I continue to rub my hands through her ponytail as I look over at her. “No, I will have this job and they gon’ love me. I’ll be the best Krystal they’ll ever know.” She looks over towards me not smiling as she says with trembling lips, “What…do you…mean?” With one shove of my hand I slam her face into the steering wheel, not once, or twice, or three times, but four or maybe five. I lose count as blood oozes out her nose, mouth and eyes. Her body stops shaking and sudden the car starts moving slowly forward as she takes her foot off of the brake. I reach over placing the car in park quickly. Removing my other hand from the back of her head, I look around on the quiet street, not seeing anyone in sight. Tossing my book bag into the backseat of her green Toyota, Camry, I lean over grabbing her, pulling her lifeless body over toward the passenger’s seat. Opening the passenger’s door I get out, placing her in the seat I just escape from. With her head slouched down, I close the door and run around to the driver’s door. Opening the door, I look down seeing all her blood splashed on the steering wheel.

    Though her grandmother and father are happy because she represents years of passing down light skin and marrying well, Shanika's mother insists on her name reflecting her African-American heritage so that she will always be proud of who she is. When Shanika gets the opportunity to work for a PR firm in New York, she finds that everyone assumes she is white; she also notices that being white has it advantages, from getting respect at work to getting picked up by a cab when other African-Americans are passed by. When she starts dating a successful white colleague, she continues with the lie, despite the guilt she feels at disappointing her mother and her heritage. When she falls for a handsome African-American business man, she must finally face who she is and what she's done, even if it means losing everything and everyone she loves.

    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.

    Luke loves her with all his heart, but the only thing standing in the way of their happiness is the fact that he could be April’s baby daddy. Scarlett feels hurt and finds herself drawn in an unlikely relationship with Troy as he sets out to win her heart. However, unbeknownst to him, she’s not exactly keeping things completely honest. Nina wants nothing more than to get back with her kid’s father, Stephen. However, Stephen has moved on with an old friend of Nina’s and this union threatens any type of chance that she and Stephen have at being together. Rick continues to lurk in the shadows, definitely making it hard for Nina to ever find happiness with anyone other than himself. Sheila struggles with loving Jay as Jay struggles with losing Scarlett. To add to the confusion, Jay refuses to come to terms with the possibility of being April’s other baby daddy to her unborn child. Sheila is still on a road to redemption, but finds herself questioning Scarlett’s loyalty to her as veiled secrets are slowly being revealed. Will she find out the truth about Scarlett and her father messing around or will the tables turn and reveal some nasty details about herself? There are always two sides to every story. However, in this series, there are numerous sides to a story that only one can imagine… SCARLETT3

    But when the slave-masters sought to get more production out of their plantations, they decided that they needed to kidnap a stronger group of slaves. When they kidnap the Bawss tribe, however; they realized that their bloodline was too dominant and too powerful.Can the slave-masters ever recover from the likes of the greatest and strongest bloodline that they have ever been introduced to? Or will America be forced to witness power on the grandest of all levels?

    Suffering at the hands of abuse from her father and her older, controlling, boyfriend Khalil, Heaven yearns and dreams of the day of her escape. Her prayers are answered when she is introduced to Khalil's boss, Street King turned businessman, Gavin Lucas, known in every hood in Jersey, as the infamous G. G becomes Heaven's knight in shining armor, sweeping her off of her feet into a whirlwind of passion, exotic getaways, and designer labels. But can Heaven keep up, or will the lifestyle of the rich and shameless swallow her whole? Heavens Hell explores the world of brutal life and fantasy, and leaves us all desperate to find out... do fairytales come true?

    Forced to get on the grind non-stop by her madam, Cookie, after being abandoned by her dopefiend, HIV infected mother, there's nothing Kamone won't do to get that paper - drugs, murder, sex, lies and videotapes! That is, until she is scandalously set up to be raped, drugged and left for dead. Just when Kamone thinks it's the end, she finds what every bad girl longs for ' a bad boy with a heart, who literally picks her up out of the gutter. But will Lucci's thug passion be enough to satisfy Kamone's lustful habits? Or will she run back to the only life she knows?

