211 Books Published by Author Solutions on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

Click for more detail about The Alford Plea: Speculative Biographical Fiction by Edwina Louise Dorch The Alford Plea: Speculative Biographical Fiction

by Edwina Louise Dorch
Xlibris (Oct 18, 2023)
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The Alford Plea (Speculative Biographical Fiction)

Edwina Louise Dorch Author & Psychologist

A jailed, but innocent man’s children are being murdered one by one.

But Who is murdering them?

  • The Police?
  • Business Competitors?
  • Members of “The Dark Triad”?

Were his children murdered in retaliation for his wrongful arrest and conviction lawsuit?

Can his wife—an “empath”—or local clerics help right the many wrongs that have accumulated over time?

Help gather evidence to release an innocent man. Help search for the murderers of his children.

Come. Read this fast-paced novella - a 21st Century, “whodunit”. The Search is on!


Click for more detail about So Many Angels by Maurice W. Dorsey So Many Angels

by Maurice W. Dorsey
Xlibris (Jun 12, 2023)
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Click for more detail about Zelma’s Aphorisms: Old School Wisdom, Instructive, Inspirational, Hilarious, to Outrageous by Maurice W. Dorsey Zelma’s Aphorisms: Old School Wisdom, Instructive, Inspirational, Hilarious, to Outrageous

by Maurice W. Dorsey
Xlibris (Sep 02, 2022)
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Zelma’s Aphorisms: Old-School Wisdom, Instructive, Inspirational, Hilarious to Outrageous

Zelma’s Aphorisms draws inspiration from the Book of Proverbs, the timeless book of wisdom for living. Within its teachings, one can find invaluable guidance on various aspects of life, including folly, sin, goodness, wealth, poverty, the tongue, pride, humility, justice, vengeance, strife, gluttony, love, lust, laziness, friends, family, life, and death. Every facet of human relationships is mentioned in the Book of Proverbs, and its teachings remain applicable to all individuals, transcending time and space.

For Zelma, the journey to creating her personal collection of sayings began shortly after her mother’s passing when she was only eight years old. Although her aphorisms may not possess the same refinement as the Bible, she cleverly developed a style that resonated with her younger sibling and, later, her own children. As a writer, I have personally lived by and been greatly influenced by my mother’s sayings. Some of these aphorisms are her own creations, while many were passed down from her father, husband, and even strangers she encountered.

One thing that may be missing for the reader is the inflection of her voice combined with the words. In certain instances, my mother had the charisma of a professional entertainer. However, within her family, she was known for being friendly, kind, generous, and full of love for everyone. She dutifully fulfilled her roles as a daughter, sister, wife, and mother. Born and raised in Washington, DC, she was a member of the Methodist Church, both in Washington, DC, and Bel Air, Maryland.


Click for more detail about Vanilla, Cinnamon and Dark Chocolate: The Color of Love by Edwina Louise Dorch Vanilla, Cinnamon and Dark Chocolate: The Color of Love

by Edwina Louise Dorch
iUniverse (Jun 28, 2022)
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This fast-paced contemporary, novel, set in Los Angeles, can be read on a beach day. Yet, this is Black Literature in the Black Arts Movement tradition exploring how to overcome the trauma associated with colorism. Rejecting Wilderson’s ’Afro pessimism’, the lives of three women reveal how to decolonize and emancipate our minds per Ngg and how to achieve ’collective consciousness’ per H bl.

Vanilla, a Black woman of Puerto Rican ancestry favors the song, The Girl From Ipanema in that she is ’tall and tan and young and lovely’ and like Sam Cooke’s song says, "her daddy is rich and her mama is good lookin".

Her brother, Howard, has a massive blond afro, olive skin, and green eyes, and is a deputy district attorney. He is vain and his fate is signaled by Proverbs 16:18 which prophesizes that -

"Pride goeth before destruction."

Cinnamon, a Black woman with Native American ancestry is ’gobsmacked’ by Howard and engages in magical thinking about him, saying to herself, "you’re gonna love me" - evoking Jennifer Holiday’s torch song in Dreamgirls.

Dark Chocolate who has Nigerian almond eyes, high cheekbones, full lips, and a baby son is in danger - conjure up archetypical Madonna and Child Christian iconography.

Class differences are a backdrop for this tale that has both feminist and religious overtones i.e., the use of Georgia O’Keefe paintings and Biblical passages. Overall, the plot is a guidebook for leading a Freeburg-type ’counterlife’ and for healing and liberating our collective post-colonial lives as it weaves Nina Simone jazz, Annie Lee art, and Alvin Ailey ballet.


Click for more detail about Radio Active: A Memoir of Advocacy in Action, on the Air and in the Streets by Joe Madison Radio Active: A Memoir of Advocacy in Action, on the Air and in the Streets

by Joe Madison
Xlibris (Oct 03, 2021)
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Radio Active tells the story of Joe’s decades of activism, from his childhood in a segregated neighborhood in Dayton, Ohio, to interviewing Barack Obama in the Oval Office. It’s a delightful tale, a call to action and an eye-opening commentary on the racial divide that persists in America today.


Click for more detail about I Never Knew: I Am All That Book One by Brother Donald Muhammad I Never Knew: I Am All That Book One

by Brother Donald Muhammad
AuthorHouse (Jul 28, 2021)
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I have received a teaching that tells me that "where there are no decent women, there are no decent men!" Donald strives to be a decent man because of Cynthia.

She is divine.

We have been growing together during 34 years of a illustrious marriage. Cynthia is the mother of Emmanuel and Isaiah. She was their first doctor, and teacher. Donald wrote this book. Cynthia inspired, developed and fashioned it. We believe this book, will benefit children and spark a curiosity in them to seek the deepest knowledge of themselves. God bless all who supported our humble efforts In-Service BDM


Click for more detail about Hand-Me-Down Dreams by Phillip Wilhite Hand-Me-Down Dreams

by Phillip Wilhite
iUniverse (Mar 22, 2021)
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Xavier and Ida Magee, once college sweethearts, appear happily married. They take trips to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, eat at fancy restaurants, and enjoy the cushy lifestyle of a 1980s major league baseball star. Then, everything goes wrong. Xavier is released from his position as a New York Yankees pitcher and falls into heavy drinking. That’s not all. Xavier finds a love letter penned by Ida to the Reverend Reynaldo Tippins, a prominent and handsome Oakland, California, minister. When the situation gets worse, the couple goes to a marriage counselor, and just as things appear to be looking up, Ida makes a shocking announcement that ruins everything.

Despite his pain and confusion, Xavier is now determined to cut back on the booze and make a baseball comeback, while also working to become a writer. Amid Xavier trying to save his adulterous marriage and revive his stalled career, he finds a new lease on life. He must redeem himself, but will he succeed?

Book Review

Click for more detail about It’s in Our Nature by Jacqueline T. Small It’s in Our Nature

by Jacqueline T. Small
AuthorHouse (Feb 18, 2021)
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The LA MAGIES are a family of witches and warlocks who are members of the Black Star Coven and they reside in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ANN and JACK, the parents, used to live in New Orleans, Louisiana but moved away years ago. They wanted to start their new lives where they were not known. They are not your typical parents; they must raise five young sorcerers who believe that there are only pros, and no cons, to being a witch. But Ann and Jack know first-hand that there are cons to being a witch, because they lost their first-born child to a witch’s spell. Another important con to being a witch is avoiding the witch hunters, who disguise themselves as government agents. JOE STINTON and NIA BROWN are Department of Homeland Security agents who were sent to Philadelphia, to investigate reported cases of unusual events, specifically witchcraft. On the same day that they arrive in town the LA MAGIES’ fourteen-year-old daughter, JANE, is being indoctrinated into the Black Star Coven as a full-blown witch in a "spell ring" ceremony at their home.


Click for more detail about Reflections of an Anxious African American Dad by Eric L. Heard Reflections of an Anxious African American Dad

by Eric L. Heard
iUniverse (Jan 13, 2021)
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The purpose of this book is an awkward discussion of Eric Heard’s life to his son. He talks about his life in a candid way that tries to explain his anxiety as an African American dad. It is an open and honest account of his life through the life of a child that has been through a lot in his life. It is a reflection on his life that has been shaped by his childhood experiences.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Of Time and Spirit: A Tribute to My Father by Maurice W. Dorsey Of Time and Spirit: A Tribute to My Father

by Maurice W. Dorsey
Xlibris (Sep 21, 2020)
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Of Time and Spirit: A Tribute to James Roswell Dorsey Sr.

"Of Time and Spirit" is a heartfelt tribute to my beloved father, James Roswell Dorsey Sr. (1919-2000). As his son, I share his incredible journey to inner peace and the challenges we faced in our father-son relationship, striving to communicate and understand each other.

This book is not only a personal account but also a historical chronology, meticulously compiled from a treasure trove of my dad’s belongings. It includes his personal papers, military records, civilian personnel records, and even notes jotted down on scraps of paper. The contents are enriched with the many conversations we shared throughout my lifetime, especially those poignant talks we had during the later years of his life.

As I matured into a man, I began to comprehend and appreciate his deepest feelings, thoughts, and wisdom. My father had a desire to undertake this project himself before his passing, but age and ill health prevented him from realizing it. Now, I fulfill his wish by presenting this small fraction of the remarkable man he truly was.

Despite its limitations, this book immortalizes my father’s life in history, preserving his legacy for generations to come. "Of Time and Spirit" stands as a testament to his enduring presence, and it is my humble tribute to the extraordinary individual he was.


Click for more detail about My Protest by Linda Gaston-Bessellieu My Protest

by Linda Gaston-Bessellieu
Xlibris (Sep 03, 2020)
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Go on a journey with Jaliyah as she explains what her experience was like during a recent peaceful protest and how she perceives the effects of Coronavirus.


Click for more detail about Life: Four Quarters Plus Overtime by Floyd L. Griffin Jr. Life: Four Quarters Plus Overtime

by Floyd L. Griffin Jr.
Xlibris (Sep 25, 2019)
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Life: Four Quarters Plus Overtime is a book created specifically with the African American community in mind. The book will examine the periods of development associated with the human life span with brief overview of the social, emotional, congenital, perceptual, and moral development specific to each life stage. The book will include cutting-edge commentary from experts in the field of psychology, public health, education, religion, gerontology, and the healing arts. Each chapter/quarter will have African American proverbs, cultural maxims, quotes, stories, and words of wisdom from black achievers, along with biblical scripture that will strengthen our faith and belief and help us interpret and experience our lives in a vastly different way. The book will conclude (Epilogue) with Mr. Griffin’s life four quarters plus overtime memoirs.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Ila’s Diamonds III by Donna M. Gray-Banks Ila’s Diamonds III

by Donna M. Gray-Banks
AuthorHouse (Feb 26, 2019)
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Ila slowly closed the door to the safe house apartment and slumped to the hallway floor. She thought, How? Why does this kind of thing keep happening to me? Her stomach bubbled, and suddenly, she threw up all over herself. She could not move. It was as if she was having a mini nervous breakdown. The hallway went black, and for a moment, she had no idea where she was. Ila is a beautiful, intelligent African American woman working with the FBI. She has been strong and brave her entire life, working hard to earn a place in a career field mostly run by men. However, her love life is in shambles. No matter what she does, she can't seem to get it right, going up against cheaters, liars, and jerks. She seeks fulfillment in more than her career; she wants a fulfilling romance, as well. Ila also enjoys sex-which is what has gotten her into trouble in the past. Once she finally meets the perfect man, they get engaged, but he is hiding a big secret that borders on betrayal. What happens when sexual gratification becomes more important than love? Ila is about to find out through emotional exploitation and heartbreak while still seeking the real thing.


Click for more detail about The Zion & Zara Stories: The Big Bike Race by Tenesha Jarvis The Zion & Zara Stories: The Big Bike Race

by Tenesha Jarvis
AuthorHouse (Oct 22, 2018)
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Zion and Zara are ten-year-old twins who’ve finally completed the fourth grade. It’s the first day of summer vacation, and the twins have got to find a way to start their summer off with a bang!

Book Review

Click for more detail about The Ultimate Black History Trivia Book by Curtis Claytor The Ultimate Black History Trivia Book

by Curtis Claytor
iUniverse (Jul 12, 2018)
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Most of us learn in school about the accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, and George Washington Carver. But what is the name of the first self-made American woman millionaire? How about the name of the woman who refused to sit in the Jim Crow section of a train that was assigned to blacks in 1883? Or the name of the black man who invented the gas mask and three-signal stoplight? In a fascinating trivia book filled with two thousand multiple-choice educational and entertaining questions in four categories, Curtis Claytor invites others to test and increase their knowledge of black history and celebrate the achievements of not only well-known African Americans but also the lesser known. Black history enthusiasts will learn the answers to a variety of interesting questions like who scored 101 points in the first half of a high school basketball game, in what city the first black-owned television station was established, when the freaks come out according to the Whodini song, and Fred Sanford?s middle initial. The Ultimate Black History Trivia Book shares two thousand questions in four categories that help educate anyone interested in learning more about the achievements of African Americans.


Click for more detail about I Need; I Want by Bill Liggins I Need; I Want

by Bill Liggins
iUniverse (May 09, 2018)
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Although the glamour of Hollywood lures bold and confident actors from around the world, it can also crush the unprepared, ripping chunks of pride from their souls and ejecting them back to their hometowns. Matt Redcrop and Kayla Ross are struggling performing artists and lovers who have the odds stacked against them. With their sights set on Hollywood, they have been sharpening their skills under the tutelage of one of the toughest acting coaches in America, Shelley Isaacson of Tampa. When they realize they are no longer happy being on the fringes of fame, Matt and Kayla make the move to Hollywood with another couple from the workshop. As they become immersed in the roller coaster of emotions that accompany auditions and rejections, each is eventually led to a future they had never considered. I NEED; I WANT is the story of young couple learning about life under the spotlights, their search for balance between ambition and expectation, and the price of fame.


Click for more detail about Undying Love by Bill Liggins Undying Love

by Bill Liggins
iUniverse (Apr 09, 2018)
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"Everlasting life. Many want it. Others don’t, believing it’s a curse. Either way, Malchides is the only one who has it. He doesn’t know why, but he just can’t die. Malchides, who has been known by many names, has been alive from the beginning of human history. His legend has spawned religions. His deeds have destroyed armies. He has affected people and nations worldwide, setting the course of cultural evolution even beyond Earth. Now as fate leads him into encounters with three women—Candace Amanirenas of Nubia, Tamara Jennings of Florida, and Sage Kolene of Tau Ceti Epsilon-Basalt—separated by thousands of years of time, Malchides learns the value of unconditional love, even as his obsession with dying grows. But will the Universal Consciousness grant him the gift he has always desired or will he remain a tortured soul forever. Undying Love tells the tale of a man’s fascinating journey through thousands of years as he meets three extraordinary women and attempts to release himself from everlasting life."


Click for more detail about From Whence We Come by Maurice W. Dorsey From Whence We Come

by Maurice W. Dorsey
Xlibris (Nov 02, 2017)
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Seymour Rose is an African American man who is gay. He was born to a father who is Catholic and accepts his son unconditionally and a mother who is born Methodist and is homophobic—but most of all, she tells her son throughout his life that she never wanted to have him.
Seymour reflects on three generations of his family history and often tells family stories to make sense of his years of emotional insecurity and feelings of being unloved and unwanted.
His mother is Estelle. She is a strong African American woman whose mother died when she was ten years old. Her father forced her to be surrogate wife and mother to her younger sister and brother. When the Great Depression of the late 1920s occurred and wiped out the family’s finances, they were forced into a life of destitution. Never having enough money, she lived and dreamed of growing up and having a job and money of her own.
Her dream of having a job was put on hold when she learns she is pregnant. She married and, within a year of the first child, she gives birth to a second child. She is angry with herself because she wanted to go to work before having children.
Just as soon as she gets the first two children in grade school and she can live her dream of having a job, she learns she is pregnant again. This child is Seymour, and she repeatedly tells him in her disgust and frustration, "Child, God wanted you here, boy—because I never wanted to have you!"
Seymour’s reaction to his mother’s persistent comments was to cling closer to his mother with hopes that, one day, she would tell him she loved him and wanted him. When he informs his mother that he is gay, this compounds her distaste for this child.
At the end of her life, Estelle reveals to Seymour her years of malcontent with her son, and he comes to terms with his mother and his family history.
This book is fictitious but based on a true story.


Click for more detail about Merritt Magic (paperback) by Melinda Merritt Merritt Magic (paperback)

by Melinda Merritt
Xlibris (Mar 27, 2017)
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This book is about the world we lived in which was one of dreams, spirituality, magic, and love. I arrived just at the end of the Pisces Age in 1950, and I could feel the energies changing early in my life. The Sages had spoken to the families about the coming cultural change which would take the world by storm. We had no idea what they meant, but we knew it would happen. I was just going about my life learning all the ancient African knowledge and wisdom my family taught. After all, this is the spirituality and ancestral knowledge which freed the slaves from bondage. We were a very blessed family in that there was never any lack, just a life of abundance. The Sages controlled what happened in this world and no one ever questioned them. Our world was filled with happiness, excitement, and surprise.

Then, as though my world was not already filled with many unusual things, in the early 1960’s, it happened. The change of which the Sages had been speaking, started to happen. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement came to our little town of Americus, GA. This was the very beginning of what turned out to be the biggest event, ever. My father was a successful independent business leader and he and Rev. King (as Dr. King was known at that time) bonded immediately. This meant that our entire family was heavily involved in the "Movement." Dr. King was frequently at our home and became a part of the family for many years.

Everything changed for me and the family when this Movement came but the Sages managed to keep control over our daily lives. These were some powerful Black women whom no one dared cross. The energy which drove the Movement was constantly pointed out to me by the Sages. I became an expert on the human energy phenomenon. The world was completely magical and it seemed to have come to our small town. The people we met were from all over the globe. The power of the black people’s energy was working full force.

Because of what the Sages taught me, I was able to travel through my entire life in control of my "elements." The Sages believed, practiced, and taught that if you can control your elements, you can control your life.

This book is about these Black powerful women who had taken their gifts and skills underground, until now.


Click for more detail about Merritt Magic by Melinda Merritt Merritt Magic

by Melinda Merritt
Xlibris (Mar 27, 2017)
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This book is about the world we lived in which was one of dreams, spirituality, magic, and love. I arrived just at the end of the Pisces Age in 1950, and I could feel the energies changing early in my life. The Sages had spoken to the families about the coming cultural change which would take the world by storm. We had no idea what they meant, but we knew it would happen. I was just going about my life learning all the ancient African knowledge and wisdom my family taught. After all, this is the spirituality and ancestral knowledge which freed the slaves from bondage. We were a very blessed family in that there was never any lack, just a life of abundance. The Sages controlled what happened in this world and no one ever questioned them. Our world was filled with happiness, excitement, and surprise.

Then, as though my world was not already filled with many unusual things, in the early 1960’s, it happened. The change of which the Sages had been speaking, started to happen. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement came to our little town of Americus, GA. This was the very beginning of what turned out to be the biggest event, ever. My father was a successful independent business leader and he and Rev. King (as Dr. King was known at that time) bonded immediately. This meant that our entire family was heavily involved in the "Movement." Dr. King was frequently at our home and became a part of the family for many years.

Everything changed for me and the family when this Movement came but the Sages managed to keep control over our daily lives. These were some powerful Black women whom no one dared cross. The energy which drove the Movement was constantly pointed out to me by the Sages. I became an expert on the human energy phenomenon. The world was completely magical and it seemed to have come to our small town. The people we met were from all over the globe. The power of the black people’s energy was working full force.

Because of what the Sages taught me, I was able to travel through my entire life in control of my “elements.” The Sages believed, practiced, and taught that if you can control your elements, you can control your life.

This book is about these Black powerful women who had taken their gifts and skills underground, until now.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Nova Chasers by Bill Liggins Nova Chasers

by Bill Liggins
iUniverse (Dec 27, 2016)
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In another time and place, an enormous society of worlds and species with common interests in profitable financial exchange has somehow survived hundreds of years of terrorist threats and war. But now as the battles end, the society faces its greatest threat: an alliance of seven poor planets colonized by their outcasts. These outcasts are not terrorists or warriors. They have no armed forces powerful enough to subdue worlds. Their only weapon is their mysterious ability to produce astonishing quantities of gold and platinum—two tangible commodities that support all interstellar commerce and hold the potential to make them all very wealthy. But there are those who want nothing more than to be the first to discover the secret to their ability. One corporation smuggles a former monk into one of the human colonies to learn more. Now only time will tell if he can accomplish his mission. With the help from a legendary and beautiful Nova Chaser, he will find much more than he ever bargained for. In this sci-fi thriller, a former monk assigned to learn the powerful secret harbored by a human colony of outcasts discovers that revelations sometimes hide in the most unusual of places.


Click for more detail about The Devil and Elijah Muhammad by Yusef A. Salaam The Devil and Elijah Muhammad

by Yusef A. Salaam
Xlibris (Nov 28, 2016)
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African Studies/Theatre/Religion/History

Break-ins, vandalism, hostility between two of Elijah Muhammad’s top lieutenants, and now message pads are missing from Muhammad’s office in his Chicago headquarters: The J. Edgar Hoover-led FBI is the primary suspect.


There are plots and plotters, heroes who could be villains, victims who just might be perpetrators, suspects, betrayals—all stirred to an intriguing boil in this absorbing new play.
—Eric Coleman, actor, director
New York Beacon

Your award-winning short stories, articles…are a testament to the outstanding contributions you have made over the years.
—Congressman Charles B. Rangel

Eldon Bullock brought insightful perspective with his role in…presenting the inner turmoil experienced by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, including his unspoken respect for Malcolm X since their split.
—Liberata Dance Theatre

New Salaam play reading at the Schomburg Center is riveting.
—Herb Boyd, biographer
New York Amsterdam News

Yusef Salaam writes passionately about the African-American experience.
—New York State Senator Bill Perkins


Click for more detail about Mama Relly by Cathie Wright-Lewis Mama Relly

by Cathie Wright-Lewis
iUniverse (Sep 05, 2016)
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Every 33 years, the Leonid Meteor Showers rocket, then burst across the night sky. It’s the perfect time for Mama Relly to take a ride. She sails on the tail with one thing on her mind. She has a story to tell and kinfolk to find. Based on two unique Slave Narratives, Mama Relly is fantasy and history intertwined to intrigue young minds while engaging them in culture, history, and astronomy lessons. Its bright and brilliant illustrations enhance the unique tale of survival and family love.


Click for more detail about Politics: Another Perspective by Wilmer J. Leon Politics: Another Perspective

by Wilmer J. Leon
AuthorHouse (Aug 31, 2016)
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Over the past 8 years there have been significant shifts in the American political landscape. The election of Senator Barack Obama as America’s 44th and first African American president signaled a giant leap forward in the American social, cultural, and political landscape. It has taken America 219 years to reach this point.

Based upon Senator Obama’s campaign promises many people looked forward to a more transparent and inclusive government. Others saw this election as a signal of a new post-racial America, but America has always been a country in conflict. As many basked in the comfort of Obama’s historic election, others feared its backlash. History tells us that white supremacy dies hard in America and its proponents would not take America’s victory lying down. The bigoted rants of the Tea Party and the ultra-right wing’s obstructionist agenda have resulted in a political stalemate unlike any other in recent American history.

These reactionary politics coupled with the Democratic Party and Obama Administration’s inability to articulate an effective counter-narrative and employ effective countermeasures has left America in a political abyss.

Politics Another Perspective: Analysis of Race, War, Ethics and the American Political Landscape in the Age of Obama is a collection of Op Ed’s written by Wilmer J. Leon, III, Ph.D. As a collection, these writings provide cutting edge analysis of the various issues that influenced the American geopolitical landscape since 2006 and insight into the direction that the country is headed.

“Wilmer Leon is one of the few Black prophetic voices in the age of Obama. This book confirms this status—courageous, visionary and consistent!” Dr. Cornel West
“Dr. Wilmer Leon has assembled a collection that asks the right questions about race and democracy. In an era when too many are silenced for fear of rocking the boat of the status quo, Wilmer Leon has signaled his willingness to go out on a limb and speak truth to power. Bravo!“ Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Economist and Author Are We Better Off: Race, Obama and Public Policy


Click for more detail about When We Were Black by Blakk Jack Samm When We Were Black

by Blakk Jack Samm
AuthorHouse (Jun 25, 2016)
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The book is called When We Were Black. I came up with the book, or the book came up to me several years ago. It was during one Christmas holiday spent time with children and grandchildren, while I was relating to my family’s diverse tree, when one of my daughters informed me that her children did not consider themselves a color, speaking of Black. Initially, I was insulted because black was never a color but was a very serious movement during the 1960s and 1970s.

Well, I had to consider whether I had impressed this point to my own children and spoke to others who were having similar conversations with the younger generation. I felt serious enough about it to write a book diagramming my road to being Black because back then you were a "Negro" or "Colored" on your birth certificate. Being that this was on your birth certificate, the parents continued calling themselves that. It was a big thing, radical, to tell your parents that you were black because, for many, it was revolutionary.

A revolution is nothing but change, and we were attempting to change the world. I would guess that I am embarking on changing the world now because many do not see the significance between African American and black. There is a significant difference, which the book explains.


Click for more detail about Telling It Like It Is: The Remarkable Life Experiences of My Aunt Edna by Carrolyn Pichet Telling It Like It Is: The Remarkable Life Experiences of My Aunt Edna

by Carrolyn Pichet
AuthorHouse (Jun 18, 2016)
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My historic biography offers me an opportunity to share an amazing individual with you, my ninety-two-year-old aunt Edna. The best part of writing it was the joy of spending months in intimate contact with her. Believe me, I relished every hour being enlightened while in her extraordinary company. At times, we savored quiet lunches at restaurants; sometimes we sipped tea or Sprite. But most importantly, I spent captivating moments in her company, wrapped in her love, enchanted, as she recounted her philosophies about life, pausing here and there to reflect, and finally dancing her life’s red carpet.

