Photo by Fontida Assisted Living As a child, I was always fascinated by Winnie the Pooh, but Eeyore’s constant state of depression confused me. Why was he always so sad? Like most children, I didn’t find out until much later that the cause of Eeyore’s sadness was his lost tail. The one he had wasContinueContinue reading “Losing Your Tail: An Ode to Eeyore”
Category Archives: Self Help Jewels
Confronting Lazy Coworkers (Or Classmates)
From Pexles.com We’ve all been there. You’ve been assigned a group project at work or even at school. The other two or three people on your team are at least attempting to hold their own, but there’s that one late guy who thinks rules of work don’t apply to him. Or maybe it’s an attractiveContinueContinue reading “Confronting Lazy Coworkers (Or Classmates)”
Conquering Self-Doubt After Failure: How to Win
Photo by C Technical on Pexels.com Maybe your boss overlooked your hard work and instead promoted the know-it-all who gossips behind everyone’s back and gets half the amount of work done you do. Maybe you had a job interview but didn’t get the position. Or you finally confessed your love for your crush, but yourContinueContinue reading “Conquering Self-Doubt After Failure: How to Win”
Growing Your Own Wings: You Got This
Who are you trying to please? What arrogant asshole has you feeling inadequate or less than? Don’t lie to yourself. The sooner you face the reality that you allow your happiness to be determined by how someone else feels about you, the sooner you’ll be cured of this. Sometimes, we fall in awe with people,ContinueContinue reading “Growing Your Own Wings: You Got This”
Review of Emeka Ossai: More Fiction than Fact
Screenshot of Emeka’s YouTube video by J Reed If you’re a blossoming self-publisher, author or other form of writer, you’ve likely encountered information by the charismatic Emeka Ossai. Through grammatically-incorrect emails, Emeka pushes his self-publishing course called ”My Self-Publishing Blueprint.” I’ve noticed an uptick in traffic on my website to an article I wrote concerningContinueContinue reading “Review of Emeka Ossai: More Fiction than Fact”
#SilenceCandace Owens
We must boycott and silence #CandaceOwens
Netflix’s American Son is an American Fail
Netflix’s American Son centers around an educated Black mother and her estranged white FBI agent husband and their son who is in trouble with the law. For the most part of the film, the audience does not much more about the son’s whereabouts other than he was pulled over by the cops with two otherContinueContinue reading “Netflix’s American Son is an American Fail”
Amber Guyger, Joshua Brown and the Thickening Plot
Days after testifying against murderous white former cop Amber Guyger in her trial for her slaying of innocent Black man Botham Jean in his own home, Joshua Brown was gunned down. So far, no one is in custody for the slaying of the witness who was also Botham Jean’s neighbor. This is how forgiveness iaContinueContinue reading “Amber Guyger, Joshua Brown and the Thickening Plot”
Amber Guyger Got Away With Murder
Much as I predicted, the Dallas, TX, white former cop Amber Guyger who murdered an innocent, unarmed Black man named Botham Jean in coldblood in his home allegedly thinking she was in her own home has been sentenced to just 10 years in prison. To put this in perspective, the girl who licked the iceContinueContinue reading “Amber Guyger Got Away With Murder”
Ex-Officer Amber Guyger Found Guilty: The Quiet Before the Storm
Today, a jury unanimously decided former officer Amber Guyger had committed murder when she killed an innocent unarmed Black man inside his own home, supposedly believing it was her home. Ironically, she claimed self-defense. After instances such as LaQuan McDonald and Philando Castille, I am a pessimist. Black lives in this country are undervalued inContinueContinue reading “Ex-Officer Amber Guyger Found Guilty: The Quiet Before the Storm”
Ex-Officer Amber Guyger Will Get Away with Murdering a Man in His Own Home
After a hard day of working in his community, Botham Jean, a 26-year-old Black man and pastor of a sort, was gunned down in his own home seven months ago by Amber Guyger, a former Dallas officer who had been distracted sexting with her married partner. In a rare move, Amber Guyger took the standContinueContinue reading “Ex-Officer Amber Guyger Will Get Away with Murdering a Man in His Own Home”
A Review of Emeka Ossai and How He Preys on Self-Publishers and Authors
During a recent search on YouTube while trying to find information on how to sell my self-published books, I came across Emeka Ossai, a charismatic young man originally from Canada who now lives in Mexico (I believe). In my opinion, Emeka is the last person you should spend your money with, if you take writingContinueContinue reading “A Review of Emeka Ossai and How He Preys on Self-Publishers and Authors”
