The Fantastically Demonic World of Nila N. Brown

Hello, my Lovelies! As of February 9th, Year 2016 is 40 days old, and we've had some of our best and brightest leave us way too soon, some before last year's end: Natalie Cole, Lemmy Kilmister (December 31, 2015) Willie Guest (Pips - December 24, 2015)  Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots - December 3, 2015) David Bowe (January 10, 2016) Glenn Frye (January 18, 2016) Paul Kanter (Jefferson Airplane - January 28, 2016) Alan Rickman (omg! January 14, 2016) Abe Vigoda (if he's gone, there's no hope for the rest of us. I hate to tell you but we're all gonna DIE! January 26, 2016) ...and sadly, Maurice White of Earth, Wind, and Fire (February 3, 2016). EWF was a huge part of my childhood in the 70's and I was so sad to see someone who was like an old friend saying hello through his music drift out of this plane of existence. We really need people like him in this harsh, cruel world. It feels a lot colder without him. Here's what bakes ...

Hello, my Lovelies! Here we are the end of a very interesting and empowering year for your Cheetah Diva.  The way it started out was different from previous years in that I wasn't as stressed about the issues that I've had to deal with. I would love to say that it was stress/drama free, but that wouldn't exactly be the truth. Still, it started out on a high note and ended the same way. In December of the previous year, I got into an altercation with someone due to instigated drama. That horrific meltdown led me to a miraculous breakthrough in my development as a human being. From that point forward, I made it my mission statement to become a better person and to handle my anger and resulting depression in a different way. I tend to throw myself under the bus and then withdraw, which in turn would have caused the depression to spiral. The start of 2015 was the beginning of the fulfillment of that promise to myself. Have the problems within my work group gotten be...

This weekend, I found out that a friend, Shannon Blackmon, was murdered. "Suthrn," as I came to know her before I got to know her as "Shannon," was energetic, funny as all out get out, and so beautiful. She had everything going for her. She had this effervescent personality; Shannon could match and even go above and beyond me in telling a funny story and keeping the energy going. She was so passionate about what she believed in and she fought like a warrior. Our favorite thing was talking about "True Blood." She went from being a super fan to hating it like it was a walking sin.That show going off was the worst thing that happened to us. We had nothing else to hate, so she stopped posting about it. What we all failed to realize that the end of the series seemed to usher in a dark cloud that didn't come to its unspeakable conclusion until December 4th, when I found out that she had been murdered. Shannon fell off the grid. She stopped comin...

Hello, my Lovelies! The fact that I suffer from depression is the worst kept secret ever. I hid it at first because, you know, trying to start a writing career, I didn't want someone to look at me like I was a nut case. I slowly left that thinking behind me. It took some time, meds for a hot minute, and therapy for me to understand that I've been clinically depressed for over 32 years. On a recent trip home to St. Louis (enjoyed it immensely!), I had a discussion with my mom, brother, sis-in-law, step dad and cousin that made me realize where the depression stemmed from and how it started. I won't go into that, but I really felt connected to my family more than I had in my nearly 50 years on Planet Stinkyball Earth. Things that are said or done early in life have a great impact on you later in life without you even realizing it. So I came back to Georgia and set about writing the book that I will read at DragonCon on Friday, September 4th (date change). However, on A...