4.5 Stars from APOOO BookClub
“Cuffed by Candlelight by Beverly Jenkins, Gwyneth Bolton and Katherine D. Jones is a compilation of three romantically, erotic short stories with the connecting theme being an involvement in law enforcement. Otherwise the stories could not be more diverse… Handcuffs Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry by Gwyneth Bolton is a hip-hop influenced wild ride of a story. Police Officer Tamara Downing is working undercover to bring down Murder Row music’s Tommy Coles. Coles’ music business is a front for drug activity and prostitution. Just when she is about to close the case, DEA Officer Lance King intervenes. Lance and Tamara’s lives have been linked since childhood and he feels a need to protect her. Tamara is not interested because what she wants from Lance has nothing to do with protection. What she is going to find out is Lance has his own plans where she is concerned… I recommend this anthology to anyone interested in romantic heat and diversity in stories. Prisoner is a historical, romantic adventure. Gunns and Roses boasts contemporary flavor, while Handcuffs is cutting-edge and hip-hop influenced. What they all have in common is unbridled heat.” Angelia Menchan for APOOO BookClub

3 stars, VERY GOOD from Shades of Romance Magazine
“Cuffed by Candlelight is the opening act in Parker Publishing Noire Passion line. I found that all of the heroines in the three novellas were strong women and it gave the anthology an edge that most do not have – tasteful erotica… Gwyneth Bolton’s novella, Handcuffs Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry, was a perfect end to this anthology. This novella has characters that are true to life and easy to relate to… Ms. Bolton’s novella was entertaining and the characters were interesting. The history of the main characters gave a deeper understanding to the passion between them and the use of the handcuffs were a classy end to this anthology.” ~ Renee Motley for Shades of Romance Magazine

For those of you who don’t know, my latest novel Sweet Sensation is the second in the Hip-Hop Debutantes Trilogy. I plan to do a blog entry in the near future about what I think it means to “write hip-hop” let alone “write a hip-hop romance.” But for now–since I haven’t done a mix tape on the blog in a minute–I thought I’d post an entry about the music behind Sweet Sensation. First, the title Sweet Sensation comes from a old Stephanie Mills song. “Sweet Sensation… so sweet… a fantasy… love vibration… And I just want to let you know… That I’ll never let you go…” At first I toyed around with the idea of using the title of one of my all time favorite R&B songs, “Sweet Thing” (both the Chaka Khan version and the Mary J. Blige version are good to me). But one of my critique buddies was working on a novel titled Sweet Things. What’s up Susan St. Thomas ? Anyway, the novel has a soundtrack of hip-hop love songs that I kept in mind as I wrote it. And, each chapter has a song title for its subtitle. So, without giving away any spoilers, I thought it would be cool to share the titles of the songs and some of the lyrics in order to help folks get a feel for the novel. Also note that when I say hip-hop love song, I mean it in a variety of ways. It can be a rap song, an R&B/Hip-Hop Soul song, or even a Neo-Soul song. It can also be a love song about any form of love, from romantic love to love of family to love of hip-hop culture to love of self. So with out further ado, I’m going to let the hero of the novel, Flex, spin a fly mix tape of music to read Sweet Sensation to.

Introducing deejay turned super producer Fredrick “Flex” Towns III and the Sweet Sensation Mixtape Volume One…

