A Chorus Rises: A Song Below Water Novel by Bethany C. Morrow
A Chorus Rises: A Song Below Water Novel by Bethany C. Morrow
Teen & Young Adult Fiction | Reading age: 13 – 18 years
A Chorus Rises is a timely confrontation of the evolving nature of popularity in a society that chooses “exceptions” and rewards “model minorities.”
Meet Naema Bradshaw: a beautiful Eloko, once Portland-famous, now infamous, as she navigates a personal and public reckoning where confronting the limits of her privilege will show Naema what her magic really is, and who it makes her.
Teen influencer Naema Bradshaw has it all: she’s famous, stylish, gorgeous–and she’s an Eloko, a charismatic person gifted with a melody that people adore. Everyone loves her–until she’s cast as the villain who exposed a Siren to the whole world.
Dragged by the media, and canceled by her fans, no one understands her side: not her boyfriend, not her friends, not even her fellow Eloko. Villified by those closest to her, Naema heads to the Southwest where she is determined to stage a comeback… to her family, her real self, and the truth about her magic. What she finds is a new community in a flourishing group of online fans who support her.
At first, it feels like it used to–the fandom, the adoration, the community that takes her side–but when her online advocates start targeting other Black girls, Naema will realize that–for Black girls like her–even the privilege of fame has its limits. And only Naema can discover the true purpose of her power, and how to use it.
“A watery and melodic crossroads of the real and the mythic, A Chorus Rises lures readers with its seductive and beautifully Black siren song. An enthralling tale of Black girl magic and searing social commentary ready to rattle the bones.” ―Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles series
A Letter for My Mother by Nina Foxx
Whether they’re from the US, Caribbean, India, or the UK, all of the contributors to A Letter for My Mother share one thing in common: thoughts that have been left unsaid to their mothers and mother figures—until now. In this moving book, thirty-three women reveal the stories, reflections, confessions, and revelations they’ve kept to themselves for years and have finally put into words. Written through tears and pain, as well as joy and laughter, each offering presents the mother-daughter bond in a different light.
Heartfelt and deeply meaningful, A Letter for My Mother will inspire you to admire and cherish that special relationship that shapes every woman.
Purchase A Letter for My Mother by Nina Foxx
Link: http://amzn.com/B00DPM7TYK
A Tia Taylor Mystery: The Locked Room by Dr. Shauntey James
A Tia Taylor Mystery: The Locked Room by Dr. Shauntey James
Within an old-fashioned bookstore’s mysterious embrace, the captivating Dr. Raven Johnson, affectionately known as Aunt Ray, and her spirited niece, Tia Taylor, unwittingly become prisoners of a tantalizing enigma. Their predicament unfolds within the confines of a murder mystery locked room event, where the air grows heavy with suspense, and every word exchanged seems fraught with hidden meaning.
With an eerie creak, the ancient key turns in the lock, sealing the room’s entrance behind them and leaving the guests with no option but to confront the mysterious puzzle that looms. The oppressive atmosphere inside the locked room tightens its grip as time passes. Tia must solve the mystery and figure out the truth. Every whisper of the past may hold the key to the present, and the walls seem to pulse with the secrets of those who have crossed their threshold.
In this spellbinding narrative of tension and deduction, Aunt Ray and Tia are led solely by their unwavering determination to break free and, in doing so, rescue Aunt Ray, whose fate hangs in the balance.
https://www.amazon.com/Tia-Taylor-Mystery-Locked-Room/dp/B0CLVM7Q95/
A View from Harlem by Tracey Fagan Danzey
#SeducingThePenTour: A View from Harlem by Tracey Fagan Danzey takes a look at our friends from Jasper’s Cafe On The Boulevard five years later. READ MORE: http://a.co/0rqMbhY
Life makes the distinction between lasting or lust and forever or not. Nearly five years ago, the contrasting lives of these unlikely friends became cemented. Through all their differences, they toiled through the grit of building friendships and finding love. Now it truly begins. Perry and Robert Nichols have finally transitioned from living a lie into living that life.
Despite her once-pretentious facade, Perry now touts a coveted life—one she never apologizes for. What matters is her marriage, her two children, and the success of her upscale business, Lux Body & Soul. Perry’s wrath abruptly becomes unleashed once being betrayed, causing her life to quickly unravel. When everything she holds dear is put at risk, Perry must call on Harlem Brooks.
Harlem Brooks, the good boy gone bad, has returned to the city. He has cleaned up his act and is no longer the judge’s prodigal son. Harlem is back at the firm, committed and living a more suitable life. As his determination increases to spare Perry from ending up behind bars and keeping her family intact, he is unknowingly blind-sided by what is awaiting his own. When he returns to the office late one night seeking any crucial evidence to turn around a plummeting trial, Harlem makes a shattering discovery. Now more than ever he longs for what his brother has . . . his own family.
Like many men, Harlem hasn’t quenched his insatiable needs. What he desires most is the one thing he can’t have. Erika Townsend’s beauty is alluring to Harlem, but what intrigues him most is her resilience. That unshakable strength is what Harlem needs now more than ever.
Torie Matthews is finally settled and happy after marrying Quinn, her best friend and kindred spirit. In the face of their marital bliss, there has been immense heartbreak. When their marriage receives yet another devastating blow, Torie questions whether their bond is strong enough to endure.
Afro-Bougie Blues: A Collection of Short Fiction by Lauren Wilson
Step into the world of Afro-Bougie Blues and walk in the shoes of different protagonists as they struggle to move through the world. Read how ordinary black women and men develop tenacity when they have to deal with the reality of their choices.
Alexis finally finds love after seventeen years of a lonely existence, but life throws a curveball into her life. Watch as she overcomes the challenge despite her past still looming over her head.
Walk with Rodney, a gulf war veteran who tries to drown the war memories with alcohol. See Bessie, overweight and stuck in life, make a decision that sets her on a journey that transforms her life in ways she never imagined.
Thirteen-year-old Aisha wants answers to her complicated question about love. And this sets her father on the task of reflecting on what the word “love” really means. Listen to Lenore and her sisters recount stories from their father’s life after he succumbs to cancer.
From depression, abortion, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), spousal abuse, addiction, and extramarital affairs to colorism. Each short story takes you on a rollercoaster of emotion as you experience different areas of life narrated from a first-person perspective.
Afro-Bougie Blues is about characters with stories that are relatable because it captures struggles people deal with in everyday life. The author’s captivating prose and incredible storytelling will plunge the reader into fascinating worlds and challenge them to take on new perspectives that in turn inspire, move and entertain.
A great read for anyone who wants to know how people with diverse problems face the toughness of the world they inhabit. How they move forward when the future is uncertain and fortunes change in the blink of an eye, challenging their reality and overcoming it.
“You will find yourself not wanting this book to end.”
Afro-Bougie Blues: A Collection of Short Fiction by Lauren Wilson
Genre: African American contemporary fiction
About the Author
Lauren Wilson is a safety consultant who is occasionally visited by a muse that allows her to write amazing stories. It only happens a few times a year, but it is a wondrous experience. The rest of the time, Lauren evaluates the safety of manufacturing equipment being sent to Europe. The machines are often the size of a room, so she travels frequently.
In her spare time, she is a voracious reader of sci-fi alien encounters, UK historical mysteries, and stories about vampires and werewolves. She’s an online spades player and has a 5-story apartment building dollhouse project that she figures will take her another 10 years to complete. One of their favorite things to do is to drive 4 hours into the Pocono Mountains in PA and visit the Cove Haven couples resort. It’s a long way to go in order to play air hockey, but it’s worth it.
Lauren and her husband, Howard love watching stand-up comedy videos and he has recently started finding online joke videos that they can laugh at together. They have one dog, a pit bull named Petey who is a major bed hog.
You can follow Lauren on her blog and on Facebook by visiting her website for more details, https://www.afrobougieblues.com.
Anthony: Unshackled by Joan Vassar
Joan Vassar’s captivating Black series picks up on the gritty streets of New York City during the height of the Civil War. Anthony, mired in pain and still reeling from the death of his best friend, travels to Manhattan on an errand for the legendary Black. Once the task is complete, he finds himself at a brothel specializing in dark women.
When circumstances lead Anthony to steal a young woman from the infamous Hen House, he forever changes the course of his life and the lives of the people of Fort Independence. Fresh out of options, Anthony is forced to seek assistance to right the wrongs his actions have caused. Black comes to his aid and the men ride out to keep peril away from the fort.
Anthony: Unshackled is a gripping tale of redemption, love and liberty. Join Joan Vassar, Black and the men on yet another nail biting, heart-pounding journey.
Anthony: Unshackled by Joan Vassar
Download here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087DXP39B
Books In The BLACK Series (4 Books)
Download here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074CJGBRD
Basketball & Ballet (California Love Book 2) by Suzette D. Harrison
He left the game. She left the dance. Will they give love a chance?
Peek inside, read an excerpt: https://a.co/2KpBRn9
BLACK (The Black Series Book 1) by Joan Vassar
In August 1831, Nat Turner leads a group of escaped slaves in a rebellion that rocks the South. The revolt comes to a quick and violent end. In November, Nat is publicly hanged, and as his body swings, a false sense of peace washes over Jerusalem, Virginia.
Unbeknownst to the world, on the day Nat Turner dies, his son, Nat Hope Turner, is born. Reared by Big Mama on the Turner plantation, young Nat’s identity is kept secret to keep him safe. As Nat grows to manhood, he leads his own uprising against slavery and is forever after known as Black.
Fate-by way of Big Mama-leads Black to rescue a young female slave, Sunday, before the plantation owner can sell her. Black has lived for liberty until the day he comes face to face with the alluring Sunday. As the two embark on a sexually charged ride toward love and freedom, they set off a chain of events that forces Black to risk his own liberty for hers.
Black shares the appealing tale of a passionate love between a man and a woman bound together to change their destiny.
Books in The Black Series (3 Book Series) by Joan Vassar
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M5H67VA
Black shares the appealing tale of a passionate love between a man and a woman bound together to change their destiny.
The Uncaged Mind is a passionate story of love and healing despite the ugly backdrop of slavery.
Emancipating James reveals the complicated facets of the human soul exposed against the backdrops of Civil War, slavery, and romance.
Black Cake: A Novel by Charmaine Wilkerson
We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?
In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.
Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?
Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.
In development as a Hulu original series produced by Marissa Jo Cerar, Oprah Winfrey (Harpo Films), and Kapital Entertainment.
Black Women Will Save the World: An Anthem by April Ryan
In this long-overdue celebration of Black women’s resilience and unheralded strength, the revered, trailblazing White House correspondent reflects on “The Year That Changed Everything”—2020—and African-American women’s unprecedented role in upholding democracy.
“I am keenly aware that everyone and everything has a story,” April D. Ryan acknowledges. “Also, I have always marveled at Black women and how we work to move mountains and are never really thanked or recognized.” In Black Women Will Save the World, she melds these two truths, creating an inspiring and heart-tugging portrait of one of the momentous years in America, 2020—when America elected its first Black woman Vice President—and celebrates the tenacity, power, and impact of Black women across America.
From the beginning of the nation to today, Black women have transformed their pain into progress and have been at the frontlines of the nation’s political, social, and economic struggles. These “Sheroes” as Ryan calls them, include current political leaders such as Maxine Waters, Valerie Jarrett, and Kamala Harris; LaTosha Brown, and other activists. Combining profiles and in-depth interviews with these influential movers and shakers and many more, Ryan explores the challenges Black women endure, and how the lessons they’ve learned can help us shape our own stories.
Ryan also chronicles her personal journey from working-class Baltimore to the elite echelons of journalism and speaks out about the hurdles she faced in becoming one of the most well-connected members of the Washington press corps—while raising two daughters as a single mother in the aftermath of a messy divorce.
It is time for everyone to acknowledge Black women’s unrivaled contributions to America. Yet our democracy remains in peril, and their work is far from done. Black Women Will Save the World presents a vital kaleidoscopic look at women of different ages and from diverse backgrounds who devote their lives to making the world a better place—even if that means stepping out of their “place.”
Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman
Call Us What We Carry: Poems by Amanda Gorman
#1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller
The breakout poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman
Formerly titled The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, the luminous poetry collection by #1 New York Times bestselling author and presidential inaugural poet Amanda Gorman captures a shipwrecked moment in time and transforms it into a lyric of hope and healing. In Call Us What We Carry, Gorman explores history, language, identity, and erasure through an imaginative and intimate collage.
Harnessing the collective grief of a global pandemic, this beautifully designed volume features poems in many inventive styles and structures and shines a light on a moment of reckoning. Call Us What We Carry reveals that Gorman has become our messenger from the past, our voice for the future.
Capital Sins by Cheryl Mattox Berry
Lust…Betrayal…and Dirty Deals
Savvy newswoman Jan Malone finally earns a coveted anchor spot at a Washington, D.C., television station when unforeseen circumstances turn her world upside down.
To regroup, she and her best friend Kelly Mahoney take an adventurous African vacation where they meet wealthy businessman Abdou Nyassi. He and Jan begin a hot and heavy romance that has him talking marriage.
Jan’s socially connected mother does some digging and gets a tip about Abdou that sets off alarms. Her warning prompts Jan to put her investigative skills to use.
Soon, Jan unravels a nefarious plot that thrusts her into a world of crime, corruption, and political deceit. She turns to Kelly and street hustler Darius Hooks for help, but will their motives be pure?
CAPITAL SINS exposes dark truths about ambition, greed, and human nature.
