Tag: romance

#MFRWHooks-Resisting Arrest in Romance

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Marcus Kent is a brilliant lawyer and loving son, brother and husband. He is handsome and muscular, standing at about 6’4″ tall, which can be dangerous for a man with his skin tone.

Education, economic comfort and leading the life of a law-abiding citizen doesn’t insulate Marcus from police who see his stature and Blackness as a threat. In the excerpt below , after a horrible fight with his wife, Marcus has a run-in with police while he’s minding his business in the hall of his friend, Quinn’s apartment building. 

Sweet Love – Bitter Fruit
By Lyndell Williams
$ 2.99, 332pp, Kindle
$12.99, 343pp, Paperback
Genre: Urban Professional Romance

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Excerpt

Marcus opened his eyes and jumped at the poke on his arm. He blinked and looked up and moaned. Great. Two uniformed police officers loomed over him looking none too pleased. “What’re you doing in the hall?” asked a cop with a thick mustache. “You live here?” The cop grumbled and jabbed him harder. Continue reading “#MFRWHooks-Resisting Arrest in Romance” →

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LWL Interview: Bestselling Author Talia Hibbert on Writing Her Way to the Top

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Hello, readers! I am thrilled to introduce author Talia Hibbert. Talia is a USA Today bestselling author who lives in a bedroom full of books. Supposedly, there is a world beyond that room, but she has yet to drum up enough interest to investigate.

I have reviewed Talia’s books Damaged Goods and That Kind of Guy. She expertly fuses humor and sensuality.  Her book A Girl Like her is book one of her popular Ravenswood series. Check out the blurb.

A Girl Like Her

Available on Amazon

A Girl Like Her: A Small Town Romance (Ravenswood Book 1) by [Hibbert, Talia]She’s the town pariah. He doesn’t give a damn.

In Ruth Kabbah’s world, comic books are king, silence is golden, and human contact is a pesky distraction. She doesn’t like people, which works out just fine, because the people in this small town don’t like her. The exception to that rule? Evan Miller, her way-too-charming next-door neighbor…

Ex-military man Evan is all tattooed muscle on the outside—and a big, cuddly teddy bear beneath. He’s used to coaxing prickly people from their shells, but he’s never met a woman quite like Ruth. Blunt, sarcastic, and secretly sad, she’s his exact opposite. She’s also his deepest desire.

Continue reading “LWL Interview: Bestselling Author Talia Hibbert on Writing Her Way to the Top” →

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LWL Interview: Sara Allen on Writing and the Power of Language

A fellow Muslim romance writer? I am here for all of it! I was thrilled to learn about Sara Allen and her extensive work writing in a genre often frowned upon by Muslims, despite the rich history of sensual literature in Islamic culture. She has written seven books, including her latest, Disposable. Check out the blurb.

Disposable

Blurb
Available at Amazon

Disposable by [Allen, Sara]When Caryn Blake, a prominent, black litigation expert, walks in on her cheating husband entertaining his latest girlfriend, she goes a little crazy. After everything she’s done for him; giving him the space to live it up, while she makes the moves securing a name for herself and fame for both of them, the betrayal is just too much. However, revenge is bitter-sweet, especially when it’s taken too far.

Caryn decides to take a much-needed break in the most remote state she can find. With nowhere to go and no one to take her. Caryn makes the most of a bad situation, finding friends and a lover she never thought she deserved. Continue reading “LWL Interview: Sara Allen on Writing and the Power of Language” →

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#BOOK REVIEW: Marriage of Time

Review by Lyndell Williams
MARRIAGE OF TIME
By Mariah Stone
$12.99, 194 pp, paper
$3.99, 196 pp, Kindle

What is a pregnant woman to do when cornered by her mafioso ex? Why she gets some help from a magic-packed old lady with the ability to catapult her through time.  In Marriage of Time by Mariah Stone, the main character Mia is smart, beautiful and very fertile. She had finally escaped her abusive Goodfella boyfriend Dan only to find herself knocked up. She tries to keep him from learning about the little bundle of joy, but we all know that never works out. Continue reading “#BOOK REVIEW: Marriage of Time” →

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Character Building: I Made This

LWL Widescreen (18)#open book

What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters?

I may (or may not—I admit to nothing) base a character on someone I respect or despise, so I will have to be salty and sweet with the response to this week’s OpenBook blog hop post. Let’s start with the people I like.