Allow me a minute to get my needle and thread. I’ll be ready to cross-stitch a colorful embroidery of Aunt Edna’s life. Hopefully the result will be a stunningly detailed love quilt on which each stitch is carefully aligned. The completed masterpiece will tell you the story of her life. I’ll do my best to reproduce her portrait without unnecessary alterations and distractions. First and foremost, I’ll attempt to turn the reins over to her and let her tell it like it is. In other words, inasmuch as possible, you’ll get her life’s journey in unbiased, unabridged format straight from the horse’s mouth. She has always been a cultural aficionado with a touch of class when it comes to her social circuit-going to cinemas, operas, and dinners in downtown Washington, DC, more often than I do. Her diminutive physical statue is totally overshadowed by the larger-than-life essence, unabated charm, and integrity that radiate from her. And while she possesses so many positive attributes, she surrounds herself in modesty. Her humility is deeply rooted and sincere. She absolutely refuses to boast, often dismissing her entire life as being ordinary, insisting that she leads an uninteresting life. I’ll contradict her with two words: au contraire!

Book Review

Click for more detail about The Sovereign Psyche: Systems of Chattel Freedom vs. Self-Authentic Freedom by Ezrah Aharone The Sovereign Psyche: Systems of Chattel Freedom vs. Self-Authentic Freedom

by Ezrah Aharone
AuthorHouse (Apr 30, 2016)
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The Sovereign Psyche is not just the title of the book. More importantly, The Sovereign Psyche is the motivating consciousness, intellect, and willpower that is necessary to materialize what the book defines as "Self-Authentic Freedom" as opposed to "Chattel Freedom." Chattel freedom is when the value of a people is predicated upon the extent to which they serve the interests and institutions of others.

As such, this work asserts that there is no such thing as intellectual or institutional equality, and that Black/African people have been unknowingly thrusted into an “intellectual and institutional war,” where second-place finishers either experience varying degrees of chattel freedom or they could end-up dead.

Regardless of the issue, genuine solutions entail what we as Black/African people intellectually and institutionally do for ourselves. If "Black Lives Matter" we must channel the end-uses of our intellect and the resources of our institutions to not only prove and enforce it, but also leverage powers to penalize and/or repudiate violators.

Although this work centers upon Black/African people, the sovereign functions and frameworks herein are universal in application, being that today’s world rotates upon systems of sovereignty and power, not beliefs in democracy or equality. In this context, the sovereign concepts and criteria presented are far more rational than radical.

The central question is, to what extent will Black/African people harness the willpower and employ the intellect of The Sovereign Psyche to actualize our own systems and institutions of self-authentic freedom, government, and development, without apology or permission? This work offers the ideological apparatus to make this possible, just as others are doing all around the globe.


Click for more detail about This Too Shall Pass by Patricia A. Saunders This Too Shall Pass

by Patricia A. Saunders
AuthorHouse (Mar 18, 2016)
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This book of poetry spans the journey of life, death, grief, love, and weathering all storms. When life has thrown you curveballs and you think that it’s over, no one is there for you, or no one can love you, it is in those moments when you have to hang on. There is hope, there is love, and there is a second chance. You just have to believe that this too shall pass!


Click for more detail about Reversal of Trends: A Black Man’s Journey across the Mason-Dixon Line by Leroy Wilson Reversal of Trends: A Black Man’s Journey across the Mason-Dixon Line

by Leroy Wilson
iUniverse (Feb 29, 2016)
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Leroy Wilson was born in Bishopville, South Carolina, too small of a town to warrant a Greyhound bus stop, train station, or airport. When he was still a baby wrapped in his teenage mother’s arms, Leroy headed north with his grandmother in tow and settled in the slums of Brooklyn, New York. As he transformed into a street smart kid, Leroy learned about the Bible, sin, retribution, and abuse. By age fifteen, he joined the ranks of black teenage dropouts looking for trouble. In his heartfelt memoir, Wilson chronicles his life journey from childhood to his eventual trek from the mean streets of Brooklyn to South Carolina in an effort to improve his health. As he details his experiences as a correctional officer in predominately black prison system and his attempts to exist within a good ol’ boy network, Wilson not only shares a glimpse into his fascinating personal story, but also sheds a light on the lingering effects of abuse, racism, loss, and the healing power of forgiveness.

Follow him as he attempts to reverse all of the negative trends that had been plaguing his life. Reversal of Trendsshares one man’s intriguing account of the circle of life as he returns to his birthplace to begin anew, learn to walk in a grown man’s shoes, and find his place in the world.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Church Ladies: Untold Stories of Harlem Women by Martia G. Goodson Church Ladies: Untold Stories of Harlem Women

by Martia G. Goodson
AuthorHouse (Feb 01, 2016)
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In the new book Church Ladies: Untold Stories of Harlem Women in the Powell Era by renowned scholar and historian Dr. Martia Goodson, featuring a foreword written by Adam Clayton Powell III and numerous rare archival photographs, readers will meet fifteen extraordinary women who left their spiritual and historical imprints on Harlem’s formidable Abyssinian Baptist Church, their surrounding communities, and the nation at large. Dr. Goodson, who specializes in African American oral history and is the author of New York’s African Burial Ground, interviewed these church ladies extensively over the course of a decade, from 1992 until 2002 about topics ranging from the oratory and sartorial splendor of Powell Sr.’s ministry, to Powell Jr.’s political career and activism, to the Civil Rights Movement, to their jobs and families, to how they each confronted and combatted racism in her life’s journey.

Dr. Goodson also conducted years of research through the Abyssinian Baptist Church archives, creating an engaging, page-turning historical record that will serve as a resource for historians, educators, and countless others for decades to come. Although only two of the women remain, their unique voices are alive with rich and vibrant accounts that take readers to a period that stretches back to the 1920s during Adam Clayton Powell Sr.’s “Church of the Classes,” to the era of Powell Jr.’s “Church of the Masses”, and extends to the early 1970s around the time of Powell Jr.’s death.

“I am extremely proud of this work and feel that it’s some of the most significant research that I’ve done to date,” says Dr. Goodson. “These women tell their own stories and in doing so, give voice to the history of Abyssinian and to the Powell Era in ways that others cannot…CHURCH LADIES is twentieth-century American history – seen through the eyes of the women of a black church. It is formed from the reminiscences of solid women: dignified, modest, hardworking, poised, imaginative, and intolerant of continued second-class citizenship.”


Click for more detail about Living on the Edge in Freedomtown by Jacqueline T. Small Living on the Edge in Freedomtown

by Jacqueline T. Small
AuthorHouse (Jul 07, 2015)
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Freedomtown is a quiet little town located west of Philadelphia. It was founded by a fugitive slave named Samuel Freeman, who also wrote the town charter, back in 1862. Sheriff Michael Freeman, who is a descendant of the Freeman clan, is charged with keeping Freedomtown safe. He is the youngest sheriff that has ever been appointed, and he has a lot to prove. The Freedomtown Charter prohibits potential residents with a criminal background from residing in the town, but sometimes people slip through the cracks and cause the townspeople to be…living on the edge in Freedomtown. Stone Money Jones is living a double life in Freedomtown. He is the product of a dysfunctional family, which steers him in the wrong directions. It is up to Sheriff Freeman to solve the mystery and restore safety and security to this quiet little town.


Click for more detail about Social Climax by Troy Legette Social Climax

by Troy Legette
Xlibris (Apr 07, 2015)
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Social Climax expresses a journey of a comprised literary collection of poetry that exposes thought, feeling, life experiences, love, imagination, and friendship. The words are illustrated into a mental picture humbly delivered to every reader with a purpose of speaking the thoughts wished spoken, feelings long felt, and experiences ever imagined. The open mind will find privilege, appreciation, and autonomy.


Click for more detail about Dear Mary, Dear Luther by Jill Marie Snyder Dear Mary, Dear Luther

by Jill Marie Snyder
AuthorHouse (Mar 05, 2015)
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Dear Mary, Dear Luther reveals through letters the emotional track of a 1930s courtship that leads to a lasting, loving marriage. Luther is the pursuer, always being honest with Mary about where she stands. Step by step, he proclaims his feelings as he progresses from attraction to love. The media often portray African American males as brutes, lacking feelings and deep emotions. Luther’s authentic expressions of romantic love will be a revelation for many.

Mary-sassy, feisty and mercurial-is a very smart young lady. She continues to date others until Luther makes it clear she is the only one. She accepts his evolving emotional state, never pushing for a greater commitment than he’s ready to make. It is wonderful to witness this couple’s burgeoning relationship over a period of three and one-half years. Gradually, their intimacy deepens until they reach a point when they both know they’re ready to become man and wife.

These letters prove that a great love is attainable by everyone regardless of color or class. We need only the courage to patiently let it bloom.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Bibsy by Brenda Ross Bibsy

by Brenda Ross
AuthorHouse (Jan 20, 2015)
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Bibsy’s life changes forever when she falls in love after a chance meeting in a Harlem bar in 1952. The tranquil, free-spirited lifestyle she casually enters into with Jake Tucker collides with intractable memories of a difficult past, a new community fated for development and heartbreaking loss. This multifaceted and riveting historical novel gives greater insight into the complexity of African American lives. With New York State’s major road and bridge construction in the background, rural enclaves become casualties of suburbanization.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Odera: An Orphan’s Tale by Nkem DenChukwu Odera: An Orphan’s Tale

by Nkem DenChukwu
AuthorHouse (Dec 02, 2014)
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My big brother, Eto, is 26. Me, I am 15 years old. He and I love to explore; and each day is a brand new adventure for us. We loved running through the woods and going to that part of the woods where "The Forbidden Lake" is located. Every time we would go to the Lake, it always felt like the very first time we discovered it.


Click for more detail about Let It Rain by Patricia A. Saunders Let It Rain

by Patricia A. Saunders
AuthorHouse (Oct 29, 2014)
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The third book of poetry will have fans laughing, crying and shaking their heads in agreement. The storms might bring you Through the Fire to appreciate Loving Me but when it rains it pours. You can’t look at just the bad but look at it as a cleansing preparing you for the next chapter. When prayers go up blessings come down. I say Let It Rain!


Click for more detail about Freedom Road: An American Family Saga from Jamestown to World War by Ric Murphy Freedom Road: An American Family Saga from Jamestown to World War

by Ric Murphy
AuthorHouse (Aug 19, 2014)
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Ric Murphy’s award-winning book, Freedom Road: An American Family Saga from Jamestown to World War is an historic account of the oldest recorded African American family, and their participation and rich contributions to American history over a four hundred year period. It is a compilation of well-documented individual stories that begins in Africa in 1483, and from there, spans over fifteen generations and three continents, and definitively changes our understanding of American history, showcasing the significant role that one African American family has played from colonial American history to present day.

Freedom Road is an exciting and compelling American saga that captivates readers with the story of the enslavement of John Gowen, one of the first Africans brought to America, and the first to be set free; the story of Thomas and Rebecca Cornell, forced to leave England because of their religious beliefs, and how they became known as the family of Presidents; and the story of the daring escape of Othello and Thomas Fraction from their cruel, vindictive slave master, himself the brother of a Confederate Senator and the son of a Virginia governor.

Freedom Road is enthralling, resounding, and evocative; it challenges the reader to have a better understanding of American history, and inspires them to learn about their own family history. If you like history, family sagas or intrigue, Freedom Road is a must read.


Click for more detail about Touching the Hem of His Garment by Kwesi Oginga Touching the Hem of His Garment

by Kwesi Oginga
Xlibris (Aug 06, 2014)
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Click for more detail about The Lighter Side of Darkness by Troy Pappy Johnson The Lighter Side of Darkness

by Troy Pappy Johnson
Xlibris (Jul 15, 2014)
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The LSD is a supernatural thriller based on actions taken by GOD to rid the world of evil forever. In this story ironically enough GOD commission sinners to rid the world of Satan by answering the final prayer of Protagonist, (Dimitrius Steele, AKA The Redeemer) an Ex- Marine now condemned death row prisoner; by sending him to Hell to save the souls of his family. Unlike (Dante’s Inferno or What Dreams May Come) In order to do this, Dimitrius must recruit the souls of the damned; who wish to be redeemed, which causes a rebellion in Hell. While forming a Divine Militia to lead out of the depths of Hell and delivering them to the Kingdom of Heaven, they are faced with the unorthodox complexities only sinners may frequent. Thus, their faith is tested as the destruction of Hell begins. Meanwhile back in the Material World Protagonist, (Father Gabriel) frequently plagued by unexplainable premonitions of the Crucifixion must organize the (New Disciples), together their mission is to unite the 12 Tribes of Israel and the various religions of true believers into 1 prayer in order for GOD to send us his true blessing: The return our Lord JESUS CHRIST, the true Redeemer. This in turn may prove not to be an easy task due to unforeseen dark forces plotting against Gabriel’s path. Although the two men are fighting different battles, they realize that they are fighting the same war in different places, space and time … In retaliation, fully aware of the Redeemer’s quest; Antagonist, (Belial, AKA Satan) welcomes the opportunity by unveiling his powers to destroy the Material World via unleashing his Army of Demons causing the beginning of the Apocalypse and the final battle: Armageddon. It’s a requiem of our FAITH, Good vs. Evil and Heaven vs. Hell.


Click for more detail about Alley-Gators: The Bullies of Poughkeepsie by Nkem DenChukwu Alley-Gators: The Bullies of Poughkeepsie

by Nkem DenChukwu
AuthorHouse (Jun 30, 2014)
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ALLEY-GATORS: "The Bullies of Poughkeepsie" is a book written with every child in mind. Bullies lurk in the dark. They are everywhere. They are cowards. Peter, 14, has had his share of bullies in his young age living in the United States. In his travels around the world, he learned a lot more about them. Peter shares his experiences about the evils of bullying, and the ways of avoiding bullies. Bullies bully because they want to. They hurt people especially kids like you and me. Never surrender to a bully. Bullying STOPS with you and me.


Click for more detail about The Elder: And Other Stories by Aileen Muhammad The Elder: And Other Stories

by Aileen Muhammad
AuthorHouse (May 14, 2014)
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Two Philadelphia natives meet at Salem College in Winston Salem. Nathan Ross Freeman is Aileen Muhammad’s poetry and screenwriting professor. She believes he is her blood brother by some accidental occurrence. He says maybe in another life. She begins to write stories. He shares his and here they are. The threads that weave the fabric of these stories, the entry into the avenue of the muse and the poetic conjures are startling and satisfying.


Click for more detail about Single but not alone by Charlotte Carter Single but not alone

by Charlotte Carter
AuthorHouse (May 07, 2014)
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Click for more detail about Catharsis: Speaking from the Spirit by Kwesi Oginga Catharsis: Speaking from the Spirit

by Kwesi Oginga
Xlibris (Apr 26, 2014)
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Click for more detail about Catharsis: Speaking from the Spirit by Kwesi Oginga Catharsis: Speaking from the Spirit

by Kwesi Oginga
Xlibris (Apr 26, 2014)
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Click for more detail about Gracie Hall-Hampton, the Arkansas Years, 1917-1953 by Codis Hampton II Gracie Hall-Hampton, the Arkansas Years, 1917-1953

by Codis Hampton II
AuthorHouse (Apr 01, 2014)
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Gracie Hall-Hampton is a great work and a tribute to the Hall and Hampton families as written by Gracie*s grandson, Codis Hampton II. The story starts in the small town of Banks Arkansas in 1917 and offers a glimpse into the lives of a growing African American family in the rural south. Codis holds the reader captive with vivid details of tragedy, bigotry, racism and triumph. We go along for the ride as children are born, grow, marry and leave home. We are also privy to the historical significance of the Jim Crow South and how African Americans dealt with the abuse suffered because of their skin color.

The book should be included in the public school system curriculum for grades seven and up based upon the two-fold nature of the content, which is biographical and historical in context. The fact that these families formed a strong union through hard work, perseverance and respect for one another needs to be shared with today*s youth. Gracie Hall-Hampton is the pivotal figure in the story. She is the glue that holds the family together and is representative of the many strong Black women during her time. She is widowed at a young age and must raise her children alone. She uses her wits and good common sense along with a strong sense of determination to successfully complete this task. Chapter 7 begins to focus on national historical events that lead up to World War 2 and Race riots throughout the United States (with an emphasis on the author*s birth state of Arkansas). The statistical data is informative and gives the reader a perspective on life in the U.S. during the time frame of 1917 through 1953. The book is a wonderful read and I eagerly anticipate the next work from this author.—June D. Burgess


Click for more detail about Daddy Polished My Shoes by LaJuan Simon Daddy Polished My Shoes

by LaJuan Simon
iUniverse (Feb 27, 2014)
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Why do we stay in abusive relationships is a question we ask ourselves when the shame becomes too great. Shame can shatter dreams, shame can push others away, shame can blind our future and cause us to miss out on true love. Daddy Polished my Shoes is a real story about a young girl who adored her father and she grew up and married a man with his smile, another with his secret, and a third with his sickness. We need to identify the signs when a relationship becomes abusive, and walk away.


Click for more detail about Lust And Basketball by Jeannie Eneh Lust And Basketball

by Jeannie Eneh
AuthorHouse (Feb 11, 2014)
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The beautiful and talented Author Jazz Halster of Atlanta, Georgia was dying to be loved. Jazz was at a point in her life where she had serious doubts about finding that special man. Then she meets former NBA baller and now the iconic head coach of the Panthers in Atlanta, Coach Clayton Dewberry. However; Clayton was enjoying the game of basketball and not looking for love until he crosses path with Jazz. Everything changes within a blink of an eye. Will Jazz find the love she so desired; will Clayton’s heart be filled with lust or love for the beautiful Jazz Halster? Author Jazz Halster has no idea that her life would be scripted this way … The stunning and brilliant superstar agent to the stars Liz James had it all, wealth, a business empire, great kids, and a wonderful husband or so she thought she had it all until one night she meets former NBA baller now head coach at University of Miami Kyle Williams. Was it possible to meet someone once and know that you love them? Kyle Williams thought he had the perfect life, money, played in the NBA, now a head coach in Miami; the other sin city, no nagging wife, and free to come and go as he pleases. That is until he meets Liz James. Was it possible to love someone so deep that you were willing to step into another man’s territory?


Click for more detail about My Lovely Golden Rose: A Lifetime Of Poetic Reflections And Precious Memories by Carrolyn Pichet My Lovely Golden Rose: A Lifetime Of Poetic Reflections And Precious Memories

by Carrolyn Pichet
AuthorHouse (Jan 20, 2014)
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Overview
My Lovely Golden Rose is a delightful collection of the author’s personal experiences and life lessons. Let yourself be transported into this exciting new world. Carrolyn Pichet paints vivid images of memorable interactions, sharing special moments with family and friends. Take time to enjoy a myriad of delicious tidbits as the author pours her heart into the most intimately precious memories of people who have touched her life. You’ll follow life events such as friendship, love, marriage and at the same time get a glimpse of the author’s vision for the future. Observe how she uses poetry to express her eternal optimism. You’ll savor writings from special guests poets as budding artists test the waters within the realm of poetry. Through her poetry, you’ll share the spiritual and physical beauty that is ever present in her relationships with others. Transforming her life experiences into poetry, the author creates an atmosphere of pure enchantment. As you read, poetic imagery lures you into another world through elaborate stories, flashbacks and the bits and pieces set in her living mosaic. You are invited to share her rich experiences and enter a marvelous world of beauty and wonder. The welcome mat has been placed before you.

Perspectives

Sometimes in life we meet a person who is able to look deep into our souls and uncover that intimate secret within. And sometimes we find a person who possesses the ability to express that intimacy in warm, soothing terms. But rarely do we find a person owning both talents as we do in the author, Carrolyn Pichet.

Ms. Pichet grasps seemingly ordinary people, events and ideas in our lives and paints them in warm and gentle terms that rekindle memories and satisfy our wish to encapsulate them in our hearts and minds forever. Readers will realize a familiarity with the author’s characters and relate them to their own lives. Ms. Pichet also recognizes poetic potential in others and she has included, along with her own poetry, several unpublished works she has gathered. — Shirley L. Marshall, sister

With adventure of mind and the soul of a poet, Carrolyn Pichet has published two books, The Best Is Yet to Come and Growing Up in the Nation’s Capital. An avid lover of words with the gift of using them with artistic beauty, she enjoys interpreting poetry, telling stories and creating beautiful images. My Lovely Golden Rose is her first book of poetry. After you savor this treasure, share it with your friends and family. They will thank you for it. — Edna L. Bowie, aunt

My Lovely Golden Rose is a gift of love from Carrolyn Pichet to her family and friends. She has gathered a bouquet of poems from her treasure trove of writings and has also included a section for the contributions of her family.

This is her first book of poetry and hopefully it will not be her last. In her two books of prose, The Best Is Yet to Come and Growing Up in the Nation’s Capital, we discovered her subtle wit and keen sense of humor. However, her true gift is found in her poetry.

With simple elegance, she introduces unforgettable characters who remind us of our better selves. Her verses reach into our hearts and elicit emotions long buried. Vivid images transport the reader to a place of beauty and wonder.

I invite you to experience the love Carrolyn offers in this little jewel. Her poetry speaks compellingly of her love for her God, her family and her country. — Marilyn Bowie-Coates, cousin

From the Author

My how time flies. It seems like only yesterday that I started writing poetry. And yet, it was 25 years ago when I realized that my life would never be the same. After the sudden loss of my beloved sister Gloria, I became more sensitive to my surroundings — to people, to nature, to life — to everything. I became closer to God because I needed a friend who would always be there for me. Since that time everything has had new meaning for me. I am profoundly touched by the beauty I find everywhere. I am deeply moved by the wonderful things created by His hands.

Years have passed and yet my life has remained essentially the same. Over the years my life experiences have been subtly incorporated into my writing, often mirroring the images of my soul. I feel very blessed and hope I can gently lure you into my world with my thoughts, imagery and words. I reflect my Grandmother Helen’s legacy throughout this collection with intricately detailed stories, fantasy tales, flashbacks and even bits and pieces of my own life. I want to share some of my special moments with you. We can all learn to smile, laugh, live and love. I invite you to join me now and we’ll share these experiences together. As you read, close your eyes and let yourself be lulled into my Lifetime of Poetic Reflections and Precious Memories.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Degrees Of Deception by Kimberly Thacker Webb Degrees Of Deception

by Kimberly Thacker Webb
iUniverse (Jan 02, 2014)
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Jackie Jones is a wealthy but naive college student from Texas who knows there are two things her mother expects her to obtain at Karrington University: a degree and a husband. Influenced by her row house roommate and caught up in the racy Washington, D.C, lifestyle, Jackie spends nearly all her allowance in one afternoon on a frivolous shopping spree. Fearful to ask her parents for more money, Jackie decides to follow through on an offer for what she thinks is a quick, one-time sales job to recoup the funds. She has no idea that her choice is about to land her in the hands of Nita Lockheart, the ruthless head of a coke party empire. Trapped in a battle between her conscience and her desperate need for cash, Jackie finally gives in to temptation and begins hosting secret cocaine parties in her home. With her life quickly unraveling, she must do everything she can to retain her scholarship, end a dangerous and intoxicating love triangle, and reclaim her life. After more than two years of being beaten, traumatized, and manipulated, Jackie finally finds the courage to confront Nita. In this suspenseful tale, a college student must face the consequences of a bad choice that will leave her wondering if there is any way to find the redemption she so badly needs.


Click for more detail about African Venus by Sheryl K. Carkhum-Lord African Venus

by Sheryl K. Carkhum-Lord
Xlibris (Jul 18, 2013)
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Book Review

Click for more detail about Sustained by Aileen Muhammad Sustained

by Aileen Muhammad
AuthorHouse (Apr 30, 2013)
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"If you have the privilege, you already have the right to peruse Aileen Muhammad’s collection of work from 2009 to present. I have. You had been whisked away at the very first word of every piece she has written. Aileen will unleash your spirit and take you somewhere. And everyone of her riveting, healing, love pods, take you by the hand, walks you across the street to Karma, then, hurl you through non-stop imagery, imaginings, soul deep steep vision parables that make it exciting to you ’see’ for your Self what you have read. Sustained takes every line of verse and weaves them seamlessly with Bai’s (Carl Karni-Bain)consuming paintings that tour Persona, the soul of persona. Sustained places every verse and image on the tip of your tongue. Yes, Sustained speaks from you, through you, to where you must go. Aileen’s, Sustained, incurs nature, stretches longing to the nth degree. Both holy and sacred, Aileen defines the microcosmic juncture of the two, a formula for transcendence. Sustained traverses every revered poetic structure with a very delightful page of Haiku Feathers that manipulates the sparkle in your eye. But, oh my, the signature structural fierceness of Sustained Aileen Muhammad is a fearless language soloist. Sustained is a School of Thought entry to the annals." Nathan Ross Freeman


Click for more detail about The Dominican Affair: What Every Woman Wants But Does Not Have by Mickey See-Asia The Dominican Affair: What Every Woman Wants But Does Not Have

by Mickey See-Asia
Trafford Publishing (Apr 08, 2013)
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Author Mickey See-Asia brings her readers into a world of promiscuity, fornication, greed, lust, jealousy, trickery, and adultery amongst the characters in her novel. She then takes her readers on a roller coaster ride of pure sensuality and spirituality that leads to intimate, inspiring, monogamous but healthy relationships. Is this truly what every woman wants as stated in the subtitle of The Dominican Affair?


Click for more detail about Loving Me by Patricia A. Saunders Loving Me

by Patricia A. Saunders
AuthorHouse (Mar 29, 2013)
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The book was inspired by seeing in the media events with youth being bullied, increase with women wanting to change their looks to fit a certain body image, others trying to find balance in their lives between work, family, and life. The sacrifices that we make and the pressure that society puts on people what is acceptable from skin tone, hair, and ethnicity. There were emotions that I felt, experiences that I remembered, and the writing began. Loving Me starts from within and everyone should have the belief to love themselves first before expecting others to love them. Loving Me has poems that span love, relationships, self-esteem, self-image, and empowerment. It is inspirational, reflective, and have you saying it’s my turn to start Loving Me.


