We had a great time this year in VA and DC...stay tuned for what's next!
Thank you to all of the Authors and Readers who came out to our first Authors Pavilion. Pictures wil soon be posted. Weren't able to make it? Take the time to support the authors below who were in attendance at our event. Read about their books and enjoy and excerpt from their books!
Feedback from the 2010 Authors Pavilion:
"Absolutely had a blast at the Author's Pavillion. It was a first class, professional, fun and entertaining event! RWA and Nikkea Smithers, I appreciate you all." ~ Shelia Lipsey, Author of Beautiful Ugly
"I had a wonderful time!" ~ Denise Bolds, Author of Raising Princes to Be Kings
"I had a great time! I felt the love and your staff hospitality (was) awesome!" ~ Ellen Ann Sudderths, Reading is What We Do Bookclub
"I appreciate all the hard work it took to put your first book event together. Thanks for the opportunity to let more people know about Choices, and thanks so very much for the support!!" ~ Katrina L. Burchett, Author of Choices
"It was a great event! " ~ Liberated Muse
Authors in attendance:
http://cheatingonmymistress.blogspot.com/ Revenge Of The Cheating Mistress is centered around the life of an authoress/professional mistress named Larissa Calhoun. She is cute in the face and thin in the waist. One bad relationship after another causes her to explore her life's purpose that is to make all men pay. In the midst of her drama, her rise to fame comes unexpectedly as her novels top the New York times and Essence magazine best seller's list. Things are going great until she discovers her ex-lover has become a pastor at one of the biggest mega churches in the south. Larissa becomes angry and uses this as an excuse to convert back into her vengeful ways in hopes of finding out if the old saying is true once a cheater always a cheater. Price: 14.95 Available: amazon.com, The Literary Joint, barnesandnobles.com Website: www.mahogneyinkpublication.com Excerpt from Revenge of the Cheating Mistress:
All of a sudden Victor stopped texting, and his phone calls slacked off. Then, he demanded that Larissa start to call before she came over to his home. Whenever she arrived, Victor would turn his phone off, put it on vibrate, or go into the other room for privacy. Then, his attitude changed. Everything she said and did annoyed him. He went from annoyed to violent in under 60 seconds. One day he slapped Larissa into a wall because she accidentally left the top off the tooth paste. This was just the beginning, it gradually got worse over time because Larissa would not fight back.
Anytime she said or did something he didn’t approve of he would give her the look and say, “You like getting your ass whooped youngin’. Rissa, I’m going to beat the shit out of you in just a moment! ”
Beautiful Ugly is the story of three close friends. Each one of them has life challenges, and each of them love, encourage and support each other through the good and the bad. Sometimes we look in the mirror, like Layla does in Beautiful Ugly, and we see an ugly image of ourselves. We fail to see the beauty that God has created. Or we may be like Envy, whose life is based on her name. She struggles with who she really is and why the person she sees in the mirror is not the beautiful, intelligent, smart woman that God made her to be. Instead she sees a young woman who has deep, dark secrets that only she and God know about.
As for Kacie, she equates beauty to having a man. She looks in the mirror and she sees a physically handicapped woman with a bad limp, and six children with six different baby daddies. Her vision of herself is one of low self-esteem and self-worth. How do they face the problems of life?
How do they look at themselves and see that they are all wonderful creatures designed by God. When will they learn that beauty comes in so many different ways that even the human eye cannot conceive? Three friends struggle to learn their true identity that only God can define for them.
Search Continues For Mother of Still Born Infant Left in School Lavatory
Memphis, TN (Memphis Appeal) The body of an infant, said to have been only hours old, has been found under shocking circumstances. The baby’s lifeless body was discovered by a maintenance worker at GermantownHigh School. Police state the body appears to have been in the second floor bathroom toilet for as long as five to ten hours. Homicide Detective Monica Bell said the newborn girl was well developed and was more than likely full term. A post mortem examination of the newborn will be done to determine the cause of death and whether she was alive when she was left in the toilet.
“One of the major concerns now is to locate the mother of the infant,” states Bell. “We are concerned about her health physically and psychologically.” Detective Bell further states, “Everything is being done to locate the mother. We urge anyone who has information that will lead us to the mother to contact 555-TIPS. We are also pleading with the mother to contact police right away.
