Cheris Hodges's Blog, page 35

If you're going to cheat, don't cheat with a Charlotte woman

For the most part, I love Charlotte, North Carolina.

The weather is great. After all, it's November and today it's in the 70s.

There are a lot of nice people here and of course, this is the home of my alma mater, Johnson C. Smith University.



On
the flip side, though--this city is full of crazy women! Rielle Hunter,
John Edwards's baby mama and the woman who brought down his political
career, calls Charlotte home. And media outlets are reporting that the
woman who contributed to CIA director David Petraeus's resignation this
week is from the Queen City.



According to the Charlotte Observer,
Paula Broadwell is a counterintelligence expert and was embedded
(doesn't that just sound so wrong now) with Petreaus in 2006 while he
was leading the troops in Afghanistan. She wrote a book about the
general.



Both are married. Both are wrong -- because we know in situations like this the woman is always judged harshly. However, if the Washington Post is right, Broadwell deserves it.



According
to the paper, she threatened a female friend of Petraeus via email.
Really? We're still sending email threats to the other other woman.

The collapse of the dazzling career
of CIA Director David H. Petraeus was triggered when a woman with whom
he was having an affair sent threatening e-mails to another woman close
to him, according to three senior law enforcement officials with
knowledge of the episode.


The recipient of the e-mails was so frightened that she went to
the FBI for protection and help tracking down the sender, according to
the officials. The FBI investigation traced the threats to Paula
Broadwell, a former military officer and a Petraeus biographer, and
uncovered explicit e-mails between Broadwell and Petraeus, the officials
said.

Like most misguided women, Broadwell is mad at
the wrong person. First of all, she should be mad at herself for
cheating on her husband and secondly, she needs to mad at Petraeus for
bringing more women into their extramarital affair (please read my
sarcasm here).



I've heard stories about crazy Charlotte broads. Let me tell you a few.


A
friend of mine told me she was cyber stalked and real time stalked by a
woman who said she had been her (ex) boyfriend's side chick for 23
years. The woman sent messages to her Facebook inbox, called her out on
Twitter and came to her residence to put a note on her car. In the 23
years that this woman was the side chick, the man in question had gotten
married, divorced, dated other people and this broad was excited about
giving him oral sex and mad at the other woman. Hmm, something in the
water does not compute. 
A former Charlotte Mecklenburg Police
Officer lost her job because she faked harassment from another woman who
was messing with the same man she was messing with. This officer even
went to jail. 
Another friend of mine found out her ex was
cheating and had someone call him and pretend she was from the health
department. The caller told the guy he needed to get tested for herpes
because a woman who had claimed to have sex with him had the disease. 

The
morale of the story: Be faithful. But if you must cheat, you'd better
hope your side chick is not from Charlotte. To quote the brilliant Awkward Black Girl: Bitches be crazy! 

Join my writing workshop!!

So, your guy didn't win, obviously you aren't going anywhere

Hmm, why are you still here?

Jet Blue made an offer to voters back in October, if your guy doesn't win, the airline would fly you out of the country.

"We've all heard it said before: if my candidate does not win, I'm leaving the country," said Marty St. George,
senior vice president marketing and commercial strategy for JetBlue.
"Fun is one of our five founding values, and in this spirit we decided
to give people a chance to recover from the political noise and follow
through on their claim to skip town if their candidate comes up short.
And with service to more than 20 international destinations JetBlue is
the perfect fix. Most importantly, we want to highlight the freedom we
have as Americans to exercise our right to vote and encourage everyone
to do their part on November 6. Live Free or Fly!"



The jetblue.com/electionprotection site will offer a real-time heat
map of customers' preferred destinations, and a social media ticket will
track buzz around the campaign. After the results are in, JetBlue will
give away 1,006 roundtrip certificates -- that's 2012 seats -- to
participants whose candidate lost. Tickets are good for roundtrip travel
from any airport JetBlue services to 21 international, nonstop
destinations including Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, St. Maarten, St. Lucia and Turks & Caicos.



JetBlue is also hitting the Election Protection campaign trail, taking to the streets of New York City with a roving vehicle from October 17 to 23. Armed with iPads, campaign swag and local New York City
voting information, the airline's brand ambassadors will barnstorm
locations throughout the Big Apple to encourage New Yorkers to get out
to vote in the election on November 6 and to sign-up for JetBlue's Election Protection.

For staunch Romney supporters, it's the day after tomorrow and they're still here. Because, according to Jet Blue, no one has taken them up on their offer.

Jet Blue spokeswoman Allison Steinberg said the offer was "tongue-in-cheek."

"I can't say that we've had anymore calls today. But we do hope if someone wanted to leave the country, they would come back."

