D. (the 4th Letter)

Greetings, good people. This is one of the mellow spots where my thoughts and my muse come to chill and just, y'know, hang out. Please cop a squat; get your relax on; put your feet up and make yourselves at home - there's munchables on the coffee table, ice-cold Seagram's ginger ale in the 'fridge and the kettle's on for herbal tea should that be your fancy (sorry, no joy juice). Brubeck's "Take Five" is on the box while Dizzy's warmin' up with Miles; Bird, Ramsey, 'Trane & Herbie also on the menu. In addition, there's some newcomers that flow like that and I'm sure they'll tickle your earhole as well.

Let's see now ... basically for me, when it comes to writing, one particular sentence always comes to my mind: "You write so well and the best thing about that is that you really enjoy it. "Those words were spoken many years ago by Brenda Dickerson - a favorite high school English teacher of mine - to me; words that still resonate within me to this very day.

I've always enjoyed a profound, long-standing love affair with words ... for as long as I can remember. I've seen them everywhere and all the time - because of this, I've been writing these words down very often and for a really long time. If you were to ask the favorite girl in my life, my dear Mum, she'd more than likely tell you (and anyone else, bless her lil' ol' golden heart) rather emphatically and much to my constant embarrassment - that I was probably writing way before I could even talk; that's m'girl. The vast majority of what I've written mainly consists of humorous observations, colorful short stories and lots of poetry; it's always been both my pleasure and my passion to put what I see, hear, ponder and feel into words and allow those words to come alive and communicate my moments, my thoughts, my moods et al. Although I consider myself a true 'neo-poet' at heart, stories remain my heart's true calling; in my head, there's at least ten or twelve tales ready to become books right now - all of them milling around and jockeying for position to be written next. The groovy thing about that is I let the diverse facets of my current creative, mental and emotional state dictate what's coming - whether it's something I considered interesting at some time and it really stuck with me or something personal that touched my heart in such a profound manner and I have to get it out as soon as I can.

Most times I'm so focused, I can't put my pen down and all kinds of stuff is flying out of my mind at such a furious clip. But it's the aftermath of those prolonged bursts of written energy when I feel so lackadaisical & I may write only a few chapters here or a few paragraphs there for a day or two .... or five. So I've been doing a much better job at pacing myself more so that I write at a steadier, more thought-laden rate and I've noticed a real improvement in not only what I write but how I write it as well as clarity, cohesive ideas, character depth and interaction, etc.

While living in Philly, I used to venture to some of the most eclectic spoken word hang-outs and wax poetic on the mic with other scribes (arguably some of the greatest times of my life at that time). We'd get together and bounce ideas off each other while basking in the creativity that wafted in the air around us. My friends Cokley ('Nard), Scott & Big John knew that I wrote; I can remember after a knee reconstruction, John even chauffeured me around the city to spit verse at different locations - Vicodin, knee immobilizer, cane and all. Since relocating to the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, I joined a writing group (The Mahogany Experience Writing Group) and the organizers as well as the group members there help me with critiques, free-flowing verse and valued opinions. The atmosphere was always easy and the vibe positive - so conducive to good writing and the exchanges were priceless. It seems no matter where I go, an esoteric essence stays with me and I've been truly blessed by that.

Start playing Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma" here (from the "Afro" album).

For some odd reason or another, whenever I tell someone I recently started publishing books, the conversation magically morphs into an impromptu mock interview - sort of a refreshingly random session of Q & A but without a laugh-track, some intern holding up huge cue-cards or a live studio audience. And as much as I relish talking to anyone, it never gets old or predictable; I always thought it was kinda cool. Whenever someone asks me, "How did you write your books?", sometimes I look at my hands and answer, "With these and a pen." If that fails to garner a smile, I tell them that I've been writing stories for as far back as I can remember and I was advised by someone to look into getting some of my writings published. Writing has always been a passion of mine - like jazz. If you're really passionate about something, there's always a way to take it to another level.

The question that makes me laugh whenever I'm asked is, "Do you expect to make a lot of money?" Right then and there it dawned on me that I never really think about writing for profit; I still don't, actually. But that's typically one of the first issues that comes up and my response is typically the same: if I make some money, then so be it. If I entertain people and inspire them to read more - hey, that's aces as well. But if I can do all of those things AND if people can relate to what I write while gaining a better perspective of themselves and their self-worth, others and the world around us all - now that's the success I'm most happy with.

