Inside The Hang Suite: BOP Chapter 4
Blessings of Purpose, A Novel – Chapter 4
Blogged by: Lia Braxton (Conrad), Nigel Braxton, Chanelle Edwards, and Crystal Miller
Lia: Hi everyone and welcome back! Last week’s blog was quick because Chapter 3 was short. Now, in Chapter 4 Alicia must have decided to make up for lost time. There’s quite a few things going on in this chapter and I have some of the cast members with me. You’ve been introduced to the sister I’ve never had, Chanelle and my wonderful husband, Nigel. This week Nigel’s cousin, Crystal joins us. Welcome, Crystal!
Crystal: Hello everyone…here and out in cyberspace J
Lia: Before we get into your role in this chapter let’s start from beginning. In Chapter 3 Nigel and I had our first date, which left my emotions all over the place. And guess what? They don’t get any better in Chapter 4. We have a couple more encounters before you [Nigel] leave to go back to California. The seed is planted for our relationship and now the reader comes along for the ride to see how the blooms unfold.
Nigel: You keep talking about how ‘emotional’ you were, but you seemed fine to me.
Lia: I’m a good actress. It comes natural for most of us ladies, especially when we first meet someone. Right, ladies?
Nigel: An act…so that’s what you call it? I’ll keep that in mind for any upcoming movies I have, because you deserve an Oscar if you were acting.
Chanelle: So you were ‘Mr. Cool’ those first couple of times you two were around each other?
Nigel: Yeah, I was fine. It was nice to finally meet someone genuine, since in L.A. there are a lot of ‘actresses’. Now that Lia has let me in on her secret I feel a little deceived.
Lia: Oh please! I had to feel you out before I let my guard down, that’s all.
Nigel: You mean take off the mask J
Chanelle: Well, I knew that day you left, Nigel, that the guard was down. I talked to her…
Nigel: Oh really? What did you two talk about?
Lia: Nothing. It wasn’t anything really to talk about.
Nigel: I’ll get with you off the record on that.
Lia: Anyway, let’s move on. Ms. Crystal let’s talk about your role in Chapter 4. I thought this point in the book would be good to introduce you since you really start gettin’ in my business. Notice I said ‘start’ because you keep it coming throughout the book. Why was it so important to you that Nigel and I get together?
Crystal: Well, since you had been leading the youth ministry we became close and I looked up to you as a big sister. With Nigel being my cousin, I knew that if y’all got together you would truly be a part of my family.
Lia: Awww…that’s so sweet Crystal.
Nigel: Yeah, yeah, yeah, just admit you’re nosey, Crystal. She doesn’t like miss out on nothing.
Crystal: No, Lia knows that I really love her. In this chapter I approach her for advice on a situation I was dealing with. She was the closest thing I had to a big sister.
Nigel: So what if we wouldn’t have hit it off, then what?
Crystal: I would have told Mama to find another relative to set her up with J
Chanelle: (LOL) That’s a good one!
Lia: (LOL) You loved me that much, huh, Crystal? Girl, you are a mess!
Nigel: I don’t see what’s so funny.
Lia: Awww… baby don’t get upset. You didn’t let me get away. Thank God for email and text messaging. Well, to sum up Chapter 4, Nigel leaves a good impression before he leaves Richmond and heads home to L.A. He has it all set up for his next move in Chapter 5. I may have let my guard down too early…what do y’all think? (Leave your comments).
That’s it until time. Nigel will be here, of course, and I think one new cast member may stop by, but I won’t say who. Crystal and Chanelle, I guess we won’t see you two for a few weeks, unless you decided to make a surprise visit.
Crystal: You’ll just have to wait and see J
Chanelle: I’m going vacation—hint, hint.
Lia: (LOL) I like that…a good way to lead until Chapter 5. Don’t you go too far, Chanelle. Chapter 9 will be here before you know it.
Thanks everyone for stopping by the BOP Hang Suite and if you’ve been hanging out with us since the beginning, PLEASE, take one more minute to leave a comment. Just your name and what state you’re representing would be fine. We want to know that someone, besides us, is enjoying this ‘tour’. We have 23 more chapters to go, but time flies when you’re having fun.
