True Life: I Purchased A $58 Shirt

Recently Draya Michele posted up a photo of the coolest t-shirt I've seen in 2016. It was a plain long black t-shirt but the writing is what really stood out.

 "Tis The Season To Be Skinny." 

Also in asking for advice in different blogging groups, someone mentioned finding out what my audience likes and catering to them. This t-shirt is not for you all, unless you love it. It's for me instead. I can't really explain it to the fullest extent, but the older I get the more I fall in love with my skinny figure. I have a flat booty, a flat chest (that could be abs if I put in more effort into working out), skinny legs (that can make me look tall in different camera angles). For this boost in confidence I'm getting, it's only perfect to add the shirt to my wardrobe. 

So I really spent $58 on the shirt. I battled with myself for a whole day on whether to do it though. For a person that's supposed to be broke and budgeting, that's a lot. However, a beautiful woman has to live and this shirt is life. 

Soon enough, my confidence will feel like that Travis Scott line "Kicking the cameraman off of my stages cause I don't like how he snapping my angles." 

(Video) Excerpt From 'Woman Manifested: A Poetic Tale'

'Woman Manifested: A Poetic Tale' is not your average poetry book. It tells the story of a young woman in search of acceptance, love and wealth. She's looking for these things in Corporate America, her friends, and a significant other. However, she's keeps hitting the roadblocks of life. If you're tired of reading happily ever afters that you'll never experience, this is the book for you. 'Woman Manifested' is available on Amazon for purchase. 

Below is an excerpt from the book. 

Doing It For The Gram

Well actually, it was more like doing it for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

It all started after I had binge-watched a whole bunch of running man challenge videos. Initially it seemed as though I would have to conquer the dance, but not all the videos online consist of that exact dance. There are people doing the running man, people twerking, and people grooving do different songs. It was only right for me to groove to the song of my choice. Below you'll see two different videos that I made.

Before you watch the videos, there's more. I also recorded myself on my new guitar. No, I don't actually know how to play yet but I'm enjoying it.

just me and my new toy #guitar #newatthis #noise #fun #lifestyleblogger #creativepreneur

A video posted by Lashuntrice (@mrsstarstatus) on May 21, 2016 at 2:42pm PDT

In the middle of the night when everyone's asleep this is what I do. Ima thug. 😛😞

A video posted by Lashuntrice (@mrsstarstatus) on May 22, 2016 at 10:20pm PDT

#WCW. Fun from last weekend.

A video posted by Lashuntrice (@mrsstarstatus) on May 24, 2016 at 9:30pm PDT

BTW: This is part of my before 30 goals. My initial goal was to be in a music video as a vixen, but vixens can't do certain jobs such as teaching. However, dancing in a video for Instagram doesn't harm anyone. In fact it's fun and I look forward to making more videos in the future. They'll consist of songs, my own poems, and much more.

A Writer's Thoughts On Paying People to Review Books

Book reviews are important. 

Back in my younger days I didn't realize how important they were. I really didn't care what others thought of a book. My opinion only mattered. I cared if I liked the back description of the book enough to purchase it and I cared about my own thoughts on the book after reading it. Unless I was reading the book for a class assignment, I usually just moved on to the next book. I didn't have a blog to discuss the book on. I didn't even have my own email address until I went off the college, but that's another story. My parents gave me money to purchase books, I read them, formed my own opinion, and then moved on. Fast forward to 2016.

One lesson I didn't realize in my youth was how important it was for people to pay for the books. It is very important to invest your money in buying a book. Purchasing the book is a part of an author's survival. I've also realized that there is no way possible most authors are surviving on book sales. The market isn't like it used to be. $9.99 books from long ago are now $3.00 on kindle. If a paperback book is $9.99 on Amazon, that author is essentially making $3.00 for every book sale. 

Just think about how much money that is for a self published author. On top of it, the author has to pay someone to edit their book. Well, that is unless they think they can come out as successful as E. L. James. Depending on how that author wants to promote, they are always looking at paying someone in the business to promote for them. Promoting in this post means putting the work in front of the faces of people who will buy the book.

