Why I Waited? A Look Inside of The World In Reverse Story

First of all, let me just say that you guys are awesome.  I know that I’ve been a ball of raw emotion since May, but you all have supported me through two books (The Contingency Plan and Volume 5 of the Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov) and one hell of a divorce. 

Here we are in December of 2012 and everyone’s waiting.  The World In Reverse was supposed to be out a thousand times and yet I’ve not finished it.  Well, there is good reason for it.

Quality.

You all deserve quality and I don’t want to give you anything less.

The World In Reverse is a complicated book, because I have to break down the character of Nicola and give the side of him that no one has ever seen.  What’s even harder is that I used to base this character on this one guy.  It was my fail-safe to getting the story right, but now, I realize that I need a true villain with redeeming qualities to mold this character after and since Mark is my muse for the Dmitry character, I’ve had to branch out.

My cop friends have also been very patient with me.  I ask a hundred questions and play out a thousand scenarios just to be told that “that would never happen.”  After they laugh for about thirty minutes, then they proceed to tell me how it would really happen.

And the kid killing thing is really hard to write because I don’t like children being harmed at all.  So, basically, I have to wrap my head around the major challenge in writing this new animal called Nicola Agosto. 

Since I’ve started on it (I had to restart because the first try was a mess), I haven’t been able to stop.  Writing this book is like crack. I actually enjoy every minute of it.  It’s keeping me up late nights and starting off early days for me. 

I have to say that when the time comes, I truly think it will be a good book. 

So that leads to your second question.  “When is the damn book going to be done?”

The real answer is that I don’t know.  It could be the end of this year it could be the first of January.  All I can promise you is that there are 15-17 chapters in this book.  15-17 really hard, deep chapters and 150 pages of no double space, small font work.  I’ll let you know as I get through the three phases.  Chapters 1-5, chapters 6-10 and chapters 11-15.  We can discuss them to keep you from being bored with me and when Karen reads over it and says that it’s disaster free, we’ll drop it.

Getting used to a my second new house (long story), a completely different lifestyle and all the running that is now required of me has been quite the challenge, but it also has been exhilarating.  You just don’t realize what you are capable of until you actually do it.  Of course, I can’t sit in my office and write all day for the time being.  I’m actually back to my old firm working hard as a senior consultant but I love it too.  I’m blessed because I don’t do anything that I don’t love.  I love Public Relations; I love writing novels; I love taking care of my beautiful kids and I love my house.  So, while it’ a hell of a lot on  the plate, it’s all good. I have nothing but good things to say.

Productivity when it comes to pushing out books may be slower, but I assure you that it won’t be any less tantalizing.  Plus, I have these little nooks all throughout my new house to write: by the fireplace, at the bar, in the bedroom nook at this awesome desk, out on the patio, it’s endless.  I’m learning how to be Latrivia Nelson 2.0, well 3.0 if you count that thing in collegeJ 

It’s not an easy thing to do and I wouldn’t recommend it for those just looking for something to do, but for those who must, I encourage you.  I can tell you that it’s not so bad actually.  I had forgotten what the sun looks like rising over a cup of coffee or sun sets at all for that matter.  I was too busy before, but even though I’m twice as busy now, being alone gives me time to see what I was missing when I was so busy taking care of someone else.  God is amazing.  The devil steals and then God replaces it with something or someone even more beautiful.  And if you’re really lucky, He gives you both.

People have been writing and asking if I’m still going to write stories.  They think that I’ve given up on the entire notion of love, but how can I when God’s love is so great and my children’s love is so amazing, and my friends’ love is so incredible and the love that I have for myself is still in tact?

I’m still in the game, people.  I’m still looking at people walking down the street wondering what love looks like from their shoes.  I’m still a romantic.  I just need time to ball it all up and put it tightly back into one package again.  In the meantime, I write.  I write because I love it and I love you guys.  No bad reviews, no crazy emails, nothing will keep me from doing what I love most…telling a damn good story.

