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It was a who’s who of Love & Hip Hop cast favorites and select media influencers on Thursday evening as entertainment maven and 2018 ESSENCE Festival speaker, Mona Scott-Young, welcomed an intimate crowd of family, friends and lucky fans to a private celebration for the official launch of her new novel, Blurred Lines.
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Gathered on the penthouse rooftop of NYC’s lavish Flatiron Hotel, guests enjoyed cocktails, light bites and an assortment of sweets, just before the woman of the hour took a pause to share a few words.
“I wanted to do something in books but, I definitely didn’t want to do it the traditional way,” Mona said, telling the crowd a little more about the how the novel came to fruition during the event. “I felt like publishing…..there are people already doing it and doing it well so, what can I do in that space to innovate? And there were some ideas that came to me through some contacts that I met in this business, one of them being Joe Regal of Zola Books who is in this room tonight— and remember that name because it will mean something to you eventually—but, Joe and I talked about doing something incredibly exciting in that space.”
Blurred Lines is a fictional novel centered around a young couple who’s familial and professional ties to the Hip Hop world send their relationship on a rollercoaster ride they never expected. Described by Mona as “a tale of three generations of strong-willed and ambitious women who find themselves at life’s crossroads with everything to lose”, the book is loosely inspired by a combination of several storylines seen on the Love & Hip Hop reality series franchise.
Among the cast members who came out to support were current and former LHHNY stars Yandy Smith, Cyn Santana, MariahLynn, Tara Wallace, Maino, Jonathan Fernandez and Safaree Samuels. Several cast members also joined Mona to give the crowd of preview of the book by reading a few excerpts to close out the event.
Be sure to head over to monamidirect.com to pre-order your copy of Blurred Lines ahead of its’ release on June 26, just before Mona hits the stage for a keynote conversation you won’t want to miss at the 2018 ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans this July.