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  1. “Nacirema Requiem” Sneak Preview

    “Armando?”

    Said young man snapped out of his reverie (or rather, his umpteenth argument with Amanda, the young woman he shared his body with) and stared into the concerned eyes of Melina. “Sorry, lost in thought after last night,” he said apologetically.

    “Are you okay? You look a bit out of it. Come to think of it, you look like you’ve been at odds with yourself lately,” Melina replied.

    That’s because I AM at odds, but with a hardy and extremist-minded young woman from another version of Earth, Armando thought inwardly.

    “I’m still here, you know that?” Amanda’s voice shot back before the Hispanic young man shoved her back.

    Armando inhaled sharply. “It’s the planning of everything and all,” he said to Melina. “That, and with this being our senior year…it feels like every day is like we’re facing a lot of pressure.”

    “Has Corwyn been haunting your dreams again?”

    That statement gave Armando pause while Amanda took a great deal of interest. “Okay, this Corwyn girl is DEFINITELY like me, but what did she did to you?”

    Armando shook his head, pushing Amanda to the back once again. “Not lately, but who knows what she’s planning? It’s getting a bit too quiet, and it means that she’ll be ready to strike once again.”

    Melina nodded, reaching towards him and patting his back twice as they exited her car. “If you wanna talk more about her or get something off your chest, I’m here for you…and Tybee,” she replied, a bit of Salgiel slipping in her voice.

    Sure enough, the first night of the mandatory breeding period had come and gone. Most of the students were hanging out with either their friends, their opposite-sex pairs, or a bit of both. Others were milling around the parking lot and shooting the breeze. For Armando, however, his mind was not only filled with Amanda’s presence but also of his concern that he wasn’t going to last long with the deceased young woman still acting passively defiant about the new world she was to endure for the thirty-day trial period.

    Armando knew that Amanda felt grossed out from last night, but he was loyal to the cause as a Nacireman citizen. And gentle reader, he knew that Amanda didn’t have enough time on her hands. The more she wanted to defy the odds, the more at risk she was for hell. And he wasn’t going to let her or Corwyn get the best of him.

    “I wonder where Ryan and Ariah could be?” Melina asked as she looked around. “I know that the bus that you two would take hadn’t arrived yet.”

    That’s what I’d like to know myself, Amanda responded snidely.

    “I’m sure that Ryan’s dads want them to have a big breakfast together,” he answered.

    The two didn’t have to wait longer for the two teens to arrive, Armando’s eyes going wide with amazement as he took in Ryan being dressed in a form fitting bright-blue shirt with a V-neck collar and beige jeans that highlighted the diver’s legs perfectly. A pair of blue-and-white Converse sneakers and leaf-shaped pendant necklace completed the look. But what caught Armando off-guard was how Ryan felt more and more relaxed and at ease with himself, Ariah (dressed in a simple pink sundress with white tennis shoes) walking with him hand-in-hand as if they were crowned royalty.

    Most of the students and teachers thought that the two friends were glowing after last night’s sexual escapade.

    Armando, however, knew the truth. And so did a now-livid Amanda who was ready to show herself through her male counterpart. “What is this?!”

    “That, Amanda, is your Ryan and my Ryan now fused as one,” Armando said inwardly before pushing her to the background and approaching his godbrother. “Bro, I know that you’re not turning straight on me, right?”

    Ryan smirked. “And forget about our times together, even when we’re supposed to be studying? Not on your life,” he said. “You know the motto, bro. Equality and tradition.”

    “Until the day we die,” Ariah and Melina finished in unison.

    “Come on, you guys,” Armando stated good-naturedly. “We don’t wanna be late for homeroom. Let’s go to class.”

    Amanda, on the other hand, was itching to break free and read the now-consolidated Ryan for filth. That bastard owes me some answers, she said as she let her male counterpart take over the wheel. Who does he think he is? He can’t be going through with this, right? Right? 

    You’ll never forget the first time! “Nacirema Requiem” is back with new updates, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

    #NaciremaRequiem #AfternoonCheckIn #AmPromoting #AmWriting #Authors #BackInAction #BlackAuthors #BlackBloggers #BlackCreators #BlackWriters #BloggingCommunity #ContemporaryFiction #CreativeWriting #Creativity #Creators #DailyGrind #ExclusivelyOnWattpad #InTheKnow #LaborDaySpecial #LGBTQFiction #MondayMadness #NewWeek #PersonalBlog #SensationalSeptember #SneakPreviews #SummerWattpadGames #Wattpad #WriterSLife #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity
  2. “Nacirema Requiem” Sneak Preview

    “Armando?”

    Said young man snapped out of his reverie (or rather, his umpteenth argument with Amanda, the young woman he shared his body with) and stared into the concerned eyes of Melina. “Sorry, lost in thought after last night,” he said apologetically.

    “Are you okay? You look a bit out of it. Come to think of it, you look like you’ve been at odds with yourself lately,” Melina replied.

    That’s because I AM at odds, but with a hardy and extremist-minded young woman from another version of Earth, Armando thought inwardly.

    “I’m still here, you know that?” Amanda’s voice shot back before the Hispanic young man shoved her back.

    Armando inhaled sharply. “It’s the planning of everything and all,” he said to Melina. “That, and with this being our senior year…it feels like every day is like we’re facing a lot of pressure.”

    “Has Corwyn been haunting your dreams again?”

    That statement gave Armando pause while Amanda took a great deal of interest. “Okay, this Corwyn girl is DEFINITELY like me, but what did she did to you?”

    Armando shook his head, pushing Amanda to the back once again. “Not lately, but who knows what she’s planning? It’s getting a bit too quiet, and it means that she’ll be ready to strike once again.”

    Melina nodded, reaching towards him and patting his back twice as they exited her car. “If you wanna talk more about her or get something off your chest, I’m here for you…and Tybee,” she replied, a bit of Salgiel slipping in her voice.

    Sure enough, the first night of the mandatory breeding period had come and gone. Most of the students were hanging out with either their friends, their opposite-sex pairs, or a bit of both. Others were milling around the parking lot and shooting the breeze. For Armando, however, his mind was not only filled with Amanda’s presence but also of his concern that he wasn’t going to last long with the deceased young woman still acting passively defiant about the new world she was to endure for the thirty-day trial period.

    Armando knew that Amanda felt grossed out from last night, but he was loyal to the cause as a Nacireman citizen. And gentle reader, he knew that Amanda didn’t have enough time on her hands. The more she wanted to defy the odds, the more at risk she was for hell. And he wasn’t going to let her or Corwyn get the best of him.

    “I wonder where Ryan and Ariah could be?” Melina asked as she looked around. “I know that the bus that you two would take hadn’t arrived yet.”

    That’s what I’d like to know myself, Amanda responded snidely.

    “I’m sure that Ryan’s dads want them to have a big breakfast together,” he answered.

    The two didn’t have to wait longer for the two teens to arrive, Armando’s eyes going wide with amazement as he took in Ryan being dressed in a form fitting bright-blue shirt with a V-neck collar and beige jeans that highlighted the diver’s legs perfectly. A pair of blue-and-white Converse sneakers and leaf-shaped pendant necklace completed the look. But what caught Armando off-guard was how Ryan felt more and more relaxed and at ease with himself, Ariah (dressed in a simple pink sundress with white tennis shoes) walking with him hand-in-hand as if they were crowned royalty.

    Most of the students and teachers thought that the two friends were glowing after last night’s sexual escapade.

    Armando, however, knew the truth. And so did a now-livid Amanda who was ready to show herself through her male counterpart. “What is this?!”

