Chicki Brown's Blog, page 18
June 22, 2015
New Release Spotlight - Charmaine Galloway
I have another new release to share today! It's the new novel from author Charmaine Galloway entitled JORDAN'S CONFESSIONS.
Charmaine Galloway was born and currently resides in Toledo, Ohio with her two children. Writing has been her passion and a positive emotional outlet since middle school. As a teen, writing in her journal allowed her to escape from the negativity of her world. Around that time she also began writing her debut poetry book.
Charmaine has a Bachelor of Arts in Family Life Education and an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. Titles by Charmaine includes: My World, Through My Eyes, Girlfriends Secrets, The Secrets They Kept, Tyree’s Love Triangle, Golden, Heaven’s Cry, Girl Talk, Find The Princess Within, Mommy’s Little Superhero and I love Myself As I Am.
Synopsis
Jordan thought she could trust, Darnell, her mother’s boyfriend, until he deceived her to the fullest. See how he pulls Jordan into his web of deceit, leaving her hurt, broken and confused. Can she build the courage to confess to her mother the secret that she had been holding on to, Would anyone believe her?
JORDAN'S CONFESSIONS will be available on June 27th on Amazon.com, BN.com and on Charmaine's web site, www.charmainegalloway.com
Charmaine Galloway was born and currently resides in Toledo, Ohio with her two children. Writing has been her passion and a positive emotional outlet since middle school. As a teen, writing in her journal allowed her to escape from the negativity of her world. Around that time she also began writing her debut poetry book.
Charmaine has a Bachelor of Arts in Family Life Education and an Associate Degree in Early Childhood Education. Titles by Charmaine includes: My World, Through My Eyes, Girlfriends Secrets, The Secrets They Kept, Tyree’s Love Triangle, Golden, Heaven’s Cry, Girl Talk, Find The Princess Within, Mommy’s Little Superhero and I love Myself As I Am.
Synopsis
Jordan thought she could trust, Darnell, her mother’s boyfriend, until he deceived her to the fullest. See how he pulls Jordan into his web of deceit, leaving her hurt, broken and confused. Can she build the courage to confess to her mother the secret that she had been holding on to, Would anyone believe her?
JORDAN'S CONFESSIONS will be available on June 27th on Amazon.com, BN.com and on Charmaine's web site, www.charmainegalloway.com
June 18, 2015
New Release Spotlight - Bejeweled
Today I am so happy to feature
BEJEWELED
, the new release from my friend and fellow writer's group member, Chelle Ramsey.
ABOUT BEJEWELED: WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE
Olivia’s dreams have finally begun to come true, as she marries the man who’s held her heart for twenty years. Her beauty salon is prospering, and she has begun rebuilding her team, after seeds of discord were sowed and bonds were broken. Everything is beginning to look up, or so she thinks. When a scandal is leaked to the media, Olivia’s dream of expanding is in jeopardy. She must step up and play hard ball in a game with which she’s unfamiliar.
Nikki had dreams of building a beautiful family with a loving husband. But after looking at the shattered pieces of her broken life, she is losing hope and desires more. She wants more than the shame of barrenness, and more than physical abuse from his drinking binges. One phone call gives her courage to escape the deadly clutches of her husband. Yet, when she finds strength in another’s arms she finds herself spinning more lies. Nikki’s web of deceit is going to cost all those who are close and it could just cost her, her life.
When deception is the name of the game, who all will have to share the pain?
EXCERPT:
Going into the salon, she was prepared to hear some good, old-fashioned gossip. It was healing for the soul sometimes. And with the strange moods her husband was experiencing lately, she needed some healing. She thought back on Nikki’s words and hoped the gossip would be fun rather than malicious.
“So, is it serious, Ty?” Maya asked.
“To me it is,” her master stylist, Tyrone, replied as Olivia sat in her chair. She maintained a chair of her own, because despite being a business woman, doing hair was her first love.
“Who are you in love with now, Ty?” a client asked.
“Nonya” he replied with a smirk.
“Who is that?” the young girl asked.
“None of yo business,” Tyrone replied and started laughing.
Olivia shook her head at his foolishness.
“Honey, don’t pay Ty no mind. He in love with somebody new every two weeks. He fall in love more than some folks get a paycheck,” Belinda cracked.
“Girlfriend, at least I got somebody to fall for, and I ain’t playing with them toys on lonely nights.”
“Ladies, gentleman, let’s not be crass,” Olivia corrected.
Tyrone put his hand over his mouth and apologized. He had not seen Olivia enter the hair salon from her office in the rear.
“Hey, is that our shop?” Darla asked, pointing at the flat screen TV hanging on a wall overhead.
“Yeah. What’s going on?” Maya asked.
Someone turn that up?” Belinda hollered out.
As they were turning up the volume, Olivia had risen from her chair and began fast-walking towards her salon doors. She clicked the locks just as she saw someone attempting to enter.