The Manual Author Sherryle Kiser Jackson
www.sherrylejackson.com Available October 2009 Price: 15.00 “I swear all men must read from the same manual. Like momma use to say the pages are long and the book is thick ‘cause a man has got a lot of tricks.”Deidre Collins can’t help but compare her fourteen year old son, DeAndre, to his father and her estranged ex-boyfriend who walked out of their lives eight years previous. Even after rededicating herself to the Lord, she’s having a hard time forgiving and forgetting. Lately she can’t understand where the child she has raised has gone, and who is this disobedient and disrespectful person that has replaced him. After the sudden lost of his own absentee father, Andre Hicks resurfaces in Deidre and DeAndre’s life with a determination to compensate for the time lost with his son. A follower of revolutionary gym owner and former Olympian, Bo Donovan, Andre has changed more than his physique. Reluctant to see him as the answer to her prayers, Deidre finally must yield her reservations about their troubled relationship to let DeAndre stay with his father during his suspension from school.DeAndre Hicks keeps one foot in church and the other foot in trouble. In his last year of middle school he finds himself divided between following the lead of his two best friends, the Dempsey twins, experiencing the novelty of first love with girlfriend, Kenya and toting the line at home with his mother. With pressure from every side, DeAndre finds a satisfying escape between the pages of his sketchbook where he harbors a talent yet discovered
Author and Poet Monda Raquel Webb lives in Rockville, Maryland. She works as a freelance consultant, sells real estate, and has been a featured Realtor® on several episodes of HGTV’s “Get it Sold”. She also performs her poetry at select venues in the Washington Metropolitan area. Monda is currently working on 7:33 am the Movie, an independent full-length feature film adapted from the novel by director Aimee Dixon - to be released in spring 2012.
7:33 am – You Will Never Look at Time the Same Way Again
About 7:33 am
In a city where power struggles take place daily on Capitol Hill, another power struggle is taking place beyond the monuments; namely between Damion Eric Cross, his girlfriend Crystal Renee Leonard and his girlfriend, Madison Paige Robinson. You can only juggle so long before you drop a ball, and eventually, in a town as city slick and country cool as Washington, DC, the two women are bound to discover one another.
But how do you manage the truth once you know it? Is it possible to love two people at once? Is it possible for one man to stay faithful to one woman in a city bursting at the seams with beautiful, professional women and an obvious shortage of good brothers? Read 7:33 a.m., and judge for yourself.
As the drama unfolds, enjoy the 7:33 am companion CD featuring 25 hot tracks featuring Marcus Johnson, Temika Moore, Jua, and more.
The music blends effortlessly into the background of the novel itself, adding yet another layer of fun and discovery as the characters of 7:33 am navigate life and love in one of the most unique cities in the world.
7:33 a.m. is funny, honest, unflinchingly real, and sure to make you run the gamut of emotions, from laughter to anger to tears. You will definitely hollar out loud, as this story touches you in only ways you can relate to with your own personal experiences.
Marian L. Thomas currently resides in Atlanta, GA with her husband and they spoiled but playful dog, Winston. Her debut title, Color Me Jazzmyne recently reached #1 on the Amazon Bestsellers list. In this tale, Naya Mona-the main character has a jazz singer's heart filled with a touch of Rhythm and a flair of Blues. She is raped by her father, abused by her friends and forced to confront a son she hasn't seen since birth. Tell me.... how do you tell your son that your father is his?
Excerpt:
The Encounter
My name is Naya Mona. Some say, that I live what they would call a “once upon a time” dream. How I wish that were true. You see, every turn I made and every moment that flew by in my life, created a new color in my box, my crayon box that is. I made the choice to keep that box closed, until now.
There are moments in our lives when we are forced to open our boxes and expose our colors. For me, that moment had arrived. I woke up one morning with the sun, glaring into the corners of my eyes, and the light from it, burning a sense of reality into my head. It was at this precise moment, that I realized, it was time to open my box, pick up the phone, and make a call to a son whom I hadn’t seen, since birth. I knew it would be difficult, hard, and very emotional. For the both of us. And yet, this was a moment that neither could run from. It was a moment that we both would have to face. That was the beauty of reality, the nature of a moment.
Soon, he would ring my doorbell, enter into my home, and pull back the cover of my box— exposing my colors. He would force me to answer the question…What color is Jazzmyne?
Here my story, listen to my voice, feel my emotions, follow my journey. Come into my box of colors, to discover the woman I’ve become. Listen, as I explain the moments that colored me Jazzmyne.
