The Meaning Behind the Juneteenth Flag

Because we all need a gentle reminder that all Americans were neither independent nor free on July 4, 1776, here is a brief history of the Juneteenth Flag!

On June 19th, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, the Union arrived to notify the last enslaved African Americans that they were freed.

In 1997, Ben Haith designed the flag to tell the story of Juneteenth. The red, white, and blue signifies that the people freed were Americans. The curve of the colors signified new horizon and opportunities for African Americans. The white star represents Texas and the freedom of African Americans in all the states. The starburst represents a nova (new star), which represents a new beginning for African Americans.

To learn more about Ben Haith and the flag, here is an Instagram reel.

Weekly Words: Am Reading Mo Xiang Tong Xiu's Mo Dao Zu Shi (Book 2)

 

Happy June!

Last week, I said that I was reading the second book of Mo Dao Zu Shi, so I thought I would share some of it, because I read the first book back in September!

HAUNTED BY SIN

Following the trail of a dismembered corpse, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji arrive at the gates of Yi City: an old, abandoned town shrouded in mist and restless spirits. A fiendish foe awaits them in the shadows, heralding a tale of heartbreak and tragedy. When the mysterious corpse’s identity is finally revealed, the hunt for its killer plunges Wei Wuxian back into the depths of the cultivation world's politics, where he must keep his enemies close and Lan Wangji even closer.

The first book ended with Wuxian and Wangji entering a ghost town, which is one of my favorite storylines in the show. They're chasing this mystery, and they have no idea why. Having watched the show twice, I know why, but seeing how the scenes play out in the books is so exciting. The art associated with the scenes are also just breathtaking!

*chefs kiss* The story behind this picture is so heartbreaking. Someone said it's Shakespearean, and oh man, was it. I don't remember all of the details, but I do know he took out his own eyes and later down the road was tricked into killing his best friend, whose tongue had been cut out, so he couldn't warn him. So tragic. I'm still near the beginning of this book, so I can't wait to see where it ends.

Reading anything fun this month?

Monthly Review & Quarterly Goals

 

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It's been so long since I've had a monthly review, I even forgot what picture I was using. At this point, I'm not even going to say I didn't mean to miss three weeks. I'm just bad at keeping a schedule.

This has been a very eventful month for me! I released Fractured Princess at the end of May and had a very successful day at Dover Comic Con two weeks later. I was even surprised to meet people who had remembered me from the 2021 Comic Con and last year's, where I just handed out "Coming Soon" gift bags. I'm proud of myself for talking to people and coming up with an elevator pitch on the fly. A few people didn't know what Final Fantasy was, so it was pointless to use that all the time. The pitch definitely made some eyes light up. I loved to see it.

The day after Comic Con, I flew over to Nashville to watch my friend conduct his second annual Juneteenth Symphony. If you love symphonic music, please follow the Nashville African American Wind Symphony. They're going to do even bigger things in the future. I know it. Being in Nashville, first off, makes me never want to leave (I absolutely love it there), but seeing my friend do what he loves also makes me want to do so much more of the things I love, especially as a career. How I'll shift into that, we'll see, but I do not want to be a State worker forever. Could be a bit of near-40-life crisis talk emerging, but we'll see about that over the next 12 months as well. When I got home, I met with my cousin to help him do some plotting (pantser me? what?) for his novel. We were two very excited squirrels, but we got some work done! I love seeing how his story evolved, and he said my writing journey helped him do it, so that's a major bonus for me. If I could do something like that every day as my job, that would be ideal.

Shifting gears a little bit, if you're reading this straight from my blog, you'll notice a new Comic Con event in my sidebar! There is a Blue Hen Comic Con coming to Dover this November, and it will be TWO days long! I should stay in a hotel just for the heck of it, but I live less than 10 minutes away from the venue. haha This will be my first indoor convention, so I can't wait to see what the difference is. It will be held in the old Sears building at our slowly dying mall, so if we're lucky, they'll have more events like this in that space. 

Today is also the 5th Friday of the month, so it's time to look at my quarterly goals! Back in March, my main goal was releasing FP and getting the word out. I put together two Facebook ad campaigns, one leading up to the relaunch and one after. I believe they did pretty well. A few people at Comic Con said they saw the ad! That's really cool how it works. I wish I could've seen it. I really don't get on social media like I used to.

