#CoverReveal

I am so excited to reveal the book cover for my latest book, 
The Hookup...which is the first book I will be publishing under Black House Publishing. 

I don't have a definite release date, but it is coming this summer.

Synopsis:
A one night stand gone wrong…

Jada Lewis is sick and tired of her boyfriend, Todd’s constant cheating and verbal abuse. After she catches him red-handed with another woman- once again- she sets out to get even for a change, hoping to meet someone to make her forget about Todd, if only for one night. 

This is where Brice Sullivan comes in. After a chance encounter, Jada decides that he would be the perfect guy to use to get back at Todd. She knows that she’s still in love with Todd, but she wants to teach him a lesson- that she won’t wait forever for him to get his act together. 

However, what was intended to be a one-time hookup with Brice, turns into much more as things begin to spiral out of control. One night of pleasure, is definitely proving to have some painful consequences. 

J.L. Sapphire signs with Black House Publishing

I am so excited to announce that I recently signed a 2 book deal 

with Black House Publishing. 

Launched in May 2013 by best selling and award winning author 

Anna Black to offer publishing opportunities to authors on the rise.

Black House Publishing is an independent indigo publishing house. 

Our mission is to publish and distribute page turning experiences to 

readers around the globe. Our goal is to offer fictional and non 

fictional novels to all genre's of readers.


Books are more than words, they are imaginary getaways and we 


want to offer reading at its best!

Click the link to find out 

more about  J.L. Sapphire


The Hookup...coming soon

Book Review: My Man's Best Friend by K. Elle Collier

Blurb:

Publication Date: January 5, 2012

Kai Edwards is confronted with the startling reality that her man’s best friend is a woman—a drop-dead, gorgeous one at that. Now, what is a girl to do?

Kai Edwards has a big problem when Todd Daniels’ best friend, Alana Brooks, moves to Chicago and straight into the middle of their perfect life. To compete with the new threat and keep her man, Kai devises a deliciously devious plan, but it takes an unexpected turn when she falls hard for Alana. What unfolds is an unconventional passion triangle that turns Kai’s once normal life upside down—forever.

Set in Chicago, My Man’s Best Friend is a thought provoking, intelligent, and unconventional romantic comedy that takes an ordinary boy-meets-girl story and turns it on its ear. With an emotionally fearless protagonist, Kai Edwards, paired up with a manipulative, breathtaking beauty, Alana Brooks, this story will take you on an emotional rollercoaster only to have you gasping for air when the ride comes to an end. In her debut novel, K. Elle answers the question, what would you do if your man’s best friend were a beautiful woman? The answer, undoubtedly, will surprise you.

In this witty and intriguing first novel, K. Elle Collier pushes the envelope to discover intimacy in the most unconventional situations.

Review:

***AMAZON'S BEST SELLING AUTHOR - K. ELLE COLLIER ROCKS THE LITERARY WORLD WITH A HOT NEW NOVEL AND A STRANGE NEW TWIST…ARE YOU READY FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP STORY?***

The above statement was included in the books description on Amazon, and it couldn't be more true. While the title of the book obviously suggests that the main character gets involved with her man's best friend, it's not the story that most would think. The best friend was not another man. Nope, Todd's bestie was another woman...a sexy, manipulative woman, who also happens to be a model. From the moment Alana was introduced into the story, I knew what time it was with her. She's exactly the kind of chick older women were referring to when they used to warn me: Never trust a female around your man. 

Kai was a smart and successful businesswoman, but after Alana came to town and she saw how much Todd adored her, she suddenly became jealous and devised a plan so she could keep her eye on Alana...kind of like keeping her enemy close. But, Alana got a little too close. What began as a sneaky way to keep Alana from luring Todd into her arms, turned into much more. Lies, betrayal, deceit...it all became a part of Kai's life after she got involved with Alana. Several times through the book, all I could do was shake my head. It became quite apparent that Alana was setting her up for the okie doke, and Kai walked right into the trap Alana set, which caused a rift between her and Todd. Only, Todd wasn't exactly squeaky clean either. I definitely didn't see the twist at the end of the story coming. 

It's hard to do reviews of a really good book without containing spoilers, but overall, this was a great book, and I can't wait to read part two, to see what happens with Todd, Alana. and Kai. Everybody was lying in this book, which seems to be the norm in relationships today. These people will make a person choose to be happily single for the rest of their lives. Bravo to the author for a well-written book that kept me entertained from start to finish.

#BookReview #KElleCollier #MyMansBestFriend 

Rating:

My Top Ten Favorite Books...so far

Anybody who really knows anything about me knows that I have always been a huge bookworm. From as early as when I was in the 6th grade, I was rarely seen without a book in my hand. I can't count how many books I've read in my lifetime, but it's a lot. So, I've decided to give honorable mention to ten of my favorite books, in no particular order.