    “That, Amanda, is your Ryan and my Ryan now fused as one,” Armando said inwardly before pushing her to the background and approaching his godbrother. “Bro, I know that you’re not turning straight on me, right?”

    Ryan smirked. “And forget about our times together, even when we’re supposed to be studying? Not on your life,” he said. “You know the motto, bro. Equality and tradition.”

    “Until the day we die,” Ariah and Melina finished in unison.

    “Come on, you guys,” Armando stated good-naturedly. “We don’t wanna be late for homeroom. Let’s go to class.”

    Amanda, on the other hand, was itching to break free and read the now-consolidated Ryan for filth. That bastard owes me some answers, she said as she let her male counterpart take over the wheel. Who does he think he is? He can’t be going through with this, right? Right? 

    You’ll never forget the first time! “Nacirema Requiem” is back with new updates, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

    #NaciremaRequiem #AfternoonCheckIn #AmPromoting #AmWriting #Authors #BackInAction #BlackAuthors #BlackBloggers #BlackCreators #BlackWriters #BloggingCommunity #ContemporaryFiction #CreativeWriting #Creativity #Creators #DailyGrind #ExclusivelyOnWattpad #InTheKnow #LaborDaySpecial #LGBTQFiction #MondayMadness #NewWeek #PersonalBlog #SensationalSeptember #SneakPreviews #SummerWattpadGames #Wattpad #WriterSLife #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity
  3. “Nacirema Requiem” Sneak Preview

    “Armando?”

    Said young man snapped out of his reverie (or rather, his umpteenth argument with Amanda, the young woman he shared his body with) and stared into the concerned eyes of Melina. “Sorry, lost in thought after last night,” he said apologetically.

    “Are you okay? You look a bit out of it. Come to think of it, you look like you’ve been at odds with yourself lately,” Melina replied.

    That’s because I AM at odds, but with a hardy and extremist-minded young woman from another version of Earth, Armando thought inwardly.

    “I’m still here, you know that?” Amanda’s voice shot back before the Hispanic young man shoved her back.

    Armando inhaled sharply. “It’s the planning of everything and all,” he said to Melina. “That, and with this being our senior year…it feels like every day is like we’re facing a lot of pressure.”

    “Has Corwyn been haunting your dreams again?”

    That statement gave Armando pause while Amanda took a great deal of interest. “Okay, this Corwyn girl is DEFINITELY like me, but what did she did to you?”

    Armando shook his head, pushing Amanda to the back once again. “Not lately, but who knows what she’s planning? It’s getting a bit too quiet, and it means that she’ll be ready to strike once again.”

    Melina nodded, reaching towards him and patting his back twice as they exited her car. “If you wanna talk more about her or get something off your chest, I’m here for you…and Tybee,” she replied, a bit of Salgiel slipping in her voice.

    Sure enough, the first night of the mandatory breeding period had come and gone. Most of the students were hanging out with either their friends, their opposite-sex pairs, or a bit of both. Others were milling around the parking lot and shooting the breeze. For Armando, however, his mind was not only filled with Amanda’s presence but also of his concern that he wasn’t going to last long with the deceased young woman still acting passively defiant about the new world she was to endure for the thirty-day trial period.

    Armando knew that Amanda felt grossed out from last night, but he was loyal to the cause as a Nacireman citizen. And gentle reader, he knew that Amanda didn’t have enough time on her hands. The more she wanted to defy the odds, the more at risk she was for hell. And he wasn’t going to let her or Corwyn get the best of him.

    “I wonder where Ryan and Ariah could be?” Melina asked as she looked around. “I know that the bus that you two would take hadn’t arrived yet.”

    That’s what I’d like to know myself, Amanda responded snidely.

    “I’m sure that Ryan’s dads want them to have a big breakfast together,” he answered.

    The two didn’t have to wait longer for the two teens to arrive, Armando’s eyes going wide with amazement as he took in Ryan being dressed in a form fitting bright-blue shirt with a V-neck collar and beige jeans that highlighted the diver’s legs perfectly. A pair of blue-and-white Converse sneakers and leaf-shaped pendant necklace completed the look. But what caught Armando off-guard was how Ryan felt more and more relaxed and at ease with himself, Ariah (dressed in a simple pink sundress with white tennis shoes) walking with him hand-in-hand as if they were crowned royalty.

    Most of the students and teachers thought that the two friends were glowing after last night’s sexual escapade.

    Armando, however, knew the truth. And so did a now-livid Amanda who was ready to show herself through her male counterpart. “What is this?!”

    “That, Amanda, is your Ryan and my Ryan now fused as one,” Armando said inwardly before pushing her to the background and approaching his godbrother. “Bro, I know that you’re not turning straight on me, right?”

    Ryan smirked. “And forget about our times together, even when we’re supposed to be studying? Not on your life,” he said. “You know the motto, bro. Equality and tradition.”

    “Until the day we die,” Ariah and Melina finished in unison.

    “Come on, you guys,” Armando stated good-naturedly. “We don’t wanna be late for homeroom. Let’s go to class.”

    Amanda, on the other hand, was itching to break free and read the now-consolidated Ryan for filth. That bastard owes me some answers, she said as she let her male counterpart take over the wheel. Who does he think he is? He can’t be going through with this, right? Right? 

    You’ll never forget the first time! “Nacirema Requiem” is back with new updates, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

    #NaciremaRequiem #AfternoonCheckIn #AmPromoting #AmWriting #Authors #BackInAction #BlackAuthors #BlackBloggers #BlackCreators #BlackWriters #BloggingCommunity #ContemporaryFiction #CreativeWriting #Creativity #Creators #DailyGrind #ExclusivelyOnWattpad #InTheKnow #LaborDaySpecial #LGBTQFiction #MondayMadness #NewWeek #PersonalBlog #SensationalSeptember #SneakPreviews #SummerWattpadGames #Wattpad #WriterSLife #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity
  4. “Nacirema Requiem” Sneak Preview

    “Armando?”

    Said young man snapped out of his reverie (or rather, his umpteenth argument with Amanda, the young woman he shared his body with) and stared into the concerned eyes of Melina. “Sorry, lost in thought after last night,” he said apologetically.

    “Are you okay? You look a bit out of it. Come to think of it, you look like you’ve been at odds with yourself lately,” Melina replied.

    That’s because I AM at odds, but with a hardy and extremist-minded young woman from another version of Earth, Armando thought inwardly.

    “I’m still here, you know that?” Amanda’s voice shot back before the Hispanic young man shoved her back.

    Armando inhaled sharply. “It’s the planning of everything and all,” he said to Melina. “That, and with this being our senior year…it feels like every day is like we’re facing a lot of pressure.”

    “Has Corwyn been haunting your dreams again?”

    That statement gave Armando pause while Amanda took a great deal of interest. “Okay, this Corwyn girl is DEFINITELY like me, but what did she did to you?”

    Armando shook his head, pushing Amanda to the back once again. “Not lately, but who knows what she’s planning? It’s getting a bit too quiet, and it means that she’ll be ready to strike once again.”

    Melina nodded, reaching towards him and patting his back twice as they exited her car. “If you wanna talk more about her or get something off your chest, I’m here for you…and Tybee,” she replied, a bit of Salgiel slipping in her voice.

    Sure enough, the first night of the mandatory breeding period had come and gone. Most of the students were hanging out with either their friends, their opposite-sex pairs, or a bit of both. Others were milling around the parking lot and shooting the breeze. For Armando, however, his mind was not only filled with Amanda’s presence but also of his concern that he wasn’t going to last long with the deceased young woman still acting passively defiant about the new world she was to endure for the thirty-day trial period.