My goal for this quarter is to practice more voice work. If you follow me on the socials, I've posted two readings and a character voice so far. I plan to do more, and maybe listen to another audiobook, because I said I was going to, so I could hear different narrators.

Speaking of books, I'm almost halfway done my Goodreads goal, which is great at the end of June! I'll share some of what I'm reading next Friday (promise). Writing-wise, I'm almost finished the second chapter of Divided Princess (again), and I hope to incorporate some of the action I wrote in the first draft. I know for sure how this book is going to end and how the final book will turn out. I just have to get to them. Always A and Z with me.

So, for reading and writing, my goal is to read at least three more books and maybe get to the midpoint of the first part of DP. I can do it.

Did you make any goals this past quarter? What are you looking forward to this summer?

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FRACTURED PRINCESS is available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback, and on Barnes & Noble's website in Paperback!

June Review: I had a busy month!

 June has been a busy month for no reason.

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I only say this because I was busy every Saturday for one reason or another. Here is what I did:

On the 4th, I went to my first Pride event with my younger sister. It felt so good to see so many people out, and I saw other demisexual flags on the street, so I wore mine like a cape of honor. Next year, I have to remember to bring money, because the drag shows were popping! We spent most of our time there.

Me on the steps of the Townsend Building at Legislative Mall.

On the 11th, I had a graduation party to go to, and then I stopped by the African American Festival with my goddaughter. Then, my friends all piled into my house to eat crabs. On the 18th, Dover Comic-Con took place, and I spent two hours passing out merch bags filled with a bookmark, business card, and post card with Fractured Princess's blurb and release date.

The bag is shiny, so pictures are meh.

I had fun those two hours. I passed out all 75 bags that I had, and I even got to stop to eat for a minute before I left to get ready for my best friends' baby shower. Then, we piled into our other friend's apartment and watched Turning Red.

On Juneteenth, my sisters and I hung up textiles of our mom in the room that used to be her sitting area in her in-law suite at my older sister's. She updated it, and it's really cute (not that it wasn't before, but my mom liked cherry wood and maroon/taupe fleur-de-lis afghans, and we do not). We sat in there and chatted for a few hours. Then, I rested on the 20th, which was very nice.

Tomorrow, I have a baby's birthday party and a barbecue at my sister's, and then it will be July! Well, not right away, but it will feel like it. There is a possibility that I will take a break in July, as it's my birthday month, but I'll cross that bridge in a week. I still have to record a video for Patreon, so that will be my goal later tonight or early tomorrow morning.

Writing wise, as you saw in my post from last Friday, I have so much written down, and I can't wait to put it all together. It's for Book 3, though, so that means I need to get the ball rolling on Divided Princess. I need to figure out how to get to all the stuff that leads to Book 3. I kind of know, but I just need to sift through my jumbled ideas and make sure I carve out a sensical path. Wish me luck!

Black Author Spotlight: Amber McBride

Welcome back to the Black Author Spotlight!

The goal of this segment is to highlight black authors who are often marginalized and ignored in the publishing industry. Black writers usually turn to self-publishing--an already densely populated industry--to have their stories seen, and it is said that we have to work twice as hard to get half of what our white counterparts have. Hopefully, shining a little light on these authors will help to signal boost the work they are putting out there.

This week, I am highlighting Amber McBride.

Amber is an author, poet, English professor, National Book Award Finalist, and sensitivity reader whose website I need you all to go look at right now. Do it. It's STUNNING. Based on her bio and press kit, she is a whimsically dark character, and I am here for it. Her students call her Ms. Mermaid, and her family calls her Little Wolf. We will call her an author whose second YA novel-in-verse, We Are All So Good At Smiling, is currently available for pre-order!

When I shared this cover on my Facebook, I might've gotten more comments than I have since I launched the page. Because this cover is GORGEOUS! The soft colors and the transparent lettering make for a beautiful mix. Here is the blurb from Amazon:

They Both Die at the End meets The Bell Jar in this haunting, beautiful young adult novel-in-verse about clinical depression and healing from trauma, from National Book Award Finalist Amber McBride.

Whimsy is back in the hospital for treatment of clinical depression. When she meets a boy named Faerry, she recognizes they both have magic in the marrow of their bones. And when Faerry and his family move to the same street, the two start to realize that their lifelines may have twined and untwined many times before.

