Yup, that's me hanging out in NYC last year with the big girls, authors Kimberley Brooks, Stacey Hawkins Adams, Sherri Lewis and Marilynn Griffith. Visit them on the web!
http://kimonthweb.com/
http://staceyhawkinsadams.com/
http://sherrilewis.com/
http://mariylnngriffith.com/
Wise wives (and wives-to-be) realize the importance of incorporating a little "me time" on a regular basis. When I need/want to take a break from my own writing (and the other million and one things on my to-do list) I like to shut myself in, light some scented candles, turn on some music, make myself a healthy snack tray yeah right; and go on a virtual vacation with a terrific Christian novel. No wonder it takes me so long to complete my own novels.
Each Friday, I will treat you to excerpts from novels written by some of my favorite Christian fiction authors - starting with the authors pictured above. This week we begin with my home girl, Kimberley Brooks. Enjoy!
He's Fine But is He Saved?
Chapter 1 Flirting
"He fiiiiiiine," Sandy sang across the restaurant table and ran her tiny, cream-colored hand through her short black tresses. She was referring to some stranger seated at the bar.
Sandy, Liz, and I were enjoying Sunday brunch on a chilly afternoon in April at one of Detroit's finest restaurants downtown. The soothing jazz sounds coming from the black baby grand increased my enjoyment as I swayed with the music. We single ladies are celebrating the fact that we're "big girls now." We're all in our early-to-late twenties, graduated from different colleges, and have fairly decent jobs. We can afford to splurge once in a while. I snapped back into the reality of Sandy's comment and looked around to make sure no one else heard her remark. "Who fine?" I asked and then looked back down at my jambalaya.
I tell you. Sandy can be so obvious at times. One day I'm going to teach her young, twenty-three-year-old self how to do things with class, or at least learn how to use codes so that the whole restaurant doesn't know we're checking a brotha out.
"What man are you talking about now?" retorted Liz. Liz is twenty-seven, two years older than I am. She has never approved of Sandy's flirtatious ways. I watched Liz play with her house salad. Her meal selection is a result of her trying to lose weight. In the past three months, Liz went from a size ten to a size sixteen. I believe a lot of her weight gain has to do with having to put up with her single mother's wild antics at home. Next to praying, Liz's favorite thing to do when something is bothering her is eat. However, she still looks good with her flawless caramel-colored skin and shoulder length, black micro-zillions that are half braided, half loose. Liz and I have always had lunch together after church. Then four months ago, the Lord reunited Sandy and me, former high school classmates, one day at the grocery store. We exchanged numbers, and I invited her to church. That following Sunday, dressed in four inch heels and a short and tight jean dress with rhinestones, Sandy responded to the altar call. I walked down the aisle with her and she, in tears, got saved. I haven't been able to get rid of Sandy since that day. Now the Lord has given me a spiritual assignment to be her spiritual guide and friend. I don't mind too much, I guess, even though sometimes I do have to remind Liz, my best friend of five years now, that Sandy is still young in the Lord. Sandy's behavior can be quite unpredictable at times, especially when it comes to her interactions with the opposite sex. "Him, at the bar," Sandy whispered loudly while pointing toward the bar with her fork. I peeked at the bar section and saw an older white gentleman wearing a hideous toupee, an older black woman wearing a tight red dress holding a glass of mimosa, and a black man who looked to be in his late twenties. He was dark-skinned with a bald head, had thick juicy lips, and enough muscles to make Tyrese look bad. The black muscle shirt he wore proved he was built, and his tan pants hugged his thighs. I must admit, the brotha was fine. As Sandy kept flirting with him with her dark brown eyes, the man responded by looking over at her with hungry eyes of his own and a sexy smile.
"Give me a break," Liz said after sneaking a glance at the man and then snapping her neck. "You just got out of church not even an hour ago, and here you are flirting with some man. Ghetto."