    Armando knew that Amanda felt grossed out from last night, but he was loyal to the cause as a Nacireman citizen. And gentle reader, he knew that Amanda didn’t have enough time on her hands. The more she wanted to defy the odds, the more at risk she was for hell. And he wasn’t going to let her or Corwyn get the best of him.

    “I wonder where Ryan and Ariah could be?” Melina asked as she looked around. “I know that the bus that you two would take hadn’t arrived yet.”

    That’s what I’d like to know myself, Amanda responded snidely.

    “I’m sure that Ryan’s dads want them to have a big breakfast together,” he answered.

    The two didn’t have to wait longer for the two teens to arrive, Armando’s eyes going wide with amazement as he took in Ryan being dressed in a form fitting bright-blue shirt with a V-neck collar and beige jeans that highlighted the diver’s legs perfectly. A pair of blue-and-white Converse sneakers and leaf-shaped pendant necklace completed the look. But what caught Armando off-guard was how Ryan felt more and more relaxed and at ease with himself, Ariah (dressed in a simple pink sundress with white tennis shoes) walking with him hand-in-hand as if they were crowned royalty.

    Most of the students and teachers thought that the two friends were glowing after last night’s sexual escapade.

    Armando, however, knew the truth. And so did a now-livid Amanda who was ready to show herself through her male counterpart. “What is this?!”

    “That, Amanda, is your Ryan and my Ryan now fused as one,” Armando said inwardly before pushing her to the background and approaching his godbrother. “Bro, I know that you’re not turning straight on me, right?”

    Ryan smirked. “And forget about our times together, even when we’re supposed to be studying? Not on your life,” he said. “You know the motto, bro. Equality and tradition.”

    “Until the day we die,” Ariah and Melina finished in unison.

    “Come on, you guys,” Armando stated good-naturedly. “We don’t wanna be late for homeroom. Let’s go to class.”

    Amanda, on the other hand, was itching to break free and read the now-consolidated Ryan for filth. That bastard owes me some answers, she said as she let her male counterpart take over the wheel. Who does he think he is? He can’t be going through with this, right? Right? 

    You’ll never forget the first time! “Nacirema Requiem” is back with new updates, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

    #NaciremaRequiem #AfternoonCheckIn #AmPromoting #AmWriting #Authors #BackInAction #BlackAuthors #BlackBloggers #BlackCreators #BlackWriters #BloggingCommunity #ContemporaryFiction #CreativeWriting #Creativity #Creators #DailyGrind #ExclusivelyOnWattpad #InTheKnow #LaborDaySpecial #LGBTQFiction #MondayMadness #NewWeek #PersonalBlog #SensationalSeptember #SneakPreviews #SummerWattpadGames #Wattpad #WriterSLife #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity
  5. “Nacirema Requiem” Sneak Preview

    “Armando?”

    Said young man snapped out of his reverie (or rather, his umpteenth argument with Amanda, the young woman he shared his body with) and stared into the concerned eyes of Melina. “Sorry, lost in thought after last night,” he said apologetically.

    “Are you okay? You look a bit out of it. Come to think of it, you look like you’ve been at odds with yourself lately,” Melina replied.

    That’s because I AM at odds, but with a hardy and extremist-minded young woman from another version of Earth, Armando thought inwardly.

    “I’m still here, you know that?” Amanda’s voice shot back before the Hispanic young man shoved her back.

    Armando inhaled sharply. “It’s the planning of everything and all,” he said to Melina. “That, and with this being our senior year…it feels like every day is like we’re facing a lot of pressure.”

    “Has Corwyn been haunting your dreams again?”

    That statement gave Armando pause while Amanda took a great deal of interest. “Okay, this Corwyn girl is DEFINITELY like me, but what did she did to you?”

    Armando shook his head, pushing Amanda to the back once again. “Not lately, but who knows what she’s planning? It’s getting a bit too quiet, and it means that she’ll be ready to strike once again.”

    Melina nodded, reaching towards him and patting his back twice as they exited her car. “If you wanna talk more about her or get something off your chest, I’m here for you…and Tybee,” she replied, a bit of Salgiel slipping in her voice.

    Sure enough, the first night of the mandatory breeding period had come and gone. Most of the students were hanging out with either their friends, their opposite-sex pairs, or a bit of both. Others were milling around the parking lot and shooting the breeze. For Armando, however, his mind was not only filled with Amanda’s presence but also of his concern that he wasn’t going to last long with the deceased young woman still acting passively defiant about the new world she was to endure for the thirty-day trial period.

    Armando knew that Amanda felt grossed out from last night, but he was loyal to the cause as a Nacireman citizen. And gentle reader, he knew that Amanda didn’t have enough time on her hands. The more she wanted to defy the odds, the more at risk she was for hell. And he wasn’t going to let her or Corwyn get the best of him.

    “I wonder where Ryan and Ariah could be?” Melina asked as she looked around. “I know that the bus that you two would take hadn’t arrived yet.”

    That’s what I’d like to know myself, Amanda responded snidely.

    “I’m sure that Ryan’s dads want them to have a big breakfast together,” he answered.

    The two didn’t have to wait longer for the two teens to arrive, Armando’s eyes going wide with amazement as he took in Ryan being dressed in a form fitting bright-blue shirt with a V-neck collar and beige jeans that highlighted the diver’s legs perfectly. A pair of blue-and-white Converse sneakers and leaf-shaped pendant necklace completed the look. But what caught Armando off-guard was how Ryan felt more and more relaxed and at ease with himself, Ariah (dressed in a simple pink sundress with white tennis shoes) walking with him hand-in-hand as if they were crowned royalty.

    Most of the students and teachers thought that the two friends were glowing after last night’s sexual escapade.

    Armando, however, knew the truth. And so did a now-livid Amanda who was ready to show herself through her male counterpart. “What is this?!”

    “That, Amanda, is your Ryan and my Ryan now fused as one,” Armando said inwardly before pushing her to the background and approaching his godbrother. “Bro, I know that you’re not turning straight on me, right?”

    Ryan smirked. “And forget about our times together, even when we’re supposed to be studying? Not on your life,” he said. “You know the motto, bro. Equality and tradition.”

    “Until the day we die,” Ariah and Melina finished in unison.

    “Come on, you guys,” Armando stated good-naturedly. “We don’t wanna be late for homeroom. Let’s go to class.”

    Amanda, on the other hand, was itching to break free and read the now-consolidated Ryan for filth. That bastard owes me some answers, she said as she let her male counterpart take over the wheel. Who does he think he is? He can’t be going through with this, right? Right? 

    You’ll never forget the first time! “Nacirema Requiem” is back with new updates, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

    #NaciremaRequiem #AfternoonCheckIn #AmPromoting #AmWriting #Authors #BackInAction #BlackAuthors #BlackBloggers #BlackCreators #BlackWriters #BloggingCommunity #ContemporaryFiction #CreativeWriting #Creativity #Creators #DailyGrind #ExclusivelyOnWattpad #InTheKnow #LaborDaySpecial #LGBTQFiction #MondayMadness #NewWeek #PersonalBlog #SensationalSeptember #SneakPreviews #SummerWattpadGames #Wattpad #WriterSLife #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity
  6. “The Passion of Sean Gillain” Full-Length Chapter Preview

    Sure enough, I was sitting at a table with Caeleb and Tim at Macy’s Cyber-Cafe (one of the many on-campus coffeehouses that the students of RISD liked to frequent). After placing our orders, it was Caeleb himself who started things off. “Sean, Tim and I never really understood how rough you had it with being the middle child in a family of successful influencers,” he began. “But once we got dressed down by Alyssia and Liam who gave us the whole story, I personally wanted to know how you managed to stay strong with all of this going on.” 

