Backstage is a VIP pass to the glamorous, gritty music industry, a world Nikki Turner knows intimately–as she introduces writers you’ll want to read again and again.

    From this Essence bestselling author comes a sexy, fast-paced novel about astreet-smart girl determined to make it big in the glitzy nightclub business.288 pp.

    With nothing to lose and the world to gain, she embarks on a quest to rule the gritty streets of our nation's capital, by taking over the rough and rugged DC drug trade.Guile, cunning, and ruthlessness are her tools, while death, destruction, and deception are her trade. Her quest to conquer the shady underworld is brought to a cataclysmic halt by a horrendous act against the one person who brought her any semblance of sanity, her baby sister.With revenge on her mind, Angel sets out on a bloodthirsty quest to avenge the one person in life whom she truly loved. The clock is ticking, the police are on her trail, and a shocking betrayal threatens to send her to prison for life. Will Angel avenge her sister's shocking torture and manage to escape the clutches of the determined detective Sean Jones? Will she find out who her betrayers are, before it's too late? Will she get her life together and move on? Or will she suffer the same fate that she has dealt to so many others?The stakes are high, the players are ruthless, and the result of failure is death.

    Caught in the middle of snakes greed and decietful conspiracy, Destiny and her son are forced to go on the run from one of the most notoriously feared gangsters in Brooklyn.Icon's legacy and a trail of unsolved murders emits a prescnce that has evoked fear in the most ruthless of killers dating back twenty-plus years. When his son is murdered, Icon's team of hitmen AKA "The Death Squad" are sent to track down the young lady responsible for pulling the trigger.Donovan has just returned home from his tour of duty in Iraq. He left being a loving son to his mother and deeeply in love with his childhood sweetheart. Who he returned as was someone very different after living life as a part of the U.S Marines Special Forces Unit. He meets Destiny and her son and his life changes.Prepare to be captivated by the debut of a unique story teller and get ready for the ride of a lifetime as the fast paced page turner tells a tale of love, life and harsh realities.

    In a perfect life, these promises are easy to keep. When faced with spousal betrayal, idealistic oaths take a back seat. Justine Charles made the ultimate sacrifice for her dying husband. Will she rally after his death or be forced to give up a final chance at happiness?

    With insane courage and an iron will, Shareef, the street-smart intellectual, finally gets a chance to write something more edgy and noteworthy.However, the Harlem streets he returns to in 2006 have changed, and the stakes of survival are higher now than they’ve ever been. Amid the rise of high-priced condominiums, a changing population, young criminals gunning to make names for themselves, and old criminals fighting to become legitimate businessmen, Shareef finds himself caught in a real-life thriller where past foes become friends, and trusted friends become dangerous foes. Nevertheless, the Harlem legend is hell-bent to do anything he can to gain the respect on the streets that his career as a writer of women’s fiction has failed to give him.The Last Street Novel is another urban classic as only Tyree, the self-proclaimed Urban Griot, can write them!

    When she and her three best friends venture out on prom night, they’re drunk on young love and excited for their college plans. But a tragic incident turns a night of high school achievement into a crime scene, and Jessica and her girls are left with bloody hands and shattered futures. After spending years paying off a debt that wasn’t theirs, Jessica and her friends return to Harlem to find it very different from when they left. Crack is now king, and its destruction has left their families in ruin and their neighborhoods consumed by its peddlers. Jessica takes a stand, and her friends are there to back her up when demons from the past come beating down their doors. Now Jessica and the girls must pass the ultimate test in order to preserve their lives, their families, and their Harlem.

     Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two. What really happened? No one has a clue. Twenty-two people are questioned, but nothing is found. So one by one, Pepper narrows the suspects down. It becomes clear that everybody has something to hide. The closer Pepper gets to truth, the more everyone lies. Somebody saw something. Someone knows the truth. Someone is a murderer. The question is…who?

    Stone is apart of an elite fugitive task force known in the streets of Houston as the “Ghost Squad”. The young officer’s life is suddenly interrupted and he has to return to his hometown to bury his father. Stone discovers that his father, had unfinished business with a dangerous organization. The members of this organization will stop at nothing to maintain their secrets and power that has kept them wealthy for years. The reader will discover that a small city like Montgomery, Alabama can have serious big city crime. Get ready to dive into a book that is full of action and suspense.

    Or at least that's the way it's been for Slump. Since a child he had the responsibility of taking care of himself along with his younger brother and sister by any means necessary. The only thing he has ever been good at is killing, so good that the streets named him. "The Boogyman" but Slump faces a problem when he has to find out the hard way that not everyone is afraid of the Boogyman. He has one goal, get this money and get out fast. That's until his past begins to catch up to him. This classic tale by Jason Brent is sure to leave readers breathless.

    With loving men of power comes drama and jealousy. Can Briana and Persia handle everything that comes their way or will they crack under pressure? They say that love is forever but is forever enough?

    Chase s rise to the top hasn t been easy and memories of his mother s murder, as she died in his arms when he was only twelve years old, still haunt him. These memories birth Smoke, his monstrous alter ego, who is psychotic and very dangerous.Chase and his younger brother Corey are close so close that his older brother, Cyrus, uses emotional blackmail to make Chase carry out his deceitful and murderous deeds. While attempting to bury Smoke and break free from his brother s spell, Chase meets the beautiful Bliss Riley. They fall madly in love but there is only one problem...Bliss isn t aware of Chase s murderous appetite and the demon that lives inside of the man she loves. Will Chase be able to bury his demons for good and live happily ever after with the woman of his dreams or will Smoke take Chase and Bliss on a journey that will leave dead bodies throughout the city of New York? Only time will tell!Show More Show Less

    Five days in, he receives an anonymous letter telling him that his days are numbered. But before he can find out who’s behind the threats, Jake is stabbed and ends up in a coma.When he wakes in a hospital bed two years later, things have changed: His prison sentence has been commuted, his girlfriend is fiercely independent, and his side piece has gotten out of the street life altogether. But one thing remains: Jake’s enemy still wants him dead and is powerful enough to track him down no matter where he hides.On the run, and with rumors circulating about a powerful, phantomlike gang called the 300 Crew, Jake will need to rely on his mantra: Trust no one—not the law, not his girl, not the street cats he helped out years ago, not even his own blood.

    That's why no one is more surprised than her when she starts dating Thomas Anthony Young, the fit and handsome office heartthrob. After eight months together, Tiffany is sure that he's about to propose at any minute.Instead, she's taken off guard when they have a senseless argument. Thomas abruptly departs for a business trip, leaving Tiffany hurt and confused. In an effort to cheer herself up, she calls her friend Alicia for some company. Alicia already has plans to attend the wedding of a cousin she's not too fond of. She suggests that Tiffany go with her. They'll make a brief appearance and then spend the rest of the day together, shopping and catching up. Neither one of them is prepared for the pandemonium that breaks loose when they get to the wedding and Tiffany discovers that Thomas is the groom!

    Making a selection is just the beginning - these ladies are more than mere images, and getting to know them is the really fun part. But just like most things, looks can be deceiving. And while the guys who take this plunge think they're in for the adventure of a lifetime, some of them are headed for their worst nightmare.Featuring five dramatically different voices, these stories travel the tantalizing crossroads between romance and cyberspace.