Earth's Quiet Chaos: A Novel
by Tomeekha Pitre
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Earth's Quiet Chaos: A Novel
by Tomeekha Pitre
Earth's Quiet Chaos is set in a historically significant community in Los Angeles, California. Earth Hartley is an African American businesswoman whose life is consumed by caring for her older sister, Moon, and trying to save Moon from the consequences of her careless behavior and substance abuse.
Moon is paranoid, violent, erratic, and irrational. She thrives in her life of chaos, and has no regard for the pain it causes her family.
Ra, their brother, is the lifeline between his two sisters. He's the glue that holds the family together until a horrible and violent act results in Moon's arrest.
The story of Earth's Quiet Chaos is about finding and holding onto true love while dealing with family issues that are considered to be taboo in the African American community, but are relatable to all.
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Excerpt: Chapter 2
Rashidah and I giggle at ourselves as we walk from store to store in the open-air mall called The Grove. It's a hot summer day and we duck into my favorite store to temporarily escape the blazing heat.
"I love the artistic vibe of the designs and fabrics in this store."
Rashidah holds the tag on a cute shirt and murmurs
"Look at these high ass prices!"
We pick out some outfits to try on. I find some tops, pants and a dress to add to my wardrobe. We walk out of the store and look for a shady spot where it's cool.
"Xavier will like me in the long summer dress, don't you think?"
Rashidah doesn't respond. After a short break, we continue shopping.
We hit up the computer store where she buys herself an iPad for scheduling client appointments. We grab a half veggie sandwich and salad from The Veggie Grill. We hit up every store at The Grove before heading to the Beverly Center.
"I want to treat myself to one of those small flat Louis Vuitton cross body purses."
We find it at the Louis Vuitton store and then check out other stores that aren't at The Grove.
Pleased with my purchases and delighted to spend time with Rashidah, the one who knows me best, I'm all shopped out.
"Rashidah, can you believe that I don't have any plans tonight other than dinner with Ali and a dress rehearsal for the play?"
"Well, you never know. Maybe Xavier will surprise you and he'll be the one sitting at the dinner table when Ali brings you to the restaurant."
She has a half grin. She's in the know of something that I'm not.
"Now that would be the surprise of a lifetime, but if something goes down, I'm ready to dress and impress. That's for sure."
Then it hits me to check my cell phone for the time. "Speaking of time, its 3:45. Are you ready to roll?"
"Yep, I think we've done enough financial damage for the day."
"You're right about that!"
We make our way to the parking lot, fill the trunk with our bags, and drive off.
We go to my place and, like we always do when we go shopping together, Rashidah comes in with her bags and we go through each and every item, trying them on as we help each other change. Rashidah takes down my locs and sections them into twisted bantu knots all over my head.
"Okay, here you go Earth, give it an hour and then we'll take down the bantu knots and your locs will be slightly curly and I'll do a quick style for your date tonight."
"Please, dinner with Ali is not a date. We are friends and are going to catch up with each other. That's all. Now, if Xavier is at the table that will be an entirely different story."
"And that is what I'm talking about. We have to stay ready so we don't have to get ready. So, you are going to pick out your dress and we are going to do your hair and makeup as if Xavier will be somewhere waiting to surprise you tonight."
She's in her beauty makeover mood. I'm excited about the thought Rashidah planted in my head. We begin our mission for me, Earth Hartley, to look like a million bucks for my man tonight wherever he may be and at whatever time he decides to show up.
"Besides, it is my B-Earth-Day today, I can look fabulous all day if I decide to do so."
I need to keep myself in the moment and not get too excited and set myself up for a letdown.
This time of the year in southern California, the weather is unpredictable. But today is nice and hot so we go with it and choose the long summer lounge dress. It's a sheer fabric so I glide into a white ankle length cotton slip to wear underneath. The dress fabric has water colored flowers of purple, yellow, orange, and green. The butterfly sleeves are elbow length and the front of the dress has a low V-neck. Since I am going out with Ali, who stands six feet, five inches, I put on my four inch gold sandals that tie up the leg.
When I turned 16, my Baba gave me one yellow gold and one white gold chain necklace, one with an Ankh pendant and the other with a Gye Nyame pendant. Both pendants have a crystal planted in the middle. I fasten the white gold chain. The end of the Ankh hangs perfectly at my cleavage. I keep on the earrings that Rashidah gave me and add white gold and yellow gold bangles, and the gold Ankh ring that Momma gave me a long time ago on my right hand and a turquoise ring that Baba gave me on my left hand.
Rashidah takes down the bantu knots, pins up the back and allows the locs to fall in the front to frame my face. She beams with the look of a proud Mother.
( Continued... )
© 2016 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Tomeekha Pitre. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.
Earth's Quiet Chaos: A Novel by Tomeekha Pitre
https://www.amazon.com/Earths-Quiet-Chaos-Tomeekha-Pitre-ebook/dp/B01F16HN8E
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Tomeekha is a successful business professional within the corporate world of medical healthcare. She is a zealot for multi-media art and community advocacy for artists.
Tomeekha is the co-owner of Black Cotton, LLC where she is publisher of literary projects for the Black Cotton Publishing division. Her expertise in business and the arts allows her to enjoy consulting for startup businesses and creative projects.
Her debut novel, Earth's Quiet Chaos, is a fictional narrative inspired by life experiences. She is spirit-led to share stories that will uplift, empower, educate and inspire individuals to live in the highest version of self.
