FLIPPIN THE PAGES WITH L. MILLER “This Game Has No Loyalty” is L. Miller’s debut novel depicting the struggles and strife of the game in the heart of the Baptiste Housing Projects of Brooklyn. The story is vividly scripted and fast-paced; leading to an end that you had to know was coming, but still comes unexpected with more twists than a headful of dreads. I thought it was odd that one of the first established characters was killed so early, but then the plot thickens as everyone seems connected without even knowing just how close they were to each other. I never thought I would find myself rooting for a drug-dealer, but I quickly found myself talking to the pages as if Junior would hear me and I could somehow lead him out of the impending danger. I was even rooting for his right hand man Lakim until I finally accepted that he was really just in it for the money and truly had no loyalty. That in itself was ironic considering the path his life-long friend Kendu had taken and the example he had already laid out with his early demise. Even as Junior’s two girlfriends Shondra and Muffin were living a parallel lie I knew that eventually their paths would collide, but I didn’t expect the twist in the club. For those that have read the novel; did you picture Debo whenever Stump was in the story? What better way to get insight into the novel than from the author himself. J. Miller was kind enough to share his thoughts with us on his debut novel.
Q: Before we get started with the questions regarding the book, please tell us more about you and your experiences and what led you to write this novel? Q: When developing the characters and the incredibly storyline, did you use your life’s experiences as the research foundation or did you incorporate ideas from movies and other novels as well? Q: Are any of the characters built around personalities you already know? I know that this is a work of fiction, but most stories include character traits that the author is intimately familiar with in some way. Q: This novel has more twists and turns than a Shakespeare classic, but with some of the root evils of man built in. Do you study classic literature? Q: When you completed the novel and sat back to admire the work you had done, did you ever realize just how deep the novel takes us into the depths of evil in man? With drugs, betrayal at every level, the love interests and how they tangled together so well to create the perfect storm and all of the climactic confrontations over the evils committed by all in the novel, I didn’t find any holes left uncovered. Q: A question outside of the realm of the actual writing, but more towards the marketing and promotion of the novel; did you consider the language and street vernacular throughout the book possibly alienating some potential readers, or did you know while writing this novel exactly who you were targeting as potential consumers? The reason I ask is that suburban white soccer moms might not find the street angle the book was written from with the language and street slang very compelling to them. What is your target audience? Q: How difficult is it for you to get your book in mainstream bookstores and what kind of reception have you gotten so far on your premier novel? Q: I don’t know what your intentions are going forward, but “This Game has No Loyalty” seems to open the door to a possible sequel. Do you envision this becoming a series of books or even just a sequel? Q: So many books seem like they are perfect for a movie based on the novel and this is no exception. Any thoughts on that or are there any talks about that becoming a possibility? Q: Let’s assume for a minute that a film is going t built around your writings. Tell me who you would picture for each role? I may have ruined that a bit because I see Stump as Debo without a doubt (except with more dialogue than he has ever shown in previous films). If you were casting the movie, who are the actors and actresses you see as the best fit for each character? Q: I guess that leads to my next question: How do you follow that up? What is the current project you are working on and can you give us a sneak peak as a bit of a teaser to your next work? The White late model 2005 S500 Mercedes hugged the curves with ease while barreling down the FDR Drive heading towards the Brooklyn Bridge. Jason Buchanan was behind the wheel doing 75 mph dipping in and out of traffic like he was a NASCAR driver. “Merge into right lane. Brooklyn Bridge Exit 1 mile.” the monotone voice of the navigation system dispatched. Jason stayed in the outer lane as other drivers steered clear of his erratic driving trying to avoid becoming victim to a vehicular accident. He turned up the volume on the Harman/Kardon audio system and blasted, “Hate It or Love It” by 50-Cent and Game as he swerved into the right lane to exit off onto the Brooklyn Bridge. “Different day, same shit Ain't nothing good in the hood I run away from this bitch And never come back