Oh shit, just a reminder. At the 2005 Harlem book Fair I'm gonna be giving away a few Deathless tee shirts just like this. I'm trying to be that dude right now and when you see me, HOLLA! Because I might toss you one... Everyone show mad respect to my negro by default the white man with the plan Michael Glowik who created the clothing line... He's gonna be one of those non natives in Harlem but he's really on some Bill Clinton shit. If this was the 60's he'd be getting spit on with Martin Luther, I'm serious people, it's that REAL!!! 

Book one of the Diamond Series the soon to be classic Diamond Drought. Peep within the jacket of this book and see how I hold the whole current hip hop community down. And I angered a lot of older negro dames with my foul language... like they aint at the club on some Stella shit doing the twist to some Lox or 50 Cent shit...! FUCK THEM I SAY...! LONG LIVE URBAN FICTION... TILL THE CASKET...  

It is here!!! Book 2 of the Diamond Series, DIAMOND DYNASTY!!! 

HooDLuM August 2005!!!

Hoodlum is coming your way August 2005. I just finished the damn thing and it's bananas!!! Kwan has done his job extremely well and if you loved Street Dreams and realize the Classic Gangsta and my favorite the slept on Road Dawgz... then you need to save up those pennies...

DEATHLESS article by Brandon McCalla

This is an article from the pages of i.b Concept magazine, written by your friendly neigh... you know the rest...

DEATHLESS
By Brandon McCalla
An important man asked Jesus, “Good teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?”
Jesus said, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. Do you know the commandments: ‘Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Respect your father and mother.’”
He told Jesus, “I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man.”
When Jesus heard this, he said, “There is one thing you still need to do. Go and sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower.”
When the man heard this, he was sad, because he was very rich. Jesus saw how sad the man was. So he said, “It’s terribly hard for rich people to enter God’s kingdom! In fact, it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God’s kingdom.”
When the crowd heard this, they asked, “How can anyone ever be saved?”
Jesus replied, “There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything.”
Peter said, “Remember, we left everything to be your followers Jesus!”
Jesus answered, “You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or wife or brother or family or children because of God’s kingdom will be given much more in this life. And in the future world they will have eternal life.” Luke 18:18-30

Eternal life is what Deathless is all about. It’s more than just garments to be worn upon your physical shell. It’ about the soul and the spirit, it’s about that sacrifice for eternal life and what some people do for it without seeking the glory of immortality.
Thus I bring you to Mike Glowik the founder of Deathless clothing. Mike stressed me not to include his name in this article because he feels that the man who symbolizes the movement of Deathless is by far more important and sacrificed so much that all of us pale in comparison. But alas readers I must let you know something about the man behind the clothing. Mike began his working life in the music industry doing recording engineering and music production for many artist, Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, and the Notorious B.I.G. just to name a few.
When the internet first began brewing into the communication/media monster that it has become Mike saw the endless possibilities and grasped the moment. He purchased an Apple computer and hastily taught himself programming and web designing. He worked at various startups including About.com which during its heyday was the number 5 largest property on the web. Years later Mike traveled the world, including and most importantly throughout India… this is where the true story of Deathless beings…
While in India Mike met with a number of spiritual masters including Vimala Thakar, Ramesh Balsekar and Anjali, but what really had the deepest impact on him was visiting the ancient holy mountain, Arunachala. Staying at its foot he explored the places where the great sage Ramana once lived… They say he still resides there even after his flesh has left our realm of existence, in spirit, in astral, in a deathless state… immortal.
Ramana, at the time of his death in 1950 was attracting seekers from all over the globe. Word spread of his wisdom and of the overwhelming loving energy that emanated from him. There were many claims that he appeared to people thousands of miles away even though he never traveled more than a few miles from Arunachala. There is a scientific term for this, astral projection. There were also claims of spontaneous healings and of lives radically changed as a result of being in his powerful presence. His message was simple and his teaching direct. He promoted no religions, he started no cults, he asked for nothing from anyone (in fact his only possession was a piece of cloth used for his clothing even though a large community with many buildings grew up around him) he simply pointed the way back to our spiritual essence, to the absolute within each of us - that which is Deathless.