Synopsis: Imagine a time in your life when all is going well, when everything you touch turns to gold. When the past is the past and the mistakes of your youth are well behind you. Now, imagine the one person who can expose those mistakes, the one person you felt was long gone resurfaces after five years with the intent of rewarding you for all of the pain, hurt and anguish that you inflicted on her life. Imagine one more thing if you will, imagine seeing her and realizing that the same lust that almost caused the demise of your marriage still burns for her and no matter how hard you try, you can not stop thinking of her or wanting her.
In my second novel, The Prodigal Son the sequel to Toward the Light this is exactly the situation faced by Adaliah Preston, when the beautiful Aisha Lawson returns to Richmond, Virginia after being gone for five years with one goal in mind. Her objective is to find Adaliah and repay him for the abuse she suffered at his hands regardless the cost to him or herself. Will she follow through with her well devised plan or heed the warnings of her best friend, Brandi and stop before it’s too late.
Aisha freezes; anxiety fills her mind overflowing into her being. Can it be? Have her ears deceived her, is she having some sort of auditory hallucination? She wants to believe that it’s true, yet dreads knowing the truth. So, her body remains fixed to its spot on the floor.
“ Judah , I said stop right now. Wait for your sister and me!”
“Did he say, Judah ? Who is Judah ? And a sister . . .?”
Forcing herself to turn around, Aisha comes face to face with her Achilles heel. He hasn’t noticed her, not yet, but she knows. His face, eyes, lips, the shape of his body, the beautiful locs that now hang midway his back all let her know, it’s him. And then her eyes follow the direction of his gaze. The little boy is his image; skin the color of butterscotch ice cream, eyes the greenest of green. She feels as though she knows him. As if this child, could have been her own. “ Judah ? But, how?”
She finds herself thinking back, calculating time, days, months, years. “ Judah ?” she said once more, aloud this time. The child turns to face her, having heard his name. He regards her momentarily, before moving to stand beside his father.
Adaliah’s (pronounced Ah-dah-lie-ah) protective instinct kicks in and he looks to see who has startled his son. It takes a moment, but the familiarity of the young lady finally registers.
“Aisha? Hey . . . hey! How’ve you been?” He approaches her, his out stretched hand touching her arm.
“I’ve been fine. And you?”
“Great. When did you get back in town?”
“I’ve been back for a while. I guess about nine months now.”
He smiles, remembering how sweet she had been those five years ago. His smile is also in response to how beautiful Aisha has become. “You look fantastic Isha; I always knew you’d be something special one day.”
“How old is your son?” There, she asked him. She has to know, needs to know that this child is younger than their’s would have been. That Judah had come years later.
All Mia wanted out of life was a peaceful existence and unconditional love. But from age five, when she was brutally raped by a deranged homeless man, Mia had experienced everything but her dream. Her mother, Helen, a quiet and dignified woman, marries a concerned but drug addicted Vietnam Veteran whose controlling and abusive parenting skills turn Mia’s family on its ear.
Karen, Mia’s older sister, is nothing like her compliant mother and sister. She is brash, loud, and not afraid to cry out when in pain. Karen is later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her overbearing and controlling personality knuckle Mia under her spell, causing Mia to begrudgingly acquiesce to Karen’s every command. Helen also caters to Karen’s manipulative ways making Mia believe that Helen cares more for Karen than she does for Mia and her younger sister, (fathered by Bruce) Sasha.
Through a life of kept secrets, silence in the face of abusive oppression, and a broken romance, Mia is driven to attempt suicide. But Mia has a friend, Julie, who has been telling Mia about the love of God and how much he has in store for Mia’s life and future. Mia must then make a decision to let go of her past, and stretch toward a bright and loving future with a Savior who proves to be the only answer to Mia’s shredded life of fear, anguish, and hopelessness. $16.99 and it's available online at Borders books, Barnes and Noble, Xulon Press, Amazon books, or they can go to my web page www.tjacksonbooks.com to order.
Shauntice curled up in her wrought iron-framed bed, the soothing sound of CeCe Winans’ “It Wasn’t Easy” flowing from the three-disc stereo system she fell asleep listening to. Suddenly a loud banging at her bedroom door made her jump out of the fetal position that helped her to feel safe. She kicked off the cotton blanket that covered her legs and jumped out of the bed. An oversized, white cotton blouse hung from the bedpost. Shauntice snatched it and draped it over the sports bra and biker shorts she wore for pajamas, then hurriedly slid her size seven feet into a snug pair of slippers. She rushed across the room, praying that what she feared wasn’t happening.
When Shauntice opened the door and saw her twin brother’s face, her big brown eyes widened with worry. As she turned to go use the phone in her bedroom, Shannon grabbed her arm as if he could read her mind. “Callin’ the police won’t help,” he told her, then turned away and started down the hallway.
