*Soon to be published by W by Wattpad Books winter 2026*
When beauty meets her beast-a modern retelling of a classic story with one major twist...this story isn't for sweet little girls.
'Keep the Blarcum name strong.'
That is LORD VAN BLARCUM's du...
Oh Little Bees, that's the end of this beautiful story. I want to thank you for coming on this journey with me, Van and Amani! 🥰❤
I started this story on a whim in 2009. I just graduated college with a BA in Psychology during one of the worst economic recessions. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life yet and I was living just outside of Detroit, MI in Sterling Heights.
I hadn't spent much time with my extended family in Michigan and the few months I lived out there I really got to know them in a way I couldn't when I was a little girl.
And I kept thinking about what one of my cousin's said to my mother when she told her I studied abroad in England.
"I didn't know black people could leave the country."
That stuck with me for a long time and I knew the story I needed to write.
Sometimes it's hard to imagine you can go places or do things when you never see someone who looks like you in those situations.
I wrote this story to show that people who look like me can do things and be in spaces where we don't see ourselves. That we can, indeed, leave the country and have an amazing adventure like Amani. That our lives aren't contained in the box society would like to keeps us in.
This story has so many elements of myself weaved into these pages. The fear of taking a leap and traveling to the country I'd always dreamed of and doing things I never saw someone like me do. It empowered me to keep stepping out of my comfort zone.
So, I just hope that one person reads this novel and truly believes they can break the chains holding them back and live the life they've been dreaming of.
Thank you to my bestie who, much like Jade, pushed me to follow my heart, to my writing buddies who listened to me whine about editing and proofread these chapters from the beginning almost a year ago, and to my mentor who helped me learn and grow as a writer and mold this beast of a novel (pun intended) into the beautiful story its blossomed into.
And of course a massive thank you to my Little Bees. Your reads, comments, votes and messages truly helped me believe this story needed to be told ❤
As always, thank you so so much for reading,
Eli B 🥰🐝
P.S. Please enjoy this little aesthetic of our cinnamon buns!
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