XoXo and all of that jazz,

Latrivia S. Nelson

National Bestselling Author and Certifiable Bad Ass

The World In Reverse – Detective Luke Johnson

Remember the playboy that Nicola used to be before he met and fell in love with Ivy?  Well, there is a new bad boy on the block and his name is Luke Johnson.  From the start, this guy is mysterious.  He carries himself with a certain swagger that makes women look twice and men look for their women, if he’s in the room. But I don’t give you much on him in the beginning because I want you to draw some conclusions.  Long story short.  This guy is fun.  He’s a wild card that you just won’t be able to put your finger on until the very end.  Here is his introduction into the story…

The World In Reverse

Latrivia S. Nelson and RiverHouse Publishing, LLC © 2012

An uncanny nervousness swept over him, making his stomach clench tight as he watched.  Sure he had seen a hundred bodies over his career, but there was something very disturbing about seeing a child that had been mutilated, raped and murdered.  Every time that he was forced to view one, the image burned indelibly into the back of his mind and haunted him for weeks.  He could see it in his sleep, when he daydreamed, when he blinked.  This was the hardest part of the job.

Stepping out in the rain, boots landing in a puddle of mud and grime, he pulled his badge from under his t-shirt and let it hang like a dog tag on his chest.  The gleaming gold of the badge against black leather caught the reflection of the street light and gleamed in the gloomy setting.  The cold wet rain beat against his body as he stalked over past the onlookers who had gathered and stepped across the yellow police tape into the scene of the crime.

“What’s up, Agosto,” homicide detective Luke Johnson said with a handkerchief over his mouth, looking up from the opened latch of the dumpster.

Detective Luke Johnson was an ethnic enigma.  Fair-colored, deep-set brown eyes, arched black brows, bald head, muscular body and deep voiced, he was a mirror image of Vin Diesel in build and appearance, and he had never once told anyone if he was black, white or other.  As far as anyone knew, he was just Johnson, and Agosto figured he liked it that way.

“Nothing, man,” Nicola said, nodding.

“I heard about the demotion,” Johnson said with a smirk.  “What?  You didn’t like being a lieutenant?”

There was an east coast accent that Agosto picked up in Johnson’s voice but didn’t bother to say anything about.

Agosto coughed involuntarily, feeling the rain agitate his cold.  “It wasn’t that.  I didn’t like punks pissing on my female cops.  So I made an example out of a couple of them.  Who knew that they had good lawyers?”

Johnson raised his brow.  “You’re lucky all that you got was a demotion.  Shit, from what I heard about the ass beating you gave those guys, you should have gotten shit canned.”

“I’ll remember to count my lucky fucking stars from now on,” Agosto said, tired of telling the same story over and over.  It had been months, he thought it should have been old news by now.

Johnson could see Agosto’s irritation and chose to move on.  “So what good thing did this call ruin for you?  Because I was in between a beautiful brunette’s thighs.  And for the record, I don’t think I’ll get another chance.”

Recognize anything familiar?  You will see that Johnson and Agosto have a lot in common.  Both men are sure of themselves and know a little something about thinking with the other “brain” but Agosto is the older version of his new “partner”.

But whether or not he is friend or foe will be decided later.

More to come!

The New Face of the World In Reverse

Yes, I got all the emails stating that the old cover is currently in use by another author.  So, I had to think of a new concept for our story that has been in the works since the Old Testament.

RiverHouse is going to a new level.  Instead of picking our cover from Istock for The World in Reverse, we have found the perfect “face” for the cover.  You’ll see a lot more of him on the official book trailer, the interviews and some of the book signings. His name…Brock D.

A former football player and Special Forces veteran, he’s the perfect mix of bad boy and good guy that embodies the character of Nicola Agosto at his best. Did I mention he is gorgeous?  As you all know, so is Nicola, so filling his shoes on this project was a pretty tall order.

In the next few months, we’ll be working on the entire package to present to you guys, but in the meantime, we’ll be slashing this blog with his photos and having him on the radio show for a few interviews.

We’re excited about this new wave at the company, and we do hope that you will enjoy the mix of reality and fiction that is guaranteed to make the story that much more fun:-0

XoXo and all that jazz,

Latrivia

What is going on with Nicola Agosto?

