Okay...I'm trying my best to sit patiently as I wait for word about my first book, Menzuo in the Calling of the Sun Prince. The book has been submitted to a publishing company for review and if it is accepted, my life will be changed forever.
My life would change, not because of the money that the book might bring but for the mission that I have set for myself since I wrote the book.
The book “Menzuo in the Calling of the Sun Prince” was created in 1996 at the Baystate Children’s Hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts. My best friend, Marcus McDowell, was diagnosed with cancer in January of that same year. While Marcus was in the hospital, I visited him daily and on many occasions. I often slept in his hospital room just to make him feel a little better about fighting his battle.
During the time that I spent in the hospital with Marcus, we kept ourselves occupied with one of our favorite pastimes, writing and drawing. Marcus imagined several characters while I created stories about them. One particular character that we created stood out the most, that special one was Menzuo. With several characters and stories written, we had no clue of what to do with them. Unfortunately before something was figured out, Marcus passed away. In just eleven months of his diagnosis, his battle ended.
Two months after his passing and while dealing with a personal battle of depression because of such a great loss, I met with his parents. During this meeting Douglas Skinner, Marcus’ father, gave me some of his son’s artwork. He told me he knew that I would find a way to use them. Still, I had no idea that each of these characters would become a part of what is now my Menzuo ~ Solar Warriors series.
With my first story, I wanted to honor Marcus because I missed him so much. I wanted him to live on. An idea came to mind and I created a character that would help Menzuo throughout his life as the universal protector. That character would always be with Menzuo in each story.
Many people have read my first book and they have quickly fallen in love with each of my characters. They have also learned about the impact that Marcus McDowell has had on my life.
In Menzuo in the Calling of the Sun Prince, the reader’s quickly come to see that the main character, Jammal Hall a.k.a. Menzuo, is Keshawn and Solar, is Marcus. This tribute of bringing Solar into the story was a way for me to always stay connected to such a great friend.
Now, as I move forward to reaching my goal to become a motivational speaker and strong advocate for eduacation, I have been honored with the opportunity to work with and inspire some great minds who have joined me on this journey. When the first book came about, I was approached by some good friends who wanted to take the book to another level. They wanted to enhance the artwork that Marcus did and bring the characters to life in each story. So, I first hooked up with my good friend Kein Bailey who created the Artwork for my second book, Menzuo S.W. (Solar Warriors) Legend of the Blue Diamond. His work is phenominal and it has been an honor to be with a person who can see my vision.
In the past couple of years, I was introduced to another artist who shares my same passion (It's funny how God brings people into your life). I was introduced to Carl Harrison and from the second that we spoke, we were on the same wavelength. As he sat in my office, he asked me to describe one of my characters. It took me about 15 seconds to explain what Menzuo looks like and his super powers. In that same time, Carl created a sketch on my character. I was blown away. It didn't take me long to know that we were meant to work together as well.
If you want to see what Carl Harrison is doing now, just go to houseofcarl.blogspot.com. You can view a 3 second clip of an animated Menzuo on his blog.
From this point on, I have two phenominal artist who share my same vision to help educate our youth and also to bring the Menzuo ~ Solar Warriors series to the next level. With us three working together, we have created "Team Menzuo" and the journey is a very long and hopefully prosperous one.
As an advocate for education, I have used my two published books to read to students in schools, libraries and community centers in many different cities. I also have the opportunity to inspire the youth the get involved with their creative side by showing off my artists artwork.
These opportunities that I have been given to reach out to young children have completely changed my life. The best thing that I get to do is to tell the story about my best friend Marcus. My story proves to people that they can overcome any adversity in life and that they can still strive for greatness. The key is to believe and to always reach for the stars.
