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Showing posts with label IF YOU LOVE ME. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IF YOU LOVE ME. Show all posts

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Passion Lived in Nzinga's Fortress

Chapter 21


Sharmayne’s hair got so it knew the gentle touch of Nzinga’s fingers better
than it knew her own. Since the afternoon Nzinga had driven to Sharmayne’s house
and whisked her off in a white Camry to her fortress, Sharmayne’s hair and
Nzinga’s fingers had become lovers, like the women themselves.

“Didn’t know what you preferred for brunch,” Nzinga said, setting a feast of a
repast on the freshly wiped white gazebo table in her fenced-in North Highland
backyard, a wilderness of magnolia trees, lush grass, and spray of bees and flowers.

“Thus, I’ve prepared a sampling of tastes for your palate’s pleasure.”

Sharmayne’s mouth watered, savory smells whetting her appetite.
There were waffles, vegetable omelets, fresh fruit, pancakes, maple syrup,
hash browns, bacon, sausages and even a dainty pot of brewing chamomile tea.

“You shouldn’t have.” Sharmayne was outdone. And to think, they’d only
known one another for less than a month, via telephone; yet in spite of that, Nzinga
had unrolled the red carpet, a thing Victor Naylor had never done, would never do.
She flushed, hands fluttering to her lips. “I’m overwhelmed. I feel so honored.”

Nzinga sat on a sun-warmed seat across from the diminutive woman and
smiled.

“That so. Before you dole too many accolades, taste a mouthful, and if it’s
yummy, I promise I’m yours for the heaping on of more praise.” She speared a
forkful of a fat omelet and brought it to Sharmayne’s mouth, waving it slightly to
release whiffs of its wafting heat.

Sharmayne parted her lips. Its flavor, like the aphrodisiac of Nzinga feeding
her, ricocheted inside her mouth, snapping her thighs together under the round
table.

The movement not lost on Nzinga, she unfolded a cloth napkin, fanned an
insect, and dabbed at the corners of Sharmayne’s lips. “Good?”

Sharmayne finished chewing, nodding her appreciation and amazement.

“Speechless, huh? That’s a good thing.” Nzinga tapped slender dark fingers
when they reached for silverware beside a mirror-clean plate. “What of the
waffles?”

“Oooh goodness! Fabulous and filled with blueberries.” Sharmayne licked her
lips. “They make me want to shout. To teach Women’s Studies, must one know
one’s way around a kitchen?” She opened her mouth and accepted a bubbly brown,
juicy sausage. The taste beat a drum roll in her stomach.

Next, Nzinga waited with a love offering of buttery, syrupy pancakes. “To
love a woman is to be open to learning what stimulates her appetite.”

Sharmayne’s moistened lips agreed, her insides singing, mouth baby-bird
wide. With a low, delirious sigh, she licked butter trickling towards her chin. And
moaned.

“I could eat your cooking all day, every day.” A darting tongue swept her lips.

“Do that again.”

“What?” Sharmayne played ignorant, knowing full well what Nzinga
referenced.

“Lick your lips. That simple act rivals all of your generous compliments.”

Nzinga leaned in close to better watch Sharmayne’s pink tongue gloss those
dark, berry-sweet lips from across the table, the mouth playful, her lashes batting
under half-mask lids. Didn’t admit that she, too, could eat all day and night, equally as ravenously. But she put no stock in telling, preferring instead to show the lovely lady, sooner than later. Right now, feeding her satisfied a long dry well-spring of passion she hadn’t felt in ages, until now; the inclination to inhale another woman mentally, physically, and spiritually, not just smooch her, feel her up and wield her dick, overwhelming.

When Sharmayne had eaten to her stomach’s content, she sat back and stared
at Nzinga, concerned she hadn’t touched a morsel of the delicious spread since
lowering the fork.

But Nzinga surprised her by half standing to kiss traces of crumbs from Sharmayne’s mouth.






