Dear Hazel,
I feel as though I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. My sister is married to a wonderful man whom she loves dearly. They have been married for eleven years and have four children together.
The problem is that I am in love with her husband and have been since the first time I met him. It was obvious that he felt something for me as well by the way he looked at me and the way he always hugged me. It wasn’t a brotherly hug because sometimes his hand would “just happen” to rub my behind. But neither of us acted on this attraction out of love and respect for my sister. That is, until about a month ago.
My sister was away at a women’s church retreat for the weekend and because her husband had to work, she left her children in my care. Her husband came by late one night to check on the kids but they had already gone to bed. We were talking when one thing led to another. Needless to say, we ended up in bed together.
I’ve been feeling guilty ever since that night and I feel that I need to clear my conscious and come clean about what happened. Her husband says that we should just keep our mouths shut and forget about it.
What would you do if you were in this same situation?
C.D. in Atlanta
Dear C.D.
What would I do? Glad you asked. Well, I would not be in your situation because the “love and respect” I have for my sister strictly prohibits betrayal, in any form.
Now that you have done what you obviously have wanted to do from the beginning, your conscious is bothering you? Please.
You and your sister’s husband are selfish. You both put your needs and desires above everything else and quite frankly, if or when she does find out, you deserve whatever happens.
Peace (if you can find any),
Hazel
www.hazelmillsstories.com
Xpress Yourself Publishing is the African American Literary Awards Show 2008 Independent Publisher of the Year, and an English-language publisher headquartered in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The house of ESSENCE® best-selling authors, Xpress Yourself Publishing is a minority- and woman-owned company publishing ficton, non-fiction and self-help books. Visit us online at www.XpressYourselfPublishing.com, where dreams are turned into reality!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
S.B. Redd Speaks Candidly...
S.B. Redd speaks candidly with the Literary Vixen Book Club. Read his thoughts on his debut novel, Temptation.com!
1) What can you tell your readers about your novel and about you? My formal background is a newspaper reporter. I worked primarily as a sports reporter and on a free-lance basis for various publications and websites for 15 years. I’m also a co-host with The Author Dark~N~Delicious on Real Talk, Real People; it’s a popular Blog Talk Radio show on Thursday nights (11 p.m., eastern). I’m also offer book editing for authors, and that’s been rather successful so far in terms of reader feedback from the books that I’ve helped make better.
As for my novel, I consider Temptation.com a scintillating work of erotica that will push one's literary envelope. The book delves into online dating and sexual and online porn addiction through the lives of two main characters: Royale Cole, a forty-something divorcee; and Ulyssa Howard, a thirty-something single mother of three at the time that they met. I’ve often put out there if you like your erotica nasty, scorching, freaky and did I mention nasty again this is the book for that grown and sexy reader.
2) What do you want people to come away with after reading your book? I want individuals that may be heavily into viewing porn to possibly see themselves and perhaps consider any necessary changes for the good as a result of reading my book. This is not some self-help book, but the characters were developed as means by which the reader might be able to identify himself, herself, or someone they know.
3) What has been the most gratifying part of being an author? So far, I’ve had the opportunity to regain my identity as a writer. That had been missing for almost 10 years. The other thing is when I write, particularly in my frequent blogs, it’s yet another opportunity for me to perhaps inform, educate, and to some extent entertain people.
4) Where do you see yourself as a writer ten years from now? I try not to look that far down the road. But I do see myself becoming more diverse. I hope within the next five years to have earned my master’s degree (probably in Creative Writing) because I would like to teach at the college level. Hopefully, I might have the same impact on someone in the next generation of writers as a couple of my instructors had on me.
5) How do you define success? Success has always been to me an expectation fulfilled. I recently noted in a blog that there is much hope in the pursuit of excellence.
6) How do you deal with adversity and failure? Some times you just have to keep on moving. I’ve also come to acknowledge that even in “failure” there’s often an opportunity at making application of lessons learned or achieving redemption for the good.
