Eric Jerome Dickey is the author of more than twenty novels, most of which of which have been New York Times bestsellers. Dickey is also the author of a six-issue miniseries of comic books for Marvel featuring the X-Men's Storm, Dickey lives on the road. Dickey, originally from Memphis, Tennessee, has worked as a computer programmer, a middle school teacher, actor, and stand up comic before becoming a full-time novelist.
“I’m from Memphis TN, grew up on the south side, went to Riverview Elementary
and Junior High, dated, broke up, Carver High School, dated, broke up, went to
Memphis State (Now the University of Memphis), worked at Federal Express, was a
bill collector downtown at Lowenstein's (now closed), worked on campus at the
college game room, dated, broke up, dated, broke up, dated broke up, got a black
belt in karate from Kang Rhee karate institute, pledged A Phi A, dated, broke
up, dated, broke up, dated, broke up, graduated from MSU, got a job with
Rockwell (now Boeing), drove to Cali by myself, dated, broke up, dated, broke
up, dated, broke up, did stand-up comedy from Seattle to San Antonio, a touch of
acting on the side, dated, broke up, dated, broke up, dated broke up, lived in
Anahiem, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, Downey, Pomona, Phillps Ranch, Los Angeles,
worked as a substitute teacher, wrote a book -- the saga continues. My last
vacation was to Puerto Vallarta. If you go, two words – mosquito repellent.”
—Excerpted from Q&A at Chance 22 Publishing
Here Dickey talks about his novel Waking With Enemies with Troy Johnson, founder of AALBC.com and Sr. Book Editor for Harlem World Magazine. Taped August 7th 2007 (duration 2:58)
The
Education of Nia Simone Bijou
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Print Length: 106 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (February 14, 2013)
Sold by: Penguin Publishing
No one can argue Eric Jerome Dickey doesn’t know romance. For over
fifteen years, Dickey has written 25 sensuous, enthralling novels, 14 of
which have gone on to become New York Times bestsellers. As an undisputed
master of romance, he dominates a genre that has never been hotter. Essence
has described his novels as, “decadent, funny, and juicy,” and The New York
Times raved that Dickey has perfected “an addictive fictional formula.”
This February, Dickey gives his fans a special treat with his first-ever
Penguin Special, The Education of Nia
Simone Bijou. This new work delves into the past of one of Dickey’s
most beloved characters, Nia Simone Bijou, the intense and vivacious
Trinidadian writer from 2008’s Pleasure .
Before readers met her as the confident, ambitious, and irresistibly sexy
heroine of Pleasure and Dickey’s upcoming April 2013 novel Decadence, Nia
Simone Bijou was an innocent, wide-eyed young woman studying as an undergrad
at Virginia’s Hampton College. It’s there that she meets and falls madly in
love with Chris Eidos, a brilliant and charismatic athlete who will change
everything Nia once believed to be real and true.
Their relationship becomes deeply physical and intimate, and it’s not long
before Chris has Nia abandoning innocence for experience. Nia’s naïveté,
along with Chris’ convincing passion, leads her to believe that their
relationship will evolve into lifelong commitment. But when the Big Man on
Campus takes what is freely given, without regard to love, Nia finds herself
a student in Heartbreak 101. The Education of Nia Simone Bijou is a
stimulating tale of Nia’s life-changing lessons in first love, passion,
heartbreak and betrayal.
Decadence
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Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (April 23, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525953833
ISBN-13: 978-0525953838
New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey returns to the life of
Nia Simone Bijou (of Pleasure fame) as she embarks on a quest to enhance her
artistic gifts through heightened sensory experience, Hollywood-style.
Four years have passed since the events of Pleasure, and Nia’s success as a
writer has grown, bringing her from Atlanta to Los Angeles. But she remains
on a quest to quiet her inner storm, to draw on her well of emotions and
explore them fully before leaving this season of her life and moving on to
what could be the next stage: marriage and motherhood.