~ Prologue “Superwoman,” Lil’ Mo featuring Fabolous
All I can say is “dadadada dadadada damn…” This song is the perfect intro song for when we meet the heroine, Deidre “Sweet Dee” James. She’s been holding it down as a single, working mother and doing a great job at it. Too bad her whole world is about to get rocked…
~ Chapter 1 “Who Can I Run To?” Xscape
The Jones Girls did the first version of this song. Since it is a hip-hop love story I went with the Xscape version. But either version is fine. I love the lyrics and the conflict the lyrics show. The excerpt that I posted on my website comes from this chapter. And I think given the fact that Deidre’s life is spinning out of control at this moment, it fits. Here are some of the lyrics: “As I stand here contemplating on the right thing to decide… Will I take the wrong direction all my life? … I have strong determination and I’m not afraid of change…”
~ Chapter 2 “Left Me Lonely,” MC Shan
Flex finds out some news about his past love that has some huge implications for his future… And… well… he can’t help but wonder…”Girl why’d you have to leave me that way I love you till this day and it hurts to think of the words you used to say. Girl, why did you have to leave for so long? I’d never did you wrong…”
~ Chapter 3 “Just the 2 of Us,” Will Smith
“From the first time the doctor placed you in my arms, I knew I’d met death before I let you met harm…” I love this song because it represents hip-hop heads growing up, becoming parents and maturing. And that’s a big theme in the novel also. What happens when hip-hoppers grow up and have to raise children of their own?
~ Chapter 4 “A Teenage Love,” Slick Rick
Angst, drama, emotions… Why did teenage love always seem so life or death… all or nothing? Flex and Sweet Dee know a little something about Slick Rick’s lyrics… “Don’t hurt me again… don’t… don’t… don’t hurt me again…”
~ Chapter 5 “Dear Mama,” 2Pac
Misunderstandings and conflict have plagued the cross-generational dialogues about hip-hop in black communities. Sweet Sensation examines several generations in a family and it gets pretty interesting once they start talking to one another…
~ Chapter 6 “Always on Time,” Ja Rule featuring Ashanti
What would you do if your ex showed up at your door thirteen years later talking about do the right thing and marry me, girl? “Baby, I’m not always there when you call. But I’m always on time. And I gave you my all now baby be mine.”
~ Chapter 7 “Ex-Factor,” Lauryn Hill
And what would you do if your hard headed ex wouldn’t try and see reason and just accept your proposal so that you can protect her? “It could all be so simple. But you’d rather make it hard. Loving you is like a battle and we’ve both been dealt the scars… No one loves you more than me and no one ever will…” This is one of my all time favorite songs! Come back Lauryn, come back! Please!
~ Chapter 8 “Daddy’s Little Girl,” Nikki D
“Daddy never had a clue of what his little girl would do…” I miss Nikki D. Where are you Nikki D? Sweet Sensation is for you and all the other great femcees to ever bless the microphone.
~ Chapter 9 “Keep Ya Head Up,” 2Pac
Just got to go with some of Pac’s lyrics here. “Some so the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. They say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots. I give a holla to my sistas on welfare. 2Pac cares if don’t nobody else care… And since we all came from a woman. Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman. I wonder why we hate our women…”
~ Chapter 10 “I’ll Do For You,” Father MC featuring Mary J. Blige
“If you do for me, I’ll do for you…” What ever happened to Father MC? I miss you Father MC… This is the song that first brought the wonderful Mary J Blige to our ears. Thank God for that!
~ Chapter 11 “Destroy and Rebuild,” Nas
I love this song because Nas is showing love for his ‘hood at the same time that he is calling for overhaul and change. “‘Cause gangsta do gangsta shit. Real recognize real. Still laughing to the bank and shit…” Stillmatic is my favorite Nas album.
~ Chapter 12 “Hush,” LL Cool J
This is the perfect song for when Flex is trying to convince Deidre to marry him… “Everything will be okay if you do it my way, my way, my way…” (See video below)
~ Chapter 13 “Old Times Sake,” Sweet Sable
“Long time no see. What ya been doing? Is everything all right? I know you know. That I been cooling. Even though, I been out of sight. This time don’t leave me, hanging around. I just want to love you down…” This is one of my favorite songs. I like the version of this song with Nikki Nicole rapping. She ends her verse with “A hip-hop love song, a song, a song you can sing along…”
~ Chapter 14 “I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need to Get By,” Method Man featuring Mary J Blige
I love this song because it blends that old school R&B flava with hip-hop in order to create the quintessential hip-hop love song. And in the video, Method Man goes to the store and purchases feminine products for his girlfriend. Now that’s how a man shows his love. LOL.
