New Release! Shot Through The Heart

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 ***PLEASE NOTE***

This is not Ballad Of A Bad Bitch 4 OR Hoes Be Winning 4- This book can be read as a stand alone story.

Have you ever sat and talked with God and asked him what have you done to be treated so badly?  Nicole Evans has spent the last year and a half of her life having this same conversation with God. Over and over. Quite honestly, Nicole has been talking so loudly in fact she isn't hearing God whisper back to her " Just wait, I have a love planned for you that will surpass everything you thought you wanted."

After the demise of her relationship with long-time boyfriend DonTravious ,Nicole thought God had truly blessed her the day Kendrick Taylor walked into her life, her prayers for a lasting love had been answered. Life with him was bliss until he walked out of her life without a second thought leaving her more broken and alone than she'd ever felt. Nicole resigned herself to the fact she was going to be alone. She was tired of looking for love and only being left out in the cold. She was content to mourn the love she'd lost…or rather never had with a now happily married Kendrick.

Jeremiah gave his all to the woman he loved rising R&B star Mia King. He took her out of a negative living environment taking on the responsibilities of a man when he was barely into adulthood. Jeremiah even took on the responsibility of raising another man's child without a second thought. He was a man in love and as long as he had Mia and their son Jacobi, he felt like he had everything. Jeremiah was ready to conquer the world. In fact he felt he was almost at the top of the mountain when his world came crumbling down. With one fateful trip to Texas, Jeremiah soon found out that everything he thought he knew about Mia was a lie. A year and a half later, Jeremiah is richer than ever but his heart is cold. Straight savage when it came to any thoughts of love. The only purpose women served for him were to meet his physical needs.

That is until one night of conducting business leads him straight into the arms of a woman he thinks is certifiably crazy. Though in the game of love a little bit of crazy may be just what you need to make your world feel sane.

Rest In Paradise Prince....

Well today is a sad day for Prince fans around the world. Another legendary icon gone way too soon.

I'm sad.

I adored this man's music especially his earlier works. I can remember my then teenage cousins exposing me to his work in the 80's and I've been a fan every since. I can vividly recall standing in line at the Totem movie theater with my best-friend to see Purple Rain. Sigh. This hit me hard today. I'd just sat down to the computer a little after 8am this morning preparing for a day of writing for next months new release.Needless to say my day has been shot to hell. I thought to myself why is his death hitting me so hard? We've lost many other musical icons. Micheal Jackson, Whitney Houston but this is hitting me a little hard I think because as a celebrity, I admired the way he conducted himself. I liked that he was private. I enjoyed the fact that with Prince, all you had to do is enjoy the music. If he was a drug user, he was private about it.Know what I mean? His every indiscretion wasn't splashed all over the news. If it was, it was in small doses. He was about the music and any public controversies he had were about his music. There's more I could say but honestly I'm too sad to write about it. My day will consist of listening to my favorite Prince songs. The man has left us ,but his music will live on. Rest In Peace Prince Rogers Nelson.

Stop With The Bullshit...

This is a vent post so you've been warned.

So last night I was looking over my books on Amazon and noticed one had a new review. I click on it to read of course. It was a 2 star review which didn't bother me in the least. Before I go any further first let me say this, when I took the leap into being an Author I knew my skin had to be tough ( nothing new for me, I'm already a tough cookie! ) I knew my writing wouldn't be for everyone. I anticipated some Readers would try, but would just not like my writing style or a particular story. That's to be expected for even the most seasoned Author. I even resolved to do this once I became a published Author, I don't post reviews.It's rare that I ever post a review. I support Authors I know and don't know by purchasing their books and reading them but as I stated above, I just may not like your book and if I don't, I'm not going to lie about it. But as a fellow Author I will never leave a bad review. 

Now please don't misconstrue what I'm saying to mean others shouldn't leave bad reviews if they felt a book was bad. I'm not. Here's my issue.

Please,please,PLEASE don't use MY book to vent about what the hell you feel is wrong with the state of Urban Fiction. That shit has NOTHING to do with me OR my book!

This particular Reviewer went on to say something along the lines of hating all the series and Authors are putting out 1,2,3,4,5,6 books ( her words not mine ). Look lady, in my entire roster of books I have 2 Trilogies period. My first book was a series that I put out monthly. ( ParkCrest View- The Love Chronicles ) Both of which I was very upfront about in regards to being a series or 2 part story. If those aren't your type of books, simply keep it moving and don't read any of them. Then you wouldn't have to complain at all would you? As for the series this particular review was on, I took particular offence to it because it's always been CLEARLY labelled as a two part series and to add insult to injury, part one is permanently FREE. 