**CONTAINS SPOILERS** So if you haven't read any of these books, turn back now!!! 

1. Sweet Valley Twins #3 The Haunted House

What young girl back in the late 80's and early 90's didn't love the Wakefield twins, Elizabeth &Jessica. Liz was the nice, down to earth one, while Jessica was the desperate to be a popular mean girl one, so she eventually joined the Unicorn Club (a group of rich snobs) so she could accomplish just that. So this weird girl, Nora moves into a run down house with her grandparents, who everyone claimed were really creepy and practiced withcraft and all that jazz. Of course, Jess and her friends knew Nora must be a witch too. It's a classic story of judging a book by it's cover, only to find out that once you actually sit down and read a few pages, it's really not that bad. (see what I did there) Anyway, I was sort of the weird, shy girl who lived with my grandparents back in those days, so maybe that's why this book was always one of my favorite ones in the series. 



2. Flowers In The Attic

Long before Lifetime got the bright idea to start remaking classic books into crappy tv movies, I was reading V.C. Andrews' books. Keeping up with the theme that the books usually went by, this one was full of family drama, incest, romance, lies, betrayal, and murder. I'll try to give a brief summary. You have a perfect family living the good life until the father dies in a tragic car accident. The now widowed mother takes her four children back home to live with her mama, who immediately seems to hate all of them. Come to find out, the mother, Corrine and her late husband, Chris Sr. were actually half-uncle and niece, which is why her mother hates her and the kids. She was like, "You nasty," every time she looked at her daughter and her devil's spawn children, as she called them. She locks them up in the attic to hide them from Corrine's ill father. Corrine sets off to find a place for her and the kids, but finds love with another man instead, forgetting all about the fact that she left her four chirren at her evil mother's house in the attic to fend for themselves. The oldest two kids who were pre-teens- Cathy and Chris Jr.- try to be strong for their 4 year old twins sister and brother, while also going through puberty and dealing with the awkwardness of their changing bodies, which leads to Chris hiding in the shadows watching Cathy bathe. His teenage hormones kick in and he decided that he wanted to do more than just watch her. Yes, it was sick and twisted, but we read it, and the other books that followed, anyway. I remember watching the movie that was made back in the 80's before I read the book. I thought the movie was bad, but it was tame in comparison to the book that I read years later. Definitely one of the strangest books I've ever read.


3. The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Okay, I'm about to keep it real with you. Initially, I only read this book because back when I was a junior in high school- many, many, many years ago, I was a library aide. So, this guy that I was sort of crushing on came into the library one day and returned this book. He placed the book on the counter and walked away, leaving me both shocked and impressed. Why? Because he had sort of this bad boy thing about him, so I honestly was surprised that he was reading ANYTHING in the first place, let alone a book about Malcolm X. So, me being a young teenage girl who was hoping to catch this guys attention thought, "Hmm, maybe you should read this book, so when the two of you are in class together, you'll be able to impress him with the fact that you're about more than clothes and boys, like most teenage girls." Yes, it was probably a silly reason to decide to read it, but the point is, I read it...before the movie was made where Denzel's fine ass played Malcolm, I might add. People referred to Malcolm Little (a*k*a* Malcolm X) as the most dangerous man in America back in those days, but love him or hate him, the brother was deep and highly intelligent. When he learned that the man he looked up to, Elijah Muhammad, was a fraud and a phony, he began to regret that he'd become associated with him. Because many of the Nation of Islam's members began looking to Malcolm as their leader, Muhammad began to see him as a threat. Malcolm eventually left the Nation of Islam and founded his own religious organization, which further put Muhammad in his feelings. He began calling Malcolm a hypocrite, especially after Malcolm met with Dr. King, a man he once resented because he didn't view things the way The Nation of Islam did when it came to race relations. We all know that he was eventually assassinated in 1965. As a teenager reading this, I was amazed at all this man went through and accomplished in his lifetime. By the way, although nothing ever became of me and the guy, he did tell me a few years ago that he'd always had a crush on me in high school....now he tells me!!!!


4. The Coldest Winter Ever

As I started growing up, I made the painful decision one day that it was time for me to put down the Sweet Valley books and start reading more grown up books. This was one of the first Urban (hood) books I'd ever read. As we say now, this book gave me life, okay. The main character of the book was a girl names Winter Santiaga. Her family was hood rich- father was a successful drug dealer in Brooklyn, her mother was like a modern day Tina Knowles (you know, Beyonce's mom) and Winter and her siblings always had the best of everything. But the unexpected happened...daddy got busted by the feds, then Mama Santiaga gets shot in the face by her husband's enemies (hood ish), the police take everything they owned, and CPS comes for the kids. Winter decided that being an orphan wasn't the business, so she bounced and went to stay with her aunt for a while, finding ways to make money in the streets ...that is, until CPS finds her and takes her to live in a group home. Winter continues to get her hustle on, selling perfume, makeup, and everything else she was willing to part with as a means to make money so she can continue to stay fly in the stylish clothes she'd become accustomed to wearing. Unfortunately, she makes an enemy at the home by the name of Simone, her roommate/booster, who was caught stealing clothes to sell to Winter. Because Winter has always been about herself, she doesn't try to help Simone get out of jail, so Simone puts a hit out on Winter (not really) but she does try to get someone to give her a good beat down. Winter finds out that Simone is coming for her head when she manages to get out of jail, and runs. Another girl in the home had suggested that Winter go to her friend's house for help. The friend is Sister Souljah, one of those deep sisters who tries to help silly girls like Winter find their way in life. This book gave insight into the world of girls (I think people call them THOT's now) who think that being beautiful is all they ever need to be to get though life. As in Winter's case, this was far from the truth. She was beautiful, but she was selfish and less than smart. (in my Wendy Williams voice...how you doin' Wendy) She treated the people who tried to help her life crap, and paid for it in the end. 