if I could” The tires on the Benz gripped the bends on the exit ramp as Jason cut the wheel hard to the right and merged onto the Brooklyn Bridge. He never looked in the rear view or his side view mirrors as he careened over the bridge heading for Brooklyn. “Telephone Mode” he said as the music automatically turned off. “3-4-7-5-5-5-5-5-5-5.” He recited. The phone rang loudly in the car as Jason held the steering wheel firmly with one hand and guided his car through the light traffic. “Hello?” Jason’s wife said when she picked up her cell phone. “Hey Shell…baby…I need to talk to you. Where are you right now?” Jason replied calmly. “I’m just getting off work honey. I’m downtown about to go to BBQ’s with some of my co workers. You want to meet me down here and have a drink?” “No baby. I need to talk to you, I’m coming off the bridge, meet me by…” he was interrupted. “Honey I can’t hear you too well. I hear sirens in the background.” Michele said. Jason finally looked in his rear view mirror at the four police cruisers that were a car length behind him with their blue and red lights flashing with sirens blaring. “Shell…they’re after me, that’s what I need to talk to you about.” Jason maintained a calm voice as he spoke. He exited off the Cadman Plaza exit anticipating a roadblock at the foot of the bridge. “WHAT!” Michele was hoping she heard him wrong. “I’ll be at that little park right by the bridge in 5 minutes, meet me there baby.” With that he disconnected the call. Michele was beside herself with worry. This was not typical for the clean cut, law abiding man she married. Jason was not the type of guy that would break the law…for any reason. She turned to her co workers and excused herself from their scheduled after work drinks and headed to her car to meet Jason. She dialed his cell phone repeatedly to find out exactly what was going on. The police cruisers kept a safe distance from the white Benz as it exited off Cadman Plaza careful not to cause any innocent drivers any casualties from the speeding driver. They had spoken with Jason 3 days ago about a violent crime committed in the district where he worked but didn’t have enough evidence to arrest him. Now they had the evidence they needed for an arrest but when they went to his place of employment to detain him he was already in his car and pulling off. They followed him and attempted a traffic stop but when they put their police lights on he didn’t pull over, instead he drove faster in an attempt to escape them which led them up to the chase. Jason could feel the vibration on his hip from his cell phone ringing. He didn’t bother to look at it, he knew it was his wife Michele calling. He hated to involve her but he didn’t have any other alternative. He looked in the rear view mirror at the police cruisers following behind him and in front of him he could see flashing lights of approaching police cruisers. He cut his wheel to the left and made a wild U-turn crossing over the divider into oncoming traffic. The Benz slid into the curb and Jason jumped out of the car, leaving it running and dashed into the park. “Freeze!” an officer screamed as he got out of his patrol car drawing his gun. “I didn’t do anything! It wasn’t me!” Jason screamed as he ran aimlessly in the park. “Stop! Police!” There seemed to be over 10 officers giving foot pursuit. Jason was running at break neck speed towards the Adams Street entrance of the park He could see that he was surrounded by the officers and knew there was no way he would escape. Jason stopped suddenly and turned around and looked at the police officers that had stopped short with their guns trained on him. “Don’t move, Police!” they all seemed to be screaming the same thing in unison. Jason, dressed in a blue pin stripe Brook Brothers three piece suit put his hands in the air.
Jason wasn’t sure if Michele had made it to the park but he had a feeling she would be there soon. Jason put his hands on his head and knelt down on one knee and then he slowly knelt down on the other knee. As he knelt, his unbuttoned blazer blew open from a light breeze revealing a gun on his waist then screamed, “It wasn’t me…It was Bunz!” “He’s got a gun!” screamed an officer. “No. Wait, this is a mistake!” Jason said as he attempted to remove the gun from his waist and drop it on the ground. Suddenly there were gunshots. Michele had just reached the park when she heard the gunshots and screamed, “NOOOOOOO!” Q: Where can interested readers purchase your book and possibly interact with you with their feedback, questions, and compliments? Q: One last question: would you be willing to share an excerpt from the book that you feel best illustrates the core of the novel and would work as a great teaser to anyone interested in exploring your first novel with a potential purchase?L.J.M: Yes, this part of the book I believe has a message within itself because you don’t need to know what really happened to understand what’s happening…feel me?
