Chapter 1

It was ten o’clock on a Friday night. Simone sat inside of the fitness center, entertaining her client, Mason. Mason was the director of the center and usually planned their meetings there after-hours. Simone sat on the edge of the hot tub wearing a pink G-string and Mason stood inside the encircling pool with Simone’s thighs resting on his shoulders.

“My wife saw the present you gave me a few weeks back,” Mason announced proudly, as he walked his fingers up Simone’s thighs.

Simone sighed. It’s not like it’s the first time and it won’t be the last, she thought. “Well, what did she think of it?” Simone tried not to disclose how humored she was by her remark.

“Let’s just say she didn’t like it as much as I did.”

The present Mason referred to was the hickey Simone had placed on the shaft of his penis. That was her trademark. Men from all over the Tri-City area contacted her to see could and would the pretty, petite, wavy-haired, fair-skinned doll baby pucker up her plump pink lips to perform the act that all of their friends and colleagues bragged about.

Once she proved that she could and would, if they were willing to pay her fee for the priceless experience, they became loyal customers that contacted her on a regular basis to have the “O”-shaped bruise on their genitals that they held with the same regards that bikers and gangsters held their tattoos, retouched before it faded away. It had only been three weeks since she had last provided Mason with her services and there he was, standing in front of her waiting to be retouched, among other things.

Simone liked dealing with Mason. She understood what to expect from him. He never showed up drunk or flying off of the handle as a result of hallucinogens. That was behavior she’d tolerated from the petty, low-class criminals she’d started out servicing. They would beat, belittle, and refuse to pay women in her profession after they’d romped around with them on old, pissy mattresses. Simone had paid her dues to earn the status she now held in her profession and refused to deal with that nonsense. That was one of the reasons why most of her clients were upper middle-class whites; the few that were black held the same social status. The other reason for that was they were willing to pay more money. Money that the lower-class troublemakers couldn’t afford to let leave their pockets.

Mason also referred a lot of his friends to Simone, which was good for business. Simone also liked the fact that Mason wasn’t long-winded. She could get it down as fast as she could get it up and when it was over, it was over. Mason didn’t try to stall to keep her around while he tried to have another erection. Her terms of service were, once her client ejaculated while she performed the service he’d requested, her job was done. Some of her clients had her perform one act, some paid for two or three, but after they ejaculated as the result of each service, or lost their erection, whichever came first, she was off the clock. Mason stuck to those terms. Being that Mason wasn’t what she considered to be endowed, after she finished with him, she would still be in adequate condition to service another client before calling it a night.

What Simone didn’t like about Mason was how he never seemed to be able to put an end to his idle chitchat. Her time was more valuable to her than her services were to him. The more time she had, the more money she had the opportunity to make. She didn’t want to be rude. After all, he was a longtime customer. So she sat there in a rut while he rambled on about the weather.

It was times like those that made her wish Stefan had come along. He had a way of nipping things in the bud. Although Mason was a huge fan of anal sex, he wasn’t one of her bisexual clients. She often heard him bash gays that attended the fitness center. He would go out his way to express how sickened he was by them.

Simone thought Mason might have been nervous. They had been together numerous times but, for some reason, he always seemed scared to touch her.

Simone’s legs shivered as a result of Mason’s jitteriness. She looked down at him and sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Mason asked.

“Nothing.” Simone removed her legs from Mason’s shoulders. “Come up here with me.”

Mason lifted himself up on the wall of the hot tub and sat beside Simone. Simone stood up, grabbed Mason’s hands, and pulled him closer to her. She knelt down in front of him and blushed at the sight of semen seeping from his partially erect organ. “You mean to tell me you’ve been in the pool hiding this from me all this time.”

“I wasn’t sure if you were ready for it.”

“Oh, is that right?” Simone drooled on his shaft and gently stroked it with her hand.

Mason stood up and began to slide his dick back and forth in her mouth. “That’s right; get it nice and wet.”

That’s a first, Simone thought. Usually, Mason would lay there lifeless, not uttering a single word while she did all of the work.

Simone slid her hands up Mason’s thighs and onto his hips. She thrust him forward, taking him entirely in her mouth. She could feel Mason’s dick pulsate as she secured it in her mouth and gathered saliva to create a massaging motion.

Mason pressed his lips together and looked up at the ceiling. He hoped Simone wouldn’t notice the ugly faces he was making while she pleased him.

Simone slid her index finger inside Mason’s rectum. His knees became weak and he plopped down on the wall of the hot tub. Simone followed his motion, never releasing her grip. Mason tugged on Simone’s weave and moaned at the top of his lungs as he reached his climax. He squirmed, unable to tolerate the overwhelming sensation he was being subjected to.

Simone stroked his organ with her hand to quicken his release. She almost laughed when Mason stood on the tip of his toes like a ballerina and cried out with pleasure.

