I CAN'T BREATH

That's what  he was saying before he died.

That is what we all have been saying as a country this week.

That is what we shall continue to say for months and years to come.

The question I have...How long will the protests go on? How long with this be the ''in'' protest? How long will our young people raise up their voices?

For so long, the pandemic took control of our lives, our media and our social networks. 

Now this has our attention, but for how long?

This type of brutality happens almost weekly and yet we are not out marching and raising our voices.

This type of brutality happens in the black community daily. It may not lead to murder but it leads to false arrests, it leads to broken bones or fractured nerves. It leads to black men and black women being afraid to leave their homes and cross paths with certain officers.

Black lives matter but so do the brown lives, the homeless lives and all lives.

We, Black Americans, have become used to treatment like this. Which is so sad. 

The difference is; now there are camera's to record what we have been saying for years. 

That we are treated differently than our white neighbors, friends and sometimes white family members.

When will America listen?

The protests are NOT just about George Floyd. It is about the human rights of Black Americans.

The civil rights of black Americans have always been of concern.

Now you have the military involved. Look at pictures from the 60's, are these the times we are about to experience? 

I surely hope not.

We have much to do on this issue and being silent is no longer an option.

WOW...LOOK WHAT I FOUND

So, I recently just saw that none of my 'scheduled' posts had posted. So here is one that I wrote right before Halloween.

In the days leading up to Halloween, what kind of inspiration do you get for your writing.

I don't like scary movies but I love reality police shows. I watch The First 48 every day.

Sometimes all day. Lifetime and A&E channels run marathons on Monday, Wednesdays and Thursday with the NEW episode on Thursday night.

I love this show and find myself thinking about the detectives on that show.

My favorite is Carolyn Mason. She is a weave wearing, high heel wearing, gun toting black woman who will make a grown man cry and a teenager ask for his momma.

She is the kind of heroine I need in my stories and well; she is my inspiration for The Stiletto Stalker.

I've been working on this book for two years and finally its done. 

Since its my first murder mystery, I am very hesitant to submit it because; well I'm an author and I don't want it to be bad. (please don't let it be bad)

So for now; it sits in my drawer and on my computer...waiting for the day that I am ready to 'give birth' .

So, what inspiration do you take from Halloween?

CONFERENCE SEASON IS HERE

So we all await this time of year. 

Where we meet our fans and fellow authors. 

Where we exchange ideas and where we learn about new projects, new authors, share what works and what doesn't. 

We learn who received that multi book deal or who got a movie deal or movie options.

Yep; its conference time and how many of us will be traveling to conferences.

There is one in Las Vegas. There is one in New York and there is also one in Maryland 

I have helped you out by linking to those sites, via their city name. 

Las Vegas has the PSWA conference. New York hosts Thrillerfest and Maryland is home to the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity Con.

These three conferences make up a few of the places you will find Intrigue Publishing authors.

We love these conferences but most importantly we love C3.

This is where we get to show off (Intrigue Authors) and we get to prove that we know how to put on a great show. 

This year they have added Noir At The Bar and it promises to be a great time.

So, tell me what conferences you are going to attend this year and why do you like it?

CHANGE IS GOOD...

Change is hard for people and change for me is always hard.

I've been working on this manuscript for almost a year and didn't want to change a thing.

That was until Regina (character in the novel) kept telling me that I was writing her part all wrong.

Like, what? Really?

But after stepping away from it and re-reading it. She was right.

Her part should have been much bigger. I had been making her twin sister the main character; while all along it should have been Regina.

See I thought that Regina just wanted the limelight for herself. Turns our she actually is the one driving the story. Who knew? 

So, after bidding a farewell to over 50 pages of the story; I'm back on track. 

Regina is happy. Her twin is much more rounded and I'm on a roll with my murder mystery.

See, in this case; change WAS good.

I'm just glad that the change came BEFORE I wrote; THE END

.....AND SO I'M OFF

Well, not in the sense you are thinking of.  Although sometimes the voices in my head make complete sense.

This time I'm off to another conference. This is one that I started attending three years ago. Love Is Murder is held in Chicago every year.

It threw me off this year because normally it is held during the +SuperBowl 2014 but this year it is the week AFTER. If I wore pearls, I'd be clutching them right now!

So after getting my head wrapped around not being in Chicago during the Super Bowl; I had to find something to do with my Sunday. Watch the game? you say...gasp! I'm not used to being in MARYLAND during that weekend so I had to entertain myself and that went very well. But I digress.

So, this weekend I will be in Chicago, just as the +PolarVortex is leaving or still there, who knows anymore; in any case. I will be there.

Hopefully I will have the courage to go outside but that is totally dependent on how cold it is when I arrive.

Besides, the Love Is Murder conference is used to seeing me in my cute shoes and this year I am researching a murder scene for #TheStilettoStalker. All I will say is: It involves the ice machine, dragging a body and not making noise...yeah this should be interesting.

So if you are in +Chicago this weekend, anywhere near the airport and pass by a place that sells the best burger, I heard it was +RockitBurger, feel free to bring me one and chat about the murder that will be committed there.

Oh and don't forget to say hello to +Intrigue Camacho because they will take pitches for new novels and one of their authors, +Christine Verstraete is up for a LOVEY award.

Hope to see you there!

Love Is Murder

Love is Murder is over and what a great time I had!

I learned so much from David Morrell and Hank Phillippi Ryan; who I might add loved my shoes. Hank, not David. Oh, you thought Hank was a guy. No, she a very beautiful woman with the prettiest salt and pepper shoulder length hair. She is an investigative reporter for Channel 7 in Boston and she is also a lover of shoes. Oh, but I am totally off topic.

Love is Murder is run by some very dedicated volunteers. Yes I said volunteers. These women and men dedicate themselves for the rest of us. The meals,the cocktail hour and the mass book signing and even the one act play is all done by the little worker bees scurrying behind the scenes to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Hanley is the cutest woman ever! She made sure that everyone was having a nice time and she also came to the rescue when the computers went down and no one could register into their room so no one had a place to 'freshen' up before the panel discussions began. She offered her room up to a few of us and we were able to face 'our' public with a renewed spirit.

The staff was excellent and the service was impeccable! The food was incredible and the volunteers of LIM did a fantastic job. Who knew that scrambled eggs with roasted tomato and asparagus made a good breakfast?

I met some great people and made great friends I can't wait until next year. Yes, it's definite. I will be there every year from now on.

Upcoming conferences-Are you going?

Today I will talk to you about conferences you should attend; even if you don't write in that particular genre. Why would you want to attend a conference that doesn't pertain to your particular writing style?
Simple answer: The more you get to know about other writing styles, the more you can incorporate them into your writing style.
Love is Murder is a conference held in Chicago every year and it is geared towards the mystery writers. I have never gone, but in February of 2012, I will attend. I am so excited to be a part of that it is well worth the cost.
Thrillerfest will be held in New York in July of 2012 and although I went this year, I am doubly excited to attend again next year. This conference is geared towards mystery and thriller writers. Although I am neither of the two; I will proudly network with all of the authors there.
After all, networking as an author is THE main reason to go to such conferences. You not only get to learn about other authors but you also get to 'hang' out with NY best selling authors. Where else would you get to be in the same room as R.L. Stine and Karen Slaughter?
I hope to see you at one of the many upcoming conferences in the new year. If you see me, come up and say hello; after all; I love to talk about writing.
Happy Writing!