So let her help you take a look at that decade of sagging kneecaps and college reunions and fantasies of love in the afternoon: at Maoist kids, cholesterol counts, adult-education courses and other atrocities—which somehow just don’t hurt so much when you laugh.

    Here in Bonfire Opera, grief and Eros grapple in the same domain. A bullet-hole through the heart, a house full of ripe persimmons, a ghost in a garden. Coyotes cry out on the hill, and lovers find themselves kissing, “bee-stung, drunk” in the middle of road. Here, the dust is holy, as is the dark, unknown. These are poems that praise the impossible, wild world, finding beauty in its wake.  Excerpt from “Bonfire Opera”   In those days, there was a woman in our circle who was known, not only for her beauty, but also for taking off all her clothes and singing opera. And sure enough, as the night wore on and the stars emerged to stare at their reflections on the sea, and everyone had drunk a little wine, she began to disrobe, loose her great bosom and the tender belly, pale in the moonlight, the Viking hips, and to let her torn raiment fall to the sand as we looked up from the flames.

    When Greg's abuse damn near kills Jade her sisters Corrina and Telissa step in and remove her from the home. As Jade deals with her hurtful past and her current abusive relationship she is introduced to a new way of life and new friends. She seems to adjust well to her new environment, but when the past starts to reel its ugly head Jade fights to stand her ground. Will she follow her heart and move forward or will she be snatched back into the depths of hell!

    

    

    

    After fifteen years of marriage, Kameron is demanding a divorce on the night of their anniversary, leaving Camille shattered and confused. Needing a relief from the pain and anger that seems to now live where her heart once lived, Camille finds herself in the bed of a handsome stranger. Despite her one night of unforgettable relief, Camille runs for the hill the next morning, making sure not to awaken the man that she only knows by the name of, DJ. Even after things between Camille and Kameron comes to an end, Kameron continues to shake her world with his lies and betrayals. Dion ‘DJ’ Roberts is a twenty-five-year-old NFL quarterback, who had made up in his mind that he is done with love and relationships. After learning the woman that he once loved, loved the money and fame more than him, DJ vowed to never be weakened by the four letter word again. To DJ, the only woman that was worth loving is his sister, until a one-night stand left him wondering… On a night out in the town, DJ and Camille finds themselves in the same club, and neither had not forgotten one detail of the night of passion they shared together. This time, DJ refused to let the lovely Camille disappear without a trace. Even though Camille is finally now divorced, her life is still far from drama free. Will DJ be able to put the broken pieces of Camille’s heart back together, or will his own trust issues alone with obstacles in the form of people make them both walk away, sticking to their vows to never love again?

    

    When Rob's busy schedule leaves Sheila longing for love and affection, she falls into the arms of Jason, her husband’s brother.Jason is the handsome and powerful heir to The Young Family Empire. He has been married to his beautiful wife Karen for three years. He loves her and treats her like a queen, but lately, he seeks adventure. When he begins an affair with Sheila he finds out she is just the adventure he needs.After they decide they will keep their affair going, Jason creates some rules they both swear to abide by: Rule number one, our spouses come first. Rule number two, no falling in love, because I will never leave my wife. Rule number three, if anything starts to change or one of us breaks a rule, we end the affair. But when the rules get broken and secrets they both never could have imagined are exposed, the real drama begins. How far will Jason and Sheila go to protect and keep their affair going? In this Three Book Box Set, Readers Will Enjoy Over 100,000 words of page-turning drama and explosive love scenes!

    

    She tries to distance herself from the game by getting a degree and trying to do something positive with her life. When the system takes her older brother prisoner and death’s knock takes her daddy and her other brother away from her, those beliefs are more evident than ever. Never knowing her mother, since she died during her delivery of Fawn, Fawn feels all alone in this world aside from having her best friend, Amiko. Still reeling from the loss of her father, she is confronted by his right-hand man to learn she controls her daddy’s empire. Although she wants no part of the street-life, he’s able to convince her to attend a meeting that will change her life forever. Meeting Lark ‘Law’ Gutierrez makes Fawn want to reevaluate all her life choices. The only problem is that he is kingpin in the streets of Laredo. It’s like she can’t escape the streets that have taken her family, because something about Law is pulling her to him like a fish on a hook. He shares her sentiments. This meeting forces her to take some sort of control of her father’s empire, and she soon learns that the hate that took her family from her isn’t over. As she and Lark become close, she realizes that he has her back in more ways than one, and will protect her, whatever the cost of that may be. Can she withstand the grit of the street-life and hang on to what she’s built with Lark? Or will it overtake her and swallow her whole?

    That was until Keylon committed the ultimate betrayal and Jalisa finally decided she’d had enough. She swore off trying to be with someone until she met Smoke. Smoke was probably the most gorgeous man she had laid eyes on. After experiencing heartbreak, Jalisa wasn’t sure moving on with Smoke was smart, until she realized she was connected with Smoke long before she laid eyes on him. Cortez ‘Smoke’ Campbell is hood royalty. After experiencing tragedy at a young age, Smoke did what he had to do to take the financial burden off of his Granny. Smoke is hesitant on giving his heart out until he and Jalisa ran into each other... literally. Being crossed by the last person he ever expected, Smoke realizes Jalisa is more for him than he could have ever imagined. Or is she? Even though they both had trust issues and were skeptical at first, Smoke and Gunz decided to give love a chance. Take a ride on this love journey to see if Jalisa is really ready to move on wholeheartedly or will her past destroy the new future she wants so desperately. Some say love conquers all, but does it?

    Her only care in the world is fast money, partying and designer labels. She doesn’t have real responsibilities or plans for the future. As far as she was concerned, only today was important. She will worry about tomorrow when it comes. No one is going to stop her from enjoying her life to the fullest. She refused to live the life she watched her mother endure by the hands of her father. Her and her brother, Tone struggled together after their parent’s death. Jiera is determined to make up for all the years she struggled as a young girl. No one else's opinions about her life mattered to her. King Owens is a twenty-five-year-old, handsome rich man. He was taken from his unfit mother and raised by his father and stepmom. King wants out of the life his father was determined he inherit. He doesn’t want the throne to his father’s drug empire. For now, he is living the life that he's determined to get away from. He has a beautiful, career-oriented woman in his life. A successful career, wealth, and a beautiful family was his goals in life. He is determined to have everything he wants, even if it means going against his father’s wishes. King and Jiera have totally different plans for their future. Upon laying eyes on Jiera, King couldn’t deny himself from having her for just one night. What happens when one night of passion binds the two together for the rest of their lives? The ones that supposed to love them the most are the ones trying to hurt them the most. Will lies, betrayal and deceit take the two on a journey together? Or will it tear them apart?

    But when she comes out she finds that her whole world has changed. Her best friend, Meesha, who was supposed to pick her up from prison is murdered. Her trifilin', wellfare stealin' evil mother won't give allow her to take her son back. And her baby daddy has gone M.I.A. What type of man abandon's a woman who took a bid for him? To make matters worse, Heaven has nowhere to go nor a single dime to her name. All Heaven wants to do is get Blake back and start a nail salon but the streets has different plans. Eventually Heaven is taken in by CoCo, a friend that she met in prison. When Heaven meets CoCo's oldest brother Sin, her life takes a turn for the best. Sin is the Trap God of ATL. They eventually fall for each other but his love and lifestyle comes at a cost. Now Heaven has to decided whether she wants to take that risk again. Will Heaven get her life on track so that she can get custody of her son? Find out in this action-packed hood romance!

    This undercover work was known as 'going incognegro'. Zane Pinchback's latest case hits close to home: his brother has been arrested for murder.