She thought she was better than everybody, or rather you thought it. But remember the day you found out that she lived in the projects/ghetto/hood just like everybody else? You were shocked, and now less envious of her, knowing she came from exactly where you did. Well, Trouble is that chick! Spoiled rotten by her brother, who has a complex occupation, and her boyfriend, the star B-ball player at their high school being sought after by colleges across the map who don't mind lacing him with SUVs and putting money in his pocket to sway him towards attending their university to play ball--Trouble seems to have it all. And what she doesn't have, she manages to get. But unlike some of the chicks in these other street lit tales; she doesn't have to use her body to get things. She uses the ghetto diva attitude that makes people believe she deserves the best and therefore they do back flips trying to provide. This urban novel has a completely different twist than any other written thus far. In Trouble's journey, she loses her brother, who she is closer to than bark on a tree, and feels as though it's the end of the world. But when she finds out that the person who murdered him had once tried to get with her, a huge scheme comes to mind in order for her to seek revenge. She pretends to like her brother's killer in order to get him right where she wants him, but her plan backfires when something happens that she never saw coming. She falls in love with her brother's killer.

    But now she realizes that it was her connections and street smarts that helped her man, Calico, rise to the top, and Jewel wants to be the one in control. She's tired of taking orders from men. She's willing to do anything to be queen of the streets, but when a deal she makes with the enemy comes back to haunt her, her dream is turned into a nightmare. Hopeless and struggling to keep her head above water, Jewel meets Misty, who seems to be her savior. They quickly form a bond, but when that bond is broken and the mist turns to rain, Jewel finds herself in the middle of a storm that she might not make it out of.

    When she stabs him and flees to her mother’s house with her three-year-old daughter, she thinks it’s finally over. Unfortunately, the drama has just begun! “Will she find the courage to leave him for good? And will he let her?” Lisa Perkins, seventeen, is the “strong one,” or at least that’s what Tabitha and Shanice think. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. When she leaves her home after her mother refuses to believe that her stepfather has raped and impregnated her, she thinks that distance will solve everything. She finds that she couldn’t be more wrong. Shanice Thomas, fourteen, is giving teenage rebellion a whole knew meaning. Her mother recently found Christ, and the party that was Shanice’s life is apparently over. Thrust into situations she isn’t equipped to handle, Shanice suddenly finds herself learning painful new lessons about the consequences of sleeping around.Strawberry Mansion: A Philadelphia Story is fierce fiction peppered with urban grit! It not only explores the girls’ struggles in vivid detail, it highlights their loyalty, love, and kindness for each other! You won’t be able to put this book down!

    ONE REASON TO LIVE. THREE WAYS TO DIE. Trill Johnson has five years of jail time under his belt, two women trying to get inside his pants, and one mission: Get the suckers who sold him out. And get ’em good. Sunni James will do anything for Trill. Lie, cheat, steal. Even risk losing her successful beauty salon to save him from the mean streets of Richmond. Precious Pay will do anything for Trill, too. She cribbed his kid while he did his time; now she wants Trill to pay for the leg she lost in a robbery gone wrong. But when love is a lie, who do you trust? When the deals turn dirty, who do you betray? And when the guns start blazing, who’s going down?

    The hottest spot was Jazzy Jay's, and that's where one of the guys slipped his gun into her pocketbook, knowing that the police who had just descended on the club wouldn't check the girls for weapons. She didn't know his name or anything other than he was cute and charming. But when she tracked him down to return his property, she found out his name was Chino; his game was hustling; and his plan was to make her his woman, his wifey, and give her more than she ever bargained for out of life, love, and the pursuit of money.

    Just when everything seems to be going their way, jealousy secretly takes hold of their close friend, Tee. Knowing that women are Keith's weakness and downfall, Tee goes out of his way to bring Keith's success to a devastating halt by using the stunning, sexy Selina to set him up. But his plan falls short when Selina and Keith fall for each other.Keith's down chick and baby mama, Tukey, attempts to regain Keith's love by taking a case for him and ending up behind bars, only for Keith to marry the home-wrecking Selina. Baffled, envious, and full of rage, Tukey plans and carries out a plot so vicious, all the money in the world can't help Keith recover.

