So I just got out of the hospital. My heart again. How many times is this now since 2005? Too many to count. All I know is that it's viral, whatever this thing is that keeps fluid building up around my heart and in my lungs. And something about a leaky valve. I'm on a cocktail of meds for the rest of my life, that's the deal. So hard to function during the day when I feel so comatose.
And now I have even more medical bills, since I no longer have health insurance, and I now more than ever could use Nick Cannon's help. If I can just get his attention so that he can see how talented I am. Oh, to have a job writing and creating. To be able to work without stress...
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Excerpt: K My Name Is Kendra
I've been meaning to post excerpts of my work. This one comes from my new young adult novel K My Name Is Kendra, which is being published by Lightning Source later this year:
Meisha gets quiet again, and then she finally asks about Uncle C.J., which I figured she would get around to doing sooner or later.“Has he been by lately?” she asks as she digs around in her purse. I get the feeling she doesn’t really need anything in there. That she just really wants to hear about him, but she’s playing it off like it’s a casual question.
“We don’t see him too much,” I say, trying to think of a way to change the subject because I don’t want to talk about my uncle right now. And I definitely don’t want to think about what happened the last time I saw him a few months ago.
He had come into town to do some pre-game interviews one Saturday and had stopped by the house early that morning to invite my father to go with him. Daddy was so excited that he didn’t even answer his brother, but he was upstairs and in the shower within seconds. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him move so fast in my life.
Mama was out grocery shopping that morning, Jada had gone to a slumber party the night before, and Philip had gone to watch Aris scrimmage with the All-City high school football team, so it was just me and Uncle C.J. in the living room once Daddy went upstairs. He sat down on the couch beside me and started asking me how school was and what my favorite subjects were. He wanted to know if I had any hobbies and what I liked to do for fun. After I answered all his questions, he told me how much of a young lady I had become since he last saw me, which had to have been about three years ago, I think, because Mama always seemed to have something to do outside the house whenever he called to say he was in town and wanted to visit with us, and she always took me and Jada with her. Then he asked me if I had a boyfriend and I told him I didn’t—that Mama was not having that. He laughed and said that with a body like mine, Mama was right to keep boys from around me. Something about the way his eyes dropped to my chest and then down to my hips made me really uncomfortable. I was glad I could use the excuse that I had to get dressed to meet up with Nita. I got out of there quick and fast.
“But he does come around sometimes?” Meisha presses.“Every now and then,” I say. I figure she must really miss him, so I promise to call her the next time he stops by.
She nods and then stares off into the distance like she’s lost in a memory, probably thinking about all the fun she used to have with Uncle C.J. I promise myself right then and there that I’ll never tell her about that day three months ago. Especially the part about him popping into my room a few minutes after I had left him sitting downstairs on the couch. He had claimed that he’d come up to see what was taking my father so long, and that it’d been so long since he’d been in the house he grew up in that he’d made a wrong turn at the top of the stairs. But the way he looked me up and down as I stood in the middle of my room in my bra and panties told me he was no different than the boys Mama was trying to keep from coming around me. Then he had called me babygirl and asked me if I wanted to hang out with him some time. Stupid me said okay, because I just wanted him to leave.
He had stepped into the room instead, though, closing the door behind him softly as he mumbled something about giving me a hug because it would probably be a while before we would actually see each other again. I remember trembling as he held me because it just didn’t feel right. He didn’t do anything nasty to me. But he did hold me too close for too long, and his hands moved over my bare skin in too many different directions for an uncle hugging his not-even-sixteen-year-old niece, especially when she’s not dressed in anything more than a bra and panties.
We both heard the shower in Daddy’s bathroom shut off down the hall, and that’s when Uncle C.J. pulled away. He gave me a soft kiss on the cheek, put his finger to his lips as if to tell me we had some secret to keep, and then he was gone.
I’m not sure why, but I cried for half an hour behind that. I never told anyone about it.
end excerpt
Meisha gets quiet again, and then she finally asks about Uncle C.J., which I figured she would get around to doing sooner or later.“Has he been by lately?” she asks as she digs around in her purse. I get the feeling she doesn’t really need anything in there. That she just really wants to hear about him, but she’s playing it off like it’s a casual question.
“We don’t see him too much,” I say, trying to think of a way to change the subject because I don’t want to talk about my uncle right now. And I definitely don’t want to think about what happened the last time I saw him a few months ago.
He had come into town to do some pre-game interviews one Saturday and had stopped by the house early that morning to invite my father to go with him. Daddy was so excited that he didn’t even answer his brother, but he was upstairs and in the shower within seconds. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him move so fast in my life.
Mama was out grocery shopping that morning, Jada had gone to a slumber party the night before, and Philip had gone to watch Aris scrimmage with the All-City high school football team, so it was just me and Uncle C.J. in the living room once Daddy went upstairs. He sat down on the couch beside me and started asking me how school was and what my favorite subjects were. He wanted to know if I had any hobbies and what I liked to do for fun. After I answered all his questions, he told me how much of a young lady I had become since he last saw me, which had to have been about three years ago, I think, because Mama always seemed to have something to do outside the house whenever he called to say he was in town and wanted to visit with us, and she always took me and Jada with her. Then he asked me if I had a boyfriend and I told him I didn’t—that Mama was not having that. He laughed and said that with a body like mine, Mama was right to keep boys from around me. Something about the way his eyes dropped to my chest and then down to my hips made me really uncomfortable. I was glad I could use the excuse that I had to get dressed to meet up with Nita. I got out of there quick and fast.
“But he does come around sometimes?” Meisha presses.“Every now and then,” I say. I figure she must really miss him, so I promise to call her the next time he stops by.