Drawn to an exclusive pleasure palace, where patrons try on roles as they
actively shun their respective realities, Nia’s ability to balance truth and
fantasy becomes increasingly blurred. What has happened to the compartments
she has so carefully created for the different aspects of her life? Will her
relationship with the mysterious, often unavailable Prada survive the
countless temptations? Will her successful literary career be given over to
impulse indulgence? Does decadence know any bounds?
When Nia’s past comes back to mingle with her present, and when her staid
public persona clashes with her fantasy life of decadence, readers will be
stunned by the outcome. Eric Jerome Dickey’s newest tale of excess—and its
sky-high costs—is a thrilling portrait of a glittering world.
An
Accidental Affair
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Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (Original April 17, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525952349
ISBN-13: 978-0525952343
In today’s celebrity obsessed culture, the dirty details of Katie Holmes and
Tom Cruise’s divorce might have seemed more important than the 2012
presidential election. Shedding a realistically harsh light on tabloid fame,
Dickey weaves a tale of another Hollywood power couple: James Thicke,
award-winning screenwriter, and Regina Baptiste, A-list actress.
There’s buzz around Regina’s starring role in his latest script alongside
heartthrob Johnny Bergs, but there’s one love scene they just can’t get
right. The actors improvise, take liberties with direction, and the
resulting infidelity is leaked to the press. Hours later the clip has gone
viral, and James is left looking the fool.
An Accidental Affair opens with a crazed James Thicke speeding away
in his Maybach, Johnny Bergs’ blood splattered all over his clothing. Unable
to escape the swarming paparazzi or the billboard-sized images of his
adulteress wife in Los Angeles, Thicke escapes to Downey, California—a
place where the sound of sirens and domestic disturbances rule the night,
and where nosy neighbors won’t leave their mysterious new resident alone.
Too juicy a story to let lie, the media continues to trumpet the affair,
threatening to shatter James’ sanity. Through violent visits from Johnny
Bergs’ brothers and menacing calls from Regina’s former lover, James is
forced to navigate the sordid characters of Hollywood’s underbelly to save
his marriage. Ultimately, he must decide if he loves her more than his
freedom, and if she loves him more than her career, because no affair is
ever accidental.
Tempted
by Trouble
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Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (August 17, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525950583
ISBN-13: 978-0525950585
New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey returns
with a flaming-hot stand-alone set in the world of conmen and thieves.
We can plan all we want, but sometimes fate has a different agenda...
Dmytryk was a respectable man... once. College educated, happily married, a
stable job at a car factory in Detroit. He's the king of the world with
nowhere to go but up. But when a crippling recession annihilates the auto
industry, Dmytryk and his wife Cora suddenly find themselves without jobs.
And after two years of trying to live honestly, they begin to realize that
honesty just doesn't pay the bills.
Afraid of losing her home and her marriage, Cora compromises her faith and
makes some choices that she isn't proud of. And when a powerful and ruthless
crime boss named Eddie Coyle gives them an opportunity to buy back their old
lives, Cora urges Dmytryk to man up. All he has to do is join Eddie's crime
ring and rob some banks: two minutes, in and out, nobody gets hurt. Torn
between desperation and his moral integrity, Dmytryk gives in, but no sooner
does he enter a life of crime than Cora abandons him, taking with her his
dreams for a better life and disappearing without a trace.
Now, more determined than ever to get his life back on track, Dmytryk is
only one bank job away from having enough money to leave Eddie Coyle and
find Cora. But when the job goes dangerously wrong, he realizes yet again
that destiny has another plan for him. Forced into seclusion with one of his
partners -- a dangerous and damaged woman with a plan of her own - Dmytryk
wonders if he'll ever find his way back to his old life. And in the end,
will he even want to?
Resurrecting
Midnight
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Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (August 25, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525950575
ISBN-13: 978-0525950578
International assassin Gideon spilled blood for the first time when he was seven
years old, with a single shot to the head of a man who was attempting to kill
the woman Gideon had known as his mother. The victim was none other than his own
father, a man of unspeakable evil. This pivotal event shaped Gideon throughout
his life, made him who he is, one of the fiercest, most feared hired guns in the
world.
And one of the most hunted.