Steinberg did say Jet Blue helped a passenger return to the US so that she could vote.

"We hope that we can come together on both sides of the aisle," she said.



I guess people do realize no matter who the president is, America is a pretty cool place to live. After all, imagine talking about Castro in Cuba the way some people have talked about President Obama in America.

Chatting with ALTonya Washington

There are writers who draw you into a story so deeply that when you reach the last page, you want cry, scream and kick! Why? Because the book was over too soon!





ALTonya Washington is one of those writers.

The award winning author of more than 30 books is back with another tale of family drama with Taboo Tree.

Rivalries, secret romances and scandals fed the feud between the
Gwaltneys and Augustines for decades. The two families shared an uneasy
co-existence, until terrible tragedy touched the Gwaltneys. Years later,
the two eldest Augustine children, chose to chart their family history.
In doing so, they made a devastating discovery. Their family shared
more than hatred with the Gwaltneys. They shared blood. The kids decided
to cover the explosive revelation. The decision would have consequences
none of them could have foreseen. Many years later, tragedy struck
again. History would repeat itself as new romances bloomed amidst the
pain of the loss and vows for revenge. The truth would have to be
revealed. Whether the secret would ruin the families forever or finally
unite them, was a chance they would have to take.

ALTonya spoke to me about her new book and what's on the horizon for her. 

1.    
  Tell the readers about Taboo Tree. 



Taboo Tree is the story of two
families- the Gwaltneys & Augustines- who over the years have had much
unrest between them. They've fought over everything from land rights to
parenting skills. In spite of this, attraction and love have bloomed between
members of the families. Emotions run deep and the relationships that blossom
are of the last kind. Then, a devastating truth is revealed, the families are bound
by more than rivalry, they are bound by blood.



2.       What made you decide to write a family saga? 



Well
family sagas are kind of in my blood; no pun intended- ha! What made me write
this particular saga stems from a weird dream that woke me out of my sleep one
night and had me scribbling like crazy in the dark for 30 minutes. I wasn't
sure if the notes would lead me to anything but the next day I couldn't stop
thinking about the idea. What drew me to telling this story was an interest
I've always had in the way people lead their sex lives that result in bringing
new lives (often many new lives) into the world. What happens when; due to some
uncanny twist, these new lives meet, fall in love and want to build lives
together only to discover they are related someplace deep in their family
trees? The consequences of this are what I explore in Taboo Tree.



3.       You create some of the most unique families (hello, the
Ramsey!). Where do you find the inspiration? 



I love the dynamics of the family
saga. Before the Ramseys (and Tesanos) I had no idea what family sagas were all
about. I sort of made up my own rules to guide me during the creative process.
My stories are really character driven. I think the compliments and conflicts
that exist when you toss many intriguing personalities into the mix, makes for
fantastic drama.



4.       What’s on the horizon for you? 





Right now, I'm putting
the finishing touches on a little holiday surprise for my readers. Then in
January, I'm anticipating the release of my next Kimani title ProvocativeTerritory . 

The idea for this story hit me out of nowhere as well and  took
off for me in an amazing way that has motivated me beyond this first story. I'm
really interested to see where it leads.


 













5.       How can readers follow you online?

  
www.lovealtonya.com


 
www.facebook.com/altonyaw


 
www.shelfari.com/novelgurl


 
www.goodreads.com


 
www.twitter.com/#!/ramseysgirl







6.       You write in multiple genres, do you have a favorite? 



 I
would have to say it's the historical romance genre. I love history and when I
discovered the romance genre, I tried to read everything I could get my hands
on. When I stumbled onto the historical romance genre, I was in heaven! Two
favorites in one! The only thing more incredible for me has been the chance to
actually create these kinds of stories. I regret not having the time to write
more of them but an historical requires tons of research. An author must be
more focused and motivated than usual when crafting one but the results are
well worth the effort!




 

Get ready for NaNoWriMo Writers Workshop

NaNoWriMo Writer’s Workshop
at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s Hickory Grove Branch




November is National Novel Writing Month and if you want
to put your thoughts to paper, then this is the writer’s
workshop for you.




Romance author Cheris Hodges, in
partnership with Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, will host a three part
workshop to assist teen and adult writers reach the 50,000 word goal of
NaNoWriMo.




Hodges, author of 13 novels, will assist writers with
plotting, character development, and getting over writer’s block, starting Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m.




Hodges will also offer tips for publication.
           

             


The goal of National Novel Writing Month, according to
the website –www.nanowrimo.org—is to take the fear away from anyone who has
ever thought about writing a novel, but “has been scared away by the time and
effort involved.”