Click for more detail about Growing Up In The Nation’s Capital: We Made It, But It Took An Entire Village by Carrolyn Pichet Growing Up In The Nation’s Capital: We Made It, But It Took An Entire Village

by Carrolyn Pichet
AuthorHouse (Mar 29, 2013)
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Overview
The stories I’m about to tell you are true to the best of my ability—actually they’re true to the best of my memory. I’ve purposely included events only as far as my short-term memory goes. Yes, I know I seem to be going around in circles, but I can assure you that some of my stories can be considered as pure fiction. That could mean that I filled in the blanks with a reasonable facsimile of the truth, or that I simply fabricated my tales to liven up my life’s adventures. Of course the part about growing up in the nation’s capital is true because I am indeed a Washingtonian.

I’m going to tell you about my childhood. The places are real, but some of the characters’ names have been changed to protect myself. I certainly know my Miranda rights, and I readily acknowledge that anything I say can, and most certainly will be used against me. But I’ll remind you that most of my tales took place when we were merely innocent kids, just doing what kids do. You’ll be served up the most unimaginable deeds that any rag-tag gang could conjure up for your pleasure. Enjoy!

Greetings my friends, welcome back

Greetings to my new readers, to my family and to my “old” friends
(no pun intended), I’m sending a hearty welcome back to all of you.

Introduction

I am a native Washingtonian, but I did not “live” where most people want to go when they “visit” the nation’s capital. I’m hoping that in “my story” I can take you far beyond the ordinary tourist junkets and historic exhibits and include a taste of the world-famous eateries that salt and pepper the Washington, D.C. area. Actually, deep down inside, I believe that I can give you more than that. I hope that the combination of where I grew up, my childhood haunts and the places where I “hung out” and visited as a young girl will provide a unique perspective of my hometown. I’ll offer you the same magnificence I savored with my friends and family during field trips and cultural excursions. These scenic treasures were an intimate part of my learning experiences when I was growing up and they are what I lived and loved as a child. This is the Washington and these are the unforgettable pictures that I want to share with you.

As a child I lived within my own little comfort zone surrounded by African Americans and all of my activities and interactions took place among them. My Washington was segregated along very specific lines and we blacks had our way of life, our associations, communities and our own systems of protection. We did not have to compete with the white population for anything. We established our own infrastructure that was comfortable, efficient and self-sustaining. We operated our own shopping areas and hubs of communication. Everything we needed (I didn’t say everything we wanted) in our daily lives was available. I must admit I was somewhat shielded from the darker aspects of social life and didn’t really experience the full brunt of segregation. At any rate, although segregation and racial discrimination existed in my childhood, they were not severe enough to destroy my lovely childhood memories.

My goal and the purpose of this book are to share my childhood with you, to let you feel the pulse of that environment and to let you experience the good and the bad of growing up in survival mode. I also want to show you that even the meekest and poorest people on earth can come through rough times and thorny patches and can actually bloom into a garden of beautiful flowers. The ultimate goal of the families and friends living in the 40’s and 50’s was essentially to survive and thanks to our loving village community, we did just that.

I can’t wait to tell you how it was to live in such a wonderful place in the 40’s. The city has indeed changed a lot since I hit the scene in 1941. There were some good things and some not so good, but because I came through it all relatively unscathed, I can still let you in on an unknown secret or two. You’ll read later on that I love secrets. I’ve always been proud of my ancestry. I love who I am. In fact, I really think that although I never saw any semblance of that silver spoon that some folks are born with, my inheritance has made me one of the richest souls on this earth. The best place to start my story is with the ancestors I knew and loved in my childhood. I am proud to introduce you to the people at the root of my life’s journey in the nation’s capital.

Book Review

Click for more detail about What Love Feels Like by F. Y. Dawn What Love Feels Like

by F. Y. Dawn
AuthorHouse (Oct 31, 2012)
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Latrice is married to the good looking Calvin Stewart. He swept her off her feet putting an end to her party girl life style. He was different than the unemployed losers of her past; had his own money and plenty of it. Blinded by his charm and finances, she fell in love and in no time at all walked down the aisle to become Mrs. Stewart. Unbeknownst to her, the man she married was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He makes it his daily chore to beat her into submission. She loses her identity and almost her life before realizing she has to get away. She escapes and seeks safety among friends where she finds the one thing she never expected, true love. Marlon Wright has tried his best to make his wife happy, but the more he tries the more she complains. She takes her need for excitement to far and winds up down a path of lies and manipulation. When she goes too far all hell breaks loose and she will stop at nothing to convince Marlon that she is still the woman he fell in love with, but she better be ready for the competition. Someone else catches Marlon’s eye and he struggles to keep his composure.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Escape to Love by Alice Wootson Escape to Love

by Alice Wootson
iUniverse (Oct 01, 2012)
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The romance in this story between Angela and the detective guarding her is top match.

-"Romantic Times"

"Alice Wootson departs from her usual warm and fuzzy romance for a bit of action and suspense."

-"Romantc Times"

This book was awarded a Star Review by Booklist.


Click for more detail about Cowards And Angels by Aileen Muhammad Cowards And Angels

by Aileen Muhammad
Trafford Publishing (Sep 28, 2012)
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In the early 1930s, young Ace Smart is eight years old when his father, a physician, is found hung in his office, and his mother, a writer in the Harlem Renaissnce, dies soon after. He grows up bitterly, marries, and raises two daughters. This is the story of the spiritual journey of one of his daughters. Evidence of the past and feelings of the famiy emerge as Mia is hospitlized in a mental hospital. Ace’s secret affair with Vanav weaves suspense when Ace discovers that Vanav was his wife’s best friend in childhood. Vanav has only known freedom and has kept the knowledge and science of her people from the island of Sokotra in the Indian Ocean. She is close to Mia and shared her knowledge with Mia’s mother. Ace later finds that his father and grandparents were affiliated with people from that island who settled in Steelton, Pennsylvania, and worked with the underground railroad. Quakers, Muslims, and Jews were involved in the movement. Family ideas about the African American experience are an issue as is the remedy for Mia. The family has ties with the struggle for honor and with an ancient healing that comes from knowledge of the blood or red resin from the dragon tree of Sokotra. Unexpected events occur when Ace finally gets rid of his hostility and Mia fights for her mental and emotional freedom. This story is woven with poetry, in an out of time as its powerful messages leave an important imprint on the heart.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Home for Christmas by Alice Wootson Home for Christmas

by Alice Wootson
iUniverse (Aug 14, 2012)
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"Home for Christmas is one of the sweetest romance stories I’ve read in a long time."

Romance in Color

"Alice Wootson has done an exceptional job of character development and portrayal."

Romantic Times


Click for more detail about Nikki G: A Portrait of Nikki Giovanni in Her Own Words by Darryl L. Lacy Nikki G: A Portrait of Nikki Giovanni in Her Own Words

by Darryl L. Lacy
iUniverse (Jun 26, 2012)
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Nikki Giovanni, admired for her honesty and strength, is recognized the world over as being a poet of both social and self growth. Nikki G: A Portrait of Nikki Giovanni in Her Own Words offers a glimpse into how the poet lives as a poet. As an influential force in the oral poetry movement in Black culture, Nikki Giovanni’s words are theater.


Click for more detail about Through The Fire by Patricia A. Saunders Through The Fire

by Patricia A. Saunders
AuthorHouse (Mar 21, 2012)
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The book of poetry Through the Fire is about going through life’s fire and making it through. Being in love, lust, and breaking up to make up. Having money to being almost homeless, facing life’s challenges of death, and grieving. Being on this rollercoaster that some call life has made me take pen to hand and let the expressions flow.


Click for more detail about Tribal Echoes: Restoring Hope by Nkem DenChukwu Tribal Echoes: Restoring Hope

by Nkem DenChukwu
iUniverse (Mar 02, 2012)
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If children are our future, it’s important that they remember the past, because if they don’t, no one will. Who, if not parents, can impart family histories and heritage upon children? Nkem DenChukwu’s inspirational collection, the issues of bloodline and heritage are tackled head-on, along with the importance of one’s culture.

In Part I, DenChukwu delves into the tribal heritage of the Igbos of Eastern Nigeria. She explains it vividly, how being born in any one country does not determine who you really are. Instead, your bloodline represents your true heritage. In understanding the difference, DenChukwu believes you can better understand yourself.

In Part II, she transitions into lucid life tales to show the beauty in a language, how one’s culture and the lack thereof, can affect one’s thought processes and behavior. It is possible to lose an accent or assimilate into a new culture. It is also possible to forget your heritage, and in this forgetfulness, people lose much.


Click for more detail about January Jackson and Friends by Zonie Felder January Jackson and Friends

by Zonie Felder
iUniverse (Feb 07, 2012)
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Beautiful women can-and will-stoop to ugly acts in the name of love, lust, and power.

In the face of unspeakable erotic betrayal, no one is safe. Behold how lust and passion can quickly cloud judgment-and how wrong choices will forever change a friendship. These lifelong friends will soon learn that beauty is truly only skin deep as the true ugliness of their souls is revealed by the most horrific of acts and emotions.

As young girls, January, Jasmine, Monica, Charlene, and Terry vowed to be friends forever. As teens, their emerging passions began to test the bonds of their friendship. As adults, lust, deception, and treachery because their lives to come crashing down. Can their friendship survive the ultimate betrayal?

Their passion for life is what connected them as friends, but now this same passion threatens to break them apart. When the dust settles, who will be left standing and able to pick up the pieces? Can friendship triumph over betrayal?

A Messaging about this book from the author

Dear Reader,

This is my debut erotic novel and like January Jackson I’m so excited. January Jackson and her childhood friends Monica, Terry, Charlene, and Jasmine discover how hard it is to keep their promise to maintain their friendships in light of recent happenings. These childhood friends discover that memories are not just the only thing that they share. In the face of unspeakable erotic betrayal, no one is safe. Behold how lust and passion can quickly cloud judgments and how wrong choices will forever change their friendships. See just how ugly these beautiful women become when their secrets are revealed and hidden truths are un-surfaced.

January, an established restaurant owner, has come upon a recipe for disaster that has all of the following ingredients: feuding friends, breathless liaisons, and tainted relationships. Very, very, erotic this book will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride and leave you longing for more.

Reaching a new level of success, January invites her best friends to celebrate with her when a surprise the likes of which no one has ever expected turns her celebration into something else, entirely. January is forced to choose sides as lines are drawn in the sand.
Be sure to let me know what you think. Visit my facebook page at January Jackson and Friends: The Premiere.

With love,
Zonie Felder


Click for more detail about Kindred Spirits by Alice Wootson Kindred Spirits

by Alice Wootson
iUniverse (Jan 25, 2012)
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Undercover journalist, Alana Duke, and ex-special forces agent, Keith Henderson, combine forces to thwart a plot to cause national devastation. The powerful mutual attraction between the two proves to be a delicious complication.

"Mrs. Wootson has a gift for penning wonderful scenes that draw the reader right in." "Romantic Times"

"Wootson’s mysterious tale of love outshines rapid point-of-view changes and repetitious passages as her most likable characters traverse a collision course with love." "Romantic Times"


Click for more detail about Buttermilk Bottom by H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson Buttermilk Bottom

by H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson
Xlibris (Dec 15, 2011)
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The people…
Every neighborhood produces a busybody, a comedian, a gossip, a blabbermouth, a storyteller and a historian. Everybody knew everybody and everybody knew everybody’s business. One could do little to keep people out of their private affairs; in fact, the concept of privacy was an alien concept to its inhabitants.

They portrayed a spirit of determination and a strong will to survive in spite of fear, harassment, extreme poverty, and torment. They gave each other energy, humor, and courage, which pierced, then awakened their minds and souls, allowing them to endure under the constant pressures.

The events…
The activities on Friday and Saturday nights made this neighborhood legendary. There was always a fight, a shooting or a stabbing that occurred bringing in outsiders to cart away the dead bodies and guilty parties. Outsiders were anyone black or white that did not live within its boundaries.

The most unwelcomed outsider was the police department, which had a very complex yet dependent relationship with the residents. They came when there was a need, and yet they were not welcomed because the residents very often fell victim to their persistent prejudice and abuse.

The place…
The entire community sat in a gigantic ditch, surrounded by acres of long-needle pine trees, covered with thick, uncontrollable, unrelenting kudzu vines.

However, it was a neighborhood with its own set of values, beliefs, and practices that its people often distorted and mutilated, originating out of hate, prejudice, and racism; but those same conditions served as the glue that held its people together.

Its name…
Buttermilk Bottom
Immerse in this remarkable novel born out of author H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson’s fascination with the forbidden neighborhood that had an equally fascinating location and history.

The story, like the characters enclosed in these pages, is sitting in the historically correct backdrop of the struggle for civil and human rights, which unfolded slowly in cities all over America.

Follow the characters’ colorful lives as you browse through the pages of this book.


Click for more detail about The Cultural Awareness Journal: For Those New to Cultural Awareness and Those Already on the Journey by Angela Jackson The Cultural Awareness Journal: For Those New to Cultural Awareness and Those Already on the Journey

by Angela Jackson
AuthorHouse (Nov 23, 2011)
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What happens next after that powerful workshop on cultural sensitivity and awareness? What if you are culturally aware or you don’t understand why topics on cultural competency won’t go away. Actually you were raised anyway to treat everyone the same. Trust me this is the journal for you all. You are not required to read a book on culture or take a class learning about different cultures. Your benefit from this book will be what you experience. That’s the goal of this journal…to let you emotionally experience your excitement after a powerful training on diversity or maybe frustration from hearing once again that you’re insensitive to the cultural experiences of others. I want to help you experience whatever is beneath your thoughts, emotions, or behaviors without judgment. This journal provides a safe haven yet acceptance where you are and ultimately movement to understanding how broad culture awareness really is. I ultimately want you to have a life that includes relationships and life experiences that help you relax and enjoy the influences of culture every day. This is my aim each day.


Click for more detail about Touch by Charlotte Watson Sherman Touch

by Charlotte Watson Sherman
iUniverse (Nov 18, 2011)
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A woman on the verge of falling in love must tell her new lover she’s contracted a life-threatening disease.


Click for more detail about Bobby’s Faith by Cathy Finch White Bobby’s Faith

by Cathy Finch White
AuthorHouse (Oct 19, 2011)
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Follow along with Bobby as his faith in God, leads him to realizing his dream. 9- year old Bobby wishes he could play basketball like the other kids at his recreation center but a medical condition stops him. With a little faith and a lot of prayer, Bobby learns that anything is possible if you just believe.


Click for more detail about Adam And Seymour by Cathy Finch White Adam And Seymour

by Cathy Finch White
AuthorHouse (Oct 14, 2011)
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Adam and Seymour are two young boys who wants to play soccer, but does not know how to play, they both signs up for soccer tryouts, believing that they could make the team with a little help and determination.


Click for more detail about Afro Clouds & Nappy Rain: The Curtis Brown Poems by James B. Golden Afro Clouds & Nappy Rain: The Curtis Brown Poems

by James B. Golden
iUniverse (Oct 12, 2011)
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In his second book, Afro Clouds & Nappy Rain, James B. Golden introduces the world to Curtis Brown, a troubled teen struggling with growing up Black and male in America. The collection was composed over several seasons that Golden worked in a rehabilitation setting with boys like Curtis. The poems speak of the emotional warfare many young men experience beneath their rough exterior. Golden sprinkled these poems with vulnerability, while remaining expressly frank about depression, hopelessness, fatherlessness, abandonment and rape. His voice is poignantly explicit and stripped of sweetener, but understanding and stimulating as well.With titles like ""The Night You Had Sex With My Journal"", ""Rotten Diamonds On Th e Inside"", and ""Letter No. 5 To An Absent Mother"", he gives us grand images and comic relief. Welcome to the world of Curtis Brown.


Click for more detail about My Sister’s Veil by K C. Marshall My Sister’s Veil

by K C. Marshall
Xlibris (Jul 23, 2011)
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PREFACE

MY SISTER’S VEIL(a poem)

Toni’s Veil:
A beautiful face is never enough
To guarantee love, success, and trust.
Torn and conflicted by what they see and say
Maybe they’re right
It’s better their way.
They always win,
So of course we would choose
To perpetrate a look
That will never lose.
I’ll just take it to the twelfth degree
So it appears self righteously
To be me.
So bury the mirror,
And who you really see.
And bury the hatred
Of who you really be.
Then it’s easy to forget the grief
And promise yourself
You can become
A respectable
Thief!

Terri’s Veil:
Restless and young
With nothing to lose.
Thrown into your world
Unblemished, unbruised.
Ready to grow, and trust and learn,
But guns fill your hands before you discern
The value of life, community and respect
A simple way to mask your intellect.
Apprentice of self-destruction,
A king with no crown
Frustrated and confused,
By the systematic run around.
Yet a gnarly lesson awaits to prove
It’s by your own hand
You win or you lose!

Tina’s Veil:
Abandoned and ashamed
Afraid and unloved
I hid my pain
As innocently as a dove.
The Lord answers prayers
So invisible I’ll be
’cause my blllack and nappy
Embarrasses thee.
If only but
For a genuine veil,
I’d lose myself
In self-medicated hell.
But no need to worry,
No need to fret
Their ’yaki’ hair and blue contacts
Are easy to get.
Spare not a dime
For value and worth
Designer labels and gold
To our pride gives birth.
So strut on high, and lively, and proud
As you die slowly
With a legacy
Broken and loud!


Click for more detail about Signs of Life: Past, Present and Future by Joy Elan Signs of Life: Past, Present and Future

by Joy Elan
Xlibris (Jul 14, 2011)
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Book by Elan, Joy


Click for more detail about Color Me Black by Jeannie Eneh Color Me Black

by Jeannie Eneh
AuthorHouse (Jun 08, 2011)
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"This novel is about a young, black woman name Autumn. Autumn has always dreamt to become a movie star in the rolling hills of Hollywood. Autumn is a 6 foot beauty with natural, golden blonde hair and eyes the color of the clear, blue/green ocean. Her skin is the perfect hue of the color of milk.
Autumn is in love. Autumn meets and starts dating the Mayor of Dallas who happens to be the first black mayor the city has ever had. Autumn is confused. How can Autumn love the Mayor when Nelly has her heart and refuses to let go. Nelly and Autumn’s chemistry is too hot to handle. Autumn’s love for Nelly hurt so bad she had to let him go. Nelly is a true big baller who just ‘happens’ to be white and married with kids.
Nelly asks Autumn, “What do you want me to do, Color Me Black?”
In midst of Autumn’s love triangle she gets the break she has been waiting on. Her best friend Bug-a-Loo who is an up and coming rapper gives her the lead role in his new rap video. Autumn’s success skyrockets.

Who will pay the price for Autumn’s success? Autumn, The Mayor, Nelly or will it be Bug."


Click for more detail about Trust in Me by Alice Wootson Trust in Me

by Alice Wootson
iUniverse (May 05, 2011)
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Linda and Avery overcome serious histories and learn to trust again and find love with each other. ""Ms. Wootson has a knack for developing characters with strong convictions and feelings. The story flows from the get-go; from the development of the characters, both major and minor, through its very satisfying conclusion."" Romantic Times


Click for more detail about Perfect Wedding by Alice Wootson Perfect Wedding

by Alice Wootson
iUniverse (Apr 25, 2011)
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High school teacher Dana Dillard has worked hard to make her career dreams come true. But five years after getting her degree, she’s still paying off her student loans—and her other ambitions have been put on hold. The most fun she’s had lately is watching the reality shows she’s hooked on. But all that changes when she sees a new show, Perfect Wedding, which rewards the winner with a luxurious wedding and honeymoon in Hawaii—and Dana decides to go for it. After completing the application, she’s set…all she needs now is a fiance! Her colleague Steve Rollings would be happy to fill that role—he’s had a wicked crush on smart, determined Dana since the first day they met. Dana considers him more like a brother than boyfriend, much less a fiance. But Steve is just as purposeful as Dana, and he knows she’s the only woman for him. Now he just has to convince her he’s the groom of her dreams…and prove his passion is the real thing!


Click for more detail about Web of Freedom by Kelvin Christopher James Web of Freedom

by Kelvin Christopher James
iUniverse (Mar 29, 2011)
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Set in the early 19th century and reminiscent of the grand storytelling of Alexandre Dumas, Web of Freedom recounts the adventures of prince M’nalo Fanta Bembo, who escapes from a slave ship that has transported him from his native Africa. Living alone on a remote Caribbean island and surviving on his wits and knowledge of sorcery and botany, he is discovered by native forest people and treated as an honored Savage. Yet following his destiny, he strikes out on his own path and is eventually rescued from a hurricane by buccaneers. The pirate ship’s captain, addicted to opium, is yet a man of high principles, and for M’nalo’s safety, leaves him on his brother’s sugar plantation, where the lives and loves of the slavers and the enslaved play out in vivid detail. There, living as a free black man among black slaves, M’nalo is respected, makes friends, and inspires followers. Then with unforeseen consequences, he falls in love. "Joy is a mighty muscle!" is the novel’s exuberant opening line as M’nalo rows toward freedom and a fate he could never have contemplated.


Click for more detail about Art My Way: Momarosa’s Guide to Living a Vibrant Energetic Life by Omarosa Manigault Newman and Theresa M. Manigault Art My Way: Momarosa’s Guide to Living a Vibrant Energetic Life

by Omarosa Manigault Newman and Theresa M. Manigault
Trafford Publishing (Dec 20, 2010)
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Be motivated and uplifted by the original paintings created by Momarosa. The beautiful works found in this book were inspired from her heart and meant to remind people of all ages and races, in particularly women, that having peace can be found and apart of one’s everyday life. That peace will spark a fire of creativity or just give sheer comfort, to make each day more vibrant and different than the last.


Click for more detail about Sibling Secrets by Jaz Johnson Sibling Secrets

by Jaz Johnson
AuthorHouse (Dec 03, 2010)
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Caroline and her father Robert are looking to move on from her mother’s death five years earlier. Her father has found a girlfriend, while she still suffers from mental breakdowns and episodes where she visually relives witnessing her mother’s death. As it turns out, Caroline’s father’s new girlfriend has a son, Isaac, who takes a liking to her. Too much of a liking. The two realize they have a connection and Caroline is fearful of what will become of the relationship. She tries to resist him, but he convinces her that nothing will happen between their parents, and that it is a fling. So they keep their relationship a secret from their friends and family, waiting for their parents’ fling to end. But will it? Will Caroline and Isaac be able to keep their relationship a secret? Will Caroline ever get over her mother’s death? Find out about all the drama that unfolds in an unexpected teenage romance.


Click for more detail about Walking Among The Kudzu by H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson Walking Among The Kudzu

by H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson
Xlibris (Nov 16, 2010)
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Following her debut "Stones Along The Path, Part 1 & 2," Atkerson’s unbridled talent has spun another tantalizing, visceral, and unflinching tale. The nation’s tumultuous Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s coupled with the fitful, unmanageable crispation of the kudzu vines, common in Atlanta, Georgia, prove to be a captivating setting for the novel’s heroine, Shelby Reed.

The reader accompanies Shelby from an unwanted daughter in Chicago to her shipment to relatives in Atlanta, Georgia. The enmity between Shelby and her mother in Chicago only begs for a better life for her in Atlanta. Her growth from childhood through motherhood is truthfully and poignantly laid bare in all its richness. Thus, when she says, "I have spent my whole life looking for love and craving acceptance," an apt reply is, "You certainly did."

By way of prose that is lyrical and precise, the author breathes life into an array of characters who are colorful, loveable, and at times downright despicable, but never uninteresting. You will love Mom Moses, who is the matriarch in the novel. She is well geared with a panoply of weapons to defend and protect those she loves. If she cannot assuage the situation with her southern comfort food, she has a steady fist always at the ready as a backup. Mr. Marshall, "Bubba," is a talented and respected lawyer whose white skin at times does not adequately restrain his black inner soul. Mom Moses reared him from a baby, and as a result, he considers her as his mom with all the benefits that go with the title. Then, there’s Andre, Mom Moses’ nephew. His dubious sexual identity is confusing to everyone but himself. He knows he’s a lady. His appearance at the US Recruiting Office as a draftee makes for an unparalleled moment. His glib retorts and mannerisms are great comical reliefs at just the right time.