“Whoo,” Mason cried out in between a series of pants. He looked back up at the ceiling and ran his fingers through Simone’s hair. “You’ve got my head spinning. If you can do all that with your mouth, I can’t wait to see what the pussy is like.”

Simone was puzzled. For as long as she had serviced Mason, he had never asked for pussy. Ass was his thing. Mason loved the way she slid her hips down on his dick until he fully occupied her anus and rode him like a jockey. He would want it tonight when I’m on my period; just my luck, Simone thought.

She sucked on Mason’s lip as she reached between her legs and freed her tampon into the hot tub. She straddled Mason and pushed herself down on his tool. It wouldn’t be long before he reached his climax. Simone could hear Mason’s breaths quicken as she pressed herself down on his dick harder and harder, lingering for a few seconds so he could feel the softness of her walls. In less than two minutes, Mason clutched Simone in his arms and called on the Lord.

Stefan lay in the bed with his man, Eugene. He threw his arm over Eugene’s chest and kissed him.

“Could you move over?” Eugene asked.

Stefan was fed up with Eugene’s attitude. Eugene had changed since he’d landed a job. When Eugene first came home from prison, things were wonderful. They would make love all night and sleep late into the day. Eugene would beg Stefan to let him take the condom off so he could feel his flesh. But now he didn’t even want Stefan to hold him. It was blatantly apparent that their relationship was only a ploy to help Eugene get on his feet. Now that Eugene had found a job and saved some money, he didn’t need Stefan anymore and he was ready to free himself from their relationship.

Stefan wondered if Eugene modeled the clothes he bought for him for some female when he wasn’t around. Stefan was sure Eugene was having sex with a woman in the apartment he paid the rent for. The thought of Eugene trying to impress some random chick with the things he had purchased for him made Stefan sick to his stomach.

Eugene liked females. Stefan saw the way he looked at them. Not only did he admire their beauty, he wanted to be entangled in it, he wanted a piece for himself. He’d noticed Eugene checking out the curves on his cousin, Simone, when he’d introduced them. He never brought them around one another again. He could not trust Eugene and he realized that Simone was weak.

Stefan attempted to kiss Eugene again.

Eugene pulled the covers over his head. “Come on with that. I’m tired,” he grumbled.

Life is too short for shit like this, Stefan thought. If Eugene was willing to throw away the security that Stefan provided him with over a female, then he could go right ahead. He was sure Eugene would run into some shabby whore that would fool him into believing that she was a lady. She’d be a little girl who had no clue where she was going; only what she wanted from him. She’d convince him that she was high-class when she was extremely high-maintenance. Eugene would exhaust his little savings trying to keep up with her and, when his money was gone, she would be also.

Stefan got out of bed and put on his clothes.

“Where you going?” Eugene asked.

“Home.”

“You’re not gonna fix me nothing to eat before you leave?”

“No.”

“Come on with that; a nigga’s hungry.”

“You’ve got two hands; fix it yourself,” Stefan said as he opened the bedroom door and made his way down the stairs.

“Don’t forget the rent is due next week!” Eugene yelled.

“And don’t forget you’ve got a job now and you can pay it,” Stefan said as he slammed the front door.

© 2011 Rae

At age twelve Rae abandoned her pen and pad and became engrossed in the drama of her hood. By age sixteen Rae was a single mother and dropped out of school to raise her newborn child.

Rae spent her twenties hopping from one job to the next, disgusted with the lack of ethics and integrity in her work environments. After resigning from her umpteenth job, receiving the news of her fiancé’s death, and awaiting a criminal trial, after not being in trouble with the law since she was a juvenile, Rae laid back in her bed replaying the events of her life over in her mind.

Feeling like she had no one to turn to, Rae turned back to her pen and pad. She decided no matter what she would accomplish her goal of being an author. But this time her writing wouldn’t include rescues and fairytale endings. She would write about the drama of urban life and incorporate scenarios regarding social and domestic issues that plague urban communities. Soon after Abnormal Lives was born.

Get to Know the Author:

1. When did you start writing, and did you always envision being an author? I start writing when I was eight years old and I’ll tell you, more than a decade has past and I still enjoy how a story can excite, shock, and expand the minds of readers. I knew I would be an author ever since the day I finished reading Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. I laid across the bed thinking about how emotive the novel was and that’s when the thought of being an author entered my mind. From that day forward I knew I would be an author I just didn’t know during what phase of my life it would occur.

2. Where do you get your ideas? Life, that’s where I get my ideas from, things happen in our families, personal lives, and communities every day that we are uncomfortable discussing and those are the topics I like to focus on in my writing.

Are there any particular authors that have influenced your writing? I would have to say James Baldwin and Iceberg Slim. James Baldwin’s stirring and provocative writing style instilled me with the passion to write and Iceberg Slim’s raw unadulterated voice gave me the valor to express myself freely as a writer.

