Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
I’m thrilled to start The Book Catalog, where I will be counting down my top 20 books. In each entry, I’ll provide insights into the stories and explain why they are among my favorites and how they have impacted my book collection.
Kicking off the event is #20, “Love, Life, & Happiness: The Lost Story”. This was the original story of the series, which I wrote in 2004. The story follows four friends, each with unique life experiences, as they navigate their time at Shaw University. The series addresses a variety of real-life issues that many college students encounter.
Ten years later, I decided to take the majority of the characters from this series and create the "Love, Life, & Happiness" series, with each book devoted to the story of a specific couple. The first story was titled "Love Unbroken," which is also on my top 20 list. The alternate series quickly gained popularity, becoming one of the most successful series in my catalog.
I decided to release the original series in 2016. However, it didn't resonate well with readers, largely due to how the series and its characters were portrayed. I received a lot of emails and comments from readers expressing their concerns about the love triangle between Riana and the Walker brothers. It was filled with drama that honestly wouldn’t have occurred in the new version. That was my perspective at the time when I wrote the original. This is why I believe "The Lost Story" should be included on this list; it offers a more realistic depiction of college life.
If you have never read this series, you can download it now on Amazon:
Here is an excerpt from part 1 of The Lost Story. This excerpt is an encounter between Shawn and Riana after a disastrous first meeting. Enjoy!
Riana was walking towards the student lounge to her first class, when Shawn started to walk beside her. She gave him an annoyed look and began to walk faster.
"Hey girl, hold up. What's the hurry?"
"I have a class to get to."
"What's wrong?"
"I just don't want to be late to class."
"I have a feeling you won't be. Now, tell me what's going on."
"Listen Troy-"
"It's Shawn."
"Shawn, I really don't want to talk. Anyway, what makes you think I would talk to you about anything?"
"I don't know. I heard strangers can be the best people to talk to."
"Says who?"
"I don't know, but I heard it could be true. I know we just met a few days ago, but I can see something is bothering you. I thought you needed someone to talk to."
Riana looked into Shawn's dark brown eyes and smiled. Just staring at him and noticing every part of him, including his muscled physique and smooth mocha colored skin, made Riana a little nervous to stand by him.
"That's nice, but I'm fine. Thanks though."
Shawn smiled and watched Riana walk away.
Riana looked at the room number near the communications office and realized that was her classroom. As she walked in and sat in the nearest seat near the door, Shawn walked in as well and sat next to her.
"Are you following me now?"
"You wish. I'm taking this class too."
"Journalism. Wow, I would have never guess."
"Well, there are a lot of things you don't know about me," Shawn flirtatiously replied.
Riana gave Shawn an enticing grin from his remark. If she wasn't taken, she would definitely have given Shawn a chance.
A woman quite older than the students walked into the classroom, clutching a black briefcase in her hand. She walked to her desk, almost tripping on the desk leg in the process. Shawn looked at the instructor, giving a little smirk.
"Hello, hello. Sorry, I'm late. My name is Sharon Williams and I will be your journalism professor for this semester."
She opened her briefcase and pulled out some papers to pass out.
"This is your syllabus for the term. Please take one and pass it around. Please look at it carefully once you receive one."
When the syllabus reached Riana, she took one and read it. "We already have an assignment?"
"As you can see, yes, you already have an assignment. This will consist of the entire semester. I want you to do a story involving the ins and outs of being in college. You can conduct interviews with college students, professors, alumni, as well as yourselves if you prefer. I just want you to become familiar with doing news stories, as well as conduct follow ups on the individuals you interview."
"So, we can talk about anything involving college life, like campus life or school work?" Riana asked.
"You can do your story on any topic that involves college life. Of course, you won't be doing this alone. You will be partnered up, so you can have the idea of how news reporters work together in the news room. Not only will you be doing the story together, but you will also film and edit your piece using the editing equipment provided in the school newsroom. Does anyone have any questions?"
Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads no. "Good. Why don't everyone find a partner and then we can introduce ourselves to the class," Professor Williams suggested.
As she went to her desk, Riana looked over at Shawn. "I guess we're partners."
Shawn smiled. "I guess so. This will be an interesting semester."
Riana smiled at Shawn.
"It definitely will."
Check back tomorrow for #19 of my favorite story in The Book Catalog. In the meantime, happy reading! :-)
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