Lyndell Williams, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! We’re excited to find out more about your hero, but first, tell us about the book.

Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit by Lyndell Williams

Genre romance

Book heat level (based on movie ratings): R

From Lyndell Williams, 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.

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 infertility tear this dream couple apart?

Know the Hero from Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit

It’s late, he’s bored. What does he do?

Marcus Kent is never board. He has an intense schedule at work. When he gets a minute, he will chill with his boys Simon, Faisal and Quinn and then head home to his wife Toni. For Marcus, twenty-four hours is not nearly enough, so he needs to be strategic about his time so he can fulfill all of the demands on him. He’s all about getting things done with efficiency.

What kind of food would he impulse buy if hungry?

Marcus is a carnivorous alpha. Red meat is his food of choice, especially burgers. He doesn’t eat just any meat. Although he is not Muslim, he prefers halal meat, so he will stop by his favorite halal spot or another one (NYC is packed with them) to grab a quick bite.  Of course, he’ll have to go a little longer on his daily morning run but having some ground beef goodness is worth it.

Describe the kind of clothes he prefers to wear.

Marcus has a walk-in closet with a wall stacked with high-end sneakers. They are his award for working hard at the community center he directs, keeping wife, Toni happy and being there for family and friends. He sheds his business suits as soon as possible and slaps on a pair of those bad boys with some sweats and a tee shirt to run through Harlem or have a game of basketball, completely elephant trunkin’ it.

Does he know how to fix things?

Marcus’ father, Deverill made sure his son was a “real man” who can fix things. He does minor repairs around the apartment and at the community center in a pinch. He can take a hammer to a nail or wrench to a pipe, but with his busy schedule, anything bigger would have to be done by somebody else. So, he has the contact information for plumbers, electricians, etc. right in his phone. A natural leader and delegator, he makes sure things get fixed as soon as possible.

He tried to do something and it went badly. Tell us about it.

A big miscalculation Marcus made was when he thought he was protecting his younger sister, Regina from his best friend, Simon. He knew Simon was a playa and wasn’t even going to let his sister get used. When he found out about them, he blew a fit and went straight to Simon to drive a wedge between them, not know that Simon was actually in love with Regina. He caused a split between the two of them and broke his sister’s heart.

How does he act around children he doesn’t know?

Marcus is thoroughly in love with his niece, Justine. He will do almost anything she asks, including sit on the floor with a tiara on his large, bald head, holding a tiny plastic teacup. The kids at the center where he is in charge adore him. He loves the little ones and planned to have a bunch of them. He gave up on the dream of fatherhood when he and his wife Toni went through multiple failed in vitro attempts.

What is he like first thing in the morning?

Marcus is a morning person times five. He is usually up before the crack of dawn and heading out to pound the city pavement with a morning run while the plans for the day go through his head.

Can he use chopsticks?

Marcus and chopsticks do not get along. Simon has tried to teach him, but to no avail. It is one of those things that he is comfortable with not being able to do and just reaches for a fork.

Does he drink coffee? If so, how does he take it? If not, what does he drink instead?

Coffee is the first drink Marcus reaches for after his morning run. He likes it with half and half and no sugar. Sometimes he will stop by the coffee shop on his way to work and treat his staff to cups, ordering each just the way they like it from his memory.

What apps would he have on his phone?

Marcus is all about productivity, so he has a bunch of calendar and appointment apps. He has a word processing app so he can write while traveling as well as a speech-to-text app to make notes. He manages the community center projects with his team using a project management app and downloaded a couple of games for those times he’s with his niece Justine.

Android or iPhone?

Unfortunately, he is a die-hard IOS fan. I’ve argued with him and Simon about it, but he won’t budge.

Beard or clean-shaven?

Marcus sports a long-stubble beard that he keeps super soft through careful grooming and conditioning. Toni loves and always plays with it whenever they’re alone.

Earrings/piercings/tattoos or unadorned skin?

Marcus refuses to pierce anything or stain his smooth chocolate skin with ink. He is all about treating his body as a temple, and you don’t put holes in or graffiti on the walls of a temple.

Personal vehicle or public transport?

As a city dweller, public transportation is a must most of the time. Marcus has a metro card and travels the city underground in the subways. When he travels outside the city to places like his parents’ house on Long Island, he has his black Dodge Charger taken out of the garage and hits the road with Toni.

Recycle or toss?

Marcus and Toni have little blue cans underneath their sink, and he made sure the center has plenty of big ones around the facility and even at the playground and basketball courts. One of the things he budgets for each year is to have a service take away the recycling. He makes sure the material is sorted and leaves redeemable bottles and cans at  the front door for people to take.

Thanks for helping us get to know your hero!

Where to buy Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Love-Bitter-Fruit-Brothers-ebook/dp/B07WZ9LT97

Lyndell Williams Social Media

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.
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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