Ok ya'll, ToaLN is experiencing some technical difficulties. I have looked at my page from several locations and it is obviously in disarray. While every fiber of my being wanted to throw my computer out the window, my calmer side prevailed. Of course, I am completely to blame due to my lack of HTML training. I hate HTML and it hates me. So therefore what you see is the results of this hate/hate relationship. Thank you so much for your patience with me while I get the issues resolved.

Little 5-year-old Shaniya Davis was memorialized yesterday before over a thousand tearful onlookers. It is right after this point we (the general public) begin to forget. The shock wears off. We begin to forget what happened to little children like her. We were created with the ability to move on with our lives after a tragedy happens. It is our coping mechanism. Until the next thing happens. Then we are reminded again.

"Remember a couple years ago what happened to that little girl in Florida? That was so sad."

My appeal to you is to not forget though. I'm not suggesting that you carry the feelings of what happens to others around with you constantly because that can be unhealthy. But don't allow yourself to become apathetic. Don't sink into the feeling of it could never happen to me or someone I love. It does happen. The little faces of abused children or victimized adults that we see on the news are just a fraction of the reality. Our hearts couldn't stand it if we knew how many more suffer the same circumstances.

Thinking of this, I wrote this poem (I haven't written a poem in a while so bear with me). For Shaniya. And other victims like her. Smiling faces on the news that inevitably leave our memory.


You see my face smiling in pictures,
My innocence in bloom.

Hidden away is the tragedy I experienced,
The fear I felt, the doom.

I'm young, but I know that this is not,
How my life should end.

At the hands of those I was taught to love,
And from those whose womb I began.

To you, I am just "that girl/boy" on the news,
To which you often say:

"It's a shame what happened to that little child,
Just look at their happy face."

I AM A PERSON, who dreamt of a future
My past I didn't create.

My eyes, they cried out to someone for help,
But help came much too late.

Now, it's my face that you see on the news,
Hoping to you that they can relate,

The terrible thing that happened to me,
Happens to kids like me every day.

Let my face remind you,
Of what this world has become,

A haven for those who prey upon the weak,
They hurt the innocent, the uneducated, the young.

Never forget that my picture could be replaced,
With that of someone you know.

As long as this world is the way that it is,
The tragedies will only grow.


Let's never forget her or victims like her:

17-month-old Jashon William

2-year-old Darisabel Baez

3-year-old Caylee Anthony

4-year-old Emma Thompson

5-year-old Samantha Runnion

7-year-old Sherrice Iverson

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Join the cause and spread the word.  We have a voice and let's raise it unitedly against violence.

I am happily plugging away working on my book and I am starting to see my character’s life take shape. As I mentioned in my previous post my character Ana has become more than mere words on a page, but a living and breathing person and I am enjoying telling her story. I am even beginning to visualize my book being picked up by a world-renowned publishing house (I dream big) and on the shelves of such places as Mahogany Books. I can also imagine the happy faces of children who love reading Ana’s story as it becomes one of their favorite books as so many did in my own childhood.

With that in mind, I decided to scope out the competition. No doubt thousands of writers attempt to publish children’s books each year and I wanted to get a sense of what children’s books are selling right now and who is publishing them. While I have my own built in focus group with my opinionated ten and twelve-year-old daughters (think Ebert and Roeper) I decided to do my research. As I did, I came across many wonderful books, but one in particular caught my attention. A book entitled “Girls Hold Up This World” written by Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Mrs. Smith’s book seemed like a wonderful read geared towards empowering young girls something that Ana’s story also promotes, but seeing her book as well as other notable people brought something to my attention. More and more celebrities are beginning to pen their own books directed towards young people. In times past, while a new writer may have had a greater opportunity to be published will we soon see a trend of celebrities with scores of built-in readers (fans) taking the place of literary unknowns like myself?

While celebrities are by no means monopolizing the children’s market it reminded me of a statement made by actor Nia Long, “…It’s just not about how talented you are anymore. It’s about, ‘How much box-office revenue will this person generate?” Today, browsing the shelves of your local library you may see books by well-known celebrities such as Spike & Tonya Lee, Debbie Allen, Bill Cosby and Whoopi Goldberg. It has made me begin to wonder if the trend that Nia Long spoke of has begun to influence the literary world as well?

