Connie Briscoe: My real name is Constance, but everyone has always called me "Connie." I was blessed with a wonderful upbringing. Although my immediate family is small--I have one sister--we are very close and supportive of each other.
The only thing unusual about my life was that I was born with a hearing loss, inherited from my father's side of the family. From childhood through my twenties, it was a moderate loss and I was able to attend public schools and to go on to college with few problems. When I was in my mid-twenties the loss worsened and by graduate school I needed a hearing aid. I eventually took a job at Gallaudet University and began to learn sign language. I never let my hearing loss hold me back from doing the things I wanted to do. I just adapted and plowed on.
I'm not sure when I first thought about being a writer. I've always had "a way with words" and took a few stabs at writing a novel when I was in my twenties, but I never finished--perhaps because I did not have enough life experience to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. I put it off and pursued other things--a brief marriage, my career, traveling around the world, photography--but the desire to write was always in the background. And although my career as an editor was progressing fairly well, I realized that I wanted more out of life. So I took another stab at writing.
This second attempt resulted in Sisters and Lovers, and to my amazement it eventually sold more than 100,000 hardcover and about a half million paperback copies. It appeared on the bestseller lists of the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly. My second novel, Big Girls Don't Cry, hit many of the bestseller lists as well, including the New York Times. A Long Way From Home, the story of my ancestors, was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
I live with my family in Maryland in a quiet community with beautiful pastoral views. Although I sometimes miss the hustle and bustle of the big city, it's the perfect setting for writing.
Les Brown, Connie Briscoe,
Gladys Knight
& Bebe Moore Cambell discuss Overcoming Life's Obstacles
Money
Can't Buy Love
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Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (June 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446534846
ISBN-13: 978-0446534840
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.1 x 9.5 inches
Lenora Stone used to say if she didn't have bad luck, she wouldn't have any luck
at all. At age thirty-eight, instead of socializing with Baltimore's A-list, she
photographs them for Baltimore Scene, a glossy magazine filled with beautiful
people who, unlike Lenora, never have to worry about car trouble and overdue
bills. As much as she'd love to slam the door on her overbearing boss, quitting
isn't an option. She's barely making her mortgage payments and, though her condo
might not be a palace, it's hers. Lately even things with her boyfriend Gerald
haven't been right. They've been together for three years but he can't seem to
ask the one question she's been waiting for. But what Lenora doesn't know is
that her luck is about to change...
Just when she thinks things can't get worse, Lenora wins the jackpot in the
Maryland lottery. In a heartbeat, all her dreams become possible. She quits her
job and indulges her every desire-starting with a shiny, silver BMW and a
million-dollar mansion. Gerald is finally ready to put a ring on her finger and
the city's most exclusive women's group is dying for her to join, officially
moving Lenora from behind the lens, into the limelight. But in Lenora's lavish
new world, all that glitters definitely isn't gold. Her old friend's are
concerned about her sudden changes, and Ray, a sexy, young landscaper Lenora
covered for the magazine is looking for more than a purely professional
relationship.
As her life starts to come together, the things Lenora holds dear begin to fall
apart. Has her world really changed for the better, or does fortune come with a
heavy price?
Sisters &
Husbands
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Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (June 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446534897
ISBN-13: 978-0446534895
Read an AALBC.com Book Review by Thumper and a 2nd review by Alisa Hyman
Read an Excerpt from Sisters & Husbands
Ten years have passed since Sisters and Lovers, and Beverly, now 39, is engaged to Julian, a man her family and friends agree is the epitome of a great catch: he's gorgeous, loyal, trustworthy, successful, and very much in love with her. Since this is Beverly's third engagement in the past five years, after breaking off the previous two at the last moment, everyone's happy that she's finally settling down. For Beverly and Julian, nothing could be better than being in love and planning their wedding. That is until Beverly's oldest sister's marriage falls apart and dampens the mood of what should have been the happiest time in Beverly's life. Now, second-guessing her impending nuptials, Beverly is forced to wonder if marriage really works. Will she stick it out? Or will her fears cloud her judgment once again?
Jewels:
50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50
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by Michael Cunningham, Connie Briscoe, Nikki Giovanni (Contribution by)
ISBN: 0316113042
Pub. Date: April 2007
Format: Hardcover, 224pp
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Jewels celebrates the spirit and achievements of mature African American women.
Photographer Michael Cunningham (coauthor of Crowns) and author Connie Briscoe, a New York Times bestselling novelist, profile fifty women over the age of fifty who have been remarkably successful'whether in reaching the top of the corporate ladder, finding fame in politics or the arts, or raising a son to be proud of a single mother'and reveal the ways that they have prevailed despite daunting obstacles. Their stories are paired with Cunningham's intimate portraits of the women.
Jewels includes well-known and little-known women alike'from teachers and
executives to artists, authors, and entertainers. Among the celebrities profiled
in the book are Ruby Dee, Eleanor Holmes Norton, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Marian
Wright Edelman. Coauthor Connie Briscoe also appears here as one of the featured
Jewels, telling her inspiring personal story. World-renowned poet, writer,
commentator, activist, and educator Nikki Giovanni contributes an original poem
to the book.
