She owns three beauty supply stores around the city. He works from home, as a graphic artist. When forty something Torii Theas moves upstairs from thirty year old Ethan Forché, sparks fly. But that’s just the half of it . . .
She owns three beauty supply stores around the city. He works from home, as a graphic artist. When forty something Torii Theas moves upstairs from thirty year old Ethan Forché, sparks fly. But that’s just the half of it . . .
Excerpt:
“I-I didn’t get the part.” Gemma sounded as if being passed over just didn’t happen to her.
Welcome to my world, Imani wanted to say. Instead she tossed an arm over Gemma’s shoulder, squeezing her in solidarity as they walked down the hall. “Don’t hate on Ming-ju, though. She’s cool. And she’s a really good dancer.”
“Imani, Ming-ju didn’t get the part either-”
“She didn’t?” The despair on Gemma’s face made Imani wonder if she’d ever looked that down and out. “I’ll tell you what, we’ll take turns listing all the reasons they made the wrong choice-”
Her words were cut short by the pounding of heavy foot falls that were loud enough to startle them both. A thundering herd of something was coming fast and frantic. Imani glanced over her shoulder only to be quickly engulfed in a crowd of well-wishers. They were screaming at her, saying her name. Her. Name. She was in the center of a whirling carousel of faces, many from the corps and a few soloists who were shouting, some of them with tears streaming down their faces and others with smiles wider than the Grand Canyon.
“I’m so happy for you-”
“This is freakin’ historic . . .”
Even though my upcoming ebook is called HUI, it’s as much Imani’s tale as the man she loves, Le Jong Hui.
And HUI is more than a love story between two people. It’s also about their shared love of an artform called ballet.
~~~~~
Did the man ever raise his eyes to look directly at anyone during rehearsal? Imani wondered.
As she inwardly grumbled about Hui’s aloofness, he glanced up. Imani’s breath caught in her throat. Make the connection. Come on. She willed herself to smile, hoping against hope that it was actually a grin she’d formed and not something that made her look much too desperate, or God forbid, just plain frightening. Her trembling smile gained an ever widening grin from him. It was glorious and bright and so infectious that Imani’s lips divided invitingly.
As she moved forward her shoulder bumped against the girl next to her.
“Oh, sorry,” Imani stammered.
Renditions of the main male characters from OFFWORLD have been up for a while:
OFFWORLD Promo
I’d searched all over for photos that best represented the men in the book, because I was still learning how to digitally edit photos.
Now that I’ve got the hang of it, I decided to post some of my own fantasy renditions of otherworldly African American women since we’re underrepresented in the Scifi and Fantasy genre:
The Fantasy and Scifi women of WSC books
The Mad Queen of OFFWORLD – Rhandeia is the Empress Regent. She’s also a powerful Alchean Deaconess.
Dedicated. Deliberate. Humble. These are just some of the qualities Le Jong Hui exemplifies. But underneath his carefully crafted exterior is a man who fights to stay in control of his emotions . . . until he meets a woman who gets under his skin and takes his breath away.
Women space pilots – boldly going where no man has gone before
To be continued . . .
Sometimes I get so caught up in the real world that I don’t get back to my fictional worlds as often as I’d like.
So as I ready the ebook HUI for release, I’m mindful of the books I’ve been editing at a slow and steady pace.
Some of these books are in the genre of science fiction:
A reanimated man – OFFWORLD, which was recently included in a Speculative fiction post on a site titled blackgirlnerds.
A reluctant female hero in an empire ruled by women:
“A Woman is a Weapon”
A child given the power of creation:
Iron Mike and Trinny promo
The title is a play on the word “typo” an affliction that has plagued me in each novel I write and edit. Still, I love it when a plot and characters come together, and whenever I can infuse personality into an angst filled lead. For example, HUI:
Hui transforms into the King of Pop
Friends share a laugh. Only, what’s his hand doing under her jeans? Oh HUI, you naughty boy!