“What the hell is going on?” Belinda asked with her hands on her ample hips. Frown lines creased the folds of dark brown skin around her eyes and across her forehead. She laid down her beveling iron to move closer to the TV screen. There wasn’t an eye that wasn’t glued to that tube, except for Olivia’s. She was closing the blinds over the windows of the shop. When the waiting clients in the lobby noticed what she was doing, they jumped up to do the same thing.
“Mrs. O, come here and check this out,” Tyrone called.
“…and it happened right here in this very shop. Here’s a clip of that fight that occurred back in the spring.” The TV panned to a very clear shot of Angel and Kianna brawling in the middle of the hair section of BeJeweled.
ABOUT CHELLE RAMSEY:An original Georgia Peach, Chelle Ramsey is the author of five published and several waiting-on-the-shelf contemporary fiction books, with a focus on women's fiction. Many of her stories are based in her birthplace of Atlanta or her husband’s hometown of Cincinnati, where readers can relate to local hot spots and events. Chelle wants people to become empowered to rise above life's adversities, with faith in God, and belief in themselves. She sprinkles words of encouragement and inspiration throughout all of her real life fiction novels.
Chelle holds an MBA in Human Resource Management, which she puts to use in her property management role by day, while she writes her fiction novels by night. Her most important roles are those of a wife and mother of three. During her “me time,” she loves listening to music, and becomes enraptured with the enthralling stories of Terry McMillan, and Nora Roberts. She especially enjoys trying to solve the engaging mysteries of James Patterson and Stuart Woods, while eating a bowl of butter pecan ice cream. Chelle resides in a rural community of Atlanta, GA and enjoys writing, family time, ministering through dance at church, and watching NBA games with her husband.CONTACT INFO:BLOG: www.writingmydreams.comWEBSITE: www.chelleramsey.comFACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChelleRamsey?ref=hlFACEBOOK_NOVEL: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-House-of-BeJeweled-Novels/385049478363422?ref=hlTWITTER: https://twitter.com/ChellesBooksEMAIL: cmichelleramsey@gmail.comINSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/chelleramseybooks/GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscom_ChellePURCHASE BOOKS:AMAZON: C. Michelle Ramsey Amazon or Chelle Ramsey AmazonPAPERBACKS: https://www.createspace.com/4706061v
ABOUT BEJEWELED: WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE
Olivia’s dreams have finally begun to come true, as she marries the man who’s held her heart for twenty years. Her beauty salon is prospering, and she has begun rebuilding her team, after seeds of discord were sowed and bonds were broken. Everything is beginning to look up, or so she thinks. When a scandal is leaked to the media, Olivia’s dream of expanding is in jeopardy. She must step up and play hard ball in a game with which she’s unfamiliar.
Nikki had dreams of building a beautiful family with a loving husband. But after looking at the shattered pieces of her broken life, she is losing hope and desires more. She wants more than the shame of barrenness, and more than physical abuse from his drinking binges. One phone call gives her courage to escape the deadly clutches of her husband. Yet, when she finds strength in another’s arms she finds herself spinning more lies. Nikki’s web of deceit is going to cost all those who are close and it could just cost her, her life.
When deception is the name of the game, who all will have to share the pain?
EXCERPT:
Going into the salon, she was prepared to hear some good, old-fashioned gossip. It was healing for the soul sometimes. And with the strange moods her husband was experiencing lately, she needed some healing. She thought back on Nikki’s words and hoped the gossip would be fun rather than malicious.
“So, is it serious, Ty?” Maya asked.
“To me it is,” her master stylist, Tyrone, replied as Olivia sat in her chair. She maintained a chair of her own, because despite being a business woman, doing hair was her first love.
“Who are you in love with now, Ty?” a client asked.
“Nonya” he replied with a smirk.
“Who is that?” the young girl asked.
“None of yo business,” Tyrone replied and started laughing.
Olivia shook her head at his foolishness.
“Honey, don’t pay Ty no mind. He in love with somebody new every two weeks. He fall in love more than some folks get a paycheck,” Belinda cracked.
“Girlfriend, at least I got somebody to fall for, and I ain’t playing with them toys on lonely nights.”
“Ladies, gentleman, let’s not be crass,” Olivia corrected.
Tyrone put his hand over his mouth and apologized. He had not seen Olivia enter the hair salon from her office in the rear.
“Hey, is that our shop?” Darla asked, pointing at the flat screen TV hanging on a wall overhead.
“Yeah. What’s going on?” Maya asked.
Someone turn that up?” Belinda hollered out.
As they were turning up the volume, Olivia had risen from her chair and began fast-walking towards her salon doors. She clicked the locks just as she saw someone attempting to enter.
“What the hell is going on?” Belinda asked with her hands on her ample hips. Frown lines creased the folds of dark brown skin around her eyes and across her forehead. She laid down her beveling iron to move closer to the TV screen. There wasn’t an eye that wasn’t glued to that tube, except for Olivia’s. She was closing the blinds over the windows of the shop. When the waiting clients in the lobby noticed what she was doing, they jumped up to do the same thing.
“Mrs. O, come here and check this out,” Tyrone called.