Much, much more than a tale of woe, "Walking Among The Kudzu" is solidly packed with anguish, pathos, unrequited love, humor, and the supernatural. Shelby takes the reader along with her as she unfolds her eventful life. What about the kudzu vine? Early in the novel, Shelby is told, "They (the vines) have a mind of their own. They grow wild… just like us." Walking Among The Kudzu" is no leisurely stroll, it’s a multi-tiered romp!
—Review by S. Lawrence Wright, Philadelphia Community College, English Department

Book Review

Click for more detail about The Olympian: An American Triumph by Craig T. Williams The Olympian: An American Triumph

by Craig T. Williams
iUniverse (Oct 25, 2010)
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I dare greatly, and I shall live my life as no ordinary man bound by a game of chance. -John Baxter Taylor Jr. Running is his sacred ritual. As his legs gracefully carry him around the track at the University of Pennsylvania, he feels the wind in his face and freedom at his back. It is 1905, and John Baxter Taylor Jr. is three years away from representing the United States at the Olympic Games in England, where he will become the first African American Gold Medalist in Olympic Game history. Taylor has done everything in his power to live an uncommon life and defy those who dare to stand in his way. As he transforms himself from a skinny boy who licks at the heels of his fellow high school competitors while ignoring racial slurs to becoming one of the best quarter-milers in the world, he beats not only his competitors on the track but also shines academically, eventually earning a degree in veterinary medicine. In this compelling historical novel, the story of one man’s extraordinary life led by his unyielding determination to achieve his dream despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles will inspire you to remember that glory does not die, but is instead passed on to the next person willing to carry the torch in their heart.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Dream Wedding by Alice Wootson Dream Wedding

by Alice Wootson
iUniverse (Oct 12, 2010)
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Dream Wedding reunites high school sweethearts Missy Harrison and Jimmy Scott, who meet again after Missy’s car breaks down as she returns home to marry someone else. "Author Alice Wootson has a gift for penning wonderful scenes that seem to draw the reader right into the story." Romantic Times


Click for more detail about Entangled In Freedom: A Civil War Story: The Street Life Series Youth Edition by Ann Dewitt and Kevin M. Weeks Entangled In Freedom: A Civil War Story: The Street Life Series Youth Edition

by Ann Dewitt and Kevin M. Weeks
Xlibris (Sep 03, 2010)
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"""From the beginning of this [Civil War] struggle, [African Americans] took part —-
on the Union side thousands of run-a-way slaves joined the Army and Navy.
Likewise thousands took part on the Confederate side
actuated by a type of loyalty unsurpassed in human annals.""
~West A. Hamilton, Colonel, Infantry Reserve
Hampton Conference on National Defense (November 1940)


Travel with 22 year old Isaac through the dirt streets of Oxford (Georgia), Big Shanty (Georgia) and on over to Cumberland Gap (Tennessee) as he serves with the 42nd Regiment Georgia Volunteers. Decades after Daniel Boone blazed the Wilderness Trail, witness how Isaac is front and center as the Confederate and Union armies skirmish for strategic supply lines required for outlying Civil War battle campaigns. Also, decipher the mitigating factors contributing to Isaac going to war with Abraham Green, a yeoman farmer and slaveholder of Isaac.
This human-interest centric novel further explores the intertwined relationship between master, slave, and the dynamics leading up to a Confederate Congress proposal to enlist African-American troops in the latter part of the American Civil War. Like never before, this electrifying page turner sparks novice readers and Civil War zealots alike into debating the best kept factual secrets concerning African-American Confederate soldiers.
"


Click for more detail about Anna Learns to Play the Violin by Cathy Finch White Anna Learns to Play the Violin

by Cathy Finch White
AuthorHouse (Sep 02, 2010)
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Anna is a 9 year old girl, that loves music but does not know how to play an instrument. Anna decides to learn to play the violin and realizes that playing an instrument takes a lot of practice. See how persistent Anna is when it comes to playing the violin and how practice makes perfect.


Click for more detail about Aloha Love by Alice Wootson Aloha Love

by Alice Wootson
iUniverse (Jun 01, 2010)
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Facing danger make Jeanine and Chris realize what’s really important. They are interesting characters in an exciting, spicy romantic story.


Click for more detail about Goony Goo-Goo And Ga-Ga Too by Kia Morgan Smith Goony Goo-Goo And Ga-Ga Too

by Kia Morgan Smith
AuthorHouse (May 28, 2010)
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Goony Goo-Goo and Ga-Ga Too! is a whimsical tale of two sisters, Selena and Celeste who are less than enthusiastic about their new baby brother. They plot and plan to communicate with him in a secret baby language in order to get the baby to do what THEY want! They tell the baby boy he has to earn his keep by doing some of their dirty work like taking out the trash! That is until mom figures out their presumptuous plot! The results are hilarious! But the sisters also learn to love and accept their new sibling—even if it means they can’t get their way. Children of all ages will enjoy the cadence, rhythm and rhyme of this book and soon you’ll find your child chanting Goony Goo-Goo and Ga-Ga Too!

Book Review

Click for more detail about American Frankenstein: How The United States Created A Monster! by KS Cramer American Frankenstein: How The United States Created A Monster!

by KS Cramer
Xlibris (May 26, 2010)
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American Frankenstein is laced with reflective images and selective historical details. The book paints a clear picture of the causal factors resulting in today’s African American existence, which should educate the masses on the root causes for the African American condition and why African Americans represent either a vastly untapped pool of American human capital, or a huge catalyst in the nation’s downward social spiral. It also has the potential to spark a new wave of debates about racial relations, history and diversity.


Click for more detail about To Love Again by Alice Wootson To Love Again

by Alice Wootson
iUniverse (May 26, 2010)
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"Cindy and Marc, still smarting from failed marriages swear off marriage. Their mothers, however, have other ideas." "Award-winning author, Alice Wootson knows how to make her characters come alive."


Click for more detail about Ready to Take a Chance by Alice Wootson Ready to Take a Chance

by Alice Wootson
iUniverse (May 19, 2010)
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When Shana catches her husband cheating, she vows to never let a man get that close to her again. Then along comes Kyle to make her reconsider her decision. Can she trust him? Or is he just another player?


Click for more detail about Scratching For Daylight by Wilbert Gibson Scratching For Daylight

by Wilbert Gibson
AuthorHouse (Apr 01, 2010)
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This is a compilation of short stories from the pen of an old man. He writes about Western Africa, during the days of the slave trade, as told by someone who was there. He tells about the circumstances of his capture and the horror of the boat ride over. You will read about a gang banger, murderer, and prison snitch, who after twenty-eight years in solitary confinement, emerges as God’s most anointed servant. Read how hard it was for young mothers, alone, to raise children in those dangerous, big city projects. Read a story about a young man on death row and what put him there. The year is 1934. You will visit a small church, out in the woods, near the Mississippi Delta, where one can enjoy Sunday night services and inspirational spirituals as song by our beautiful Sunday’s bird. I will tell you about what I saw, one Saturday night, that eyes should not see. The first part of the book of Genesis will be reread. One story is about a storefront church, located between a liquor store and a motorcycle club, with its congregation of recovering addicts and felons. A grandfather tells a boy about what happened the night that his own grandfather went to heaven during the days of bondage. You will read about the life of a frightened mother of the church, who had been given up on, and was on the way to her final resting place. Armageddon, through literature, we will witness the final hours of that last day. Through the vision of an old deacon, you will witness that blissful paradise called heaven. The most profound story is a question. What is the future of the modern black church?

Book Review

Click for more detail about Handfuls of Purpose: Helping our Daughters Seize and Embrace their Destinies by Zebedee King Handfuls of Purpose: Helping our Daughters Seize and Embrace their Destinies

by Zebedee King
Xlibris (Mar 30, 2010)
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Nowadays, the shelves are overrun with books that endeavor to teach women how to play "the game". In contrast, Handfuls of Purpose points women to the benefits of following the "plan", specifically, God’s plan for their lives-the plan that leads to purpose. To accomplish this, the author uses the storyline from the Book of Ruth as the backdrop for unpacking timeless precepts for living, loving and leaving a legacy. Throughout his book, Zeb King wraps his arms around his readers and then gradually unwraps God’s Word concerning decisions and relationships that tend to propel women to their destinies, as well as those that typically abort God’s purpose for their lives. Below are a few of the comments received from women who have reviewed parts of the book during pre-publication: ".I was totally blown away." - San Antonio, TX ".a masterpiece." - Madison, Alabama ".awesome." - Dallas, TX Written to address a wide audience, the author challenges the reader to navigate life’s choices and circumstances using the sure principles in God’s Word as a roadmap and the promises of His manifold blessings as a compass in their progression toward their destinies. By balancing tough love with tenderness, he encourages all women everywhere to abandon a life of obscurity and vexation in exchange for a hope-filled, fulfilling future.


Click for more detail about Ila’s Diamonds II by Donna M. Gray-Banks Ila’s Diamonds II

by Donna M. Gray-Banks
AuthorHouse (Feb 24, 2010)
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Ila's Diamonds II, is the second book of a trilogy by Donna M. Gray-Banks. It is a story about one woman's journey to find true fulfillment in her career, her life, and her loves. It is also an erotic look at emotional exploitation and meaningless sexual gratification that develops between men and women when true love is not the impetus for a relationship.


Click for more detail about Well Considered by Richard Morris Well Considered

by Richard Morris
iUniverse (Feb 15, 2010)
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"Well Considered is a suspenseful but deeply moving novel that gripped me throughout. I recommend it." -William Byers Ron Watkins learns that his great-grandfather, Thomas, was murdered by a mob in 1907 in Maryland. He is driven to find proof that Thomas was an innocent victim in order to protect his children’s familial and racial pride from those who might assume that Thomas committed some crime that incited the violence. But as Ron searches for information, Jimmy Clay, neo-Nazi owner of a dilapidated general store and oil-and-lube who has ties to the 1907 mob, learns of his activities. Clay becomes convinced that Ron intends to steal his property, and with two cohorts seizes him as he jogs through the woods. Wilma, Ron’s wife, futilely searches for him and desperately calls on neighbors for help. What Ron does not know is that the truth he seeks is hidden in the mind of a friend. Set in former tobacco fields in Maryland, Well Considered travels back to a time a century ago and shows how people and events buried deep in the past can still affect us and control our existence. This is a story of racial conflict and reconciliation, suspense, mystery, history, and humor with characters you will not soon forget.

Book Review

Click for more detail about The Black Clergy’s Misguided Worship Leadership: Petition: No More Idol Gods for Black People by Christopher C. Bell Jr. The Black Clergy’s Misguided Worship Leadership: Petition: No More Idol Gods for Black People

by Christopher C. Bell Jr.
Trafford Publishing (Feb 03, 2010)
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The Black Clergy’s Misguided Worship Leadership, This book is an incisive analysis showing why and how the black community’s worship of Jesus Christ, Christianity’s White male idol, is a subliminal, underlying cause of the high incarceration rates among young Black males. Citing cogent historical, educational, and behavioral reasons, Dr. Bell explains why the worship of the ancient Roman, Constantine- certified, white male idol Jesus Christ is misguided and afflicts black people with a deleterious white superiority syndrome. Dr Bell explains further how such worship spiritually emasculates and socially demeans black manhood and how many young black men intuitively react in ways that lead to high rates of delinquencies, violence, crime, and incarceration. In this book, Dr. Bell petitions the black clergy to stop this misguided worship and start teaching black people a new Christianity that espouses a "Worship only God, the source and sustainer of life" message and honors but does not worship prophet Jesus. Dr. Bell argues that this new Christianity will liberate black people from the damaging psychological effects of their white-male worshipping folkways. He also argues that the new Christianity will end the spiritual emasculation and disrespect imposed on young black men by the old Constantine-certified Christianity and will thus mediate downward the high rates of delinquencies, violence, and incarceration among young black men. Dr. Bell asserts that unless the black clergy takes the actions requested in his petition, black people will forever think of themselves as inferior to white people and many, angry young Black men will continue their plight and plunge toward incarceration.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Humble Obedience Leverages Your Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: A Compliment To Your Daily Bible Study by Wesley J. Malcolm Humble Obedience Leverages Your Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth: A Compliment To Your Daily Bible Study

by Wesley J. Malcolm
AuthorHouse (Jan 12, 2010)
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This book is intended to provide you with common sense and sound advice about life from an everyday perspective. The true value and meaning of life can only be found through God. It is my attempt to convey in this book the impact that disobedience to God’s word, as revealed in the Bible, have on our ordinary lives. This book will encourage us to develop authentic lives, connecting with each other in this great world God has given to us, and establish unity with one another through moral standards of conduct. You will come to realize that God is indeed Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotent when you ponder and meditate on his word. You will find in this book clear guidance for correct behavior, helpful points of views on the value of resisting destructive influences in life. You will develop an understanding of not only why but how God is unrelenting towards those who keep opposing him. You will understand the many ways God shows us mercy and forgiveness when we repent because of his compassion for us. We need to keep God first in our life even during our trying times because there is always hope when we maintain a meaningful relationship with God. Finally, this book is intended to encourage one to strive toward perfection with their life. Although we may never reach perfection; because no one is perfect but God; we should be thankful for the mercy and grace that he provided and affords to us in spite of our imperfections.


Click for more detail about Friends 2 Lovers by Jonathan Anthony Burkett Friends 2 Lovers

by Jonathan Anthony Burkett
Xlibris (Dec 17, 2009)
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Strong relationships come from well-bonded friendships. The best foundation for relationships to grow, flourish, and succeed is a deep-rooted friendship. This is the time when two people get to know each other and accept each other despite and in spite who the person is. In an emotive and touching story that will surely evoke a gamut of sentiments and thoughts, author Jonathan Anthony Burkett portrays how friends can end up as lovers and how that can last a lifetime. From Friends 2 Lovers, you will experience how exhilarating and wonderful the ride can be, even if there are challenges and obstacles along the way. In a compelling narrative that will touch your heart and make you think dearly of your friends and loved ones, you ll surely experience an overwhelming ebb and flow of emotions as you leaf through its pages.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Into Africa: The Return by Yvonne Blackwood Into Africa: The Return

by Yvonne Blackwood
Trafford Publishing (Nov 23, 2009)
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Blackwood’s remarkable story, articulated in Into Africa: a Personal Journey, told about her first journey to West Africa, land of her ancestors. She travelled alone and her exposure to Nigeria’s tight military control caused her to experience fear as never before. In Ghana, destiny led her to meet Adamson, who became her guide, doctor and more….The story left you breathless, wanting more. Into Africa: The Return describes Blackwood’s second journey to West Africa. This time accompanied by two American cousins - Peabody, 70, reunites with Theresa, her Ashanti friend after 40 years. Theresa’s brother dies the day before they arrive in Ghana and plans go awry. In Ghana, Blackwood meets her protégée Frieda and the dashing Pastor Ray for the first time. Frieda must overcome her bashfulness and try to warm up to her sponsor. A plan to visit Mali is shelved and Togo substituted. But is it safe to travel there without a native? Pastor Ray volunteers to accompany them - a blessing in disguise. The cousins explore a mysterious world with alien cultures and experience wonderment, joy and heart-wrenching sadness. Into Africa: the Return resonates with intrigue and discovery that keeps you riveted to the last word.


Click for more detail about Legacy to Legend: Winners Make It Happen by Floyd L. Griffin Jr. Legacy to Legend: Winners Make It Happen

by Floyd L. Griffin Jr.
Xlibris (Nov 06, 2009)
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Griffin was first African American to be elected to the Georgia State Senate from the Twenty-fifth legislative district, an area with a majority of white voters. In 1998 Griffin was candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. In 2002, Griffin continued to do what political experts said was impossible by becoming the first African American mayor of the Old Capitol City of Georgia, Milledgeville.

At different times in his life, Floyd Griffin has been a cadet, Vietnam Helicopter Pilot, Army Colonel, football coach, professor, businessman, state senator and mayor. Throughout his life of change and challenges, Floyd Griffin has always been dedicated to public service.

In 1994, Griffin did what political experts said was impossible. He literally stormed onto the political scene and defeated an incumbent Georgia State Senator.

The victory made Griffin the first African American in modern times to be elected in a rural legislature district containing a majority of white voters.

In 2000, Griffin continued to do what political experts said was impossible by becoming the first African American mayor of the Old Capitol City of Milledgeville, GA.

The Honorable Floyd Griffin served as Senator of Georgia’s Twenty-fifth District for two terms. In the Georgia Senate, Griffin was Chairman of the Interstate Cooperation Committee and served on the Defense and Veteran’s Affairs, Health and Human Services, Higher Education, Local and State government operations and the powerful Rules committees.

In 1998, Griffin was candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. His candidacy for Lieutenant Governor made him the first African American to run for that office in modern times. Griffin was elected Mayor of the city of Milledgeville for the term 2002–2006. He was the sixty-seventh Mayor to serve.

Former Mayor Griffin served on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Alexandria, VA.
In 1967, he entered the United States army. In Vietnam, Griffin served as a helicopter pilot, instructor pilot, aviation platoon leader and commander of a construction engineer company. After combat service he commanded an engineer battalion under General Norman Schwarzkopf, then served on the Army Staff at the Pentagon and was later promoted to the rank of colonel.

Floyd Griffin has also worked as an educator. At Wake Forest University he served as an Assistant Professor of Military Science. He was the director of ROTC at Winston-Salem State University, where he coached the football team’s backfield as they won two conservative college championships. Griffin has served as a part-time instructor at the Georgia College and State University School of Business.
Former Mayor Griffin served on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Alexandria, VA.
In 1967, he entered the United States army. In Vietnam, Griffin served as a helicopter pilot, instructor pilot, aviation platoon leader and commander of a construction engineer company. After combat service he commanded an engineer battalion under General Norman Schwarzkopf, then served on the Army Staff at the Pentagon and was later promoted to the rank of colonel.

Floyd Griffin has also worked as an educator. At Wake Forest University he served as an Assistant Professor of Military Science. He was the director of ROTC at Winston-Salem State University, where he coached the football team’s backfield as they won two conservative college championships. Griffin has served as a part-time instructor at the Georgia College and State University School of Business.


Click for more detail about The Street Life Series: Is It Rags Or Riches? by Kevin M. Weeks The Street Life Series: Is It Rags Or Riches?

by Kevin M. Weeks
Xlibris (Oct 06, 2009)
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As Washington, D.C. s quick-witted Detective Hanae Troop crosses over the Georgia state line into historical Civil War territory, she must determine what new game the delusional serial killer, The Paradox, is now playing. Not wanting her assistance, Atlanta Detective Paul Yeomans must come to terms with Detective Troop helping him protect the south s Phoenix City.

Even though the Washington D.C. tabloids surmise that Teco Jackson was slain by The Paradox, the Feds are anxious to prove that Teco is still alive. Feeling double-crossed, The Paradox elevates his deadly game to a new level by sabotaging anyone who has started a new life after leaving the Strictly Business (SB) drug crew. For those determined to succeed despite the odds, is it rags or riches?

EditorialReviews:

The US Review of Books [Reviewer: Peter M. Fitzpatrick. 2009.]

Contradiction, ambiguity, and enigma permeate the narrative and characters. Twin sisters on opposite sides of the drug trade Or are they? Two brothers, one doing hard time for ten years for a murder he didn’t commit; the other a hard-bitten drug lord intent on dominating the drug trade in greater metropolitan Atlanta a free man. Then there is Atlanta itself, where the story is set Burned by Sherman in the Civil War because of its function as a munitions depot for the railroad system of the Confederacy, it is now one of the most multicultural cities in America, with one of the largest and wealthiest African American communities in the country. The author shows his love and admiration for the city while painting a gritty and realistic picture of the power of drugs and the pull of the street life. Possibilities of redemption and renewal emerge against an aggressive background of entrapment and menace. Plenty of action and plot twists make this third novel in the Street Life series a page-turner that is both ultra-modern and unique.

Library Journal [The Word on Street column. November 19, 2009.]
Verdict: Weeks s combination of mystery and police procedural will draw in readers as he shows the cops point of view. The long list of characters and plot tangents may be confusing, but bloody executions and a wild, climatic shoot-out will hold interest. Think of CBS s 48 Hours Mystery set to a street lit riff. [At the African American Pavilion at BookExpo 2009, Weeks s books won the Urban Series of the Year Award. Ed.]


Click for more detail about Crossroads: the Prophet and Other Lives by Michael R. Lane Crossroads: the Prophet and Other Lives

by Michael R. Lane
Xlibris (Sep 26, 2009)
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Click for more detail about Request to Rewind by Stacey Marie Robinson Request to Rewind

by Stacey Marie Robinson
Xlibris (Sep 10, 2009)
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Abigail, a twenty-seven-year-old photographer, is in a never-ending rut. She spends her time tolerating a job at the mall, enduring pressure from her parents to establish a traditional career, and relying on her older brother Leighton and her best friend Kiziah to help keep her sane. When Abigail meets Toronto’s top nightclub promoter, Karl “Karisma” Marshall, she quickly falls for his charm and is soon introduced to the introspective DJ Rewind and an entirely new world of drama, music, and social unrest. Thrown into an unexpected love triangle, Abigail sees a new side of Toronto and has the opportunity to raise community awareness and her personal profile through her photos.


Click for more detail about The Monkeybars Of Life by Ted Pittman The Monkeybars Of Life

by Ted Pittman
iUniverse (Jun 30, 2009)
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In his first novel, Ted Pittman weaves a tale about life, technology and ESP from New York to Europe and beyond. Nate LaChae grew up in a tough, nurturing, home in New York City. He learned to survive the city streets and successfully compete in technical areas. While in High School, his experiments revealed talents that amaze his fellow students and teachers. Scarred by a tragic marriage and breakup, he begins an odyssey of relationships and jobs where the love and success he craves eludes him repeatedly. Spurred on by his dream of inventing a gravity engine, Nate seeks employment with companies that have the tools and equipment he needs for his projects. He works in many European countries and makes friends everywhere he goes. During one three-year stint outside the U.S., he meets an inventor who has independently duplicated experiments Nate conducted years before. This reignites Nate’s determination to perfect his own engine. Returning to the U.S.A. Nate attempts to reconnect with his children and fulfill his dream of climbing to the top of The Monkey Bars of Life.

Book Review

Click for more detail about The Straw Man Fallacy: Exposing the Faulty Rhetoric Of, Is Bill Cosby Right? by Stanley G. Robertson The Straw Man Fallacy: Exposing the Faulty Rhetoric Of, Is Bill Cosby Right?

by Stanley G. Robertson
Xlibris (Jun 08, 2009)
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Nearly four years after Bill Cosby’s infamous Board of Education speech, it still touches a nerve; and rightfully so, because the issues facing the Black community are complex and numerous. Many authors have analyzed the speech; including Michael Eric Dyson in his book Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has The Black Middle Class Lost It’s Mind? In his book, Dyson states that he wants to "unpack those issues with the clarity and complexity they demand." But his attempt at clarity is as clear as mud. When it comes to logic, Dyson’s arguments are riddled with problems. The Straw Man Fallacy is a literary critique that analyzes and exposes the faulty logic of Is Bill Cosby Right?


Click for more detail about The Sorcerer’s Drum by Kelvin Christopher James The Sorcerer’s Drum

by Kelvin Christopher James
iUniverse (Jun 01, 2009)
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The Sorcerer’s Drum is a thrilling coming-of-age novel set in North and West Africa at the turn of the nineteenth century. The hero is born into a feuding royal family that has been exiled as punishment for nurturing threatening ambitions. An uncle, who is a sorcerer, chooses the infant boy to be instrument of revenge against the guild of sorcerers that banished him. To achieve this malicious aim, he teaches the young prince the society’s magical and psychological crafts. Because of that destiny-his F-the growing prince must manage many trials, marvelous adventures and exciting escapades before he is captured by slavers and forced into the trust and travails of a Caribbean-bound slave-laden ship.

The story makes insightful use of the mythologies of several West African peoples, and does so from an appealing perspective that employs the storytelling traditions of the region’s cultures. With fascinating details of exotic practices and mores, this novel is imaginative, layered, and wise.

Praise for "Secrets"

"James’s prose combines island lilt and savvy minimalism…"Secrets" is dense with revelations and trials that cannot even be hinted a without ruining the pleasure of this…almost urgently female odyssey." - "The New Yorker"

Praise for "Jumping Ship and Other Stories"

"A warm and gifted raconteur." - "The New York Times"

"Images of raw life, of vicious activity both in nature and in man, intermix the two environments into one swirling vortex." - "The Washington Post"


Click for more detail about White Coat Fever:  A Novel by Roland S. Jefferson White Coat Fever: A Novel

by Roland S. Jefferson
AuthorHouse (May 14, 2009)
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Stepping back from his critically acclaimed crime genre novels, Roland S. Jefferson’s White Coat Fever takes the reader on a fascinating trip back in time to the exciting world of the 1960’s, when Motown, Jazz and the civil rights movement defined an entire generation. And nowhere was the aspiration of upward mobility more evidenced than on black college campuses where some middle-class black women became obsessed with the idea of marrying doctors. September, a hauntingly attractive civil rights worker who finds both love and brutality in Mississippi jails….. Perry, a brilliant medical student spoiled by good looks and his reputation as the ultimate womanizer… Aiyana, a self centered predatory social climber determined to marry a doctor at any cost, even if she doesn’t love him….. Bennyboy, an idealistic and principled young medical student who shares an illicit past with a girl he once loved….. Here then is Roland S. Jefferson’s magnificant, highly imaginative and immensely compelling story of a black cultural lifestyle at a pivotal time in history…..as four young people are plunged into the center of a raging conflict between political idealism and the relentless obsessions about class, color and romantic entitlement. But obsessions, even noble ones, can sometimes go tragically awry…..

Book Review

Click for more detail about Stones Along The Path Part II by H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson Stones Along The Path Part II

by H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson
Xlibris (Apr 24, 2009)
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Book by Atkerson, H. Victoria Hargro


Click for more detail about Stones Along The Path by H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson Stones Along The Path

by H. Victoria Hargro Atkerson
Xlibris (Apr 24, 2009)
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Jessica Hamilton relates in Stones Along the Path a romantic bi-continental, cross-cultural family saga that unfolds in Africa and migrates to America, glimpsing three generations of a culturally diverse black family. Jessica’s oldest son, Dexter tells the reader his side of the same story.

As a Peace Corps Volunteer, Jessica meets a tall handsome African businessman, Akinyele Akinshegun, whom she is attracted to immediately. Confronted by her love for this man, she instinctively knows that if she gives in to him, it will nullify her long awaited return home and the future she has carefully planned for herself.

In whispered prayers to God, Akinyele fulfills his life-long quest for an erotically satisfying love relationship when he convinces Jessica to marry him. Oblivious to the dangers around them, their love, which is laced with warm passionate encounters, takes them on an extended honeymoon into the most vivid and picturesque parts of the African continent.

Victoria Falls , the pyramids, the Okavango Delta are among many locations the enthralled lovers explore while living out the most sensuous and sexually satisfying experiences of their lives. When the couple discovers that they are expecting a child, they travel to Akinyele’s native country where Jessica is greeted warmly by his parents and discovers whom she married.

