Author * Writer * Stoker of Flames
Hey, romance addicts. I was honored to be interviewed by America’s Islamic Heritage Museum during Women’s History Month. It was amazing to share my work as a romance writer and the importance of diversity in literature. Check it out!
Hey, romance addicts. I had a blast talking to Sapphire J. Blue about my new romantic suspense Trapped in Sin.
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Hey, romance addicts. I had the chance to talk with SapphireJBlue on her show about the wonderful Ramadan Nights romance series and my book, The Groom.
As Ramadan draws to a close, we discuss the important connection between faith and love.
I had the pleasure of joining social media influencer Abdullah Najjar for an interview about my work. I found the experience interesting. Abdullah was the first Muslim male interviewer who discussed my romances and inclusion of sensual scenes with me.
I was glad to be able to express the reasons why I am committed to providing readers across social backgrounds diverse romance that touches on social issues and gives off some heat!
Hey, romance addicts. Sapphire JBlue and I had a terrific conversation about the romantic suspense, Building on Broken Dreams. I had a fabulous time on Sapphire’s blog radio show, talking about Adam and Maryam’s powerful story or love, faith and endurance.
• Finding love after trauma
• Dysfunctional love
• Interracial Relationships
Original Post: I Love Diverse Romance
Good morning Diverse Romance Readers.
We were able to catch up with author Lyndell Williams and ask her a few questions about her latest release, Open To Love. Enjoy this short interview with the author.
Interview question #1: Describe what your hero and heroine would consider the perfect date night.
The closest thing to date for Hafsah and Faheem is to meet under the purview of a chaperone. Given the heat between them and the no contact before marriage many Muslims observe, a third party is needed. So, for them, a perfect date for Faheem is one where he can take Hafsah and be alone. It can be in public. A nice restaurant would be great, as long as nobody sitting at the table with them, all caught up in their business. He follows the rules though, grateful when he can snag a friend who will keep their distance to chaperone.
Interview question #2: What does your hero love about your heroine and what does your heroine love about your hero?
When he gets a chance, Faheem will open his office door and sit at his desk, waiting and hoping that Hafsah’s laugh will drift in and brighten his day. He fell in love with her quick wit and humor. It helps him shed his seriousness and just have fun.
Hafsah first thought Faheem was all stiff. Then she made him laugh so hard during a working dinner that it filled the board room and shocked their co-workers. He quickly gathered himself and commanded everyone’s attention and respect. She loves how confident and takes charge without being an arrogant jerk about it. He knows when and how to loosen up and gives everyone their dignity.
Click here to read the entire interview.
Continue reading “Steamy Muslim Novella Open to Love Interview”
I had a great time visiting Katara Johnson on her show Katara’s Cafe. We talked about my new novel Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit, relationships and a bunch of great stuff.
A lot of romances center on the falling in love aspect of romance. [Marcus and Toni] are already in love. I wanted to show that even though you may have rock-solid love, there are things in life that consistently test it. They have to struggle with a lot of things. Love is not invincible; it can be tested. It can be jeopardized.
Original Post: Feeling a Character: Lyndell Williams’ novel Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit 10/5/19 – Just Contemporary Romance
I am thrilled about the release of my new novel, Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit. It is the second book in the Brothers in Law Romance series and the most difficult to write.
The characters in my books face realistic issues that impact their falling and staying in love. In Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit, Toni must deal with the pain of infertility while watching her sister-in-law have baby after baby. She was successful in concealing her anguish the first time, but with a new pregnancy comes renewed pain and desire to be a mother. She needs to decide if she should stay quiet and suffer in silence or try again, something her husband, Marcus doesn’t want.
Marcus loves Toni and works hard to make her happy. Seeing her in any pain tortures him, so he decides that they just shouldn’t try to have a kid anymore. Unfortunately for him, the infertility demon doesn’t play fair. Toni vacillates emotionally; he feels helpless, and their marriage begins to fall apart. Continue reading “Feeling a Character: Why Toni Kent Tore into Me”
Originally Kayelle Allen
Lyndell Williams, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! We’re excited to find out more about your hero…
It’s late, he’s bored. What does he do?
Marcus Kent is never bored. He has an intense schedule at work. When he gets a minute, he will chill with his boys Simon, Faisal, and Quinn and then head home to his wife Toni. For Marcus, twenty-four hours is not nearly enough, so he needs to be strategic about his time so he can fulfill all of the demands on him. He’s all about getting things done with efficiency.
What kind of food would he impulse buy if hungry?
