I'M HUMBLED BY THIS GIFT FROM GOD...

It's just after midnight here on the island of Barbados and I've been trying to work on doing a final edit of my sophmore novel, Embrace the Moonlight, but I've been unable to do much.

Today, a week after SLOW MOTION, first appeared in the bookstores, I held a copy of it for the first time; almost two years after I received the call from Demetria Lucas at the former BET Books...

To say that holding your first published work in your hand is an emotional experince does little to explain the intensity of emotion and sense of accomplishment of that simple tactile act.

In the past two years, I've experiences a range of emotion at each stage of my journey to publication. There is pride and all the other human feelings that anyone who has fulfiled a lifelong dream is expected to feel.

But most of all...I feel humbled by the wonder of the gift of storytellling with which God has blessed me. Capture the Sunrise is a story I've wanted to write for years. It's a story of pain and tears, but it's also about healing and forgiveness and the awesome power of love.

I hope that all who read SLOW MOTION, and each of the stories, enjoy it.

Of course, SLOW MOTION, would not be complete if the talented Devon Vaughn Archer (aka R. Barri Flowers) had not made his contribution with Dark and Dashing - a wonderful love that I know you'll enjoy.

Who says men can't write romance?

ROMANTIC TIMES TOP PICK!!

Yesterday, I recieve a copy of the review of SLOW MOTION that will appear in the December issue of Romantic Times....

Review, Debbie R. Sims, give it a 4.5 star rating and also assigned it a TOP PICK!! Here is the review that will appear:

Slow Motion
Wayne Jordan &Devon Vaughn Archer
BET/Arabesque
4.5 Stars
TOP PICK

“Capture the Sunrise,” by Jordan, centers on Taurean Buchanan and Alana Smyth-Connell — kindred souls who meet when they’re given use of a friend’s beach house in Barbados. Both bear emotional and physical scars after being battered by life. They heal by helping each other to get past the turmoil in their lives. The lush background of the seaside beach house, colorful secondary characters and the slow, steady development of their relationship satisfy.In Archer’s

“Dark and Dashing,” inn owner Conneca Sheridan raises her hand to scratch an itch during a charity auction and accidentally bids $5,000 for an evening with author Maurice Templeton. Intrigued by Conneca, Maurice stays at her inn while completing his latest collaboration with his ex-wife. The tale they’re writing is interwoven into this story so well that it’s almost like reading two at once. Conneca and Maurice are drawn to each other, and their antics — sometimes comical and sometimes emotionally defensive — help readers cheer their accomplishments and boo interferences.

Spellbinding stories, well-developed characters and warm, spirit-lifting romances are Jordan’s and Archer’s gift to readers. “Can men write romance?” In the case of these two, the answer is an authoritative yes! Definitely a keeper, and one to read over and over. (Nov., 355 pp., $15.00)

Debbie R. Sims

FIRST REVIEW...AND AWARD...

I received several reviews of Capture the Sunrise, but on 5th November, I received my first award from Road to Romance website. Below is a copy of the review:

SLOW MOTION: Capture The Sunrise

To heal, we sometimes have to get away from the world, people we know and just be on our own. This is such the case for Taurean Buchanan and Alana Smyth-Connell. For two different, yet similar reasons they are both in Barbados, away from everything familiar and forge a friendship that leads to love…

Taurean Buchanan headed to Barbados to heal from betrayal that makes his belief in others miniscule. He knows to heal he needs to learn to trust himself, others and his heart again, and to learn how to forgive. His scarred soul cries for the strength to move on, but he feels that he may never get over the past.

Alana Smyth-Connell and her daughter, Melissa, are in Barbados for an entirely different reason. On the run from Alana’s ex-husband, Blake, Alana hopes for a new life with her daughter, one free of abuse and danger. Alana and Melissa both need to heal emotionally, spiritually and mentally from the past, yet Alana still fears that Blake will find her.

Taurean meets Alana and Melissa on the island and his protective instincts kick in, but how can he protect them if he can’t trust himself, or free himself from his past? They forge a friendship while they also try to fight the attraction between them. But, Alana feels overwhelmed by the feelings she has for Taurean, and leaves the island. Will Taurean find her again, or will he have to let her go? Can three tortured souls find the solace they need within one another?

Capture the Sunrise is a story that makes a reader smile, cry and even pray. I became very much wrapped in the characters lives, their fears, their dreams and the love and friendship that blossomed. Young Melissa is a gem and an enjoyable part of the story. This is a powerful tale with amazing characters, an adrenaline rush of a plot, a setting that leaps off the pages from the author’s descriptions of it and a romance that makes a heart sing and even bleed. Not only does the beautiful setting of Barbados sweep a reader into it, but the characters also make this story one to be read over and over again. We watch Alana and Taurean grow in this story and the author’s pens them with perfection. They are multi-faceted characters with strength, determination, and hearts that simply connect with the reader. They were very realistic and memorable characters. I truly enjoyed them all and hope to see them again someday. Perhaps in Mr. Jordan’s next Buchanan tale I hope!

Capture the Sunrise receives The Road to Romance Reviewer’s Choice Award for all the above and more. If I didn’t know beforehand that Capture the Sunrise was Wayne Jordan’s first book, I would never have guessed. It captures the essence of love, captures the beauty of an island that comes to life in a reader’s hands, and it captures the heart of the reader. Plus, Mr. Jordan’s writing simply captures his audience. Well done!

Reviewed by Tracey West for The Road to Romance
October 1, 2005