I sat down to my computer this morning after having had a tummy-filling green smoothie. As I am want to do, I tuned into my go to classical music FM station in order to suffuse the room with snooty background tunes as I type.

 

But instead of playing what generous subscribers pay to hear, the station host launched into a reading written by an effete intellectual who penned a reflection on a famous opera singer. The reading, done in the host's best ASMR-inducing voice, was riddled with otherworldly adjectives, such as "ethereal," "cerebral," "transcendental", and so on.

 

Not that I mind listening to discourse that works the less used muscles of my brain, but what struck me about this was the lengths to which the reading went; only an elite patron of the esoteric arts could keep up. It brought to mind, "I may not know art, but I know what I like," since I was familiar with the singer and enjoyed his voice.

 

So being the occasional snarky soul that I am, I questioned why it was necessary to employ such arcane, dare I say, highbrow, efforts at language to set one apart from the great unwashed. After all, the subject was the gifted talent of an opera virtuoso; but given the lofty verse of the reading, one would think we were appraising Jesus himself on the stage of the Met singing La donna e mobile from Verdi's Rigoletto. And even I would think a similar review of him could be overdone.

 

I wondered. Is the language of the elite in place to maintain some lordly impenetrable status reserved for but a few of the culturally enlightened? Or could it simply be verbal masturbation, an effort to make one feel supremely satisfied with how well he or she comprehends such supercilious prattle?

 

Whatever the reason, my advice to the proud is simple: Lighten up. Subscribers give donations to hear classical music, good jazz, and even listen to Garrison Keillor read poetry. (Or so I hope.) As for me, I still enjoy my public radio station; and if I want to have my mind boggled by cryptic over-the-top artsy-fartsy drivel, I can always enroll in a college psychology class.

Okay. It's decision time. I tell people that I'm a writer. I'm also a firearms instructor. I manage a household with a husband and family, including grand children. I love it all, but writing is my passion.

Perhaps I am here to convince myself that I should hone my focus and set myself up as a full time writer. And you know what? I am being swayed by my own argument, so I will go after my passion and goals: To become published in the interracial romance and women's fiction that focuses on women of color who have a lot to lose, but win in the end.

My one lament is that mainstream agents and publishers are still not up to speed on representing/publishing interracial ("IR") fiction. The reasons? I've heard that mainstream professionals do not believe IR fiction sells as well as white heroine centered regency, historical, contemporary, etc.

With the majority of readers being college educated, professional, African-American women, I believe the mainstream publishing industry is missing out on a huge under tapped market. Nevertheless, the readers are there; why not offer what they wish to read? It is not as if there aren't enough authors. Seems from a business standpoint that it would be well worth the risk to step out of the box and pro-actively go after writers of color to fill the increasing demand of minority readership.

So this is my decision: I will fulfill the desires of readers and get my stories into their hands. All I need is an agent and/or publisher who believes that I will be an asset to their career; and I will not quit until I do.

Almost a year? WTF? All right, I admit, there was a lot on my life's plate. Getting my fantasy trilogy completed and edited; a resurgence of the breast cancer that spread to the bone (bummer!), which had me working on health issues. Fear not. I feel fine.

 

I finally acquired my AR-15 rifle (I'm so covetous), and I did spend more time target practicing, with my pistol, something I find highly therapeutic. Most of all, I have decided to spend more time and effort at writing this blog. I tweeted that I have a lot to say, and I'm going to say it, damn it!

 

The state of affairs in society (as I see it) will be a source of material. I plan on commenting on what I see as trends in romance. And just wait until you read what I have to write about the cancer industry in this country.

 

Hope no one minds what will be my unabashed opinions. While there is still freedom of speech, I intend to exploit it. (Mwah-ha-ha.)