On The Road Again

Off to the hills and valleys of Tennessee. Yee haw!

Spent most of the day doing book stuff -- visiting bookstores, meeting booksellers and staff, delivering galleys. Very fun stuff. There are some really nice people out there working in bookstores. Almost all are aspiring authors themselves, so it's extra fun to engage in conversation about their projects and dreams. Almost all I met had really promising things to say about Down For Whatever -- that they'd heard about the project already, they loved the cover, they think it will do well. That was good to hear.

Then took my crew to the airport for their weekend stint in San Fran. Big reunion thing going on. Wish I could have gone, but...

Had to come back to pack for Nashville. Still packing. About 80% done. Need to be out the door in four hours. Procrastinating by coming online for a minute. Doing online banking... yeah, that's it. I'll finish and I know I'll forget something.

Anyway, I'm out for some days. Until I have computer access or return to L.A., have a good beginning of April. Remember the gossip challenge!
:-)
fs

Si Se Puede

March 31 is a holiday in California. It's Cesar Chavez Day. And since we're about the only state that honors Cesar Chavez and his work organizing the United Farm Workers, I thought I'd share a few links that tell you more about him.

United Farm Workers site

Cesar E. Chavez Institute

And while were at it -- learning and reflecting on the issues of labor, farm workers, and rights -- check out the film, A Day Without A Mexican. It's a great film that highlights how Californians take for granted the contributions of the 14 million plus Latinos in the state.

I hear it's starting to be the same in other states that have traditionally operated on the black/white paradigm and now with influxes of brown people. They're taken for granted, being ganged up on by the traditional black/white paradigm, while just trying to make a living like everyone else. Oppression is oppression, no matter who is the recipient, no matter the longevity of that oppression. May not be the exact same situation, but it still hurts... I digress.

My prediction. Just my sociological, institutionally-educated guess. 20 years from now, Iowa will be the next brown and black enclave of the United States. Too many old people. Not enough young people to fill their places or who want to stay there. Tons of land and farms. Some factories remaining. Small towns (for those who believe in the small-town values thing). The Iowa Legislature is proposing or toying with a no-tax plan for people under 30 who live or relocate to Iowa. OK, maybe some tradional "Iowa" values and beliefs to contend with -- it is one of the whitest states currently, but I can see it 20 years from now -- a critical mass of brown and black population shifting to Iowa.

Si, se puede.
fs

McMillan, Rowling, and Smith for $2000

What is... authors with books releasing in July 2005, Alex?

That's correct.

Well, I already knew about J.K. Rowling and the new Harry Potter coming out July 16. Then found out about DFW's date, July 5.

Now, the mama of all fiction, the one to whom all contemporary black authors owe their respect, gratitude, and publication to, Terry McMillan, has a new novel, The Interruption of Everything, coming July 12.

Fun July, huh. Fun month for a first-time novelist to come out, huh? Sure, why not.

Think positive.

Gossip challenge.

Here goes:

While all the kids, and their parents, and grandparents are out getting the other books, that means that much more traffic will be in the bookstores... and the potential for all those customers to see my book on the shelf is raised exponentially. Rowling and McMillan are sure-fire magnets to bookstores, so with all those folks in the bookstore, they have no choice but to see mine, huh? And once they see it, look at the back, read the description, they'll have no control over their impulse to pull out the plastic and purchase not one, but three copies of Down For Whatever. Yeah, that's the ticket.

It's going to be a fun July. That's for sure.
fs

The Gossip Challenge

"In ATL I caught a case/And the media tried to say/I had a habit..."

-- Faith Evans, Again, from forthcoming CD, The First Lady

"Them chickens is ash/and I'm lotion..."

-- Mariah Carey, It's Like That, from forthcoming CD, The Emancipation of Mimi

About ten years ago, when I was an R.A. in college, our R.A. staff attempted to do a building-wide program/event called The Gossip Challenge. We'd borrowed the idea from the Oprah show, and attempted to get our residents and staff to go one whole week without gossiping (sharing or listening to), saying anything negative about another person, or playing people against each other -- i.e. telling one friend one version of a story (usually to create sympathy) and telling another friend another version. At the time, we defined gossip as a deliberate spreading of an untruth/speculation of someone's personal life or a deliberate spreading of a hidden personal fact that we knew someone wouldn't want to be public.