BPM: Tell us about your passion for writing. Why do you write? What drives you?
TPE: This is an interesting question because it reminds me of a haiku I wrote to address questions about why I paint. It goes like this,
Music is the reason
Painting is my life
I write to tell the story
In the past, I mostly wrote poems and short essays. It wasn't until the year of 2012 that I acknowledged my passion to tell stories. I love to write. If I'm thinking it, I have a strong need to write it. What drives me is being of service. I've adopted something my husband always says, "We were born of creativity to create." This statement resonates with me because I strongly feel that we show each other the way by sharing our stories.
BPM: How did you initially break into the publishing industry? Did you ever self-publish?
TPE: In 2013, my husband and I published our first book. That book is an art photography coffee table book titled, "Black Cotton". The development and research took so much time and we learned so much that we decided to birth an LLC named after our first published book, Black Cotton LLC. Our business is a media and publishing company. The purpose of our business is to create an opening for independent authors with the intent to (not just publish their book) work side by side. This way the author learns each step of the publishing process. The goal is to provide them with the tools to self-publish their next project and create their own businesses.
BPM: What hurdles, if any, did you have to overcome as a new author and business owner?
TPE: WOW! Let me start with business owner; and I'm going to keep it real because I'm all about sharing lessons learned. Our biggest hurdles were accounting, marketing, sales and promotions. These "lessons learned," taught us that we couldn't do everything as well as we thought we could on our own. We had to come real in knowing our skill set, know our weak areas and pay someone with the proven skill to fill our weak areas and trust them to do what they do. The other lesson is there has to be a benefit value for everyone and everything you do and plan for, for the best results.
As an author, my biggest hurdle writing conflict. Oh, my goodness. I was so scared because I know the power of written words. I was scared to write some deadly horrible for a character or have a character get shot or anything. OH MY GOODNESS... I had to get over it. It was the hardest thing as a writer for me to overcome.
BPM: Our life experiences, challenges and success help define who we are on many levels. At what point in your career did you discover your real worth and own it?
TPE: YES! Great question. I'm 42 and I didn't get this until the age of 37 or 38 and it's something that I wish I had discovered at 28. We can't expect others to respect our worth if we don't own it ourselves. What that means is - I know I'm really good at taking an idea and through the planning, development and implementation phases. So if I'm going to be of service for anyone in this area, I have a minimum and maximum price for my services. Because I'm serious about what I do, putting a price tag on my work will only attract those that are serious about their work and will pay for what they need.
BPM: Success leaves clues, whose clues did you follow on your journey?
TPE: I followed and follow the clues left behind from my ancestors. However, in 2012 I attended a healing retreat with Queen Afua. After that retreat, the group decided to continue our meet ups via conference call. We were doing the gateway work outlined in Sacred Woman by Queen Afua. The first gateway was: Sacred Words. Within each gateway we're to create an altar in the spirit of the spiritual guardian and in gateway 1 the Kemetic Spiritual Guardian is Tehuti (The scribe). The altar is to consist of specific artifacts that carry the energy of each gateway. It also calls for adding pictures of ancestors, elders, and contemporaries to follow in their footsteps. So I posted the following pictures on my wall and typed out each of their names under their pictures:
Ancestors: Zora Neale Hurston and Phillis Wheatley
Elders: Sonia Sanchez and Maya Angelou (living at the time)
Contemporaries: Sister Souljah and Edwidge Dandicat
I wasn't thinking of writing a book of any kind at this point. My purpose in conquering this gateway was to journal every day. Little did I know, that God had another form of journaling in store for me. During gateway 1, is when I began writing the story of Earth's Quiet Chaos.
BPM: Do you set out to educate or inspire, entertain or illuminate a particular subject?
TPE: My purpose in displaying any of my gifts is done in the spirit of healing and inspiring others. I used to co-host a poetry venue and one of the things I'd always say is that we learn and heal from each other. Which is why it is a requirement in life for us to share our stories (even those we are ashamed of) and our gifts, because for every person who thinks you or your story or your gift is whack, there is that one that will be healed and inspired to BE. So, with that, I'd say I set out to inspire and heal.
BPM: Did you learn anything personal from writing this book?
TPE: Although this book is fictional, it was inspired by my relationship with my youngest sister. Writing it was healing for me. It was like I gave birth to something new and refreshing. One of the big things I learned was taking it one step at a time. Don't rush the process. This was really hard for me because I have a project manager background, so I was stressing and getting overwhelmed when I wasn't sticking to the timeline. Then a soft voice said, "Why are you rushing? This book isn't being created for you. Let it take its time and it will be the right time." I was like, "Yeah. Right on!" So, I learned how to take my time and not rush.
BPM: What was your primary quest in publishing this book? Why now?
TPE: My quest in publishing this book is to make it available for people to read in hopes that it reaches the eyes of those in need of it. Why now? Well, because the book chooses its own time to be released.
BPM: What should readers DO after reading this book?
TPE: Well, after recommending the book and/or purchasing for their friends or family - Pray, meditate, and give thanks for no longer allowing another person's journey to compromise their own.
BPM: Readers you can follow the author online at the links below.
Tomeekha's website: www.tomeekhapitre.com
FB: TomeekhaPitre
Instagram: Tomeekha
Twitter: @tomeekha
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