And Then There Was Me: A Novel
by Sadeqa Johnson
“And Then There Was Me is a well-written, thought-provoking novel that many women will relate to.”
—Kimberla Lawson Roby, New York Times best-selling author of Copycat
“A story of one woman’s journey toward the life she deserves, with plenty of satisfying and surprising twists along the way.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Bea and Awilda have been best friends from the moment Awilda threw her fourteen year-old self across Bea’s twin-sized bed as if they had known each other forever. Bubbly, adventurous Awilda taught sheltered, shy Bea how to dress, wear her hair and what to do with boys. She even introduced Bea to her husband, Lonnie, in college, who pledged to take good care of her for the rest of their lives. But philanderer Lonnie breaks that promise over and over again, leaving Bea to wrestle with her self-esteem and long time secret addiction.
Recently Lonnie has plopped the family in a New Jersey upper class suburb, which lacks the diversity that Bea craves but has the school district and zip code envy that Lonnie wants. The demands of carrying a third child and fitting into this new environment while pretending that her husband is not cheating on her again, is more than she can handle. And just when she thinks things can’t get any worst, the ultimate deception snaps the little thread that was holding her life together and all comes tumbling down.
And Then There Was Me is the story of love and friendship, heartache and betrayal. It’s the journey of a woman stripped down to her lowest point and needing to find the will to press on.
Purchase And Then There Was Me
https://www.amazon.com/S adeqa-Johnson/e/B007CMM4EY
Excerpt Chapter 1 - And Then There Was Me
Playing Chicken: Memorial Day Weekend
Bea hated the beach. The sun didn’t rev up her brain’s endorphins the way it did for most people. In fact, it had the opposite effect on her. She never enjoyed peeling down to her bathing suit. Always feeling hideous in whatever she wore. Most of her time at the shore was spent feeling envious of the pretty girls in the teeny, triangle-topped bikinis, with lotus tattoos on the hollow of their backs. Bea would watch them slip and slide in the sand spiking a volleyball, feeling round where they were flat, ugly where they were cute. It was even worst when she was pregnant.
The other half of her time was spent playing ‘find the shade.’ Bea wasn’t a woman who wanted a suntan, preferring her vitamin D in tablet form only. All day she had constantly moved her chair in search of relief.
“What’re you doing?” Awilda, her best friend, looked over the edge of her cat-eye glasses.
“Trying to stay cool.”
“Why in the hell you come to the beach to do all that is beyond me.”
Awilda was right. The effort it took to keep the sun’s rays from darkening her skin was draining: slathered sunscreen, dark umbrella, floppy hat, wide sunglasses, zinc oxide strip on her nose, and her feet tucked under a dry towel. Even with the prep, Bea still worried the ultraviolet rays were coming through the umbrella roasting her skin by the millisecond.
“The beach was Lonnie’s idea. Not mine.”
“Well next year you need to speak up.”
She had; he just didn’t listen. Bea preferred renting a house on a lake with a wrap around porch, where she could hide under an awning and maxi dress. It was her husband, Lonnie, who insisted on the beach. Spring Lake to be exact. With two miles of white, pristine sand, boarded by the longest non-commercial boardwalk in the State of New Jersey, Spring Lake was a magnet for families of all ages. But the price of the homes made it inaccessible to everyone, and therefore the perfect getaway as far as Lonnie was concerned. It was sanitized and quiet except for the corner Awilda occupied.
Awilda was the contrary to Bea, lounging without the protection of an umbrella in a bright orange, high-waisted bikini. Her hair was big and bushy, and every tune that crooned from her iPhone was her finger-snapping-sing-along-to-the-beat song. Bea turned her seven-month baby-belly in Awilda’s direction, in time to catch her shoving a handful of cool ranch potato chips into her candy-pink painted mouth.
“You know there’s no eating on the beach, Wilde,” Bea chided.
Awilda knew this. There were signs posted along the boardwalk reminding folks to eat in the Pavilion areas only. In fact, coolers were forbidden and instead left on the boardwalk.
“What’re they going to do? Arrest me?” she smacked her lips.
“Might kick you off the beach.”
