Chicki Brown's Blog, page 41

Thank you!

Ain't Too Proud To Beg  made the Amazon bestsellers lists!

Great big Saturday morning smooches to everyone that bought the book!

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,039 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
#77 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > African American
#84 in Books > Romance > Multicultural

Kindle - http://amzn.to/TNCAuW & Kobo - http://bit.ly/UrtUqi& Nook - http://bit.ly/RYhlIB

IT'S RELEASE DAY!!!!!

   To get your very own copy, just click on one of the links below:

Kindle - http://amzn.to/TNCAuW & Kobo - http://bit.ly/UrtUqi& Nook - http://bit.ly/RYhlIB  

And I’m hoping all of you faithful blog readers tell everyone about the book!
Thank you!

Fall First Paragraph Party - Day Three

Today is the last installment of my Fall First Paragraph Party, and I have some more great books for you! If the clip grabs your interest, just click on the buy link to read more. 

With the savvy of a lifelong New Yorker, Cesca slid down in the driver's seat as she raised the cell phone to her ear. She was stopped at a red light, or more accurately, at the bequest of the police officer directing traffic. The drive to the midtown bakery had been a nightmare, because apparently every traffic signal north of Sixtieth Street was out of order. At any rate, she doubted that the state law against cell phone use while driving took being stopped into consideration. Best that the policeman directing traffic not see her talking on the phone. Cesca knew that the police were necessary to provide law and order, especially at times like this, but the less direct contact she had with any members of law enforcement, the better. – from SOMETHING REAL by Bettye GriffinBuy links: Kindle - http://amzn.to/TBJ3sJNook - http://bit.ly/SpVfMa


 
Kenyatta Copeland felt bile rise in her throat. She looked down at the half-eaten quesadilla she’d ordered for lunch, but couldn’t blame her sickness on that. Her friend Angie chatted happily about some game her daughters had played the night before, oblivious to the lack of interest of her two lunch partners.

She tried swaying from side to side with the Latin music playing in the background of the Mexican restaurant, hoping it would hide her anxiety. But when she caught the eye of Carol, her other friend sitting across from her in the booth, she knew she was busted. It would take a miracle to get through lunch without making Carol suspicious. Carol could sniff out a lie from a mile away.

With a deep breath to calm her rolling stomach, she pulled her hand from her lap and slapped it on the table. - from YOU CAN’T PLAN LOVE by Synithia Williams

Buy links on my site www.synithiawilliams.com/books  First paragraph: Holly sat at the foot of her door for what seemed like an eternity. The torment of her time spent with Trent reeling repeatedly in her mind like a slow moving black and white movie; the worst parts of it rolling constantly around the reel. He violated every part of her, and more than that, he breeched the trust she thought she had established with him. Remembering their long conversations; hours spent on the phone sharing their hopes, goals, dreams, past, and possible futures; how he had been with her at work and on their first dates made Holly question her own judgment. Was she that bad a judge of character? She had guarded herself and her heart for a long time after Derrick, and when she finally let’s someone in, this is the end result? – TWISTED SISTER II: Twisted's Revenge by Deidra D. S. Green.Buy link: http://amzn.to/UAotd1

 
Starting off with some sad story about my past, to justify my present life choices, isn’t my style. Saying my parents didn’t love me enough, that my father was never home, or blaming it on mixing with the wrong crowd, would all be lies. My mother was always there for me, my father hustled for his family; when he was home, he made up for the times he wasn’t. My father had the respect of the streets, especially when his blood flowed on them the night he was taken from us nearly four years ago. Nothing was the same since he passed. My mom kept a smile pasted on her face, but I knew that every night she cried not only for her soul mate, but for my soul. I accept the way my life is. Truth is I enjoy the late nights at the clubs, the respect the power.  - from BLAQUE ICE by Imani Writes
Buy link: http://amzn.to/SpXKOm  He was going to rape her was all Iyces could think of, she knew that she had to come up with something or her worst nightmares were about to come true but, she didn’t know how to get out of this. He walked over to her and smacked her and it caught her off guard and she fell to the floor; he pulled her up by her hair and stuck his tongue down her throat and she bit down on it. He smacked her again as he spit out blood.“I’m gonna send Black a got damn message that he’s messing with the wrong guy. He better remove his men from my turf or there will be a war”. He slapped her again; she knew that she had to find a way to get to her gun. Her purse was on the floor and a couple of punches to the gut sent her back to the floor. She was right where she needed to be to get to her gun. As he was taking off his clothes, she snatched her gun from her bag and without a warning; she rolled over and shot him in the damn stomach. She got herself together and she shot him two more times in the damn head while yelling.

