In Her Words: Lorraine Elzia on "Ask Nicely and I Might"

"Every woman in a relationship has thought about it from time to time--that moment when you snap and do the unthinkable. Instead of running away from it and pretending it does not exist, I thought it would be stimulating to look inside the mind of a woman who kills, purely for the enjoyment and the thrill." ~ Lorraine Elzia


From ASK NICELY AND I MIGHT:

Jade
The Feel of Blood
I can feel the mist hitting my face like fine piss-ant rain. Irritating, yet invigoratingly refreshing just the same. In retrospect, I have to admit that the events of my here and now are morbid, to say the least. Especially given the fact that the mist which is actually hitting my face is in the form of the warm blood of my husband, squirting in spurts from the small, pin-size puncture wound I have inflicted into his temple as I lay next to him in bed. Yet, I lay here unfazed.
Poor sucker. I almost feel pity for his sorry ass. Almost. I know Carl never saw it coming. Although he had been asking for it for years, I could tell that he was blind and clueless to the fact that one day I would finally give the useless bastard what he unknowingly cultivated over time--my contempt and my rage. Our marriage, if you can call it that, has been a never-ending cycle of him taunting me, arrogantly calling my bluff as if I were too much of a punk to react. He had been begging me, through his actions, to show him the fabric of what I’m made of. Cockingly inquiring if I had a backbone made of steel. He further mocked the saying, “beware of a woman scorned” and whether that saying had any merit in regards to me.

He had been provoking me day after day, begging me through his abuse to take a stand; yet I had known, deep in the back of his mind, he never thought I could or ever would. I have contemplated his death for years, it has always been in the suitcase of my mind, waiting for me to open it and use its contents. Each snide comment uttered from his lips, lead me to the place I’m at now of wanting him dead. I have no fear of being without him. To be honest, I welcome the relief my life would sustain simply from him not being around.

“He’s a good catch.” Others said when we first got together. But that was their view from the outside looking in. They did not live my daily hell or experience my constant pain. In the beginning, Carl kept his fronts up, giving the impression of a good husband and provider. But over the years, all that changed and his true colors were eventually shown. He could care less about being my man, my provider, or my soul mate. He cared more about breaking me down, bit by bit, training me, forcing me to succumb to his rules and his ways. Each day he was more successful than the day before at doing it. But I was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode; a fact that Carl seemed not to pay much attention to. He was too busy playing Commander-in-Chief to recognize. His mistake, not mine.

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ASK NICELY AND I MIGHT
A twisted game of bewildering intrigue proves positive that six degrees of separation bridge the gap between the sane and the insane.

Alex Carlysle is a savvy homicide detective highly respected among her peers and on the fast track to make Captain. When her lover becomes the latest victim in a series of brutal murders, the investigation of the killings becomes personal for her. Not only has she lost the only man who ever understood her, but also catching the killer could be the break she has been waiting for concerning her career.

Jade, on the other hand, resides on the opposite side of the law, abiding by a different set of rules - its Jade's way, or no way. Instead of enforcing the law, she is the thorn in its side. Motivated by an urge for revenge, she is a sexy enigma of a serial killer who taunts the police just for the pleasure of it while devouring her prey in the process.

As the hunter becomes the hunted, two women, both at the top of their game, are destined for a massive head-on collision with each other. But the thrill of pursuit is not the only tie that binds them; they are also both driven by blood shed and a chain of circumstances that began in the subconscious mind.
Ask Nicely and I Might is a racy thriller - fast, furious, and filled with sexy suspense. A wicked game of cat and mouse where time is rapidly running out and with the hunter and hunted lives on the line, they have everything to fight for . . . and everything to lose.
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Lorraine Elzia is an Author, Ghostwriter, Literary Artist and the 2009 African American Literary Show Break Out Author of the year. Lorraine has always had an admiration for the written word and has exercised her God-given talent for story telling in various venues.