    I nodded, inhaling sharply. “Well, you can pretty much say that being under the harsh criticism of Horace and Reva Gillain as they both expected nothing but pure perfection I had plenty of time to tell myself not to care,” I remarked. “But I was under the care of my maternal grandparents and grew up on the farm back in Adams Falls, Georgia. Mom said that she never liked living in a town that never got down with the times and where there’s nothing else to do, so she saw it fitting to make sure that none of her children got to be in the same position.”

    “But when it came to you,” Tim began. 

    “It was easy for me to adapt to the rural life because my parents pushed me into my grandparents care,” I finished. And so began one hour of me letting out my life and times as the “Gillain family oddball,” not leaving anything out as I talked about how I saw passion as originally for the reckless and me putting away my innocence after the non-birthday dinner, vowing to help out my grandparents with the farm, the boycott after Ra’Keem and the others humiliating me at the celebratory dinner in his honor, and everything that led me to coming to Newport. “In a way, you two, I guess you can say that I’m still trying to figure out my place with the changes of life.”

    Tim nodded. “Let me ask you this, Sean. Had it not been for your parents and older siblings wanting to control your plans for the Fashion Showcase, would you have entered?” he wanted to know. 

    I closed my eyes briefly before facing the blonde. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have,” I stated. “Then again, I might have because Mom thought that I had talent with my designs when she submitted my sketches that I did back in middle school as part of my application portfolio. Who can say? I mean, I know that Jessica has her impossibly high standards and would’ve been ashamed of me if I had shown ‘anything shoddy and embarrassing to the family image,’ as she would like to say. Her twin brother Ra’Keem and our father- the biggest thorn in my side- would agree.”

    “But you have talent as you said,” Caeleb pointed out. 

    “Wouldn’t have made a difference. When it comes to the Gillain name, how one presents oneself is everything. And in my parents eyes as well as Ra’Keem and Jessica’s, I was basically the epitome of everything that they were against.”

    “Damn,” Tim hissed, shaking his head. “That’s rough.”

    I shrugged my shoulders as our fare arrived. “It is what it is. I’ve been the disappointment in my father’s eyes for as long as I can remember. So why should anything be different?”

    Before anyone could reply, my phone rang with an unfamiliar number flashing on my screen. “Who’s calling you?” Tim asked. 

    “Damned if I want to know, and double-damned if I don’t. All the better to just get this out of the way now,” I muttered as I pressed ANSWER. “Hello?”

    A pause. Then, “Sean? It’s Monica, your younger twin sister,” the voice of the person in question replied. 

    I inhaled sharply, pantomiming for Caeleb and Tim to be silent as I placed it on speaker. “Okay, Monica? What’s up?”

    “Look, I got your new phone number from Uncle Jace because I really need to talk to you,” Monica stated. “And I just want you to listen, okay? Jamal and I have heard all about what’s been going on between you and the others- Mom, Dad, Jessica, and Ra’Keem. How you’re not entering the end-of-semester showcase because they want total control of your designs and all. And personally? I think you’re doing what’s right for you. You shouldn’t have to do anything that they want for their benefits or design something that’s based on their impossibly high standards.” 

    I hummed. “What does Jamal think?” 

    Monica snorted. “He’s fallen into the same trap that Ra’Keem and Dad’s been feeding him, that you’re not caring about the family name and that you’re too good for anyone who’s not like Grandma or Grandpa. Hell, Jamal’s becoming more and more of a prick by hanging out with the wrong crowd.”

    “Damn, Monica. And what about you?”

    I heard her sigh. “I’m just keeping out of this until the time is right to break out on my own. But Grandma and Grandpa told me that they’d take me in if things got too bad or I end up losing Mom and Dad’s favor,” she answered. “Probably for the best since Jessica’s been haranguing me about my weight and my looks. She’s putting me on these crash diets while Mom’s been all drill-sergeant on me about my grades. It’s a nightmare, Sean. And I thank God that you’ve been raised differently from everyone else. But I gotta warn you that Mom and Dad won’t let you slide on not entering the showcase. I don’t know what they’re planning, but it’s not going to be good. All I can tell you is that you at least have one more ally on your side.”

    My heart ached for my younger sister. “Thanks, Monica, for letting me know,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Look, you play your role perfectly and plan for your own exodus from the Gillain circus. If possible, take up Grandma and Grandpa’s offer. And do me a favor?”

    “Fire away.”

    “Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious that our parents, Jamal, Ra’Keem, and even Jessica could be planning. One or all of them are on the same ‘Let’s-all-hate-Sean-for-being-different’ parade, and there’s no telling what can happen next. So play your part and do what’s been told. But if it becomes too much, call Grandma Evaline at once.” 

    “I will, Sean. I love you. Don’t forget that.”

    The line disconnected.

    And as Caeleb and Tim came to my side while the tears that threatened to fall began cascading down my cheeks, I could only hope and pray that my sister would find the strength to become her own person. 

    You’ll never forget the first time! “The Passion of Sean Gillain” is back with new chapters, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

    #ThePassionOfSeanGillain #AmPromoting #AmWriting #Authors #BackInAction #BlackAuthors #BlackBloggers #BlackCreators #BloggingCommunity #ContemporaryFiction #CreativeWriting #Creativity #DailyGrindWeekendEdition #ExclusivelyOnWattpad #FullLengthChapterPreview #InTheKnow #LGBTQFiction #NewMonth #NewWeek #PersonalBlog #SensationalSeptember #SneakPreviews #SundaySitDownCheckIn #Wattpad #WattpadWriter #WeekendBeatsAndVibes #WriterSLife #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritingPromotions
  7. “The Passion of Sean Gillain” Full-Length Chapter Preview

    Sure enough, I was sitting at a table with Caeleb and Tim at Macy’s Cyber-Cafe (one of the many on-campus coffeehouses that the students of RISD liked to frequent). After placing our orders, it was Caeleb himself who started things off. “Sean, Tim and I never really understood how rough you had it with being the middle child in a family of successful influencers,” he began. “But once we got dressed down by Alyssia and Liam who gave us the whole story, I personally wanted to know how you managed to stay strong with all of this going on.” 

    I nodded, inhaling sharply. “Well, you can pretty much say that being under the harsh criticism of Horace and Reva Gillain as they both expected nothing but pure perfection I had plenty of time to tell myself not to care,” I remarked. “But I was under the care of my maternal grandparents and grew up on the farm back in Adams Falls, Georgia. Mom said that she never liked living in a town that never got down with the times and where there’s nothing else to do, so she saw it fitting to make sure that none of her children got to be in the same position.”

    “But when it came to you,” Tim began. 

    “It was easy for me to adapt to the rural life because my parents pushed me into my grandparents care,” I finished. And so began one hour of me letting out my life and times as the “Gillain family oddball,” not leaving anything out as I talked about how I saw passion as originally for the reckless and me putting away my innocence after the non-birthday dinner, vowing to help out my grandparents with the farm, the boycott after Ra’Keem and the others humiliating me at the celebratory dinner in his honor, and everything that led me to coming to Newport. “In a way, you two, I guess you can say that I’m still trying to figure out my place with the changes of life.”

    Tim nodded. “Let me ask you this, Sean. Had it not been for your parents and older siblings wanting to control your plans for the Fashion Showcase, would you have entered?” he wanted to know. 

    I closed my eyes briefly before facing the blonde. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have,” I stated. “Then again, I might have because Mom thought that I had talent with my designs when she submitted my sketches that I did back in middle school as part of my application portfolio. Who can say? I mean, I know that Jessica has her impossibly high standards and would’ve been ashamed of me if I had shown ‘anything shoddy and embarrassing to the family image,’ as she would like to say. Her twin brother Ra’Keem and our father- the biggest thorn in my side- would agree.”