Catfish by Nina Foxx
Best Friends Dana and Damika share everything about each other, because that’s what best friends do, right? But when it comes to relationships, the high schoolers are keeping secrets in cyberspace. After Boy Crazy Dana meets the “perfect” guy, she figures the only way to get close is to tell little white lies. As their relationship flourishes, an inappropriate photo sent for his eyes only…ends up going viral, and threatens Dana’s reputation and her future.
Tech nerd Damika is able to reinvent herself online and she’s created a cyber life that no one knows about but her. When she meets Rosheon, she’s thrilled at their budding relationship, until she discovers there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye because just as she can reinvent herself….so can others. As the lies become unmanageable, can Dana and Damika dig themselves out of a web of a mess before it’s too late?
In this page-turning novel, Catfish, Nina Foxx dives into a world where nothing is as it seems and danger takes on new meaning in cyberspace.
Purchase Catfish by Nina Foxx
Link: http://amzn.com/0991532228
Closer To You by Sheryl Lister
Located an hour away from San Diego, the small town of Blackmont, California is known for its peaceful surroundings and majestic lakes. However, secrets and danger lurk just below the surface. And some secrets could prove to be deadly.
Love may be a distraction neither of them will live to enjoy…
When Zahra Chandler unexpectedly inherits her grandfather’s small-town home and bookstore, she jumps at the chance to leave LA. There’s just one problem: she also, unknowingly, inherits a long-buried secret that someone would go to any lengths to protect, including murder. The only thing standing between her and a killer is the town’s arrogant, but irresistibly sexy sheriff—a man who ignites in her a passion she’s never felt.
Kendall McKnight takes his job as sheriff seriously and is always prepared for anything…except his instant attraction to newcomer Zahra. As they’re drawn together in their search for clues, protecting her becomes less about civic duty and much more about carnal desire and he’s in danger of losing the one thing he vowed never to risk again—his heart. But the threat is closer than they realize and the truth, when revealed, could tear them apart forever.
Purchase Closer To You by Sheryl Lister
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Mystery
Amazon: http://bit.ly/CloserToYouSL
Find all of the information, graphics and excerpts on the author’s Seducing the Pen Tour page: https://www.smore.com/shbwd-books-by-sheryl-lister
Sheryl Lister is a multi-award winning author and has enjoyed reading and writing for as long as she can remember. She is a former pediatric occupational therapist with over twenty years of experience and resides in California.
Sheryl is a wife, mother of three daughters and a son-in-love, and grandmother to two special little boys. When she’s not writing, Sheryl can be found on a date with her husband or in the kitchen creating appetizers.
See all of Sheryl’s published books by visiting her books page.
http://sheryllister.com/books-published
Courage to Pursue by Lisa Blackmon
Courage to Pursue is a guide in which readers will experience how they can conquer the spirit of fear to turn their dreams into a reality. Each part of this book encourages readers to move out of their comfort zone to find the courage they need to succeed.
Blackmon takes the readers through a series of points to get them to understand their purpose. She gives tips to the readers about what they should do to be all they can be. This book is full of positive affirmations that will allow readers to believe in themselves over and over again.
Blackmon uses her life moments to share with readers how she had to use courage to get where she is right now. She transparently shares with the readers how she refused to allow fear to stop her and encourages them not to allow it to stop them. Readers are prompted to tap into their Five W’s and one H (Who, What, When, Why and How) to understand and develop their own purpose on earth.
This amazing book not only inspires, but also helps the reader to develop into the person they have always dreamed of becoming. Blackmon writer’s voice is similar to that of a life coach. It is inspiring, rather than condescending. This touch allows the reader to understand that no matter what they’ve experienced in life, they can still move forward into all God has for them. Lisa has created a unique and classic guide to develop courage in every individual who has lost hope in completing their dreams.
Purchase: http://lisabthelifechanger.com/product/courge-to-pursue/
About the Author
Lisa Blackmon fondly known as LisaB, is a motivation speaker, coach, mentor, author and business woman. She is passionate about seeing lives changed and when necessary resurrected.
After 20 years in the legal field as an attorney, she felt a prompting to do more and serve on another level in order to reach the masses that she has been divinely destined to impact. From this revelation, LisaBtheLifechanger was birthed, motivational videos hit social media and inspiring information flooded her page calling an audience of ordinary people like herself to become their own rescue.
Those that engaged have become known as a tribe of Lifechangers. This tribe is not only changing their own lives but creating a culture of change in the lives of others.
“Courage to Pursue” encapsulates LisaB’s coaching helps other to discover their God given purpose, create a action plan to make it happen and get in action to manifest their dreams.
LisaB is a Southern girl that loves good music, a good book and sharing her world with family and friends. Most of all she, is an advocate for change and growth even if it means doing what is necessary with “knees knocking.” Her mantra is “Provoking You to Think, Promoting You to Change.”
Connect with LisaB, The Life Changer – Life Changer
Purchase book on Lisa’s Website: http://lisabthelifechanger.com
Dangerous Consequences by Lisa Renee Johnson
Dangerous Consequences by Lisa Renee Johnson
“Hold on for the ride of your life…with unimaginable consequences.” –Mary B. Morrison
Debut author Lisa Renee Johnson delivers an edgy, sexy novel about a man who has it all—until one night changes everything…
Dubbed the “ Sex Doctor” on his local radio show, psychologist Donathan James advises callers on their sexual issues. With his gorgeous and brilliant neurosurgeon wife, Sydney, at home and women flirting with the hot doctor everywhere he goes, Donathan is living the high life. But when he wakes up naked and drugged in a hotel room, with no memory of the evening before, the doctor suddenly has problems of his own.
Soon, Donathan’s sexy stalker is sending him photographic evidence of what they did that night, turning up in his office to rant about her unstable past, and demanding they meet again and again. All Donathan wants is his life back—and for his wife not to find out. But when the relentless stranger goes too far, it leads him to discover his beloved wife has secrets of her own. Now, to save their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. James will have to hold on tight to survive the bumpiest ride of their lives.
Lisa Renee Johnson is an author, foodie and closet mixologist! After co-founding and running a book club for almost two decades, Lisa Renee took the plunge into the world of fiction writing with her debut novel Dangerous Consequences. Lisa Renee also captured the country’s attention with the hashtag #laughingwhileblack that ignited a media firestorm and prompted global conversations about race, power, privilege and bias.
In addition to writing, Lisa Renee, a self-proclaimed Sunshineologist, created the I Got Sunshine movement to inspire women to define success and happiness on their terms. A true sunshine girl at heart, Lisa Renee was born in Florida, reared in Texas and now resides in Northern California with her family. Her highly anticipated follow-up novel Surviving the Chase, will hit the shelves soon. Visit her online at www.lisareneejohnson.com.
Dawn (Lilith’s Brood, 1) by Octavia E. Butler
One woman is called upon to rebuild the future of humankind after a nuclear war, in this revelatory post-apocalyptic tale from the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower.
When Lilith lyapo wakes from a centuries-long sleep, she finds herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. She discovers that the Oankali—a seemingly benevolent alien race—intervened in the fate of the humanity hundreds of years ago, saving everyone who survived a nuclear war from a dying, ruined Earth and then putting them into a deep sleep. After learning all they could about Earth and its beings, the Oankali healed the planet, cured cancer, increased human strength, and they now want Lilith to lead her people back to Earth—but salvation comes at a price.
Hopeful and thought-provoking, this post-apocalyptic narrative deftly explores gender and race through the eyes of characters struggling to adapt during a pivotal time of crisis and change.
ELBERT: THE UNCAGED MIND (The Black Series Book 2) by Joan Vassar
Canada, 1860—While on a mission for Black, Elbert notices the lovely Anna Baker for the first time. Unable to think of much else, he leaves Canada to pursue the beauty that has captured his thoughts.
Anna is unnerved by the man with the lifeless eyes, who is relentless and forward in his approach. She offers nothing of herself to the intimidating stranger, but fate has a different plan.
When Anna is assaulted by slave catchers on the streets of Boston, Elbert finds his manhood tested to the limit. He steps in to help, but the consequences prove devastating, and both are sold into bondage. As Anna learns the horrors of slavery, she comes to understand there is more to the foreboding stranger than meets the eye.
Elbert and Anna manage to escape—with the help of the legendary Black. But freedom is not enough to satisfy Elbert’s bruised ego. He wants the pound of flesh owed, and he will stop at nothing to collect.
The Uncaged Mind is a passionate story of love and healing despite the ugly backdrop of slavery. Native New Yorker Joan Vassar is an avid storyteller who enjoys weaving a great tale.
Endgame (Endgame Trilogy Book 1) by Tiye Love
Psychologist Dr. Zoe Broussard has always been a no-nonsense, play by the rules woman until she meets her new client. From the moment the impossibly gorgeous Michael Carson walks into her office, she finds herself dangerously drawn to him and irrevocably hooked.
Michael is an NFL quarterback with a multimillion-dollar contract and a penchant for breaking hearts. He’s used to getting what he wants, and he’s determined to tempt his hot new therapist into exploring the obvious passion between them. Even though there’s another man in her life.
Can Zoe resist Michael’s charms and her growing feelings for him? More importantly, is she willing to risk everything for a man who may not be there tomorrow?
Books in the Endgame Series (Endgame, Game Time and Game Changer)
Listen to the BAN Radio Show interview with Ella D. Curry and Tiye Love – http://tobtr.com/s/11259743
Enraptured Felicity (Clairvoyance – Poetic Vault Series)
Enraptured Felicity (Clairvoyance – Poetic Vault Series)
Enraptured Felicity, Love Poetry that Casts You into a Hypnotic Lyrical Trance, is a love poetry book that gives the reader a free pass to their heart’s amusement park so that they may get the thrill of their life on the rollercoaster of love.
Just like the sexy models on the cover, the poetry has an alluring glow that gains and maintains the reader’s attention. It’s like a foreplay session with a certain edginess to it that rubs the curiosity like a masseuse, and then the reader finds themselves right in the middle of a fantastical experience whereby literary ecstasy takes complete control.
Enraptured Felicity contains 86 private sessions in which the reader can experience lyrical love thirsts being quenched as well as poetic fixes being granted. With so much love poetry populating Marc Lacy’s vault, Enraptured Felicity is the perfect vessel through which love messaging can be channeled. Not only will this collection of poetry seduce the reader into giving up their precious attention; but it will lure them right to the edge and bam, hit them with a serious love message.
Enraptured Felicity (Clairvoyance – Poetic Vault Series)
Check out Enraptured Felicity – https://a.co/d/ezAleDZ
Download all 7 Poetic Vault Series Books Today!
https://www.amazon.com/Clairvoyance-Poetic-Vault-Series/dp/B0CC1Q89G8?ref_=ast_author_dp
Eshe: The Fire Breathing Series, Book 1 by J.D. Mason
She’s the first and Andwele Abioye has no blue print for how to fulfill an ancient prophecy that he’s inherited from his forefathers, the Sons of Sango, an order of demigods tasked with facilitating the awakening the spirits of Oya’s dragon daughters. The objectives have been passed down from generation to generation and have been drilled into Andwele and his brothers. And they are crystal clear. Gain her unwavering trust—all of it before the Trial by Fire begins. Don’t die. Reap her human soul. Awaken her dragon spirit. And, oh yeah. Don’t die.
Eshe Taylor is emotionally unraveling and doesn’t understand why. She’s living in a waking dream and with each passing day, her neurosis seems to be getting worse. She can’t sleep or eat. Eshe can’t focus on simple tasks and is becoming overwhelmed by paranoia, anxiety, emotional imbalances that are becoming unbearable.
One evening, her worst fears come to light, and Eshe finds herself living one of her nightmares. But what she doesn’t understand is that things are about to get much worse, and all she has to help her survive this is the man who manipulated her and dragged her into an unbelievable destiny she wanted no part of.
More Books by J.D. Mason: https://www.amazon.com/J.-D.-Mason/e/B001ILFMPI
Forever Beautiful (Generations Book 1) by Suzette Harrison
Welcome to the Generations Series, a collaborative literary endeavor that launches with “Forever Beautiful” and “Wandering Beauty” by Suzette Harrison and Suzette Riddick.
This series features ten interconnected novellas, divided into five sets. Each set pairs one historical fiction novella with a contemporary women’s literature novella, creating a rich tapestry of interwoven narratives. The heroines in both historical and contemporary stories are directly linked, forming a multigenerational saga.
The small, all-Black fictional town of Colemanville, North Carolina is at the heart of these stories. Founded in 1875 on the pillars of Love, Liberty, and Legacy, Colemanville thrives on its rich history, tight-knit community, and enduring spirit. Despite the challenges over the years, its idyllic scenery and small-town charm make it the pride and joy of its residents.
Generations celebrates Black culture, sisterhood, and the remarkable strength of Black women throughout the ages. So, pour yourself a glass of sweet tea, settle in, and let the stories of Colemanville transport you to a place where history and contemporary life beautifully converge. Your journey through the Generations Series awaits.
Available in paperback and ebook. View the Generations storyline here – https://bit.ly/44eNIJH
Check out the Generations Series on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2JWFLF8
Forever Beautiful (Generations Book 1) by Suzette Harrison
Floretta Coleman is young, determined, and gifted. A graduate of Madame C.J. Walker’s esteemed beauty school, Floretta is on the brink of a bright future with plans to explore the world after completing her studies at Oberlin College. Her long-held dreams seem within reach until one telephone call shatters everything. Her mother, Iva Rae Coleman, has died unexpectedly. Devastated, Floretta returns to the small, all-Black town founded by enslaved ancestors to lay her mother to rest and is forced to navigate the complexities of loss and family obligation.
