Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine NK Literary Cafe Magazine - April 2018 Issue | Page 44

Captured by a Good I like to be drawn into a story that makes me feel that I’m one of the characters who’s about to make a life-changing discovery or embark upon an adventure of a lifetime, maybe fall head-over-heels in love, or better yet, have a mind-blowing brush with death and live to tell about it. A good story will leave you wondering if the events are true to life or a fantasy that you’ve longed for forever. A great story will have you turning the pages—anxious to know what comes next, while also causing you to slow up when you get close to the end, simply because you don’t want it to end. When I truly fall in love with a book, I treat it like Charlie Brown’s friend, Linus van Pelt, treats his blanket. The book practically goes everywhere with me, even to the bathroom, should it be necessary. Too much information, I’m sure you’d say. But let’s tell the truth; I’m not alone. Here are a just a few of the novels that captured me: Sugar by Bernice McFadden, One Day I Saw a Black King by J. D. Mason, My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due and The Wake of the Wind by J. California Cooper. Oh, I forgot The Coldest Winter Ever by Sistahs Souljah. As the author of eleven suspense novels and one pre-teen book that I co-wrote with my granddaughter, Samayya, entitled The Adventures of Grammy and Sammy, I’ve always prided myself in telling the best story possible. My stories are full-course meals—the meat, potatoes, gravy, vegetables, bread, the dessert and sweet tea. Sweet tea is a southern thing I picked up when I moved to North Carolina over twenty-five years ago. And with all of that said, when you read a Suzetta Perkins’ novel, you’ll want all of them. I’m not sure that I have a masterpiece with any of my novels, but I’m quick to say that they all have 44 | NKLC Magazine Suzetta Perkins Book J. Suzetta D. Mason Perkins traits of a good—no a remarkable—story that you’ll be talking about long after you’ve finished reading the last page. I’ve reread some of my own stories when I’ve received feedback from readers that sang my praises for writing a story that was “mind-blowing, jaw-dropping collection of thoughts, words and action put on paper.” Those kind, touching words are what makes me want to raise the roof and go into my happy dance, but most of all feel, what they felt the moment they read a certain passage. Movies? For sure, even if I must write the screenplays myself. Back to the writing den to keep creating. And when I’m in need of another fix … another great story to read, I’ll put my pen down and enjoy someone else’s well-written book. ________________________________ My Memory of Easter . . . Easter was always a momentous occasion in my home. We’d wake up early to get ready for church in the new frocks our parents bought us--pastel dresses for my two sisters and myself, along with our white patent-leather shoes, and black suits for my brothers--always black. We’d go to church early because my father was the Sunday School Superintendent, and at the end of Sunday School, he’d shell out bags of dyed Easter eggs that all the church family members contributed, along with apple and oranges. The memory is embedded deep within. --Suzetta Perkins, author of Two Down: The Inconvenient Truth