blog

Yesterday I had an encounter with a cyberstalker. And it rattled me.

 Now this individual had been trolling the blog for several weeks. And after I deleted their comments they would stop.

A week ago they came back. And when I realized they would not stop after some replies I started deleting their comments. When that didn’t stop them from re-posting the same comments over and over again along with more personal attacks questioning how many hits I actually get and the lack of comments in the comments section, I changed the settings of the comments section.


But less than an hour after I changed the settings of the comments section they decided to escalate things. They came to my Facebook with a Spoof Shawn James page looking to escalate the cyber bullying into cyberstalking.


I hit the block button. And I’ve contacted the Police here in New York City. When person follows you from one social media site to another posting harassing comments it’s a CRIME.

As I stated before in a previous blog, I don’t do “beefs”. I don’t go back and forth with people in tit for tat exchanges. In most of my web conduct I try to avoid drama whenever possible.

I find it sad that people, especially Black people cannot agree to disagree. This stalker got upset because I refused to agree that Nino Brown from New Jack City was the same stereotype as Mary From Precious and the maids from the Help and that the Movie No Good Deed did not feature stereotypes. In their twisted mind arguing over the semantics of a moive none of us were making money on was the basis for continued harassment in the comments section.

Clearly this person has mental health issues.

I’m pretty rattled by this. In my 15 years on the Internet I’ve run into lots of people with different views. Comic fans. Toy Collectors. Wrestling fans. Pro-Blacks. Afrocentrics. Feminists. Homosexuals. Goths. Art Models. Artists. Writers. Even actors and actresses. People all over the world And I got along with most of them. Yes, we all had our differences of opinion. But we always kept it civil.

Yeah, there were disagreements sometimes. And most times we agreed to disagree. But most of the time we all understood if there was content we didn’t like we just clicked out and moved on.

But that kind of rational, logical thinking does not exist on the Black side of the web it seems. The David Carroll, Akwesi 100, Iceman, Jia Ireland, La Reyna, Dan Freeman, GeneralBacklash/Colnel of Wisdom JM McSwain side of the web seems to be the exception to the Black World Wide Web, not the rule. For every one of these intelligent brothers and sisters we have seven minstrels causing trouble for other Black people online.

I have to wonder what’s WRONG with Black people?  Why can’t they just LET THINGS GO? Why is there always so much drama and nonsense on the Black side of the web? Why do Black folks have to take things so PERSONALLY? Why is the Black side of the Internet such a SEWER?

I’m starting to find out how crazy it is when it comes to the Black side of the Internet. And the more I learn about most of the Black folks online, the more I want to avoid them.

What’s crazy is that these Negroes will follow me around social media and harass me over my views on a couple of movies but won’t have the backbone to go to a White Supremacist Group’s website and troll them with ad-hominem attacks.

Nor will they have the backbone to go out and harass the webmasters of a racist stereotypes in a White-owned website like Ghetto Gaggers.

Nor will they have the backbone to go over to the official site of one of these rappers like Nicki Minaj or one of these entertainers like Rihanna to protest how they present degrading images of Black women.

Nor will they have the backbone to go to the site of the backers of these rappers and harassing e-mails to the CEO of Viacom, Disney, NewsCorp, Warner Brothers, Universal, or Sony to tell them that the content of their movies and TV shows are demeaning or degrading to Black people,

And the reason why this individual won’t go after any of those individuals is because those individuals have the power to slap them down in a second. All of these groups will call up the ISP this fool gets their internet on on and in a few seconds have his IP address blocked and his account terminated.

And after that, the FBI would put out a warrant for his or her arrest. And because the people they are harassing are White and nonblack, they will make those charges stick. Sending his or her stupid ass to jail. Crazy.

Moreover, This Negro who will troll my blog and cyberstalk me won’t make the effort to confront the local Pastor in his or her community who exploits the Black women and children in their neighborhood.

Nor will they have the backbone to confront the Arab store owner about the women exploited behind the counter, the food stamp fraud, illegal drug sales, and stale groceries,

Nor will they have the backbone to confront the drug dealer who sells the weed and meth to the people in their community.

Nor will they have the backbone to confront the gang members in their own community that terrorize the youth and indoctrinate them into a dysfunctional way of life.

