Who Is Being Interviewed by Arlena Dean?: November 2013

Thank you so much for this interview, Can you tell us where you are from?

I am originally from Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, but I now live in Yorktown, Virginia.

How did you come up with your title?

I tried to imagine what a betrayed heart looks like, and I decided that, while it may still be in one battered piece, it has jagged edges where each painful stab was inflicted carelessly. Betrayal, to me, does not come in one blow. It is a series of thoughtless stabs…lies, covert actions, and manipulations. It takes pieces of the heart away…it deflates the heart because it “sucks the life out of promise” and leaves the remains unevenly battered and torn. In my view, the edges are conspicuously jagged.

They say you can judge a book by its cover. Can you tell us a little about your cover and who designed it?

My cover design is by Atinad Designs, and I love it. The cover really depicts the essence of the story. There is a clear picture of a smiling Derek and Arianna, and, on the other side, facing torn edges, is Morgan, the dancer and Derek’s first love. At the bottom of the cover, between darkness and light, you see a cross that helps to demonstrate that it is Christ and His redemptive Love that brings these characters from darkness to light.

Can you tell us something about your book that would make me run out and buy it?

Discover the devastating impact of betrayal, and then find the hidden secrets that guarantee good and lasting relationships. Answers that are generally elusive are clearly exemplified in Jagged Edges.

Are there any messages in this book that you want the reader to know about?

Yes…most definitely. I want us to realize the devastation of betrayal…the carelessness of the act…the inability to bring the relationship back to its original state. I want us to give greater thought to who we want to be ourselves before getting into intimate relationships with others. Also, I want us all to be cognizant of the fact that using others for our convenience will always come back to hurt us and could possibly destroy credibility when we want to demonstrate the veracity of REAL LOVE.

What was your most favorite chapter to write and why?

My favorite chapter is chapter 8 ~ “A Secret Place.” It is the place where Arianna takes Derek so he can see how important it is to be patient with love… to take time with our lives, notice the miracles of God, and allow Him to help us find just the right person with whom we can “grow” in love. The scenes are beautiful and both the serious and playful scenes with Derek and Arianna are enlightening and fun to read.

Why did you feel you had to write this book?

I believe that Jagged Edges is an anointed Gift from God…the God who wants us to stop allowing infatuation to draw us into quick and meaningless situations…situations that create innocent children who must sometimes live in turmoil.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I would travel to Japan. I love the culture.

Are you a morning person or a night person?

I am definitely a MORNING PERSON. Even though I stay up late, I function much better in the morning.

Are there any members in your family who also like to write?

Both of my daughters are wonderful writers, but my oldest daughter is the one with the passion for it. Her stories are intriguing.

Thank you so much for this interview! Do you have any final words?

I am so grateful for the experience of writing this book, and it is my fervent prayer that it will be a help to many. Also, thank you for the opportunity to share so much of my novel with so many.

Jagged Edges Virtual Book Tour with Doris H. Dancy

November 18- November 29, 2013

Paperback: 364 pages

Publisher: St. Paul Press (July 15, 2013)

ISBN-10: 0989088596

ISBN-13: 978-0989088596

Genre: Christian Romance

Hosted by: Write Now Literary Virtual Book Tour
http://wnlbooktours.com/
About The Book

Derek Wellington had his life set. He was born into wealth, graduated with honors from Harvard Law, and, since high school, knew he would marry the beautiful Morgan LaRue. …but somewhere along the way, everything he thought he knew about himself, about Morgan, and even about life itself will boggle his mind, and catapult him into a world of betrayal, deception, and confusion. Somewhere in this darkness, he must search for The Light to find his way out of a maze that, if he fails, will destroy his heart and soul forever.

Praise for Jagged Edges

“Jagged Edges is definitely an easy reader and page turner.”

“From the prologue to the last chapter, Doris grabbed my heart, mind, and soul with her masterful storytelling”

Meet the Author

Doris H. Dancy is an accomplished and award-winning educator, speaker, writing consultant, playwright, wife, mother and now author. Her life’s focus has been educating our youth in an appreciation of both the written and spoken word. She received her BA Degree in English from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina and began a teaching career in both English and Spanish. She was graduated from Hampton University with a MA in English Education and eventually became Chairperson of the English Department, English Teacher Specialist, and later Curriculum Leader of English K-12 for Hampton City Public Schools. Teaching and supervising were both rewarding careers, and each taught her a different level and focus of professionalism and commitment. As the Curriculum Leader, along with many other responsibilities, she developed and provided staff development for a writing program that guaranteed student achievement.