The program wasn't as successful as we wanted it to be. Despite tons of publicity and overhearing people talk in the hallways or cafeteria about the idea of "not gossiping," untimately it was just the R.A. staff who took the challenge. (Maybe the discussion among residents was the success???) We kept notebooks, or gossip journals, with the intent of documenting each time we were tempted to gossip or partake of an untruth. It taught us a lot. Made us realize that it is so easy and such an unconscious act to gossip. We kept record of what went through our minds not participating in the act, and what direction the conversation turned to. Ultimately, we found that our conversations focused on "us" rather than "others." And we focused on a lot of productive and positive topics-- people's successes, dreams, hopes, and desires.

I've heard Maya Angelou call the act of gossip as a process akin to "being pecked to death by ducks." In other words, it's a slow and destructive process that can be a little painful.

Now, I'm no hypocrite. I love to read entertainment fluff magazines, even check out a few celebrity gossip websites and cable channels, and talk to friends about what I've read. Sometimes I feel bad. Realize celebrities are real people, but that more people know (or think they know) them. But they have the same problems, joys, insecurities, and triumphs at different times in life.

I think about this a lot as an author with a book coming out. Now, I realize that authors are on the bottom rung of the celebrity ladder. And debut novelists are on the lower level of that bottom rung. So maybe I'm tripping. I just think about it.

But then I thought, maybe I should toy with the idea of revising The Gossip Challenge. But expanding it to include no negative talk about others, no negative SELF talk, as well no spreading of an untruth/speculation of someone's personal life or spreading of a hidden personal fact someone wouldn't want to be public. (With the one exception being politics. Politics is different. Politicians are accountable to us. You think?)

I thought, why not try this for one day at the beginning of the month. April 1. But if I (and maybe you?) tried The Gossip Challenge on April 1, would our friends and family take it as a joke? Would we be the April fool? Anyway, I'm going to spend that day (ok, the next day too since I'll be in a plane most of the day Friday) trying to challenge the gossipy thoughts I'm tempted to think and say. No talking about Myrtle's purple polyester pants, no talking about how much weight my colleague Kaley-Joe at Blank University lost or gained (or why), no wondering why my colleague Tookey-Sue at Pizza University is bringing along a student who's also a personal boy toy, or no pondering Oda-Mae breaking the white shoe rule.

The thought won't even cross my mind.

Can I do it? Can we do it?

fs

P.S. In addition to politics being immune from The Gossip Challenge, Braided Pony Tail Psycho Man and Contolling Husband from the gym are also immune... hmmm....

Unfinished Books

If you're like me, you've probably got a stack of books that fall into one of two piles: a) To Be Started; b) To Be Finished; and, c) Recently Acquired. Maybe you don't. Maybe you follow the buy one/read one rule. Probably the best rule to follow.

I've got three stacks and a few weeks down time. The stacks are next to my bedside table. And now that I'm in "relax mode" until I get edits and feedback, I don't know where to begin.

To Be Started:
Playing With Boys by Alisa Valdes Rodriguez
The Love Wife by Gish Jen
The Good Wife Strikes Back by Elizabeth Buchan
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

To Be Finished:
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Last Lullaby by Denise Hamilton
Every Night Is Ladies' Night by Michael Jaime Becerra
Southern Storm by Terri Blackstock

Recently Acquired:
At This Moment by Trent Jackson
God's Country by Percival Everett

Hmmm... where to begin? So many books, so little time. I'm heading to Nashville on Friday morning and I think I want something fun to go along with me. What to choose?

Writers don't always make the best readers... meaning, speaking for myself, I buy, acquire, or receive too many books. And when I'm writing, I don't like to read much besides entertainment magazines or blogs -- don't want other styles influencing what I'm working on. Now... what will it be?

And let's not even go there with the To Be Re-Read pile. That's another story...
fs

It's Really Coming

Some have likened the first book process to that of having your first child. OK, maybe it's just me.

