ReGeJe Press
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/regejepress/

"In the past few years, more books by and about African Americans have been published by mainstream publishers than at any other time. The "discovery" of American's vast Black readership has been the subject of many articles and several television shows. This discovery is being called a trend. Trends have beginnings and endings. We at ReGeJe Press know it's not a trend. We have always had a thirst for knowledge. When this "trend" has passed and mainstream publishers have moved on to address their next niche market, African American will continue to read, write and buy books. It is our vision to be in the marketplace offering consistently the books that reflect our varied lives, concerns, and dreams."

Email: regejepress@mailexcite.com

OUR SPRING 1998 LEAD TITLE

Maid In The Shade
(click title to order)
Jacqueline Turner Banks
Hardcover, 159pp.

Publishers Weekly Review

A children's book author (Egg Drop Blues, 1995, is the third in a series about twin African American middle-school boys) tries her hand at adult fiction in this mystery debut. Ruby Gordon is a college-educated  cleaning woman in Petite, Tenn. Ruby, a woman of substance (who also has a distinctive, appealing voice) is proud of her independence and her own home, which she shares with her sister Emerald. Upon learning that her best friend, Jan Channey, is being stalked and harassed, she borrows money from her employer and immediately flies to Oakland, Calif. to help. Afraid of nothing but bridges, Ruby confronts a local gang leader in his home and ends up cleaning his house in exchange for his protection of Jan's family. She takes on the Channey family's next-door neighbor and develops a plan to stop the stalker. Possessed of a quirky good humor delightfully expressed, Ruby herself is the main attraction in this shakily plotted tale. While too little action and too many digressions drag the pace, Ruby's patter nearly compensates. (May)