Africans in general think that homosexuality is some kind of Western plague but Uganda is a Christan county. This is equally ironic because That's something that was imposed on them, too! The situation is a hot buttered mess! But the good news is that Uganda's LGBT people are not giving up. They have an organization call SMUG[sexual minorities Uganda which Kato helped to found] that has a very articulate and courageous[and handsome I might add] executive director named Frank Mugisha.
    I already knew that South Africa has marriage equality and constitutional protection for It's LGBT citizens but watching this documentary motivated me to find out more about LGBT people in the whole of Africa. I found out that there are about fourteen countries that have no laws criminalizing homosexuality but they don't protect it either. The rest of them specifically criminalize it. The degree to which they criminalize and enforce these laws probably varies from country to country, but Uganda's must be one of the most extreme.