Her younger brothers need her. So does her homeless great Aunt Sis, whose misfortune was caused by a family accident. She must grapple with these responsibilities as well as her parents’ unconventional relationship while being drawn to Packer Sims, a captivating horse rancher and Seminole Indian. Told against the rich tapestry of 1949 in the southern U.S., Floretta’s story is one of identity, self-discovery, and acceptance. Join her journey as Floretta forges a path that is forever beautiful and uniquely her own.
Learn more: https://sdhbooks.com/products/copy-of-forever-beautiful?variant=47960058102040
Wandering Beauty (Generations Book 2) by Suzette Riddick
Jillian Hart has reached her breaking point. Every moment of her day is seemingly consumed catering to her family’s needs and wants as a wife and mother of two. Her only source of solace is the day spa, where she works as a part-time esthetician. Even that is at risk of being taken away by Ivan Hart, Jillian’s demanding husband, and his unrealistic expectations.
When her husband does the unthinkable, Jillian flees with her children to Colemanville, North Carolina to the home of her maternal grandmother, Nana Flo. At her lowest, Jillian must reassess her life and confront the choices that have derailed her dream of owning a day spa specializing in esthetician services.
In Colemanville with Nana Flo’s help, Jillian discovers she and her great-grandmother, Iva Rae Coleman, are kindred spirits after learning intimate details about Iva’s life. With this revelation, she accepts that the crumbling of her marriage was unavoidable to propel her toward her destiny to carry on the Coleman family legacy.
Join the journey of this wandering beauty to see if family secrets, scandals, and her husband’s determination to reconcile will hinder Jillian from fulfilling her destiny.
Learn more: https://a.co/d/7qZPlXW
About the Co-Authors
Suzette D. Harrison grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Turning her love of reading into a rising literary career, Suzette was first published when her poetry was included in a creative journal in middle school. While she loves happy endings, Harrison pens flawed characters in need of redemption, and loves crafting storylines with intricate layers and depth, often leaving readers with unexpected plot twists. The award-winning author is a wife and mother who holds a culinary degree in Pastry & Baking. Suzette is currently cooking up her next novel…in between batches of cookies.
Suzette Riddick is a wife, mother, and nurse practitioner who enjoys writing stories about imperfect people finding perfect love. Black love, sisterhood, and strong family bonds are the heart of her stories. She is an Amazon Best-Selling Author and featured in USA Today ~ Happy Ever After. Suzette, a native of Philadelphia, PA, loves traveling, reading, decorating her planner, and has an addiction to Chanel parfum.
From Staircase to Stage: The Story of Wu-Tang Clan by Raekwon
From Staircase to Stage: The Story of Raekwon and the Wu-Tang Clan by Raekwon
Legendary wordsmith Raekwon the Chef opens up about his journey from the staircases of Park Hill in Staten Island to sold-out stadiums around the world with Wu-Tang Clan in this revealing memoir—perfect for fans of The Autobiography of Gucci Mane and Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter.
There are rappers who everyone loves and there are rappers who every rapper loves, and Corey Woods, a.k.a. Raekwon the Chef, is one of the few who is both. His versatile flow, natural storytelling, and evocative imagery have inspired legions of fans and a new generation of rappers. Raekwon is one of the founding members of Wu-Tang Clan, and his voice and cadence are synonymous with the sound that has made the group iconic since 1991.
Now, for the first time, Raekwon tells his whole story, from struggling through poverty in order to make ends meet to turning a hobby into a legacy. The Wu-Tang tale is dense, complex, and full of drama, and here nothing is off-limits: the group’s origins, secrets behind songs like “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Protect Ya Neck,” and what it took to be one of the first hip-hop groups to go from the underground to the mainstream. Raekwon also delves deep into the making of his meticulous solo albums—particularly the classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx—and talks about how spirituality and fatherhood continue to inspire his unstoppable creative process.
A celebration of perseverance and the power of music, From Staircase to Stage is a master storyteller’s lifelong journey to stay true to himself and his roots.
Garvey in the Dark by Nikki Grimes
“Garvey in the Dark is more than a beautifully crafted novel in verse. It’s a story that faces news headlines and captures the wild emotional roller coaster of the COVID-19 pandemic with honesty and courage. A must-read for young people who lived through the early days of the outbreak as well as those who will be curious about it in years to come.” —Kate Messner, New York Times bestselling author
“With deceptive simplicity, Grimes captures characters and emotions by wielding a poetic form—the tanka—with superb and superhuman strength, and the result is a beautiful and brilliant book about how faith, grace, and familial love can help us triumph over adversity…” —Padma Venkatraman, Walter Award-winning author of The Bridge Home
Capturing the shock and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of Garvey, a beloved character, Nikki Grimes’s newest novel in verse shows readers how to find hope in difficult times.
Garvey’s finally happy—he’s feeling close to his father through their shared love of music, bullies are no longer tormenting him, and his best friends Manny and Joe are by his side. But when the schools, stores, and restaurants close because people are getting sick, Garvey’s improved life goes into lockdown as well. And when Garvey’s father gets sick, Garvey must find a way to use his newfound musical skills to bring hope to both his father and himself. Moving, powerful, and beautifully told, this remarkable novel shows readers how even small acts have large reverberations, how every person can make a difference in this world, and how—even in the most difficult times—there are ways to reach for hope and healing.
Nikki Grimes is a New York Times bestselling author who has won the ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, the Children’s Literature Legacy Award, the Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, and NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. She has also received several ALSC Notables, a Coretta Scott King Author Award, Coretta Scott King Author Honors, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honors, a Printz Honor, and a Sibert Honor.
Girl Get Up! – 21 Day Devotional by Temeka Davis
Girl Get Up!: 21 Day Devotional and Journal by Temeka Davis
Girl Get Up is a 21-day devotional and journal that will encourage, inspire and motivate you to Get Up!
Get up and go get everything God has for you! Girl get up and get moving! Get up and pray!
You have dreams, goals and visions that you need to work on. There’s a journal included in the back of the book for you to write down things as God speaks to you.
Get up and start that business. Get up and go back to school. Get up and move!
Hold You Down: A Novel by Tracy Brown
Hold You Down is an edgy novel from rising star Tracy Brown about the perils of love and the ties that bind…
New York City. Late 1980s to early 1990s.
Mercy and Lenox Howard have always only had each other. Growing up on the mean streets of Harlem with an absentee mother meant that they had to have each other’s backs. Now young, smart mothers they are determined to survive in New York City while raising their two sons, who have bright futures ahead of them.
Mercy is the quiet, straight laced hospital administrator, struggling to make ends meet. At night and on weekends, she pours her heart into her cooking and her dream of owning her own restaurant. Lenox is the diva, the wild child, looking for excitement and her big come up in life and love. Their boys, Deon and Judah, have been raised more like brothers than cousins, forging a bond that is unbreakable.
When Lenox heads down a path that she believes will bring success and power, it changes the entire course of her life and her family’s life forever. As a result of their mother’s choices, cousins Deon and Judah soon find themselves in uncharted territory.
Homecoming Chaos by Dominique Brooks
Homecoming Chaos by Dominique Brooks
Jamison Jones Scott has been out of the country and out of contact with most of her family for four years. Distraught, she had left the states previously to join a physicians’ relief organization after canceling her wedding and turning down a cushy job offer.
Now Jamie is back. It’s a homecoming where she is unsure of her family’s reception—especially her mother’s—and she walks into a murder mystery at her family’s business and a big birthday soiree. While trying to navigate her return and learning more about this case, she runs into a tall, handsome detective who is working to solve the mystery and who finds her a sexy challenge even when she interferes.
Can Jamie survive the chaos and protect her family’s business, deal with her family, and handle the dance with the hot detective without managing to get herself killed?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKXNZJ7H?linkCode=ssc&tag=onamzsanklite-20&creativeASIN=B0CKXNZJ7H&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.12S9MRAGH2VIY&ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ofs_mixed_d_asin
I Am God’s Work of Art by Yvonne Strachan
I Am God’s Work of Art by Yvonne Strachan
Every child is a blessing from God. No matter where they come from, how they look physically, their gender, or nationality.
I Am God’s Work of Art inspires children to become one with themselves and to embrace their unique characteristics, personality, and appearance. This book empowers children always to know that they are special, creative, wonderful, and love unconditionally by God.
Each reader is assured that they have a special purpose to fulfill. This book builds the confidence of children, reminding them to be confident and courageous in everything that they do. Children will also be inspired to do everything that they desire to do in life and to stay in their own unique lane.
I Am God’s Work of Art is filled with inspiration and power that will assist children to be victorious and never to reject embracing their greatness.
Length: 31 pages
Age Level: 0-12
Grade Level: P-5
Children’s School Issues
Children’s School & Education Books
Children’s Christian Inspirational Books
I Know My Community Workers by LoLo Smith
I Know My Community Workers by LoLo Smith
This picture book exposes young children to 17 different occupations, some of which they may not have considered for themselves such as being a chef, astronaut, or politician. Many are playing important roles during the COVID-19 pandemic such as the doctor, nurse, teacher, grocer, chef, construction worker, fire fighter, police officer, train engineers and the mayor.
The 4 pages of JUST FOR FUN facts are a very creative way for parents to determine if their child understands the information in the book. Beautifully produced books like this will get the children off the internet.
VIDEO: I Know My Community Workers by LoLo Smith
For children age 4-7. Teaches young children the titles, tools and workplaces of community workers and encourages them to set career goals. Four pages of activity sheets are available to delight and excite the children. Watch the Living Storybook Program: https://youtu.be/nLb1u6gGTMM
I Know My Community Workers by LoLo Smith
Genre: Children’s Picture Book; Community Workers
Purchase I Know My Community Workers by LoLo Smith
https://www.amazon.com/I-Know-My-Community-Workers-ebook/dp/B01CZC6OM8
Justice on the Jersey Shore by Dr. Geneva Jones Williams
Justice on the Jersey Shore: How Ermon K. Jones Ignited Change and Won by Dr. Geneva Jones Williams. Listen to the BAN Radio Interview with Ella D. Curry and Dr. Geneva Williams
Justice on the Jersey Shore: How Ermon K. Jones Ignited Change and Won demonstrates the power of inspired leadership—how an ordinary person can use his or her personal influence to transform reality. In this riveting, true story of how a spiritual, soft-spoken basketball star became a fearless advocate for the oppressed and powerless in his community, a decades-old battle for social change gains new relevance. Ermon K. Jones’ two college degrees, sports fame, charisma and good looks meant nothing when he was denied the right to apply for a job and buy a new house in his own hometown. How he fought back against a segregated society, outdated thinking and even hate crimes made a lasting difference for his family and for the lives of countless others. Dr. Geneva Jones Williams, an expert on influential leadership, uses interviews with her heroic father, her own recollections and the historic record to share lessons from the past that can help resolve the worst conflicts and divisions of our time.
About the Author
Award-winning executive Geneva Jones Williams, EdD, CEO of Dr. Geneva Speaks, coaches business executives, entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders. Dr. Geneva led the United Way in metropolitan Detroit, founded City Connect Detroit—an innovative national model of public-private cooperation—and launched Figure Skating in Detroit, a leadership development program for girls. She raised millions for community change initiatives, and served as a university professor and as superintendent of a public school system.
Today, Dr. Geneva hosts a weekly podcast, Ignite2Impact, on iTunes and iHeart Radio— featuring insightful conversations with innovative leaders in business, nonprofits, government and the arts. She’s a native of Neptune Township, N.J., and an alumna of Morgan State University who also earned a doctorate in education from Wayne State University. Recently, she was honored as a Golden Soror of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. To learn more, visit drgenevaspeaks.com
Let The Truth Be Told (4 Book Series) by Antoinette R. Davis
Let Truth Be Told Vol 1 (Let The Truth Be Told) by Antoinette Davis
From Book 1: Claudia Ellison is straight out of Baltimore; she’s just graduated from college and ready to bring major changes to her social and financial situation however there are some missing pieces. Claudia wants a husband, a baby and a successful career but living in Baltimore, Maryland men are not plentiful and the one man her heart longs for is in the federal penitentiary and the men she’s been dating are not up to part.
Claudia befriends the new First lady of her church and leans on her for advice and guidance when her world starts spinning out of control but it seems the First Lady of the church wants to put her own spin on Claudia Ellison.
Let Truth Be Told Vol 2 (Let The Truth Be Told) by Antoinette Davis
Vol 2, This is a thrilling novel about an upstanding family enthralled with lies. Claudia just said I do to pastor Terrence Madden and saying Good-bye to her worldly way of living.
Transitioning into the First Lady has it’s challenges especially now that Claudia has a baby and a career. The Ellison family faces one obstacle after another and they are holding together by a thread. It’s going to take everyone in the family to pull together if they expect to survive.
Let The Truth Be Told Vol 3 (Let The Truth Be Told) by Antoinette Davis
We left off in Vol 2 with a new addition to the Ellison family, Constance Ellison. Hold on tight because she did not come in peace she came to take down her half-siblings with the help of a surprising source. Constance refuses to let go of the idea that her father left a will and his illegitimate child was left out of it. Constance came to get what is hers and take more in the process. Constance will touch each one of her half-siblings, one by one in an attempt to ruin them all.
