The paperback has been out for a little while, but I realized that I didn’t make an official announcement. So, here it is. The e-book and paperback are both available through Amazon.com, while only the paperback can be ordered from BarnesAndNoble.com.
I haven’t done much advertising yet, but I did get a nice write-up in a local newspaper. Click here to view.
If you’ve read the book and enjoyed it, I’d appreciate a simple review on Amazon or Good Reads.
It’s taken forever, but my e-book for Marvin and Tige is finally available. I thought I would have it completed around the first of the year, but I found myself procrastinating on making the edits that my proofreader suggested. Thank you, Michelle! After a full month of putting it off, I finally forced myself to get to work. Since I have a full-time job which requires me to stare at a computer screen all day long, I wasn’t so keen on sitting and staring at my monitor after work. I managed to do an hour or two here and there until it was all done. Or so I thought. After making the last edit, I formatted the manuscript for e-book and paperback versions, then printed it out to make sure it looked good. I noticed a sentence that could stand a bit of tweaking, and one tweak led to another. Soon, I had marked about fifty or so pages that I felt needed small changes.
Long story short, I ended up doing two full edits of the manuscript that I thought was already perfect. After the last pass, I convinced myself that I would never achieve 100% perfection, but I’m glad that I did make the changes I did before submitting my book to be published. While I submitted the e-book and paperback at the same time, I’m still waiting for the paperback to be released. I also managed to take a decent selfie to use for my author bio, so there’s that.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything on my progress with my rewrite because I’ve been pretty busy writing, rewriting, researching, rebuilding my website, and working in general. I also took some time off from writing for months at a time because of writer’s block and work overload. Over the past few months, however, things have been going smoothly, and I’ve finished the rewrite. I am now making edits based on the feedback from my proofreader. Something else I’ve been working on is a book cover. I’ve come up with a few concepts and feel that the one with Marvin & Tige walking towards the city at night is the strongest.
I don’t know exactly when I’ll be ready to publish, as I’m still looking into the details of how to self-publish. Learning from the mistakes of others will hopefully save me from making poor decisions and costly mistakes. Something I have been learning about recently is marketing. I happen to work for a company that designs websites, and recently my boss has decided to get more involved in marketing and social media. So much so that he’s put together a class for the non-marketing employees to learn and understand the process better. At least I know more about promoting myself now than I did two weeks ago. I’ll be putting my new-found knowledge to work soon.
While searching for some legal documents associated with my novel Marvin & Tige, I discovered a large envelope containing over a hundred pieces of fan mail. I had completely forgotten about this aspect of my fifteen minutes of fame. There was only one time that I even recalled receiving fan mail and that was because the letter had been sent with only my name and Atlanta, Georgia written on the envelope. Someone at the post office forwarded the letter to me. All other letters were sent to me via the publishing company, my lawyer or through some of the publicity channels I had been involved in.
I didn’t bother to go through all the cards and letters again, but I opened a couple dozen and decided to share the contents of a few. Most were simple thank-you or congratulatory notes, but there were many that spoke about how my novel had touched their hearts.
From Mrs. J. of Manchester, Connecticut:
I don’t know when I have been so impressed with an author’s first book, nor when there was a time my eyes kept filling with tears during the reading of it.
The characters of both Marvin and Tige have been well defined so much so that I feel they are still living down there in Atlanta!
You certainly have the knack of bringing characters to life. Your style is fluid, warm, humorous, and believable.
Certainly, I look forward with anticipation to your next book.
From Mrs. H. of San Luis Obispo, Ca.:
I have just looked at the clock and with surprise noticed the time. I’ve read Marvin and Tige in one sitting and suddenly felt the desire to write you. I was a little hesitant at first having never written an author before, but I concluded that your talent should be commended.
You enable me to identify with characters unlike myself, enter their visions of the world and in essence achieve the truest objectivity of all, which is to see what the other sees and feel what the other feels. I felt all of Tige’s and Marvin’s emotions; the frustrations, the compassion, the sense of understanding, and ultimately the love.
Again, a highly commendable piece of work. I hope another novel of yours greets me on the shelf soon.
From Mrs. G. of East Liverpool, Ohio:
Thank you for writing MARVIN & TIGE. It is so honestly and beautifully written that I enjoyed every minute of its reading. As a librarian, I work with an unlimited access to all new books, my taste gets a little jaded at times. But your book was like a fresh breeze and aroused enthusiasm not only in me but also in the others here at the library.
Tige is so believable a character and so real and lovable a little boy and Marvin’s strengths and weaknesses both are so skillfully drawn. In short, it is a delightful book and I am grateful to you for having written it.
From Mrs. P of Dayton, Ohio:
Thank you so much for the great pleasure you have given by writing “Marvin & Tige”. When I finished the book, it was with much reluctance to give up the feeling that these two people were personal friends of mine. I envy you your terrific talent, especially at the age of 22. I’m looking forward very eagerly to many more books from you.
From Mr. M. of Walla Walla, Washington
I just finished reading your wonderful book, Marvin & Tige, and I loved it very much. I wish to congratulate you for writing this excellent book and I look forward to reading more of your works and hope you write another book. We need more writers like you. God bless you and thank you for brightening my life with your book.
From Mr. R. of St. Albans, West Virginia:
I’m an old man…in my seventies…and not too many more years to push along ahead of me. I’ve just finished your book “Marvin and Tige” and want to thank you for a memory of “loving kindness” to take along the way. Thanks again.
From Mrs. M of Honolulu, Hawaii:
This begins to read like a commercial, “I’ve never written before but….”
I just finished your book Marvin and Tige. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve enjoyed anything as much as this book. I had to let you know how good it made me feel — good is so inadequate — it made me feel fantastic! I was thoroughly disappointed when I came to the end but had already made a mental list of friends I would pass the book along to. Hmmmm, let me clarify that, I was not disappointed with the ending. I was sorry because there was no more to enjoy.