AVAILABLE NOW ON AMAZON KINDLE in the U.S. and worldwide! Download your copy, and discover what comes of Sharmayne and Nzinga's blooming attraction! Get it for only $0.99.

TheGoldenGoddess
June 16, 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

"Books & Bar-B-Q"

I'd say books will accompany most anything, and definitely, they will serenade bar-b-q! What a phenomenal idea my knee-baby sister, Glenda Halcromb, Miss Know-It-All, came up with. Considering she adores hosting parties and gatherings of any sort, she was the perfect person to serve as hostess actually. Where the guests were concerned, oh how delightful it was to look out into her dining and living rooms to take in their warm, up-lifted faces, waiting expectantly, like cleaned cereal bowls anxious for the day's nourishment!


When I began the reading, with the first chapter, which is Miz Too-Sweet's voice, all sound was escorted from the house. Even the children were stilled. Perhaps it was because I was standing, all others seated, my voice drifting above their heads on the air, loud and dramatic, catching them up in Miz Too-Sweet's telling of how she and her husband Will and their neighborhood friend, Preacher, came to know Frenonia "Free" Roberts one March evening in Atlanta. As I breathed life into the print, I fell in love all over again with the majesty of words and their power to transport one to another place, another time, when Miz Too-Sweet was younger and learning to love the men with whom she walked.


The words whispered to me of a future performance piece. My feet imagined a stage...with its shiny flooring and vast space to stride and stroll this-way-and-that, regaling the audience, inviting them to feel Free's fright at nearly hitting a tiny boy chasing a ball into the middle of a Techwood street.


My soul went to singing it felt so good to be in the flow of others' lives, creative or otherwise! Fathom my joy when my father, slowly making his way to the porch to leave, as he must be back on 85 South before sundown, paused beside me to whisper, "I loved the reading, Tootsie (my nickname)! I'm going to buy my own copy, and I intend to read it, too!" Talk about ecstasy. To be honored amongst one's own is an unbeatable bliss!




This is my mother's baby sister, my Aunt Marion, one of my greatest supporters! In her lap is...you got it!...Miss Laila Amor, my grandbaby gyrl. (Remember her blog entry?) (Clearing throat) And yes, that's me, engulfed in revelry.





This is my lovely daughter-in-law, Shanice, and my former school colleague, Kyla Talley.



My sister, Bernie, whom several guests thought was me, is hanging out with her hubby, who, when I finished my reading, asked me to please read another chapter! Yes! Wasn't that fabulous?












These are my sisters, the Moss girls. (Bernie is a Stitts.) Diane is in the pink. Glenda is the sis in the white blouse! Two others are missing...Athera Everlener Pascascio (in Florida) and baby sis, Katarina Moss. Katarina and my parents and brother Delton and his family had already hit the road to return to Tuskegee by the time Bernie whipped out her camera. Several other guests had sweetly made their exits by then as well. (My twin brother Claude and Lorenzo weren't in attendance.)









































I am planning a different sort of book promotion for July! It'll be sexy, literary and theatrical! So stay tuned! Like I said, Beloveds, books will flatter most any concept. Give me a few weeks, as I'm incredibly preoccupied with other endeavors. (laughter) Like what's new with that, some of you may be thinking? And you're right!

Living a golden life,
TheGoldenGoddess
May 31, 2011

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Reading in Cafe Hortensia in Atlanta

It was my pleasure to have been invited to participate in an Author Share organized by Rhonda Oshetoye of RLOEnterprises. The reading/signing/Q&A took place in the beautifully quaint Cafe Hortensia, located at 57 Forsyth Street (in the Healey Building on the Walton Street) in Atlanta, GA.









I am filled with an unspeakable joy when I sit to read my work, and for this gala, I sat to bring to life my second novel, IF YOU LOVE ME, COME. Something comes over me, and I become the story. I am Free and Rhonda and Sharmayne and Pinky and Pastoria. I am even J.T. and Trevor Butler. Characters, yes, they may be to listeners, but to me, in my heart and at my desk, they are beloved souls, who have walked with me and laughed with me and lifted me up and were lifted by the grace of my pen. I may as well be on stage. My rib cage lifts, my voice becomes theatrical and my body rises to its full 4'11".