They are both terrified of the forest at the end of Marsh Creek Lane.

The Forest whispers to Whimsy. The Forest might hold the answers to the part of Faerry he feels is missing. They discover the Forest holds monsters, fairy tales, and pain that they have both been running from for 11 years.

I need this book. It sounds like it has a hint of surrealism that I love.

Preorder We Are All So Good At Smiling in Hardcover or Kindle at Amazon.

If you missed it above, visit her website at amber-mcbride.com.

Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at ambsmcbride.

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If you are a Black author who would like to be in the spotlight, email me the following information at debreneebyrd@gmail.com

Name or Pen Name

Genre

Website/Blog

Social Media handles

Book (if any) and where to buy

Permission to use photos

Quarterly Goals

This is officially the fastest year in the history of fast years. It is the last Wednesday in JUNE!

On the 5th Wednesday that pops up quarterly, I share/brainstorm/word-vomit my goals for the next three months. I took a break in December and March, so I had to hop back to my Quarterly Goals post from September to see what my goals were supposed to have been these past 9 months (I could've had a baby hahaha).

My first major goal was to get back into the swing of things. Result: Eh. I have been doing a little better, but I still have a way to go. I might not get back to writing and reading the way I used to. On the bright side, I do know what I need to write. Just have to press forward and get it done. And when I get back into a good reading pace, I'll have probably a hundred books and e-books to start with. I have been doing a little better with blogs, at least.

My second major goal was to find a job I really want to do. Result: Eh?? Since September, I bowed out of the startup production company I joined, and while I've been looking at gaming-related jobs, I don't have the credentials. We go back into the office full time in September, and words can't express how much I'm dreading that. On the other hand, I do have the traditional publication to look forward to. I know not to get my hopes up that I'll become a millionaire best-seller off of one book, but I am definitely over the 8-4:30 secretary jobs. They were never part of my plan. I know my plans don't really mean much, so I'm grateful that I'm starting to see my author dreams coming true. In the meantime, if there's a work-from-home job in the cards for me, hopefully that's a new day job in my future.

Incidentally, the next 5th Wednesday falls in September again, so I'll get to see what I've accomplished a year out with the next Quarterly Goals post. Who knows what the next 3 months will bring? Let's find out!

Wednesday Words: Still Reading The Shining

 

Happy Hump Day!

It is the second Wednesday in June, which means I share what I'm reading with you all. Sometimes I'm still reading a book from the month before, and because I'm in a book club with my busy sisters, this time is the case. We're still reading The Shining.

 

Usually, I won't return to the blog with the same book, but we're at the point now where the snow has come, so Jack, Wendy, and Danny are now stuck in the Overlook. Things are getting dark, and they're getting dark fast. I'm loving every bit of it.

While reading it, I'm also thinking back on the changes Kubrick made that really ruined the story, and Stephen King said it best himself in this article: Why Does Stephen King Hate The Original Movie of 'The Shining' but Love 'Doctor Sleep'? He said Kubrick took out the story, and reading the book for the first time, it's clear that that's true. Watching the movie, I wasn't even really sure why the Torrences were even at the hotel! Because you never see Jack working, except on his novel. He's actually there to keep the hotel up and running on low power and maintenance during the blizzard season.

In Kubrick's movie, Jack and Wendy are one-dimensional to a fault. Jack already comes in clearly messed up, and while Jack in the book is messed up, it doesn't become apparent how messed up he is in the book right out the gate. It takes time. You see all his darkness gradually, which is good, especially because you get to see his connection with Danny. They have a close bond in the book that is erased in the movie, a bond that book Wendy is actually jealous of. Speaking of, if you read the article, you will know Stephen King called Kubrick's characterization of Wendy “one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film.” Yikes. And not wrong. All she does is scream and look as weak as possible. Book Wendy is a mama bear, and there are many instances in the book that show it. But having only watched "A Clockwork Orange" before this, seeing the gratuitous images of naked women placed into both movies, and knowing how he tortured Shelly Duvall, I feel like Kubrick had a misogyny problem anyway. There is a scene often cut from the tv rerun of the film that I'm waiting to show up or not happen in the book to see if I can add racist to that list as well.

