Friday, July 29, 2011

Chapter 1 ~ His Arrival - Exerpt #1

April 16, 1990 was the day that he was found on the doorstep of an orphanage in Seattle, Washington. Ms. Susan Meeks opened the door that afternoon and noticed him wrapped in a bundle of towels, lying comfortably in a basket with a note attached to it. She picked it up and read it to herself. It stated:

To Whom It May Concern:

Please take good care of my son Jammal. He is very special to me and he will be as special to your world. He is very exceptional and is only looking to be raised like any normal child would want to be. I hope that whoever he is with on this planet, will love and care for him like he deserves. Also, please be very careful with who he comes in contact with. If the wrong people come into his life while he is not prepared, it could be very bad for him and for your world. So once again, be very careful with whoever comes into his life. Thank you and take good care of Jammal.
P.S. Do not remove his necklace. It is the key to his future.

The letter wasn’t signed by anyone. Ms. Meeks balled it up and shoved it into her pocket. She shook her head. “That was a very strange letter. I wonder what it’s all about?” she said to herself as she looked down at the baby. She took a deep breath. “Hmm, special huh, I wonder what’s so special about you?”

Jammal looked at her with a bright smile. Ms. Meeks couldn’t resist the fact that he was such a beautiful baby. She quickly picked him up and smiled back. As soon as she did, Jammal’s mouth opened as wide as it could get and without warning, he spit up all over her blouse.

“Goodness gracious little man, you can really pack a lot of food in you!”

Jammal started to laugh as Ms. Meeks quickly took him inside of the orphanage.

She walked into the lobby, holding the new baby. She was now ready to introduce him to the rest of the kids. “Hey everyone, I have someone that I would like you to meet,” all of the children quickly turned and noticed the baby in Ms. Meeks hands. “Say hello to, little Jammal.”

The kids jumped up and quickly ran over to them. One little girl looked into his eyes. “Ooh, he’s so small and cute.”

“Yeah, he looks like a Teddy bear,” another kid said.

Jammal was a hit at the orphanage. All of the kids instantly fell in love with him, and so did Ms. Meeks.
After all of the introductions were complete, Ms. Meeks took Jammal into a bedroom that was close to hers. This room was empty and only occupied by infants. Since Jammal was the only one in the orphanage, the entire room was his. As she walked into the room, she gently placed him inside of the crib. “Okay honey, you’ll be just fine in here. I have to go to my office for a minute. I’ll be right back okay?” she said with a smile on her face. Jammal lay quietly in the crib as she walked out of the room and into her office just a few feet away.

Ms. Meeks quickly placed a folder onto her desk and put ‘New Child’ papers in it. As soon as she placed the pen onto the paper, every space on the forms were quickly filled in. Her eyes popped out as she looked the papers over in shock. The baby’s birth date was marked April 16, 1990 and only his first name was written on the top of the page. In every other space where specific answers were needed were the words, ‘Not Available.’

Ms. Meeks couldn’t believe what she was looking at. She continuously looked over the papers, she shook her head in disbelief. “I must be dreaming. This couldn’t have happened,” she said to herself. After a few minutes of looking over the papers, she took a deep breath to gather herself and closed the folder. Ms. Meeks thought about the time of day. She must have been very tired. That was the only explanation that she could come up with that would make any sense of what she just witnessed. Confused and thinking that she was seriously overworked, Ms. Meeks slowly got up and walked back to the room that she placed Jammal in.
As the orphanage had finally quieted down for the evening, Ms. Meeks knew that this would be the perfect opportunity for her to get acquainted with her new resident. As soon as she looked into the crib, she noticed Jammal smiling back at her. “Aw, aren’t you just the sweetest thing. Every time you look at me, you smile. It just makes me want to pick you up and hug you so tight, but I won’t even dare do that because you might just make another mess on me.”

As she continued to look at this beautiful baby, she noticed the necklace that was around his neck. It was a black leather rope with a shiny stone hanging from it in the shape of a teardrop. She studied it for a while and suddenly remembered the letter that she shoved into her pocket. She quickly pulled it out and read it again. The last part of the letter really grabbed her attention. “P.S. Do not remove his necklace. It is the key to his future.”

She was very curious but also confused by that part of the letter. She looked back at Jammal as he lay calm in the crib. “What does that mean, the key to your future?”

Ms. Meeks couldn’t help herself. She had to know what was so important with this baby’s necklace. She slowly reached for it. As she did, the stone started to get brighter. She didn’t know what was happening, so she pulled her hand away. The light in the stone slowly faded. “What in the world was that?” she said as she focused on it again.

