A Special Message From Nikki Turner

By Nikki Turner - April 21, 2007 at 4:34am EDT

Dear beloved reader,

If you are a loyal Nikki Turner reader then you know that the novel The Black Widow has been in my heart for a long time-before I ever sat down to pen Forever a Hustler's Wife. Although the story lingered in my spirit, when I tried to write The Black Widow, it wouldn't flow. It's no secret that I consider my projects my babies and compare the creative process to giving birth. That being said, this was one of the hardest second and third trimesters I've EVER experienced. The Black Widow had to walk in the shadow of such a hugely successful book: Forever a Hustler's Wife. The overwhelming support for that book also came with an enormous workload—promotions, touring, radio, interviews, appearances, signings, and so forth. (Thank you for making it a three-time #1 Essence bestseller!) And all this had to be done while selecting and editing the debut novels for my Nikki Turner Presents line. In the process, The Black Widow was put on hold so that I could care for and nurture the first Nikki Turner Presents novel, Gorilla Black by Seven (You are going to love this one!), and get Forever out of diapers and walking. I hope it doesn't sound like I am complaining because believe me, I am not—I feel blessed to do what I do. However, I think that once I was actually ready to sit down and write The Black Widow, I was totally burned out. But the clock was ticking and the deadline to turn it in to my publisher was a month away—and as you know time waits for no one.

With so much going on, I never had enough time to sit down and fully get into my zone the way I'm accustomed to doing with my novels. I found my mind and my writing were all over the place. Two weeks before the official deadline, my editor called and asked to read some of the story. I sent it over, knowing that it was rough, but I wasn't prepared for the way she responded. To make a long story short—SHE HATED IT! And don't you know she had the NERVE to tell me that my baby was on life support with a faint pulse. How dare she? It was like a dagger going through my heart. How could she have been so brutal toward something that I had longed to bring to life? But after taking a long hard look at what I had sent to her, I realized that she was just being honest and that's exactly what I needed her to be. I took her comments in stride because as my friend Robert Greene, author of the 48 Laws of Power, would say, setbacks can lead to greater comebacks.

For the next few days I didn't even think about my love child—and when I finally did, I made a tough decision without my editor's blessings. With no regrets, I basically terminated the pregnancy and went back to the drawing board. Taking it from the top, I started banging out an amazing, heart-wrenching story. The applied pressure created another precious jewel. About a week later I sent over the first ten chapters. My editor was astounded at how quickly I had turned the entire situation around; she instantly realized that I had conceived yet another rare diamond. Now without further ado, I want to formally introduce you to the newest member of the Nikki Turner family. Drum roll, please . . .

Loyal and new fans alike, meet my Golden Child: The Black Widow.
Forever Yours,



Nikki Turner