Dark Side of Valor: A Suspense Novel by Alicia Singleton
Child advocate Lelia Freeman saves children for a living. As the director of ChildSafe Shelters, she ventures to abandoned squats and crack houses to rescue teens from the hellish streets of Los Angeles. When she is summoned to Washington to serve on a committee that aids the children of a war-torn African nation, Lelia is kidnapped and becomes a political pawn in a sinister conspiracy. Oceans away from everything she knows, she must trust a mercenary to save her life, or die in the clutches of a psychopath.
Hunting, combat and staying alive are Elijah Dune's specialties. Vengeance is his passion. Haunted by past demons, he travels to the Motherland to collect a debt. A debt that demands one payment. Death. Caught in the crosshairs of a madman, Lelia and Elijah must survive the jungles of Zaire and the horrors of their pasts or be forever consumed by the DARK SIDE OF VALOR.
Dark Side of Valor Bookclub Review: Singleton deftly crafts a most interesting and complex storyline. She writes with the most magnificent prose that locks the reader in--hook, line and sinker. As I turned the pages, I was often wondering what would happen next and was pleasantly surprised at each outcome. It was as if the chapters left me on the edge of my seat, hungry to engross in more of the story. Not only were action and drama prominently present throughout the story, but a hint of romance that leads to an overall intriguing novel.
Readers, who love to be challenged, entertained, and to read a story that will remain with them long after the final page is turned, will not want to miss this novel! If I could give this novel more than 5 stars, I gladly would. Singleton has definitely solidified her place as a strong, emerging literary voice with this debut novel. -- Reviewed by Angelique, APOOO BookClub
Dark Side of Valor Chapter Excerpt
PROLOGUE
Rats.
Thick and well fed, they scurried along the moldy baseboard, and nosed through debris a few yards away from her feet. Lelia Freeman shifted her position, picked up the worn-down sole of an old shoe and tossed it toward the interlopers, then scoped the dank room once more.
A pile of urine-stained clothes adorned one corner, a pyramid of aluminum, ode to the beer can, lit another . A derelict wooden crate, blunt buds, and a broken crack pipe cluttered the floor. Someone managed to throw some fast-food wrappers into a mildewed box.
Lelia swiped her forehead with her sleeve. Boiling. It was one hundred degrees or better in the boarded row house. And she roasted.
Thick rubber bands shackled her jeans to her ankles, bit through the thick denim and knee-high socks, and held in the heat. She inched the bands down. A necessary evil. Better than roaches, mice or worse scampering up her legs.
She’d been there, in the squat, waiting for three hours. She’d give Megan another hour to show, then she’d head back to ChildSafe.
Megan’s father was flying in from Colorado that day, was supposed to pick the child up from the shelter in three hours. Megan had left her home eleven months ago. She didn’t flee from a hellish existence like most runaways. “I just wanted to be free from rules and live my own sixteen-year-old life,” she’d said.
Life sunk its teeth into that sixteen-year-old, bit back. Crack found another weak slave to control, ruin.
Who am I?
I’m the dejected mother trudging the unemployment line
I’m the old vagabond clutching the Wild Iris Rose Wine
I’m the runaway teen with no place to go
I’m the visage of desperation of sorrow and of woe
Who am I?
I’m the prosperous young lawyer
Who comes home to hellish abuse everyday
I’m the professor whose crack-addict child has surely lost his way
I’m the seasoned physician on the verge of mental breakdown
Yet you still ask me,
Who am I?
I’m the face of despondency
That you look through, as if I’m not there
I’m not a ghost
I’m not a specter
But do you even care?
I’m the brother or sister to your left or to your right
Who’s drowning in hopelessness and might not make it through the night
Will you miss your opportunity to share your love and your care?
That might pull that brother or sister through their gloom and despair
For you see, if my sister is crying, then my tears should be flowing through
And if my brother is in pain, then I should be hurting, too
But if my sister is rejoicing, then I’m shouting as well,
I’m not envious, I’m not jealous and I’m not raising hell
And you question, who am I?
Well, your man in the mirror is just one disaster away
From the man in the mirror that I see everyday
Yet in my torment I turn to you but you hastily look away
But your spirit whispers, who am I?
Oh I know, you have life to attend and goals you must pursue
But be careful beloved, God might up and flip that script
So that one day I will become you
And you become me
Then you’ll be the man your eyes never see
Who am I?
Who am I?