Sharing the author's spotlight with me were two wonderful gentlemen, Harold Michael Harvey and L. Cook. Harvey spoke of PAPER PUZZLE, his first novel, sharing the story's exciting plot and characterization and how he came to write the novel. Cook proved to be the master of romance, telling the audience what had gone into him culling the romance between Angela and her African-American bow.









I cherished the Q & A period! That is my time to further connect with the audience and make them "feel" the bliss I felt throughout the journey from "What if?" to cradling the novel lovingly in your palms. It's my opportunity, my fifteen minutes in the sun, to inspire someone, reminding all, including myself, to always be my personal BEST!









IF YOU LOVE ME, COME is available on my website, www.ClaudiaMoss.com and www.ClaudiaMoss.net. On or before Monday, May 9, 2011, the novel will be available on www.Amazon.com. Get your copy today!







Living a Golden Life,
TheGoldenGoddess
El Cinco de Mayo, 2011

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Reading Discussion Questions for my new, up-coming novel, IF YOU LOVE ME, COME








A READING GROUP GUIDE
IF YOU LOVE ME, COME

Claudia Moss

This guide is a compilation of suggested questions intended to enhance your group’s discussion and enjoyment of Claudia Moss’ If You Love Me, Come


Discussion Questions


1. Explain 2 possible interpretations for the title, If You Love Me, Come.

2. Is “Free” really free?

3. How are the other characters victims to their own mental bondage?

4. Does love play different parts in the story?

5. Was each character brought low to rise to higher levels of consciousness?

6. Do Free and J.T. have the makings of a “forever love” after their separation?

7. What is your concept of a “forever love”?


8. Which character(s) was in love with the concept of being in love?

9. Is it appropriate to surrender one’s all to love in your honest estimation? Do you surrender all in your romantic relationships?

10. How was each major character flawed?


11. Was Pinky a responsible mother? What did you admire about her? What did you least admire about her?

12. Who was ultimately responsible for Short Dog’s death?


13. Is Javan capable of raising a female child alone or with a mate?

14. Why do you think Pinky chose the men who fathered her children?


15. Was Pinky’s father a good parent?

16. Do you think Pastoria’s teary altar scene was sincere?

17. Did you question Sharmayne’s true sexuality? Or did you think she was hurt and acting out against being with another man?


18. Was her “coming out” similar to one that you know of?

19. Was Free’s response genuine to Sharmayne’s “coming out”?


20. What did you think about the frame structure of the novel?

21. Was Miz Too-Sweet’s voice easy to read? Believable?


22. Whose voice did you enjoy the most? The least?

23. Describe the credibility of the first book club meeting. Was it believable?


24. What are your opinions of the novels discussed?

25. Did you like Free and J.T. as a couple? Sharmayne and Nzinga? Pastoria and Booker? Pastoria and Earl? Rhonda and Trevor? Pinky and the Artist?


26. Were the two separate worlds in the novel bridgeable?

27. What did you think of Sherrie Ann?


28. How was Miz Too-Sweet’s special gift used in the novel?

29. When did you first realize you had a Reading Jones?

30. What do you think the future holds for Sharmayne and Nzinga? Will their love withstand the test of time and an ex-husband?

31. What could Victor Naylor have done to save his marriage?


32. Can love survive a difference in social class? What has been your experience?

33. What are your thoughts on the outreach program Free and her group brought to Techwood residents?

34. Have you ever lived in the projects or knew someone who did? Was the portrayal accurate?


35. Do you know the history behind Nzinga’s name? Did it suit her?

36. What did you think of Miz Too-Sweet’s treasure trove of stories?


37. Did Rhonda finally find her niche in the biography-writing component of her Techwood workshop?

38. Was the ending of the story satisfying?


39. Would you read another book by the author?

40. Select a quote from one of the characters and discuss it in conjunction with the novel’s theme of trusting the power of love.