On Conversations: #AAMBC #author Mona

Please join me in welcoming author Mona to Conversations today! Mona is here to talk about her novel, A Thug and A Gentleman! So be sure and check out the cover, blurb and excerpt below! And don't forget to check out her interview too and get to know Mona.

Lisa ~

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A THUG AND A GENTLEMAN
Misa's Story

“Sometimes the most dangerous things are the most beautiful.” – Misa

Like the old saying goes: two wrongs don’t make a right. But for Misa, who’s unhappy in her marriage to Jason, two wrongs make for a happy life. Jason works tirelessly to give his wife everything her heart desires, but all she wants is his heart. While engaging in a little retail therapy, she runs across Thomas, an up and coming kingpin with a degree from Georgia Tech. They start a friendship that quickly turns into something more, and Thomas gives Misa everything she misses at home. But when her deception begins to hit too close to home, she takes off to Chicago to clear her head.

Thomas sees women as stallions; the freakier they are in bed, the better. He needs someone who understands his stamina and can go along for the ride as long as she knows her place in his life: temporary. Misa ignited a fire in him that he thought died a long time ago with his daughter’s mother Brielle, who left him and Atlanta with his friend Ricky after dropping their daughter off at his mother’s house.  When Brielle suddenly reappears out of the blue and wants her family back, Thomas has a choice to make between the woman who bore his child and the woman who holds his heart.

Brielle has a few secrets of her own. Once she touches back down in the A, she finds the family she thought she had moved on without her, and Thomas’ time occupied by a mystery woman. Using a little conniving mixed with a lot of feminine tricks, she discovers who stole her family and sets out on a path to destroy her enemy. But will her plan work, or does it backfire on her in the worst way?

Misa meets a stranger in Chicago who consoles her in the most perfect way while reminding her of what’s important. When a few weeks in the Windy City turn into a few months, the perfect affair morphs into the perfect storm. Will Misa weather the storm with her husband, or her side piece? Follow along as she finds out the hard way to love the one you’re with and Misa’s side pieces tell the age old tale of ‘When Loving You Is Wrong, I Don’t Wanna Be Right’.




Excerpt from A Thug and A Gentleman

It all started a year and a half ago when I stopped off at Lenox Mall for a little retail therapy. I’d just left the Louis Vuitton store and was on my way to Nordstrom’s when I collided with a chocolate Adonis. Standing six feet even, he was everything I loved in my husband without being Jason. Broad chest, firm upper arms, perfect lips; not too big, but not too small and the waves in his low Caesar cut would make you seasick. The only difference between him and my husband was that where Jason was bare faced, this man had a goatee that looked like it was painted on. I had to stop myself from reaching up to touch his face and confirm whether or not my suspicions were correct.

“Excuse me miss lady, you aight?” he asked as I steadied myself.

“Yes, yes I’m fine,” I stuttered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you standing there.”

“You good,” he replied as he licked his lips. “Yea, you real good,” he said as he continued to stare me up and down. Something about the look in his eyes made me want to know more about him. Who was I kidding? I had a great man at home…right? Well, I had a great man that put me in a beautiful home who spoiled me. Whether he was there or not remained to be seen. “You need some help with those bags?” I saw his lips form a question as I found myself caught up in his looks.

“Huh? Oh, no, no I’m fine,” I answered as he gently took my bags from my hands.

“Don’t worry about it miss lady, I got it. My parents raised me right,” he smiled as we walked through the mall together. “By the way, my name is Thomas, but the streets call me Tremor.”

“Tremor? Why would anyone call you Tremor?”

He flashed me a panty-dropping smile, and I almost handed mine over, right in the middle of Lenox Mall. “I’ll tell you about that later. What’s your name, love?”

“Monique,” I replied with no shame.

“Monique, huh. Where we on our way to, Monique?”

“Nordstrom’s. I gotta go grab something for my…” I stopped. Did I want to tell him I was married? I mean, I guess he could’ve figured it out from a glance at the five carats on my right hand.

“Something for your what? Your man?”

