"Comin' From the Land of Snow" - Prince's Autobiography

After publishing my blog entry on Wednesday, I was wondering if I'd find another topic for the week. Well, ask and you shall receive.

Prince just announced that he will publish his memoir in fall 2017.

I received this news at 4 a.m. in this morning. Of course my first response was to freak out, cry and send a frantic e-mail to the professor who helped me with the book. I wondered, "Does this mean I should quit?"

However, after receiving some wonderful encouragement, I'm OK. So, in the spirit of thinking positive, here is why I will keep going:

1. Prince's publishers, Spiegel & Grau, mentioned that the memoir would be "unconventional" and "poetic." So it's likely that our books will be different, especially given that I am focusing solely on his spiritual journey.


2. People write books on artists all the time--even if the artists have autobiographies. It's not the end of the world.


3. I can use this as an opportunity to push myself and finish the book before his comes out. I still have time. So, it's time to get back on a schedule. 

I am so grateful to have a few people who lift me up during times like these--especially people following my journey online. Here is a snippet of a nice message that I received from someone on Facebook:

"I don't think you should give up....I will buy your book....Your book is a fresh perspective: spirituality. Prince has leaned on his beliefs throughout his career to explain his talents and success. Deep exploration will be fascinating." 

"Rich on Personality" - Creating My Brand

I will not fail my 52-blog challenge! Due to my crazy, busy life, I didn't blog last week, but I am still on track! I mentioned earlier that if I missed a week of blogging, I would make up for it with two blogs the following week. So, here is one blog of two for the week!

I am always thinking of ways to improve the blog. Lately I've been trying to figure out how to make a name for myself. I want to become well-known as a respected writer. As I gain "fans," I increase the chances of getting new views on apurpledayindecember.com. Here is what I have done to reach my goal:

1) I created a Facebook page. Facebook's advertising platform is so sophisticated. I'm looking forward to building an audience and creating campaigns to drive them to the blog.

2) I got a full-time journalism job. At the end of March I will start a new job as an assistant editor at an arts and entertainment publication! This will only help my credibility as a writer.

3) I created a YouTube channel. My videos primarily showcase my opinion on new R&B and soul music. However, I hope that the audience will take me seriously as a music critic and therefore take an interest in my blog. Here is a little peek into the video series:



What album should I review next?

"Another 300 Melodies" - Unreleased Prince Music & Other Projects

What a week! I started an exciting new music journalism project (more info to come), and I came down with a terrible cold. In fact, I'm still sick, so this will be a short blog entry.

Lately I've been thinking about Prince's "vault," or vast collection of unreleased songs, albums, videos and other projects. The vault is legendary, and many fans are hoping that he will begin to share some of this material as part of his new partnership with Warner Bros. 

I often wonder if I should analyze music from the vault, but I'm sticking to my decision to leave it alone. After all, the material is not readily available, and getting the material from a bootlegger would be illegal. Other biographers have heard the songs, but I don't want to simply use their analyses and "water down" my book.

However, I am interested in some projects that were released but are just rare. One example is the ballet featuring Prince's music. Additionally, I keep hearing about documentaries that were made about Prince. I have to find out if they were official or unofficial...

Well, I need to go take some Nyquil. Be back next week!

What is your favorite unreleased Prince project?