A Hard (Yet Not-So-Hard) Decision

Combot

Combot from Adinkrahene: Fear of a Black Planet

All writers know we are never at a loss for content. Topics to write about are all around us. But 33 pages in to my first novel, Adinkrahene: Fear of a Black Planet, I almost felt compelled to toss it.

No one, especially unenlightened Whites, wanted to read about a syndicate of powerful, altruistic Blacks, I thought. They especially didn’t want to learn that these powerful, altruistic Blacks were God’s chosen people, humanity’s only hope against an imminent alien invasion.

The decision to forge ahead was initially a hard one. My visits to local bookstores and movie theaters left me disappointed. Very rarely did I find Science Fiction and Action and Adventure titles featuring African and African-American characters whose sole purpose was to save the day.  Most of the Black characters I read about or saw supported the efforts of White heroes.  And the fact that traditional publishers and the major Hollywood studios were slow to accept stories featuring strong, black characters had me thinking a market didn’t exist for these types of stories.

I decided to forge ahead because the story in my head had to be told. It had to cast powerful, altruistic Blacks in more powerful roles. It also had to shine a light on the racial politics that work to demonize members of the Black Diaspora so unenlightened Whites will have an easier time justifying their racist attitudes and actions.

I know the story isn’t going to sit well with some of my unenlightened white brothers and sisters. In this story, I assert that the Republican Party has been co-opted by the Corporate Cabal, and the Corporate Cabal is being manipulated by the spawns of Satan, for crying out loud. But because my story plays on the prejudicial behavior of some members of the Republican Party, it’s easy for most Americans to see why I would try to make such a connection. A party who prides itself in respecting all Americans’ individual rights to life, liberty and happiness is wanting to impose policies that deny these same rights to racial/ethnic minorities, women, college students and immigrants.

And it is my contention that the Devil is making them do it.

Today’s Republican Party supports the implementation of tougher voter restriction laws, even though studies show voter fraud has never been a problem.

Today’s Republican Party voted over 50 times to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which, to date, is serving over eight million Americans.

Today’s Republican Party questions the legitimacy of America’s first, black president, saying no to his proposals even though most, if not all, of his proposals originated with Republican legislators and/or Conservative thought leaders.

Today’s Republican legislators speak disparagingly about African Americans, women, college students and immigrants at town hall meetings and fundraisers, even though their own 2012 post-election autopsy showed they stand on the side of the 1 percent and place profits over people.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why they are taking these extreme positions.  First, and foremost, they are trying to fan the white resentment that exists in this country.  Unenlightened Whites resent the fact that African Americans were “given stuff” following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  What they consistently fail to consider is the maltreatment that led up to the passage of this piece of legislation.  Africans brought to this country against their will to serve as slaves, or uncompensated laborers.  African Americans being treated like second-class citizens because of Jim Crow legislation.  Black children being taught in inferior classrooms.  And black men and boys being shot dead or hung from trees after being deemed threats by unenlightened white men.

Yes, I choose to go there.  And I’m not ashamed or deterred.  But please know that the intent of this series is not to infuriate you.  My intent is to awaken a racially diverse coalition of readers to the racial politics that the Conservative Movement is using to divide us, get us to regress rather than progress.  Through my words, I want to unite us in thought and purpose by showing you how the agents of the Adinkrahene Reparations Management Syndicate (ARMS) work with their like-minded brothers and sisters to push back alien Satanic forces.

The electronic version (Retail Price: $3.99) of Adinkrahene: Fear of a Black Planet is available now through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing.  The print version (Retail Price: $7.99) is also available, albeit through Amazon’s Createspace.  The Adinkrahene story arc will be completed in Adinkrahene: Fear of a Beloved Community and Adinkrahene: Fear of an Alien Presence.

Thank you in advance for your purchase of Adinkrahene: Fear of a Black Planet, as well as your ongoing prayers and support.

ADINKRAHENE!  Or I wish you well in your quest to consistently display great, charismatic leadership.

My First Novel

imageIn April 2013, I sat in front of my laptop computer and pounded out the first three chapters of my first novel.  Those first three chapters equated to about 33 pages, and I felt good about what I had produced.  But then I just suspended my work on the project, opting instead to develop another screenplay.

Before you rip into me, please understand the motivation behind my madness. I was living in Southern California, about 35 miles east of Hollywood.  I had dreams of writing screenplays that would get picked up by the major studios. While I produced one 90-minute dramatic screenplay, one 60 minute dramatic screenplay and one short screenplay during my two and a half year stint in California, I could sense that in Hollywood it’s not what you know and how you go about doing it, it’s about who you know in the industry.

There will come a time when I shift my attention back to screenwriting.  I love movies, and I would love to see actors bring my written words to life.  But when I re-read the first three chapters of my novel last November, it dawned on me that I may have something here.

I have added another 100 pages to those first 33.  I hope to complete the first draft of my three-book series in late May, early June 2014.  After that, I will settle down to edit, revise and rewrite my manuscript before uploading the final draft to Amazon’s CreateSpace (print) and KDP (ebook) publishing platforms.

I really don’t know what will happen after that.  I would be lying if I said just crossing the finish line is good enough for me.  Truth be told, I want my family, relatives, friends and acquaintances to purchase it, and then spread word about the novel’s release to their family, relatives, friends and acquaintances.

Writers write to be noticed.

Notice me.