After nearly losing his life in Antigua during a mission that went terribly
wrong, Gideon trusts no one. But when a former lover and grifter, Arizona,
resurfaces in need of his skills, she reminds him he was indebted to a man who
had once saved his life: the son of the legendary con-man Scamz. Gideon is
forced to take on an assignment which will lead him to Argentina in pursuit of a
briefcase containing one part of a larger puzzle. The "package" contains
material that another group of assassins — the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse —
will kill to obtain and protect. One of the leaders of the Four Horsemen has a
connection to Gideon that neither man is aware of — a connection that will be
exposed when they meet face-to-face and gun-to-gun. Each member of The Four
Horsemen is a world-class killer, each with a dark and dangerous past, and
nothing will stop that team of renegades from completing their mission.
As Gideon struggles to keep promises and uncover information about his past, he
finds himself at the center of the ultimate double-cross and he is forced to do
what he must to protect himself and those closest to him. Set amidst the exotic
and vibrant streets of Miami and Buenos Aires, Resurrecting
Midnight is an action-filled,
pulse- pounding thriller from bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey.
Dying
for Revenge
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Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (November 18, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525950869
ISBN-13: 978-0525950868
AAfter a bestselling doubleheader in 2007 with Sleeping with Strangers and Waking with Enemies (both reaching #9 on the New York Times bestseller list), Eric Jerome Dickey is back with the final installment in his thrilling trilogy—Dying for Revenge.
This fast-paced story about a steamy, seamy underworld of crime that spans the globe features the hit man Gideon, a character who captivated fans in the first two books, squaring off against his most intriguing adversary yet.
Pleasure
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Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (April 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525950451
Nia Simone Bijou is a woman who has it all—and is driven by the desire for
more. Born in Trinidad, reared in Los Angeles, and now living in Atlanta, Nia is
a writer, a thinker, and a woman in conflict. She struggles with both her
logical self—a woman who has never let go of an old heartbreak, and her sensual
self—a woman demanding intimacy and sexual freedom.
As intense loneliness and secret desires take hold, Nia is inspired to become
sexually adventurous. She embarks on three passionate and forbidden affairs.
Each lover teaches Nia valuable lessons about herself and her desires—but how
long can Nia play with fire without getting burned?
When fantasies spiral out of control, Nia’s search for sexual satisfaction
becomes a dangerous game of jealousy and possession. With her life on the line,
Nia discovers that pleasure never comes without pain.
Set against a sweltering Atlanta summer, and brimming with Dickey’s signature
exploration of complex relationships, Pleasure is a journey into a world of
passion, obsession, and intimacy. Readers will love following Nia as she
explores the depths of her desires—this red-hot read is sure to keep readers
turning page after steamy page.
“A steamy romance…catchy narration…delivers its message that saying ‘yes’ to
pleasure can also lead to self-enlightenment.”—Publishers Weekly
“Will leave you hot and bothered…”—Kirkus Reviews
Waking
with Enemies
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Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (August 7, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525950389
Ten-time New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey sizzles in this rapid-fire sequel to Sleeping with Strangers, which finds international hit man Gideon waking up with his past haunting him and danger knocking at his door.
A heated encounter inside a London hotel room (where he was pursued by three very different women) leaves Gideon waking up to a world where there’s no one to trust. Someone has taken out a hit on the hit man—but who? The clock is ticking as Gideon tries to pin down the man who was sent to kill him – a mysterious man with a broken nose who shadows his every move – while also finding out who from his past might have ordered the hit. Could it be the man he left alive in Tampa, the woman who taught him to kill, the scorned woman he still desires, or some other unseen enemy? As the hunter becomes the hunted, Gideon will need to find his friends—and his enemies—to get out of the game alive.
From the back streets of London to Amsterdam’s red light
district, Waking with Enemies is an international game of cat and mouse,
in which Gideon must protect those he loves and face the possibility of his own
death.