    “But you have talent as you said,” Caeleb pointed out. 

    “Wouldn’t have made a difference. When it comes to the Gillain name, how one presents oneself is everything. And in my parents eyes as well as Ra’Keem and Jessica’s, I was basically the epitome of everything that they were against.”

    “Damn,” Tim hissed, shaking his head. “That’s rough.”

    I shrugged my shoulders as our fare arrived. “It is what it is. I’ve been the disappointment in my father’s eyes for as long as I can remember. So why should anything be different?”

    Before anyone could reply, my phone rang with an unfamiliar number flashing on my screen. “Who’s calling you?” Tim asked. 

    “Damned if I want to know, and double-damned if I don’t. All the better to just get this out of the way now,” I muttered as I pressed ANSWER. “Hello?”

    A pause. Then, “Sean? It’s Monica, your younger twin sister,” the voice of the person in question replied. 

    I inhaled sharply, pantomiming for Caeleb and Tim to be silent as I placed it on speaker. “Okay, Monica? What’s up?”

    “Look, I got your new phone number from Uncle Jace because I really need to talk to you,” Monica stated. “And I just want you to listen, okay? Jamal and I have heard all about what’s been going on between you and the others- Mom, Dad, Jessica, and Ra’Keem. How you’re not entering the end-of-semester showcase because they want total control of your designs and all. And personally? I think you’re doing what’s right for you. You shouldn’t have to do anything that they want for their benefits or design something that’s based on their impossibly high standards.” 

    I hummed. “What does Jamal think?” 

    Monica snorted. “He’s fallen into the same trap that Ra’Keem and Dad’s been feeding him, that you’re not caring about the family name and that you’re too good for anyone who’s not like Grandma or Grandpa. Hell, Jamal’s becoming more and more of a prick by hanging out with the wrong crowd.”

    “Damn, Monica. And what about you?”

    I heard her sigh. “I’m just keeping out of this until the time is right to break out on my own. But Grandma and Grandpa told me that they’d take me in if things got too bad or I end up losing Mom and Dad’s favor,” she answered. “Probably for the best since Jessica’s been haranguing me about my weight and my looks. She’s putting me on these crash diets while Mom’s been all drill-sergeant on me about my grades. It’s a nightmare, Sean. And I thank God that you’ve been raised differently from everyone else. But I gotta warn you that Mom and Dad won’t let you slide on not entering the showcase. I don’t know what they’re planning, but it’s not going to be good. All I can tell you is that you at least have one more ally on your side.”

    My heart ached for my younger sister. “Thanks, Monica, for letting me know,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Look, you play your role perfectly and plan for your own exodus from the Gillain circus. If possible, take up Grandma and Grandpa’s offer. And do me a favor?”

    “Fire away.”

    “Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious that our parents, Jamal, Ra’Keem, and even Jessica could be planning. One or all of them are on the same ‘Let’s-all-hate-Sean-for-being-different’ parade, and there’s no telling what can happen next. So play your part and do what’s been told. But if it becomes too much, call Grandma Evaline at once.” 

    “I will, Sean. I love you. Don’t forget that.”

    The line disconnected.

    And as Caeleb and Tim came to my side while the tears that threatened to fall began cascading down my cheeks, I could only hope and pray that my sister would find the strength to become her own person. 

    You’ll never forget the first time! “The Passion of Sean Gillain” is back with new chapters, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

    #ThePassionOfSeanGillain #AmPromoting #AmWriting #Authors #BackInAction #BlackAuthors #BlackBloggers #BlackCreators #BloggingCommunity #ContemporaryFiction #CreativeWriting #Creativity #DailyGrindWeekendEdition #ExclusivelyOnWattpad #FullLengthChapterPreview #InTheKnow #LGBTQFiction #NewMonth #NewWeek #PersonalBlog #SensationalSeptember #SneakPreviews #SundaySitDownCheckIn #Wattpad #WattpadWriter #WeekendBeatsAndVibes #WriterSLife #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritingPromotions
  8. “The Passion of Sean Gillain” Full-Length Chapter Preview

    Sure enough, I was sitting at a table with Caeleb and Tim at Macy’s Cyber-Cafe (one of the many on-campus coffeehouses that the students of RISD liked to frequent). After placing our orders, it was Caeleb himself who started things off. “Sean, Tim and I never really understood how rough you had it with being the middle child in a family of successful influencers,” he began. “But once we got dressed down by Alyssia and Liam who gave us the whole story, I personally wanted to know how you managed to stay strong with all of this going on.” 

    I nodded, inhaling sharply. “Well, you can pretty much say that being under the harsh criticism of Horace and Reva Gillain as they both expected nothing but pure perfection I had plenty of time to tell myself not to care,” I remarked. “But I was under the care of my maternal grandparents and grew up on the farm back in Adams Falls, Georgia. Mom said that she never liked living in a town that never got down with the times and where there’s nothing else to do, so she saw it fitting to make sure that none of her children got to be in the same position.”

    “But when it came to you,” Tim began. 

    “It was easy for me to adapt to the rural life because my parents pushed me into my grandparents care,” I finished. And so began one hour of me letting out my life and times as the “Gillain family oddball,” not leaving anything out as I talked about how I saw passion as originally for the reckless and me putting away my innocence after the non-birthday dinner, vowing to help out my grandparents with the farm, the boycott after Ra’Keem and the others humiliating me at the celebratory dinner in his honor, and everything that led me to coming to Newport. “In a way, you two, I guess you can say that I’m still trying to figure out my place with the changes of life.”

    Tim nodded. “Let me ask you this, Sean. Had it not been for your parents and older siblings wanting to control your plans for the Fashion Showcase, would you have entered?” he wanted to know. 

    I closed my eyes briefly before facing the blonde. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have,” I stated. “Then again, I might have because Mom thought that I had talent with my designs when she submitted my sketches that I did back in middle school as part of my application portfolio. Who can say? I mean, I know that Jessica has her impossibly high standards and would’ve been ashamed of me if I had shown ‘anything shoddy and embarrassing to the family image,’ as she would like to say. Her twin brother Ra’Keem and our father- the biggest thorn in my side- would agree.”

    “But you have talent as you said,” Caeleb pointed out. 

    “Wouldn’t have made a difference. When it comes to the Gillain name, how one presents oneself is everything. And in my parents eyes as well as Ra’Keem and Jessica’s, I was basically the epitome of everything that they were against.”

    “Damn,” Tim hissed, shaking his head. “That’s rough.”

    I shrugged my shoulders as our fare arrived. “It is what it is. I’ve been the disappointment in my father’s eyes for as long as I can remember. So why should anything be different?”

    Before anyone could reply, my phone rang with an unfamiliar number flashing on my screen. “Who’s calling you?” Tim asked. 

    “Damned if I want to know, and double-damned if I don’t. All the better to just get this out of the way now,” I muttered as I pressed ANSWER. “Hello?”

    A pause. Then, “Sean? It’s Monica, your younger twin sister,” the voice of the person in question replied. 

    I inhaled sharply, pantomiming for Caeleb and Tim to be silent as I placed it on speaker. “Okay, Monica? What’s up?”

    “Look, I got your new phone number from Uncle Jace because I really need to talk to you,” Monica stated. “And I just want you to listen, okay? Jamal and I have heard all about what’s been going on between you and the others- Mom, Dad, Jessica, and Ra’Keem. How you’re not entering the end-of-semester showcase because they want total control of your designs and all. And personally? I think you’re doing what’s right for you. You shouldn’t have to do anything that they want for their benefits or design something that’s based on their impossibly high standards.” 