We all love him from Ivy’s Twisted Vine and the Medlov Series.  He’s the straight laced, good cop with bad boy tendencies.  He loves his family and believes in honor. He holds that badge close to his heart and even though he will pounce on a bad guy, he will still take time to walk an old lady across the street.

 

Nicola Agosto was easy to write in these books because he didn’t have to be too 3D.  But now, in the World in Reverse, we see a man who is pulled in every direction possible.  He doesn’t know up from down because of this case he’s been assigned to, and he’s facing losing everything.  Why?  He had made a bad move.  He got caught, and it wasn’t with his hand in the cookie jar.

 

We’ve all made them right?  Mistakes.  We’ve lost our tempers and then wished that we could go back and just do something a little differently, but with Nicola, he can’t.  It’s viral, all over the web and the story is growing like a living thing, eating up airspace everywhere with his Rodney King – esque beat down.

 

But here’s some things we know about Nicola that the Memphis public doesn’t know:

1. His best friend was Brooks, a fallen, black police officer.
2. His wife is Ivy Winters, a former black college queen and the ex-fiance of Congressman Henderson.
3. He had four interracial children.
4. He’s not prejudice.

 

Only, Nicola doesn’t want to use the old, “my best friend was black and I’m a card-carrying member of the NAACP” routine and keeps his mouth shut about his ties, which only makes for a bigger, bolder story in the media and a bigger mess for him on the Department.  You know without knowing that this story is going to erupt as we watch Memphis nearly burn to the ground.

Stay tuned for more insight and introduction of new characters…

Rough- RUFF draft (still copyright property  of Latrivia s. Nelson and RiverHouse Publishing (c) 2012)

The smell of the perp in the back of his car was getting to Nicola, even though he had smelled worse before.  Letting the windows down a quarter of the way to filter good air in, he also turned up the AC and drove quietly to his off-site interrogation center.

Every once in a while, he would check his rearview mirror to see what the guy was doing behind him, but he doubted much.

“Aye, man, these handcuffs are hurting my hands,” the guy complained.

“If they are hurting your hands, then I wouldn’t be good at my job.  They are hurting your wrists,” Nicola corrected.

“Whatever.  You know what I mean,” the man said, rolling his eyes.  “Where are you taking me anyway?”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“I know my rights, and I ain’t new to this shit. You’re supposed to take me downtown to 201,” the man said, looking out the window.

“Well, if you know so much, then why are you asking me questions?”

The perp got quiet for a minute and then sat his head back anxiously looking at the roof of the truck.  “This your ride?”

“Yep.”  Nicola hated small talk, especially with criminals.

“Why don’t you have to drive an unmarked like the rest of the pigs?”

Nicola didn’t answer his question, but did ask one of his own.  “So, why did you ask for me?”  He looked back in his rearview mirror at the man.

The perp cracked a smile.  “Cuz I know shit.”  His lip turned up as he cut his devious, red eyes.

“Let me get you to the location, and you can pour your little heart out,” Nicola said, following protocol.  There was no way, he was going to mess up good intel by letting him talk beforehand.

Evidently, Nicola must have hit a nerve with the perp because he looked back out of the window and pursed his chapped lips together.  “How far are we away, because I gotta piss?”

“Hold it.”

“So you don’t care if I piss in your truck?”

“You piss in it; you clean it.”

There was a long pause as if the man was thinking hard about something.  He watched the streets pass by and took a deep breath.

“Aye.  You’re Nicola Agosto.  The Agosto, right?” he asked.

“The one and only.” Nicola checked his mirrors and turned into the left lane.

“Yeah, I know your ass,” the man taunted.

“What do you know?” Nicola asked, unmoved by the man.

“I know you live at 4673 Peabody with Ivy Winters and four bad ass kids.  Then there is one on the way, right?  I know that the dead cop, Brooks, has a baby with Ivy’s best friend.  I know that you spend most nights in your office and that Ivy doesn’t like sleeping alone.  I know last night you laid it down for the first time in three weeks, and now the old lady can barely walk.  And I know that if you don’t stop barking up the wrong tree the same thing that happened to the Naples brats is gone happen to yours. And that Ivy Winters is going find out what number three feels like. Who knows?  It might just be better than what you’re doing?  That tripped me out though.  Your wife has only been with two men?  You really believe that shit?”

