Deceitful Intent

Deceitful Intent Extras

Author’s Note

This story is a great accomplishment for me. When I was a little girl, I would sit and read dozens of books, and watch lots of teen television shows. But I always noticed that there weren’t any shows or books catering to black teens. Things like that doesn’t seem important to everyone, but to a girl like me, who wanted  to see more than just the typical white teen show or book, it meant a lot. I’d complain to my mother and she’d look at me and tell me that I’d have to make my own someday. She’s a writer too and she knew I wrote, so she sort of was telling me if I wanted to impact the world or even put a dent in the areas I didn’t like, I had to do something.

            So to sit here and have my first black teen novel (really it’s for any race, the characters are just black and Hispanic) be completed, it’s an accomplishment. Too many books that feature black teens deal with stereotypes, and I wanted nothing to do with that, because A, I grew up nicely, and B, there’s more to black culture than that. Deceitful Intent is for everyone, but more importantly, it’s for those little girls out there that want to read books that feature characters that look like them and aren’t about the usual drug addicted parent, or living in the hood. DI is just a taste of the stories that I have that cater to black teens, I have plenty more coming (: I plan on writing stories with characters of other races too. I grew up surrounded by many different ethnicities, and I loved it, so I definitely plan on writing them into my work.

            I don’t remember how I came up with this story—yes I do, I was playing around with the idea of making a couple of kids be bad and enjoying it. A lot of people compare this story to Cruel Intentions, I don’t like comparisons, they take away from the actual story. But that’s my favorite movie of all time. I don’t think they’re that similar. CI is about step siblings, Kathryn and Sebastian, who plan to sleep with one another or trade a car if Sebastian can’t devirginize the headmaster’s daughter, Annette. DI is about payback and revenge, and there are also the back stories with Dorian and Evan’s father. And if anything, Alyssa would be Vivian and Evan’s Cecile, not Annette. But bah, I guess I can take it as a compliment. I like cruelty really, and since people like to compare this story to CI, I think it’d be cool to someday make a story like Wild Things, a similar movie to CI. You really gotta watch Cruel Intentions and read Deceitful Intent deeply to see the differences. The comparisons don’t bother me too much, but sometimes it feels as though some people think I copied. To put it straight, no I did not. But after hearing the constant comparisons I really sat back and thought about how much fun it would be to write a CI inspired novel. So I am, but DI is not it and the story I’ll write will feature white characters like that of CI and the characters will be 100% cruel, because hearts are for the weak ;)

   Thanks for reading

  -Whitney D. Grandison

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Quotes for the novel

“Deception is a cruel act…it often has many players on different stages that corrode the soul.”

- Donna A. Favors

“For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.”

- Judy Garland

Deceitful Intent Playlist

1. Sure Thing—Miguel (Vivian and Michael’s song)

2. When it Hurts—Avant (Evan and Alyssa’s song)

3. I Get Lonely Too—Drake (Evan’s song)

4. Cannibal—Ke$ha (Vivian’s song)

5. Up 2 You—Chris Brown (Evan and Alyssa’s song)

6. Right Thru Me—Nicki Minaj (Vivian and Michael’s song)

7. There Goes My Baby—Usher (Evan and Alyssa’s song)

8. I Need a Girl—Trey Songz (Evan’s song)

9. Fall For Your Type—Jamie Foxx + Drake (Vivian and Michael’s song)

10. Feel Love—Sean Garrett + J. Cole (Evan’s song)

11. Out of My Head—Lupe Fiasco + Trey Songz (Evan and Alyssa’s song)

12. Flaws and All—Beyoncé (Vivian and Michael’s song)

13. I’m Ready for You (original)—Drake (Vivian and Michael’s song)

14. You Da One—Rihanna (Vivian and Michael’s song)