I am your keeper
My brother, I am you
My sister, I am you
Copyright 2005 by Alicia M. Singleton
Meet Author Alicia Singleton
Born and raised in Philadelphia, the Howard University graduate embraced the written word at an early age. She credits this to her loving, older sister whom, while they were youngsters, made the author eat lotion on a regular basis. Realizing the need to sound-out the ingredients on the lotion label, Alicia stopped the lotion-eating practice, but continued to read the labels of the concoctions her sister brought for her to try. This early necessity to read flowered to a passion; hence, a writer was born. Alicia resides in Maryland with her wonderful husband and son. Still an avid reader, label or otherwise, Alicia is completing her next novel.
Home Is Where the Hell Is
By Alicia Singleton
“Mom boozed it up a lot. She didn’t care. We’d get into it a lot. It seemed like it would be easier on my own.” “My mom does meth. She kicks me out every morning and tells me not to come home until after dark. I’d rather be about anywhere than home.” “My grandpa started touching me when I was young. It kept going to more serious stuff. I told, but nobody believed me so when I was old enough, I bailed.” These aren’t lines from a movie or dialogue from a novel. These are real life accounts of youth and teen runaways. These are their daily nightmares. These are the reasons they run.
• Between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth runaway per year.
• 46% of runaways and homeless teens indicated that conflict between them and their parents or guardian was a major problem.
• Over 70% of runaway and throwaway youth were estimated endangered. Physical and sexual abuse at home or fear of abuse upon return were the most common endangerments experienced by youth.
• The Child Protective Services Agency reported an estimated 872,000 children to be the victims of child abuse or neglect.
• 22-44% of runaways and homeless youth’s parents abused drugs or alcohol leading to domestic violence and conflicts.
The suspense thriller, Dark Side of Valor, delves into the harrowing world of teen homelessness. The novel’s heroine, Lelia Freeman, runs away from her alcoholic, verbally abusive mother. Lelia’s fictitious life of homelessness and tragedy are the real life experiences of many American teens.
Sexual abuse and violence related to parental alcohol and drug abuse are two of the most common reasons youth and teens run. Many organizations, such as the National Runaway Switchboard, Children of the Night and Ambassadors of Hope and Opportunity, aid runaway and homeless youth and teens with life skills, job training, counseling, college assistance and safe living environments.
Meet Author Alicia Singleton
By her sophomore year in college, Alicia Singleton knew she was born to be a writer. Too intimidated to change her major, she continued her nursing studies and received her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in 1987. Many years later, the dream deferred became reality when her debut novel, Dark Side of Valor, won the Sistah Circle National Book Club Best Thriller Award. Alicia was also awarded the National Association of Women Writers Award of Excellence from the Maryland Chapter. Alicia resides in Maryland with her wonderful husband and son and is hard at work completing her next suspense novel.
Intimate Conversation with Alicia Singleton
By her sophomore year in college, Alicia Singleton knew she was born to be a writer. Too intimidated to change her major, she continued her nursing studies and received her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing in 1987. From Johns Hopkins University Hospital to Howard University Hospital to Washington Hospital Center, and numerous other medical facilities in the Baltimore/Washington DC Corridor, the Howard University graduate practiced nursing for 12 years, but the passion to write never subsided.
Several years after graduating, she began taking writing courses, workshops, attending conferences, reading writing references and participating in writing organizations in order to educate herself on the writing process. The dream deferred became reality when her debut novel, Dark Side of Valor, won the Sistah Circle National Book Club Best Thriller Award. Alicia was also awarded the National Association of Women Writers Award of Excellence from the Maryland Chapter.
The buzz for the award winning author was contagious. She has appeared on WBAL News, CTV News, Carl Snowden’s television and radio program, ‘Up Front and Personal,’; WCLM’s ‘Speaking From the Heart,’ with Gloria Taylor Edwards; ‘Out the Box Radio Show,’ with Martha Kimbrough; WEAA’s ‘Sisters’ Circle,’ with Nalongo Siead; WYNN’s ‘Telling It Like It Is,’ with Wilma Cohn and Chris Allen’s Radio Talk Show, ‘Keeping It Real’.
Alicia has also been featured in The Washington Post, The Maryland Gazette, The Capitol, Our Insights and The Romer Review as well as being a dual panelist with Christine Lincoln at The International Miami Book Festival, a panelist at The Black Librarian’s Conference in Florida, a featured author at The Evening In the Stacks Gala and a panelist on The Artscape Author’s Panel in Baltimore, Maryland. Her writing credits include; being a book reviewer for Black Issues Book Review and being Editor-in-Chief of The Trumpeter. Alicia is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
Her love for public speaking has afforded her the pleasure of presenting numerous workshops and speaking to readers and audiences around the country. Alicia resides in Maryland with her wonderful husband and son and is hard at work completing her next suspense novel.