~ Chapter 15 “Lost Ones,” Lauryn Hill
“Funny how money changes situations. My emancipation don’t fit your equation…” The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the best hip-hop album ever. Come back Lauryn, come back!
~ Chapter 16 “It’s Bigger than Hip-Hop,” Dead Prez
“One thing ’bout music when it hits you feel no pain. White folks say it controls your brain. But I know better than that. That’s game… All these fake thugs and R&B on the radio…monotonous material… y’all don’t hear me though…”
~ Chapter 17 “Bonita Applebum,” Tribe Called Quest
This is a classic hip-hop wooing love song and it is the perfect song for the chapter when our hero decides it time to stop playing and really put his mack game down hard. LOL. “Bonita Applebum… You gotta put me on…” One part smooth, one part begging, two parts irresistible…” One of my favorite songs (Okay… really I had a big crush on Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest…)
~ Chapter 18 “My Place,” Nelly featuring Jaheim
With Jaheim singing those Teddy Pendergrass lyrics, “Won’t you come on and go with me, come on over to my place…” And Nelly getting his sing/rap croon on with these lyrics, “Shorty, where ya been? Feels like a long time, a long long time since I seen ya…. Yes it has girl… And I know I said some messed up things to you before, but girl you know I didn’t mean it…. When we laugh and we cry it’s together, through the rain and the stormiest weather, we gonna still be as one, it’s forever…”
~ Chapter 19 “Kissing You,” Total
I don’t have to give any hints about what might happen in this chapter… So, I’ll just give you some lyrics, “I don’t care who knows. It doesn’t matter who sees. Me thinking about you makes my life complete. And what I mean by that. Is you’re my best-kept secret. You’re my pride and joy boy, that’s why I’m dreaming of you. I wanna kiss you…”
~ Chapter 20 “Mind Sex,” Dead Prez
Perfect for keeping the sexual tension going in a romance novel, I’d say… “We can have mind sex. We ain’t gotta take our clothes of yet…”
~ Chapter 21 “Sweetest Thing,” Lauryn Hill
I love this song. Love it! It is probably one of my favorites. “The sweetest thing I’ve ever known was like a kiss on the collarbone. The soft caress of happiness…The way you walk, your style of dress… Intoxicating… Oh… So, intoxicating…”
~ Chapter 22 “I’m So Into You,” SWV
“I’m so into you… Don’t know what I’m gonna do… Got me so confused….” SWV needs to get back together. I miss them! Hey, SWV, where are you? Come back…
~ Chapter 23 “All I See,” A+
A+ was a little kid rapping before Lil’ Bow Wow and Romeo. He had a nice flow too. I wonder what ever happened to him… “Girl all I see is you and me and all I do is think of you. Give me the chance to know your name and I’ll never leave and walk away…”
~ Chapter 24 “If Headz Only Knew,” Heather B
Remember Heather B from the first MTV The Real World? She was a bad femcee! Where is Heather B? Sweet Sensation is for you, girl! “If headz only knew how I felt about the rap game, they’d know I ain’t going out…”
~ Chapter 25 “I Need Love,” LL Cool J
This was one of the first hip-hop love songs, one of the first times you had a guy getting on the microphone and rapping about love and vulnerability. [Stops to wipe a tear from her eye] The lyrics weren’t all that hot. But the meaning behind the lyrics… priceless…LOL.
~ Chapter 26 “Bag Lady,” Erykah Badu
This is neo-soul classic about self-love and letting go of all the things that stop you from experiencing a fuller and happier life. It is also one of my personal favorites. “Bag lady you gonna hurt your back, dragging all those bags like that. I guess nobody ever told you… all you must hold on to is you, is you, is you…”
~ Chapter 27, “Real Love,” Mary J. Blige
This is another favorite and my introduction to Mary J. Blige. This song came out my senior year of college and I was err… umm… going through some things at the time… Needless to say, I became a Mary J. Blige fan for life because that What’s the 411 album spoke to a sista on so many levels. “Real love…. I’m searching for a real love… Someone to make my heart sing… Real love… I’m searching for a real love… Got to have a real love… Love so true… Oh, baby, I thought that love was you…”
~ Chapter 28 “I Can,” Nas
“I know I can… be what I want to be… If I work hard at it… I’ll be where I want to be…” A positive rap for the kiddies to give them hope for the bright futures they can have, this song shows a love of community in hip-hop.
~ Chapter 29 “Down 4 U,” Ja Rule featuring Ashanti, Charlie Baltimore and Vita
“Every thug need a lady….” Usually I don’t condone the ‘down-ass chick” mentality. But at this point in the novel, Flex and Deidre really needed to be down for one another…
~ Chapter 30 “Song Cry,” Jay Z
“Can’t see them coming down my eyes. So I have to make the song cry… You know you love me like cooked food, even though a brother got moves like a crook moves.” I love this song!
~ Chapter 31 “Wifey,” Next
“Will you be my wifey? … Yes, I’ll be your wifey…” And they lived happily ever after…