4. If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published that you would change? As far as my novel goes it was originally written in the first person viewpoint after I finished writing it I read through it and realized the story would read better in third person. I wish I would have realized that from the start but if nothing else it was a learning experience. The only thing I regret doing when I was searching for a publisher is not submitting my work simultaneously instead of sending a copy of my manuscript to a publisher and waiting six months or more for them to say yay or nay before I submitted my work to another publisher. When you don’t submit your work simultaneously it gets to be a bit daunting.

5. What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why? I enjoyed writing the scene in chapter twelve when Paris exposed Michael by airing his dirty laundry in front of the police. Michael was a lying conniving dog and I couldn’t wait to write the scene where Paris called him out.

6. Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? I learned that writing a novel takes dedication, not only to your work but to your readers also. When writing a novel you want to produce an enjoyable product without jeopardizing your voice. If you’re constantly going back over your work changing things because you’re worried it will rub someone the wrong way your voice will fail to shine through. When you’re writing be yourself readers will appreciate you for it.

7. Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers? I’m new to this so the only advice I feel confident giving is, don’t let self-criticism or the criticism of others prevent you from pursuing your dream.

Find the Author:

Web links: http://www.facebook.com/DomainRae

http://www.facebook.com/AuthoressRae

http://twitter.com/Itsjust_Rae

Email: itsjustrae@ymail.com

Below is more information about Frances E.W. Harper from Wikipedia.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper(September 24, 1825 – February 22, 1911) was an African American abolitionist and poet. Born free in Baltimore, Maryland, she had a long and prolific career, publishing her first book of poetry at twenty and her first novel, the widely praised Iola Leroy, at age 67.

Iola Leroy was for some time cited as the first novel by an African-American author. Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.‘s 1982 rediscovery of Harriet Wilson’s Our Nig (1859) displaced it from that spot. Harper’s novel remains important as one of the earliest novels written by an African American and as a fictional work dealing with complex issues of race, class, and politics in the United States.

Frances Ellen Watkins was born to free parents in Baltimore, Maryland. After her mother died when she was three years old in 1828, Watkins was orphaned. She was raised by her aunt and uncle. She was educated at the Academy for Negro Youth, a school run by her uncle Rev. William Watkins, who was a civil rights activist. He was a major influence on her life and work.

At fourteen, she found work as a seamstress. Frances Watkins had her first volume of verse, Forest Leaves, published in 1845 (it has been lost). Her second book, Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects, published in 1854, was extremely popular. Over the next few years, it was reprinted in 20 editions.

In 1850, Watkins moved to Ohio, where she worked as the first woman teacher at Union Seminary, established by the Ohio Conference of the AME Church. (Union closed in 1863 when the AME Church diverted its funds to purchase Wilberforce University.) The school in Wilberforce was run by the Rev. John Brown (not the same as the abolitionist.) In 1853, Watkins joined the American Anti-Slavery Society and became a traveling lecturer for the group. In 1860, she married Fenton Harper, a widower with three children.

They had a daughter together in 1862. For a time Frances withdrew from the lecture circuit. Fenton died in 1864. Frances Harper was a strong supporter of prohibition and woman’s suffrage. She was also active in the Unitarian Church, which supported abolition.

She often would read her poetry at the public meetings, including the extremely popular Bury Me in a Free Land. She was connected with national leaders in suffrage, and in 1866 gave a moving speech before the National Women’s Rights Convention, demanding equal rights for all, including black women.

She also continued with her writing and continued to publish poetry. In 1892 she published Iola Leroy, or Shadows Uplifted. One of the first novels by an African-American woman, it was quite popular. Harper continued with her political activism, and in 1897 was elected Vice-President of the National Association of Colored Women.

For more information on Frances Harper and to read some of her poems, go to: http://www.afropoets.net/francesharper.html

Win an ebook copy of The Bad Twin by Shelia M Goss:

The Bad Twin is sibling rivalry at its best. Rose’s ultimate goal is to remain in the spotlight; preferable on the movie screen. To her fans, Rose is sincere, glamorous, and charitable; but to Violet, her twin, she’s a conniving, manipulative person that starves for constant attention.

When Violet gives a shocking interview about the life of Hollywood actress Rose to a popular magazine, all hell breaks loose. Can these sisters ever be friends, or will they always stand divided?

What do you have to do to enter? Leave a comment on this blog post. Contest ends on February 28, 2012. U.S. & Canada residents only. Avoid where prohibited by law.

I’m highlighting Mary Eliza Mahoney today for two reasons. #1 She was the first African-American registered nurse and #2 Our past might be entwined as her name comes up when I trace my family history on my Dad’s side.

Her exact date of birth is questionable. Some sources say she was born in April and others May of 1845.