Let The Truth Be Told Vol 4 (Let The Truth Be Told) by Antoinette Davis
Constance is ready to strike and the time is now. She has set everything into motion and Michael’s incarceration is just a mild technicality for her. Constance has new plans with a new love and her new lover will surely to shake the foundation in which the Ellison are standing on.
The near-death experience Phyllis had made Terrence revisit his former occupation but only this time he’s working it from another angle. Lisa is done with trying to hide her sexuality and after a few sequences of events, she steps out of the closet completely and into an unexpected love affair that has her in a whirlwind. New unlikely alliances will be formed and some truths will be told however, lies will lead to a loss of life.
Purchase the series here:
Light in the Darkness by Adrianne C. Jones
Be captivated by a compilation of poems for those difficult times. Be an over-comer and hold onto faith in the midst of every storm. Adrianne Jones shares with her readers these original pieces that helped keep her encouraged and lifted during her darkest hours.
Book Genre: Poetry
Primary Subject matter: Poems & affirmations.
Audience: Christian men and women. Individuals going through depression, grievance, and young black women.
About the Author
Adrianne Jones, born and raised in Oceanside, CA. in a loving two-parent home. But unfortunately, for Adrianne, both of her parents passed away within months of one another. The death of her parents sent Adrianne on a downward spiral which landed her in a dark place. With no one to turn to for guidance, depression began to set in. After several years of trials and tribulations, Adrianne turned to her faith for some clarity and began writing poems.
It was during this time that Adrianne began to see the light that led her from the darkness. Currently, Adrianne is raising her 7-year-old daughter while building her Fearless Faith brand. Her book of poems titled Light in the Darkness is available on Amazon Kindle as well as her website, www.Faithfullyfearlesss.com
Love in the Age of Dragons by Fatima R. Henson
Love in the Age of Dragons by Fatima R. Henson
Young Adult Fiction / Coming Of Age
“This fast-paced dystopian fantasy is intensely captivating until the very last page.” —BookLife Reviews
Two years ago, a wormhole opened and ushered vicious dragons into the world. The dragons burned Earth’s cities to the ground and sent its inhabitants scattering for cover; and since then, Ayanna Grace, a seventeen-year-old Black girl, has been scratching out a life in an abandoned subway system, part of an extensive underground community.
Underground, medicine runs short and outbreaks of disease spread uncontrollably. The water supply is low, uprisings occur frequently, and dragon attacks are imminent. But those aren’t the only challenges Ayanna is facing: she’s also busy wrestling with her feelings, torn between Richard, who she’s known all her life, and Jackson, a mysterious newcomer. Worse, her mentor, the community’s only doctor, is dying from a failing heart. With no hope of rescue from aboveground, will Ayanna be able to save him before it’s too late?
Love Like It’s Hot!
Love Like its Hot! Celebrates Independence Day – a day celebrated around the country – and will never be seen quite the same as six of today’s contemporary, nationally best-selling romance authors bring the heat in this box set filled with unique stories of impassioned love and intense romance! The Fourth has never been hotter – be sure to Love Like its Hot!
Love Like It’s Hot! is a searing, sensuous box set featuring stories of love and romance from six of today’s hottest contemporary romance writers! Each story surrounds the Fourth of July holiday, bringing passion and heat to life. This box set abounds with smart, witty, and loving characters these authors are known for and their readers have come to expect.
The featured writers for this BLISTERING e-box set are: Ann Clay, Barbara Keaton, Deatri King-Bey, Donna Hill, Nicki Night and Xyla Turner.
#UnWrappedLit: Heat at First Sight by Barbara Keaton
Listen to a reading from the book – http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/Ch9WVxrX
#UnWrappedLit: Sweet Heat Rising by Nicki Night
Listen to a reading from the book – http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C7tk5HLX
#UnWrappedLit: Love For Liberty by Ann Clay
Listen to a reading from the book – http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/Cpwj43WX
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Love, Honor, Betray by Mary Monroe
Award-winning New York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe delivers the latest thrillingly scandal-filled novel in her Depression-era saga of a church-going lady and her oh-so-upstanding husband racing to cover up their many sins—and gambling on one scheme too many. . .
With mysterious serial murders putting peaceful Lexington, Alabama, on edge, Jessie and Hubert Wiggins’ steadfast calm and devotion to each other reassures everyone that faith will see them through. But Jessie and Hubert have paid a terrible hidden cost to maintain their devout facade and respectable standing. Nothing can allay the guilt they feel—or stop the growing distrust between them . . .
Hubert thought he and his secret lover, Leroy, could continue seeing each other on the down-low in peace. But when Leroy’s ex-wife moves back in with him, a heartbroken Hubert is driven to distraction trying to keep Jessie in the dark—and quell his mounting jealousy. And his need for satisfaction is driving Hubert to reckless extremes—and desperate risks. . .
Jessie believes the struggles between her and Hubert will all be worth it if she can connive him to finallyconsummate their marriage—no matter what she has to do. But his erratic behavior and her frustration soon has her trying yet another new lover, who is as charming as he is unreliable—and unexpectedly dangerous. . .
Now with their secrets out of control—and the police perilously near—Jessie and Hubert discover who might be behind the deaths plaguing their town. But can they risk a pursuit that could expose their own web of lies? When their only choice pits them and their suspicions against each other, their next move will either bury their deceptions deep for good—or reveal the one truth they can’t escape.
Max & Bo: Two Dogs On The Go by LoLo Smith
Meet Max and Bo, two fun-loving dogs that like to celebrate the holidays including New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Young children will enjoy seeing the illustrations of the dogs in their different hats, ties and costumes. This is a delightful book with rhymes on every page to engage young kids. JUST FOR FUN facts help parents determine if their child remembers the information in the book.
But it is not all fun and games for Max and Bo. At the end of the book, they are shown in face masks. This illustration can be used as a springboard for parents to discuss COVID-19 with young children. Max and Bo are in face masks since it’s not too much to ask, to help prevent COVID-19, and avoid being in quarantine!
Max & Bo: Two Dogs On The Go
Genre: Children’s Book, Animals/dogs, holidays; COVID-19
Purchase Max & Bo: Two Dogs On The Go by LoLo Smith
Maxine Escucha (Spanish Edition) by Lynda Jones-Mubarak
Maxine Listens by Dr. Lynda Jones-Mubarak
Maxine Hill continúa con sus técnicas de investigación para revelar misterios and acertijos mientras practica servicio comunitario y la compasión humana en la escuela y en su comunidad. Un diagnóstico médico envía a Maxine en un viaje para conseguir respuestas a una inquietud muy personal. ¿Qué descubrirá Maxine esta vez? ¿Tendrá éxito? Sigue a la joven Maxine Hill a medida que busca revelar y abordar otro reto importante.
Maxine Listens by Dr. Lynda Jones-Mubarak available in paperback, hardcover and Kindle ebook. Read excerpts and meet the author: https://www.smore.com/xhn65
eBook:
https://www.amazon.com/Maxine-Escucha-Spanish-Lynda-Jones-Mubarak-ebook/dp/B07TDNG3XW
Paperback:
https://www.amazon.com/Maxine-Escucha-Spanish-Lynda-Jones-Mubarak/dp/1626766770
Hardcover:
https://www.amazon.com/Maxine-Escucha-Spanish-Lynda-Jones-Mubarak/dp/1626766711
Maxine Listens by Dr. Lynda Mubarak
Maxine Listens by Dr. Lynda Mubarak (Book II, Detective Maxine Hill Series)
Maxine Hill is an inquisitive fourth grade student who loves to read, work crossword puzzles, visit her best friend, Amanda Grayson, and play with her cat, Amos.
Young Detective Maxine Hill is always busy performing community service, investigating issues, and exploring future careers. However, Maxine is facing a special challenge this year. This time it’s very personal. Follow our little problem solver as she finds a solution for a unique situation. Detective Maxine Hill is on the case again and she’s on the way back! If you enjoyed Maxine’s New Job, you will like Book II of the series; Maxine Listens.
The Stations for Kids Book Series is a collection of stories emphasizing early childhood literacy, human compassion, and community service. Each story can be used as a classroom supplement to teach social skills, personal and civic responsibility, and encourage career exploration. The characters are family members who find themselves facing everyday life challenges, but they find ways to address, solve or cope with each situation.
Dr. Lynda believes that social skills and community service are an integral part of early childhood education. In addition, these two components are essential in creating a balanced child who understands that he or she is part of a global community.
Visit the Stations for Kids website today: https://www.stationsforkids.com
Stations for Kids Books: https://www.stationsforkids.com/stations-for-kids-books
Maxine’s New Job by Dr. Lynda J. Mubarak
Listen to a reading from the book: https://www.audioacrobat.com/note/CwnKcptX
Maxine Listens by Lynda Jones Mubarak
Listen to a reading from the book: http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C2XLm17X
Shorty and The Sullivans by Lynda Jones Mubarak
Listen to a reading from the book: https://www.audioacrobat.com/note/CPC100lX
Carver Park by Lynda Jones Mubarak
Listen to a reading from the book: https://www.audioacrobat.com/note/ClSNk7Mk
STATIONS FOR KIDS is dedicated to early literacy and community service. The best way to ensure your child’s personal and career success is to begin the learning process as soon as possible. Academic success is always necessary, but your child also needs to see how he or she fits into the world community. A combination of community service and applicable educational concepts will give your child a balanced view of the world.
All of the books are available on Kindle and in print as paperback & hardcover.
All STATIONS FOR KIDS books are available at Amazon: http://amzn.to/2FiomT8
All STATIONS FOR KIDS books are available at Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2oW6536
Memphis Blues by Cheryl Mattox Berry
Set in the powerful backdrop of the 1960s civil rights movement, Memphis Blues will test the loyalty and strength of three people whose dreams were deferred. Will the women and the handsome doctor who controls them find their true callings? If so, at what price?
Nadine was looking forward to getting her first real job, then starting a business. But when she finds herself pregnant before she even finishes high school, the young man’s mother forces them into wedlock. It was not the life she had planned.
Carrie also saw her plans for a better life derailed after a fling leaves her pregnant with twins. At the center of their angst is Cyrus, a man not yet ready to be a father…with his wife…or his girlfriend. Still, Cyrus manages to keep the two lives separate while coveting the life he really wants.
What’s Done in the Dark
Secrets don’t stay buried for long. Years later, when the three of them accidentally meet at a protest rally, everything changes. The fireworks that ensue suddenly alter the dynamic of these relationships forever.
My Name Is Ona Judge by Suzette D. Harrison
New Hampshire, 1796. “My name is Ona Judge, and I escaped from the household of the President of the United States. I was the favored maid of George and Martha Washington, but they deemed me a slave and thought me property, and I hear ten dollars is offered as reward for my capture. Now I must write the truth that I have lived, and tell my story…”
Chincoteague, Virginia, present day. Rain soaks Tessa Scott as she runs from her car to the old, vine-covered property she has been called to survey. She’s too busy to accept a new job, but doing this favor for the grandmother of her childhood sweetheart delays a painful decision she must make about a future with her controlling boyfriend.
But when Tessa finds a tattered journal carefully hidden inside the house’s ancient fireplace, the tragic story of how Ona was ripped from her mother’s arms to live and work in the palatial Mount Vernon, and the heart-shattering betrayal that led her to risk her life and run, has Tessa spellbound. Could discovering this forgotten scandal at the heart of her nation’s history force her to confront her own story? As she races to reach the final page, will anything prepare her for the desperate moment when Ona’s captors find her again? Will it inspire Tessa to take ownership of her own life and set herself free?
A completely heartbreaking tale of love, loss and redemption, based on an astonishing true story from the founding of America. Perfect for fans of Before We Were Yours, Marie Benedict and America’s First Daughter.
Night Wherever We Go: A Novel by Tracey Rose Peyton
A gripping, radically intimate debut novel about a group of enslaved women staging a covert rebellion against their owners.
On a struggling Texas plantation, six enslaved women slip from their sleeping quarters and gather in the woods under the cover of night. The Lucys—as they call the plantation owners, after Lucifer himself—have decided to turn around the farm’s bleak financial prospects by making the women bear children. They have hired a “stockman” to impregnate them. But the women are determined to protect themselves.
Now each of the six faces a choice. Nan, the doctoring woman, has brought a sack of cotton root clippings that can stave off children when chewed daily. If they all take part, the Lucys may give up and send the stockman away. But a pregnancy for any of them will only encourage the Lucys further. And should their plan be discovered, the consequences will be severe.
Visceral and arresting, Night Wherever We Go illuminates each woman’s individual trials and desires while painting a subversive portrait of collective defiance. Unflinching in her portrayal of America’s gravest injustices, while also deeply attentive to the transcendence, love, and solidarity of women whose interior lives have been underexplored, Tracey Rose Peyton creates a story of unforgettable power.
Nights Over Egypt (Contemporary Romance) by Barbara Keaton
Ashalon is a professor of Egyptology at Cairo University in Egypt and he is none too happy to learn that another American is coming to his country to conduct a dig among the ruins of his ancestors. He vows to make it difficult for this foreigner, who has been given permission by the Supreme Council of Antiquities … at least until he meets the American, Corina Camden.
Professor Camden is searching for mummified remains from the Twenty-first and Twenty-second dynasties and is hard pressed to hear her every move in Egypt would be supervised by some professor.
Corina and Ashalon are each surprised by their reaction to each other as they set across the blazing desert, captivated by their love of antiquities and unknown passions.
