When I first embarked on the journey to write a small-town romance series, I had no idea how much work goes into creating a fictional town. Growing up in the city, you don’t really focus on how everything works. There’s always a convenient store in proximity and fast-food restaurants everywhere. There are several forms of public transportation and multiple post offices within the municipalities. But small towns are so different.
Over the past eighteen months, I have been researching small towns, drawing maps, creating names for the local businesses, etc. It has been quite the challenge, however, I’d do it all over again.
Mahogany Falls is a place that’s near and dear to my heart and I pray that you will visit and fall in love with the townspeople and the mountain haven I’ve created. I believe it’s the perfect backdrop for a romance.
The first book in the series is titled Accepting Destiny and the story follows Sanaa and Armond. Here’s a quick blurb:
After a messy divorce, Sanaa Spencer returns to her small hometown, hoping to regroup, not rekindle old flames. But when she runs into Armond Daniels, the guy she shared a single kiss with in high school, long-buried feelings resurface. He’s had his own struggles with love, and neither of them were expecting a second chance—but sometimes the past has a way of opening doors to the future.
If you’re interested in reading more, here’s a sneak peek of the first chapter:
Chapter 1: Happy Birthday
Sanaa
The orchestral cover of Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams played through the flat screen television as I tossed another handful of peanut butter M&Ms into my mouth. Although it was too damn early to be eating chocolate, there was nobody around to scold me about keeping my figure intact.
A gentle knock on my bedroom door interrupted me from my temporary escape.
“Come in,” I yelled.
“Good morning, birthday girl. How did you sleep?” My best friend walked in with a coffee mug in hand.
“I didn’t.”
She glanced over at the screen. “I figured you’d say that. Here. Drink up.”
I relieved her of the hot mug and sipped it several times before placing it down on the nightstand. ”It wasn’t entirely my fault. Somebody was getting their back blown out.”
“And was. Don’t hate. If you put yourself back out there, you could get your back cracked too.”
The thought of entertaining another man was not on my radar. After leaving my dream house behind and going back and forth to court, the last thing on my mind was shacking up with a random dude.
“No thanks. I’ll just watch these fictional people fall in love. It’s safer that way.”
“Whatever you say, Sanaa. But sooner or later you’ll have to get back on the horse.”
“Like you did last night?”
“Yep. And again this morning.”
We shared a laugh. Tab was my best friend and she only wanted the best for me. Too bad the trauma of walking in on my lying, cheating husband hadn’t subsided just yet. I could still remember the position very clearly.
“Whatever.”
“I’m serious. You’re young and beautiful…”
“And somebody’s leftovers. Now can I finish watching this episode in peace?”
“You already know how it’s gonna end.”
“Exactly.”
It was no use going back and forth. We’d had the same conversation at least a dozen times. So instead of debating, Tab climbed under the covers and we watched a few more episodes of Bridgerton.
After the last swallow of coffee was gone, I went to the bathroom to relieve my bladder, brush my teeth, and wash my face. When I returned from the bathroom, Tab handed me the phone.
“It’s your mother.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled before putting it on speakerphone. “Good morning, Momma.”
“Happy 30th birthday, baby. How does it feel?”
“Like any other day,” I replied unenthusiastically.
Thirty was supposed to be a milestone year. I was supposed to be bouncing off the walls. I was supposed to be bringing in my special day with my husband, not at my best friend’s house watching historical romance play out on the television screen.
“Nonsense. You only turn thirty once in your life. Now act like it,” she scolded me like I was a teenager again.
“Okay, I hear you.”
“Then what are you girls getting into tonight?”
“Uhh…nothing much. It’s a Thursday.”
Tab snatched the phone out of my hand before I could conjure up another excuse. “We’re going to check out a new spot that opened a month ago.”
I gave her the stank face. I didn’t agree to go out. I didn’t even have anything to wear.
“Well, you girls have fun and call me tomorrow. Love you both,” she said before disconnecting the call.