Anyhow, I'm loving the book. We're reading Doctor Sleep after. The movie is great. It feels like a dark superhero movie to me. Stephen King said Mike Flanagan did a great job of tying the book to Kubrick's movie, so kudos to him.

Insecure Writer's Support Group: Backdraft

 

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!

And welcome to another installment of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, where we can throw our cares to the wind and talk about writing with a bunch of other writers. Please join us by following our fearless leader Alex J. Cavanaugh and signing up at the official Insecure Writer's Support Group website.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of finally getting to meet Wahida Clark, the Queen of Street Lit, to discuss plans for my new release date. She is so sweet, and I can't wait to continue this journey with SFF/For the Culture. More news will be coming, probably by the next IWSG post! There are 5 Wednesdays this month, though, so it might be sooner than that. =D

This month's question is about our writing process, hence the silly addition to this post's title: For how long do you shelve our first draft before reading it and re-drafting? Is this dependent on your writing experience and the number of stories/books under your belt?

Once I hit The End, from advice of other writers, I don't touch the book for about a month. The entire time I'm writing, I'm editing as well, which is a bad habit, but I'm a proofreader/editor by nature, so I don't try not to do it anymore, unless I'm doing NaNoWriMo. You need to breathe after you finish that first draft, because if you go right back into it after finishing, your eyes won't be fresh enough. Go to a new story, or even just do something else for the month. Just don't tempt yourself with the one you just finished!

I Can't Do IWSG Today

It's been a very tough few weeks, so when I saw the IWSG email come through I had a feeling things would be going on as usual. Just know your black writer friends probably aren't okay. If you haven't already, please support them by speaking out against police brutality, and that includes violence by police during peaceful protests. If you are silent, you are complicit.

Monthly Review: June 2019

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Another month almost gone!

Since last WEEK, I have: 1) stopped reading the first book on my list of Summer goals. My doubts were justified, and I could not finish a fantasy with poorly represented people of color, and also just bad writing. The book was published around the time We Need Diverse Books made its first waves, and I know a lot of well-meaning non-POC authors took up the mantle instead of making space for POC authors to make the diverse stories (and publishers let them), so that's clearly where this stemmed from. I want to say the times have changed, but not by much according to the recent results from children's books. But I digress;

2) started reading a book NOT on my list of Summer goals, because why follow my own rules? Pfft. I started reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer, and oh my God, is it good. I'm already finished Book One. I can't wait to see what happens next. I will be reading while manning the front desk at work;

3) gotten a good report from a biopsy I had done. The lymph nodes in my neck are reacting to something, so I guess I need to head back to my primary doctor. The ENT said it's a bad allergy season, and I HAVE been struggling, even on my allergy meds, so I wouldn't be surprised;

4) received the schedule for the Ace/Aro Conference in New York I'm attending this Saturday! I'm excited. This is my first event I'm attending as a semi-out demisexual, and I can't wait to connect and meet others. They're holding two writing lectures, too, so I want to try to get to both;

5) won two Apex Legends matches! This one isn't that important, but I'm a video game nerd, and I haven't even won a squad or solo match in Fortnite yet, so I thought I'd share;

and last but not least: 6) seen the almost done cover of Fractured Princess. I'm so excited. This has been a long journey for me, and I know I needed the time because the story wasn't perfect in 2010 when I finally wrote The End on it. I don't plan to stop working on subsequent books like I did this one, but I think now I have enough experience to know what to and what not to do, so the process won't be a full decade. Here's hoping.

I hope your June has treated you well. Please let me know in the comments!

June Writing Update

First off, Happy Juneteenth! If you don't know what that is, please research it. TLDR: June 19, 1865 was the day the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. reached Texas. It really should be a national holiday, but . . . this is America.

Anyway, onto my writing update! Here's Snoopy, making writing cool since the 50s.

I was about to say I haven't done any writing, but actually, that's not true. I've written a very pivotal scene in Divided Princess, sequel to Fractured Princess. Stepping into the waters with this story, there are some dynamics I still have to figure out, but I imagine that just like Cyan and Jonnie created their own dynamic during, like, draft SIX, I think things will work themselves out eventually.

I skimmed The Queen's Daughters yesterday so I can work on more scenes for it. I'm a little stuck, even though I know what the next scene is. It's not even a hard scene, as far as I know, so I should just type away at it, even if it's fragments of the scene, so I can move on. This story is really going to be emotionally tough and will have at least two trigger warnings, but the inciting incident also stems from an emotional purge for me, so I knew it wouldn't be sunshine and rainbows. I've never been able to write sunshine and rainbows. I'll try one day, I promise.