She cursed him, grabbed her purse and got out of there because she knew that it was just a matter of time before there would be more trouble to deal with. (Edited for content) – from MY SOUL IS BLEEDING by E’ner

Buy link: http://amzn.to/QA4jQ6 

Author spotlight - Susan Noble

I am proud to welcome Texas fantasy author Susan Noble into the author spotlight today!



Here's a little bit of what Susan says about herself. "Ever since I was young, I have always liked to read. It seemed natural that I also liked to write. Given my love for dragons and magic, it was not hard for me to decide to become the author of fantasy novels. Of course, being a cat lover, I decided to throw a telepathic cat into the mix and thus started my trilogy called The Elemental ."

Susan's brand new release is entitled, The Search , whichwill be free through Amazon Nov. 29th to Dec. 1st.



Book Blurb

For over a thousand years, telepathic cats known as STACs have faithfully searched for those with power over the elements looking for the one foretold to save the Land. None have questioned their duty to fulfill this ancient task.

But when Tosh’s latest charge is murdered because of his Elemental powers, Tosh considers abandoning The Search. Will a glimpse of the future destruction be enough to change his mind?
Book Excerpt
Tosh spent the rest of the afternoon jumping from branch to branch. The wolves patiently followed him. Then he heard a roaring sound. If he remembered his geography well enough, the Bowen River should be nearby. Two trees later, he saw the edge of the gorge. After a hop to the next tree, he could see the water rushing by. The wolves circled around the base of the tree.
Tosh surveyed the area. The tree he sat in was at the very edge of the gorge. Below him was a steep incline of about fifteen feet to the water. It was too far to the other side to jump. The water was certainly too fast for him to swim even if he could find a way down to the river. Then he spied a fallen log a few hundred feet upstream. It was a perfect bridge for him to cross the gorge, but he would have to time his crossing just perfectly as he would surely have the wolves on his heels.
He continued leaping from branch to branch until he was as near to the fallen log as he could get. He studied it wondering how much weight it would support. It should easily hold his weight but if the wolves followed him, he feared it might break. He glanced down at the waiting wolves. He sat, tapping his tail on the branch, as he thought of a way to distract them. He wondered what would happen if he spoke to the wolves. He had never used the mind connection with anyone other than another STAC or an Elemental. He wasn’t sure it was even possible, but it might at least shock them and give him just a few seconds head start.
He climbed down the branches until he was on one of the lowest ones. The wolves’ ears perked up, and they excitedly circled the tree.
Run! Get out of here!
The wolves jumped and whimpered, looking for the source of the voice. Tosh didn’t hesitate. He dropped to the ground and ran toward the log. He was halfway across it when he heard a noise behind him. He glanced back. The young wolf that had originally chased him was following him. The log rocked slightly. Tosh hurried. He was almost to the other side. The cracking of the log echoed across the gorge. Tosh didn’t have time to jump as the log collapsed into the water below taking him and the wolf with it.   You can contact Susan at:  http://susanleighnoble.wordpress.com/

Buy link for The Search - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0098PHNW6

Fall First Paragraph Party - Day Two

 I have some great clips for you today from a variety of new books, so get yourself a cup of coffee, relax and enjoy! 


The full moon was reflecting on the shimmering water of the lake. An owl hooting in the distance broke the quiet of the evening and startled the young woman. Momentarily, she was yanked back into an awareness of her surroundings.

A single coherent thought flashed through her mind; what in the hell are you doing out here Angel?

Her vision was pulled once more into darkened oblivion. Her thin night gown swayed against her lithe, supple body as she walked in the pale moon light. Goose bumps raised on her arms as each step carried her closer to the red glow in the grass. Something she couldn't understand or break the hold of was drawing her closer.
Kneeling down she reached into the dew laden tuft of grass. Tendrils of red light reached out and wrapped around her hand. Levitating out of the grass the crystal floated to just above... – from LITURGY by Brian Bigelow
This will also be in a short story compilation coming up soon. Buy link:  http://amzn.to/TqqDcn
 

Finally found the missing eighteen dollars, Angela said to herself as she balanced her checkbook in her Money program. I can go to bed now. When she heard her cell phone playing Heard it Through the Grapevine, she saw on the Caller ID it was QTEE. Haven’t heard from you in over a month. Can’t you remember we’re three hours later here in Raleigh than you are in Vegas? She clicked the phone on and said, “Hello Laura,” expecting her friend’s usual “Hello Beautiful,” but a male voice responded.
"Ms. Angela, this is Carlton, Laura’s son. She would have wanted me to tell you. She died last month.”