    I hummed. “What does Jamal think?” 

    Monica snorted. “He’s fallen into the same trap that Ra’Keem and Dad’s been feeding him, that you’re not caring about the family name and that you’re too good for anyone who’s not like Grandma or Grandpa. Hell, Jamal’s becoming more and more of a prick by hanging out with the wrong crowd.”

    “Damn, Monica. And what about you?”

    I heard her sigh. “I’m just keeping out of this until the time is right to break out on my own. But Grandma and Grandpa told me that they’d take me in if things got too bad or I end up losing Mom and Dad’s favor,” she answered. “Probably for the best since Jessica’s been haranguing me about my weight and my looks. She’s putting me on these crash diets while Mom’s been all drill-sergeant on me about my grades. It’s a nightmare, Sean. And I thank God that you’ve been raised differently from everyone else. But I gotta warn you that Mom and Dad won’t let you slide on not entering the showcase. I don’t know what they’re planning, but it’s not going to be good. All I can tell you is that you at least have one more ally on your side.”

    My heart ached for my younger sister. “Thanks, Monica, for letting me know,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Look, you play your role perfectly and plan for your own exodus from the Gillain circus. If possible, take up Grandma and Grandpa’s offer. And do me a favor?”

    “Fire away.”

    “Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious that our parents, Jamal, Ra’Keem, and even Jessica could be planning. One or all of them are on the same ‘Let’s-all-hate-Sean-for-being-different’ parade, and there’s no telling what can happen next. So play your part and do what’s been told. But if it becomes too much, call Grandma Evaline at once.” 

    “I will, Sean. I love you. Don’t forget that.”

    The line disconnected.

    And as Caeleb and Tim came to my side while the tears that threatened to fall began cascading down my cheeks, I could only hope and pray that my sister would find the strength to become her own person. 

    You’ll never forget the first time! “The Passion of Sean Gillain” is back with new chapters, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

    #ThePassionOfSeanGillain #AmPromoting #AmWriting #Authors #BackInAction #BlackAuthors #BlackBloggers #BlackCreators #BloggingCommunity #ContemporaryFiction #CreativeWriting #Creativity #DailyGrindWeekendEdition #ExclusivelyOnWattpad #FullLengthChapterPreview #InTheKnow #LGBTQFiction #NewMonth #NewWeek #PersonalBlog #SensationalSeptember #SneakPreviews #SundaySitDownCheckIn #Wattpad #WattpadWriter #WeekendBeatsAndVibes #WriterSLife #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritingPromotions
  9. “The Passion of Sean Gillain” Full-Length Chapter Preview

    Sure enough, I was sitting at a table with Caeleb and Tim at Macy’s Cyber-Cafe (one of the many on-campus coffeehouses that the students of RISD liked to frequent). After placing our orders, it was Caeleb himself who started things off. “Sean, Tim and I never really understood how rough you had it with being the middle child in a family of successful influencers,” he began. “But once we got dressed down by Alyssia and Liam who gave us the whole story, I personally wanted to know how you managed to stay strong with all of this going on.” 

    I nodded, inhaling sharply. “Well, you can pretty much say that being under the harsh criticism of Horace and Reva Gillain as they both expected nothing but pure perfection I had plenty of time to tell myself not to care,” I remarked. “But I was under the care of my maternal grandparents and grew up on the farm back in Adams Falls, Georgia. Mom said that she never liked living in a town that never got down with the times and where there’s nothing else to do, so she saw it fitting to make sure that none of her children got to be in the same position.”

    “But when it came to you,” Tim began. 

    “It was easy for me to adapt to the rural life because my parents pushed me into my grandparents care,” I finished. And so began one hour of me letting out my life and times as the “Gillain family oddball,” not leaving anything out as I talked about how I saw passion as originally for the reckless and me putting away my innocence after the non-birthday dinner, vowing to help out my grandparents with the farm, the boycott after Ra’Keem and the others humiliating me at the celebratory dinner in his honor, and everything that led me to coming to Newport. “In a way, you two, I guess you can say that I’m still trying to figure out my place with the changes of life.”

    Tim nodded. “Let me ask you this, Sean. Had it not been for your parents and older siblings wanting to control your plans for the Fashion Showcase, would you have entered?” he wanted to know. 

    I closed my eyes briefly before facing the blonde. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have,” I stated. “Then again, I might have because Mom thought that I had talent with my designs when she submitted my sketches that I did back in middle school as part of my application portfolio. Who can say? I mean, I know that Jessica has her impossibly high standards and would’ve been ashamed of me if I had shown ‘anything shoddy and embarrassing to the family image,’ as she would like to say. Her twin brother Ra’Keem and our father- the biggest thorn in my side- would agree.”

    “But you have talent as you said,” Caeleb pointed out. 

    “Wouldn’t have made a difference. When it comes to the Gillain name, how one presents oneself is everything. And in my parents eyes as well as Ra’Keem and Jessica’s, I was basically the epitome of everything that they were against.”

    “Damn,” Tim hissed, shaking his head. “That’s rough.”

    I shrugged my shoulders as our fare arrived. “It is what it is. I’ve been the disappointment in my father’s eyes for as long as I can remember. So why should anything be different?”

    Before anyone could reply, my phone rang with an unfamiliar number flashing on my screen. “Who’s calling you?” Tim asked. 

    “Damned if I want to know, and double-damned if I don’t. All the better to just get this out of the way now,” I muttered as I pressed ANSWER. “Hello?”

    A pause. Then, “Sean? It’s Monica, your younger twin sister,” the voice of the person in question replied. 

    I inhaled sharply, pantomiming for Caeleb and Tim to be silent as I placed it on speaker. “Okay, Monica? What’s up?”

    “Look, I got your new phone number from Uncle Jace because I really need to talk to you,” Monica stated. “And I just want you to listen, okay? Jamal and I have heard all about what’s been going on between you and the others- Mom, Dad, Jessica, and Ra’Keem. How you’re not entering the end-of-semester showcase because they want total control of your designs and all. And personally? I think you’re doing what’s right for you. You shouldn’t have to do anything that they want for their benefits or design something that’s based on their impossibly high standards.” 

    I hummed. “What does Jamal think?” 

    Monica snorted. “He’s fallen into the same trap that Ra’Keem and Dad’s been feeding him, that you’re not caring about the family name and that you’re too good for anyone who’s not like Grandma or Grandpa. Hell, Jamal’s becoming more and more of a prick by hanging out with the wrong crowd.”

    “Damn, Monica. And what about you?”

    I heard her sigh. “I’m just keeping out of this until the time is right to break out on my own. But Grandma and Grandpa told me that they’d take me in if things got too bad or I end up losing Mom and Dad’s favor,” she answered. “Probably for the best since Jessica’s been haranguing me about my weight and my looks. She’s putting me on these crash diets while Mom’s been all drill-sergeant on me about my grades. It’s a nightmare, Sean. And I thank God that you’ve been raised differently from everyone else. But I gotta warn you that Mom and Dad won’t let you slide on not entering the showcase. I don’t know what they’re planning, but it’s not going to be good. All I can tell you is that you at least have one more ally on your side.”

    My heart ached for my younger sister. “Thanks, Monica, for letting me know,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Look, you play your role perfectly and plan for your own exodus from the Gillain circus. If possible, take up Grandma and Grandpa’s offer. And do me a favor?”

    “Fire away.”