    And like a moth to a flame burnt by desire, she's immediately drawn to Spinx, a neighborhood drug dealer, and the one man her sister warns her against. At twelve, she eventually gets noticed by Spinx, despite every chick in Serenity Hills wanting him. Luckily for Nyse he has a thing for young girls even though he makes her wait. On her sixteenth birthday he showers her with gifts and opens her to a whole new world down The Hill. Taking her heart and body, Spinx eventually shows her the man he really is. Not ready for a dose of the real world, his unfaithfulness causes her to turn bitter and conniving. Eventually this Venomous Vixen tears anything and everyone apart who poses a threat. And before anyone realizes it, she causes more drama in the lives of her friends and family than can be repaired. That girl is Poison!

    There's a war brewing. Bodies are piling up. Money is being stacked up. Loyalties are being tested. How will a displaced small town girl handle the pressures of living the big city life and all that comes with it when the trail of murders, drugs and blood-money leads to her doorstep?

    Blue, street lit’s hottest newcomer, crafts characters that fly off the page and a story that burns with intensity. Set in Harlem, this searing novel is a poignant and gritty portrait of urban survival of the ghetto’s fittest . . . and most fierce.Silver Jones knows just how cruel life can be. Her mother was chewed up and spit out by its dark side–brutally murdered while turning a trick. Rather than live with her abusive grandmother, Silver runs away. Determined to escape the mean streets, Silver longs for an education. But after running into an old friend, a homeless youth named Chance whom she’d taken under her wing once upon a time, Silver puts her dreams of college on hold. Chance is grown now–and he’s a powerful drug overlord. But underneath the cool exterior is the same innocent boy Silver once loved. As they begin an affair, Silver tries to convince Chance to give up the lethal way of life that ruined both their childhoods. But Chance knows that walking away from the game means having to pay a deadly price. Silver won’t take no for an answer–even if it means delving into a seedy underworld and outscheming some of its most vicious drug-dealers and cold-blooded murderers.“Even in Blue’s world of double-crossing, misogyny, drugs and brutality, an against-all-odds fairy tale can come true.”–Publishers Weekly

    They've also been Margaret Drew's best friends since they were children. Margaret has always been the plain Jane of the threesome, living vicariously through the exploits of her friends. But when Tiffany and Chantal head to Europe on an extended vacation, leaving Margaret to tend their apartments, Margaret decides to see how the other half lives. Co-opting their apartments, their boyfriends (current and past), their fabulous lifestyles and Tiffany's very savvy pooch, Virginia, Margaret finally feels like she has found the life she has always wanted and deserved. But her double living begins to catch up with her and Margaret might soon be homeless, manless, and friendless all in one swoop.

    A constant reminder of her mother’s indiscretions, Brianna is unwilling to continue to be the target of her step father’s anger. She leaves her suburban life style for the streets of Charlotte NC. In true Charlotte faith Brianna is linked up with Treshawn Nash, a local hustler. Tre has lived the alternate life; raised by his grandmother who showered him with love in the midst of violence, drugs, and poverty. The two are made for each other. Brianna provides the genuineness and innocence Tre has longed for. While he gives Bri the unconditional love she desperately needs. However, when tragedy strikes their world is turned up side down.

    When Candice finds out that no one is capable of saving her from the wrath of the ruthless family she is scheduled to testify against she finds herself on the run. With nowhere to hide, she ends up fleeing to New York City where she is introduced to Daddy who owns a house where little girls are doing big things. Candice soon realizes that the street life she left behind is nothing compared to what goes on at Daddy's House. Between doing what it takes to survive and hiding her identity, Candice conquers one pitfall after another. Soon, all things come to an end when she goes toe-to-toe with the vicious woman who has the ability to put her six feet under, or sell her to the highest bidder.

    His desire for fast money and the extravagant things that it brings puts his family in harms way. Soon, his ego forces him to leave his castle and empire to expand business on the West Coast. His decision to leave his love ones behind at the mercy of his enemies turns out to be catastrophic. One by one, each of Rich's children spiral out of control. Pregnancy, rape, and abduction all hit the family structure one day after another. With Rich putting his focus on money, sex, and insignificant things in life his wife Lisa, throws some new drama into the relationship as well; a side-piece and divorce papers. This creates an even bigger wedge between Rich and Lisa. The hate that Rich and Lisa develop for each other causes the divorce to get down- right dirty. Can their love out way their hate to save their family or is it too late?

    Told with comedic rawness and colorful sarcasm, Ellis's second novel is an epic story of love, loss, pain, and forgiveness that shines a spotlight on the painful reality of domestic abuse.

    She thought she'd finally found the man of her dreams Dante, until she realized he was also no good. Unfortunately, Brielle snaps and gets revenge, not only on Dante but on any man who crosses her path. As she becomes more and more dangerous her past traumas are revealed and things get extra crazy.