IN LOVE WITH LOSERS by LaToya S. Watkins
ISBN: 978-0-9819631-6-7
GENRES: Fiction, Contemporary
PRE-ORDER ONLY
- Book will not be shipped until October 2009
BLURB
Women just love men. Some like 'em tall, others like 'em buff; some women even
like 'em chubby. Zora Nedham, a young, successful, and sophisticated woman likes
them anyway she can get them--as long as they're not liars, players...LOSERS.
But luck in finding a man, with no loser priors, is starting to become slim-to-impossible
for Zora. As she and her friends set out on a mission to find a suitable man,
each embarks on their own journey of priorities and self-discovery.
Donisha, a former stripper, is one of Zora's best friends. Life hasn't been
particularly easy for her and she's had her share of pain. Growing up as the
youngest child of "The Great" Bishop Raines was difficult at times
putting her in an adult mind frame of constantly regretting that she hadn't
been able to make Daddy proud. With the recent attention of a man of the cloth
feeling her, which she can hardly believe, Donisha begins a pilgrimage of self-enlightenment,
personification of love for herself and her children, and the ultimate goal
of making her late father proud. When drama, in the form of a video, threatens
her new found faith in God and in love, Donisha has to make a heartbreaking
decision that could possibly push her over the edge.
Chelle is the smart and savvy law student who grew up privileged and alone while
her parents dove into their careers. She has finally had it with her latest
thugged-out boyfriend and his dramatic baby momma. When she tries to leave the
relationship with a bang of information, she finds herself in a situation where
she will either pay for the consequences or cherish them for the rest of her
life.
Each of the women has to fight her own battle of love, yet they must all wrestle
with determining whether or not the men in their lives are losers or lovers;
real or fake. As the truth slowly reveals itself to each of them, they start
to realize what love and relationships are really made of. But will their realization
come soon enough?
In Love with Losers is unique in that it offers a positive perspective about
common African American struggles. It's not about drugs and violence, but trust,
love and forgiveness. In the spirit of great African American writers, LaToya
Stevenson Watkins weaves history and culture into the fabric of the lives of
these women on their journey to self-awareness.
EXCERPT
The woman sat there dumbfounded while Zora took in her appearance. She was a
big girl, and if she was a love interest of Will's, then he had bad taste. She
held a dark complexion, blue-black almost, but that wasn't what made her ugly.
In fact Zora had always pondered having skin as smooth and dark as the beautiful
Sudanese model Alek Wek. This woman's skin, however, was full of craters and
bumps that appeared to have tiny people living inside of them. She looked as
if she had lotioned her face and hands with cooking oil, and her teeth were
so big that they hung out of her mouth while it was closed. Wearing a slightly
askew, too large blond wig, her appearance screamed loud enough to get far more
attention than this boogawolf needed. Zora decided that the woman looked like
a gorilla in a wig.
Zora looked at the woman and stuck out her hand while saying,
"I'm sorry. Will is so rude. I'm Zora, Will's friend." She looked
over at Will, who looked as if he was about to crap his pants. "His close
friend," she added. The wigged gorilla left Zora's hand hanging and looked
over at Will.
"Will, don't you lie, niggah. Ima ask you one time and
you needs to come correct."
Will seemed horrified. He looked back up at Zora with pleading
eyes. He found no sympathy there, so he turned to face the wigged gorilla seated
at the table with him.
"Who is this woman?" Zora almost cracked up laughing
at how loud the wigged gorilla began to bark at Will in public.
Will looked as if he were about to cry, but he didn't open
his mouth. Zora looked over at the little boy and it could not be mistaken that
he was Will's son. He was the spitting image of Will. Even with his mother's
color, he had the same foreign look as his father. The gorilla held up her hand
and showed Zora her ring. "Well Zora, Will ain't supposed to have no female
friends that I don't know nothing about, but since he playing stupid, won't
you tell me about ya'll friendship?"
It was amazing that they had managed to not make a scene at
that point, but after Zora told Will's wife about how they met and the things
they had done, it was on. The wigged gorilla started cussing and screaming at
Will and finally ended up knocking him out of his chair. The wigged gorilla
finally stopped hitting him long enough to start crying and grab her son's hand
and make her way to the door. Zora saw Emory standing in the crowd watching
and held her finger up for him to wait as she ran behind her. She felt bad,
and she had to let the woman know that she didn't mean to be a part of anything
done to hurt her.
"What?" the woman spat when Zora finally caught up with her at Will's
Mercedes.
"I didn't know about you," Zora was stuttering and
she really did feel bad for this woman, "He didn't tell me he was married.
I would have never called him had I known." She didn't expect a response
from the weeping woman.
"For all it's worth, ma'am, I'm sorry." Zora had
tears streaming down her face now too, but she knew that it had nothing to do
with the other woman's pain.
The woman's face softened, and Zora could see pain in her eyes, "I know
girl, I don't even blame you." She put her head down and started playing
with her keys, "I bet he told you he was a doctor, didn't he?"
Zora's eyes widened, "He is, isn't he?" She knew
the truth before the question escaped her lips.
"He tells em all that. Will ain't got a dime. I bought
him his car, and he spends my money. My mama died six years ago in a hit-and-run
accident by a diesel. My family settled out of court for six million dollars."
Zora watched as a smile formed through the woman's tears. "Four years ago
when Tavion was first born, Will wasn't like this. But shoot," she sighed
and looked down at herself, "I wasn't like this. I was small like you,
and I could keep my man. My money keeps him now, but I want it to be me again."
When she lifted her eyes to Zora again, all softness had disappeared. "I
been in Louisiana for three months cause my sister was sick, but I'm back now.
I appreciate you coming out and letting me know your part." She looked
down at her hands thoughtfully before looking back at Zora.
"But I love him and regardless of what he do, Ima keep
him. So now that you know about me, please respect me and don't call my house
or my man."
Zora nodded her head at the woman as she pulled out of the parking space. She
had a newfound respect for the pain of an ugly woman.