5. The Million Dollar Divorce

A classic story of 'You never miss your well, until your well runs dry.' You have the perfect couple, Nate & Monica, who are living happily ever after. Nate wants to start having babies immediately, while Monica wants to wait two or three years and enjoy her man without having kids constantly knocking on the door as they try to get their freak on. So they wait a few years, only to find that while they were waiting, Monica discovers that she is going through early menopause and can't have kids now. If only she'd gotten pregnant a few years earlier...
So Nate starts resenting her for not being able to give him babies and wants to get rid of her, but he doesn't want to have to pay her alimony, so he gets the bright idea to snatch some thug up off the streets named Lewis, cleans him up a little- so he's more presentable- then hires him to seduce his wife so he can have evidence of her cheating, and he won't have to pay up after the divorce **side-note, he'd been cheating his ass off with his secretary all along** But...the thug he hired actually catches feelings for Monica and has second thoughts about trying to set her up, and Monica also catches a love jones for Lewis as well. And in typical douchebag fashion, Nate suddenly decides that he doesn't want to get rid of his wife after all...once he sees her twirling around the house like Mary Poppins after all the good sex she's been having with Lewis. So then, Nate decided he needed to get Lewis out of the picture so he could get his woman back. It was drama on top of drama and good from the beginning to end.


6. Twilight: Book 1 of the Twilight Saga

I can only imagine the side-eye's I'm getting right now. I'm a thirty-something year old mother of a 16 and 10 year old, and I'm seriously reading Twilight? Yes, I sure did. I hate all the silly names the public had given to fans of this series, but I'm one of them. I even made a Twilight scrapbook (no, I'm not lying..in my defense, I was really bored) I am a hopeless romantic, okay. And regardless of how many people criticize these books and movies, this was such a romantic love story. Edward was a vampire, but not the vampires like back in the Christopher Lee Dracula days. He's one of these new age vampires- the kind who can walk freely among humans in the day time...as long as the sun is not shining. He and his vampire family have been doing well living amongst the humans, until Bella moves to town to live with her dad. Edward immediately falls for her, but he's also torn with wanting to suck the life out of her any time he's near her, because while he's adapted to drinking animal blood rather than kill people, Bella makes him want to say, 'To hell with all that, I want some real food.' Kind of like when I fool myself into eating healthy, but eventually I say, 'Forget that give me some damn bacon!' He is madly in love with the very thing that vampires usually wouldn't hesitate to kill...a human. Aww! Not only that, he has to keep her safe from other vampires, who think Bella would make the perfect meal and couldn't care less about Edward's feelings for her. Like I said, I'm a hopeless romantic...don't judge me!


7. G- Spot

I love a good old fashioned hood story, and this one didn't disappoint. 19 year old Juicy (as far as I know that's her government name) gets sold to this old pimp named G, who runs a club called the G-Spot. 
**When you saw the title, you were thinking something sexual too, right? No? Okay, well I was** 
Anyway, Juicy can't go anywhere or do anything unless her boyfriend/pimp approves. He gives her any and everything she wants, except money...and good sex. G is old enough to be her pawpaw, so needless to say, the sex is BORING!!!! But she knows if she dare tries to get her creep on, he'll kill her and replace her before she can count to ten. Sexually frustrated, she deals with G because he also takes care of her mentally challenged brother, who she will do anything for, even allow herself to remain G's hostage. At some point, G's son, Gino comes to town to visit his father. Gino is sexy as hell, and Juicy starts feeling some type of way about him. She wants her some Gino, but she's scared G will beat the living daylights out of her. Little did she know, G had already began to suspect her of getting some lovin' on the side, and he decides to test her loyalty by sending her on a little run...with Gino. Being young and hot in the tail, Juicy can't resist getting her a piece of G's son, never knowing that G set the whole thing up. Once he finds out Juicy gave up the panties, he locks her in the Dungeon in the basement of the G-Spot and subjects her to horrible torture. He sends Gino away, only sparing his life because he's his son. While in the Dungeon, G's hateful ass tells Juicy that she has to perform a sexual act on her own brother, or else he was going to kill him. Luckily, Juicy's brother manages to take G out before happens. The evil bastard dies, and Juicy manages to run like a bat out of hell out of the G-Spot and never looks back. Talk about a page-turner...Noire did her thing with this book. 


