Hi!  On my Instagram page, I typically dedicate Tuesdays to book talks and reviews by supporting other Black independent authors. This month, I’ve decided to support Black Young Adult authors and their books. As a YA lover and writer myself, I know that YA doesn’t always get a whole lot of love, particularly since reviews often come from adults and not the target audience, so sometimes exposure can be limited. So, I am looking to spread the exposure of Black indie YA books with FREE reviews of your requested book across multiple review sites. I am only reviewing FOUR books for the month of August and into September, so it’s…

Hey y’all! It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post, and what a great way to return by giving you my thoughts on the new phenomenon that is ChatBot and/or Chat GPT and the impact on authors/creative writers. However today, I’ll be writing specifically about the impact of AI/ChatGPT on Black writers and why I believe we should forgo it for our writing needs. If you don’t already know what ChatGPT or Chatbot is, it is an interface where you can “chat” or interact with artificial intelligence that is programmed and wired to generate very humanlike responses with as natural language as possible. ChatGPT can provide a wide…

Hey everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve made a blog post, but it’s mainly because I’ve been focusing on transitioning into a new role at my day job! It’s definitely taxing, time-consuming, and everything in between, and I figured I’d make a post about how to manage juggling a day job and being an independent author. I have 5 tips I’d like to share if you’re in the same situation, and if you have others that you’d like to share, please feel free to write them in the comments! Here we go!   1. Carve out quiet time in any way When you have an intense, time-consuming, emotionally draining…

Hello my people! I hope everyone is doing well! Today, I have a blog entry about how to deal with negative reviews. Yesterday, I had the pleasure and privilege of being a part of Audra Russell’s Black Indie Author Week on a Live Instagram Video, and we had a great conversation about how to deal with negative reviews. Unfortunately, the Live Video did not save, so I thought writing blog posts about the topics we covered yesterday would help! Now, I haven’t had many negative reviews YET in my early writing career. However, it is a part of the territory of being an indie author (any author for that matter)…

“She/He shouldn’t have resisted.” “She/He should’ve complied.” “She/He should’ve listened to police orders.” “She/He should’ve this… he should’ve that…” Here’s what y’all should do. Shut up. These statements are nothing but an adherence to America’s sick foundation and ideology of Black submission at the helm of White dominance/expectation. A racial superiority complex and social order that intentionally places Blackness at the bottom with a steel toed boot on top to make sure we stay there. Here’s the root of everything we’re seeing unfold on our timelines these last ten years and have watched unfold since 1619: The United States of America is possessed with Black compliance, submission, obedience, and whatever…

Happy Black History Month! I hope y’all know that even though I’m Black every month, I’m Black as hell THIS month! Period! But there’s something very important I’d like to discuss today, and that is the support and/or lack thereof, of Black independent authors, especially when there is no better time to support them than now.   If you know anything about my social media presence, you know that I am a staunch Black indie author supporter. In Bookstagram land, there ain’t very many folks out there who intentionally support them. First, let me acknowledge that Black indie supporters are out there, loud, and present, but relatively few if you…

Let’s talk about literacy today. Maybe you’re here because you may have seen that I’m a part of the global 30 under 30 list. Maybe you’re here because you’ve searched the internet and found this post. Whatever it is, as a writer and in the wake of this exciting announcement, I’ll share my thoughts around LITERACY! I try to keep my professional identity and writing identity separate, which after this I’ll continue to do, but out of all the things/awards I’ve won in my short life — 2019 MLK Humanitarian Award, 2019 Early Career Educator Award, and many others — this one takes the cake. Why? Because literacy is what…

I’ve always had a soft spot for Young Adult Fiction. Realistic and mystery books are my favorite types, and I love them even more when they fall into the YA category. So here’s why I love writing YA!   Young Adult has a broad readership: Middle Grade, Upper, and Adult YA is so cool because the market is very broad, and you can find a niche in that market to cater to. When writing YA, I specifically target Black teen girls between the ages of 15 and 19 (give or take, whereas NA I cater to 20-29) who like their stories to get straight to the point without all the…

For a lot of people/readers, sex doesn’t belong in YA. Or writers are very cautious about it, tip toe around it, or just avoid it all together for fear of backlash and a “banned book” label. The thresholds for what should and shouldn’t be written varies so widely that there really isn’t a set “right way” to describe sex, and that’s what makes it scary for many writers. For me, the difference between something sexually graphic like an erotica sex scene and a YA sex scene is the intent, and in my opinion, that’s an easy line to distinguish. In adult romance or erotica, the intent for sex in the…

Today, I will talk about writing through loss and grief. This one is hard one for me to get down on this digital paper simply because I’ve never really extended myself in such a way that I will do right now. I’m a serious introvert, private, and I don’t even know if anyone will even read this, but this is my space. Writing has been a healer for me, even though right now, I have a love/hate relationship with it. And, others may be able to relate and may be able to share their own experiences. So here we go. My writing journey in 2020 has been quite a rollercoaster……