“…and it happened right here in this very shop. Here’s a clip of that fight that occurred back in the spring.” The TV panned to a very clear shot of Angel and Kianna brawling in the middle of the hair section of BeJeweled.
ABOUT CHELLE RAMSEY:An original Georgia Peach, Chelle Ramsey is the author of five published and several waiting-on-the-shelf contemporary fiction books, with a focus on women's fiction. Many of her stories are based in her birthplace of Atlanta or her husband’s hometown of Cincinnati, where readers can relate to local hot spots and events. Chelle wants people to become empowered to rise above life's adversities, with faith in God, and belief in themselves. She sprinkles words of encouragement and inspiration throughout all of her real life fiction novels.
Chelle holds an MBA in Human Resource Management, which she puts to use in her property management role by day, while she writes her fiction novels by night. Her most important roles are those of a wife and mother of three. During her “me time,” she loves listening to music, and becomes enraptured with the enthralling stories of Terry McMillan, and Nora Roberts. She especially enjoys trying to solve the engaging mysteries of James Patterson and Stuart Woods, while eating a bowl of butter pecan ice cream. Chelle resides in a rural community of Atlanta, GA and enjoys writing, family time, ministering through dance at church, and watching NBA games with her husband.CONTACT INFO:BLOG: www.writingmydreams.comWEBSITE: www.chelleramsey.comFACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorChelleRamsey?ref=hlFACEBOOK_NOVEL: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-House-of-BeJeweled-Novels/385049478363422?ref=hlTWITTER: https://twitter.com/ChellesBooksEMAIL: cmichelleramsey@gmail.comINSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/chelleramseybooks/GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscom_ChellePURCHASE BOOKS:AMAZON: C. Michelle Ramsey Amazon or Chelle Ramsey AmazonPAPERBACKS: https://www.createspace.com/4706061v
June 12, 2015
Fun Friday!
It's been ages since I posted a Fun Friday entry. For years, my friends used to send me funny stories and cartoons, but they stopped, so I've decided to share some of the best things I ran across online recently.
Hope these made you smile.
Hope these made you smile.
June 3, 2015
New Release Spotlight - Loving Night
Today I am proud to feature the brand new release from my friend, Brynette Turner! She writes romantic stories with a metaphysical edge.
Here a blurb about the book:
Chaz took a desk job at the FBI to protect the woman he loves from the psychic connection that pulls her into the middle of his dangerous investigations. Yet, when he is forced to lead another undercover assignment, she must be the one to keep him safe.
Stephanie’s gift of having dreams that become real is evolving, but neither she nor Chaz understands these changes until an old enemy that she fears appears in new dreams.
Paul Watkins is a dangerous criminal from an old case, and he still wants Chaz dead. But will Chaz and Stephanie be strong enough to figure out what she’s supposed to do to help him in time? Will they survive Watkins and the evil that always surrounds him?
Excerpt from Loving Night: Dream Catcher Series – Book 2
“Eggs will be ready in a couple of minutes.” She gave him a weak smile before turning her attention back to the stove. “I forgot to buy jelly, so there’s only honey for the biscuits.” A few minutes later, she dumped half of the eggs onto each plate and joined Chaz at the table where he was already munching on a slice of bacon. She could feel him staring at her as he chewed and she took her time spreading butter on the fluffy bread. How she phrased her next words would be very important.“I dreamed about your job. Steve is in town, even though you didn’t expect to see him yet. He’s a great guy, Chaz. I’m glad he’ll be the person helping with your transition. You’ll make a wonderful team leader.” She looked directly into his eyes now. “I don’t know how your going undercover again will affect our marriage, so I’m a little concerned. But, it’s our destiny to be together, Chaz, so we’ll be all right.” She paused briefly and let out a sigh. “You should take the job.”He nodded and took a sip of juice. His eyes never left hers.“What if I don’t want the job? Your dream told you what’s going to be discussed, but did it tell you how I feel?”“Conflicted,” she answered.“That’s right. This might be a good decision for my career, but honestly, I don’t want to be away from you,” he admitted. “I also don’t want to miss celebrating one single special moment with our child. I want to be on the floor teaching her to roll a ball and holding her hands while she’s learning to balance and taking her first steps. She’ll need to hear my voice reading goodnight stories from the moment she comes home from the hospital and feel my hands cuddling her when she’s grouchy from teething. She needs to know how much love is in my heart just for her. She deserves that; I deserve it.” He reached across the table and linked his fingers with his wife’s. “Besides, I don’t want you being a single parent for months at a time—and that’s what it might be. We’re building this life together, Stephanie. Together.” He stood and pulled her into his arms.“When you were in Pennsylvania and I was here without you, part of my soul was missing, sweetheart. We were both miserable.” He kissed her very lightly. “I don’t want us to go through that again.” Another kiss. “And I don’t want you to be afraid, or lonely, or overwhelmed. I’ll figure out my career; there has to be another way. Leaving you isn’t worth it.”
Stephanie tightened her arms around him. What he said sounded wonderful. But she knew what she had seen, and her gift was rarely wrong. She returned his kisses and kept quiet.
