"Being Hospitable," by Meka James

Contemporary Erotic Lesbian Romance

0 Smooches ~ No Heat 1 Smooch ~Cozy 2 Smooches ~ Warm 3 Smooches ~ Simmering 4 Smooches ~ Red-Hot 5 Smooches ~ Scalding

	
Smooches ~ No Heat

Smooch ~ Cozy

Smooches ~ Warm

Smooches ~ Simmering

Smooches ~ Red-Hot

Smooches ~ Scalding

Book Blurb

Some houseguests are more enticing than others…

Kiki Jenkins knows that opening her home to her best friend’s younger sister means giving up some solitude. What she doesn’t expect is for her new roommate to become temptation in the form of novelty panties and flirty innuendos. But Charley is off limits…for several reasons.

Charley Graham wants to be seen as more than her brother’s little sister. And she wants Kiki to do the seeing. Her new internship provides the perfect opportunity. Plan in motion, she’s not going to let their close living quarters go to waste.

The arrangement is supposed to be temporary, but as they grow closer a permanent change of address might be in order.

My Review

One thing there quite simply isn’t enough of in this world is good lesbian romance novels. It’s a highly under-represented genre, and one I personally adore. But as we all know painfully well, there’s also a lack of access to authors of color, even in genres positively crying for more quality voices. So to stumble across a phenomenal #wlw story with two well-written Black female leads also written by a Black American woman? Well, I was basically salivating for a taste. And quite the delicious morsel Being Hospitable by Meka James proved to be. 😍

I fell hard and fast for both Kiki and Charley. They are such spunky, well-developed characters. I can sympathize with Kiki so hard (as a nurse, we lead similar hectic and crazy lives/schedules) so reading about her sleep challenges and exhaustion just really hit home for me. I can’t even begin to imagine waking up to Charley’s bouncy, beautiful butt dang near half-naked in my kitchen, even following a good night’s sleep. 😅

But it isn’t just that. These two, despite being written into a novella, are extremely well-rounded characters. Their story and character arcs weave together beautifully to create a true page-turner that will have you skipping potty breaks because you just must see how they handle the next moment together. It’s just one of those stories that carries you with it from page one to done and you don’t even realize you haven’t looked up from your e-reader in 2+ hours.

I recommend this to all lovers of romance, but especially those looking for a quality FF romance with wonderfully diverse and realistic characters that’ll suck you in and leave you wanting more, more, more!

author q&a with Meka!

When did you realize or decide you wanted to be a writer?

Oddly enough I don’t think I really had an ‘ah-ha’ moment. I sorta fell into writing. I started with blog stories because of a game I play (The Sims 3) and one of my readers strongly suggested I try and take that story and make it a book. That was the start for me.

What has been your best experience as an author so far?

Getting my first ‘fan’ mail from a reader. I don’t think my stories are life changing, but when I got that first message that talked about the impact my words made on them. That was the best feeling ever.

What sort of challenges have you faced as a writer? How did you overcome them?

Finding my squad. Self-doubt can be a real bitch and when you can’t find people you connect with only adds to that. I’ve had some major struggles with finding writing partners and beta readers. For a while I floundered trying to find a place where I connected with others. I’d sorta resigned myself to being a lone wolf when I got an invite to a group. I was a bit skeptical considering my history, but gave it a try and it’s been the best thing. My RChat squad is amazing and my outlook and skills have improved because of them.

How do you research and plan your books? Do you find outlining helps or hinders your process?

I don’t plan. I don’t outline. I’m a pantser and proud! My books are all set in a contemporary setting because research is not my strong suit. Google and my squad are my go-to for things should I need help. But for the most part, I get an idea, the characters start to form and the story follows suit.

Have you learned anything really cool or interesting while researching your books? What’s been the weirdest research you’ve ever had to do?

LOL…um…well I don’t know how cool or interesting it is, for my first book I did have to up my game on things a serial killer might need to know. I’ll just leave it at that. Hahaha I did learn you can buy almost anything on Amazon. That was a real eye opener.

For my one of my novellas, researching sex toys was fun. There’s a lot out there, some rather intriguing devices.

What advice would you give to new writers in the field?

Everything doesn’t work for everyone. Yes, read, learn, study, but just know that what may have been a ‘goldmine’ for one writer may not be your cup of tea. And that’s okay. Writers aren’t a hive and just because many talk about the wonders of a particular thing, don’t feel like you’re a ‘failure’ if that thing doesn’t work out the same for you.

Tell us a little about your writing nook! Favorite tea/coffee/writing snack?

I write on a laptop. It’s a beast of a machine (gaming laptop) that I’ve named Rocco. Yes he has a name. We spend a lot of time together, it was only fitting. I’m a tea drinker, have a cup every morning.

Of all of your own characters, who would you most want to date?

OMG how am I supposed to choose? I love my male leads. Each one are caring, loyal, and a freaking beast in bed. I’m not picking one, we would simply have to live in a very happy polygamy relationship. Well minus Seth, for reasons…

What project are you currently working on?

A few. My current is my first pre-thought/planned out series. It will be a small town romance. The series will follow three friends, all 40+ professional women who find their love later in life with blue collar workers.

What’s next for you?

At this time I don’t have another release scheduled. I’m working to get the first book in the series mentioned completed and will go from there. But!!! I do have a special announcement that is timely for this interview. Being Hospital will be coming to audio. As a special treat, here’s the *unedited* sample of what’s in store.

Meka James
She/Her

Meka James is a writer of adult contemporary and erotic romance. A born and raised Georgia Peach, she still resides in the southern state with her hubby of 16 years and counting. Mom to four kids of the two legged variety, she also has four fur-babies of the canine variety. Leo the turtle and Spade the snake rounds out her wacky household. When not writing or reading, Meka can be found playing The Sims 3, sometimes Sims 4, and making up fun stories to go with the pixelated people whose world she controls.