According to various sources, including ASU, Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first African-American registered nurse in the U.S.A. She was born free on April 7 or May 7, 1845 in Dorchester, Massachusetts and became interested in nursing when she was a teenager. She worked for fifteen years at the New England Hospital for Women and Children (now Dimock Community Health Center) in Roxbury, Massachusetts as a cook, janitor, washerwoman and an unofficial nurse’s assistant. In 1878, at the age of thirty-three, she was admitted as a student into the hospital’s nursing program established by Dr. Marie Zakrzewska. Sixteen months later, she was one of four who completed the rigorous course (of forty-two who started with her). After graduation she worked primarily as a private duty nurse for the next thirty years all over the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. She ended her nursing career as director of an orphanage in Long Island, New York, the position she had held for a decade. She never married.In 1896, Mahoney became one of the original members of a predominately white Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada (later known as the American Nurses Association or ANA). In 1908 she was cofounder of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses (NACGN). Mahoney gave the welcoming address at the first convention of the NACGN and served as the association’s national chaplain. Mary Eliza Mahoney died January 4, 1926. She is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, Massachusetts.

In 1936, the NACGN created an award in honor of Mahoney for women who contributed to racial integration in nursing. This award was then continued by the ANA after the NACGN was dissolved in 1951. In 1976, fifty years after her death, Mary Eliza Mahoney was inducted into the Nursing Hall of Fame.

To read more about Mary Eliza Mahoney, click here.

If you know someone interested in nursing, there’s a Mary Mahoney scholarship given out to minority nursing students. There’s a site dedicated to Mary Mahoney. Please visit: http://www.marymahoney.org

Win an ebook copy of The Bad Twin by Shelia M Goss:

The Bad Twin is sibling rivalry at its best. Rose’s ultimate goal is to remain in the spotlight; preferable on the movie screen. To her fans, Rose is sincere, glamorous, and charitable; but to Violet, her twin, she’s a conniving, manipulative person that starves for constant attention.

When Violet gives a shocking interview about the life of Hollywood actress Rose to a popular magazine, all hell breaks loose. Can these sisters ever be friends, or will they always stand divided?

What do you have to do to enter? Leave a comment on this blog post.  Contest ends on February 28, 2012. U.S. & Canada residents only. Avoid where prohibited by law.

The high-profiled professional entertainer wanted completely out of the adult entertainment business. She turned her life over to the Lord; saved by the Lord Jesus Christ only to find getting out of the business was going to be a BIG problem! It later concludes that she was denied her U.S Constitutional Civil Rights, Freedom of Speech and Religion, where honorable humans in the state try to kill her.

Excerpt: In many circumstances, some people cannot believe truth, but God’s Word is the only truth in this world. This book is a non-fiction recollection of when the State of Michigan attempted to kill me, declared I never existed and hallucinated, for me wanting completely out of the adult entertainment business. This all arose from me getting baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Ghost, God changing my life and the change of my mindset.

I am about to reveal many of the secrets in the exotic adult world, which the normal society does not know about, which conclusively will lead up to clues to the murder of adult entertainer Tamara Greene. These corruption schemes include governmental civil disobedience, drugs, sex, and money, along with mysteries and pursuits of death to cover up deaths. It has celebrity names and high-profiled politicians, international governments, high-profiled law firms, courts, hospitals, and licensed state physicians who committed perjury to prove there is no one more powerful than God.

I am blessed and proud to write that God loved me when I was an ungodly person. The Word of God has been taught to me by the honorary pastor (Nellie Bryant) who has been with the Word of God and walking with the Lord Jesus Christ for over 60 years, living in His perfect Will. I pray in faith and hope to better someone else’s life. It is possible for a person to do right in this world, having help from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Excerpt: In many circumstances, some people cannot believe truth, but God’s Word is the only truth in this world. This book is a non-fiction recollection of when the State of Michigan attempted to kill me, declared I never existed and hallucinated, for me wanting completely out of the adult entertainment business. This all arose from me getting baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Ghost, God changing my life and the change of my mindset.

I am about to reveal many of the secrets in the exotic adult world, which the normal society does not know about, which conclusively will lead up to clues to the murder of adult entertainer Tamara Greene. These corruption schemes include governmental civil disobedience, drugs, sex, and money, along with mysteries and pursuits of death to cover up deaths. It has celebrity names and high-profiled politicians, international governments, high-profiled law firms, courts, hospitals, and licensed state physicians who committed perjury to prove there is no one more powerful than God.

I am blessed and proud to write that God loved me when I was an ungodly person. The Word of God has been taught to me by the honorary pastor (Nellie Bryant) who has been with the Word of God and walking with the Lord Jesus Christ for over 60 years, living in His perfect Will. I pray in faith and hope to better someone else’s life. It is possible for a person to do right in this world, having help from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wilhelmina Michelle Leonard was born in Detroit, Michigan. She was the second highest paid adult entertainer in the State of Michigan. She has professionally entertained for 11½ years and walked away from two contracts in Canada, one for $5,000 and another for $3,500 a week.

