A first novel. Reprint.

    As the mountain of lies come tumbling down and the drama unfolds, Amanda is forced to hold a mirror to herself and come to terms with a reflection she struggles to accept.

    . . . Griffin richly documents the Black Mafia’s organization, outreach and over-the-top badness.”—Philadelphia Inquirer“Griffin’s reporting on the Black Mafia and its interaction with law enforcement, the Nation of Islam and the Italian mob is fascinating.”—Philadelphia Weekly“A confident chronicle of Philly’s Black Mafia, the decades-long collaboration among drug dealers, Muslim clerics and local politicians.”—Philadelphia Magazine“A richly detailed narrative of the murderous history of the city’s first African-American crime syndicate.”—Philadelphia Daily News“A great, sprawling epic.”—Duane Swierczynski, editor-in-chief, Philadelphia City Paper“If you’re a crime buff, a history lover, or if you just want something fascinating to read, it’s a book you can’t refuse.”—Terri Schlichenmeyer, syndicated reviewer and host of www.BookWormSez.com“I couldn’t put this book down.”—Keith Murphy, award-winning broadcaster and host of “The Urban Journal” on XM Radio’s The Power“Sean Patrick Griffin has given us a really extensive look into the Black Mafia . . . and has produced one of best pieces of research on the underworld . . . that I have ever seen.”—Elmer Smith, “The Exchange,” 1340AM WHAT“The book is incredible . . . amazing stuff.”—Dom Giordano, radio host, 1210AM WPHT“Sean Patrick Griffin, in surreal detail, lays out the twist and turns, the political and religious associations . . . a guaranteed chilling read.”—The Melting Pot “Searing, unrelenting and ruthlessly precise, a nose-in-the-bloodstains account of the violence that splattered black Philadelphia in the late 60s and early 70s.”—Henry Schipper, producer of “Philly Black Mafia” in the “American Gangster” TV seriesThe Black Mafia is one of the bloodiest crime syndicates in modern US history. From its roots in Philadelphia’s ghettos in the 1960’s, it grew from a rabble of street toughs to a disciplined, ruthless organization based on fear and intimidation. Known in its “legitimate” guise as Black Brothers Inc, it held regular meetings, appointed investigators, treasurers and enforcers, and controlled drug dealing, loan-sharking, numbers rackets, armed robbery and extortion.Its ferocious crew of gunmen was led by Sam Christian, the most feared man on Philly’s streets. They developed close ties with the influential Nation of Islam and soon were executing rivals, extorting bookies connected to the city’s powerful Cosa Nostra crew, and cowing local gangs. Police say the Black Mafia was responsible for over forty killings, the most chilling being the massacre of two adults and five children in a feud between rival religious factions. Despite the arrests that followed, they continued their rampage, exploiting their ties to prominent lawyers and civil rights leaders. Convictions and sentences eventually shattered their strength—only for the crack-dealing Junior Black Mafia to emerge in their wake.Author Sean Griffin, a former Philadelphia police officer turned university professor, conducted scores of interviews and gained access to informant logs, witness statements, wiretaps and secret FBI files to make Black Brothers Inc. the most detailed account ever of an African American organized crime mob, and a landmark investigation into the modern urban underworld.

    Interiors tells of one woman's trip to insanity and her journey back--a story not of the suffering and recovery of an incest survivor, but the story of all women who suffer.

