Lets Start The New Year With A Good Story...

Happy 2013!

I know that you have been holding your breath for the release of "Chronicles".  Believe me, I will be the first one to say that its long pass overdue.  Taking some great advice from my friends, I have spent the last few weeks make so major edits so that it is a great book and enjoyable, yet informative for my readers. Though I still have a little more editing work to do, I thought that I would let you read a snippet of one of the short stories in the book.

This piece is the opening portion of the second short story entitled, "Ten to One".  It set in present day where a newly graduated college student attempts to make his way in the world as a gay, Black male all the while trying to "come-out" to his family and solve a murder mystery at the same time.

Enjoy!

K.A.

 

‘You will never be alone in this world as long as you have me in your heart’. It was evening like these

 that though her words resonated in his head; the assassin felt the loneliest.  And while he thought of

these words, he couldn’t help but to notice the bus driver’s look of apprehension as he disembarked

the city bus to survey his new surroundings.  Walking a few steps down the dimly lit avenue, he

noticed a group of men, huddled around a pile of bills.  The early evening was just transitioning into

dusk as the wind whipped at his ears causing the tips to turn red.  The assassin thought back to what

the sterile automated voice said as bus driver pressed the button to close the doors;  “15^th and

Holman Streets.” The sound of dice hitting against pavement brought his attention back to the

present.  Now well aware of the contrast of his pleated, khaki pants, tweed jacket and

backward-turned baseball cap which donned the Greek letters of his college fraternity, with

the neighborhood inhabitant’s baggy shorts, over-sized white tees rounded off with the

multi-colored Timberland boots; which were complimented by the several different shade of

mahogany, chocolate and ebony skin tones; he began to rethink his current excursion. 

Walking past the group, un-noticed, he launched his right hand into his pocket, retrieving a small

yellow Post-It that had on it the address, “1603 Holman Ave.” Stopping at the address just a few

moments later, his mind was flooded with a wave of confusion as he squinted through the dim light to

read the rote iron sign that hung above the gated entrance.  Silently he mouthed its lettering.

“Linden Grove Cemetery?  This can’t be right.”  His voice unexpectedly sounded against the still

of the evening, now a few shades darker than when disembarked the bus.  Apprehensively, he

checked; then rechecked the address that he had penned down the night before.  It was only

after convincing himself that he had not misinterpreted his writing that he stepped toward the entrance

and peered through the opening.  Just beyond the gate, the scent of pear tree blooms that lined both

sides of the cobblestoned drive entrance peppered the air and his stare was met with darkness.  The

slight tussle of the night wind intensified as he began to second-guess the message that he received

last night on his voice mail; the one that commanded that he meet The Voice at this address.  He had

met The Voice several times before, but never in a place as secluded and desolate as this.  Before

entering the graveyard, he turned around to survey both sides of the street to ensure that he was not

being followed. 

Though he had been in many uncomfortable situations in the past, he realized that this was just a little

too suspicious to continue.  Without entering, he turned around and walked away from the

graveyard’s entrance; his steps quickened as he mentally repeated his voice mail from last night.

“I have a lucrative business proposition for you involving a six figure amount. 

Meet me at 1603 Holman St. in Covington this Tuesday at 11:55pm.”

All of a sudden, he felt a painfully sharp blow connect with back of his head and everything went black.

Love vs War (Snapshot of a Novella from "Chronicles")

Here is a little piece of the novella "Love vs War", one of the three chronicles in "Chronicles of a Boy Misunderstood". 

This novella is set during pre "Don't Ask Don't Tell" days, and tells a story of a lonely and confused gay boy from Covington, Ky and how he attempts to leave the confines of his city by joining the Army. Only to find out that his secret love has followed him into the military.

forward

I remembered spending a good part of my high school graduation ceremony looking at my Class
of ‘95 Senior Year Memory book in the hallway of our school’s Science Building.  The hallway
connected to the school’s gymnasium where the ceremony was being held.  Every now and then I
would hear the cheers of the parents of my fellow classmates as they walked across the stage, but
for the most part it was just me and my Memory Book.

