I, Verseytile

So, in the midst of my hectic week (hospitalized friend, new career, readying The Stream: Discovery for release next week on Amazon and Smashwords; starting my new web serial, Hard as Roxx); I was nominated for a Versey, short for Versatile Blogger Award. So wow.

You mean, somebody read my blog? Why?

Thanks very much to Rance D. Denton, fellow writer, blogger, and Marylander, for the honor. So, having completed the first obligation of the Versey, namely thanking those whom recognized you, it’s time to get to the dirty work – compiling a list of seven things other bloggers likely wouldn’t know about me.

So no plugging the book, eh?

Anyway, here goes, in no particular order:

1.) I had a blog from 2005 – 2006 dedicated to being a “life coach” and helping people, under the moniker “Sable.” It was this blog that led me to start thinking of myself as a writer. It wasn’t that I produced any great literary works, neither did I achieve Dr. Phil-ish fame. Rather, it was that I had two women, on different continents fall in love with me based solely on my writing. From that I gathered that I could reach people on an emotional level. I could think of nothing more satisfying.

One of the ladies from the aforementioned blog proposed marriage to me on her blog. It was all fun and games until we met, and um, were actually in love. We lasted 4 years, and did not live happily ever after. She did, however, convince me to write my first novel (which I, ahem, am publishing this week.)

2.) One of the main characters from The Stream has color-changing eyes. On the surface, it would seem like the most imaginative of her traits. However, I actually met a woman who had those, while in a Greyhound bus station. Her eyes changed from hazel to green when I complimented her. Then, she put on a blue sweater, and they turned blue. I want a pair of those. I do. I fell in love with her, on the bus, but she was going to North Carolina, and my luck stopped at Hampton, Virginia. Getting off that bus was the dumbest thing I ever did. Ah hindsight.

3.) I wrote my first short story at age 20. It suuuccckkkeeeddddd. It read like an episode from the Afrocentric Twilight Zone, starring Clarence Williams III as Rod Serling. It involved time travel, 20^th century Richmond, wannabe rastas, and the slave trade, Yeah, it was that bad. I tried one more attempt, then did not try writing fiction again for 30 years. Yep, you read correctly.

4.) I learned to write well from business proposal writing, of all things. With that, they give you a) a subject, b) a brief story to convey, preferably to move the customer emotionally or logically, c) a structure in which to write, d) a deadline,and e) tough editing, with few atta-boys. Having learned this way, I write fiction with a business mindset – I “begin with the end in mind,” to quote Stephen A. Covey. In other words, I write the last scene before I ever write the first.

5.) I am a highly visual thinker. In fact, I really don’t think in words very well. It’s part of why I’ve been a photographer all my life. Instead, I “write” outlines and some scenes in my head. I see them as movies. I do my best writing while walking. I wrote this blog post in this manner. Writing it down is mostly typing, and kind of boring.

6.) I realized I had ADHD in the 1^st grade, although no such term existed. All it took was seeing how all the other kids sat so still in class. (Damn suck-up zombies.) I conned convinced my first grade teacher, Mrs. Taylor, that I had a bladder-control problem. She kept it on the DL so as not to embarrass me, but allowed me to “go to the restroom” as many times as I wished. I usually spent the time wandering the halls. I was still wandering them in the 12^th grade.

7.) In high school, I secretly taught a noob English teacher (straight out of college) grammar. She said it had been her weakness in college. I would teach her, and she would teach the class. Both my mother and grandmothers were STICKLERS for grammar. My mom will still correct you, including your pronunciation. (“It’s de-LOOKS, not de-LUCKS,” is my mom’s favorite correction.) Anyway, I guess the teacher finally told the faculty, because they gave me a Lion’s Club Award for Excellence in English. Weird, because at the time, I considered English to be my worst subject. God speaks, but we don’t always hear, do we?

8.) And one, just for free. When I hear instrumentals, I often “hear” the words. I can often sing the words to a guitar solo. I’d be a songwriter if I ever bothered to learn to play an instrument.

So, the last step of this adventure is to refer other bloggers I whom deserve a Versey, and whom I think you should check out. To be honest, I’ve spent all of my free time in the last 6 months writing, editing, formatting, and photographing stuff. I am just beginning to find the time to read. However, here’s my “go-to” list. Check them out, and say “hi.”