Another question I get a lot is, "Are you going to publish a book of poetry?" Drum-roll, please ... wait for it, slight pause, slight pause - YES! I will publish a book of my poems very soon - in fact, mostly all of the poems I've written happen to be in some sort of quasi-haphazard order that makes sense to me only (chronological, seasonal, emotional - I don't know) but a book of my poetic prose will be out soon; stay tuned & I'll let'cha know when that cometh.

Dizzy fades out - Miles Davis' "Autumn Leaves" fades in.

People seem to want to know what kind of person I am. Well, for the longest time, I was (and, in more ways than not, still am) the uber-epitome of a 'cool geek' - that irritatingly rare, hybrid blend of intelligence, moxie, unfocused frenzy, comedic hesitance & chutzpah all rolled together within an eternally unrealistic optimist with a near-fatal case of often humorous procrastination. Those who truly know me can attest to this, much to their smiling chagrins. "Yeah, that about sums it up," will probably the most popular answer when asked, "What kind of person is D.?" So it really didn't surprise a lot of people who've known me for so long that I finally became a published author - in fact, those closest to me have stopped short of plucking me upside my head before asking, "What took you so damn long?"

I enjoy reading a great deal as well. Sonia Sanchez, David Thoreau, Nikki Giovanni, Walt Whitman and Maya Angelou are some of my fave poets as well as Patterson, Hurston, Crichton, Hughes, Mosley, Brown, Ellison etc. being some of my more interesting authors. I'm a die-hard horror/sci-fi buff, however - especially from the early days of Karloff, Lugosi and Chaney as well as the Hammer Studio treasures; here, writers like King, Clarke, Ellison, Dick, Heinlein, Asimov, Bujold, Steele, Matheson & Bradbury et al pique my interests. The 50's, 60's and early 70's were some of the best periods for a kid like me with an overactive imagination to let it just take flight with all sort of reckless abandon. B & W movies hold a special place in my heart (and my milk-crates of VHS tapes) and I've always been fascinated with the bygone eras depicted in period pieces. I've always said, "Read a good book and learn more about yourself" and there's nothing like a really good movie to help you see the world around you in a different light.

Shortly after its' release, my "firstie" received a five-star review - 5 of them! I'm not ashamed to admit it brought a joyous tear to my eye - that someone somewhere not only took the time to read what I wrote but they actually enjoyed it. The reader even stated that they're looking forward to future submissions from me. Being a new author, that's something that I never expected - it really makes this journey worthwhile. It's a little rough around the edges - I was so excited to get it published and that enthusiasm I talked about earlier led the way before anything else. Seeing the finished product reminded me that I've still loads to learn but I made a vow to myself and all readers to polish before presentation. And as I believe I'm a good writer, I always hope and endeavor to become not only a better writer but a better storyteller as well. But still, 5 stars right out of the gate and a few more after that ... wow - whoda thunk it? Next - "A Pepsi, A Pack of Smokes & Some Really Good Porn" was published July 2014 (YAY!) I humbly call it "The best 'eroticomedy' out there today". Spring 2020 brings the release of "To Miri - The Love Of My Life ~ Death" (check out the promo video on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17MP_K-VNEE&t=8s) and by years' end, I plan to publish the sequel to "Memoirs" (yes, sequel - didn't you read it?) I'm currently developing other manuscripts so as long as my fingers, my mind and my laptop keeps working, I'll keep writing.

John Coltrane's "My Favorite Things" traipses in.

Welp, that's about it for now. Please feel free to pop in from time to time to just dwell or see what's shakin' down the line - you're always welcome here. I'll keep you posted on future books and all kinds of happenin' events but if there's anything else you'd like to know, feel free to fly an e-mail at me courtesy of d.the.4th.letter.wordworks@gmail.com or follow me on Instagram (@D_the_4thLetter). I gotta jam now - before you leave, please snuff the candles, shut down the sounds, put out the incense and make sure you turn the lights down low. Oh yeah - by the way, check out some Incognito, the late guitar great Zachary Breaux, Groove Armada, some righteous acid jazz by this group called 4hero and Chris Botti's "Indian Summer" (dude can seriously work that horn). Plus, anytime's a good time for some Sade - wouldn't you agree?

Thanks for coming by my page. Prosper.