Nights Over Egypt is a story of archaeological digs, rich culture and buried passions.
Book Review from The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
4.0 out of 5 stars In Search of an Egyptian Tomb or Egyptian Love
For years Corina Camden has been the baby everyone doted on and the geeky little girl of the family, with the exception of one night when she was transformed into a raving beauty to attend her high school prom. Her date was arranged by her older brother with plenty of threats and instructions. The date was magical a one for Corina considering the response she was getting from her classmates and her escort. She listens intently to him as he describes his Egyptian homeland and his desire to be an archaeologist, echoing similar desires she herself has dreamed of doing.
Fast forward several years and Corina is all grown up and a well-known professor of archaeology in the United States. She has been offered the chance to participate in an excavation in Egypt among the Royal Tombs of Tanis. The honor is one that hasn’t been granted in ten years and will establish her as a serious Egyptologist. It is of little consequence Dr. Ashalon El Asab will be supervising the dig; she only hopes they can get along.
Upon meeting Dr. El Asab, they each get a vague feeling of familiarity. There is one thing for sure; they are both instantly attracted to each other. However, Corina recognizes a personal involvement could only lead to trouble, so she resolves to fight the feelings. Working in close proximity with fireworks looming in the background, the dig may result in more then ancient artifacts to secure.
NIGHTS OVER EGYPT is an endearing love story that casts an African American woman in a very nontraditional role in a country rich in history and culture. I was captivated by the obvious research Barbara Keaton put into this project and the vivid imagery she used to bring Egypt, its people and its heritage to life. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought Keaton herself was of Egyptian decent. Her character development was excellent with even the secondary characters showing budding potential for an additional story or two. This is definitely a must have for the romance enthusiast. —-Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Purchase Nights Over Egypt by Barbara Keaton, look here.
Passport Wife by Terri D.
Passport Wife takes you beyond the fairy tale behind the scenes straight to my journals. Here is my story about how when I stopped looking for it love found me. It’s been quite the journey and all along I’ve been asking myself how did I end up here?
Terri D’s three children have always been her inspiration to push to get to the next level. Terri D. writes as a way to express herself and to document her inner most feelings. Terri D. published her debut novel titled Yesterday’s Lies in 2011. She has since released four more novels and had a poem published as a part of an Anthology of poems about love. Her sixth novel, Passport Wife is a memoir.
Purchase Passport Wife by Terri D.
Genre: Memoir > Relationships
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KPVRVW9
Listen to a reading from the book: https://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C701VWxX
Play to Win: A Novel by Jodie Slaughter
Jodie Slaughter’s latest rom-com, Play to Win, is a sizzling romance where a winning lottery ticket is meant to be a new start but instead becomes a second chance at love.
Miriam Butler’s life is going nowhere in the slowest, most excruciating way possible. Stuck in the same barely-paying job she’s had since she was sixteen and spending every night sleeping in the spare twin bed in her mother’s house, her existence might be hilarious if it wasn’t so bleak. One trip to her favorite Quickie Mart upends everything when she finds herself the winner of a Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot. Unfortunately, not even life-altering roses come without their painful thorns. Hers just so happen to be in the form of an estranged husband who has the right to claim his share of her money.
It’s been eight years since Leo Vaughn has had a conversation with his wife. When she calls out of the blue, practically begging him to come back to Greenbelt, the last thing he expects her to tell him when he gets there is that she’s come into a whole heap of money. She offers him a life-changing proposition of his own. Take a lump sum, finally sign the divorce papers, and be done with her for good. Only, a forever without her is the last thing Leo wants. So he gives a proposition of his own. One that won’t cost her nearly as many millions, but will buy him the time to do the one thing he’s been hungry to do since he left — win her back.
Reap: The Bible Belt Series by Tiffani Quarles Sanders
Reap: The Bible Belt Series by Tiffani Quarles Sanders
ALABAMA 1931
Annie Lawson thanked the Lord everyday for the life she and her husband, Sam, had made for themselves as sharecroppers on the Moore plantation. They were even more blessed to raise their granddaughter Liz, a bright, observant, book-loving girl who longed to continue her education past the primary grades.
But when Mary Moore decides she wants Liz to drop out of school and become her private maid, Annie calls on her friends, the Miller siblings, to save Liz without risking eviction for her family.
As they work out a plan to free Liz from Mary Moore’s clutches and secret her off the plantation, the Millers reach deep into the pain of their past, harkening back to the 1870s and confronting the moment when Bill Moore altered their lives forever. As an influential and powerful white man in the Deep South, Bill was never charged for his crimes, leaving the Millers devastated and forever caught in the shadow of his vile act.
Discover how decades of simmering evil come to a boil in Reap, Tiffani Quarles-Sanders’ latest book. For Bill Moore, the lesson is clear: A man will reap what he has sown.
Reap: The Bible Belt Series by Tiffani Quarles Sanders
Genre: African American Historical Fiction
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJLT4HGF
Listen to Tiffani Quarles Sanders on the Black Authors Network radio show at – http://tobtr.com/s/12347126
Soignée Sisterhood Conversation with Tiffani Quarles Sanders, read the interview – https://bit.ly/3VLfLNd
Known to many for her African American cautionary tales, Tiffani Quarles Sanders, an African American Historical Fiction author was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1976.
Growing up in Alabama, she cherished the moments spent listening to her grandparents’ captivating tales about their lives in rural Alabama. Among their stories, she developed a deep affinity for the narratives that delved into the hardships endured by the grandparents of her grandparents, who had once been enslaved.
In 2015, she started her independent publishing company, Hollow Bridge Publishing LLC. With four African American Historical Fiction Books: Unthinkable Sins, Unthinkable Sins 2, Runaway Soul, and Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, she has sold nearly 20,000 books and over 2.1 million reads on Kindle.
Since 2016, her book “Unthinkable Sins” has consistently maintained its position on the top 100 lists for Black and African American Historical Fiction.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from Alabama State University. In May of this year, she retired from Montgomery Public School System with over 25 years of teaching experience. Twenty-three years ago, she married the love of my life, Christopher. They have two children: Christopher Jr. and Lauren Elizabeth.
Books by Tiffani Quarles Sanders
Reason by Becky DeWitt
THE CONTEMPT 3-BOOK SERIES BY BECKY DEWITT
The Contempt Series including sequels Reasons and Sabotage, is a maze of mystery with twists and turns that will keep the readers on the edge. The character connections involve murder, suicide, deception, deliverance and salvation.
The series is filled with questions that keeps readers rapidly flipping pages yearning for answers. All three are available on Kindle. Listen to Becky read from the series: https://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C4Vn42bX
Watch the book trailer for The Trilogy – Contempt, Reasons, & Sabotage by Becky DeWitt
Watch the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/S2YnB83f9Xo
Contempt: Lies Deceit and the Miracles by Becky DeWitt
Contempt is the riveting journey through deceit, death, and betrayal which was a way of life. It is the journey of the twists and turns of life, taking toil, leaving one in devastation. Only the arrival of a miracle just in time changes everything. Nothing just happens. Becky DeWitt leads the readers through a maze of mystery and intrigue capturing ones’ fascination.
Who is that girl? The intrigue continues the lives of Tristan, Arianna and Takeshi are exposed in the web of many secrets from their past through their children. Reasons answers the many questions of who, what, when, where and why that were left unanswered at the ending of Contempt. The truth is embedded in every page as the reader attempts to find the conclusion of this story. Contempt lured and captivated readers into a world of a thought-provoking drama. Becky DeWitt has responded to the unanswered questions of the destiny of many lives from Contempt with the sequel, Reasons. Is this really the end?
Sabotage: The Final Chapter by Becky DeWitt
SABOTAGE, The Final Chapter pieces together the dark side of Tristan, Arianna and Takeshi’s lifestyle of murder, intrigue, contempt and lies, while experiencing God’s mercy, grace, eye-opening revelation and truth. The readers who have followed the drama in the previous books, Contempt and Reasons, will experience the conclusion in the maze of mystery that captured their attention. The story ends with answers to the many questions about the life of each character and their unfolding destinies. Your heart will skip a beat as you discover the answers to the truth.
Purchase the Contempt 3-Book Series by Becky DeWitt
RestoreHER 7 Steps to Healing Enlightenment, and Renewal by Cheryl Lacey Donovan
RestoreHER 7 Steps to Healing Enlightenment, and Renewal by Cheryl Lacey Donovan
We spend our days rushing from one task to another at work and home only to drop into our beds at midnight , completely exhausted. Our society has changed a great deal since our parents were in their prime.
Today we are addicted to speed, see busyness as a status symbol, take care of not only our children, but also our aging parents, and work as many hours as possible to keep ahead of the Jones’. It’s no wonder most of us ignore ourselves and our own needs. It seems like there is simply not the time to do more than grab food on the go and snag a few hours of sleep before starting it all again.
Read excerpts from the book and order your copy, go here: http://bit.ly/RESTORECLD
About the Author
Cheryl Lacey Donovan lives an authentic life as a multi-talented preacher, teacher, mentor, motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and author. She is a woman of integrity with a keen level of wisdom and humor that is nothing short of refreshing.
An award-winning bestselling author Cheryl has influenced the lives of thousands in the U.S. and abroad through her powerful life-changing messages. Desiring to see the saints efficiently armed with the knowledge of God, Cheryl’s passion is assisting those in the kingdom, especially women, in discovering their authentic purpose and destiny.
After more than 20 years of educating and advising allied health care professionals, Cheryl followed her passion for bringing out the best in other people by choosing to be more involved in the vision and direction their lives were taking.
This culminated in the launch of Cheryl Lacey Donovan LLC, a coaching and mentoring program which is one facet of her multi-level group of projects which includes Worth More than Rubies Ministries, Cheryl Lacey Donovan Ministries, Worth More than Rubies Productions, and Imni Publishing Unlimited.
Cheryl presents a powerful message with a conversational style that’s just like sitting around chatting with one of your sisters – one who is filled with pearls of wisdom and whose heart is filled with giving. Some of us long for that kind of sister or friend who will just sit you down, tell you the truth about life, share her experiences, and then give you access to a greater more meaningful purpose in life.
You will want to sip a warm cup of your favorite drink, bring a note pad and enjoy a candid and educational presentation with Cheryl Lacey Donovan.
Read more here: https://www.cherylspeaks.org
Sabotage: The Final Chapter by Becky DeWitt
THE CONTEMPT 3-BOOK SERIES BY BECKY DEWITT
The Contempt Series including sequels Reasons and Sabotage, is a maze of mystery with twists and turns that will keep the readers on the edge. The character connections involve murder, suicide, deception, deliverance and salvation.
The series is filled with questions that keeps readers rapidly flipping pages yearning for answers. All three are available on Kindle. Listen to Becky read from the series: https://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C4Vn42bX
Watch the book trailer for The Trilogy – Contempt, Reasons, & Sabotage by Becky DeWitt. Watch the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/S2YnB83f9Xo
Contempt: Lies Deceit and the Miracles by Becky DeWitt
Contempt is the riveting journey through deceit, death, and betrayal which was a way of life. It is the journey of the twists and turns of life, taking toil, leaving one in devastation. Only the arrival of a miracle just in time changes everything. Nothing just happens. Becky DeWitt leads the readers through a maze of mystery and intrigue capturing ones’ fascination.
Who is that girl? The intrigue continues the lives of Tristan, Arianna and Takeshi are exposed in the web of many secrets from their past through their children. Reasons answers the many questions of who, what, when, where and why that were left unanswered at the ending of Contempt. The truth is embedded in every page as the reader attempts to find the conclusion of this story. Contempt lured and captivated readers into a world of a thought-provoking drama. Becky DeWitt has responded to the unanswered questions of the destiny of many lives from Contempt with the sequel, Reasons. Is this really the end?
Sabotage: The Final Chapter by Becky DeWitt
SABOTAGE, The Final Chapter pieces together the dark side of Tristan, Arianna and Takeshi’s lifestyle of murder, intrigue, contempt and lies, while experiencing God’s mercy, grace, eye-opening revelation and truth. The readers who have followed the drama in the previous books, Contempt and Reasons, will experience the conclusion in the maze of mystery that captured their attention. The story ends with answers to the many questions about the life of each character and their unfolding destinies. Your heart will skip a beat as you discover the answers to the truth.
Purchase the Contempt 3-Book Series by Becky DeWitt
Seeds of Deception by Arlene L. Walker
A clash between Cherokee Indians and their former African slaves comes to a head in the tribal town of Feather Falls.
On the same day Sput Louie McClendon is evicted by reviled town tycoon Goliah Lynch, her husband mysteriously vanishes. Has he fallen prey to bushwhackers or timber thieves? Or is Lynch behind his disappearance?
Alone and desperate, Sput Louie turns to town elder Two Bird for help, but with racial tension between the two factions, are his intentions pure?
As Sput Louie’s frantic search for her husband intensifies, she stumbles onto a dark twisted family secret – one that could not only have devastating implications for her, but the entire town of Feather Falls.
Reviews for Seeds of Deception by Arlene L. Walker
“Seeds of Deception has characters you’ll love, a plot that pulls you in and twists you’ll never see coming.”
— Pamela Samuels Young, author of Anybody’s Daughter and Abuse of Discretion, NAACP Image Award winner
“Hypnotic prose, vivid characters. I was blown away. A masterful first novel.”