You
Only Get Better: The Perfect Life \ Three For The Road \ This Time Aroundz
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by Connie Briscoe (Author), Lolita Files (Author), Anita Bunkley (Author)
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Harlequin (March 1, 2007)
Format: Paperback, 320pp
ISBN-10: 0373830599
Three fascinating women discover that life, love and everything else gets
better with age!
Teacher Maxine Davis's life is careening out of control'her marriage is dull,
her teenage daughters are driving her insane and she is days away from her
fiftieth birthday. New York Times bestselling author Connie Briscoe spins a
compelling story of betrayal, forgiveness and redemption in "The Perfect Life,"
as Maxine discovers the glamorous life she's always coveted may be less
satisfying than the "good" life she's been living.
A nasty divorce and the tragic events of 9/11 help an empty nester see beyond
the narrow confines of her materialistic existence. In "Three for the Road,"
Essence and Blackboard bestselling author Lolita Files takes readers on a
breathtaking road trip to self-discovery with Lillibelle Goldman, as she meets
an unlikely kindred spirit who may hold the key to her second chance for
happiness.
In "This Time Around," by bestselling author Anita Bunkley, a successful career
woman proves that life doesn't end at forty. At forty-nine, Anika Redmond has
just received an extreme makeover and is looking good. With her hot body and
power job in place, learn if she gets the one thing in life that still eludes
her'a happy ending . . .
Can't
Get Enough
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ISBN: 0385501625
Format: Hardcover, 304pp
Pub. Date: April 26, 2005
Publisher: Doubleday & Company, Incorporated
"This romp of a read combines lush settings, humorous dialogue and outrageous behavior..." Ebony magazine wrote of P.G. County, Connie Briscoe's first excursion into the world of the overprivileged and undersatisfied inhabitants of an elite suburb of Washington, D.C. Readers will be delighted to learn that their mischievous machinations and meddlesome ways reach new heights'and sink to new depths'in Can't Get Enough, the much-anticipated follow-up to P.G. County.
Barbara Bentley, the grand dame of P.G. County, is tentatively embarking on a fresh approach to life, abandoning the alcohol that served to soften the edges of her marriage to her bimbo-loving millionaire husband, Bradford. She's been sober for a year, her part-time work as a real estate agent has boosted her self-confidence, and the unexpected attentions of a handsome young colleague have done wonders for her ego. For Jolene, Bradford's ambitious, conniving ex-mistress, the status she covets remains tantalizingly out of reach. Her decent, hard-working husband, Patrick, has left her for Pearl, a woman proud of her success as a beauty shop owner and eager to create a loving home for Patrick and his two mixed-up teenage daughters. Candice is trying to adjust to the recent discovery of her African American roots, an obsession that has alienated her husband and thrown her into the arms of a manipulative, unreliable lover.
As the characters slip in and out of their Pratesi sheets and stride into mayhem and misdeeds in their Jimmy Choo shoes, Can't Get Enough will hold readers spellbound. A delectable and scrumptious page-turner, it ushers in spring with the fabulous force of aGucci-clad lion.
P.G.
County
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Format: Hardcover, 368pp.
ISBN: 0385501617
Publisher: Doubleday & Company, Incorporated
Pub. Date: September 2002
Edition Description: 1ST
From the Publisher
Connie Briscoe's previous novels have won the accolades of critics,
positions on national bestseller lists, and the loyalty of millions of fans.
Essence magazine called Sisters and Lovers a frank and
funny tale, and Mademoiselle dubbed it "riveting ...lively...hilarious."
The San Francisco Chronicle had high praise for Big Girls
Don't Cry, declaring "[It] brims with warmth, energy, and a positive
message." With P.G. County, Briscoe serves up a sexy, lush, and irresistible
portrait of an elite African American community in Maryland.
Now meet the women of P. G. County:
Barbara Bentley is fifty, rich, fabulous, and the wife of the powerful
Bradford Bentley. She has more than enough trouble keeping track of her
handsome but all-hands husband while keeping her drinking problem in check
Pearl is a hairdresser who lives on the outskirts of the tony Silver Lake
with her grown son, Kenyatta. As Pearl strives to grow her business and
recover from a bad divorce, she also has to deal with Kenyatta's new
girlfriend, Ashley, who is not at all the match Pearl imagined for her son.
The married Jolene, the black-sheep daughter of a prominent judge, beds down
more than one promising candidate as she pursues a wealthy and powerful
replacement for her earnest and hardworking husband.
Candice Johnson is remarried, white, and liberal, at least she always
fancied herself as such until her daughter enters into a serious
relationship with a young black man, and Candice's life as she knows it is
suddenly called into question.
Lee is a teenager on the run from her mother's abusive boyfriend and in
search of her own father whom she believes to be handsome, rich, and
all-powerful.