Angela gasped. “NO. What happened?”
“You probably know she had heart trouble. I went to check on her that day, and she had died in her sleep.” – from TELL THEM I DIED by Sarah Gordon Weathersby
Buy link: http://amzn.to/TaxaY3



“What is it that every girl has that every guy wants?” Cicely asked her three cousins, Karen, Brook and Dawn.
They all playfully shrugged. Then Cicely twisted her hips around and wagged her backside to reveal the answer.
“You are so nasty,” Karen said to her.
“But it is so true,” Cicely replied. “It’s like my momma always said, ‘You have to use what you’ve got to get what you want from a man.’”

Of course her mother never really said those words to her directly. Surely that is not something a mother would tell her 12-year-old daughter. Besides, how many 12-year-old girls would know the meaning of that phrase if they happened to hear it? - from "AN ODE FOR ORCHIDS by James Fant
Buy Link: http://amzn.to/11bk5mC 
  Patricia laid her lime green Gucci bag on the table. Sitting her car keys next to the bag on the table in the foyer, Patricia began to riffle through the stack of letters that she had gotten out of the mailbox. The fourth letter drew her interest and immediate attention. Written in a rushed and somehow distantly familiar handwriting, was her name and address and at the top where the return address should have been it was blank. However, she saw that the postmark was from Atlanta. She never received any mail from Atlanta here at the house, it was always sent to her Post Office Box, so her curiosity was aroused. Tossing the other letters down next to her purse, she sat on the chair next to the table and slipped one Orange Opal manicured fingernail under the envelope’s seal to begin opening it. – from REFLECTIONS OF PROMISES by C. Michelle Ramsey
Buy link: http://bit.ly/Y4tA9n
 
White capped waves rocked the sides of the boat. He stumbled forward. He’d only been on a ship once. He and his brother had once been Londoners, shifties who longed for the wilds of Africa. Together they’d boarded a slave ship, taking jobs in the slave trade with no intention of capturing and taking slaves back to work for the rich. It had been their ticket to freedom, a chance to live the life they craved. A life in the wild. The life of a lion. – from UNCAGED by Alisha Page
Buy link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A9XF01W

 
Sometimes, in relationships, we don’t always know the right way to go, but, in my opinion, when one has made up her mind to do something, it’s best to let it be. In the end, somebody always ends up getting hurt, but I’m choosing not to be the fool. In this case, I have to stay on top of it all.
When that b@#*h showed up at my door, all kinds of s#*t went through my head. Trying to be the bigger woman probably made me look like a damn fool in her eyes. The heart tends to beat to another tune when love is involved, but I wasn’t ready to face the music. I listened to the lies, shed my silent tears. In the end, I am still a winner in my eyes. Destiny played all of her cards until she was down to the last one— me! – from DESTINY IS ALL I NEED by EbonyNicole
Buy link: http://amzn.to/TsOMCe AND orders may be placed at www.pinkkisspublishing.com/ebonynicole.html


 
Willow’s phone went off in the folds of her black gown. The dread washed into her from all sides. Not now, she thought. Kyle dabbed at his mouth with the white linen napkin and his gaze dropped to the table surface. Willow fought the urge to cover her phone with her hands, as if he could see the thing through the butter cream tablecloth. From NATURE OF THE BEAST by Stephanie Freeman

Buy links:
http://on.fb.me/TsORpl
http://on.fb.me/UYSYI2

 
White
1998

I was born into bondage, she thought, just because I was born a girl. She stared at the ceiling, tears pooling in her eyes. First my parents controlled my life. Then came college, which was only an illusion of freedom. Every decision I made was really my parent's decision, an amalgam of their choices pre-made for me through eighteen years of brainwashing my psyche. I was mindlessly programmed to choose for myself the things my parents had already chosen for me. Like marriage-the tightest shackle with the shortest chain. She turned over and glared at her husband's side of the bed, now empty. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pictured a rich teak box lined with pink silk and wondered if that would be her final prison, or the gateway to the only freedom she would ever know. A kaleidoscope of white dresses with blood-red stains danced through her thoughts like the prequel to a horrifying nightmare and she burrowed deeper under the covers, willing sleep to come. – from The Complete Lily Lansing by Bastian Caldwell

