Loveless will be my 26th self-published story and the third official continued story from Forbidden: An Anthology and I’m excited for you to see what Joi Friday has been up to a year after her short story ended.
Loveless is a novella consisting of mild urban fiction elements and heavy on the black romance. It’s a love story, but not your typical love story, which I honestly favor writing. But with Loveless, even I can admit the story and plot are different for me. It’s not a typical love story because of how the heroine meets and falls for the hero. She does so while being tied up in a twisted situation. In Loveless, she’s exposed to two different worlds regarding relationships with men.
Joi isn’t your average heroine either. When you start Loveless, you’ll more than likely do so not really liking her. The way she left things in her short story (“Decadent Contradictions”) from Forbidden was as a selfish opportunist aware of the consequences of her actions and still not caring. You probably know of a Joi but have never really cared to really know a Joi. You see what she wants you to see on the surface and because of this it’s easy to conclude so much about her character to where unpacking a woman like Joi’s baggage, seems like unnecessary work. Well, we get to unpack it via Loveless while transforming her skewed perception on love and intimacy.
Where We Pick Up
Loveless picks up where Joi’s story in Forbidden leaves off, but one year later. She believes she’s stuck in a “situation” that seemed like a good idea at first, but now gives her an ache she can’t soothe. Joi isn’t sure what she can do to change things because she believes her only option is to play the cards she’s been dealt. Pretty much she thinks this is the best she can do. She believes challenging the aforementioned will force her to lose a life she’s gotten comfortable with, even if it’s beginning to drain her emotionally.
The Setting
Loveless takes place in two places – Brownsville in Brooklyn and Harlem in Manhattan. I chose Brownsville mainly for the subplot in the story which is gentrification. Brownsville is probably one of the few untapped areas of Brooklyn for gentrification, although this is slowly starting to change at the time of this writing. So I thought it would make the perfect setting for what can happen when a community is on the verge of being gentrified and they not only take their community back but nurture it so it is even better than before. Gentrification is also a passionate pursuit of Joi’s love interest, Jeremiah Rhames.
Who Is Jeremiah Rhames?
Jeremiah was first introduced in part 2 of the No Fraternizing series and then again in part 3. He’s the detective Lila Moore, the heroine from the series, comes in contact with after she is brought in following her boyfriend Romello St. Claire’s arrest. Jeremiah is a veteran detective when we pick up with him in Loveless. He’s 38, passionate about a community program he’s developing, and single. He’s also very interested in changing the latter. Jeremiah is essentially the good guy with a very much alive superhero complex with women. Much like his passion to fix what is wrong, he has the same drive when it applies to the women he finds an interest in. It’s not like he goes looking for them either. Like a magnet, he attracts women who often need healing or at the very least a deeper understanding. And here enters Joi.
What To Expect?
Loveless is an unconventional love story that follows the blossoming of Joi’s understanding of love and intimacy. Although the attraction that Joi and Jeremiah experience is instant, Loveless is a slow burn romance… with a purpose. Loveless transforms Joi’s perception of men, physical attraction, and intimacy. It then destroys her ego and in place of it builds her confidence and inner light, helping to illuminate what really matters. I love Joi’s growth the most in the Forbidden series and I love that she gets a voice, considering how her story ended in the anthology. She literally starts Loveless one way and ends it as a different person. I wrote this story in the spring of 2019, but it’s kind of a testament of 2020. No one is exactly the same as they were when the year started. We’re without a doubt different and see things just as differently. Joi will not be the same after her experiences in Loveless and not after meeting Jeremiah, nor will she want to return to who she settled on being before him. Hence where she has to make a choice. Does she stick with a life that is draining her emotionally but offers the easy financial security she’s been after since she was a teen or does she give it all up to be with a man who offers a love that is life-giving and makes each day worth living twice?
I posted a Sample Sunday last weekend. Read it here.
I also published posts breaking down Joi and Jeremiah’s characters. Click their names to meet them!
Loveless is available now for pre-order. >>Click here to reserve your copy<<
Loveless will be available for download on Amazon Wednesday, September 30th.