Wilhelmina has attended Oakland Community College, Wayne State University and Marygrove College. Her activities are to study the Holy Bible (KJV), pray, read, attend church, swim, scuba dive, jog, roller blade, travel, and fine dining. Watching the History Channel and Court TV is her preference. Enduring many life escapades, she wants to continue to travel all over the world and receive as many passport stamps as possible. She loves children, but does not have any. Wilhelmina is usually relaxed being by herself in peace and to carefully think?

In the near future, she plans to learn how to snowboard and maybe publish more books. Her goals are to complete her Bachelors in Forensic Science with a minor in history and to obtain a Ph.D in Apostolic Theology. She also wants to help many people overcome obstacles that seem to be impossible. Wilhelmina loves to witness to people about the Lord Jesus Christ. She loves God with all her heart, mind and soul, and will not take it back! The Lord has been so good to Wilhelmina Michelle Leonard!

 Get to Know the Author:

What inspired me to write “Jesus Saves Lexi If He Can Save Me, He Can Save You!”?

The eternal love of God inspired me to write the non-fiction book. God and the Lord Jesus loves us all so much despite our dirty, filthy, unclean rags, and wrong doings knowing we are all unworthy. God loves all of His children.

What topics are controversial in the book?

There are many of topics controversial in the book. Some controversy could evoke from the context being too graphic and explicit, and the book including actual real names, dates and times ect. The book is very detailed with a lot of hidden dark information being brought to the light and perhaps is politically incorrect.

Do I have any future projects?

Yes, I have many ideas for future projects. I will only ask for guidance from the Lord to continue directing my steps for any and all future projects.

How do I feel about speaking engagements?

I am open to speaking engagements. I prefer not to speak or to speak less as possible. I enjoy learning and observing only speaking when necessary.

Have I decided to write another book and if so, what would it pertain?

I have not decided if I were to write and publish another book. If so, the book would be the sequence part 2 or volume 2 of “Jesus Saves Lexi If He Can Save Me, He Can Save You! The name could be slightly different, but I am not certain what my next decisions will be?

Do I regret the truthful information written in the book?

No!

How would the book affect my life?

With the professional marketing, publicity, and God’s deliverance to justice, freedom, ect., hopefully will have an life changing effect on my life from the book!

I have been evilly and brutally confined, over medicated for my death, attacked, ridiculed, disrespected, persecuted, tormented, humiliated, homeless, without a vehicle, and without sufficient currency ect, long enough in faith from retiring from the adult entertainment business and being saved by the Lord Jesus Christ!

In desperate occurrences and when there is no one in the world that will help you, 100% in faith, believe, trust, and lean on God!

 Find the Author:

Website: www.Jesussaveslexi.com

Facebook weblink: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jesus-Saves-Lexi/113043338734780

Blog Spot: http://jesussaveslexi.blogspot.com/

Ebook or PDF file download @ payloadz.com: http://store.payloadz.com/details/971442-ebooks-non-fiction-jesus-saves-lexi-if-he-can-save-me-he-can-save-you-.html

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=jesus+saves+lexi&x=0&y=0

Createspace: https://www.createspace.com/3672140

Email : Acts238Acts24@JesusSavesLexi.com

Jacqueline Luckett has been writing since 1999 when she took her first creative writing class on a dare, from herself. She attributes her growth as a writer to the Voices of Our Nations (VONA) writing workshops and to the members of her writing group, The Finish Party (featured in O Magazine, November 2007).  Jacqueline is the author of  Searching for Tina Turner  and  Passing Love (releases January 25, 2012).

BPM: How did you initially break into the publishing industry? 
In the middle of finishing my last draft of Searching for Tina Turner, I began to research agents. I divided my list into choices based on what I knew and wanted from an agent, and then I started sending two or three query letters at a time. I contacted about a dozen agents before one said yes, but it took about six months of rejection letters (which I kept). 

Once I got an agent, the second round of submissions began. This is where an agent tries to sell the book to a publishing house. We worked on a list of editors who liked the kind of story I’d written and then the agent pitched the book. There’s nothing a writer can do at this point, except wait to hear from the agent. I wish I could say there was a bidding war for my novel, but there wasn’t. I’ll always remain grateful to my agent (who no longer represents me) and Karen Thomas (an editor at the time) for putting together a book deal with Grand Central Publishing. 

BPM: How has your writing style evolved over the years? What stimulated your growth? 
When I look back at some of my first short stories, I cringe not so much at the writing, but at the craft—or lack of it. But I admire the guts I had to send the stories out. The rejection letters strengthened my determination. Since those days, my style is the same, but my writing has become more polished. I don’t have an MFA, but I’ve taken many workshops and writing classes. I worked hard to learn craft, and that’s an ongoing process. My writing has gotten stronger in the two years since I wrote my first novel. 

