
31 Days, 31 Authors- Perri Forrest
Hi everyone! I can’t hardly believe that Christmas will be arriving in four days! Boy, has this year came and went. Anyway, the 31 Days, 31 Authors event is still going strong as today’s featured author is Perri Forrest. Perri is definitely an author that is not only diverse and captiviating, who is also not afraid to take a risk; that definitely shows in her novels such as the Rapture series, Captivated, and her latest novel, Family Ties.
Now, here’s Perri to explain her love for writing and being an author. đ
Perri Forrest is a California based author with seventeen titles to her credit. A writer who becomes one with her characters, Perri has produced numerous outstanding titles including having reached number one in African American Romance on the Amazon Best Sellers list. The fan favorite novel, Captivated was an international hit debuting at number two in Women’s Fiction for three consecutive weeks on the Amazon Best Sellers list in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Having studied psychology, Perri delves into the intrinsic elements that make her characters tick. She consistently creates strong female leads weaving in the complexities of fiction and real life. This dynamic writer, who has penned stories since a preteen, ensures that each novel is mixed with insight, passion and love. Having only professionally written for just shy of three years, Perri was nominated Best Romance Author of 2015 by Urban Books, Authors, and Writers of America (UBAWA).
An unintentional venture into blogging allowed Perri to express her raw emotion, break down her personal barriers and explore her gift of writing. Ultimately Perri’s blogs resulted in fans adoring her work and clamoring to read more. Writing quickly became her sole driving force, her goal is to nurture the minds and hearts of the readers who trust her to feed their literary appetites.
When not creating her own captivating characters, Perri can be found enjoying a good suspense thriller. She lists the work of James Patterson, Terry McMillan and Jackie Collins as being among her favorites. She also loves playing Words with Friends, which has been a constant companion while writing the bulk of her literary works.
1. Besides writing, what else do you like to do?
Iâm a reader of suspense/thriller. I love badminton and air hockey. Very competitive. Reality TV is a guilty pleasure.
2. What inspired you to become and author?
I just love stories. Thereâs never anything that Iâm doing that doesnât birth a story idea. I could be driving, or watching movie, or reading a book. Anything. And a story comes to mind. Mostly when Iâm in conversations with people. Being a psych major helped too because with all that Iâve been through in life, my love of suspense thriller and all things fiction, I knew I had to write something. Blogging jumpstarted it, and from there it just took off.
3. What was your first reaction when your debut novel was published?
I cried. After I went through my final edits and knew it was a finished product, I literally cried. There have been a lot of things in my life that Iâve started but didnât finish and this was finished and all my own. Characters that I made up, places that I made up. It was highly emotional.
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
This question stumps me every time because it just seems so clichĂ©. I donât know, really. I just see myself still trying to perfect my craft and learning all that I can so that I have the trust of the authors I plan to sign to my publishing company. I hope to have that up and running before the 5-year mark, so I guess by the 5th year, I just hope to be a household name and having people know that they can come to me to further their literary career. Oh, and a few movies under my belt by that time, God willing. Oh, and signed to one of the majors.
5. What advice can you give to anyone who wants to become an author?
a. Align yourself with like individuals.
b. Guard your spirit with lock and key. Not everyone wants your success.
c. Write all the time and make sure youâre reading traditionally published authors as well. Iâve met a lot of Indies who are only reading indie. Itâs great to support, but reading the work of individuals who have been in the game for years, and edited by professionals, and who have the craft of character development down and execution perfected, is essential.
d. AgainâŠwrite all the time.
e. Never force a story. Allow your heart to lead you to your story and never publish anything that you arenât in love with.
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0DAVG9
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N0DAVG9
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01N0DAVG9
Here’s an excerpt from Family Ties
–1–
Malina Alexia Wright
Laney had her arms folded across her chest, leaning against the threshold of her best friend, Malinaâs bedroom door. âDamn, girl!â she complained. âHow long are you gonâ take? If Iâd known you were around here lagginâ, I woulda waited before I left my house! I coulda still been watching LMN. You know those Saturday movies that they show are hella good!â
Malinaâs laugh echoed throughout her room, as she stood in her full length mirror applying finishing touches to her look. She snapped her neck around to where Laney stood to respond. âGirl! First of all, those movies are cheesy as fuck and donât have a single cast member that looks like yoâ ass. And second . . . shut yoâ grumpy, compuhlaininâ ass up!â she yelled, turning back to face the mirror, to fluff around her wild mane of curls while gathering it all up into a curly ponytail.