When I was done looking over the pictures in the book for the fifth time, I flipped through the
photographs one more time, as if to say good-bye to high school and headed out to wait for my turn
to take that symbolic walk across the stage.  My red and white gowned classmates were sitting
in their assigned seats; the only sound was their names being announced and the claps from the
crowd.  Underneath my own gown, I was wearing my favorite pair of Seven jeans and a blue ruffled
tuxedo shirt that I found at a thrift store just the day before.  Principal Howard was dressed like one
of those people who received honorary degrees from colleges and stood un-phased by being the
center of attention as he called out the next student’s name.  Wanting to just leave, I shuffled to
my seat towards the back of the gymnasium by the entrance and thought of better things that I
could have been doing.  I glanced up to find my mom and dad sitting in the gymnasium bleachers
and saw that they had seen me just walk in.  I could tell from my mom’s scowl that the only thing she
had in her head wishing that I did not embarrass her. 

It was then I saw Chase for the first time that night.  His name was just called for him to receive his
diploma and he was about to walk past my row to return to his seat. He was dolling out high five’s
to his fellow basketball team-mates as he walked down the aisle.  He had a slight smirk on his
dimpled face; too cool to really smile, but far too popular of a kid to get away with being
stone-faced after just receiving his high school diploma.  It didn’t take long for Chase to notice me
staring at him.  The moment his eyes met mine I thought of the other night when we were
parked in a secluded area in his beat-up Dodge Ram pick-up truck in Devou Park overlooking
the Ohio River, our hands traveling frantically over each other’s body as though we were late for
class. I waved at him.  Chase let his gaze linger for a moment and then turned and walked past. 
I guess that was a sign to just fuck-off. 

I drove home with my parents afterwards.  In the back seat, my window down and my red tassel
danced from the wind.  The Boys II Men song “End of the Road” filled the inside of the car from
the radio, but outside, the night sang with freedom.  We moved unnoticed through town, first past
the gas station and the Family Dollar store which both lined Madison Avenue and then traveled over
the 15^th street viaduct in to the West side of Covington.  I felt like a stranger in my own hometown,
wanting to get out.

A Litte Bit About The Author K. A. Simpson

Raised in the inner city of Covington, KY, K. A. Simpson has long been a lover of downtown Cincinnati. Moving back to the Greater Cincinnati area in 2001, after a four year career as a Korean Linguist in the US Army, K. A. affixed his sights on completing his degree in Economics from the University of Cincinnati to accompany his degree in Korean Studies.

Currently, K. A. has become a serial entrepeneur; being owner of and Lead principle at BookMark! Online, a small business which offers resume and cover letter writing service along with other professional writing services such as business plan writing services.   In addition, K.A. is part owner of StayCate which introduces the real culture being created in Cincinnati's Downtown neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine by offering discounted, celebrity level Cincinnati travel packages that start with a one night stay in a 4-star hotel and can range up to an entire seven day get-away.

 

K. A. is a published author and possesses close to ten years experience in resume/cover letter evaluation; both as a professional hiring manager and supervisor.   has been published in several print journals including The Covingtonian, The Anchor (Northern Kentucky University's Black Faculty/Staff annual publication) and Northern Kentucky Encyclopedia.

Presentation Experience Includes:

"Getting Along In The Workplace" (2012), “This Ain’t Your Daddy’s Business Plan” (2011). “The Margaret Garner Story and Cincinnati” - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007), “Information Access: African American Students Capitalizing on the Changes in Academic Libraries” - KY Association of Blacks in Higher Education State Conference (2006), "Workplace Etiquette " Cin-Ham County Community Action Agency (2012), "Infill/Refill: Capturing Oppurtunity While Managing Change" 2012 Rail-Volution Conference

Other groups include: Beckfield College, Gateway Community College, General Public, Holmes Alternative School, Kenton County Public Library staff, Two Rivers Elementary School and the Urban Learning Center.

Welcome to the blog of the work in progress "Chronicles of a Boy Misunderstood" written by Kareem Simpson.

This book is a series of three "chronicles". There are three fiction "chronicles" all depicting the struggles that some gay African American men face or have faced living here in America.

I have had some trouble in editing and publishing the book because of the subject matter. In many cases publishers / editors have had difficulties dealing with the aforementioned subject matter because it deals with African American male homosexuality coupled with inter0racial relationships.

What complicates things is that this book transcends generations; depicting inter-racial homosexuality during the late 1800's as well as in present time.

I am currently attenpting to get this project is funded through KickStarter and if funded I will have the freedom of hiring an established editor and continue the self publishing of this piece so that I will not be persuaded to change the societal and historic relevance of the piece which makes it unique.

Take a look at the video that I have posted for the piece and if you believe in its messege, please donate to make sure that this project becomes a reality.