Secrets In Love
by AlTonya Washington
Amon Mikende and Patrice Flowers seemed different as night and day. He was a sought after young architect. She was a struggling college student. He was sensuality personified and she was undeniably intrigued. Amon wasn’t thrilled by their ten-year age gap, but he found Patrice impossible to ignore. For a time, she forgot her past. She forgot that in college, there were always back doors that resulted in secrets best kept hidden. Those secrets would haunt her longer than she could ever imagine.
Excerpt: Secrets In Love by AlTonya Washington
"Flower's residence," Patrice snapped into the receiver.
"Patrice?" The now familiar, soft baritone voice immediately calmed her and she sighed.
"Hey, Amon."
"Was I interrupting anything?"
"No, no nothing."
"Are you and Cali doing anything?"
"Oh no, just getting on each other's nerves."
"Amen!"
Amon laughed when he heard Cali's bellowed response. "Y'all feel like catching a movie with me and Muesi?"
"A movie with you and Muesi?" Patrice replied for her sister's benefit. Cali gave a thumbs up and then left to find something to wear. "Sounds good," Patrice accepted the offer. "That is, if you don't mind being my date again tonight?" Amon teased.
Patrice smothered the giggle welling up inside her. "I don't mind, since I need to find some way to repay you for-"
"I don't want to hear another word about this afternoon. You don't owe me a thing for anything I've done or will ever do for you. Now, Muesi and I will be over in an hour and a half, alright?"
"Alright. Bye, Amon."
***
The group purchased their tickets and made their way into the theatre which was slowly yet surely filling.
"Y'all check your tickets?"
"Muesi, for the fifth time, yes." Patrice called.
"Look, y'all must not understand how important this is. Back in the day, shifty movie vendors used to always pull this crap when it came to black films.”
"We know, baby." Cali tried to calm her boyfriend.
"What you want us to do, man?" Amon inquired with a chuckle. "We already checked our stubs and everything's in order."
"Muesi just wants a problem, so he'll have a reason to stay on his soap box." Patrice teased and everyone laughed as Muesi pouted. Shortly, the foursome settled into their own conversations. Patrice sat up to remove her coat, smiling when Amon offered his assistance.
"Thanks." She whispered, her almond shaped stare raking the jagged scar along his cheek.
"Knife fight."
"'Scuse me?" Amon motioned towards the scar.
"I'm sorry." Patrice apologized for staring, her gaze faltering.
"Don't worry about it. I don't mind."
"Does it happen a lot?"
Amon shrugged. "No," he replied and trailed his finger along the mark, "I think most people are too intimidated to ask me about it."
"Has it ever affected your work?"
"You mean, do people hire me because they're afraid of me?" Amon clarified the question, his dark eyes narrowed as he rested his head back against the folding seat. "I never really thought about it, but the next time I feel in fear of losing a job, I'll cash in on it."
They laughed for a while and finally, Patrice had summoned the courage to ask the question that had been nagging her. "Um, how exactly did you get caught up in a knife fight?"
Amon folded his arms across the front of the sweatshirt emblazoned with the logo of his favorite football team. "Exactly," he sighed, "I bought it on myself. You see, Patrice, I'm a person who has a hard time accepting the fact that I'm not going to get my way."
"For real?" Patrice drawled in phony disbelief.
"I shouldn't have ever been in that pool hall in the first place." He said.
"Pool hall? Now I really am interested."
"I was whippin' everybody's ass left and right that night. My dad had bought a table during my junior year in high school and I'd gotten real good at it." He explained, smiling as old memories resurfaced. "Anyway, when I got to college, I wanted to show my stuff first chance I got. By second semester freshman year, everybody knew I had skills."
"Then you had to 'show your stuff' 'round the big boys, huh?"
"Mmm. I couldn't wait." Amon admitted. "I had it goin' on that night and the seventy bills in my pocket, proved it."
Patrice was entranced by the story. "What happened?"
"Some fool challenged me to one last 'winner takes all' game. I couldn't turn him down."
"And you lost."
"Big time. Saw all my cash scooped up and placed in his pocket. I was heated, accused him of cheating and demanded my money back."
"He wasn't havin' it?"
