Her new novel will do that again. "Acting Out" is the probing, poignant, and ultimately uplifting story of a woman caught between the life she thought she was supposed to lead and the dreams she gave up long ago.Ina West grew up independent and solitary, raised by an artistic, unavailable mother and a reliable, loving father. As a twenty-something photographer, Ina landed in Manhattan's bohemian art scene after college, at the same time that she started dating the devoted, hardworking Jay Robinson. When her mother's mental state began to deteriorate, her closest cousin became dangerously ill, and her free artist's lifestyle put her in some vulnerable situations, Ina found comfort in Jay's trajectory into the safe, privileged world of the African-American upper middle class. Forsaking her independence and creativity for the joys of family life and material wealth, she married Jay, had three children, and moved to the suburbs; gradually, Ina gave herself completely to motherhood and the upkeep of their increasingly luxurious lifestyle. And they had it all: the SUV, the lavish home, the expensive but casual wardrobe.Then one day, after twelve years, Jay comes home from work and announces that he's leaving. Amid her shock, grief, and fear, a single clear truth emerges: though still physically present, Ina herself had checked out of the marriage long ago.As she struggles with single motherhood, reduced financial stability, and the emotional roller coaster of her breakup, Ina undertakes ajourney of self-discovery with no sure destination. She moves to a smaller house, rekindles an old love, and takes up photography again. The old adventuresome, independent Ina begins to resurface, tempered by a self-knowledge borne of experience: she has learned how to look unflinchingly into her past and to determine what she wants for her future.Little delves into some of the most private and difficult questions people face. This moving, ambitious, and accomplished novel explores the fallout -- and the healing -- that can occur when the African-American dream crumbles, and when a woman is torn between divergent lifestyle choices. Ina's story of loss and courageous self-revelation will resonate for any woman who has struggled with finding her path in life.

    He's smart, successful, happily-married-and has the best of everything. But ambitious business executive Ryan can't stop thinking about the woman he can't have: Olivia. She's his friend, his co-worker...and his best friend Miles's wife. It only takes one irresistible moment, one luscious taste, to ignite their relationship into an insatiable fire... CAN BECOME YOUR WORST NIGHTMARES... But Ryan's erotic fantasies are slowly unraveling his career, marriage, and friendships as he discovers his mind-blowing tryst was nothing more than a treacherous charade. Now his obsession and sexual escapades threaten to ruin all he's worked so hard for, trapping him deeper into a web of illicit desire, deceit, and danger...

    Between her schizophrenic mother and their tough neighborhood, her life has never been even remotely near normal. When the Brethren of the Sacrifice Church offers them acceptance and a chance at stability, even skeptical Zee can’t resist. Especially when Tristan, a handsome, fervent young member, acts like he wants her to be his one-and-only…and his wry older brother Justin reveals he’s more interested in Zee than he pretends. But when she falls hard for Emil, the Brethren’s outspoken rebel, her belief in mercy and tolerance puts her at odds with the Brethren, her new life—and her mother. Now Zee must come to terms with betrayal, deceit, and false faith. As she fights to grow spiritually and live on her own terms, she will discover how love, forgiveness, and God’s guidance can bring the most unexpected blessings.

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

    But Sylvia Grayson, the matriarch, has deep secrets that she represses under a veneer of keeping up appearances. She keeps a tight rein on her daughter, Olivia, and has the perfect life mapped out for her: go to college, join the Delta sorority, marry the proper boy. So when the town's bad girl is found murdered one summer day in 1975, Sylvia pulls Olivia even closer. But when Olivia's one last attempt at rebellion is subverted by her mother, Sylvia's relentlessly tight control shatters the ties between them. Years later, Olivia's own daughter, Rachelle, is trying to make her way in the world. Olivia does not want to make the same mistakes as her mother, nor does she want her daughter to make the same errors Olivia made out of rebellion. Meanwhile, a killer is watching from the shadows, determined to keep the secrets of the past from coming to light. The Delta Sisters is a spellbinding, intimate portrait of what happens when these passionate women have to join together at last in the face of danger.