Buy links:
WildChildPublishing: http://on.fb.me/Vdxgnq
Amazon.com: http://on.fb.me/RinjUs
Barnes&Noble: http://on.fb.me/SpS1t2

It's Party Time!

Welcome to the Fall First Paragraph Party!
Who knows? You just might find the perfect Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa gift
#1

“This is the last time I wear this dress.”

“Oh, please, Ebony,” Yasmine, my best friend and roommate, yelled in my ear.

The music pounding out of the nightclub’s speakers made it nearly impossible to hear her.

“Stop fidgeting. You look uncomfortable,” she added, winking at the bartender who handed us our drinks.

No matter how many times I adjusted the hem of my dress, it was impossible to ignore the warm air tickling the backs of my thighs as people pushed past me in the crowded bar. It would take more fabric to keep my shapely derriere from involuntary exposure.

“Thanks.” I slipped money into the bartender’s tip jar, and he rewarded me with a gorgeous smile. “For the record, I am uncomfortable.” I turned to face Yasmine. “Freakum dresses are your thing, not mine.”

Yasmine laughed. “True, true, everyone’s not blessed blessed with a body like mine.”

– from A HEART NOT EASILY BROKEN by M.J. Kane


http://www.kindleboards.com/book/?asin=B009DID8HW 

#2

"I up and left him for another man, so what on God's green earth would make him want to take me back?" Deborah had been asking herself this question the entire drive to the book signing. And now, as she parked outside of the Barnes and Noble on 356 in Pickerington, Ohio, she still had no answer. Dreadfully, she knew her answer lay inside that one-level bookstore, in which the smell of flavored caffeine from the little Starbucks in the front corner of the store would assault her nose from the moment she stepped inside. - from THE SUNDAY ONLY CHRISTIAN by E. N. Joy


http://www.amazon.com/Sunday-Only-Christian-Still-Divas/dp/1601627408/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353796634&sr=1-1&keywords=the+sunday+only+christian

#3

I sat on my front porch and closed my eyes as the warm rays of the sun bathed my face. I smiled. It was a small smile, but it was a smile nonetheless. Freedom. That’s what the sun felt like. Freedom. For so many years, I’d coveted it, craved it. Now, I had it and I honestly dd not know what to do with it. – from See Me by Adrienne Thompson


Kindle and paperback: http://ow.ly/ePcsF
Nook: http://ow.ly/ePcxS
Kobo: http://ow.ly/eQd0T

Stop back on Wednesday to read some more clips!

What I learned from writing this book

Ain’t Too Proud to Beg finally went to the editor last Sunday. This was the tenth book I’ve written, the sixth to be published, but it was the hardest one for me to write. I learned some lessons while writing this book.

Yesterday, I searched the entries here to try to figure out when I started the story, and discovered it was back in February! On March 9th I posted an entry that said I was only three chapters in and was experiencing all kinds of di [image error]  I’ve done a lot of thinking about this, and I’ve realized the three major issues that stood in my way of reaching The End.
My first realization was that I desperately miss my critique group.
We disbanded around the first of the year because all of us are now published, and  nobody has the time to do line-by-line critiques for five other members. Over the past six years, those ladies read every single word I wrote. They let me know what they liked and disliked, what wasn’t working and how I could improve the story. They were invaluable to me.

The second roadblock was that ATPTB was the first manuscript I’ve written using my new laptop. Previously, I did most of my first drafts on an Alphasmart. I love the convenience of having the laptop, especially being able to switch from Word to Google or Dictionary.com as I write, but the laptop is both a blessing and a curse.
Since I have the attention span of a gnat, more often than not, the temptation to stay offline check my e-mail, read Tweets and Facebook posts, look at the pretty pictures on Pinterest, etc. was just too great for me to withstand. I don’t know how many hours I lost sitting at the laptop doing stuff that had nothing to do with writing.

