JOB in '08: Patience is a REAL Virtue

I'll do it in reverse this time. R.I.P. to my man Jerry Rodriguez(www.jerryarodriguez.com), a filmmaker and author whom I'm proud to have endorsed before his death the night before last. A longtime roommate of my homeboy Michael Gonzales, Jerry was serious about his business and echoed many of my sentiments about the failures of mainstream publishing in supporting it's truly talented in the name of the least common denominator. He will be missed by those who knew him. I wish I had gotten to know him better.

For those of you who are looking for a solid opinion on what's hot and bubbling up these days, check out omenandblaq.blogspot.com, a blog put together but a digital editor and her musician boyfriend out of Chi-town. Not only is she one of my first cyber-crushes, but she's got some solid opinions. Her shop edited Lupe's "Kick Push" video and a lot of other clips coming out of the Windy City.

For those of you who are coming out to the Cake launch party, you'll have something special in store. My homegirl and fellow artist, Claudine Bryant will be doing a dramatic reading from excerpts of my new project, Midnight. For ya'll who didn't write it down before, it will be at the Frank White lounge (www.frankwhitenyc.com) on July 8th from 6 to 10pm. Copies of Cake will be for sale and there will be music pretty people and an entire menu of items that I'm sure you'll love.

It's good to be working on a new book again, even if I'm unsure as to what I'll end up doing with it. It's good to be back in the old rhythm in front of the keyboard, to suit down post-dinner and crank out a tale a few pages at a time. This is the first time that I'm writing from a woman's point of view in the first person and the first time I'll do something where no one gets shot or killed. It's an answer to a request my homegirl Corren made years ago, for me to do something that's completely me, a reflection of the world we come from and what's happened to it as we find ourselves moving toward the light of real adulthood.

Last but not least, this month will most likely be the last that I'm going to repost my blogs on myspace. The URL for my site (which will be back up in the next few weeks) is easy enough to remember for y'all to come and see me at my homebase, where your traffic would mean a lot more to me. Shoutout to Melonhead as she parties is up at music camp in Massachusetts. Shoutout to Bellybutton as she starts a summer reading list longer than the Patriot Act and ODs on old episodes of BSG. It's going to be a good summer ya'll. I can feel it. Out.