Fab Friday Features, Michelle Lynn Stephens...

 Single Mama Dating Drama
 
Blurb:
 
Single Mama dating! It doesn't get any more complicated than that. How can you find love when you have a career and kids? Where can you find that love connection? Is he on-line, in church, standing in front of the grapefruit in the grocery store? In these hilarious and heart-warming stories, you'll find single moms finding love in the most interesting of places, all while steering clear of the crazies, the lazies and definitely, the shadies.
 
In Single Mama Dating Drama, seventeen talented writers share fictional stories about the woes, pitfalls, and joys of dating while raising kids. It includes Michelle Lynn Stephens’ tale, Born Again Virgin, where some unholy choices lead to holy drama on a divorcee's journey back to church in search of the peace of mind she can't seem to find. These captivating stories are sure to make you laugh, shake your head, clutch your pearls, and cheer for these mamas and all their dating drama!
 
 
  
Excerpt:
 
Born Again Virgin
by Michelle Lynn Stephens
 
“I AM SO OUTTA HERE!”
I shoved the last of my things into the backseat of my Honda. I had left a workaholic for an alcoholic who thought he could control my every move. It was time for me to find what I was really looking for. The little apartment that I was moving into wasn’t so bad. It was small, but it would be ours. All to ourselves with me in charge. This would be a first. The girls and I had to learn to share a bathroom, but hey, nobody would be leaving the toilet seat up. No dictating. No dominating. Nobody stomping around complaining about how I overcooked dinner. Knowing I am the Crockpot Queen and had me trying to fix some steaks. I like to dump some beef stew in a pot, turn the dial and let it do its thing. Good to go for a whole week. My girls missed that freezer full of choices, but that was the price of freedom.

Jimmy pulled up in his Mercedes and stumbled out the door in his Sunday best. It was his praying
Grandmother that kept him and that car in one piece after his weekly drinking binges. Lord knows he never listened to nothing I had to say about it.

“Hey! Hey, what you doing? You tryin’ to leave me again?  You ain’t got nowhere to go. You won’t have nothin’. No house, no big-screen, no fancy car and no good eatin’. I take good care of you. Who you think gonna take you on them trips now? Ain’t nobody gone do you like I do.”

The brand new Brooks Brother suit he left home wearing yesterday morning was now unkempt and stained with evidence of appetizers from his favorite nightspot. I stared at him in disgust as the late afternoon sun reflected in his glassy, bloodshot eyes. I stretched out my hand to keep him at arm’s length to avoid the smell of alcohol escaping from his pores.

 “Jimmy, please. You’re drunk! I can’t do this anymore. All those things are great, but guess what, they are not enough for me to stick around with all your fussing, cussing and wandering ways. My girls are about to be teenagers and they need to see how a man is supposed to treat a lady. Being around you won’t cut it.”

“Hey, I ain’t perfect, but I love them girls like they my own. I wouldn’t do nothing to hurt them. You got that, mama? Nothing.”

“Oh, so coming in here all hours of the night busting up walls, furniture and blasting Rick James is nothing?”

“I ain’t did no stuff like that in a while. I’m working on my drinking. I promise. Don’t go, Baby Girl.”

“You’re working on it, huh?” I sniffed, just for effect. “You reek of straight vodka, but you working on it? You know what? Never mind. I thought I would be out before you came back home, so you are definitely in early, but it’s not enough. It’s over.”

My 6’ 5” nephew cranked up the moving truck I had rented and made his presence known. The two military vets had an instant understanding. Jimmy immediately stopped his begging, stepped backwards and surrendered with his hands in the air.

“Alright, Layla. If you say so. But, I got a feeling you’ll be back. Just like last time.”

I shook my head. “Not this time, Jimmy. This is goodbye.”
 
 
Sales Links:
 
Kindle Version: http://goo.gl/zWf8qu           
Autographed Paperback: https://divasheart.selz.com
 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michelle Lynn Stephens hails from Durham, North Carolina and is an inspirational writer who encourages others to make comebacks out of setbacks while they overcome life’s obstacles through faith and perseverance. She is the author of The Divorcée Chronicles: Diary of a Divorcée Diva and co-author of the Brown Girls Books anthology, Single Mama Dating Drama. In addition to writing, she enjoys singing, acting and performing spoken word poetry. She is a member of World Overcomers Christian Church.
 
 
 
Website: https://www.michellelynnstephens.com
 
Blog: https://www.adivasheart.blogspot.com
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adivasheart
 
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/adivasheart
 
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/michellelynnstephens
 

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