Why I Created Cinnamon Brown Entertainment

Cinnamon Brown was created out of adversity and necessity. The Cinnamon Brown journey started in 2009 when my late wife, Shauna Brown was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. I’d been writing for years and failing at it, by writing folk literature and political books.

I was working two jobs at this point, but cancer isn’t cheap and so I needed another hustle to cover the medical bills. I was going to book festivals and independent book shops and didn’t sell very many books, when one of the owners told me that racy romance books sell, so write those. So, I chose the female pen name, “Cinnamon Brown” in order to find out from women online exactly what they wanted to read - sex, love, drama.

In 2011, Shauna’s cancer spread to her bones, specifically the spine and liver. Here we were with two little boys ages 2-3 and her whole spine collapsed because the cancer had been eating the bone away over Thanksgiving. Thankfully, my chiropractor caught it, not her oncologist who later told us our United Healthcare insurance wouldn’t cover the blood test to do early detection of the cancer returning. Her only option was a full spinal fusion, but the bone was too soft to hold the metal bolts. Luckily, we found a surgeon who was willing to do the surgery so she could then start chemo to tamp down the cancer. They told us at this point it wasn’t curable and that they could do life extension at best. Shauna and I talked and we knew how it was all going to end, just a matter of when. Her main concern was our sons…she wanted as much time as possible to make memories with her babies. Cinnamon Brown became the vehicle to make the money to cover the bills and treatment and give her more time. So we went radical and she became the editor and face of Cinnamon Brown. As male writer, women wouldn’t buy my books and would tell me to my face that men can’t write about women, so the persona was created. I wrote the books, Shauna edited them, and she also put on a wig and did the book signing appearances as Cinnamon Brown. Readers loved meeting her and taking pics and the series, I Am The Bitch became a # 1 best seller and gave us the cash to float the bills and keep some cushion on the credit cards while she traveled for treatments

It was during this time we learned the saying that you show up for the folks that show up for you. It’s not blood kin, but the people that choose to go through hard and heavy shit with you and come out the other side with you, good or bad. What we learned is that most people are indifferent and takers mostly. They will drop verbal dribble of concern, but when the rubber meets the road they are MIA. Perhaps its boundaries, but from our experience people want to get as much as they can without giving much if anything. They love to drop bible verses on resilience and overcoming, but can’t handle the times when the chemo was so toxic it would make her skin peel or make her so sick she'd be down for a week at a time all while trying to be a mother to her young sons. They weren’t around when my youngest told me while I was at work, mommy would be in her room crying. That’s when we saw the real ones showed up. Blanca, Carlos Castillo, Michael Boone, Jim Downing, and writer, Joe Bageant. People that didn’t have to give a damn, but showed up for her and kept her spirits up as her body was breaking down. Looking back, I realize she was holding on to get the boys to the age she knew I could raise them on my own. The doctors gave her months, she made it 6 years until the boys were 7 and 8 years old.

When she passed in 2014, I stopped writing until 2022..then the creative bug came back. That’s when I started looking around Richmond and being an extra in films and started to meet my first creative kin. Ethan, Briian, Will Roye, Mile Hopkins, Ben Marcia, and Travis Fox and in less than 2 years we’ve gone on to create Cuffed, Toxic, and Sundays After Church in less than 24 months. By this time, I’d met and married Natasha Boyce whom I met through one of Shauna’s best friends. It’s crazy how things work. In 2022, just getting into the role of being a stepmother to our boys, my writing bug was back and Natasha suggested I hit a few film festivals and see what the landscape had to say and it said make your own short film. Natasha, being supportive became my partner in Cinnamon Brown Entertainment with the goal of making films and television shows. With her organizational skills, she began creating a working company that could scale and bring order to our creative chaos. She wears multiple hats such as: COO to travel coordinator, intimacy coordinator, and HR so we could focus on the creative side.

Out of all of this, I never expected to find family in the form of creative kinfolk, but what we’ve done. Creative Kin are family—not by blood, but by purpose. The filming of 5 episodes in 10 days proves that we are bound not by blood, but by challenge and purpose. It was trial by fire..I’ve never been around so many people with so much heart. By heart I mean, the drive to support one one another in a single purpose to make the best television show we possibly could. Everyone on this set showed up..they dug in like family, sink or swim, good or bad for a single purpose of making something that will change the game in black film. We’re creating something with so many layers, drama, romance, action, and spiritual connotations that it will shake up the black community. Most of my life people have tried to tell me what I’m capable of, what’s possible, and to just play it safe. Fuck ‘em. When you got a clique of down ass people you can get damn near anything done and we did it.

To the crew—Ethan, Jonathan, Will, Nicholas, Cameron, Sean Merc, Miles, Sebastian, Jackson, Philip, Shaylah, and Kim—what y’all brought to this project can’t be overstated. The synergy? Impeccable. The execution? Surgical. You moved like a unit—each in your own lane of genius—but somehow in step like a jazz ensemble tuned by spirit. It was more than just technical skill. It was intention, precision, and respect for the work. Every angle, every cue, every pivot you made added a layer to the story we were telling. This wasn’t just production—it was sacred labor. You didn’t just make it look and sound amazing. You made it resonate. And that stays with people. That becomes legacy.

To the cast— I know the material wasn’t light. I write from the darkness, from places that don’t always come with language. These characters carried weight. They held trauma, love, secrets, contradictions—and every one of you showed up and held them with care. You didn’t just act; you transformed. You birthed these roles. You gave them breath, memory, flaws, rhythm. You found their pain and their purpose and put it on display without flinching. That takes more than talent—that takes trust, courage, and a little bit of soul sacrifice. And because of that, you’ve all got scenes for your reel that’ll speak louder than words ever could. You brought the fire—but you also brought the stillness, the ache, the kind of quiet honesty that lingers long after the credits roll.

Thank you for trusting this vision. Thank you for carrying it like it was your own. Every one of you left your fingerprints on this thing—and because of that, it’s alive.

I don’t say this lightly but you all are my people, my family, my kinfolk and I will always show up for each and every one of you.

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