I would have to go grab my little Roget’s thesaurus to find the right words and as it’s already 2:00 am, (I couldn’t put the book down) I won’t wake the family with my sounds of ransacking the drawers — but — thank you. Thank you for this book and this gorgeous feeling I have. I shall go smooch my own kids and snuggle into bed with a grin on my face. Please write another book soon.
From Mr. S of St. Peters Village, Pa.
Just finished Marvin & Tige (2 Kleenexes) and felt I must write to congratulate you.
The jacket blurb says “with no formal training in writing… America’s promising young black writer.” They should eliminate “young & black” as they have no bearing what so ever on your talent. You’re a damned fine writer (any age or complexion).
Don’t worry about your next book or the next fifteen. At 22, you can even afford an occasional flop. Just keep on writing — I’ll buy everything you publish. What a movie this would make! Wouldn’t Art Carney be great as Marvin?
Keep up the good work.
P.S. This is my first fan letter!
While I enjoyed reading these letters, it bothers me that I let my fans down. They thought that they had found a writer who would gift them with many more years of wonderful storytelling. I sincerely wish I could have done that. I’m saddened to think those people were faithfully waiting and hoping to see my name on a book cover again, unaware that I had long since given up trying to make that happen.
It’s taken a very long time for me to get back into writing. I have a completed manuscript that is in the querying stage and some other ideas on the back burner. I feel that getting Marvin and Tige republished will help jump-start my writing career, or at least give the grandkids of my earlier fans something heartwarming to Tweet about.
It’s been a few weeks since I began the great rewrite of my novel Marvin and Tige and I find I’m having a hard time of it. I’m only on chapter three. The first chapter was emotional and left me too rattled to continue for a couple of weeks. Beyond that are the basic changes from what was going on during that era compared to current times. The original story was written four decades ago and so much has changed since then, especially technology-wise. There were no cell phones or computers or flat screen TVs back then. The locations have also undergone a huge transformation. Based in and around downtown Atlanta, Georgia, much of the landscape no longer looks the same. Landmark buildings and businesses are gone, so I’m having to adapt my characters movements and activities to a different environment. Language has changed considerably as well. I was stumped coming up with an alternative for the phrase, “Jive turkey.”
I haven’t read the book since it was published and I don’t recall much of what happens in it. The book was marketed as a young adult novel, but I was shocked at some of the mature subject matter in the first chapter. Tige is an eleven-year-old boy who has to act as a pimp for his mother. Whoa! I didn’t remember any of that. I know I should probably go ahead and reread the book to see what other changes I’ll need to make further down the line but I decided to tackle things one chapter and paragraph at a time.
The thing that bothers me most so far is the fact that I used Ebonics while writing dialogue for Tige. I grew up speaking that way, not correctly pronouncing my words and leaving out letters saying things like, “dem” instead of “them,” and “thankin'” instead of “thinking.” At the time, I was heralded for having an ear for dialects, but now when I read it and see all those apostrophes where letters should be, I find it extremely annoying. It’s going to slow me down, but I’m dedicated to cleaning up Tige’s voice. He won’t become an instant scholar but he also won’t sound like he’s never set foot inside a classroom.
The movie rights were optioned off twice before making it to the big screen. The first offer was from a local man with no real experience in film making but I think he may have had some small acting roles and knew a little about the business. He didn’t have much money to offer but insisted that he could get financing. I was young and naive and probably would have sold him the rights for a fraction of what I should have. Luckily, I had an entertainment lawyer on my side and he advised me to walk away from the deal because he was certain I could do a lot better.
The guy tried once more to get me to make a deal behind my lawyer’s back, telling me that I might not ever get another interested buyer and that I could make tons of money on merchandising from the movie he would make. I can’t recall the exact amount he was offering but I’m guessing it was around $6,000. That was a lot to me at the time, but I listened to my inner lawyer and turned him down again
It was another couple of years before someone else came along with an offer I didn’t refuse. There was a local Atlanta screenwriter and director who had gotten together and decided to make the movie after discovering the book. It took them awhile to locate me because they assumed for some reason I was a New York writer. At any rate, we met, talked, and came to a very mutual agreement that my lawyer was pleased with.
They got funding from a local businessman, assembled a top notch cast lead by John Cassavetes and Billie Dee Williams. Everything was going well, or at least that’s what I heard. I was originally told I’d be kept in the loop, but that didn’t happen. I was never invited to participate in or even watch the movie being made practically in my own backyard. Nothing was ever said to me directly, but I got the distinct impression that I was not wanted in or around the movie sets. The only thing I knew about the actual filming was when I saw it on the news or someone who happened to witness some filming contacted me and asked why I wasn’t there.
Apparently, the screenwriter who adapted the book didn’t want to share writing credit with me. Still, I did get an invite to the movie premiere being held at the Fox theater but I wasn’t scheduled to go out on stage with the directer and screenwriter. I happened to run into Mayor Andrew Young (whom I’d met at a private screening earlier) and he brought me out and introduced me to the audience, much to the surprise of the screenwriter. Best. Night. Ever.
Unfortunately, the movie didn’t do well theatrically, not because it wasn’t good but because the businessman who put up the money to produce the film balked at paying 20th Century Fox the distribution fee that could have placed the movie in theaters all over the country. Instead, he decided to distribute it himself and could only manage a small number of theaters.
It did make it to VHS tapes and I’ve seen it on TV a few times in the past. I find it hard to watch now because it’s dated and seems so cheesy, although when it first came out, I was quite proud. In these days of remakes, I can only hope someone will revive it for the big screen, or even Netflix.