New York Times best-selling authors E. Lynn Harris and Eric Jerome Dickey, and Blackboard best-selling authors Colin Channer and Marcus Major have joined forces in Got to Be Real, a compilation of fresh, funny, and honest love stories. Each one is a unique look at love in the modern, urban age. Harris' leading man faces one of his greatest fears with a Valentine's gift that could change his life forever. Dickey takes readers on a trip south of the border that leads to a steamy relationship where race and a language barrier creates no deterrent. Jamaica is the hot spot where Channer weaves his titillating tale of people in the music industry. A certified womanizer meets his match in Major's provocative story set in Philadelphia. These four popular African-American writers have put together a treasury of stories that is as sexy and entertaining as it is candid and thought-provoking.
Carl Weber is a recipient of the Blackboard Bookseller of the Year Award. Married Men is a fresh and funny take on modern love that has been described as Waiting to Exhale on testosterone. Lifelong friends Kyle, Allen, Wil, and Jay all make mistakes in their marriages-and all get kicked to the curb by their wives. What follows is a wild ride with stops in sleazy hotels, divorce court, and even jail. In their adventure, fueled by Viagra' and lovely young ladies, the four men always have each other to lean on.
According to renowned sociology scholar Donna L. Franklin, relationships between American black men and women are in a state of crisis. The schism between black men and women is the result of complex, large-scale societal, economic, and cultural trends, and the African-American legacy of slavery. Franklin asserts that black men and women need to learn how to work to together for the health and maintenance of the family. In What's Love Got to Do With It? Franklin offers readers a path to healing their own troubled relationships. With narrator Robin Miles incisive reading, this important text breathes with urgency.
After Zola Denise Norwood meets media mogul Davis Vincent McClinton on a New York-bound flight, he makes her a couple of offers before they even land. One is editing his hot new urban style magazine Bling Bling. The other is more personal. As Zola and Raymond Tyler, Jr, Bling Blings CEO, pursue their ambitions and search for love, secrets from the past and events out of todays headlines (plus the shenanigans of John Basil Henderson and Yancey B.) keep the action moving.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Tumbling is a national best-seller from an exhilarating new voice in African-American fiction. Set in Philadelphia in the 1940s and 50s, this emotionally inspiring story revolves around Noon and Herbie, a couple with more than a few obstacles to overcome. They raise two girls left on their doorstep, struggle to keep their unconsummated marriage alive, and fight to save their urban neighborhood from development. Both Noon and Herbie have secrets. Because of this she can't be intimate with her husband, and he sneaks out to a hot jazz singer named Ethel--who has a secret of her own. When the city proposes to build a road through their neighborhood, Noon begins a crusade to keep it from happening--and maybe save her marriage in the process. Tumble into this amazing novel and feel the love and warmth of a special block in South Philly. This is an extraordinary depiction of the true meaning of family and fellowship, with a realistic mix of both joy and sorrow.
So, she' s made a career of it. She thought she had struck gold a few years back when she was lucky enough to get pregnant by Devon Wright. She knew they'd get married, he would take care of her and her baby, and she'd be set for life. What Shauntae didn't know was that it' s much harder to keep a man than it is to catch him. Now she's lost custody of the child and the child support check and has to go back to hustling. Shauntae is lucky enough to get herself pregnant by Gary Jackson. She knows she has to figure out how to be a good wife to Gary and a good mother to their child to keep herself in his big, fancy house and his big, fancy car. She has to learn to talk " proper" and say all the right things at the right time. The absolute worst thing is that Shauntae must learn how to be a " church girl." When issues with Gary's ex-wife and kids threaten Shauntae's " get married and stay married" plan, it's actually God that helps her out. Shauntae decides that instead of hustling God, she might want to get to know Him. But can an ex-hustler really shed her old ways and become a true Christian, and a good wife and mother?
As successful Los Angeles P.R. agent Rodney Hampton watches his best friend get married, he wonders if he could ever make that commitment. But when his aging mother tells him he is "one woman short" of happiness, the handsome bachelor realizes he needs to look for a wife. Armed with a list of ex-girlfriends, Rodney sets out to discover if any of them could be The One for him. Author Nelson George has a perfect ear for the sounds and rhythms of L.A., and he has created a modern hero who is realistic and sophisticated, yet a romantic at heart. Narrator Marc Johnson's performance adds additional depth to a man in search of his future. Nelson George is a noted screenwriter and television producer. He has also written several award-winning nonfiction works. One Woman Short is a Black Expressions Book Club Main Selection and a national best-seller.
Reminiscent of best-selling writers Toni Morrison and Alice Walker, critically acclaimed author Mary Monroe is a fresh voice in contemporary literature. In God Don't Like Ugly, she weaves a powerful tale of devastating abuse, the strength of friendship, and the burden of terrible secrets. Shy, overweight Annette Goode is only seven years old when Mr. Boatwright, a boarder in her house, begins sexually abusing her. She keeps this information to herself for years, until gorgeous, self-assured Rhoda Nelson becomes her new friend. Annette confides in Rhoda and finds the strength and courage to survive to adulthood. But Rhoda has skeletons in her closet that could doom them both.
Author Sasha Campbell has been shaking up the literary scene with her provocative tales of personal relationships. In Consequences, Trinette Montgomery is accustomed to her wealthy husband forgiving her affairs -- so she doesn't hesitate to pursue her married boss when he tickles her fancy. But when things go wrong, she pays a visit to her friend Nikki Truth, who is having marital problems of her own. As things come to a head, Trinette and Nikki must band together to save both their families -- and their futures.
When her wedding to John “Basil” Henderson didn’t come off as planned, Yancey Harrington Braxton flew off to L.A. and remade herself as mega-diva Yancey B. And Basil started concentrating on his career as a high-powered sports agent. But then Yancey’s first single, “Any Way the Wind Blows,” hit the charts, and now it threatens to blow Basil’s cover–if anyone learns who it’s really about. And it looks like the gorgeous (and ambitious) hunk Bart Dunbar might just have it all figured out.
Novelist Marcus Major creates this sexy, sharp-witted story of love and the dating game in the style of Eric Jerome Dickey. Set in African-American and Latino communities, Good Peoples looks beyond a man's bravado to his longing for that special someone. Tired of the dating scene in suburban Philadelphia, 29-year-old Myles Moore is waiting for the right woman. He fills his days with basketball, teaching grade school, and "good peoples," but his buddies always get on his case about his lofty standards in females. When he meets beautiful Marisa Marrero, a black Latina lawyer, he knows she is the woman of his dreams. But Marisa is all too human-ambitious, self-sufficient, and with her own views of romance. With Marcus Major's ear for authentic dialog and Peter Francis James' dramatic performance Myles and and each of his exuberant friends step from the pages.
In this smart and sexy novel from Blackboard best-selling author Yolanda Joe, Bebe Thomas is looking for love. Her first date with Isaac Sizemore seems like the start of something big, until she catches him on the phone with another woman. But this 'woman' is actually Isaac's 13-year-old daughter, Dash, who misses her mother and quickly pegs Bebe as the enemy.
As Bebe and Isaac struggle to make their relationship work, Joe frequently changes the perspective, allowing each individual a chance to shine. A full cast of talented Recorded Books narrators captures the unique spirit of every character in this exuberant tale.
