'wife of the heart': at the close of the journey...

nothing like being near the end of a journey
to make appreciate even further why you began
it in the first place...

good people, the books are due to arrive soon
and i'm looking forward to the time when i can
pack one up and send it out to you. working on
this book has had its peaks and valleys and
none so much as in these past couple of weeks.
it's like seeing the flowers you planted slowly
opening themselves up to the world to show off
their brilliance in bloom. and i feel that 'wife
of the heart' will have that same effect not only
on you once you read it, but on me.

until the next time!!!

the cover of 'wife of the heart'

taken on october 7, 2007...my first trip to T-dot..
and a wonderful weekend.

musical inspiration for the newest book...

when i first heard 'sunshine' from lupe fiasco, i
thought it to be one of the most slept on tracks
he ever created. and in time, when i talked to
the young lady who would be the inspiration for
'wife of the heart', i began to associate this
song with her. and i still do.

*corny moment*whenever this pops up on my iPod,
i like to think she's thinking about me.

okay, enough of that...enjoy the track!! and
support dope hip hop!!!

the understated beauty at the heart of 'wife of the heart'

photo by christoph grant

the woman at the core of this new book, 'wife
of the heart' is from a culture and country that
is heavily publicized and somewhat misunderstood
to a certain extent. Somalia, to me, i knew to be
different from other African nations for a couple
of reasons. One being that my mother worked in
the United Nations and knew a few people from
there and shared that knowledge with me. Another
reason was because I have family from there. In
some respects, i feel 'wife of the heart' is a
tribute to her beauty as well as the beauty of
all Somalian women. it may be an unorthodox
tribute because being outspoken in this way is
not seen that often in their society but i've
always felt that the best appreciation of
someone no matter in what sense is to say it loud
and proud. and hopefully this book will have
accomplished that for you.

delays, delays....

if there's anything more alternatively nail-biting and
tedious, it's waiting on quotes and a sample copy from
your print house. while most of the hard work is done
in terms of writing, layout and editing, i know there's
more to be done in terms of promotion, calculating some
shipping and whatever else might come up. and you start
getting more aggravated waiting, like, 'WHERE IS IT? I
WANNA GET BACK ON THE GRIND!!!'

can you tell i'm anxious?

best thing is, just as i'm finishing up this post, my
quote came in!! now it's all about the printing!!

quote for 9.7.09

“There is no education like adversity”

- Benjamin Disraeli

moving, moving, keepin' it moving...

'back in the days on the boulevard of linden...'

i hope everyone's enjoyed their labor day
weekend!!

well it's done...'wife of the heart' is an official
draft and now it's a matter of waiting...last week
was NO picnic. but finally i'm back up, and got a
lot accomplished despite the mishaps. look out for
an update soon for those pre-orders(and for those
who have, i've got you covered)for 'wife of the
heart'. i think i'm going to switch things up next
time i speak with you fine folk...until the next
time!!!