8. Diary of a Stalker

A famous author and an obsessed fan equal one great story. The main character, Xavier obviously didn't listen to Michael Jackson when he said, "People always told me be careful of what you do, and don't go around breaking young girls' hearts," because that's exactly what he does, and he pays the price for it. He was a successful author, with thousands of female fans just wishing he'd look their way and perform some of those freaky sex scenes that he writes about on them, and he loved all the attention he got. And despite the fact that he had a beautiful fiancee at the crib, he couldn't resist hooking up with Pilar, one of his female fans. The sex was the bomb.com so he continues getting his freak on with her, never knowing that while it was just casual sex to him, Pilar was thinking something different. No, she didn't want just a quick hit it and quit it, she wanted Xavier in her life until the end of time. Xavier quickly learned that you can't jump into the bed with every pretty face you come across, because she just might be a crazy stalker who will make your life a living hell if you don't do what she wants...


9. Remembering Whitney

I have read this book so many times, I've lost count, and I cry each time. Growing up, I was a HUGE Whitney Houston fan. I wanted to be like her in every way, especially when it came to singing. I'm sure I got on my family's nerves, as I was always walking around the house TRYING to sing like Whitney. I still remember exactly where I was when I heard she'd passed away..at a Rascal Flatts concert that I'd let my sister drag me to (that's another story for another day). As much as I wanted it to be just another social media rumor, unfortunately, it was true. I bought this book as soon as it came out and learned things I'd never known about my singing idol. Some were good, and some were not so good, but it didn't take away from the amazing woman she was, and her faults didn't make me look at her any differently. EVERYBODY had done things that we're not proud of, and Whitney was no different. She was human, she loved a man who many felt wasn't good enough for her, but she loved him. She lost her way, and began experimenting with drugs...the same thing that could happen to any one of us on any given day. The only difference was, she had to deal with her issues in front of millions of people, making the situation even worse, because public criticism and speculation is a bitch. It's the people who know nothing about you, and are on the outside looking in, who always have so much to say about you, and no matter how beautiful and famous Whitney was, the things people said and thought about her, really hurt her deep down. R.I.P Whitney, we will always love you.


10. Faith Under Fire: Betrayed by a Thing Called Love

LaJoyce Brookshire tells a true story more shattering than any work of fiction. It's her story. A memoir of survival against the odds and courage in the face of a troubled relationship and a terrifying illness. A chronicle of faith under fire. Someone let me borrow this book years ago and it's one of those books that will have you talking back to the book like black folks like to talk to the movie screen. I can't remember how many times I blurted out, "Oh hell nah!" while I was reading. Secrets, lies, the ultimate betrayal- it's all here. Imagine meeting the man of your dreams, then come to find out, he had AIDS...and his family all knew he had it, and nobody ever thought to tell YOU...the woman he married. Honey, I was mad for the author, and she's a better woman than me, because no way could I have handled the situation the way she did. She must have had some strong faith in God, because that was just dirty the way these people did her. This is the reason why if I ever get divorced, I'll never get married again. You just don't know who you're dating anymore. Yes, we all have secrets, but this, IMO, is unforgivable. 

Ding Dong, American Idol is Dead

The Lord must have heard the thoughts of people all around the world, because it was announced a few days ago that the travesty known as American Idol had FINALLY been cancelled. 

I'll admit, because I worked nights back when the show first started coming on, I wasn't home to watch. I can recall being in the break-room one night watching the finale between Clay Aiken and Ruben Stuttard, but it was still nothing I just really got into. It was in 2004 while I was on maternity leave with my second child that I caught the last few episodes and the finale between Fantasia and Diana DeGarmo, and Fantasia won. Now, conservative folks like to downplay Fantasia's success, and when they mention successful artists who have come from American Idol, they never bother to mention her name. In their eyes, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Daughtry are the only successful people this show produced. I'm sure these conservative people only listen to country, pop, & rock music, so they wouldn't know that Fantasia has had not only a great singing career, she's also performed on Broadway in The Color Purple. Or Jennifer Hudson, who didn't win Idol, but went on to portray Effie in Dreamgirls and won all the top movie awards for that role; or Jordin Sparks, who had the chance to act next to the late, great Whitney Houston in the latest remake of Sparkle. It's these same conservative people and their attitudes that white is always right, who are probably responsible for the demise of the show.

