African Urban Fiction

Life can be cruel. Sometimes it's hard to play with the cards you've been dealt. Growing up in the ghetto can be hell; good or bad, everybody has a story. Toni is young and sexy, but her life story is limited with her mother's drug addiction and her older brother, Sheek, doing life in prison. She struggles day by day, stripping and sometimes doing more in underground clubs to support herself and her family. Toni eventually befriends a rich pretty boy from Long Island, whose life was sheltered from poverty since the day he was born.

When San Francisco Police Officer Mickey Driscoll is gunned down in the driveway of his suburban Bay Area home in broad daylight, the suspects are numerous. Was the murder committed by someone close to him? An arrestee seeking revenge? Or was it one of the many rioters, activists, and militant groups harassing his family since he accidentally shot and killed an unarmed African American honor student? TV investigative reporter Topher Davis, the only Black journalist on that beat, has exactly three weeks to do one final story before his position is eliminated due to corporate budget cuts.

Rhea's neighborhood is fading away—the mom-and-pop shops of her childhood forced out to make space for an artisanal kombucha brewery here, a hot yoga studio there. And everywhere, the feeling that this place is no longer meant for her. Because while their little corner of South L.A. isn't perfect, to Rhea and her two best friends, it's something even more important—it's home. And it's worth protecting. But as more white people flock to their latest edgy, urban paradise, more of Rhea's friends and family are pushed out. Until Rhea decides it's time to push back.

When Jalen Wilson returns from his summer vacation, the only thing on his mind is relaxing before going back to teaching. However, that all changes when he runs into his curvy former student at a local coffee shop. Instantly, Tanisha finds herself drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and turning him out will be unlike anything she's ever done.

The lead scorer on the women’s basketball team, Destiny, falls for Antonio’s charming ways, and after one night of drunken steamy lovemaking, it was all it took for this innocent virgin to fall pregnant. Now Antonio could lose it all, but only if someone finds out. Destiny finds it hard to resist memories of that steamy night, knowing how good another one with him could be. But is she ready for motherhood and to be a mistress to a married man?

Ever since their heated kiss, Kayla can’t keep her mind off of Tyrone. She kept playing the scene over and over in her head. The way his hands brushed her skin, her heart thundering in her chest, and the deep ache she felt when his lips finally left hers. How could she not think about Tyrone? There’s only one problem: Tyrone is forbidden fruit. Not only is Tyrone Kayla’s sous chef roommate, but Kayla is already in a relationship with another man.

The night she met Malik ignited a burning desire in her that Deja hadn’t even known she was capable of. She could never forget the way his strong hands had held her or the way his lips had electrified her body like a bolt of lightning. Things with Malik seemed like something out of a fairy tale, and the more time she spent with him, the more she was willing to give him every part of her. Until the unthinkable happened. Deja discovers that she’s pregnant. How could one night of passion create so much confusion in her life?

For some, love starts with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends in tears. For four friends from Queens, it's about to get complicated....

Hip music critic Dwayne Robinson has two main gigs: defending rap's rightful place in the music industry and scoring as many women as possible. But this smooth-talking b-boy has yet to try working love into his lingo - until "buppie" Danielle Embry slides into and rocks his world. A Connecticut suburbanite, Danielle is as far removed from Dwayne's Brooklyn ghetto upbringing as it gets. Yet despite this clash, these unlikely lovers are drawn together.

Fed up with her married Miami boyfriend, savvy Dulce has no problem stealing his drug-dealer stash and fleeing to the Caribbean. Between her special skills - and an eye for very rich and/or very smokin' men - Dulce stays a hustle ahead of trouble and makes her new life one endless party in Puerto Rico. Until she's caught in Hurricane Maria - and witnesses both the heartbreaking disaster of climate change, and the international vultures who plunder the tragedy for a financial killing, making shady use of relief funds to devastate the island even more....