"Hell nah. We exchanged some punches, and then he bought a damn bowing knife to the party. Sliced me up good." He shared, staring off as though he were watching the scene play itself before his eyes.
"Sounds like something right out of a movie."
"Yeah, a horror movie." Amon said, a dark scowl coming to his face. "I was so stupid to tangle with that fool. It took me a long time to recover and even longer to stop being self-conscious of the scar." Patrice fumbled with a curl dangling from her ponytail. "What made you stop being self-conscious about it?"
Amon feigned a look of exasperation. "Are you serious? All the women I got because of it!"
Patrice giggled. "I should've known!"
Pretty soon, Amon was chuckling, until Muesi shushed them.
"The previews are starting!" He fiercely whispered.
Amon, Patrice and Cali exchanged glances, before the laughter erupted again.
( Continued... )
© 2016 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, AlTonya Washington. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.
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Intimate Conversation with AlTonya Washington
Secrets In Love
AlTonya Washington has been a romance novelist for 14 years. She’s traditionally published with Harlequin’s Kimani Romance imprint, winner of the Romance Slam Jam EMMA Award and two time winner of The Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer's Choice Award. AlTonya is a mom and works as a College Reference Librarian. In 2015, she received scholarly publication for her article An Indie Author in a Library World which appeared in “Self-Publishing and Collection Development: Opportunities and Challenges for Libraries” published by Purdue University Press. She enjoys a successful indie author career and is best known for her Ramsey/Tesano romantic suspense series.
BPM: What made you want to become a writer?
I decided to become a writer the summer after I graduated college. I attended the HBCU Winston Salem State University in North Carolina. I believe it was that experience that made me look at the romance novels I’d enjoyed since age 13, with a more critical eye. I still enjoyed the stories, but I craved seeing characters that looked like me. As the great Toni Morrison says “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it”. These words have been a driving force behind so many of the stories I’ve created. How long have you been writing? I penned my first story in the summer of 1994.
BPM: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively?
I believe I’ve learned how to write the story my characters are showing me instead of the ones I want them to act out. I listen to them more which has enabled me to create some pretty unforgettable people.
BPM: Do you view writing as a kind of spiritual practice?
I don’t know if I’d say spiritual, but it is therapeutic. There’s a feeling I get when I’m writing that just soothes me. Whatever is going on around me or in my life, writing creates this…bubble that protects me from all the angst. Then, it rejuvenates and inspires to give me the strength to go and face the angst.
BPM: How has writing impacted your life?
It’s made my house a cluttered mess! I write everything in longhand so you can imagine the notebooks I’ve got piled. Seriously, it’s not that bad-I try not to let my ‘hobby’ put my home in too much of an uproar. To be honest, writing has ‘impacted’ my life in beautiful ways. I continually evolve as a more thoughtful person, more observant, more detail-oriented and definitely more focused!
BPM: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
I’ve learned that my characters’ personalities deeply impact the way I craft a story. There are times when I need a scene to play out in such a way and I find that I have to have another character handle that issue because the character I intend to have in that scene just won’t fit because of who I’ve created them to be. A certain way of handling things just won’t work for a particular character unless I tweak the way the scene plays out to fit them.
BPM: Where do you see yourself as a writer in five years?
Five years…Wow…lots of changes. I pray they will be wonderful ones. My best guy will be in college I hope. I’ll be a free woman with even more time to write-yaaaay!! My biggest personal goal though, is to be writing full time. I hope to make this a reality before 5 years, but definitely by then.
BPM: How do you find or make time to write?
I HAVE to write. It’s like a vitamin. I don’t feel quite right until I have it in my system. Unless I’m out for the day with my best guy, there are few places I go without having work with me. I’m usually up by 5am, and start writing after my morning workout before I head off to the day job. On the weekends, I usually sit down to write 2-3 times a day and put in 2-3hrs per session. Are you a plotter or a pantster? I’d say both terms relate to me. I rely heavily on plotting, though I wouldn’t consider my books to be plot driven but character driven. I begin each writing project by taking a wealth of notes and gathering tons of research about the places and topics I plan to cover in any given story.
