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Tall Story
They’re called “bigs” on a basketball team, and my upcoming ebook features college sweethearts who play NCAA ball.
Yul Sukari (I decided to change his first name from Yohan) and Rhea Chappelle are the bigs on their respective male and female squads.
Also featured:
New promo for my books/website:
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Congrats to the Raptors
Before I go into the Raptors thrilling game six win, here’s another promo I’ve created for my New Adult collegiate basketball ebook One on One:
Congratulations to the Toronto Raptors. Game 6 of the NBA Finals came down to the wire, with the Raptors winning a 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors. This is the first title for the Raptors, and they also made history with point guard Jeremy Lin:
“After the Toronto Raptors won the NBA championship against the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 on Thursday, point guard Jeremy Lin became the first Asian American player to take home a ring. Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jordan Clarkson, who is of Filipino descent, made it to last year’s finals, but did not take home a championship. ”
It’s important to note that Jeremy is the first Asian American, that’s why I have it in bold. The first Asian was Mengke Bateer with the 2003 San Antonio Spurs. The second Asian to win a ring played for the 2009 NBA Champs Los Angeles Lakers and his name is Sun Yue.
The Raptors Pascal Siakam also made history as the first player from Cameroon to win an NBA Championship ring.
I’m a big fan of Jeremy Lin. His NBA journey is a study of hard work and talent.
In my fictional story about an Indonesian collegiate star, Yohan Sukari uses Jeremy Lin as a role model in his own quest to become an NBA player.
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Masters of our own Universe
I’ve had to rediscover my love of writing, due to my mom’s death and a change in my family duties. Books were put on hold, but I plan on releasing new ones this month. I thank all readers for your patience during this trying time.
What I love about writing is the ability to world build as I see fit (but still within the confines of reality when creating fiction based on real life). That’s why I’m excited about the upcoming New Adult offerings, like the basketball romance ONE on ONE.
This book focuses on two elite NCAA basketball players, one male and one female. The supporting characters include Hispanic and LGBTQ voices, because being inclusive is one of the reasons I decided to self-publish.
Excerpt:
Make-up sex is the greatest thing ever.
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Bisexual, Bipartisan and Black
Divided by politics . . . united by love.
The relationship between Congressman Brandon Jefferson Wingate and activist Kenya Paul, is, for lack of a better word, complicated. They’re two people from different worlds with clashing ideologies. Even the things they do have in common, like being the children of wealthy parents is cause for debate. **I had to change a few things about the story, since Hillary didn’t win 🙁 Sorry for the delay.**
Excerpt:
“Hey, how are you?” Brandon’s voice was friendly and upbeat.
Kenya’s reply was cold. “What do you want?”
“I-I thought we could get together.”
“No.”
“I miss you. I-”
Kenya hung up, turning her phone off in case he called back. As she walked up the stairway to get to her dorm room, girlish laughter and wall thuds greeted her ears. Mo and two other girls were coming down the hall, heading her way. Kenya put a practiced smile on her face. One girl draped a possessive arm over Mo’s shoulders before they all met.
Kenya spoke first. “Hey Mo.” Since she didn’t know the names of the other girls, she just said, “Hey.”
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Release Date – November 15th
Many thanks to all the readers who’ve downloaded a FREE Sneak Peek excerpt of IVY LEAGUE and The Gorgeous Nothings, Bree and Stone
These books are scheduled for release on November 15th. Tomorrow (11/2) is the last day to download a free extended excerpt of both ebooks.
Additional Excerpt from The Gorgeous Nothings:
“This isn’t happening,” he muttered, pacing around the room. “Somebody’s gonna walk in on us, like your dad.”
I giggled, loving how unnerved he was about the whole thing. “If it bothers you that much then just lock the door.”
“No.” With a shaky finger he pointed to my pants on the floor. “You-you put your jeans back on.”
“Only if you look at me. And I mean really look at me, Stone.”
He shook his head. I’d never seen his eyes that big before. They were wide and wild, like some animal trapped in a house, a poor creature filled with anxiety because they don’t know how to escape. It wasn’t funny anymore, so I reached for my jeans. “Never mind, this was stupid.” How pathetic was I?
“Bree, wait. You have a beautiful body.”
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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.
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.
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All the Fine Young Cannibals
I’m ready to start marketing upcoming releases, so this weekend I’ll have a number of FREE extended chapter excerpts on Amazon and SCRIBD. I use excerpts as promotional tools for my books.
The other reason I use Sneak Peeks (especially on Amazon) is because periodically, the company changes it algorithms. If you are a new writer its important to be aware of this. Here are two recent articles on the subject (be sure to read the comments section also):
http://selfpublishingadvice.org/amazon-sales-rank-taming-the-algorithm/
I’ve had some plot details to iron out (I mean, who could’ve predicted the rise of Donald Trump?), but I plan on releasing extended SNEAK PEEKS for:
New Adult erotic romance SNEAK PEEK will also be up:
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Can We Talk?
Love, love love Tevin Campbell.
Tevin’s song “Can We Talk?” perfectly fits my tale of two individuals coming together again after several years apart.
AnthonyAntoineTV:
Tevin Campbell LIVE “Can We Talk” Essence Festival 2014