Deathless is an evolutionary/revolutionary lifestyle company inspired by Ramana, which designs clothing at present. But that’s not where the story ends for nothing truly ends things just change in perception and form but we are forever and will always remain… plans are underway for Deathless brand accessories like iPod cases and cell phone covers in the near term and video games, books and movies to follow.

The Deathless logo is a drawing of Ramana sitting in meditation. Peep the picture of me with my homie Ramana. If he was physical he would have rocked a du-rag just like me. Unlike the vast majority of companies out there, the Deathless logo actually has some significance beyond simply being an eye catching way to get you to spend your money. They aim to publicize Ramana, who remains virtually unknown to the general public but whom they feel can offer a new perspective to both the religious and shall we say, the not so religious alike. Deathless believe the only way to change the world is to change ourselves first and as part of their mission, they are giving away a portion of they dough they make to charity wherever they do business. They also believe in a conscientious brand of capitalism and share a philosophical kinship with such companies as American Apparel, Ben & Jerry’s. You get the gist right. This ain’t no Sean John shit. $40 bucks for a Vote or Die tee shirt and baby Bush still got in office and Puffy is still making the fucking band!
If you guys don’t know me by now you should. I’m Brandon McCalla author of your favorite hip-hop soap opera the Diamond Series and I wear Deathless like it’s my very own epidermis. I like rocking cloths for a reason not just for what I see on those music videos. Ramana is that dude and Mike Glowik has brought his kind hearted soul to our attention. Support this and remember where you heard it first, i.b. Concept magazine. And bare in mind that though we do perish and pass through the veil… we also remain within the minds of those who loved us and those who hated… we must make a difference while our physical shells permit it and pay homage not to ourselves but to our fellow man and then and only then will we even come close to a dude like Ramana… only then will we truly be eternal. Not many of us deserve to have our faces on an article of clothing but those of us that do… well you know, those of us that do remain Deathless…

Your friendly neighborhood author Brandon McCalla holding Road Dawgz (Kwan) and Diamond Drought, rocking a Deathless Tee shirt... Check out the aritcle on the newly sprung clothing line...! UNO. 

Super Author Killa Kwan at a signing holding his complete deck of cards...! Holla at him, he's local!!!

The official website is underway...!

Yeah, yeah I know. You guys have been waiting for this for many a damn day now but fret not it is right around the corner. Literary Hood is about to have its internet grand opening. But you guys know your friendly neighborhood author Brandon McCalla knows how to treat his neighbors, exactly, you guys want this shit popping way before the cork is pulled out of the bottle... I'm here to keep my hood well supplied and the only drought we should have is Diamond Drought book 1 of the Diamond Series...
THUS HERE IT IS, LITERARY HOOD COLUMN'S SECOND INSTALLMENT WHICH HAS THE INCREDIBLE KWAN INTERVIEW (brought to you by me, of course and i.b. Concept Magazine)...