— Dwayne Alexander Smith, author of Forty Acres, NAACP Image Award Winner
“I wish I could go back and meet all her characters again. Haven’t stopped thinking about them yet. Easily one of my favorite reads this year.” — Lisa Bobbit, reviewer, ReadInColour.com
“Ms. Walker’s writing is uninhibited and honest.”
— C. Knight, Book-a-licious Book Club
Self-Love in Action: Practical Ways to Bring Self-Compassion Into Work, Relationships & Everyday Life by Zo Crook
A practical approach to self-love with evidence-based therapy skills to trust your inner voice, make confident decisions, and live with greater personal empowerment in your relationships, career, and everyday life.
Many studies show that self-love is central to good mental health. Self-Love in Action helps you cultivate compassion, accountability, and self-respect in all areas of your life. In this practical, everyday guide, self-love becomes a verb–a moving declaration towards personal empowerment. This psychology-driven book offers proactive strategies to redirect you back to your authentic self by learning to listen to the voice within. Guided by a therapist, you’ll confront the past, examine the present, and prepare for the future by setting boundaries, taking accountability, and practicing the ultimate act of self-love.
Boost confidence with small rituals that shift the focus from “them” to “me”–reminding you that true love flows from the inside out.
Implement “Time to Practice” exercises to pause, set boundaries, say no, and invest in yourself.
Take self-love quizzes to reflect on the ways current habits might impede self-love action.
Explore real examples of clients who have overcome common hardships through their commitment to self-love.
Shine Bright: Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith
Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith
American pop music is arguably this country’s greatest cultural contribution to the world, and its singular voice and virtuosity were created by a shining thread of Black women geniuses stretching back to the country’s founding. This is their surprising, heartbreaking, soaring story—from “one of the generation’s greatest, most insightful, most nuanced writers in pop culture” (Shea Serrano)
“Sparkling . . . the overdue singing of a Black girl’s song, with perfect pitch . . . delicious to read.”—Oprah Daily
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Publishers Weekly
A weave of biography, criticism, and memoir, Shine Bright is Danyel Smith’s intimate history of Black women’s music as the foundational story of American pop.
Smith has been writing this history for more than five years. But as a music fan, and then as an essayist, editor (Vibe, Billboard), and podcast host (Black Girl Songbook), she has been living this history since she was a latchkey kid listening to “Midnight Train to Georgia” on the family stereo.
Smith’s detailed narrative begins with Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who sang her poems, and continues through the stories of Mahalia Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Mariah Carey, as well as the under-considered careers of Marilyn McCoo, Deniece Williams, and Jody Watley.
Shine Bright is an overdue paean to musical masters whose true stories and genius have been hidden in plain sight—and the book Danyel Smith was born to write.
Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen
Skin of the Sea (Of Mermaids and Orisa) by Natasha Bowen
Teen Young Adult › SciFi & Fantasy Grades: 9 – 12
The must-read Black mermaid fantasy series that #1 NYT bestselling author Nicola Yoon calls “epic and original,” in which one mermaid takes on the gods themselves. Perfect for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and anyone who can’t wait for the live-action The Little Mermaid.
A way to survive.
A way to serve.
A way to save.
Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata—a mermaid—collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home.
But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi goes against an ancient decree and does the unthinkable—she saves his life. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy the gods.
To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But all is not as it seems. There’s the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail . . .
Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she fails, she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.
Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir by Ashley C. Ford
“This is a book people will be talking about forever.” ―Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed
“Ford’s wrenchingly brilliant memoir is truly a classic in the making. The writing is so richly observed and so suffused with love and yearning that I kept forgetting to breathe while reading it.” ―John Green, #1 New York Times bestselling author
One of the most prominent voices of her generation debuts with an extraordinarily powerful memoir: the story of a childhood defined by the looming absence of her incarcerated father.
Through poverty, adolescence, and a fraught relationship with her mother, Ashley C. Ford wishes she could turn to her father for hope and encouragement. There are just a few problems: he’s in prison, and she doesn’t know what he did to end up there. She doesn’t know how to deal with the incessant worries that keep her up at night, or how to handle the changes in her body that draw unwanted attention from men. In her search for unconditional love, Ashley begins dating a boy her mother hates. When the relationship turns sour, he assaults her. Still reeling from the rape, which she keeps secret from her family, Ashley desperately searches for meaning in the chaos. Then, her grandmother reveals the truth about her father’s incarceration . . . and Ashley’s entire world is turned upside down.
Somebody’s Daughter steps into the world of growing up a poor Black girl in Indiana with a family fragmented by incarceration, exploring how isolating and complex such a childhood can be. As Ashley battles her body and her environment, she embarks on a powerful journey to find the threads between who she is and what she was born into, and the complicated familial love that often binds them.
Something New: An Interracial Romance by Janie De Coster
Follow the journey of an interracial couple who are not only from different worlds but worlds that goes beyond the color of their skin. Tobias Benton- a handsome, white rich and successful businessman who is soon to inherit his father’s billion dollar company.
Tobias has been dating Sharon English, a beautiful and wealthy lady who owns several Art Galleries. From the world point of view, they are the Barbie and Ken couple who are destined to marry and have a wonderful life together that is until…
Brylane Robinson- a beautiful, bright and intelligent black sister who lives in the housing projects on the South side of Chicago, steps into the picture. Brylane fights for survival and a better life for herself in the hood.
One morning on her way to work, a handsome man literally runs into her. When their eyes met so did their hearts. Will Brylane and Tobias venture into Something New?
Something New: An Interracial Romance by Janie De Coster
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DBCJVYQ
Something New 2: An Interracial Romance by Janie De Coster
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DBCJVYQ
Fiction > African American > Women’s Fiction > Romance > Multicultural & Interracial
Song Below Water by Bethany C Morrow
Song Below Water by Bethany C Morrow
Teen & Young Adult › Science Fiction & Fantasy
Bethany C. Morrow’s A Song Below Water is the story for today’s readers ― a captivating modern fantasy about Black sirens, friendship, and self-discovery set against the challenges of today’s racism and sexism.
In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers.
Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school’s junior year.
But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment.
Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it’s only Tavia and Effie’s unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all.
“It’s beautiful and it’s brilliant.”–Jason Reynolds, #1 New York Times bestselling author and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature
“An enthralling tale of Black girl magic and searing social commentary ready to rattle the bones.” ― Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles
Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut and Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Tunde Oyeneyin
From Tunde Oyeneyin, the massively popular Peloton instructor, fitness star, and founder of SPEAK, comes an empowering, inspiring book that shows how she transformed grief, setbacks, and flaws into growth, self-confidence, and triumph—for fans of Shonda Rhimes, Brene Brown, and Glennon Doyle.
On any given day, thousands of devoted people clip into their bikes and have their lives changed by Tunde Oyeneyin. From her platform in a Peloton studio, she encourages riders with her trademark blend of positivity, empathy, and motivational “Tunde-isms,” to push themselves to their limits both on and off the bike.
Now, fans and readers everywhere can learn about her personal journey, and discover how they too can “live a life of purpose, on purpose” with Speak, a memoir-manifesto-guide to life inspired by her immensely popular Instagram Live series of the same name.
Taking us through each step of the SPEAK acronym—Surrender, Power, Empathy, Authenticity, and Knowledge—Oyeneyin shares the lessons she has learned about loss, love, body image, and how she has successfully created an intentional, joyful life for herself, offering an accessible blueprint for anyone looking to make a positive change in their lives.
Spice and Spectrum, Recipes for Resilience by iCan Dream Center and Chef Jerome Brown
Chef Jerome Brown has partnered with Tinley Park, Illinois-based nonprofit iCan Dream Center (www.icandreamcenter.com) in the creation of Spice & Spectrum. He is donating proceeds of the book to the organization which serves students in the south suburbs of Chicago who are marginalized by neurodiversity, disabilities, trauma, and other learning challenges.
Spice & Spectrum is a collection of Chef Jerome Brown’s most recent recipes broken into five sections that align with the iCan Dream Center mission. Throughout the Dream, Restore, Empower, Amplify, and Mobilize sections of the book, Dr. Evisha Ford, the founder and executive director of iCan Dream Center, shares the mission of the organization, stories of students navigating trauma, and the healing benefit of the organization’s culinary program that is highlighted throughout the book.
Students with autism (neurodiversity) and disabilities are nearly twice as likely to be suspended or expelled from school than their non-disabled peers. What’s more, 35% of inmates in juvenile lockups have some form of neurodiversity (autism, ADHD, et. all) or other learning disability.
iCan Dream Center seeks to empower students with autism and other learning deficits with the skills needed to thrive in life and to defy the statistics. Whether it is giving students opportunities to grow as student leaders, gaining vocational skills, self-advocacy, and self-care skills like cooking, the organization works with students individually to thrive. iCan Dream Center is a 501c3 nonprofit therapeutic school endorsed by the Illinois State Board of Education and serves dozens of school districts throughout the suburbs of Chicago.
Chef Jerome Brown, who has championed the iCan Dream Center cause, has shared his passion for cuisine with a variety of A-list entertainers, dignitaries, and elite professional athletes such as President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama, Shaquille O’Neal, the late Collin Powell, Priscilla Presley, Star Jones, Raymond Felton, Lamman Rucker, Carl Gustaf (King of Sweden), Byron Cage, Mike Bibby, Cam Newton and more.
Chef Jerome Brown appeared in the United States Army series “I’ve Got Skills” that aired on ESPN. Throughout his journey, Chef Jerome Brown has always maintained a desire to help others and has given back to aspiring chefs and marginalized youth.
Dr. Evisha Ford is an experienced speaker on educational equity and is available to discuss her students’ involvement in Chef Jerome Brown’s book and the intersection of trauma, disability, and the incarceration/school-to-prison pipeline.
Dr. Evisha Ford and Chef Jerome Brown are available for joint or individual media interviews on the release of Spice & Spectrum: Recipes for Resilience. The authors can be contacted at https://icandreamcenter.com/contact
Purchase your copy today:
https://icandreamcenter.com/product/spice-and-spectrum-recipes-for-resilience-coming-soon/
Stripped For Greater: Walk By Faith by Michele Nicole
I had $0.06 in my bank account and $5 in coins in my purse. As I sat in the car, the reality of this season of my life just hit me……homeless.
I am homeless.
I looked at myself in the mirror and the conversation in my mind began. “It’s all your fault. You did this to me. You. YOU failed us. You are 46 years old and you have nothing. You are stuck. You are yet again in “starting over” mode. You are not all here, you are functioning broken.
How do you go from having a job with benefits, having your own business as a travel agent, having almost paid off all your debt and making plans for the next season of your life, to sitting in the front seat of a car with $0.06 in the bank and $5 in your purse, your items in a borrowed storage unit, your clothes in a travel garment bag, a job paying $8.50 per hour working 15-25 hours per week and you have two college degrees?
How the hell did this happen to us Michele….please tell me….I would like to know”.
Read an excerpt at Black Pearls Magazine
AMAZON BOOK REVIEW
Stripped for Greater is a non-fiction thematic autobiography that chronicles the tough experiences of Michele Nicole in her homeless experience on the streets of Atlanta, GA. Michele depicts her experience as a religious rite of passage that was designed to elevate her on a higher spiritual level. Michele brings a personal, introspective lens on the challenging and sometimes mundane day to day activities of living out her car, bathing in public restrooms and having breakfast at various continental servings at local hotels. In her time surviving as a homeless woman, Michele journeys through various self-revelatory lessons that she would learn about herself and her relationship with God.
The theme that Michele announces through various points of her journey is that being homeless was God stripping her of her dependence on everything so that He could teach her how to depend on him. In additional, the greater represents the place that God would take her into after her time being homeless. Although the theme is present in the story, I’d like to see the story lead to “greater works” as depicted by scripture for the Christian walk. Though we share with Christ in his sufferings, we also shall reign with Him as well, according to Christian doctrine. I think Stripped for Greater would deliver a much stronger purpose if the “Greater” was tied to a much more powerful destination. Perhaps to achieve this, more recounts of Michele’s life after being homeless should be added to the story.
Michele delivers Stripped for Greater in a causal and sometimes comedic voice that allows the reader to understand her persona. You feel as if the story is being told to you over a casual lunch with a friend. The story does well with offering descriptive wording to assist with the experiences Michele faced from day to day while being homeless.
Purchase Stripped For Greater: Walk By Faith by Michele Nicole
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130360365?ean=9780578413082
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stripped-Greater-Faith-Michele-Nicole/dp/0578413086
Non-fiction > Transformation Self-Help > Christian Growth > Biography & Autobiography > Personal Memoir
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.
Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store’s security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.
But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.
With empathy and piercing social commentary, Such a Fun Age explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone “family,” and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times.
Telling Stories by Cheri Paris Edwards
Sometimes life throws you a curveball…
Navigating middle-age is a challenge for 45-year old Genelle “Gigi” Golden. First the death of her mother, then her long time live-in boyfriend abruptly trades her in for a new model. Determined to restart her life Gigl packs her bags and heads to the Southwest. When things don’t go as planned, Gigi finds herself caught between the proverbial ‘rock and a hard place’; and an impulsive decision turns her life in an unexpected direction.
Then ex-military man Desmond Wright enters her life. Although physically changed by a skin disease it hasn’t dampened Desmond’s confidence or lessened his appeal to the opposite sex. But, Desmond’s life is complicated by an spoiled adult daughter, who treats his home like it has a revolving door, and a mother who won’t let him forget that he’s yet to find the love of his life. When things falls apart, Gigi discovers that true friends reveal themselves in the toughest times and that grace comes when you least expect it.
