Good Monday Morning, reader friends!
Today, we’re talking with Natasha D. Frazier about her book Love, Lies & Consequences.
Enjoy the interview!
Interview with Natasha D. Frazier about her book Love, Lies & Consequences
Alexis: Why did you write this book?
Natasha: Love, Lies & Consequences is my first work of fiction. It is a story that was on my heart long before I put pen to paper. It evolved quite a bit as the story developed. I honestly didn’t know where the story would end up, but I wanted to explore celibacy in today’s environment.
Alexis: What is the significance of your story’s title?
Natasha: The title came after the story was written. When I first began writing, the book was titled, “He said Grace.” I changed it because it put too much emphasis on Rico and why Raegan chose to date him, in spite of her misgivings. The story is more about Raegan, so I thought Love, Lies & Consequences was more fitting. Raegan’s relationship with Rico is built on lies and so are the reasons that she and Caleb weren’t together initially. Lies are not without consequence and that is one fact that Raegan had to learn and continues to learn throughout the entire series.
Alexis: What does commitment mean to your main characters?
Natasha: To Rico? Nothing. Raegan waivers quite a bit with commitment, both to herself and God. She was committed to celibacy for two years, but she became relaxed because she believed she was strong enough to handle whatever came her way, especially when it came to Rico. She pretty much flirted with the enemy and lost the battle. As for Caleb, he is a man of his word and I love that about him. When he commits, he is “all-in.”
Alexis: Let’s talk about the heroine of your story, Raegan. What does she look like, sound like, act like and think about?
Natasha: Raegan is a brown skinned, petite woman with curly, shoulder length hair. With a pair of high heels, she stands at about 5’6”. She’s a bit prissy, but introverted. She’s career driven, but still has a desire to be a wife and mother. She wants it all and believes that she can have it all. She’s also selfish because in her desire to get everything she wants, she doesn’t want to compromise. She pretty much has the attitude of “my way or the highway.” However, she desires to be the woman that God has called her to be. She attends church, participates in ministry, studies her bible faithfully, and prays consistently. Being in her early thirties, her thoughts are consumed with her career progression and one day getting married.
Alexis: What are Raegan’s greatest strengths and weaknesses?
Natasha: This always a difficult question for me to answer, even about myself. LOL. I’d say she’s headstrong and motivated, which makes for her greatest strength and weakness. Although it’s great for her to know what she wants and to be highly motivated to go after it, those traits result in stubbornness.
Alexis: Why does Raegan believe that waiting until marriage to have sex is the right thing to do?
Natasha: Her faith and experience. Raegan has been involved in sexual relationships before and they didn’t work out well for her. The book opens with her walking down the aisle to marry Damion, who she was also living with at the time. She decides that she doesn’t want to live that way anymore and wants to go “all-in” with her faith. She didn’t feel like her relationship with Damion was honoring God and she didn’t want to start a life with Damion in that way.
Alexis: What or who challenges Reagan’s desire to remain pure in romantic relationships?
Natasha: After Raegan made the commitment to remain pure, she had done so for two years. When she met Rico, he saw this as a challenge and continued to pursue her, telling her everything she wanted to hear, including promising marriage. I think to some extent, she felt like it was okay if they would marry soon.
Alexis: Let’s talk about Rico. Describe his looks, personality, character and heart. What role does he play in this story?
Natasha: Rico is bald and handsome, standing at about 5’10” tall and most of the time he is very well-dressed. Rico is a charming smooth-talker and always knows exactly what to say. He wrote beautiful letters to Raegan, pulling her into his scheme to get her in bed. Everything he did and said was a ploy to make her believe that he wanted to be with her forever so that he could have sex with her.
Alexis: Why doesn’t Rico respect Reagan’s desire to stay pure in their relationship?
Natasha: I think Rico saw her as a challenge, as something to conquer, and he set his sights on doing everything he could to win her over.
Alexis: Finally, let’s talk about Caleb. Describe his looks, flaws, hopes and deepest fears. How does he impact this story?
Natasha: Caleb is dreamy and kind-hearted, the type of guy that would make a woman look twice. He is confident, but not arrogant. Fair skinned with beautiful brown eyes, Caleb stands at 5’11” tall. He’s an architect with the primary desire to build a life with Raegan. Seeing her again was an answered prayer, and the last thing he planned to do was let her go again. At the time he sees her again, she is involved with Rico. Though he knew this, he didn’t allow it to stand in the way of letting her know how he felt about her. When Caleb enters the story, Raegan slowly begins to see Rico for who he truly is – a snake.