Wait, maybe 10 or 15 years ago authors were supposed to use promoters to help them reach the correct audiences. Now people reach out to The Shade Room ( it's really not a good spot to get your book noticed) or other blogs they notice have high numbers of followers. There is nothing wrong with that. However, in order to get these blogs to read the books, you have to pay them. 

Wait.... don't pay them to read your book. I'm a blogger who expects people to buy my book, so I'm not charging the next person to read their book and talk about it. When we become authors, we become entrepreneurs. Just like the people taking the time out to read our books, we are taking out the time to write good stories for others to read. So they need to respect the game and buy the damn book. If you google my book Woman Manifested: A Poetic Tale,  you will also notice there are no blog reviews. I reached out to some in the beginning, but I've learned my lesson.

Now there are book blogs designed for the purpose of helping you sell your book. They are run by PR agencies and you should pay them at your own risk. Just read this article.  The author talked about a man who worked for a PR agency. His job was to encourage bloggers to write about the books that went through his company, but he decided to get rid of the third party by writing reviews himself. He eventually had his own successful company and some of the books getting reviewed weren't actually getting read. I used to want the job of reviewing books before they were exposed to the general audiences, so it's sad to know people have those jobs and don't actually read the books. See you just have to know who you can trust. 

Or you can just wait for someone to mention your book in a book club where others might like it and actually purchase it and spread the word that way. It's wishful thinking, but a possible way of getting sales. 

Side Note: Did you see where Zane tried to shade Target for not carrying her books? She claimed she was boycotting Target because she's an author with 30 + books and they carry authors with only one or two books out. She forgot the fact that she's a successful author that is also a publisher with authors under her. She doesn't need her books on Target shelves to sell like those authors with one or two books need. 

At Some Point We All Join Snapchat

Before the year is out I'll be 30, so before then I have to keep up my youth.

All young people or at least bloggers passionate about writing are writing and publishing books these days, so I couldn't be the exception. You can find my book Woman Manifested on Amazon. Soon you'll also see videos of me sharing some personal information as I promote the book more. 

To help with book promotion I've decided to spice it up with more than just videos. I'll also be learning how to play the guitar and somehow using it to promote my poetry and storytelling. All young people keep up their youth by learning near tasks, so mines will be the guitar. Thanks to Guitar Center, I was able to get one on sale for a good price. 

Okay, I'm not just some poet or some writer sitting behind a computer screen. Like everyone else I have these dreams to branch out and be all over the place. According to a lot of companies that are teaming with bloggers, they expect us to be social media friendly since social media is how to market ourselves. I'm guessing this is because it gives us more outlets to market their products, events, or jus name in general while marketing ourselves. That means being on every social media site and that is also why I've finally joined snapchat. 

I don't quite know how to work it yet. Because of lack of space of the iPhone 6s I'm currently utilizing it via my LG4 and I'm not sure how to take a screen shot on that phone. However, before is a video of my first snapchat. I downloaded it and added it to Instagram.

P.S. If you want to follow me, my name on snapchat is lashuntrice.

😜 I'm on snap chat. This is already fun.

A video posted by Lashuntrice (@mrsstarstatus) on May 16, 2016 at 9:53pm PDT

Sunday Reflections~ Goals To Accomplish Before Turning 30

The more I log onto social media lately, the more I feel as if life is passing me by. It seems as if everyone else is living out their goals and doing the normal tasks that comes with adulthood. The normal tasks are falling in love, getting married, having babies, and getting paid enough money to handle the lifestyle. I, on the other hand, feel stuck in this work and go home alone cycle. 

It would be okay if I was 20, 22, or even 24. However, before this year ends I'll be 30 years old. My 20's will be over. At 29 I have this baby fever, this yearning for the man of my dreams, and of course a desire to have way more funds in my bank account. Wait, I'm not just wanting to have more money. I want enough money to where I can actually go to some of the interesting events I want to be at. I want to have enough money to where if I wanted to move to another apartment complex tomorrow I could without any worries. I want enough money to where I don't have to worry about over spending. Since I want to be a parent, that'll be whole lot more than I'm currently getting paid. Wait, I'm going off topic. 