There were red and blue-flashing lights in front of the three-story brownstone and a crowd had gathered around the yellow police tape, eager to find out what happened inside the building. Many of the people from the neighborhood were thinking the worse; being this was not the first time they were witnessing a crime scene. A black van with the word ‘CORONER’ in white letters plastered on the sides pulled up among the police cruisers and unmarked detective vehicles. Three men got out of the van and pulled out a stretcher and went up the steps of the brownstone and disappeared through the doors amongst the chatter on the street from the onlookers. “What happened in there?” Someone asked. “I don’t know but I heard some gunshots, they must of come from in there.” One lady commented. “Whatever happened, I know that somebody in there is dead, you see that black van that pulled up, that means that there is dead bodies in there.” Someone added. “Who lives in that building?” Another person asked. “Ms. Brown owns the building but I think she moved to North Carolina over a year now, I think she left the building to one of her sons but you don’t see him much. I don’t know who else lived in there though.” A next-door neighbor proposed. There was quiet as the stretcher came out with a body covered up by a white sheet. No one in the crowd knew who the person was under the sheet, they whispered and asked questions but no one had a definitive answer, many of the people out there were making their own assumptions on what happened but no one actually knew who was the victim of this murder. In the crowd, there were a group of young men standing around not saying anything. One of them knew exactly what happened, the person under the sheet was the guy that had robbed and cut him three weeks ago. The young guy with the newly acquired scar stood in the crowd with his friends and looked on acting as bewildered as everyone else in the crowd, he was only there to see if anyone had an idea of what happened. He vowed he would get the guy back for robbing him and slashing his face in front of his girl, he couldn’t let him live after that. When he came out of Mary Immaculate Hospital from getting his face stapled he told his older brother, the supplier of coke in the area, what happened and he promised him he wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. He said the “crack head nigga was gonna get dealt with”. He also said that a message needed to be sent out to anyone else who might have the same ideas, not to fuck with any of his workers or they would wind up like the one that was under that sheet. Kendu was dead, nineteen years old, it seemed like he never had a chance. He was another one that got caught in the fangs of a life void of love, discipline, and truth. He grew up not knowing the love of a maternal mother because she died when he was 8 after she had given birth to his little brother. He and his brother went to live with their grandmother who worked to support them but unfortunately, was never home so they basically raised themselves. Kendu had to learn the streets and made his own rules as he got older. He didn’t adhere to anyone else’s because there was no one to enforce discipline. His only truth was the sad reality of his doomed life, he was not taught he could be anything he wanted to be, there was no father figure to guide him so he lived lies to compensate for all his loss. Kendu was a typical guy that grew up in the hood, he just never had many opportunities in life, he knew after robbing that young guy for his drugs there would be some kind of retaliation, he just didn’t predict it would come so swift. Kendu was a prime example of what can happen if young brothers don’t have a positive influence in their life. He planned to leave Brooklyn and go to North Carolina immediately after the robbery but his drug habit persuaded him to stay longer and he spent all the money leaving him none to buy a Greyhound ticket. I can easily say “This Game Has No Loyalty” is one of my favorite novels I have read this year. It’s gritty and grimy as the game itself. The pace builds with every page and never relents until the finale. If I had to compare it to movies to help describe the storyline I would say it’s a mix of New Jack City and Six Degrees of Separation. No, there’s no gay overtone, but the idea that we are all connected is so prevalent that I can’t think of a better way to illustrate that concept. At the risk of ruining the book by giving away too much I’ll give you a brief overview of the storyline. Junior is in the dope game and working his way up to boss status under the tutelage of Craig. Junior employs lifelong friends Kendu and Lakim to basically control all of the crack coming in or out of the Baptisite Housing Projects in Brooklyn. Junior is working his way into the neighborhood with the crack, his workers, and his girlfriend Shondra who lives at Baptiste. Wherever you find drug dealers you will inevitably find stick-up kids and that takes us to the parallel life of Stump and his crew. Stump basically charges tax on anyone making a significant amount of money in the hood. He will get his money one way or the other. Stump’s crew builds to include KB (who is the boyfriend of Gloria – Shondra’s best friend) and Drez who is Muffin’s cousin (remember that Muffin is Junior’s second girl). Kendu gets caught up in his own downward spiral of crack which leads him to falling into Stump’s busted plan of taking Junior down initially. Drez and Kendu’s paths eventually cross with a violent end. Keep up with me…Kendu and Lakim are the first workers in Junior’s plan to take over Baptiste. That’s just a taste of how the story twists and turns into fantastic plot and leads to so many dramatic and unexpected collisions of characters. The lesson of the novel is captured perfectly with the title. “This Game Has No Loyalty”. No doubt!