Eric Jerome Dickey on Why Every Writer Needs an Editor
Sleeping
With Strangers
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ISBN: 0525949992
Pub. Date: April 10, 2007
Format: Hardcover, 336pp
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
From Thieves' Paradise to Drive Me Crazy to Chasing Destiny (which reached #6 on the New York Times list – his eighth bestseller), Eric Jerome Dickey has captivated audiences with his edgy, steamy books.
Dickey's fans will be delighted by this fast-paced, deadly, and sensual read that gives them the chance to catch up with some of their favorite characters while introducing a great new bad-boy narrator: a hit man who goes by the name of Gideon. He's a man who lives off the grid, drifting along while making love on the run as he works as a hit man – enacting the revenge of the broken-hearted...for a price.
WWith a supporting cast of grifters and killers, broken-hearted squares and streetwalkers, and three very different women who each want to become Gideon's leading lady, this is a world that thrives on the darker passions of revenge and desire.
Chasing
Destiny
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ISBN: 052594950X
Format: Hardcover, 432pp
Pub. Date: April 2006
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Eight-time New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome
Dickey's new novel is filled with intrigue, speed, and sex appeal. And an
unforgettable female narrator rides her sexy yellow motorcycle right through it
all.
Billie (aka "Ducati") is known as much for her extraordinary beauty as for the
sexy yellow motorcycle she rides through the mean streets of Los Angeles. Tough,
talented, and self-assured, Billie's used to doing things her way-but that was
before love threw an oil slick in the road and spun her life into chaos.
Billie's first problem is simple: she's pregnant.
Her second problem is that her lover, Keith, is still married.
Keith has some "things" to deal with, and the people in his life are dark and
duplicitous enough to take matters into their own hands, determined to keep
Billie from having her baby. Billie suddenly finds herself confronted, attacked,
run off highways, threatened and shadowed. Keith still has ties to his
manipulative wife, Carmen, and he adores his fifteen-year-old daughter Destiny.
Will he do the right thing by his new family, or stand by his old one?
Soon all eyes shift as everyone finds themselves desperately chasing Destiny, a
troubled and deceptive girl dancing on the edge of womanhood. When the rubber
meets the road, everyone's fighting dirty for what they want...and they're all
willing to destroy their enemy or go down in flames to get it.
Voices
from the Other Side: Dark Dreams II
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by Eric Jerome Dickey (Contributor), Tananarive Due (Contributor), L.A. Banks (Contributor), Brandon Massey (Editor)
ISBN: 0758212321
Format: Paperback, 336pp
Pub. Date: April 2006
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Book Description
BEYOND THE SHADOWS...they linger, showing themselves only to those brave enough
to perceive them...willing to see beyond human existence and into the heart of
darkness. Feel the racing pulse in the primal desire of werewolves. Embrace the
aura of two gifted women as they unleash power beyond imagining. Savor the aroma
of otherworldly flora planted in a unique patch of earth.
THEY WALK THE NIGHT...prepared to face terrors humans were never meant to confront. Chant with an African mystic as he protects his people from an entity of unbridled malice. Ride the dusty trails of the Old West in pursuit of monstrous legends. Sail on a ship of damned souls as it languishes in the depths of forbidden waters. From the untamed wilderness of ancient times to the concrete jungles of today, these seventeen excursions into nightmares will keep you awake long past the midnight hour--and praying for daylight...
Genevieve
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ISBN: 0525948783
Format: Hardcover, 304pp
Pub. Date: May 2005
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Book Description
Eric Jerome Dickey, the six-time New York Times bestselling author of Drive Me
Crazy, returns with a sizzling new novel of romance and betrayal.
Just how well do we ever really know the person sleeping next to us?
Sometimes we know everything.
Sometimes we can never know enough.
In Genevieve, Eric Jerome Dickey has crafted a masterfully twisted tale of
intrigue, hidden identities, and self-discovery. It’s the tale of a man torn
between the love of his beautiful wife and the sudden arrival of his wife’s
sister—a mysterious and provocative woman who offers him the passion he craves,
but at a steep price.
Both women harbor secrets, the answers to which appear to lie in a small
Southern town filled with darkness, danger, and the promise of pain. Soon
nothing is as it seems and no one is who they claimed to be, including the man
caught in the middle. As the truth bubbles closer to the surface, everyone’s
world threatens to fall apart.
