........................."Painting Pictures With Words"...................... The Novels and the Poetry of D.C. artist Ronald R. Hanna

February 25, 2013

Rolled out my 13th novel this past weekend, "Backstage Pass."  Available in paperback from Lulu.com and in Kindle and Nook from Amazon and BN.com respectively.  

THE CLASSIC PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS

Recently I've taken down my catalogue of original photographic works, works such as the marches for  a King Holiday beginning in 1978.  As a photojournalist, I was up front with two cameras, 35 mm and large-format 2 1/4, capturing these events.  Had to go in the darkroom back then; there was no digital.  Nowadays, everybody is a photographer; there are few cell phones which don't take presentable pictures!   But few have had the experiences (nor possess the negatives and original prints!) to have photographed such luminaries as Stevie Wonder, the Master Dick Gregory, Jesse Jackson, etc. as we marched to get a national holiday in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Additionally, I was often backstage at a number of musical events back in the day, hired on the side as a photographer for such groups as the Gap Band, Yarbrough and Peebles.  Did a lot of work at the old Capital Centre outside of Washington, backstage and right up front from backstage to photograph Parliament Funkadelic, Zapp, the Isley Brothers.  To be sure, I have literally thousands of negatives and prints in my photographic "morgue," and will be doing exhibits, yes, but also offering up original prints to my literary audience as well.

 That said, I've established a Paypal account so that I might personally offer secured transactions in selling original prints of some of our considerably recent (last 40 years) events.  I will offer up proofs and thumbnails (small prints) of the photographs rather than putting a gallery on my sight (technological advances allow for such crisp copying now that I'm not showing my "classics" electronically.)  So if you would like to view some of my original works, email me and I'll send you a sampling.   Shortly, I will reprint a gallery of some of the best shots with a "ghost imprint" across them to show here as a further sampling of my photographic gallery.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

December 31, 2012 published in eBook format "Fatalistic Voyages," my 13th novel and my shortest though perhaps among the most impacting.  Out now on Amazon.com in paperback and Barnes & Nobles (BN.com in Nook format).  You'll love the vivid excitement and portrayal of a scenario I pray few ever have to experience in real life.

November 17, 2012

Finished writing 12th novel, "Backstage Pass," a vivid, exploratory of the music industry and drug use.  I will not self-publish this immediately, as I feel it's deserving of a chance to be shopped around to potential agents and publishers.  Hang in there!  It's 93,029 words of heat and excitement! 

June 26, 2012

Been busy lately, making news, breaking news.  Did an opinion piece in the Washington Post June 8, 2012 and an Australian radio program which aired there and on line June 26.   Also, did an interview with NPR Radio on interracial dating, a minor event in my latest novel.  Am frequently updating this site, but to view any of my interviews simply GOOGLE me and I'm sure you'll access all of the news past, and any forthcoming!  Again, asking you to check out my latest, "All In the Game."  The "50 Shades" trilogy pales in  comparison, and even with this one and "Shadows," I certainly penned exotic, erotic tales long before the "Shades" hoopla!!

"It's All In the Game" made available in eBook formats (Nook and Kindle).  Paperback forthcoming @ Amazon.com and already available in paperback at my publishing house, http://www.lulu.com/.  Read this one soon!  Probably the one which will generate more national notice than any of my others!  Click on the link above to read Chapter One!!

 April 21, 2012

Have just finished writing my 11th novel, "It's All In The Game!"  Written in a record time of 24 days, this 394-page book takes a steamy look at Internet dating among black people, with Washington, D.C. as the primary "playground," stretching all the way to California, Texas, Chicago, Atlanta!  For a little color, the thematics show a host of visitors to black Internet dating sites, white men and women, who are looking for love in the African-American aligned venues.  This one is as hot as "Shadows," my novel I wrote and published in my previous record 28 days  September, 2011.  I can't help myself!  I LOVE writing, and eventually I believe the American publishing industry, though compacted now, will take notice.  I will publish my new book in paperback and, as I have done recently with all of my books, make them available in electronic format. 