7) What do you do to stay grounded and maintain a sense of balance in your life? Easy. My wife of nearly 14 years and my daughter have a lot to do with that. I’m also mindful of my shortcomings and past failures. I realize that I can’t take a familiar path that leads me to futility and expect something good might come from it.
8) Which character in your novel did you connect with most and why? I write with a theme in mind so that’s where I make any connection. The characters are merely what brings these themes to light for me.
9) What should your readers expect next from you? My publisher (Jessica Tilles of Xpress Yourself Publishing) has already indicated that she’s exercising an option to publish my next book that’s titled The Shades of Passion. It should be released in 2010.
10) How can readers get in contact with you? I’m all over the Internet. My primary website is www.maverick-books.com. I can be found on MySpace (search: maverickbooks). I’ve created a Temptation.com social network; its web address is www.temptationdotcom.ning.com. You can also catch me on Thursday nights with our BTR show. Its web address is www.blogtalkradio.com/realtalk-realpeople and it’s call-in number is 347.996.5198.
1) What can you tell your readers about your novel and about you? My formal background is a newspaper reporter. I worked primarily as a sports reporter and on a free-lance basis for various publications and websites for 15 years. I’m also a co-host with The Author Dark~N~Delicious on Real Talk, Real People; it’s a popular Blog Talk Radio show on Thursday nights (11 p.m., eastern). I’m also offer book editing for authors, and that’s been rather successful so far in terms of reader feedback from the books that I’ve helped make better.
As for my novel, I consider Temptation.com a scintillating work of erotica that will push one's literary envelope. The book delves into online dating and sexual and online porn addiction through the lives of two main characters: Royale Cole, a forty-something divorcee; and Ulyssa Howard, a thirty-something single mother of three at the time that they met. I’ve often put out there if you like your erotica nasty, scorching, freaky and did I mention nasty again this is the book for that grown and sexy reader.
2) What do you want people to come away with after reading your book? I want individuals that may be heavily into viewing porn to possibly see themselves and perhaps consider any necessary changes for the good as a result of reading my book. This is not some self-help book, but the characters were developed as means by which the reader might be able to identify himself, herself, or someone they know.
3) What has been the most gratifying part of being an author? So far, I’ve had the opportunity to regain my identity as a writer. That had been missing for almost 10 years. The other thing is when I write, particularly in my frequent blogs, it’s yet another opportunity for me to perhaps inform, educate, and to some extent entertain people.
4) Where do you see yourself as a writer ten years from now? I try not to look that far down the road. But I do see myself becoming more diverse. I hope within the next five years to have earned my master’s degree (probably in Creative Writing) because I would like to teach at the college level. Hopefully, I might have the same impact on someone in the next generation of writers as a couple of my instructors had on me.
5) How do you define success? Success has always been to me an expectation fulfilled. I recently noted in a blog that there is much hope in the pursuit of excellence.
6) How do you deal with adversity and failure? Some times you just have to keep on moving. I’ve also come to acknowledge that even in “failure” there’s often an opportunity at making application of lessons learned or achieving redemption for the good.
7) What do you do to stay grounded and maintain a sense of balance in your life? Easy. My wife of nearly 14 years and my daughter have a lot to do with that. I’m also mindful of my shortcomings and past failures. I realize that I can’t take a familiar path that leads me to futility and expect something good might come from it.
8) Which character in your novel did you connect with most and why? I write with a theme in mind so that’s where I make any connection. The characters are merely what brings these themes to light for me.
9) What should your readers expect next from you? My publisher (Jessica Tilles of Xpress Yourself Publishing) has already indicated that she’s exercising an option to publish my next book that’s titled The Shades of Passion. It should be released in 2010.
10) How can readers get in contact with you? I’m all over the Internet. My primary website is www.maverick-books.com. I can be found on MySpace (search: maverickbooks). I’ve created a Temptation.com social network; its web address is www.temptationdotcom.ning.com. You can also catch me on Thursday nights with our BTR show. Its web address is www.blogtalkradio.com/realtalk-realpeople and it’s call-in number is 347.996.5198.
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