While the above people mentioned are talented writers some celebrities write with the aid of ghost writers and the celebrities themselves do none of the actual writing. With the economy in the state that it is currently in book publishers may feel that it is better to promote famous people whose name alone will “generate more revenue”. This may be the reason that more and more authors have begun to self publish as opposed to going through one of the major publishing houses. While I will continue to remain optimistic that a literary nobody like me can eke out a place in the world of children’s authors I am definitely keeping my eye on the competition.

Photo Credit: MahoganyBooks.com

My friend Jennifer over at ReedWhatMatters.com posted a great resource for determining whether or not you have the H1N1 virus a couple of days ago that can be found here. After reading it, I decided to browse the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) website. It offered a variety of topics on swine flu and how to protect yourself from getting it and also spreading it. While educating myself on the H1N1 virus I came across the FAQ:

What is CDC’s recommendation regarding "swine flu parties"?

I don't know about any of you, but I had never heard of a swine flu party. Here is how the CDC defines a swine flu party:

"Swine flu parties" are gatherings during which people have close contact with a person who has 2009 H1N1 flu in order to become infected with the virus. The intent of these parties is for a person to become infected with what for many people has been a mild disease, in the hope of having natural immunity 2009 H1N1 flu virus that might circulate later and cause more severe disease.

Obviously this is a new trend that has been widely accepted by many as a method to avoid the controversial H1N1 flu shot. It reminds me of when I was in the sixth grade and had the chicken pox (Chicken Pox, Mad Cow, Swine flu...I'm starting to detect a farm animal theme here. A little too Old McDonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O...don't you think?) Many kids of course wanted a week off so when I came back to school one of the girls asked me to rub my arms on hers so that she could get it. I didn't believe it would work, but lo and behold the next day she was absent and stayed gone for a week. This must be the same concept behind these swine flu parties. The thinking is that you can get immunity from the virus or just get it and get it over with. This is what the CDC states though:

CDC does not recommend "swine flu parties" as a way to protect against 2009 H1N1 flu in the future. While the disease seen in the current 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak has been mild for many people, it has been severe and even fatal for others. There is no way to predict with certainty what the outcome will be for an individual or, equally important, for others to whom the intentionally infected person may spread the virus.

CDC recommends that people with 2009 H1N1 flu avoid contact with others as much as possible. If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Stay away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.

So if you receive an invitation to a "swine flu party" exercise caution. As the CDC states some have experienced mild symptoms with this virus while others have become deathly ill. Let's be smart and protect ourselves as much as possible from this virus that is definitely fulfilling what the Bible describes at Luke 21:11 as "pestilences in one place after another". Unfortunately swine flu will likely not be the only virus of its kind to plague us so it's good that we develop good disease prevention practices now. I wonder what farm animal the next thing will be named after? Hoof and Horse disease? Diabetic Duck Virus? Silent Lambs pox? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.


Photo credit: Zazzle.com

Yes, I know I dated myself with that Mork and Mindy reference in the title. But actually NaNoWriMo is an acronym for National Novel Writing Month. So here it is:

During November us writers write a complete novel of 50,000 words (or whatever your personal goal is, but you can't win NaNoWriMo unless you meet the 50,000 word goal). NaNoWriMo is a little global competition to see which city, state, region, and countries have the most NaNoWriMo participants who meet the 50,000 word goal. If you win you get the pleasure of being among an elite list of writers who didn't throw their computers out of the window in the third week.

So far it is day four of NaNoWriMo and I have a whopping...wait for it...300 words. So I'm not certain if I will meet the goal, but I am going to do my best. I have just estimated that if I can write 1,666 words and some change daily I may be able to make it. My novel may be complete gibberish, but that's okay because that is what NaNoWriMo is about. Just pure writing. No editing until December. So for those of you who are brave enough let's embark on this together. Any of you participating in NaNoWriMo? Have any of you already won NaNoWriMo before? Have any of you thrown your computers out of the window in the third week? If so share your stories. I'm sure your experiences will encourage or discourage the daylights out of me.

Want to see who is meeting the goal or sign up for NaNoWriMo yourself visit NaNoWriMo.org.