In a story packed with revelations at every turn, Eric Jerome Dickey takes us on a journey filled with deception, careening down a highway bound for destiny . . . and disaster.
Drive
Me Crazy
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ISBN:
0525947906
Format: Hardcover, 380pp
Pub. Date: July 2004
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Dickey's tenth novel is packed with twists and turns, filled with titillations and poignancy. Drive Me Crazy is the latest example that "Dickey is an excellent writer at the top of his game." (Chicago Defender)
After his blockbuster holiday novel, Naughty or Nice, New York Times bestselling
author Eric Jerome Dickey is serving up his new novel with style, sexiness, and
a bit of grit. “Driver” is an ex-con trying to make his life right but who
shares an expensive secret and a past affair with his boss's wife-a woman who is
nothing but trouble. Dickey's rich characters jump off the page, making readers
feel as if they are present in the hustle-filled pool hall, the bedroom, and the
Lincoln Town Car that Driver chauffeurs his wealthy and notorious clients around
in.
Dickey's millions of readers will be happy to see the reappearance of a femme
fatale from Thieves' Paradise, who adds spice and surprises every time she turns
up. This is Dickey writing at his best-a fast-paced novel of raw emotions,
softened as always with his incomparable humor and characters you will always
remember. impressive ‘outside of the box' novel while still in keeping with
Dickey's passionate, sensual, rhythmic, comical, mellifluous prose that is sure
to give him an even greater base.
Naughty
or Nice
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ISBN: 0525947760
Format: Paperback, 176pp
Pub. Date: October 27, 2003
Publisher: Dutton
Making a list? Checking it twice? Eric Jerome Dickey knows who's naughty or
nice.
The New York Times bestselling author promises to deliver all the humor,
heart, and superb storytelling that have made him one of the biggest names in
African-American fiction. Wrapped up in a gift-sized, gift-priced, beautiful
package, Naughty or Nice has all the elements Eric Jerome Dickey's fans
have come to love-humor, heart, and soul, with a considerable dose of spice to
thaw out those cold winter nights. Hot on the heels of his surefire summer
blockbuster, The Other Woman, Naughty or Nice is the present every Dickey
fan will want to give as a gift (and keep for themselves)!
The
Other Woman
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ISBN: 0525947248
Format: Hardcover, 304pp
Pub. Date: May 2003
Publisher: Dutton
Read an AALBC.com Review by Thumper
Eric Jerome Dickey strides boldly over the minefield that is modern marriage. The central couple's biggest challenge is timing: He works days; she works nights. They're rapidly drifting apart, coexisting on phone calls from work, punctuated by occasional bedroom encounters that leave them both feeling even emptier and more alone. When she finds out about his affair -- and starts her own -- the delicate fabric of their marriage is torn irrevocably asunder. Or is it? What begins as a seemingly unforgivable betrayal segues into the sexy, searing story of a couple at a pivotal turning point in their relationship. Only time will tell whether they'll let go...or can hold on to the love that drew them together in the first place.
Certain to resonate with readers of all marital persuasions, The Other Woman sparkles with humor, honesty, and compassion as a couple faces the challenges that test their trust, their faith, and their staying power.
Thieves’
Paradise
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Format: Hardcover, 320pp.
ISBN: 0525946632
Publisher: Dutton/Plume
Pub. Date: May 2002
Read an AALBC.com review by Thumper
"Thieves' Paradise is an awesome book. I was left ecstatic and wholly satisfied... A couple of years ago I stated on the discussion board that Dickey would grow as an author. Starting with last year's Between Lovers and now Thieves' Paradise, Dickey is bearing me out and proving to be one of our best writers." -Thumper
Twenty-five-year-old Dante Brown is down and out in L.A. After doing a stretch of hard time in juvenile jail, he cleaned up his act as a computer techie-only to be laid off when the economy went south. Now he's facing a mountain of unpaid bills, a car on its last legs, imminent eviction, and a snowball's chance in hell with Pam, a sexy waitress/actress on the hunt for a man with means.