âOooh, mommy, you said a bad word!â
Malina shot her best friend a look through the mirror, and shook her head at her. âThatâs because your auntie made me,â Malina reasoned with her young daughter, Mahri. Mahri was an adorable three-year-old that Malina had given birth to on her twenty-second birthday, and who was the apple of her mamaâs eye. âYour auntie likes to say things to mommy to get a reaction out of her because she doesnât have manners like you and me, baby.â
âOkay, Mommy!â Mahri exclaimed as she burst into laughter so contagious it always made her motherâs heart warm. âTT!â she yelled in her squeaky pitch, in between giggles, âDonât make Mommy cuss okay?â
âOkay, lilâ mama,â Laney promised her God daughter. âI wonât make mommy cuss anymore. That was bad and Iâm sorry. I just thought you and your mommy would be ready to go to the nice, big park when I got here, butââ
Mahriâs eyes grew in size and her face opened into a huge smile. âThe park? Mommy!â Mahri jumped up and down excitedly, her four shoulder-length ponytails splashing against the air with each lunge of her little body. âWeâre going to the park?! I wanna go to the park! Iâm getting my pink shoes!â
As soon as Mahri darted down the hallway in the direction of her bedroom, Malina flipped Laney the middle finger with a look that said, âBitch you knew exactly what you were doing, huh?!â And the fact that Laney was smiling hard as hell at her, let Malina know that she had done the dirty deed on purpose.
âYou heffa,â Malina shot, in a harsh whisper.
âWhat?â Laney asked, feigning innocence.
âHeffa you know damn well that I never tell Mahri when weâre going on outings because Iâll never hear the end of it.â
âReally?â Laney made her way into the bedroom and plopped down on the ottoman at the foot of Malinaâs bed, where she fell into laughter so hysterical that her eyes began to water.
âIâma hurt you,â Malina threatened, in a harsh whisper. âAinât nothinâ right about yâall pretty-ass chocolate broads,â she hissed, just as Mahri skipped back into the room.
âThreats are so not nice in front of babies,â Laney admonished, shaking her head side to side. âShame on you.â
Malina rolled her eyes at Laney and glanced over at her smiling baby girl, who even as beautiful as she was, looked nothing like her mom. Where Malina had long, wild, curly hair and was light-skinned with dark-brown eyes, Mahri was reddish-brown, with grey eyes and hair bordering on straightâall her fatherâs characteristics. In fact, Mahriâs father was what todayâs trip to the park was all about. He had recently gotten in touch with a mutual acquaintance, and after a little bit of whining about how heâd fucked up and how he really wanted a relationship with his daughter, the mutual acquaintance had given up Malinaâs phone number without so much as a warning.
Initially, Malina was pissed that her friend would sell her out so easily, but after the anger subsided, Malina shifted her focus to her baby and how she might owe it to her to see what the sperm donorâs change of heart was all about. The last thing that Malina would ever want to happen is for her daughter to be upset with her years later, after coming of age and discovering that Malina rejected an offer from this man to know his child. So, after a week of him leaving messages, and weighing her options, Malina had finally called him back with a simple response: âYou called?â
Once he got past beating around an invisible bush with random and extremely hollow conversation, he offered up a bunch of weak-ass apologies about not having been there when he shouldâve been. And somewhere near an hour later, he got around to asking Malina if she would bring Mahri to a barbecue that his family was having.
âI know I fucked up and that thereâs no way I can make up for the past three years,â heâd said. âBut I want to try. I know you probably hate the fuck outta me, but this shitâs been heavy on my heart for a minuteâa long minute.â
As reluctant as Malina had been to do it, she ran the entire conversation by her mother later that same day. Of course her mother used a lot of expletives at first and talked about how she wanted to kiss his ass. It was all it took for Malina to completely oppose the idea. But once her mother had gotten her hate-filled rant off her chest, it surprised Malina when her mother did a three-sixty in her view of the situation. She ended up placing a guilt trip on Malina, and voicing her feelings that Mahri deserved to know the man who was a direct extension of her. Ultimately, it was her motherâs words that caused Malina to give in. So, she finally caved and agreed to make an appearance at the function.
âGo get your jacket, lilâ mama,â Laney instructed Mahri.
âIâm not cold, TT,â she pouted, anxious to get on the road.
âItâs gonna be cold later though, sweetie.â
âBut itâs still early,â she fussed.
âI know baby, but when the sun starts to go down, your little arms are gonna be really cold. And then even if youâre having fun, weâll have to leave and come back home.â
âOkay!â she finally agreed. âIâll be right back!â
âThatâs manipulation. Bad auntie,â Malina kidded.
âIt worked though, right?â Laney laughed. Then as soon as she was sure that Mahri was out of earshot, Laney shifted onto one knee, dug her elbows into the plushness of the bed and jumped into interrogation mode. âWhatâs up, girl?â she asked in a hushed tone. âYou having second thoughts?â
âWhy you say that?â Malina posed, turning toward Laney.