So, I’ll leave you with a video from Uncle “Ladies Love” “Licking Lips” LL Cool J, one of the first to cut a hip-hop love song with his hit “I Need Love.” Still looking good Uncle L. Holla! This is the perfect video representation of Flex and Deidre’s love story because the couple in the video has a history from their teenage years to their adult years. And since Flex is trying to get Deidre to do things his way it can almost be their theme song. So check out LL’s video “Hush.” And then let me know what you think about the combination of romantic love and hip-hop. Do you see the two going together? Or, do you think it is a bit of an oxymoron? Do you have a favorite hip-hop love song? What is it?

Hi All,

Well, I’ve decided to run my first contest and I hope that you all will enter. I’ve decided to share some of my author copies of Cuffed By Candlelight as the prizes. And I will be giving away one a week for the entire month of March. All you have to do to be entered in the drawing is go to my website and tell me who your favorite Gwyneth Bolton character is and why. Entering the contest will add you to my e-mail and print mailing list. But I’m not that much of a pest and I won’t bombard you with stuff. I promise. You only enter once and then your name is added to the drawing bag. Four lucky people will get copies of Cuffed by Candlelight signed by me. It’s that simple. So stop by my website and enter today!

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

The review from APOOO Book Club is in and they gave it five stars. Here’s an excerpt from the review: “As a fan of science fiction and fantasy, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Ms. Bolton’s ability to weave a story with just the right amount of conflict and romance is nothing short of remarkable. In addition, her characters were unforgettable. Long after the last page was turned, I found myself thinking about Kara and Darwu. If you are a fan of romance, with a little mix of science fiction and enough steamy romance scenes to keep your eyes glued to the pages, Divine Destiny is a definite must read.” ~ T. RHYTHM KNIGHT of APOOOBookClub

The wonderful Bella tagged me. And this time I have to give six to ten weird things about me. So, here are some quirky little idiosyncrasies that I bet you’re just dying to know about me.

1. I refuse to drink or eat after other people, not even my husband. He thinks this is funny, by the way, since I will kiss him and share all the other intimacies that spouses share, but won’t let him have a sip of my soda or take a sip of his after he’s taken a drink from it. I’ve been this way ever since I was a kid, for as long as I can remember. So, I probably won’t be changing any time soon. In fact, once when I was five I had a fit because my grandmother took a sip of my soda. Five-year-old me decided to turn the straw around. And dear grandma said, “You ain’t doing nothing but putting the germs on the inside.” Horrified five-year-old me didn’t finish the soda. Grandma did however. LOL.

2. I have a very low tolerance for pain. So low that I don’t like hearing about it. If someone is around me and they start talking about anything remotely painful, bloody, etc. I make them stop. I think it’s because I have a pretty vivid imagination.

3. From the time I was eleven until the time I was sixteen, I wanted to be an emcee. I had skills too. LOL.

4. My family nickname is Kitten. My father gave me the nickname because of the way I used to ball up under my mother and sleep when I was a baby. There are still members of my family who don’t know my real name. In fact, when I was in high school I was at an uncle’s house after a funeral and I’d given my boyfriend at the time the number there so that he could call me. He kept calling and asking for Gwen and they kept telling him he had the wrong number. Finally he wised up and asked for Kitten and they gave me the phone.

5. Oh, and even though I still have to ball up in bed to get to sleep at night, when I wake up in the morning I’m all over the bed and I have wrapped all the cover around me, much to my husband’s delight. LOL. So I guess I’m a wild sleeper and a cover hog. LOL.

6. I’m very, very shy. People always act so shocked when I say it. But it’s true. Honest.

That’s it. That’s all you get today. A girl has to keep some secrets. And I’m doing my blog buddies a favor and I won’t tag anyone this time. But if I’m tagged again, I will get you my pretties. *evil laugh*

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Okay… not really… But… It makes an interesting title; so, I’ll keep it. With Jennifer Hudson up for the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for the role of Effie White in Dream Girls, which Jennifer Holliday won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for in 1982, it seems only fitting that there be some kind of writing lesson here. So here’s the lesson as far as I can piece it together.

You see, I read the article in Jet Magazine where Jennifer Holliday reflects on that moment. And while scholar/professor me would cringe at the thought of using Jet Magazine as a citation source, cultural critic me knows that the old saying “if you didn’t read it in Jet Magazine, it didn’t happen in the black community” exists for a reason. And romance writer me, could care less about citation source blah, blah, blah. So, anyway… As the story goes, the character of Effie White may very well indeed have started out a “supporting role,” a “side character” so to speak. But by the time Jennifer Holliday got done fighting for her character, the character had extra songs in the musical, more space to shine and most important, the character did not die.

