Please join me in welcoming best-selling author Lyndell Williams to Living After Midnight!
Marcus Kent’s Closet
In the urban romance, Sweet Love–Bitter Fruit, Harlem lawyer, Marcus Kent wakes up each morning before the crack of dawn. He kisses his sleeping wife snuggled next to him and slips out of the bed, heading into his walk-in closet. The small room contains a spectrum of clothes reflecting the professional and personal activities filling his busy life.
The first thing Marcus does is slap on some sweatpants, tee shirt and hoodie before grabbing a pair of running shoes at the bottom of the wall filled with high-end sneakers. His morning run ensemble complete. He passes walls of designer business suits and ties. Everything in its place, just the way he organizes the rest of his life. Carrying his sneaks, he brushes his lips against Toni’s cheek, quietly stepping to the apartment entryway before putting them on and heading out the door.
After running through the New York City streets, Marcus returns home for a quick shower and to change into one of his tailored suits before going to work at the community center he opened and is the executive director. A muscular Black man who is well over six-feet tall, he doesn’t have the luxury of shopping at just any store. Not that he would ever do so. He puts a lot of stock and money in making sure his clothes make the right impression. He has a list of tailors in his cell phone that he uses to construct a professional appearance that shows he is all business and success.
After breakfast, he grabs his gym bag and goes to work as a community organizer. Throughout Sweet Love–Bitter Fruit, Marcus’ clothes serve as a motif for the layers of social demands on a person. His wife, family, friends, employees and community have expectations for him to be what they need. Additionally, because the clothes hang on a character impacted by some of the same stereotypes as real people in society, he has to be constantly aware of what he wears.
The realities of assumed criminality when someone like him dons a hoodie remain in the back of his mind. He is a large Black man in America. A Gianni Campagna won’t keep people from being bigoted. He encounters a lot of people who reduce him by the color of his skin, but he doesn’t let it stop his flow. Whether he is shrugging into a Thomas Pink dress shirt or playing ball with his friends in a pair of IconX Joggers, Marcus is unapologetically himself.
After a long day of fighting for social justice, Marcus returns home, slips on a pair of pajama bottoms and makes sure to prepare the next day’s attire. He likes to walk around the apartment and hold Toni in the bare minimum, one of the reasons why everybody knows not to have the nerve to stop by unannounced. At home with his wife is where he finally gets to be relaxed and vulnerable, shutting out the demands and stresses of the world. It is his peace and when he gets to decompress, making a bare chest and feet a must. Whatever he wears, Marcus Kent is the quintessential alpha, who will be strong for those around him and gentle with the woman he loves.
Check out some of Marcus’ clothing choices at the Sweet Love Bitter Fruit novel inspirations Pinterest board.
Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit
Blurb – Harlem lawyer Marcus Kent fights for justice while preserving a stable, passionate marriage with wife, Toni. Smart and confident, he has it all together—that is until his world turns upside down.
Not only is someone stalking his sister, but an intern at work is also getting too close for comfort.
On top of all of that, Toni’s renewed infertility obsession causes them to continually argue, adding more strain and cooling off their steamy union.
Struggling with insecurities and yearning to have a child, successful psychologist Toni Kent looks to her husband for support. Unfortunately, relentless distraction and stubbornness prevent Marcus from being there when she needs him the most and jeopardizes their happy home.
After multiple failed in vitro attempts, Toni is ready to try again, but Marcus is done. He doesn’t want another headache or more heartache.
Will a baby-making impasse tear this dream couple apart?
From the author of My Way to You, a new novel about keeping the flames of love and passion burning in a world determined to snuff them out.
Enjoy this excerpt:
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Marcus sipped some cold coffee from a mug. Toni didn’t do the jealous wife. Probably because he worked his ass off to make it clear she was the only woman who held his interest. Only an idiot would take a good woman like her for granted because there was always another man ready to snatch her up. “What are you doing with the rest of the afternoon?”
Toni shifted in her seat. “Well, I have an appointment with Dr. Algiers.” He slammed the mug down on the desk, making her jump. “Marc.”
He tossed the rest of the burger on the open wrapper. “So that’s what this little lunch visit is about? The in vitro. I thought we settled that.”
“No. We just never talked about it again. I haven’t taken it off the table.”
He rubbed a palm against his aching jaw. “What do you need?”
“I was hoping you would come with me. We can talk some more on the way there.”
He wiped the coffee off his hand and desk. “I’m not doing that. I’ve said all I’m going to about this.”
Toni pushed the stack of files and leaned across the desk–her mouth twisted into a scowl. “Well, I haven’t. I’m ready to start treatments.”
He pinned her gaze. “You do what you want, but I’m not signing up for another fertility sideshow.” It was his turn. He flinched as the stapler crashed through the window. Sounds of the city seeped through the hole it left. “What the hell, Toni?!” The door opened. Marcus glanced up and jabbed his finger. “Out!” Whoever was on the other side never appeared. It closed with a soft click.
Toni’s glare burrowed right into him. “I told you before that this isn’t only about you. What about what I want?” She paced in front of his desk. “I’m there for you, Regina—everybody. When are you and everybody gonna take their heads out of their asses and give a shit about what I want?”
He opened his mouth when the phone went off again. “Son of a—Marcus Kent.”
“Hey, man,” Faisal’s tense voice shot into his ear and plucked the nerves down his spine. “We have a situation.”
Author Bio
Lyndell Williams (Layla Abdullah-Poulos) is an adjunct instructor, anti-racism and gender equity advocate and a cultural critic.
She is the founder and managing editor of the NbA Muslims blog on Patheos and a cultural contributor for Radio Islam USA. She is a contributor to the online publications About Islam and Haute Hijab.
Williams is the lead content editor WriteType Editorial Services and mentors aspiring writers across genres.
She’s had numerous short stories published in collections and enjoys a growing list of subscribers to her Layla Writes Love online short story series.
Williams self-published her first interracial romance novel My Way to You. The novel made it onto four Amazon bestsellers lists its premiere weekend.
She is committed to the traditional use of literature as social commentary to affect positive social change.
Williams is married and the mother of six children.
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