·        This was the first manuscript for which I didn’t do an extensive outline and a storyboard.           The total outline amounted to only five pages, less than half of what I usually have, which meant I had to do twice as much work on the page. Thankfully, the story developed into what it was supposed to be, but not with the ease I normally experience during the creation of a novel. The most important thing I discovered during the past ten months is that I am a true plotter. No more pantsing for this sister. Ever.
 Other than moving to a cave to write my next book, I’m trying to figure out how to remedy these issues. It would be wonderful to have another critique group, but it would have to be with other published authors. Most of the authors I know well enough to ask are already too busy just writing and promoting.

Of course, I could go back to writing on my Alphie, but I’ve been too spoiled by the laptop. Now I consider that gadget merely a backup to be used in case of emergency. (See author Penelope Marzec’s great post  about writing in the dark after Superstorm Sandy.
 My spring 2013 release will be You Make Me Feel Brand New , a novelette that was published early this year in an anthology from WG2E. At least I’m ahead on the plotting the next novel though. Already I have eleven pages outlined on the next book, which is tentatively titled , A Woman’s Worth.

Giving thanks

I am so thankful to God for my life, my health, my freedom, my church, my family, my friends, my gift to write, my writing friends, and my readers. Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm cooking today then working on promo stuff for the release of Ain't Too Proud to Beg so I can be ahead of the game when I get it back from my editor.

Just wanted to share my two favorite Thanksgiving videos with you. These turkeys do M.C. Hammer and Gloria Gaynor proud!

Author spotlight - Bettye Griffin

Today author Bettye Griffin stops by to talk about her latest eBook release, Something Real , joined by her three lead female characters.


First, a little about Bettye: Her first romance was published in 1998. She went on to have a total of 10 contemporary romances and 6 works of women’s fiction traditionally published over the next dozen years. In 2009, while still under contract to a publisher, Bettye started her own publishing outlet, Bunderful Books. She now indie publishes all her work through this outlet. Her latest eBook, Something Real , has just gone on sale.


Chicki: Hi, Bettye. Can you tell me a little about Something Real ?

Bettye: Hi, Chicki! Thanks for inviting me to your blog for a chat. Something Real is a sequel to Save The Best For Last, the story centering around the two best friends of the heroine of that book. Like Isn’t She Lovely? before it, Something Real is more of a mainstream romance than a traditional single title romance. Two romances are covered with near-equal amounts of words, only one of which progresses to the HEA (that’s “happily ever after”) by the end. Some other things occur that you wouldn’t see in a traditionally published romance, but I can’t go into those without giving away too much of the story. Also, the book has a somewhat unusual structure, spanning a four-year period, which allows for a peek into that happily ever after.

Now, for the interview:

Chicki: Bettye has chosen to stay in the background and let her characters take questions instead, so I’m talking with New Yorkers Francesca Perry, “Cesca” to her family and friends; Olivia Oliveira, known as “Livvy” to her oldest friends and just “Liv” to newer ones; and Genevieve Gray, known as Gen, except to her husband Dexter, who calls her Jenny.

The name of the book is Something Real . According to Bettye, all I have to do is ask one question and the three of you will take it from there, so let me ask…Whose story is this?

Cesca and Liv [simultaneously]: Mine!

Gen: I’m not in it a whole lot, but I already got my own story…my story. I didn’t have to share it with anybody, even though my friends were in a couple of scenes. It was called Save The Best For Last . You’ll want to read it, if you haven’t already. Bettye has made it free on Smashwords, where you can get it formatted for any eReader device.

Cesca: This is both Livvy’s story and mine, I guess. But my story with Terrence is complete. Livvy’s and Brian’s isn’t.

Liv: That’s all right. I’ll be the star of the next book, and like Gen, I won’t have to share it with anybody…except for the man of my heart, of course. Bettye’s working on it now, and she plans to have it out by the spring. Besides, I’m the reason Bettye wrote this book in the first place. You see, I also showed up in another book of hers called The Heat of Heat . I was only in it for a couple of pages, but readers were intrigued and told Bettye they wanted to know what the deal was with magazine publisher Brian Price and me, so she wrote this story to show readers why our relationship was so strained, as well as what happened afterward. Part I takes place the following spring after Save The Best For Last ends. Part II takes place after The Heat of Heat ends. Bettye said she had a hell of a time structuring this story and keeping the timelines straight.