Shauntice ran after him. “How’d he get in?” she screamed, grabbing the sleeve of her brother’s oversized shirt.
Smothered by deep frustration, Shannon jerked his arm away. His flaring light brown eyes bugged out the way they always did when his temper rose. “I don’t know,” he snapped, resenting the question.
God did not give me a spirit of fear. Shauntice repeated the Bible verse over and over in her mind as she watched Shannon march down the narrow hallway. When her brother was this angry he acted without thinking. Because she didn’t want him to do something he’d regret later, she followed him.
Author and Poet Rachel Berry http://www.RachelBerry.webs.com Unexpected Discoveries: For a single mother life sometimes seems unfair, making hopes and dreams look unreachable. However, through resilience and unexpected discoveries full-figured Regal Sommers learns that life is as big or as small as you allow it to be. Lifelong Fears: Childhood nightmares, a dysfunctional family and living with family secrets has made Emma Jean LoVerde turn to alcohol and view life as unhappiness. But eventually confessions and unconditional love allows her to put a better face on her future. Family Pictures” $25 paperback, or $14 ea. For parts 1, 2 & 3. Available in e-book and download.
Picture this: It’s a blustery night and you’re home alone. I’ve caught you curled up in an oversized chair in front of a crackling fire. You’ve got a steaming cup of your favorite drink and you want more stimulation than a TV show or movie; you’d rather have a peek behind the closed doors of that perfect-looking, squeaky-clean family across the street. You know there’s some good gossip and a few juicy stories that they’re hiding. While you respect their privacy you still want to know the dirt. Well, you’re holding the tell-all diary of a similar family that I know. Let’s push open a few of their doors….
So, can you keep a secret? Or should the question be, can a secret keep you? After all, who walks among us whose life or past isn’t draped with at least one cloak-and-dagger just waiting to rip its cut? I say, after a while all kept things come to light. Just ask full-figured and sexy Miss Regal Sommers. This is her story; a saga of two women, Regal, her aunt Emma Jean and those folks they call family; two women from different generations, backgrounds, and education, but commonly bonded by blood. Regal is young and vibrant; a single mother of two, looking for love and trying to get her career-life together… But who knew that secrets and one woman’s past would affect the other’s future and cause pain and the unknown in their present and completely turn both their lives upside down?.... What people do behind closed doors some people call privacy. I call it secrets. Who am I? Well, that will be a secret for now, but time reveals all… So, here we go. It’s the summer of 1999 in a small town called Stone Mountain located in Georgia
Donneil Jackson www.pureblisspublishing.com Chante Chambers is a self-proclaimed princess. She has it all: looks, a body women would pay for, a great career, all the material items a girl could want plus some…all of this maintained by her ex, Jason. Whatever mama wants, Jason makes sure mama gets. The one task he failed at was being faithful. With a toss of a Gucci pump Jason was history. Or so she thought.
In a pursuit for love, happiness, and monogamy sometimes mistaken for sex, Chante encounters an array of men, whom if you took the best traits from them all and combined them, it still didn’t create the perfect man. Just as Chante was ready to admit defeat in her quest for love, settle for a battery-operated appliance, and give in to the bottle of brown juice in walks a caramel Adonis.
Chante's new found love has the potential of being a lifelong love affair. Yet a lunch hour spent in between the sheets with a certain ex complicates things, as thoughts of starting their love anew begin running through her mind. What's a girl to do when she's torn between two lovers? Does she grab her panties off the floor and vow to never drop them again? Or does she go back for seconds?
The sounds of Chante Moore’s single “Chante’s Got A Man” filled the bathroom. Vanilla-scented candles lined the tub, while their aroma filtered the air. The bathroom was usually bright by day with all the sunlight that beamed through the floor to ceiling windows, but tonight the space was a reflection of the deep midnight-blue sky. I was truly feeling this song. My champagne glass swayed side to side to the melody of the music, while the back scrubber served as a microphone.
“Chante’s got a man at home.” Those words kept ringing in my ears. You’d have thought I was in concert by the way I sang those lyrics.
The moonlight served as my spotlight. I rose as my audience clapped, winked my eye at the reflection of this beautiful sister in the mirror and then began to really blow. The words of Chante Moore floated out of my mouth like I was the songbird herself. Lord knows someone should give me a record deal. I laughed. I couldn’t sing worth a lick, then again half of the singers out today couldn’t sing either.
