After the Dance

March 31, 2008
In this lively debut romantic novel, Johnson creates an intimate portrait of two unlikely characters as they navigate the beginning of a relationship. In alternating first-person chapters entitled "Him" and "Her," we hear from pharmacist and cynic Dr. Margaret Faye Abrahams and her neighbor, Carl, a paycheck-to-paycheck single guy with three kids to support. Faye and Carl are just getting comfortable with each other when Faye's ex-boyfriend Scoobie reappears after a 12 year absence. Scoobie, now better known as Chef Vernard Payne, celebrity chef and cookbook author, admits to having been "a low-down, dirty dog" who once emptied Faye's bank account and abandoned her when she got pregnant, but claims to be a changed man who wants to make things right. Faye is willing to forgive and forget, but only because she and Scoobie share a painful past. As she tries to make the relationship work, she learns that Scoobie plans to mold her into someone she isn't, which, as Faye puts it in characteristically straight-forward urban language, is "some kind of skinny-ass Stepford wife." There's no surprise ending here, but Johnson's humor, control of voice and down-to-earth characters will likely capture the hearts of readers, regardless of their familiarity with this genre.

February 18, 2008
In this lively debut romantic novel, Johnson creates an intimate portrait of two unlikely characters as they navigate the beginning of a relationship. In alternating first-person chapters entitled "Him" and "Her," we hear from pharmacist and cynic Dr. Margaret Faye Abrahams and her neighbor, Carl, a paycheck-to-paycheck single guy with three kids to support. Faye and Carl are just getting comfortable with each other when Faye's ex-boyfriend Scoobie reappears after a 12 year absence. Scoobie, now better known as Chef Vernard Payne, celebrity chef and cookbook author, admits to having been "a low-down, dirty dog" who once emptied Faye's bank account and abandoned her when she got pregnant, but claims to be a changed man who wants to make things right. Faye is willing to forgive and forget, but only because she and Scoobie share a painful past. As she tries to make the relationship work, she learns that Scoobie plans to mold her into someone she isn't, which, as Faye puts it in characteristically straight-forward urban language, is "some kind of skinny-ass Stepford wife." There's no surprise ending here, but Johnson's humor, control of voice and down-to-earth characters will likely capture the hearts of readers, regardless of their familiarity with this genre.

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