Authors: S. K. Collins
Crooked G's (29 page)
Fantasy got down to her lowest point in her life and eventually found herself living in a homeless shelter. She'd tried to get herself together enough to try and buy back her club, but the money that was needed to purchase it was unattainable. She later discovered that her club was sold, causing her to go into a depression phase, which took her to using harsher drugs. Her brother was
jailed for trying to shoplift at Macy's, so she had to fend for herself to now support her multiple drug habits.
For the last five months, Fantasy had been working for a “confidential company” that recruited homeless people to pass as their exasperated workers to picket in front of various law firms and government offices. Fantasy and her crew had been picketing at the corner of Nineteenth and M Streets for over a week and believed they were making a change. Yet, they had no idea the company they picketed for weren't even in the same building they were causing so much commotion in front of.
Two years later, Bangspot Records had made mainstream success and turned the entire music industry on its ear. Latrice's idea for distribution allowed the music world to see record sales skyrocket for the first time in three years and still kept ringtones as a profitable tool for the artists. Clarity's debut album titled
A Clear View
held the number one spot on the
Billboard
Hot 100 for two consecutive months in a row, going 6X platinum worldwide. Her top singles “Diamond District,” “I Can See Thru These Nââs,” and “Never a Dull Moment feat. Dull,” all sold more than two million downloads each.
Clarity soon lost her number one spot to her label mate, Teyron. His debut album entitled
Teyronimo
sold one million albums in his first week and his downloaded songs had sold eight millions times already. His songs “Teyronimo” and “No Break Up” were both up for Grammy nominations.
The N.A.R.C. album had been pushed back due to Killa D carrying out a jail sentence, for being charged with a gun, a small amount of marijuana, and cocaine that had been found on his tour bus on
The Bang'em While It's Hot
Tour. With Killa D being jailed, N.A.R.C.'s fan base had increased and when they finally
dropped their highly anticipated album
Legal Narceteering,
they were expected to move 1.5 million albums in the first week of its release.
Latrice and Eric had a story all of their own. After Shakita's passing, they both decided to take their friendship to the next level, and ended up having a wild night of sexual bliss after Clarity's album release party. They continued to “touch bottoms” with each other, until they both decided that business and pleasure wouldn't mix, unless they became a “super couple.” They then decided to purchase the Fantasy Lounge together at a private auction, and named it 20/20 Vision, which had been doing extremely well since its opening.
Soon to come, with every Black Emporium that opened up around the country, a 20/20 Vision Club would be built right next door, along with a Mark & Jay's Italian Café right across the street.
Latrice decided to make Clarity a business partner of hers, since the name of the club was Clarity's idea, which had been inspired by her album. Latrice's decision to make Clarity a stockholder in the club really came about when Clarity threatened to write a tell-all book about her come up in the rap game, and their spicy relationship they'd had together.
The crookedness continuesâ¦
T
HE
E
ND
Crooked Envy
coming soonâ¦
1. Who was your favorite character(s) and why?
2. Who were the character(s) that you hated and why?
3. What was your favorite part of the story?
4. What do you think Shakita could have done to get the money she needed instead of robbing BERKâ?
5. Now that Eric and Latrice are a couple, what do you think will happen with Teyron?
6. Do you know anyone who has dealt with an addiction like Shakita?
7. Shakita's addiction was gambling. What addictions did the rest of the main characters have?
8. If
Crooked G's
became a movie, who do you think could play Shakita and Latrice?
9. Why do you think Eric didn't want Shakita to work the purple and black floors? What do you think happens on those floors?
10. Do you think Latrice could've found another way to get Bay out of her life for good?
11. Do you have any friends that have dealt with physical and mental abuse like Latrice?
12. How do you feel about Latrice and Eric becoming a couple? Do you think Shakita and Eric would have made a better couple?
S.K. Collins was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA and is now living in Washington, D.C. This former aspiring rapper-turned-author brings out the heartfelt emotion in his writing from an edgy street-life perspective that leaves the reader begging for more. S.K. describes himself as a fortunate new author to have received guidance, words of encouragement, and advice about the publishing industry from some of the veterans like Keith Lee Johnson, author of the series
Little Black Girl Lost,
and Teri Woods, author of the trilogies
True to the Game
and
Dutch.
S.K. already has numerous books in the works that he can't wait to feed the hungry audience out there waiting to feed on something new and fresh. Connect with the author on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Tell S.K. what you thought about his book.
C
ONTACT
I
NFO
Facebook:
SK Collins
Twitter
&
Instagram
: @thewritersk
A
LSO COMING SOON BY
S.K. C
OLLINS
Unforgiven Love: Wide Open 2
Anything But Good
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
authors.simonandschuster.com/S-K-Collins
Facebook.com/AtriaBooks
@AtriaBooks
ALSO BY S.K. COLLINS
Wide Open
Strebor Books
P.O. Box 6505
Largo, MD 20792
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
© 2014 by S.K. Collins
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever. For information address Strebor Books, P.O. Box 6505, Largo, MD 20792.
ISBN 978-1-59309-554-3
ISBN 978-1-4767-5224-2 (ebook)
LCCN 2014935329
First Strebor Books trade paperback edition October 2014
Cover design:
www.mariondesigns.com
Cover photograph: © Keith Saunders/Keith Saunders Photos
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com
.