Sweet

I’ve explained in a Black Glue Podcast interview how the Prophet Muhammad served as inspiration for the male characters featured in the Brothers in Law series.

I reflected on the Prophet (Muhammad’s) life and how he was as a husband … lover … someone out in the community and how he transitioned between those things. What he did when his women were mad at him, and what he did when his women were acting out. [The brothers in law] don’t act exactly like the Prophet, but there are characteristics each one of them has.

Simon is the one who keeps things at a level where it doesn’t get too bad. He doesn’t allow things to get to him as much.  Marcus is the alpha, alpha. He’s the leader. He expects things to happen the way he needs for them to happen because he’s progressing the nation. Adam is that inner reflection.

Continue reading “Character Building: I Made This” →

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A Baby-Making Impasse

LWL Widescreen (3)Sweet Love-Bitter Fruit is the second book in the Brothers in Law series. It is a steamy and exciting stand-alone book that tells the story of Marcus and Toni Kent, a successful Black New York couple struggling with infertility.

After multiple in vitro attempts, Marcus decides he can’t take seeing the woman he loves in so much pain, but Toni is still on board with the idea of more treatments. Will a baby-making impasse tear this dream couple apart?

Enjoy a sneak peek at this fantastic duo, who have to fight to keep life from crumbling their rock-solid union.

Sweet Love–Bitter Fruit

Available at

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Excerpt:

Click to Preorder“Hi”—Marcus hovered over the nurse panting—“my wife is very sick,” he said over the
sound of gurneys rushing behind him. He tightened his grip around Toni’s waist, his muscles burning as he strained to keep her from crumpling to the floor. He hefted her up further against his body, her head rolling against his chest. The emergency room sliding doors ground closed, drowning out her soft moan. “It’s gonna be okay, Sweetness.” He barely got the words out of his closed throat. They hadn’t been okay since the morning.

Toni had begun the day getting out of the bed and vomiting. He went for his run and returned to sounds of her retching over the toilet. She assured him it was a passing thing and insisted that he go to work. Her clammy skin and cold hands told him otherwise, but he Continue reading “A Baby-Making Impasse” →

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LWL Interview: Aubree Pynn Keeps Her Keyboard Lit

LWL Author Interview (1)Aubreé  Pynn is a writing demon. She pumps out books that capture readers with dynamic characters and plots that make one flip page after page. She already has readers loving main characters Indigo and Taj in her latest book, Indigo Haze. Check out the blurb.

Indigo Haze: Thug Love is the Best Love by [Pynn, Aubreé]Indigo Haze: Thug Love is the Best Love

Available at

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Blurb:

Indigo Sims is fighting to break the curse of his environment and not be a product of the streets. Every time he pulls away, something goes array and sucks him back in. A natural-born leader and peacemaker, he gives himself two months to be free from the streets while saving every dollar he can to fulfill the promise he made to himself.

Taj Ali Adams has a bright future ahead of her and an undeniable light that everyone around her wants to protect, especially her older brother. With tragedy lingering around her, the light that shined so bright goes dim. Continue reading “LWL Interview: Aubree Pynn Keeps Her Keyboard Lit” →

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#BOOK REVIEW: Winter’s Beast

Review by Lyndell Williams
WINTER’S BEAST
By Twyla Turner
$9.99, 252 pp, paper
$3.99, 254 pp, Kindle (Free, KU)

Love and loyalty frequently clash in life and lead to a big ole mess of emotions. It is the same in the world of romance fiction. People are often conflicted between staying true to one person or following their love, desire, or lust for another.

In Winter’s Beast by Twyla Turner, the main character, Yury, a disfigured henchman for  Ivan, has to watch as his boss/savior sexually torments singer Winter. Ivan, obsessed with Winter’s beautiful voice and albino body, holds her captive and grooms her to become his sex slave and feature in his erotic club. This guy is all kinds of diabolical.

No, I’m not turned on. You are!

Winter initially resists Ivan, but he uses her sexual insecurities and inexperience to groom her into submission. While Ivan is preying on Winter, Yury tries to make life in captivity bearable while he falls in love with the beauty.

The world of kink simultaneously disgusts and enchants Winter, whose sensual history is dotted with sporadic moments of unfulfilling sex. She despises Ivan, but her body responds to his sexual abuse in a way that leaves her confused and titillated.

Yup, homeboy got her all kinds of messed up in the head. Continue reading “#BOOK REVIEW: Winter’s Beast” →

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#OpenBook – “Masculine Energy” and The Woman Writer

OPEN BOOK (5)#Open Book

What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?

