Wednesday, November 30, 2011

write black

Coming Soon...

New Company.

New Works.

Same Author.

& The Classics.

Check out the close of AAoF

Much more news soon...

b write black...

Thursday, May 26, 2011

IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!!!!!!!




NOW ON SALE @ AMAZON!!! THE NEW EDITION OF 12 STORIES HIGH: THE IMAGINATIVE TRIP THRU A BLACK MIND BY YOUR TRULY!!!!!!

Stories include: (1) AND ONCE, JUST WALKED US, (2) STILL REMAINS, (3) VICARIOUSLY ALIVE, (4) TALES OF THE DJEDHI, (5) HEADLESS, (6) AH, MOOR, (7) I WISH, SERVITUDE, (8) 3 CIGS UNITED, (9) THE MONK & THE MOOR, (10) FREEZING REIGN IN SUMMER, (11) WAITING FOR WHAT?, and (12) THE CURSE OF CAIN-AN

12 STORIES FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE RONIN POETZ, CODE-47: MEMOIRS OF A HIP-HOP HEIST, AND A COMPANY OF MOORS!!!!

AVAILABLE NOW!!!!




Friday, April 22, 2011

Four

Yesterday I turned 34. 30 years ago, on my fourth birthday, I received as a gift a sky-blue typewriter. I composed my first 'professional' story on it that night. No pencil, no pen, no crayon. No yellow, square paper for kids. This was 'professional' white paper, and it was typed.

Concept was pretty deep (for a four year old): older kids living in a house. One at home trying to guess who was in the next room by the sounds being made. And I tell you now, that at the age of four, with a limited vocabulary, I drafted a one-page story far better than a lot of crap I see being published now.

b write black.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Waiting Game

And so we're just waiting

and waiting

and waiting

and waiting

and waiting

and waiting

and waiting

for Amazon (dot) slow to update the cover art. Other than that, the book is available, and some people have already been purchasing it, kinda forcing my hand to do a soft advertisement. When all is up and going, then the big stuff hits.

In far greater news, I'm one chapter in on the new project. I'll have more news on that once 12 Stories High has been promoted better. I'm mad excited. I'll probably start chapter two either tonight or tomorrow.

b write black

Friday, April 1, 2011

Source Code

The proof for 12 Stories High has been approved. The new edition of the book will be open to markets over the next coming days. I'll give a BLAST when the book is fully available for order online and in stores. It looks good.

My main concern is the update to online sites (amazon and barnes and noble...ect) for updating their catalog to reflect the new cover, so people know that a new version of the book is available. It took forever to update Code-47. Eventually, I had to bury my foot into people to get things current.

Gettin' my proper boots ready.

No April Foolin'.

b write black.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Starting Pistol

BANG!

And we're off. 12 Stories High is off to the races. Intense work was done over the weekend to go over all edits, the application of edits. We're looking good. This after noon, around 2 o'clock, the final interior of the book was given to the printers. A final proof was ordered, and all will be well for approval for the distributors to update their catalogs with the new volume of 12 Stories High: The Imaginative Thru a Black Mind. I'm in the middle of working on a re-lease commercial. Completely threw out the script for the one I was working on. Is starting to look completely different.

A journey at an end, and a new one coming right on its heels. Not just talking about the next writing project, or the next release (2 Enlighten The G.O.D.Z.), but a major business over haul for Ancient-Art-Facts. A lot of planning was done over the weekend while the editors were hard at work to make sure 12 Stories High was spotless. The company's new direction can, for the moment, only be described as 'maturing', much like my writing. The company too has to fit its output. More on this as it develops.

Until then, stay tuned.

b write black (most likely with the announcement of 12 Stories High's re-release)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Gun Jump

Got a little ahead of ourselves. There will be one more go through for 12 Stories High this weekend. One last sweep. A final approval, and then it's off to the printer for the final time.

Stick 'em up punk!

b write black

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

12 Story High Rise

All commercials have been updated, but not uploaded. The book has been sifted through to see if there needed any cleanup on the application (and there did, plus some re-edits, and of course, looking through those as well. We have this book looking good.

I'll say this, we might not have caught everything--hopefully the major typos and glaring edits have been scooped up and tossed away for good, but the book looks and reads amazing. Its flow is exactly as it should have been so long ago.

Much like A Company of Moors, this book too is a release. The core 4 are in effect. I feel like we're getting to the real stuff when it comes to the stories I want to tell, and the pretentious 'deeper meanings' I want to showcase. This go around for 12 Stories didn't leave me as exhausted as when I originally wrote the book between '05 and '06. I didn't have to compose original stories, convert stories from finished and unfinished screenplays, short films, or re-work old short stories and characters and themes. There was just the edit. At first, it seemed daunting, especially when I hit the first story. I tried to edit it from an actual copy of the book. That didn't go well at all. I had to go back into the actual document and damn near re-write the story. Did that for all of them. When the flow of the stories were intelligible and readable, and all the upfront angry, nigger-militant tone and voice was [somewhat] removed, the stories became tolerable, even from my point-of-view.