See ya later!
Inside The Hang Suite: BOP Chapter 2 (Repost)
Blessings of Purpose, A Novel – Chapter 2
Blogged by: Lia Braxton (Conrad), Chanelle Edwards, Rita Miller, and Nigel Braxton
Lia: Welcome back! I tell you, this blog is really giving me something to look forward to. Great idea, Alicia! Today, I have some special guests with me. With the exception of Rita from Chapter 1, these other two characters are introduced in Chapter 2. My mother, Elaine, is not here with us today, but hopefully she’ll join us in later blogs.
Now, let me introduce you to one of the virtuous women I know…I mean, this lady can cook, clean, and still strut in her 3-inch stilettos. Seriously, because of Mrs. Rita Miller, I was enlightened and my life started to change in Chapter 2. Welcome to the “Hang Suite”, Rita.
Rita: Thank you, baby. Lord, I don’t know how I let y’all talk me into this blog stuff. I don’t even know what a “blog” is.
Lia: Don’t worry, you’ll be okay. If you can talk and type, you can blog.
Rita: I don’t know about all that, but we’ll see…
Lia: Now, the next person I want to introduce is another special lady in my life. My right hand woman and play sister, Chanelle Edwards.
Chanelle: Girl, you are so crazy! Hello everyone!
Lia: Last but not least, what would a “Leading Lady” be without her “Leading Man”? And what a handsome smile he has. Welcome the love of my life (though I didn’t know it in Chapter 2), Nigel Braxton.
Nigel: Thank you, baby and I love you too!
Chanelle: Oh God, don’t y’all start all that. We haven’t even got to that part in the book.
Nigel: She’s just hatin’ on us, baby.
Lia: That’s okay, we love her anyway. Now, let’s get back focused on the task at hand…a peek into Chapter 2. Well, I’m not going to bore our audience with an interview type of structure. I’ll just start off telling a little about what goes in Chapter 2 and my guests can jump in as they like.
Rita: Good, I’ll just sit here and nod in agreement with everything you type.
Lia: Oh no, you won’t get off that easy. I’ll throw some questions at you, if I have to.
Okay…Chapter 2. This was a big day for me, thanks to Rita.
Chanelle: Yes, you were a ball of nerves.
Lia: Yeah, you’re right. The fear of the ‘unknown’ will do that to you.
Nigel: You didn’t seem like you were nervous about meeting me. I was the one nervous, especially after I saw you; a vision of natural beauty.
Lia: Aww, thank you, baby.
Chanelle: There y’all go again—mushy, mushy.
Rita: It’s called ‘love’, Chanelle. I don’t have anymore nephews, but Aunt Rita is going to look out for you too. Shoot if Nigel wasn’t my nephew and I was 25 years younger I would have scooped him up for myself!
Chanelle: I don’t know if I want anymore ‘hookups’. We all know how that goes later in the book.
Rita: We sure do and let’s not go there right now. Actually, I would prefer we not go there at all.
Lia: Yeah, it’s a lot of things I wish would we could skip over in this book, but we made a commitment to Alicia to help spread the word. Luckily, we don’t have to go into too much detail.
Anyway, back to Chapter 2. To me, this chapter focused a lot on family. Here the reader is brought into a variety of interactions between family members, which sets the stage for tests that these relationships go through in later chapters. My mother, Elaine, makes her first appearance in this chapter and the reader gets some insight on our relationship as well. On the note of relationships, I will add that my introduction to Nigel was not the typical “boy meets girl”, “love at first sight” encounter.
Nigel: Oh, it wasn’t?
Rita: It wasn’t?
Lia: God, don’t y’all jump on me! That love at first sight stuff happens in the movies, but not in this book. Now, I’m truly, nose wide open, head over heels in love. After what happens in the later chapters, I must be.
Chanelle: Amen, to that!
Lia: Before we end this blog, I want to take a poll. Now that the readers know a little about how I felt about meeting Nigel, I would like to know what they think. To the readers out there, what was your first impression of Mr. Nigel Braxton after reading Chapter 2? Seems like a sincerely, nice guy? Or too good to be true? Please leave your responses below in the comment box.
