I thought I’d share an excerpt from Divine Destiny with you all today. I can’t believe the book will be out in about a month! The reviews have been positive so far. So, I’m really pleased about that. Enjoy the excerpt!

Brief Blurb:

Divine Destiny is a paranormal erotic romance set in a primitive future. Darwu the Warrior Prince has started a war against the rebel resisters to the throne. He believes that they killed his sacred mate, Kara Millan, when she was a child. After losing her parents and her entire village when she was a child, Kara Millan became a leader and freedom fighter in The Resistance. She has sworn to bring down the corrupt monarchy. When the Warrior Prince and the freedom fighter meet and find out that they are sacred mates, only divine love and a few sexually inspired lessons can bring these two sworn enemies to a true meeting of the heart, soul and mind.

Excerpt:

His hand maintained its caressing hold. “Your name. Tell me. Now.”

“My name is Kara Millan.”

The Prince removed his hand and moved away from her so quickly one would have thought that he’d seen a ghost. His eyes narrowed in on her and then his lips formed a sneer. “Lies won’t help you. Only the truth will help you. What is your real name, wench?’

Not sure why he seemed to get angry when she gave him the information he’d asked for, she huffed, “Kara Millan.”

“Your name can’t be Kara Millan. Kara Millan died ten years ago.” His eyes poured into hers for a second before he shook his head vigorously. “The Resistance did a good job. As I look at you, I can see how they picked you. Perhaps she might have looked a little like you had she lived.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I am Kara Millan. Maybe the Kara Millan you knew died, but I can assure you I am who I say I am. And as you can see, I’m very much alive.” How was she supposed to talk peace to an oaf who couldn’t even grasp something as simple as her name? As if she didn’t know her own name.

“I’ll give you one more chance. What is your name?”

“Ka-ra. Mil-lan.”

“Let her go and leave us. Stand guard and kill anyone that tries to enter.” Waving his hands dismissively, the Prince kept his eyes on her the entire time he spoke.

“Yes, Your Highness.” The soldiers spoke in unison, and walked away.

Her knees gave way. The Prince caught her before she hit the ground and held her.

She lifted her head as best she could and glared at him. “Why don’t you just have them kill me and get it over with?”

“Not yet. By the time I’m through with you, you might very well wish for death, and I may just find it in my heart to grant it to you.” His hand caressed her cheek briefly before his eyes narrowed. “But until then, I have other uses for you. You’re going to tell me the truth about who you are.”

Here’s the blurb for Vindication:
P.I. Karyn Harris’ sister was killed in the line of duty and branded a rogue cop. She’s spent the last year grieving and trying to clear her sister’s name. Zechariah Washington, an ex-cop and law student, is there to help ease her pain, but he wants to be more than a shoulder to cry on. Then, an unexpected phone call send the couple on a life-threatening search to find the clue that will vindicate her sister. Can Zechariah convince Karyn there’s more to their relationship or will they both fall victim to the same people who murdered her sister?

Here’s what I thought about Lyric James’ Vindication:
This story has it all, hot sex, intrigue, suspense and love. Lyric James introduces us to the Adventures of a Private Jane series with a bang and I for one can’t wait to see what she has in store with the rest of the series. I loved the “friends-with-benefits” turned true love angle that the story took. Karyn and Zechariah are having the most mind-blowing sex either of them has ever had and they genuinely like and respect one another. But there is just one tiny problem, each is catching feelings for the other and neither wants to be the first to own up to this slight change in their arrangement. It already sounds like great fun, right? Add to that a murder mystery and high stakes life threatening situations and you’ve got one kick-butt story. The emotional connection between Karyn and Zechariah will melt your heart. The steamy sex will melt everything else! And the nonstop suspense and action will have you glued to your screen. I highly recommend this e-book. Get your copy today!

Get a copy of Vindication here:
http://www.cobblestone-press.com/index.htm

Find out more about Lyric James here:
http://www.lyricjamesbooks.net/
http://lyricjames.blogspot.com/
http://thenoveltygirls.blogspot.com/
http://sexysheets.blogspot.com/

So, Elle has tagged me. And now I have to find 8-10 images that amaze me. This is pretty much impossible. But I will try to do it since I was tagged. But Elle… I will get you back soon…

This is the image from the second Be Girl Be conference at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis. I just love the way it shows how women have always been a part of hip-hop and it highlights all the elements. And I guess the amazing part is that more people don’t recognize all the women bring to the culture.

One of my dissertation advisors has this picture hanging in her home. I’ve just always loved it.

