Thelonious Legend's Blog, page 4
June 6, 2014
Diverse Pages: Feature and Author Interview with Thelonious Legen...
Diverse Pages: Feature and Author Interview with Thelonious Legen...: Whew! What a month April was? Unseasonably cold and unusually busy thanks to the A to Z Challenge. But we're excited to get back to regu...
June 4, 2014
Black Girl Nerds: Sins Of The Father
Black Girl Nerds: Sins Of The Father: The Young Adult (YA) genre is full of surprises these days. What once was a book aimed at teenagers is now fodder for book clubs compris...
Diversity in Books
The current campaign #WeNeedDiverseBooks has started a much needed and long overdue dialogue about the lack of Diversity in books. But that got me to thinking... What exactly is diversity? And would we know it if we see it? Is Diversity just a black face? I don't want just a black face. I want something more substantive. I want someone who I can identify with. Someone who is inspiring. BlackGirlNerds has a blog about Storm(please check it out) that states Halley Berry was less than inspiring for her portrayal of this much beloved character. And I agree. But again Halley is black. Shouldn't we be happy with that? No. We want more. We deserve more. When the movie Love Jones first came out I raved about it and told so many people to to go see it I should be receiving residuals. Love Jones did it for me. Love Jones encapsulated everything I believe diversity means. I decided a couple of years ago to write a Sci-Fi novel because my daughters love to read but didn't see themselves between the pages. So far me it was a no brainer. The protagonists of my books would be girls of color. But is that enough? No. Culture is what takes a card board character and makes them your fav. The poem "Blues for Nina" is what made Larenz's character immortal and launched a resurgence of spoken word. And being a father, brother, husband, son to all black women I know how important hair is and I would be remiss if my book didn't make note of that. And you know what? I have been getting madd props because the conversation black women are having about the pros and cons of going natural is real and passionate but largely invisible to the Main Stream Media. But it made my characters identifiable. It gave them culture. So I say all that to say this... When you say you want more diversity in books what exactly do you mean?
March 26, 2014
March 14, 2014
Now available on Nook, iBook and paperback!
Had some formatting issues which delayed the release of versions for iBook, nook, and paperback. But now I am happy to announce that 'Sins Of The Father' is now available in all those portals. Also I am still waiting on my first review but I had a couple of friends contact me who are half-way through the book and they love it so far. I know, I know, they are my friends and probably can't be trusted. But you have to start somewhere right? And besides the next best thing to writing about books is talking to excited fans about the characters you have created in said books. That's it for now...I got writing to do people!
December 26, 2013
Almost there!
OK, I know I've said this before but I expect the book to be completed and out by February 2014(or March at the latest). Sorry for the delays but this writing process is really involved(especially if you don't know how to write.) Yes I am anxious and more than a bit curious to see how the book will be received. As of now I don't have a heavy marketing strategy planned or anything. I'm going to announce it on Facebook and play it by ear. If the book is well received then I'll probably look into pushing it and marketing it a bit more. If it is not well received then at least I can say I'm a published novelist! How cool is that right? My thoughts behind the minimum marketing strategy is that I did not want to push a book(even mine) that is not resonating with the public. No biggee, it would just mean back to the drawing board for me. Also how well it is received will directly impact how quickly I finish book two. Yes I have already started writing book two but I need to work out some structural issues between book 2 and 3 before book 2 can be finished. Well that is all for now. PEACE
