THE ART OF DECEIT. BY FABIOLA JOSEPH

Sex, drugs, lies and video tape all dwell in the shadows of hip hop. A world that is glamorous and alluring can blind its participants to certain truths. This euphoric illusion which is full of money, women, and power, can also be deceiving. You start to believe that the fame will last forever. That the people around you are really your friends, and that the scandalous woman at your side really loves you for the person that you are. Stardom can become dangerous for the naïve souls who rise to success without armor. Tangie, who has mastered The Art Of Deceit, slithers her way into the heart of many and into the wallets of even more, her latest victim being Hip Hop’s newest sensation Tay’von-Too Fine- Miller. Tay’von is told by his record label that he needs a better looking woman on his arm because the public will deem his plus size girlfriend unbefitting for a rising star. So he pulls Tangie into his world hoping to use her for her looks, only to get rid of her when he is done. But he has highly underestimated her. Her charm is hypnotic, that of a snake charmer, and as strong as the magic from a voodoo priest. Once she has cast her spell, she is sure to bring any man or woman down to their knees. She rules with a blackened heart and shows no mercy to people like Shamika, the spiteful girlfriend of equally talented but not as successful rapper Black Dialect. Tangie will stop at nothing to secure her lifestyle, even if that means shaking hands with a record label owner who Tay’von has proclaimed a sworn enemy. Carmello wants Tay’von to sign to his record label, and Tangie wants revenge. Together they hatch a plan that will give them both what they want. What will happen when Tay’von, his bodyguard, the sexy R&B tour mate Amira, and Carmello all fall under Tangie’s spell? Death, Debauchery, and Deceit, now, if only everything would go as planned.

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Excerpt for The Art Of Deceit:

I pulled her hair back and handed her a napkin for her bleeding lips.
            “Now pull yourself together Mika, everyone is watching. Don’t let them see you break down.”
I said as I continued to whisper.
            “Tay’von called a limo for you. I want you to go back to the house and get your things packed.”
     She looked at me as if she didn’t want to leave Miami just yet.
            “Now you know that you can’t stay anymore. Black is going to try and hurt you if you do. Just give him some time to cool off and get his mind right. But there is one favor I need you to do for me. After all that has happened, there’s just one thing that I want you to remember—.”She cut me off before I could make my grand statement.
            “But Tangie, I don’t know how this got out. I didn’t make a copy or anything. The only person that could have put this out is you know who.”
     I put my arms around her and got real close to her.
            “You may not know how this got out but I do.”
     She looked at me with shock on her face, I wanted to spit in it but that was too low class for me.
            “Come on Shamika, don’t look so surprised. Try and look like we’re having a normal conversation. If you don’t, I won’t tell you what I know.”
     She tried her best to keep it together but her body was shaking uncontrollably under my hand.
            “Look at me Shamika, cause I’m responsible for the tape getting leaked. That’s right, bitch, I did it.” She tried to pull away from my grip but I held on tight.
            “It fucking hurts doesn’t it? I have been setting this up since we were on the road. You fucked me over so now I’m fucking you with the biggest dick I can find. Tell me, how does it feel? Because I’m feeling damn good!”
            “YOU BITCH!”
     She screamed, but I didn’t break. I still kept the concerned look on my face and made myself look confused and hurt.
            “Calm down little Mika, don’t be so mad. You got to admit that you’ve had this coming. I’m the last bitch that you should have fucked with. You messed with my life so now I’m ruining yours. I hope that you never find a man to spend another dime on you again. I hope that life gets so bad for you that you’ll need to borrow money just to get a sandwich off the dollar menu at McDonald’s. Rot in hell you dirty bitch, and may you never rest in peace.”
     She was speechless as I let her arm go. The thought of me getting her first had never crossed her mind. It had just hit her that she had gravely underestimated me, and that bad choice was to her disadvantage. She had lost the game that she thought she played all too well. That’s why my motto has always been, before you sit down to play a game, you must not only know the rules to the game but you must also know all of your opponents, even if that means skipping a hand or two just to make sure you know their skill level. Having this knowledge gives you an upper hand every time, and an upper hand always wins the game.
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ABOUT THIS AUTHOR: Fabiola Joseph was raised in Silver Spring Maryland. While in Middle school, she found her passion for writing and wrote her first book Among Us. She has not stopped writing ever since. She continues to develop new stories and poems at her home in Florida.

