How does an upwardly-mobile woman of color find the balance between her career, love life and friendships in modern day Manhattan? Man-eater Julissa Longoriez and betrayed wife and mother Nahla Voyas are on a quest to find out just that in I Live, You Move On. Between her ambition and her passion, Julissa Longoriez has more on her plate at this point in her life than she ever expected. The quintessential sexy, sultry Latina, she hides behind a façade of detachment to avoid commitment. But when she meets the first man to get past her cool, unaffected career woman veneer, Julissa must admit to herself that what she truly fears is honesty about her past. Will opening up about her secrets open her heart and set Julissa free? Or will it destroy her once chance at love and the man willing to offer it? After sacrificing her dreams to build the perfect marriage and family, Nahla Voyas is facing a truth she can no longer ignore: her husband has never been as devoted to their life together as she is. As she works to redefine herself as the ultimate role model of “sister girl” strength for her daughter - tackling a list of dreams and goals deferred for too long - a tragic accident threatens to keep her trapped in a loveless marriage. Can Nahla look past her husband's past indiscretions and find in this tragic turn of events a second chance at marital bliss? Or will she finally learn to love herself more than him for the sake of their child? I Live, You Move On uniquely offers each woman's response to life's challenges, weaving a modern urban fairy tale from their successes and losses, laughter and tears.
The candles lit the hallway as I stared into the darkness that was the other end. The scents of body oils, the heat of Avery's breath blowing against my arm, the influence of wine and the smells of scented candles filled my lungs. I clung to the sheets, holding them against my skin. Avery was sleeping next to me, and somewhere inside me, I wanted to get up and get dressed and go home. I felt suffocated and I was fatigued. I checked his cell phone. His girlfriend had called about six times, trying to find out where he was, but he was not about to answer it, knowing I was right in the room. I was tired of Avery and this creeping around. It was getting old. Maybe I hated the fact that I was the woman on the side. However, when I looked at it we both put ourselves in the same predicament; he had a girlfriend and I had someone else I was trying to get close to, but somehow we ended up together. I am not even going to lie about it: if it was not for the fact that he made me feel good when we touched or the way he had passion for life, I would not be here.
For author Lendy Demetrius, writing is a representation of life. His art truly imitates life, taking readers on a ride through the imagination without ever leaving the realm of possibility. And perhaps that explains why his novels so easily finds an audience: Lendy Demetrius writes life. Short stories, though, didn’t seem to carry through Lendy Demetrius’ visionary thirsts. In addition to studying the works of his favorite authors and taking countless creative writing courses, he studied the world around him. “To look at it—it’s just a novel but that depends on who is doing the writing. Sometimes, life just doesn’t seem to make sense. Writing is a canvas like a painting, and it is made to inspire individuals,” Lendy recalls. “So to this day, I do my best work on the subway. Not only does the chaos bring me an immense amount of focus; the people are the best source of inspiration.” Over the years, Lendy explored the themes manifested in the lives of others like him: young minorities evolving in the unique urban landscape that is New York City. Ultimately, he learned how to create lives, on paper, that mirrored their realities—how to make them full, explore their unique conflicts and bring resolution, albeit imperfect, to the lives he wrote. “A couple of years after college, I decided to take a chance and present myself to the world as a professional author. In life, you have to take chances. I also want to see how audiences respond to the stories I tell.” His first novel, There Could Be Joy and Pain in the Long Run, was released in 2002 by Dorrance Publishing Company, Inc. It developed the multilayered tale of aspiring R&B diva Maxine, whose quest for success and stardom was threatened by an obsessive, violent ex-husband. Lendy is making his return to the literary scene with the vivid tale of two dynamic women, one Latina and one African American, seeking to find balance between their personal and professional lives without having to sacrifice one for the other. “As minorities, our lives are so diverse,” Lendy says of his style of writing. “I love to bring to light the challenge in not only revealing that diversity, but also synergizing the layers that take us beyond the collective African American or Hispanic experience, to the unique individuality of each character.” Please visit www.lendydemetrius.com Follow on Facebook.com/LendyDemetrius Or e-mail Lendydemetrius@gmail.com