Available on Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/1SVAjfn and on her web site - http://bit.ly/1dLwp97 Special release sale price $1.99 for a limited time.
Here a blurb about the book:
Chaz took a desk job at the FBI to protect the woman he loves from the psychic connection that pulls her into the middle of his dangerous investigations. Yet, when he is forced to lead another undercover assignment, she must be the one to keep him safe.
Stephanie’s gift of having dreams that become real is evolving, but neither she nor Chaz understands these changes until an old enemy that she fears appears in new dreams.
Paul Watkins is a dangerous criminal from an old case, and he still wants Chaz dead. But will Chaz and Stephanie be strong enough to figure out what she’s supposed to do to help him in time? Will they survive Watkins and the evil that always surrounds him?
Excerpt from Loving Night: Dream Catcher Series – Book 2
“Eggs will be ready in a couple of minutes.” She gave him a weak smile before turning her attention back to the stove. “I forgot to buy jelly, so there’s only honey for the biscuits.” A few minutes later, she dumped half of the eggs onto each plate and joined Chaz at the table where he was already munching on a slice of bacon. She could feel him staring at her as he chewed and she took her time spreading butter on the fluffy bread. How she phrased her next words would be very important.“I dreamed about your job. Steve is in town, even though you didn’t expect to see him yet. He’s a great guy, Chaz. I’m glad he’ll be the person helping with your transition. You’ll make a wonderful team leader.” She looked directly into his eyes now. “I don’t know how your going undercover again will affect our marriage, so I’m a little concerned. But, it’s our destiny to be together, Chaz, so we’ll be all right.” She paused briefly and let out a sigh. “You should take the job.”He nodded and took a sip of juice. His eyes never left hers.“What if I don’t want the job? Your dream told you what’s going to be discussed, but did it tell you how I feel?”“Conflicted,” she answered.“That’s right. This might be a good decision for my career, but honestly, I don’t want to be away from you,” he admitted. “I also don’t want to miss celebrating one single special moment with our child. I want to be on the floor teaching her to roll a ball and holding her hands while she’s learning to balance and taking her first steps. She’ll need to hear my voice reading goodnight stories from the moment she comes home from the hospital and feel my hands cuddling her when she’s grouchy from teething. She needs to know how much love is in my heart just for her. She deserves that; I deserve it.” He reached across the table and linked his fingers with his wife’s. “Besides, I don’t want you being a single parent for months at a time—and that’s what it might be. We’re building this life together, Stephanie. Together.” He stood and pulled her into his arms.“When you were in Pennsylvania and I was here without you, part of my soul was missing, sweetheart. We were both miserable.” He kissed her very lightly. “I don’t want us to go through that again.” Another kiss. “And I don’t want you to be afraid, or lonely, or overwhelmed. I’ll figure out my career; there has to be another way. Leaving you isn’t worth it.”
Stephanie tightened her arms around him. What he said sounded wonderful. But she knew what she had seen, and her gift was rarely wrong. She returned his kisses and kept quiet.
Available on Amazon.com - http://amzn.to/1SVAjfn and on her web site - http://bit.ly/1dLwp97 Special release sale price $1.99 for a limited time.
May 22, 2015
Writergirl problems
This week I ran into an unexpected complication with I'M LOSING YOU that's never happened to me before. I have two beta readers who read for me chapter by chapter. One has been out of commission recovering from surgery. As a result, I've been relying on the other reader to give me her take on how the story is coming along. She had a few issues with Ramona Stafford since Chapter One, but when I received her comments on Chapter Seven, they stopped me cold.
What does an author do when her beta readers hate the plot or characters? I didn't want to continue writing if the story sucked that much, so I figured the best thing for me to do was to get additional opinions. Now, I am not an author who writes to public opinion, but I felt if the character/plot was that bad, other readers would feel the same way.
This book is about a couple having problems in their marriage, and I'd been writing each chapter with the first part in Vic's POV and the second half in Ramona's POV. My goal was to write without siding with either character, but since 99% of my readers are women, i imagined most of them would be sympathetic to Ramona.
Hoping it wouldn't be an imposition, I put out a temporary Facebook message to my writer friends asking for 3-4 people who had time to read 100+ pages in the next two days. Within an hour, there were several responses, and I chose those I knew pretty well, including one male author. It was important to me to get a male POV on this issue.
I didn't tell these volunteers anything other than the fact that my beta reader really disliked the way the story was going and that I needed their opinions. What I discovered was very interesting. The lone male agreed with my beta reader. The other three women clearly understood what was going on in Ramona's heart and mind. They pointed out that I needed to do a better job of showing her feelings right from the beginning, but they were also sympathetic to Vic's feelings.
Me, being the paranoid writer I am, wasn't sure that small sampling of readers was enough, and because of my whining and moaning in the FB post, several of the members of my former critique commented and also offered to read it.
In the past I had the group (six other female writers) to give me their take on my manuscripts, but it's been several years since the majority of us got published and the group disbanded. Those ladies were my lifeline for nearly eight years, and I desperately missed their input. Most of us stay in regular contact with each other via social media.