“I’d like to see that,” she shoved down two more chips. “We should be in DR instead of this snobby beach anyway. Your mama still have family down there?”
“Mami left Santa Domingo fifty years ago and has never looked back. I keep in touch with my cousins.”
“We need to take a girls trip down there and reconnect with your roots. After you drop that load. No kids, no husbands.” Awilda tilted the bag of chips to her mouth and swallowed the crumbs.
Bea sucked her teeth. “You could at least eat under the umbrella.”
“What’s got you so uptight?”
Bea didn’t want to give voice to what had been nagging at her, so she camouflaged with a lighthearted smile. “Probably just hormones.”
“Well, unwrap that towel from your feet girlfriend and have a little fun.”
“I am,” Bea said. Though fun had become foreign. Since they moved back to New Jersey a year ago, her life had become so tied to keeping up with her husband and two children; there was no space for anything remotely connected to fun. Though she did daydream, and carrying a healthy baby brought her some peace.
“Hold up, wait a minute. This is my song.” Awilda turned up her IPhone even louder than before.
Bea glanced at the older couple reading hardcover books, parked to their right. They were covered in as much stuff as Bea was. The wife looked up at Bea at the same time but didn’t smile.
“Pass it to me.”
“No.”
“It’s too loud.”
“I can barely hear it.”
Beyoncé seemed to take front and center on their little sliver of beach. Yonce on her knees.
“There are children around, Wilde.”
“It’s the clean version.”
“Do you always have to go against the grain?”
“You’ve known my twenty something years. Don’t act new.”
“This place is conservative I know but…”
“Beasley, please with that mess.” Awilda laughed out loud. “You remember how we use to go to the skating rink on route 22 and dance until we couldn’t breathe?”
Bea’s shoulders relaxed. “Girl, we had to catch two buses. Your mother would have had a cow if she knew we weren’t listening to music in my room.”
“But we went and it was the highlight of our week.”
“Except for you having every girl in Union wanting to fight us.”
“Not true.”
“Sis, please! When you started dropping it like it was hot, every boy in the room wanted your number.”
“Well, that’s because I do what I feel. Nothing matters if things don’t feel good. Take lessons, Bea.” Awilda pulled up her shades and caught Bea’s eye. I’m worried about you.”
Bea reached up and repined her bun. “I’m cool. It’s just growing pains. Staying home in the suburbs…it’s not who I am.”
“Sounds pretty cushy to me. I’d give up teaching those bad-ass kids in a minute to be a kept woman.”
“Stop,” she blushed shame.
“Don’t deny it.” Awilda squirted on another layer of suntan lotion.
“You might as well be slathering yourself with cooking oil,” Bea was grateful to be able to change the subject. “Why do you keep putting that crap on anyway? Haven’t you heard of skin cancer?”
“When I get to work on Tuesday, people need to know that I’ve been somewhere.”
“And you’re worried about me?” A mother with a toddler bent over to pick up a seashell in front of them. Bea reached inside her beach bag and tossed her ear buds to Awilda. She caught them in the air and flung them right back.
“Stop tripping, Bease, or you’ll have a nervous breakdown. But don’t fret. I’ll be there making sure you get your food through a tube.”
Bea crinkled her nose. “So funny.”
Awilda pulled her sunglasses back down over her eyes. “You like my bikini?”
“Yeah. It’s cuter than mine. I feel like a tub.”
“Got it online. I wasn’t sure it would fit. You know they don’t make bottoms for a real booty like mine.” Awilda rose from her seat and showed Bea the panties.
“Looks good on you. Glad to see your cheeks contained.”
“I know how to tone it down for a family beach. But when we get to DR, I’m going to let it all hang out,” she laughed.
“Help me up, Crazy.”
Awilda pulled Bea from her beach chair. Then she scooted her things further into the shaded corner and pulled out her sunblock. The saleswoman at Sephora had talked her into spending extra on the European brand because it contained Indian gooseberry extracts, an ingredient that was supposed to prevent tanning. Bea’s father’s African-American blood was enough tint to her skin.