I create a “What Has To Happen” document that can run anywhere from 15-20 pages in length and can contain as much as 75-100 different items I want to cover in the story. My title “A Lover’s Return” contained almost 200 notes in this document. Still, I enjoy the freedom that’s associated with being a ‘pantster’. When it’s time to craft my rough draft some of this won’t make it into the story-the final decision always rests with my characters.
BPM: How did you choose the genre you write in?
I think the romance genre chose me. I have been an avid reader all my life. From the children’s classics like The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Secret Garden and more to the teen dramas like the Sweet Valley High series and the Flowers in the Attic series by VC Andrews, I was a fan of them all. Romance however was the only one that sparked my desire to write. Have you considered writing in another genre? I would enjoy crafting a mystery novel and have already plotted out a crime fiction title that I hope to start on later next year.
BPM: Tell us about your most recent work?
Secrets in Love is a story I first wrote several years ago. It’s gone through many revisions since then, as I’ve honed my writing skill. Still, Secrets is one of those earlier stories that I didn’t want to change too much as so much of the flavor- in the heroine’s character especially- rests in that unpolished aspect of the writing. For me, that aspect of Patrice’s persona added a believability to the choices she made and came to later regret. Available on Nook and Kindle? Secrets In Love is in ebook format and only available through Kindle.
BPM: Give us some insight into your main characters or the speakers.
The main characters in Secrets in Love are Amon Mikende and Patrice Flowers. I believe what makes them special are their differences. What makes each one so special? In Amon, we have the young accomplished architect whose looks and darkly appealing persona completely melt the heart of the much younger, less accomplished yet undeniably appealing heroine we have in Patrice. Amon’s desire to provide and protect Patrice are some of the very things she’s struggling to get away from. She has a powerful desire to fend for herself and that desire will lead her into places she never meant to venture.
BPM: What was your hardest scene to write, the opening or the close?
To answer this question is to give away a pivotal scene that actually takes place in the middle of the story. Just know that it’s one of those scenes I wish I could take back. It was important for the story but as a reader, I think it emotionally affected me as much as the characters. I still can’t read it without choking up.
BPM: Share one specific point in your book that resonated with your present situation or journey.
I believe one thing that resonates with me in this book is Patrice or rather Patrice’s actions. While I’m thankful I’ve not made the kinds of mistakes she has, I have made mistakes along my life’s journey out of a need to accomplish one thing or another. Often, these mistakes have been necessary learning experiences but they still had the unwanted side effect of throwing me off course, thus extending the time it took for me to reach my goal. Writing and then reading Patrice’s story, made me think of all the mistakes I walked into with my eyes wide open, knowing they would throw me off course but fixating (or obsessing) over that one thing that could possibly make the decision worth the trouble.
BPM: Is there a specific place/space/state that you find inspiration in?
I can write pretty much anywhere, but being at home on a rainy day continues to be my absolute favorite time, space, place to create. A gray, rainy day with the lamps on, a mug of hot tea and the kettle simmering on the stove means Tonya is somewhere in comfy clothes writing and smiling.
BPM: Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
Well, I just adore all the characters in my Ramsey/Tesano series and I’ll probably write stories featuring them for as long as I’m able to write. My Sleeping Giants characters are becoming especially satisfying as are a few others I’ve yet to introduce to the reading public. As for recurring themes, the ‘mad scientist’ element has been drawing me in deeper and deeper. I’m having quite a bit of fun exploring that in my romantic suspense titles lately.
BPM: Do you want each book to stand on its own or do you prefer to write series?
I enjoy both. I make a conscious decision before starting a new project on whether I intend for it to be a standalone or a series. I enjoy series which allow me to plant those little seeds that I can watch spring up during the course of the books-as with the Ramsey/Tesano saga. I enjoy the standalones as well. Standalones give readers the closure they want without the fear of a cliffhanger. Now, I’m hooked on creating standalones within a series- which follow a particular theme. These are stories that a reader can pick up from anywhere in the lineup and not feel the need to read the other titles in order to enjoy the story in hand. I’m having great fun exploring this in my new Sleeping Giants interracial romantic suspense series.
BPM: Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Writing energizes me all the way! I don’t write when I’m exhausted-I never try to push past it because I don’t feel it produces my best work. If I’m not feeling energized, I recognize that I need a fresh brain. I refuel (with sleep) before going back to the drawing board.