I haven't received their critiques yet, but as a result of our conversation, the group had decided to reboot! I am SO happy!
For the past two days, I've been working on making the characters' feelings clearer. I'm anxiously waiting for comments from my crit group. It all worked out for the best, and now I
can have a stress-free holiday weekend. Hope you do to!
What does an author do when her beta readers hate the plot or characters? I didn't want to continue writing if the story sucked that much, so I figured the best thing for me to do was to get additional opinions. Now, I am not an author who writes to public opinion, but I felt if the character/plot was that bad, other readers would feel the same way.
This book is about a couple having problems in their marriage, and I'd been writing each chapter with the first part in Vic's POV and the second half in Ramona's POV. My goal was to write without siding with either character, but since 99% of my readers are women, i imagined most of them would be sympathetic to Ramona.
Hoping it wouldn't be an imposition, I put out a temporary Facebook message to my writer friends asking for 3-4 people who had time to read 100+ pages in the next two days. Within an hour, there were several responses, and I chose those I knew pretty well, including one male author. It was important to me to get a male POV on this issue.
I didn't tell these volunteers anything other than the fact that my beta reader really disliked the way the story was going and that I needed their opinions. What I discovered was very interesting. The lone male agreed with my beta reader. The other three women clearly understood what was going on in Ramona's heart and mind. They pointed out that I needed to do a better job of showing her feelings right from the beginning, but they were also sympathetic to Vic's feelings.
Me, being the paranoid writer I am, wasn't sure that small sampling of readers was enough, and because of my whining and moaning in the FB post, several of the members of my former critique commented and also offered to read it.
In the past I had the group (six other female writers) to give me their take on my manuscripts, but it's been several years since the majority of us got published and the group disbanded. Those ladies were my lifeline for nearly eight years, and I desperately missed their input. Most of us stay in regular contact with each other via social media.
I haven't received their critiques yet, but as a result of our conversation, the group had decided to reboot! I am SO happy!
For the past two days, I've been working on making the characters' feelings clearer. I'm anxiously waiting for comments from my crit group. It all worked out for the best, and now I
can have a stress-free holiday weekend. Hope you do to!
April 30, 2015
Cover reveal!
I love when I get the cover for an upcoming release! Book Four in the Stafford Brothers series has a cover thanks to Cover Me Book Covers for another great job.
COMING LATE SUMMER 2015
COMING LATE SUMMER 2015
April 17, 2015
New Release Spotlight!
Angelia Vernon Menchan is an author I both respect and admire. Today I am pleased to feature her brand new release,
Trinidad and April's Amelie.
Excerpt:
Amelie rolled awake, her body bumping up against Trinidad. She finally asked his name after more than ten days together. He was one fine specimen but she wondered why he was hanging around. He disappeared hours at a time but returned. He hadn't asked for anything other than the pleasure of her body and the pleasure had been all hers. He even brought her meals. The last two nights she slept with him stone, cold sober and he was a freaking master. Standing up, she stretched before walking into the bathroom. After using it and washing up she sat on the balcony, dressed in the plush white robe staring out at the sea. Trinidad woke up watching her. She was a beautiful woman but so troubled. Feeling him watching her, she looked inside and he walked out to her.
"What's going on in your sober mind?" He asked. She turned her head away before answering."I was thinking how I got here. Everything's an impulse with me. Since my mom died, I've impulsively lived my life, chasing dope and men, men and dope. I even stole sperm and had my brother in laws baby." He knew that but remained quiet. "They have him now and I'm sure with their money and connections he's now legally theirs. It's just as well. I'm no ones mommy. I'm simply the bad twin to perfect April." Bitterness was on her tongue. He grabbed his chest in mock horror."Please don't tell me there are two of you.""Whatever. She's nothing like me. She's smarter, married and special. I'm the late born twin who lost oxygen to her brain and could never get the right grades, make the right choices so instead I had fun.""You're jealous.""I'm past jealous. I'm obsessed. No one loves April more than me. No one hates April more than me. I would kill the person who ever hurt her but there have been times I wanted to kill the life she has." He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close to him. "Trinidad, why are you still here?""I wish I knew." He said honestly. He understood being an outsider and feeling less than. That was several years of his life. But after joining the military and later starting his own private consulting business he found some semblance of normalcy. But there were times when he was still that abused foster kid.
Available at:http://www.amazon.com/Trinidad-Aprils-AMELIE-Angelia-Menchan-ebook/dp/B00VKD6Y5Q/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428181759&sr=1-11&keywords=menchan
You can learn more about Angelia by visiting her blog - http://acvermen.blogspot.com/ or her Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/angeliam?fre...
Excerpt:
Amelie rolled awake, her body bumping up against Trinidad. She finally asked his name after more than ten days together. He was one fine specimen but she wondered why he was hanging around. He disappeared hours at a time but returned. He hadn't asked for anything other than the pleasure of her body and the pleasure had been all hers. He even brought her meals. The last two nights she slept with him stone, cold sober and he was a freaking master. Standing up, she stretched before walking into the bathroom. After using it and washing up she sat on the balcony, dressed in the plush white robe staring out at the sea. Trinidad woke up watching her. She was a beautiful woman but so troubled. Feeling him watching her, she looked inside and he walked out to her.