âBecause youâre moving hella slow. You changed your mind, huh? Girl, fuck him. He ainât never been there. Our baby canât miss what she never had and you donât owe him shit. If you donât wanna go, we donât need to go. Fuckââ
âI got it!â Mahri announced, jumping onto the ottoman with Laney, her thin pink jacket in hand, and wearing a big smile. âWe ready to go yet, Mommy?â
âYeah, baby . . . weâre ready,â Malina told her daughter, sliding in her silver hoop earrings.
âYayy!â Mahri exclaimed, darting full speed toward the front of the house.
Malina sighed loudly and flexed her shoulders. âLetâs gone and do this, Laney. You see Iâm dressed for the occasion,â she laughed. âI got my Jordanâs on, this tank, these sweats and a messy ponytail on top of my head.â
Laney laughed. âRight. Casual, cute and battle-ready if thatâs what it comes down to. You know I got your back, girl.â
Malina knew that Laney having her back was a non-issue. The two had been in each otherâs lives since birth. But that was inevitable since their mothers had been best friends since their senior year of high school. With them each being their motherâs only children, and only four months apart, they had grown up more like sisters.
–2–
On the ride to the park at Lake Temescal, Malina was deep in her thoughts as the music blared in surround sound inside the car. She had no idea how she was supposed to act at this thing. Was she supposed to hang back and let the introductions play out? Was she supposed to put on a fake smile like everything was all good when it wasnât? All she knew was that she was thankful that Laney had agreed to come with her. It wasnât like she couldnât hold her own, but she did want to have somebody to talk to in a sea of faces she didnât know.
As her thoughts drifted around in her mind in no particular order, Malina thought back to running into Rocco a week after their initial conversation. She hadnât seen him or talked to him in years and then when she finally did, she somehow managed to see him out in public. It was weird how things worked out that way. Shit was totally coincidental, and left Malina feeling as though it was even more of a sign for her to get Mahri together with him.
At first when she saw him walking toward her, she was fully prepared to act like she hadnât seen him, but heâd stepped into her path and made it difficult for her to take that stance. As big and bad as Rocco always managed to come across, that day was a different story. He was nervous as ever. She observed him constantly rubbing his hands together; at times he rushed them into his sweat pockets. He also avoided direct eye contact while he talked. That was a definite giveaway, and it kind of gave Malina a certain level of satisfaction to know that he was uncomfortable.
As he chatted up her and began to feel more at ease, Malina remembered being pissed that his conversation became more relaxed. As she watched his lips move, the only she wanted to do was drop-kick his ass. The way his conversation progressed she got the distinct impression that he assumed since sheâd given him a tentative âyesâ on his invitation, that all was peachy keen.
But shit was far from peachy keenâabout as far as the distance between Mercury and Neptune. All Malina could think of while he stood just inches outside of her personal space was that she had only âinteractedâ with Rocco twice in the past almost-three years: the night that she went into labor and called him but he never showed up to the hospital, and again when Mahri was seven months old. And she knew just what that âvisitâ was all about. It happened in a lot of black familiesâhis mother had probably urged him to, âGo see if that baby belongs to us.â
Malina was hurt by his actions. But it wasnât because she wanted him in her life; it was because sheâd hoped he wanted to be in their daughterâs life. And it just didnât happen that way. And to let him tell it, there was more to the madness that sheâd just not given him time to say back then.
âWhen I said that I didnât want any more kids, it didnât mean that I wasnât gonna step up and take care of my responsibilities. But you cut me off and I didnât even have a number for you.â
âNah, you werenât going to have a number for me because the minute you said that you didnât want to have another child, I let go. I had already made my decision to keep her and I wasnât about to be somebodyâs baby mama sitting on the sidelines sulking because the dude didnât want nothing to do with his own child. Thatâs not who I am. And I also wasnât about to be a phone call away when you wanted some pussy just because I had your child in my womb. Nah.â
âIt wasnât even like that, Malina. I was just telling you how I felt about the situation. I was keeping it real when I said that I didnât want any more kids. But again, it didnât mean thatââ
âRocco, sheâs three. Donât feed me the bull. Iâm not them . . . your other baby mamas. I ainât them. You didnât show up to the hospital and you came and saw her once after she was born and that was it. So, miss me with the stories. Letâs just leave shit as it was with you apologizing and saying you want to see where shit can go now. Because, Iâll be honest; thereâs a huge part of me that donât want that shit. But thereâs a bigger part of me that doesnât want my baby to resent me later if she finds out that you made an effortâno matter how much later it wasâand I rejected it.â
âAlright, you got that. I fucked up. I did. But I wanna know her and I want her to know meâand my fam. Thatâs real.â
In her dazed state, Malina shook her head side to side. It was as if doing so would completely get rid of the thoughts of that dayâs conversation. But it was ultimately Mahriâs little voice asking, âMommy, are we almost there?â that made Malina keenly aware that she had zoned out. And she knew the cause of her disappearing act, too. It was because the closer they got to their destination, the more she was starting to think that the first introduction to these people shouldnât have been at a fuckinâ park. It shouldâve been a one-on-one with Mahriâs quote-unquote âfatherâ first, and then depending on how that went, everybody else later. She exhaled sharply, as the butterflies in her stomach began to perform acrobatic summersaults.