BPM: Do you believe in writer’s block?
I believe in exhaustion. I really believe that’s what hinders so many writers and they misdiagnose it as a block. Not saying it doesn’t exist, only I think a writer should first examine their fuel gauge.
BPM: Is there one subject you would never write about as an author?
I’m not so sure anymore. What is it? I once said I’d never write about a couple having to deal with infidelity. I write romance and I don’t see how that could be crafted as romantic but I’ve been having some ideas lately that may require me to revisit the idea and we’ll see…
BPM: Do you try to deliver to readers what they want or let the characters guide your writing?
I think what readers want is a good story. I try to provide one with every project. It doesn’t work for me not to listen to my characters-getting into their heads, discovering who they are and presenting those layers to my readers is one of the great joys I get out of writing. My readers expect a dynamic plot but they also want to experience that connection to the people (the characters) who live the story.
BPM: Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write than others?
Not really, but for me love scenes depend on the kind of scene it is. For instance, with an ‘almost’ love scene, I can pretty much write that anywhere-they’re fun, quick, sexy scenes in route to the rest of the plot and can be used to advance the story in an incidental way. For the ‘all the way’ love scenes, I prefer to write those at a time and place where I know I won’t be interrupted. If you’ve read my work, you know that sometimes those scenes can go on for a bit. I write from beginning to end with those and strive to make them as intense as a scene of dialogue. It’s important for writers to understand that love scenes are part of the plot as well and really begin from the first moment the characters meet in the story. They should not be written simply as sex tossed in for good measure, but have a true connection to the work.
BPM: What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
Best money I ever spent as a writer was back in 2001 when I attended the Romance Slam Jam Literary Conference in Orlando, FL. I was a new mom, money was VERY tight and I even think I missed the registration deadline but I was living in Orlando and able to reach out to Mrs. Brenda Woodbury, who was the local contact person for the event. She worked magic to get me there. Aside from a few magazine short stories, I had nothing in the way of a major publication. Attending that event was like being admitted to another world -a fantastic one I had only dreamed about. Once I started writing, I pretty much shied away from reading romance-not wanting anyone else’s voice to intrude on my own.
So…until 2001, I had no idea African American Romance existed at such a level. One reason I started writing was because I couldn’t find the books I wanted. In SC of the 1980s & 90s, I could NOT find such stories on the shelves. The BEST part about Slam Jam, were the readers-energetic, intelligent, curious women with insatiable reading appetites. They made me believe that my voice had a place and an audience in this new and dynamic world.
BPM: Have you written any other books that are not published?
Oh yeah! I’ve got two at the rough draft stage that I just haven’t pushed into final draft mode and several more that I’ve done outlines for, but haven’t had the time to move any further with. We won’t discuss all the stuff still rattling around in my head.
BPM: What projects are you working on at the present?
Now THAT’S a loaded question! I’m working on so much-or I should say so many things are coming down the pipeline. Folks tend to get on me about my work taking so long to release, but it’s hard for me to work on more than one book at a time. I admire people who can. I enjoy giving my all to one world at a time. I’d say it works pretty well for me, there’s a lot on the horizon. 2017 will see a new Harlequin Kimani entitled “Silver Screen Romance”.
Also, the second in my Sleeping Giants Series “Conquered” which follows “Intoxicated” that released in June 2016.
There will be new T. Onyx erotica “Pleasure’s Possession” a spin off from the earlier “Pleasure’s Powerhouse”. “Tradition”- a new family saga trilogy set in Charleston, SC. I’ll wrap up the year with “Book of Scandal- The Tesano Elders”.
BPM: What is your preferred method to have readers get in touch with or follow you?
I’m good with any method- FB, Twitter, Instagram. I absolutely LOVE emails from my readers, though many often drop me a line via FB Messenger when they have a quick question. It’s a great pick-me-up when I see a message from a reader.
BPM: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
http://www.lovealtonya.com
https://twitter.com/Ramseysgirl
https://www.instagram.com/novelally
https://altonyasblog.wordpress.com
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAltonyaWashingtonFanPage
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