Young Fay Myrtle lives in a shack outside a Jamaican plantation until her sister moves her to the Greenwichtown ghettos. Lonely and confused, Fay struggles every day to survive in the face of desperate poverty. Despite her squalid surroundings, she receives an education and grows into a strong woman. But when she loses the man she loves, she has no other choice than to find work off the island to support the twins she leaves behind. Greenwichtown is an emotionally stirring novel from a powerful voice in Caribbean-American fiction. Fay's fate closely mirrors that of so many islanders, who must "go foreign" simply to provide for their families. Author Joyce Palmer enriches her book with vibrant descriptions and narrator Robin Miles perfectly voices the colorful dialog.
Stirring, heroic, and wonderfully laced with the musical languages of the Bayou, Ernest J. Gaines-the foremost voice in contemporary African American literature-adds another breathtaking saga to his canon with A Gathering of Old Men. When Sheriff Mapes is summoned to a sugarcane plantation to find a dead Cajun farmer, he knows who committed the crime. Mapes finds himself powerless, however, when nearly 20 elderly black men confess to the murder. Can justice be served, or will the dead man's brutish father pass judgment his way? Building to a climax that is as stunning as it is inevitable, A Gathering of Old Men powerfully describes the racial tensions in 1970s Louisiana. Narrators Peter Francis James, Michelle-Denise Woods, Sally Darling, Graham Brown, Murphy Guyer, Tom Stechschulte and Mark Hammer bring Gaines' masterful prose to vivid life. This insightful novel takes its place among Gaines' thought-provoking classics, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and In My Father's House.
John Ridley, author of Everybody Smokes in Hell , is acclaimed for his gritty stories and brisk dialogue. The Drift is a fast-paced trip through the lurid world of modern hobos. Charles Harmon had a firm grip on the American dream until his mind started to crack. Now he's a know-it-all tramp riding the rails. When a friend asks Charles to help find his missing niece, the trail leads to an unsavory world of drug running and white supremacy.
National best-selling author of Married Men and a recipient of the Blackboard Bookseller of the Year Award, Carl Weber is popular for his passionate modern love stories. In Baby Momma Drama, sisters Jasmine and Stephanie struggle to understand
the complicated relationships they have with the men in their lives. Luckily, they've got each other to turn
to when the going gets tough.
Hot on the heels of his summer blockbuster, The Other Woman, Naughty or Nice arrives in time to heat up the winter holidays. Eric Jerome Dickey's fans have come to expect a spicy callaloo, full of richly drawn relationships, subtly developed conflicts, and witty dialogue, served up in some of the hippest prose being written today. Dickey's African-American characters grapple with Tony careers, sparring with each other in and out of love. Dickey takes on stereotypes only to break them, and his intricately chiseled plots sparkle with the reflected light from dozens of facets, the better to illuminate the reality of contemporary life. His newest novel delivers all the elements that have catapulted him to best seller-dom: humor, heart, and soul, wrapped up in superb storytelling.
Travis Hunter is an Essence best-selling author, motivational speaker, and founder of an organization that provides mentoring for underprivileged youths. In Married But Still Looking, a handsome young bachelor struggles to give up his appetite for casual sex when he finally proposes to the woman of his dreams.
'Hunter's writing is fluid and fast, and the dialogue is often raw and gritty yet comical.''Black Issues Book Review
In his triumphant fictional debut, Stephen Carter combines a large-scale, riveting novel of suspense with the saga of a unique family. The Emperor of Ocean Park is set in two privileged worlds: the upper crust African American society of the Eastern seabord, families who summer at Martha's Vineyard, and the inner circle of an Ivy League law school.
Talcott Garland is a successful law professor, devoted father, and husband of a beautiful and ambitious woman, whose future desires may threaten the family he holds so dear. When Talcott's father, Judge Oliver Garland, a disgraced former Supreme Court nominee, is found dead under suspicioius circumstances, Talcott wonders if he may have been murdered. Guided by the elements of a mysterious puzzle that his father left, Talcott must risk his marriage, his career and even his life in his quest for justice. Superbly written and filled with memorable characters, The Emperor of Ocean Park is both a stunning literary achievement and a grand literary entertainment.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
New Easy Rawlins mysteries--original short stories from the New York Times bestselling and award-winning mystery author. As Carolyn See said in The Washington Post Book World: "God bless the day that Walter Mosley created Easy Rawlins!" This handsome collection contains six interconnected stories. Fans can now add these original stories to their Walter Mosley library: "Smoke," "Crimson Stain," "Silver Lining," "Lavender," "Gato Green," "Gray-Eyed Death," and "Amber Gate."
From the nationally best-selling author of Married Men comes this hilarious story of four black men searching for true love. Kevin's got the looks; Antoine's got the heart and soul; Tyrone's got the skills; and Maurice has all the player moves—but what they don't have are good women in their lives.
What do they do?
Call 1-900-BLACK-LUV, of course! The riotous experiences that follow have to be heard to be believed.
In his sizzling first novel, the creator of L.A. Law and NYPD Blue plunges a down-on-his-luck Hollywood writer into the thick of a murder investigation - which he uses to get better material for his screenplay. When Bobby Newman spies upon his neighbors one day through his $4,000 telescope, he sees a beautiful woman making love to a handsome actor named Ramon. But when their pillow talk turns sour, Bobby watches as she bludgeons her lover to death with his own acting trophy. Instead of reporting it to the police, Bobby decides to write about it - and to turn investigator himself. But he does more than sneak into the dead man's house and steal incriminating video tapes. In this Hollywood funhouse, only the most manipulative will survive.
Vctor Mancini, a medical-school dropout, is an antihero for our deranged times. Needing to pay elder care for his mother, Victor has devised an ingenious scam: he pretends to choke on pieces of food while dining in upscale restaurants. He then allows himself to be “saved” by fellow patrons who, feeling responsible for Victor’s life, go on to send checks to support him. When he’s not pulling this stunt, Victor cruises sexual addiction recovery workshops for action, visits his addled mom, and spends his days working at a colonial theme park. His creator, Chuck Palahniuk, is the visionary we need and the satirist we deserve.
Nationally best-selling author Mary Monroe createsan unforgettable cast of characters in The Upper Room. Mama Ruby stole her best friend's baby girl, ran off to Florida, and raised her as her own. Maureen is the center of Mama Ruby's world, and she will do anything to protect her and their life together. Now Maureen wants to know what the rest of the world is like. She is determined to find out, but escaping Mama Ruby won't be easy.