Anything by Frida amazes me… Frida amazes me…

Love the revolutionary spirit here–I think its called revolutionizing Aunt Jemima…

The rest are women who amaze me and inspire me: Zora Neale Hurston, Fannie Lou Hamer, Sojouner Truth, Ida B. Wells Barnett and Harriet Tubman.

Zora Neale Hurston–because I aspire to write as powerfully one day…

Fannie Lou Hamer–because I aspire to live my life as bravely…

Sojouner Truth–because I aspire to speak as powerfully and have my words mean as much to as many…

Ida B. Wells Barnett–because I aspire to have the courage to continue to fight against injustice wherever I find it…

And Harriet Tubman–because she remembered to go back and she personified “each one, pull one.”

Much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Thanks a lot Kari! I’ll get you back one day. So Kari tagged me and now I have to share five things that people may not know about me. Here they are:

Five things most people don’t know about me

1. My family nickname is Kitten. Yep. My daddy gave me the nickname when I was a baby because of the way I used to sleep balled up underneath my mommy.

2. I’m an introverted/extrovert according to Meyers Briggs. So I am actually in my own head most of the time and it takes a lot of energy from me to interact with people. I have to go back into myself to replenish. It’s great for the writer in me. Not always the best for the professor.

3. I wanted to be a rapper when I was a teenager. My emcee name was Gwenny Dee. This was from the time I was about 13 to 16 years old. Before that, I wanted to be a writer. After that, I discovered boys and didn’t write anything, stories or raps, until I went to college. Then I wanted to be a writer again and ended up being a graduate student and then a professor.

4. I’m a year older than my husband. Yep. I have a younger man. A Tender Roni. A sweet young thang. I’m in a May/December romance. LOL.

5. I like to read more than I like to write. If I had to pick one to give up. It would probably be the writing.

Okay, now I tag the following: I Have Spoken, Madame Zenobia, Strictly Seductive, Kaia Writes, and Lyric James.

http://gratuitious.blogspot.com/
http://wrt-brooke.syr.edu/net/elisa/
http://www.anisadamien.com/seductiveblog/
http://www.kaiawrites.blogspot.com/
http://lyricjames.blogspot.com/

Much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Okay, so I realized there was a little slant in my lists and mix tapes, a slant heavily in favor of the ladies. What can I say, I might be just a tad bit biased. I’ll own that. But in an attempt at fairness, I wanted to come up with a list just for the guys, a list of songs that warn the ladies to get their stuff together before they lose a good man. Now, I realize that this list sort of serves a dual purpose in that it could be a nice wake up call to my sisters. (Yes ladies, if you come home and your man is blasting one of these songs, you might want to check yourself…) But anyway, I came up with five songs that really scream, ‘girl get it together before you lose that good man.’ So here they are:

1. “Before I Let You Go,” Frankie Beverly & Maze
You really can’t get a much clearer message than this one. The brother is trying to figure it out throughout the song… “I wanna make sure I’m right… Before I let go…” He’s not trying to be too abrupt. But he’s thinking that the relationship is over… “I can’t understand it, no. Where did we go wrong? I won’t be asking, girl. I’ve got to know. I gotta make sure I’m right. Before I let go…” Clearly these lyrics are still in the ‘this relationship can be saved’ stage. I like it for that reason and that’s why it’s number one on my list. (That and the fact that Frankie Beverly is one sexy older man. Yummy.)

2. “If You Think You’re Lonely Now (Wait Until Tonight, Girl),” either the Bobby Womack version or the K-Ci and JoJo version
Both versions of the song give the same clear message: woman you need to stop complaining or you will be complaining yourself right out of a man. He tells you straight out: “Can I talk about this woman I have. She’s always complaining about the things she ain’t got and the things her girlfriend’s got. But lady I will let you know. I can’t be in two places at one time.” Mmmm, hmmm… now on an average day, I’d have something smart aleck to say about these kinds of songs. But since I’m trying to devote this top five list to the guys and stay in the spirit of things… I’ll half-way concede that sometimes… maybe… we could… urr… umm… possibly… give a guy a reason to want to belt out: “If you think you’re lonely now… wait until tonight, girl…” But don’t quote me on that. And I’ll deny it till kingdom come if anyone dares repeat it anywhere. LOL.