But, I was never really bogged down with having literary-schizophrenia. When I first wrote these stories, putting them together within this compilation, there was no time to pause or sleep. And I wrote loooong hours into the night and early morning, only to rest and jump 'write' back into it. Then I edited. That also doesn't include the eight other stories I wrote that didn't make the cut, or the stories I composed as outlines and notes that I spent time on, but did not pursue. Some of those stories will make their way into other works. Then came editing, which we all know, with my tired eyes, and just me, didn't do all that well. That goodness for little-to-no promotion.

The next release up should come between October and December of this year . 2 Enlighten the G.O.D.Z.

[EDIT: I am well aware that the teasers say 'August'. Everything has been pushed back because 12 Stories did not come in February, but April]

All elements for Ray Cosico to use for a cover have been in his hands for a while. We talked on the phone a couple times just recently. Ray should have a rough draft within a month or two (or three). I'll probably a couple more glances at the interior before deciding that it is in its final phase. Of course, I will begin writing a new project (as I have spoken about, all the notes and things) come late April or mid-May.

Maybe even June 1st.

Again, like A Company of Moors, I'm diggin' the fact I have some breathing time.

Writing is always an adventure.

b write black

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Charactude

For the most part, on this new project, I have the chronology, and I've definitely have the mood and tone of the piece. It fluxes between mystical-magical, noire, and even a hint of a Western, not in the sense that it takes place in the Old West, or even in America's South West--but a sense that some of the characters carry themselves like old school gunslingers. Badass, without being cliche.

The main character has been fun to shape. One of the things I liked about going back to 12 Stories High is that it put me in the focus of centering on one character, something I haven't concentrated on since composing 12 Stories High initially between '05 and '06. The Ronin Poetz and 2 Enlighten The G.O.D.Z., even further back. Although, clearly, the main character for Code-47 (Keith Joseph) is the focus, I still view it as an ensemble because its written in the same aspects of a heist film. The concentration is not always on Keith, but also on the other crew members and their specialties. And A Company of Moors has at least 20,000 characters, each of which gets his or her own focus. Hey, it's a historical epic that has twice the amount of words (220,000+) than a traditional epic novel (110,000).

At first, the main character started off as someone determined for revenge. The revenge aspect has been taken away. Too cliche. The determination remains, but its now just to find answers, all the answers to a a lot of questions. Plot. There was also a time where this character was supposed to be completely insane, haunted by the ideas in his head (songs. He's a musician; a trumpet player). This was thought of while I was in the middle of A Company of Moors and completely stressed-the-fuck out about finishing the book. The haunting remains, but it doesn't stick. Way too 'artistic' self-indulgent. I've re-worked the idea for it not to be overly melodramatic. The main character is no longer insane; he's become more inviting to the strangeness around him. Until he has to assist in blowing off someone's head. That's a little disturbing.

Instead of having this dominant quirk as a personality, I've tried to make him just human. A lot of the characters I've come up with can be summed up in a word or two, even though, in my opinion (humble as it is not...joke) they are round characters. Al-Jeheuty: Negotiator. Keith Joseph: Trickster. Maa Kheru: Warrior. Bo Yusuf: Soldier. Mehit: Realist and organizer. Lawrence Forsythe: cynical realist. Aludra: Innocence lost. Sesen: the romantic daydreamer...ect.

But I did look back to A Company of Moors and focus on the character Nasir. This new character will probably less naive, and less to prove himself that he's naive. His determination for answers push his naivety aside. He understands he doesn't know, but he's determined to understand his new environment.

It's gonna be a helluva fairy tale. With guns and brutal murder. Like the old school fairy tales.

b write black.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

A New Hope

I've gathered all the notes for the new project. Old notes. They're probably five to ten years old. At one time, this project was supposed to be a short movie. Part of a script was put together, written around 2000, 2001, and revisited fall of 2004. I got as far as the first 30 pages, 35. It's now notes. I don't think I'll use any of the dialogue. It's kinda hokey, and because it was intended for a visual project (short film or  graphic novel) there's a lot of exposition. I'm still debating on a couple subplots that pop up within these first 30 pages. Sickness. Health. Death. Living. Easy, non-emotional things. I do think they'll be toned down, though. Again, don't want to make things hokey.

