Who in the world did we f*ck over?

Okay, so we took a weekend trip to the Bay Area to go to a wedding. One of my wife's sorors, and one of my play little sisters, got married in a beautiful ceremony. You've never seen two newlyweds more happy. All was well.

We get back, and everything's going fine. Then yesterday, April's driving through the Fox Hills Mall and absolutely barrels into a parking lot pillar. I mean the front end is smashed. She's okay, not a scratch, but shaken. The body shop has the car, and they're about to figure out whether they can fix it. Thank god for State Farm.

Anyway, the running total for car stuff this summer: My Jeep: Window smashed, radio taken, window repaired, iPod stolen at the window repair shop, front window shield smashed at car wash.

April Jeep: Sideswiped while parked, knocking off plastic fender guard, smashed front end.

In eighteen years, we've had nary a scratch on our cars, and now it pours.

On the writing front, the Divine Nine update is now gone and Hallelujah for that. Now I can get back to writing. I'm going to try to stay ahead of my Iconoculture work, just to give myself a bit more time. So that means a few hours on the weekend.

I have a pitch before BET in two weeks. I'm working with a frat brother of mine, and he's an in-house producer at BET. We really, really vibe, and I think we'll work well together.

I'm going to clean up my progress bars, and focus the blog on my writing. The past six months were a cavalcade of projects. Now, I'm free to concentrate on what I want, at my own pace. I need to get my next two books (fiction and non-fiction book proposal) done in the next four weeks, but nothing happens if I don't get them in that fast. I'll take my time.

In the meantime, SKIN GAME is now shipping, and next month, MONEY SHOT will ship. So I'll do a bit of booksignings, but I'm not doing any huge tour. More likely, I'll do a radio tour from home, which I think is more effective anyway. I'll let you know my strat for that.

The Best Meal Ever...

I'm going to make Shrimp Grits tonight, and I have to say it's my favorite meal by far. And the best shrimp and grits I've eaten are at Clemson University's campus restaurant. So good, I had the executive chef send me the recipe so I could make them myself. In my family, we'd say their slap your momma good.

Recipe: Portion size 1-2 people adjust quantity accordingly!

(Add in the following order)
1 oz Olive oil in a pan/ heat until sizzle
1 tsp garlic minced
1 tsp shallots minced
1/4 cup Cajun seasoned Tasso Ham (1/2 inch diced)
1 tsp scallions chopped
1 tbsp diced tomatoes
6-8 shrimp
Sauté until shrimp begins to change color
Deglaze with 1/4 cup sherry
Simmer for 1-2 mins
Add 1/3 cup heavy cream
Simmer the mixture to reduce the sauce
Sauce is ready when it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, and it have a slightly shiny appearance

Also, here's the link to my appearance in the Los Angeles Times:

http://tinyurl.com/268ztn

Kajukenbo...

I'm back to Kajukenbo class, and I swear I haven't sweat so much since my mom said Michael Jackson was going to be my babysitter. Seriously, I lost two pounds during the workout. But I feel good and I'll be there three days a week. Going with whole fruits and vegetables, and rolling about 1500 calories a day, which surprisingly is keeping me quite full.

Nothing much else to blog about. Continuing to work on the Divine Nine update, which will be done on Friday. Other than that, pretty calm.

Very Interesting Weekend...

On Friday, I did an interview for this adult internet show run by Vanessa Blue and Kaylani Cream, two subjects in Money Shot. Very interesting, but a pretty good discussion about some of the findings I made studying their industry. They couldn't have been nicer. BTW, want to find incentive to make it to the gym? See yourself on a monitor.

So the next day, 45 minutes on the lifecycle. Felt real good. Today, I took pictures for the LA Times article. I think it will come out on Thursday or Friday in the Weekend Calendar section. I'm one of four people they profiled, and we're on the cover. Hopefully, my pictures aren't Glamour shotish. Cool experience all the way though.

Finished another part of my Divine Nine update, and I''m that much closer to finishing. This week, I'm done.

I was in the weeds with stuff to do at Iconoculture, but I feel better now. Going to the Bay Area for a wedding next weekend, and then after that, COLLEGE FOOTBALL! Oh, Manchester United is f*cking up.

