🏝️ Sweet Like Sugar cane

Prequel to Neither Out Far Nor In Deep

📘 Before Kadeem’s story, there was Gwendolyn’s.

Set in vibrant St. Kitts, Sweet Like Sugarcane follows teenage Gwendolyn Richards as she navigates family expectations, first love, and the choices that quietly shape the future.

A standalone prequel to Neither Out Far Nor In Deep, this novel dives into the roots of a family story before it was ever told. Gwendolyn doesn’t know what legacy she’s walking into—but it starts here.

📖 What Readers Will Find Inside:

  • A Caribbean girl trying to find her voice

  • Family, love, and the weight of expectation

  • The sights, smells, and sounds of island life

  • Secrets that change everything

  • A window into the past of Neither Out Far Nor In Deep

🌴 A Caribbean Coming-of-Age Story

This book is a love letter to the island, to girlhood, and to the stories that live in the quiet moments.

✍️ Author’s Note

I didn’t write this story first—but maybe I was always meant to come back to it.
Sweet Like Sugarcane is my fourth book, but it carries the roots of everything I’ve written before. Gwendolyn’s voice lingered long after I finished Neither Out Far Nor In Deep, and I knew her story deserved to be told.

This is for the girls who carry expectations, who feel deeply, and who are trying to find their way—one choice at a time.


— Leah T. Williams

📚 Get the Book

🧑🏽‍🏫 For Educators & Book Clubs

  • Sweet Like Sugarcane is a rich addition to classroom libraries, school reading lists, and book clubs looking to explore identity, culture, and voice through a Caribbean lens.

    This novel offers opportunities for deep discussion on:

    • Coming of age and girlhood

    • Generational expectations and identity

    • Love, choices, and personal growth

    • Caribbean culture and setting as character

    Whether you’re teaching literature, leading a book club, or seeking diverse voices for your shelf, this book invites meaningful conversation.

    Discussion Guide available upon request.
    📩 Email kittiwriter1@gmail.com to receive a free educator or book club guide.