Literary Hood
Columnist Brandon McCalla

See that title above me readers. I felt it was only fitting to put a nice word in front of my government name. But in retrospect I’m here to keep you informed on what’s going down in my literary neighborhood and nothing more. See, the definition of columnist simply means a writer in a publication, such as a newspaper or magazine but my Literary Hood column is more than a mere column since I am more than a mere writer. i.b. Concept magazine allows me to run rampant and give me more page space to write than the average magazine would dare to. Perhaps because I bang on desks and make obscene phone calls to Dean (one of the ceo’s at i.b. C) to assure they don’t besmirch what I post up with those fucked up edits most publication editors situate. Editors generally imbed their own thoughts within the things we write and a lot of what we write wind up on the cutting room floor. For instance see how I aimlessly curse in text, this is the way I fucking talk people and thus this is what you get when you read Literary Hood. They never snippet my creative flux. None of this is getting tossed in the waste basket.
But enough about me, whoa…! Hold up DIAMOND DYNASTY book two of the Diamond series is in stores as you read this and on www.amazon.com so buy that shit. Now that that’s all said and done let me give you the low down on i.b. Concept’s second installment of Literary Hood. Please divert your attention from the lovely chocolate and light skinned dames for but a mere moment (if you’re a fast reader).
I got super author Kwan Foye in my hood. Kwan the author of the bestsellers Gangsta, Road Dawgz, Street Dreams and his next swashbuckler Hoodlum which should be hitting the shelves in a massive way August 2005 (it’s right around the corner).
I met up with Kwan in Harlem, New York to do an exclusive interview for my column; we had a photo shoot with a new clothing line called Deathless and decided to do the interview directly after that. Originally we were scheduled to take the photos at a Walden’s book store in Brooklyn, New York but upon discussion we chose to do the shoot at Hue man’s book store in Harlem since it was closer and we were lazy. The shoot went well, Kwan had his lovely daughter with him and she partook in the festivities and stole the show since she was more photogenic than her father and I. After the shoot we hustled further within the bowels of Harlem, dropped his baby boo off at her mother’s and went to Kwan’s bachelor pad where we lit some green stuff, puffed, guzzled beer and did the interview.
The ever welcoming stench of the greenery lingered and eased both of us since it was a hectic day. Endorsing a clothing line aint an easy thing, taking pictures with various attire and those pesky photographers trying to persuade a nigga to smile (I don’t smile, I only smirk and grimace). So I pressed the record button on my little digital audio recorder, took a deep breath. Kwan had just split another Dutch Master; he took a deep breath of his own. He said, “Try not to misquote me like some journalists have done.” with a shrewd face.
I assured him that would never happen, “Nigga this is i.b. Concept. We don’t do such things.”
He still gave me the ice grill. But then he passed the spliff. I took a long pull. The interview commenced with the billowing of the smoke…
B: First off son, I don’t see to many street books in hardcover that deserve it. I saw Gangsta at some book store during one of my book signings in hardcover…
K: You saw a hardcover of Gangsta, you lying…
B: Naw, I aint lying. I saw it and was like whoa…!
K: I gotta track that down, I saw a hardcover of Street Dreams at Creative Impressions (bookstore) in Jersey but I never saw Gangsta.
B: Speaking of Street Dreams that’s your first major publishing house book. You took the big leap from minor publishing to a major publishing house. You were once on Triple Crown Publications but now you’re on St. Martin’s press. What’s the difference between the minor and major publishing houses?
K: The major houses give you a bigger money advance, they give you more exposure and they market more because they have the money to do that. I had more control over at Triple Crown but St. Martin’s want exactly what I’ve been giving the masses to begin with, gutter. St. Martin’s want hood books from me, they want ghetto but they want tighter work. The only thing I really bumped heads with them about was titles, but they didn’t get overbearing about it.
B: Give me more depth on the difference in control between the minor and major houses.
K: Well Triple Crown published what I gave them. But with St. Martin’s you know they made suggestions. Like in the beginning it was like, well you gonna do this like this and you gonna change this… I was like hey, this is how I write, I don’t dictate how the story is gonna come out, the story dictates how the story is gonna come out, I’m just a medium for which to get the story from my brain to the readers.
B: So did they want you to tone your shit down.
K: Naw, they wanted it just as raw as I always give it but they want their stories tighter. I think every publishing house has their own curriculum on how tight they want their stores. What you can get away with on one publishing house you might not be able to get away with on another. The only real problem I had with them was with changing titles.