"What's going on in your sober mind?" He asked. She turned her head away before answering."I was thinking how I got here. Everything's an impulse with me. Since my mom died, I've impulsively lived my life, chasing dope and men, men and dope. I even stole sperm and had my brother in laws baby." He knew that but remained quiet. "They have him now and I'm sure with their money and connections he's now legally theirs. It's just as well. I'm no ones mommy. I'm simply the bad twin to perfect April." Bitterness was on her tongue. He grabbed his chest in mock horror."Please don't tell me there are two of you.""Whatever. She's nothing like me. She's smarter, married and special. I'm the late born twin who lost oxygen to her brain and could never get the right grades, make the right choices so instead I had fun.""You're jealous.""I'm past jealous. I'm obsessed. No one loves April more than me. No one hates April more than me. I would kill the person who ever hurt her but there have been times I wanted to kill the life she has." He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close to him. "Trinidad, why are you still here?""I wish I knew." He said honestly. He understood being an outsider and feeling less than. That was several years of his life. But after joining the military and later starting his own private consulting business he found some semblance of normalcy. But there were times when he was still that abused foster kid.
Available at:http://www.amazon.com/Trinidad-Aprils-AMELIE-Angelia-Menchan-ebook/dp/B00VKD6Y5Q/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428181759&sr=1-11&keywords=menchan
You can learn more about Angelia by visiting her blog - http://acvermen.blogspot.com/ or her Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/angeliam?fre...
April 15, 2015
Seven Things...
There's a challenge going around Facebook right now, and before anyone tags me, I figured I'd answer it here. The theme of this challenge is to post seven things most people don't know about me as a writer.
1. I never write my manuscripts by hand. I find handwriting annoying and painful, since I type 100 words a minute. Being a secretary/administrative assistant for so many years made me a keyboard woman.
2. Even though I never hand-write, I have an addiction for buying gel pens. I use them for editing on hard copy, and I have an extensive collection divided between my laptop bag, my purse and my desk in the office. I edit mostly in bright pink ink, but also use purple and aqua.
3. Every time I finish reading a great book, I go through an inevitable "I suck as a writer. I could never write anything like this" phase for a day or two.
4. Ever since I started writing, I've been a plotter. Before I start a book, I create an outline, story timeline, photo collage of the characters, but recently I discovered I'm becoming more of a pantser. Perhaps that's because I know the characters in the Stafford Brothers series so well, I don't need to do so much preliminary work.
5. I still have a copy of the first story I ever wrote in first grade. My mother saved it in the baby book she'd created for me. I found it in her belongings after she passed on. It was
about a snowstorm.
6. Speaking of storms, even though I love writing at the beach, I do some of my best writing in bad weather - especially when it's raining hard.
7. The first book I published was actually the fourth one I'd written.
I'm not going tag anyone here. If I get challenged, I'll tag them on Facebook.
April 4, 2015
Upcoming Book Discussion!
I’ve been invited by authors Tia Kelly and Nia Forrester to do a discussion about DON’T STOP TILL YOU GET ENOUGH and the other books in the series!
It will be held on Sunday, April 26 at 5:00 pm. I’ll also be giving away a few Amazon gift cards, so click on the link below if you want to join us. https://www.facebook.com/events/895478850498690/
April 1, 2015
I'm Losing You - Excerpt #3
Here is the weekly unedited excerpt from my work-in-progress,
I'm Losing You
, Book 4 in the Stafford Brothers series.
You can read the previous excerpts here:
Excerpt 2 - http://sisterscribbler.blogspot.com/2015/03/last-sunday-i-gave-you-excerpt-from-its.html
Excerpt 1 - http://sisterscribbler.blogspot.com/2015/03/moving-right -along.html
She yearned for those times when Vic used to share everything with her. During his time as a lowly intern, when they were dating, he told her every little detail about his days doing the grunt work for the residents. At the same time, he’d been excited and eager to learn everything possible about medicine first-hand. Often they stayed up late into the night talking on the phone, and he asked questions about her burgeoning modeling career as though he was sincerely interested.After the wedding, once they moved into their own apartment, she loved lying in bed listening to his amazing stories about the inner workings of the hospital. Now, if they talked at all, it was about mundane, necessary things before he drifted into a work-induced coma. When he was conscious, hospital business preoccupied his mind. He traveled a lot to conferences, conventions and symposiums, and his schedule usually didn’t allow him to accompany her at fundraising events or sit with her in the bleachers at the boys’ football games. He’d become little more than a ghost in their own home. “I didn’t know it would take you away from us the way it has. You obviously see no reason to adapt for us. I’ve had enough of this, Vic. If I’m not that important to you, I will find a way to keep myself occupied.” Vic uttered a scornful laugh and followed her as she stormed into the kitchen. “Right. Like you’re going to get a job.” “When I got pregnant with Trey, you were the one who said you wanted me to stay home and take care of him.” “That was twelve years ago, Mona! Less than two years later, you announced you were pregnant again.” She slumped down onto a stool and gaped at him in disbelief. “Are you saying I got pregnant so I wouldn’t have to work?” He glared at her. “I never said you hadto work, but I expected you to do more than sit around and wait for me to come home. Since when did you become so clingy?” “Clingy? So it’s being clingy because I want my husband to spend some time with me and his kids?” “Look, I’m tired and I need to get a few hours of sleep.” She watched him leave the room then dropped her head down to the Italian marble counter. The only reason he’d noticed her tonight was because he’d suddenly become suspicious. And he had good reason to be. Two years of begging him to spend time with her and the boys was her limit. Thirty-seven was too young to become a medical widow. He’d ignored her long enough.