Because of the pause in the music at that very moment, Laney heard the sigh and turned to look at her. When the music began playing again, Laney pressed a button on her steering wheel to increase the noise just a little bit. She didnât want Mahri to hear what she was about to say.
âItâs not too late for me to turn around, Malina. Like, for real. The tension from you is reeking over there. Shit, can you even breathe?â she kidded. âFor real, though, Iâm just as protective of lilâ mama as you are. So, just say the word. I mean, sheâs three years old. I donât trust this shit at all. These niggas shouldnât get passes like that, man. You come nowhere near the babies when theyâre hella little, and when starring roles need to be played . . . but then you all of a sudden get a conscience and wanna step inâout the clear blue. Fuck. That. Is he gonna know when she needs new t-shirts because she outgrew the old ones? Is he gonna know when she needs new shoes because her little toes are scrunched at the tip? Shit, is he gonna be there on her first day of preschool and calling every day to see how school was? Ugh! This shit just . . . ugghh. We can turn this bitch around and take her to Marine World or something and she wonât remember shit about a damn park.â
Every single emotion that Laney expressed, Malina shared as well. Every. Single. One. But since sheâd already committed, Malina felt a sense of obligation to see it through. She didnât know why, she just did. And besides, she got the impression that if she didnât show up, he would keep calling. The phone call and the subsequent encounter with him, post call, told her as much. So she felt she might as well get it over with.
Malina reached across the seat and rubbed Laneyâs resting forearm. âYou know I agree with everything you said. But Iâm good. Weâre gonna go ahead and make an appearance and I just gotta hope that I did the right thing.â
âNo . . . he gotta make sure we did the right thing. At least thatâs what he would want to do.â
âGirl, okay!â Malina yelled out, slapping a high-five with her bestie.
âAre we almost at the park yet, TT?â Mahri blurted out from her car seat in the back.
âAlmost babe,â Laney replied.
âOkay.â
Sheâs so precious, Malina thought to herself as she turned to look at her baby in the backseat. Mahriâs excitement made her happy, but she had to admit that she was beyond nervous. You better do right by her, Rocco. Because if not, there will be more than the devilâs hell to pay.
âWell, look sis,â Laney added, âif we get there and you feel the slightest bit of discomfort or regret, we get the fuck up outta there and we donât owe a muthafucka a single explanation. For real. Okay?â
Malina offered a crooked smile and a nod of her head, in response.
âAs soon as I bend this corner, we got a short incline and then the place comes into full view. Last call, chick,â Laney announced.
Malina spoke slowly and with a bit of reluctance. âItâs all good, sis . . . I got this.â
-3-
Morocco âRoccoâ Lee
The barbecue was in full swing with multiple generations present. The music played loudly while some danced in the large section of grass they had managed to reserve, others played board games, and some just talked amongst themselves. The mood was festive and nothing short of what all the Lee events were like. Food was everywhere, and it looked more like a family reunion than a birthday party for a six-year-old. Good-looking men and beautiful women, and cute-as-a-button kids, made up the Lee clan.
Even with as lively as everything was, Morocco âRoccoâ Lee was nervous as fuck. Nothing ever stroked his nervesâbut this day most definitely did. Today heâd be seeing his daughter for the first time in almost three years. He didnât know how it would go; only that he needed to make it happen and that was what caused him to look for her mother, Malina. He had to make things right. He had kids in his life who had been in his life the entire time; but that hadnât happened with his and Malinaâs daughter. He was wrong for it and he knew it.
In between chatting it up with his male relatives gathered around the barbecue pit, Rocco intermittently rubbed his hands together. He was quickly becoming agitated with how quickly the film of sweat was forming. It was okay for him to be nervous, but the last thing he needed was anybody else realizing that shit and having some slick ass comment to make. So every chance he got, he folded his arms across his chest.
âWhat yoâ ass thinking about, bruh?!â one of the guys asked Rocco, catching him off guard.
