Synopsis:
Meet Monica also known as Mo’, raised by her older sister, Angie…abandoned by her mother.
At an early age she meets and moves in with her boyfriend Derrick. Not knowing the true meaning of love she falls victim to his conniving and abusive ways allowing him to make most of the decisions in her life. Derrick makes one horrible mistake that lands him in jail for five years and frees Mo’ of her obligations to Derrick.
Five years later, Derrick resurfaces. Mo’ is now a well established business woman who’s no longer interested in the life she used to live. With Derrick back he uses Mo’s weakness to get what he wants forcing her into a corner she’s not strong enough to pull herself out of. Her love for Derrick allows him to move back into her life and her heart.
Mo’s mother now clean and sober has a new found claim on life but Mo’ can’t find it in her heart to forgive her mother for the abandonment years ago and reminds her of it every chance she gets.
Meanwhile, Mo’s best friend Abee has recently suffered a great loss in her family. The investigation unravels right before Mo’s eyes. She soon realizes that she knows more about this tragedy than she thought. Blinded by love Mo’ never sees the betrayal going on right under her nose from those she thinks loves her the most.
Love’s deception introduces readers to a young woman guilty of one thing, loving the wrong person. Before Monica knows it, a past she thought she left behind years ago is running right along with her, headed straight to destruction and taking Monica with it.
Love’s deception is a story about the true meaning of love, friendship and family. How our actions today, can determine our tomorrow.
Excerpt: Chapter One “In the beginning.”
I grew up alone. Well, not necessarily, because I was raised by my sister Angie. She and I are six years apart. I’m twenty-six and she’s thirty-two. Our mother, Rhonda, whom I never called Mom, was a crack-head and alcoholic. Raising us wasn’t one of her priorities. So Angie stepped in as the “mother figure” in my life from day one. She said the day I was born my mom told the nurse to hand me to Angie and I’ve been under her ever since. My sister never had a life because it revolved around me. She didn’t have time for boys or friends. She would come straight home from school and take care of me. Angie endured a lot more than I did. She saw a lot of what my mom was really about. So Angie did her best to protect me, although I did have a few…experiences.
Me and Angie had no idea who our dads were but trust me, men were in and out of the house all day and all times of night. We lived in a two bedroom apartment right in the middle of the ghetto in Riverdale, Georgia. Angie and I shared a room. My mother had a room to herself but spent most of her days on the couch. On the inside, our apartment looked exactly how the outside did, run-down. We had hardly any furniture or food. There was one picture of my mother’s father on our glass coffee table but she never talked about him. We never asked.
My mom didn’t work. She lived off food stamps and whatever money she got from her male friends. Angie and I were more like a burden on her. All she cared about was her check and when she would get her next fix. She wasn’t self-sufficient either. She only became independent when it came time for her to get more drugs or more money to support the drugs. Come to think of it, I don’t know how we survived all those years in that house. We hardly had enough food to eat. Clothes and shoes came from friends of my mother whose children got too big for them. Living with her were the most miserable days of my life. I can’t remember how many times our lights were cut off or the landlord was banging on our door for us to pay our rent. When things got real hard she’d leave for hours at a time at night and when we woke up that morning the lights would be back on and she’d be back laid across the couch, either high or drunk. But luckily my mom’s best friend Janice (Aunt Neece) kept in contact with us and would come over from time to time to check on us and take us out to eat.
My mom and Aunt Neece didn’t get along so she’d come over when she knew my mom wasn’t home. Three months before I was born, my mom and Aunt Neece got into a huge argument. My mother was living a life that Aunt Neece wanted no part of. She knew my mom was into drugs and alcohol. Aunt Neece wasn’t into that lifestyle so she simply told her that she wasn’t coming around anymore until she got her life together. She told my mother that she loved Angie to death and nothing better ever happen to her or my mother’s unborn child. My mother got upset with my Aunt Neece, thinking she was just jealous. But really Aunt Neece was afraid for my mother and what she was doing with her life. So instead of sticking it out and watching her friend kill herself, she left the friendship; only coming back to check on me and Angie.
Once I was born, she really hit the drugs hard. My Aunt Neece wished that we could come and live with her but she knew our mom would have a fit. Aunt Neece loved her too much to hurt her, despite what she was doing to us. See, my Aunt Neece, unlike most other women that grew up in the hood, got herself together and moved on. She was not about to fall victim to the streets. She went to college and focused on her life. She wasn’t married nor did she have kids. Money was no problem to her either. She took good care of herself and lived well. Not only that but she tried to live her life through Christ as much as possible.
Things got worse as the years went on. Angie would always go to my Aunt Neece’s house and tell her how things were and how she couldn’t wait to be old enough to get her own place. So when my sister turned seventeen, our Aunt Neece got us an apartment outside of the hood and we moved out. Two weeks before that, me and my sister came home to an empty house. Our mother was laid out on the hallway floor. I couldn’t believe my eyes. All our stuff was gone. I knew we had been robbed but my mama wasn’t moving. That’s when fear finally settled in.
“Mama, Mama. Wake up! Mama!” my sister yelled as she ran to my mom and dropped to her knees. My mother was wearing some old too-big tee shirt and house shoes. Her shirt was pulled up to her waist as she laid in a fetal position.
“What’s wrong Mama. Wake up!” I said, shaking her.
“Stop that damn shaking me! I’m up!” She finally opened her eyes and lifted her head to see us.
“Mama, where’s our stuff? Why do you look like this?” Angie asked, irritated that my mom was only drunk.
