No Writer's Block'D Here!

Newsletter #64

It’s been a while. I’ve been busy — both teaching and writing. There’s been a lot of deadlines as I still do freelance work, although I have tried to limit it. But there’s been a lot of creating as well, behind the scenes. But I’ll talk about that in a minute… I really want to catch you up on a few things, like, the release of my first YA graphic novel, Block’D from Mad Cave Studios/Maverick.

Block’D is available in stores now and you can access your preferred online store here and you can read the Kirkus Review here. If you end up grabbing a copy, or if you’ve already read Block’D please let me know what you think. Ignacio and I really had an incredible time collaborating and bringing this book to life. None better than paying homage to the one and only Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi.

Yeah, there was no way that I was going to do a basketball book and not put something in it about my favorite basketball player of all time and honor his and his daughter’s memory. This actually wasn’t something written in the script, it actually came about from Ignacio and I truly collaborating, conversing about different aspects of the book, the feel, the vibe, and how that comes to life. So, yeah, we talked about this and in this particular scene he made sure to place the picture of Kobe and Gigi on the wall.

You know, entering the YA graphic novel space has been an incredible journey. It’s such a fun space where a lot of different genres can thrive. Block’D is a coming-of-age story that is a basketball drama as well as a werewolf shifter story. The combination allows us to do a lot of things and truly utilize the characters as vehicles to tell the story, how they ultimately overcome the obstacles in front of them — which is the tenet of storytelling in my opinion: Always, CHARACTER + OBSTACLE = STORY.

Some TRAUMA TALK…

Going back to what I was saving above, there’s definitely some things that I want to fill you guys in on — one of which is that my journey as a YA graphic novel author continues. I have another book with Mad Cave Studios/Maverick in the works and the only thing I can tell you is that it’s horror — Yup, YA Horror. What? You wanna sneak peak? Ummm… Okay, but don’t tell my editor—

That’s all I can share, y’all. But I can say that my collaboration with Sandra Perea has been dope! She has a touch to her art that really speaks to what this story is about, its characters, and the horror element. Can’t wait for you all to see it! So, stay tuned… You’ll get the first deets and looks here on this Trauma Talk Substack.

Alright, look, it’s been a long time coming, and I am glad that we finally got a chance to catch up. There’s more in the works and more that I am going to share, so hopefully you all will continue to be patient with me (as I finish up this school year, remember, I am also a teacher) and rock with me. Please comment, restack, share, do all those things. I would really love to hear from you!

Talk soon —

B