Alexis: What role does faith in God play throughout this story?
Natasha: One of the things that I love about Caleb is that he reminds Raegan of who she is in God. He is truly a man after God’s heart, whose first plan of action is to seek God’s face, no matter the situation. The more of Rico she allowed into her life, the less time she spent with God. Raegan also had Kensi, her best friend and accountability partner, to speak words of encouragement and faith in her life. Kensi often reminded Raegan about her commitment to God, but she often ignored her when it was convenient.
Alexis: What’s the moral of the story?
Natasha: Even when things seem right, if they aren’t in alignment with God’s Word, then it isn’t God. We often rush God and tend to put his stamp of approval on something he never ordained in the first place. Even when we mess up, we must learn to accept God’s forgiveness and forgive ourselves in the process.
Alexis: Would you like to see more books like this (with real-life issues and main characters of color) published by CBA? Why or why not?
Natasha: Absolutely! These aren’t the kind of books that are primarily published by CBA, and the world needs to read stories with main characters of color written by people of color.
Alexis: What would you do if you couldn’t write stories?
Natasha: If I couldn’t write stories, I would continue to write devotionals and books for the Christian faith because I choose to honor God with my gift of writing.
Alexis: Thanks for the interview, Natasha! Do you have final comments?
Natasha: Thank you for the opportunity. I hope you’ll read and fall in love with the characters because book four is coming soon!
*Interview conducted by Alexis A. Goring, contributor
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About the Book:
Are you ready and willing to accept the consequences that come along with your choices?
“The true test of my commitment will come when I am actually tested, but it’s nothing I can’t handle…” So thinks Raegan – and it proves to be a thought that is tested every step of her journey.
Raegan was all set to live a life free of sexual impurities until she met Rico, who challenged her character. Sex outside of marriage isn’t all that bad if you’re going to eventually marry that person, right? After all, Rico did make promises to marry her, but can he hold true to that promise?
Raegan had come to believe that Rico could be the one until Caleb, her college love, comes back into her life. Raegan begins to make a series of choices that lead to consequences she wasn’t prepared to face. Will her faith sustain her?
Buy Natasha’s book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
About the Author:
Natasha Frazier received her Bachelors of Business Administration degree in Accounting from Jackson State University and her Masters of Science degree from Texas A&M University. Since graduating, Natasha earned her CPA license. While practicing accounting, she began her career as an author.
Natasha believes that we are all created for a purpose, and in knowing that, she strives to live a life of purpose by doing what she has been created to do: inspire and encourage others. She does this through her literary works and the How Long Are You Going to Wait Conference.
Natasha has authored three devotional books, one non-fiction book, and four fiction titles, including the Love, Lies & Consequences series.
Each of her books are award-nominated titles. Her most recent title, Kairos: The Perfect Time for Love has been nominated by Joy & Company to receive the Henri Award. The Henri Award honors excellence in Christian literature and is presented at the Christian Literary Awards in Dallas, TX.
Natasha resides in Richmond, TX with her husband, Eddie Frazier, Jr. and their children, Eden, Ethan, and Emilyn. Her greatest joy and commitment is to her family who she hopes to inspire above all else. She attends Parkway Fellowship Church, where she co-leads a preschool small group.
Follow Natasha online: Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram
MISSING MERCY
Winner of the 2012 RONE Best Inspirational Book of the year (2012) and author of seven Historical novels, Stephenia H. McGee has a fascination with hoop skirts and ball gowns, Greek revival homes and horse-drawn carriages, quirky Southern sayings, and home-grown recipes. She currently lives in Mississippi with her husband and two boys, (accompanied by their two spoiled dogs and mischievous cat) where she writes stories of faith, redemption, and stories steeped in the South.
Pat Simmons is celebrating ten years as a published author with more than thirty titles. She is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth who is passionate about researching her ancestors and then casting them in starring roles in her novels, in the hope of tracking down any distant relatives who might happen to pick up her books. She has been a genealogy enthusiast since her great-grandmother, Minerva Brown Wade, died at the age of ninety-seven in 1988.
Diversity Between the Pages 