Blue Lines Blog – Book Review – Rosalyn Story’s More Than You Know

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12:34 A Slice Novel, 2008, 2009, Atlanta, Author, Barack, Barack Obama, Blue Lines, Blue Lines Blog, book, Car Accident, Democrat, Election, family, Friend, Inauguration, Jamal Story, Jazz, Kansas City, Key Yemaya Walker, Life, Love, Manhattan, manuscript, More Than You Know, New York, Novel, Obama, President, review, Rosalyn Story, Washington D.C., writing

“Sometimes a good tune is all you got, boy; your best friend, your home…” From Rosalyn Story’s More Than You Know

Although it took longer than the time I had expected in reading it, I have finally finished the well written, and compelling More Than You Know, by Rosalyn Story.

To give back ground, she is my godmother’s cousin, and I had received an autographed copy of her book about three years ago, because of the knowledge of my writing a manuscript. While writing, I have stayed away from reading fiction, while I was in the process of working on and editing Blue Lines. I have always been afraid that someone else’s thoughts could end up in my work, and with the glut of bad “Black Fiction,” I’ve steered away from fiction.

While in D.C. for the inauguration in 2009, I was lucky enough to meet Rosalyn Story, and from our writers Wii night with her cousin/Cher Dancer/Author Jamal Story (12:34 A Slice Novel) to our laborious journey to and back from the Inauguration of Barack Obama (over 10 miles on foot) we had the opportunity to become friends. So when my godmother sent me the copy of Rosalyn’s new novel,  Wading Home I finally had to read the first one.

More Than You Know, is the well written late 1990’s story of a Kansas City couple Olivia and L.J. Tillman, surrounding buried secrets that threaten to destroy the fabric of their relationship. Taking place in the Midwest and New York, the story born in chaos, follows jazzman L.J.’s circuitous journey to return to the love he once knew. And the past secrets that he promised to hold dear to his heart for his entire life.

Hip-Hop Quotable Wednesdays – B.I.G. – “Hypnotize”

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Atlanta, B.I.G., Bad Boy Records, Biggie Small, Blue Lines, Brooklyn, Busta Rhymes, Christopher Wallace, Coogi, DKNY, East Coast, Funk Master Flex, Hip-Hop Quotable Wednesdays, Hypnotize, I-85, Key Yemaya Walker, Los Angeles, March 9th 1997, Moschino, New York, North Carolina, Puff Daddy, Queens, Rene Cecil Sotolongo, Sean Combs, Starsky and Hutch, The Notorious B.I.G.

Wow, I can’t believe that it has been 14 years since March 9th, 1997. It is funny how the events around that Sunday served as the preface that would eventually lead to my writing Blue Lines.

I can remember that early morning as we drove from Atlanta to New York for our family emergency. I had to abruptly leave school, and while my younger brother and sister sat on the back bench of the rented van, my mother had taken over the driving duties somewhere on I-85 in North Carolina, actually the worst leg of the trip between Atlanta and New York. My father slept, as my mother, surprisingly composed due to her state the days before. When I heard her mention, they just said on the radio Biggie’s dead. My ears perked up, and I raised from my college student form being sprawled across the middle bench of the van.

“Damn,” I thought as she turned up the radio so that we could get more details. A very shaken Busta Rhymes was reached by phone, and he said that all East Coast rappers were trying to get out of L.A., that proved that this was senseless violence. My heart sank, and at the moment I thought of how my family tragedy and the murder of Christopher Wallace would be tied from that moment forward. The events of that weekend would eventually lead to my meeting the future subject of my future manuscript, and future novel Blue Lines.

I have chosen “Hypnotize” as this week’s installment of Hip-Hop Quotable Wednesdays submission, because as we finally made our way into New York and Funk Master Flex was playing Biggie’s new single back, to back, to back.