More than 250,000 people participated in NaNoWriMo in
2011 and 36,843 finished their novels by the midnight deadline on Nov. 30th.
Some authors have been published, including Avon author Nora Zelevansky who
wrote Semi-Charmed Life.

Why you should never ever piss off a writer . . .

I was talking to a male friend of mine over the weekend and he flat out said, I'd never date a girl with the microphone.

I tilted my head to the side and asked for an explanation.

He said, "I don't want to be the subject of a book."



Smart man. Full disclosure, this guy has already been the inspiration for a book, His Sexy Bad Habit. The secret is out now. (LOL)

When I write about real people in my life, I try to write about the positive aspects of them. However, if you piss me off, I will destroy you in print --changing the names of the guilty, some times.







Want to avoid being in my book? It's pretty simple to do: Don't tell me anything that is extremely funny. Don't act like a fool around me. Don't stalk me. Don't say something stupid, like "you should let me dress you." (True story, a guy told me that. He is so going in the next book) And finally, don't break my heart.



I may not be able to go all Carrie Underwood on you, but I can kill you in my next novel.

Take this Flight

Denzel Washington as Captain William "Whip" Whitaker in Flight.

Captain William "Whip" Whitaker is a horrible person. He has demons that he refuses to deal with and he's flying a plane with 102 souls on it.

He was already drunk and high when he came to work. Refused to use the auto pilot and took more drinks while flying. And how did he spend the night before? Having sex, alcohol and drugs with sexy flight attendant Katerina Marquez.

When the plane begins to dive and Whip has to take bold, dangerous and extreme measures to save the plane and the people on it, he unleashes a storm that shows how messed up Whip really is.



But as horrible as Whip is, Denzel Washington plays this tragic character brilliantly. He's cocky when he should and shouldn't be. He owns up to his problems, privately, while dealing with the NTSB investigation and a damning toxicology report.

Whip also bites the hand that feeds him, his pilot's union rep, Charlie Anderson played by Bruce Greenwood, is on the receiving end of a tongue lashing and the lawyer, Hugh Lang played brilliantly by Don Cheadle is the object of Whip's disgust.



Washington and Cheadle were best friends in one my favorite movies, Devil In A Blue Dress. Though Mouse and Easy are back together, friends they are not. I feel like Cheadle was underutilized in this movie, but when he was on the screen, he was magical.



Make no mistake, though, this is Denzel Washington's movie. He lights up the screen as this drunk, drugged out airline pilot. His relationship with John Goodman's character Harling Mays is pure comedy. After all, we all need a friend who brings porn and cigarettes to us when we're in the hospital.



The build up of this movie and the twist and turns does lead to a disappointing ending, which I won't give away. Despite the ending, Flight is worth seeing.



Running time: 139 minutes




Cast

Denzel Washington as Whip Whitaker
Tamara Tunie as Margaret Thomason
John Goodman as Harling Mays
Kelly Reilly as Nicole Maggen
Don Cheadle as Hugh Lang
Nadine Velazquez as Katerina Marquez
Bruce Greenwood as Charlie Anderson
Melissa Leo as Ellen Block
Brian Geraghty as Ken Evans

Waiting For The Other Shoe to Drop: Part Five

                After
lunch, I decided to test the waters with Richard, who said he didn’t mind being
called Rich just not Richie. “So, Rich, you’re not worried that an office hook
up might be a mistake, and then we’re stuck working together while hating each
other and praying for a sudden transfer?”

                “Nope.
I get the feeling that you’re not that kind of woman and let me go on record to
say you won’t be disappointed.”

                “I’ve
heard that before and I wasn’t just disappointed, I was disheartened,
disheveled and disillusioned.”

                He
laughed as if I was Bernie Mac from the Kings of Comedy. “If you ever decide to
take this show on the road, please let me know where I can buy a ticket.”

                “You
think I’m being funny, but I’m serious. Don’t get me wrong, I love men but you
all are very, very special and I mean in a 90 percent of y’all rode a short bus
to school way.”

                “Bitter
much?”

                “Some
days are better than others.”

                “He’s
just one man.”

                I
snorted.  “That’s what they all say, but
somehow the result ends up being the same.”

                “At the
risk of sounding like a cliché, you’ve never heard that from me.”

                “That
was cliché. And at the risk of sounding bitter, it’s not like I haven’t heard
that before either.”

                “This
is going to be more work than this project.”

                “This?”

                “Getting
you to drop your guard and give me a chance.”

                “You’d
better think about that, Rich. I’m a hard habit to break,” I said as I pressed
the button on my key to unlock the doors. He gave me a slow once over.