Before the birth of their son, she is faced with deception, lies, and betrayal. Heartbroken and devastated by secrets her husband kept from her, she returns to Philadelphia, where she is determined to raise her child in a morally correct environment without the toxic love she continues to crave.

What does the future hold for Jessica and her child? What problems does she encounter? Can she live without the love she left behind?


Click for more detail about To Whom It May Concern by Angela Jackson To Whom It May Concern

by Angela Jackson
AuthorHouse (Apr 17, 2009)
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This book will capture the hearts of young,old, and all in between! To Whom it May Concern is a book about the life of an urban girl who goes through adversity whether it is in her family dynamics, self confidence, and relationships! The ups and downs of life and how she handles her situations; whether for the good or the bad! This book is inspirational to know that you are not alone; the message is given from a young girl who grows into a woman. It gives her persective on life’s lessons that she’s learned along the way!!


Click for more detail about Belinda’s Petition: A Concise History of Reparations for the Transatlantic Slave Trade by Raymond A. Winbush Belinda’s Petition: A Concise History of Reparations for the Transatlantic Slave Trade

by Raymond A. Winbush
Xlibris (Apr 01, 2009)
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Such a legacy must endure the heavyweight of historical record and contemporary scrutiny. These pages chronicle the long struggle for dignity and repair sought by Africans in America, demonstrating that, far from a recent phenomena characterized by its opponents as the "unjustified" greed of a dispossessed race, the fight for reparations has been an ongoing social and political battle that will remain until America looks her past full in the face and acknowledges not only the harm done, but the debt owed to those whose dispossession made her wealth possible. First demanded by an African woman named Belinda in 1782, and continued by the activism of Caine House (1861-1928), Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), Queen Mother Moore (1898-1997), James Forman (1928-2005), and many contemporary activists such as Randall Robinson, Ray Winbush and affiliates of the organization N’COBRA (National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America), the fight for reparations has been and will continue to be a righteous struggle for the acknowledgment of crimes enacted against the bodies, minds and spirits of African slaves and their descendents. —Esther Jones, Atlanta, Georgia, February 2009


Image of Belinda Sutton’s 1788 petition Belinda Sutton’s 1788 petition, from the Massachusetts Archives


“Belinda’s Petition” a Poem by Rita Dove

(Boston, February, 1782)
To the honorable Senate and House
of Representatives of this Country,
new born: I am Belinda, an African,
since the age of twelve a Slave.
I will not take too much of your Time,
but to plead and place my pitiable Life
unto the Fathers of this Nation.

Lately your Countrymen have severed
the Binds of Tyranny. I would hope
you would consider the Same for me,
pure Air being the sole Advantage
of which I can boast in my present Condition.

As to the Accusation that I am Ignorant:
I received Existence on the Banks
of the Rio de Valta. All my Childhood
I expected nothing, if that be Ignorance.
The only Travelers were the Dead who returned
from the Ridge each Evening. How might
I have known of Men with Faces like the Moon
who would ride toward me steadily for twelve Years?

“Belinda’s Petition” from The Yellow House on the Corner Rita Dove’s first book of Poetry.


Click for more detail about Sovereign Evolution: Manifest Destiny From Sovereign Evolution: Manifest Destiny From "Civil Rights" To "Sovereign Rights"

by Ezrah Aharone
AuthorHouse (Dec 31, 2008)
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From emancipation to segregation to integration, African Americans exist today by virtue of a continuum of political evolutions, each of which is built upon prior legacies and achievements. In advancing our political progression, Sovereign Evolution re-declares freedom and equality in 21st-century terms, using sovereign principles and standards. Whether the issue concerns Katrina and Jena, or being underrepresented in Congress and overrepresented in penitentiaries, the common thread as Ezrah Aharone demonstrates, is that African Americans are an Un-Sovereign People, who pay varying degrees of Un-Sovereign Consequences. Thus, in a very methodical manner, he circumscribes sovereignty in a universal and historical context that confers African Americans with just as much integrity and authority as any other people to espouse and employ sovereign aspirations. The ideological framework herein self-applies and legitimizes the concept of sovereignty in ways that no other work has succinctly captured in politically-relatable terms, specific for African Americans. Realizing that not all African Americans will embrace sovereign values, Aharone uniquely specifies how a Sovereign Evolution can mutually advance the best interests of us all, without conflict or compromise to core beliefs of anyone. Accordingly, the book sets a platform to infuse sovereign discourse into mainstream domains that reach from street corners of "the hoods," to Black universities, to church congregations, to the halls of Congress. The advent of President Barack Obama indicates a necessary and long-awaited political shift in time and history, which also conveys veiled implications of our sovereign potentials as a people. What once seemed politically improbable has proven to be politically achievable. Our only political limitations exist within the limits of our vision and courage. To this end, Ezrah Aharone factually sculpts the sociopolitical substance of our historical experience into a sovereign consci

Book Review

Click for more detail about Journal According To John by Sheryl Keen Journal According To John

by Sheryl Keen
iUniverse (Nov 19, 2008)
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Following a nasty bar brawl, John, a twenty-eight-year-old man, follows a close friend’s advice and begins keeping a journal. He’s recently divorced from his wife, Debbie, and he hopes the journal will provide a tool with which to make some sense of his brief, failed marriage and to determine why he is so emotionally challenged.As a therapist specializing in behavioral issues, he knows he has to pull his own life together. If he tells people to clean up their own lives, modify their thoughts, and learn new, more appropriate behaviours, he knows that he’s got to step up and follow his own advice. Early on, he realizes that his mother, the curator of a gallery that specializes in steel art and other nontraditional works, has largely shaped his thoughts and actions. But just how much can he blame her for his current state of affairs?Soon the words in the journal are flowing easily and quickly. When painful thoughts are no longer avoided and dreams provide fuel for his writing, the journal takes on a life of its own. Will John discover the reasons for his dysfunctional situation? Can keeping the journal help him improve his life?


Click for more detail about Times Have Changed And Life Is Strange: Collective Works Of Urban Poetry And Story-Telling by Ben Burgess Jr. Times Have Changed And Life Is Strange: Collective Works Of Urban Poetry And Story-Telling

by Ben Burgess Jr.
AuthorHouse (Oct 20, 2008)
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This book is a collection of my experiences, my thoughts, my fears, my feelings and my hopes. Each poem is meant to teach and reach all of those who read it. I wanted this book to have a little something for everyone to relate to. Enjoy it! Ben


Click for more detail about I Am a Guyanese by Kwesi Oginga I Am a Guyanese

by Kwesi Oginga
Xlibris (Oct 10, 2008)
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Click for more detail about A Few Things Our Sons and Daughters Should Know by Kwesi Oginga A Few Things Our Sons and Daughters Should Know

by Kwesi Oginga
Xlibris (Sep 08, 2008)
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Click for more detail about Growing Pains by Erica Hunt Growing Pains

by Erica Hunt
Xlibris (Jul 18, 2008)
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It was about 2am and someone was banging on the door like their life depended on it. Darren got up and answered it. It was the police. They announced that they had a warrant for his arrest. What? I threw on some clothes and went to the door where they had already placed him in handcuffs. I went back in and sat on the edge of the bed with my head in the palms of my hands. The officer came in and said Darren wanted to speak with me. He told me that his daughter’s mother must have been behind this whole thing. He told me that he didn’t appear in court back in Colorado. I was confused. Everything was happening so fast. They took his wallet so I had no money. When the officer asked if we had a vehicle in our possession Darren immediately said No and looked at me. I got the point without getting the point and I said no as well. He kissed me on the cheek and just like that he was out of my life again. The hotel manager came in when the cops left and told me I had to get out first thing in the morning. The only reason I was allowed to stay the night was because I had Lil Aaron with me.


Click for more detail about The Man-You-All: A Guide To Save Black Women Time, Money & Energy by J. Thurman The Man-You-All: A Guide To Save Black Women Time, Money & Energy

by J. Thurman
iUniverse (Jul 07, 2008)
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Learn why you think of yourself as princess and not a GODDESS.
Learn who’s the real boss and why you don’t have to tolerate what men do.
Learn to develop a strategy before your next encounter with a man.
Examine the MYTH’S that black women tell other black women, with real answers.
Find out how not to get PIMPED by your emotions and any man again!
Learn the Secret’s of the Three P’s.
Personalize your game plan and strategies of attack with black men.


Click for more detail about Slave Cinema: The Crisis of the African-American in Film by Andre Seewood Slave Cinema: The Crisis of the African-American in Film

by Andre Seewood
Xlibris (Jul 01, 2008)
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"Using a rich compendium of evidence SLAVE CINEMA takes a thorough and uncompromising look at African-American cinema, African-America social identity and the American film industry. This book addresses the specific artistic, ideological, and moral challenges that face every African-American filmmaker." [from back cover]


Click for more detail about Obayifo: A Poetic Journey Into the Mind of Miss Marshall by Yolanda T. Marshall Obayifo: A Poetic Journey Into the Mind of Miss Marshall

by Yolanda T. Marshall
iUniverse (Jun 02, 2008)
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Enter my dark room of flickering lights,
Entertainment most suited for the eyes
Eyes so voiceless your lips express jealousy
Ending conversations, competing quietly
No noises
No nuisances
No Devils interrupting
No rowdy laughter of villains
Come into my haven
Calm your mind of hidden murmuring
Clamour for serenity, wordlessly
Conserve peace silently
Escape flamboyances
Escape the imaginary world of free speeches
Emphatic vocals keep their distance
Enter my world
— Y. Marshall


Click for more detail about MATCHMAKER by Gibran Tariq MATCHMAKER

by Gibran Tariq
iUniverse (May 13, 2008)
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Samantha Givens is the ultimate black diva. At 45, she is gorgeous, smart, and clever. She also has a secret agenda.Like her mother before her, Samantha has the amazing ability to pair up young lovers. But unlike her mother, Samantha is too ambitious to simply "hook up" the golden girls of urban America with undeserving thugs.As an option, Samantha establishes MatchMaker, Incorporated-a secret organization of beautiful black women intent on taking control of the country via sex.The BBBs-Beautiful Black Bitches-of MatchMakers are the crème de la crème of black America and Samantha will only match them with rich, powerful white men. In this way, the BBBs will be in a position to "call shots" as the power behind the throne.Overwhelmingly successful, Samantha has wed her "designer line of living, breathing, gold-diggers" to countless lawyers, doctors, and politicians across the country until there is not a facet of government where they are not found. Yet one prize has eluded her: The White House. So she sets out on the ultimate quest-to marry one of her BBBs to the man most likely to win the Presidency of the United States. But before she can marry him to one of the BBBs, she first must find him. Yet there is an even bigger problem: The woman most suited for the task of marrying him is the one least interested. Paris Hall, the only woman more beautiful than Samantha Givens, threatens everything.


Click for more detail about Breaking The Code Of Silence by Alana Wyatt Breaking The Code Of Silence

by Alana Wyatt
Xlibris (Apr 03, 2008)
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Breaking the Code of Silence: Alana Wyatt Smith Tells All chronicles the intense relationship and whirlwind marriage between a young woman and one of Hip-Hops most beloved artists. An honest and open memoir, Wyatt tells her story of how her turbulent childhood, difficult teenage years and sometimes not-so-wise decisions aided in her development to become a devoted mother and a strong, independent woman. Controversial and straightforward Breaking the Code of Silence holds no punches as Wyatt reveals how her glamorous lifestyle -envied by many wasn’t always so fabulous. Part biography, part cautionary tale, Wyatt tells her story to educate and inspire others to be independent and remain true to themselves.

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Click for more detail about I Played MONOPOLY With My Daddy: Financial Education For All Ages by Faith Scriven I Played MONOPOLY With My Daddy: Financial Education For All Ages

by Faith Scriven
iUniverse (Mar 24, 2008)
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With the help of her Daddy, Faith shares with us how she went from playing the popular board game to playing a real-life Monopoly game and buying her first investment house. She teaches us the difference between assets and liabilities, and tells all about how she came to own her first business, DFS Enterprises with her sister, Destini (age 8), and her brother Sam (age 5). Faith also explains the importance of making good decisions and being responsible with money.From the Introduction by Dr. Tricia Edwards Scriven


Click for more detail about Snowbound with Love by Alice Wootson Snowbound with Love

by Alice Wootson
iUniverse (Mar 20, 2008)
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""Snowbound with Love" is a powerful romance with warm, sensual characters who seek the one thing that will make their lives complete. Alice Wootson writes with a deep intensity that will entrance."-"Romantic Times" "Wootson’s writing style kept me interested in what happened to these two characters who were "Snowbound with Love.""-Gwen Osbourne, "The Romance Reader" ""Snowbound with Love" is a stunning debut novel. Ms. Wootson handles her subject masterfully. She knows how to pull a rabbit out of a hat when necessary."-"Romance in Color" "The summer is too hot for this book!!!"-Misnikki, Deland, FL


Click for more detail about Ila’s Diamonds by Donna M. Gray-Banks Ila’s Diamonds

by Donna M. Gray-Banks
AuthorHouse (Mar 15, 2008)
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Ila's Diamonds is a story about a young African American female working for a clandestine arm of the government during the seventies and eighties. It is an intriguing look at how a person can leave their comfort zone and find a meaningful life full of love, sacrifice, pain and joy. It also gives the reader a panoramic view of how your circumstance does not predict your outcome. Finally, this book is about love and how we obtain it, nurture it, expound on it, and ultimately lose it.


Click for more detail about Screenwriting Into Film by Andre Seewood Screenwriting Into Film

by Andre Seewood
Xlibris (Mar 06, 2008)
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SCREENWRITING INTO FILM is a dynamic new book that gives the reader five necessary steps to follow in preparing to write a screenplay that can increase their chances of success. This is a book of ideas that uses many classic, controversial and contemporary films to illustrate those ideas to the reader. In SCREENWRITING INTO FILM you will find illuminating insight on: how to build a character, how to establish solid motives for villainous or heroic characters, how to build conflict, how to find and demonstrate theme(s)and most importantly how to arrive at a great ending. A rewarding discussion of all of the elements that are indispensable in developing a good story and writing a great screenplay are within the pages of this book. There’s even a chapter on Book Adaptations that specifically tackles the three important aspects every screenwriter/filmmaker must know to prepare a successful adaptation of a novel or short story. ANYONE WHO WANTS TO FIND HIS OR HER OWN PERSONAL VOICE IN THE CINEMA SHOULD READ THIS BOOK; it was intentionally created for those who want to write and direct their own films, but it also has a general relevance for all film lovers and writers seeking deeper insight about the structure and meaning of this art. Informative, passionate and intelligent, SCREENWRITING INTO FILM was written by multiple award winning independent digital filmmaker, Andre Seewood.


Click for more detail about A Husband, A Wife, & An Illness: Living Life Beyond Chronic Illness by William July and Jamey Lacy July A Husband, A Wife, & An Illness: Living Life Beyond Chronic Illness

by William July and Jamey Lacy July
iUniverse (Mar 05, 2008)
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We were living the American dream. But when the illness invaded our lives, it tore those dreams apart and we were thrust into a fight for our survival. In the devastation, we lost our home, our savings, our cars, and even our dogs. We lost everything but each other.But we are surviving, and thriving, although it sometimes feels as though we are in a mental, physical, and spiritual battle with an invisible opponent. In this uniquely written book, we both tell our own story. But related in a personal tone that moves seamlessly from the emotions of a spouse to motivating coach, this book does more than share a story, each chapter presents practical tips on living a life beyond illness, for both the care giving spouse and the spouse-patient.If you and your spouse are facing chronic illness, especially a severe chronic illness, you will instantly relate to the chapters in this book. You will understand the odd sense of humor we have about things, and you’ll feel us when we cry in the darkest moments.For more information and support,visit CouplesFacingIllness.com. This book is also available in audio (visit website for ordering information).


Click for more detail about The Busy Woman’s Little Book of Motivation: 42 Morsels of Motivation To Help You Live Out Loud and Become The Phenomenal Woman You Were Born To Be by Cassandra Mack The Busy Woman’s Little Book of Motivation: 42 Morsels of Motivation To Help You Live Out Loud and Become The Phenomenal Woman You Were Born To Be

by Cassandra Mack
iUniverse (Mar 05, 2008)
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The Busy Woman’s Little Book of Motivation is a collection of insightful lessons and anecdotes that will help you own your power, keep the cup full enough to feed yourself, get in the driver’s seat of your career, let go of the ledge, break the habit of self-sabotage and take steps toward healthier relationships. In the power-packed, little book you’ll learn how to give yourself the best of what you’ve got and live life by your design. If truth is what you seek and balance is what you need, this is where you’ll find it; right here in Cassandra Mack’s The Busy Woman’s Little Book of Motivation. Intensely and intentionally Cassandra speaks to the heart, mind, body, and soul of the woman who’s too busy to know that she’s too busy. Slow down long enough to sit down with this powerful book and you will be a better woman for it. Mischa P. Green author of 30 Things He Told Me But Can’t Tell You Because You Won’t ListenI have read many books that advise women on empowerment, but Cassandra Mack’s book shows you exactly how to own, respect, and have confidence in your power as a woman, daughter, mother, sister and friend, refusing to allow others to dismiss or diminish you.Miranda J. Carr, author of Dysfunction and HeartacheIf you are trying to reach your goals, create more balance, build your career, let go of the habits that do not serve you well and make healthier relationship choices all at the same time, The Busy Woman’s Little Book of Motivation is the guide you need to get there. You’ll learn to become more empowered in a tangible way and open yourself up to all of the wonderful possibilities that await you.Kisha Robinson, Co-CEO, OneDa TwinzFinally, a fresh look at what women can do to take charge and re-charge. Cassandra deals with the underlying reasons why so many strong women struggle and offers heart-felt advice on how to live more authentically.Jacqueline Ros


Click for more detail about Walk Tall: Affirmations for People of Color by Carleen Brice Walk Tall: Affirmations for People of Color

by Carleen Brice
iUniverse (Jan 09, 2008)
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I have been in search of a book that lifts me in celebration of who I am as an African-American woman and my blessed connection to other women of color, to all women, to all people; a book that teaches me in testimony that I must, and can, take charge of the health of my soul and, therefore, awake each morning ready to live in faith, in love, in compassion with others I need search no longer. Walk Tall is that book.-Gloria Wade-Gayles, author of My Soul is a Witness"Brice looks at the commonalities and shared spirituality of people of color the true essence of our spiritual journey on Earth."-Ben Nighthorse Campbell, former U.S. SenatorThe 366 affirmations collected here celebrate cultural diversity and the drive, determination, and accomplishments of people of color. These daily thoughts help readers challenge internalized racism and nurture personal responsibility and self-love.


Click for more detail about Why Black People Can’t Lose Weight: The Psychology, The Challenge, And The Solution To Overall Wellness by Makeisha Lee Why Black People Can’t Lose Weight: The Psychology, The Challenge, And The Solution To Overall Wellness

by Makeisha Lee
AuthorHouse (Nov 12, 2007)
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This book discusses:* The Psychology Behind The Vicious African American Weight Loss Cycle* The Truth About Fad Diets and Weight Loss Surgery* The Chronic Disease Burden That Makes Blacks An Endangered Species* New Scientific Research That Debunks All Current Methods and Approaches To Overall Wellness* A Powerful Two-Step Process To Change Your Psychology Towards Health Goals* Revolutionary Health Secrets* How To Live A Completely Balanced Life (whether you’re trying to lose weight or not)

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Click for more detail about Choosing Deceit: Shun-Ur Book I by S. R. Sarai Choosing Deceit: Shun-Ur Book I

by S. R. Sarai
Xlibris (Nov 12, 2007)
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Two thousand years after a devastating war and the loss of millions of lives, a remnant of the eldest people in Sanjin continues to try and fulfill their duties to their Creators. Though their Task requires years of intense study and self-sacrifice, the M

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Click for more detail about Don’t Let Don’t Let "It" Get You!: An Empowering Health And Fitness Guide For Women

by Joy Ohayia
iUniverse (Oct 10, 2007)
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As soon as your "me time" arrives your phone rings, the kids are yelling for your attention and dinner needs to be cooked! Joy truly understands the many hats women wear on a daily basis. She shows us how to create a healthy lifestyle in the midst of competing priorities. Don’t Let "IT" Get You!, provides strategies around "Its", a personalized workout routine, meal plan and endless tips on dining out, reading labels, portion control and so much more! After 20 years of holding executive level positions in Fortune 500 companies, Joy decided to live her dream. She boldly addresses the fact that sometimes we have to start over and she did! Joy is a certified Wellness Consultant, who specializes in the areas of Nutrition and Personal Training; also called "The Perfect Combination". Don’t Let "IT" Get You!, is Joy’s personal story of achievement. She boldly shows us how to breakthrough obstacles and people who hinder us from health and happiness. This complete guide encourages physical and emotional health. Its goal is to inspire all women to achieve and maintain a fit and healthy life.

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Click for more detail about Fools’ Heaven: Love, Lust And Death Beyond The Pulpit by D.T. Pollard Fools’ Heaven: Love, Lust And Death Beyond The Pulpit

by D.T. Pollard
iUniverse (Sep 20, 2007)
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What happens when lust, depravity, and egomake themselves known in a setting of utmost venerability?Born to two poor rural high school dropouts, Mike Robertson is a young white man called to preach at an early age. Janice Johnson, a young black woman four years older than Mike, is drawn to this teenage tent preacher. As husband and wife, they leave their modest origins behind and rise to lead a megachurch empire in Dallas, Texas.The journey from obscurity to religious superstardom is fraught with many challenges, including racial discrimination, drugs, deception, moral depravity, sexual assault, and a murder attempt-all in the name of religion. Spanning more than fifty years, this engaging novel focuses on this determined interracial couple who learn that life can take them from the humblest beginnings to the highest of heights, even as they struggle to maintain their perspectives.


Click for more detail about Love Unchosen by Tracee Lydia Garner Love Unchosen

by Tracee Lydia Garner
AuthorHouse (Sep 02, 2007)
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The Watts sisters have spent most of the lives focused on their careers-until big sister Geena launches her own design company, Watts Your Style. Not only does she find success, but she finds true love with her client Dr. Justin Webster, a recovering alcoholic. After getting married and giving birth to her son, Geena looks to her sisters to help run her company and hopes in the process they, too, will find true love. At her older siblings’ request, middle sister Vashton returns to Virginia from North Carolina where she has run to escape the demons of her past and finds herself falling head over heels for Romeyo Payton, her ex-best friend’s brother-in-law who is raising his nephew. At her sisters’ urging, baby girl, Ellie, relocates her virtual job as a professional organizer to help out as well. When rude client Houston Montgomery comes in with his bratty daughter, Ellie is determined to ignore her attraction and stay as far away as possible from the handsome man to avoid reminders of the loss of her own daughter. Despite their close bond and their drive, each sister comes to realize true love is the greatest gift of all. Order your copy today http: //www.authorhouse.com/ Read Excerpts at: http: //www.teegarner.com/


Click for more detail about Generational Curse by Kwesi Oginga Generational Curse

by Kwesi Oginga
iUniverse (Aug 30, 2007)
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She had just lost at her game and was not about to be caught on the playing field again. He was handsome, powerful and he appeared to be in control of his game. He was everything she dreamed a man should be.

They were fired in the same kind of kiln. They were scarred by disloyalty and abandonment of their fathers. They were part of the painful grief of their mothers. They emerged with a common curiosity-love. She needed it. He was running from it. And each time they found a place where they could share it the family curse appeared and ripped them apart.

He became his father’s incarnate.

She attracted the past her mother had put down.


Click for more detail about The Lazarus Parable: A Revelation For The 21St Century by John Bonner The Lazarus Parable: A Revelation For The 21St Century

by John Bonner
iUniverse (Aug 08, 2007)
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For those who live there, Earth is both paradise and prison, a place for people to live out their lives with no hope of leaving or knowledge of what exists beyond this world. Then on one otherwise uneventful day, two odd-looking men from another planet suddenly appear with an offer the citizens of Earth can’t refuse: the power to travel into the unexplored frontiers of the universe. But first, the Earthlings must prove they can bring peace to their world and show love for their fellow man. At first, Earth’s inhabitants are skeptical of their new friends but soon realize the magnitude of the gift these aliens have offered. They are given five years to end their wars and create an atmosphere of peace and social harmony needed to impress the union of worlds. While the world is filled with excitement, the Reverend Jimmy Jordan questions his faith in God, which leaves no room for the existence of life beyond Earth. He studies the Bible in earnest to strengthen his beliefs, and he discovers a startling secret concerning Earth’s new friends, one that could have dire consequences for the planet and the people living on it.

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Click for more detail about Fishing For Love On The Net: A Guide To Those Searching For Love by Myles Reed  Jr. Fishing For Love On The Net: A Guide To Those Searching For Love

by Myles Reed Jr.
iUniverse (Jul 19, 2007)
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Are you searching for true love but skeptical of the ever-popular world of Internet dating? Fishing for Love on the Net demystifies the process of online dating and shows you that out of all the fish in the sea, there is one right for you. Myles Reed, Jr., uses a straight-talk style to explain why searching for love online requires more than just access to a computer and a catchy profile. He includes proven techniques supported by real stories to improve your chances of finding love. Reed discusses interesting statistics and ends each chapter with a short summary. You will learn:How to avoid common pitfalls. Ways to connect to millions of other singles in cyberspace. How to let go of previous experiences and preconceived notions. Whether you have tried online dating before with little success, are eager to try it for the first time, or are just curious about this cultural phenomenon, Fishing for Love on the Net will open your eyes, give you hope, and help you find true love. www.fishingforlove.net

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Click for more detail about No Momma’s Boy: How I Let Go Of My Past And Embraced The Future by Dominic Carter No Momma’s Boy: How I Let Go Of My Past And Embraced The Future

by Dominic Carter
iUniverse (May 01, 2007)
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Tired of keeping his life-long secrets, author Dominic Carter, described by some as the best of New York’s political television reporters, shares his remarkable, gut-wrenching story of abuse at the hands of his mother in No Momma’s Boy. Shortly after his mother’s death, Carter obtains her psychiatric records to learn more about the extent of her struggles. He always knew she was plagued by mental illness, but because of their limited relationship, he never truly understood its severity. In addition to revealing that she was a paranoid schizophrenic, the records contain shocking secrets from his past of which he has little or no recollection. Carter learns the revolting details of how his mother attempted to strangle him to death when he was just a toddler and her numerous suicide attempts. As he uncovers these horrific details, Carter awakens memories of unspeakable acts that he suffered at her hands. From a childhood of sexual and physical abuse to a meaningful career attending social events at the White House and interviewing Nelson Mandela, No Momma’s Boy recounts Carter’s tremendous highs and lows and how he survived to become the successful journalist that he is today.


