My Favorite THUGS Scene…

was probably when Jacy was wearing the short shorts downtown and getting all that attention, then Rich flipped. That’s probably the first time you see that while Rich is a little throwed off, he is smart and thinks fast in high pressure situations. The 2nd is when Rich and Jacy have their first kiss in the parking lot, and the third was at the end of second thugs book when Jacy and Rich meet in his new store.

Yesterday I was writing Jacy and Rich’s first sex scene as a married couple in Thugs 3 and boy it was hott. I had to pause and take a deep breath at one moment. I was in the coffee shop so I had to turn the screen away LOL. It’s a little difficult to write a sex scene without being completely raunchy. I’m always faced with this conflict when I write.

I want my books to have a message and reach the young ones (15 and up), but I can’t be true to the story and leave out elements like cursing and sex which are a part of everyday life.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met parents and older folks who either 1) scold me about the title of my best seller Karma’s a Bitch, or 2) tell me I should leave the cursing and sex out of the book. I have even gotten into full debates while doing booksignings about this! One woman came up to me and said “you don’t love yourself,” referring to the title of my book Karma’s a Bitch. I was like, huh? Don’t you know what that means? I’m not calling anybody a bitch. (never mind that this woman was as dark as me, had on a ratty platinum blond wig, and caked on makeup that was 2 shades lighter than her complexion! and she’s telling me I don’t love myself!) I wished her a good day and kept it professional.

In another case, a younger woman about 25 came up to me and said something to the effect of “you should write books with more of a Godly message,” and asked me if I considered myself a Christian. But when she said it, she said it in a very condescending tone, as if she was the model for all Christians to follow. When I told her yes, she scoffed at me; based only on the title of my book. She never even picked up the book to read what it was about. I argued back and forth with this woman for at least a half an hour, telling her that the principle behind the book is in the bible “what you reap is what you sow.” She was so focused on the “bitch” in the title that she couldn’t see the bigger picture.

Yea, I could have just called my book “Karma,” but that doesn’t capture anybody’s attention like Karma’s a Bitch does. There is a message in the book, for everyone young and old, and unfortunately most people who really needed that message wouldn’t have ever picked up the book if it had another title.

A lot of young girls read the THUGS books and love them. But I can’t help but think about the sex scenes in the book, and how I don’t want them to think they should be having sex if they’re not. I always encourage the use of condoms in the book, and discourage multiple partners, but is that enough?

So my question this time around is: Do you think the sex scenes, cursing, and use of the word “nigga” in the THUGS Books are excessive?

Give me your honest opinion, and I will probably respond to specific comments in my next post. Love ya’ll, and talk to you soon.