The Finish Party, my writing group, has had a great influence on me. I’m blessed to be in this group of eight women who are masters of craft and critique. They’ve been both teachers and avid supporters. We workshop each other’s projects and that process has improved my writing. I admit that there are times when I didn’t like their feedback, but once I returned home, I’d rethink their comments and realize that, nine times out of ten, they’re correct and my writing is all the better because of them.

BPM: What have you realized about yourself since becoming a published author?
Occasionally, I suffer from the old demon of self-doubt. Author Carleen Brice (Orange Mint and Honey) recently asked a group of authors how they fought self-doubt. I was surprised by the responses of the authors, who were all very accomplished. At first, my doubts were about my writing. Now I feel more comfortable about my ability to write and tell a good story.

BPM: What are some of the benefits of being an author that makes it all worthwhile?
Searching for Tina Turner emphasized the importance of self-worth, reinvention and accepting new challenges. I wanted readers to know that life doesn’t end when you get divorced or reach your fifties. I want them to accept the challenges and possibilities offered by these new chapters in life. It took me about two years to write my first novel. Knowing that readers “get” my messages, love my descriptions of settings, and are eager to see what comes next for me, makes all the writing effort worthwhile.

BPM: Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
It’s still a challenge to get published. Persistence is vital. For the most part, writers need agents to present their work to publishers. Even before you look for an agent, make sure that your story is tight, your craft is on point, and your manuscript is in good shape. If editing isn’t a strong point, find someone to edit for continuity, grammar and typographical errors. 

Research agents who represent authors whose work is similar to yours in style, story and genre, and develop a list. Know an agent’s submission guidelines. Then start sending query letters. Your query letter is as important as your manuscript, so make sure to write a compelling (but short) letter to the agents you choose. If an agent takes the time to offer a few suggestions, consider revising your manuscript and move forward. Agents know what it takes to sell a book in today’s market. Don’t be discouraged by rejection. There are plenty of stories about bestsellers that were rejected multiple times (Harry Potter, for example) before the right agent saw the potential for success.

BPM: If you were not a writer, what would you be? What are you passionate about?
I recall having this conversation with my sister a few years ago. At the time, I felt like my many passions were posts in a pinball machine, and the ball never landed or stuck to one spot. I addressed my concerns about having so many areas of interest in an article for the Huffington Post (February 2010). When my sister suggested I could pursue of all the things I loved but that, for the time being, I needed to focus on one, I felt as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders.

Besides writing, I love photography, cooking for my friends, and interior design. When I dabble in these little passions, I’m able to expand my creativity. I take hundreds of pictures when I travel. I love to photograph people in the midst of daily life. In many ways the camera invades privacy, so I’m always considerate and polite. I engage potential subjects in conversation and ask permission, but I’ve also been known to sneak a few candid shots every now and then.  View my Flickr Slideshow of Paris , click here.

Design is another form of creativity for me.  Sometimes I work with a friend to stage homes for sale and that helps to satisfy my urge to redecorate. As far as cooking goes, I don’t enjoy cooking for one as much as I do putting together meals for my friends. Fortunately, they love my cooking. I don’t have a specialty, but I’m well-known for my apple pie.  

BPM: Will the digital age or social media usage change the face of publishing?
In discussions about industry trends with my editor and publicist, I’ve learned the answer is probably and more than likely. Publishers are encouraging writers to Tweet and post on Facebook on a regular basis in order to promote their books and build a following. Some editors are checking the number of followers writers have as part of their consideration to take on a new projects. As far as the impact of digital is concerned, I’m of two minds. I prefer the tactile experience of reading. I love to mark up my pages and move back and forth in a story, or reread passages. I’d use an e-reader for research materials. More and more readers are switching to Kindles, Nooks, and IPads to read. Bottom line, for me, format doesn’t matter. It’s just important that people continue to read.

BPM: How much does “word of mouth” play into the success of your book? What grassroots strategies have you used to spread the word about your book? 
“Word of mouth” is important. It informs people, but it should also encourage people to buy and pre-order now (you can do this online and at your local bookstore). Just as we’ve discussed the effect of digital publishing and social media, the way to spread the word is different. If readers like my books, say so and why on Facebook, Goodreads etc.. 

Tweet about the book using hashtags such as #Paris, #travel, #jazz, #women’s fiction, #world war II, #readers and any other topics you think of after you’ve read the books. I’ve done contests and giveaways. I’ve donated books to silent auctions at charities along with a visit to a book club meeting. That’s my grassroots strategy. Any other ideas are welcome.

