Hello everyone! Today I'd like to introduce you to a fellow author from Atlanta, Georgia! I met Jamallah on FB one night when asking questions about her publisher. She was very helpful and wasted no time answering my questions. She's recently released a new book, Sorry, Wrong Number. But before I share the excerpt, lets get to know the author!
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| Okay, how often do you get to pose with your books male cover model????? How cool is that!! You go girl! |
What inspired you to write?
What inspires me to write is
basically life and what interest me. If I find a topic that interest me and I
know it will make for a great story, I think up my characters and then I go on
and start to write. Either that or
someone gives me the idea when I am talking with them or if I see a picture of
someone or something, I will think up a story to write about it.
What genre do you write? Did you choose it, or did it choose you?
I mainly write about Interracial
Romance dealing with heroines who are what I like to call ‘Big Beautiful
Women”. I write about Contemporary as well as Erotica Romance dealing with
Interracial couples.
What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?
Well my work schedule usually
begins after I get the kid off to school. Once I get home, I figure out which
story I will be starting back on. Right now I’m in the midst of writing on two
different stories at one time. Which can be stressful BUT for me it isn’t. I
take my time with my stories and once the flow is going, it’s rather easy for
me to get back into my writing.
What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I tend to put some of my favorite
things in my stories. If you notice in most of my stories, certain things are often repeated.
You will see some of the following:
References to old movies ( I am
probably the biggest old movie fanatic I know)
Flowers (I’ve always wanted a man
to give me a big bouquet of flowers)
Food ( Who doesn’t love
food….especially dessert)
Are you a pantser or plotter?
Oh I can say I am a little of
both....I don’t think you can write a good story without a little of both.
Are your stories based on experiences based on someone you know, or
are events in your own life reflected in the characters/stories you write? Can
you share and example?
Well the best example I can give
is actually two of my books, which were my first and second books to be
published. “If…Only You Knew” was about a woman, who was a writer, who had been
friends with a guy since they were in college. But during the years, she has
strong feelings for her friend, even though he’s completely oblivious to the
fact that she in love with him. When I was in high school, I had a guy friend,
who even though we were real good friends and had helped me get through a rough
part of my life. He didn’t know it but I honestly fell in love with him but my
problem was I was extremely shy at the time. So I never told him how I felt
about and in a way, I think it was for the best. But it did make for a sweet
story. “The Lady of Gladstone Manor” is particularly close to my heart though
because it deals with acceptance. The woman in the story is scarred due to an
accident that happened when she was young. She secludes herself from everybody
in town in her family’s home. She is afraid of what other will think of her
when they see her face to face and therefore she hides from the world. For most
of my life, I hid from the world because I was afraid of what others would
think of me when they saw my face. (I’ve had plenty of health issues over the
past couple of years but they ended up affecting my face) It was a slow process
BUT now I am out and about and I’ve been accepted by so many that it has made
me feel good about myself.
MJ: Both books sound like beautiful stories! I love the way writing can help deal with matters that are close to home.
Do you have any suggestions to help new authors become a better
writer? If so, what are they?
Don’t ever let others tell you
that you can’t be a writer. If you know you have a gift of writing, then I
would go for it and write that story that’s been buzzing around in your head.
Write and write until you feel like you can’t write anymore. Also it’s best to
go on writer’s sites that will have other writers help critique your work. Also
submit some of your work to publishers who deal in the genre that you write
about.
Are you self-pubbed, indie pubbed, or traditionally pubbed?
I publish with Secret Cravings
Publishing
What are your current projects?
Right now I am working on getting
my 5th book “The Biker Next Door” out for next month. I already got
my cover which I love. I have another book coming out in March called “The
Admission” which I know will really have people talking. I’ve already sent off
the 2nd story in “The Wrong Number Series” and I am going to send
off another story that will also be part of a series as well. I am also
currently working on two stories that I hope to have out next year as well. So
yeah…..I’m pretty busy!
Connect with Jamallah at the following sites:
MJ: This is an interesting blurb and excerpt you've sent. Do you mind telling us a little bit about this story?
Jamallah: Have you
ever gotten a phone call from a stranger only to find out that they had the
wrong number?
It’s a
coincidence that happens far too often for people on a daily basis.
My story
“Sorry…Wrong Number” goes beyond that and asks the question, “What would happen
if the wrong number ends up being something way more unexpected?”
When I got
the idea for this story, I said to myself this would make for a really
interesting story because honestly it’s something that happens every day as far
as getting a wrong number. But then I thought what would happen if the two
people started talking and what would happen if the conversations between the
two got a tad bit….well….freaky.
Hence
“Sorry…Wrong Number” was born!
“Sorry…Wrong
Number” is book one of “The Wrong Number Series”.
BLURB:
All good things have a beginning and with this
story, it all begins with a call. Marcie Reynolds thought nothing of grabbing
the phone that evening but she never thought that once she answered and heard
the amazing voice on the other end that anything would happen, since the fact
that the man had the wrong number.
Jonathan
Sutton thought he had the right number and after the second time he calls, he
couldn’t help but be enthralled after listening to the sweet voice on the other
end. Soon he strikes up a conversation with the girl who calls herself ‘Joan’
and quickly sparks fly.
Watch as
Marcie and Jonathan make what seems like something as innocent as a phone call
into something that neither one of them will never forget.
STORY
EXCERPT:
“Wonder if
he’ll call back?”
“Why would
he want to call me back?”
“You never
know, Marcie, he just might call you back if he thinks you sound cute. Even
better, if he sounds as hot as you said he sounds, there’s no telling what will
happen/where this will go.”
How in the
hell was she to know that this would happen again? As soon as Marci walked into
her apartment that evening after work, the phone rang. Of course, like an
idiot, she picked it up. “Hello?”
“Hello again
dear, how was your day?” Marcie thought his voice sounded very inviting even
though this was her fourth time hearing it and this time he was calling her
“dear.”
“Hello
again, my day was fine and yours?”
“It was
good, thank you,” he said, then sighed.
This was
crazy, she thought, and couldn’t believe she was standing there talking on the
phone with this stranger. Marcie took her shoes off and sat down on the couch.
“Why are you calling me?”
“Because you
sounded cute and I want to get to know you,” he said.
Even though
he couldn’t see her, Marcie shook her head in response. “For all I know, you
could be a serial killer who likes to call up unsuspecting women over the
phone. Hell, I don’t even know your name and you act like I’ve known you for
years,” she said.
“Jonathan,
my name is Jonathan, and yours?” he asked.
Marcie was
very apprehensive about letting this man know who she was and there was no way
in hell she would give him her real name. She had to make something up, so she
decided to give him the first name that popped into her head. “Joan, I’m Joan.”
“Nice
talking with you, Joan. Don’t worry, I’m kind of nervous myself. I’ve never
done this before, getting to know a perfect stranger over the phone.”
“Well, this
is a first for both of us, then.” Marcie giggled as she sat down on the couch.
“You have a
really cute laugh, Joan.”
Who the hell
was this guy? All this cuteness he kept serving her up. “You must do this
often, Jonathan. You are way too cool and calm, talking to me like this.”
“Well, what
would you like to talk about?”
“Did you
ever talk with your friend Frank?” she asked, hearing him laugh this time. It
sounded just as good as his voice.
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BUY LINKS