"Mistress Memoirs" is the debut novel for Lorraine, who has espoused the name A Deeva, and often writes under that pseudonym. She is a contributing author in "Chicken Soup for the Single Parent´s Soul"; "Chicken Soup for the African American Woman´s Soul"; the "Ka´trina Anthology, Surfacing...Phenomenal Women on Passion, Politics & Purpose"; "Gumbo for the Soul" and "The Triumph of My Soul Anthology."

Lorraine is Co-Owner of Eve´s Literary Services; contributing Editor for the "Gumbo for the Soul" series; and Co-Moderator of Essentially Women, a writing group for African American women. She is from Austin, Texas, by way of Motown (Detroit, Michigan) and it is her desire that through the written word delivered in different genres, she will be able to inspire and motivate others to see the beauty that resides within all people.

Order your copy of ASK NICELY AND I MIGHT today at http://www.amazon.com/Nicely-Might-Publishing-Presents-ebook/dp/B004089EVE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1298377263&sr=1-1.

Both books can be ordered at www.peaceinthestormpublishing.com.

In Her Words: Jacqueline D. Moore on "Serving Justice"

"Sometimes we miss our blessings because they don't come packaged the way we think they should." ~Jacqueline D. Moore

SERVING JUSTICE - Take a Peek into the award-winning book:
Darlene knew that it was unfair to expect that the four of them would always be together. She knew that it was only natural that one day, each of them would get married and begin a new chapter in their lives. She was afraid that if Angie married Tony, she might not ever see her again. She would never be able to handle losing her sisters.

Suddenly, Darlene felt bad about how she had treated Angie. She really did love Angie and only wanted what was best for her. She was only using Tony being a cabdriver as an excuse to keep them apart. She realized that she would have found fault with any man who tried to come between her and her sisters. No, matter what they did for a living.

Darlene knew that she was good enough as a lawyer to survive anything. She got offers everyday from firms who wanted her to join them. So in reality, Darlene really didn’t have anything to lose career wise. She would always be able to find a job. She wasn’t so sure about finding another friend.

For a moment, Darlene panicked. What if she’d driven Angie away? “Oh my! What have I done?” She didn’t need Tony to come between her and her friends. She was doing a good job all by herself of pushing them away. How could she be so stupid?
She wouldn’t be able to bare it if she lost any of the three women who had been her support system, her family, her only friends. Darlene thought about what she could do to make it up to Angie.

At times like this, Darlene wished she knew how to pray. She was never one to go to church, but on the few occasions that she had accompanied Theresa or Angie to their church, she had the vaguest sense of something more. Something that could bring her the peace that had eluded her all of her life.

She had seen the faces of her friends and other people around her as they prayed. Even when the prayers would reach a fevered pitch and the screaming and dancing erupted all around them, she saw the peacefulness wash over their faces. Darlene had always wanted to feel that peace. She just didn’t know how to get it.
She really couldn’t get into the sermons. They were usually talking about how God could solve all of your problems and how God could provide. She heard them “So turn your problems over to God, He can fix it! Nothing’s too hard for God!” She had heard it all before.

Whenever she heard these sermons, they seemed to bring out the dark side in her. Whenever she heard the preacher say “God will provide,” she thought back to her childhood in Vietnam when she and her mother had nothing. She could remember being hungry for day on end and how her own grandmother would sit and eat right in front of . Never offering a single grain of rice. They talked about loving your neighbor. How could Darlene love her neighbor when her Vietnamese family had treated her so badly?

It hadn’t stopped there. She remembered how the other kids treated her calling her names and treating her like dirt. She remembered how the guys in college used her body and then treated her like a whore afterwards.

In the end, Darlene had risen above it all. She had gained the respect of those who mattered by becoming one of the most powerful attorneys in the city. She could care less about what the rest of the people thought. She had made it on her own. Without the help of God.

She was Darlene Moore, Esquire. She didn’t need God, she didn’t need anyone.


ABOUT SERVING JUSTICE:

Sometimes Love Resides Above the Law...

What happens when a prominent and successful Chicago Judge falls in love with her driver?

