March Madness, Eartha Watts-Hicks

Another day of March Madness brings Eartha Watts-Hicks your way. Let's welcome her and see what she has in store today.

"Love Changes is a heartfelt, touching and compelling story about the pitfalls of looking for love outside, without first learning to love yourself, and of the beauty that follows when you discover the joy of self-love." David Lamb, Award-winning playwright Platanos Y Collard Greens

LOVE CHANGES is a cautionary tale about a single mother torn between the father of her baby and her (male) best friend during the Summer of 1995.

Find out why my debut novel LOVE CHANGES is NOW setting women's book club discussions ablaze.

EXCERPT FROM LOVE CHANGES:

“Can we switch mothers?”

“Dawn told her about the keys, huh,” Romell laughed.

I know he thought I was stupid for telling her. Dawn’s mouth was bigger than her behind. But with all my girlfriends out of state—and me with no long distance carrier—who else would I call about girl stuff? Mommy? I sucked my teeth. “Are you a psychic friend?”

“Nah, my advice is free. Next time, save yourself the trouble. Tell your mom from the get-go like I suggested.”

“Whose side are you on?”

“Chocolate, when it comes to you and your family, I blow the whistle and wear the stripes. Now, hold on. I have someone on the other line.” The phone line clicked twice, but the call switched back to me. Romell’s voice had turned to syrup. “Yeah, Akasma. Like I was saying, I feel real bad. I really do, because you and I have a lot of fun together. But, I’ve got to be honest. We don’t have much in common. So, I guess—”

I cut Romell off, doing my best to imitate his voice but sounding more like Cookie Monster, “It’s best that we just be friends.” I got a chuckle out of him, so I kept it up. “The last thing I want to do is waste your time. I’d still like us to hang out once in a while, if that’s okay with you.” I closed by saying, “And the Oscar goes to….”

Romell’s voice was just above a whisper but it had bass—that combination could lull me right to sleep or wake me up from it. Even though I didn’t sound a bit like him, I knew I had the script down cold, because he was still laughing when he said, “Trust me, Chocolate. If I ever give you something stiff, bare naked, and about that size…it won’t be an Oscar. Now, knock it off. She won’t buy it, unless I’m composed.”

I never bought into any of his flirting. Romell and I were just friends. Actually, Romell was my closest friend. An investment banker, big and built, bald, brown, and dimpled, but he was a mess. Not only did he collect women like he did luxury timepieces, he remained unattached and had absolutely no time for “sistahs.” He even had the nerve to have very specific taste. His type was blue-eyed, with big lips, hips, boobies, and black girl booty, courtesy of Stairmaster.
Romell was back on the line with me sooner than I expected. “Okay, what’s the story?”

“Do you want the whole story or the abbreviated version?”

“The truth, Chocolate! Don’t add any plot twists or cliffhangers. Just tell me what happened. I know how you are.”

“Well, first of all, Mommy shows up here unannounced and uninvited. She doesn’t even bother to say hello, right? She just pushes past me, gruntin’ and complaining. ‘Hmmh, you look tired. Hmmh, this place is disgustin.’ And I’m tryna be nice. I’m like, ‘Hi, Mommy. You look great. Would you like something to drink?’ She ignores me, walking all through here like she owns the place, turning her nose up at everything.”

“Okay, that’s nothing new.”

“Wait, let me finish. It gets better. She snatches Tee-Bo from me and starts yelling, ‘He looks horrible! What kinda mother are you? You ain’t doing nothin’ for his rash!’ And then she starts calling Spider all kinds of broke bums, while she is holding my baby. So I try to take him to put him in the room, and Mommy is snatching him from me, and we are having a tug of war with my baby. Tee-Bo is screaming at the top of his lungs. Finally, I pry him from her vice grip, take him back in the room, and calm him down. I come back and Mommy starts shaking me like I’m a two year old, pointin’ to the mirror, saying ‘Hmmh, look at you. You’re busted! Ain’t no man ever gonna marry you! I don’t know why I wasted my money on your education! You ain’t nothin’ but a fool!’ And then, she hauls off and slaps me!”

“Whoa, time out!” Romell whistled.

“Chocolate, come on now. That’s foul!”

“What? You think I’m lying?”

“I know you’re lying! I’m just trying to find the nugget of truth in this gold mine of yours.”

GET YOUR COPY:

Kindle Editions are currently available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.

The Complete Revised Edition of LOVE CHANGES (which includes all licensed music content, the Music Index, Reading Group Guide, and Excerpt from Chocolate Love) can be purchased on Amazon. (Autographed copies available through my Earthatone website)

CLICK to PURCHASE http://ow.ly/INWgc

The Complete Revised Edition of LOVE CHANGES (all 56 chapters, which includes licensed music content, the Music Index, Reading Group Guide, and Excerpt from Chocolate Love) can be purchased through my Earthatone website and can also be purchased on Amazon. http://ow.ly/PFfuG

Also, discounts on bulk orders to book clubs and women's organizations. Email Requests to Earthatone@aol.com or visit my website www.earthatone.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eartha Watts-Hicks is the founder of Earthatone Enterprises, LLC and Earthatone Books. She is a fellow of the Center for Black Literature and the Hurston-Wright Foundation, as well as a member of the acclaimed Harlem Writers Guild. In June of 2013, Eartha Watts-Hicks received the Just R.E.A.D. 'literary game changers' Award by the NYCHA branch of the NAACP and was named a NAACP New York City ambassador for literacy. Her title has been featured in the New York Amsterdam News, January Magazine, FAN Magazine, Harlem World Magazine, and was selected for the 2014 Congressional Black Caucus.

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Chelle Ramsey