The World of La Toya Hankins

Late-night visits to adult bookstores. Coming out shows on college campuses. Climbing the corporate ladders while never forgetting your roots. The love and support of sisters/lovers/friends.

La Toya Hankins seeks to capture the lives of the new Southern women in her novels, SBF Seeking… and K-Rho: The Sweet Taste of Sisterhood. Dedicated to capturing the experiences of women’ voices often left unheard in contemporary fiction, Hankins takes the reader to the cities and towns of her native North Carolina and showcases the experiences of living for one self instead of up to the expectations of others.

Kiara, Donna, Yvette, Yolanda, Danita, and Gloria are more than just characters. They are the sisters, sorors, daughters, and friends we all have in our lives.

Have you found what you are looking for, and do you have a sisterhood that supersedes sexuality? Come visit the word of Toya and find yourself among the pages.

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#FirstFiveFriday

One of the hallmarks of my writing is that I always center my stories in my home state of North Carolina. Since publishing my first novel in 2012, I have chosen settings of metropolises, college campuses, and small towns to celebrate my concept of Southern Sisterhood.

I invite all those curious about the lives and loves of the Southern Sorority women who come to life through my work to enjoy a little taste of my writing, which I call #FirstFiveFridays. I will share the first five lines of one of my short stories every First Friday of the month. To learn more, subscribe to my newsletter. Enjoy

The dream should have been a tip-off nothing was going to go the way I planned. It was always the same; me slipping on my wedding dress, the shiny satin slipping down my skin as Yolanda, my twin sister and maid of honor, zipped and buttoned. I could hear her smoke-tinged voice in my ear, “Yvette, I told you to lay off those BBQ sandwiches or else get a better girdle.”

My mom’s heels tapping out an impatient song as she walked back and forth in the kitchen making sure everything that should be there was not here and vice versa.

Then the dream would change; my uncle Ross and I standing in the foyer of Friendship Missionary Baptist church listening to the wedding march and each other’s breathing

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#FirstFiveFriday

One of the hallmarks of my writing is that I always center my stories in my home state of North Carolina. Since publishing my first novel in 2012, I have selected settings of metropolitans, college campuses, and small towns to celebrate my idea about Southern Sisterhood.

I invite all those curious about the lives and loves of the Southern Sorority women who come to life through my work to enjoy a little taste of my writing, which I call #FirstFiveFridays. I will share the first five lines of one of my short stories every First Friday of the month. To learn more, subscribe to my newsletter. Enjoy

Few things in life irked Nona Essex’s soul more than people who didn’t know how to shut up and have a good time. That truth pulsated in her brain as she sat in a plum and platinum-decorated ballroom serenaded by electronic swing music.

Less than an hour earlier, she witnessed the joyous nuptials of one of her favorite sorority sisters. The twilight beach ceremony under a clear September sky left her wanting to hug and kiss everyone who crossed her path.

It was only a short drive from the beach to a reception in downtown Wilmington filled with those drunk on love and a variety of liquid pleasure.

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#FirstFiveFriday

One of the hallmarks of my writing is that I always center my stories in my home state of North Carolina. Since publishing my first novel in 2012, I have selected settings of metropolitans, college campuses, and small towns to celebrate my idea about Southern Sisterhood.

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I invite all those curious about the lives and loves of the Southern Sorority women who come to life through my work to enjoy a little taste of my writing, which I call #FirstFiveFridays. I will share the first five lines of one of my short stories every First Friday of the month. To learn more, subscribe to my newsletter. Enjoy

Kathleen took a sip of her Saturday afternoon delight and watched Wonder Woman walk by in front of her home.

Dorothy Gale, Moana, and Peppa Pig followed in an exuberant sea of gingham, brown, and pink attire. Kathleen noted each of the four clutched a bag probably filled with calorie-causing confections.

The four fictional characters were in good company with the other creatively-attired children filling the sidewalks throughout Kathleen’s Carrboro neighborhood. Pumpkins, bats, and spiderweb decorations in front yards confirmed today’s date- October 31.

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