Awilda played a pop song that Bea liked as she gazed down the beach in the direction of her children: Alana, age five, and ten-year-old Chico playing paddleball. The kids were in a rare tender moment, with Chico holding Alana’s hand and showing her how to hit the ball. It warmed her heart and she looked over to her husband to see if he was watching. Lonnie lifted his chin and winked at Bea. Warmth spread between her toes and she winked back. She liked it when Lonnie made her feel like she was the only woman in his world.
Her husband was one of those men who didn’t have to work hard at being gorgeous. God had given him all of the ingredients: amber eyes, buttered skin, and thick, curly hair. It was Lonnie who took it to the next level by living in the gym and wearing clothes that looked tailored to fit. Bea always felt that people were surprised when she introduced him as her husband. In the looks department, she was as plain as nonfat yogurt, a little short and too pear shaped for her own liking, with nostrils that flared too wide, especially during pregnancy. Bea knew that her saving grace was her hair. When it wasn’t pinned up it hung heavily, well below her shoulders in tight ringlets that curled around each other, creating a thick bundle that was full of body.
Bea was still admiring the kids when Lonnie puckered his lips and blew her a kiss. “That man.” She looked over at Awilda. “You know the fool wanted me to have sex in the kitchen over a sink filled with dirty dishes?”
Awilda removed her glasses and pointed them at Bea. “Your ass is stupid. I would do it inside the sink of dishes.”
“That’s nasty.”
“It’s sexy.” Awilda pressed her knees together.
“Still a horn dog.”
She fanned. “It’s been too long. Derrick better come correct tonight. It’s our anniversary. Amare’s staying with you. I don’t even want to talk. Just ram it in me.”
“A hot mess.”
“It’s been so off between us lately. I really need this anniversary to make things better. I’m tired, Bease.”
Awilda slipped into her rampage of what was wrong with Derrick but Bea didn’t have to listen. She had heard it all before. How Derrick’s sex drive had plummeted since he was diagnosed with MS. The problems they had living in his mother’s house.
“No matter how much I spend on healthy food, the man is still reaching for the crap that activates his MS.”
Bea nodded her head like she was with Awilda but at that moment it was hard for her to concentrate on anything but the hunger that seemed to swish down on her. It’s been like that through the whole pregnancy. One second she was full and then next she was so hungry she could eat a seashell filled with sand. Her mind started imagining how good a fish sandwich with extra hot sauce and mustard would be. She could taste the grease tinged with the red spicy sauce on her tongue making her whole mouth feel alive.
“You know what I mean?” finished Awilda.
“Yeah.” Bea replied, head in her beach bag. Alana’s goldfish stared at her. Bea wanted to sneak a few in her mouth but Awilda would enjoy it too much. She pushed herself to stand. Adjusted her hat and told Awilda to keep an eye on the kids.
“I’m in the middle of telling you something.”
“Sis, I’ve got to pee. The baby. Be right back.”
In every direction, the beach was packed with people; skinny teens in too small jean shorts, children wearing arm floaties, moms hiding under wide brims and dads napping beneath headphones. It was hard waddling over the sand in her condition and Bea felt self-conscious, like everyone was looking at her. When she reached the boardwalk she rested against the railing and looked out at the water to catch her breath. She could hear the call of the seagulls mixed with the ebb and flow of the waves lapping the shoreline. The vast blueness of the ocean seemed endless. The scent of the salty water made her craving for seafood more intense. She pulled down her beach hat and made her way to the snack shop in the South end Pavilion.
The lunch rush was over and Bea easily found a single seat at the counter. Two stools down from her sat an older man in a tank top watching the baseball game on the television hanging from the ceiling. Country music sounded from the speakers. The waitress nodded her head in Bea’s direction as she wiped the Formica countertop down with a stained towel. It seemed that her hand moved more out of nervous energy then actually trying to get the top cleaned. Bea inhaled the smell of grease.
“What can I get you?”
“Fish sandwich.”
“Out of fish today. Sorry.”
Bea dropped her hand over her belly to soothe the baby who was kicking on her right.
“Got any shrimp?”
“Out of those too. We didn’t get our shipment this morning and it was a busy lunch. We have hot dogs, burgers, pizza, chicken tenders…”
“I’ll have two hot dogs with ketchup and relish and a large ice water.”