Marcus is a carnivorous alpha. Red meat is his food of choice, especially burgers. He doesn’t eat just any meat. Although he is not Muslim, he prefers halal meat, so he will stop by his favorite halal spot or another one (NYC is packed with them) to grab a quick bite. Of course, he’ll have to go a little longer on his daily morning run but having some ground beef goodness is worth it.
Describe the kind of clothes he prefers to wear.
Marcus has a walk-in closet with a wall stacked with high-end sneakers. They are his award for working hard at the community center he directs, keeping wife, Toni happy and being there for family and friends. He sheds his business suits as soon as possible and slaps on a pair of those bad boys with some sweats and a tee-shirt to run through Harlem or have a game of basketball, completely elephant trunkin’ it.
Does he know how to fix things?
Original Post: rlfblog.com
Why did you write this book?
I am a huge proponent of using fiction as social commentary. Novels can reflect and influence society, and many readers seek to connect to realistic characters with problems and issues reflecting the human condition. I wrote Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit to highlight how strong love is not invincible. There are times and situations that will test the strongest bond. Toni and Marcus have it all—fabulous careers, awesome Harlem apartment and the respect of their family and community—but they have to endure the trials of infertility. They are usually simpatico, but when Toni wants to go through more in vitro treatments after agreeing to give up, it threatens their love.
What is your favorite genre to read?
Romance, romance, and more romance. The genre offers the chance for authors to show the ways characters navigate and negotiate a foundational human emotion. Romance can be diverse, influenced by readers and the broader culture. It is truly a misunderstood genre that deserves more respect than it gets in the literary world. Love elements exist across genres, so romance is a foundational part of literature.
Click here for the full interview.
Today, I want to introduce an author who has written many books. Isn’t that exciting? Lyndell Williams has a new book, Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit, that will release on October 1, 2019, but is available to pre-order on Amazon which gives you enough time to check out her other books and fall in love with this author while you wait on that release. Drum roll… Meet Lyndell.
Tell your readers a little about yourself, where you grew up, where you live now, where you went to school etc. Let them get to know the personal you.
I write at a computer in the corner of my bedroom, in a house too small for my family busting at its walls. We love and want to kill each other at the same time and constantly swing between extremes of being miserable and having a blast. That’s the way it is with large families. I knew what I was getting into. My husband, the oldest of two, had to adjust.
I have a bunch of balls in the air every day, juggling them until I pass out at night to start it all over again in the morning. People often ask how I do it all. I don’t. I just do as much as I can, writing along the way.
What inspired you to author this book?
Continue reading ““Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit” by Lyndell Williams”
Original Post: Romance Lives Forever by Kayelle Allen
Lyndell Williams, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author, and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here!
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing in varying capacities since I started writing for my college newsletter. Once I got bit with the writing bug, I expanded into writing for online publications as well as writing essays for a literary journal, books, and peer-reviewed articles.
This year, I had several short stories published in collections and published my first novel.
What was your first published book?
My Way to You is my first novel. It is an interracial romance about an Asian American lawyer who falls in love with an African American pro-Black blogger. They have to learn to comfort each other as each encounters levels of racial microaggressions from society. They also have to worry about her big brother finds out, who would not appreciate his best friend and little sister dating.
Tell us about your writing space or home office.
My writing space is in a corner of my bedroom in our family’s cozy cape. I bought one of those affordable big box store tables and a swivel chair to stake my claim. The table hosts my laptop (pc of course) with an attached keyboard and second monitor. My writing demand requires the ability to work from multiple screens.
I also have a wonderful lamp I got from my daughter as a gift. It has multiple settings, which is great when I’m trying to work at 4 a.m. while my husband sleeps.
Anything special about your space?
My space is also “mommy central.” Because I try to get writing done during a day packed with mothering 6 kids and homeschooling as well as communicating with colleagues and students, I have a bunch of non-writing supplies, such as combs and brushes to do my little one’s hair and moisturizing butter to keep everyone’s skin smooth. Continue reading “Do It Write: Where Lyndell Williams Writes”
I was recently interviewed by the Black Glue Podcast about my book My Way to You.
By NbA Muslims Staff Black Glue Podcast host, Tariq El-Amin interviewed NbA Muslims founder and managing editor, Layla Abdullah-Poulos [Lyndell Williams] about her new interracial romance novel, My Way to You. 33 more words
via Black Glue Podcast – Layla Abdullah-Poulos talks Interracial Romance — NbA Muslims
Original Post: Haute Hijab
A Muslim woman who wears the hijab and is a romance author? Why can’t all those descriptions belong to the same woman, says Layla Poulos, whose debut novel, My Way to You, is climbing its way up some of Amazon’s Best Sellers charts. Layla, who has been writing for years and loves the romance genre, advocates for more openness and discussions about romance and sexuality from a faith-based perspective. When it comes to her fiction writing, however, she places no restrictions on how much heat she brings to her stories. I recently spoke with Layla, who writes under the pseudonym Lyndell Williams, about her career, writing romance stories as a hijabi Muslim woman, and if she will ever write romance with Muslim characters.