She wanted to figure out what was happening, so this time, she quickly reached for the stone and touched it. As soon as she made contact with it, the stone lit up again and got very hot, burning the palm of her hand. Ms. Meeks quickly jumped back releasing the stone as quickly as she could. “Ow! Ouch!” she shouted as she started to blow on her hand to cool it off. “That was hot!”

The light in the stone started to get brighter as she waved her hand trying to rid it of the pain. The light quickly brightened the room, making Ms. Meeks forget about being burned. Many different colors started to flash off of the ceiling. As the light dimmed, a face appeared just above the crib. The eyes from the face were looking directly at Ms. Meeks.

“Hello young lady of Earth,” the face spoke in a very deep voice. “I am Menzuo’s father, Zenshuo. I am the king of planet Yardania. We are a friendly planet and we are the protectors of all existing planets within our universe.”

Ms. Meeks was frozen in place as she looked at king Zenshuo’s face, floating over the crib. Not one word could make it out of her mouth. As her legs grew weak, she quickly sat down in a chair next to the crib, never taking her eyes off of the king.

King Zenshuo spoke again as he noticed the shock that was clearly showing her face. “Do not worry young lady. I am not here to harm you. I am here to tell you why I need your help.”

Ms. Meeks, still not able to speak, worked up just enough nerve to nod, letting king Zenshuo know that she was paying attention.

The king continued. “My son, Menzuo has been sent to planet Earth to protect it from an evil Pirate Warrior that has been sent there to take it over and enslave the entire human race.”

Upon hearing that, Ms. Meeks finally was able to break her silence. “So…so how is he supposed to protect Earth? He’s just a baby?”

“I understand that,” king Zenshuo said with confidence. “You all are not in any immediate danger. The Pirate Warrior cannot take over Earth until Menzuo is destroyed.”

Ms. Meeks was now afraid for this baby’s life. “I cannot let anything happen to him. It would truly break my heart is someone or something hurt this child. I couldn’t live with myself.”

“Menzuo cannot be found as of yet. When I sent him to Earth, I placed a protective force-field around him that will last until his age of destiny, which is twelve Earth years.

“His age of destiny, what is that?” Ms. Meeks said still in a state of confusion.

“At the age of twelve, Menzuo will have the honor of fighting for Earth’s safety. By his twelfth birthday, he will be fully ready to take on this task, and hopefully he will succeed. If he does, he will be Earth’s true protector.”

Ms. Meeks started to rub her head, hoping to clear her mind as she looked up as king Zenshuo. “So, what does all of this have to do with me?”

He looked at her very seriously. “What I need from you is to make sure that Menzuo lives a normal life on planet Earth. He cannot know anything about where he is from or what his destiny is until the time is right. If he finds out anything about his true identity, my protective barrier will be broken and all of the evil that is on your planet will find him and make sure that he never breathes again.”

Ms. Meeks mouth dropped to the floor. “Well that’s just great news for me to know. I have a little superhero that some evil Pirate Warriors from outer space want to destroy. My life can’t get any better than this,” she placed her hands onto her temples and shook her head. “And what am I supposed to do, beat these things up and save the world until this baby is old enough to do it for me?” she said sarcastically.

Keeping the serious look on his face, king Zenshuo answered her. “No not at all. From this point on, Menzuo will be under your careful eyes. You will be able to watch him wherever he goes.”

She looked around the room then back up at king Zenshuo with a very unsure expression. “Um, you may not know this, but this is an orphanage. I can’t do anything if he’s adopted. How am I going to be able to watch him then?”

King Zenshuo looked down into the crib. “Inside of Menzuo’s blanket, you will find a bracelet. With that bracelet, you will be able to stay connected with Menzuo without anyone knowing, not even him. When you place this onto your arm, you will be able to contact him where ever he may be.”

Ms. Meeks stood from the seat and looked into the crib. Jammal was lying as calm as ever as she reached down into his blanket. She pulled the bracelet out and slipped it over her hand and onto her wrist. As she did, it quickly adjusted to her size and fit comfortably. “Wow!” she said as she noticed a picture of Jammal’s face appear on the top of it. The picture slowly faded.

King Zenshuo smiled. “Thank you young lady if Earth. I know that I can trust you with my son’s safety. I believe that you are the right person for Menzuo to talk to when times get rough. Do not worry, from this point on, I will make sure that you will be forever protected and cared for.”

Ms. Meeks looked at king Zenshuo without blinking. She still couldn’t believe what was happening to her. “Is…is there anything else that I should be aware of?” she said with a stutter.