    I. C. Miller is a gifted high school athlete with a basketball scholarship from Georgia State University. He leaves behind an up and coming hood-rat named Tamara Jenkins who claims to be pregnant with I. C.'s child. Things take a downward spike when I. C. is charged with rape and murder. He is sentenced to death by lethal injection. After years of tricking for money, Tamara lands a job as a prison guard with the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta. Soon after, Tamara realizes that her baby daddy is on death row at the prison that she works and will soon be executed for a hideous crime. It is only when she discovers that he may be innocent of his crime that she has a choice of either helping her baby daddy, or doing nothing and letting him die, Innocent.

    Drugs and large sums of money are found at the scene. Several days later, in a Malibu mansion, Heather Connelly, her lover, and her closest friends are murdered in the same way. FBI Special Agent Phoenix Perry investigates.

    Lucy is thirty-five, single, and in great shape thanks to her career as a fitness manager for a string of Texas health clubs. Adel is the vice president for human resources at American Oil, pulling in a six-figure salary and annual bonuses. Unfortunately, neither is happy.Lucy struggles with her emotional and spiritual dreams. Her boyfriend Spencer, a basic kind of guy who loves his mama, sports, fried chicken, and Lucy in that order doesn't seem to measure up. So she decides to get out of her rut with a Sexy Soul Psychic named Kuba. Self-assured and sensitive, Kuba seems to know exactly what women want. Or does he?Adel struggles with a husband, Thad, who refuses to grow up and a job that is less than satisfying despite its financial gains. She is eventually forced to reexamine her faith as she searches for a life that brings her closer to happiness and fulfillment.Filled with the humor, passion, and pathos of modern relationships, Colored Sugar Water tells the story of two women who discover the power of their unique spiritual gifts. It further establishes Venise Berry as one of the freshest, wittiest, and wisest writers on today's fiction scene -- as New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey wrote, "magnificient and honest, Venise Berry's writing comes from her soul."

    Rock's a reclusive hitman and "cleaner" who's been in service to Candy's father for years. He takes her in, and together they vow to avenge the murders. When she turns eighteen, her plans go into effect as she knocks off all her father's enemies, one by one, going up against some of the most dangerous killers in the game. But has she put her trust in the right hands? Or is she destined to face the same grisly fate as the rest of her family?

    The patriarch, Paul scratched and crawled his way from the bottom to the top, literally since he started life in the mean streets of New York City. He escaped to the south and attended college in Atlanta. His high IQ and street smarts gave him an advantage in both law school and beyond. Years later he is now the premier lawyer for the city's premier criminals. A law degree wasn't the only thing he picked up in school. While there he also caught the attention of a prim and proper co-ed by the name of Madison. Madison was a beautiful chocolate colored girl with an angelic smile. Holding tightly to her chastity made her highly sought after. Paul patiently played his position and beat out all his competition. The couple married and moved to an upscale subdivision in one of Atlanta's exclusive suburbs. There they raised two perfect children in the perfect house. Son Brandon just graduated his parent's alma mater and is now on his way to medical school. Daughter Courtney is right behind him planning to attend the same institution before heading to law school just like their father. Yes, just like any other American family in search of the American dream and just like any other family they have more than their share of drama. After all, every family has it's share of Family Drama.

    Suddenly her idea of family is put into question.Heaven Jetter hasn't spoken to her sister Hope in years. Her spirit is being held captive by an abusive boyfriend. Her only comfort comes from admiring a mysterious man from afar on the streets of Detroit.As the sisters reunite, they're determined to help one another find their silver linings. And realize that they never have to go it alone again...