Author JA Adams http://www.jaadamsauthor.com Diane, young heiress to the Darhling fortune, meets Jimmy Dupree, a struggling young man from the wrong side of the tracks. Then there is Jerrell, the young dashing debonair who's love for Diane is unconditional. Determined to make it out of po' folksville, Jimmy has a plan and a means to carry it out. Not caring who gets hurt along the way, "Operation Diane" is the name he gives to his conniving and deceitful plan. Prologue Two Years Earlier
Using his index finger, he slowly traced the outline of her figure in the 3 X 4 photograph tacked up on his dorm room wall above his bed. Sensual visions of the two of them together flooded his imagination. His friend Albert, a photographer for the Welington University yearbook, took the picture a few weeks ago. Earlier in the week, at Albert’s apartment, several of them sat around downing a few beers going through a pile of photos, assisting Albert in selecting pictures for the Campus Beauties layout. With no one looking, he had quickly slipped the photo into his shirt pocket. Every man has the right to a picture of his future wife. He smiled at the thought, imagining what it would feel like to kiss her. His mind flashed back to the first time he saw her. It was the start of the 1974 spring semester. He overheard someone in class whisper as she walked in, “That’s Diane Darhling, Jerrell Ellison’s girlfriend.” “What is she doing in sophomore English?” the other person had asked. “I thought she was a freshman.” “She is. Man, everybody say she’s real smart.” “And loaded,” whispered yet another student. Since that first day in class, three months ago, she occupied his every thought. She was like those women who always felt so sure of themselves but needed a man to show them what really mattered. And, he, not rich boy, Jerrell Ellison, was the kind of man she needed. At night, he laid in bed thinking about her, imagining her lying in his arms. Often bragging to friends how she would be his one day, they laughed at him, but he would show them. Twice, he intentionally skipped class just to have a means of creating an opportunity to talk to her. Making their meeting appear coincidental, he asked to see her notes, hitting up a conversation about the class lecture he missed. His thoughts came back to the preset. Kissing his index finger, he leaned forward placing the kissed side of the finger up against the bow shaped lips on the photograph, careful not to leave any smudges. “Baby, you got looks, brains and money. The three things I need in my woman.”
R. Jay Jay Johnson Caleb the hero from The Conductor, Truth Unveiled is back with his supernatural powers serving and protecting his neighbors and friends from the evils that plaque his community. Caleb's schizophrenia which enables him to supernaturally sense danger, senses that his friend Natalie is a victim of physical abuse. His attempt to rescue and protect her causes him to become a prime suspect in the disappearance of female victims in the neighbor. Caleb must try to protect Natalie and at the same time clear his name. Award: Voted "Best Young Adult" for 2010 according to Multicultural Literacy Adovacy Group Price: $11.00 Available: Available on Website: www.rjayjayjohnson.me and local Urban Knowledge Book Stores in Maryland This book is targeted for ages 12 to 18 years old.
Poet Samika Lang
Childrens Book Author Naana Kyereboah http://www.nabinava.comSoul Nameis a cultural picture book and audioCD about an eight-year-old Ghanaian girl, Ekua, who invites the reader to join in the naming ceremony for her baby brother, Kofi. Ekua shares the importance of naming in the African culture.
Real estate agent Charisse Tyson seems to have it all-a great job, a dream car, and a McMansion in high-and-mightyville. Everything in her life is just right...except the Mister. While lamenting the break-up with her most recent "the one" during a holiday meltdown, Charisse realizes she has a type when it comes to men—players, players, and more players. A magazine article motivates her to swear off men and examine the complex roots of her romantic fiascos.
Just five simple steps to turn her life to the stuff of legends, right? Life is never that easy...
Charisse commences her do-it-yourself therapy project and barely cracks open her emotional toolbox when she encounters the monkey wrenches: an irresistible new beau, two persistent ex-flames, and an FBI agent with life-altering secrets threatening to turn her world upside-down.
Laugh loud and often as Charisse discovers whether her choices in men reflect more than a penchant for good looks, great sex, and bad judgment.
Excerpt
Her words played in my head like a scratched LP. “Charisse, a good man is like Santa Claus, believing in him feels real good until you find out he doesn't really exist.” Although I ignored most of my mother's attempts at wisdom, this little gem stuck with me . . . like gum on my shoe. No wonder I was nearing the big four-oh and home alone on yet another New Year's Eve. No bubbly to pop, no confetti to throw, no love to kiss at midnight's stroke; only me, my remote control, and six goldfish—one in desperate need of a trip to the porcelain god.
