Written by ME at age 13:

Sucker MC’s
From envy you’re blue
Because you know you wanna be like
LEWie LEW
I’m no fake or imitation
Guaranteed to rock the nation
Dedication
Devastation
Do it with no complication
You’ll receive satisfaction
From my FUNKY FRESH reaction
You’ll be feeling the sensation
From LEWie LEW’s creation

LESSON: Don’t give up on your dreams, boys and girls. We DO improve. SMH

Time for TIME MANAGEMENT

I have multiple To Do Lists and not enough time to do everything. And I have recently come to notice that I have been spending the time that could be spent "doing," writing down what needs to be done and (instead of doing those things) losing those multiple lists and fretting because I feel OVERWHELMED. I admit I have a VERY bad case of the MOMMY SYNDROME: If you want something done right, do it yourself.

In my household, I compare myself to The Wolf from Pulp Fiction. I step into the disaster and, as if by miracle, restore normalcy. That has been my gift. But now, so many lucrative opportunities are right at my fingertips and... I find that I am short on money, short on time, short on energy and...too exhausted to stretch. I want it all done right (perfectly if possible) but I do not know how to delegate or share my workload.

So I envision myself: walking through a crowded Subway car, with a discarded coffee cup, saying, "Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, pardon this interruption. I am an award winning author. I have a beautiful home and beautiful children who go to great schools. I am working on multiple projects and my portfolio and skill set is VERY impressive. I will soon be a multimillionaire. However, at the present time, I am experiencing a negative cash flow. And right now, my entire staff is holding this coffee cup. Any generosity shown me today, will go toward paying an intern. Thank you and have a nice day."

In the meantime, time for TIME MANAGEMENT.

Immediate Solution:
1. Sort
2. Purge
3. Prioritize (Money generating activities take priority)
4. Schedule (Make a Calendar)
5. Do/Perform
6. Periodically Check, Check-off and Update Calendar
7. Prepare Instructions
8. Enlist Help
 

Showcasing My Babies....

When my first child was born, I was the only mother in the world. My child was gorgeous, intelligent, dainty, articulate, rambunctious, and sassy. She was fierce, while all the other babies were, aaa-ight. It wasn't until much later (At a first birthday party, where another parent and I were at each other's throats in a what-my-baby-can-do battle) that something dawned on me. I am not the only mother, nor am I the first. Every mother worthy of this assignment feels exactly the same way about her child.

This lesson also carries over to the literary world, where writers are doing the best they can to nurture their babies. And authors, however sensitive, are brave enough to share their babies. WRITE ON, sisters and brothers!

POEM/LYRICS: Chocolate Love

You work so hard
Now, I know why
It’s because you like
The finer things in life

It seems you have all

Life's luxuries
How is it you’re missin’
What you need?

Chocolate Love every day

Can melt your fears away
And have you feeling new
That's what Chocolate can do
     
So many women
You like them fine
In different flavors
Like you like your wine

Consider yourself

A connoisseur?
Sometimes
Less is more

Chocolate love everyday

Can melt your fears away
And have you feeling…ooh
That's what Chocolate can do

Moet is okay

So is Dom Perignon
Caviar
And Filet Mignon
But really your lifestyle
Doesn’t mean a thing
If you still feel incomplete?

POEM: Shock-free Reality

I am remembering a time when 35 was old.

No one ever became seriously ill,

And the aging seemed to simply fall asleep and never again wake from their dreams.

I am remembering a time when a child would stay in a child’s place

And stay out of grown folks conversations.

Children would be seen and not heard

Or go outside and play.

Now an adult, I face harsh realities,

Realizing that I was busy, being distracted;

Way too distracted by fairytales, fables, and myths to notice

That life itself was always surreal.

POEM: I Am a Woman, a Christian Woman

I am a woman,

A Christian woman.

I laugh when I’m in pain

And cry when I’m happy.

I don’t quit when I’m tired.

When I am completely spent,

I smile and say, “I am okay.”

But I’m humble.

Anything I’ve done goes without say.

One thing I DO do right is pray.

And by the grace of God,

I am still standing.

POEM: Interacial Dating

Interracial dating?

I straddle the fence

Of appreciation for other races

And sheer pride and preference for my own.

I respect that others love us,

Because we are loveable,

But wonder:

How can we remember WE are QUEENS,

If our KINGS don’t choose us?

Do we lack the self esteem to truly love each other?

And if we do not love ourselves,

Why can’t someone else love us?

 

HOLIDAY SHOPPING CALENDER

November 29                 Black Friday                             

November 30                 Small Business Saturday          

December 2                   Cyber Monday                                     

December 7                   Holiday Book Fair at the Langston

Hughes Branch of the Queens Library.

                                       Event begins at 10:00am at 100-01 Northern

Blvd, Flushing, NY.

December 7                   Holiday Bazaar hosted by Project Enterprise.

Event begins at 10:00am at Harlem Common-

wealth, located at 361 West 125^th Street, Harlem, NY.