Nicola’s foot let up off the gas as he heard the words. “What did you just say?” he asked as a car blared its horn behind him.  Incensed, he rolled the window down and waved the car past him as he turned on his blue siren quickly to let the woman know that she was two seconds from a ticket or getting shot.

As the car drove slowly by, Nicola pulled over to the side of Union in front of the Kroger’s grocery store and turned around in his seat.  His eyes were clouded with death and destruction.  Breathing hard, his badge hanging on the lanyard, pushed against the cotton t-shirt and his rock hard chest.

“Yeah, I bet I got your attention then,” the perp said with a clever grin.  However, his nervousness was apparent.  Still, he pushed on.   “Not so bad now, are you?”

My World in Reverse

Wow.  It has been a long time since I was on WordPress talking to my girls.  I miss you so much.  As I’m sure that you’ve heard through the grape vine or just through my Twitter page where someone was awesome enough to put all my business, I am going through a very hairy divorce.  For those who don’t know, you may read this with a hand over your mouth and the words, “no!” or “what?” on your lips.  But it’s the truth and there is no point in hiding it anymore.  I’ll still be Ms. Nelson after the divorce, as I am keeping my name, but the rest as they say is the rest.

With all the new changes that have occurred in my life – new house, new car, new employment and new attitude – I had to take a serious pause in my writing.  It’s not because I wanted to, but because I had serious writer’s block.  Talk about a mine screw, trying to write under serious duress is like writing on hot coals.

God has been good, as he always is, however, and my recovery back to a state of actual bliss was a short trip.  I am now feeling much better.  In fact, I am hopeful that the stories that I write for you will have even more depth and maybe more real experiences that we can all lean on and learn from.

It’s going to be hard to get back to RiverHouse as it was.  I had to let my staff go and start a new. So, if you call there will be new voices.  I have some orders that have not gone out and about 5,000 emails that I have not returned.  I plan to get to all of that ASAP.

So, you see my world was in a bit of reverse itself.  I had to learn some hard lessons about the people (person) that I loved and was forced to face that love in one person’s eyes isn’t always the same as in another’s.  The great news is that I didn’t end up in the looney bin or bankruptcy court. I just ended up realizing that I’m so much stronger that I ever knew that I was.  Plus, I had a few awesome angels on my side day and night.

I know that you’re waiting on Dmitry to emerge with a new volume of The Chronicles and The World in Reverse.  I’m getting over my block and taking some time to explore some things that I had long pushed back in the closet.  The real Dmitry even visited to remind me that there is still a lot of joy in lifeJ  Thanks for everything, Mark.

You ladies are wonderful.  You  have been patient, prayerful for me and uplifting. I love you all, and I promise not to disappoint.  We are going to have fun, going to go to the depths with our favorite men and we will conquer.

Talk to you soon,

 

Latrivia S. Nelson

 

AUTHOR LATRIVIA NELSON SITS ON AMAZON BESTSELLERS LIST WITH TWO HITS

Released on February 14, 2011                                                                                                                 

Interracial Romance Author Continues to Gain Exposure and Fans

 (February 14, 2011 – MEMPHIS, TENN)  The third book in the highly anticipated Medlov Crime Family Series by interracial romance author Latrivia S. Nelson, Anatoly Medlov: Complete Reign, dropped on January 31, 2011 and has received great reviews from readers across the nation.  The Russian mafia crime and romance novel is part of the new interracial romantic suspense genre that has emerged in the last year under the sub-genre of interracial romance, which was developed in part because of books by authors like Nelson and because of the growing demand for more action-packed books with African-American heroines. 

Nelson is already on Amazon’s coveted Multicultural Bestseller’s Top 100 list and has been for six consecutive weeks with her novelette, The Ugly Girlfriend (2010), which has sold thousands of e-books on both Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes and Noble’s Nook.  Currently, Nelson sits on Amazon’s Top Twenty Multicultural list for The Ugly Girlfriend and is in the top 40 for Anatoly Medlov: Complete Reign. 

