#11 - One Blood
By Qwantu Amaru
Print Length: 488 pages
Publisher: The Pantheon Collective (TPC Books) (November 29, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
For every action...
Lincoln Baker, born a ward of the state, has gone from orphan, to gang
banger, to basketball superstar, to lifer at the Louisiana State
Penitentiary in the space of eighteen years. During his prison term, he
meets Panama X, a powerful and mysterious father figure who gives Lincoln a
reason for living - he must assassinate Randy Lafitte, the sitting Governor
of Louisiana.
There is an equal and opposite reaction...
Lincoln orchestrates the kidnapping of Karen Lafitte, Randy's only daughter.
But Randy Lafitte is a man who built his fortune by resurrecting a family
curse from slavery to kill his own father. A curse that may or may not have
been responsible for his son Kristopher's death in the gang crossfire that
sent Lincoln to prison for life. Randy will stop at nothing to save his
daughter, even if it means admitting the curse is real. Even if it means
committing greater atrocities.
Too bad for anyone stuck in the middle.
Three days after Karen's kidnapping, an explosive cocktail of revenge,
manipulation, serendipity, fate, truth, and redemption detonates throughout
Louisiana. When the dust settles, the ending is as unexpected as it is
illuminating. There are secrets sealed in our blood, you see. The best
answers, as always, lie within.
#12 - Going Home
Print Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Moon Child Books; 1 edition (February 4, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Thalia Allen has lost her mind. At least that’s what her granddaughter
thinks. And what her friends think. Sometimes, she thinks so, too. How could
she have invited a homeless man to move into her home?
During her thirty-year career, sometimes only her dream of retirement and
travelling the world kept her sane. That dream was dashed only months into
her retirement, when she assumed custody of teenaged, and wild, Mishay. Two
years later, they have settled into a routine of constant school and church
activities.
Hurricane Katrina blew into New Orleans. Then, the levees broke, flooding
the city. As its disbelieving residents suffered unspeakable horror, the
rest of the nation watched the government’s impotent response. Thousands of
Americans gave aid and comfort in ways big and small. More than 4,000
evacuees found shelter in the Austin Convention Center. At her pastor’s
urging, Thalia volunteers at the shelter, dragging a reluctant Mishay along.
Joe Lambert just wants to go home. Living in a shelter and other people’s
clothes has rubbed him raw. A proud man who works for what he wants, Joe
refuses to accept hand-outs and pity. When Thalia offers him work, he jumps
on it. But when she invites him to move into her home, even Joe wonders if
she has lost her mind.
#13 - Confessions of a Video Vixen
Print Length: 224 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books (October 13, 2009)
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers
Part tell-all, part cautionary tale, this emotionally charged memoir from a
former video vixen nicknamed 'Superhead' goes beyond the glamour of
celebrity to reveal the inner workings of the hip-hop dancer industry - from
the physical and emotional abuse that's rampant in the industry, and which
marked her own life - to the excessive use of drugs, sex and bling.
Once the sought-after video girl, this sexy siren has helped multi-platinum
artists, such as Jay-Z, R. Kelly and LL Cool J, sell millions of albums with
her sensual dancing. In a word, Karrine was H-O-T. So hot that she made as
much as $2500 a day in videos and was selected by well-known film director
F. Gary Gray to co-star in his film, A Man Apart, starring Vin Diesel. But
the film and music video sets, swanky Hollywood and New York restaurants and
trysts with the celebrities featured in the pages of People and In Touch
magazines only touches the surface of Karrine Steffans' life.
Her journey is filled with physical abuse, rape, drug and alcohol abuse,
homelessness and single motherhood - all by the age of 26. By sharing her
story, Steffans hopes to shed light on an otherwise romanticised industry
and help young women avoid the same pitfalls she encountered. If they're
already in danger, she hopes to inspire them to find a way to dig themselves
out of what she knows first-hand to be a cycle of hopelessness and despair.
#14 - Kindred
Print Length: 287 pages
Publisher: Beacon Press; 25th Anniversary edition (February 1, 2004)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.
#15 - Thug Matrimony
by Wahida Clark
Print Length: 287 pages
Publisher: Kensington Books (April 1, 2007)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Essence® best-selling author Wahida Clark has got her finger on ghetto pulse.
In her series on sisters trying to rise above the streets, she portrays a
raw and true-to-life world where love can be just as dangerous as the men
who cause it...