“Yes there is,” king Zenshuo said in a soft tone. “In a short time, Menzuo’s protector will be joining him.”

“But how will I know who it is?” she said as she raised her shoulders.

“You will know, young lady of Earth. You will know,” king Zenshuo’s face slowly faded from the ceiling. As it did, the light that accompanied it, faded as well.

Ms. Meeks heart was racing as she looked down into the crib. “Boy oh boy, what in the world did you just get me into?” she fell back into the chair still dazed and confused. All of the excitement slowly made her fall asleep. She needed the rest.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Future of th Menzuo S.W. Series

Today has been a very productive day so far. I met with some very influential business men and they are helping me build my Menzuo S.W. Franchise. I sat with these two gentlemen for an hour and they explained to me the importance of branding and how I need to strategically build my following for my books. Their ideas and suggestions were great, but the one thing that I learned from that meeting was the value of practicing patience.

I have a very good book out for children, Menzuo in the Calling of the Sun Prince, I have sold just over 3,200 copies of this one book but for me to make the series have the staying power that I want it to have, I need to promote this book to the masses. This is where the strategic business plan comes into play.

I will be working on this plan to strategically market my Menzuo ~ Solar Warrior’s series, not only locally but globally. The best thing about what I am doing, I have all of the tangibles in place. My online presence is strong, my ability to be able to speak and read in schools, community centers and Libraries is continuous and the strength of my marketing is growing.

I have been doing everything on my own for several years and I felt like I was just spinning my wheels but to finally have a strategic plan set in place to help me brand my series is a great feeling to have. I feel that taking a step back and analyzing my future will be a benefit for me and also for my followers of the series.

I will be breaking down my Menzuo S.W. Franchise in several ways, from the books, educational games, all the way to marketing strategies across the country and the world. My goal is to make Menzuo a household name and to make my writing my career. The continued support that I have garnered so far has been great and I will continue to grow upon my support with my first book and the rest of the Menzuo S.W. series.

Please continue to follow my journey on my website: www.menzuo.com. You can also find me on twitter at: www.twitter.com/kingsmenent2. I am also on facebook: www.facebook.com/keshawndodds. Thank you for your support and please continue to spread the word about Menzuo. Word of mouth is the best way to reach the masses.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Who's On My Side? The Story of Kalen Brown

Introduction



The front door was locked and the music was still blaring from inside of the house. It was loud enough to muffle the sounds of violence that carried on.

As the fighting continued, Kalen was thrown into the stereo. With the violent crash, the speakers disconnected, right in the middle of James Brown, hollering passionately through his song.

The screaming voices inside, the echoes of breaking glass and tossed furniture carried into the street. People throughout the neighborhood quickly gathered in front of the house, curious about the commotion.

Jesse was outside of the house, banging on the door, praying for Kalen to open it. “Open up! I called the police, Mr. Brown! Stop this madness, now!” Jesse’s plea went unheard. The fighting continued.

“I hate you!” Kalen shouted as blood ran from his mouth and nose. “I freakin’ hate you!”

Michael, wiped his son’s blood from his own chin as he staggered, trying to regain his balance. “So these are the balls that you have been hiding? Finally trying to be a man, c’mon you lil’ punk! If you’re ready to be a man, then I’ll gladly introduce you to manhood.”

Mr. Brown charged towards his bloodied son and tackled him over the couch. As he tried his best to kick his father off of him, Mr. Brown reached over to the corner, where his liquor bottle was lying and grabbed hold of it. He held Kalen down by the neck then smashed the bottle over Kalen’s forehead.

Kalen closed his eyes as the alcohol sprayed across his face. Michael finally let go of his motionless son’s.

Michael spit in Kalen’s face, adding insult to injury. “You’re still a lil’ punk! Who taught you how to fight?”

As Michael stumbled to his feet, Kalen slowly found enough strength to open his eyes. His adrenaline was still running through his body as he quickly kicked Michael in the groin.

“I’m no punk!” he shouted as his father toppled over, holding himself. Kalen crawled to his knees. He helped himself up to his feet with the edge of the couch. As blood poured over his eyes, he gathered as much energy as he could and kicked his father violently in the stomach.

Over and over, Kalen continued to kick Michel until he threw up the liquor that was in his system. “Who’s the punk now? Huh, who’s the punk now?”

As Mr. Brown lay in his vomit, moaning, Kalen staggered over to the stairs. Michael slowly pulled his head up off of the floor and pushed himself onto one knee. “What? You had enough? Can’t handle a little discipline, punk boy?”

Without answering his father, Kalen noticed the gun that was once on the speaker was now lying on the floor in front of the steps. He quickly picked it up and turned it towards Michael, with his heart pounding faster than ever.

