What do Leo Tolstoy, HG Wells, Ernest Hemingway, Alexander Dumas, Stephen King, Agatha Christie, and Margaret Atwood all have in common?
They released one or more seminal works as serialized novels.
As I write this blog post, the world is currently being ravaged by a worldwide pandemic, the stock market is crashing, and the country is being led by an idiot. I know that last sentence sounds like the opening of a Stephen King novel, but I assure you, it’s not. It’s the real-life we’re all living right now.
If you’re reading this blog post months, or even years from now, first, congratulations on surviving. Second, I hope that you can look back on this time and laugh.
If you’re reading this blog post and you’re still in the middle of this sh*t show, well, hopefully, I can help make you laugh now.
Table of Contents
Scared sh*tless
When I first set out on this journey, the plan was to have the book “officially” published before the next presidential election. Even though I believe the content is evergreen and will be relevant and (hopefully) funny for all time to come, there is no denying that the current times make it particularly germane now. As it turns out, it can take quite a bit of time to find a literary agent and get a book published. Go figure. (I’m just kidding. I know it takes time. A fella can dream can’t he?)
Anyhoo, in light of our current times, and because I am further reminded that life is too short, I decided to release the book now. I have to admit, it kinda scares the sh*t out of me. There is stuff in this memoir that is very personal, even embarrassing. If I got a lit agent and a publisher, any embarrassment would be offset by the fact I got a book deal. There would be a certain level of justification to everything I wrote.
But doing it this way is much scarier. Just sharing it online now without a 5-figure, or even a 1-figure book deal means that all the crap I lay bare in this book may serve no other purpose than to profoundly embarrass me.
Eh. Who the f* cares. The world is probably ending anyway. So, knock yourselves out.
Get notified of chapter releases
There are three ways to stay notified and get new chapters as they are released online.
- The stupid way: Manually check back on the Table of Contents page to see when new chapter links are added.
- A smarter way: I will be cross-publishing the book to Medium. Go to the Dungeons ‘n’ Durags Medium Publication and click the follow button. If you have the Medium app, you can read it on the go. (I guess technically you could do that with this blog too.)
- The smartest way: Sign up for the email newsletter, and not only will you get notifications of chapter releases, but you’ll get early access to future chapters. I also plan to share insights into the writing of each chapter (e.g. the inspiration, little known facts, lessons learned, etc.)
Share the love
I would be remiss not to ask that if you like what you read, please share it. Share it on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Make a Tiktok about it. When you’re at lunch or dinner with your friends (assuming restaurants are reopened and/or the 6-foot social distancing rules have been lifted) tell them to go check out dndbook.com.
Also, I’d love to know what you think about it. Email me and let me know.
Thank you
Last and certainly not least, I want to thank those of you who have been with me on this journey. Those of you who read the manuscript and provided feedback. Those of you who lived with me as I wrote it. And those of you who helped inspire the words that make up this crazy experiment. You all know who you are, but in particular, I have to send a shout out to Stephen, Lisa, JD, Yolanda, and Mystère. Thank you for inspiring, encouraging, and believing in me.
“Dungeons ‘n’ Durags” is the true story of how a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot of a president and the inanity of duped evangelicals led one of the “whitest” and nerdiest black men on the planet to wake up, find his blackness, and lose all inhibitions at dropping the f-bomb. It’s an emotionally moving, politically poignant, and often hysterically funny coming-of-age story. Except the age is 50.
Sign up for the email list to be alerted when the book officially launches.
Also published on Medium.