Juicy Robinson was the color of sweet black licorice, of a charcoal briquette soaked in lighter fluid and no one was going to make her feel like she wasn’t the sexiest thing around—not the white people that her mother had taught her to distrust and certainly not the homeless white man that watches her from the alley.
This is the story of a woman that spent much of her adolescence being bullied because of her dark skin and weight until circumstances forced her to stand up for herself. Now, as an adult, Juicy has grown into a woman that is filled with anger and a distrust of whites instilled in her by her mother. After an altercation, Juicy finds herself rescued by an unlikely individual; a white, homeless man that she has thoughtlessly nick-named; ‘Mr. Cracker.’ After exploring mutual stereotypes and attempting to understand their differences, Juicy and Mr. Cracker find themselves drawn to each other. Out of a sense of loneliness and true friendship the two outcasts finally find something deeper than friendship and their journey to self discovery begins.
Excerpt:
"Don't, Juicy. We can talk without getting mad at each other. I like you...and I just want you to understand me." When she didn't answer he slowly released her hand and took a step away from her. "I guess it doesn't matter." Troy rubbed his hair, ruffling the damp ringlets. Then he shrugged. "There are two worlds. I live in the invisible one and you live in the real one." He raised both palms up in defeat. "Those two worlds don't mix."
Juicy thought before speaking. "I agree with you that there are two worlds, maybe even more. I don't know exactly where I fit in. I'm not really a part of either. Maybe I'm crazy. I guess I am. But I'm trying. I'm trying hard not to judge you. You saved my life-"
"Now you want to save mine?"
She nodded slowly.
Troy secured the fold in his towel then pulled her into his arm. "I don't need to be saved, Juicy, because I'm okay with me."
She closed her eyes and relaxed against Troy's warm body. He squeezed her firmly and carefully nuzzled the side of her head with his chin.
"I can take care of myself..." He paused. "...and if you need me to, I can take care of you, too."
"What does that mean?" She lifted her head quickly to look at him.
He stared at her for a long time before answering. "What do you want it to mean, Juicy?"
"I don't want it to mean anything, Troy." She backed away from him…
Word count: 83, 560
Thank you. This is my favorite story, you have made my day a little brighter. Yay!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Nicolette. This one is very special to me too. When I was doing the final edit for epublishing I fell in love with it all over again and laughed at the funny parts and teared up at the sad ones. I think this is a good story to epublish.
ReplyDelete:)
ReplyDelete-392OhMyGoodness
Hi Pep, I would like to purchase Juicy the novel, but I don't have an e-reader....Is it possible that I could just download the book in pdf format to my laptop?
ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteYes it is possible and easy to read an e-book without an e-reader. Just go to Amazon/Kindle or Barnes and Noble and right where you purchase and see information about the book they will have a link to a free reading App. Once you download that free reading App the stories will automatically convert right there on your computer. Best of all is that there are plenty of free books that you can also get. I'll include the links here.
Free reading app for B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/nook-for-pc/379002322/
Free reading app for Amazon/Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_ipad_mkt_lnd?docId=1000493771#
There are also free reading apps for phones and various types of computers.
Thanks for the question!
Ok, great! Thanks! Can't wait to read Juicy the novel :-)
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteOk this is a dumb question, but who is OSHA(not the gov, right?) and will there be a Juicy part two? I didn't get a chance to read the novel when you posted it on here (I planned on buying it regardless though :)), so forgive me if you might have already answered those questions.
Thanks and I LOVED LOVED LOVED the novel!
Hi Anonymous. OSHA is the occupational safety and health association. They are the organization that assures a safe and clean workplace. Actually there is not going to be a part 2 of Juicy but that doesn't mean that the characters won't reappear.
ReplyDeleteSince the majority of my stories are centered in Cincinnati, chances are that one of my characters might run into Juicy, Troy, Baby Girl and the mean boss...etc.
Thanks for the support!