A Long Way from Home
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ISBN: 0060172789
Format: Hardcover, 368pp
Pub. Date: August 1999
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Briscoe's A Long Way from Home was picked as AALBC.com's The Coffee Will Make You Black reading group selection for February 2000
Description from the Publisher:
A Long Way from Home recounts the joys, pain, and ultimate triumph of three
generations: Susie; her daughter, Clara; and her granddaughter, Susan. Born and reared as
house slaves on Montpelier, the Virginia plantation of President James Madison and his
wife, Dolley Madison, they are united by love, by a fierce devotion to each other and
their fellow slaves, and by a growing desire for freedom - a dream that will finally come
to fruition for Susan at the end of the Civil War. Trained as a house slave since
childhood, Susie enjoys the privileges that her position as maid to Miss Dolley provides
her and Clara. For Susie, life holds no mystery, no promise beyond the boundaries of the
plantation itself - a lesson she tries to impart to the dreamy Clara, who longs to control
her own destiny despite her mother's frightening admonition: "You don't know a thing
about freedom, 'cause I don't know anything about it. It takes money and know-how to live
free. You don't just up and do it." Life will change for both mother and daughter,
though, with the death of James Madison and the departure of his wife for her town house,
events that leave the estate in the hands of Dolley's profligate son, Todd. As a result of
his neglectful stewardship, the plantation soon falls to a series of owners, each posing a
new threat to Susie and Clara, and the other longtime Madison slaves with whom the two
women have shared their entire lives. Amidst these devastating changes, Clara grows into
womanhood and becomes a mother herself, giving birth to two light-skinned daughters, Ellen
and Susan. Yet the threat of separation that has shaped her life is soon a reality when
her younger daughter, Susan, is sold to a wealthy businessman in Richmond. Susan must
create a new life for herself in this bustling city, a life that will be filled with both
terror and hope. And it is in Civil War-torn Richmond that she
will find love and realize
the long-held dream of her ancestors: freedom.
Sisters
and Lovers
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ISBN: 0804113343
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 409pp
Pub. Date: January 1995
Publisher: The Random House Publishing Group
From the Publisher:
Beverly, Charmaine, and Evelyn are three sisters living in the same city, but in very
different worlds. They have at least one thing in common though: in their own corners of
Washington, D.C., they are reaching their personal breaking points. Beverly, twenty-nine,
is successful, reluctantly single, and perennially disappointed. Evelyn, thirty-seven, is
educated and ambitious, with a husband, two great kids, and a house in the suburbs; but
the secure world she has built for herself is quite possibly about to crumble. And
Charmaine, thirty-five, struggles to support her son as well as her useless husband, all
the while wondering what either of her sisters has to complain about. As this frank and
funny novel unfolds, Beverly will find and lose more men than she'd like to admit,
Charmaine will kick her husband out and let him back in more times than she'd like her
sisters to know about, and Evelyn will try to keep it a secret that her husband isn't Mr.
Perfect after all. But what these three women discover is that having a sister gives you
one of the few things you can really rely on. In Sisters & Lovers, debut novelist
Connie Briscoe has drawn a vivid and dramatic portrait that will make readers laugh out
loud and nod their heads in recognition. It is a novel that announces the welcome arrival
of a truly fresh new voice.
Big
Girls Don't Cry
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ISBN: 044900564X
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 403pp
Pub. Date: April 1999
Publisher: The Ballentine Publishing Group
From the Publisher:
Naomi Jefferson was born into a comfortable world only occasionally marred by racism -
even when she is called a nigger after wandering into the wrong neighborhood, she learns
not to let it touch her too deeply. As a teenager in the 1960s, her biggest concerns are
when she'll give up her virginity and if you really can't get pregnant the first time,
like her friends tell her. But when her adored older brother, Joshua, seemingly the
family's chosen one who is destined for greatness, is killed in a tragic car accident on
his way to a civil rights demonstration, the rift between black and white America suddenly
becomes personal. In an attempt to live up to Joshua's example, Naomi immerses herself in
1970s campus politics. But instead of finding herself, she loses her sense of who she is.
She's unsure how to negotiate her way through a world where brothers die for no good
reason and the one man she depends on most betrays her with another woman. Slapped in the
face with such harsh realities, Naomi makes a decision: Politics are useless, romance is
hopeless, and what she really needs is a career. But work and success in the 1980s aren't
all they're cracked up to be, particularly since the promotions keep going to the white
guys. Just when Naomi starts to think that the only person she can depend on is herself,
two people walk into her life who make her believe once again that anything worth having
is worth fighting for.
Related Links
Official Connie Briscoe Web Site
http://www.conniebriscoe.com/
Connie
Briscoe
In Her Own Words
"I was born in Washington, D.C., on New Year's Eve, 1952. A younger sister followed about twenty-two months later. I had a happy, normal childhood in every way. Although shy and quiet in my early years, I began to get a little rebellious in my teens -- but nothing far out of the ordinary.