âThat steak look good as hell! A nigga hawngry as fuck!â Rocco yelled out. âThatâs what the fuck Iâm thinkinâ about,â he lied.
âHell yeah, it looks good! I know that shit!â Roccoâs uncle boasted. âMy shit always a hitta!â he laughed. âBut, shit, itâs hot as fuck out here, man. The fuck I agree to this shit for?!â
âBecause, nigga! Yoâ ass think you the only one can burn some shit. Thatâs why you agreed! And yoâ ass is yellow as fuck anyway, you can use some damn tan!â
âFuck outta here. You need a damn color chart, dude. Ainât shit yellow about this one. And if it was, I ainât worried about a fuckinâ tan. If anything, a muthafucka worried about passinâ the fuck out. Yâall lazy-ass niggas would come and reserve the spot where the pit ainât nowhere a fuckinâ tree!â
âNigga quit whininâ!â
âWhininâ? Yeah, okay. You just fucked yaâself out a steak or six, you hungry bastid! You can feast on these toddler hot dogs for the whole day, and shit!â
Rocco guffawed loudly, as he backtracked. âOkay! Okay! I take that shit back!â
âYeah, I know you do! Grab me one of those Smirnoffâs out the cooler. Muhâfukka need a damn breeze out this bitch!â
âBruuuh, you need to quit with that cryinâ and shit!â one of the cousins chimed in.
âYou mean cryinâ like yoâ chunky ass was doinâ when you came over here and thought all the meat was gone?!â
Rocco doubled over in laughter at the comment.
âRocco! The fuck you laughinâ at, chump?! You need to be over there mingling with all yoâ baby mamas! Get you some of them damn skinny jeans that all the little soft niggas is wearinâ and hug yoâ nuts up! The Leeâs ainât never gonâ be extinct as long as you out in these streets!â
âYâall crazy as hell!â one of the other guys hollered through uncontrollable laughter. âAye! Just gone and throw me one of them plump steaks on and yâall can keep goinâ! Shit is entertaininâ!â
The laughs always kept coming when Rocco and his uncle Zeke were together. The men were more like brothers only being three years apart. Zeke was the younger brother of Roccoâs mother, Rosalind, and theyâd virtually grown up together in the same household and didnât even realize that they were in a hierarchy until they were older. And even then it still didnât change things in the relationship. They were each otherâs ride or die and were always there for one another; even going so far as to go into business together.
âSpeakinâ of entertaininâ, Bubba yoâ ass need to be less worried about some damn steaks and turn off this soft ass music!â Rocco blurted. âHere . . .â he reached out toward Bubba. âPut my iPod on that deck! Yâall gonâ put all the kids and the elders to sleep!â
âNigga, hopefully, it put yoâ sperm to sleep!â Bubba countered, followed by a roar of laughter.
âAww! This fat nigga got jokes!â Rocco roared, holding onto his stomach. âOkay, you got me! But yoâ punk ass still need to change the music, though!â
Just then, in the middle of his chuckle, Rocco looked in the distance and spotted Malina approaching holding a little girlâs hand and his heart sank. He snapped to attention watching the small figure. It was his baby girl. His hands immediately began to sweat again, causing him to rub them down the side of his jeans. He noticed the girl with Malina too. It was Malinaâs sister, Laney. Shit, he thought. He remembered all too well how Laneyâs mouth was set up so he knew to prepare himself.
âLooks like we got new meat approaching,â another one of the guys in the group commented.
âIâll be back yâall,â Rocco announced.
As Rocco took off in Malinaâs direction, he could hear one of the guys behind him comment loudly, âNo this fool not about to holler at a broad . . . in broad daylight . . . with his main one here. I ainât breakinâ up no chick fights today!â
All Rocco could do was chuckle to himself at the shenanigans. He knew there wouldnât be any issues with fighting or anything like that. Heâd already had the conversation with Kai, his woman of six years, the night before. So, she knew to have her act-right intact and to keep her mouth decent and her claws in. So, he didnât anticipate any mishaps. Kia knew, like he knew, that today was about him getting some long overdue time with the only one of his kids that he didnât know.
Moments later, he approached Malina and tried his best to keep his glare as casual and nonchalant as possible. The whole time though, he was thinking about how fine she was. A pretty ass head of wild hair that made anybody that walked past her take notice. Today she had it in a ponytail and he already knew why. He remembered her hot temper. She was operating on the safe side of things and wanted to be prepared for anything brewing. And even though she didnât have to worry about anything jumping off, Rocco couldnât help but laugh a little knowing that her fine-ass was down for it.
