Fabulous and Brunette: Jus Breathe by B. Lynn Carter - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway

Hi, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host B. Lynn Carter and her new book, “Jus Breathe,” here on FAB!! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with B. Lynn Carter and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

Jus Breathe

by B. Lynn Carter

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GENRE: Women’s (Speculative) Commercial Fiction

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BLURB:

Their seesaw love affair started when she was five, even though they didn’t meet until she was eighteen. It started the day she heard Daddy slur, “She ain’t mine. You had the nerve to name her Dawn. Look at her! You shudda named her Midnight!” Then Daddy left . . . for good. And the loving music that had filled Dawn’s life went silent.

That was the day that a “Midnight” Duckling invaded the mirror, took up residence in her chest, and controlled her ability to breathe. That was the day she learned to recognize “leaving time” . . . her superpower.

Couched in speculation, Jus Breathe is the tale of a young Black woman’s struggle to defy her inner “Duckling” and embrace her true self. Set in New York City during the turbulent sixties, it’s an improbable love story with precarious impulses, secret pasts, and inner demons.

Dawn, a survivor, flees her stepfather’s violent home. While struggling to attend college, she perfects sofa-surfing and hones her superpower, her ability to leave a situation in an instant.

But in the mist of the chaotic uprising that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, serendipity spins Dawn into beautiful Danny’s rollercoaster world.

Toxically in love, no longer a “leaver,” Dawn realizes that in order to survive, she must break free of Danny’s dominance. But that Duckling, who has allied with Danny, threatens to squeeze the life-breath from her if she dares to leave . . . that ugly, midnight-black Duckling, she has to kill.

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EXCERPT TWO:

I looked up to see the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse riding large snorting animals, bearing down on me. I swiveled and dodged; everyone swiveled and dodged. Momentarily, I understood they were mounted police, clearing the streets, herding folks like cattle. A collective shriek went up as the horseman headed into the crowd, continuing past me up 125th Street then turning and storming back in my direction. Overhead, the thunder of a helicopter rumbled the air. Its blinding floodlights targeting the, would be, insurrectionists.

Suddenly the police were everywhere, chasing down the panicking mob. I turned to run. Being pulled along with the crowd, I could not muscle my way back to the building. Clearly unreliable, ‘Outside Me’ didn’t step in to take my hand and show me the way. That’s when I felt the impact. Someone had shoved me from behind and I was falling forward, unbalanced, out of control, arms flailing and grasping as though thin air could somehow support me.

Terrified, I went down hard. Pain shot through my wrists and knees. There was a low ache in my ankle, which had twisted underneath me. People were running past me, jumping over me. I couldn't get up. I tried to hunker down, covering my head with my arms. I felt kicks and blows as panicked people fled, trying not to trip over me. I heard the sound of hoof beats in the distance, closing in fast. My lungs contracted . . . Jus breathe!

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GUEST POST:

My Favorite Scene in This Book

≈≈≈Calls went up. "Come down, join us. Brothers, Sisters, join us!"
And they did. They came aggrieved. They came agitated, incensed, burning. They came in hordes.
"We Shall Not, We Shall Not Be Moved!"≈≈

This is from a scene where my main character, Dawn is caught up in the Harlem uprising that followed the death of Dr. Martin Luther King. It is an intense fast-moving scene; but it’s not my favorite.

≈≈≈ The sketchy old woman is a series of wispy disjointed stills, a distorted ghostly figure defined by the flickering strobe as the faltering fluorescent crackles overhead. Like a kung fu abortionist, her shadowy arms are rippling, flying, her feet shuffling, her head bobbing up and down.≈≈≈

In this scene Dawn is witnessing her best friend undergo an illegal, backroom abortion. Great scene, not my favorite.

≈≈≈"Now looky what we got here," he said, and flashed a ragged grin—breathing, panting, his chest heaving up and down, his body quaking. Bile rising in my mouth. Me clinging to Siegfried's collar. Siegfried snapping, snarling out threats, clambering for release.
“I'll bet that sweet young mouth of hers can give a real good blow job—much better than yours, bitch," he said addressing the skeleton woman who accompanied him..
Cold fear shot through my spine. My heart took off. ≈≈≈

Here, Dawn, homeless, is sleeping on a roof with her German Shepard when she’s confronted with a potential rapist. It’s a dramatic, terrifying scene. But still, not my favorite.

Ever the romantic, my favorite scene is the following:

≈≈≈"No, you have to inhale the smoke; take it into your chest and try to hold it.” Beautiful Danny said, sounding amused.
Reclining in the tub, I sank deeper into the thick suds that served to preserve my modesty. With wet hands, I took the joint, pulled a long reckless drag, my first, and inhaled deeply. The smoke cut sharp into my lungs. I choked into a coughing fit. He waited, smiled . . . that smile. Then extending a hand he asked, "May I?"

I realized I was supposed to surrender my foot so he could loosen the sprain. Something in my brain was busy expanding. My mind was liquid overheating, transforming itself into steam, propelled by the richness of the music. A Beatles’ song announcing the majestic advent of the sun, flared out like tiny droplets of consciousness, lighter than air.
Danny’s outstretched hand summoned. My leg rippled upward. I offered my swollen ankle. He took possession, his touch even hotter than the water. Slowly, he rotated the ankle. Lathering with soap, he applied gentle pressure. Then, he slid his hot hands halfway up my calf, and down . . . and up again . . . and down again. The song’s lyrics were muffled through the closed door. In my head, my own lyrics slipped into place.
“Little lover, looks like the ice is surely melting.”

Dual sensations shot up my leg, down my spine, on into my brain and back down again, settling ultimately in some secret place between my legs. The pain was intense . . . the pleasure exquisite.≈≈≈

This scene is Dawn’s first real interaction with Danny, who she has coveted from afar for quite a while. I like this scene because the two of them are dancing around “sweet new love.” I like the musical, lyrical prose. Here Dawn and Danny are thrown together during the King uprising. Dawn has sprained her ankle and with nowhere else to go, (she’s homeless, sofa surfs) Danny, who’s never shown any interest in her, offers to take her back to his dorm room. It’s the beginning of a see-saw, roller-coaster and possibly toxic relationship.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Born and raised in the Bronx, NYC, B. Lynn Carter graduated The City College of New York with a degree in creative writing. She’s also studied at the Writing Institute of Sarah Lawrence College.

Her short story "One Wild Ride," published in Aaduna magazine, was nominated for the Pushcart Award in 2014. She’s had short stories and poetry published in the Blue Lake Review, Drunk Monkeys, Ascent Aspirations, Enhance Magazine, The Story Shack and the Bronx Memoir Project, among others. Besides “Jus Breathe,” Ms. Carter has written two additional full-length novels. She is also listed in Poets & Writers directory of writers.

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CONNECT WITH B. LYNN CARTER:

Website:

https://lynncarterbxwriter.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/lynn.carter.1004

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Lynzee2u

Instagram:

https://instagram.com/ilyncee

TikTok:

https://tiktok.com/@iLynzee

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/jus-breathe-by-b-lynn-carter

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22708007.B_Lynn_Carter

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62043949-jus-breathe

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3SWHCam

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3C8AFMv

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3SByPKZ

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Jus-Breathe-B-Lynn-Carter-ebook/dp/B0B9WRPQT2

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Jus-Breathe-B-Lynn-Carter/dp/1958901032

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

B. Lynn Carter will be awarding $25 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.