Nigel: Why are you putting me on the spot like that?
Lia: I know you’re dying to read all the wonderful things the readers will say about you.
Nigel: All right, y’all don’t make me look bad.
Rita: Nigel, baby, you have nothing to worry about. You came into Chapter 2 and represented well. You made me proud.
Lia: Gosh Rita, are you sure Nigel is your ‘nephew’ and not your son? Look at him blushing.
Rita: I’m sorry, I have to give him credit for all that he has accomplished. His life could have taken a totally different route. You know what he dealt with as a child, but I’ll let the readers find out on their own.
Lia: Look at you—you have caught on real quick with the blogging. Well, I think this will be a good point to end, unless anyone has more to add.
Chanelle: I just want to say this blogging is a cool idea. I enjoyed being a part of Lia’s story in Blessings of Purpose and encourage people to read it. Not just because she’s my dear friend, but the spiritual messages are powerful. At the very least, you will be entertained by all of the drama that is yet to come.
Nigel: Yeah, we definitely hit some rocky spots along the way. I’m talking boulders, not pebbles.
Lia: I know that’s right! On that note, make sure you continue to join us in the Hang Suite. My story gets better, but unfortunately, it gets worse first. If you’re currently reading the book, feel free to read ahead if you can’t stand the suspense.
Until then, God bless! Don’t forget to tell us what you think about the ‘Leading Man’, Nigel. Put him on blast! J
Inside The Hang Suite: BOP Chapter 1
Blessings of Purpose, A Novel – Chapter 1
Blogged by: Lia Braxton (Conrad)
Welcome back! Judging from the comment section of yesterday’s blog, it appears that no one had ‘checked in’ to The Suite yet. I’ll just assume that some “lurkers” are out there and I’m not here all alone 🙂
Anyway, let’s jump right into Chapter 1. Before we do, just to give you a little idea of where I am today, I’m still a SAHW (Stay At Home Wife). However, while Nigel is busy (for Christ) with his film career, I do volunteer with a women and children shelter in my community a few days a week. It’s a good opportunity for me to minister and encourage women who would, otherwise, feel hopeless. Some of the women have children, but most of them are preschool or elementary school age. There are a few teens that stay at the shelter at their mother’s side, but the majority has fallen prey to the streets. They resent their parents for the circumstances they are living under and feel they can do better on their own. It’s a sad situation.
Now in Chapter 1 of the novel, this is where you meet “my girls” who were a part of the youth ministry at my home church. What an entertaining bunch! I looked forward to getting together with the girls every week. It was like having eight little sisters—never a dull moment. Personalities may have clashed, but at the end of the night we were one happy family again. From time to time, I hear from Monica and Kenya, who are doing well. Crystal is family now so, of course, we talk on a regular basis. She’ll be making a stop here, at The Suite, real soon.
Mentoring to the girls gave me the opportunity to change my childhood tragedies into testimony. They received me well not only because I spoke from experience, but I didn’t preach to them. We talked and discussed how things in their lives related to the Bible. This made it easy for them to understand and they appreciated it. At that point in my life, I felt like I had finally found real purpose. Before, I had accepted Jesus as my Savior, but it took years before I actually surrendered to His will.
On a more personal note, after a long day working with the youth, it would have been nice to go home on a Friday night and have someone to unwind with. We could share our events of the day and make plans for the weekend. However, I wasn’t one to go out and hunt for a man. Most of my time was occupied and I believed that when God was ready, He would send a mate to me. I was content in the place where God had put me at that point in my life. It’s “he” that finds a virtuous woman and a good thing, right? Well, by the end of Chapter 1, it was obvious Rita Miller, Crystal’s mother, was planning to give God a little help in my ‘love’ life.
Well, that’s all for now. Tune in tomorrow to see what was on Rita’s agenda in Chapter 2. I believe she will be stopping by and bringing a very special guest along 🙂
TTYL,
Lia
PS. Remember, at any point during these blogs you want to comment or ask questions please do so. The cast (or author) will do our best to respond, if necessary, in the upcoming blog.
Blessings of Purpose, A Novel: The Hang Suite 