Click for more detail about Don’t Run Away Make A Way Queen by Mickey See-Asia Don’t Run Away Make A Way Queen

by Mickey See-Asia
Trafford Publishing (Apr 26, 2007)
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A child with many secrets which led to an adult life of promiscuity.


Click for more detail about The Making Of A Joyful Mother Workbook: A Spiritual Journey For Women Experiencing Infertility by Kimberly Thacker Webb The Making Of A Joyful Mother Workbook: A Spiritual Journey For Women Experiencing Infertility

by Kimberly Thacker Webb
iUniverse (Apr 20, 2007)
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The Making of a Joyful Mother is designed to encourage, elevate and empower women who are struggling with infertility. This book will inspire women to walk through the journey of infertility with renewed faith, Kimberly Webb is intimately familiar with infertility, suffering through many surgeries to correct fibroid tumors, irregular periods, endometriosis, miscarriages as well as a tubal pregnancy. She has first-hand experience with the physical pain and emotional strain these circumstances cause. However, she had endured the struggles of infertility and has learned God’s process of transforming infertile women into joyful mothers. This is what she did with her in the years prior to the birth of her daughter. As an accomplished speaker, Kimberly is a power orator who leaves an indelible mark on all those who come in contact with her-regularly speaking to women on issues concerning infertility, self identity, and marriage. Additionally, Kimberly has more than five years of experience as a Christian pre-marital and marriage counselor. Mrs. Webb is a graduate of Howard University with a B.A. in Political Science and a Juris Doctorate of Law Degree from Texas Wesleyan School of Law. Kim and her husband reside in Carrollton, Texas with their daughter.


Click for more detail about Cologne No. 10 For Men by Richard Morris Cologne No. 10 For Men

by Richard Morris
iUniverse (Feb 13, 2007)
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"I love the way Wilfred recycles the bodies. That’s fabulous stuff with a direct line to Heller’s Catch-22 and perfectly captures the insanity of the Vietnam War." –Richard Peabody, co-editor of Gargoyle Magazine Counting bodies in Vietnam. In this earthy war/peace novel, comedy frames grim pictures of war. Morris weaves combat, a love affair, and military satire into a story that is by turns terrifying, gruesome, and mad, and one acted by a memorable cast of characters—grunts and hookers, Vietcong soldiers and spies, heroes and inane officers. It begins on a huge base in the Central Highlands in 1967 where Lieutenant Wilfred Carmenghetti falls in love with Can and smuggles her to a forward firebase. In the field he and his platoon win stunning victories, but spies plot his death, Vietcong soldiers attack the platoon, and Can leaves him. What follows is a surprising and fanciful comedic ending. Cologne No. 10 For Men is a book to make us fear, weep, laugh, and remember.


Click for more detail about Counterfeit Friends by d. E. Rogers Counterfeit Friends

by d. E. Rogers
Xlibris (Jan 01, 2007)
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Have you ever been stabbed in the back by someone close to you? In Counterfeit Friends, Forrest and Mahogany discover this time around that love means nothing without trust and honesty. Surrounded by the love of family and friends things couldn’t appear any better. But when a friend faces a life or death situation, Forrest goes to his ex-girlfriend for help. Trying to do the right thing, he opens up a can of secrets that will wreck the lives of everyone around him. As the web of betrayal unfolds, it brings to light some truths that will destroy their friendships forever.


Click for more detail about The Street Life Series: Is It Suicide Or Murder? by Kevin M. Weeks The Street Life Series: Is It Suicide Or Murder?

by Kevin M. Weeks
Xlibris (Dec 18, 2006)
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The notorious West Philly native Teco Jackson had it on lock when it came to stealing cars. The women were captivated by his good looks and smooth touch. After being on the most dangerous high speed car chase ever, Teco knew it was time to change his life. He tried religion thinking that to be the way out; however, he came to find that crime was in his blood. The score from his job landed him at the top of City Line Avenue, or so he thought. His homey, Fatboy, was his sidekick. Blue was his come up, until death played a part. Bashi, GQ, and Cap took Teco into the Strictly Business (SB) crew, which was in partnership with Young Black Mafia (YBM). Gail Indigo Que (a.k.a. GQ), the only female member of the SB Crew, was the enforcer before Teco took her spot. This was a big move for Teco, who was nicknamed Homicide by Bashi, the SB Crew boss. Living a lavish life with money, drugs, and gorgeous women seemed promising until a major take down. After getting out of jail, Homicide’s mission was to find out where Bashi disappeared. Back on the streets of Philly, he heard lots of talk about Bashi’s whereabouts and the names of those who were involved. Will the power struggle between Homicide and GQ get in the way of discovering the truth? Now Homicide is on a binge to find who snatched up his boss and to pay them back in a way that no one would ever think. Homicide owed that to Bashi for keeping him off of the streets. Homicide decided to relocate to Washington, D.C. not realizing that things in the Chocolate City aren’t very different from the City of Brotherly Love and that there is always money to be made. Headed to Washington, D.C. on an Amtrak train, will Teco ever answer the question: "The Street Life, is it suicide or murder?"


Click for more detail about Take the Lull By the Horns!: Closing the Leadership Gap by Lee E. Meadows Take the Lull By the Horns!: Closing the Leadership Gap

by Lee E. Meadows
AuthorHouse (Nov 30, 2006)
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Sam Brown thought it was just another day like any of the other days he’d had of late. Most of what was happening inside his place of work had little to do with him and everything to do with external events. Sam Brown represents the global employee fighting to stay ahead while trying to stay afloat. He knew he was in the midst of tremendous change and for once, sought solace, in his evening MBA course. He just wanted time to breathe and relax away from the job. He would get his wish, but not in the way he hoped.Take the Lull by the Horns! is a modern day story that is taking place in the business sector and captures the true issues being confronted by thousands of managers across a spectrum of industries. When things are, seemingly, out of control, the tendency is to grab on, hunker down and hold on for dear life. However, in a global business environment, hunkering down means that the organization and its leaders missed the lull that preceded the competitive storm. It is the facts within the fable that make Take the Lull by the Horns such a wonderful addition to the business mind. It will serve as a reminder to thousands that the real answers for many business issues are swirling around us all the time. This book dares us to look within before we look beyond.


Click for more detail about White Men Can’t Hump (As Good As Black Men): Volume II: Sex & Race in America by Todd Wooten White Men Can’t Hump (As Good As Black Men): Volume II: Sex & Race in America

by Todd Wooten
AuthorHouse (Oct 11, 2006)
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White Men Can’t Hump is a book of hope. The hope is that one day Black Men in America will no longer be viewed as unintelligent, unattractive, undesirable, uncivilized, and just plain old worthless. White Men Can’t Hump will address why Black Men in America are perceived in such a negative way, and will also explore the origins of this negativity. White Men Can’t Hump will also explore how this negativity has been spread for the last four centuries (a la stereotypes), and why this negativity has been spread (a la "Fear of the Black Penis"). Several of these so-called negative Stereotypes will be closely examined and shown in a new light. White Men Can’t Hump will ask why two well known Stereotypes that have been historically assigned to Black Men, are only considered negative when applied to Black Men. Most men desire a large Penis and an elevated sexual prowess, but all across America (in offices, bars and locker rooms) the Black Penis and Black Prowess are routinely the Punch Line to jokes. White Men Can’t Hump will ask why, and will also ask a question that will create a debate for the ages: "Who’s better in bed, Black Men or White Men?" White Men Can’t Hump will take you the reader on an educational and enlightening journey through America’s past and present with the hope of changing America’s future. So sit back and enjoy or cuss, agree or disagree, and most importantly think with an open mind. Because whether you like it or not, White Men Can’t Hump tells the story of who all of us are, where we’ve come from, and where we’re going. White Men Can’t Hump is divided into two VOLUMES. VOLUME I focuses on how Sex has historically affected Race relations in America, and VOLUME II focuses on how Race has affected Sex relations in America. Don’t be confused by the similar titles because both VOLUMES pack a different Sexual, Racial, Political, and Social punch. For more information feel free to visit: www.whitemencanthump.com Enjoy the ride my friend.

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Click for more detail about Introduction to Love and Self: A Romantic Novel by Joan Vassar Introduction to Love and Self: A Romantic Novel

by Joan Vassar
iUniverse (Sep 21, 2006)
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As young children, the lives of Seven Thomas and Lisa Harris briefly connect after Lisa’s parents unexpectedly abandon her. Their interaction had a profound effect on them both. When Lisa is sent to live with relatives, the two are sure they will never see each other again. Eighteen years later, Seven often wonders what happened to the girl who lived down the hall. He never forgot her or the objectionable circumstances under which they lived. Lisa, now twenty-six, realizes that she has lived in a cocoon for years, putting her life on hold to care for her grandmother. Upon her grandmother’s death, she has no regrets, only an eagerness to begin anew. Lisa throws herself back into life, but after years of abuse, she shies away from romantic connections. Fate steps in at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, bringing Seven and Lisa face to face with the past—and possibly their future. Seven is still scarred by his childhood—his father’s absence and his mother’s prostitution—and Lisa has never experienced true intimacy. Will they be able to take their lives in a new direction? Introduction to Love and Self tells the passionate tale of a man and woman who share an indelible connection. Follow them as they embark upon a tantalizing sexual journey, seeking the trust and love that each desperately craves.


Click for more detail about My Friend Buddy by Maurice Geter My Friend Buddy

by Maurice Geter
Trafford Publishing (Sep 19, 2006)
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This is an easy to read and understand book, about a little boy named Tommy that picks out a doll named Buddy for his birthday present. But Buddy is no ordinary doll, he becomes an imaginary adult sized rhyming friend any time Tommy needs help or doubts his ability to keep up with other kids. Tommy is just like most children, with imaginations running wild, and with the help of his new friend Buddy, he develops self-confidence and courage at the park. This book teaches children that they can do anything they want to, if they believe in themselves.


Click for more detail about Nubian Passion: A Collection Of  Five Sensual Romance Short Stories by Gwendolyn R. Morris Nubian Passion: A Collection Of Five Sensual Romance Short Stories

by Gwendolyn R. Morris
iUniverse (Sep 15, 2006)
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Nubian Passion is a collection of five short stories, which incorporate love, romance, and sensuality into non-traditional interracial tales. The leading female character is always a woman of Nubian descent. However, her lover is always a man from a different heritage. Nubian Passion begins during ancient times with a story titled, The Nile. Then, the stories progress to the 1650’s, the 1690’s, the 1870’s, and end during a post-apocalyptic time where the year is virtually unknown.This revised edition of Nubian Passion does not include the story Vampire, which may be purchased separately as an extended version novella.Each story is mixed genre. So, do not assume that everything will unfold in a predictable manner. There will be some unexpected occurrences, but not necessarily good ones. However, despite all of the ups and downs that will present themselves, be assured that Romance still rules.


Click for more detail about Judge Not! by Audrey Carter Judge Not!

by Audrey Carter
iUniverse (Sep 14, 2006)
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Laura yanked open her purse and reached for what she had concealed in the black shawl. With the apathy of a raging tornado, she approached Alex, aiming the gun at his upper body. Sweat saturated her brows and dripped into her eyes. Spouting vile curse words under her breath, she used the sleeve of her mauve blouse to clear her blurred vision. As she was about to pull the trigger, she heard a heavy voice, and snapped her head away from Alex towards the door, but she didn’t see anyone. She halted momentarily to gather her thoughts. Facing her target, her hands shook uncontrollably as her body trembled. Inching closer to Alex, Laura prepared to fire. This time a powerful, masculine voice commanded, “Not your will, but my will be done!” Laura fell to her knees and crawled back to her purse. In a panic, she scrambled around on the floor, trying to wrap the gun in the scarf and conceal it in her purse. Because her snot-filled nostrils restrained her ability to breathe, she opened her mouth and panted like an exhausted sprinter, all the while trying to lift herself from the frigid hospital floor.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Forever Sentimental Vol. III: Agape Love by Kenyatta Forever Sentimental Vol. III: Agape Love

by Kenyatta
iUniverse (Sep 13, 2006)
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The highest level of love is Agape Love. This love is sacrificial and it does whatever must be done for the good, the betterment, the safety and well being of someone else at one’s own expense, no matter what the cost or burden may be.Forever Sentimental Vol. III: Agape Love is a celebration of intimate relationships: the good parts, the great parts, and the not-so-wonderful parts. Author Kenyatta helps you develop skills essential for finding Mister or Miss Right, and reveals practical examples and guidelines on how to identify and avoid unhealthy or abusive relationships. He also provides realistic strategies for recognizing potentially good partnerships and strengthening existing relationships.With the verses found in Forever Sentimental Vol. III, you’ll learn to enhance and spice up your love life and express all that your heart desires when your brain has trouble finding the right words. Full of romantic and tender verse, Forever Sentimental Vol. III is for the sensitive soul, the hopeless romantic, the avid reader, or for anyone who wants to spice up an intimate relationship by making their significant other feel special, wanted, and needed.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Rooftop Diva: A Novel Of Triumph After Katrina by D.T. Pollard Rooftop Diva: A Novel Of Triumph After Katrina

by D.T. Pollard
iUniverse (Sep 11, 2006)
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she was called the rooftop diva by the man that saved her, but she never knew his name. She must have passed out because the next time her eyes opened she was surrounded by a throng of people at an aid station. A kind lady gave her a cold bottle of water and then reality started to settle in that all she owned was clinging to her in the form of the clothing she wore. "Has anyone seen my grandmother Martha Devareaux?" she inquired and all that met her was a blank stare and a shake of the head for no. Deep down inside her mind, she knew that her grandmother was floating in the water that swamped their house. It came in so quickly. By the time Monique realized what was happening it was up to her neck. She called for her grandmother, but at eighty years old and wheelchair bound, there was little chance that she survived. Not only was she homeless and destitute, she was also alone.Could Monique rebuild her life in a new city while encountering wealth, love, violence and betrayal along a twenty year journey after Hurricane Katrina?


Click for more detail about Rooftop Diva: A Novel Of Triumph After Katrina by D.T. Pollard Rooftop Diva: A Novel Of Triumph After Katrina

by D.T. Pollard
iUniverse (Sep 11, 2006)
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…she was called the rooftop diva by the man that saved her, but she never knew his name. She must have passed out because the next time her eyes opened she was surrounded by a throng of people at an aid station. A kind lady gave her a cold bottle of water and then reality started to settle in that all she owned was clinging to her in the form of the clothing she wore. “Has anyone seen my grandmother Martha Devareaux?” she inquired and all that met her was a blank stare and a shake of the head for no. Deep down inside her mind, she knew that her grandmother was floating in the water that swamped their house. It came in so quickly. By the time Monique realized what was happening it was up to her neck. She called for her grandmother, but at eighty years old and wheelchair bound, there was little chance that she survived. Not only was she homeless and destitute, she was also alone. Could Monique rebuild her life in a new city while encountering wealth, love, violence and betrayal along a twenty year journey after Hurricane Katrina?

Book Review

Click for more detail about Inner-city Interludes by HoeZee Inner-city Interludes

by HoeZee
Trafford Publishing (Jul 06, 2006)
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Inner-City Interludes is a novel based on the lives and times of the people who live within our communities in all shapes, forms and fashions.

Book Review

Click for more detail about An Ocean of Jewels by Judy C. Andrews An Ocean of Jewels

by Judy C. Andrews
iUniverse (Jun 12, 2006)
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When Imani Jewel Henderson’s mysterious father dies on her 29th birthday, Christmas day, 1999, she begins a journey toward self-love, and faces many challenges.

Can she unravel the secrets of her family’s disturbing past when she was a foster child? Why did her mother commit suicide and leave her all alone? Why did her father keep notes about a holy river, an Orphan Train, and a murder in 1901? How will she battle depression and alcohol addiction? Will Imani heal from two abusive relationships with married men? How can she repair what she destroyed when she slept with her best friend’s husband? Will she ever find the love that will connect her to her Gullah/Geechee heritage?

Imani discovers that the answers are hidden in the rich details of her African American family traditions of quilts, folklore, Eva Creek Island, and the affluent town of Jewel Park, New York.


Click for more detail about The Single Moms Little Book of Wisdom: 42 Tidbits of Wisdom To Help You Survive, Succeed and Stay Strong by Cassandra Mack The Single Moms Little Book of Wisdom: 42 Tidbits of Wisdom To Help You Survive, Succeed and Stay Strong

by Cassandra Mack
iUniverse (Jun 07, 2006)
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The Single Moms Little Book of Wisdom provides insight and encouragement for women who are parenting without a partner or who feel like they are. This concise yet comprehensive book will motivate you to pursue your goals and fulfill your dreams. It will provide you with reassurance as you walk the path of single motherhood and offer survival tips and success principles that are necessary to succeed, survive and stay strong. Addressing such issues as: surviving tough times, avoiding unnecessary drama, reclaiming your life, grooming yourself for greatness, creating wealth, living prosperously, helping your children get what they need to thrive, escaping the super woman trap, getting past the "what will people think," syndrome and preparing yourself for real love, The Single Moms Little Book of Wisdom will be of great comfort to any woman whose journey has taken her to single motherhood.Here’s what others are saying about The Single Moms Little Book of Wisdom…"Cassandra Mack’s insightful book is concise, to-the-point and full of empowering advice. This is one book I wish I had when I was raising my daughter. Not only will you find tools for success, you’ll get plenty of reaffirmation and encouragement too."
-Deborah M. Cofer, author of No Process, No Promise and columnist for New York Carib News"Cassandra Mack has generously guided single moms through a process of empowerment and personal elevation. Whether you’re looking for strategies for success or a little lift to get you through a tough time, it’s all here in this power-packed, inspirational guide."
-Gessy Nixon, business coach and author of, The Weekend Entrepreneur"As the son of a strong and successful single mom, I can attest that Cassandra Mack’s book will serve as an excellent resource for women who are raising children on their own. You’ll come away with tools for empowerment as well as a game-plan for personal grow


Click for more detail about Getting It Wrong: How Black Public Intellectuals Are Failing Black America by Algernon Austin Getting It Wrong: How Black Public Intellectuals Are Failing Black America

by Algernon Austin
iUniverse (May 16, 2006)
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Black public intellectuals, from liberal to conservative, are all talking about how black America is degenerating culturally. But there is little concrete evidence for this conclusion. In most areas of life, black Americans have made significant positive progress since the Civil Rights era. Blacks are still economically worse off than whites, but black poverty has declined and the black middle class has grown since the 1960s. More blacks graduate from college today than ever before. Black communities are much safer now than during the peak crack epidemic years of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The blackteenage pregnancy rate has fallen dramatically since the 1960s. All of these facts contradict the assertions of black cultural decline. While negative images of blacks abound in American popular culture, there is no evidence that these images accurately represent most real black Americans. In Getting It Wrong, sociologist Algernon Austin carefully examines the data on black Americans and separates myth from fact.

Book Review

Click for more detail about And Even If I Did by Kisha Green And Even If I Did

by Kisha Green
iUniverse (Apr 18, 2006)
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Three single friends try to cope with life while also trying to survive in the "real world" while learning that life isn’t that bad when you have friends, but as fast as things are good they turn bad and makes the three come to the real definition of friends forever.Simone, battling her abandonment issues while longing for the love she thinks she needs in order to make her whole.Taylor, who has made a life of looking for love is forced to deal when an ex-boyfriend that gives her the reality check of a lifetime.Lastly Jordan leaves behind in her past an abusive boyfriend for a better life. Unable to run anymore she has to confront the past.Their life experiences teach each of them about self love and recognition, earning them the right to say, And Even If I Did. Can you?


Click for more detail about Can I Be Me? by Esther Armah Can I Be Me?

by Esther Armah
iUniverse (Mar 28, 2006)
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Esther Armah is a black British journalist, with a troubled soul and a questioning mind. She’s an addict. Addicted to the need for approval, the desire for applause, bright lights and struggle. She’s also on a quest. Hungry for a place of belonging, a place of comfort and acceptance of her identity; black, British, Ghanaian and Afrocentric. That need becomes intertwined with her chosen profession - the media. Can she find a place of refuge in her travels and her profession? Esther decides to fight her fix and come clean. Getting clean means spilling the beans. So starting with her family all the way into the sometimes murky world of the British media, Esther spills with abandon. Brutally honest, blackly humorous, emotionally revealing and at times painful; CAN I BE ME? is a universal story. Who would you be without your daily addictions? How did you get addicted to your drug of choice? Who would you be if there were no applause, disappointment, injustice, discrimination or rejection?


Click for more detail about Mystery, Malevolence & Murder by David T. Boyd Mystery, Malevolence & Murder

by David T. Boyd
iUniverse (Mar 20, 2006)
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From the creator of Falling Down, mystery writer David T. Boyd returns with his latest work, Mystery, Malevolence & Murder - a compilation of spine-tingling short stories so intriguing you wont want to put the book down until the very last story has been read. In this book Mr. Boyd introduces Seth Aloysius Green, Jr., a former homicide detective for the Chicago Police Department. Detective Al, as he likes to be called, has become a successful author during his retirement years and decides to showcase upcoming talent in his first annual writing contest titled Mystery, Malevolence & Murder," where thrilling stories like "The Voice Within," "Three On A Match" and "A Fan of Ms. 45" are published in his detective magazine "The Urban Mystery Archives." In the final chapter of the book Detective Al discovers a clue to an unsolved case from his detective days and decides it’s time to bring the perpetrators to justice. With his 20 years of experience and a near spotless record for solving difficult cases, no criminal stands a chance against him! Mystery, Malevolence & Murder by David T. Boyd - a bold, gripping and mind-tripping experience you won’t want to miss!


Click for more detail about Words Of Comfort: A Collection Of Poems and Inspirational Writings by E. D. Arrington Words Of Comfort: A Collection Of Poems and Inspirational Writings

by E. D. Arrington
AuthorHouse (Mar 16, 2006)
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Words Of Comfort: A Collection Of Poems and Inspirational Writings comes primarily as a result of requests from family and friends seeking a special way to honor the memory of their loved ones. Though this is my first collection of poems and inspirational writings, it has proven to be my most rewarding genres for it has allowed me to enter into the innermost part of my being, revealing, tapping into, bringing to the surface tender emotions that have been safely tucked away from others, and, in some cases, from myself. Writing poetry has lifted me to new horizons as a person, as a woman, as a spiritual being. It has been cathartic and has affirmed the old sayings that the energy we put out returns to us; and, that so often, when you think what you’re doing is a blessing to others, actually turns out to be a blessing to you. But what I cherish most in writing this book is having been given the incredible opportunity to honor life - the lives of so many wonderful people who I knew personally and loved unconditionally. So as you read each poem, each letter of inspiration - my greatest wish is that you find calm, peace and joy in my Words Of Comfort. Best Wishes; E. D. Arrington


Click for more detail about Signify’n Me: New And Selected Poems by Jamie Walker Signify’n Me: New And Selected Poems

by Jamie Walker
Xlibris (Mar 07, 2006)
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In Signifyin’ Me: New and Selected Poems, Jamie Walker, noted journalist and poet, celebrates the Black women’s literary tradition, a tradition comprised of what feminist scholar Patricia Hill Collins calls "a legacy of struggle" and "culture of resistance." Walker tackles issues of internalized racism and sexism. Her work not only explores the inextricable link between gender, race, and class, but also women’s politics and spirituality. Signifyin’ Me is a deeply empowering book that is both a testimony to the spirit and passion of the soul.


Click for more detail about Mindscape by Andrea Hairston Mindscape

by Andrea Hairston
AuthorHouse (Mar 01, 2006)
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Nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award and short-listed for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, Mindscape takes us to a future in which the world itself has been literally divided by the Barrier, a phenomenon that will not be ignored. For 115 years this extraterrestrial, epi-dimensional entity has divided the earth into warring zones. Although a treaty to end the interzonal wars has been hammered out, power-hungry politicians, gangsters, and spiritual fundamentalists are determined to thwart it. Celestina, the treaty’s architect, is assassinated, and her protoge, Ellini, a talented renegade and one of the few able to negotiate the Barrier, takes up her mantle. Now Elleni and a motley crew of allies risk their lives to make the treaty work. Can they repair their fractured world before the Barrier devours them completely? What rich and provocative territory this amazingly written first novel explores, what memorable characters it compels us to confront—-renegade gene scientists and ethnic throwbacks, slippery politicos and "expendable" Extras, ghost dancers and double consciousness diviners conjuring through an enigmatic veil—-each struggling in complex circumstances to navigate survival, identity, and self in a world thrown off its course, each speaking in distinct voices that stay with you long after you’ve left their unforgettable stories. Science fiction at its best, Andrea Hairston’s Mindscape makes you want to cuss and shout for joy—-it’s vision, raw humanity, and ultimate hopefulness are exhilarating. What a pleasure it is to be invited into a world so large and muscular, so sensual and rooted in global history, a world in which not only the future but the past is at stake." Sheree Renee Thomas, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction and Dark Matter: Reading the Bones, winner of the 2001 and 2005 World Fantasy Awards A fine debut novel! Andrea Hairston’s voice is fresh and strong.—-Greg Bear


Click for more detail about Easy Business For Women With Little Or No Money by M.E. Waters Easy Business For Women With Little Or No Money

by M.E. Waters
AuthorHouse (Feb 20, 2006)
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Explains how easy it is to start and run a business. List many businesses to start with little or no money. Shows how to turn those arts and crafts items into a business. Very informative for men and women.