With all the notes that I've gathered I feel like George Lucas after he was done filming A New Hope. I got a bunch of 'raw footage' (the notes) but it's all sloppy, disjointed. It's a heap, and it looks scary. But I think I can handle it. I just finished the renovation of the 12 Stories. I just need to take a deep breath, and then I need to take a broad sweep of all the notes. I keep looking at the pacing of the 'script'. I've written a little bit of the opening scene in prose. Not much has changed. It's just about an open field, 1953, the South, which particular state, not too sure yet. But our heroes are driving from New Orleans, heading north to Harlem, New York. Originally, it was just a city with no name. Somewhere that could be anywhere. Ultimately, over the years, I started to understand that the city would be New York City. Harlem.

Also, there is something very special that needs to be written parallel to the main story and incorporated into the entire story, a la "The Story of the Nine (or Five) Black Bastards" from A Company of Moors. This is definitely where the exploded mess of notes exist. The main story, for the most part, has been hacked out and outlined. Now the story running parallel has to be straightened out. And I've had this story on the back burner for just the same amount of time.

I'm killing two birds with one stone.

The budget for this book is 250 pgs.  So, of course, that means it'll be 1000 pages long.

b write black.

Editing Job: Application II

All edits have been applied, finished yesterday, early morning. The rest of the time for this weekend will be spent on making sure that all edits have been applied properly. A first run through of this was done yesterday afternoon, but it's never a bad idea to make a second run through.

12 Stories High looks and feels amazing in its current read. The stories are in their finished, and most complete form. The stories resonate like individual tracks on an album, but compliment one another as a whole in this book of 'short' stories. As I've said before, there is an unofficial trilogy within the book, holding the theme of resurrecting the 'black woman'. The metaphors of the story a far more striking than anything that has been written within contemporary books dealing with black women's issues. These stories already existed in the book (obviously), but as I continued to reference them as carrying the same theme, I decided the stories should be labeled as such. The other stories are now carried by the characters and the stories. The tone is also defined by these two elements, no longer by my biased judgment and emotions.

12 Stories High fits perfectly within the literary pantheon of my other works, and makes a clear case for the future works. My works will be varied in genre, and hopefully I can keep focused to make them strong. I'm confident that my current works are honed to the best of my craft, and that my future works will be even stronger. Muahahahahahahaha!

I mean, c'mon. No writer wakes up and says, "I'm gonna write something completely terrible for my next project."

Not even people that write 'Urban' Fiction.

b write black.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Editing Job: Application

The proof is not positive, but it ain't negative either. A few errors to correct, and as of now I'm on the final story, having sifted through the books pages rigorously over the last two weeks. It's safe to say this is the final edit. All that is left, besides the final story, is the application process. Then, a quick review, and a push for availability.

I'm excited to have the 'core four' be out and on sale for the public. Still being flooded with e-mails. The teaser trailers for the book will be re-done to display "AVAILABLE NOW...ect" information, and a final release trailer will be put together. April 1st most likely will be the release date. No April foolin'. Three weeks is more than enough time for the final phase of the book, and the preparation for promotion to all outlets, on and offline.

The stories run very smooth. This enormous effort of editing has given the stories the individual personalities they were supposed to have, composed like an album...Prince-like. Every song different from the last, even if the theme remains the same, the presentation varies. Kinda like part of an answer I gave in an interview with Miss Tiffany A. Flowers. You can read the interview here. I had fun with that one.

The delayed release for 12 Stories High has also delayed the release for 2 Enlighten the G.O.D.Z., the second epic poem. It has gone from July to possibly October. In the meantime, I've continued to tighten up the notes for the next project. It is not Book One of a larger project, it will suffice as the larger story's prologue. I hope to begin writing around April 21st. There are a few things that need to be solidified for the plot and flow, but characters, backstory, connections, are for the most part operating at 95%. It's gonna be a helluva ride.

b write black

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Miami Spider

The timeline for this new, multi-book project has been ironed out. Dates, ages, have all been shaped to make sense. It didn't take as long as I thought it would be, and an element to the story, that will play in the background for now, has been put together and has weight.

I have two more sections of this timeline to lay out, that flows more into the book I'll begin writing, setting up the characters that inhabit this world of 1957 America. I just downloaded some inspiration music. We 'bout 2 get mystical psychedelic.

On some other notes, I just finished an interview with Tiffany Flowers, as well as getting prepped for a radio interview with Soul City Radio with DeWayne Alston. I've also been corresponding with a brother out in Holland, and I'll be popping up on his radio show to do some speaking, 12 Stories High related.

b write black.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

An Expanding Universe

It has been a helluva month. Teasers abound. Promotion running rampant. We're down to the final proof for 12 Stories High before its re-release into the world. All of the commercials for the Imaginative Campaign are up and running. The commercials will get a change when the book is re-released.

