For university student Natasha Williams, 22, of Detroit, Mich., writing has always served as a vessel to transform her inner struggles into written narratives that are incredibly honest and mirrors real-life obstacles. The loss of her grandfather at the age of 12 would become the start of her liberating self-expressions with pen and paper, guiding her to this moment as a first time author.
In February 2013, Williams released her first book “Honey Flavored Tears,” which has been garnering positive responses from readers, under the pen name “Love N. Joy.” At the age of 15 she developed the idea of the plot and it was originally going to be published, but that dream was quickly shattered.
“When it didn’t work out for me, for the longest time I would try to write a story and I would get discouraged and just couldn’t finish it,” Williams said. “It was so hurtful to think that you’re about to achieve your dream at such a young age and then it doesn’t work out for you.”
But she continued to persevere through that set back and decided to further develop the story by making it more mature while reflecting on her personal experiences. The story is about a 23-year-old woman named Jaden who falls in love with her best friend Quincy after the friendship turned sexual. She soon finds herself in a love triangle and feels the consequences of her actions. Zaria, an insecure woman who’s tangled in this dilemma, has an attraction for Quincy that causes her to resort to crazy actions to have his love and attention.
“[Jaden] finds herself falling into comfort with someone else – I’m not going to tell who that is – and ends up leading them on unintentionally but in the end they teach her a lesson that playing with hearts can be very dangerous,” she said.
Williams at one time found herself as a real-life Jaden, and telling the story of this woman was not only a way to reflect on her past but also send a message to other “Jadens” out there to know their worth but to never to play with hearts. The tale of “Honey Flavored Tears” has sparked conversations about double standards between men and women.
“I think that people get into relationships for the wrong reasons,” Williams said. “Some are scared to be alone so, you know, they get into these relationships and they settle. Some people use the word ‘love’ like a ‘hi and bye’ thing; it doesn’t have a real meaning anymore.”
“Some people said that they feel that I wrote about their lives. This book not only taught them to not play with hearts but also that love can make you do crazy things.”
Currently, Williams is working on the sequel of the book but has bigger visions of how she wants to make her impact felt. Her goal is to publish 15 books by the age of 25 and follow in the footsteps of successful writers like Terry McMillan, Nelle Harper Lee and J.K. Rowling by having them turn into successful movies.
“As an author I want to challenge my writing,” Williams said. “I don’t want people to just look at my writing and read it as entertainment; I want them to get lessons out of it.”
“Honey Flavored Tears” is available as an e-book on Amazon and at BarnesAndNoble.com.