Chapter TwoThe next morning, Vic showered, dressed and dragged himself down to the kitchen. He made a cup of coffee and contemplated what he needed to do once he got to the hospital while it brewed. The sound of footsteps shuffling down the hall drew his attention to the doorway where Mona stood watching him. “You’re working another Saturday?” “Yeah. The Board needs a report for their meeting next week, and I couldn’t get it done with everything else that was going on.” He reached for a travel mug from the cabinet when the ready light came on.“Hmph,” she grunted and turned to leave.“I’m sorry for what I said last night. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”“You said exactly what you meant. It’s been two years, Vic, and I’m tired.” When he looked up from stirring the cream and sugar into his coffee to respond, she was gone. He could’ve gone after her, but he was in no mood for another argument. Instead, he entered the garage from the kitchen and left the house, welcoming the silence inside the soundproof cabin of his S600. The traffic surrounding him while he drove to work faded into a blur as he recounted last night’s scene with his wife. Was he treating her like a child or were his suspicions justified? After all the years they’d been married, he should be able to trust her, but the change in her schedule, wardrobe and attitude had him questioning her every move. And after her behavior last month at the barbeque, he didn’t put anything past her. They had all been at his parents’ house for the annual July Fourth celebration. As usual, his mother hired a DJ and a crew to install a dance floor in the yard. All was going well, and they were having a good time until Mona got on the floor with his baby brother. He still hadn’t recovered from the shock of her showing out the way she had. It was bad enough that she came dressed like a twenty-year-old, but when she went on the dance floor with Nick and danced like a stripper at Magic City, he’d lost it. Mona never behaved suspiciously before. It all started after a benefit she had worked so hard on. One he’d been too busy to attend. Vic brushed the last thought aside. After being a doctor’s wife for so many years, she surely understood his responsibilities. Or was he expecting too much from her? To avoid being spotted in the hospital cafeteria, he went through the drive-in at Dunkin’ Donuts and bought an extra-large coffee, a breakfast sandwich and a Boston cream donut. He could never get enough coffee. If anyone saw him, they would surely find reason to pull him aside in order to ask his opinion on one thing or another. By the time he drove into the hospital garage and parked in the space reserved with his name stenciled on the wall, he tried to focus his thoughts on the project facing him once he got upstairs. The one good thing about working on a Saturday was the staff didn’t know he was there, and he had some solitude in which to wade through the mountains of paperwork waiting for him in his office. Unfortunately, when he settled behind his desk, last night’s scene with Mona monopolized his thoughts. She’d avoided giving him any straight answers. She had her faults, but lying wasn’t one of them. Mona always told him the truth, even if she knew her answer would upset him. Why in God’s name would she start now? Almost involuntarily he reached for his cell and dialed Marvin Weber, his colleague and closest friend. His wife worked with Mona on both of her fund-raising committees. If anyone knew what she was up to, Daphine did. “Marv, it’s Vic. Are you in the hospital today?” “No, man. In fact, I’m on my way out to breakfast with the family. What’s up?” “Is Daphine right there with you?” “No, she’s upstairs getting dressed. Is something wrong?” “Did she have a meeting last night?” “Nope, not last night. Why?” Vic didn’t want to reveal his suspicions about his wife just yet even to his best friend. “I thought I remembered Mona saying something about it.” “So why don’t you call her, man?” “Eh, it’s not important. Enjoy your breakfast, and tell Daphine I said hello. Thanks.” Vic shoved the phone back in his pocket. Maybe you’re blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Perhaps he’d talk to Jesse about it later.