Click for more detail about Split Indecision by Pierre Bateau Split Indecision

by Pierre Bateau
iUniverse (Feb 16, 2006)
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Fate brought us together in the world of the living for us to continue the harmony that once only existed in this underworld.Jacob Livingston is a young man with problems. After losing his parents to a brutal murder, he finds out he has an illegitimate half-sister, Elizabeth Livingston, who has plans to take off with his family’s fortune. Believing that Elizabeth had something to do with his parents’ deaths, Jacob goes to great lengths to discover just how much she knows.Elizabeth hates men-especially Jacob’s father whom she believes is responsible for causing her mother’s terminal cancer. Without her mother’s protection, Elizabeth becomes an introvert who develops two very complex personalities to deal with situations that she can’t handle on her own.In an elaborate scheme to milk Jacob’s inheritance-and eventually kill him-Elizabeth involves AJ Taylor, a clinical psychologist chosen to declare Jacob unfit to handle his estate, and Cheryl Gooden, whose involvement in Elizabeth’s life is part medicinal and part vengeance.In the end, the situation takes a captivating turn as Elizabeth fights for her life-and Jacob, Cheryl, and AJ come to understand that all may not be what it seems.

Book Review

Click for more detail about A Woman Called Job by Ladena Renwick-Tilley with Jacquelin Thomas A Woman Called Job

by Ladena Renwick-Tilley with Jacquelin Thomas
iUniverse (Feb 10, 2006)
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As human beings, we have what is called a “pain threshold.” When we pass beyond this threshold, we enter into the realm of helplessness.

LaDena Renwick-Tilley’s memoir, oman Called Jobws that through suffering, the glorious works of God will be made evident. The Bible tells us that God never leaves us—that He is keeping watch over his own. That no matter what comes, we as Christians can call upon God, knowing he is our refuge and strength.

Job is the first of five books commonly referred to as “The Books of Poetry.” It gives a concise summary of Job in that we are given wisdom on how to suffer. In Job 42:1-6, Job eventually realized the awesome glory and grace of God as a result of his sufferings and how trials can be turned into triumphs.

Like the Book of Job, this memoir details how the righteous should bear up under suffering. It is an example of perseverance and offers inspiration and comfort to all, afflicted or not.


Click for more detail about On The Edge by E. D. Arrington On The Edge

by E. D. Arrington
AuthorHouse (Dec 02, 2005)
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Secrets lurked amongst the small intimate group of family and friends - secrets they hoped and prayed would never be revealed. But when Jackson Pryce is murdered in the wee hours on that frosty Christmas morning, the secret he kept about his investigation of the underground world emerges. Then Jackson’s handwritten notes fall into the hands of Detective Clay Stephens, his friend and former partner. Determined to find Jackson’s murderer - no matter where or to whom the road leads - one by one, Clay shines a light on all of their secrets. Yet, only one secret would bring all of their fragile worlds crumbling down. Only one secret would wreak havoc over all of their lives. Only one secret would keep them all living on the edge. In time, only one secret would break through for all to see. It was destined to happen.the question is when, where and how? Would it be Bridgette’s decision to keep secret the large sums of money she had quietly withdrawn from her personal bank account, or that she sneaked off the Estate to spend an evening with the one friend her husband so desperately tried to keep away from his pregnant wife? Would it be David’s and Agnes’s decision to keep the question of their daughter’s paternity a secret, or that Jackson, the man Bridgette knew as Uncle Jack and loved like a father, had shared much more with her mother than just a close friendship? Would it be Jeremy’s decision to keep hidden the sordid secret of his mother, Diana Robinson (alias Sara White) by claiming his parents were dead, or his night of lust and passion with his ex-lover, Fran McKenzie? Would it be Megan’s decision to keep hushed that she squandered away hundred of thousands of dollars from her trust fund in the casinos, or waiting too late to disclose her relationship with another man - Reginald Douglas?


Click for more detail about Chasing the 400 by Sheilah Vance Chasing the 400

by Sheilah Vance
Xlibris (Nov 14, 2005)
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Dear Reader: Please enjoy this brief summary of Chasing the 400 and a sneak peek look at the first chapter. Brief Summary: The oldest of 10 plumber’s children, sassy and sexy Vera Marshall wants to leave her working class Main Line neighborhood and secure a place in ’the 400"-1950’s Philadelphia’s black bourgeoisie. When hired as a department store model, Vera thinks she’s on her way. Bobby Marshall dreams of college and a life different than his father’s. But will Ned Daniels, the snobby son of their town’s only Negro doctor, ruin their plans? Join the Marshalls and a cast of characters as they chase ’the 400" all over Philadelphia and the Main Line, hoping that the game is worth the chase. Introduction to the sneak peek first chapter: I want to give you a sneak peak into my novel, Chasing the 400, so I’ve included here the first chapter. Hopefully, this look into the world of Vera and Bobby Marshall will interest you in reading the entire book. Because. If you’ve ever wanted to change your life so that the abundance of your reality matched the size of your dreams, then this is the book for you. If you’ve ever wanted to rise above your circumstances and live your dreams big-especially if people tell you that you can’t-then this is the book for you. And, if you want characters that you can cheer for, laugh with, sympathize with, grow with, and even loathe, then this is the book for you This is a work of fiction that is squarely placed in the very real towns of Philadelphia and Ardmore in Pennsylvania. The characters are fictional, too, but bits and pieces of the Marshalls are lovingly drawn from my own family. I didn’t grow up in the period that I write about, but I heard all sorts of stories from the members of my family who did. Chasing the 400 doesn’t recreate their reality; it pays homage to it. I hope you find that homage well deserved. Enjoy my book, and let me know what you thought of it. I would love to hear from you. Please email me at sheilahvance@TheElevatorGroup.com or write me at PO Box 207, Paoli, PA 19301. Love, Peace, and God Bless, Sheilah Vance Now, Chapter 1:

Book Review

Click for more detail about Mrs. Griffin is Missing and other stories by Anna Christian Mrs. Griffin is Missing and other stories

by Anna Christian
iUniverse (Nov 10, 2005)
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Mrs. Griffin, the neighborhood mentor, is missing. Loved by all the children in her Harlem neighborhood, Mrs. Griffin invited them into her home and shared stories about famous people and events, taught them proper etiquette, nurtured their musical abilities, and cooked some of the most delicious meals they’d remember for years after. Where is she? Why has she failed to keep an important appointment? These questions trouble her most ardent admirers-Bobby Thompson, outgoing, persistent, and curious preteen, and Sonny Henderson also eleven, visually handicapped, intelligent and introspective. Together, these two eleven-year-old amateur sleuths set out to find Mrs. Griffin.

’Mrs. Griffin is Missing" is one of a trio of stories involving Bobby and Sonny. In another story, Bobby hears knocking coming from apartment 2C. Everyone knows that his neighbor lives alone and works during the day. Who is knocking and why only when Bobby is alone? Because no one believes him, it’s up to Bobby to uncover the secret in apartment 2C. The last story, ’The Intruder," sends the duo hot on the trail of yet another mystery. Set in Harlem of the 1950’s, it is a time of family, community, and suspense.


Click for more detail about Shifting Gears: My Global Bike Odyssey by Al Young Shifting Gears: My Global Bike Odyssey

by Al Young
Trafford Publishing (Sep 23, 2005)
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Imagine a shy country girl, who had never traveled out of the United States, embarking on a yearlong bicycle trip around the world, leaving behind all the comforts of home to travel with 249 strangers. In Shifting Gears, she explains the turmoil she endured before leaving, the daily hardships encountered in camping and biking in Third World countries, the brutally long miles of daily riding, the language barriers, the personal dynamics of living with the same strangers 24 hours a day and dealing with a myriad of new personalities. Even a serious accident in France didn’t slow Al down, and she returned to finish the trip she had spent four long years working to finance. She overcame lifelong insecurities to become a leader of fellow cyclists and went home with a desire to live her life differently than previously planned. Her idea of returning to Driggs, Idaho, refreshed and ready to teach another 10 years backfired, and she retired early to pursue dreams she never before felt able to accomplish. For Al, life began at 50 and she is slowly ticking off those dreams, one by one, as she realizes them. She now knows the fear of the unknown won’t stand in her way and that there are fascinating people all over the world waiting to be part of her adventures.


Click for more detail about VAMPIRE: A sensual romance novella by Gwendolyn R. Morris VAMPIRE: A sensual romance novella

by Gwendolyn R. Morris
iUniverse (Sep 09, 2005)
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Vampire, Seth Bjorn, meets the beautiful Nia one night while he is on the hunt for a victim. They are immediately attracted to each other and begin an adventure together that neither ever anticipated. Their initial meeting turns into an explosively sensual love. A love, which is tested over and over again through the course of several dangerous and life changing ordeals. Will their love survive the horrors of the life they now live? Will their very existence survive all of the unexpected and frightening events?Read VAMPIRE, a sensual romance novella…And, you’ll discover the answers.


Click for more detail about Frankie’s Angels by Cynthia Harris Casteel Frankie’s Angels

by Cynthia Harris Casteel
AuthorHouse (Aug 04, 2005)
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Frankie’s Angels will become the next "Waiting to Exhale". This one comes with a Maze Concert. Cynthia Harris Casteel tells the story of five women who call themselves "Frankie’s Angels". Their love for Frankie Beverly and Maze has helped them endure the joys and pains of life. They discovered their common denominator on the Maze website and now they are on their way to Washington D.C. to meet at the first Angel Convention and a Maze concert. Some are actually expecting a surprise visit by Mr. Beverly. Before they get to the convention and concert, their life stories are revealed. The reader gets to understand why a Maze Concert is a necessity for these ladies. Frankie’s Angels are deeply in need of a spiritual healing and only Maze featuring Frankie Beverly can be the "fix". Although this work is fiction, Cynthia incorporates real facts about their favorite singer, Frankie Beverly. The reader gets a taste of facts mixed with a toss of fiction. Your imagination will take you along with them to a Maze concert. If you have never attended a Maze concert, this book will take you there and if you have had the fortune of attending a Maze concert, you’ll understand exactly what they feel. Though the name "Frankie’s Angels" gives the angels an angelic tone, you’ll be shocked to know the real deal about some of the angels from their past to the present. Come meet, Candice, Tish, Twana, Mozelle and Ernestine….divine messengers of light. Be prepared to laugh and cry as you travel on the wings of "Frankie’s Angels". Happy Feelings!


Click for more detail about Behind Closed Doors by Madeline Hampton Behind Closed Doors

by Madeline Hampton
AuthorHouse (Jun 23, 2005)
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Maiyanah Milton is a chic, young, beautiful reporter with a caring heart. When she throws her friend a surprise party at the local UAW, she’s the one who gets surprised. The magnetic pull she feels for the handsome stranger obviously down on his luck, is unexpected and has her second guessing herself. From the moment Javon Miller first laid eyes on Yani, she had consumed his every thought. The strong attraction he feels for her is shocking but he soon realizes she’s more than just another pretty face. They become fast friends and Jay struggles to suppress his growing feelings for Yani. Will Jay’s feelings for Yani risk their friendship or will Yani succumb to her own feelings for the sexy truck driver who’d charmed his way into her heart.


Click for more detail about Please Come Home for Christmas by Don Fulton Please Come Home for Christmas

by Don Fulton
AuthorHouse (Jun 16, 2005)
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It is 1968 and New Yorkers prepare for a happy Christmas season. For sisters Jane Owens and Pearl Johnson, the holidays are anything but joyous. Earlier in the year, Angie, Jane’s youngest daughter ran away with her boyfriend, Larry. Jane argues with her husband, Reverend Earl Owens, about letting Angie return home. Ella, Jane’s oldest daughter, leaves home because Larry was her boyfriend. Sam, Jane’s son, leaves and joins a Black militant group after a fight with his father. Pearl expects her husband, Bill, to retire from the military. She learns that the Vietnamese capture him. Finally, Jane and Pearl fight and stop speaking. Things aren’t right at the preacher’s house this year. It’s doubtful that anyone is coming home this Christmas


Click for more detail about Freedomtown: A Novelette by Jacqueline T. Small Freedomtown: A Novelette

by Jacqueline T. Small
iUniverse (May 10, 2005)
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Freedomtown is a quiet little town west of Philadelphia, but potential residents must meet the requirements of the town charter: They must be African-American (a descendant of a former slave), they must marry within their own race, they must live above the poverty -line and they must have no criminal past.

The founder, Samuel Freeman, a fugitive slave, wrote the town charter over one hundred -forty one years ago, and even though times have changed his descendants see no reason to amend the town charter.

Some residents have slipped through the cracks over the years, but the descendants of Samuel Freeman have developed a unique way to remove violators of the town charter.

Why don’t you visit Freedomtown, just for a little while?


Click for more detail about Falling Down by David T. Boyd Falling Down

by David T. Boyd
iUniverse (Jan 21, 2005)
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Janet Wilson is a married attorney living in Erie, Pennsylvania, who’s been having recurring nightmares about a man dressed in black burglarizing her home. The man in black whistles the nursery rhyme London Bridge is Falling Down as he carefully picks through her things. With loaded gun in hand, Janet startles him. He attacks her; she shoots him yet he crawls after her before he dies. But what truly frightens Janet is with each dream her attacker gets closer and closer until finally he touches her just before she awakens. Her husband, Dr. Michael Wilson, a clinical psychiatrist, convinces her that this is just a dream until several strange occurrences begin taking place, distorting fantasy with reality. There are other things buried deep within Janet’s memory of her childhood, such as who was the young woman with black hair? Why is Regina, her imaginary childhood friend, contacting her again after all of these years? What is the significance of the handheld mirror given to her a long time ago by her mother? As she struggles to find the answers the events that gradually unfold reveal that nothing is what it seems.


Click for more detail about Again and Again by Leah Mullen Again and Again

by Leah Mullen
iUniverse (Jan 13, 2005)
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Growing up, Sarah just wanted to be loved, but she went about it in the worst possible way. If Sarah could turn back the hands of time she would not have made so many mistakes. She wants her daughter Bridget’s last years in high school to be smooth and trouble free, unlike the poverty and homelessness Sarah grew up with. Most of all she does not want Bridget to become a mother before she is a woman.However, Bridget-bright and determined, yet doubting her own worth-has her own vision for her life, one that is full of the young man she adores.Sarah’s fierce determination to overcome her wild, party girl past and create a conventional future jeopardizes what is most precious to her. Can she keep her hopes for her daughter’s success from crushing Bridget’s dreams, while at the same time making peace with her own unfulfilled desires?Praise for Again and Again"Leah Mullen’s debut novel Again and Again is a true coming of age story perfect for any age This heart-felt novel is one destined to be read again and again "-Donna Hill, author of An Ordinary Woman


Click for more detail about A Trilogy of Poetry, Prose and Thoughts: For The Mind, Body & Soul by Joseph S. Spence A Trilogy of Poetry, Prose and Thoughts: For The Mind, Body & Soul

by Joseph S. Spence
AuthorHouse (Jan 12, 2005)
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Trilogy is an exciting experience into the diverse blending of poetry, prose, and thoughts. It raises one’s level of consciousness to that of enjoyment and instills a peaceful quality of mind for relaxation. Enjoy this masterpiece at your favorite place, with your favorite drink, as your mind explodes with the fascination of Trilogy. The wonderful experience of Trilogy shows how a family working together is able to blend and intertwine their collective ideas and thoughts. Such diversity has produced this exceptional work of art for the mind and body that is soothing to the soul. The passing of Joseph’s mother was a motivation for Trilogy. His healing from her loss was to write. He wrote during every spare moment. The spark ignited the passion within Sheila and Jonathan, and they followed his lead. As a result, this fascinating masterpiece is in your hands. Enjoy your reading and recitals as you experience the sensational journey of Trilogy.


Click for more detail about Layers of Peace by June Dade Layers of Peace

by June Dade
iUniverse (Jul 28, 2004)
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A quick-paced, thrilling ride-loaded with passion, desire and infidelity. June Dade’s life long passion for writing is highly evident in this epic tale, Layers of Peace.Layers of Peace, June Dade’s debut novel is a powerful drama, about three thirty-something-urban women whom try to overcome life’s many obstacles one at a time. Against all odds they manage to peel off layers of self-doubt, depression, separations, and find laughter, peace and romance.


Click for more detail about Come With Me, Sheba by Preston L. Allen Come With Me, Sheba

by Preston L. Allen
iUniverse (Jun 08, 2004)
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Sheba Mathis seems to have it all. A handsome fiancé and a successful business in an upscale Miami mall. But all is not as it seems. Sheba’s fiancé is anything but faithful. Worse yet, he scarcely conceals his contempt for her poetry (in her notebooks and in her heart).Along comes the lowly Sol, who dares to woo the beautiful but sad businesswoman by reciting her own poetry to her. When her fiancé finds out, he uses his influence to get Sol fired from his job as a mall security guard.Much to everyone’s surprise, Sol returns the next day as the manager of the shoe store across from Sheba’s shop and begins to charm her again. And again, her fiancé gets him fired.When Sol returns a few days later, as manager of the blue jeans store, Sheba is definitely intrigued. He is handsome, intelligent, and persistent. But the mysterious air around him makes her cautious.What is his connection to the rich entrepreneur Michael Montel? To the street thug Lethal Coon? How does he know so much about her? How can he recite poems she has never shown him-poems she has never shown anyone?"Come with me, Sheba," Sol invites. "Come to my world for just one night, and you shall have all your answers."Sheba accepts. And the trouble begins.


Click for more detail about This Too Shall Pass: Meditations, Affirmations And Encouragement For My Sisters by Sheritha Bowman This Too Shall Pass: Meditations, Affirmations And Encouragement For My Sisters

by Sheritha Bowman
iUniverse (May 27, 2004)
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It is when we open up and share that the healing and deliverance can begin. Our stories and testimonies open doors for other women to walk through boldly and confidently knowing that someone else went through the same thing-and survived.Sister, you are not alone. You’re not the only woman who cries in her car on the way to work. You’re not the only woman who struggles with anger and yells at her kids because life isn’t going as planned. You’re not the only woman struggling with whether or not to give him the key again. Quiet as it’s kept, she’s going through it, too."This Too Shall Pass "taps into our "other side." The depression. The fear. The loneliness. The anger that we blame on PMS. How are we dealing with the emotions that are literally crushing our spirits? We’re keeping the mask on. Afraid to open up and blow our cover. It’s time to talk about it.This inspiring book, filled with scriptural wisdom, testimonies, sisterly advice and a touch of humor so that we don’t take ourselves too seriously, will encourage you to hold on, be strong and know without a doubt that God WILL bring it to pass.


Click for more detail about Divine Appointment: A Caregiver’s Guide by Delores Thornton Divine Appointment: A Caregiver’s Guide

by Delores Thornton
iUniverse (May 10, 2004)
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Divine Appointment: A Caregiver’s Guide will help to smooth the roughness of a tedious journey. Readers will find resources to aid them in caring for a loved one and places to contact while making end of life arrangements. There are stories from caregivers in their own words, handy guides, informative lists of support agencies, and pages for daily inspirational messages. This book is for those who have been through, those going through, and those who will go through!"Delores Thornton offers a long overdue Christian devotional handbook for the adult caregiver. With warmth and honesty she shares her struggles as she cares for her fiancé. The advice provided is not only priceless but very vital information. Thornton does an outstanding job-not only educating people about caring for a loved one with special needs-but encouraging them through the difficult transitions. This book is a blessing!"-Tyora Moody, DOEnetwork.com


Click for more detail about The Education Of Black Folk: The Afro-American Struggle For Knowledge In White America by Allen Ballard The Education Of Black Folk: The Afro-American Struggle For Knowledge In White America

by Allen Ballard
iUniverse (May 06, 2004)
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The Education of Black Folk chronicles the history of African-American education and the beginnings of affirmative action in American colleges and universities. Considered to be a classic by many, on can find no better introduction to this important topic.


Click for more detail about One More Day’s Journey: The Story Of A Family And A People by Allen Ballard One More Day’s Journey: The Story Of A Family And A People

by Allen Ballard
iUniverse (Apr 27, 2004)
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One More Day’s Journey chronicles the movement of African Americans from South Carolina to Philadelphia during the Great Migration. Alex Haley said, "It is informative and emotionally moving, and I recommend it." Ralph Ellison said, " I recommend it highly to all who would add to their knowledge of American History."


Click for more detail about A PERFECT WORLD: (A Perry Richards Novel) by Bernard Alexander McNealy A PERFECT WORLD: (A Perry Richards Novel)

by Bernard Alexander McNealy
AuthorHouse (Apr 12, 2004)
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A Perfect World… Life is good for Los Angeles attorney Perry B. Richards. Blessed with good looks, courtroom brilliance, a beautiful psychologist wife by the name of Felicia Pridemore Richards, loyal friends and two wonderful daughters, for Perry it’s a perfect world. But, the perfect world of Perry Richards is shattered as a cruel façade. Days before Perry is to be appointed as the executive director of the public interest law firm he works for, Felicia vanishes on her way to meet him at their cabin in the mountains. Was it an accident, foul play, or something more sinister? Aided by his wealthy and beautiful colleague, Charleston Liria Bradley, Perry sets out to find the truth. Together they discover that the woman known as Felicia Pridemore was a construct of fiction – she never existed. He also discovers Charleston is so deeply in love him, she will go to any length to see that Felicia remains a haunting mystery. Perry’s search for the truth becomes a pitched battle against sexual temptation, racial politics, professional treachery and a host of people out to kill him. Perry Richards discovers that there is a deadly price to pay for disrupting someone else’s idea of a perfect world.


Click for more detail about Stay the Course by E. D. Arrington Stay the Course

by E. D. Arrington
AuthorHouse (Apr 09, 2004)
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Stay The Course, set in rural North Carolina in the late 1960s through 1971, tells the moving story of a grandmother’s ("Ma") lifelong dream to see one of her own get a high school diploma. To Ma, the day you finished your schooling was the day you got your "freedom". And, with four grandchildren set to graduate like stair steps, nothing seems to be standing in the way. But on a cloudy Saturday evening, tragedy strikes, leaving one grandson dead, another running from the police, one granddaughter emotionally shattered, and Ma with one last hope … Lori. Though, nothing could have prepared Lori for the struggles she would face on her journey to fulfill Ma’s dream … sibling relations, race relations, accepting personal responsibility for her decisions, and having to learn positive ways of addressing life’s challenges by first seeking to understand differences rather than judge. And just when she thought the worst was over, the worst was yet to come. On a beautiful Saturday evening, three days before Ma’s dream would stop being a dream, bringing an end to one of life’s cruelest games of dodgeball, the unbelievable happens.


Click for more detail about Angels by Gwendolyn R. Morris Angels

by Gwendolyn R. Morris
iUniverse (Feb 12, 2004)
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A series of murders in modern day Boston causes African-American forensic psychologist, Kayla Hazelwood, to bepulled into the case. But, the recruitment of paranormal psychologist, Dr. Connor Biantagglia, sparks romance and the revelation of several incredible and mystifying surprises.


Click for more detail about The Selling of Joseph by Dieudonne Mayi The Selling of Joseph

by Dieudonne Mayi
Xlibris (Feb 01, 2004)
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In this book, Dieudonne Mayi uses the biblical story of the selling of Joseph into slavery by his own brothers to look at black slavery in the Americas and confront the role that continental Africans played in selling their fellow Africans.


Click for more detail about The Disilgold Way: Countdown 101 From Writer to Self Publisher by Heather Covington The Disilgold Way: Countdown 101 From Writer to Self Publisher

by Heather Covington
AuthorHouse (Jan 29, 2004)
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The Disilgold Way: Countdown 101 From Writer To Self Publisher is a motivational and auto-biographical novel by Heather Covington about how a young CEO of the Bronx built a publishing and publicity company, plus one of the largest online infused networks, The DLNA. She also, reveals the making of The Disilgold Soul Literary Review, an award publication, and The YOUnity Reviewers Book Club Worldwide. Heather gives "The Writer" step by step details on writing a book, copyright basics, obtaining a business license, tax and book keeping information, how to self publish, the pro and cons of print on demand, setting up an office, marketing tips, and creating a media setup kit that helped the CEO to earn awards, rave reviews, interviews on radio and television, plus newspaper, magazine and top website spotlights without conventional bookstore sales. Not only can this book offer just as much as most books on self publishing, but it acknowledges hundreds of people in the literary world who inspired Heather. The Disilgold Way is a treasure of inspiration for "The Writer" who desires to enjoy the process of becoming a self publisher.

Book Review

Click for more detail about The Homeless Mother of Two by Dieudonne Mayi The Homeless Mother of Two

by Dieudonne Mayi
Xlibris (Dec 30, 2003)
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This book is a collection of stories drawn from human experiences. Like a mother’s unconditional love, these themes can provide a shared view of some aspects of the human condition, what I call Human Perspectives. From eternity’s womb a woman nurtured us


Click for more detail about Pawned Sovereignty: Sharpened Black Perspectives on Americanization, Africa, War and Reparations by Ezrah Aharone Pawned Sovereignty: Sharpened Black Perspectives on Americanization, Africa, War and Reparations

by Ezrah Aharone
AuthorHouse (Dec 01, 2003)
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Pawned SovereigntyXE ’Sovereignty’ ?presents an evolutionary political andphilosophical outlook on America XE ’America’ , Africa XE ’Africa’ , and world affairs.? Regardless of what you presently think, thechallenges it poses to societal norms will either enhance or make you rethinkyour views.? It carves straight throughthe heart of mainstream thoughts and positions, and deals with issues facingBlack AmericaXE ’Black America’ ?from a strict standpoint of political and economic self-preservation.Compelling arguments are developed through insightfulanalyses of history, statistical data, and current affairs, in ways that willadd new dimensions to progressive Black dialogue.? The language and concepts express deeper-most truths andsentiments that speak straight to the soul of Black America XE ’Black America’ .Most of all, it?s solution-oriented.? Since many of Black America XE ’Black America’ ?s problems lie beyondconventional democratic remedies, PawnedSovereignty XE ’Sovereignty’ ?identifies latent sources of Black strengthand blueprints how to leverage them into bona fide vehicles of progress andpower.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Homer, the H-Shaped Tree by Barbara Brandon Homer, the H-Shaped Tree

by Barbara Brandon
Trafford Publishing (Dec 01, 2003)
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Homer, The H-Shaped Tree is a delightful story for all children. Small children who have not yet learned to read, will enjoy curling up in their parent’s or grandparent’s lap and hearing the story read to them.