Finishing Update...

Alright, I'm close to finishing my Divine Nine update. And I take a pix for the LA Times article on Sunday. Cool couple of guys from the Times interviewed me on Friday. Oh, as my list of car calamities grow, before the interview I went to one of those self serve car washes at a Shell station. After the car washed, I let the blower dry it off. There's a big rubber thing that hangs over everything, and as you drive through, it rolls over your car. Well, this thing smashed into my windshield and shattered it. What a wonderful start to the weekend.

In the Los Angeles Times...

Hey all,

I've been asked to be in a Los Angeles Times article on things to do in Inglewood and the surrounding areas. That's pretty cool, so I'll let you know when it happens.

Waiting...

The Bestsellers, the clean and corrected version, is now in the hands of a big time producer. We'll see where it goes, but for now, all you can do is wait.

I'm rapidly trying to finish the Divine Nine update this week. Once that's done, I have no deadlines. Looks like I'll be done by the 22nd.

Vegas...

Just got back from Vegas, and I've got to say that I've never been impressed with Vegas. I'm not a gambler, don't really like going to clubs anymore (with their ten dollar Heinekens) and I just don't get a thrill while there. Honestly, as soon as I get there, I want to leave. Maybe I just need to go with a bunch of my boys, get mad drunk, and then see what I think, but I think that was a decade ago. Now, I'd much rather wrestle with my son to start the day.

I'm Back...

Ah, a week vacation. I swear, you can't beat it. The wife's feet are getting better, but I was still Mr. Mom for the week. We have another week of this, and then she's back on her feet and spending cash. Now, to the writing front...

I'm cool with articles for Iconoculture, and the week off has done wonders for me. I was like a computer that needed to be defraged over the past three weeks. My hard drive was slow and stuttering. But now, I'm ready to go.

Ben has sent my The Bestsellers out to a producer, and it's going up the ladder. Story editor first, and now to one of the producers. So far, so good. I'm guess that it was given a second read over the weekend. We're in the waiting to see period. But hey, you've got to get out there some time, so time to see how the script is received.

This week, I MUST finish the Divine Nine update. It's more than two months over due, and I've never been so behind. But I need to get this millstone from around my neck and simply get it done. I have to say, Kensington has been pretty good about this. But time to just roll with it.

Started work on the Woman of God Script, but changed the name. I'm not thinking too much about the script, just writing a first draft to see where it goes.

Also, I decided to work on a one-hour television drama script about the black church. I can see it being on HBO, rather than network television. I'm gonna buy Alex Epstein's Crafty Television book since we didn't do a lot (read, almost nothing) of television writing at UCLA. The pilot I wrote for the USC student was a'right, but definitely not my best work. More like throwing darts at the page and hoping it all tied together. But I like this story and the characters, more than that story. A lot of it harkens back to my grandfather and my grand uncle who both led churches in the 70s. Lots of draaaaaama with them, and I think my modern story will be very interesting.

This week is also pitch week. BET, and then tying up loose ends with TV-One, and then tightening a one-sheet for Arthur Smith's production company. At the end of the week, I'm driving to Vegas to go to the National Association of Black Journalists convention.

The Crips books is on hold. Manie says that my subject has fired a manager, so we're waiting to see how this shakes out. More than likely, if I do write it, it'll start around September, which is cool by me.

For the next few weeks, I need to set up my book signings/Divine Nine lectures, and publicity, for MONEY SHOT and SKIN GAME. Kemp, I haven't forgotten about you. I'll email you tomorrow. I always have the philosophy that your publisher's not going to do anything (not true, but helps get you in the right mindset) so I'm going to do everything to get the word out about the books. Also, I'm going to move from signings at bookstores, so to First Fridays style signings with drinks. Standing behind the podium can be mindnumbing for both the author and readers. I'll be doing one in the Inland Empire and then one in LA in October.

Workout: Did Kajukenbo last week. Damn near passed out. But it was fun as hell, and I'll definitely get in shape this way. BTW, Langston passed his test and moved from white belt to yellow belt. I was sooooo proud. He did a great job. Now he wants to get his orange. I need to step up.