    “Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious that our parents, Jamal, Ra’Keem, and even Jessica could be planning. One or all of them are on the same ‘Let’s-all-hate-Sean-for-being-different’ parade, and there’s no telling what can happen next. So play your part and do what’s been told. But if it becomes too much, call Grandma Evaline at once.” 

    “I will, Sean. I love you. Don’t forget that.”

    The line disconnected.

    And as Caeleb and Tim came to my side while the tears that threatened to fall began cascading down my cheeks, I could only hope and pray that my sister would find the strength to become her own person. 

    You’ll never forget the first time! “The Passion of Sean Gillain” is back with new chapters, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

    #ThePassionOfSeanGillain #AmPromoting #AmWriting #Authors #BackInAction #BlackAuthors #BlackBloggers #BlackCreators #BloggingCommunity #ContemporaryFiction #CreativeWriting #Creativity #DailyGrindWeekendEdition #ExclusivelyOnWattpad #FullLengthChapterPreview #InTheKnow #LGBTQFiction #NewMonth #NewWeek #PersonalBlog #SensationalSeptember #SneakPreviews #SundaySitDownCheckIn #Wattpad #WattpadWriter #WeekendBeatsAndVibes #WriterSLife #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritingPromotions
  10. “The Passion of Sean Gillain” Full-Length Chapter Preview

    Sure enough, I was sitting at a table with Caeleb and Tim at Macy’s Cyber-Cafe (one of the many on-campus coffeehouses that the students of RISD liked to frequent). After placing our orders, it was Caeleb himself who started things off. “Sean, Tim and I never really understood how rough you had it with being the middle child in a family of successful influencers,” he began. “But once we got dressed down by Alyssia and Liam who gave us the whole story, I personally wanted to know how you managed to stay strong with all of this going on.” 

    I nodded, inhaling sharply. “Well, you can pretty much say that being under the harsh criticism of Horace and Reva Gillain as they both expected nothing but pure perfection I had plenty of time to tell myself not to care,” I remarked. “But I was under the care of my maternal grandparents and grew up on the farm back in Adams Falls, Georgia. Mom said that she never liked living in a town that never got down with the times and where there’s nothing else to do, so she saw it fitting to make sure that none of her children got to be in the same position.”

    “But when it came to you,” Tim began. 

    “It was easy for me to adapt to the rural life because my parents pushed me into my grandparents care,” I finished. And so began one hour of me letting out my life and times as the “Gillain family oddball,” not leaving anything out as I talked about how I saw passion as originally for the reckless and me putting away my innocence after the non-birthday dinner, vowing to help out my grandparents with the farm, the boycott after Ra’Keem and the others humiliating me at the celebratory dinner in his honor, and everything that led me to coming to Newport. “In a way, you two, I guess you can say that I’m still trying to figure out my place with the changes of life.”

    Tim nodded. “Let me ask you this, Sean. Had it not been for your parents and older siblings wanting to control your plans for the Fashion Showcase, would you have entered?” he wanted to know. 

    I closed my eyes briefly before facing the blonde. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have,” I stated. “Then again, I might have because Mom thought that I had talent with my designs when she submitted my sketches that I did back in middle school as part of my application portfolio. Who can say? I mean, I know that Jessica has her impossibly high standards and would’ve been ashamed of me if I had shown ‘anything shoddy and embarrassing to the family image,’ as she would like to say. Her twin brother Ra’Keem and our father- the biggest thorn in my side- would agree.”

    “But you have talent as you said,” Caeleb pointed out. 

    “Wouldn’t have made a difference. When it comes to the Gillain name, how one presents oneself is everything. And in my parents eyes as well as Ra’Keem and Jessica’s, I was basically the epitome of everything that they were against.”

    “Damn,” Tim hissed, shaking his head. “That’s rough.”

    I shrugged my shoulders as our fare arrived. “It is what it is. I’ve been the disappointment in my father’s eyes for as long as I can remember. So why should anything be different?”

    Before anyone could reply, my phone rang with an unfamiliar number flashing on my screen. “Who’s calling you?” Tim asked. 

    “Damned if I want to know, and double-damned if I don’t. All the better to just get this out of the way now,” I muttered as I pressed ANSWER. “Hello?”

    A pause. Then, “Sean? It’s Monica, your younger twin sister,” the voice of the person in question replied. 

    I inhaled sharply, pantomiming for Caeleb and Tim to be silent as I placed it on speaker. “Okay, Monica? What’s up?”

    “Look, I got your new phone number from Uncle Jace because I really need to talk to you,” Monica stated. “And I just want you to listen, okay? Jamal and I have heard all about what’s been going on between you and the others- Mom, Dad, Jessica, and Ra’Keem. How you’re not entering the end-of-semester showcase because they want total control of your designs and all. And personally? I think you’re doing what’s right for you. You shouldn’t have to do anything that they want for their benefits or design something that’s based on their impossibly high standards.” 

    I hummed. “What does Jamal think?” 

    Monica snorted. “He’s fallen into the same trap that Ra’Keem and Dad’s been feeding him, that you’re not caring about the family name and that you’re too good for anyone who’s not like Grandma or Grandpa. Hell, Jamal’s becoming more and more of a prick by hanging out with the wrong crowd.”

    “Damn, Monica. And what about you?”

    I heard her sigh. “I’m just keeping out of this until the time is right to break out on my own. But Grandma and Grandpa told me that they’d take me in if things got too bad or I end up losing Mom and Dad’s favor,” she answered. “Probably for the best since Jessica’s been haranguing me about my weight and my looks. She’s putting me on these crash diets while Mom’s been all drill-sergeant on me about my grades. It’s a nightmare, Sean. And I thank God that you’ve been raised differently from everyone else. But I gotta warn you that Mom and Dad won’t let you slide on not entering the showcase. I don’t know what they’re planning, but it’s not going to be good. All I can tell you is that you at least have one more ally on your side.”

    My heart ached for my younger sister. “Thanks, Monica, for letting me know,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Look, you play your role perfectly and plan for your own exodus from the Gillain circus. If possible, take up Grandma and Grandpa’s offer. And do me a favor?”

    “Fire away.”

    “Keep your eyes peeled for anything suspicious that our parents, Jamal, Ra’Keem, and even Jessica could be planning. One or all of them are on the same ‘Let’s-all-hate-Sean-for-being-different’ parade, and there’s no telling what can happen next. So play your part and do what’s been told. But if it becomes too much, call Grandma Evaline at once.” 

    “I will, Sean. I love you. Don’t forget that.”

    The line disconnected.

    And as Caeleb and Tim came to my side while the tears that threatened to fall began cascading down my cheeks, I could only hope and pray that my sister would find the strength to become her own person. 

    You’ll never forget the first time! “The Passion of Sean Gillain” is back with new chapters, available EXCLUSIVELY on Wattpad! Don’t miss it! 