Anyway, I've been seeing all these great accomplishments others are making and it's absolutely time for me to make some. But I'm not thinking of the normal goals people do to push themselves further. I'm tired of having this goal of moving to California or some other state only to realize there's a brand new bill I'm taking on and have to figure out how to manage. That's stressful, so I'm thinking of some goals that aren't as stressful to accomplish before turning 30. 

Buy A Guitar And Become A Little More Creative:

Earlier this year I published a book via CreateSpace. For years people had been asking me when I was going to come out with a book. Because poetry is what I'm best at writing, it was a poetry book. However, the part of getting people to actually buy the book has been tough. A lot of folks congratulated me, but they didn't realize the way to stroke a writer's ego is to purchase the writer's new book. So I've needed to burn off some steam and find a new creative outlet. The guitar is the answer. 

I purchased the guitar this weekend from Guitar Center. It's a rogue starter acoustic guitar in the color blue. It's very pretty, but they didn't have it in the store. So I will officially have a new guitar next weekend. The plan is to combine my playing of the guitar (I have to learn) with poetry and record it for youtube. Learning how to play the guitar and putting it up on youtube for the world to see will distract me for a minute from the stressful business of book selling and trying to add extra money to my bank account. 

Write More Recklessly On The Blog: 

One of the reasons why I was able to create so many blog posts in the past is because I wrote without caring about the structure. I wrote to get interesting words out. Lately I've struggled to write because I want to be noticed by the masses. I want to be taken seriously as a writer. However, in order to keep writing I have to just do it without thinking about how it looks to others. 

With hat being said, I'm be back with more before 30 goals later. 

The Tough Journey of Getting A Coffee Table To The Dumpster

If you're looking for celebrity news, I don't have any this time. I'm currently trying to align my energy with the time so my thoughts on rich people's lives can flow easily, make more sense, and be interesting. Oh, and I'll post those at Urban Mag. There are also other great writers on that site who post a whole lot more often than me. Stay updated there. However, if you clicked on the link to be nosy about my personal life struggles, wait no more.

It looked similar to the one in the picture. 

For a minute now I've been wanting to get rid of my nice faux leather coffee table. I purchased it years ago from Rooms To Go. It was nice and could hold everything I needed it to. However, it was goo big. In recent times I needed the space that it was taking up in my living room. I wanted to be able to comfortably do yoga, stretch, and do flips. I also preferred a coffee table that could be easily moved out of the way and it wasn't that. So it had to go. 

On Sunday March 8th I was finally able to get rid of the coffee table, but it wasn't easy. I had to drag it out of the house because it was too heavy for me to pick up. Upon dragging it out, I made it to the front porch, but realized the stairs were getting in the way of my already hard work. I couldn't drag it down some stairs, so someone needed to help me. 

You know how we tell children not to talk to strangers? Well, that also applies to cute women like me. I shouldn't walk up to strangers. I know it. It's dangerous in these apartment streets. However, a girl gots to do what a girl gots to do. I had to find someone. 

Usually there are men outside working on their cars all the time. While working, they blast music to keep themselves entertained. Yeah, none of them were out. I had to a little walking in order to find a man, but I found one and asked. He immediately said yes. He followed me and grabbed up the coffee table. It wasn't too heavy for him. 

Now it is gone. There was no changing my mind. Really there wasn't. People in these streets don't like furniture get taken by trash people. They grab the stuff up and refurnish if they need to. For real, I walked out a little later that day and it wasn't at the dumpster. Someone had taken it. 

Oh yeah, someone once asked me if I had ever had sex on that table. I hadn't, but a new one can always be purchased for that activity. Maybe; if another guy lets me get comfortable enough to invite him over. But that's a post for another time. 