The waitress took a pen from behind her ear. “It comes with potato chips.”
“Hold the chips, please.”
“You can have fries instead.”
She hesitated for only a second and then nodded her head. She would only eat a few fries, she reasoned. Maybe wrap half up for Alana’s snack. Bea glanced up at the game. The Mets were playing the Braves. Baseball was never her sport and she was glad to see the waitress return with the food.
“Thank you.”
Ketchup went on everything. As she chewed, she looked out over the gorgeous Victorian homes and their manicured lawns that ran along the street side. Now that she was eating hot dogs, she would have to have two greens with her dinner to balance out her intake for the day. Her mind wandered over what she would make for dinner. Did they need to make a stop at the grocery store or was there enough cheese and buns leftover for the burgers? What would they have for dessert? Alana was going to ask. They could go out for ice cream at Hoffman’s. Maybe Lonnie would want to drive the kids to Point Pleasant for the amusement rides. Bea knew that she would be too pooped by nightfall to make the trip, but would she want to send him alone? All of that time away from her would open up the opportunity for him to touch base. But she had no proof. Was she worrying herself to death for no reason, or was Lonnie cheating on her again?
She wrapped her arms around herself and tried not to dwell on the latter. Kept reminding herself that things between them were fine now, and had been for a while, but the feeling gnawed at her. She ate the meal but could barely taste it as she searched for that click in her brain that brought her comfort. It didn’t come. By the time she looked up, her plate was empty except for the remnants of ketchup. All of the fries. Gone. The regret was immediate. Bea belched in her napkin, and breathed back the need to throw it all up. She fixed her eyes on the game, concentrating on the moves of the pitcher until the sensation past.
Bea moved down the boardwalk past the swimming pool. The baby pressed down on her bladder and it reminded her that she needed to pee. Damn it. She should have peed before she ate. It was on her list of rules to avoid the bathroom after she ate. The bathroom had a toilet that could flush away her secrets and shame without anyone being the wiser. But she would know. She had gotten better at keeping food down this time. After her last disastrous pregnancy, she had promised herself to get through this one clean. This one was her redemption and she had to make it. The bathroom was tiny and full with mother’s changing diapers and teens checking out themselves in the mirror. A young woman wearing a jean jumper insisted the Bea go before her.
“I wouldn’t feel right making you wait in your condition.”
Bea thanked her, went in and did her business without looking in the toilet bowl, and came out clean.
“That was forever.” Awilda flipped through Cosmopolitan magazine. Pages were dog-eared and Bea knew that they were pictures of clothes Awilda wanted to make. She was a seamstress and designer, in addition to being a 6th grade social studies teacher.
“The baby made me eat.” Bea eased back down in her beach chair. The trip had tired her out. The sun felt like it was right on her shoulder and she reapplied more sunscreen.
“You know you’re only supposed to apply that every two hours, not every fifteen minutes.” Bea readjusted her hat.
Awilda held up the page. “Look at this mini skirt. I’m thinking about giving it a try. I’m doing a street festival at Rutgers next month and I need some short, sexy, clothes that will appeal to college students. Something one size fits all. If I take this waist and add a strip of Velcro, I think it will fit most. What do you think?”
Bea glanced at the picture and nodded her head.
“Yes ma’am. I’m going to work my clothing line this summer.
“How’s Derrick’s job working out?”
“Well, he’s had this assignment with Tishman for going on five months. That’s stable in the construction business. Said it should carry him to Christmas so I’m not working summer school this year.”
“Really?”
“It’s been five years straight. I can’t wait for the break.”
Bea saw Alana running towards her and sat up. “What’s wrong, Butterbean?”
Alana flopped into her mother’s arms crying, flinging sand all over Bea’s neck and breasts.
“Sand. It’s in my eyes. Get it out.”
Bea reached for her towel and wiped at Alana’s face. Sand was clumped in her hair, on her arms and falling from her bathing suit top.
“Were you building a sandcastle?”
“Yes.”
Bea rubbed until Alana stood satisfied.
“I’m hungry, mama.”
“Here, drink this,” Bea handed her a warm juice box from her bag.
“I thought there was no eating on the beach.”