In the last year, Nelson has also been on Amazon’s Multicultural Bestsellers’ List for Dmitry’s Closet (2010), the first book in the Medlov Crime Family Series, Dmitry’s Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen (2010), the second book in the Medlov Crime Family Series, and The Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov: Volume 1 and Volume 2 (The Medlov Crime Family Short Stories Series). 

Nelson is most noted for writing the largest book in the interracial romance genre to date, Ivy’s Twisted Vine (2008) and for writing books that make race a secondary issue in her novels.  Many of Nelson’s books are based out of her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.  However, several are based out of Eastern Europe (Prague, Czech Republic; Sochi & Moscow, Russia; Kerch, Ukraine). 

“It’s amazing to watch the fan-base grow and to receive the remarkable feedback from readers from all walks of life.  I have fans around the world, specifically in Russia, England, Australia, Brazil, Spain and thousands right here in the United States to whom I’m very grateful.  It makes me proud to see men and women from so many races embracing my work and embracing the idea of diversity in the romance genre,” said Nelson.

For more information on Latrivia S. Nelson or for interviews, please contact Megan Woods or visit www.latrivianelson.info. 

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New Medlov Crime Family Series Story Now Available at www.latrivianelson.info !!!

I’ve been promising this book for a few weeks now, but it’s finally live. Ladies and gentlemen, you may now purchase the 65-page short story that begins Dmitry Medlov’s journey to the top on my new website (www.latrivianelson.info). I hope that you enjoy the new site. It has been designed to keep you more in touch with all the wonderful things that we have been working on for your pleasure. Plus, I think it’s sort of sexy. Here’s my thought on all of this. I enjoy writing for you guys because you enjoy reading my work. So, as long as I can figure out a way to send you an amazing story, I will do my best to do just that!

What is the Volume 1 about?

Readers, who have already made themselves familiar with The Medlov Crime Family Series, will experience young Dmitry Medlov before his rise to the top. Released from prison at the age of 18, Dmitry Medlov has 24 hours to assassinate a Ukrainian drug lord and get both he and his brother on a plane to London. After being imprisoned for three years, however, many things have changed. Ivan isn’t a little boy anymore and he’s showing signs of being a sociopath. His ex-girlfriend is engaged and he’s a foot taller. Purchase this 65-page short story designed to begin to answer many questions about American’s favorite Russian crime boss. Only $3. PDF format. Emailed within 5-minutes right to your email.

Log on today!  www.latrivianelson.info

The World In Reverse by Latrivia S. Nelson (c) RiverHouse Publishing, LLC 2010

Nicola Agosto has always lived on the right side of the law, but to truly serve the just in the biggest case of his life, he’s forced to cross into a world where he must become a criminal and a killer before he can become a Saint.

A pedophile ring has set up shop in Memphis, Tennessee.  Children are abducted and found dead.  But what is the link?  The murder of a recent set of twins that remind him of his own sons pushes him to make a promise to a mother that will be hell to keep.  Save the Children.  As Agosto draws closer to busting the ring, he is set up in a brutal police attack on a young, black gang member to throw him off his investigation.  A YouTube post of the beating sweeps the Internet and sends the city into racial unrest.  As people protest in the streets, the entire police force divides and the city prepares to burn. 

Suspended and ridiculed, Agosto faces certain jail time and the questionable safety of his own family unless he makes a move, not be mention he’s been accused of being a racist.  Even though his wife and children are African-American, his world crumbles around him and the love between he and Ivy is tested as they struggle to stay together. 

With only a few friends to turn to and even less time to act, Nicola does the unthinkable.  A quick call to a local mob boss unleashes the army Nicola has always hated and exposes cops that have been in bed with organized crime the entire time, including an old friend from the Medlov case.  Only Nicola is now one of them and to achieve his ultimate objective, he must pledge his allegiance to a world in reverse.

Update on The World In Reverse

Reblogged from The Official Blog Of Anatoly Medlov:

• 

As I write this, I almost have to laugh because I know that most readers are like, “yeah, right…that book is never coming out.”  Trust me, I share your sentiment.  I’m anxious in my own right (write) to get it out, but I really want it to be done well. I’ve done a lot of research.  There have been a few officers from the MPD who probably would like to have this book over more than me. 

Read more… 2,189 more words

Sharing Progress on My Work