“Before you say a word, I already handled everything.” Tab tossed my cell phone on the bed and retreated to her bedroom. A minute later she returned with several bags in tow. “Happy Birthday!”
As much as I wanted to pretend that the day didn’t mean anything, I secretly needed the attention. I plastered a smile across my face before snatching one of the bags out of her hand. She squealed with excitement.
“This is too much. You didn’t have to do this,” I said, pulling the dress out of the bag with a bouquet of balloons adorning the front.
“I did. You deserve to dress up and feel like yourself again. Now go ahead and try it on.”
“Okay, okay.”
I removed the oversized t-shirt I wore to bed and replaced it with a burnt orange, one sleeve dress. A layer of chiffon dangled across the front, creating more dimension to the dress. I rushed over to the full-length mirror hanging on my closet door to check out my reflection from all angles.
“It fits perfectly,” Tab said. “Here, try on one of each. I know how picky you can be sometimes and I wanted to save us both the hassle.”
She already had not one, but two pairs of heels to match.
I slipped into the shoes and wiggled my toes, trying to gauge which pair would sustain me throughout the night. I was done with making myself uncomfortable to make a man happy.
“I like the brown ones.”
“I thought you would. Now what are we gonna do with all this hair?” She walked up beside me and gently tugged at my wild mane.
“I guess I’ll wash it and do a twist out.”
“Sounds like a plan. Now that everything is squared away, let’s watch another episode.”
***
The music blasted through the speakers as I danced to the beat. My eyes were closed and I swayed my hips back and forth. When the warmth of his big hands rested around my waist, I turned my head slightly to catch a glimpse of his face.
With a confident smile adorning his face, he whispered in my ear, “What’s your name, lil momma?”
“Your worst nightmare if you don’t get your hands off me.”
“Oh, you wanna play hard to get, I see.”
Before I could reply to his lame ass response, he twirled me around and pulled me close to his chest.
Now that I had a better view, he was rather easy on the eyes, chocolate skin, full lips, and a Colgate smile. Any other woman in that club would’ve been all over him, but unfortunately for him, I was not in the mood.
When my knee connected with his groin, he released me from his grasp and hurled over.
“Bitch.”
I balled up my fist and cocked back, about to strike him again. Tab grabbed my arm just in time.
“Sanaa!”
“What? He started it.”
“You can’t keep doing this. We’ve only been here for two hours and it’s the second time I’ve had to stop you from laying hands on somebody.”
Although the music was loud, I heard every word she said. Tab was irritated, but so was I. I didn’t want to be in the club with a bunch of strangers. I wanted to be at home in bed, feeling sorry for myself.
“Maybe it’s time for us to leave.”
“Agreed. I gotta use the bathroom right quick.”
“Well give me the keys and I’ll bring the car around.”
Tab shuffled through her purse until she found her car keys. “Try not to get into any trouble.”
She handed them over and disappeared into the crowd of people. I headed straight for the door.
Greeted by the unstable Virginia weather, I rubbed my arms to keep warm. Earlier in the day it was seventy degrees, but since the sun had set, the temperature had dropped down in the low sixties.
I put some pep in my step as I walked around the back of the building where we parked the car. I passed a group of young women along the way. The parking lot was packed and I couldn’t wait to get the fuck out of dodge.
I started the car and drove around to the front of the building. Several minutes later, Tab strolled out of the club with some random guy following her. I rolled down the window.
“Have a nice night,” she said, waving off the stranger.
“Are you sure you don’t want to leave with me?”
I slid into the passenger’s seat. “She said good night.”
“She can speak for herself,” he blurted out.
I looked at Tab.
“I’m good. ”
“Great. Now can we go get something to eat? I’m starving.”
Tab walked around to the driver’s side and got inside of the car. She drove to the nearest fast-food joint. We ordered some burgers and fries and headed back to the apartment. While she was busy singing along to the music, I had my face buried in the phone, scrolling through social media.