    But both are in jeopardy when her brother, Dean, announces his sudden engagement to the conniving Sheree Vern. Much to Sydney's dismay, Dean inherits ownership of Decadent, despite his lack of interest. Now he and Sheree are selling the chain to finance his dreams of becoming a music producer—or so Dean believes…Thanks to Sheree, Dean’s plans, the business, and his marriage, soon implode in ways he never expected—leaving Sydney determined to salvage whatever she can, and fix the mess left behind. Her only solace is her romance with Hayden Windsor. But Hayden is Sheree’s half brother, and it doesn’t take long for Sydney to wonder if Hayden knew about Sheree’s scheming all along? Soon Sydney creates a deception of her own to find out the truth. Her strategy is working, until the consequences threaten to destroy everything she values most—including her faith. Overcome with guilt, can she make things right with her brother, with Hayden, and with God?...

    Wells-Barnett Tower. The place held such promise when it was built in the late 1970s. It was Harlem's hope for a new beginning -- an affordable, safe residence for people who couldn't afford to live downtown. But that was more than twenty-five years ago, before the devastating crack scourge hit. But the residents of Ida B. are resilient. They've built their own community and they look out for one another to the best of their abilities. Neighbors may argue, and even fight, but whenever one of them is in trouble, the whole building rallies around.Twenty-five-year-old Brenda Carver is a welfare mother of four children who longs to be a writer; Rosa Rivera is an aspiring actress who will let nothing stand in the way of her career; Sharif Goldsby is a political activist determined to change the world, starting with Harlem and the Ida B. There's also Miss Jackie, the middle-aged, back-stabbing gossip; Vincent, the former bank robber turned scam artist; Mrs. Harris, the elderly neighborhood fence; and high school honor student Ricky, who hopes to be one of the scramblers on the corner -- hawking crack to passersby.When a building resident kills herself and two of her children, the tenants make a collective vow to care for her surviving child.But that's just the beginning of the tragedies facing the residents of the Ida B. A shocking crime occurs in the building, and everyone becomes a suspect. With accusations flying, the tight community of the Ida B. begins to collapse under the strain. And, to top it all, they learn that their home of more than twenty years is about to be torn down.As the search for the killer intensifies, unsung heroes step forward -- at greatpersonal risk -- to right the wrongs that have been done. In Karen E. Quinones Miller's world, the people who stand out are the people who survive, and go on, against all odds, to share their wisdom and find their dreams. In a modern take on the classic sentiment, "There's no place like home," "Ida B." affirms that home is a place we love, even when it is less than perfect.

    But five years ago, her husband of fifteen years walked out on his family without a backward glance. Since then, Yani and her two children have played a waiting game, certain that he is coming back. Now, with the help of her friends and her sister Asia, Yani is finally over her love hangover and ready to get on with her life. At a party, she meets Alex Chance, a prominent New York businessman who's looking for a relationship with a woman who isn't out for everything she can get. Their powerful attraction leads to a whirlwind courtship and a fairy-tale like wedding. But their happy ending is threatened by Jarrin's sudden reappearance, which forces Yani to face the truth about her marriage -- and the life-altering choice she will have to make as another man's wife.With generous helpings of affection, humor, and romantic suspense, Shonda Cheekes has created a story that crackles with wit and the rifs and rhythms of modern life. Alternating between the first-person outlooks of Yani and Alex, Another Man's Wife captivates readers with a sassy tale of brothers and sisters on the move andsearching for love and fulfillment. Imbuded with the author's fresh, unique voice, it is a provocative and seductive look at relationships in the twenty-first century.

    Now eight years later, their exes are back, wreaking havoc on the lives they’ve worked so hard to rebuild. Sheridan has found love again after her ex-husband left her for a man, but her old wounds are reopened when her daughter tells her she’s gay and Sheridan blames her ex. Kendall is forced to reunite with her former husband, who left her for her own sister, when her father wass diagnosed with cancer. And Asia must reevaluate her life when her L.A. Laker ex-boyfriend reminds her that her lavish lifestyle will end when their son turns eighteen next year. With her trademark writing that “has the kind of momentum that prompts you to elbow disbelief aside and flip the pages in horrified enjoyment” (The Washington Post), Forever an Ex is Murray’s best novel yet.