December 9, 2013         Green Monday                         

December 18, 2013       Free Shipping Day                 

December 18, 2013       Harlem World Magazine’s Holiday Reading

and Music Extravaganza at the Red Rooster,

located at 310 Lenox Avenue, Harlem, NY

December 21, 2013       Super Saturday                      

December 21 & 22         Buy Black Holiday Weekend    

December 21, 2013       New York BLACK EXPO “Buy Black Weekend.”

Event begins at 10:00am at the Metropolitan Pavilion,

located at 125 West 18th Street, (Near 6^th Avenue)

New York, NY

 

MY "The Best Man" TRUE STORY

TRUE STORY (And one of my favorites):
One late night, my cousin and I dressed up and went to a night club that was known to be a celebrity hot spot. While we were there, all night, we were dancing and mingling with the famous and familiar. A well known actor took a serious liking to my beautiful cousin. As a result, we were invited to the red-carpet movie premier and after party for, get this, THE BEST MAN.

We could not attend the movie premier, because she had to work, so we went straight to the after party. Very few had arrived early. So we sat on a sofa positioned behind a coffee table. On the other side of the table, was another sofa. Two young, chic, beautiful black women, much like ourselves approached and sat on that sofa. The way we looked, we could've all been part of the same girlfriend crew or even related.

I leaned over and said, "Hi!"
One of the young women looked at me and said, "Hi! Are you in the business?"
I smiled and said, "No."
She grimaced, turned her whole body to the side, put up "the hand," and ignored me, by engaging her friend in conversation, "Anyway! Blah, blah, blah, blah...."

My cousin and I looked at each other and shook our heads. When her actor friend enters the club, he found us. And, all night long and as if we were royalty, he graciously introduced us both (by name) to the entire cast of the movie and the who's who of Black Hollywood.

After her gracious friend, stepped away to bring us drinks, the young woman I had spoken to NOW humbly asked, "Ya'll know them?"

NOW, as if on cue, my cousin and I both said, "Yeah! Anyway...." And those words were punctuated by the very same body language she had given us earlier. Rolling neck, pursed lips, talk-to-the-hand gesture and all.

　
We never encountered that actor or his friends again, except for on television, but for me, that moment was as priceless as a MasterCard.

DREAMING of Being a Songwriter....

"I'll always remember the first day I said, I-love-you, and the look in your eyes...You held me in your arms and said that you had loved me too and caught me by surprise...."

This priceless piece of lyrical genius was written by me when I ...was about thirteen years old and obviously didn't know a thing about love. Maybe that's why all the songs I wrote in the 80's sounded like watered-down but longing to be Luther Vandross lyrics.

 

In the nineties, I DREAMED, DREAMED, DREAMED of being a songwriter and because I had acquired some life experience my lyrics did improve:

"My box plays music. You alone have the key. You can unlock it and enjoy my melody." Yes, saucy and risqué BUT metaphorical and melodic. Heyyyy!

 

I have been planning all along for a FULL music soundtrack of nineties style music for LOVE CHANGES, which is set in 1995. For now, please take a listen "Baby You're the Only One 4 Me," which has been released through Earthatone Music on iTunes and Amazon.com.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Youre-feat-Taneisha-Black/dp/B0041XTRYW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1383990682&sr=8-2&keywords=baby+you%27re+the+only+one+4+me

A writer's life is reclusive....

A writer's life is reclusive. I would always openly admit that I am a hermit. No shame. I do not go out much, don't listen to radio much anymore, the news upsets me, and I hate to watch too much television (it's a distraction and time waster). My favorites are my favorites, and they have my heart. And this goes for everything and everyone from my family, friends, church, family of organizations, my choice of music (Maxwell/Luther), my supermarket, my printer (Shout-out to Federico!), and my dry cleaner (Girlfriend knows I always lose my tickets).

Lately, I have lost a few family members and friends, have suffered through some of the challenges my close friends have faced, have found myself grateful for the many, many blessings but also praying that "norm" remains intact, that everyone I love remains healthy, happy, and safe. And I realize this....

Life is a blessing, one to be experienced. And just because my powerful imagination permits me to close my eyes, see Niagra Falls, inhale the overpowering fragrance of salt and sediments in the air, and feel the mist spray my dag-on-face, that does not mean that I shouldn't get up off my tushie and see it for myself.

Right after I completed my second draft of Love Changes, my mentor, Valerie, gave me this advice, "Be sure to make time to NOT write."

I was smiling and agreeing but inside, I was like, "Huh? Say what? Come again!"

This was the exact opposite of everything I had been taught up until this point. You know, the rise-early, write-every-day, fuel-your-muse, don't-give-up. So when I had a goal, I had tunnel vision. But now, I do finally understand. Googling images is not experiencing the world.

#NOTETOMYBROTHERANDSISTERWRITERS
#NOTETOSELF
#TIMETOHAVEMOREFUNWHATEVERTHATIS