BPM: Introduce us to your book, Passing Love  and the main characters. Do you have any favorites? What genre is the book? On Kindle or Nook? 
I’m so excited about PASSING LOVE. I love the all the characters, and I love the setting—Paris, it’s one of my favorite places in the world. In PASSING LOVE the reader follows the story of two women who go to Paris believing that that city will change their lives. From the start, I knew the story would be about two women, one in the present and the other in the past. 

Nicole is the character in the present who’s discontent with her ordinary life and her married boyfriend. She’s not a timid woman, just a procrastinator who has always wanted to go to Paris. With the encouragement of a friend, she finally makes up her mind to go. 

Ruby’s story is told in the past and post World War II Paris when Black Americans were drawn to that city for the racial freedom they couldn’t find in the United States. Ruby is the complete opposite of Nicole. Ruby is gutsy and can’t wait to leave her tiny southern hometown and see the world. She’s a risk-taker daredevil, and she’s my favorite because she does whatever it takes to make her life an adventure. Unfortunately, she steps on people in the process. 

My goal was to make Paris come alive and to share history and details about the city. I want my readers to become impatient and as excited about Paris as Ruby and Nicole are. Some might define PASSING LOVE as women’s fiction, and while it definitely is a story about women, there’s history and a story that’s not just for female readers. PASSING LOVE will be available to readers in all formats: electronic and trade paperback. The Audio version releases in March, 2012.

Passing Love will be available online and at major and independent bookstores everywhere. We encourage readers to ask a bookstore to order copies of Passing Love  if they cannot find it in their local store. Preorders are available now.

BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message enclosed?
When I read, I love books that are good stories that suspend reality, challenge my imagination and make me think. As a writer that’s what I’ve tried to accomplish in PASSING LOVE and those are the readers that I’m trying to reach. Both Ruby and Nicole learn is that no matter how much we plan and scheme to organize our lives, they can still be unpredictable. How we manage that unpredictability is what differentiates us humans from one another. Perceptions and reality also come into play as the two women begin to understand what it means to live an ordinary life. Does one settle or accept?

BPM: Share with us your latest news  or upcoming book releases. How may our readers follow you online? 
I’m still trying to figure that out for myself. I’ve written a play that I’ll try to get produced. I’m working on idea for my third novel and I’d love to have more speaking engagements. 
Heidi Durrow (The Girl Who Fell From the Sky), Tayari Jones (Silver Sparrow) and Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant (Uptown, Tryin’ to Sleep in the Bed You Made) have written wonderful blurbs that will appear on the cover of PASSING LOVE. 

Also, PASSING LOVE, has been selected as a featured novel for Black Expressions Book club, January, 2012! 

I’m easy to find at:  www.jacquelineluckett.com.  Readers can check out and comment on my blog and sign up for my newsletter.   “LIKE” me on my Facebook fan page  and follow me on Twitter @jackieluckett 

Synopsis
Standing at the elevator doors of the industrial style apartments in Los Angeles, California, Cynthia contemplates if she is making the right decision by surprising her boyfriend with an unexpected visit. As she goes back and forth between getting inside the elevator or going back home, she wonders how she managed to end up in such a predicament. Her life was coasting along just as planned until that fateful day after Easter Break.

Cynthia Solomon is beautiful, smart, focused, ambitious, and is trying to break free of the ghosts that haunt her and her family. She comes from a strong line of women, where the men exited as quickly as they entered and she is pervaded with so much self-doubt growing up in the sleepy town of Savannah, Georgia that she clings to what she feels is her best and only asset, her intellect. Her own father checked out on the family when Cynthia, was very young and because her mother was so wrecked by the betrayal, she will not or perhaps cannot express her love for Cynthia in the way she needs and wants.

Even with her dysfunctional home life, she manages to maintain some semblance of normalcy growing up, if only superficially, thanks to her younger sister Camille who loves her fiercely and her best friend Taylor who is a loud, outspoken wild child. Taylor is the complete opposite of Cynthia, it is something that Cynthia loves about her but she also secretly covets it.

After Cynthia and Taylor move to Atlanta for college, Cyns’ perfectly mapped out life is still moving along as planned, that is until her senior year at Emory University, when she meets this sexy New Yorker, Mitch Capleton who manages within one summer to disrupt Cyn’s quiet life.

“I have come to believe that some things are in the blood and try as we might to fight against it, there are things that inevitably will come to pass; even if we manage to hide ourselves behind fancy professional titles, a collection of degrees, or designer wares; somehow our destinies will surely find us.”