Dealing with the Negro this year has me at a cross-roads. For a while I’ve been thinking about calling it a career. And incidents like this with this cyberstalker have me feeling that it would be best to move past the Black community. I came to help brothers and sisters with my writing. However, when it comes to many of these Negroes, I’m starting to realize there isn’t much I can do to counter the dysfunction. They are FUBAR and completely beyond my ability to help.

Rawsistaz Review of All About Marilyn

Below is the Rawsistaz Review of All About Marilyn

Present day, Marilyn Marie is a "has been" teen sitcom star. The cancellation of her show, All About Nikki, is the beginning of the many trials and tribulations she will have to endure in order to seek redemption.

As the screen play opens in the past, we are treated to Marilyn in character as Nikki Desmond. As the play continues in the present day, Marilyn is preoccupied with landing acting roles but feels rejection after rejection due to her age and the stigma of the character Nikki. She is relegated to roles as an extra. In dramatic fashion, a destructive incident occurs that literally transforms her as her life begins anew.

As a screenplay, ALL ABOUT MARILYN was an enjoyable and adventurous reading experience. The author James provided screenplay terminology which was helpful. The images were descriptive, the dialogue engaging, an effective plot, and an unexpected climax. ALL ABOUT MARILYN is moving, entertaining, and heartfelt; one that readers of plays will enjoy.

Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves

of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Temptation Tidbits (Easter Eggs) in The Temptation of John Haynes



Here are some facts about my new novel The Temptation of John Haynes:

The novel was originally completed in 2006. It was actually written after The Cassandra Cookbook (2004) and before All About Marilyn (2007). So if you’re one of the handful of people who own all my books and you’re shelving titles in the order that they’re written, and not the order they published, it’s Isis, The Cassandra Cookbook, The Temptation of John Haynes then All About Marilyn.

Temptation was vehemently rejected by literary agents and small publishers when I submitted queries for it in late 2006. Many hated the premise. I mean REALLY HATED THE PREMISE. And many more felt it wouldn’t sell. I was told by the pros it didn’t grab them, I used too many big words in my
sentences, I used too many adjectives and it wasn’t right for a commercial audience. If only my Dell Inspiron 2500 hadn’t died I’d share some of the more venomous e-mails I got during Temptation’s query process. I never felt a book get so much hate from publishing professionals in my life!

In the face of so many rejections, my original plan was to self-publish Temptation after The Cassandra Cookbook with a 2009 release date. Unfortunately, I had to scrap those plans because I hadn’t finished editing the manuscript. Because I had cover designs and page layouts ready for All About Marilyn, it was moved up in the queue and published first.

The original manuscript for The Temptation of John Haynes was over 121,000 words and 400 pages. Over five years, 30,000 words and two chapters were trimmed from that first draft to tighten the book to its published 93,300 word length.

The world had changed so much since 2006 I had to re-write certain details in the story during final revisions of the book in 2010. AOL had gone out of business, so that was omitted and replaced with plain ol’ Microsoft Outlook. While VCRs are no longer manufactured, but I kept them in the story because some people like myself still use em’ as clocks (And to watch the occasional program NOT on DVD like Static Shock). And Plasma TVs are no longer considered top-of-the-line, but I kept that in the story cause I was lazy.

Temptation is written in a revolving-first-person perspective. I went back to my traditional no-nonsense style of storytelling which is short on details and long on action for this book.

John Haynes is the main character from my failed first novel, The Changing Soul I wrote back in the mid 90’s. And he’s been around since 1990. The Temptation of John Haynes is actually my sixth attempt to write a story with John Haynes.

In old John Haynes stories like The Changing Soul, John was a contemporary African-American fiction character. I moved him over to the fantasy genre because he was on the shelf and I didn’t want to spend time creating a new character. Yep, Shawn was lazy. And the first five JH stories do suck that hard.

The Temptation of John Haynes ties in heavily to events in Isis. It’s not a direct sequel, but is linked to events in that book.

Temptation makes a reference to an event in The Cassandra Cookbook as well. In a chapter featuring e-mails during his job hunt, John is one of the candidates considered for a position at ITC Foods Product Management positions. This is ambiguous, hinting either that events transpiring in Temptation happen before The Cassandra Cookbook, or that ITC still hasn’t found that right person to manage their Frozen Foods Division.