Gen: It’s definitely not your typical romance, which often unfold over the course of a couple of months.

Liv: That Bettye doesn’t do anything typical. Now that she’s indie publishing you never know what she’s going to come up with. She’s really making me work to get to my happy ending. I can’t believe the wrench she put in my plotline.

Gen: Bettye says that sometimes relationships don’t line up neatly in a row like so many dominoes, with each character falling in love neatly when it’s their turn. She says that love doesn’t work like an assembly line and is often messy. And I’m not just talking about sex. But speaking of sex, you guys do have a pretty fair amount of that going on. That didn’t happen with Dexter and me in our book. He spent most of the story trying to get me in the sack. [dreamy grin] But oh, what a chase it was! And when it finally did happen, we didn’t even make it to the bed.

Liv: [making a face] Too much information, Gen.

Gen: You must not have read the book.

Bettye: Of course she didn’t read the book. You guys are all characters…remember? You only know what happens in the scenes you’re in.

Liv: Well, there are some twists in Something Real that you just won’t see coming, in both Cesca’s relationship with Terrence and mine with Brian, let me tell you.

Cesca: And let me tell you, Livvy, that Bettye decided to write Something Real about Terrence and me. In Gen’s book (Save The Best For Last), she let readers know that I hate police because of how they mistreated me and my family members. Then she had Gen encounter a sexy police officer named Terrence Gulliver after an escaping thief knocked her down. I’m not privy to Bettye’s reasons for including this scene—Gen has no cause to fear the police, as far as I know—but Bettye decided at that moment to write a book that would pair me with Terrence because she knew there’d be fireworks…and something truly horrifying happened in the interim between the two books that made me hate cops even more. So I was the original inspiration for Something Real , not you. She didn’t think about adding you to the mix until a year later, while she was writing The Heat of Heat and decided to put you in it for a hot minute.

Liv: Oh, you think you’re so smart [glares at Cesca].

Cesca: Do I have to remind you that that’s Terrence and me on the cover? I don’t see you or Brian anywhere, not even in the book summary [smiles triumphantly].Gen: Can’t we all just get along?

Liv: You guys know I love y’all, even when you get on my last nerve.

Cesca: Yeah, well, that’s about all we know. You’re so secretive about everything else. Liv: I can’t help it; Bettye wrote me that way. She said girlfriends in books are always confiding in each other, and she wanted me to be different. Besides, you guys wouldn’t understand the way I feel about certain things. Both your parents had money. The only reason I lived on the Upper East Side was because my parents were the supers of the building we lived in. Our apartment was on the first floor, next to the laundry room. We heard washers agitating and dryers tumbling all day and all night.

Gen: Sometimes I wish you’d try confiding in us, Liv. We’ve been friends since we were fifteen years old. When Something Real starts we’re…hey Bettye, how old were we again? [Bettye is heard answering.] Oh, that’s right. Twenty-eight. So we’ve known each other for over a dozen years.

Cesca: We’re well off, or at least our parents were. That doesn’t mean we’re from another planet.

Liv: Nothing personal, but sometimes it’s good to keep things to yourself. I’ll be you have secrets.

Cesca: My life’s an open book.

Gen: [nervously chews her lower lip].

Liv: Gen? You okay?

Gen: [too quickly] Fine.

Liv: Hmm. I’m getting the distinct feeling there’s something you don’t want Cesca and me to know.

Gen: Never mind about me. Something Real is your story, remember?

Cesca: It’s more my story.

Gen: [throws hands up] This is where I came in.

Chicki: Something Real is available now for Kindle, for Nook, and on Smashwords.

Cesca: It’s a wonderful story, and it’s about me.

Liv: No, it’s about me.

Gen: Can we just say it’s sexy?

Chicki: Thanks, ladies. It’s been…

Cesca, Liv, and Gen [simultaneously]: Real!

Bettye: As in Something Real . It’s now available, so download yours today! And as for Liv being sure that the concluding story will be exclusively hers…well, I wouldn’t bet the brownstone on it. Things have a way of changing when I’m writing a story, and I’ve decided that Gen, who is keeping a secret from her friends, is going to have a few anxious moments before it’s all over, as well as the roadblocks in store for Liv as she stumbles toward her ultimate happy ending…the final book, Man of Her Heart, will be out February or March of 2013. Thanks, Chicki!