A #BeenSoLong #Interview with Cleo Williams AKA Gina Grant

I'm back with another Been So Long Series interview!! This time I'm chatting with Mona-Lisa's sister, Cleo! Don't forget to pre-order your Kindle copy of the book. The price will increase on release day!! 

CLICK HERE to pre-order.

Cleo enters the room with a bright smile on her face. Her mass of hair is tamed into a ponytail. She is wearing a bright yellow sundress that complements her bronze complexion, and yellow sandals. I rise to greet her and her smile is infectious as she pulls me into a hug. She is absolutely lovely. As she takes her seat, I see her husband standing by the door. He is tall and strikingly handsome with piercing green eyes.



Me: Hi, Cleo. It's so good to see you.

Cleo: Thanks. It's a pleasure to chat with you today.

Me: Awesome. First, would your husband like to join us?

Cleo: (Looks at her husband who smiles and shakes his head) No, he's just here to support me. He doesn't want to join in on the interview.

Me: Okay, I'm glad he's here, too. Now, would you prefer to be called Gina or G rather than Cleo?

Cleo: Cleo is fine.

Me: All right... well, let's get to it. The first question is from reader La'chacha Crawford. She asks, were you scared running away at such a young age?

Cleo: (Nods) Yes, I was petrified. But I just needed some relief. I was so tired of my life. I thought the fear was worth it to live what I hoped would be a better life.

Me: But things didn't turn out quite the way you planned, did they?

Cleo: (Glances at her husband) Not exactly.

Me: Do you regret running away now?

Cleo: (Sighs) No, I don't.

Me: Really? After all you went through with Aaron's father?

Cleo: (Reclines in her seat and clasps her hands in her lap) Well, that was a hard time for me, and in a lot of ways, a much worse life than I had with my mother, but I have my son because of it. I met my husband because of my decision to run. The best things in my life came from that choice I made as a child. Sometimes we have to go through a storm to get to our oasis. Scott, our family. That's my oasis, my paradise.

Me: That's so beautiful. Ms. Crawford also asks if you sought out someone like Scott on purpose. Someone who is the opposite of Aaron's father.

Cleo: When we met, Scott found me, not the other way around. The only thing I was seeking was safety. God saw fit to give it to me in the form of love. (She and her husband smile at each other)

Me: You're a lucky woman.

Cleo: I'm a blessed woman.

Me: Amen to that. It must feel good to know a love like that.

Cleo: it's the best feeling in the world.

Me: Beautiful. Well, how are your kids? Especially Aaron.

Cleo: Wonderful. I have the greatest kids in the world, but what mom doesn't think that?

Me: (I chuckle) Right. Here's another question: You and your sister are so close. How was it reconnecting with her after all those years.

Cleo: It was a dream come true. Leaving her was the hardest thing for me. She is so important to me. She took care of me when she could barely take care of herself.

Me: You know, a lot of people don't like her.

Cleo: I know. She's not perfect, but who of us is? You know why I think people tend to dislike her?

Me: No, why?

Cleo: Because they see more of themselves in her than they care to admit.

Me: Really?

Cleo: Yes.

Me: So you don't think those two gorgeous men she keeps dangling have anything to do with it?

Cleo (Smiles) Maybe.

Me: Well, I don't want to keep you. Let's wrap up with this question: Is there anything you want readers to know about Been So Long 4?

Cleo: Hmm, well... Just that they can expect more drama. More of what they loved about the other books in the series.

Me: Sounds good.



Get caught up with the series before part 4 drops!!
Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/adriennethompson
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/adrienne-thompson

Order of the Been So Long Series:
Rapture
If
Been So Long
Little Sister
Been So Long 2
Been So Long III
September

HOME Cover Reveal

Greetings, all!! You know, I love March. Not just because it's my birth month or because I love to watch the March Madness College Basketball Tournament, but because I am releasing my next book on March 2nd!! Here's the cover, with artwork once again created by my daughter. Check it out!!

"Home is a home run!" — Author Barbara Joe Williams

About the book:

Home by Adrienne Thompson

Genre: African American Fiction/Edgy Inspirational Fiction

Release Date: 3/2/15

Now available for pre-order: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TNPEAOA

Blurb:

For the ladies’ man Ivan Spencer, there really is no place like HOME.

A family emergency brings former rapper and current real estate mogul, Ivan Spencer, back to his long-abandoned hometown. While there, he must deal with his confused mother, his elderly, philandering father, his flaky sister, an unreliable aunt, and a face from the past who makes him question some of his earlier decisions. All he wants to do is to get things squared away and return to his life, but as it turns out, he must deal with his own issues first.

Excerpt: 

I had just sat down to drink my coffee when Daddy walked into the kitchen wearing a dingy white t-shirt and faded, striped boxers. One look at my daddy and anyone could see why he was so popular with the women. Even at seventy-something, he still had the same smooth, ruddy skin, gray eyes, wavy black hair, and bone structure that made most women swoon. The story had always been that my daddy’s daddy’s daddy was a full-blooded Quapaw Indian. My grandfather could never confirm this fact, because he never knew his father. But looking at my daddy and the features I’d inherited from him, I believed the story was pretty close to the truth.

Daddy sat down at the table with a grunt and a sigh.

“Where you been, Daddy?” I asked.

He looked at me for a second. “Here and there.”

“Mama’s sick. She’s in the hospital.”

“Yeah, I figured something like that was going on when I saw her bed empty. Plus, you here. You don’t come around no more lessin’ it’s something going on.”

I nodded.

I sat there and looked at him and waited for him to show an ounce of concern for the woman who’d borne him two children and been his wife for the past forty-some-odd years. I waited for him to ask about her or something. But he just sat there, grinding his teeth and scratching his head. “Any more hot water? I think I’ma make me some coffee,” he finally said.

He didn’t wait for me to answer. He stood from his chair with another grunt and checked the pot for himself. Then he pulled a coffee mug from the cabinet and started noisily making himself a cup of coffee, huffing and puffing and grunting the whole time. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. My face was heating up, but I was determined to keep my composure. Daddy wasn’t going to make me lose my cool. Not this time.

“She got a hold of a bottle of laxatives and took all of them,” I said.

“Umph,” he grunted. “She always gettin’ into something.”

I took another deep breath. “Yeah, um, the doctor’s talking about sending her home this afternoon.”

“Umph.”

He sat back down across from me and loudly slurped his coffee. So we sat there in silence except for his slurps.

Slurp…

Slurp…

Slurp…

Finally, I stood from the table. “I’ma go take a shower so I can head on up to the hospital to check on Mama. You wanna ride with me?”

Slurp. “Naw, you go ‘head on. I’ll see her when she come home.” Slurp…

I sighed. “All right, then, Daddy.”