Young reader’s will learn, as Homer does, that what we wish for the most for ourselves, isn’t as rewarding as what we give to others. They will also learn about friendship, and to accept and appreciate the differences in themselves and others.

Homer, The H-Shaped Tree also teaches children that everyone has self worth, and that when we strive to change the lives of others in a positive way, we often change our own life as well.


Click for more detail about Messages From The Holy Spirit: Reflections on my life as a Truth student by Aminah Paden Messages From The Holy Spirit: Reflections on my life as a Truth student

by Aminah Paden
iUniverse (Oct 07, 2003)
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Messages from the Holy Spirit is one woman’s spiritual journey. The business and personal lessons that she’s learned can be applicable to anyone’s life. Aminah Paden learned to check in with the Holy Spirit on every decision and to follow its guidance without question or hesitation. She’s learned basic truth principles and the spiritual and financial lessons of life. She’s listened for the still small voice and triumphed. Read Messages from the Holy Spirit and learn how she went from pain to peace, from fear to love, from hell to Heaven. The Holy Spirit is in everyone, everywhere waiting for you to listen and obey. This is no coincidence. This is a divine appointment. It is time for you to search your inner self and listen for the way out of your situation into the peace ordained for you. Happiness, Peace and Prosperity is your birthright. The Holy Spirit is waiting to show you the way.


Click for more detail about Bounce by Preston L. Allen Bounce

by Preston L. Allen
iUniverse (Oct 06, 2003)
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Welcome to the bright red bouncing-ball world of Cindique Sanders-Lassiter in this slick, sleek, sexy tale from the undisputed master of literary erotica, Preston L. Allen.Cindique is in love with Roderick Redd, the cutest phone pro at McDarc Inc., but can she save him from the clutches of their boss, Groan of Dark? In the meantime, Cindique herself is being pursued by the violent wildman with the pretty, pretty shoes, who still holds the key to her apartment and her heart.Bounce is rejection and reversal. Bounce is making love to words. Bounce is the one who’ll always be there for you. Bounce is the day he fails to show up. Bounce is the ball, which like our heart, is made of rubber so we scarcely feel it when we hit the wall over and over again.


Click for more detail about Chicken on a Leash: Lessons in Strength of Mind by Dorothea Grimes-Frederick Chicken on a Leash: Lessons in Strength of Mind

by Dorothea Grimes-Frederick
AuthorHouse (Mar 17, 2003)
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The sibilant sound of ’Girl, you know you crazy!’ resonates through our common airspace matter-of-factly. We grow up with different flavors of insanity all around. For our family it was great aunt Henrietta, who stopped wearing underwear because the Lord told her so. At least that is how she interpreted the Lord’s divine message. Aunt Henrietta is proof that even the holiest require a personal crusade to stay sane. Chicken on a Leash: Lessons in Strength in Mind recognizes the challenges of growing into personal leadership - getting from there to here - sane. It is about one African American woman of color who reaches back into her childhood diary to see where her lessons in leadership began. To her amazement, leadership was rooted in the most insane, bizarre, or even violent moments. Susan Raleigh finds that life’s path though littered with lessons in insanity, paved the way for purposeful leadership and strength of mind in every facet of her life from the bedroom to the boardroom. Readers will be able to wrestle with their own paths through the experiences of Dr. Susan Raleigh who eventually finds herself asking: ’How did I manage to grow up sane?’ The answer is amply described in thirty personality-shaping events that she adeptly calls: Lessons in Strength of Mind.


Click for more detail about Never Forget the Bridge That Crossed You over by Adriene Pickett Never Forget the Bridge That Crossed You over

by Adriene Pickett
Xlibris (Mar 01, 2003)
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Never Forget The Bridge That Crossed You Over takes place in the fictionalized town of Mission, Georgia in the 1960s. Magnolia, Hyacinth, and Rose Walker are abducted by their brother’s schoolteacher and sold to families in different states. After an exhaustive but fruitless search for the girls, Ivory Walker and her three older children move to New Jersey to escape the pain and pursue a better life. Finally, after thirty-eight years of holding on to faith, the Walker family is reunited. The deep and poignant secrets that tore the family apart and kept its members separated are exposed, and broken hearts eventually are healed.


Click for more detail about Anybody Seen Junebug? by Delores Thornton Anybody Seen Junebug?

by Delores Thornton
iUniverse (Jan 27, 2003)
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In an effort to hold onto his deceased grandmother, Junebug has become her. And not only her, but other ancestors she has told him about as well. In this spin-off of the novel, Babe, we begin to see the fine line that separates a broken heart from a shattered mind. Has Junebug crossed it? Can anybody reach him? Has Anybody Seen Junebug?Delores Thornton scores a major hit with Anybody Seen Junebug?, a witty and earthy tale of friendship and family love in which the human spirit triumphs over grief and adversity. Read this novel. You will be greatly entertained.Tracy Price-Thompson, best selling author of Black Coffee and Chocolate SangriaA great Frenchman once said, An idea is irresistible. Delores has taken her idea and made her novel ideal reading…Anybody Seen Junebug? is irresistible….Joseph W. Wilkins, Simmons Bible College


Click for more detail about The Root of All Evil by Gibran Tariq and Gregory S. Jones The Root of All Evil

by Gibran Tariq and Gregory S. Jones
Xlibris (Nov 01, 2002)
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About the Book Cover

We must confess that while we feel our book is essential reading, we do also admit that the cover is ’ugly’, and we feel an apology is in order because in addition to writing a book that will stand the test of time, it is also incumbent upon the author to create an eye-pleasing cover, and no doubt that was our intention. However, we were the victims of a nightmare relationship with our publisher who, we feel, deliberately failed to enhance the book’s graphics as we had requested.

Our entanglement with Xlibris was similar to the contract disputes many entertainers experience in the music industry, especially the early R & B pioneers who found themselves unmercifully taken advantage of by the corporate Goliath. In our case, what made the relationship with Xlibris so contentious is that they were incompetent and failed repeatedly to live up to the standard of excellence they boasted of in their brochure, and once we were under contract, the standard dropped even lower.

It was almost as if they did not want the information in the book to get out, and therefore took it upon themselves to sabotage the material in every way they could. Their unprofessional work caused us to miss our publication date three times as we had to repeatedly send the manuscript back for error corrections. The typos were so outrageous and the work so shoddy that we had to threaten to take them to court to get the corrections made and the book’s interior format redesigned.

Then there was the extended battle over the price of the book. Xlibris set a price that we did not agree with because we felt it was too high and since it wasn’t competitively priced, it would place us at a disadvantage in the market. We pleaded with them to lower the price, but they wouldn’t budge, and even the threat of a lawsuit wouldn’t intimidate them as the terms were laid out in the fine print of the contract. This being the case, we had no way to force them to lower the book’s price from $19.00 to $13.00. The caused much bad blood.

Finally, the incident with the cover. Although dissatisfied we still wanted to publish The Root Of All Evil since we had spent 5 years researching it, and consequently we authorized a final draft of the book despite some still uncorrected typos. We wanted to meet our third target date for the book’s release because we had people waiting on it. The cover was sent in with very specific instructions as to the enhancements we wanted added to the graphics, but Xlibris ignored our request and simply slapped the cover on the front of the book, doing nothing at all to enhance the quality of the artwork. We feel all this was deliberately done by Xlibris in an attempt to either hold up the release of this book or to prevent it altogether. The information is that compelling.

Again, we apologize for the unprofessional looking cover and wanted everyone to know how it came about, that is was beyond our control. Lastly, we ask that you do not judge this book by its cover or else you will miss one of the most important novels in African ’ American Literature.

Peace,
From the Authors

Book Review

Click for more detail about Doña Julia by Alberto O. Cappas Doña Julia

by Alberto O. Cappas
AuthorHouse (Oct 21, 2002)
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Clear. Natural. Poignant. These words accurately describe Alberto O. Cappas’ work.Cappas understands the suffering and struggles of Puerto Ricans living in Mainland America as well as in Puerto Rico. His poetry traces their hopes, problems, and misconceptions from the island to the mainland where they discover that dreams do die hard.In the poem ’Suicide of a Puerto Rican Jibaro,’ one need not be Puerto Rican to identify with the alienation faced when entering a cold, foreign, and jungle-like world. Cappas successfully explores what such a drastic change can mean for a Puerto Rican away from his island, where he is the majority. In ’…Jibaro,’ for the Puerto Rican man who emigrates to the United States, ’A million times his body was raped by the unfriendly cold… to pursue the American Dream…’Cappas is a relentless observer and commentator of what happens when a people leave their homeland, or forget where they come from, to pursue the uncertainties of the American Dream. His poetry, ironic at times, questions whether this dream does exist. In ’A Spoken Secret,’ ’Light skin Puerto Ricans forget to speak Spanish… and dark skin Puerto Ricans adopt hot combs to straighten their hair.’ In ’Doa Julia,’ a woman is trapped like a mouse in America and so commits suicide as a last attempt to return to her homeland. And in ’Maria,’ a young girl sits patiently thinking about her experiences in New York since leaving Puerto Rico and now waits ’for the overdose (of a drug) to take effect.’Of course this is not to say that all Puerto Ricans who emigrate to the United States end up killing themselves but it does show that Cappas is keenly aware of a sort of cultural and spiritual death that happens to Puerto Ricans and other Latinos when they leave the tropical scenes and adopt certain American values. In the ironic humorous poem, ’Her Boricua,’ a woman buys the Moon, tax-free, and invites her relatives and friends on weekend nights to ’admire the beauty of her new possessio

Book Review

Click for more detail about 101 Ways Black Women Can Learn to Love Themselves by Jamie Walker 101 Ways Black Women Can Learn to Love Themselves

by Jamie Walker
Xlibris (Aug 01, 2002)
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Click for more detail about Warning: a novel by Bill Liggins Warning: a novel

by Bill Liggins
iUniverse (Jul 04, 2002)
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TEG-Comm is here, but hidden. TEG-Comm seems new, but millions have heard rumors about its operations for decades. TEG-Comm had never intended it, but world government is the result of its existence. Because of a warning from another star, TEG-Comm had perpetuated a Cold War hoax for 40 years in the 20th Century. They were behind the assassinations of several heads of state, including President Kennedy. They had taken advantage of UFO hysteria to cover up their experiments. They had done all these things in order to cover-up the greatest secret in history. Now, it’s TEG-Comm’s target year. They must be ready. Humanity is about to become involved with its first interstellar war. "This is no ordinary mystery …with characters one can identify with and enjoy." R. M. Blacketer, Scribes World Reviews "Warning! Fasten your seatbelts. Come along for the ride. It will be an adventure you won’t soon forget." Anne K. Edwards, author of "Death Comes Knocking". eBook Reviews Weekly


Click for more detail about The Revolution Of Eve by C. Alexandra Allen The Revolution Of Eve

by C. Alexandra Allen
Xlibris (Apr 03, 2002)
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The Revolution of Eve is a groundbreaking literary debut. C. Alexandra Allen takes her readers on a journey through spirituality, life, and love. She writes in a voice that is emotionally charged, powerful and honest. While demonstrating maturity well beyond her twenty-eight years, she maintains a certain innocence and mystery as she bares her innermost soul to the world. Readers from all walks of life will be able to identify with this deeply introspective artistic piece. It will be enjoyed for years to come.

Excerpt from The Revolution of Eve

Untitled II

From the back of the bus
To the back of a limousine
The child with a 4.0
The child with hoop dreams

From Colored
To Negro
To African-American
To “People of Color”
Too Black
Not Black enough

From coach class
To middle class
Upper class
No class
From mammies and minstrel shows
To tokenism
The realism…
Racism
From the cotton fields
To corporate seats
From million dollar mansions
To living in the streets

Copyright © 2001 by C. Alexandra Allen


Click for more detail about A Letter to My Father by John W. Griffin A Letter to My Father

by John W. Griffin
Xlibris (Apr 01, 2002)
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A Letter to My Father is an eye-popping personal reflection of a son who desperately needs to deeply purge himself of misconceptions about our society and our justice system. He seeks inner peace by penning a letter to his deceased father, detailing what happened after his death.

Griffin begins his memoirs by speaking directly to his dead father while visualizing his father’s strong hands holding his own as a child. This supplied a nice beginning. I could feel Griffin’s emotions of caring and needing a bond with his father. However, from here the book spiraled downhill with Griffin rattling on and on about every aspect of his childhood, including his brother James and his mother Carrie. It became difficult to understand whom the story was really about for a minute. The point of view was further distorted by the constant intrusion of too much-telling and not enough showing. The story flowed consistently in relating events in a logical manner, but I just wish Griffin had presented the action in a more imaginative way. This would have made reading A Letter to My Father more captivating and less of a labor.

A Letter to My Father is full of information on historical events and is very opinionated. I actually appreciated some of what Griffin offered in regards to understanding the teachings of the Nation of Islam and a few tidbits of African-American history and on the struggle for racial equality in the 1960’s. But, Griffin’s abuse of this usage of disseminating knowledge throughout drained the story’s momentum. In fact, there were spots in, A Letter to My Father, where I was not sure if Griffin was talking to his father or teaching history class.

The most interesting facet of A Letter to My Father is that it is a true story and Griffin’s overkill added to the realism. It was written by a man in pain … a man in need of getting it all out on the table … and a man who wanted someone to

Book Review

Click for more detail about Maurya’s Seed: Why Hope Lives Behind Project Walls by Cathie Wright-Lewis Maurya’s Seed: Why Hope Lives Behind Project Walls

by Cathie Wright-Lewis
iUniverse (Aug 28, 2001)
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Maurya’s Seed portrays the aftermath of slavery. More precisely, it actually gives the updated status of African slave descendants living in urban America exactly one hundred years after the signing of The Emancipation Proclamation. An unspoken centennial anniversary of revolution, 1963 is the perfect setting to depict the continual battle against slavery African-Americans must endure. Fiction rooted in truth, this story reveals the diabolical strategies used against the children of former slaves to keep them in servitude, even when it’s disguised as freedom. The main character, Passion unknowingly is a direct descendant of Maurya, a legendary African slave best remembered for her ability to escape a popular, evil slave trader turned slave master. Maurya is Passion’s guardian angel and spiritually guides her through her adventurous and explosive life. Passion is the epitome of black, female heroism. She is the young widow of a revolutionary named Justice, and is raising her four children with the assistance of a unique extended family. In the name of Civil Rights, she is one of the few parents brave enough to fight for her children to be bussed to school in a white neighborhood where they are not welcome. Ironically, at the very same time, one of her children is being declared the first casualty of war.


Click for more detail about 10 Minutes Past Too Late by Anika Malone 10 Minutes Past Too Late

by Anika Malone
AuthorHouse (May 11, 2001)
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Lisa Munroe is a successful, single young black attorney, branded from childhood with the nickname, ’Bad Girl.’ Embracing her title, she has managed to live up to every bit of it— At first glance, Lisa would appear to have it all—a promising career, a committed relationship with her beau Darnel Harvin, and the prospect of more to come. But underneath it all, the realization that this could be a ’long-term relationship,’ which she’d never planned, and scares the hell out of her— Then enters the flashy New York lawyer Mike Wilson, whose forceful nature could destroy it all— Like a top spinning out of control, crashing into everyone around her—with the love of one man and the lust of another—she finds herself back into a corner and forced to reveal everything. During this downward spiral, Lisa begins to look within herself to confront some truths that could forever change her, even shatter the lives around her—Sometimes, we have to go to the brink of self destruction to finally come to rest at a place of happiness. But, for Lisa, is it ten minutes past too late?


Click for more detail about i see through eyes by Eric Payne i see through eyes

by Eric Payne
iUniverse (Mar 01, 2001)
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I see through eyes is an unashamed piece that doesnt sugarcoat the conflicts present in mens hearts. It explores the pain of heartache, the anxiety that comes with finding love, racism, spirituality and family. From start to finish, Eric Payne weaves a lyrical tapestry of verse and rhyme that explores and pokes fun at these themes that are common to most, if not all, human experiences.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Jamerican Connection by Sandra A. Ottey Jamerican Connection

by Sandra A. Ottey
iUniverse (Jan 20, 2001)
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In a quaint, English-looking rural town on Jamaica’s Southern coast Rose Thorn struggles with her conniving, controlling, abusive husband, Donovan, to claim her right to realize the deferred educational dreams and stunted career ambitions she was forced to put on hold, when Rose had gotten pregnant and had to drop out of school during her final high school year. Laverne Fine struggles with her doubts concerning her lover, Paul’s, true identity and nationality; but Paul’s Brooklyn-based mother has a lead-heavy hand in guarding their family secrets. Wendy Arnold crumples under the escalating obstacles of her long-distance relationship with her Jamaica-based high school sweetheart, Miles. In the express lane to middle-age both want to marry each other and immediately start a family; but neither of these two lovers is willing to uproot. The lives of these three Jamaican women, each with her unique connection to America, are woven into an engrossing tangled web of lies, suspense, infidelity, deceit, spousal abuse and betrayal. Long distance relationships are tested and tried; the true value of female friendships and mentorship is proven; and the advantages of immigration are weighed against the disadvantages.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Vivid by Beverly Jenkins Vivid

by Beverly Jenkins
iUniverse (Jan 15, 2001)
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It’s 1786 and Dr.Viveca Lancaster is frustrated by the limits placed upon female physicians of color. When she is offered the chance to set up a practice in the small all Black community of Grayson Grove, Michigan she leaves her California home and heads east. The very determined Viveca is one of the few nineteenth century Black women to graduate from the prestigious Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania but she needs more than determination to face down handsome Nate Grayson, the Grove’s bull-headed mayor.Nate Grayson goes to the train station expecting Dr. V. Lancaster to be a man. When the lovely dark-skinned Viveca introduces herself he is speechless, then wants her back on the train and out of his town. It’s 1876 and women aren’t supposed to be doctors, men are. However he isn’t prepared for her stubbornness and fire, nor for the vivid way she heals, then steals his heart.


Click for more detail about Straight Talk Volumes I & II by Gerry Wright Straight Talk Volumes I & II

by Gerry Wright
Trafford Publishing (Jan 01, 2001)
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Straight Talk is a set of two books intended for adults 21 and older who have an interest in self-help, an improved sex life, or great relationships.


Click for more detail about The Cosmopolitans by Fred Beauford The Cosmopolitans

by Fred Beauford
Xlibris (Dec 01, 2000)
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Description of this item is not available at this time.


Click for more detail about The Good Got To Suffer With The Bad by Earl Sewell The Good Got To Suffer With The Bad

by Earl Sewell
iUniverse (Nov 20, 2000)
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Theron Brooks’ entire life was changed by one single act. His fifth grade teacher informed the entire class that she was going to place everyone back a few grade levels.Later, Theron’s family leaves his Chicago neighborhood for a better life in the suburbs. There, Theron is confronted with hatred, humiliation, peer pressure, the reality of a poor education and ultimately defeat. However, Theron has great courage and instead of bowing his head with shame, sorrow and regret he shows everyone how to over come, succeed and stand tall.


Click for more detail about Touched by Linda Armstrong-Miller Touched

by Linda Armstrong-Miller
iUniverse (Oct 01, 2000)
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Be careful who you turn your back on. Help comes in many forms. Matthew Allen found that to be true. Matthew Allen experienced a tragedy when he was 10-years old. Because of it, he stopped caring. He stopped growing. His first night of call as a brand new intern changed that and his life forever. Touched is the journey Matthew Allen had to take into his past so that he could live his future.

What if you spent the last eight years of your life convincing yourself that you had your life together only to be told by a ninety-eight year old black lady that it wasn’t? What if this lady was a total stranger to you? Not just a stranger but a stranger who was dying; a stranger that you had been given the responsibility of taking care of.

What if you had a secret that you thought only two people knew? What if you found out you had been wrong and someone else knew your secret. What if the other person was a ninety eight year old black lady?

That’s not all. What if that ninety eight year old black lady told you she was sent to help you? Would you want her help?

TOUCHED is about releasing yourself from a painful past so that you can experience a better future. It encourages us all to look at our role in one another’s life and the impact we will make.

Author Linda Armstrong-Miller pushes the theme, every choice you make is significant.

In life there are choices we must make. Sometimes choices are made for us, long before we have a voice to state our opinion. Matthew Allen experienced a tragedy that shaped him into a cold person. He doesn’t have friends, the comfort of family or love and he doesn’t seek those things out. Instead, he feels trapped by what happened so many years ago. Today, Matthew Allen will be forced to confront his past and acknowledge that every story has two sides.

"We cannot predict what challenges we face in life; however, through our faith and the support of loving, caring people, we can overcome. I like the story more so because it showed a continued hope for Matthew to change, and that the change was going to have to be as a result of him finally letting someone into his life. I wholeheartedly recommend this book as one to add to your bookshelf."
-T.C. Matthews,
Prolific Writers Network

What if she told you she could turn back the hands of time so that she could show you things from your past and her past then did it? What if she did all of this so that she could offer you a future? Would you be interested? These are some of the questions Matthew Allen Green is faced with in the debut novel Touched by Linda Armstrong-Miller.

Touched is a fictional novel that deals with real issues and emotions. It is the story of a young man who had to make a choice after experiencing a very traumatic event in his life. His choices were to move on and live or shut himself off and not trust or love anyone. He chooses the latter.

In Touched, Mat encounters a ninety eight year old black lady, Grandma, his first night of call, as an intern. Mat learns throughout the course of the night that Grandma has powers, which enables her to do wondrous and scary things. She calls these powers ’tools of the trade’.

He finds out that she can not change what happened to him but if he will simply let her touch his heart, she will provide something for him that will help him cope with his pain, loneliness, shame and despair. She will provide his with a family.

He also finds out that he only gets one shot at this family. He is struck by the realization that once Grandma is dead, his fate is sealed. That once the clock starts ticking it cannot be stopped. What he finds out that really scares him is that in order for him to have his new future something has to give. That something is Grandma. She is willing to die so that he may live.

Thus the journey begins. It is a journey that will be paved with much pain.  However, it is a journey that in the end Matthew Allen Green will be glad he took.

I promise you will feel like you are battling the same evil that he is as you walk along beside him.

 

Excerpt

        When I saw how determined she was, I went to her little boy and knelt beside him. I was determined she would have a prize at the end of her labored journey. While Goatee held his watch, Blondie looked on. I looked to see how close she was. To my shock and surprise, her eyes locked with mine. When she finally arrived, she smiled at me. I couldn’t believe it. 
        "Thank you Jesus." She said.
        "Jesus? No, not me." I whispered.
        "Angel?" She asked.
        "I’ve never been called that either."
        "You were sent to help me?" She asked. She was out of breath when she
finished.
        "Yes." I answered.
        "Angel." She said then smiled. So did I.
        Her smile was wondrous. I remembered how my mother had looked when she
smiled at Chris. It had been just as wonderful and she had been dying too.
        After thanking me, Bonnie laid beside her son. She attempted to pull
her son to her. By now, she was far too weak. If the baby had been another
step farther I’m not sure she would have….yes she would have. She would
have reached him no matter how far away he was. That I was sure of.
        Bonnie slid her hands under him trying again to lift him. I placed my
hands under hers. Together we lifted him. She then pulled her arms back
and nestled the baby against her chest. With the gaping wound that was now
her abdomen, this nestling actually made it look as though she was trying to
put him back inside of her.
        "Thank you so much." She whispered barely audible even to me.
        She found the strength to kiss her son once more. Then she died. Less
than a minute later, her son took his last breath.

Book Review

Click for more detail about Kinder Spirits: Children Helping Children in the Fight Against Hunger by Vicki L. Hubbard Kinder Spirits: Children Helping Children in the Fight Against Hunger

by Vicki L. Hubbard
iUniverse (Sep 24, 2000)
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Kinder Spirits is a childrens book catered for children of all ages! The book consists of animated children photographed by Nance Killion of Imagine Photography, alongside poetry composed by the children of Paramount Academy. We hope that children of all ages will take possession of delight out of the playful spirited photographs together with poetry by their peers. They will obtain the freedom to create there own scrap book, as well as jot down their own personal blessing throughout the pages of their very own gratitude journal! We want children to be aware of their riches in life, to understand appreciation at an early age. Also by purchasing this book parents are helping the impoverished children of our Nation who do not have the luxury to act out their joy through the art of photography; they do not have the energy to play rambunctiously. Nor to gather the strength to write about their jubilation through the art of poetry, the book Kinder Spirits: Children helping Children in the Fight Against Hunger is a book articulating all of this. We want children of all ages to understand that hunger exists and that you dont have to be a certain age to give in order to comfort a child in need.The proceeds given to the publication will go to the following Charities: St. Marys Food Bank, Phoenix Rescue Mission, And World Vision.


Click for more detail about Marian Anderson by Charles Patterson Marian Anderson

by Charles Patterson
iUniverse (Jun 15, 2000)
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The biography of the great African-American concert singer Marian Anderson traces the story of the life of the artist in south Philadelphia, her breatkthrough and acclaimed career in Europe in the 1930s, and her eventual success at home in the United States.