An Ode to a Frenemy of Mine
Tom Deriggi and I came from completely different backgrounds, but, as the universe would have it, our paths intertwined. He was a heavyset guy with bright red flushed cheeks that seemed to accentuate his greyish blue eyes. Politically, we were on two opposite spectrums: Tom on the far right, arms folded, chest out; me onContinueContinue reading “An Ode to a Frenemy of Mine”
The Mortality of the Writer
Last night, I saw two people die in a car accident. Their car hit a pole, splitting the hood in two. I opened the driver’s side door to see if I could help, but the interior was so mangled, I knew he was gone. I went around to the passenger side and saw a guyContinueContinue reading “The Mortality of the Writer”
How to Get a Book Deal
Every writer wants to know how to get a book deal, so she can officially be an author. Every writer wants to be the next great American author and sell more book than James Patterson. So, we ask, how do I get a book deal? Recently, my novella Operation Soul Cast was picked up byContinueContinue reading “How to Get a Book Deal”
Our Own Sort of Fun
Drugs. Violence. Police brutality. Hate. Love. Love. Love. In 1995, if you would have read about the Robert Taylor projects, the news report would probably have headlined something like this: “17 Men Arrested in Drug Sting at Robert Taylor Homes.” But inside those forsaken buildings where no one but those who lived there would haveContinueContinue reading “Our Own Sort of Fun”
Manuscript Anxiety
I once read somewhere the hardest part of writing comes after the manuscript is complete. Later, I read that all first drafts were trash. I thought the people who wrote those things were idiots. How wrong I was. Some people have problems putting words on the page. This is why most manuscripts are never finished.ContinueContinue reading “Manuscript Anxiety”
Inspiration Comes from Everywhere
As you’ll find if you read my blog thoroughly enough, I grew up in the Robert Taylor Projects on the Southside of Chicago. If you do any research, you’ll find it was not the ideal place to grow up, being overwhelmed with drugs and gang activity. But it is where I am from, and IContinueContinue reading “Inspiration Comes from Everywhere”
A Personal Reflection on the Business of Self-Publishing
As a self-published writer, I find myself seeking tools that can not only help me sell more books but that can also help me in my writing process. To help other writers braving this unforgivable landscape we call self-publishing, I am writing this blog “The Business of Self-Publishing.” The greatest advice I can give toContinueContinue reading “A Personal Reflection on the Business of Self-Publishing”
Increasing Book Sales With KDP Rocket
*Updated 01/25/2025 This article is about how to increase book sales with Publisher Rocket. As a note, “Publisher Rocket” is formerly “KDP Rocket”. It was designed by Dave Chesson, This is a Publisher Rocket review that’s straightforward and describes the benefits of the program. To continue, Publisher Rocket is a program that is not aContinueContinue reading “Increasing Book Sales With KDP Rocket”
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck is not your normal self-help book, and it is not for the faint of heart. This book doesn’t coddle you into feeling better or amp you up into believing you can do anything. Instead, it tells you how life is and suggests that you just deal withContinueContinue reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck”
What It Means to Be a Self-Published, Indie Author in 2018
A lot of writers who do not have book deals classify themselves as self-published or indie authors. They take on that title and expect instant success. Most of the time, if their first book does not do well, these “authors” drop out of the race to being America’s next great writer. Over the last twoContinueContinue reading “What It Means to Be a Self-Published, Indie Author in 2018”
Becoming Writer: Formal Education as an Author Versus None as a Writer
Yesterday, a fellow blogger asked me a good question about formal education as a writer versus no formal education as a writer. A lot of writers struggle with this. Some see education as the end all, be all that will make them a best-seller. Others who don’t have this education sometimes feel inadequate. It tookContinueContinue reading “Becoming Writer: Formal Education as an Author Versus None as a Writer”
This Year So Far as a Writer
This year has been one of the most successful and stressful for me as a writer. I am in my third semester of a Creative Writing MFA program that requires a bunch of reading and writing, I have done a poetry reading, gotten into a car accident, written a novella, published a novella, worked onContinueContinue reading “This Year So Far as a Writer”
The Reeders Block 