When you add to this the fact that the original play is said to have been created for Nell Carter, and you know she wasn’t going to play no Deena Jones… and you know she would have been the star not a supporting character… then the fact that the role of Effie has somehow become a supporting role seems all the more strange… but I digress… Because anyone who has seen the film knows that Jennifer Hudson’s performance in this role, like Jennifer Holliday’s before it, was not a “supporting character.” She was the star of the film. The script and writing dictated it. If you take away the character Effie then you have no story. Adding the song “Listen” does not make Beyonce Knowles’s portrayal of Deena Jones become the “lead” in the story. They needed to rewrite the script for that. And since I promised there would be a writing lesson here, I’ll add that there is a certain finesse to writing truly supporting characters that Dream Girls, the film becomes the perfect “how not to” template for. In fact, the film breaks key supporting character rules that writers should be mindful of when they create side plots and side characters. First, your supporting characters are there for support. The main action should happen to the leads, your heros and heroines. In the beginning of the play and film, the action happens to the girl group and that is fine. But as we watch the film, where does the drama really unfold? Who do we find ourselves on the edge of our seats caring about, wondering what will happen next to her, damn near crying (okay, I really did cry, but I’ll never admit it) for when life dealt her another blow? If you say anyone but Effie White, you’re a liar and the truth ain’t in ya! This leads me to the second supporting character rule, readers should like the support cast and be interested in them yes. But if the reader starts to like the supporting cast more than the lead… if we become more interested in what happens to the side characters and could care less if the so-called lead is there or not… we have a writing problem. I’m sure we’ve all read books where we’ve experienced this. We could care less about the hero or heroine but that spunky friend, that witty comrade, now that’s someone we’d like to get to know. As writers, I’m sure we’ve all had side characters that are just begging for their own books. And most of us know how to give just enough of these characters so that they don’t outshine the lead. Which leads me finally back to Dream Girls and the character Effie. She wasn’t a supporting character in the play’s debut in 1981. And no matter what they billing the film role today–or why they billed it that way–she is not a supporting character now. The play just wasn’t written for her to be sidelined. The writing dictates that she’s the star. The fighting that Jennifer Holliday did for the role back in the eighties demanded that the she be a star. The performance that both Jennifer’s contributed to the role demands that they be awarded “Best Actress,” not “Best Supporting Actress.” But nevertheless, there are writing lessons to be learned by watching the film. I found one. Now, I can call watching the film writing research. What do you all think? Do you have any thoughts about supporting characters and side stories? Do you think Jennifer Hudson is being cheated of the rightful nomination of Best Actress? Do tell…

Hi All,

I’ve posted an excerpt from my forthcoming release, Sweet Sensation, on my website. Check it out if you’d like and let me know what you think.

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I’m sending you all virtual flowers, cyber hugs, and lots of yummy Internet chocolates. If you close your eyes you can almost smell the roses. For those of you dealing with this big snowstorm that hit us here in Central New York, I sent some webilicious hot cocoa with marshmallows. Enjoy yourselves!

much love and peace,

Gwyneth

Just when I thought I might have to take you seriously… Just when I thought you might be on the verge of making a comeback…

You come out with this…

I’ll be honest, I haven’t seen the film yet. I probably won’t go see the film. From what I’ve seen of the previews, I can’t imagine who would want to see the film. But if there is an audience for “Flava of Love, “I Love New York,” and “Soul Plane” I guess there must be an audience for “Norbit”… I have no words. What do you all think?

It’s almost that time of year again! The Romance Slam Jam will be held in Miami Florida this year! I’ll be there with a lot of other very talented authors. I can’t wait! Going to Miami from Syracuse in the middle of March is going to be such an inconvenience for me… But, I’m going to try my best not to think about all the cold and snow I’ll be leaving behind for Miami sunshine…

Check out the website for more information. And who knows, maybe I’ll see you there…

Also, the nominations are open for this year’s Emma Awards. So be sure to get your nominations in! There were lots of wonderful award-worthy books written this year by some stunning writers. (And I wouldn’t be mad at you if you nominated a certain newcomer named Gwyneth Bolton for your favorite new author). But honestly, there were so many wonderful new authors in 2006 that I’d truly be happy to see any of them win, Ann Christopher, Deatri King-Bey, Patricia Sargeant, Sheila Goss and Phyllis Bourne Williams, just to name a few. So anyway, here are the categories:

Emma Award Nominations for 2007

Award Guidelines

The Emma Awards for Romance Slam Jam 2007 will be decided on by the attendees of the conference. Each conference attendee will submit their choice for the individual categories and the books. Books eligible for the awards must have been copyrighted/published between Janaury 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006.

The voting categories are:

Book of the Year
Favorite Anthology
Favortie New Author
Favortie Hero
Favorite Heroine
Favortie Book Cover
Favorite Sequel in a Romance Series
Favorite Steamy Romance
Favorite Romance Suspense
Favorite Inspirational Romance
Favorite Novella
Favorite Author

We will start accepting nominations the first week of February 2007 through February 27, 2007. Please send your nominations in attachement form to cclymorrison@yahoo.com

You can download the form from their website.

Much love and peace,

Gwyneth