(Short Story) Her New Man

In my short story, "A Night To Remember," Carrie and Darnell meet up for sex even though she knows he has a girlfriend. This new story, Her New Man, is about how they initially met. I might come up with a better title in the future, but for read and let me know what you think. 

Her New Man 

© 2016

Lashuntrice 

“I’m in love,” Carrie excitedly told her friend Chantae over the phone.

She put Chantae on speaker and laid across the couch for more comfort. The initial plan was to tell one of her friends about her new man over drinks at a nice restaurant, but no one could make it. Chante lived in a different state, so the phone conversation was the best they could do.

“WOW, what’s his name and how did you meet him?”

“His name is Chris, or maybe it’s Charlie, or it could be Sam.” She thought about it for a second and laughed a little because not knowing his name was definitely bad. However, she would win her friend’s approval over by describing him. Even if Carrie couldn’t win her approval, she still talk to him as long as possible. “His name doesn’t really matter. I have it saved in my phone as The New Guy, but he fine. He’s worth getting to know. Picture Method Man. My new man looks like him but better.”

She mentally prepared herself for the disapproval that was coming.

“I don’t like him. You don’t know his name. You can’t fall in love with someone whose name you don’t even know.”

“Yes I can,” she replied while smiling. “This one was real romantic. You see we met in a club.  It was free to get in. Some random guy purchased a blue drink for me. I don’t know what it was called, but I ordered it after seeing it being handed to someone else. The guy that ordered the drink didn’t want anything from me. He just purchased, I thanked him, and that was the end of the conversation. That free drink definitely made me feel good about going out alone. I walked throughout the club until I found a real crowded spot where I could blend in. Everyone around me was dancing so it was easy to fall in formation.”

She could picture Chantae on the other side of the phone shaking her head at the story, but she continued.

“I danced for a minute, but then the DJ slowed the music down. It was the first time in at least five years that I was experiencing slow jams in a club. Some of the people in the club were coupled up and others like me were awkwardly alone. That was when he came up behind me. With his right hand he grabbed my right hand and pulled me closer. It was too close for someone that I didn’t know, but Mad Cobra’s Flex had started playing so I couldn’t resist slow grinding on him. As we danced together he whispered the lyrics in my ear. A couple more slow jams were played and then we stopped. That was when I was finally able to turn around and get a good look at him. Even in a dark club I could make out those sexy features. He asked for my number and I gave it to him. Then he called me to make sure it was a right number and that was when I saved it. You know what’s even more cool about this situation?”

“What?” Chantae asked. “Because what I’m hearing so far doesn’t sound like love. Men in the club are looking for a good time.”

“But you’ve never been a fan of partying, so you don’t know what they’re looking for.”

There was a slight noise signaling a text coming through. It read, “Hey, this is Darnell from the club. You busy?”

Carrie's heart fluttered a bit. This was the moment that could possibly lead to a long term love or a short moment of fun. She wasn’t sure, but Darnell was definitely a man she wanted to pursue.

“Chantae  I have to go. His name is Darnell and he just texted me.” Carrie hung up before she could say anything else and started the best text conversation she had since the last guy.

There is this good book on Amazon called Woman Manifested. It's only $3 on Kindle or $12 if you want a paperback to add to your collection. Make sure you click on the link and read all about the book. 

(Untitled) Something I Saw On Twitter

This is not going to be one of those long drawn out blog posts. I currently don't have deep thoughts to drag out. However, I do have a question. Maybe you can answer it. Maybe it is something you for you to think about.

There is this man I follow on Twitter. He's a couple of years older than me, but he's also much more intelligent than some of the men I regular see expressing their opinions. Anyway, every now and then he gets online and tweets a series of either thoughts or questions. Those thoughts range from $200 dates to whatever the latest trending topic is.

However, recently he hopped on and mentioned news of rapes surrounding his alma mater. He graduated from Morehouse and recently a Spelman student announced via Twitter that she was raped by some Morehouse students. You can read about it here. In mentioning the rape allegations, he talked about how he started conversations with different groups of men he's connected with online and offline. He didn't go into detail about what any of the men said, but for some reason he felt the need to apologize to all of the women following his page. Whatever these other men said shocked him.

