After toiling away all pandemic long, my labor of love is finally here, y’all! I’m so excited to announce that my debut novel, Beauty Beheld, is now available everywhere books are sold! Follow this link to support a local bookstore.
When people ask me how I got the idea for Beauty Beheld, they’re often stunned by my response. Specifically the second part. After finishing my upcoming novel, Beauty Betrayed, I decided to write a few extra chapters to be used for the beginning. Given Patience’s questionable choices in Betrayed, I wanted to give her more of a backstory. That backstory took on a life of its own and thus, Beauty Beheld was born. Now, for the stunning part. Beauty Betrayed was actually inspired by a dream – well, I guess it’s safe to call it a nightmare. I dreamed that my husband was having an affair. The details were vivid and incredibly shocking enough to jar me from my sleep. As I sat there in bed, thinking about the dream’s meaning, I came up with the plot for Beauty Betrayed.
Shortly after, I went downstairs and said to my husband, “I just dreamed you were cheating on me. It gave me a great book idea.” While I shared the plot with him, he stared at me with an eyebrow raised. Once I finished, I said, “What, you don’t like my book idea?” His response was, “Yeah, it’s cool. But…are you gonna ask if I’m actually cheating on you?”
“Boy, please,” I said, leaving the room to go start on my novel. “You’re married to a fiction writer. They’d never find you.”
I’m so excited to finally share Beauty Beheld with you. Please be sure to rate it on Amazon and Goodreads. I’d also like to visit your book club, so be sure to reach out so I can kick back and kiki with your book club baes!
Until next time,
ZLB
