2 Books Published by Story Plant Gold on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

Blue Smoke Rises is the thrilling sequel to the coming-of-age story Mendel, set in the mid-1980s on Chicago’s Southside.

After being discharged from the hospital, Brandon James Jr. (BJ) is eager to pick up the pieces of his fractured life. He secures an unusual job, begins rehab with a savant, and even agrees to therapy to address nightmares and anxiety because of his “accident.” Yet, while BJ’s eyes are still on the prize of obtaining a collegiate track scholarship, a crooked coach uses the opportunity to blackmail him.

At the same time, Keko, BJ’s father, tries to keep a gang war from spilling over into the family’s lives. And an unexpected low-life returns to Chicago, igniting BJ’s lust for revenge. BJ must fight for the ones he loves and his own sanity while circumstances outside of his control threaten to ruin his future plans and relationships.

Imagine the mid-1980s, last day of school, summer break. A teen rushes to meet his mother, who is being released from the hospital after cancer surgery. When the teen arrives, he finds out his mother is dead, but his ex-gangbanging dad, who’s been in jail the last eight years, is at the hospital ready to take the teen home.

Mendel is a coming-of-age story about a high school senior who must learn how to forgive as he navigates life without his mother. Things come to a head when the teen accidentally finds his mom’s diary. In the journal, he discovers his mother’s dreams of becoming a collegiate track star were derailed due to getting pregnant with him. To honor his mother, he joins Mendel’s track team, but before he can cash in on any scholarship offers, his father’s thuggish past catches up with them when a gun-toting nemesis comes seeking revenge. The teen must decide between saving his own life or sacrificing it all to save his estranged father.

Winner of the Black Excellence Award for Outstanding Fiction Work
2022 BookFest Award winner