Book news: I've pushed publication to July, but I should have the cover in the next two weeks. I can't wait to share it with everyone! I wanted to update the look of my blog; technically, it's been the same since the old blog, so once I have the cover, I will be able to change the theme up and get rid of the watercolor background. I love it, but I want this blog to look a little more professional once I'm published. I can't wait to test that out, too!

Wednesday Words update: Two more books I forgot I had on hold came in for pickup at the library, so I've added them to my post from last week. I'm being REALLY ambitious this Summer!

Next week is my monthly update, so I hope you all have been enjoying June so far, and I will see you later!

Wednesday Words: Summer Reading Goals

Happy Wednesday!

We're halfway through June already, but there's still time for me to try to read! I have 2 or 3 stories left in How Long 'Til Black Future Month?, so I have nothing to share with you all, except that this book is AMAZING!

What I will do is share what I plan to read this summer (and unfortunately, the tags are too long, so I suppose I will just put the titles and not the authors in there). Links are below the covers, by which I'm judging these books today.

Jala's Mask, Michael and Rachel Grinti

I'm a little iffy about this one. I was really excited to see black characters on the cover, but at the same time, this is not an own voices narrative. I do wonder what made Mike and Rachel Grinti decide to write what looks to be a tribal pirate narrative (already problematic), but I'll see how authentic it feels, or if it's just white characters in blackface.

Reign of the Fallen, Sarah Glenn Marsh

I've wanted to read this one ever since I saw the cover. I have to remember Sarah Glenn Marsh is not Sarah J. Maas, who I am also interested in reading (and Sarah G. looks like the main character on Sarah J.'s Throne of Glass books except the first one, which might actually BE Sarah J., but either way that adds to my confusion quite a bit). Anyway, THIS COVER. I love skulls, and a skull with a crown on it just piques my interest to the utmost.

An Ember in the Ashes, Sabaa Tahir

Someone said my writing style is like Sabaa's, so I've wanted to read this one for a while now, too. This one has a lot of different covers. I'd never seen this one until I searched my library catalog. There are little details I only notice by looking for a long time. It's a very interesting choice. I haven't read a book whose setting is inspired by ancient Rome, I don't think, so I can't wait to see what happens here.

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree, Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

This piqued my interest because I have an infatuation with baobabs. On the flip side, this book is based on the kidnappings in Boko Haram, a much scarier narrative than the cover gives away. Maybe it's the alliteration that made me think, "ooh fun," but obviously, this will not be a "fun" read. I can't imagine what some of those families are going through, as many of the girls are still missing.

A Natural History of Dragons, Marie Brennan

DRAGONS! This is marked as historical fiction, so I believe Lady Trent is a real person I will have to look up. This cover is so cool, though. I'm sure people thought this woman was a little crazy. The closest thing we have to dragons are komodo dragons, and I don't know if they really count. I can't wait to see what's in this "memoir."

June 19th update: Two more books came in from the library that I forgot I put on hold! -_- I want to read more books with asexual representation, and the following two were on the list. The cover I'm used to seeing for Radio Silence is really pretty (girl in tv static colors), but this one is okay, too. The 27 Hours cover, though: MAGICAL!

27 Hours, Tristina Wright

Radio Silence, Alice Oseman

What are you reading this Summer?

Insecure Writer's Support Group

It is JUNE! That means Cancer Season is COMING!

It also means it's time for the monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group, where we writers throw our fears to the wind and visit other writers to offer encouragement. I definitely don't have as much time to do that as I used to, but I try.

Thank you to Alex J. Cavanaugh for creating this space! Join him and the co-hosts this month by visiting the IWSG Website.

I don't have much to say that I haven't already the past few weeks, so I thought I'd just answer the question of the month and let y'all go view other blogs.

Of all the genres you read and write, which is your favorite to write in and why?

Honestly, I miss writing romance. I can't remember where I said this, but I was the Nicholas Sparks of Backstreet Boys fanfiction. I loved the tear-jerker romances I used to write. I don't know if I'll get back to them, but it is definitely my favorite that I've written in.

What about you?