                “I bet
you are,” he replied as he got into the car. 
We rode back to work in silence, just the sound of the urban adult
station’s afternoon mix.  Just as we
pulled into the parking lot of the plantation – I mean the office –Marvin Gaye’s Sexual Healing came blasting through the
speakers. When Marvin whispered ‘get up, get up,’ my hips shifted and the next
thing I knew I had my arms wrapped around Rich’s neck.  He pressed his lips against mine and damn,
they were soft. His kiss was slow and sweet; I welcomed his tongue and wantonly
grabbed his hand and pulled it against my breast.  He slowly massaged my breasts until my
nipples nearly popped through my tee shirt. His touch made my C-cups feel like
double Ds.

                The bad
angel on my left shoulder whispered, “Slip your hand in his pants.” And when I
was two seconds from doing it, the good angel told me to stop! Pulling back, we
locked eyes and he stroked my cheek.

                “That
was better than I ever imagined,” he said.

                “Blame
Marvin Gaye,” I whispered.

                “Then I’m
going to play Marvin every day.”

                I
sighed and closed my eyes, feeling the flames of desire and disaster. “We’d
better get inside before Perry comes looking for us.”

                “Can I
see you tonight?”

                Why did
his brown eyes have to be so damned intriguing? And why was I considering
saying anything but no. Imagine my surprise when the word yes slipped from my
lips.

                “Text
me your address and I’ll see you at eight,” he said then exited the car. I sat
there for a minute, collecting my thoughts and wondering just what in the hell
had I done?

This is why book clubs rock!! Oosa's Pajama Jam!

Writers love book clubs and here's why: the members are amazing. It's always a good time when you visit a book club. And finally, book clubs are so supportive!



Are you looking for something fun to do? Join or start a book club.

Waiting For The Other Shoe to Drop: Part Four

We arrived at what looked like a hole in the wall restaurant
on the east side of town. Judging by the full parking lot, the food must have
been good. I’d already made up my mind that I wasn’t ordering a damned thing
until I saw the sanitation grade. Richard opened the door and held it as I
crossed the threshold. The polite thing would’ve been to say thank you, but
when the scent of his cologne filled my nostrils, my ability to speak left me.
Why did he have to look and smell good? Offering a small smile, I walked ahead
of him and waited for the cashier to spot us. The restaurant was full of people
from every walk of life – students, professionals, construction workers and
nurses from the nearby hospital. I couldn’t help but laugh because no one and I
mean no one was eating anything healthy.

                “Two?”
the cashier asked.

                Richard
nodded and the woman pointed to an empty table in the corner. I sighed
inwardly, if this had been a date, this table would’ve been perfect. Secluded
and small. When we sat down, our knees collided and I struggled to ignore the
electric rush that kissed my spine and traveled between my thighs.

                “What’s
good here?” I asked.

                “Everything.
I enjoy the chicken and broccoli, but that’s because I’m a big fan of veggies.”

                “So,
you’re a vegetarian?”

                He
shook his head. “Can’t give up the yard bird.”

                I
laughed and picked up the menu to hide the goofy smile on my face. “Then I’m
going to have the chicken and broccoli. If I don’t like it, I’m blaming you.”
Easing the menu down, I saw he had those brown eyes trained on me and there was
that twitch again.

                “What?”
I asked.

                “Nothing,
because if I ask you the question I want the answer to, it’s just going to
start an argument.”

                Narrowing
my eyes at him, I was about to tell him to go ahead and ask, but I let it
slide. Richard, however, didn’t know when to say when.  “These last few months, you’ve been a beast at
work, taking on projects that no one wanted, coming in early and leaving late.
Now, I know that when sisters do stuff like this, it’s either for a promotion
or because she has a broken heart.”

                Sighing,
I decided not to be confrontational – this time. But there is nothing worse
than a man who thinks he knows everything no matter how cute he is. “Of course
I’m looking to advance my career,” I replied carefully.

                “I don’t
believe that’s the only reason.”

                “And I
don’t give a shit.” Oh well, there went being non-confrontational.

                “Ouch.
That pretty much proves my point.”

                “Here’s
my point, keep your dime store psychoanalysis to yourself. Until you decided to
muscle your way on to my project, we never have one conversation.”

                “That’s
because I knew you were involved with someone and every time I see you I want
to lick your bottom lip.”

                The
needle fell right off the record and I gasped. “Umm, that’s very. . .”

                “Inappropriate,
I know. But how else would I get a chance to talk to you? You don’t go to after
work events, you eat lunch at your desk and you keep headphones in your
ears.  The hint was taken; you wanted to
be left alone.”

                “And
you decided to pull this stunt anyway?”

                He
grinned and nodded. “Yes, because if your lips are as soft as they look, it
will be worth it.”

                I waved
for the waitress and ignored the river flowing between my legs.