The cross-referencing of other titles I published was inspired by a business approach 1970’s-1980’s Marvel Comics editor Jim Shooter used to sell struggling titles at the time. Shooter used to have best-selling comic book characters like Spider-Man or The Avengers mention events transpiring in another heroes’ series like the X-men or Daredevil in their comics. This was done with the hope that readers would have the incentive to buy other titles, especially poor sellers like X-men and Daredevil at the time. Along with the new writers like Chris Claremont and Frank Miller putting a new perspective on the stories of weaker characters back then, cross-referencing sold a lot of comic books and pushed a lot of weaker midlist titles and characters to the forefront of Marvel Comics.

As it stands now, there’s sort of a “universe” between Isis and John Haynes where stories stand alone but are somewhat connected by a continuity of events. Will Isis make an appearance in the future? Will John make an appearance in an Isis story? Will there be a John Haynes sequel? I’m thinking about it.

that’s more powerful than the President.
The Morris Market is an amalgamation of the Kraft store and Food Emporium, a supermarket where I had my first job.
The Marshmallow Cookies and Chocolate Snaps mentioned in the chapter where John is shopping at

the Morris Market were actual products made in the late 70’s to the 1990’s by Nabisco. And they were GREAT.

And yeah, I mentioned Marshmallow Sandwich Cookies and Chocolate Snaps because I want someone at Kraft Phillip Morris to bring em’ back into production along with Royal Lunch Milk Crackers and Crown pilot Cookies.
WGMS is inspired by Black-Owned WBLS-FM in New York City. WBLS and WLIB are the last two black-owned radio stations in New York City and I’m hoping they stay that way.

The movie “SWIRL” Halle Berry stars in Temptation is inspired by her controversial work in Monster’s Ball. And yeah, John’s disgust towards “SWIRL” mirrors my feelings towards Monster’s Ball. And yeah, I’d tell Halle Berry that to her face.

The Character of John Haynes is actually based on me. The name John Haynes is a play on Shawn James. If you didn’t know it, Shawn is just John in Irish. There are characters based on myself in all of my books with the exception of Isis.
John’s apartment #3C is a reference to the apartment number I used to live at when I was a kid. I try to reference this apartment number in most of my books whenever I can. I also try to reference the address of that old building number 3430, but so far it’s only been referenced in All About Marilyn.
The character of Lucifer was inspired by actor Keith David, DC Comics Character Darkseid, and The Emperor from Star Wars. Whenever I write Lucifer, I hear Keith David’s voice. I always felt Keith’s deep baritone voice would be a perfect fit for a cerebral villain like Lucifer who was a master strategist of psychology and world politics.
The character of E’steem was inspired by actress Salli Richardson and the Arthurian villain Morgan Le Fey. Whenever I write E’steem she sounds like Salli Richardson. I always felt Salli’s sultry voice and articulate speaking manner were perfect for portraying an intelligent sophisticated demoness with political aspirations. Moreover, she often plays her characters with such depth and humanity; that really inspired me to write a more complex human character.
The Gargoyles on the balcony in The Morris Phillips Penthouse are a sly reference to Disney’s Gargoyles. Disney’s Gargoyles was the first place I heard Keith and Salli’s voice work. And since both Lucifer and E’steem are inspired by actors Keith David and Salli Richardson I wanted to put a nod to that show in the book.

The demon character of Brent Morrison is inspired by actor Rene Abujernois. I felt his voice was perfect for a butt-kissing toadie with a dignified manner in Lucifer’s Legion.
The demon character Carol was inspired by actress Phlycia Rashad. Rashad has a cool sophistication that I feel would make her perfect for an old school business executive.
Lucifer’s Legion of corporate employees and the Lords of Hell are inspired by DC Comics Darkseid’s Elite.
The “Corporate Hell” of demons working at Morris Phillips is a tongue-in cheek joke making reference to how the cut-throat the workplace is.
The “Tempting Fate” featurette in the back of the book almost didn’t make it to final copy because it wasn’t costing out. I struggled throughout December of 2010 and made myself crazy trying to condense all my reasons for writing the story into five pages and keep the book on budget. Thankfully things worked out. Self-Publishing on a shoestring means I have to design the entire book so it falls under a certain price point. $15.00 is the threshold for what people will pay for a paperback at retail and I couldn’t afford to add any extra pages. The more pages a publisher adds over 400 the harder it is to turn a profit minus printing costs and retailer discounts. This book has one of the slimmest profit margins I’ve ever seen, but it meant a lot for me to get it to readers.