Interview with the Author:

How did you get the idea for this book, The Art Of Deceit?

Answer. - One day I was watching a rap video and it contained the normal rump shaking, enticing, gorgeous women that we are used to seeing when one of these videos are played. But the more I watched, the more I asked myself, what happens when “Cut” is yelled and the women go home? We all hear about the so called “groupies” but we don’t really know their story.

Did the success of the infamous SuperHead books encourage you to write this book?

Answer – Yes and no. She is a well known… how can I put this…. groupie and I know her story. But I didn’t want to do a “down and out, they all used me and now I am coming into my own” book. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to have fun with it. I wanted to have this character do all the things I would never do, say all the things that, as the poem at the end of the book says, get us “normal people” tongue-tied. I wanted to portray a bad bitch that lives an “All or Nothing” lifestyle. And even then, I wanted to make sure that she had many layers to her. She may seem coldhearted and calculating on the outside, but deep within the lines, she has another side to her.

So what do you think the readers are going to think of her actions? This character Tangie, has a lot of sex, deceives, uses the people in her life to get what she wants, and seems to not have any remorse. Do you think that this book sends out a bad message?

Answer – NO! I do not, and here is why. Nothing bad that is done in this book goes unpunished. In life, we all pay for our actions, good or bad. It may take minutes, an hour, a month, or years for it to come back, but it does. It may take Tangie, till book three, which will be the last in the series to get what’s coming to her, but that’s how life works. We never know where our actions may lead us, or the consequences. And as far as all of the sex, I made sure to put a disclaimer in the beginning of the book.

In The Art Of Deceit, one of Tangie’s love interest is a famous female R&B singer. And you also lightly touch on the issue of closeted gay rappers. How did you think this would impact the book and the readers?

Answer – Well, when I write, I don’t think. At the time that I wrote this book, I wasn’t so into typing. I used to say “I can’t flow if I’m not writing with a pen”. Things have changed. But when I wrote this book in 2008, I didn’t stop and think oh, what will people think if Tangie has sex with a woman, or what will they think once they find out that one of the rappers is on the DL. I just let my mind and my hand do the talking. There were times when I was writing this book that I couldn’t stop the pen from moving. There were times that something was happening, and in my heart, I wanted to stop. But my mind and hand were moving too fast. It was as if I was in a trance, a writing trance. So as far as giving those two issues too much thought,,,, I didn’t. I just let the story become what it was meant to be.

So as an author, how would you describe your writing style?

Answer – My style will evolve. It will grow and be different with each book. I don’t want to be that writer that is stuck in one place, telling the same story. My style will change with each character that forms in my head. If he or she is straight ghetto and in your face, well that will be the style of the book. I am very open to whatever comes to my mind, laid back, quiet, murderer, or bad ass bitch. But if I had to pick a style,,, I would just say RAW! I won’t sugarcoat anything. If it’s on my mind, it will be down on paper, no second guessing.

So in a way, is reading your book The Art Of Deceit, allowing the readers a chance to get a glimpse into your mind?

Answer – Most definitely. My books are on my mind even when I am asleep. And before I write or as I write, I see it all in my head, playing out like a movie. So yes, if you read a book that I wrote, you’re also getting to know a part of me, sometimes a part of me that I didn’t even know myself until that very moment it was inked or now typed on paper.

So where do you go from here, as far as your writing career?

Answer – My next project will be out early 2012 and was written with new comer Matthew Ramsey. I will
not say too much about that right now but that it’s just as hot as The Art of Deceit, so make sure to check it out. And after that, just more and more writing. I am already working on my third which I hope to release mid 2012. Writing for me is like breathing. I can’t live without it. So as long as I breathe, I will write.

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