Rawiya is up next with her contest
Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charity. Show all posts
Friday, December 20, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
I Heart Books Author Takeover
Greetings
At 6pm CST the muses which includes me will be at I Heart Books
Posts and promo galore
I'll do a prize package with swag (postcards, a 15 GC, and necklace from I Like Em Pretty Bk tour and a special gift thrown in) To qualify,you must LIKE my author page https://www.facebook.com/TheLiteraryTriad and or my Nawlins Ex page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nawlins-Exotica-Series/126864880830524
Please join us there and comment!
Also, thank you for the comments for the Suicide Blog Hop
I'll be donating 25 to Trevor Project this week!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Suicide Prevention Blog Hop
A little over two years ago, my cousin Scottie took his own life. None of us knew the reason and he didn't leave a note. Needless to say the family was devastated about the news especially when the last time we'd had a family gathering he seemed to be just fine.
Later that same year, I found out from my uncle that Scottie might've committed suicide because he was gay. Imagine the shock of me hearing this when I started writing gay romance and I consider myself a straight advocate for the gay community. Why would he do this? I might have been the only person in the family to help, other than his sister. Why didn't he come talk with me? Upon hearing this I was in tears. I'm not assuming I could've stopped him from doing it but maybe I could've been a source of comfort for him in this difficult time.
After much indecision and wrangling with my own guilt, I knew I had to do something to honor my cousin's memory. We weren't very close because of the age difference but I still loved him and wished he were here with us again.
Early July I released a book under my name Michael Mandrake in his memory. I changed the names of him and his sister, giving him a guardian angel to stop him from from committing suicide and choosing life. I've received a few emails from fans on the book saying it made them cry and my uncle who told me Scottie's story is very proud of the work I'd done on this book.
I've also been asked if Sammy will get his happy ending and the answer is yes. I've also written a short that was subbed under my other name Rawiya for an anthology done by Sara York and a full book is already in the works for readers to see Sammy get the happy ending he deserves.
In the meantime, I'm doing what I can to help spread the message about how important it is to listen to our kids, no matter what age. Hear out their concerns, gay or not. Don't be quick to judge them and give them every opportunity to work things out on their own before interfering. Look for signs; withdrawal from family or friends, giving up things they love etc. These may be things to look out for. Ask them questions and like I said, don't be quick to judge. They need understanding, acceptance, and most importantly love.
I'm glad to be part of this blog hop and hope this will help many to understand how serious suicide really is. Despite all the wonderful resources, the It Gets Better videos, Trevor Project, suicide rates especially among GLBT people are disturbingly high. Let's do what we can to help.
For every comment here I'll donate a dollar to the Trevor Project after the blog is said and done. Thanks for listening and please check out the other authors joining this awesome hop!
Guardian Angel - Michael Mandrake
Blurb: Calvin is looking to end it all
because he feels his family won't accept him as a gay man. Unbeknownst to him,
someone is watching, looking to pick him up and rescue him from his negative
state. Can Calvin get help before it’s too late?
This is a story of coming out and accepting who you are. Remember, you are normal and you are not alone.
Amazon
OmniBooks
Smashwords
RainbowEbooks
This is a story of coming out and accepting who you are. Remember, you are normal and you are not alone.
Amazon
OmniBooks
Smashwords
RainbowEbooks
Chapter
One
“No one will ever love you or
respect you. You can’t be Sam Carroll Junior and be gay! You’ll be rejected,
your family will never accept it!”
Samuel
squinted. Warm tears streamed down his face, staining his cheeks. With a heavy heart and a lot on his mind, he
sat in the driver’s side seat of his car, alone, looking at the forty-five
caliber gun he took from his father’s lock box. Sammy blinked back the small
droplets and licked his lips. Right now, his mouth was dry like the Sahara and
perspiration formed on his brow even with the cool breeze seeping through the
cracked window.
Sammy
tried to get his wits about him, and give himself some courage. Inner strength.
It’s for the best. They’ll never
understand. They’ll hate you and make your life a living hell! “I know…I
wanna die right now! I’m gonna do it…I’m gonna…”
Just
when he stretched his shaky hand out, his cellphone startled him, stopping him from
grabbing the weapon. He gulped hard, wiped his hand with his sleeve, and
plucked the phone from his inside jacket pocket. “Yeah.”
“Sammy?”
A tired but concerned voice on the other end sounded through the handset.
“What
is it, Brenda?” Samuel turned the key in the ignition until the engine shut
down.
“Where
are you, bro? Been calling you for the last two hours. Ever since you told me…”
“M’fine,
sis. Just thinking, that’s all. I needed some time to myself, you know? To sort
out things.”