When I came across Charles’ page, I couldn’t believe what was in front of me. I reached for the dial on the radio and turned the music down. I had to hear the audio.
“What are you doing, Sanaa? That’s my song.”
“This lowlife muthafucka.”
“What did Charles do now?”
“He proposed to that homewrecker.”
“Are you surprised?”
My thoughts and emotions were all over the place. Although our divorce had been finalized for six months, I didn’t expect him to put a ring on the bitch’s finger so quickly.
“That bastard. He insists on fucking up my life. First he cheats on me and then he proposes to her on my 30th birthday. Take me to my house.”
“Absolutely not. You don’t live there anymore, remember? We’re going home. The last place you wanna be is in front of the judge the day after your birthday.”
A warm tear ran down my face. I wasn’t sad, I was fucking angry. I wanted to turn into Left Eye and burn the house to the ground with him and the home wrecker inside, but Tab wasn’t going to let me go out like that.
“You’re right. Let’s stick to the plan.”
She turned the volume back up and danced around in the driver’s seat. Her energy was so contagious that I started dancing too. I needed something else to focus on in the meantime.
At least until I came up with a game plan.
Once we made it home, I walked straight to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine out of the fridge. Then I retrieved two glasses from the cabinet and carried them into the living room.
“I thought you were starving,” she said, placing the food down on the coffee table.
“I was, but in light of recent events, I no longer have an appetite.”
“Well at least put something on your stomach before you take another drink.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I rolled my eyes.
Tab wasn’t afraid to check me, which was a rare trait that you don’t find in many people. At least not in the city.
I scarfed down my burger and a handful of fries. “Happy?”
“Ecstatic. I’m gonna change into my pajamas and then we can finish turning up.”
As soon as she left the room, a lightbulb went off inside my head. When I heard the bedroom door close, I grabbed her car keys off the table and made my great escape.
The last thing I wanted to do was mix Tab up in my mess, but Charles’ dusty ass had to be taught a lesson.
I started the car and drove to my old house. The whole ride there I envisioned all of the different ways to make him pay, however, all of them would land me behind bars. It had to be something a little more subtle, something that couldn’t be traced back to me.
For at least a half an hour, I sat across the street from the house I lived in for almost a decade and watched the butterfly wind chimes dance in the autumn air. Charles’ car was parked in the driveway and my first instinct was to bust out all of the windows. That would draw too much attention though, so I opted for something a bit more lowkey.
Searching around the car for anything sweet, I was growing frustrated because Tab didn’t have anything sugary to put in his tank. As I reached for the glovebox, I heard a knock on the window.
It was Tab. I was busted. And the look on her face said it all.
I rolled down the window. “Spare me the lecture,” I said.
“Pop the trunk and slide over.”
I pushed the button and slid over into the passenger’s seat for the second time. After shifting some things around in the trunk, she got in the car. Her boyfriend honked his horn before driving away in his truck.
“Look, Sanaa. This shit is not healthy. I love you too much to let you keep doing this to yourself. I think you should go home for a few days and clear your head. Go spend some time with your mom. It’ll be great for both of y’all.”
“It’s not that serious, Tab. I wasn’t gonna burn the house down or nothing. A little sugar in the tank never hurt anybody.”
“But what about the next time you see a post on IG or run into them at Target? What’s it gonna be then?”
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly. The last thing I want to see is you in one of those ugly ass jumpsuits. Now buckle up because our next stop is Mahogany Falls.”
“What? I don't have my purse or any clothes. And what about work?”
“Already ahead of you. I packed a suitcase and grabbed your purse and computer. They’re all in the trunk. Virtual assistants can work from anywhere.”
I couldn’t do anything but buckle my damn seatbelt and enjoy the ride.
I hope you enjoyed the snippet. Accepting Destiny goes live on October 22, 2024 on Amazon. Here's the link if you want to read more: https://amzn.to/3NUfx2Z
Until next time,
Lesanda
Reviving Hearts, Connecting Souls
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