Angel, Jaz, Tasha, and Kyra are living proof that hope is more than a word.
The four girlfriends are pulling themselves out of the ghetto--and trying to
bring their hearts up to higher ground with them. But sometimes the past
ain't in no mood to let go...
Angel has met the brother of her dreams--after living through a nightmare
with Snake. Believing that pimp is dead, Angel has moved on. She's starting
her own law practice and a new life with Kaylin, a drug dealer who's stepped
outta the game to run a recycling business and a hot new record label.
But the past is never far from Kaylin, and when an unwanted guest crashes
their wedding, all the rage and bloodlust from the hood comes bustin'
out--and Angel's gonna need every prayer in heaven to make it to the
altar...
#16 - The Mis-Education of the Negro
Print Length: 108 pages
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Carter Godwin Woodson (1875-1950) was an influential African-American
historian and writer. The son of slaves, Woodson was the second
African-American to earn an Ph.D. from Harvard (the first being W.E.B.
duBois). Woodson was among the first scholars to study African-American
history, and has been called "the father of black history."
In THE EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO PRIOR TO 1861, Woodson examines eduction (and
lack thereof) for African-Americans prior to the Civil War. Woodson notes
the systematic dismantling of educational opportunities for slaves in the
South after the 1830s, offset somewhat with increasing opportunities in the
Free States.
#17 - Been So Long
Print Length: 236 pages
Publisher: Pink Cashmere Publishing Co. (January 25, 2012)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
A woman, her married lover, an ex-boyfriend, and the ties that bind them
together....
Mona-Lisa Dandridge left her past life behind her years ago and never looked
back. But when unforeseen circumstances throw her into the path of a former
lover, she is forced to not only face her past, but to relive it. An
unlikely love triangle ensues leaving her questioning the decisions she once
thought were sound. Will Mona-Lisa make a change or stay the course with her
lover? *this is not your ordinary inspirational novel*
Excerpt:
I could see the coach leaning over, placing red, white, and blue basketballs
on a rack. He was tall, maybe 6'2”, and very muscular. He exhibited pure
power. He must've logged in several hours a week at the gym. He wore black
track pants and a tight black t-shirt. His arms were so huge, it looked like
they were going to burst out of their sleeves. From that angle, I had a
perfect view of his perfect butt. Now, I loved me some Wasif, but this man
was fine!
We were only a few feet away from him when Morgan said, “Coach, this is our
mom.”
The coach turned around and faced me with a bright smile. A handsome face to
match that body. Mm mm mm.
He extended his hand. “Mrs. Dandridge?” he said, but as soon as the words
left his mouth, his smile disappeared. His eyes changed. Do I know this man?
#18 - Church Boyz - Book 1 (Rod of the Wicked)
#19 - Déjà
Print Length: 154 pages
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
After witnessing the murder suicide of her parents at age 10, being mistreated by her grandmother and betrayed in past relationships, Déjà finally found peace in her life. Her best friend Jade introduced her to Xavier Jones. He was the partner/cousin of Jade s boyfriend Jay. She got everything a woman could ever want; the man, the ring, and the baby, but Jay s ex Mona felt that was her position and she wouldn't stop until she reclaimed the spot. Xavier and Jay had recently retired from the drug game as millionaires but that came with a price and much drama. Xavier s baby mama Latasha wasn t too happy about him either and about him settling down with Déjà. She felt she had the baby, so she should have the man as well and she tried everything in her power to break them up until she realized the joke was on her, but it was too late...
#20
- The Perfect Marriage
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Print Length: 193 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; 1 edition (January 8, 2013)
Sold by: Hachette Book Group
Denise and Derrek Shaw are the perfect American couple. Happily married for 15 years, they have a wonderful daughter, successful careers, and a beautiful house. They also have a shocking secret: a dangerous addiction to drugs. Denise and Derrek attend Narcotics Anonymous meetings, but with Denise's job becoming more stressful, it is the drugs that allow her to get through her long days. Then Derrek, who has been clean for weeks, relapses when there is a family tragedy. Once soul mates, this husband and wife are quickly losing the immense love they once felt for each other. With her parents spiraling out of control, their daughter, Mackenzie, makes an unexpected move to take matters into her own hands. Is there still hope and a final chance to save the Shaw family?