“Oh Donald came by and moved all our stuff. He say he got us a real nice place and he gone take care of us,” she answered, slurring. She finally sat up as we helped her on the couch, looking at each other as she said Donald’s name. Donald was a man my mom had been seeing for a while.
“Mama how long ago was that?” Angie asked.
“I don’t know…sometime this morning. He’ll be back!”
But Donald never came back. We slept on the floor for three days before Angie told Aunt Neece what happened. We later found out that Donald took our stuff and sold it. My mom knew what had happened but lied to us to cover up the truth. Our mother sold our furniture for drugs. She knew Donald wasn’t coming back, but she didn’t care as long as she was high; she was fine.
Dominique Watson is a writer and published author. She began writing poetry and short stories at a young age. Dominique has published six books in the genres of Poetry, Inspiration and Christian Fiction.
Dominique has six titles under her belt as an author including her most popular series “Too Much Untold” and “Truthfully Untold” “The Tension Reliever; Another Side of Me: Volume 2” is Dominique’s latest book.
Dominique was also the owner and creator of the award winning magazine “From A Writer’s POV”, a literary magazine geared to support authors and writers.
She’s also a Literary Mentor and Consultant for Authors & Writers at Literary Career Moves. www.literarycareermoves.com She can be found daily at The POV Lounge giving advice and tips on the literary field http://thepovlounge.wordpress.com
For more about Dominique, check her out at: www.authordominiquelwatson.com
Get to Know Dominique:
1. What message are you trying to send to your readers with Love’s Deception?
In any book that I write, I want my readers to be inspired. I want them to be able to relate to the story and the characters. I have never been deceived by love but I’m sure someone has in some capacity. I want my readers to take away an inspirational story whether they have experienced the circumstances or not.
2. How do you differentiate yourself from other authors and writers?
I don’t write to become rich. I don’t write to become the next best seller. I write because I want to inspire someone. I want to tell a good story, entertain my readers through a good book. I think that makes me different from other writers and authors.
3. How do you write your books? You have articles called “The Writing Season” Tell us about your writing season.
I write whenever I am in the mood. It’s never forced. If I have to make myself write, the story will not come out right. So my writing season comes to me at anytime in any place in any state of mind. When I am in the writing season, I embrace it. I write as often as I can. Take notes so that I don’t forget anything. It’s a peaceful season for me. It puts me in a place where I can really be proud of myself and my craft.
4. You started with the genre of inspiration, then poetry, then urban fiction. Why do you skip around so much? Do you think this helps or hurts your literary career?
I think it helps my career. It shows my readers I am diverse. I can write in various genres and still entertain my readers. I am now working on my first mystery and suspense novel and I think the cross will be good for me. It shows just who I am as a writer.
5. What rule or foundation do you stick to as a writer? What is something you seem to never shy away from?
I would have to say writing for me. Although I have a fan base that loves my work and I love to please them, when I write a book and put the period at the last sentence, that is for me. In anything that I do, I do it for me. I aim to please myself. At the end of the day I must love what I do or else I am not enjoying it. If I wrote to make sure I pleased my audience then I’d be a follower. I’d turn into someone who writes to please other people and I make my characters go in the direction my audience wants. That is not me. So I never shy away from “doing me” or pleasing myself in my craft. If I’m happy, that’s all that matters. That doesn’t mean that I don’t consider my fans. I do. But when I am creating something, anything, I do it first with my pleasure in mind.
6. You are not totally an author. You are a business woman too and that seems to be something major in your life. Can you talk about that?
My company Literary Career moves is very important to me. When I had From A Writer’s POV, it was important to me. Not because it was a source of income but because it served a purpose to authors to help them get to where they need to be in their careers. I’ve always loved to inspire others. It seems that with everything I do I aim to inspire. So it’s hard for me to be a full time author because anything that helps my fellow authors is important to me. I can see Literary Career Moves going above and beyond for the literary field. I can see so many authors taking so much from this company and allowing it to mold them and groom them for their benefit. I see that. So I have to put my books and my writings on the back burner. If I ever stop writing, I will never stop helping.
7. The 7th book Love’s Deception is here. What next?
Answer: Well the book to follow Love’s Deception is “Concealed Betrayal” It’s already in its pre editing stages. It will soon get a cover, go through one more edit before it’s off to the official edit. I plan to drop this book October 4th, 2013. I am very excited about this one. I have never been so proud of my work. This is one I could see in a movie. The drama, the situations and the reality of it is amazing. I still can’t believe I wrote it. I am also currently writing my first mystery and suspense novel. Too Much Untold will have a part three so that is in the making. An ezine for Literary Career Moves called “The AuthorZine” drops January 1st, 2013. I am excited about that. Last but certainly not least, I plan to continue my drive and motivation with Literary Career Moves. I’ve got a lot in me and things are just starting to heat up!
Find the author:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/almondeyesdiva
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Dominique-L-Watson/270077716591
Author Website: www.authordominiquelwatson.com
Blogs: The POV Lounge http://thepovlounge.wordpress.com Author Blog: http://dominiquewatson.wix.com/author/apps/blog
Linked in: http://www.linkedin.com/in/dominiquewatson
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3375672.Dominique_L_Watson
Literary Career moves: www.literarycaeermoves.com
Email Address: [email protected]
Purchase book: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/dominiquelwatson www.authordominiquelwatson.com
sounds like a great read….i will support….much success
Thank you!! Please be sure to leave me a review!