Somewhere along the way, Idol got the notion that white guys with guitars were the ideal AMERICAN IDOL. The show turned into a pop/rock fest, rather than a singing contest. Of all the great auditions that I saw each season, 80% of who ended up making it to the top 12 were white guys and girls who all fit the same mold- blonde hair, blue eyes. Yes, there were contestants on the show of other races, but some rarely got higher than third place for a while. I think we all know by now that Idol was more of a popularity contest than a singing contest, and obviously what was deemed more popular were guys like Phillip Phillips, Taylor Hicks (I've never heard a song of his) and some guy named Caleb Johnson (I guess I don't know him because I stopped watching Idol a few years ago) Now, don't get me wrong, I actually liked Scotty McCreery (the adorable young country crooner with the voice like Randy Travis') and whether we liked Adam Lambert's flamboyancy or his singing, people know who he is now, but it's like a trend began and we started seeing more and more contestants who all looked and sounded the same. The best singers, in my opinion, either never made it past Hollywood week or were overshadowed by the wannabe rockers who fit the image of AMERICA'S idol. I'm sure some people will read this and think I'm playing the race card (conservative people's favorite words anytime it's pointed out that they're being racist), but even Elton John spoke out back during earlier seasons and said the viewer voting process seemed racist when the three best performers- one which happened to be Fantasia Barrino- (all three were black females) found themselves in the bottom three. He gave a statement that said: "These three girls would have the talent to be members of The Royal Academy or Juilliard," the British singer-songwriter told reporters. "They have great voices. The fact that they are constantly in the bottom three, and I don't want to set myself up here, I find it incredibly racist."

Two years ago, I was shocked when Candice Glover miraculously won over Kree, who was favored more among the viewers. That was the last season I watched, but I have never read so many racist and rude comments in  my life, other than during President Obama's second election, after he was announced the winner. The public did NOT like the fact that this overweight black girl with the big, amazing voice, and who was being praised week after week by THE Mariah Carey, was being favored more than Kree- who sang well, but her stage presence was lackluster and forgettable. I could only shake my head and my mouth dropped open more than a few times as I read GROWN people call this young woman every vile, degrading name under the sun, just because her skin was dark and she was arguably the most talented performer that season. I just knew that they were all going to band together and call in reinforcements in order to place Kree on top; but thankfully, the right person won. But while Candice has one of those voices that make you sit down and really listen to her, her career is no match to some of the pop artists we see today such as Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor. IMO Candice could easily beat either of these two in a singing match, but her 'look' is not IDEAL to the American public.

Then, we have Phillip Phillips (yes that's his name). He's one of those white guys with a guitar that I mentioned earlier and he won America's hearts, even though he couldn't hold a candle to runner-up, Joshua Ledet, who SLAYED James Brown's It's A Man's Man's World. (See performance below)

After that performance, me along with half the world, thought they should have just declared Joshua the winner right then and there and prepared for the next season, because nobody was going to beat that. Prior to Joshua singing this James Brown hit, no other performance came close to being as good as Fantasia's Summertime. Sadly, but not surprisingly, Phillip was declared the winner that season instead, and definitely not because he was more talented. Once again, the true winner was robbed and America got another 'rocker'. This trend is just one of the reasons why this show started to fall off for me. There was no diversity anymore, not to mention very little talent. And before anybody get's ready to come for me, it's not just me who feels this way. 

In this article written by deadspin.com, the writer says: Indeed, recent seasons of Idol were most defined by viewers hellbent on keeping a particular, and somewhat archaic, strand of pop alive: those who would, through hell or bad reception, unfailingly text their support for the most Jason Mrazian of the bunch, which led to Lee DeWyze’s unfortunate season-nine victory and a string of white dudes vanquishing any women or R&B-leaning males who dared reach the Top 4; last night’s elimination of Jax, the Jersey girl who sang Paramore and Evanescence before being sent home, set up yet another mano a manofinale. To their credit, those dudes were at times mystified by their own success, but their worthier foes were unfairly vanquished all the same. (Crystal Bowersox, your earth-mother stylings and ability to stay on pitch will not be forgotten.)These singers got their very own acronym from Idol watchers—WGWGs, for White Guys With Guitars—and made the prospect of Another R&B Song Getting Covered In A Gimmicky, Overly Caucasian, YouTube-y Sorta Way grimmer and more inevitable by the week.

Whether AMERICA wants to admit it or not, this was just one of the many ways their sense of entitlement was brought to the public eye, and many people didn't like what we were seeing season after season. And if the truly talented contestants getting cheated out of opportunities wasn't enough to make a person lose interest, the cattiness of the judges sealed the deal. The original three judges were great. We had Simon- the mean one who found fault in everybody and even when he liked you, he still looked at you in a way that made you feel small, so you just never knew; Paula Abdul- the sweet, mother figure one who tried to see the good in everybody; and Randy Jackson- then the cool one who could go either way and even when he gave a negative critique, you still liked him. Somewhere along the way, Simon and Paula left and it was like musical chairs after that. They brought in guest judges who knew NOTHING about singing and music (sorry Ellen Degeneres). Then J.Lo was brought in, then she quit, then she came back again. However, she seemed to use the show as a way to sell her own mediocre music. Then, someone decided that Mariah Carey would be great. I thought, "Hell yeah! Mariah would be perfect, seeing as how she's one of the most successful female singers in U.S. history." But the season with her as a judge was overshadowed by her constant fighting with Nickie Minaj (I still don't know who, what, when, where, why, or how anyone thought she should be a judge). It was distracting, to say the least to see the constant eye-rolling any time one of them said something, or to hear the snide comments being made while critiques were being given to the contestants. Needless to say, they each only lasted that one season, but the damage was already done. People were over the show and the judges. 