L.J.M: What ultimately lead me to write this book is my life experiences. When I was young I wanted to be in the streets so bad that I left home at 15 years old and what I learned throughout my years was very valuable. But what really made an impact was trust; it was something you just couldn’t take for granted.
Q: When you first committed to writing “This Game Has No Loyalty” did you have a rough outline of the story already in mind?
L.J.M: Not really, I had a concept in mind but as I wrote the story, it took on its own life.
L.J.M: I believe a life experience is a tool that is used in many stories to some degree; life experience gives the story realism. In “This Game Has No Loyalty” my life experience played a big part in developing the characters and storyline. I can’t say I used any ideas from movies I’ve seen or novels I’ve read. Any likeness is purely coincidental.
L.J.M: Yes, many of the characters are personalities that I have come across personally or know on a personal level…many but not all.
L.J.M: I can’t say I’ve read Shakespeare however, while in college I have read authors from Richard Wright and Charles Dickens to Sophocles. I have a broad reading base, I don’t pigeon hole myself into reading one genre. I like to venture out and delve into unfamiliar territory to expand my intellect and creativity.
L.J.M: I wanted to send a message with this novel. I wanted to depict the reality of what really happens when choosing this path, without glorifying the unbelievable sums of money, the exotic trips across the country, the expensive cars, or the large amounts of drugs you would need to be connected with the Medellin Cartel to have. I wanted the readers to identify with the individuals and go on the journey they chose in life and feel all the emotions, choices, and decisions each were faced with. I wanted them to realize that the choices that are made have direct connections to different facets of life and that you have to be aware of the consequences of your decisions.
L.J.M: Originally my target audience was young males from 14-25 that lived in an environment similar to where my story takes place. At the time I wrote this book, I was not concerned with marketing and promotion, I was interested in the message I was attempting to convey. I do realize that women are the dominating factor in purchasing urban books and I now hope that its entertaining enough for them to enjoy it as well as informative enough for them to want their male child to read. Additionally, the use of slang is crucial to each character, this is how they talk, dress and live…the narrative does not contain any slang.
L.J.M: I’m not in the mainstream bookstores as of yet but to be honest I think that is only a factor in smaller cities that don’t have street vendors. I say this because from what I’ve witnessed, most of the urban books are bought off the street from the vendors. I have gotten great reviews from all who have read my novel and have heard that I’ve kept the setting, the lingo, the clothing and effects consistent to the time the story is based around. I take you down memory lane.
L.J.M: Yes, there is a sequel. Actually, it’s a trilogy. I planned to write Junior’s story in three parts in hopes of taking the reader through his life from the beginning of his ride right to the end where you should see his progression and growth into manhood and believe me the last book will have a realistic ending and a jewel will be dropped.
L.J.M: I have had a local movie producer approach me about making a movie for the book and I’ve had some movie producers approach me after seeing my book trailer on youtube.com and my myspace page.
L.J.M: I think “Mike” from the “The Wire” would be the perfect actor for Junior, he’s smart and deadly. Mekhi Phifer could play Craig. Meagan Good could be Shondra. Beanie Siegel could play Stump. T.I. could play La. Lauren London could be Muffin. Taral Hicks would be Gloria and Camron would be K.B.
L.J.M: I have the sequel to “This Game Has No Loyalty” already finished and I have another novel that I’m currently working on, its three-quarters complete and it’s a very different story. I believe this one will show my growth as a writer and I should build up a different reader base behind it. Here is an excerpt:
“Place both your hands on your head and kneel down on the ground slowly!” One officer yelled.
L.J.M: “This Game Has No Loyalty” can be purchased online at amazon.com, barnesandnobles.com, target.com, borders.com, and soulonwheels.com. If you want an autographed copy you can send all requests to my email address shaaid_01@yahoo.com or www.myspace.com/blackandwrite