The girl was badâin a good way. She had a nice round ass on her and even though she was petite, she had curves like a thickumâhe even remembered what the lean on those curves was like. Yeah, she was all-woman. Damn, girl, he thought to himself as he watched her work the fuck out the fitted sweats she had on and a tank top that was so tight it tamed the fuck out her soft-ass titties. Even though the two of them were never technically in a relationship, the friendship they did have . . . yeah, it came with some good-ass benefits and a whole lot of memories attached. Fuck, man.
Rocco took a sly look around. He knew that even with all the family and friends present, all eyes went to Malina and company, because they were new. Roccoâs main goal was to keep the drama all the way down. Of course as soon as he looked over at the picnic table where Kia and her sister sat with some of their friends, he discovered that they were looking right at him; just as he knew they would be.
He ignored their stares and threw his waved his hand above his head so Malina could spot him and come his way as he continued his short trip to where she was.
-4-
ââSâup, girl?â Rocco greeted, leaning in to give Malina a quick hug.
Malina tensed, then pulled back from the uncomfortable embrace. âNot much,â she responded looking around cautiously.
âSâup, Laney?â he greeted, dryly.
âShit . . .â Laney responded, mimicking the same tone that heâd used.
âItâs a lot of people here,â Malina observed. âA lot of people.â
Rocco smiled. âYeah, this how we roll. The squad is deep.â
âWow. Thatâs awesome,â Laney scoffed. âAnd yet not one of them . . . never mind,â Laney said, catching herself mid-shade about to say something about how nobody even showed an interest in Mahri.
âSo, whatâs goinâ on?â Malina asked. âWhatâs the plan?â
Rocco shrugged his shoulders casually. âI was just gonna get yâall introduced to everybody and then go from there.â
âUmm, I donât need to meet anybody. You can just direct me to a seat where it ainât hella broads staring for no reason,â Laney stated. âBecause all this ice-grillinâ might cause problems that they donât want.â
âMan, yoâ ass is still thugged out. Time to mature, donât you think?â
âPssh, you donât wanna know what I think,â Laney spat. âJust show me our VIP section where we can go and be in peace while you play fake daddy.â
âLaney . . .â Malina started. She shook her head in disapproval, then lowered her eyes toward an innocent Mahri who was busy looking around at all the people.
âAlright,â Laney surrendered. âWhere can we sit at though?â
Rocco ignored Laneyâs question and her sarcasm, then kneeled down in front of Mahri and stared at her for a few long seconds before looking up at Malina. âDamn, man . . . she is hella pretty,â he complimented a blushing Mahri. âShe got that texture,â he acknowledged, carefully playing with one of her long ponytails. He chuckled as he released her hair. âAnd she got those grey eyes. I see she lookinâ just like herââ
âDonât do that, Rocco,â Malina snapped angrily. âWeâll talk to her away from here . . . later.â
âOhh, my bad,â he apologized, looking at his daughter once again. âI respect that. I canât stop looking at her though.â
âHmph,â Laney hissed. âIâll be over there at the table next to the no-manner-havinâ hoes.â
âSee ya!â Rocco said, as she walked off.
âDamn, you had to bring Mouth as your plus one, huh?â he laughed.
âYep, you know it.â
He refocused his attention on Mahri. âIâm Rocco. Whatâs your name?â he asked.
He knew that there was no way she would remember that sheâd seen him before because she was too young to remember. He felt remorseful as hell about it too. There was no reason for him to not be a father to the beautiful little girl all those years, but every time more time passed by, he felt more and more like a fuck-up for not stepping up. He couldnât promise her out loud yet, but all of that was about to change.
Mahri looked up at Malina before speaking to the stranger; then after her mother nodded her approval, Mahri looked over into Roccoâs eyes and responded, âIâm Mahri . . . itâs M-A-H-R-I.â
âOh wow, you are so smart. You spell your own name?â
âUh-huh. I spell my Mommyâs name too,â she said proudly. âItâs M-A-L-I-N-A.â
âWow, pretty girl! Can I give you a high-five?â he asked.
âYep!â she shrieked excitedly, slapping her little hand against the palm of his.
Rocco stood up. Man . . .â he sighed, slowly rubbing his hands against the sides of his low cut fade. âWe made something beautiful,â he said, in a low tone. âShe got everything of mine,â he stated proudly. âMalina, I wanna damn near cry right now. I gotta make this right. Thank you for bringing her.â
âItâs all good,â she quickly responded, trying to keep him from saying too much more that could accidentally be overheard. âThanks for the invite.â
âYou think sheâll take a walk with me?â
âWhere too?â Malina questioned.
âItâll be cool. I just wanna introduce her to a few people.â
âLike who?â Malina asked, alarmed.