The cover used on The Temptation of John Haynes was not the one I wanted to use. First I wanted to commission a cover and spent $400 for an artist to draw a cover. It sucked
Then I designed a cover using my concept art with a black background. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t print at Lightning Source due to some 300% density issue on the black. So I did some research and came up with a custom Midnight Navy background that was close to black.
I hope these tidbits will give readers an incentive to pick up the book. I’m also hoping that it doesn’t spoil it too much for those who haven’t read it.

OOSA Online Book Club's review of The Temptation of John Haynes

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/152401886



Deceptions,
John Haynes is a guy who is very humble. He is the type that you would take home to momma. John has goals and he's determined to do it the right way. He is considered one of the good ones. Of course Lucifer does not like this one bit and he is making it his business to make sure that John does something that is not to God's liking. Now enters beautiful and sexy E'steem. E'steem has been assigned to John so that he will fall. Even though she uses many tricks and is backed by Lucifer, this is a task that turns out to be bigger than expected.


Will John fall for E'steem or vice versa? Will Lucifer win? Or will good triumph again?


The concept of the "The Temptation of John Haynes" was very good and held my attention from the first page. There were a few typos, but not enough to hinder the story. I think Mr. James did a good job.


Reviewed by: Sophia


I was pretty floored when I read this. This is the first book I've written to recieve a five-star review I've ever recieved from a book club. I'm really excited about it! Hoping this is the start of something big for this book!



This Saturday I'll be revealing Easter Eggs hidden inside the pages of The Temptation of John Haynes and letting readers in on the long journey this book took from conception to print.



Get your copy of The Temptation of John Haynes at Amazon.com today!

Here's the information on my Black Friday Ebay Auction.


I'll autograph all three copies of my books with a message of the winner's choice and gift box the books in an attractive package for Holiday giving.


Here's what the lucky winner will recieve in the gift box:


ISIS
ISBN: 978-1589392366




In the aftermath of a horrible tragedy, Isis the long-lost daughter of Osiris, has committed a heinous crime. Because she didn't receive guidance from her father, the elder gods show mercy on the young goddess by stripping her of her powers and imprisoning her on an uncharted island in the South Pacific.


Osiris and Isis reunite with his long-lost child to begin the difficult process of establishing a familial relationship. Hoping to guide Isis towards the greater destiny she's supposed to fulfill, her parents begin teaching her the ways of the gods. However, Seth's herald E'steem lurks in the shadows offering the young goddess freedom for a price. Caught in the middle of a never-ending war between the gods, Isis must choose to either return to the troubled world she knows all too well, or take a journey down an unknown path where faith is her only guide.


The Cassandra Cookbook
ISBN 978-1-60264-229-4


Cassandra Lee’s lifelong dream is to take over the Downtown Brooklyn bakery with her name on it when her parents retired. Her dream turns into a nightmare near the eve of her wedding when she learns corporate giant ITC Foods has plans for the store and her low down down low fiancé Gerald is caught in the arms of another man.


Cassandra perseveres, acting as her parents’ agent working with ITC rep Simon James to complete the deal. As their professional relationship gets personal, Simon reveals a secret that devastates Cassandra. Sending Cassandra over the edge, Simon must come up with a plan to heal her broken heart and make her dreams come true.


All About Marilyn
ISBN: 978-0-615-34258-0


Marilyn Marie is desperate to break away from Nikki Desmond, the rich spoiled rotten character she played on the hit 1990's teen sitcom All About Nikki. Scraping by for years on work in two-bit made-for-video productions and handouts from friends, the 34-year-old actress anxiously waits for the big break that will jump start her stalled career. Tragically it comes on the set of the movie SELL OUT when she's attacked by Hollywood's current it girl Tabatha Strong.


While recovering in the hospital, Marilyn prepares for the greatest role of her life: Being herself. However, the ghost of Nikki Desmond continues to haunt her as she travels to New York City with a new face and a new lease on life. Eager to move on, Marilyn realizes she must reconcile with her troubled television past if she wants to have a future in the real world.


This is a rare opportunity for a lucky reader to get a complete set of titles from me personalized with my autograph and a personalized message. Surprise a friend or loved one with a very unique gift from an obscure, self-published author that may become a rare collector's item one day. Hey, it's better than giving someone a sweater! Each copy will be brand new, unread and crisp as it came off the printing press. Each of these books retail from $12.95-$14.95 at online retailers unsingned. You can get the whole set in this auction for a song!