    . . Tight, terse prose harkens back to pulp fiction of the 1950s . . . The work is a breath of fresh air from lengthy, trying-too-hard-to-shock street lit and is an excellent choice for all metropolitan collections."--Library Journal (starred review, Pick of the Month)“The urban setting is unnamed but familiar in this brief, bloody tale of wasted lives lived short and hard.”--Publishers Weekly“Simultaneously a fast-paced crime drama and an engrossing, unsentimental moral tale, H.N.I.C. peers into the dark heart that underpins the codes of loyalty and friendship, betrayal and vengeance.”--Brooklyn Daily Eagle"In a genre that too often places incorrect ebonics in the mouths of black characters and fails to cross the empathy gap to get into their heads, Savile and Prodigy arrive at a seamless voice that is a refreshing take on crime fiction tropes…if tone and texture are what you’re looking for in your hardcore literature…H.N.I.C. delivers the goods."--Okayplayer"If you don't have this novella in your library collection already, please be on the lookout for this 2013 release, H.N.I.C., penned by Hip Hop artist Prodigy of the group, Mobb Deep."--StreetLiterature.com"H.N.I.C. is written by Prodigy himself and shows the extent to which good rappers can make good storytellers."--Brooklyn Based"The strength of this novella, in addition to its straightforward prose and rapid pacing, rests on the universal theme at its center: loyalty. Loyalty and the bullshit our friends put us through…Like any good work of crime, H.N.I.C. is grounded in such common experiences and, like any good work of crime, it speaks to all of us, despite the fact that very few of us can bypass an alarm system through some computer trickery."--Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together"It tells the…urban tale of deceit, greed and questioned loyalty with just enough drama to keep you turning the pages."--Literary Jewels"A brutal and quick read…custom-made for the big screen."--Charles Tatum's Review ArchivePappy tries to break out of the game before the head of his crew, Black, gets them all killed. Against his better judgment Pappy agrees to do one last job, but only because it's the price of his freedom. He knows his "brother" Black would rather see him dead than let him walk away. Yet he still agrees to do the job because Black isn't the only one who can't be trusted.Further developing the stark realism and uncompromising streetwise narratives of his lyrics, H.N.I.C. cements Prodigy's position as one of the foremost chroniclers of contemporary urban life. Simultaneously a fast-paced crime drama and an engrossing, unsentimental moral tale, H.N.I.C. peers into the dark heart that underpins the codes of loyalty and friendship, betrayal and vengeance.With H.N.I.C., Prodigy inaugurates Infamous Books, a revolutionary partnership that pairs the Infamous Records brand with Brooklyn-based independent publisher Akashic Books. Infamous Books' mission is to connect readers worldwide to crime fiction and street lit authors both familiar and new.

    Lucas. Demetria has interviewed thousands of men, advised hundreds of clients, and answered more than 38,000 dating and relationship queries on her popular Ask.Fm page, where real women submit anonymous questions and receive professional advice — for free! Demetria’s latest advice guide is a compilation of popular questions asked by clients and readers. Lucas delivers the advice in a knowledgeable and blunt manner, quickly solving dating and relationships dilemmas.

    Soon to be married off to Percy Hugo Milton to keep money circulating between black families, she realizes she’s stuck in a dead end relationship where he basically, “ain’t shit”. Money matters most, marriage is nothing but a business deal, and love is nonexistent in Percy’s eyes. Not to mention he finds her particularly boring, and uninspiring. Jasmine becomes desperate when she seeks the help of a spiritual guide. An eccentric witch named Delilah Skye who grants her three things she wants in life. Friendship, great sex, and true love. Yet, the reading doesn’t go as planned when Delilah informs Jasmine that everything she wants is hidden in the man she hates the most. Percy. After a wild drunken night in Atlanta a few years ago with some girl he never planned on seeing again, Homer Skye thought he had life figured out. He had the plans laid out to propose to his long time girlfriend Nasia Stewart, move her into a house, and start his family immediately. The all american dream. That is, until he runs into his one night stand, Pia Milton, and their two year old daughter he knew nothing about. With the Moon becoming full almost every night in Atlanta, things start to turn upside down as these two stories collide at the hands of black magic, family ties, and messy drama. Determined to find true love, Jasmine takes matters into her own hands by proposing a deal to her cheating fiancé. Pia has to come to terms with tolerating her child’s father, and the black magic that runs deep in his crazy family. While Homer struggles with the thought of this woman who lied about their daughter for two years, might just be the one he’s meant to be with all along. Fine Print: This story contains a little magic, belief in the impossible, and a few other random things and people that make up the story. Might be some hood shit in here too, I don’t know. I say, just read it.

    For this riveting book, he returns to the South Bronx with a sociological eye and provides an unprecedented insider’s look at the workings of a group of Dominican drug robbers. Known on the streets as “Stickup Kids,” these men raided and brutally tortured drug dealers storing large amounts of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and cash.As a participant observer, Randol Contreras offers both a personal and theoretical account for the rise of the Stickup Kids and their violence. He mainly focuses on the lives of neighborhood friends, who went from being crack dealers to drug robbers once their lucrative crack market opportunities disappeared. The result is a stunning, vivid, on-the-ground ethnographic description of a drug robbery’s violence, the drug market high life, the criminal life course, and the eventual pain and suffering experienced by the casualties of the Crack Era. Provocative and eye-opening, The Stickup Kids urges us to explore the ravages of the drug trade through weaving history, biography, social structure, and drug market forces. It offers a revelatory explanation for drug market violence by masterfully uncovering the hidden social forces that produce violent and self-destructive individuals. Part memoir, part penetrating analysis, this book is engaging, personal, deeply informed, and entirely absorbing.

