Moon Mami Writes

I sent off this morning my last batch of stories for the upcoming anthology Pen Ten , to be edited by Rhonda M. Smolarek also known as Olive Rosehips. The anthology will feature stories written in ten lines/sentences are less. Here is one of my stories: Benson’s Release “Ok, have a good day-- love you,” Benson pecked Glynda on her cheek and then jumped out of the car in front of the construction site he worked as an engineer. He stood on the curb and watched as his wife drove away in the family’s dusty mini van before pulling out his cell phone; he dialed Vincent’s number by heart. “Where are you,” he asked, his voice husky with intensity. It had been three weeks since he had been with Vincent and he wanted to see him--the last few weeks had been spent convincing his wife that his interest had not roamed, but, now, he was getting antsy and needed some release; Vincent  provided his outlet of choice. Chiseled, handsome and cavalier, Vincent, an art teacher, had entered Benson’s...

So, I closed down my Ning art community LiberatedMuse and maintain just the Facebook, Twitter and Blogger sites for Liberated Muse. The Ning network was started in 2008 with the intent for folks to network, post in forums, blogs, etc. and create relationships on-line. What was happening, and its a good thing, was that folks were coming to the events and networking and linking up, but not so visibly online. So, to save myself work (and money) I decided to just focus on the events, getting the word out about opportunities and such via micro-blogging and blogs and conserve my energy to focus more on my own art. Focusing on me takes some getting used to. As much as I declare I'm going to focus on developing my own art skills, its been pretty hard putting it into practice. This is particularly true when it comes to doing work with other people. I feel like somehow I always wind up in a position where I'm either in charge, responsible for details that take away from focusing on my ...

I worked for a Catholic-based organization many moons ago when I was in my late-20's after getting my MA in Mass Communications. About a year and a half after working at this organization and getting promoted and awards for work, I got pregnant with the child who is often the topic of this blog. She's 7, so, that was about almost 8 years ago. I got pregnant by the lead guitarist of the band I was a part of. We weren't married or even courting, if you want to be technical. The dynamics of that relationship is for another blog post. (Note: Today, we live together, did not have a wedding, refer to each other as spouses and refer to our unit as a family). But, the reaction from my job is the topic of this one, as is the "No Wedding, No Womb!" initiative that has been building in fervor on the internet.  Back to the story:  So, that organization-- the heads, including my immediate supervisor, had a meeting about my pregnancy and to discuss if I should continue workin...

Khari's birthday last year when she turned 6 This week was a countdown to my daughter's birthday which is tomorrow. So, appropriately, it was a week filled with tons of emotions, experiences and celebration. My daughter turns 7 years-old tomorrow, and that means that I have reached the 7 year-old point as mama. Boy, how time flies. No More Ninny but Time for Boyfriends-- ALREADY! So, last week, I got an email fro my daughter's teacher telling me that my daughter Khari had been spoken to for writing notes in class. Upon reading the notes, the teacher wanted me to know that my daughter was talking about being so happy about her new boyfriend. Yes, my 6 year-old was giddy over getting a boyfriend. I got the email while she was riding the bus home. When she got home, I greeted her at the door asking her how her day was. She was vague as usual (6 year-olds give the worst recaps if you're looking for sequential order and descriptive terms upfront. Info comes in spur...

I was thrilled to learn this week that the music blog I am contributing editor for, SoulBounce , won a Black Weblog Award for Best Music Blog . I began working on the site in January and it's been a great experience. An all-female writing team, we provide news on mainstream and indie acts, sharing free cuts, giving music reviews and  unsolicited advice on what works and does not when it comes to good music. The access to the breadth of music out there in the mainstream and underground circles has been incredible. If you aren't a regular reader of the site, I hope you get hipped to it and check it out, if only to read my posts:-) You can click on my tab "Music Reviews" on this site to read some of the posts I've contributed to Soulbounce.com. SoulBounce won the award in 2008 and was selected this year as the judge's pick and the winner of the popular vote. How exciting! So, on to a Shameless Plug... Speaking of blogs, I hope you sign up for my workshop ...