Telling Stories by Cheri Paris Edwards
Listen to a reading: http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C2sNcFyX
Cheri Paris Edwards is the author of four novels, including Plenty Good Room, which was praised by Booklist and Publisher’s Weekly. Edwards earned a Master’s in Composition and Rhetoric from Texas Woman’s University in 2014, and is a Doctoral Candidate in American Literature at the University of North Texas. She hopes to complete her dissertation, Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine: Voices from the Other Side of the Color Line, in early spring 2019.
She is an Associate Professor at Tarrant County College-Trinity River in Fort Worth, Texas. Edwards is the mother of two adult sons, and lives with her toy poodle Mocha in the Best Southwest area of Dallas County.
The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom: Build Wealth, Retire Early, and Live the Life of Your Dreams by Paris Woods
Are you tired of spinning your wheels following financial advice that leaves you feeling broker than before? Are you pulling your hair out trying to follow the complicated instructions offered by the gurus? In The Black Girl’s Guide to Financial Freedom, Paris Woods takes the guesswork out of wealth-building and presents a plan that anyone can follow.
Paris spent years working in education and wanted to find a way to build wealth without changing careers or taking the traditional real estate or business routes. This book is the result of years of research and practice that helped her find a simpler path. Through real-life stories coupled with clear and actionable advice, you will learn to:
Build generational wealth
Avoid common financial traps
Earn your next degree debt-free
Achieve financial independence and retire early
Design a dream life you can start living today
This book is perfect for Black women of any age, including young professionals just starting to set financial goals and mid-career women who are tired of following the same old rules and are ready to live life on their own terms. If freedom is your goal, then this is the book for you.
The Caged Butterfly by Marian L. Thomas
A new fiction book written by Award Winning Author, Marian L. Thomas, will no doubt spark fresh debate on the alarming trend of young women who have engaged in skin bleaching.
The book, The Caged Butterfly, is a fictional story that follows three characters as they navigate life’s often rocky terrain in search of hope, courage, and forgiveness. One of the main characters, Nina Taylor—is convinced that having white skin is the only way to make it successfully in the entertainment industry and thus begins bleaching her skin to hide her black heritage.
The Caged Butterfly by author Marian L. Thomas is the heartrending story of the Mayfield/Taylor family spanning four generations ranging from the 1930s-1990s. While the character-driven plot touches on relevant social issues such as child abuse, racism, skin bleaching, and suicide, ultimately it is a story of love and forgiveness.
The book begins with Addie Mayfield’s loving letter to her unborn child which plays a central theme throughout the plot. As the story unfolds, the reader is introduced to Addie’s mother, son, and granddaughter: Millie, Timmy, and Nina. Alternating between the cities of Georgia, Chicago, and New York, and told through first-person narratives by each character, the plot follows the family’s history, relationships, triumphs, and sorrows. The book emphasizes self-acceptance, forgiveness, and redemption regardless of life’s hardships.
Marian L. Thomas Seducing the Pen Virtual Author’s Tour
https://www.smore.com/sbzet-the-caged-butterfly-book-tour
THE CAGED BUTTERFLY explores the depth of family secrets, personal triumphs, and deeply rooted sorrows– while asking the question, What does it mean to love the skin you’re in?
Addie Mayfield. On one autumn night in 1949, Addie falls for the irresistible red curls and vibrant green eyes of a young man from the other side of the railroad tracks. Neither knowing that the consequences of their love would have lasting effects.
Timmy Taylor. Known as one of the greatest white jazz pianists in New York, Timmy never had a reason to question his identity – until truth and betrayal strike. Will Timmy be able to push past the pain?
Nina Taylor. Beautiful and talented, Nina Taylor inherited her father’s talent, but not his white skin. Certain that’s how he made it big, she dives deep into a deadly obsession. Will Nina learn to love the skin she’s in before it’s too late?
Get immersed in this epic tale that spans across four generations and three states–Georgia, Chicago, and New York.
Award-Winning Author and Speaker, Marian L. Thomas, has penned five women’s fiction novels to date. Her books have been seen on national television stations such as the Oprah Winfrey Network, Ovation, and the A&E Network. She has been featured in print magazines, newspapers and a guest on local, national and online radio stations.
For her book, I Butterflies, Marian ranked among the top 100 Most Popular Authors in Literary Fiction on Amazon. She spent most of her teen years in Oak Park, Illinois, but now resides in a suburb of Atlanta with her husband. She enjoys a good bag of popcorn, a plate full of pasta, and a grape pop.
The Caged Butterfly will be available in paperback, hardcover, and digital formats. The author will conduct book signings for the novel at Barnes & Noble bookstore. For further details, visit http://www.marianlthomas.com.
The Deep by Rivers Solomon
Octavia E. Butler meets Marvel’s Black Panther in The Deep, a story rich with Afrofuturism, folklore, and the power of memory, inspired by the Hugo Award–nominated song “The Deep” from Daveed Diggs’s rap group Clipping.
Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu.
Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago.
Yetu will learn more than she ever expected about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are.
The Deep is “a tour de force reorientation of the storytelling gaze…a superb, multilayered work,” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) and a vividly original and uniquely affecting story inspired by a song produced by the rap group Clipping.
The Designated Ones: From Jerusalem to Ethiopia by Karen Sloan-Brown
It’s 2014. Grieving the loss of family members and friends killed in a plane crash, renowned megachurch pastor Priscilla Sinclair sits on her patio, prepared to take her own life. But before she can end it all, a stranger shows up at her Virginia home and changes everything.
Trying to strengthen her faith, the stranger challenges Priscilla to lean on God’s promises and on the examples of faith left to her by her ancestors. He tells her a story she has never heard before. The story goes back over 3,000 years, beginning with Aaron, God’s designated high priest during the Exodus, and explores the line of designated ones through the times of King David, Solomon, the exile in Babylon, the crossing of the Arabian Desert into Saba, the migration across the Red Sea into Axum, the birth of Christ, and the lives of the generations that have followed.
In this thrilling journey through history, Priscilla is given a chance to go from failure to faith and live to fight another day. But will she accept the stranger’s challenge?
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Book 1 of 2: The Gilded Ones
“A dark feminist tale spun with blood and gold. Must read!” –Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles
Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.
But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.
Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat.
Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.
The start of a bold and immersive fantasy series for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Black Panther.
The Island of Missing Trees: A Novel by Elif Shafak
Winner of the 2022 BookTube Silver Medal in Fiction * Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction
“A wise novel of love and grief, roots and branches, displacement and home, faith and belief. Balm for our bruised times.” ―David Mitchell, author of Utopia Avenue
A rich, magical new novel on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal, from the Booker-shortlisted author of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World.
Two teenagers, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, meet at a taverna on the island they both call home. In the taverna, hidden beneath garlands of garlic, chili peppers and creeping honeysuckle, Kostas and Defne grow in their forbidden love for each other. A fig tree stretches through a cavity in the roof, and this tree bears witness to their hushed, happy meetings and eventually, to their silent, surreptitious departures. The tree is there when war breaks out, when the capital is reduced to ashes and rubble, and when the teenagers vanish. Decades later, Kostas returns. He is a botanist looking for native species, but really, he’s searching for lost love.
Years later a Ficus carica grows in the back garden of a house in London where Ada Kazantzakis lives. This tree is her only connection to an island she has never visited— her only connection to her family’s troubled history and her complex identity as she seeks to untangle years of secrets to find her place in the world.
A moving, beautifully written, and delicately constructed story of love, division, transcendence, history, and eco-consciousness, The Island of Missing Trees is Elif Shafak’s best work yet.
The Juju Girl by Nikki Marsh
The Juju Girl by Nikki Marsh – Reading Age 14 – 18 years
Teen & Young Adult Coming of Age Fantasy
A Normal Girl. A Paranormal Gift. A Cryptic Mystery. A Dangerous Enemy.
Gabbie isn’t like other 15-year-olds. She sees things others can’t see. She hears things others can’t hear. She pierces the veil that separates the living from the dead.
When the Great Storm of 1893 rips her from her humble home on the banks of the Mississippi, it thrusts her into the dazzling world of New Orleans’ Creoles of Color High Society. It’s a world of debutantes, balls, and handsome young men in uniforms.
Superstition, mystery, magic, and conjure make of the very fabric of daily life. It counts both holy men of God and practitioners of the Dark Arts among its most honored denizens.
It’s here Gabbie learns her supernatural powers are part of something greater. But, she wants nothing to do with it.
Will that change when a malevolent ghost threatens the lives of those she loves or will it take an ill-fated romance? What will she learn on her journey of self-discovery? Will she find the courage to finally become the person she was born to be?
Winner of the 2022 Black Caucus of the American Library Association Award for the best self-published eBook in fiction by an African American author.
The Key to My Pain by Antoinette Davis
Have you ever shared your deepest darkest pain with someone you love and someone you thought loved you?
The Key To My Pain takes place in Baltimore City in the early to mid-seventies, when racial tension is still high from the late nineteen sixty’s riots.The family of five are living just enough with Mr. Batchler being a police officer after leaving Vietnam and Mrs. Carolyn Batchler is a loving mother and wife to three aspiring sons.
Mrs. Carolyn Batchler is in love with her husband Rodney Batchler Sr. He promised to give her the family she never had but always wanted but she didn’t know her dreams of a happy ever after would unlock doors she never dreamed of.
Rodney Batchler Jr. the eldest of the three sons, he wants to be a basketball superstar, Edwin Batchler wants to be an artist and the youngest of the three Corey is just trying to find himself.
Rodney Sr. runs his house like a jail and his family like a warden. Carolyn is forbidden to work because Rodney Sr. wants to keep her subservient and he controls his sons with pure fear.
Verbal, mental and physical abuse happens every single day in the Batchler home. There is not day Carolyn can open her eyes and enjoy the beauty of the sun nor the sound of the rain. Rodney Sr. has single handedly put her internal light out with abuse and now her sons are starting to look at their mother as weak, helpless and a fool. The abuse is not limited to Carolyn, oh no. Rodney Sr. keeps his sons in line with the same mental, physical and emotional abuse he uses for his wife.
Experiencing abuse will and can lead you to the arms of people you think you can trust until the day that person unlocks the pain you gave them the key to. Love, Pain, Forgiveness and Hurt is all wrapped up in this 230 page novel.
Follow the journey of the Batchler family as they discover life through tainted vision. The Key to My Pain is available as a paperback novel, on audiobook and Kindle Unlimited ebook.
Sample The Key to My Pain by Antoinette Davis
Read an excerpt and the author’s interview:
https://www.smore.com/3v8bp
Listen to a reading from The Key To My Pain:
http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C4rGnBPX
The Last Thing You Surrender: A Novel of World War II by Leonard Pitts Jr.
Pulitzer-winning journalist and bestselling novelist Leonard Pitts, Jr.’s new historical page-turner is a great American tale of race and war, following three characters from the Jim Crow South as they face the enormous changes World War II triggers in the United States.
Could you find the courage to do what’s right in a world on fire?
An affluent white marine survives Pearl Harbor at the cost of a black messman’s life only to be sent, wracked with guilt, to the Pacific and taken prisoner by the Japanese . . . a young black woman, widowed by the same events at Pearl, finds unexpected opportunity and a dangerous friendship in a segregated Alabama shipyard feeding the war . . . a black man, who as a child saw his parents brutally lynched, is conscripted to fight Nazis for a country he despises and discovers a new kind of patriotism in the all-black 761st Tank Battalion.
Set against a backdrop of violent racial conflict on both the front lines and the home front, The Last Thing You Surrender explores the powerful moral struggles of individuals from a divided nation. What does it take to change someone’s mind about race? What does it take for a country and a people to move forward, transformed?
Publishers Weekly Editorial Review for The Last Thing You Surrender
Leonard Pitts Jr., a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, turns again to America’s fraught history of race relations in this unflinching, gritty WWII saga. It centers on a trio of finely drawn characters, two black and one white, all from Alabama, whose worlds collide because of Pearl Harbor.
Marine Private George Simon—wealthy, religious, white—survives the sinking of his ship because Eric Gordy, a black messman, rescues him. Eric dies, and while George recuperates, he pays a condolence call on Eric’s widow, Thelma. She and her brother, Luther Hayes, a bitter alcoholic, are living with the memory of their parents’ lynching 20 years earlier.
George and Thelma begin a correspondence after he returns to active duty; she takes a job in a shipyard. Luther, deciding this is a white man’s war, tries to evade the draft but ends up serving with a tank battalion in Europe. George endures horrific conditions in the Pacific as Thelma faces growing racial hostility at work, culminating in a brutal moment of violence that compels her to make a difficult decision.
While remaining true to his characters, Pitts brings the story lines to realistic conclusions even as he holds out hope for the future, resulting in a polished, affecting novel.
About the Author
Leonard Pitts, Jr. is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who pens one of the most popular newspaper columns in America, weighing in twice weekly on controversies of race, gender, politics and popular culture. He is the author of a series of critically-acclaimed novels, including “Freeman,” “Before I Forget” and his latest, “The Last Thing You Surrender.” Website: http://leonardpittsjr.com
The Last Thing You Surrender by Leonard Pitts Jr.
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Thing-You-Surrender-Novel/dp/1572842458
Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-last-thing-you-surrender-leonard-pitts-jr/1128941167
The Last Tribe of Levi: Richmond, Virginia by Karen Sloan-Brown
It’s 2014. Grieving the loss of family members and friends killed in a plane crash, renowned megachurch pastor Priscilla Sinclair sits on her patio, prepared to take her own life. But before she can end it all, a stranger shows up at her Virginia home and changes everything.
