Because, even after all these years, my sweet baby still loves ice, and she will wait patiently for some every single time she notices that I have something “cold” to drink.
She’s so incredibly smart, and she keeps me on my toes to this very day.
I thought, maybe all of you, could use a smile or two. Happy Sunday.
Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction took off quickly; first, as an E-Book, and then, much more in paperback form. Thank you! I truly did not expect the current results, but I am incredibly grateful!
What should you prepare yourself for if you choose to purchase this book of fiction? Emotional indecisiveness. Heartache. Laughter. Connection. Anger. Hopefulness. Acceptance. And so much more.
I would like to share an excerpt from four different stories in the book. And what way to do that than to reveal just a few here with this lovely community? Shall we begin?
Just as she was thinking about Zee, her phone rang. The Rolling Stones’ Miss You blared
through the device’s speaker louder than normal. She’d changed the ringtone three days
ago. It seemed fitting at the time. She blows a huff of air out of her weakened body and
answers the phone.
“Hey, Zee. Did I leave something at your place?”
“Hello, to you too, Mika. No, you did not. I called to see if you wanted to go to The Ladies of
Neo-Soul concert on Sunday. Regardless of what we are now, we still love a good time.”—Hearts of Burden, Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction, page 5
We don’t talk about that night. We don’t look into the eyes of her sons and wonder what
happened—why they lived—why she didn’t. We don’t ask for answers. We don’t wait for
answers. We stopped looking for answers. But my sister Alexandria does. She spends hours
on the phone with private investigators—works overtime to pay meaningless dollars to an
overweight, flighty man who lives at his place of business—too focused to go home—too
greedy to know home. She is submerged in the knowing—the yearning—the need to find
answers. We wish she would stop. We hope she won’t stop. We can’t get her to stop. But we
don’t talk about Daniela.—We Don’t Talk About Daniela, Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction, page 12
My name’s Toby Clemmons. I live five miles away from Mr. Bradford. My family’s his closest
neighbors. Me and my best friend, Buddy Newsom, have walked his land in secret every
other Saturday for the last three years. He’s got corn stalks, fields of wheat grain, collard
greens, cucumbers, cabbage, and squash. Oh and his oxen. No chickens. No hogs or pigs. No
horses.
My nana says he had his manhood stripped away from him when he was in his
teens—something about being a sex-addicted fiend who couldn’t keep his third leg in his
pants.—Mr. Bradford and His Ox Collection, Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction, page 15
Phara was ten when her daddy laid up with her for what seemed like the thousandth time.
He shuffled in one night, late from work, with Seagram’s Gin fresh on his breath as he
panted his way down the hall. He never knocked. He always entered without permission.
This was true for her door as well as the space between her girl-child legs. The night she
knew he had done something worse than the times before, she bled. She bled for two hours
before getting up out of the bed, removing her T-Shirt, and crawling the frailness of her
body to the bathroom. He was locked and loaded and heavy with the burdens of the world
and a job that did not pay much. Her ten-year-old self was what his thirty-two-year-old self
craved.
There was no escaping the sweaty reality attacking her fragile mind. He took what he
wanted. She had no choice but to let him. Little black girls don’t speak out of turn.—The Phara Series, Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction, page 29
Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?
I have missed actively participating in the Six Word Story Prompt (hosted by another blogger/Writer who no longer blogs). Years ago, it’s how I met so many other bloggers/writers/creatives, and I still love a good six-word story, so it is only right that I participate in Shweta Suresh’s Saturday Six Word Story Prompt! This week’s theme is “Believe” and here are the prompt details:
Welcome to Week #111 of the Saturday Six Word Story Prompt. Click here to read the guidelines for the Saturday Six Word Story Prompt series. (Psst! I have changed the guidelines recently.)
Prompt for Week #111 (Nov 9, 2024 – Nov 15, 2024)
Believe
Click here for the 6WSP image.
I will do a roundup post each Saturday (or Sunday if I run out of time!). So please be sure to participate before time runs out! I can’t wait to read your stories. 😀 I hope that you’ll be back for next week’s Six Word Story Prompt. Have fun! Thank you for participating. Until next week, folks!
P.S: If you have any doubts/suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. The comments section is all yours!
P.P.S: Use the tag 6WSP and don’t forget to pingback to this post!
My six-word contribution is above. I fully believe the worst is ahead, yet the best is to come. We cannot depend on man. Man will never save us. If our faith, trust, and commitment are to/for man, we are doomed. I hope you will participate in the prompt and lend your very own six-word story to the theme, Believe.
After waiting patiently for the global distribution of this book to take place, I decided to publish it directly to Lulu for General Access, and then go back and make alterations to have it considered for global distribution. I have never had to wait this long for global distribution to other online retailers. Such are the times in which we live, eh?
What can you expect from Séduire?
Séduire is a collection of serial fiction tales and flash fiction standalone stories written over a period of three years. Dive into the world of a little girl whose family uproots and moves to “The Deep South” because of a new opportunity presented to her father. Transport yourself to the life of a little girl who becomes a mother and a sister to her child at the hands of her sadistic and evil father. Walk with a grieving sister and her mother as they remember a woman who was brutally murdered by her partner. Her young boys live out her legacy as they mourn her.
Experience parenthood as you enter the world of soon-to-be young parents and their ups and downs in life change them significantly while they journey along their new path. Make a brief cameo into the hearts of a dedicated aunt and a rebellious teenage niece whose father has lost his grip on his child.
There are so many more characters with which to connect. As you thumb through each page, the author wants you to feel something; with these stories, you will.
The price for the paperback version of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction is $15.00, USD. You can snag your copy here!
The Specs:
You have been patient, and I am overjoyed by your presence and your willingness to wait just a bit longer. The E-Book version is also available and can be purchased for $9.00, USD.
Of course, reviews would be appreciated; any and all (good, bad, and indifferent). This is how we grow as writers in our craft. I look forward to continuing this journey and sharing it with all of you.
Are you interested in reading my previously published books? You can do so here.
It’s America
Baked in lies
This story is gold
Pawns in a new game
Of trick chess
The polls will drown us
But we’ll place ballots
For old sins
That never finds sleep
A new tale to tell
Unhinged truth
Glorified beauty
Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?
I’ll never forget that morning
You called me in tears . . .
Painful sobs hit my ears
As I struggled to open my
Eyes and listen to your words.
You thought something
Happened to me–I was unsafe
Or hurt or about to do something
To myself I hadn’t run by
God first, and upon hearing
The pain in your voice, it shook
Me awake.
I could never leave this earth
In a way that would cause
You to worry about my actions.
You deserve full reports and
Regular updates.
We grew from teenagers running
Away from home to adults
Running to our homes and
Love looks good on us.
My beautiful friend, my sister . . .
Thank you for your service–for
The fearless enlisting that would
Swallow twenty years of your life
And have me stand back in awe
Of your choice to serve a nation
That still hates us.
I am proud of you.
You have been an inspiration
And a joy in my life that
Ages like fine wine.
I would war for you without
Hesitation–throw on the full
Armor of God if you were ever
In danger–blood doesn’t bind
Us, but love does.
Experience does.
Grief does.
Healing does.
And if the world doesn’t
Recognize your beauty in
My presence, it will be force-fed
Stories about your existence
To acknowledge it because
It’s the right thing to do.
You survived a system for
Over two decades that never
Had you as its highest priority,
And you lived to recount the details.
You are my hero and forever
Will be.
Happy Veterans Day, Karen!
And Happy Veterans Day to all veterans. Thank you for your service.
Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?
A Cornered Gurl 
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