Happy New Year 2012!!

One of the things I vowed to do more of in 2012 is vlog. So, here you go: my first video of 2012 (even though it was technically recorded in 2011).

For those wondering what my Facebook status said, it is below:

I’d be lying if I said I’m not happy to see 2011 come to an end. Friendships ended, opportunities were lost, and despair loomed much larger and darkly than ever before. Yet despite all the setbacks, all the heartache, and all the disappointment, I’ve tried to remain optimistic. With that said, I want nothing but love, happiness, and prosperity in 2012. For all of us. Happy New Year.

Totally Overhyped 2012 New Year’s Eve Party

I saw this posted on Teh Facebook this morning and shared it with my friends over there, but it’s too hilarious not to post here as well. The above mock flyer is for your archetypal New Year’s Eve party, and, hoo boy, is it ever on point.

From the promoters name (“Rohypnol Productions”) to the ticket price (“six months’ rent and your dignity”), everything about this flyer is sadly accurate. Thankfully, I’ll be spending this New Year’s with friends at a private gathering. No super-douchy dance club for me this year.

The New Year’s party scene, with its riotous antics, spirited dancing, wanton spending, and voluminous vomiting, is one with which I am very familiar. Remember, I worked in nightlife for years. Those experiences were what led to my penning my debut novel GUESTLIST, which will be available in February 2012. (You had to have known I was gonna tie #GLIST into this somehow.) While it is a world I certainly miss, I also recognize it’s a world I had to leave behind. I’m a grown ass man now.

Memphis is BEAUTIFUL! #GLIST

The other day I walked around my old Memphis, Tennessee neighborhood of Orange Mound to take in sights both familiar and foreign, get a sense of the nabe’s current vibe, and do a teeny tiny bit of research on my second novel, tentatively titled BEAUTIFUL.

Second novel? you say. But the first one hasn’t even been released yet!

I know, Dear Readers, I know. GUESTLIST isn’t even out yet and I’m already talking about what I’m doing next. But hey, that’s how you stay ahead of the game. Gotta be forward thinking. Can’t be stagnant. Can’t rest on one’s laurels.

(By the way, GUESTLIST is my debut novel and it releases February 28, 2012.)

Thank You Already #GLIST

If you’re reading this, then you’re probably already aware that my debut novel GUESTLIST is being released in February 2012. If you’re reading this, you’re likely also someone who’s congratulated me for accomplishing something as insane and exciting as writing and publishing a novel. To all of you who’ve been on this incredible journey with me, and continue to support and encourage me, I just want to say, “Thank You!”

I’m On A Bus! #GLIST

Because I waited until the last minute to make any sort of holiday travel plans, I am currently on a Greyhound bus destined for Tennessee. This promises to be a torturous journey—29 hours sitting upright on a cramped bus with unhappy travelers and surly drivers. This morning’s experience with Greyhound was so maddening, I was in search of a cocktail before 9:30am.

Things worked out, however, and I’m on the first half of my trip, en route to Richmond, Virginia. Sounds blasty, no? Thankfully, I have a copy of GUESTLIST to keep me occupied like Zuccotti. Still making minor changes to the text, but it’s all so that the novel is perfect by the time you purchase your copy in February 2012.

You are going to buy a copy of GUESTLIST when it drops, right, Dear Readers?

Raiders of the Lost ARC #GLIST

The first batch of #GLIST ARCs arrived today.

My friend Denitra asked a while back, “What’s an ARC?” I explained that they are Advance Reader Copies, editions of the novel that go out to people so that they’ll say nice things we can use in the marketing of the book. You know, for blurbs and such.

So, naturally, Denitra asked if she could have an ARC. It pained me to tell her NO, because ARCs are for so-called boldfaced names, people who have some kind of cachet and clout in the world of entertainment and media. People who are on the television or the radio and have a significant amount of Twitter followers and ting. Yes. I said “ting.” Remember, I lived in South Florida for twelve years.

Oh, and for those of you still in the dark, #GLIST is the hashtag I’m using for Guestlist, my debut novel, which releases in February 2012.

TwennyTwelfe is Gonna Be Mah Year!!!!!11!!1 #GLIST

Last night, I enjoyed cocktails and catfish fingers at Brooklyn’s Vodou Bar with my buddy Dr. Jennifer. We talked about life and how things hadn’t been going especially well for us the past few months.

“2011 has been my worst year,” I said to Dr. Jennifer. She replied that it hadn’t been her worst year, but it had been a disappointment.

“If there was a lesson to be learned in 2011 and I missed it, oh well,” she said, then followed up with, “And I’m not going to say 2012 is going to be my year. That’s just bullshit.”

Normally, I would have agreed with her.  It always pissed me off when people would make the proclamation that the upcoming new year was going to be “their year.” I never understood what the fuck that meant. I mean, yeah, I get it, a new year, a new beginning, blah blah, whatever. A new beginning can happen anytime. A new beginning can start the moment you finish reading this post.

But last night, I felt differently. It’s not bullshit, I thought. 2012 is going to be my year, goddamn.

And Guestlist is the reason I feel this way. For those of you still in the dark, Guestlist is my debut novel, which releases in February. February of 2012.