Trying to strengthen her faith, the stranger challenges Priscilla to lean on God’s promises and on the examples of faith left to her by her ancestors. He tells her a story she has never heard before. The story goes back over 3,000 years.
In part three, The Last Tribe of Levi, her ancestors gain their freedom in Virginia. Her great- great-grandfather, Thomas Freeman begins to build on the legacy that she hoped to continue. Except her father won’t accept her calling to preach God’s word.
In this thrilling journey through history, Priscilla is given a chance to go from failure to faith and live to fight another day. But will she accept the stranger’s challenge?It’s 2014. Grieving the loss of family members and friends killed in a plane crash, renowned megachurch pastor Priscilla Sinclair sits on her patio, prepared to take her own life. But before she can end it all, a stranger shows up at her Virginia home and changes everything.
Trying to strengthen her faith, the stranger challenges Priscilla to lean on God’s promises and on the examples of faith left to her by her ancestors. He tells her a story she has never heard before. The story goes back over 3,000 years.
In part three, The Last Tribe of Levi, her ancestors gain their freedom in Virginia. Her great- great-grandfather, Thomas Freeman begins to build on the legacy that she hoped to continue. Except her father won’t accept her calling to preach God’s word.
In this thrilling journey through history, Priscilla is given a chance to go from failure to faith and live to fight another day. But will she accept the stranger’s challenge?
The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna
The Merciless Ones by Namina Forna
Book 2 of 2: The Gilded Ones
The epic, hotly anticipated sequel to the instant bestseller The Gilded Ones about a girl with the power to remake her world—or destroy it.
“Fans of Children of Blood and Bone, Mulan, and the Dora Milaje from Black Panther are going to adore [The Gilded Ones].”—BuzzFeed
It’s been six months since Deka freed the goddesses in the ancient kingdom of Otera and discovered who she really is… but war is waging across the kingdom, and the real battle has only just begun. For there is a dark force growing in Otera—a merciless power that Deka and her army must stop.
Yet hidden secrets threaten to destroy everything Deka has known. And with her own gifts changing, Deka must discover if she holds the key to saving Otera… or if she might be its greatest threat.
The Merciless Ones is the second thrilling installment of the epic fantasy series in which a young heroine fights against a world that would dare tame her.
The Secret Women: A Novel by Sheila Williams
The author of Dancing on the Edge of the Roof, now a Netflix film starring Alfre Woodard, returns with a riveting, emotionally rich, novel that explores the complex relationship between mothers and daughters in a fresh, vibrant way—a stunning page-turner for fans of Terry McMillan, Tayari Jones, and Kimberla Lawson Roby.
Elise Armstrong, Carmen Bradshaw, and DeeDee Davis meet in a yoga class. Though vastly different, these women discover they all have one thing in common: their mothers have recently passed away. Becoming fast friends, the trio make a pact to help each other sort through the belongings their mothers’ left behind. But when they find old letters and diaries, Elise, Carmen, and DeeDee are astonished to learn that each of their mothers hid secrets—secrets that will transform their own lives.
Meeting each month over margaritas, the trio share laughter, advice, and support. As they help each other overcome challenges and celebrate successes, Elise, Carmen, and DeeDee gain not only a better understanding of the women their mothers were, but of themselves. They also come to realize they have what their mothers needed most but did not have during difficult times—other women they could trust.
Filled with poignant life lessons, The Secret Women pays tribute to the power of friendship and family and the bonds that tie us together. Beautiful, full of spirit and heart, it is a thoughtful and ultimately uplifting story of unconditional love.
The Struggle: From Kenya to Jamaica by Karen Sloan-Brown
It’s 2014. Grieving the loss of family members and friends killed in a plane crash, renowned megachurch pastor Priscilla Sinclair sits on her patio, prepared to take her own life. But before she can end it all, a stranger shows up at her Virginia home and changes everything.
Trying to strengthen her faith, the stranger challenges Priscilla to lean on God’s promises and on the examples of faith left to her by her ancestors. He tells her a story she has never heard before. The story goes back over 3,000 years.
In part two, The Struggle, in the year AD 490, Priscilla’s ancestors battle in religious wars for 1000 years until the beginning of the Transatlantic slave trade. They are sold as slaves and shipped to a sugarcane plantation in Jamaica. Two hundred years later, Adam is sold and shipped to a tobacco plantation in Virginia.
In this thrilling journey through history, Priscilla is given a chance to go from failure to faith and live to fight another day. But will she accept the stranger’s challenge?
The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues by Edward Kelsey Moore
From the author of the bestselling The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, The Supremes Sing the Happy Heartache Blues, an exuberant and poignant new novel of passions, family, and forgiveness
When a late life love affair blooms between Mr. Forrest Payne, the owner of the Pink Slipper Gentleman’s Club, and Miss Beatrice Jordan, famous for stationing herself at the edge of the club’s parking lot and yelling warnings of eternal damnation at the departing patrons, their wedding summons a legend to town. Mr. El Walker, the great guitar bluesman, comes home to give a command performance in Plainview, Indiana, a place he’d sworn―and for good reason―he’d never set foot in again.
But El is not the only Plainview native with a hurdle to overcome. A wildly philandering husband struggles at last to prove his faithfulness to the wife he’s always loved. And among those in this tightly knit community who show up every Sunday after church for lunch at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, are the lifelong friends, known locally as “The Supremes” ―Clarice, facing down her longing for, chance at and fear of a great career; Barbara Jean, grappling at last with the loss of a mother whose life humiliated both of them, and Odette, reaching toward her husband through an anger of his that she does not understand.
Edward Kelsey Moore’s lively cast of characters, each of whom have surmounted serious trouble and come into love, need not learn how to survive but how, fully, to live. And they do, every one of them, serenaded by the bittersweet and unforgettable blues song El Walker plays, born of his own great loss and love.
Listen to the Pearl Page audio showcase:
http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C2NKkWYk
The Trilogy – Contempt, Reasons & Sabotage by Becky DeWitt
THE CONTEMPT 3-BOOK SERIES BY BECKY DEWITT
The Contempt Series including sequels Reasons and Sabotage, is a maze of mystery with twists and turns that will keep the readers on the edge. The character connections involve murder, suicide, deception, deliverance and salvation.
The series is filled with questions that keeps readers rapidly flipping pages yearning for answers. All three are available on Kindle. Listen to Becky read from the series: https://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C4Vn42bX
Watch the book trailer for The Trilogy – Contempt, Reasons, & Sabotage by Becky DeWitt
Watch the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/S2YnB83f9Xo
Contempt: Lies Deceit and the Miracles by Becky DeWitt
Contempt is the riveting journey through deceit, death, and betrayal which was a way of life. It is the journey of the twists and turns of life, taking toil, leaving one in devastation. Only the arrival of a miracle just in time changes everything. Nothing just happens. Becky DeWitt leads the readers through a maze of mystery and intrigue capturing ones’ fascination.
Who is that girl? The intrigue continues the lives of Tristan, Arianna and Takeshi are exposed in the web of many secrets from their past through their children. Reasons answers the many questions of who, what, when, where and why that were left unanswered at the ending of Contempt. The truth is embedded in every page as the reader attempts to find the conclusion of this story. Contempt lured and captivated readers into a world of a thought-provoking drama. Becky DeWitt has responded to the unanswered questions of the destiny of many lives from Contempt with the sequel, Reasons. Is this really the end?
Sabotage: The Final Chapter by Becky DeWitt
SABOTAGE, The Final Chapter pieces together the dark side of Tristan, Arianna and Takeshi’s lifestyle of murder, intrigue, contempt and lies, while experiencing God’s mercy, grace, eye-opening revelation and truth. The readers who have followed the drama in the previous books, Contempt and Reasons, will experience the conclusion in the maze of mystery that captured their attention. The story ends with answers to the many questions about the life of each character and their unfolding destinies. Your heart will skip a beat as you discover the answers to the truth.
Purchase the Contempt 3-Book Series by Becky DeWitt
The Way Eye See It by Antoinette R. Davis
Located in the deep South of Jackson Mississippi there’s a brown skin girl full of bitter and hatred determined to make a difference in a Jim Crow State.
Brandi has just been promoted to co-anchor for WBLT; she’s the first African American anchor for the station however she is meeting opposition when she wants to be radical instead of practical.
Everything Brandi touches seems to go bad including the love of her life Chase Ware because of her prejudices. Brandi is not trying to play by anybody’s rules but her own and if that means she has to sacrifice love, friends, and family she is willing to do that.
Brandi’s father was killed by a white man in the streets of Jackson, Mississippi when she was just five years old; that sparked a fire in her that she can’t let go of. Everywhere she goes trouble seems to follow her because she only sees black or white.
There’s change in her heart when an unexpected hero saves the day and touches her right in the center of her hatred, LOVE ALWAYS WINS.
There Is Sunshine After the Rain Making It Through Life’s Struggles by Patricia A. Saunders
There Is Sunshine After the Rain: Making It Through Life’s Struggles will take you on the journey of a young girl growing up in Connecticut, who had to take some stumbles along the way to come into her own and realize instead of tearing herself down for the decisions she made, there is a lesson. Love is greater than anyone can imagine and can warm you like the sunshine after the rain. You went from the beginning, the journey, the test, and the testimony to say, “There Is Sunshine after the Rain.”
https://www.smore.com/8x7ry-there-is-sunshine-after-the-rain
There Is Sunshine After The Rain by Patricia A. Saunders
Listen to a reading from the book: https://www.audioacrobat.com/note/CpHlwJlX
This Too Shall Pass by Patricia A. Saunders
Listen to a reading from the book: https://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C2csrcxk
They Can’t Take Your Name: A Novel by Robert Justice
Laced with atmospheric poetry and literature and set in the heart of Denver’s black community, this gripping crime novel pits three characters in a race against time to thwart a gross miscarriage of justice—and a crooked detective who wreaks havoc…with deadly consequences.
What happens to a deferred dream—especially when an innocent man’s life hangs in the balance? Langston Brown is running out of time and options for clearing his name and escaping death row.
Wrongfully convicted of the gruesome Mother’s Day Massacre, he prepares to face his death. His final hope for salvation lies with his daughter, Liza, an artist who dreamed of a life of music and song but left the prestigious Juilliard School to pursue a law degree with the intention of clearing her father’s name. Just as she nears success, it’s announced that Langston will be put to death in thirty days.
In a desperate bid to find freedom for her father, Liza enlists the help of Eli Stone, a jazz club owner she met at the classic Five Points venue, The Roz. Devastated by the tragic loss of his wife, Eli is trying to find solace by reviving the club…while also wrestling with the longing to join her in death.
Everyone has a dream that might come true—but as the dark shadows of the past converge, could Langston, Eli, and Liza be facing a danger that could shatter those dreams forever?
They Come in All Colors: A Novel by Malcolm Hansen
2019 First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association
An “urgent and heartrending novel about an America on the brink” (Matt Gallagher, author of Youngblood), They Come in All Colors follows a biracial teenage boy who finds his new life in the big city disrupted by childhood memories of the summer when racial tensions in his hometown reached a tipping point.
It’s 1968 when fourteen-year-old Huey Fairchild begins high school at Claremont Prep, one of New York City’s most prestigious boys’ schools. His mother had uprooted her family from their small hometown of Akersburg, Georgia, leaving behind Huey’s white father and the racial unrest that ran deeper than the Chattahoochee River.
But for our sharp-tongued protagonist, forgetting the past is easier said than done. At Claremont, where the only other nonwhite person is the janitor, Huey quickly realizes that racism can lurk beneath even the nicest school uniform. After a momentary slip of his temper, Huey finds himself on academic probation and facing legal charges. With his promising school career in limbo, he begins to reflect on his memories of growing up in Akersburg during the Civil Rights Movement—and the chilling moments leading up to his and his mother’s flight north.
With Huey’s head-shaking antics fueling this coming-of-age narrative, the novel triumphs as a tender and honest exploration of race, identity, family, and homeland, and a work that is “emotionally acute…eye-opening and rewarding for a wide range of readers” (Library Journal, starred review).
Raves & Reviews
“An urgent and heartrending novel about an America on the brink. With force, Malcolm Hansen writes about race, identity and the fleeting deceptions of youth.”
—Matt Gallagher, author of Youngblood
“This is a voice so honest and alive it feels like a stranger whispering a confession in a dark room. Malcolm Hansen’s novel is a prodigious debut of a rare literary talent.”
—Mat Johnson, author of Loving Day and Pym
“In They Come in All Colors, Malcolm Hanson is not writing about saints or monsters, just vivid human beings. And does so with humor and insight.”
—Victor LaValle, award-winning author of The Changeling and The Ballad of Black Tom
To Find You by Cerece Rennie Murphy
Two Souls
One Desire
To Find Each Other…Again
How many times would you die to find your one true love?
The journey begins with Ama and Ekow ~ Two lovers betrothed, then torn apart by an enemy disguised as a friend. And in the midst of an unthinkable bargain, their freedom is sold for a bag of gold. But what their enemies thought would break them only unleashed a power greater than life itself.
From the ancient shores of Ghana to the streets of pre-colonial India, from the burning embers of Oahu to the heart of a nation’s capitol, their souls risked war, death, and betrayal to bend destiny to their will. Will they survive? Will they succeed? Join them on this timeless journey and see…