BPM: What are you the most thankful for now?
So many persons in this country and all over the world don't have the basic necessities of shelter, food, safety, or the blessing of someone to love. I'm so thankful to God for gracing me with wonderful family and friends, my health, peace of mind and for bringing my dreams to fruition in His time.
BPM: Do you have anyone in your life that was heavily influential in your deciding to become an author?
My elementary school reading tutor stoked my love of reading and hence my passion to write. By the time I was well into the second grade, I could not read. Not even simple words like,' See Spot Run’. My teacher told my mother that if I didn’t get help, I would be functionally illiterate. When my mother hired a reading tutor, my hate for reading turned into a love of reading. I loved suspenseful, conflict driven novels. From classics like Romeo and Juliet, The Odyssey, The Iliad to contemporary books like Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys Mysteries and anything Edgar Allen Poe wrote.
After I fell in love with reading, I believe in my spirit, I wanted to become a writer, but I went to Howard University to get my Bachelor's in Nursing. In my sophomore year, I wanted to change my major to journalism, but I didn’t know what changing one’s major entailed. Too intimidated to go to the Registrar’s Office and too afraid to go home and tell my mom that I wanted to follow another career path, I stuck it out. A couple of years after I graduated, I began to attend writing classes, reading books, attending seminars, conferences and workshops on the writing process. That education coupled with my overactive imagination for plotting storylines and my love of reading was why I became a writer.
BPM: Success leaves clues, whose clues did you follow on your journey?
Robert McKee for his expert knowledge and instruction on Story. Walter Mosley for being a beacon for African-American mystery writers. Aristotle for his incline and three act structure. L.A. Banks for writing awe inspiring supernaturals. Edgar Allen Poe, even though his mind was troubled, he was brilliant in his prose. Iris Johansen for her staying power and for writing suspense-rich, conflict driven thrillers.
BPM: What have you realized about yourself since becoming a published author?
Even through the toughest, most stressful days, I love being an author. The craft of writing is in my blood. It’s my passion.
BPM: Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
Learn the craft of writing and learn it well. Always seek ways to educate yourself on how to become a better writer. Trauma surgeons, professional ballerinas, electrical engineers, classical pianists, Olympic gymnasts and architects don’t learn their crafts in a weekend. Neither can great writers. Again, educate yourself.
BPM: Introduce us to your book, Dark Side of Valor and the main characters. Any favorites?
Dark Side of Valor is a suspense novel about Lelia Freeman. Lelia is a very strong, courageous, street-smart woman. She grew up with an alcoholic mother and by the time she was 18, she’d run away from home and was living homeless on the streets of Los Angeles. She survived the streets and became a child advocate. When she gets summoned to Washington to serve on a subcommittee that aids the children of a war-torn African nation, she stumbles onto sinister, political secrets that turns her life into a nightmare. She has to depend on a tall, dark handsome stranger to save her life, but he has secrets of his own.
Elijah Dune is that tall, dark, handsome stranger. A mercenary by trade, hunting, combat and staying alive are his specialties. What woman wouldn’t feel safe in his care? Gasp and swoon, ladies. Your dark knight has arrived.
My favorite characters in the book were Aunt Lou and Romeo Jones. Aunt Lou grew up in the jungles of Zaire, but traveled the world as well. She’s outrageous. Bright yellow tee-shirts, neon orange basketball earrings, high top sneakers and a kente cloth skirt match her boisterous, outspoken personality. Romeo Jones is a cab driver who loves himself very, very, very much. Who doesn’t know a brother or sister who spends more time looking at themselves in the mirror then they spend breathing. Both characters where extremely fun to write.
BPM: What inspired you to write this book? Why now? Ever experience writer's block?
Dark Side of Valor started off being a totally different novel. Initially, I did not choose to write about teen runaways and teen homelessness. The novel was originally about a woman held captive in a foreign country and she needed to escape back to the United States. So, I began to research runaways from foreign lands. Every time I’d type in the search parameters, books, reports and articles popped up about teen runaways and homeless teens. After several hours, I gave up and read one of the articles, then another, then a report, then a life account. After about an hour, I was sitting in front of the library computer blubbering. As I finished reading, I had to write their stories and out of their stories, Lelia Freeman was born.
Yes, I’ve experienced writer’s block. More often than not, it’s due to distractions. Instead of focusing on my writing, my mind is drifting to that favor someone asked me to do, or the phone call I haven't returned yet or the appointment I need to keep in an hour. I’m learning to carve out writing time. Undisturbed time where I set boundaries, cut off the phone and just write.