COMING LATE SUMMER 2015
You can read the previous excerpts here:
Excerpt 2 - http://sisterscribbler.blogspot.com/2015/03/last-sunday-i-gave-you-excerpt-from-its.html
Excerpt 1 - http://sisterscribbler.blogspot.com/2015/03/moving-right -along.html
She yearned for those times when Vic used to share everything with her. During his time as a lowly intern, when they were dating, he told her every little detail about his days doing the grunt work for the residents. At the same time, he’d been excited and eager to learn everything possible about medicine first-hand. Often they stayed up late into the night talking on the phone, and he asked questions about her burgeoning modeling career as though he was sincerely interested.After the wedding, once they moved into their own apartment, she loved lying in bed listening to his amazing stories about the inner workings of the hospital. Now, if they talked at all, it was about mundane, necessary things before he drifted into a work-induced coma. When he was conscious, hospital business preoccupied his mind. He traveled a lot to conferences, conventions and symposiums, and his schedule usually didn’t allow him to accompany her at fundraising events or sit with her in the bleachers at the boys’ football games. He’d become little more than a ghost in their own home. “I didn’t know it would take you away from us the way it has. You obviously see no reason to adapt for us. I’ve had enough of this, Vic. If I’m not that important to you, I will find a way to keep myself occupied.” Vic uttered a scornful laugh and followed her as she stormed into the kitchen. “Right. Like you’re going to get a job.” “When I got pregnant with Trey, you were the one who said you wanted me to stay home and take care of him.” “That was twelve years ago, Mona! Less than two years later, you announced you were pregnant again.” She slumped down onto a stool and gaped at him in disbelief. “Are you saying I got pregnant so I wouldn’t have to work?” He glared at her. “I never said you hadto work, but I expected you to do more than sit around and wait for me to come home. Since when did you become so clingy?” “Clingy? So it’s being clingy because I want my husband to spend some time with me and his kids?” “Look, I’m tired and I need to get a few hours of sleep.” She watched him leave the room then dropped her head down to the Italian marble counter. The only reason he’d noticed her tonight was because he’d suddenly become suspicious. And he had good reason to be. Two years of begging him to spend time with her and the boys was her limit. Thirty-seven was too young to become a medical widow. He’d ignored her long enough.
Chapter TwoThe next morning, Vic showered, dressed and dragged himself down to the kitchen. He made a cup of coffee and contemplated what he needed to do once he got to the hospital while it brewed. The sound of footsteps shuffling down the hall drew his attention to the doorway where Mona stood watching him. “You’re working another Saturday?” “Yeah. The Board needs a report for their meeting next week, and I couldn’t get it done with everything else that was going on.” He reached for a travel mug from the cabinet when the ready light came on.“Hmph,” she grunted and turned to leave.“I’m sorry for what I said last night. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”“You said exactly what you meant. It’s been two years, Vic, and I’m tired.” When he looked up from stirring the cream and sugar into his coffee to respond, she was gone. He could’ve gone after her, but he was in no mood for another argument. Instead, he entered the garage from the kitchen and left the house, welcoming the silence inside the soundproof cabin of his S600. The traffic surrounding him while he drove to work faded into a blur as he recounted last night’s scene with his wife. Was he treating her like a child or were his suspicions justified? After all the years they’d been married, he should be able to trust her, but the change in her schedule, wardrobe and attitude had him questioning her every move. And after her behavior last month at the barbeque, he didn’t put anything past her. They had all been at his parents’ house for the annual July Fourth celebration. As usual, his mother hired a DJ and a crew to install a dance floor in the yard. All was going well, and they were having a good time until Mona got on the floor with his baby brother. He still hadn’t recovered from the shock of her showing out the way she had. It was bad enough that she came dressed like a twenty-year-old, but when she went on the dance floor with Nick and danced like a stripper at Magic City, he’d lost it. Mona never behaved suspiciously before. It all started after a benefit she had worked so hard on. One he’d been too busy to attend. Vic brushed the last thought aside. After being a doctor’s wife for so many years, she surely understood his responsibilities. Or was he expecting too much from her? To avoid being spotted in the hospital cafeteria, he went through the drive-in at Dunkin’ Donuts and bought an extra-large coffee, a breakfast sandwich and a Boston cream donut. He could never get enough coffee. If anyone saw him, they would surely find reason to pull him aside in order to ask his opinion on one thing or another. By the time he drove into the hospital garage and parked in the space reserved with his name stenciled on the wall, he tried to focus his thoughts on the project facing him once he got upstairs. The one good thing about working on a Saturday was the staff didn’t know he was there, and he had some solitude in which to wade through the mountains of paperwork waiting for him in his office. Unfortunately, when he settled behind his desk, last night’s scene with Mona monopolized his thoughts. She’d avoided giving him any straight answers. She had her faults, but lying wasn’t one of them. Mona always told him the truth, even if she knew her answer would upset him. Why in God’s name would she start now? Almost involuntarily he reached for his cell and dialed Marvin Weber, his colleague and closest friend. His wife worked with Mona on both of her fund-raising committees. If anyone knew what she was up to, Daphine did. “Marv, it’s Vic. Are you in the hospital today?” “No, man. In fact, I’m on my way out to breakfast with the family. What’s up?” “Is Daphine right there with you?” “No, she’s upstairs getting dressed. Is something wrong?” “Did she have a meeting last night?” “Nope, not last night. Why?” Vic didn’t want to reveal his suspicions about his wife just yet even to his best friend. “I thought I remembered Mona saying something about it.” “So why don’t you call her, man?” “Eh, it’s not important. Enjoy your breakfast, and tell Daphine I said hello. Thanks.” Vic shoved the phone back in his pocket. Maybe you’re blowing this whole thing out of proportion. Perhaps he’d talk to Jesse about it later.
COMING LATE SUMMER 2015