I shook my head furiously. “No, something for my mother. Her birthday is tomorrow,” I lied. My mother’s birthday was last month.

He stopped and grinned in my direction. “So you mean to tell me a fine woman such as yourself don’t have a man? I don’t believe that.”

“Well, I just got out of a relationship,” I was starting to not recognize myself with all of these lies. “I moved down here to start fresh, you know?”

“Yea, I know what you mean. My girl, well my ex, seemed to feel the same way. She dropped my daughter off at my momma house and said she needed a fresh start too. That was about three years ago now.”

I was shocked. How could a woman just up and leave her daughter like that? But there are two sides to every story, and I wasn’t exactly the perfect woman. At least she left her baby with her father. “Wow, sorry to hear that,” I replied as we reached Nordstrom’s. “Well, here’s my destination. Thank you Thomas for carrying my things.”

“I’ll shop with you. You definitely need the help, especially since you’re just going to add to your bag count,” he smirked.

“Well, don’t you have your own shopping to do?”

“That can wait, I’m not in any rush. Plus, I hate to see a woman in distress,” he flashed his pearly whites at me again. I gotta get used to this Southern hospitality.

He tagged along as I walked through the store. I picked up a few things for my mom, and stopped to grab some sexy lingerie for what I hoped would be my lucky night with my husband.

“Mmm, not that one,” he said as I picked up a white lace teddy with matching garter belt. “That’s too uppity. Get that one,” he pointed at a silk green bra and panty set. “That’ll look good on you. Brings out your eyes. And I’ll have fun taking it off of you too,” he whispered as his face grazed my ear.

I subconsciously reached for the set he suggested, then stopped. “What makes you think I’m getting this for your viewing pleasure?” I asked coyly.

“Who else would you be getting it for?” he answered my question with a question. The slight demand in his tone secretly made me hot.

“Not you!” I replied playfully. “As a matter of fact, why are you over here telling me what I should and shouldn’t get? Are you in the habit of telling strangers what kind of panties to wear?”

“Not all strangers. Only the ones that I have plans to be my wife,” he replied confidently as he picked up the panties and walked to the cash register. “Go ahead and finish shopping, I’ll grab this for you to have when you ready to stop playing and come home.”

As I watched him walk to the register, I was intrigued by his overall swagger. I figured there wouldn’t be any harm in exchanging contact information with him, Thomas seemed like he would be a lot of fun to have around. I completely ignored the small voice in my head that said this man would be trouble.



Interview with Mona aka Freida

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

My inspiration comes from growing up in the inner city of Chicago. I also get ideas from what is current in the news on any given day.

When did you first start writing?

Honestly, I started writing at the age of seven. My teachers recognized my skill early, and I was always the unanimous choice when it came to picking a student to send to composition competitions at the city level. I saw it as a day out of school with no consequences. I read a lot, and by the age of nine I started writing short stories.

Do you like to create books for adults?

I love writing fiction books! My books are mainly urban fiction, but I’ve also penned an urban erotica read with one in the works.

How many books have you written and which is your favorite?

Currently I have ten books and co-authored three anthology series published. My eleventh book will be available this month, and I have a few projects that I’m working on with some great authors.

If you could spend a day with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

That’s a tough one, because most of my main characters are women who are strong in their own right. If I absolutely had to choose, it would be Athena from my Chi Town’s Queen series. Not your typical queen pin from the hood, there were two sides to her: the ruthless queen of the criminal underworld, but she also was very loving and caring when it came to those close to her.

What do you think makes a good story?

A good story is something different from the typical. We as urban fiction writers are always compared to one another by the readers, so my objective is to give the readers something different. Urban America is more than just kingpins and drug dealers, my stories tell the tales of strong women who do more than club and shop.

Any advice for aspiring authors?

Throw away any preconceived notions that you might have about the industry, not every authors reality will necessarily be yours. Develop a thick skin, because readers can be vicious in their reviews. Meditate, pray and meditate some more. Then turn on your laptop and create your best work.



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