Kalen’s vision was very blurry from all of the blood that had poured into his eyes. He took his shirt off and wiped some of it away. “Get up!” he shouted angrily.

As Michael looked over at his son, he noticed the gun in his hand. “Ha, ha, ha, ha! What the hell do you think you’re gonna do with that?” he said as he sat on his knees.

“I said, get the hell up!” Kalen shouted again.

Mr. Brown wiped the dripping vomit from his mouth with the back of his hand. Holding tightly to the couch, he pulled himself to his feet. “You’re gonna shoot me?” he said as he staggered back into the wall. He held his arms out as if he was placed upon the cross, like Jesus. “Go ahead, lil’ punk boy, you don’t have the heart.”

Kalen wiped the blood from his face again. He looked down and noticed a piece of a broken mirror between his feet. Tears built up in his eyes as he looked back at his father. “Look what you did to me! How could you do this to your son?”

“Oh, shut that crap up,” Michael shouted, withholding all sympathy. “I’m teaching you how to be a man.”

“No! No! This is not how you teach your son to be a man! You’re trying to kill me. You’ve been trying to kill me since the first time you hit me! That’s all you’re doing to me,” Kalen answered with the gun shaking in his hand. “But you’re not gonna do that to me. You’re not going to hurt me anymore.”

Mr. Brown’s eyebrows rose. “Oh really, so you really think you can end my life?”

“Without a doubt, I’m not dealing with this anymore. You’ve killed two people meant a lot to me and you tried to kill me. You’re going to pay for this!”

Mr. Brown’s face completely sunk as he stood in silence. He noticed his reflection in the window on his left side. As he paused, looking at himself, all thoughts of his depressing life started to build within his soul. He started to see himself as the devil that he had become. He fell to his knees and shook his head, finally feeling sorry for himself. His emotions completely took over his mind and he really didn’t want to live anymore. “Go ahead then. Pull the trigger. I don’t deserve to live anyway.”

Still shaking with the gun in his hand, Kalen slowly walked over to his father. “No more! No more!” he shouted and placed the barrel of the gun onto his father’s forehead.

As the people in the neighborhood crowded the house, they noticed that the fighting had stopped. Sharee made it up to the steps. “What’s happening, Jesse?”

“It’s not good. Kalen and his dad have been fighting in there. It’s really bad. I think Michael is going to kill him.”

Sharee shouted at the crowd of people. “Somebody call the cops! Call the cops, now!”

“I…I already did and they aren’t here yet.”

As all of the fighting stopped, Jesse turned back to the door and banged violently once again. “Open the door! Kalen, open the door!” he shouted as he continued.

Sharee banged as well. “Someone help us, please help!” she shouted to the crowd. Still, no one moved an inch.

As the police pulled up to the house, Jesse and Sharee were still trying to get Kalen to open the door. All of the fighting stopped and they couldn’t tell what was going on. Sharee turned around and noticed the officers getting out of their car, very slowly.

“Will you two hurry up! He’s killing his son!” she shouted.

“Now, now, young lady, tell me what’s going on.” one of the officers said.

As Jesse turned around to address the police, his comment was quickly interrupted.

BANG!

The sound of a single gunshot rang from inside of the house, dispersing the crowd.

The officers pulled out their guns. “Move away from the house! MOVE NOW!” One of the officers shouted as he pointed at the front door.

“No! Kalen, NO!” Jesse screamed as he slowly backed away from the front door.

Sharee backed away with her eyes wide open. She stumbled down the stairs and sat down on the grass in complete fear. “No, please Lord, no! Don’t take Kalen from me. Please don’t take him away.”

There is a story that led up to the breaking point between a son and his father. During the course of Kalen’s young life and up to that point, the actions that took place on that night allowed him see who was really on his side.

It all started when Kalen’s mother died. He was only eight years old when he moved back to Springfield, MA from Hampton, VA to live with his father. His parents had separated while he was still a baby and it had never been explained to him as to why. His mother had custody of him and Kalen never saw his father for the first eight years of his life. He barely knew this man but had love in his heart for him and wanted to call Michael, daddy.

Michael Brown was a smooth looking man, in his mid thirties. He had chocolate brown skin that sat on a six foot athletic build frame with an afro to match. His brown eyes were flattering to the ladies and his smile was just as daunting. Michael was confident and it showed in his presence when Kalen met him for the first time when he finally came to Springfield.

Kalen was driven up to Springfield, Massachusetts with his DSS worker. He had no other family to depend on and was really nervous to start a new life with his father but had no choice but to accept his new future.