    #ThePassionOfSeanGillain #AmPromoting #AmWriting #Authors #BackInAction #BlackAuthors #BlackBloggers #BlackCreators #BloggingCommunity #ContemporaryFiction #CreativeWriting #Creativity #DailyGrindWeekendEdition #ExclusivelyOnWattpad #FullLengthChapterPreview #InTheKnow #LGBTQFiction #NewMonth #NewWeek #PersonalBlog #SensationalSeptember #SneakPreviews #SundaySitDownCheckIn #Wattpad #WattpadWriter #WeekendBeatsAndVibes #WriterSLife #Writers #Writing #WritingCommunity #WritingPromotions
  11. 📚 New Book Stuff on the #Blog!
    Reading Roundup: August 2026
    Only 3 novels read, but they were all really interesting and will stick with me!
    The post Reading Roundup: August 2026 appeared first on The Wallflower Digest.

    thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/book

    #Blogging #Blogger #BloggingCommunity #RSSFeed #Bookstodon #BookBlogger #Reading

  12. 📚 New Book Stuff on the #Blog!
    Reading Roundup: August 2026
    Only 3 novels read, but they were all really interesting and will stick with me!
    The post Reading Roundup: August 2026 appeared first on The Wallflower Digest.

    thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/book

    #Blogging #Blogger #BloggingCommunity #RSSFeed #Bookstodon #BookBlogger #Reading

  13. 📚 New Book Stuff on the #Blog!
    Reading Roundup: August 2026
    Only 3 novels read, but they were all really interesting and will stick with me!
    The post Reading Roundup: August 2026 appeared first on The Wallflower Digest.

    thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/book

    #Blogging #Blogger #BloggingCommunity #RSSFeed #Bookstodon #BookBlogger #Reading

  14. 📚 New Book Stuff on the #Blog!
    Reading Roundup: August 2026
    Only 3 novels read, but they were all really interesting and will stick with me!
    The post Reading Roundup: August 2026 appeared first on The Wallflower Digest.

    thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/book

    #Blogging #Blogger #BloggingCommunity #RSSFeed #Bookstodon #BookBlogger #Reading

  15. 📚 New Book Stuff on the #Blog!
    Reading Roundup: August 2026
    Only 3 novels read, but they were all really interesting and will stick with me!
    The post Reading Roundup: August 2026 appeared first on The Wallflower Digest.

    thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/book

    #Blogging #Blogger #BloggingCommunity #RSSFeed #Bookstodon #BookBlogger #Reading

  16. 📚 New Book Stuff on the #Blog!
    Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake
    🏰🏰🏰🏰 4/5 Castles - Like nothing I've read before, audio cannot do it justice and I must revisit it in print!
    The post Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake appeared first on The Wallflower Digest.

    thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/book

    #Blogging #Blogger #BloggingCommunity #RSSFeed #Bookstodon #BookBlogger #Reading

  17. 📚 New Book Stuff on the #Blog!
    Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake
    🏰🏰🏰🏰 4/5 Castles - Like nothing I've read before, audio cannot do it justice and I must revisit it in print!
    The post Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake appeared first on The Wallflower Digest.

    thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/book

    #Blogging #Blogger #BloggingCommunity #RSSFeed #Bookstodon #BookBlogger #Reading

  18. 📚 New Book Stuff on the #Blog!
    Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake
    🏰🏰🏰🏰 4/5 Castles - Like nothing I've read before, audio cannot do it justice and I must revisit it in print!
    The post Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake appeared first on The Wallflower Digest.

    thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/book

    #Blogging #Blogger #BloggingCommunity #RSSFeed #Bookstodon #BookBlogger #Reading

  19. 📚 New Book Stuff on the #Blog!
    Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake
    🏰🏰🏰🏰 4/5 Castles - Like nothing I've read before, audio cannot do it justice and I must revisit it in print!
    The post Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake appeared first on The Wallflower Digest.

    thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/book

    #Blogging #Blogger #BloggingCommunity #RSSFeed #Bookstodon #BookBlogger #Reading

  20. 📚 New Book Stuff on the #Blog!
    Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake
    🏰🏰🏰🏰 4/5 Castles - Like nothing I've read before, audio cannot do it justice and I must revisit it in print!
    The post Titus Groan (Gormenghast #1) by Mervyn Peake appeared first on The Wallflower Digest.

    thewallflowerdigest.co.uk/book

    #Blogging #Blogger #BloggingCommunity #RSSFeed #Bookstodon #BookBlogger #Reading

  21. Life lately… 😂 Let’s just say I’m pretty sure juggling a million things, dodging doctor appointments, and trying to keep my joints from rebelling should qualify as an #Olympic sport.

    Anyway, if you’ve ever felt like you’re busier than you ever planned on being, you’ll probably relate. And if nothing else, maybe you’ll get a little laugh out of my latest blog post. ❤️
    So grab your #coffee or #matcha and come hang out with me on the blog for a few minutes. ☕️🍵. #HappyFriday, my friends!

    Here: un-compromised.blogspot.com/2026/08/YoungestOfTheOldPeople.html

    #blogger #faith #bloggingcommunity #reading #humor #old

  22. Life lately… 😂 Let’s just say I’m pretty sure juggling a million things, dodging doctor appointments, and trying to keep my joints from rebelling should qualify as an #Olympic sport.

    Anyway, if you’ve ever felt like you’re busier than you ever planned on being, you’ll probably relate. And if nothing else, maybe you’ll get a little laugh out of my latest blog post. ❤️
    So grab your #coffee or #matcha and come hang out with me on the blog for a few minutes. ☕️🍵. #HappyFriday, my friends!

    Here: un-compromised.blogspot.com/2026/08/YoungestOfTheOldPeople.html

    #blogger #faith #bloggingcommunity #reading #humor #old

  23. Life lately… 😂 Let’s just say I’m pretty sure juggling a million things, dodging doctor appointments, and trying to keep my joints from rebelling should qualify as an #Olympic sport.

    Anyway, if you’ve ever felt like you’re busier than you ever planned on being, you’ll probably relate. And if nothing else, maybe you’ll get a little laugh out of my latest blog post. ❤️
    So grab your #coffee or #matcha and come hang out with me on the blog for a few minutes. ☕️🍵. #HappyFriday, my friends!

    Here: un-compromised.blogspot.com/2026/08/YoungestOfTheOldPeople.html

    #blogger #faith #bloggingcommunity #reading #humor #old

  24. Life lately… 😂 Let’s just say I’m pretty sure juggling a million things, dodging doctor appointments, and trying to keep my joints from rebelling should qualify as an #Olympic sport.

    Anyway, if you’ve ever felt like you’re busier than you ever planned on being, you’ll probably relate. And if nothing else, maybe you’ll get a little laugh out of my latest blog post. ❤️
    So grab your #coffee or #matcha and come hang out with me on the blog for a few minutes. ☕️🍵. #HappyFriday, my friends!

    Here: un-compromised.blogspot.com/2026/08/YoungestOfTheOldPeople.html

    #blogger #faith #bloggingcommunity #reading #humor #old

  25. Life lately… 😂 Let’s just say I’m pretty sure juggling a million things, dodging doctor appointments, and trying to keep my joints from rebelling should qualify as an #Olympic sport.

    Anyway, if you’ve ever felt like you’re busier than you ever planned on being, you’ll probably relate. And if nothing else, maybe you’ll get a little laugh out of my latest blog post. ❤️
    So grab your #coffee or #matcha and come hang out with me on the blog for a few minutes. ☕️🍵. #HappyFriday, my friends!

    Here: un-compromised.blogspot.com/2026/08/YoungestOfTheOldPeople.html

    #blogger #faith #bloggingcommunity #reading #humor #old

  26. Naty S @eclecticpassions ·

    I updated almost all the and code that generates my favourite page on : the /⁠stats page.

    ➡️ burgeonlab.com/stats/

    With the new post types I’ve added recently: books, replies (separated out from notes), and RSVPs; I noticed some data on the graphs being incorrect...

    View full note: burgeonlab.com/notes/2026/0723

    This is post 71 of
    📈burgeonlab.com/tags/100daystoo

  27. Naty S @eclecticpassions ·

    033 is out!

    2026: Week 26 to 28/52 (Jun 22 – Jul 12)

    ➡️ burgeonlab.com/weeknotes/2026/

    I missed two weeks but I'm back. Enjoyed writing this one. I'll continue the trend of in my usual link roundups. Hope you like my selection!

    This is post 65 of
    📈 burgeonlab.com/tags/100daystoo