    Beautiful and ambitious, Sienna determines that the best route to the life she wants is to become the most coveted of Chatman's call girls. When Sienna learns that her mother has been murdered and that Chatman had a role in the murder, she turns to her friend Ryan for comfort, beginning a secret relationship with the boy Chatman is grooming to take over his business. Eager to gain her independence from the man she both admires and loathes, Sienna takes steps to increase her value as a sex worker by learning her wealthy clients' cultures and languages, but her plan backfires. Chatman is more determined than ever not to let her go, and Sienna is equally intent on finding a way to break free -- no matter what it takes.

    In these poems, which explore aspects of race, identity, and popular culture, Beatty was honing the comic, satirical voice and vivid imagination that came to full realization in his acclaimed fiction. Joker, Joker, Deuce "moves to fierce urban rhythms, both cool and hot," writes Jessica Hagedorn. "A rush of intense visual images and electric word music."

    By turns subtle and intense, disturbing and elusive, the stories in this collection are ultimately connected by themes of memory and loss, reality and fabrication, and by a richless of language that rests lightly on its carefully foundation.

    All of these women are vying for one thing – an opportunity to live a luxurious, lavish lifestyle by snagging a rich and famous singer, rapper or athlete. But being drop-dead gorgeous and super fly are only pieces of what it takes to catch one of these wealthy and highly sought after young millionaires. Where luck, timing and persistence can be determining factors on the surface – deceit, lies and manipulation are what it really takes to have a chance at catching their men. Betty Blaise, or Fly Betty to those who truly know her, was not in it to be a wife or even the baby momma of a wealthy public figure – she had her sights set higher, much higher. While most of these women use sex as their weapon of choice, Betty, a senior majoring in psychology, has developed a weapon that proves much more powerful. Up until now Betty has lived her life according to her own strict rules and standards, refusing to compromise for anyone, even if it potentially meant shielding herself from true love. But when she encounters a man that she would never have anticipated falling for in a million years, soon, the very rules Betty once lived and died by are going to be put to the test. The very tools she used so effectively against wealthy men begin to turn against her – and deadly consequences are sure to follow.

    Cahir is a tech millionaire. He would pay to have her, but he won't have to. Nadia, the event planner, cares what people think of her. The only thing one married couple cares about is having her. Delia, the escort, wants to be pay her bills and be a fashion stylist. Poppy wants to punish Delia for sleeping with her husband.  O’Shea has money, a career, and a sugar daddy she’s sick of. Even strangers are telling her to let go of the life she’s worked so hard to build and move on.  Sex, money, and now love for are coming for the New Money Girls even if they aren’t ready…  This story contains steamy sex scenes, unconventional thinking and lifestyles, and a group of women who go from friends to sisters.

    Whether in his sixteen books, or in countless newspapers, television and radio appearances, or on stages, podiums, and pulpits across the world, Dyson has spun an enchanting web of words that has caught the attention of the masses and elites alike. He has weighed in on a myriad array of topics - from faith to fatherhood, and from race to sex, as well as sports, manhood, gender, music, leadership, politics, language, love, justice, literature, suffering, death, hope, relationships and much, much more.Can You Hear Me Now?, offers a sampling of Dyson's sharp wit, profound thought, and edifying eloquence on the enduring problems of humanity, from love to justice, and the latest topics of the day, including race and the presidency. It is both revealing and relevant, and at once thoughtful provoking and uplifting. Whether he is writing about Jay-Z or Barack Obama, addressing racial catastrophes or opportunities, or speaking about religion or the felicities of King's rhetoric, Dyson's intellect shines with insight and inspiration.Can You Hear Me Now? captures Dyson's incredible facility with words, and his prodigious intelligence, at a time when he has gained greater fame as a public intellectual, university professor, best-selling author, and most recently, as one of the first prominent blacks to endorse President Barack Obama. The time is ripe for his wit, wisdom and worldview, and this book is Dyson's most accessible compendium of thinking on a broad range of topics that haunt and shape the nation.

    Proud to be black and serving as faculty advisor to the Black Student Union in a small Arizona college, she discovers that looking white can complicate her life...especially her love life. Disappointed by a colorstruck fiance who loves impressing the brothas with his "white" woman, Nina falls hard for Ahmad, a handsome black man, with plenty of reason to be hostile toward whites. His dangerous past is one he may not be able to escape and the little daughter he's raising alone has plenty of questions. But Nina hides her own vague and troubling memories and the family secrets that haunt her dreams. Yet neither Nina or Ahmad can know that the tumultuous circumstances which bring them together are about to unlock mysteries from the past that can open doors to a future they never thought possible.