SoundCloud Sample: Pocket Pep Talk: Get Over that Breakup, Today!

Want to download this sample and take it on the go with your SoundCloud app?  Check it out, below!  Enjoy! --Shana James

Buy at: iTunes, Audible or Amazon!

YouTube Sample: Pocket Pep Talk: Get Over that Breakup, TODAY!

Check out this sample of Pocket Pep Talk: Get Over that Breakup, TODAY! on YouTube!  Enjoy! --Shana James

Buy at: iTunes, Audible or Amazon!

Self-Publishing: My Experience as an African-American Writer

Today marks six months since I self-published my very first novel, Deferred Consumption. So, I thought I'd mark the occasion with a quick blog post about what it's been like as an African-American author.  To put it mildly, it’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. But, it’s also been one of the most rewarding and most exciting.  When I first set out to write Deferred Consumption, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I just assumed that everyone loved me and they would buy my book in record numbers.  Boy was I wrong.  Not that everyone doesn’t love me J, but that they cared enough to buy my book the moment I said it was available for purchase.

There I was around 11:00pm on a Sunday night, hands all shaking, as a hit "publish" at Amazon dot com, then proceeded to publish elsewhere around the internet (Barnes and Noble, Google Books, Smashwords, etc.).  Hell, I had such a high opinion of myself, I thought I’d wake up the next morning to find that hundreds, if not thousands, of random strangers who had never even heard of me had purchased my book.  I mean, why not?  I had already made a great living writing just about everything else, so why wouldn’t my books sell?  Oh, foolish, foolish girl.  I guess I figured some magical fairy was going to sprinkle some dust into the eyes and ears of every potential buyer out there and convince them that my book was the one they should get as they tinkered around on some website looking for a book to buy.

T.I., Women and Romance Novels

Yesterday, as I pumped away at my gym, I looked up at one of the televisions to see a few talking heads discussing comments that rapper T.I. had made regarding women and their ability to lead the United States while on the Whoolywood Shuffle radio show.  I'm going to cut to the chase.  He said we shouldn't.  He made a number of ridiculous remarks about women being too emotional and too irrational to lead the free world, even going so far as to say he believed the Loch Ness Monster could be elected before a woman, then promptly apologized via his Twitter account (after his publicist and wife no doubt chewed him out) saying:

My comments about women running for president were unequivocally insensitive and wrong.  I sincerely apologize to everyone I offended.

There's a black man in the White House, right now, and T.I. said he believed the Loch Ness Monster could get elected before a woman.  What a sad, sad state of mind to live with.  NUMEROUS industrialized nations (still not in the United States...) have had females lead them, and yes, we could argue about their effectiveness while in power, but it is not women who have led the world into the vast majority of wars that have decimated the lives of countless individuals.  It is not women who created the A-bomb or the machine gun or any number of other atrocities that cause mass destruction.  So, who's really irrational and overly-emotional? 

T.I.'s wife Tiny reportedly said he was just an "old school" guy who believes a man should take care of women and such.  That's all well and good, but as a father with daughters in the 21st century, he should have known better than to say that crap on a live mic.  Men like T.I. are the reason why women read romance novels in droves -- looking for a man who wouldn't say such stupid shit.  Are most of the guys in romance novels mere figments of a writer's imagination?  Most likely.  But, so long as real-life men are saying and doing dumb shit like stating that a mythical creature could be elected President of the United States before a woman, women will continue to drop those credit card digits like they're hot. Do better, T.I. or at least don't say that shit on a hot mic.  --Shana James

How Are You Spending YOUR 28,000 Days?

A new Alicia Keys track entitled, 28 Thousand Days is starting to burn up the charts as listeners finally really ponder the message in the song.  As the fog of drunken, party-filled summers begins to lift.  In the song, she asks listeners what they'd do if they only had 28,000 days, around the average lifespan of Americans.  She asks:

If you had 28 thousand days
Who would you love? Where would you go?
What would you celebrate?
I'm telling you that life's too short to just throw it away
So have the time of your life, so have the time of your life

Those are some DEEP questions when you realize that a year is 365 days and you're pretty close to hitting the halfway mark on your allotment.  I mean, of course, we all want to live longer than 76 years, but it's those years that come well before you reach that stage that you're able to really make an impact in this world.

Get Even With a Player....NOW!

Tired of playing the fool?  Are you ready to get even with your ex-loser boyfriend? Do you need to burn off a little steam and find the right ending to your horror novel of a relationship? Well, if you answered yes to any of these questions you turned to the right blog spot and you are ready to dive into the right book.  Emergency Guide: Surviving a Player is the last book you will ever need in love.  Chock full of tips and strategies, this guide is easily turning into one of the hottest winter books for any jilted lover.  Written by one of the foremost experts on getting even after being made to look like a fool, this guide is designed for anyone needing a good page turner in "finding peace" and "getting even".

In a few short weeks, old man winter will pay every aching heart a chilly and lonely visit.  So, toss away the Kleenex, grab a cup of hot cocoa, mix in a shot of revenge and get ready for the right guide that will help you get even, for once and for all.  

J.A. Fraser wants to hear from you. Send in your comments and questions on love and she will answer them FREE of charge.  Need advice? Well, its only one click and download away.

Officer Bad Boy: SoundCloud Audio Excerpt

Would you rather sink your teeth into this 10 minute audio sampling of Officer Bad Boy on the go without some of YouTube's viewing restrictions?  Check out the SoundCloud video, below, then head over to my SoundCloud page and give those like and follow buttons a little tickle!  Smooches! --Shana James