life of a street dancer

No one saw it coming. I woke up and it was the first thing I saw. I just kept saying, “What? What?” It took me a while to process it. I have nothing but respect for Chadwick Boseman. His grace and class especially with what he was going through. It's just amazing. I remember when Black Panther came out and just the excitement. We were getting a Marvel movie for the culture. Do you know how deep that is? Like I never thought I would see it. I took myself to the cinema because everyone was being long and the guy at the cinema upgraded my ticket for free and gave me free snacks. I remember he said, “Sis, you're gonna love it.” And I did. It was everything I wanted and more. Then the fact it's one of the top 10 highest  grossing movies EVER. We all wanted it to win an Oscar. On some level we knew it wouldn't  - come on we know how the Oscar's role but it should have. My 30th birthday was a Black Panther theme and it was the best party.  When the film came out, I read th...

Next week we will be in 2020. How crazy is that? I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Mine was good. I got stuck doing the cooking again! But there was no arguing so a success! It's always so strange that gap between Christmas and New Years because I feel like there's all this stuff I want to do before the year is up and yet just chilling out has been the best. This break has been so overdue and I am really loving just moving at this glacier speed. I told myself I would have finished my new book by the end of the year...yeah I love how ambitious I am! I haven't worked on it since I've had my break. I just clocked this morning that my third book is out in just over 9 months. Why that gives me anxiety I have no idea! I am debating whether to have a book launch party. I just don't know if I can be asked to organise it. Next year is already looking full on. Grrrr I just need another me really. I was thinking about my highlights for the year and one of them was de...

It is so freakin' cold! My feet are literally frozen even when I'm in my house. As soon as the heating goes off, I feel like they're ice blocks. Well guys we're almost at the end of the year. The end of a decade. I swear if I told myself back in 2010 that this is what would happen to my life I legit would have said, “Are you on crack?” But look at God! And I can't wait for next year. My third book is coming out and I just can't wait to hold it. I was doing some more edits on it yesterday and I am determined to get through it before the year is up. In preparation for book 3 I was thinking about the original Emily book and I decided it's time to let that go. I adore my first cover by Giles but the second edition is the one I need to focus on, plus I was still using the ebook from the original. I'm so grateful for that book cause that literally started everything but it just makes more sense for it to be under Hashtag. An ebook for book 1 will be availab...

The Lion King was EVERYTHING!!!! I swear me and Ebz were acting like we were in a sing along, a talk along, laughing too damn loud. It's visually such a gorgeous film  and there are a few different lines but it's still the same movie. I wish Rafiki was more fresh though. He was a bit more turnt in the animation and I wonder why Whoopi Goldberg didn't do the hyena's voice. Timon and Pumba are even funnier in this one. Ebz: Oh my gosh, Timon is you! (To be fair everything Timon said was defo something I would say) Me: Does that make you Pumba? We stayed to the end because you know that Marvel has programmed us to think that there is a bonus part. There isn't but the soundtrack is live! We were getting side eyes from the stewards but we didn't care. Hakuna Matata. This is the look of a woman who's officially in Leo season. It''s my birthday in 7 days. Let bear month begin :) The Open Pitch Day at Hashtag BLAK was ...interesting. First of all...

One word. Homecoming. Everyone that knows me knows that I'm obsessed with Beyonce. I just love her work ethic and that she commits 100% to whatever she does AND does it well. I saw online about her Netflix film and please believe, my break from work was re-living Beychella. Just the energy I needed for my day. I love that she dropped it around this years Coachella  - just to remind people how sick she was. But what I really love is how she is showing the world black culture and in it's best light. It just reminded me how far we've come but also how much harder we have to work to be seen in the best light. It just pushes me to do better. Speaking of culture, there's a whole situation with UK YA authors and white authors trying to write stories using Black and Asian people's cultures. Listen it's 2019. How are people still confused about this? Stop trying to make money from other people's cultures! Black people have dealt with this for years but what I was ...

Spring is finally here. I got to leave the house today to finally watch Captain Marvel (how cute was that Stan Lee tribute?) and I didn't have a scarf or my fur on! It's been a very full on month. I finished my forth book!! AHHHHH!! When I typed the last sentence on my third Emily Knight book, I burst out crying and then I started dancing. Writing a book is so damn long. This has taken me over a year and sure right now it's un-printable but in a few months, it's going to be ready. I truly hate the editing process and the re-writes so pray for me. In a few weeks I'm going to start on my fifth novel. Can you believe that? Fifth! It's a book I started a few years ago but I don't know whether to make it YA or Middle-Grade. With the submissions of Beats, all these editors are like where's Abi's MG novels? I just can't with publishing. You write MG then they want YA as there isn't enough but now there's too much. Over it. I do so much better...

If you are reading this that means that you survived January! CONGRATULATIONS!!! Isn't it just the worst month? It's dark, cold, everyone is broke and it drags on for years. Even those born in January are annoyed because no-one can celebrate with them. So glad it's over! I started 2019 with visuals from Chocolate City Comics. Isn't the Osaki Training School beautiful? Found out some months afterwards that the company is ran by a scam artist who I had to sue BUT the artwork is lovely! Silver lining and all that. I am about five chapters away from the end of Emily Knight 3. I have no idea why it is taking me so long to do but it is driving me slightly insane. I hate when you know how close you are to the end but yet you are not at the end!!  I went to Waterstones and saw my book on the shelf and one of the staff asked me to sign it. I was so cool but inside I was like AAAAHHH!!  We ran our first event for The Author School and did a #Bookstagram cla...

                Emily Knight I am...Awakened is nominated for a Carnegie Medal! AHHHHHH!! Do you know what's so crazy? The Saturday before I got the email, I was feeling so low. I just felt like I wanted more and was writing down ideas for things I could do to build my brand etc and trying to find time that I don't have to do more. Then the Monday comes and I got an email saying I've been nominated. It's such an amazing feeling to have my Emily alongside some of my fav authors and books. Our little pub house hanging with the big dogs! Being nominated has definitely opened up more doors for me, I even had a massive literary agent from NYC approach me. I'm signed already but it was extremely flattering. Now my dance book is making the rounds and when I found out how many publishers have shown interest. At first I was like girl you're lying, is this real? But then later that evening it hit me and I just started crying. Then I got foreign rights agen...

It's Black History Month and it is freezing cold. I ordered my fur coat ASAP. I was so lucky that my cousin hooked me up with a weekend packed with The Hate U Give. I read THUG last year. I remember seeing it in Waterstones and picking it up because I saw a picture of a black girl on the cover. When I read the title I was like, didn't Tupac say this? I then read the blurb and literally was in shock that this Black Lives Matter book was in Waterstones ( as it should be but it's not something you see every day). I sat down and read it up to Khalil and the policeman. I couldn't get over the fact that this book had been published by a big publishing house. I brought it straight away and finished reading it the next day. It is one of my favourite books so when Toyin told me she was working the BFI London Fim Festival and THUG was going to be shown and did I want to see an exclusive screening, all I could say was Girl!!!!!! Then she upped it by getting me tickets to hear Ang...