Shipping will be $4.00 for the set. I only accept payments via PayPal and payment is due three days after the end of the auction. Good luck!

100th Blog Extravaganza! (Okay a Progress report, but I'm still Celebrating!)

Welcome to the 100th post of Shawn James, Black Freelance Writer! I want to thank all the readers who stayed with me since 2006, and thanks to all the new readers who have started reading this blog over the past year for supporting this page.




This blog has grown so much over the past year. Last month had the most readers than in any time of the history of the blog. I actually had over 1,000 hits! One of my goals was to expand my web presence and I met that goal this year. I’m hoping to continue building an audience of readers over the next year and I’m gonna work hard to keep that momentum going.




Thanks to this page, more readers know about my books than in the history of my writing career. I'm hoping everyone continues to help me get the word out about my books and my writing; I have much more material I'd like to share with readers.




I’ve grown so much over the past year as a writer; I’ve gone from publishing with a POD publisher to publishing titles on my own. I can actually put together a page layout form start to finish, and design a cover in Photoshop. I’m releasing articles on a regular schedule. My productivity is finally back to where it was in 2004 when I was writing 1,000+ words a day.




On the promotion side, I’m networking with writers. I’m networking with readers. I’m doing shows like the Harlem Book Fair. Getting the word out about my books. I never thought I’d be doing stuff like this back in 2002 when Isis came out.




Gonna do my first book signing this week at the Monroe College Bookstore. I’m gonna try to have pics of that event for everyone in a future blog.




Around Black Friday I’ll be offering an autographed set of Isis, The Cassandra Cookbook, and All About Marilyn on Ebay, with a piece of original art by me or an Isis T-shirt thrown in. I’d love to do two sets, one where the proceeds are donated to charity, the other for promotional purposes. If the response is good I’ll do more in the future.




The winner of the auction can have a personal message written in each of the books. So if you want a special one-of-a-kind gift for a loved one or yourself, check out the auction that’ll be coming up on November 27th.




For the next hundred blogs and thereafter, I’m going to continue providing a mix of content about writing, publishing and discussing issues about the African-American community. I’ll also continue promoting my self-published books and art.




Work wise, I’m gonna be busy cleaning up The Temptation of John Haynes for the next two months getting it ready for its January 2011 release. I’m working hard on some great articles; next week will start a series about the high dropout rate among African-American males.




Again everybody, thanks for your support.

Cassandra Cookbook Conundrum

A pinch of Hard Work.




A dash of determination.




A recipe for no sales.




The Cassandra Cookbook was supposed to be a recipe for literary success. It was well-received by literary agents, book clubs, and most critics It’s a book praised for its solid premise, well-developed characters and tight storyline.










Unfortunately, African-American readers weren’t interested.




Despite handing out numerous free (over 40) promotional and review copies to vendors, aggressively contacting African-American book clubs, and bookstores, the sweet story about the girl working towards developing her own recipe for success in Downtown Brooklyn is a failure. Isis and All About Marilyn kick Cassandra’s ass in sales.




I’m trying to find out what went wrong with The Cassandra Cookbook. It’s a mystery that baffles me. Everyone likes the story when they read it, but can’t it get any takers when it comes time to buy it. I’m still trying to figure out:




Is it the price? $14.95 isn’t that pricey for a trade paperback Cassandra’s size. I mean, I offered it for $5 at the Harlem Book Fair this year with lots of lookers, but no takers. Amazon discounted the book down to $2.36 this summer and STILL no buyers. Meanwhile over the summer, Isis and All About Marilyn continued to sell and pick up readers and interest.




Is it the cover? Some reviewers said they were turned off by the cover. I’m trying to figure out what is it about the cover repulsed people? The composition of the figure? The image of a black woman with blonde hair? Or is it because she’s a light-skinned African-American? My pencils? My ink and color work?




Some complained about the colors I used on the cover. I used pink and blue in the cover design because that’s what most publishing houses were using on their chick lit covers to “cute” up their design. Chick Lit covers often used illustrations to appeal to young females. But I guess African-American women don’t like cute stuff on their book covers. Many in the Black community thought I was selling a children’s book and not a piece of contemporary fiction targeted at them.




Is it the title? Many on the street misinterpreted my attempt to be clever with the title and thought the story detailing a sista’s recipe for success was a real cookbook. Maybe the concept of a Cassandra Cookbook went over most readers’ heads.




