African American,  Bucket List,  Erotic

Bucket list of Deja Alvarez from A Stroke at Midnight @laylawriteslove #RLFblog #Contemporary

Bucket list of Deja Alvarez from A Stroke at Midnight @laylawriteslove #RLFblog #ContemporaryLockdown creates love in Lyndell William’s new BDSM romance A Stroke at Midnight. Tied down by guilt and separated by quarantine, Mateo and Deja decide to free themselves with a New Year’s Eve night of passion. But will it destroy their family and friendship?

Let’s meet Deja Alvarez from A Stroke at Midnight. Welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here!

A Stroke at Midnight by Lyndell Williams

Genre BDSM romance

Book heat level (based on movie ratings):

He will have her before the year is out!

Mateo spent too many years craving the taste and touch of Deja’s body. He restrained from taking his brother’s widow to bed. Now the sinner in him is winning the battle. He is through imagining all the naughty things he can do with her. Time to put all his kinky plans into action.

He assembles his toys, determined to stroke Deja by the time the clock strikes twelve on New Year’s Eve.

Deja knew it was wrong to lust after her dead husband’s brother. She tells herself that Mateo only wants to help raise her son, but she can’t keep ignoring the way he looks at her and how it makes her tingle with desire. She can’t resist the call of his hot body, and she does not want to.

A Stroke at Midnight is a BDSM holiday short with an alpha male into kink. **NO abuse, NO cliffhanger, guaranteed HEA!**

When someone dies, we say they “kicked the bucket.” Therefore, a list of things that a person wants to accomplish, places to go, situations to experience, and so on have become known as a “Bucket List.”

Age: 43

Gender: Female

Birthplace: Buffalo, New York

Profession: Grants Management Specialist

Ethnicity: African American

Please provide a physical description of yourself.

I am a tall woman. At about 5’8″, I usually tower over those around me. I love wearing my naturally coily black hair, so it frames my oval face and brushes the top of my shoulder. It takes a lot of work to keep them springy, but Mateo likes it that way. So, I make sure my coils are in all their glory when he’s around. Did I just write that? Yeah, I did.

I’m not supposed to be so into my husbands’ older brother, but Javier has been gone a long time. His death tore all of us up. Mateo and I clung to each other, and now, I’m feeling … things. Where was I?

Oh, yeah. I have dark brown skin, which I keep moisturized with my own combination of cocoa and shea butter I mix myself. Winters in Buffalo can be brutal on my skin, and a girl doesn’t want to run around looking ashy.

Please tell us a little about yourself.

Let’s see. I am in my early forties and the mother of a great teenage son, even though he has been a real pain in the butt lately. When I am not hacking away at my laptop for work, I use the rest of my time and energy trying to keep Benito in line. He has been a handful since Javier died. I love him so much, though. So, I let my son live.

I work from home, which makes me a major homebody. That’s all right because the pandemic has everyone locked down at home most of the time anyway. My life hasn’t changed much. I still work and socialize over Wi-Fi, laughing, crying and arguing with friends and family through face time and direct messages.

Who is the significant other in your life?

As weird as it is for me to think, my brother-in-law, Mateo is an “other” and incredibly significant. He moved to Buffalo to help me with Benito. Over the past few years, he became the father figure in my son’s life and slipped into co-parenting him with me. I trust him with so much, more than anyone else in my life.

If you haven’t made a bucket list before, perhaps now would be a good time. Who knows? It might inspire another book. While you’re at it, how about telling us about some of your other favorite things? Here are the questions.

What is your birth order?

I am an only child.

Tell us about your favorite toy as a child.

When I was a kid, I had one of those Speak and Spell toys. I begged my parents for weeks for one. It was my gateway to writing, and I have been a keyboard geek ever since.

Describe your favorite food and how it’s prepared.

My favorite food is anything someone else cooks for me. The way it is prepared is by me sitting my plump bottom on the sofa, watching TV.

Tell us about your best friend.

I am not the best friend type of person. I love me some me, though. So, I guess I am my own best friend.

What are two places you would like to visit before you die, and why?

Hmm … Well, there is one place I would like to visit, but I know I never can, unless I convert. I always wanted to go to the city of Mecca. My cousin, Brandon is Muslim. He showed me pictures of when he went on a pilgrimage there. It was so beautiful, but only Muslims are allowed in the city.

I would also like to go to Peru. My Zumba instructor, Maritza is from there.

Where is a place you would never like to return to, and why?

I could live without going to France again. Javier took me to Paris for our honeymoon. I do not understand all the hype about that city.

Who is someone you would like to meet, and why?

I want to meet Michelle Obama’s stylist. For real, the woman never looks bad. I want to get tips and tricks from the person who makes the former first lady stomp around awesome, all day, every day.

Who is someone you would like to avoid, and why?

I try my best to avoid Benito’s girlfriend, Amanda’s parents. Amanda is sweet enough, but I can’t stand her parents. I had arranged for us to meet at a restaurant for dinner. Her father had the nerve to wear one of those red hats. It was obvious to me that he wanted to send a message, and I got it loud and clear. So, I steer clear of them.

If you could time travel to any date, what would it be, and what would you do there?

I am happy in my own time. I am not interested in going back and fiddling around with the past. The future is full of unknowns, which is scary as hell. I do not want to go there either, only to find out the people I love are all dead or something.

Meet Lyndell Williams

What was your biggest challenge in writing this book?

A Stroke at Midnight is my first venture into the BDMS romance subgenre. I want to explore and incorporate a range of sexual proclivities and fetishes for my characters and bring them to readers.

I was nervous about drafting love scenes with BDSM elements. Things can go wrong quickly, turning a scene meant to be sensual and titillating into something gross. It takes finesse.

Why did you choose this character for the interview today?

One of the challenges about short stories is that readers don’t get a lot of detail about the characters. Authors must give enough to make characters interesting and drive the plot, and nothing more, which means leaving out a lot of background. I wanted readers to get to know more about Deja. I had to keep so much of her awesomeness out of the book.

Are any sequels planned for this book?

No. A Stroke at Midnight is a standalone book. Readers have asked for a follow-up. You never know.

What genre(s) would you like to write that you haven’t tried yet?

None. I am a romance writer. I would like to write in romance subgenres. I have a few paranormal romances, and I want to write a sci-fi romance so badly. I am simply scared of all the world-building. I may hunker down and do it one day, but I have to find the time before I can write any time travel.

Why should readers who haven’t picked up one of your books before give this one a try?

Many readers find my books to be divergent from a lot of stories in the romance genre. I craft diverse characters in stories that challenge the standard type of love stories that center on finite races and backgrounds.

Where to buy A Stroke at Midnight

Amazon https://amz.run/4ATY

Lyndell Williams Social Media

A bestselling author and award-winning writer, Lyndell Williams (Layla Abdullah-Poulos) holds a B.A. in Historical Studies and Literature, M.A. in Liberal Studies, and an AC in Women and Gender Studies. She is an adjunct instructor as well as an anti-racism and gender equity advocate. She is the senior New York trainer for the Muslim Anti-Racism collaborative.
Williams is a cultural critic with a background in literary criticism specializing in romance. She has been published in peer-review journals and presented at national conferences about Muslim and interracial romance fiction as well as racism, sexism and the Black Muslim experience.
Website https://laylawriteslove.com/
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