This is in NO way an endorsement of Taco Smell but I think this is such the hilarious commercial. I love the part where the dude sings in falsetto, “if you hate filling out your timesheets.”
Author: kenn
author. developer. illustrator. Renaissance man.
random advice #91 – never regret
“Never regret. If it’s good – it’s wonderful. If it’s bad – it’s experience.”
the novel idea
So I recently completed my first novel and I’m excited about the home that it will find as I actively seek out an agent to represent it to prospective publishers. It’s safe at this point to say that the book is a thriller suspense novel that is thematically about forgiveness.
Plot wise, the book is about a duplicitous man who is confronted with all that he hates about himself when a neighbor from his past moves into the neighborhood.
The characters include the main character (a 45-year old man), his ex-wife who is a recovering addict with a blackmail tendencies, his supportive girlfriend who has no clue who her boyfriend really is, a registered sex offender, and a neighborhood full of children. What could possibly go wrong?
I’ll share more details later.
soulbrother to the Max
June is celebration of ME month so I’m blogging everyday to share something of importance to me or about me. I hope you’re enjoying the journey.
One of my favorite blogs belongs to Max Reddick of soulbrother. He blogs like nobody’s business and I’m not sure where he finds the time between work and family and that whole life thing. I learn and am entertained every time I visit with him.
In his own words, he is “an African American male with a deep & abiding love & respect for the literature, music, and culture of a people growing out of a historical & on-going struggle for change, but who at this time is not quite sure which direction that change is going and what it even means.”
something about spencer
Spencer is the coolest 10-year old I know and I have the honor of also being his Dad. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you… Spencer…
insomnia
Insomnia has become my mistress tonight
Am I the only one she has left alive?
Darkness as sheets covering millions who lie
Me, I can no longer fathom the day from the night
Thoughts of my past and my now and to come
It’s the past that has shaped me of what I now sum
I’m heavy and burdened and she won’t let me sleep
I don’t recall asking her over for a nightcap or tea
My sons and my friends and those who barely missed the mark
They haunt me as ghosts as shadows in the dark
My phone is not speaking but I query anyway
It never suffers silence like this during the day
Insomnia wont leave me as if she’s some hesitant cur
The lines twixt imagination and reality are in post stages of blur
Thoughts rage past me and circle seven times
Leaving me crumpled in corners and opposite the sublime
And kings and queens don’t regard how my story will end
I wonder who will read it and will it sell more than ten
The screams of traffic are muted and all colors are grayed
The tether that once held me is now thinning and frayed
Alcohol or pills or distraction numbs her touch
But I resist the lure to trade a mistress for a dime store slut
So eventually she will tire of me and leave me be
And let me sleep and tire of me be and soon I’ll dream and…
kenn two point O
One of the coolest things I found out a while ago was that my 15-year old son, Kenn (lovingly known as Kenn 2.0) visits my blog regularly and shares with his friends. How cool is THAT?
I dedicate this post to him in all of his glory and awesomeness. Dad loves you, Kenn.
(Don’t worry, Spencer. You have a post coming up too)
incomplete
Last week, I completed writing and editing my first novel. It think it’s important to mention the editing part because most novels are not really done until they’ve been edited several times over.
The moment I edited that last sentence and put a period on the end of the book, I felt… nothing. No sigh of relief or fanfare or any sort. I was just … done. Shortly after talking to a colleague of mine who has worked in the publishing industry for years in different capacities, I came to the stark realization that I needed an agent. Suddenly, I felt… relief and fanfare. It wasn’t over yet. I could spend a little bit more time with my creation.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love the victory of completing a colossal task or crossing that marathon finish line BUT there is something beautiful about being incomplete sometimes.
No, really. Think about it. When you were a kid and you were building something, it was exciting and adventurous. Then you shared your creation with your parent, teacher, and friends and then… that was it. It was complete. Over. Kaput. Sure, you could put your creation on display for all to behold but the adventure was done.
I also think about how I’m a work in progress. It’s easier to accept my flaws and inconsistencies knowing that I’m incomplete and that God is still working on me.
So my novel is incomplete. I have to find an agent that likes it enough to represent it to a publisher who’ll print it and then has to convince the reading public that they want to buy and read it. It’s not all about getting to the destination. It’s about enjoying the journey.