Every first, every new development, every little thing excites you, while to others -- particularly those who have gone through the process -- are like, "OK. Whatever. Yawn. Get over it. The charm wears off, sweetie."

Well, I've known for a few weeks that my book was done and coming out soon, but today I found something that makes it officially official. The book in on the Kensington online announcement of upcoming books -- July. Woo hoo. No going back... whoa, no going back.

OK, my private (public) excitement is over... back to your regularly scheduled net surfing...
fs

If He Does It In Public...

The gym is full of stories. Just watch and you've got a zillion jump off points for characters for your fiction.

Braided Pony Tail Psycho Man showed up again at the gym. And like a hawk hones in on its prey, as soon as BPTPM hit the top of the stairs and did a quick look around, he was standing between my stairmaster and the object of his stalking. Again, he pleaded from the bottom of his corazon for another chance, talked about how much they have to lose being apart, blah blah blah. I kept the headphones low for a minute, but decided listening to the Glitter soundtrack was much more exciting, not as repetitive as BPTPM's shameful begging/pleading/stalking... and I just kept an eye on the body language, just in case things got crazy and I needed to duck. (And before you go off on me about the Glitter soundtrack, let me say... it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It's one of my favorites among the Mariah Carey collection... but I digress...)

For the second half of my workout, I went to the elliptical machine across the room. Glitter transitioned to Lee Ann Womack (yes, again!), and I had an eye on another situation. Let's call him Controlling Husband, who apparently thought he was as well-versed in personal training as the paid professionals are. Now, I know some people have picked up some fitness tips, but this was definitely their first visit -- I could tell by the outfits they wore. Anyway, after about five minutes riding bikes, Controlling Husband's wife wanted to join an aerobic class about to start. She stood up to go in the aerobic room. He stood up, grabbed her, yelled at her to get back on the bike. She did. Five minutes later she saw another elliptical machine open up -- the one next to me. She stood up. So did he. She resisted for a minute his pulls. Controlling Husband chilled, and then jumped on the elliptical machine his wife wanted, and told her to get on the bike. The nerve. And he smelled. And he didn't know how to use the machine. And I refused to help him learn how to turn it on. (Another gym pet peeve... go through orientation and actually learn how the machines work please!!!) I digress. I couldn't stand the smell after a minute or so, so I moved to bikes a little bit away.

But seeing the behavior of Braided Pony Tail Psycho Man and Controlling Husband made me realize a few things:

1 - Everyone deserves to be, and should be, choosy about relationships; there's nothing to write home about settling;

2 - Red flags in relationships should not be ignored... no matter how cute, charming, or heartwarming they may seem in the beginning; and

3 - If he does it in public, like the men at the gym, that means the behavior in private must be ten times worse.

I think I need to stop being so nosy at the gym. It gets me a little riled up and a little discouraged about the state of relationships. Hmm...
fs

Josefina Lopez... the other J-Lo

Josefina Lopez, actor, writer, producer, and community activist, runs a really cool artistic space on the East side of L.A. called CASA 0101. You might not know her name, but you know her film, the HBO Production "Real Women Have Curves", which was actually one of several stage productions Josefina has written.

CASA 0101 one of those spaces where everyone is welcome to learn, share, and experience their artistic points of view. It's a safe space. And Josefina is working with other artists to create a nice little renaissance in Boyle Heights and East L.A. We need more spaces, places, and people like Josefina. Working to make a difference.

I've met Josefina several times. She spoke here at the university on filmmaking and writing. She has worked with our friends at the East L.A. Women's Center. And she wants to help young people of color find their voices through artistic venues and the creative process.

Just got a bunch of e-mails about some spring time writer, directing, filmmaking classes CASA 0101 will be offering. There's some great people teaching this spring and the classes are reasonably priced. No price is too large or small if it's an investment in your future.

So... if you're in L.A., and even thinking about dipping in the creativity pool, I say go ahead, take a chance, meet other creative types... whether it's at CASA 0101 or a space in your hometown. You never know what may come of it.
fs