Anyhoo, I guess as the saying goes, 'It was fun while it lasted but all good things must come to an end.' To be honest, Idol should have ended seasons ago. The dynamic of the music world has changed. Many people aren't interested in good music anymore. Instead, they want people who come with gimmicks (i.e Lady GaGa and Rihanna) who look the part, but really aren't that great when you really look at it. Thank God for Youtube, I can always relive great singing moments there. Good riddance, Idol. 

A parents worst nightmare...

Sunday, May 10th went the same way every other Sunday did here in Nashville, Arkansas. It was Mother's Day. I had spent the day with my feet up, doing absolutely nothing. My husband and children had given me nice gifts earlier, told me what a great mom I was, and I'd had a great day. Around 10:00, I told the kids it was time for bed, as they had school the next day. My husband had also gone to bed, so I had my me time, quiet time, at least for a little while. I was watching a movie on Lifetime, when I heard the thunder and rain start. I paid it no mind, and continued watching my movie. 

Sometime after 11:00, I started dosing off and told myself to go get in bed before I fell asleep on the couch. The rain and thunder was getting worse and the flashes of lighting made me jump as I tried to decide if I was ready to go to bed or if I wanted to grab a snack before I laid down. The satellite on the tv started messing up, and then went out altogether, letting me know the thunderstorm must have been getting worse. That's when the tornado sirens went off. I immediately panicked. I've lived in Nashville since 2003, and have only heard the sirens once before that I can think of, years ago. I opened the front door to look out, and was blinded by a spark of lightning, and the wind was louder than I've ever heard, making a strange whistling noise. I ran into my bedroom and woke my husband, telling him the sirens were going off. As I mentioned, the tv satellite had gone out, so I couldn't turn to the news to see what was happening (one of the downsides to having DirecTv) We don't have a weather radio either, so I grabbed my cell phone and checked the weather from the Accu-Weather app I'd downloaded. The alert said a tornado was headed right at us and for Nashville residents to take immediate cover. My heart started beating so fast. This was serious. I quickly threw on decent clothes, then ran into my kids rooms to wake them. 

The sirens were still going off and I could heard the sound of things knocking against the house from outside. We huddled the kids into our hallway, the only place in our house away from windows. I tried not to show my panic and fear as I tried my best to remember tornado survival 101. I've never had to experience this before in my 36 years of life. Yes, Arkansas has had it's fair share of bad weather, but nothing ever this serious. All I could remember was to stay away from windows. I'd forgotten to charge my cell phone, and the battery was dying. That was my only source of news to see what was going on. I silently prayed in the hallway for God to please protect us as I looked down at my kids, who both looked confused and scared, and still half-asleep.I jumped a little when things began flying against the house from outside. All I could think of was, this is it. This is how our lives are going to end. We were all facing danger, and there was absolutely nothing I could do to protect my babies, but sit there and wait for it to happen. 

I think it's every parents worse fear- not being able to shield our children from danger. Horrible thoughts were going through my mind while at the same time, I was trying not to show how scared I was. Every year, I watch with sympathy in my eyes as people in other cities experience tornadoes and it makes me so sad when I hear of casualties. We watch the news all the time and feel sorry for the victims, never thinking that one day, WE ourselves, just might become the news. We waited, and prayed, and waited. The storm sounded like it was getting worse. I told my husband I thought we should try to go somewhere else. All I kept thinking was our house is surrounded by trees, and what if one of them falls on the house...with us inside. He told me that was a bad idea, but I just felt like we needed to do something. I wasn't trying to sit there and wait for us to be blown away. Walmart was up the road. Don't ask me why, but I thought that would be a safer place. We took a chance and made the three minute ride there. It was raining really hard, and the wind was blowing like crazy, but that was it. There were many people in Walmart, waiting out the storm, and somehow, I just felt a little safer. At first, we were all up front, but the managers were keeping an eye on the storm and minutes later, they told everyone to head to the back, towards Lay-A-Way. We waited and waited, still nothing happened. After about a half hour, they told us all it was okay to leave. *In hindsight, I should have listened to my husband, who had told me that he didn't think it was safe for us to leave the house at that time, because with it being dark, we couldn't exactly see and could be driving right into danger; but seeing how freaked out I was, he wanted to do what he had to do to calm me down.*

We went back home, which thankfully, was still in tact. The satellite was going in and out at that point. It looked like the worst part of the storm had passed over us, although it was still storming bad outside. Eventually, my family laid down and tried to sleep, but there was no way I was going to close my eyes. I needed to stay awake, just in case something else happened. With the satellite going in and out, I tracked the storm from AR Weather Watchers, a page I follow on Facebook. That's when I saw that across town, unfortunately, Michael & Melissa Mooneyhan, hadn't made it. At first, I told myself not to believe everything on social media, but when the tv came back on, my heart sank as I listened to  meterorologist Ron Young say he'd gotten word of lives lost. The couple had been killed while trying to protect their daughter from the storm when their trailer home had flipped and exploded. A search dog found their bodies.