Enter Scamz, a slick brother from Dante's checkered past whose successful, illegal business associations keep him in custom-tailored suits, a Benz CL600, and a lavish Hollywood mansion with his pick of gorgeous women. Dante is determined to stay straight...after one last con that could put him back on top. But he gets pulled in deeper when his old friend Jackson, who's $16,000 behind in child support, becomes part of the sting. The icing on the cake is Pam who, seduced by the easy money, suddenly finds Dante irresistible...until everything goes wrong.
Griots
Beneath the Baobab: Tales from Los Angeles
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Randy Ross (Editor)
Paperback: 190 pages
Publisher: Larod Publishing Company (April 5, 2002)
ISBN-10: 0966267516
ISBN-13: 978-0966267518
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
Griots Beneath the Baobab, the latest anthology published by International Black Writers and Artists of Los Angeles (IBWA-LA), honors the creative spirit of some of America's most insightful griots—by way of L.A. Griots features powerful stories by noted, award-winning, and best-selling writers Donald Bakeer, Octavia E. Butler, Wanda Coleman, Stanley Crouch, Eric Jerome Dickey, Sikivu Hutchinson, Silas Jones, Erin Aubry Kaplan, Gary Phillips, Randy Ross, Jervey Tervalon, and Ellery Washington.
Between Lovers
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Format: Hardcover, 320pp.
ISBN: 0525946039
Publisher: Dutton/Plume
Pub. Date: June 2001
With each new novel, Eric Jerome Dickey has established himself as one of the freshest and most exciting writers on America's contemporary fiction scene. His latest book is no exception. Set in the San Francisco Bay area, Between Lovers brings together three irresistible characters. The novel's narrator-a Los Angeles-based writer-is still reeling from being dumped by Nicole after seven good years followed by an aborted trip to the altar. Nicole grew up during their time together, and changed-she became a successful career woman, moved north to Oakland, and fell in love with another woman. But she's still not satisfied. She likes what she has, but misses what she had, and wants to find out if she can have it all. She's playing with fire, not to mention the feelings of the two people who love her most in the world, but Nicole lures her former fiancé back into her new life, opening the floodgates of anger, passion, pain...and refreshing honesty. How these three fascinating people handle this unusual and complex love triangle makes for one of Dickey's most provocative and unforgettable novels.
Liars
Game
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Format: Hardcover, 336pp.
Publisher: N A L
Pub. Date: June 2000
Eric Jerome Dickey is burning up the charts and
poised to become a household name. His previous two books hit bestseller lists
across the country, and reviewers from coast to coast call his work "compelling"
(USA Today), "remarkable" (Detroit Free Press), and "deftly crafted" (Ebony).
Brimming with contemporary issues, steamy romance, stinging betrayal, and sweet
redemption, Liar's Game is a book that has everything his millions of fans have
come to expect.
Running from a bad relationship that lasted way too long, New York native Dana
Ann Smith leaves the city and moves to Los Angeles--the perfect place to start
over with a new atmosphere, a new job, and a new man. When she meets Vincent
Calvary Browne, Jr., he seems like a dream come true: handsome, hardworking with
a good job, and sexy in a strong, silent kind of way. But that silence also
means he's not letting Dana in on a few important things about his life. When
both Dana's former lover and Vince's ex-wife suddenly come to town, the two must
confront painful truths about their pasts and open their hearts and souls to
each other with a new honesty. Only then will they have a fighting chance at a
future together.
Cheaters
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Format: Hardcover, 224pp.
