EuroReviews

Are you married and do you have children?

LC: I'm married to my wonderful husband, Reggie and we have a three-year old daughter

Where are you from and where do you live now?

LC: I was born and raised in Baltimore, MD but currently live in Northern Virginia.

What type of music do you listen to?

LC: Gospel/Inspirational music is my favorite. I also listen to some R&B.

Who is your favorite artist?

LC: Kirk Franklin is my favorite gospel music artist.

What are you currently reading?

LC: The Single Sister Experiment by Mimi Jefferson.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

LC: When I was younger, I wanted to be a pediatrician, then a lawyer but God had other plans for me. I ultimately became a special education teacher and have been teaching for ten years.

Can you explain the major inspirational role that God has played in your life?

LC: Everything that has happened to me has been because of God. It is because of Him, I am who I am today.

What is the first piece of literature that you wrote and let someone else read without it having to do with school?

LC: I wrote a story about my life from childhood to early twenties.

How do you feel after finishing a writing project?

LC: I felt really good about what I had written. I was proud of the finished product.

As a writer, what do you hope to achieve out of your long and prosperous career?

LC: If I can change the life of at least one person with each novel, then I've accomplished a lot. My goal isn't just to write entertaining stories, but to also inspire, uplift and deliver a message.

Who or what gives you inspiration to write?

LC: My daughter gives me lots of inspiration. I often say, I'm doing this writing thing to fund her college education.

What other genres interest you to write in?

LC: I've been talking a lot about writing a Christian Fiction or a Mystery/Suspense novel.

Some authors decide to edit their own works, are you one of those authors?

LC: No way! I cannot edit my own work. Thank God for my faithful editors.

Why did you give Liar, Liar its specific main theme?

LC: I wanted to shed some light on what would happen if a woman entered into a marriage knowing that her mate was living an alternative lifestyle. Often when we hear of men living on the down-low, they are married with children and their wives and families are the last to know. But, I wanted to pen a tale of what would happen if the lifestyle was revealed before the marriage and the woman has been convinced that he's change—he's no longer “practicing homosexuality.”

Being a religious woman, was it difficult for you to write Liar, Liar with its non-traditional subject matter?

LC: (Laughs) No, not at all. I really enjoyed writing Liar, Liar.

Have you ever known of someone being in the situation presented in Liar, Liar?

LC: No! Liar, Liar is not about me or any other individual that I know. However, a few of the characters in the book may have parts of personalities of people I know in general. But, no one character was modeled totally after any single individual I know.

Why do you feel that Liar, Liar was turned down by literary agents or companies you sent queries to?

LC: I think some literary agents and publishing companies thought this was just another “down low” book. But it's not. It has biblical principals, it addresses how the black church looks down upon “certain” sins, it comes from three different points-of-view, therefore you're not just getting the story from the scorned wife, but from the husband and his lover on the side. I think they just didn't take the time to see how different Liar, Liar is from every other book that addresses homosexuality and its effects in a marriage.

How was it for you to write from a man's perspective sexually (same-sex and opposite-sex)?

LC: (Laughs) Honestly, I had help. I had to call one of my dearest friends, who lives in another state and asked her to help me with these sex scenes. I can write scenes with intimacy, but they would be very clean. I knew my friend could spice them up for me just a little. Sometimes she was a bit too spicy, so I had to tone them down to what they are today.

When you were writing Liar, Liar did you have a specific demographic in mind?

LC: Not particularly. I don't want to put any age limitations on it because I think people of all ages can relate. However, it is for adults only. It's clearly not intended for children.

Why did you feel the need to make Malik and Camden 's relationship the way you did? Meaning, the way Camden treated Malik and how he “used” him.

LC: Wow, that's a good question. Camden was a privileged, spoiled preacher's kid. He was so used to having everything given to him and really never cared about anybody but himself. So, it wasn't far fetched for him to use Malik for his own gratification.

Why did you end Liar, Liar the way you did?

LC: Because Camden was so self-centered, I needed something “bad” to happen to him. It was important for me to show readers what could happen when you have a blatant disregard toward the hearts and emotions of others.

You touched on many subjects within this book (a woman desperate to find a life-mate, a young man in the closet about his sexuality to someone he deeply loves, a man unsure about what he wants sex-wise and his treatment of others), which subject was most important to you and why?

LC: I don't think one social issue was more important to the other. I wrote about them all because they were of equal importance. However, I strongly want the AIDS statistics amongst African-American women to sink deep in the pours of readers as well as the possible physical effects caused by men who are not practicing safe sex and coming home to their wives and girlfriends.

What's next for you?

LC: I am currently doing a Liar, Liar tour, traveling to various cities. My second novel, published by Q-Boro Books, will be in bookstores June 2008. I'm also working on my third novel.