I work as a cashier, and while I didn't know them personally, I remember faces, and I've seen both of them before in passing. The next morning, I drove around town, trying to see what damages had been caused. The storm had left a mess of uprooted trees, some on top of people's homes, and shingles and roofs torn off buildings. 4 or 5 of the trailers in the mobile home park Michael & Melissa once lived in, were completely destroyed. Now, the city is trying to clean up and help the families affected by the storm, which was was determined by the National Weather Service to be an E-F2 tornado, with winds up to 125 miles/hour. Two young lives are lost, and their 1 year old daughter will never know them. But hopefully when she gets older, she'll come to find out the ultimate sacrifice her parents had made trying to save her. I can only imagine what they were feeling and thinking in those last moments, as I had been huddled in the hallway with my children doing the same thing a short time earlier. I can only pray that they didn't suffer. 

We all like to think sometimes that certain things can't happen to us. For some reason, I'd never thought I would ever have to worry about something as serious as this happening in Nashville. I know natural disasters can happen any and everywhere, I'm not that stupid; but like I said, I've been living here for over ten years, and was born and raised in Arkansas, and while we've had storms, nothing ever got even close to being this bad, where I live. When we do get really bad weather, it's usually up in the northern part of the state. A thunderstorm was just one of those things I kind of got used to. Before the sirens started going off, I'd just told myself that it would be over in a few minutes. I thought nothing of it. We get comfortable in certain situations. We think, it won't happen to us. I've always known that tomorrow is never promised to anybody, but when the time comes and you're suddenly faced with a situation that could end your life, there is no way to prepare for it. It was an eye-opener, for sure. My thoughts and prayers are with The Mooneyhan's family and daughter. Rest in peace Michael & Melissa. Click the link to read story. 

http://www.people.com/article/arkansas-coupe-dies-protecting-daughter-tornado

#Tornado #Storm #Nashville #Arkansas 

#MagSwag

Those Lyon boys are on the cover of the latest issue of Essence magazine. Don't they look like three black angel's, all suave and debonair in white. The June issue of Essence features three covers with each of the actors by themselves, then this one of all of them together. 

Quote from Essence Magazine: "The fictional Lyon brothers of hit TV show Empire- Andre, Jamal and Hakeem- are expanding their kingdom this month to now include ESSENCE's cover with a photoshoot so hot, we needed four (that's right,four!) covers." Speaking with the actors behind everyone's new favorite show, ESSENCE's West Coast Editor Regina R. Robertson learned more reasons to love the Lyon men.

For example, Jussie Smollet, 32, when hearing about the show Lee Daniels was creating, took a long shot and reached out to him in a non-traditional way. "I jumped on Instagram and direct-messaged Lee and said, 'Sir, I know you get this all the time, but I'm a singer, actor, dancer, songwriter and musician. I am Jamal Lyon in more ways than one.'"

Or newcomer Bryshere "Yazz" Gray, 21, whose NFL dreams shattered with an injury. Did you know the YouTube sensation was interested in youth mentoring? While meeting his young fans, he heard many tales of hard times. "I would hear things like, 'My dad was never in my life...' and my response was, 'My dad was never in my life...Don't feel like you don't matter.'"

We all know that Trai Byers, 33, had a very good year in 2014, with the success of both Empire and Selma. There is also talk of an hot off-screen romance between he and co-star Grace Gealey. But did you know that the bonafided sex symbol is also a charmer? He explains why he works out and looks so damn good: "I work out for two reasons: one, because I'm an actor and two, because I'm somebody's [future] husband. I want to be prepared for the woman God has for me." Swoon!

To find out which of the Lyon brothers almost became a pastor when times got tough in his life, pick up the June issue of ESSENCE Magazine, on newsstands now!

Issue hits newsstands 5/15 #SexiestSummerEver #Empire #Cover #Magazine 

It's LIVE! The Head Mistress by ME!!!!

I've been working on this short story for a few months and it's finally live today on Amazon. **Please pay attention to the description BEFORE buying that this is a SHORT STORY** I never try to cheat my readers, so I always add in the description if it's going to be a quick read, yet I'll still get negative reviews for the story being too short. Umm, that's kind of the point of a SHORT STORY. Anyway, I hope you guys will enjoy this one. There is a moral to this story, as I try to do with all of my books, but I'l let you find out what it is for yourselves. It's only #99cents and #FREE if you have #KindleUnlimited so hurry on over to Amazon.com and get your #1Click on. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Head-Mistress-J-L-Sapphire-ebook/dp/B00X6A4JM6

Blurb:

Publication Date: May 4, 2015

**An E-short**
By day, Ebony Williams runs a very successful soul food restaurant in the Windy City, but after hours, she becomes Head Mistress Ebony, operating a high-end, male members only, secret society brothel in The Basement of the same restaurant.