3. “Clean Up Woman,” Betty Wright
This song is my one of my favorites… Picture me at about six or seven years old singing this song. I loved me some Betty Wright way before I even knew what the heck she was singing about. This song isn’t about a guy warning his woman that he’s going to leave her if she doesn’t get it together. It’s a woman warning other women that their men will be easy prey for the clean-up woman if they don’t treat their men right. She sings: “A clean up woman is a woman who gets all the love we girls leave behind. The reason I know so much about her is because she picked up a man of mine… Jumping slick was my ruin. ‘Cause I found out all I was doin’ was makin’ it easy for the clean up woman. To get my man’s love, oh, yeah.” Since it’s all about the guys in this post I’ll add a little more from Ms. Wright: “I took this man’s love and put it on a shelf. And like a fool, I thought I had him all to myself. When he needed love, I was out having fun. But I found out all I had done. Was made it easy for the clean up woman. To get my man’s love, uh-huh.” Like I said, on any other day… in any other post… I might add that if the clean-up woman can take him, he wasn’t really mine and she can have him. But since I’m only devoting this one top five songs to the guys. I won’t say that… (grin)

4. “She’s All I Got,” Jeff Cozier
This song used to make me laugh… Not because I relished hearing about a brother’s pain or anything like that. But because it was nice to hear a brother singing about how much he loves this woman who is giving him the blues. Refreshing… I’d say… “I wanna tell y’all about my old lady. Some times I think she’s really crazy. She blacks out at the drop of a dime. But she’s still my baby… She likes to get into confrontations with me. Testing my patience to see how far she can go before I lose my head… Sometimes I love her… Sometimes I love her not… I ain’t letting her go… Cause she’s all I got… Although she nags me and complains a lot I ain’t letting her go… No, no, no.” Okay, so clearly this brother is just glutton for punishment and he probably won’t be going anywhere or kicking this chick to the curb anytime soon… But ladies, if your guy is identifying with these lyrics, maybe you could be just a little nicer to the dude. (Just a little. No need to go spoiling him or anything… LOL) My favorite line in this song is “As crazy as she is, I want her to have my kids…” LOL. I love it… Funny stuff…

5. “Change Me,” Ruben Studdard
I have to admit, I don’t really like this song. My baby was singing these lyrics a little bit too loud in the car the other day… Sort of the same way I belt along with Fantasia’s “Free Yourself” when he’s working my nerves… Okay, way too much information… over-sharing… and all that good stuff. But anyway, since it’s all about the guys today, maybe, I can see how these lyrics could be easy for some guys to relate to. And I can see how some women might want to pay attention to what the brother is singing. This song is turning the tables and asking the woman how she would feel if he suddenly started to try and change every little thing about her. He sings: “How would you like it if I talked about your skin. The way you wear your hair (oh girl). Would you like if I talked about your butt? Or once a month turned into someone that was hard to love.” (Now see… going there on the PMS thing is just wrong… Wrong I say! But I’ll let that slide… today…) Then he adds: “Now what if all I did was pick apart your friends cause they ain’t got no ends. What if I talked about your face in the morning? ‘Cause we know that you ain’t cute in the morning…. Would I be wrong… Would I be wrong…” Umm… heck yeah you would be wrong! It’s just not right to talk about how folk look in the morning. Not cool at all… But since this is about the guys today, I won’t point that out…

So, that’s my top five “Sista Better Get It Together” song list. Did I miss any of your favorites? What would be on your top five list? Do you take issue with these kinds of songs? Are you against these kinds of warnings in general? (Well coming from the guys anyway…) I know this is not a list I plan to do again! I realize that I like the “brother needs to shape up or ship out songs” much better. LOL. But I’d love to hear what you think…

Much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Joyfully Reviewed gave Divine Destiny a really positive review! I’m not sure if they have a number or some other ranking… But the review is great! Here’s an excerpt:

“Gwyneth Bolton’s Divine Destiny is a dark, paranormal, erotic, romantic twister that will have you tied up in so many knots you won’t know what hit you. From the start, I was be caught up in the dynamics of Ms. Bolton’s electrifying storytelling. This thrilling novel created a whirlwind of emotions inside me. There were times where I was fuming mad at the evilness portrayed within this story; moments where I found myself wet with great desire as I envisioned Darwu’s wickedly, lustful dominant attempts at taming Kara through bondage and instances where I was teary eyed at the continuous sadness, misunderstandings and heartache. As the suspenseful plot gradually increase; I found myself stumping my feet with frustration. I wanted knock some sense into Darwu and Kara’s heads by making them open their eyes to the maliciousness that surrounded them and to make them see that together they could conquer all. Divine Destiny is a great suspenseful, romantic tale that demonstrates superbly that everything needs to be worked at, be it trust and honesty, building a loving relationship or whatever.” — Nikita Steele, Joyfully Reviewed

Much love and peace,

Gwyneth

“Yet do I marvel at this curious thing:
To make a poet black, and bid him sing!”
– “–Yet Do I Marvel,” Countee Cullen

As I think about what it means to be a black writer in the 21st century, I’’m reminded that many black writers before me have pondered the same question for their own times. So, I want to devote my first post to an examination of what shall here after be called, Publishing While Black (PWB). I believe it is important to have this conversation in a historicized and contextualized manner. I also think I should attempt this exploration divorced from my normal pessimistic viewpoint. (Yes. I’’m going to try and be objective y’’all.) Because, I truly believe that, while we have lots of things that still need to be changed, we also have so much that we can look at as real progress.