Auben Mutze has more vices than he can deal with - six to be exact - each branded down his arm for the world to see. They mark him as a lesser twin in society, as inferior, but there’s no way he’ll let that define him. Intelligent and outgoing, Auben’s spirited antics make him popular among the other students at his underprivileged high school. So what if he’s envious of his twin Kasim, whose single vice brand is a ticket to a better life, one that likely won’t involve Auben. Then Auben starts hearing voices that speak to his dangerous side - encouraging him to perform evil deeds....

Sisters from Trinidad, Violet and Lily have never had much in common. Stunning Lily arrives undocumented in New York and makes her way as a stripper. But Harvard-educated Violet is this close to the perfect assimilated life, thanks to a prestigious job, and her rich bougie fiance.... Until she's wrongly accused of helping a notorious strip-club mogul embezzle millions of his workers' earnings. Violet loses everything - except the determination to get her life back. Now Violet's on his track with the help of his vengeful ex-wife and the Lower East Side Women's Health Clinic's resourceful crew - which includes Lily.

"Nine Lives" by Kiki Swinson: Wild-card Aiden. Dead-shot Ava. Killing nine targets in 10 days will be this brother-sister hit team's biggest score yet. But as Ava sets up their final target, she falls hard for him and a chance at a normal life. "The Crushed Ice Clique" by Noire: At first all ghetto princesses Honore and Cucci want is quick cash-flow. But after sexing jewelry distributor Slimy Sam and learning his illegal tricks of the trade, they assemble a crack team of thieves for one dazzling scam.

When love leaves 19-year-old Loyalty Wallace with nothing but a pair of bruised ribs, she finds herself with $500,000 in stolen cash from her boyfriend, Whip, and a target on her back. She plans to use that money to escape her toxic relationship, but what she doesn’t know is the money she stole wasn’t his to keep. It was a loan from the Belmonte family, one of the most dangerous families in the heart of the Big Apple.

The honeymoon stage for the four couples is over, and Nic is feeling extremely vulnerable due to her current situation. Much to her dismay, she has plenty reason to feel unsafe. The King brothers have enemies coming from every which way, and they're not just after the brothers but their women too. Can the brothers protect their operation, all the while keeping their ladies happy? Or will both worlds collide causing them to lose one?

What if the last hope to save your family is the person who broke it up to begin with? Michelle and her little siblings Cass and Denny are African-American and living on the poverty line in urban Baltimore, struggling to keep it together with their mom in jail and only Michelle’s part-time job at the Taco Bell to sustain them. Leah and her stepbrother Tim are White and middle class from suburban Maryland, with few worries beyond winning lacrosse games and getting college applications in on time.

Can a good girl find love in a thug? For Lei Fifer, that’s the hundred-thousand-dollar question. When Lei, an introverted homebody, invites her girls over for a spa day, she isn’t expecting their conversation to shift to men in prison. As an advocate for rehabilitated people receiving the love, companionship, and support those who haven’t committed crimes receive, Lei doesn’t hesitate to put her money where her mouth is and bet that she can find a good friend or great love with someone through the pen pal program her father created.

Best friends Sophie, Diamond, and Angel find themselves with their backs against the wall and owing an extremely dangerous man. Short on funds, limited options, and a severe debt hanging over their heads forces the trio to take "getting to the bag" to a new level. While dripping mad sex appeal laced with money schemes, these ruthless vixens hatch a bulletproof plan, and before long—Jack Girlz is born.

The heart of Erica Jones is soft as they come. Her only priority is getting money. She was going out with Lamont for nearly a year, and now he's messing around with anything and everything crawling on Earth. Even those who were close in their circle, so Erica dumped him.

Stacy Washington, a college student majoring in Criminology gets the ultimate assignment; working with a former cop who fell out of grace with local law enforcement. It's the ultimate thrill to learn about policing with such a legend despite his tarnished reputation. Darryl Johnson was ousted from the force for reporting his commanding officer for corruption. Years later, the ex-copper was looking for a way to redeem his honor or what was left of it. Now, he has the chance to do so with one case...