The Irrésistible Ebook Revolution

Time was when self-published books were a sure sign of amateur night at the Apollo. Suspect, like if the book was any good, a major publisher would’ve put it out. Nowadays? Sun, it’s 2010. The Internet’s changed the equation, like it has on so many other fronts. In the age of Kanye West doling out free music on the web every Good Friday, and Beck re-recording The Velvet Underground & Nicoon his site just for kicks, folks distribute art live, direct and on a whim. No middle man. Which brings us to Irrésistible.

I finished the first draft 15 years ago in London. The novel tracks a young DJ caught in a groove between two lovers who… wait:

“College DJ Kit Jackson mixes his way through the golden age of hiphop culture in a romantic triangle that transports him from the tenements of The Bronx to Paris, Madrid, and beyond. Torn between two study-abroad students, Kit discovers the dangers of taking love for granted and the importance of knowing what—and who—you really want in a relationship. Kit’s erotic adventure centers on Solange (an aspiring singer in Paris) and Charlene (a sorority girl in Spain), with the sights and sounds of classic NYC nightlife circa 1989-95 as an electrifying urban backdrop. Like Woody Allen raised on Def Jam Recordings, Irrésistible tracks the allure of unrequited love during hiphop’s heyday with an international flair.”

Old Rap Pages editor Allen S. Gordon serialized Irrésistible over three issues in the mid-90s, and Carol Taylor published a chapter in her 2005 erotica collection, Wanderlust: Erotic Travel Tales. (Thanks, guys.) In the scheme of my own little literary career to date, Irrésistible had become my personal little unreleased Basement Tapes; why couldn’t I just put it out myself? (Like what if Warner Bros. dropped Prince & the Revolution’s shelved 1986 Roadhouse Garden record yesterday?)

Irrésistible was written by a 24-yr-old MML (edited now by a seasoned, experienced 39-yr-old MML) in the spirit of urban romances like Love Jones, Disappearing Actsand Mo’ Better Blues. It ain’t Toni Morrison, but in the interest of taking myself less seriously, so what? Sonia Sanchez once told me, “There’s a song of tradition, a song of what I call great writing, a song of fun, a song of romance and adventure. There’s enough room for all kinds of literature to be advanced and be listened to, and be bought and read.”

With that, I’m throwing my hat into the digital revolution with Irrésistible: strictly for the iPad (all three-million + of ‘em), Kindle, Nook, iPhone, computer and mobile-phone screens far and wide—for France, the US, the UK, Germany and Canada. If you can read this blog post, you can read Irrésistible. It’s the 21st century. Barnes & Nobles are shutting their doors nationwide. In these times, there’s no reason why we can’t read Greg Tate’s unreleased Alter’d Spayde next week, or even Michael A. Gonzales’s Babies & Fools. I’d really like to see that, in fact.

Please, join the revolt. I hope my literary-mixtape jack move inspires writers sitting on manuscripts everywhere to jump in with both feet. Irrésistible has its own Tumblr page with an excerpt available here, and multimedia to come. The book’s on sale at Amazon here, $9.99. Kindle for Mac is here, Kindle for PC is here. And iTunes hops on board by Halloween. Have at thee, then.