“Samuel,
it’s gonna be okay. I told you, you gotta tell mom and dad. They love you, they’ll…”
“No
way,” Sammy shook his head vehemently and interrupted his sister. Just thinking
about telling his father about his orientation made him shudder. “No, Bren. Dad
makes jokes about homosexuals all the time along with the rest of the men in
our family. It’s probably already a dead giveaway that I like to cook and I’m
not into sports.”
“Sammy,
you stop that nonsense talk now! Plenty of men who aren’t gay cook and don’t
like sports. We can get you someone to talk to. The counselors at school…”
“Brenda,
all of them are good friends with dad. They’ll tell him and I can’t have that!”
Sammy slammed the steering wheel hard with his free hand before running it through
his scalp. “I can’t do this, sis. I can’t be a Carroll man and be gay.”
“Yes
you can, Sammy. Now please, come home right now so we can talk a little more.
I’ve been worried about you ever since we had the conversation a couple of days
ago.”
That
was most likely true. Brenda was the only person who knew about Sammy’s latest
revelation. He knew he could trust Brenda not to tell anyone his secret.
Still,
how long would that last? Would Brenda get so worried that she’d tell the
counselors or their parents herself?
“Sammy?
You still there?” Brenda asked quickly.
“Yeah,
I’m coming upstairs. I just pulled into the driveway. Are mom and dad home?”
“No,
they went to a church social with Pastor Leahy.”
Oh boy.
And
yet another person who couldn’t find out about Sammy’s orientation. Pastor
Allen Leahy aka bible thumping, bigoted, preacher who constantly spoke against
gays and lesbians being children of Satan. Knowing how he spewed that constant
hate from the pulpit, his parents would never accept the fact Sammy was gay. He
was positive of that. Surely they’d want the pastor to interfere, to pray the
gay away or worse, send him off to one of those Christian camps they always
sent the sinning young people to. Sammy didn’t need that. He needed support,
guidance, and someone to listen to his feelings.
With
these adverse thoughts in his head right now, negative reactions from his
parents and outsiders would do nothing but make him feel worse. Sammy knew he
was right on the edge and needed someone to pull him away.
“M’kay,
be up in a bit. See ya.” Sammy slid his phone shut and placed it back in his
pocket. His hands were still clammy and trembling from the thoughts in his head
about pulling the trigger. Really, he wished there was another way to end it
all. Pills? He hated taking them. Self hanging? He wasn’t sure how to tie
knots since he never went to Boy Scouts. At least with the hand gun it was
simple to do. He’d been out to the range with his dad before. Animals and the
targets at the shooting range had been his only victims. Never a human and it
terrified him to be turning the weapon on himself.
Despite
this, he knew this was the simplest way to get out of this fate worse than
death; being a gay man, make that, a gay
black man with bible thumping parents who wouldn’t understand being born gay is
okay. They had higher expectations for Sammy. To finish college with top
honors, start his career, then look for a suitable wife to bear them
grandchildren in the near future. They’d said it many times in passing or in
any conversations, even trying to fix him up with young women at church.
No,
Mr. and Mrs. Carroll would never accept their son as a gay man. It was best to
save himself the trouble of disappointing them.
Still
shaken from the events of the last hour or so, Sammy ran inside the house,
huffing like he’d just ran a marathon. His heart thumped in his chest
repeatedly, making this small trek up the stairs seem like he was climbing a
mountain top. In a way it was; meeting with a member of his family, telling
them about his feelings. This however was the smallest hill to overcome. If
Sammy ever decided to tell his parents that would be an even bigger one to
conquer.
For
the time being, he decided to return the gun to his father’s lock box just so
he wouldn’t go looking for it. Still, Sammy kept the key so he could make a
copy for himself in the event he’d need to grab the gun to carry out his
mission. Besides, where would he keep the weapon with his mom still snooping
around his room even at age twenty? How on earth would he explain, stealing his
father’s gun from its secured compartment?
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Nice review for Guardian Angel
Nice review for Guardian Angel
Here is the link
I'll be making my first donation at the end of this month to It Gets Better and Broadway Youth
Friday, July 12, 2013
Guardian Angel RELEASED
Release day for Guardian Angel is here! Half the proceeds will go to
It Gets Better and Broadway Youth Center in Chicago!
Monday, April 1, 2013
Comment at IRM and I'll Donate to Trevor Project!
Please comment at IRM today in celebration of our 2nd anniversary
and I'll make a donation for Trevor Project!
Monday, April 30, 2012
IRM Anniversary April 1-30
The IRM Anniversary is on. Please stop by the blog everyday for a post from a different author!
There will be charity blogs April 2-10th and then giveaways and prizes for the rest of the month!
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