Why was I home alone on New Year’s Eve again? Because of Marcus damn Mathews—“the one.” You know “the one,” right? The one who cheated. The one who lied. The one who broke my damn heart. The one who kept calling my house begging me to take his conniving ass back. That “one.” I had finally settled in for the night and tried to forget that I flushed three years of my life down the toilet of wasted time and squandered heart when my doorbell rang.
He’s baaaaack!
“What do you want, Marcus?” I asked, exasperated by his unwillingness to accept that our relationship was over.
“I want you. I need you, Charisse,” he pleaded, his eyes resembling those of hungry puppy dog begging for his next Scooby snack. I guess he didn’t see the sign on my forehead—No Dawgs Allowed!
“No, what you need to do is go find that bitch I caught you with and ring her damn doorbell. Love don’t live here anymore.”
“Thank you so very much for “What I Know (Poems of Life)”. I really enjoyed it.”
--Nikki Giovanni, 2010
“What I Know … Poems of Life”was written from the perspective of a woman who happens to be African American and was born in the former Capital of the Confederacy the same year as the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education. Some of the poems are based on personal experiences and others oral history. All are factual.
An epigraph that sets the tone precedes each poem. The poems were written first and the epigraphs were carefully paired with the poem afterwards.
“Terms like ‘prejudice’ and ‘racism’ often miss the full scope of racial devaluation in our society, implying as they do that racial devaluation comes primarily from the strongly prejudiced, not from ‘good people.’” Claude M. Steele
Writer and Social Psychologist IMAGES FROM SLAVERY (Hurricane Katrina - 2005) Families torn apart Babies separated from mothers Elderly, sick and frail, left behind Stripped of dignity Stripped of pride Stripped to instincts of survival Sent places never considered Lines were drawn Haves seceded Have-nots couldn’t leave A Moses was needed Not a blundering Bush Wake up America One hundred-forty years plus And images from slavery were televised
Denise Bolds is a single black parent of a son, a college sophomore. Ms. Bolds is also a Community Activist, Advocate, Public Speaker and an author. Ms. Bolds’ first book: Raising Princes to be Kings: The Black Single Mother's Guide to Raising Her Black Son. Ms. Bolds holds a Master's Degree in Social Work and she has worked as a Medical Social Worker for ten years. Raising Princes to Be Kings is a guide for black mothers and the relationship with their sons. Every black mother is capable of raising a Barak Obama, Denzel Washington, Ben Carson and many other successful black men. Ms. Bolds’ book discusses these relationships of black motherhood of the black son from pregnancy to college.
Ms. Bolds wants black mothers to celebrate motherhood and to benefit from the success of motherhood - motherhood is empowering. Raising a black son to a black man takes sacrifice, dedication and preparation as well as discipline of the self. The black male is so far removed by society that he is practically obscure. From childhood to adulthood - the black man faces many stigmas, slights and stresses. Our black sons need us - we have to save our black men - too many have been lost already.
Ms. Bolds is on Facebook, BlogTalk Radio, her website is www.Boldlioness.com
Nikkea Smithers www.nikkeasmithers.com Dream is a highschool student from Bridgeport, Connecticut who is traumatized when she is informed of the tragic suicide of her best friend. Feeling like she is alone in the world with an abusive mother and absent father, Dream almost comes to the resolution that her life is also not worth living... Antonio is also in highschool but from Richmond, Virginia working two jobs to help his mother support his man brothers and sisters. Growing up in the projects, he is faced with a number of obstacles that will test his manhood. When Dream and Antonio s worlds collide both of their lives change forever...but is it for the better or for the worse?
www.lmignon.comwww.iramignonpublishing.com New author, L’Mignon, takes pride in bringing the girl next door character to reality for her readers, creating a story that many can identify with in some fashion. In her first novel, Skeletons in Her Closet she introduces us to McKenzie Johnson. Over the years McKenzie had become so involved in work she neglected having a social life. As a New Year begins, McKenzie is convinced by her friends to trade in her conservative business attire for some more sassy club attire and finally let her hair down. All work and no play is never any fun. Not knowing when she would get out again she was determined to make the most of this night. Unbeknown to her, not only would she enjoy a fun night with the girls but also meet the man she would soon marry, Milton Williams. Ordinarily, she would never go for a man that she met in a club, but there was something different about Milton once she took the time to get to know him. He was everything she always wanted and felt she needed to make her life complete. But as with all things in life it’s never always that easy.http://www.amazon.com/Skeletons-Her-Closet-LMignon/dp/0984360514/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271169121&sr=8-9
scarred2live.com Fredric A. Almond Sr (Author of Scarred for Life: stabbed thirty-nine times and forgave) A burglar broke into his house, stabbed and killed his mother and stabbed him 39 times at the age of eleven. However he didn’t fully heal until he forgave the perpetrator that scarred him for the rest of his life.
