Jovon Scott

Jovon Scott is 30 years of age and began his incarceration in an Illinois prison at age 18. He has a projected parole date of 2033. Jovon was raised on the slum streets of Chicago in an area better known as the Robert Taylor Projects where unemployment reached 95%, an African-American population of 96%, 40% single-parent families, and a public assistant family income of $5,000 per year. It comes as no surprise that Jovon turned to street gangs that offered a means of survival, a family-like environment, money, drugs, sex, and respect.

Jovon gives credit to the gang culture for forcing him to want more out of life, and a willingness to pursue it with gusto. Discipline was front and center in the street gangs of the 1980s and 90s. Being self-educated, Jovon continues to prepare himself for a more favorable future upon his release.

It was in a 6x9 foot cell where Jovon discovered how writing frees the soul and opens an imaginary reality, a breeding place for creativity. "Blood of my Shadow" fits into the genre of urban fiction, focusing on the underbelly of the urban culture. It is here where Jovon combines lessons learned on the street of Chicago, an unharnessed imagination, and his ability to spin an exciting story.