My guest today is Linda Diane Wattley. Hello! Welcome back to Writing in the Modern Age! It’s such a pleasure to have you here again.
Hello! Thanks for having me.
Oh, of course! It's an honor.
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book? When did it come out? Where can we get it?
My most recent book is Charge of an Angel, the first of the
"Love and Redemption Series". It was released at the end of March. This
book is a very in-depth book relating to the impact early childhood beginnings
have on individuality. Though the book deals with some serious issues, you will
find children and adults have a way of making the best of things and develop a
determination to express themselves. The question is which force dominates: Sensuality
or spirituality?
Interesting!
Is there anything specific that inspired you to write Charge of an Angel?
Yes, my childhood experiences and
those of others showed me how important it is for parents to know their
children, and take their role in their lives seriously. Your choices can
determine who will be the next devil or angel in this world.
That's a fine point.
Let's try a different question, all right?
If this book was made into a film, who would you cast in it?
Oprah Winfrey, because she would
make a perfect grandmother. The grandmother plays a prominent role in the
family structure and introduces spirituality.
All right.
How about some general questions?
When reading, do you prefer traditional printed books or ebooks? And why?
I love traditional printed
books because it is more personal and it takes you out of the technical world
for a while.
I agree.
So, what are you reading now?
I am reading What If God Wrote Your Bucket List? by
Jay Payleitner.
Great!
When you get an idea for a book, what comes first usually? Dialogue, the characters, a specific scene? Or do you plot it out before you write?
For me, it is usually a belief or
strong feeling about something, which is usually something I or someone else
experienced. Then, I work from the bottom line through characters sharing their
views and feelings, and eventually work towards an outcome or direction to
demand attention.
Okay.
So, what do you have planned next, Linda? Or is that a secret?
Actually, I am working on two
manuscripts that I want to offer for free which will help people to have more
peace and hope in the world.
Nice! We look forward to seeing them!
I think we could all use more of those things in our lives.
Is there anything you'd like to add? Any advice for new writers?
I would like to say, authors are a
blessing from God. They give readers a chance to escape from their worlds for a
while. They offer hope and refreshment. We have a great responsibility to
feed the heart, mind and spirit so we should do and give our best at all times.
If you are thinking about being a writer, remember there are people out there
waiting to read your words. Don't delay; write.
So true, and such great advice!
Well, thank you for visiting, Linda!
Thanks again for having me!
It's my pleasure, of course! :) Happy to have you here any time!
Readers, here is the premise for Charge of an Angel.
Because
you are silent does not mean the world does not hear you screaming. Charge of an Angel, the first book of
the “Love and Redemption Series” is about getting to understand God, love, sex
and spirituality. Children grow up eventually and when they pack their clothes
to leave home, the world has no clue what they are carrying in their suitcases.
Am I gay? Am I a freak or simply a nymphomaniac? How could this be? I love God!
My body was betraying me in the
worst way.
“Oh, God,
help me! I face you now in my naked and weakened state and beg you to save me,”
I prayed silently.
Here is an excerpt.
“I heard y’all out there! I know what special means. You had sex, didn’t you?”
Sarah demanded.
“Girl, what is wrong with you? You shouldn’t have
been trying to listen to us in the first place. And what does special have to
do with sex anyway?”
“My daddy told me I was his special little girl,
that’s why my momma hates me. It is sex, Leona!” Sarah said with a slur in her
voice.
“You’ve been drinking, Sarah! Look at you!” I
yelled.
I couldn’t figure out how she got drunk. I looked
around the room and found an open bottle of wine, and then I saw some boy’s
tennis shoes halfway under the bed. Now I could hear whistling in the bathroom.
It was Darnel. He had come over right after Tony and I left.
“Leona, I didn’t expect you to back this soon. It
usually takes Tony all night with the chicks. You must have held onto your Eve
power,” he said.
Horrified by what I was seeing, I could only stare
at Darnel in his bikini underwear.
“Oh, no, Sarah, you just tell me you didn’t do
anything, and we can put this behind us.”
Sarah put on her sad puppy dog expression and said,
“What did you expect? You left me all by myself, Leona. Darnel came by to see
if I changed my mind. Well, I didn’t, so he stayed with me.”
I was about to start cussing both of them out when
Sarah started laughing and yelled, “Gotcha! You thought I did it, didn’t you!
Ha! Ha!” she laughed.
“Where is Monique?” I asked, angry and suspicious
now.
“She’s staying all night at the camp,” Sarah
answered.
“Hey, Darnel, you got to go. My daddy is right next
door,” I said.
Darnel put his clothes on in front of us, and as he
took a long swig of wine, he wiped his mouth and started laughing. “Cool, I’m ready to go anyway. Sarah is a trip. All
she did was worry about you like you were her girlfriend or something.”