So what was the point of you putting all that in your review?

Granted I understand what you said. I get it. My point is this, take that shit to the Authors that are dragging their series out to 6 or more books!( keeping in mind you have the option to STOP at any time, so even those Authors have not wronged you. You may not like it, but you either make a choice to continue the series or not.)

You bought ONE book lady! 

And I'd be hard pressed to believe you didn't return that after you read it and left me a shitty review that really didn't touch on the book at all.

This Reviewers next complaint was the lack of in her words "spice" which I found hilarious! Say what you really mean. You wanted to read more fuck scenes. Period. Talking about you were bored and flipping pages. No you were flipping pages to read more fuck scenes.

Let me tell you this, I will NEVER be one of those Authors that writes a book and every three pages there is a sex scene that adds absolutely NOTHING to the story-line( I stopped reading one of my FAVORITE Authors when she started doing this shit!). Any sex scene I include in my books will flow within the context of the story. So if you're looking for that type of book, go find it. There are plenty of Urban Fiction books that cater to your "spice" level. I write about relationships and various situations. Also let me clue you in on something. You can read all the " spice " want in a genre of books called EROTICA!  Where did you read on the Amazon listing that the book you were purchasing by me was erotica? I created the listing so I know for a FACT you couldn't have been expecting those characters to be fucking from the windows to the walls in MY book.

 I'll wait.

That's what I thought.

At any rate, thanks for the review...

So to end this blog post let me reiterate. I'm not upset about the 2 star review. I've had them before and I'll have them again. Hell even one stars. Shoot, I even have people buying and reading books that never review at all and that's okay as well. It would be nice if all my books had reviews on them no matter the rating, but I do know my books are being supported by Readers purchasing them. That's the most I can expect. I just ask that when you do leave a review , have what you write down for the world to see be an accurate description of the book. This reader could have easily just said that the book was boring. I would have had no complaint because that would have been her truth. But all that other BS wasn't warranted. Just as she so freely left her opinion, here is mine on the matter.

Update:

Curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on this particular

 reviewers Amazon profile.

You mean to tell me you're such an avid reader that the only book reviews you've EVER left were for my Soul Cry series? She gave book one a 4 star review, book 2 a 2 star review and another book a 5 star review all on April 18th 2016. The only other review was for some headphones in January 2016. Where are all the 2 star reviews you should have left for all the 1-6 book series you're so upset about? Because it most certainly isn't my series. Then you have the audacity to have a part FIVE book on your wishlist? I guess you don't hate multiple book series THAT damn much. I call a bullshit ass review and Reviewer.

Also feel free to check out the series, lots of Readers absolutely loved the series. Part 1 is free.

Grab it!

Grab it!

What's Up With That Cover ?

So Readers, how do you feel about Authors using what I can only describe as "seemingly" racially ambiguous cover models on their books? In the past few months I've noticed a trend in Urban Fiction cover art. Namely White women on the cover of Urban Fiction books. Is this misleading?

Now let me be clear. I could give less than a damn if there is a White woman on an Urban Fiction book cover but as a READER, when I crack the book open, there better be a White woman in the damn book! Don't let me open the book and there's not a white character to be found in the damn story. And the woman isn't passing for a mixed-race woman either. She's straight up White. Now I could go into the whole description topic, but that's a whole other issue. Today we're just discussing cover art.

I ran across a cover I LOVED! The woman didn't really look African-American to me so what did I do? I tailored my story around the way the cover model looked. ( Pretty.Young.Thugs. I also gave a detailed reason as to why the character looked the way she did and how it all played into the story.- I'll show the cover in this post.)

For ME if there isn't a White woman in the story-line somewhere, why is she on the cover? Now I realize there is a huge shortage of African-American stock photos available for use. I get it. But this is also where I think standards of beauty come in.There are tons of Black women available but some are dismissed because they don't look a certain way or have characteristics either the Author or Designer finds unattractive.

Every cover doesn't need to have a big booty woman on the damn cover. YEAH I SAID IT! I'll take it even further, every cover doesn't even need a person on the cover! I myself am going to explore my options in regards to this. Why not? Every other genre of writing embraces a multitude of options in regards to cover art. Why shouldn't Urban Fiction?

It's gotten so bad in Urban Fiction, some Authors and Designers are resorting to just stealing celebrity pictures off the internet and slapping them on the cover.

