Category: General Topics

Do Not Ask What, Ask Why

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We’ve known “What” since stepping foot off slave ships. We’ve known “What” since the crack of the whip. We’ve known “What” since Lynch mobs and sharecropping. We’ve known “What” since overseers, paddy rollers and colored signs. We’ve known “What” since the back of city buses and Jim Crow. We’ve known “What” since crack, ghettos and foster homes. Indeed, if there is anything black people are familiar with, it is what. The question is therefore not what, the question is why? Why the haunting images of public executions of black men? Why does the protests of Black Lives Matter mirror that of the Civil Rights Movement when we should have moved passed this? How is it that what happened 50 years ago and DIDN’T work, will somehow work today? Have we not marched? Have we not protested? Have we not already sang freedom songs and willingly gone to prison? Why are black people at the bottom of every single ethnic group and society there is? Why have we been here for nearly 400 years and have yet to produce the economic standing of nations who have been here not even half that time? The question is not what, the question is why? Why are things always so black and white? Why is it always black against white?

In the book of Exodus there is a story. This story is about the Israelites. Pharaoh said to kill off the Hebrew boys for fear that the Hebrew population would grow and that they would overrun the Egyptian population (Ex 1:9-16). More so, they will do unto the Egyptians what the Egyptians have done unto them. Fears of uprisings among African Americans can be traced back to the days of Nat Turner. To think this fear has been lost or has gone away is not to have been alive.  You see “Why?” has been around for centuries and on the tongues of every prophet. “Why?” is in the blood of every black man and woman walking this earth today. It is in every breath we take, and every move we make. “Why” is in our very DNA, our living souls breathing proof of the covenant we made so long ago. Do not tell black people that they should not be angry when our sons blood cries out to us from the ground. Instead, ask “Why?” Do not ask What, Ask Why because why is the key to everything. Why is understanding that what is happening out there is bigger than any man. “Why?” is understanding there is a reason black lives do not matter in this land. “Why” is understanding the story of Israel, the covenant they broke, and its connection to the black man and woman in America today. You see, “Why” is the key when you are the people of the book, when the police is Pharaoh, and America is Egypt.

Before The Week Ends: Book Review Registry

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Before the week ends, I’d like to inform my Authors reading that I have set up an online Book Review Registry to make it easier for you to sign your books up for a review. Book reviews are free. The readers fee doesn’t kick in until October 3rd so if $20 is not something you would like to pay in exchange for an honest review (completely understandable. I’m not trying to get rich or anything) you can always sign up NOW while there are no fees. I have decided to charge a fee only to cover time. I love reading, I love writing, and I love promoting authors. Unfortunately,  my time would not allow me to do it as often as I’d like. The little time I do have require me to be as organized as possible to ensure I’ll get them done. I don’t want to promise anyone anything I can’t deliver on. My last book review showed me just how tight my time is and I barely met the authors deadline. Anywho, go ahead and register your book at the link below and thank you in advance for your support:

“It takes a minimum of 5 Amazon reviews and an average 3.5 rating to really start to see changes in book sales for Indie Authors.” – EC

Lcdo9nAgi BOOK REVIEW REGISTRY

Stella Summer Sale: The Road to Freedom – 7/12 – 7/19

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I will be running a Stella Summer Sale on Amazon for the third book in The Stella Trilogy: The Road to Freedom, ebook edition starting Tuesday July 12th – Tuesday July 19th. I am dropping the price from $2.99 to $1.99.

If you are already following me on Twitter you will notice the promo campaign when it kicks off. If you are not following me on Twitter, well, you won’t.

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To Learn More About The Road to Freedom Visit it’s Amazon Page Here. My Author Website Here. Or click on the Online Book Store image below to Jason Cushman’s Bookstore where my book is featured as part of his promo for authors. online-book-store-1

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Said is Dead

Writers check it out! Some words you can use to tighten up that dialogue instead of the dreaded said:

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Note: I want to edit this post to include something a blogger reminded me of in the comments because I think its important. It was something I woke up with on my mind and it occurred to me that I forgot to mention it in this post. So I hope you all don’t mind me adding it here:

Using said is still (and always will be) good just not too much as to make the dialogue sound monotone. Boring basically. However, you don’t want to go overboard with words that do nothing but show that you have an advanced vocabulary. All of these words must be used, obviously, with wisdom.

Stop Being So Reactionary

From the EC Made Up Dictionary  –

Definition – a. A person who reacts to a situation or stresses by changing their thoughts, life, or persona to fit someone else’s reaction to that situation. b. To cater ones thought processes to the reactions of another c. Insecure in ones own views of self and dependent on the reactions of others for validation

Stop being so reactionary, or concerned about making decisions that will reflect the people around you if those people are not the right kind of people. Cut off those who are not lifting you up, inspiring you to be better, or encouraging you. Most people are actually more reactionary (per my definition) than they’d be willing to admit. This means they concern themselves with whether or not this decision will be for or against the status quo. Many of us are not risk takers because we’re afraid to fail. The person, however, who falls down seven times and stands up eight is stronger and a lot wiser than the person who never fell. You don’t have to concern yourself with how someone is going to receive or perceive you all the time. Stop being so dependent on how others feel about you to determine how you feel about yourself.

Writing Powerful Scenes: Why Choosing The Right Setting Is So Important

I really enjoyed reading this. Setting is something we don’t hear a lot about (not like say plot). I especially enjoyed the part about making the emotional connection between the setting and character.