Was it the writing? While most liked the story, some complained that I over-worded some paragraphs. I don’t think the paragraphs in Cassandra were wordy; Read Jane Austen, Anita Brookner or any English author and you’ll be in for some dense paragraphs. Others didn’t like the fact that I used the word “digress” or the word “pink” so many times. I don’t know, I thought I by using a word like digress would help readers develop their vocabulary; something a reader would need to expand for exams like the SAT, GRE, or civil Service tests. And White chick lit heroines have pink everythings; from their cell phones to their nail polish. Was I wrong to think African-American women would identify with a woman who liked cute pink things?




Could I have offended some brothers and sisters with the down-low storyline involving Cassandra and her fiancé Gerald? I did my best to be as sensitive as possible tackling that particular storyline showing how the harm down low men cause for black women is emotional, and not about a man’s sexual orientation. What hurts most sistas about down low brothers is their violation of a sista’s trust and their lack of honesty. It’s more about the lying to them about being straight than a man being gay. However, I understand homophobia is rampant in the African-American community, and perhaps many brothers and sistas were turned off by a storyline that explored complex gay issues.




Is it because I’m a black male? I don’t know. Many sistas don’t mind picking up books by other black male authors like Eric Peete, Eric Jerome Dickey, or Carl Weber that feature black female protagonists. Isis and All About Marilyn both featured female lead heroines and readers love those stories.




Was it the editing? I’ll take responsibility for the errors in Cassandra. Truth was I wasn’t in top form on editing because I was starting a new job and working with a new computer a year after my laptop died. But hey, those street lit books have 50X more errors than Cassandra does and brothers and sisters are more than eager to give those titles a chance regardless of quality.




Could it be the timing? I released the book unaware that street/urban lit had become the new hot thing in African-American fiction. The way this book has been recieved, I have to wonder Is anyone black even still interested in contemporary African-American fiction stories anymore?




Or is Cassandra just a victim of the sophomore curse? This is a tragedy usually befalls an author’s second book.




All I know is I did the best I could with Cassandra. I put my whole heart into that story and it hurt to watch it received so negatively by readers, especially women of color who I wrote it for.

While many may not like it, Cassandra was a very inspiring and uplifting story for me. I was out of work for a LONG time (Since November 2002) and was depressed over losing a job I failed to do well at (Brothers at the reception desk= FAIL). While I was writing Cassandra’s story in 2003-2004, I managed to work my way out of depression and lost over 40 pounds. Cassandra was the first book since Isis that put a smile on my face. I loved sharing what I knew about the black business world on paper.




I also loved trying out new techniques. The Cassandra Cookbook was the first story where I experimented with a new softer style of storytelling. In the past I often wrote darker, more cerebral characters and very intense storylines. Cassandra’s story model was the first to feature lighthearted characters, a quirky storyline and a bit of fun. I designed the plot structure to have more of a comical nature than the seriousness of stories like Isis, All About Marilyn, or The Temptation of John Haynes.




Doing things differently with Cassandra’s story had a huge impact on my writing career. When I queried literary agents; it was the first book that attracted their serious interest. Cassandra almost got representation. It almost got sold. It almost made it to a table at Barnes & Noble. It coulda been my big break. I believed in the story even though positive rejections piled up in cyberspace and in the mail. Everyone telling me how great the story was encouraged me to persevere.




Then in July 2007 in the middle of editing it and revising All About Marilyn my first laptop, a Dell Inspiron 2500 died after seven years of service. I put my dreams on hold but continued to do revisions on loose-leaf paper hoping to self-publish Cassandra and share it with readers.




As I found employment in early 2008, I set a goal. No matter what happened with this new job, I was going to publish The Cassandra Cookbook. In my first 90 days on the job I spent my nights revising Cassandra while adjusting to a new work schedule. I saved up money from my first few paychecks eager to share this great story with brothers and sisters and spent several thousand dollars in between the book fairs, mailing out free copies and other promotional efforts to get the word out about this book. It saddens me to see all that work I did to publish and promote this book went nowhere.




The Cassandra Cookbook was my first book back from a long journey back from depression and unemployment. I've done all I can over the past two years and I don't know what to do anymore. I love this book and I don’t want to see it die. I believe in what I wrote. I believe Cassandra is a great story that will put a smile on people’s faces. I just wish brothers and sisters would take the time to give this great book a chance.