Flowers Bed The Sequel Black Roses
Antoine Thomas was born on May 21, 1974 in the Bronx, NY, the youngest of six children. When Antoine turned three years old, his father, Mr. Thomas, a poet and musician, died from kidney failure.  Soon thereafter, his mother, Mrs. Thomas, packed up her things, and moved herself and her children from a south Bronx apartment, to the Edenwald Houses located ten miles north in the East Bronx. The Thomas family resided there from 1978 to 1996.            As a child, Antoine attended New York City public schools where he excelled. At age 9 he won a spelling bee contest at elementary school P.S. 112 where he succeeded in being the best speller out of all the other 4th grade students. Two years later, Antoine graduated and moved on to Junior High School 142, also known as John Philip Sousa. There he followed in his father's footsteps and took music lessons his freshman and junior years learning how to play the alto saxophone. This would later enable him to perform in several of the school functions.             In 8th grade, Antoine discovered that his homeroom teacher, Mrs. Lovejoy, was also the school's typing instructor.  Wanting to learn a new skill, Atonine, along with a few of his classmates, began taking typing lessons each morning eventually being able to type 45 words a minute.  During Antoine's senior year in John Philip Sousa an unfortunate situation occurred resulting in Antoine being expelled and having to transfer to another school.  In September of 1989, Antoine enrolled in Evander Childs High School.            By age 16 Antoine, like many teenagers, became bored with school.  No longer excited by the prospect of meeting new people or learning, Antoine began spending time with a particular group of neighborhood friends who had divorced themselves from the educational system.  And like the old saying goes, "birds of a feather flock together." Antoine eventually became a high school drop out.            Like so many other young men living without support and mentoring, Antoine eventually became incarcerated. He eventually found himself spending time at an Upstate New York Correctional Facility. This event, which might have been the end of his life, was a new beginning, and an opportunity for Antoine to re-create himself. It was during his incarceration that Antoine decided to get his life together. He earned his General Equivalency Diploma, took two semesters of college courses offered by Sage Junior College's Albany program and also obtained certification as an Eletrician's Helper'.            After serving 25 months, Antoine returned home to his family, determined to stay on the right track. Throughout 1993 and 1994, Antoine struggled to put food on his mother's table, dipping and dabbing through the hustle and bustle of New York City.  After 18 months of effort and frustration, Antoine left the Big City and headed for the Midwest, Columbus, Ohio. Living in Ohio made Antoine think that he had found his riches in life.  He opened a boutique in a local Flea Market where he resold clothes that he purchased from a wholesaler in Manhattan's garment District. At the same time, he became an aspiring music Rapper, honing his skills every available chance in a friend's basement studio.  In 1997, right before "Inch" was about to begin laying tracks for his first real demo, disaster struck and Antoine was arrested again. He was charged and eventually sentenced for violating Federal law.          Fast forward to 2005.  Antoine now has three novels under his belt, and a contributions to  a forthcoming anthology. There also many more projects in the works. Upon his release, this creative father of two, a son Jyamiene, age 10, and a daughter Amiaya, age 4, plans to write a sequel to his first underground bestseller, Flower's Bed. Once his new novel is finished, expect to see him on his book tour to promote his literary