Now there is not one woman that I know who would argue the fact that a good amount of men have negative thoughts toward us. Some of them believe that from the moment we're born, we are going to grow up to be hoes. Who knows when exactly that age hits that they see us this way, but they do. Some men will see their wife and mother as the only good women walking the earth.

However, there are men who don't think this way. They look for the good in every woman they come across, but they don't believe us women when we tell them some of our horrific experiences in dating.  They don't believe us when we tell them why we are still single, the lack of attention men gave after initially expressing interest, or the ones who only saw us as sex objects and got mad because we wouldn't have sex with them. They don't see any of it until they hear another man actually say it out loud.

So that brings me to wonder, do men have to hear other men speaking about us in the worst ways when it comes to situations such as rape to actually believe that it's bad out here for us women? Okay, this was longer than I intended to make it. I want your thoughts though.

(Short Story) Marry The Pussy

One of my biggest inspirations for creating short stories and poems is using music. The music creates the mood and then the words flow. My latest inspiration came from R. Kelly's song Marry The Pussy. Hence why it's titled that. Enjoy and share others that like to read. 

Marry The Pussy

© 2016

“What?” I attempted to say. He had said something in the middle of strokes. It came out a whisper. I was too caught up in keeping up with his rhythm to catch it. Our eyes connected as he came inside of me. I wanted to move, but he held his position staring at me. What was he looking for? The moment was too intense for me. I’d been fighting those emotional feelings for a while, but he was making it hard to keep the act up. I didn’t want to call what we were doing casual sex. There was nothing casual about the bond we were creating. This fuck buddy situation was different. It wasn’t meant to last, but both of our feelings would be hurt in the end.

He rolled over on his back next to me on the bed and I did something I hated doing to temporary lovers. I rolled over the laid my head on his chest and threw my left leg over his right leg. I could hear his heart beating. We stayed in this position for a while. I think we both took a quick nap. It lasted about 30 minutes. When I woke up, I threw on a shirt and checked the time. He also got dressed, but instead of leaving he headed to my kitchen. I followed. He poured himself a glass of orange juice and then asked that question I had initially missed earlier.

“Will you marry me?”

“What?” I heard him, but was shocked. Before he could speak I asked why.

“We’re not the typical sex buddies, but we don’t know each other well enough to call this love. We haven’t spent the night with each other, haven’t met family or friends. There’s a lot about you that I still have to learn, but this isn’t about any of that. This is a sex proposal.”

“Are you for real?”

“I want to marry you for your pussy,” he said. “I want it to be mines and no one else’s. We can make it happen and then live in sexual bliss for the rest of our lives.”

I thought about it. A picture popped into my mind of us making it official. I imagined the wedding night sex being the best sex we’d have up until that point, finding out I was soon after, and giving him two. Then divorce would come soon after that because he fell in love with this sexual woman, but didn’t recognize the mother of his children. For some people that was their lives, but could it be a life for me?

“Yes,” I said. “I’ll marry you.”

Stay tuned for more and don't forget to purchase my book Woman Manifested on Amazon or Kindle.

"Obama Out"~How President Barack Obama Has Raised The Presidential Bar

We will never ever have another president as epic as President Barack Obama.

In eight years, he has managed to make the economy better than George Bush Jr. left it and stay cool to young and old folks. His cool aura has also changed how current candidates try to gain popularity with young folks; like how they're dancing to Drake songs, playing dominos, showing up to barbershops, talking about hot sauce on urban radio, and focusing their campaigns on the poor urban people. Even more, he ended a speech with "Obama Out" and dropped his mic. It doesn't get any better.

Larry Wilmore went out w/ a bang ☺😨 pic.twitter.com/RzkpI104pm

— theJasmineBRAND.com (@thejasminebrand) May 1, 2016

Lashuntrice Out!