“It’s just juice not a whole bag of chips,” Bea made her eyes big at Awilda.
“I want chips.”
“Later, baby.”
Lonnie and Derrick walked up. Lonnie was bare-chested and his shorts hung low on hips. Derrick wore a tank top over the bulge of his belly and yellow trunks.
“How cold was it?” Awilda looked from one man to the other.
“Pretty cold.” Lonnie reached down and kissed Bea on the lips.
“Oh get a room you too.” Awilda scolded. “I wouldn’t even put my toe in before 4th of July.”
Derrick fell down in the seat next to her. “You just have to go right in. Don’t even think about it.”
Amare and Chico were still throwing the Nerf ball in the water.
Lonnie leaned back in his chair and tilted his face toward the sun. “It feels so good to just relax.”
( Continued… )
© 2017 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Sadeqa Johnson. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author’s written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.
Meet the Author
Sadeqa Johnson, a former public relations manager, spent several years working with well-known authors such as JK Rowling, Bebe Moore Campbell, Amy Tan and Bishop TD Jakes before becoming an author herself. Her debut novel, Love in a Carry-on Bag, is the recipient of the 2013 Phillis Wheatley award for Best Fiction. She is also the author of Second House From the Corner and And Then There Was Me.
A native of Philadelphia she has recently relocated to a suburb of Richmond, which is a great place to raise children until it snows and schools close for a week. She is a motivational speaker, inspirational blogger, wife and mother of three incredibly busy children. For more please visit http://www.sadeqajohnson.net.
Purchase And Then There Was Me
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Second House From the Corner by Sadeqa Johnson
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Intimate Conversation with Sadeqa Johnson
Sadeqa Johnson, a former public relations manager, spent several years working with well-known authors such as JK Rowling, Bebe Moore Campbell, Amy Tan and Bishop TD Jakes before becoming an author herself. Her debut novel, Love in a Carry-on Bag, is the recipient of the 2013 Phillis Wheatley award for Best Fiction. She is also the author of Second House From the Corner and And Then There Was Me.
A native of Philadelphia she has recently relocated to a suburb of Richmond, which is a great place to raise children until it snows and schools close for a week. She is a motivational speaker, inspirational blogger, wife and mother of three incredibly busy children. For more please visit www.sadeqajohnson.net.
BPM: When did you get your first inkling to write, and how did you advance the call for writing?
I’m originally from Philadelphia. As a kid, I started off wanting to be an actress. When I graduated high school, I moved to New York and attended Marymount Manhattan College as a Theatre Arts major. It was as a student that I started fooling around with poetry, which turned to playwriting, screenwriting and ended up with novel writing. I landed a job working in publishing after college and it was there that I became very serious about my writing. My first novel, Love in a Carry-on Bag took me over ten years to finish. I started writing it when I was a publicity manager at G.P Putnam’s Sons.
Every day I would close my office door at four o’clock and write for the last hour of the workday. On my commute home, I edited the pages. Once I got married, I left my corporate job to write and raise my children, but still nursed a burning desire to tell stories. I wrote during nap times, between feedings, in the midst of sleep deprivation and my kid’s ear infections. The daily pressures of caring for a young family motivated me to finish the book. I was very much like Felicia in Second House From the Corner. As much as I loved being a mother, I didn’t want that role to be my only claim. I knew that it was important for me to carve out something that was only for me, and writing novels was it. My novels are my legacy.
BPM: What makes your writing different than others?
I’m a lover of words and keep a thick, old school thesaurus on my desk, which I use to deepen the meaning of the text. I don’t like to rush when I’m writing, and I’ll work on a paragraph for three days if it takes that long to make it sound good. Although I’m a commercial fiction writer, I work to bring poetry, beauty and music to my work. My goal is to make readers pause over a delicious sentence, giving them no choice but to read it again.
BPM: What’s the most important quality a writer should have in your opinion?