Now, I realize that PWB doesn’t have the same drawbacks and possibilities for being pulled over and harassed that Driving While Black has. However, I think we can see some similarities between the two in that both have their own sets of limits, expectations and frustrations. When you’re driving while black you know that you need to be very careful to stay within all limits because most times cops don’t even need a reason to pull you over. The color of your skin is reason enough. When you’’re publishing while black your very career may have limits based on the fact that somebody has already decided where your book should be shelved based on your skin color and in some cases what and who you should be writing about based on your skin color. When you’’re driving while black, you expect to be pulled over, might even be surprised when you’’re not. When you’’re publishing while black if you didn’’t expect things coming into the publishing game, you get acquainted quick fast and in a hurry once you get in. And both come with their own levels of frustration. These vary for writers depending on what they want out of their careers and the expectations they have. Black folk aren’’t monolithic and this is of course true for black writers. But I do think there is something to be gained from thinking about PWB in a historical context. What can we learn by looking at what black writers have had to face throughout time? How does that history help us to better contextualize the contemporary moment?

Read the rest of this post over at the exciting new blog : http://blogginginblack.com/

So I’ve thought long and hard about placing this deleted scene on the blog because it’s the epilogue. It would give away the ending. But then I thought, duh, it’s a romance novel and that means everyone already knows that they live happily ever after anyway. It’s the number one rule of romance. And then I thought the epilogue just kind of gives readers a glimpse of the characters lives in the future. So that’s okay, right? A lot of people hate these kinds of epilogues because they’re sort of a staple in certain romance novels. You know the ones where you get to see the hero and the heroine a few years down the line and they are both gazing at their new child and still happily in love. You know you’ve read them, and so have I. I love them. But my little scene got cut from the novel. So I’m sharing it with you here…

Epilogue

The soft tapping on the door was annoying and Latonya just wanted whomever it was to go away. She refused to even open her eyes. Eighteen hours of labor would make any woman tired. She didn’t want any more visitors, not tonight.
Aren’t visiting hours over with? Come back later! Her brain screamed as the incessant tapping continued. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. “Go away,” she moaned softly.
She just wanted to get rested so that she could take her baby girl home and be with her family. But to do that she needed to sleep and the soft yet persistent tapping on the door was preventing her from getting her much coveted rest.
“Go away,” she mumbled, still not opening her eyes. It wasn’t feeding time, because little Evie was sleeping peacefully in a bassinet in the corner.
The tapping persisted and Latonya figured it was best to just let the person in. She was too tired to keep telling them to go away. She opened her eyes and glanced over at Evie sleeping peacefully in the bassinet that the nurse left her in.
“Okay, come in already, good grief.”
The door opened and two handsome men–one young and the other up in years but still full of spark–stood there with two gorgeous little boys, two elderly women and a younger woman. Somehow, her husband had managed to pull some stings and get their sons and the rest of the family in after visiting hours.
She smiled. Tired as she was, it made her heart burst just to look at the man she loved. And knowing that he knew how much she missed Carl and Terrence made her feel loved as well.
Her sister Cicely picked up Terrence and Carlton picked up little Carl. The entire family circled around her bed.
“Hey, family.” She knew she must look haggard, but she felt a sudden burst of energy looking at her beautiful children.
“Hi, mommy, we come to see the baby, our new sister.” Terrence spoke in a whisper, clearly trying to adhere to the proper tone of speech in a hospital.
“You came to see the new baby? What about me? Didn’t anyone come to see me?” Latonya teased.
“We came to see you and our new sister.” Little Carl smiled assuredly.
“How are you feeling, babe?” Carlton had been in the delivery room the entire time and he looked as tired as she felt. He should have been home resting but instead he brought her family to her.
She smiled lovingly at him. “I’m fine. Just a little tired that’s all.”
“Well, you should be tired after that intense labor. But she is precious and so worth it. Look at my niece.” Cicely gazed at Evie in awe.
“My baby sister.” Terrence staked his claim.
Some things must really be passed down in the genes, Latonya thought as she watched her son.
“She is precious. You finally got one that looks like you, child.” Jillian teased.
Carlton shook his head in mock dismay. “Yeah, I’ll have to get guard dogs and a gun once she becomes a teenager. Look at her, she’s beautiful.”
“I think she’s waking up.” Cicely said.
Little Evie let out a loud piercing scream and Gran picked her up from the bassinet. Gran cooed and cuddled her little namesake, Evelyn “Evie” Harrington, before handing her over to Latonya.
Latonya smiled down at her baby and then her family. Old man Harrington was beaming with pride as he looked at his first great-granddaughter. She had long since forgiven him for his role in the misunderstanding that almost tore her family apart. She had to forgive him in order to forgive Carlton and herself. If they had been open to trust the love between them, the old man wouldn’t have been able to come between them. In some ways his deeds taught them a valuable lesson about the price of love.
“I never thought I’d see the day when this old cranky man was speechless,” Jillian joked.
“I’m just amazed at how beautiful she is, and how lucky I am.” The elder Harrington touched Latonya’s arm as he spoke.
She looked at him and tried to find any of the hard feelings she had for him and found none. “We’re all lucky, Grandfather, very lucky.”
Carlton smiled at her and winked. “Listen I think my wife could use some rest. So can you all take my sons home. I’m going to hang out with my two girls a little while longer and make sure that they both get some rest.” He handed little Carl to Grandfather and took little Evie from Latonya before situating himself in the comfortable rocking chair.
The family filed out as he held on to the baby, rocking her gently in his arms.
Latonya shook her head. “You’re going to spoil her rotten aren’t you?”
“Who me? Never.” He lied.
Latonya shook her head and smiled. “Yeah, right.”
“Get some rest, sweet heart. I have a feeling that this little new addition to our family is going to require us both to be well rested and on our toes.” He said as he looked at his daughter in amazement.
And with that, she closed her eyes knowing that whatever the future brought, they’d all paid the price for their happiness and everything would be as it should be.