âJust some of my family. I wonât introduce her as . . . you know. Iâll just introduce her as Mahri,â he promised. âIs it cool?â
âThatâs all youâre gonna do, right?â
âYeah. Iâm not doing nothinâ outside of what we talked about. I want this too bad. I wouldnât do that. You got my word.â
âOkay,â Malina reluctantly agreed.
âWe wonât be gone long.â
âAlright,â she said, slowly letting go of her babyâs hand.
Rocco jerked his head in the direction of the large spread of food across six long tables. âThereâs hella food over there, but if you wanna wait until I get back, I can make yâall plates. Even mean-ass Laney.â
Malina couldnât help but laugh. As Rocco walked in one direction with Mahri, she walked over to join Laney; periodically glancing back over her shoulder.
-5-
âWhy did you let him do that, Malina?â Laney asked. She shook her head, disapprovingly, as they both watched Mahri walk off, hand-in-hand with her dad.
Malina released a heavy sigh. âDo what, Laney?â she said; her tone low.
âTake Mahri with him. She donât know his ass like that.â
Malina was close to tears watching her baby walk off without her and not even once looking back. For whatever reason, Mahri seemed to be comfortable with Rocco, and that was rare for her to be that free with anybody outside of her maternal circle.
âI donât know, sis,â Malina finally responded. âJust felt like the right thing to do, I guess. Trust me; Iâm nervous as fuck. Watching this scene play out is like watching my heart detach from my soul.â Malina sighed deeply. âSo, yeah, I donât need you coming down on me about it. I already canât think straight.â
âI ainât gonna come down on you about it. But at the same, Iâm not just about to be all buddy-buddy with this ninja just because you are.â Laney, as Mahriâs godmother was just as protective of the baby as Malina was.
âNow you doinâ way too much. Ainât nobody buddy-buddy with him. Trust and believe that.â
âShit, I canât tell.â
âWhatever, girl. Youâre reading way more into that little-bitty-ass exchange than you need to be. Now letâs go find somewhere else to sit. Somewhere that I can still see my babyâs every move; but somewhere that ainât so close to these staring-ass chicks next to us. Iâm not tryinâ to have to pop off at somebody elseâs function.â
âYeah, letâs go ahead and do that,â Laney agreed, throwing her legs over the bench.
Together they walked to another section of the park and found a large picnic table that had a few people gathered around a game of Bones, and took a seat there. While Laney took out her phone to respond to a text message, Malina continued to watch intently as Rocco walked Mahri from one cluster of folks to the next. Rocco had picked her up and was carrying her by this time, and Malina took note of the fact that Mahri still hadnât turned around to look for her.
âUgh, she actually likes these peopleâ she mumbled, before realizing that sheâd said it loud enough to be heard.
âI was thinking the same thing,â Laney concurred with a soft chuckle. âBecause to be honest, I didnât even think weâd be here this long. I was hoping that lilâ bit was gonna start asking when she was gonna get to the swings and the slide.â
âRight?!â Malina said, throwing her head back and laughing loudly. âMahriâs over there like, âFuck what you heard!ââ
âPfft! I know one thing; thereâs a lot of damn people here. Lilâ mama got a lot of family if this is all of them.â
âAt least three of these young ones around here are her siblings. I just donât know which ones they are,â Malina shared.
âTragic. This fool just making babies all over the damn place,â Laney shot. âWait . . . who is the woman that just picked Mahri up?â she asked, preparing to get up from her bench seat.
âCalm down, killa,â Malina reasoned, lightly tugging her arm. âSheâs good. Letâs just see how it plays out. And theyâre walking this way anyway, so just put ya claws away.â
âGirrl,â Laney sighed exasperated. âI think I need something to drink to calm my nerves. I wasnât gonna drink because I gotta drive us out this place, butââ
âItâs cool. Go ahead and get you something. You did me a favor by coming with me. Iâll be our designated driver on the way home. And trust me, Iâm staying sober.â
Laney gleefully clapped her hands together. âThatâs all I needed to hear!â she exclaimed. Her brown eyes lit up with excitement, as she pulled her thick size ten frame from the bench, adjusted her skinny jeans and ran her fingers through the length of her full head of wavy micro braids.
Malina smiled because she knew that Laney was going to get so much attention the moment she burst into the fold. Her smooth, deep chocolate hue complete with Lauren London sized dimples always brought the boys to her yard. And the auburn color she chose for her human hair was sure to be an attention-grabber when it bounced off the sunâs aggressive rays.