The will to succeed. You have to tune everyone out and really focus on your goals with tunnel vision. When I decided to quit my job in publishing to pursue writing, my father called me and he was furious. He shouted, “what did I spend all that money sending you to college for so that you could quit?” He didn’t see my vision. All he could see was that I was throwing away a well paid position to pursue the unknown. It was nerve-wracking for me and it took a while to get over what he said. Eventually I let it fuel me to stay the course. It kindled me to show up at my computer everyday, set my office hours, not answer the telephone, and turn down lunch dates so that I could work. Remember, there may be people who believe in your dream but more often there will be the naysayers and your will to write has to quiet all of those voices of doubt, fear and give you the will to push on.
BPM: What hurdles, if any, did you have to overcome as a new author and business owner?
I’m still getting the business side of writing down. It’s not enough to write a good book that no one has heard of. Author’s now have to wear many hats. Even though my novels are published by a major publishing house I am not exempt from this. There is still so many things that I have to keep going to reach my readers, a newsletters, blogs, website, social media, and to be honest I’d rather be writing. So finding the time and balance between writing and marketing is something that I’m constantly working on. I really, really enjoy getting out to book events and meeting the readers. That’s probably one of the most gratifying parts of this business.
BPM: What would you like to accomplish after this book is released?
Don’t laugh, but my deepest desire is to be on the New York Times best sellers list. I have been putting that out into the Universe since day one so I know it’s going to happen. I also plan to sell the movie rights and be paid (well) to consult on set as the movie is being filmed. So if you know anyone who can make this happen give them my information! My children are going to love walking the red carpet. Selling the foreign rights and seeing my novel printed in several languages would also make me happy. Eventually I’d like to teach a writing group and get out on the motivational speaking circuit.
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?
I think I’m still working on that. When I hear my husband talking about me to others, first I am embarrassed, like really embarrassed and then I’m amazed at the person he has described. I’m usually thinking, I’m not all that, really? He constantly reminds me that I’ve accomplished a lot and that I’m more talented than I know. I don’t know if that is a defense mechanism so that my head doesn’t get to be big but I’m often thinking of myself as just an average girl who writes, a glorified chauffeur and chaperone for my kids and a short order cook who sometimes get the laundry done.
BPM: Success leaves clues, whose clues did you follow on your journey?
Victoria Christopher Murray, Kimberla Lawson Roby, Tayari Jones, ReShonda Tates Billingsley, Emily Giffin and Jennifer Weiner have all left clues on how to be successful in the business. Okay I’ll be honest, I’ve internet stalked them all to learn their secrets of success. The best clues are usually on the author’s websites. I check their author tours and try to book myself at the same venues and events. It easier to study those at the top of the game instead of reinventing the wheel.
BPM: Can you share a little of your current work with us? Introduce us to your book and the characters.
And Then There Was Me is the story of love and friendship, heartache and betrayal. It’s the journey of a woman stripped down to her lowest point and needing to find the will to press on. Bea and Awilda have been best friends from the moment Awilda threw her fourteen year-old self across Bea’s twin-sized bed as if they had known each other forever. Bubbly, adventurous Awilda taught sheltered, shy Bea how to dress, wear her hair and what to do with boys. She even introduced Bea to her husband, Lonnie, in college, who pledged to take good care of her for the rest of their lives. But philanderer Lonnie breaks that promise over and over again, leaving Bea to wrestle with her self-esteem and long time secret addiction.
Recently Lonnie has plopped the family in a New Jersey upper class suburb, which lacks the diversity that Bea craves but has the school district and zip code envy that Lonnie wants. The demands of carrying a third child and fitting into this new environment while pretending that her husband is not cheating on her again, is more than she can handle. And just when she thinks things can’t get any worst, the ultimate deception snaps the little thread that was holding her life together and all comes tumbling down.
BPM: Do you set out to educate or inspire, entertain or illuminate a particular subject?
I usually start out with and idea. For And Then There Was Me my husband was telling me a story about someone he knew and I couldn’t stop mapping out the characters in my head. I usually write the story that won’t leave me alone. It usually comes from a conversation, a personal experience or just a feeling and then I just go for it. My goal is always to entertain my readers. I aim to write a book that makes their fingers burn to turn the page, keep them up at night cursing me out because they need to know what’s going to happen next in the book even though they need to be to work in five hours. Writing characters that inspire comes easy for me because I am always the person who sees the cup half full instead of half empty. All of my spiritual guides and teachings weave their way into my storytelling.