B: I know we spoke about what the original title of Hoodlum was and how Hoodlum became Hoodlum. But let’s move on buddy. You are in that elite group of urban authors who transgressed from the minor to the major leagues, who else has done it and who as fast as you?
K: You got Shannon Holmes on Atira I think. St. Martin’s snatched up my dawg Mark Anthony and Tracy Brown. Who else…
B: I think Danielle Santiago is on S&S now, right? I know I’m just on some business shit right now but Literary Hood is about everything but most of the authors I interview just give me generic answers and you’re giving me the type of interview I prefer.
K: I just say what’s on my mind dawg, I aint gonna give you a generic answer about anything.
B: That’s what’s up. I hate that beating around the bush shit. And on that note let me just say this. I have the utmost respect for you and your writing abilities but to be honest a lot of the other urban authors are wack! I’m just gotta keep it real, there are only a few of us who can be considered accomplished writers in the proper term of the word. You are one of them and you deserve all the success that you’ve acquired but some are bestsellers and are terrible writers.
K: I’m a meat and potatoes writer. I’m a man’s writer. I know what you’re talking about dawg, we don’t even gotta go further than that. The majority of the readers are women so you gotta keep that in mind, but I just write from my mind.
B: True. But most aren’t text book writers nor had any formal training and its not like you need formal training but I think a few need to sharpen their swords or pens but you don’t and I know I don’t but what do you think. Damn you said don’t go any further right, well what type of books do you read?
K: Street lit but I also read Horror.
B: Yeah me to and I write it. A lot of people don’t know this but you write horror yourself and do a fucking really good job of it. I gotta say this though Street Dreams is like the best written and edited street book to date. Why did Street Dreams come out so damn fine combed and sharp?
K: Thanks. With a smaller house, a reader reads it and the publisher goes through it, and that’s that. But at the major house, you got like an editor then a secondary and third editor. And they keep sending you the manuscript back and forth like six or seven times. They take more time with your work thus your shit comes out more polished.
B: True.
K: What did you think about Road Dawgz editing?
B: Well, I read all your books nigga and I must admit Road Dawgz is like the best TCP book to date when it comes to editing and story situation.
K: I had an outside editor do Road Dawgz.
B: Ahhh, Yo Kwan you aint above killing off your main characters.
K: I smash shit when I write. Killing off a lead character is like a slap in the face because you get too love the character and then I just dead them. Plus in life there aint always a happy ending…
…Yo readers I could go on and on. We were conversing for about two hours at least. Eventually I just stopped taping and we just continued to vibe. We started talking about the book groupie situation. I’m gonna leave our comments for another date. I’m gonna do an exclusive Literary Hood column on book groupies giving you the inside scoop on how the women show their devotion to their favorite male authors, and on their stalking antics.
I just wanted you to see how focused Kwan is in this little snippet of the interview and you are gonna get the raw synopsis of his soon to be released title Hoodlum in the column’s Words of Art along with Mo Shines Brazen. The Hoodlum cover is bananas! I love covers with just type, it shows a level of class and puts you within the ranks of a Stephen King, Danielle Steele or a Janet Evanovich (obviously I read abroad).
i.b. Concept’s next issue and the next Literary Hood column will have an in-depth interview with bestselling author Mark Anthony. He has his own publishing company Q-boro Books and we’re gonna get the low on what he’s been up to since Paper Chasers and Dogism. Hopefully we will get that interview with KaShamba Williams, both of our schedules are crazy right now and she has like a hundred thousand books out…! But I think we will meet in the middle of the road somewhere between now and the next issue, let’s hope so.
Denise Campbell’s MAN KILLER will get spot light book status in the Words of Art segment next issue and you’ll get a sneak peek at my very own Diamond Dynasty… hurray! Does the name Deborah Smith ring a bell…? Yes, no, well you will know all about her in the next issue of i.b. Concept and she sent me a nice picture of her showing legs… that’s what I’m talking about.
As I end this portion of the column (see it’s so big I can use a word like portion) let me not even begin to inform you people about how horrible this literary business can be at times. Diamond Dynasty should have been on the shelves since January and now it’s scheduled for release in April and it aint even being promoted yet. Guess what boys and girls, ahh you guys are so bright. You guessed it before I could even get it out, that’s right boys and girls… it’s time for me to get my hustle on.
Now like Mr. Rodger’s used to, I grab my sweater and hat, sing the outré of the Please won’t you be my Neighbor song and bounce. That or ask you to get off my block. Aint enough room for all of us here and Kwan’s about to drop Hoodlum soon so all of us had better hustle hard till then. When Kwan opens up even crack cocaine takes a loss.
Uno…