Angela Jenkins decided as a child that she would become a lawyer. Fighting injustices perpetrated against those who could not or would not fight for themselves ran like passion through her veins. Growing up, Angela was taught that putting God first in her life, respecting the rights and choices of others, and working hard, were the most important things a person should strive for.
While in pursuit of her law degree, Angela meets Rhonda, Theresa, and Darlene who are there reaching for the same goals. Over the next two decades, an unbreakable bond forms and friends become sisters.
Angela finds the more successful she becomes, the more she begins to lose her connection with God and starts conforming more to the world, than to the word of God.
When love enters her heart, she must decide if having a relationship is more important than what others, including her friends, have to say. Angela is forced to look at what's important in her life and has to choose between allowing others to shape who she is or conforming to what God wants her to be.



Learn more about Jacqueline D. Moore, and Serving Justice at:
http://www.peaceinthestormpublishing.com/authors/JacquelineMoore.html

In Her Words: Ebonee Monique on "Suicide Diaries"

"I wrote suicide diaries because I'd experienced the pain of suicide and needed an outlet to grieve while learning to move on." ~ Ebonee Monique

PRELUDE
Have you ever aimlessly searched a crowd of faces? Investigating green, blue and brown eyes for some sort of familiarity? Maybe you’ve studied the physical attributes and hairstyles of someone, hoping that a make-over could’ve altered the looks of the person you’re searching for. My eyes dart from wide noses, small noses, big hands, little hands, freckles and moles-all while trying to find an ounce of reason to believe that this person, at that very moment, could be the one to end my search. But it never ends. For some reason, the heart has a tendency to embrace the truth long after the mind has.

Do you know what it feels like to stand in a room full of people and only be able to run one name, one voice and once face through your mind? It’s beyond the point of obsessive and just below the rankings of pathetic and, yet, the search for closure has no shame. It’s like running around a group of people with your zipper down, exposing everything below the belt, and while you want to zip your pants up and cower in a corner, out of embarrassment, your hands are frozen, your eyes are set and your mouth can’t utter the words that your heart is dying to say: “Help me!” It’s like walking in a never ending circle with a blindfold over your eyes, restricting your vision, your heart, restricting your emotions and your soul, restricting your growth. The on-going cycle of finding a sense of peace, while standing in the dark, can be pretty amusing to the unassuming. Close your eyes and imagine the never ending circle you’re in and think about what you’d do to get out.

This is my daily routine.
Welcome to my world.

Before you start thinking I’m an overly dramatic, obsessed person let me take you to a time when I was far from the person I slowly turned into.

~Lauren Washington
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More on Suicide Diaries
When Lauren Washington's mother is mysteriously gunned down in their neighborhood, Lauren - a nine year old from Bankhead, Georgia - must quickly grow up and become the woman of her household. Early on, Lauren finds that not dealing with her pain is easier than actually doing so. It's only on the confidential white pages of her diary that Lauren feels free to spill the thoughts from her troubled mind. After finding a job in radio, which allows her to mask her true thoughts and become her on-air persona "Mystique," Lauren believes she's found the perfect blend of privacy and sanity. Today, at age 26, Lauren is one of the top rated deejays in Atlanta, and dangerously in love with her boyfriend of eight years, Brendan. From the outside, everything looks perfect. However when Lauren enlists the help of a private investigator to look into her mother's unsolved murder, strange things start happening. Her father is nervous, her best friends are acting out of character and Brendan begins to withdraw from her and ends up disrespecting her in the boldest way. With visions of her happiness shattering, Lauren scrambles to repair her relationship with Brendan. But, before apologies can be made, Brendan does the unthinkable and commits suicide. Lauren is left to deal with more than her heart or the pages of her diary can handle. Brendan's sneaky double life compels her to figure out who he really was and what the secrets, he died to keep from her, were. Suicide Diaries deals with betrayal beyond the grave and the disbelief and heartache that comes after a suicide. Moving on, once the dirt has been thrown on the coffin, will prove to be the hardest self-evaluation Lauren's ever experienced.


SUICIDE DIARIES can be order today at www.peaceinthestormpublishing.com. Learn more about Ebonee Monique at www.EboneeMonique.com!