So that’s it. What do you think? Do you think it would have added anything to the story to have this scene included. The hero, Carlton, got on a lot of readers nerves in certain parts of the novel. Do you think this last scene would have allowed him to redeem himself even more than he did at the end? And I’m not even going to ask if it redeems Grandfather. For some readers, Grandfather will never be redeemable. But does the scene at least give you more of a window into why Latonya was able to forgive? And perhaps how much she really values her family? Let me know what you think and thanks for stopping by during deleted scene week.

Okay, today must be the hot day for getting reviews. I just got the review from Romance in Color. They gave it 4 stars! Here’s and excerpt. (And I promise, if I get another review tonight, I will save it for a little while… But it’s just such an exciting time. This is my first paranormal romance and my first erotic romance. So bear with me…)

“DIVINE DESTINY is a captivating tale in which the action and romance moves along at a quick pace. The story, a paranormal/erotic mix, is very engaging and I enjoyed reading about the fictional world Ms. Bolton created. Ourlane, its conflict and its people, is made real through the author’s descriptive use of imagery, narrative, and dialog. She does an excellent job balancing all of the story elements, while bringing the story to a satisfying conclusion.

Kara and Darwu are a very passionate couple, the sparks almost fly off the page. Kara, a warrior in her own right, is the perfect companion for the strong, alpha male Darwu is. While they are both physically and mentally strong, they balance each other with their difference in philosophies and love they share for one another. Ms, Bolton does a good job of allow the characters to develop with the story. It makes the secondary characters really help lay the ground work and move the story along. The love scenes while downright wicked, don’t go too far and remain

In short, DIVINE DESTINY is a very quick, hot read and I recommend it to all. But be warned, once you pick it up, you may not be able to but it down. In fact, I finished it in about three hours.” — La-Tessa Montgomery, Romance in Color

I just got my second review for my December release, Divine Destiny. Romance Junkies gave it 5 Blue Ribbons! Here’s an excerpt from the review:

“Gwyneth Bolton has written a thrilling kick-butt story with DIVINE DESTINY. Kara is exactly the kind of heroine we all love. She’s not about to back down to any man and will do whatever she has to for the cause that she believes is right. Darwu’s attitude is exactly what I would expect from a male – dominant and ‘always right.’ Reading about their battle of wills is a delight to the senses. There’s so much going on throughout this storyline that readers will anxiously devouring the pages to find out where the true threat is coming from and if Darwu and Kara ever learn to agree on anything.

Ms. Bolton just keeps getting better with every book she writes. This is her third published novel an it’s vastly different from her other works. The characters still display the wonderful headstrong personalities I loved so much in her other stories but you get an exciting paranormal element along with a bit of suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat as I read. This is definitely a book I’ll be adding to my keeper shelf.” — Christine Dionne for Romance Junkies