The1Essence www.The1Essence.com The1Essence continues her “Memoirs of An Ordinary Woman” series with the extraordinary tale of Nicole McGillicuddy. A young lady coming of age in the City of Milwaukee’s tough North Side and, finds herself thrust in the center of a world full of pimps, prostitutes, murder and mayhem…Will love, life and death shape Nicole’s destiny? Excerpt: If men could be exquisitely defined as beautiful, that would be the perfect description of Nicodemus Jeremiah McGillicuddy, or Cutty, as I heard most call him; I just called him daddy. Standing six feet four inches tall, he loomed eloquently above the other deacons at Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church.
The offspring of an Irish immigrant restaurant owner and a Creole whorehouse madam, his pale, almost white complexion, pointy nose, dark mysterious eyes and a full head of silky smooth, wavy, jet black hair had every single woman in church swooning over him; and me, hoping to capture his attention. Some mornings, as he prepared my breakfast, I would patiently sit at the kitchen table and watch him.
His movements where smooth, and calculated, almost like a dance. He would flip a pancake over in the pan without a spatula with one gentle wrist movement, gracefully, so to speak. That’s the way my father did everything. He lived his life as if it were a well choreographed dance. And, he never missed a beat. My father was a step above handsome indeed and, I loved and respected him equally and ferociously.
When he spoke, I listened feverously and obeyed his request without question. My father never told me to, or demanded I do anything. He merely suggested what would be best for me to do and, if my father thought it was best then, that is what I was going to do! There wasn’t any need to question or wonder why. I knew he had my best interest at the fore front. Hadn’t he come to the orphanage to rescue me when his renegade, whoring wife abandoned him and me?
Everything my father did, he did with my future in mind. I went to private schools, wore the latest fashions, I had Japanese and Spanish tutors, attend church every Sunday morning and Bible study on Wednesday nights. My father was at my side every waking moment I wasn’t in or attending some planned event or function. He personally prepared all my meals; breakfast, lunch and dinner. We rarely ate outside our home. Daddy said it wasn’t healthy. But, when we did it was always the most expensive, foreign cuisine he could think of.
My father didn’t work a full time job. He owned a soul food restaurant on 27th and North Avenue that Ms. Ruby managed for him during the evenings after I was home from school so that he could be home with me.
Unlike other girls, I didn’t mind at all that my father was so over protective. Ms. Ruby said he wanted to make sure the world didn’t ruin me as it did my mother. I just loved watching him and listening to him. I felt his love encompass my entire existence, each and every time he looked at me with those coal black eyes of his. And, my love for him was unyielding. $12.00 on www.The1Essence.com and $13.95 on Lulu.com
DEEP SECRETSDetective Erika Griffin is torn between her career and her love life. Once she finds that her married lover, Detective Steven Reynolds, may be the prime suspect in a murder case she is working on, she must choose between her career and her love life. She must decide whether to believe the out of town stripper Renee or her lover. The Chief wants answers and wants them yesterday. ~~~~ Renee is questioned by Detective Griffin as the first main suspect. Renee dated the victim prior to him vanishing not knowing what happened to himuntil she saw ran into him years later. She did not know what to think except that he left her alone. As she tells her story, she fills Erika with questions, answers, and decisions to make. AVAILABLE AT: http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Secrets-Question/dp/0984360506/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270563131&sr=1-1
Synopsis My Son's Wife: First Lady Audrey Graham believes she's found the perfect woman to become her eldest son, Minister Stiles Graham's wife. Sweet, sensitive, kind, and of course a fine Christian girl, Audrey couldn't ask more of the lovely Rena Jackson. But skeletons fall from the closet when Audrey and Stiles discover that Rena is in love and committed to the troubled, rebellious, ex-con, Frankie. My Son's Wife is more than a love triangle, it's a time bomb set to explode with twists, turns, entanglements and sinful revelations that only a loving God can make right. Excerpt: My Son's Wife"It's not the tragedies that kill us. It's the messes." - D. Parker
Excerpt: “Frankie, listen. Let’s not argue about-”
“What do you mean? Don’t you think it’s a little too late for that? This argument has already started.”