Ebony is all about getting her coins and not much else, but she does like to indulge herself and get her feet wet, from time to time. She sets her sights on Terrence- one of the newest members to be accepted into her private establishment- and offers to personally fulfill his sexual desires, under one condition- she is to be his ONLY other woman, in or outside of The Basement. Sexually frustrated and staring his fantasy come true in the face, Terrence eagerly accepts Ebony’s offer, and so begins their steamy affair. However, he soon breaks his promise to Ebony, and get’s himself another side-chick.

Once Ebony finds out that Terrence hasn’t kept his word, she vows to make him pay for breaking his promise to her. She knows- all too well- that promises are meant to be broken; but lying to her has much more serious consequences, which Terrence will soon learn…but will he learn a little too late?

Week in Review

The media finally got around to reporting about the unlawful arrest and murder of Freddy Gray...AFTER they went on and on and on about Bruce Jenner wanting to become a woman (and not a very attractive one, IJS). I don't see what all the excitement was about regarding his interview, because he's not the first (nor will he be the last) transgender man/woman in the world. Methinks he only got so much exposure because he's one of the Kardashian Klan. So after they got done gushing over Bruce, then the focus became on how the people in Baltimore were mad as hell that yet another black man was killed at the hands of dirty cops and showing how they felt by rioting and looting the city. And of course, they focused more on that than the fact that 6 police officers watched a man die. 

On Friday, it was announced by State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby that all six cops would be charged with Mr. Gray's murder (although they probably won't be convicted) and social media went crazy upon finding that three of those six were African-American. Oh, the Conservative bigots on Facebook were acting like they'd finally won 'THEIR COUNTRY'  back, with all the celebrating they were doing. Me personally, I wouldn't care if the officers were white, black, red, yellow, or green, male or female- they ALL need to be thrown in jail for failing to get that young man the help he needed and watching him suffer. Social media has brought out the worst in people, as was evident by the comments from the bigots who feel Mr. Gray deserved to have his spine broken by the police and eventually die, because he had a long wrap sheet of NON-VIOLENT drug charges- not rape, burglary, or murder- but narcotics. (Meanwhile, the psycho who shot up the Colorado movie theater in 2012 is still alive and well and even though he killed 12 people and injured about 70 more, it's not his fault because he's supposedly mentally ill) The irony. Anyway, I also learned that those same bigots find it easy to turn a blind eye when it's prove that their own precious children loot and riot just as much, if not more, than the THUGS they kept talking about in Baltimore; and just in case you're from another plant, these days THUG is just another way to say NI**ER. I applaud the swift action of State's Attny. Mosby for holding those dirty cops accountable, but we all know they will never see the inside of a jail as a prisoner. The police and conservative's are trying to discredit her as I type because for she's black and a woman...which means that even though she comes from a family with five generations of law enforcement officers, she doesn't possibly know what she's doing. In the meantime, another black man has been killed by police. More on that story next week.

In other news, the Mayweather/Pacquio fight finally happened and to everybody's dismay, it was BORING. I'm so glad I didn't order that through pay-per-view. From Jamie Foxx and his gospel rendition of the National Anthem, to the fight itself, it was very lackluster.A friend uploaded the entire fight to Facebook, speeding it up a little and I watched the entire fight in thirty minutes. Let me re-phrase that: I watched Mayweather dance around the ring for thirty minutes. I'm not really sure how he won, but oh well. They both still got paid a grip and neither one was KO'ed. I was more entertained by the fake fight sequences Sly Stallone did in the Rocky movies...

Let's see, what else happened? Oh, the CNN reporter who "mistakenly" called the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Crip's (because their colors are Blue..and you know, any time there's a GANG of black people wearing Blue, they must be Crips) decided to apologize. These apologies are just becoming more and more pointless and fake.Own your ish. You said it and you meant it. Stop saying dumb ish that you'll feel the need to backtrack for later on. BTW, mistake my a$$... #girlbye

Last Sunday was Part One of the Real Housewives of the ATL reunion and as expected, the Bitter Old Lady Gang (Claudia, Cynthia, Kenya, and the newest member, Kandi) tried their best to shade the hell out of NeNe, Phaedra, and the fabulous, Porsha Williams, and they all failed. Claudia kept going on and on about Porsha and her African man, but a little Google research has brought up evidence that she's slept with a few married men's (I know I said that wrong) herself, i.e. Tom Joyner. (Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.) Part Two will be on tonight, and we'll hear from Housewife Peter Thomas, who always feels the need to over talk everybody and go on an on about how big and bad he is. Have several seats, Peter. That line he said about, "I'd rather play with myself than to cheat on Cynthia," is old as he is. As much B.S.as he talks, he couldn't come up with a better one that that? And Cynthia sat there looking all smug...like her husband is going to admit on nation television that he's been gettin' it in with someone else. They're both pathetic. 

I'm sure there has been other news, but these are the stories that stood out the most. I'll holla at y'all next week.