BPM: Are any scenes from the book borrowed from your world or your experiences?
The constant fear the heroine, Lelia, experiences while living on the streets was an emotion I could relate to. Growing up in Philadelphia during a time when gang war violence was common place, I was taught to know my surroundings at all times. I always felt a constant, underlying fear. Always on guard, always watching. I pulled from that experience to write Lelia’s fear on the streets.
BPM: In writing novels, how do you develop the plot? How much research was required?
Asking, “What if,” questions always helps me to come up with the initial plot line. After I flush out the character, and get to know everything about them, down to what kind of underwear they put on each day, I begin to build the plot. Conflict builds to the climax of the novel. Ever increasing conflict, drives the characters to make decisions that reveal their true character to the reader. For Dark Side of Valor, once I knew the characters, their world and the conflicts they would face, the story flowed.
The research for Dark Side of Valor was quite extensive. Because the plot, setting and characters varied drastically, there were many aspects of the novel to research. Besides learning about the lives of teen runaways and teen homelessness, I also researched mercenaries, the Sudan, its people and their plight, the jungles of Zaire as well as various tribes, their ways of life and their daily activities. I love doing research on characters, setting and cultures. It’s fascinating.
BPM: Who do you want to reach with your book and the message enclosed?
Anyone who loves suspense novels, thrillers or fast paced novels. Also, young people who are struggling with hopeless situations.
BPM: What should readers DO after reading this book?
If you liked Dark Side of Valor, please place a comment on Amazon. Also, reach out to me at alicia@aliciasingleton.com. I love to hear from readers. And finally, stay tuned for my next suspense novel.
BPM: Share with us a brief excerpt from one of the most powerful chapters.
Joella thought hell was missing her parents. Cousin Daryl had other thoughts of hell. He shared them with her daily. Open-handed cuffs across the face, kicks to the ribs. The thrashings. Still, no hell he executed terrorized her more than the darkness. Cousin Daryl always locked her alone.
In the darkness.
Grandma Dell tried to stop him, but he hit her, too, forced her in her room. Joella could still hear Grandma calling through her bedroom door, begging him to stop. She still felt fire scorch her skull from his fingers clenched in her hair, still remembered half screeching, half choking on fear as he drug her to the barn. Taught her her lesson.
Sprawled on her stomach, her back ripped raw. Tears puddle mud under her cheek. Dirt and sweat throbbed in her busted lip. Blood and bile sullied her tongue. Unable to move, she lay in the blackness, hushed her sobs, scared he’d hear. Scared he’d come back to teach her more lessons. Those were the times her safe burrows surrounded her, pressed insanity to the fringes of her mind.
One night she ran away from Cousin Daryl while he was sleeping off a high. She’d helped Grandma Dell to Granddad’s old truck, and drove off. Her feet barely reached the pedals. They hit a couple of ditches, but they’d made it. A family friend in the next county took them in. For a few weeks hell disappeared.
It resurfaced when Cousin Daryl tracked them down. Joella took off, never looked back.
Some nights Cousin Daryl still found her, stole into her dreams, locked her in darkness. Memories of Daddy or Mama didn’t keep him from hurting her, remembering Grandma Dell’s kind words didn’t hold him at bay. Only Lelia’s soft voice broke through the death dream to save her.
Now Lelia needed saving. Her friend knelt in front of the candlelit muffin. Zombified, she stared at the burning wick.
Comfort was the only thing Joella could offer. She shrugged the rough quilt off her shoulders, then wrapped them both in it. She rocked like Grandma Dell used to do. It felt like forever. The hardwood dug into her knees, the candle burned, she kept rocking.
For once, Lelia needed her. No matter what, she’d be Lelia’s light, ’cause no one should be left in the darkness. ###
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BPM: Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from your book?
That no matter what situation you find yourself in, there’s always hope.
BPM: We are here to shine the spotlight on your new book, but what's next? How may our readers follow you online?
I’m hard at work on my next suspense novel. The working title is Returned to Bondage and my hope is that it will thrill, intrigue and mystify readers. I love communicating with readers. Please reach out to me at, alicia@aliciasingleton.com, sign up for my newsletter on my website at www.aliciasingleton.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aliciamsingleton, or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/aliciasingleton
BPM: Thank you, Alicia, for sharing a little bit about yourself, your journey and your book with our readers!
Purchase Dark Side of Valor from Amazon, here.
www.amazon.com/Dark-Side-Valor-Alicia-Singleton/dp/1593093853
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