11/11/11

Everybody's talking about the significance of this numerical date.  Significantly, I awakened from a dream on this morning and took right to the computer; there was a need to not only promote my ten novels written over the past ten years, but to revisit my first novel!  I took to the computer, which was not available when I wrote "High Society" back in the mid-1980s.  I revised it!  Designed a new cover!  Retitle it "Joogie," referencing the street name of the drug that was derailing youths back in the 1960s, 1970s and, if that dude standing on the corner "nodding" last week is any indication, still derailing lives.  On that day, a Friday and Veterans' Day, I republished "High Society," with minor changes, and a new title.  It was immediately available in Kindle format on Amazon.com, in paperback on Lulu.com, and soon to be made available in paperback worldwide via Amazon and Lulu.  I believe this was a special calling, for of all my books, my first is among the most personal.  Regards and thanks for your continued support! 

October 3, 2011

"Shadows," rated XXX, is published and available in Kindle download from Amazon.  It is available in paperback from my publisher, LuLu.com.  Appreciate paperback purchasers of any of my books get them from Lulu.  My royalties are greater than sharing with Amazon!!!!!  That being said, "Shadows" WILL be available at Amazon.com in a few weeks!  Thanks for your continued support! 

September 27, 2011

It didn't seem reasonable, but I did it!  After a most glorious summer, ending with a Mandrill concert at Ft. Dupont, I put away my joys and fun, committed to begin my new novel, "Shadows," September 1.  Well, I started writing this one and the characters took over!  Waking me up at 4:00 a.m. most mornings, or earlier, getting into all sorts of devilment!  And a lot of steamy sex, I have to tell you.  So, I FINISHED WRITING THIS 290 PAGE NOVEL TODAY, SEPTEMBER 27, record time for me.  Just did the cover design and have it with a proofreader at this point.  Should be out in Kindle in a week, paperback by mid-October! 

May 2, 2011

As "Glenfield Terrace" went to press, I did "Kindle" my eight other novels.  Also, I said, what the hey!  Put together 70 of my favorite poems and published (paperback AND Kindle) "Continuation of a Dream Past Midnight!"  That marks TEN books published in last eleven years!!   Next, I'm writing "Barry Farms," a novel about a group of boys out of the SE housing project of the same name, and "Shadows," about a brother from D.C. who goes to a strip club in Jamaica and gets deeply involved with one of its premiere dancers.  Those are my forthcoming projects, outside of promoting my ....TEN ....books now available!!! 

April 28, 2011

Published ninth novel, "Glenfield Terrace," via LuLu.com and on Kindle via Amazon.com.  The Kindle book is only $7.77.  The paperback on LuLu is $17.99.  I believe people will enjoy not only the story and characters, but the "historical" view of a family moving to the city in 1950 and growing up during tulmultuous times for African Americans.  Enjoy and drop me a note when you've finished it! 

March 31, 2011

Well, I avoided the electronic realm for a minute, but have decided to publish all my novels now on Kindle, so that they will be available to Kindle users for a quite nominal price.  My first novel, "High Society," went live on Kindle March 31, which is a special day for me as it marks my first day of military service during a most tumultuous time in America (Viet Nam) in 1971.  I celebrate my EXIT (ETS=End of Tour of Service) March 30, 1973, each year, which also marks my extended sojourn into writing and photography on a professional level.  For you Kindle users, I will by summer have all my books available electronically.  In the meantime, you can start with "High Society," at a quite reasonable $4.99.   Just go to Amazon.com, search Kindle Store for Ronald R. Hanna.  A basic book search, of course, will show all of my books.  Thanks for you continued support.

January 28, 2011

Yesterday I finished writing my ninth novel, "Glenfield Terrace."  It's 406 pages of excitement, and I hope to get it out to the public this spring.  Am still querying agents, seeking an establishment publisher.  But, as I've done over the years, I will self-publish if no deal is reached.   

 December 12, 2010

Poetry on YouTube 

 I've started a new effort to reach a wider audience not just with my novels, but with my poetry!  For direct access to my YouTube submission, click on this link ( http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Ronaldhanna&aq=f) to get an insight into what I plan to expand into an extensive publication via video of some of my extensive collection of original poems.  Thanks for your continued support.

