• #BlackGirlMagic,  Contemporary Romance,  E books,  Excerpts,  IR erotic romance,  New Adult

    An AA heroine with vitiligo

    In keeping with my theme of diversity (with a focus on underrepresented women of color in publishing), I’ve got a New Adult romance featuring a young woman who discovers just how strong she really is:

     

    Young lovers Bree and Stone, from the ebook The Gorgeous Nothings

     

     

    Pictured: Bree Silvestre, lead character in my New Adult romance about a sexual assault on a college campus.

     

    Excerpt:

    If a six foot-something man could shrink to two feet, that’s what Tyshawn did. My words seemed to make him fold into himself. His shoulders slump, and his face is crestfallen. “Bree, please . . . I just need to explain.”

    “No, you-you get back. Get back or I’ll scream. You were there, and you didn’t do a damn thing except laugh. You saw me on the ground, but you didn’t do anything to help me-”

    “I didn’t know you needed help! Jamie said you had too much to drink, and he was gonna help you get home.”

    “And you believed him.”

  • #BlackGirlMagic,  Adult Novellas,  Contemporary Romance,  E books,  New Adult

    Trigger Warnings

    Free Sneak Peeks go into effect tomorrow, Oct 31st until Wednesday, Nov. 2nd for the upcoming ebooks Ivy League and The Gorgeous Nothings, Bree and Stone.

    I’ve got a couple of books that I’ve decided to label with a trigger warning.

    Here’s the definition of a trigger warning:

    A statement at the start of a piece of writing, video, etc., alerting the reader or viewer to the fact that it contains potentially distressing material (often used to introduce a description of such content).

    The Gorgeous Nothings deals with sexual assault on a college campus. Since the assault happens to the lead character, I think its only fair to warn readers who may find the subject matter upsetting, especially if they have experienced rape. The Sneak Peek doesn’t contain the assault scene, that’s why there’s no trigger warning on it.

     

    Pictured: Bree Silvestre and Stone Ulrich, from the IR erotic romance The Gorgeous Nothings

     

    I’m debating whether I should put a trigger warning on SENSEI, since the lead character experiences both rape and sexual trafficking. However, in SENSEI, I don’t use first person or have the main character describe in detail what happened to her.

    As I familiarize myself with Amazon’s publishing process again (it’s been almost a year since I uploaded a manuscript), the Sneak Peeks serve a number of purposes for me. While Sneak Peeks are for marketing purposes, I’m able to correct format errors and process any changes Amazon has made. All my books, from the covers to the blurbs, are created in-house.

     

    IVY League is a love story that begins in college and continues on Capitol Hill. Kenya Paul is a liberal and active in the LGBTQ community. Brandon is conservative, and has just been elected to the House of Representatives when they re-connect in Washington, DC.

    ivy-league-kenya-and-brandon_edited
    Pictured: Kenya Paul and Brandon Wingate, lead characters from the IR romance IVY LEAGUE