Sarah just sat on the floor. As soon as Darnel
walked out the door, I headed right over to where she was sitting. Her clothes
were half on and off, her hair was messed up, and she nodded in and out. For
the first time, she looked ugly to me—blood shot eyes, dry skin and bad breath
just didn’t make me feel close to her right then.
I see why parents want to
whip their kids’ butts sometimes.
“You better take a shower before you go to bed. You
stink and look horrible,” I said.
“Leona, are you mad at me?”
“No, I’m not mad at you, fool! No, I take that back.
I am mad at you.”
“I didn’t do anything. We were just playing!”
“Playing what, Sarah?”
“He was just trying to make me take off all my
clothes so that he could make me feel special. It was fun and I really liked
it. But it reminded me of my daddy’s game, so I stopped playing.”
“What game did you and your daddy play?”
Suddenly, it got real quiet. Sarah didn’t say a
word; then she burst out crying. She placed her hands on her face and slobber
started easing out of her mouth. Since
she was crying, I stopped asking questions. I was afraid of the truth and she
was afraid to say it. I helped her to the bed. I had to get away from her so I
went into the bathroom to start my shower. I got undressed in the bathroom, and
allowed the water from the shower to flow just enough with only hot water to
create a steam room affect. I entered the shower and leaned my body back
against the wall and closed my eyes.
There were a lot of things on my mind. Tony had seen
my mother and Mark. They were right here in town and I needed to find them, and
I needed to decide how to approach Daddy about it. I didn’t want anybody’s
feelings to get hurt, especially Mark’s feelings. I knew I had to be careful
about how I handled this. Tony made it seem like Daddy played a big part in
their disappearance.
Then there was Sarah; I just didn’t want to believe
her father was having sex with her. That would mean she was not a virgin
anymore. We swore by our virginity when we really wanted to prove something that
we strongly believed in, like crossing your heart or swearing on your mom.
The hot dripping of the water caused me to sweat.
The water beads rolled down my forehead and ran down my body. I was feeling my
way around to change the water temperature and grab my soap and washcloth when
I felt a soapy washcloth glide across my chest. It startled me so much that I
jumped and almost fell in the shower.
“It’s just me, Leona. I hope you don’t mind. I needed a shower, too; at least that’s what
you told me.”
Purchase Links:
Amazon Universal: https://bookgoodies.com/a/B06XPNDS25
Publisher: http://www.afterthestormpublishing.com/after-the-storm-publishing.html
It looks like a thought-provoking tale!
Thanks, Linda! We'll be sure to check out this Christian family life novel!
Author Bio
Linda Diane Wattley is a proud
veteran of the United States Army. She
was born in Akron, Ohio and attended the University of Akron majoring in
Psychology. While attending the university,
she learned during a writing course she had the gift of writing. This gave her
confidence to submit her first work of art, which was poetry. The poem, “I Wish”, appeared in the Poetry Gem of
the American Poets Society.
For over twelve years she had
her own religious/philosophical column in the Frost Illustrated Newspaper in
Fort Wayne, Indiana, titled “The Best
Will Show Themselves” where she shared her personal perspectives of
spiritual insights and covered current social and religious events in her
community.
Linda has appeared as a contributing
writer for online magazines, including:
Faith Writers, The
Wright Side of Me Productions, The Blessed Room, Real
Life Real Faith Magazine and The Cheers, where she shares
inspirational and thought-provoking messages to readers. She is also a
contributing author of anthologies: The Triumph of My Soul, edited by
Elissa Gabriel; This Far by Faith, with Vanessa Miller as editor; and Testify:
The Praise Literary Collection Testimonials, complied by Angel M Barrino.
God has awakened her to an
extremely important message to share with the world. We must become more
conscious of PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Her work, Soldier
with a Backpack, Living and Dying Simultaneously, has allowed Linda
Diane Wattley to be a nominee for the ‘Best in Nonfiction’ during the African
American Literary Awards Show in 2016. Her work continues as a voice for
victims of every walk of life. She is a
registered member and speaker of RAINN,
an organization supporting and encouraging victims of sexual assault. She is available for interviews and speaking
engagements.
Today she shares a very
important message pertaining to our souls. “The Love and Redemption Series” is a trilogy taking readers on a
soulful journey of discovering self from the inside out. This dramatically written series is filled
with spirit and a truth cutting to the core for anyone having a heart to
understand the intertwining impact spirit and sex has on our lives as we grow
into our unique individualities. Before
we know who we are, we must understand what we are not. This is a work of spiritual and mental
stimulation and renewal, a must to move forward.
Author Links:
Website: www.lindadianewattley.com
Blog: http://www.lindadianewattley.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lindadianewattley
Twitter: https://twitter.com/universalove
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/14441999.Linda_Diane_Wattley
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LindaWattleydiane
Additional: http://www.thecheers.org/contributors/author-profile-339.html
http://www.faithwriters.com/websites/my_website.php?id=19419
Publisher: http://www.afterthestormpublishing.com/our-storytellers.html
Linda's Books:
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