She nods and then stares off into the distance like she’s lost in a memory, probably thinking about all the fun she used to have with Uncle C.J. I promise myself right then and there that I’ll never tell her about that day three months ago. Especially the part about him popping into my room a few minutes after I had left him sitting downstairs on the couch. He had claimed that he’d come up to see what was taking my father so long, and that it’d been so long since he’d been in the house he grew up in that he’d made a wrong turn at the top of the stairs. But the way he looked me up and down as I stood in the middle of my room in my bra and panties told me he was no different than the boys Mama was trying to keep from coming around me. Then he had called me babygirl and asked me if I wanted to hang out with him some time. Stupid me said okay, because I just wanted him to leave.
He had stepped into the room instead, though, closing the door behind him softly as he mumbled something about giving me a hug because it would probably be a while before we would actually see each other again. I remember trembling as he held me because it just didn’t feel right. He didn’t do anything nasty to me. But he did hold me too close for too long, and his hands moved over my bare skin in too many different directions for an uncle hugging his not-even-sixteen-year-old niece, especially when she’s not dressed in anything more than a bra and panties.
We both heard the shower in Daddy’s bathroom shut off down the hall, and that’s when Uncle C.J. pulled away. He gave me a soft kiss on the cheek, put his finger to his lips as if to tell me we had some secret to keep, and then he was gone.
I’m not sure why, but I cried for half an hour behind that. I never told anyone about it.
end excerpt
Thursday, August 19, 2010
How I Love (and Miss) the Mic
Big Rawle asked me to come into the studio this past weekend. I sang a hook on one of his debut joints. Talented guy.
Made me reminisce on how much I love to sing, especially in the studio where I can be edited. Singing a capella is a beautiful thing, but most of us vocalists need to be smoothed out here and there, which is why I love the studio so much. If I had my way, I'd spend my days writing and singing...writing and singing...writing and singing...
Made me reminisce on how much I love to sing, especially in the studio where I can be edited. Singing a capella is a beautiful thing, but most of us vocalists need to be smoothed out here and there, which is why I love the studio so much. If I had my way, I'd spend my days writing and singing...writing and singing...writing and singing...
On Hold..Again
So Nikki Hesse (of 92.3NOW) tells me that Nick's pitchline segment might come up again in a week or two. Maybe, when it does, they'll remember that I went that extra mile to get my pitch to them even when their voicemail box was full. I might have to step up my game even further. Gotta be careful, though. There's that fine line between getting someone's attention and being stalkerish, and I'm not trying to be branded as the latter.
Meanwhile, I'm still preparing for the oh-so-official release of my young adult novel K My Name Is Kendra. It was released with very limited distribution earlier this year, but the cover is soon to be re-done and the distribution will be global, so I'm looking forward to modest success with it. Planning the release party and a school tour even as we speak. Should be fun!
Random thought: wonder if Nick would be interested in Kendra for TeenNick? Hm...if I ever get his ear, you know I'll pitch it!
Meanwhile, I'm still preparing for the oh-so-official release of my young adult novel K My Name Is Kendra. It was released with very limited distribution earlier this year, but the cover is soon to be re-done and the distribution will be global, so I'm looking forward to modest success with it. Planning the release party and a school tour even as we speak. Should be fun!
Random thought: wonder if Nick would be interested in Kendra for TeenNick? Hm...if I ever get his ear, you know I'll pitch it!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Dear Nick, Here's My Pitch
And it really is 30 seconds if you read it kinda fast and don't pause too long between sentences. I timed it. Seriously.
So here goes:
This is Kamichi Jackson, I'm an author, and I'd like to pitch a live-action movie idea and book series called HyperLinc. It's the story of a 13-year-old African American boy named Lincoln J. Battle who suddenly develops the ability to leap through cyberspace and time after he is struck by lightning one day. In each installment of the story, he must use his streetsmarts and the things he's learned in the classroom to determine where he is in history/time, and solve mysteries that could threaten the course of history. It's a sort of Quantum Leap meets National Treasure meets The Famous Jett Jackson in that it's both fun and educational (read: kids will be learning without even realizing it).
P.S. And don't even get me started on the gaming possibilities for a character like this!
Not Giving Up on the 30-Second Pitch
So I called Nick's pitch line Friday only to find that his voicemail box was full. The funny thing is that I was actually surprised at this! As if a bunch of other people aren't dying to get Nick's attention as much as I am.
For a hot milli-second(sp?), I thought about giving up. And then I decided against it. Nikki (Nick's on-air partner) told me to try and stand out with my pitch. So I ordered a half dozen balloons and am having them delivered to the show Monday morning. I tweeted Nikki about this. Looks like she's got my back:
For a hot milli-second(sp?), I thought about giving up. And then I decided against it. Nikki (Nick's on-air partner) told me to try and stand out with my pitch. So I ordered a half dozen balloons and am having them delivered to the show Monday morning. I tweeted Nikki about this. Looks like she's got my back:
Cool chick.
Friday, July 30, 2010
The 30-Second Pitch
It's been a long time since I posted anything here. In fact, I'd given up on reaching Nick with my ideas for Nickelodeon and Ncredible Entertainment.
And then I found out about the 30-second pitch line he set up.
So now I'm putting my little elevator speech together. Thirty seconds to try and hook him on the idea of HyperLinc, the movie idea I have for Nickelodeon. The pressure is on. This is my shot.
Post to you later after it's done.
And then I found out about the 30-second pitch line he set up.
So now I'm putting my little elevator speech together. Thirty seconds to try and hook him on the idea of HyperLinc, the movie idea I have for Nickelodeon. The pressure is on. This is my shot.
Post to you later after it's done.
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