At eight years old, Kalen was a healthy brown skin, short haired, happy-go-lucky kid. Even after the death of the only parent that he knew, people were surprised to see that he never lost his smile. That smile was something that everyone said that he got from his mother. Kalen loved hearing that because even though she was gone, he still loved her dearly.

When Kalen was introduced to his father for the first time, he extended his hand to shake Michael’s and looked into his eyes. Kalen quickly noticed that Michael’s eyes were similar to his and his face resembled him as well. Kalen thought that he was looking at an older version of himself and he liked it.

Without hesitation or any words said, Michael pushed Kalen’s hand away and gave him a loving hug.

Kalen’s heart was put at ease in that first meeting and he was hoping that his life with Michael, his father was always going to be that great.

 
The first few months were perfect in Springfield. The city was bustling with life. Springfield, Massachusetts was known as the city of homes and the birthplace of basketball. Basketball was a great way for people to pass the time and stay active. It seemed like everyone had a basketball hoop in their yard and for Kalen, his father, Michael Brown’s house, was no exception to that rule. They had a nice new hoop in their yard and it was used daily.

During that time, Kalen and his father bonded like they had never been apart. Michael took his son fishing, to the park and everywhere else a kid would want to go. Kalen still missed his mother, but felt safe and loved with his father.

Soon after the honeymoon phase of this union was over, things between Kalen and Michael took a drastic turn for the worse, in what seemed like a blink of an eye.

It all started on a sunny day in August of 1995…

Friday, July 15, 2011

Re-Release of Menzuo S.W. Legend of the Blue Diamond

It has been six years since I published “Menzuo S.W. (Solar Warrior’s) Legend of the Blue Diamond,” but as time has passed and so many people wondering whatever happened to Menzuo and his gang of universal protectors, I am proud to say that they are back and the wait is over. The re-release of book #2 in the series will catapult the stories into another level of excitement for my followers and readers. Also, the wait for Book #3 and the rest of the series will not be too long as they are complete and in the process of being edited!

With the dedicated work of my illustrator, Carl Harrison, who revitalized the Menzuo series with is dynamic artwork that was shown in the re-release of “Menzuo in the Calling of the Sun Prince,” Carl has stepped his game up and surpassed all expectations of what we will see in book #2. I am so proud that the series will continue because it is near and dear to my heart and the purpose of each story is not only about Menzuo’s journey, but also about the journey that it has created for all of its readers. Menzuo does not fail to grab your attention and will keep you wanting more as he battles the evil forces, known as the Pirate Warrior’s, from planet Excervo.

In “Menzuo S.W. Legend of the Blue Diamond,” Jammal Hall, aka Menzuo, has come to grips with the fact that he is not from planet Earth and his purpose in life is to be the universal protector. He must defend all planets from evil, and he is now ready to continue his preparation to become the true universal protector. Menzuo will continue to train under Master Renzfly, with his protector, Solar, right by his side.

As Menzuo tries his best to get himself ready for the unexpected battles that will surely come, a mysterious messenger from the outer realm of our universe interrupts his progress and begs for Menzuo’s help to save his home planet of Bralose from a new and more powerful Pirate Warrior that has been released into the universe, from planet Excervo. As this universes protector, Menzuo does not hesitate to uphold his duties and heads off of planet Earth, out to the outer realm.

Many unexpected changes occur as Menzuo quickly finds out that he is not prepared to face this Pirate Warrior, known as Hydrosion. The weight of his battle against Hydrosion yields Menzuo to see that not all battles can be won alone. This realization brings the dawn of a group of unexpected warrior’s that will be known as the Solar Warrior’s.

Now with the Solar Warrior’s by his side, how will Menzuo gain the confidence and strength that will be needed to defeat the Pirate Warrior, Hydrosion? With journeys into the unknown and many new people to meet along the way, only time will tell what the outcome will be when Menzuo faces an enemy that is set on destroying him and every planet in his way.

There you have it. Menzuo S.W. Legend of the Blue Diamond is here and back with a vengeance. I hope that you all are ready for this ride because it is one exciting journey. For more information on this book and other books within the Menzuo S.W. Series, please visit: www.menzuo.com. All books can be ordered right from the website.

In just a couple of days, a PayPal button will be set up on the Menzuo S.W. website that will allow you to get your pre-ordered copy of the book. With all preordered copies of the book, $.50 from each book will go directly to the American Cancer Society. My goal is to sell 2,000 pre-ordered copies of the book to donate $1,000.00 for the American Cancer Society. Let’s make this goal a reality.