    Now, ten years later, they seem to have it all. Jessica is in the limelight, a TV personality whose star is on the rise. Ellie is an optimist, happily engaged in the quest for love. Shereen is a stunning and powerful executive, and Yolanda, the strong-willed leader of the group, has defied her roots to capture her vision of the American dream. But years before, these four women banded together to keep a devastating secret-and now, ten years later, someone will do anything to see the secret brought to light. None of them anticipated the consequences of keeping the secret-and now, someone is trying to shatter all their lives. Intense, powerful, page-turning, and emotional, The Sisters of Theta Phi Kappa will keep you guessing and will make you think about the depths of friendship, the price of loyalty, and the bonds of sisterhood.

    Can this exotic dancer turn a customer into the love of her life?

    With enough backstabbing, finger-pointing, and disrespect to go around, this trio sticks to their motto of "What she can do, I can do better; and whatever she has, I want a piece of it too." Much competition is thrown in the mix, and jealousy is so thick that there will be no place for anyone to run when the mess hits the fan. Only then will they attempt to put their many differences aside, but when severe damage is already done, it may be possible to forgive, but certainly not to forget.

    From the death of her parents when she was just eleven years old to when she found herself pregnant and alone at sixteen, Naeema has had to make her own way in the world. She gave up her son for adoption and became an apprentice at a barber shop, making just enough money to pay the bills and get high. She tried being a wife, but ultimately found that she and Tank, now her ex-husband, are better friends and occasional lovers than partners. Naeema prefers to be on her own; no responsibilities, no rules.But the sudden and brutal murder of Brandon, the son she never knew, forces Naeema to reconsider the way she has lived her life. Brandon was involved with a notorious band of Newark bank robbers, and Naeema is convinced his gang life was her fault. Desperate to avenge her son's death and determined to take justice into her own hands, Naeema becomes "Queen" as she infiltrates the gang to discover her boy's killer. But when she starts to fall for the leader of the crew, will she still have the resolve to do what must be done?Filled with gritty realism and unexpected plot twists, this page-turner will keep you guessing as Naeema struggles to do whatever it takes to right her wrongs.

    At an age when most babies are cooing "Mama, " Popo was speaking in complete sentences. He was reading college textbooks when he was still too young for nursery school. Popo may just be the smartest human being on Earth. And he spends all his time listening to the radio . . . to white noise that comes drifting down from the sky like stardust. Chill Bent is a two-time loser with a hair-trigger temper. After the death of Popo's mother, the ex-con assumes responsibility for his nephew, vowing to protect the boy from a government eager to strip away his African-American heritage and exploit his genius like a natural resource. Together, Popo and Chill are about to embark on an extraordinary journey into the farthest reaches of the mind and the soul . . . a journey you will never forget. In this stunning new speculative fiction short story by the bestselling author of Blue Light, part of an interconnected collection of stories called Futureland, a young African-American genius searches for God with the tools of cutting-edge science. Look for the complete volume of Futureland, available now.

    And they’ll do anything to fight the obstacles on their way to walk down the aisle.​ Nivea was ready to settle for less to get married, but when she finds out her fiancé has been keeping secrets, she begins a destructive course of action, as she begins to self-medicate with excessive amounts of liquor. Struggling to keep her household from sinking, Vangie is tired of raising her son alone. So when Vangie’s deadbeat baby daddy resurfaces, begins courting her with unrestrained zeal, and spends quality time with their young son, she thinks that they have finally healed their troubled relationship. After a horrifying childhood, Harlow believes she has finally found true love when she becomes engaged to savvy businessman, Drake Morgan. But she’s kept her past a secret, convinced that he would recoil if he knew the truth. Little does she know, Drake may also have a secret that could destroy Harlow’s only chance at happiness. Though holding distinct views and relying on diverse strategies, will any of these women find love, happiness, and commitment, or will they discover that happily ever after is an unattainable dream?

    Still having male organs, Candy is housed with strong, masculine, handsome male inmates who haven't been around or touched a woman in years. Candy soon finds herself being caught in several love affairs with men with families, girlfriends and wives at home--waiting for them to be released. But Candy doesn't kiss and tell; she understands the code of silence: what happens in prison stays in prison... . CONVICT'S CANDY deals with sexual identity, prostitution and homosexuality within the prison system, the interactions and relationships between the inmates and officers, infidelity and most importantly, explains how the HIV virus spreads rampantly within the prison. It also reveals how the dangerous and deadly disease is transmitted within society, when infected inmates are released to go home.

    George Jackson, "Swamp Man," was born and bred in Mississippi as a gentle young man who turned deadly after he saw what four hill boys did to his sister.