Frankie’s voice rose a higher octave. Rena took a step backward. She had been privy to Frankie’s volatile temper one too many times. And with less than a week left before she walked down the aisle with Stiles, she didn’t want to chance having a bruised face.
“You know that the wedding is already planned and set. The invitations have gone out so even if I wanted to, there’s no way I can back out now. Face it, Frankie; I’m going to marry him.” Rena chose her words carefully as she cautiously moved another step backward from Frankie’s reach.
“No, I won’t face it. What you meant to say is you don’t want to call this wedding off. I don’t believe this.”
“Look, Frankie, listen to me. Please.” Rena inched in toward Frankie again like an earthworm trying to find its way back into the dirt from whence it came. “Frankie, believe me when I say this. I love you. You think I don’t remember what we’ve shared since we were fifteen years old? If only things were different. But they aren’t. So please try to understand.” Rena reached over and gently rubbed the tips of Frankie’s quivering fingers. Tears crested in Rena’s eyes as she witnessed the hurt etched across Frankie’s face.
“But how can you do this? How can you do this to us, Rena? You don’t love Stiles. He’s just convenient. You want him because of who he is and what he can provide for you. But love should mean more to you than a nice bank account or being the wife of the adopted son of the Senior Pastor of some hypocritical church.”
Shelia E Lipsey is a multi-award winning author, along with the 2009 SORMAG Readers’ Choice Awards for her novel My Son’s Wife. Black Pearls Magazine Top Book Shelf Award for her newest release Beautiful Ugly. Lipsey is also an inspirational speaker, professional proofreader, copyeditor and a literary expert. She attended Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi, graduating magna cum laude with a BBA degree. She has been actively writing and speaking most of her life. Lipsey has penned the following novels Into Each Life, Sinsatiable, My Son’s Wife, Beautiful Ugly, and her upcoming release is titled My Son’s Ex-Wife-The Aftermath. You can contact her at shelialipsey@yahoo.com or visit her online at www.perfectstoriesaboutimperfectpeople.com.
Shelia Lipsey Author of Beautiful Ugly 
The Manual Author Sherryle Kiser Jackson
Author and Poet Monda Raquel Webb lives in Rockville, Maryland. She works as a freelance consultant, sells real estate, and has been a featured Realtor® on several episodes of HGTV’s “Get it Sold”. She also performs her poetry at select venues in the Washington Metropolitan area. Monda is currently working on 7:33 am the Movie, an independent full-length feature film adapted from the novel by director Aimee Dixon - to be released in spring 2012.
Marian L. thomas Author of Color Me Jazzmyne 
Savvanah J. 
Tawana Jackson 
Katrina Burchett 
Author and Poet Rachel Berry 
Donneil Jackson 
Author JA Adams 
R. Jay Jay Johnson Caleb the hero from The Conductor, Truth Unveiled is back with his supernatural powers serving and protecting his neighbors and friends from the evils that plaque his community. Caleb's schizophrenia which enables him to supernaturally sense danger, senses that his friend Natalie is a victim of physical abuse. His attempt to rescue and protect her causes him to become a prime suspect in the disappearance of female victims in the neighbor. Caleb must try to protect Natalie and at the same time clear his name. Award: Voted "Best Young Adult" for 2010 according to Multicultural Literacy Adovacy Group Price: $11.00 Available: Available on Website: 
Poet Samika Lang 
Childrens Book Author Naana Kyereboah 
K.L. Brady 
Endy 
T.N. Williams 
Y. B. Taylor 
Ty Goode 
Denise Bolds 
Nikkea Smithers 
T.Nicole 
The1Essence 
DEEP SECRETSDetective Erika Griffin is torn between her career and her love life. Once she finds that her married lover, Detective Steven Reynolds, may be the prime suspect in a murder case she is working on, she must choose between her career and her love life. She must decide whether to believe the out of town stripper Renee or her lover. The Chief wants answers and wants them yesterday.
Synopsis My Son's Wife: First Lady Audrey Graham believes she's found the perfect woman to become her eldest son, Minister Stiles Graham's wife. Sweet, sensitive, kind, and of course a fine Christian girl, Audrey couldn't ask more of the lovely Rena Jackson. But skeletons fall from the closet when Audrey and Stiles discover that Rena is in love and committed to the troubled, rebellious, ex-con, Frankie. My Son's Wife is more than a love triangle, it's a time bomb set to explode with twists, turns, entanglements and sinful revelations that only a loving God can make right. Excerpt: My Son's Wife"It's not the tragedies that kill us. It's the messes." - D. Parker