A covered Muslim woman is probably the last person readers would expect to write a romance. What made you want to write in the genre?
I’ve been an avid romance reader all of my adult life. When presented with the opportunity to study the genre during my graduate studies, I took it. I now explore romance as a reader and romance scholar.
Read the entire article – 1,297 more words.
Being an author requires a lot of consideration, and many authors set writing goals for the coming year. I asked some fabulous romance authors what they have planned for 2019.
Let’s do this!
Continue reading “Romance Authors Share Their 2019 Writing Goals”
Original Post: via Interview with the Author: Lyndell Williams
Hello, fellow book dragons! It’s time for my last Interview with the Author for 2018. Today I want you to meet Lyndell Williams, a superb author. She rocks the alphabet, y’all. I met Lyndell through K. Williams as part of the #OpenBook blog I participate in on Mondays. I really enjoy her comments on the topics, and when she offered an ARC of her new book, My Way To You, I tried very hard not to jump up and down and squeal when I got one. Just kidding. I totes celebrated. I mean, look at it! It’s gorgeous, and I already knew she was a solid writer.
My Way to You is a strong, sexy book. Lyndell already does an excellent job of telling you about it below, so I won’t hit you with it twice. (I have reviewed it on Goodreads and Amazon, so you’ll see my review when you go to review it!) My favorite parts of the book (other than when I was reading this book in the dentist office waiting for my kids and I was having a hard time keeping my face from turning into fire) is the honesty of interracial relationships, a gorgeous, curvy MC, and the play between the strong personalities.
I’ve gotten to know Lyndell a little more online. I enjoy her sense of humor and honesty, and she’s talented with the gifs.
Ready to get to know Lyndell Williams better? Let’s get right down to it!
Read entire interview: 1297 more words Continue reading “Interview with the Author: Lyndell Williams”
Lyndell Williams, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here!
Why did you write this book?
I had a few reasons for writing My Way to You, the primary one being that I wanted to write a romance centering what I gleaned as the increasing lines of solidarity between Blacks and Asians in the country. I also wanted to highlight the growing Black Woman-Asian Man (BWAM) subculture, where members of two social groups deemed less desirable are learning to appreciate each other as love matches.
Black women and Asian men have to tackle with a contrived lack of appeal stemming from stereotypes masculinizing one and feminizing the other. My Way to You and other romances centering BWAM love interests pushes back against that and offers representation for couples in similar relationships as well as interracial couples in general.
What is your favorite genre to read?
Continue reading “Interracial Romance Author Lyndell Williams Talks About Love and Hate”
Christmas is coming, and there are holiday parties to attend or shopping to do. But if you want to get away from it all and curl up with a good book, I’ve got an author you’ll want to meet. I had a chance to interview Lyndell Williams. She is a cultural critic with a background in literary criticism specializing in romance. She is the managing editor of the NbA Muslims blog on Patheos and a cultural contributor for Radio Islam USA. Her novel, My Way To You, is an interracial romance that takes on controversial topics head-on. I had a chance to talk with her about her writing routine, what future subjects and projects she will tackle, and what writing romance means to her.
Do you have a writing routine? Share what works for you.
Lyndell Williams: I have two must-haves when I’m writing. I make myself a huge…
View original post 351 more words
Original Post: Awesome Gang
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I recently published my first novel, but I have numerous short stories published in a couple of collections.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest novel is My Way to You. I wrote it to show some of the struggles interracial couples face when beginning a relationship and trying to keep it strong.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
One writing habit people may find strange is that when I’m deep in my creative zone, I like to pull my hair into a big hug afro puff. Not one of those cool Angela Davis ones, a mess of coils and coconut oil. I feel like it allows creative energy to flow into my head. It is also a good signal to the husband and kids that mom is deep in her writing and disturbing her would be a hazardous venture. Continue reading “Awesome Gang Interview with Lyndell Williams (Layla Abdullah-Poulos) —”
Have you always enjoyed writing? Absolutely not. When I was younger, I was plagued with terrible handwriting and teachers who constantly criticized me for it. I hated writing because of it and limited myself and either spoke my ideas or remained silent. It wasn’t until I attended a trade school for word processing and then […]
via An Interview with Lyndell Williams (Layla Abdullah-Poulos) — International Book Promotion
Romance Lives Forever
Lyndell Williams 