December 4, 2010

My latest video, about being a "Constant Spirit," and a walk through my home, my photography, and a little bit of my most recent poetic effort....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klxcW5QW3p0 

 News

November 26, 2010

The Washington Examiner published a "3-Minute-Interview" with me about my recent publishing activities, viewable at the following link:   

 http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2010/11/3-minute-interview-ronald-r-hanna

November 13, 2010

Here it is!  My first venture into video/film production related to my works, on YouTube, not just to promote my writings but also an attempt at impacting the minds of some people, particularly American youths in urban settings, about the self-destructive nature of their actions with guns and drugs as visually impacted in my last novel, "Hustling Backwards."  Click the following hypertext to go directly to my YouTube video and, if you find it as impacting as I surely hope it will be, TELL OTHERS TO VIEW IT AND RECOMMEND IT TO THEIR FRIENDS, PEERS, RELATIVES!!   

August 5, 2010

Check this out!  A somewhat humorous "review" of Hustling Backwards, from the Washington City Paper website....

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/books/2010/08/05/five-books-id-read-36/  

May 7, 2010

I've written another one!  During the most treacherous winter of 2009 - 2010, many were homebound on the East Coast due to two months when unanticipated blizzards hit!  Like everyone else, I dug out my walkways but, unlike many, didn't have to venture far for work.  I worked at home, so I spent all the homebound days not fretting, but WRITING!  In four months, I started and finished a novel I'd been planning for years, "Hustling Backwards!"  As of today (May 11, 2010) I'm awaiting a draft copy of the book!  After approving that, it will be available globally, perhaps by the end of May!  Be sure to check out this one!  A most intriguing tale to say the least! 

November 21, 2009

My latest novel, "The 92," went to press!  And "A Mighty Long Way" is also now available (the "Armageddon/12/21/2012" projection!  Done long before the current movie!)  Search Ronald R. Hanna at www.Amazon.com, or www.Lulu.com 

March 1, 2009

I have formed a business entity to finance and produce my play, "Genesis: Revelations in Three Acts!"  Presently arranging its financing and location, tentatively at the Lincoln Theatre, Washington, D.C.  For details on GenesisIn3Acts LLC, please email me (Ronaldhannna@aol.com) or RonaldRHanna@RonaldRHanna.com

Hustling Backwards - www.amazon.com, www.lulu.com

The 92 - www.amazon.com, www.lulu.com

A Mighty Long Way - www.lulu.com, www.amazon.com

Anacostia - (email author)

It Could Have Been Verse (email author)

Anacostia (originally published 1999 as "High Society") - (email author)

Spirits - www.amazon.com, www.borders.com, www.bn.com

Rock Stars:  As A Matter of Crack - www.amazon.com, www.borders.com, www.bn.com

The Bank - www.amazon.com, www.borders.com, www.bn.com

Afraid of the Darks - The Gentrification of Shaw - www.lulu.com, www.amazon.com

The March To King Day: A Photographic Journey (in development for publication)

            When Laila Ramaratnam finished reading the last of a novel that morning, she quietly secured the backpack left her by the young operative who’d represented himself as the Virginia-based lieutenant of Raheem Karza.  She didn’t have to check the contents, only reassure herself that the blackened wires neatly inlaid in two of the plastic snaps which would secure the backpack to her were there.  She paid particular attention to those snaps, making sure they stayed well apart when she donned an overcoat previously aligned with additional explosives, slung the heavy pack over one shoulder and walked through the brisk morning air to the subway station just blocks from her home in Crystal City, VA.

            There was a similar backpack setting between the legs of Ziad Saad as he awaited the Red Line train that morning at the Rockville Metro station.  It was particularly crowded at that hour, but the jostling by commuters packed into the train bound for downtown, then through the city to other parts of Maryland, didn’t faze him.  He was just anxious to arrive at the Dupont Circle Metro station, where he and hundreds of others would ascend to meet their maker.

            To receive a personal phone call from the esteemed Raheem Karza was viewed as a particular blessing to Vapul Rathi during his final hours.   He reassured the al Qaeda Norte leader that he was prepared, smiled into the cell phone as it went quiet and looked into the morning skies with a contented smile.  He moved through the turnstile at the Silver Spring subway station, jogged for a train about to leave for downtown, snapped the prepared latches on his backpack and dissipated into an oblivious darkness with dozens of unwitting passengers.

Please feel free to contact me via the below email for information on poetry readings, book signings.