Surely you didn't think we the public wouldn't recognize that celebrity did you? Tisk,tisk. Anyway, that's my observation of the day.

Shout Outs,Thanks & Love

 I appreciate my Readers all over the world but today I wanted to send out a special hello. I've noticed through looking at my stats at various sales venues that my Readers are increasing in Guyana and Great Britain. So I wanted to take a moment to say a virtual "Hello" and thank you for checking out my work.
I hope you're enjoying the stories. Thank you,Candace/Ms.Bam

My Favorite Author.....

Just a quick blog post today to share my absolute FAVORITE Author. J. California Cooper. If you're a lover of African-American fiction, you are truly doing yourself a disservice if you haven't read her work. Her writing draws you completely in and brings out emotions you have that were just underneath the surface on so many topics, love,betrayal, self-esteem,family issues, you name it.

Ms. Cooper passed away in 2014 and what a legacy of literature she has left for us. Also PLEASE don't be put off by the fact some books are comprised of short stories. Each story is fully developed with amazing characters.

Check out J.California Cooper !

Candace ( Or Insert Various Pen Name) Where's the damn book?

Okay, this is a touchy topic but I feel like I should address it. Some may not agree with me saying it. But it is what it is. So here goes.
There are some readers who've read certain books by me who I know wonder where is the conclusion to the goddamn book Candace? I've been waiting YEARS for this and it hasn't been released yet? What kind of Author are you? Do you write that slow? Hell did you forget you wrote the book at all and didn't conclude it?
Well here's the answer to the this nagging, pesky question.
I write books for a living. Not for a hobby, to kill time or any of the other millions of reasons people write books. Here's an upfront apology from me to those waiting on a few series conclusions. I AM SORRY. I really am. But as stated above, I do this for a living and to provide for my children. If I release a book and it doesn't take off the way that I, CANDACE determines it needs to. It gets shelved and will be finished when have the time to do it.
Now first let me state this. I'm not the type of person who determines if a book is a hit by it topping the Amazon charts etc.. ( there are dozens of places to sell books, Amazon is only one. ) but if it's a slow seller and the people who do purchase it are silently supporting the book, by not leaving reviews,commenting on social media, telling their friends so they in turn buy the book. I REALLY have no way of knowing if anyone is interested in a conclusion to the book.
I have no problem being inboxed on various social media spots and being asked about my books. I love it in fact. But before you inbox me about a book,please leave a review. I've had awesome compliments on book in my inbox. Copy and paste what you said in my inbox on a review where you bought the book in addition to speaking to me. Also it will take more than one person asking me over and over about it for me to take the time out of a very busy schedule to write it as well.
I regrettably gave a reader a release date on one such book and was unable to meet that deadline. Once again SORRY but this is the reason why. Hopefully by my putting this out here Readers understand more the business side of being an Author. Yes we write for the love of it, but for a lot of us books are also a business and as the old saying goes, if it don't make dollars, it don't make sense! Thanks for your understanding~ Candace

Fool Me Not!

Can you believe some people actually plot all month long on what type of prank the can pull off April 1st? I'm like Sweet Georgia Brown " Ain't no one got time for that!".Though I wont be so much of a grouch that I couldn't appreciate a REALLY well played practical joke. But when I find out it's just a joke, be prepared for me to be mad at you for at least three days. Don't play with my damn emotions!

I Got Sucked In ....

When I heard there was going to be a T.V. series involving the OJ Simpson trial, I groaned...loudly. I thought to myself I'll be damned if I waste a second of my time investing in a show about the coon, yes I said COON named OJ Simpson.
I just couldn't do it. Then my dear friend Ebonik Gibson told me I was missing out and how great the show was. Since she's my oldest friend and I respect her opinion I reconsidered. It took me DAYS to actually dig it up to watch it but when I did? I was hooked!
Here's what I loved about the episodes I watched ( 9 thus far. At this writing I think there are 10 available to watch ) the series is more concentrating on the interaction between all of the lawyers and what they go through trying to prosecute/defend OJ. So if you're on the fence about watching the story of a man who got away with murder ( we all know he did it. Fuck that glove not fitting!) give the series a chance. Also Courtney B. Vance is so under-rated as an actor. He was born to play the role of Johnny Cochran.

The Fuckery Is Real....

Now I'm sorry. For me this surpasses the boundaries of artistry. Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you should! This picture is old but still relevant. This is along the same line of Zoe Saldana in black-face portraying Nina Simone. With so many gorgeous African-American/African models, why did he feel the need to "make" one?
How many racists in the industry will resort to doing this instead of hiring actual models of color.