Twitter: MsLDHardy
FB: www.facebook.com/MsLDHardy1
website: www.LDHardy.com
Amazon author page: www.amazon.com/author/msldhardy

About the book:
Malcolm and Cinnamon Black have weathered the storms of early marriage and a mayoral campaign that pulled every skeleton from the closet and threw it naked into the fray for all the world to see. Cinnamon was painted as a scarlet woman and it nearly broke Malcolm’s resolve to run for mayor. But they survived all that and Malcolm is now the first Black Mayor of Center City, Florida. Will he and his beloved first lady, Cinnamon be able to make a difference or will they be stopped at every turn by the maneuvers and dramas of FAMILY, FRIENDS and FOES? Read and you will find out, Angelia Vernon Menchan brings it once again…

About the author:
Angelia Vernon Menchan is wife, mother, nana and mentor. The former Job Corps Counselor is employed by day as a Budget Officer. However, by night she is the author of ‘Fictionalized Truths’… Since January 2006, she has published 14 books through her small publishing company, MAMM Productions. Her personal motto is, ‘There is an abundance through God for all of us, we simply have to be open for our blessings.” Her most recent offering is FAMILY, FRIENDS, FOES? The follow up to Mrs. Black? And The Blacks: LOVE’S Politics. http://acvermen.blogspot.com

Download your copy today.

You have to go to this blog post on my website in order to get to paypal. You can also try this direct link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=GDRX82JPGE4PG

No autographed copies are available through Amazon…only through my website.

My ebook V.I.P. is available on Kindle for Free today and tomorrow only. Here’s the link. Once you read, please be sure to leave a review:

http://www.amazon.com/VIP-ebook/dp/B006O53SHW/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326543218&sr=1-6

Mary J Blige (w/Drake) video “Mr. Wrong.”

SURVIVING MR. WRONG
By Shelia M Goss

How many times have you heard one of your girlfriends complain about the man they are with consistently? In your mind, you’re probably thinking, “why don’t you just leave him alone?” It’s easier said, than done.

Are we a glutton for punishment? Why do we continue in a relationship with a man that is apparently “not the one?” Once you realize there is life beyond a dead-end relationship, then you can take steps to resolve the issue.

Here are five sure ways to Surviving Mr. Wrong.

1. To thine self be true.
Be honest with yourself. Ask yourself why are you staying when you should be leaving. Are you afraid to be alone? Do you think you won’t survive without a man in your life? It’s time to sit back and re-evaluate your life. Find out why are you so dependent on someone who may not have your best interest at heart. Only you can make the decision to leave and start anew.

2. Laughter is fuel for the soul.
Life is serious; however find time to enjoy life. Don’t let being with someone who is wrong for you rob you of your joy. When was the last time you laughed? I mean a real laugh that made your head hurt. Grant it, starting over can be hard, but it can also be rewarding. Get back in tune to what makes you happy. If all else fails, make a point of watching comedies and bring a little laughter into your life until having a smile on your face is an every day thing.

3. Surround yourself with positive people.
Now this may be harder than you think. The saying “misery loves company” is so true. Some people close to you might not agree with your actions. Those are the ones you will need to keep at arms lengths as you go through your transition. Take an active role on having a positive attitude. Read and study your bible. Find positive affirmations and read them daily. Post them on your mirror in the bathroom, on your refrigerator, whatever you have to do to keep yourself in a positive frame of mind. Sign up for positive affirmations via email if you have internet access. For example, Jewel Diamond Taylor sends out daily affirmations via email.

4. Pamper yourself.
If there ever was a time for you to pamper yourself, NOW is the time. If you’re not already doing so and can afford it, treat yourself to a manicure and pedicure. In fact, why not go way out and treat yourself to a day at the spa. Get in tune with what your body and spirit needs. If you’re on a budget, there are plenty of things you can do for yourself at home. Take long bubble baths, light those candles and treat yourself to a candlelight dinner, Read the book you’ve been meaning to read. Pull out your favorite CDs and sing along. You’ll be amazed at how soothing music can be to the soul.

5. Don’t be a hermit.
You may feel like locking yourself in your room, but now is not the time to go into hiding. Yes. You need private time to access the situation and get back on track, but do not allow this period to deprive you of mixing and mingling with others. It goes back to surrounding yourself with positive people. Visit a friend or relative that you haven’t seen in awhile. Not saying you have to be a social butterfly, but why not open up your horizons and meet new people.

Here’s one positive affirmation to start you off on your journey of surviving Mr. Wrong:

I survived MR WRONG…anything else has to be a step towards making my life right.

 Parris in my book V.I.P. survived her Mr. Wrong. Find out how in V.I.P.

About V.I.P.: When fans of R & B Diva Parris start dissing her online, Parris knows she has to do something to revive her declining music career. She needs a hit song and fast. CJ “The Hitmaker” is a super producer looking to expand his portfolio. When these two meet, sparks fly, but trouble awaits between the pages. Being V.I.P. comes with a whole lot of drama from groupies and people from their past. Will Parris and CJ be able to mix business with pleasure without getting caught up in a media frenzy? Find out in V.I.P.

V.I.P. is available for Kindle, Nook, and your PC.