Will they have the strength to hold on to their friendships and put their trust in God?

    

    Elliott and Seth “Soul Man” Ferranti–all writing gritty tales that reveal what the holidays bring for the naughty and the nice who live by the code of the street. In “Secret Santa,” after her children’s Christmas presents are stolen, a woman has to decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to give them the holiday they deserve; in “Me and Grandma,” a senior sleighs more crack than candy canes to bring Christmas cheer to her needy grandkids; and in “Holiday Hell,” Noelle must raise $23,000 to repay a loan shark or her sister will become a ghost of Christmas past. True to the streets and true to the season, these stories will raise the holiday spirit in the heart of even the most ghetto-hardened gangsta. “The ghetto’s voice without constraint.”–Upscale, on Tales from da Hood

    Her husband, Johnny, is suddenly hard to reach, distant, and works late too often for Geneva not to be suspicious. Is it because she’s been pressuring him about having a baby? Feeling lonely and neglected, Geneva bonds with Samuel Owens, a colleague who is having marital trouble of his own. Soon, their relationship blossoms into an uncontrollable affair.  Bored with her husband, Samuel, and dead set against having a child with him, Vivana Owens is biding her time until she’s ready to leave—and she’s spending it with Johnny Mayfield. It’s just a fling—until Vivana becomes obsessed with Johnny, especially once he tries to win back his wife. But affairs don’t end easy—and soon one of the unfaithfuls will end up dead, one will end up in jail, and one just might get away with murder… Praise for Playing the Hand You’re Dealt   “Will keep you guessing straight through to the explosive ending."—Victoria Christopher Murray   “Unforgettable characters and a page-turning storyline.”—Lutishia Lovely

    Murder, human-rights abuse, drugs, prisoner and child sex slavery, blackmail, extortion, extreme violence, medical maltreatment, and unjustifiable death penalties feature as everyday occurrences in the living hells that are Bangkwang and Klong Prem jails. Sebastian Williams' blistering exposé graphically reveals this shocking reality through the eyes of a long-term inmate who has endured first hand the unimaginable, inhuman nightmare that constitutes the Thai penal system.

    I made you a girl. But that ain’t what you was supposed to be. So, from now on, you gon’ be a boy. It’ll be a little strange at first, but you’ll get used to it, and this’ll be over after while.”      From this point forward, his life becomes a bizarre kaleidoscope of events. Meanwhile, the Peace family is forced to question everything they thought they knew about gender, sexuality, unconditional love, and fulfillment.

    She leads a charmed life—having attended all the right schools, married the right man, and started a successful film production company with her best friend, Natasha Coleman—and seems like an ambassador from the world of perfection. It is only when her impeccable marriage turns suddenly shaky that her utopia is left in pieces…

    She's independent, street-smart and the daughter of a prostitute. Living in the mean streets of East New York and Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn shes forced to make a living the only what she knows how. When a wealthy, South African diplomat asks for her hand in marriage things seem to get brighter. Until she realizes that the soft-spoken, reserved, gentleman is pathological, kinky, and sadistic. One day she meets a mysterious stranger who approaches her with The Criss Cross. Is The Criss Cross her ticket to a better life? Or will The Criss Cross ultimately become the double cross? Wait! The Criss Cross isn't done yet! The old gang from Life, Love & Loneliness have some unfinished business to resolve. In this page-turning novel see how the drama unfolds for Lyric, Lacey, Madison, Joshua, and Estelle.

    And yet, none of it can hide the growing turbulence in her marriage, which suddenly has Tanya doubting what she once cherished.Then Curtis goes too far, and Tanya's confronted with the worst betrayal a woman can face. Plunged into a bittersweet journey of discovery, she suddenly finds herself learning painful new lessons about love, loyalty, and sensual temptation. . ..and discovering the wisdom to celebrate the victories that are hers alone.Casting The First Stone listens in on the heart of a woman torn between loving who her husband was and hating who he has become. Roby weaves a fast-paced story about faith's challenges in a world made up of material desires and other physical temptations. Taken right from the headlines, Roby's cautionary tale looks at the other side of church politics and the emotional toll it takes.

    NFL wife B.J. Almond has had enough. When she walks in to find her head coach husband in bed with one of his assistant coaches’ wives, she is livid. But what really sets her off is when she discovers the other wives knew about the affair all along. Now she’s furious and hungry for revenge. And what better way to exact that revenge than to air everyone’s dirty laundry in a juicy tell-all book. B.J. knows where all the bodies are buried, and she’s digging up all the dirt. But before she starts writing, she’s running up the score with a lawsuit against her husband and his mistress. Armed with flight records, copies of naughty emails, phone records, and pictures, B.J. isn’t holding back. And neither are the other football wives, who will stop at nothing to keep their dirty secrets from going public.

    Porter Stockman, a smart and talented white reporter, finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time on the day a jury acquits four Los Angeles police officers of assaulting Rodney King.

    Claire Bennet has lost her job for the second time in as many years due to downsizing. She doesn't know what she's going to do since her checking account has almost been stripped bare and her older brother is always a day late and a dollar short. With no man in her life, her parents' home is all she has and she's going to lose that unless she can think of something quick.THE GOOD LOVER. Fashionable and trendy Brooke Dunlap has also been downsized, but she's not worried because she expects her wealthy boyfriend to propose any day now. Unfortunately, Randaolph Peterson III has other plans and dumps her. Now Brooke is left devastated with no engagement ring, a pile of bills and a Jag that's in the shop.THE GOOD WIFE. Lorraine Averhart lost one of her dearest friends to cancer only months before and with that friendship, their dream of opening their own florist shop. But when Lorraine sees the wonderful candles, soaps and bath gels Claire has created, she pushes them to go into business together. With Brooke's savvy about what women want, Claire's products and Lorraine's money, they're sure to be a hit. They've got nothing to lose, so why not?But Lorraine's marriage comes under terrible strain as the business takes off and a new a temptation appears on the horizon; Claire becomes involved with one of the most powerful men in town; and Brooke is forced to reevaluate what matters most: a fat bank account or love and belonging somewhere she can call home?

    With their families torn apart from the vicious life of the streets, Sunshine & Rain find each other living with the same foster mother, Cathy, who has a secret life of her own.

    She is the darkest-skinned among them and therefore the ugliest in her mother, Rozelle's, estimation, but she's also the brightest. Rozelle--beautiful, charismatic, and light-skinned--exercises a violent hold over her children. Fearing abandonment, she pulls them from school at the age of twelve and sends them to earn their keep for the household, whether in domestic service, in the fields, or at "the farmhouse" on the edge of town, where Rozelle beds local men for money.But Tangy Mae has been selected to be part of the first integrated class at a nearby white high school. She has a chance to change her life, but can she break from Rozelle's grasp without ruinous--even fatal--consequences?

    . .On the brink of a major promotion, Tamia Luke is within reach of the glitzy life she's always dreamed of--until her client, Dominic "Nico" Archer, blackmails her into becoming his mistress, threatening to reveal her scandalous past. Tamia has no choice but to submit to his demands. But the tables turn when her hostility towards Nico is replaced with insatiable lust. No man--including her boyfriend--has ever satisfied her the way he does. And as her infatuation grows, the closer she comes to losing everything--including her life.