I remember listening to a male lecturer talk about women, men, and gender relations. One thing that stuck with me was when he went on this diatribe about women who have a lot of what he called “masculine energy.” He waxed for what seemed like forever about how a woman who dares to have a lot of masculine energy is a problem because she will always be ready to challenge a man. He claimed that such women are too assertive and authoritative and proclaimed that he could tell when there is such a woman in his midst.

After I laughed my…head off, I cringed a little at the incendiary generalizations he made, that make life hell for women. I won’t go into an analysis of how his language dangerously allocated certain human behaviors like confidence, ambition, critical thinking, power, and resistance as masculine and categorized women embodying any of these characteristics as “manly” deviants straying from their feminine nature.

I won’t highlight how someone privileged by gender can be guilty of reinforcing oppression by demonizing those struggling against their subjugation, discrediting them as misfits. Really, men need to stop that nonsense, especially those disguising themselves as progressive but are actually just as chauvinistic as their fellow misogynists.

Continue reading “#OpenBook – “Masculine Energy” and The Woman Writer” →

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LWL Interview: King Ellie Brings Readers on Dark Romance Mind Trips

Mis Quince Años (12)All right. Straight away, I have to let readers know that King Ellie is an author that knows how to apply some heat to a plot in a way that makes one cringe and tingle with excitement at the same time.

King Ellie discovered her love for dark romance through reading. As she read more, she found that it was the genre for her and decided to own it. I mean, all of it. She did not come to play.

When writing antiheroes and characters typically classified as villains, she tries to show how hurt, heartbroken males can love hard.  The author explains:

The heroines get a chance to be loved deeply and only by the antiheroes. Love isn’t always just black and white… it’s a spectrum of color. 

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King Ellie is one of a few authors who served as my introduction into dark romance. Much more than the bodice rippers of old romance times, her work encourages readers to consider how the unsettling mixture of sensuality, kink and depravity simultaneously disturb and titillate our senses.

Continue reading “LWL Interview: King Ellie Brings Readers on Dark Romance Mind Trips” →

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New LWL Story-Sweet Love Bitter Fruit Prelude

Toni and Marcus are preparing for their second course of infertility treatments. The first one left them heartbroken and Toni an emotional wreck, so he is hesitant about doing another one, and his deep love for her makes it hard to say no.

Toni is just as anxious as Marcus, but her urge to be a mother makes her determined to forge ahead with her loving husband by her side.

Will they have success the second time around, or will a worse agony come their way?

In Vitro is a prelude short story to the soon-to-be-released Sweet Love – Bitter Fruit, the second novel in the Brothers in Law romance series.  Readers first met the main characters Marcus and Toni Kent in book one, My Way to You and fell in love with their love for each other. Continue reading “New LWL Story-Sweet Love Bitter Fruit Prelude” →

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LWL Interview: Talia Hibbert An Author Who Makes Quirky Sexy AF

Mis Quince Años (13)I first started reading Talia Hibbert a year ago. As soon as I read her book Damaged Goods, book 1.5 in her Ravenswood series, I was hooked and had to backtrack to catch up on the series. I was quickly caught up in all of the steam and drama. Really, she has some serious don’t miss reading.

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Talia writes smart and relatable characters who are wonderfully imperfect, which I love. I am looking forward to the release of That Kind of Guy [Ravenswood book three] tomorrow, May 2! Check out the blurb:

That Kind of Guy (Ravenswood Book 3) by [Hibbert, Talia]She wants a fake relationship. He needs something real.
Continue reading “LWL Interview: Talia Hibbert An Author Who Makes Quirky Sexy AF” →

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Writing Romance as a Muslim Woman – An Interview with Layla Poulos

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.

cc2cc-M  Brothers in Law Full Story Kindle - Lyndell Williams  Something Special final - Lyndell Williams

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#MFRWHooks – Meet The Brothers in Law

The Brothers in Law romance series is about 6 diverse men who meet in law school and become lifetime friends. Their camaraderie plays a role in each quest for one of them to find and hold onto love.

In the first book, My Way to You, Simon Young falls for his best friend Marcus’s younger sister. Will he have to choose between them?

Enjoy an excerpt from the shorts story Brothers in Law that introduces all six of them and shows how they met.

Brothers in Law - Lyndell WilliamsBrothers in Law (Short Story)

Available at Amazon

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Excerpt

Continue reading “#MFRWHooks – Meet The Brothers in Law” →

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