Publisher: NAL
Pub. Date: June 1999
Cheaters, Eric Jerome Dickey's latest exploration of affairs of the heart, begins in familiar territory yet ultimately develops into an unusual, sharp, and nuanced portrait of love lost and found. A large cast of upwardly mobile 20-something African Americans populates the novel. For them, airy southern California is a land of obvious pleasures: fancy cars, beautiful condos, and sleek hangouts. Regrettably, such pleasures are temporary, for theirs is also a world marred by duplicitous love affairs and betrayed
Dickey’s fourth novel easily fulfills the expectations created by his earlier work (Milk in My Coffee, 1998, etc.) and introduces a fresh sobriety to his talent for dialogue and character in a tale of duplicitous love. His people are African-American Los Angelenos in their late 20's with advanced degrees, hard bodies, and substantial sexual appetites, making for plenty of bedroom gymnastics as the novel develops. Stephan, a software designer, lives by the creed his father taught him: “Find ’em, Fool ’em, Fuck ’em, Forget ’em.” Through the course of the story, he applies this quaint adage to Brittany, Toyomi, and Samantha, but is stopped cold by Chante, an accountant with a major firm, who captures his body and heart. The sex is great, but the two carry healing hearts into their affair, which makes for Dickey’s most subtly written pages. The marriage of Darnell and Dawn, friends of Stephan’s, is a close second: a lawyer with the FAA, Darnell spends his evenings tapping out a novel while Dawn, hoping for a child, resents the intrusion of her husband’s “hobby” into her plans. With Dawn’s indifference to his art, Darnell is deeply attracted to Tammy, a friend of Chante’s. In Stephan’s life, Jake remains at the periphery, haunted by dreams of the aborted children that line the trail of Stephan’s squiring; while from the sidelines of Chante’s life, the celibate and insecure Karen lobs acid comments on her friends’ sexual lives. In this dense and smoothly done work, each of the characters remains distinct, and heat is generated less by the crackling dialogue than by the inevitable clashes between their ideas about love, loyalty, and commitment. A thoughtful step forward for its author, Dickey’s story depicts love as a world of hurt broken up by the hesitant joys available. —Kirkus
Milk
in My Coffee
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Publisher: Penguin USA
Date Published: September 1998
Format: Trade Cloth
From the Publisher: Fresh from his small hometown in Tennessee where
the color line is still a barrier folks don't cross, Jordan Greene was in
culture shock when he first arrived in Manhattan. Now he's gotten used to the
Big Apple's rough edges. He has a great friend named Solomon and a good job at a
computer company way down on Wall Street, a pretty long ride from his apartment
in Queens. Even longer is the growing distance between Jordan and his girlfriend
J'nette. Then Kimberly walks into his life. She's a funny, spunky artist,
gorgeous with her long red hair and Irish cream skin. That's the problem,
especially for a man with Malcolm X's picture on his office wall: Kimberly
Chavers is white. Falling hard and fast for a black man is only part of
Kimberly's problem. She has secrets she doesn't intend to share; and a past she
hasn't put to rest. But soon neither she nor Jordan are listening to their heads
- only their hearts. That means facing the fallout from friends and families who
don't understand, along with a truth that will shake Jordan's faith to the
core... and test the true power of love.
Tennessee native Jordan Greene is living the good life as a single, successful young professional in New York City. He has a great job and a best friend who's closer than a brother, but his rollercoaster relationship with J'nette is on a first-class trip to nowhere. Then he meets Kimberly, a fiery, talented artist with gorgeous long red hair and Irish cream skin. What starts as a shared cab ride turns into a long night of talking and laughing from the heart-- and that's a problem for a man with a picture of Malcolm X on his office wall. As romance blooms, Jordan reluctantly crosses the color barrier in search of true love, and finds himself confronting long-hidden issues in himself while dealing with friends and family who are none-too-keen on his new girlfriend. Once again, Eric Jerome Dickey explores a serious subject with his signature light touch, and taps a range of emotions from fragile heartbreak to powerful laughter in this deeply affecting tale of love...with a twist.
Fresh from his small hometown in Tennessee where the color line is still a barrier folks don't cross, Jordan Greene was in culture shock when he first arrived in Manhattan. Now he's gotten used to the Big Apple's rough edges. He has a great friend name Solomon and a good job at a computer company 'way down on Wall Street, a pretty long ride from his apartment in Queens. Even longer is the growing distance between Jordan and his girlfriend J'nette. Then Kimberly walks into his life. She's a funny, spunky artist, gorgeous with her long red hair and Irish cream skin. That's the problem, especially for a man with Malcolm X's picture on his office wall: Kimberly Chavers is white.