There was a mix up with ordering the proof, and we got it late. As much as our noses are in the grind, and are fingers are flipping through the pages and eyes scanning every word, we're hitting the mark a little late. Not a problem. The book will drop in March. We're giving this last proof extreme care before rolling out the okay for release. I've been doing more interviews, being e-mailed questions, asked questions, and when 12 Stories is finally out on the market, there will be a wide range of topics to cover. The Core Four (The Ronin Poetz, 12 Stories High, Code-47, and A Company of Moors) will finally be at the forefront they deserve.

But along with all this work, there has been some definite play. The next BIG project, the project that will be released after 2 Enlighten The G.O.D.Z., is in the middle of its casting call. The characters for the first part of this grand tale are being shaped, and the main character is near his finale. So much so, that I'm extremely excited. His look has been put together, a sort of concept art in my head, and made into notes on a page (saved in a word document). I'm pulling from different sources and existing characters from movies, books, and other forms of stories to bring out his personality. I know who the character is, but I don't want one emotion to become his personality and ultimately being a cliche. That goes for any of the characters. At the same moment, because there's a greater story beyond the first book in this project, a backstory is being formed. I'm connecting the dots to make the story plausible and a whole picture. A timeline is being created to make sure character ages and time periods add up.

This story was not originally attached to this larger story that arcs over several projects (books) when I first started to outline the idea back in late May of 2000. Over the years, much has been attached to this particular story, including what I'll describe at the moment as a creative structure that itself was supposed to be a separate idea and project. This story holds a lot of mysticism, and is a stand alone story to the rest of the books planned for the series. But I felt it was an excellent gateway into this mystical world. The ultimate, modern African-American fairy tale. There was so much of a rich history inside this larger world (as I composed it separately, beginning around 2002), so much that could not be told within the story, and it felt that something was missing, this story's template could tell that missing element. When readers dive into the next part of this story, they'll appreciate the setting because they'll know the struggle(s) that past characters had to go through to bring about where the other installments will be set.

A new idea emerges. I'll spend the next two weeks putting together the first group of characters for this project, trying to shaping their individual arcs, and create a palpable environment around them. There's one aspect to the story, at the moment, that I have to look closely at to see if the timeline of events makes sense, spanning from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Once that has been solidified, actual writing will begin around late April.

I'll keep you posted between 12 Stories High and there.

b write black

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Press Release, and All That

Finished the final application of edits for 12 Stories High. Last night I gathered notes together for the next project. Was having a lot of fun putting the ideas together, carving out the characters, motivations, and their larger story.

I had to re-work one of the teasers, so, the launch of will come tomorrow, as well as sending off the (hopefully) final manuscript for 12 Stories High to the printer/distributor. Also, the last three commercials will be featured overtime, rather than shoved down people's throats all at once.

back 2 work.

b write black.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Imagine

January has been a helluva month. It's been a buckle-down, crunch-time, hardcore promotion for 12 Stories High's re-release. And more on the way. All 12 stories have had several run-thru edits. Now, we're in the final phases of application of edits (one last story), and then ultimately a 2nd proof, which we hope to be completely immaculate.

New commercials for 12 Stories High have been posted to the youtube AncientArtPublishing channel as the Imagination Campaign. They've also been posted to social networking sites. It's only two commercials, but there are three more on the way, coming tomorrow and hitting hard. We're just steps closer to having the core four of books displayed, at the ready for purchase and read.

Hopefully there will be a roughdraft of 2 Enlighten the G.O.D.Z.'s cover sometime around April. Also, a new set of characters, plot, and setting are being rounded up for the beginning segment of a large story. Notes are being gather as I write this now (a little upset that a set of notes are buried under a lot of crap, lying in a box). Tomorrow, February 1st, begins a great, many things.

b write black.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

2011: The Year of the Cheat Code

Okay. A goal will finally be reached. This year. 2011. Two projects released. One year. Two books. We have coming up first, 12 Stories High: The Imaginative Trip Thru a Black Mind. And we also have 2 Enlighten The G.O.D.Z. But, as the title of this entry says, this is a year of cheat codes. 12 Stories is just a re-release. So, does that count. Yeah. To me. And 2 Enlighten The G.O.D.Z. has been finished since 2001, with some minor retouches here and there. So, although I've worked on the re-edits, the two works are not exactly being written from scratch and handed out in an immaculate form.

But, hey, it counts.

Doesn't it?

Well, I will be getting to work on the fantasy epic that will arc over a series of books. I've been outlining the first book, which will be a helluva story. I'll dive into writing this come April or so. Can't wait. Hopefully it will get a 2012 release...barring the so-called end of the world.

This blog will get fatter again, with more information of that fantasy epic -- at least Book One. More entries in this blog. This year is gonna be big for Ancient-Art-of-Facts. Get fat with us. I'm nothing short of excited.


b write black