Bea of And Then There Was Me, finds her way to hot yoga to get through a rough patch because I love practicing hot yoga especially when I am physically or mentally depleted. There will most likely always be a woo-woo quality to a character or experience in the book because I really love the diverse ways that one can honor Spirit.
I’m attracted to addiction and the struggles that people go through to kick a habit. In Love In A Carry-on Bag Erica’s mother was an alcoholic, in Second House From the Corner, Felicia was an ex-smoker and when the chips fell down she started smoking again in secret. In And Then There Was Me, Bea has struggled with an eating disorder and when her dark horse starts breathing on her neck to be fed she struggles to stay two steps ahead. That’s interesting to me and I hope it’s interesting to my readers.
BPM: What should readers DO after reading this book?
Tell all of their friends to buy a copy. I really believe it takes a village to make a best-seller. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising so please, please tell a friend. Your review on goodreads.com and all of the retailer’s website would also be wonderfully helpful. Bookclubs, if you select my book and invite me to come discuss it with you I will do my best to come.
BPM: What are you the most thankful for now?
I’m grateful for my health and the health of my family and close friends. I enjoy waking up every morning, getting my kids off to school (most times without arguments and tears but not always), putting on a pot of coffee and going to work in my robe. God is always amazingly good to me. Oh, and I have a sexy, supportive husband to boot.
BPM: Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
Don’t quit. Writing takes time and dedication and it is very important to be true to the craft. Take writing classes, form a writing group and read as much as you can. Give yourself time and permission to grow, and be patient with yourself. Believe in your creativity above all. Allow the magic to flow.
BPM: We are here to shine the spotlight on your new book, but what’s next? Share with us your latest news, awards or upcoming book releases.
I am so excited about the book I’m working on now. It’s called Yellow Wife and it is the story of a slave woman, Pheby, from Charles City, VA. Pheby was sold away from the only home she’s ever known by her jealous mistress to a notorious jail in Richmond called the Devil’s Half Acre. The jail was known as a punishing center and holding pen for slaves. There she catches the eye of the owner of the jail, Rubin, who wants nothing more than to make Pheby his woman. She has to make choices to survive the treachous worlds of slavery and do some things that she is not proud of for her survival and the survival of her children. This novel is filled with struggle, self-sacrifice, sexploitation and human degradation, and promises to give readers a new perspective on our history. I’m in the middle of the first draft and I’m having so much fun with this. I never thought I’d write historical fiction and I really hope you will like it.
Black Pearl Magazine, thank you so much for this interview. It’s been a joy. Readers, to receive free excerpts on my novels, and updates on my tour schedule please go to my website: www.sadeqajohnson.net and subscribe to my newsletter. I promise not to overwhelm you with mail. Love you for reading this and I hope to meet you soon!
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Pearl Page: Audio Postcard for Bookclubs
$79.00 Per Campaign, pay here.
Thank you for listening to this fantastic book preview! This audio-postcard presentation was created by Ella Curry of EDC Creations Creations Media Group. We offer the best in book publishing publicity! Visit the main EDC Creations website today to explore the many services we offer small business owners, event planners, authors and publishers at: http://www.edc-creations.com/publicity.htm We have several packages that will take your products to the top!
Create a Pearl Page Like This One in Minutes! Got a ebook or a new printed book...let us tell the world it's available! Reserve your own personal audio book preview page today and your Pearl Page will be ready for syndication in 3-5 days! Let us share your message with our database for the next 3 months. The bookcover (with link to bookseller) is showcased on Black Pearls Magazine front page sidebar for 3 months too.
Turn your speakers on and click the links. View samples of our various types Pearl Pages:
PP 1, PP 2, PP 3, PP 4 and PP 5
Pearl Pages are emailed to more than 165,000 readers of the EDC Creations newsletter, played on BAN Radio Show 3 times in 3 months and promoted via our mobile bookclub. View here. What a way to share your audio-visual introduction with readers! Fee: $79.00 for complete webpage and audio. Make all payments at the EDC Creations Payment Center, go here today. We look forward to sharing your information with our network! Ella will email instructions within 24-48 hours.
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