Dearest Reader,
It’s been what could be called a negligibly long amount of time since I updated you, spoke with you, in this one-sided dialogue I call a blog. I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not really – if only because this year has routinely beaten the breaks off of me. With the results of the U.S. election yesterday, I would be lying if I said I think I’m the only one. I have so many thoughts, at any given time, and very little desire to express them or share them with others. This year has ushered me into an era of solitutde and I intend to honour it, allowing it to renew and transform me. That being said, I come bearing gifts: I’m writing a book.
This is the link to it:
Before you get at me – yes it’s on Wattpad. It’s ironic, if you know me in real life and exceptionally deep lore, but moreover it’s necessary. I think I’ve recoiled away from this space, and the pressure I’ve created around it far too often. That, and my own ever-present creative neurosis. No writer, who’s truly great, ever thinks they are. This last year has left me nothing short of speechless, with words failing to encapsulate the kind of horror that many of us have bared witness to. And while I’ve used my voice strategically, I have also shied away from the idea that I exist as a resource to others – a weight that black women struggle beneath perpetually. It’s something that I’ll discuss at length at some point – but for now I’ll talk to you about my book and it’s inception.
For anyone wondering, I broke my ankle (and fractured a few things in my lower leg). Shortly after that, two weeks later to be specific, I fractured my spine. I was (begrudingly) completely sober during both incidents. In any event, I spent a lot of time in the one place I truly despise – the hospital. Between being body shamed by nurses, neglected by doctors and basking in the warmth of my mother – I started to read again. I started reading with fervor, the kind I used to possess as a child. Academia has this delightful way of ripping your love of reading right out your body. In any case, fabulous young women across the globe re-ignited my love for it again on #BookTok and with the weight of my health – I needed all the levity I could find. I started reading on creators recommendations and I devoured it all. Book, after book, after book.
There’s not much you can do when you have a spinal fracture, except lie flat on your back…and read apparently. So I read… a lot. I read my favourite, low-brow genre, romance and I became well-accquainted with the tropes. I became immersed in literature and it helped revive my will to live – literally. In any case, I’ve always loved the mafia (conceptually) and many of the depcictions and dynamics in the books I read began to fall flat. I began to yearn for a woman with her own agency, her own life outside of the male main character. I began to yearn for representation of the kinds of women I surround myself with, the kinds who break up with their boyfriends when they piss them off and cuss a bitch out if they need to… among other (far more noteworthy and important) things. In any case, my book isn’t some profound intellectual feat – it’s romance. It’s a slow-burn and it’s intense in a way that’s digestible and divine, like a slice of cake satisfying a PMS craving. I didn’t have the capacity to write something… truly mind-blowing and releasing that pressure allowed me to write something that I believe to be incredible (for what it is).
Anyways.
Here’s the blurb:
In the bustling heart of London, Dante Sanseverino is a man torn between loyalty and his conscience. With the demands of The Outfit’s London division squarely placed on his shoulders, he tries to keep complications in his personal life at a minimal- zero if we’re being specific. Which is why he can’t stand the complexity on two legs that’s moved in across the hall. Lou is a complication to be sure, if it’s not the fact that she’s always smiling for no apparent reason, it’s surely the fact that he can’t help but wonder what happens behind her closed front door. With each day his curiosity about her grows, whittling away at his well-rehearsed self-control, forcing him out of the confines of his staunch routines and further into her life; introducing new and great dangers.
Despite their stark differences, a series of unexpected events thrust them together, forcing Dante to confront his demons while Lou navigates her own hidden struggles. While she radiates sunshine, her past is shrouded in shadows, and as their lives entwine, both must confront what it truly means to love amidst chaos.
As they battle their personal conflicts, the tension between Dante and Lou sizzles, leading to moments of vulnerability that could either bind them together or tear them apart. Can love flourish in the unlikeliest of circumstances, or will the weight of their worlds keep them apart?
In this captivating grumpy x sunshine romance, Dante and Lou discover that even in the darkest corners, hope can ignite a flame.
Cover credit: Marcus Aurelius Valerius Massentius
I’m really enjoying writing this, and I pray you enjoy reading it.
Sincerely,
SANKOFA