~A Prologue~

~The breaking of dawn is the best keeper of secrets I know; it has a pact with the close of day. At sun’s first peek, the confidence is safe, and one has no evidence at all how altered life might be by eventide~

The library at the university is quiet except for multiple pages turning and a stupid unnecessary clock facing me. I might just waste a star wish to get that annoying thing smashed. I’d do it myself, but I’d get caught, and be a greater disappointment to my parents than Ruff who still can’t sit up, roll over, or even bark like a real dog. I sigh. Deal with the clock, Arianna. You’re twenty-four years old, already have your MBA in Fashion Management and Entrepreneurship and almost ready to start your own Fashion House for goodness sakes. All you have to do is complete this little research, and you’re on your own. You’re not five. Anyway, you have far more important things to think about at 8:15 on this lonely Friday night, like how to meet that gorgeous guy sitting at the table across from you.

I sit back in my chair and just stare at him, counting how many times he glances up and quickly looks back at his work. He is doing a very poor job of pretending he hasn’t noticed that I’m staring at him. He’s on his eighth under eyed glance at me when he puts his laptop down, folds his hands, sits back, looks straight at me with a smirk, and holds the stare. I smile what I think is my very best smile. Let the games begin! After a minute and a half of staring, I’m just getting comfortable, and there is no way I’m giving up. He begins packing up his things slowly. Still staring, never glancing down to see what he’s doing, he meticulously places his laptop in his black leather attaché case. I can tell he is purposefully taking his time, and for some strange reason, his deliberate movements, to me, are extremely sensual. I almost have to break my stare when I think to myself: any man that sexy ought to be locked up and the key thrown away. He leaves his case on the table, returns two books to a nearby shelf all the while looking into my staring eyes, and then he brings his fine self over to me.

He pulls out the chair that faces me without saying a word, turns it backwards, and tries to stifle his grin from becoming a full face all teeth showing spectacle. Of course, he’s far too cool for that.

“OK, you’ve been staring at me for the last ten minutes so I thought I would just come over and ask if I have spinach in my teeth or a booger up my nose.” I laugh. He smiles.

“What if I say both?” I grin, cupping my hand under my chin and looking directly into his brown bedroom eyes.

“Well, I’ll know that’s not true,” he taunts matter-of-factly.

“And how would you know that?” I question cynically. This man is about to make my heart jump out of my body.

“Simple.” “Simple?” “Yeah, simple. It’s a trick question.” He rocks back in the chair. “I didn’t have

spinach today.” We both laugh as quietly as we can since we are somewhat aware that we are in a library, and there are a few people still pretending to study on a Friday night.

“Well, to be quite honest with you, umm...Peter? Ah...Paul?” I lift one eyebrow and continue. “...Mary?” He gives me a closed mouth smile, and plays around his mouth with his thumb and index finger.

“Well, definitely not Mary. Derek. Derek Wellington.” For the first time in my life I hear the sexiness in that baritone voice of his that will drive me insane for years to come.

“Well, to be quite honest with you...Derek, Derek Wellington, your hair caught my attention.

“My hair?” I bite my bottom lip to cover my grin, and nod my head yes. “Yes, your hair...and

definitely your eyes too,” I say with mocked seriousness... “and then there’s that mouth,” I giggle.

“Oh, is that good or bad?” he chuckles. “Oh, that’s real good,” I admit with a flirtatious grin. “Good. Good,” he nods in mock approval. “So, you... this beautiful woman sitting here toying with me, you are... Gracie?”

“No, not even close,” I laugh.

I opt here for a more serious tone. My hazel eyes, my windows to the soul, touch his. “My name is Arianna...Arianna Channing.”

“Ah, a beautiful name for a lovely lady.” “Well thank you kind sir.” I bat my eyes playfully. “You are quite welcome, my lady.” And then he does something totally unexpected. He reaches across the table, takes my hand in his, and slowly brings it to his beautiful lips. That is how it all started with Attorney Derek Chase Wellington, III and me.

I would say that we had a whirlwind summer romance. We were inseparable. Both of us were taking a break of sorts before starting full force into our careers. Derek had studied for the Bar, passed it, and in September would join a private law firm in Virginia. I had completed my studies in Fashion Management and Entrepreneurship in New York City, and studied an additional two years in Paris. Coincidentally, I was also moving to Virginia, after the summer, to start my own Channing Fashion House, the first one in the Tidewater area.

Our connection, from its inception, has that magic touch...that something special; however, there is this one thing that tears our bond, interferes with our solidarity, and will forever puzzle me. Throughout this disappointment, I am honest with myself. Common sense and life’s experiences have taught me that it will be impossible to know the essence of the truth surrounding a very deep, but damaged, relationship in Derek’s past, but that is not my issue.

From the inception of our brief courtship and after we marry, Derek and I are always completely honest with each other...we trust each other explicitly, or so I am led to believe. That is what makes my discovery so perplexing... so hurtful and a huge issue for me. The mystifying thing, now that the real truth irradiates, is that my friend, my boyfriend, my fiancée, my lover, my husband never mentions Morgan Shay LaRue to me. Not once, that I can remember, does he ever even call her name.

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