Falling hard and fast for a black man is only part of Kimberly's problem. She's wary of falling for any man at all. She has secrets she doesn't intend to share, and a past she hasn't put to rest. With so much unfinished business in her life, she isn't sure she wants to start a new relationship. But soon neither she nor Jordan are listening to their heads -- only their hearts. That means facing the fallout from friends and families who don't understand, along with a truth that will shake Jordan's faith to the core.. and test the true power of love.
A provocative, true-to-life story of race and desire, love and commitment that gets the poignancy and complexity of relationships just right, Milk in My Coffee is Eric Jerome Dickey's most entertaining and heartfelt novel yet. He writes about intimacy and emotions with striking authenticity and a canny wisdom that reveals what goes on in the minds and souls of brothers... and the women who touch and transform their lives.
Sister,
Sister
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Amazon
Publisher: NAL/Dutton
Date Published: November 1997
Format: Mass Market Paperbound
From the Publisher: One of the most intuitive and hilarious new voices in African-American fiction, Eric Jerome Dickey crosses the gender line to meet Waiting to Exhale head-on. Sister, Sister is his sexy, funny, and scathingly realistic novel about sisters in today's L.A. - and the brothers who think they have them all figured out. Not yet thirty, perky, pretty Valerie, aka "Red," dropped out of college, cut her hair, and played at being the perfect housewife just to please her husband, Walter. His pro football career has gone nowhere; and he's got an attitude - it's all Valerie's fault. Valerie is standing by her man, although most of the time Walter parks himself in front of the TV. She wants to fight for her marriage. But another contender has entered the ring. His name is Daniel, and he wants to have an affair. Valerie's social worker sister, Inda (that's Linda without the L), has a different problem. His name is Raymond. He's got a great body, smooth moves, sweet talk - and another girlfriend on the side. Things are about to get down and dirty when Inda comes face-to-face with the "other woman." Chiquita is an airline flight attendant having a long-distance relationship with a great guy - a great guy except he just smacked her. He says it was an accident. She tells him to hit the road. The antidote for her broken heart may be Thaddeus, Inda and Valerie's brother. So why is Chiquita about to turn down this good man for a bad one? The answer lies back in Memphis, and no jet plane can fly fast enough to keep the past from catching up to her. Now these sisters' lives and loves are coming together in Los Angeles, where getting it on and getting it together seem like irreconcilable differences.
Sassy, comical, and true-to-life, SISTER, SISTER tells the tale of three young African-American womenùperky wife Valerie, scheming social worker Inda, and broken-hearted flight attendant Chiquitaùand how their lives are coming together, and apart, in Los Angeles. Fresh and in-your-face, this witty novel depicts a world where women sometimes have to alter their dreams, but never have to stop embracing the future
Friends
and Lovers
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Amazon
Publisher: NAL/Dutton
Date Published: August 1998
Format: Mass Market Paperbound
From the Publisher: When Debra meets Leonard, she has just gotten off the sex-before-marriage merry-go-round. If he wants to ride, he'll have to produce the gold ring. A successful comedian with complications of his own, Leonard isn't laughing when he faces that moment in every man's life when he has to decide what matters most - and whether he's ready for the love of a good woman. A book that doesn't diss sisters or brothers, Friends and Lovers tells a story that is real, honest, and brimming with emotion. This is a wise and witty look at the human condition from a writer who doesn't make gender an issue, meerly a difference to celebrate.
In this sexy, soulful tale of love, betrayal, and friendship set in modern-day Los Angeles, the lives of four young African-Americans--two men and two women--are chronicled through the love and the laughter, as well as the heartache and pain of not-so-everyday life. A witty, honest portrait of contemporary mores and humanity in which the gender gap isn't merely investigated, but celebrated.
Related Links
Eric Jerome Dickey Official Website
EEric Jerome Diceky Reviews and more on AALBC.com
Dickey with AALBC.com Founder,Troy Johnson
(August 2007)