âAre my lips good?â she asked, puckering them. âI forgot my damn lip gloss.â
âWhat you trying to do? Go over there and kiss on some boys?â
âNah, retard; but I need my lips looking nice though.â
âHa! Too funny. Yeah, theyâre good. Just donât be over there kissing on no new-new and thinking youâre gonna put those lips on my baby later! We donât play that, homey.â
âWhatever!â she said laughing. âSee you in a sec.â
âMore like a few secs!â Malina called out to her. Laneyâs response was to wag her thick tail at her while she put on an extra hard switch of her hips across the grass. âA mess . . .â Malina giggled, under her breath. âA whole entire mess.â
Malinaâs eyes scanned back in the direction of where Mahri was. She thought they were on their way to where she sat, but she noticed instead that they had detoured and were still chatting with some people. She watched in awe as Mahri was handed off, kissed and coddled. A part of Malina felt good about what appeared to be familyâprobably aunts and cousinsâtaking to Mahri, but she didnât want for all of this to be overwhelming or misleading for her baby either. Especially, if Rocco was on some temporary shit and not planning to be in her life on a consistent basis. Malina was a parent all day every day; it was a habit for her to tend to her daughterâs needs at any given moment, and she had no plans of allowing him to come in and be a parent of convenience to Mahri. It was all or nothing.
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Release Blitz- Family Ties by Perri Forrest
Title: Family Ties: Love Has No Boundaries
Author: Perri Forrest
Genre: African American Romance, African American Fiction
Release Date: November 14, 2016
Publisher: Self Published
Book Blurb
Malina
Everything I do is for my daughter. I only want the best for her life. So when her father finally decided that after three years he wanted to get to know her, I put my feelings aside and allowed him in. Not to be with me, but to be a daddy to her. Well, a few things came with him that I wasnât prepared forâa crazy ass girlfriend who wanted to guard her territory at any cost and a fine ass uncle that made it clear he wanted my attention.
My sister/friend Laney is telling me to go for it, but my conscience is messing with me on a daily and telling me that itâs just too close for comfort. But the heart wants what the heart wants and before long, I start to feel that pull toward this man who makes me feel like no other man ever has.
Zeke
When I first saw Malina, I knew I had to have her. Yeah, thereâs code that says if your family has touched the merchandise, then you donât entertain it. But Malina isnât just any woman. Because not one woman that Iâve ever encountered made me want to reach out and touch her on sightâbut she did. From the way she carried herself, to the way she looked at me, I knew that if she let me in, she would know what it was like to be loved for real . . . and by a real man.
Rocco
Iâm not perfect by any means. Iâve done my share of dirt. I canât even say for sure that my dirty deeds are done. I love women . . . a lot of them. As a result, Iâve had a few babies along the wayâbabies that I havenât always done right by; so Iâm setting out to change that and do what a real father is supposed to do. Problem is the woman Iâm âwithâ doesnât really grasp the concept of what it is Iâm trying to do and her reaction to it all causes a whole lot of chaos.
Kai
Iâm territorial. I donât make excuses for it. Itâs who I am. And when I feel that somebody is trying to step into my zone and steal what belongs to me,
I react. This chick, Malina, who opened her legs to my man and had his child, thinks sheâs going to come in with her daughter and claim a spot that never belonged to her. Sheâs dead wrong. If I have to show her what that means, thatâs what itâll be. But she wonât like it if it does come down to that, so if I was her, Iâd tread carefully.
âFamily Tiesâ is a love story at its core, but inside of this love story, many other themes appear; the primary one being that love really has no boundaries when it comes to familyâŠ
Click here to read a full 6,000 word excerpt http://www.perriforrest.com/category/family-ties/
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0DAVG9/
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540367401/
Perri Forrest
Perri Forrest is a California based author with seventeen titles to her credit. A writer who becomes one with her characters, Perri has produced numerous outstanding titles including having reached number one in African American Romance on the Amazon Best Sellers list. The fan favorite novel, Captivated was an international hit debuting at number two in Women’s Fiction for three consecutive weeks on the Amazon Best Sellers list in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Having studied psychology, Perri delves into the intrinsic elements that make her characters tick. She consistently creates strong female leads weaving in the complexities of fiction and real life. This dynamic writer, who has penned
stories since a preteen, ensures that each novel is mixed with insight, passion and love. Having only professionally written for just shy of three years, Perri was nominated Best Romance Author of 2015 by Urban Books, Authors, and Writers of America (UBAWA).
An unintentional venture into blogging allowed Perri to express her raw emotion, break down her personal barriers and explore her gift of writing. Ultimately Perri’s blogs resulted in fans adoring her work and clamoring to read more. Writing quickly became her sole driving force, her goal is to nurture the minds and hearts of the readers who trust her to feed their literary appetites.
When not creating her own captivating characters, Perri can be found enjoying a good suspense thriller. She lists the work of James Patterson, Terry McMillan and Jackie Collins as being among her favorites. She also loves playing Words with Friends, which has been a constant companion while writing the bulk of her literary works.
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