Contemporary African American Fiction

At 39, Josie Bordelon's modeling career as the "it" Black beauty of the '90s is far behind her. Now director of admissions at San Francisco's most sought after private school, she's chic, single, and determined to keep her 17-year-old daughter, Etta, from making the same mistakes she did. But Etta has plans of her own - and their beloved matriarch, Aunt Viv, has Etta's back. If only Josie could manage Etta's future as well as she manages the shenanigans of the over-anxious, over-eager parents at school - or her best friend's attempts to coax Josie back onto the dating scene.

Every woman dreams of getting married to the man she loves. So why is the independent, vivacious Glover having second thoughts about her engagement to her rich, sexy boyfriend, Lionel? Meanwhile, Louisiana country boy Max decides moving to LA will better not only his career chances, but his love life. It’s just his luck that the beautiful woman who can help him professionally - and personally - is about to be married to another man. A chance meeting at an employment office gives new meaning to the phrase “reality check” as Glover and Max try to sort through the drama that is bound to happen if they get together.

Dylan Monroe, our favorite shopaholic, is back! She’s three months pregnant and madly in love with the father of her child, sexy heavyweight champion Angel. The only problem is the long-legged Victoria’s Secret model standing in the way of getting him back. If that weren’t enough stress, her Jack Daniels-loving mother, Candy, returns to stir up even more trouble. Unsure of how to face her future as a single mother, Dylan reverts back to the only thing she knows to comfort her pain - shopping!

Carin Douglas is a fearless young girl, thrust into the role of a stickup kid alongside Brooklyn's most notorious thugs. She learns to fight, to survive, and to shine through a series of events that take her from a young girl on the verge to a designer-clad diva with a hot car, an even hotter man, and a million skeletons in her closet. When Carin meets Monty, aka "Money Monty", he sweeps her off her feet with one romantic gesture after another. Their urban fairytale soon erupts into passionate sex, bold power moves, and, eventually, devastating physical violence between them.

Cameron is back and unlike you've ever seen her before. From strip clubs to car-theft rings, you've journeyed with her from girlhood into womanhood, but the drama isn't over just yet! New faces and new situations make this new installment the most riveting of the entire series!

Ceanna is forced to bury her best friend after a sudden illness. Now she's guardian to her best friend's daughter, and Ceanna wonders if she can raise Jalisa and deal with the newly discovered betrayal by Tonya and her husband, Jaceyon. Fighting for a divorce while carrying Jaceyon's twin daughters, Ceanna tries to mask her emotions and deal with her situation. Avantae knows that loving his stepbrother's wife is wrong, but he can't deny his feelings for Ceanna. He is determined to be a better man for Ceanna. Things are finally looking up for him, until Zaria comes back to settle a score.

Eve is a recovering drug addict, who was just released from prison to a female Christian halfway house. She signed up for the halfway house not to recover but to learn how to stop using drugs so often. Eve has no intentions of staying clean until she meets Reverend Washington. Reverend Washington's wife dies during childbirth, and Eve seduces the newly widowed reverend until she becomes his new wife and the mother to the reverend's three young children. But Eve is very resentful of the deceased Mrs. Washington and plots to make her husband's first wife look like a lying adulterer.

Three men who have a way with the ladies struggle to keep their heads when each finds that love is more important than sex.

Tressie faithfully prayed every night that God would send her a thug. It wasn't long before her prayers were answered and she met a handsome ex-convict named Payce Boyd. Payce is a fine roughneck and everything Tressie ever imagined and more. That is until Tressie experiences firsthand the reality of being a thug's girl. Seeking solace and comfort in the sanctuary, Tressie soon learns valuable lessons and shocking truths about herself and others.

Jaylin Jerome Rogers, an investment broker worth millions, lives a high-class life with plenty of women to share it with. Nestled in his lavishing home in Chesterfield, Missouri, he captures women with his wealth, charm, nine-plus inches of goodness, and amazingly good looks. Although his bed is never empty, his heart is. He feels nothing for the women who love him dearly and continues his search for the "perfect" one. When Scorpio Valentino, an attractive, seductive, and charming woman saunters into his view, she offers Jaylin a life of altering changes.

Baby Girl McCoy was given her name when her mother couldn’t even be bothered to give her another one in the hospital after she gave birth. Baby Girl was the product of rape, and she spends her life in a quest for a father figure. Never in a million years did she imagine that she’d find it in the man that she does.

Meeting Porter may be the best thing that ever happened to Winona Fairchild, besides the births of her two beautiful children. But as much as Porter wants to get married, Winona has good reason not to get too close to anyone, no matter how right it may seem. Despite a threat from the past that comes back to haunt him, Porter is willing to stand his ground. But when Winona's long-time secret is revealed to her kids, someone will have to pay.

Essence best-selling novelist Anita Diggs explores Hercsville, Long Island, an African American town where everyone aspires to be rich and beautiful, and where the hunger for sex, power, and money becomes insatiable. Denzel's Lips follows a tumultuous series of events surrounding four women whose lives are destined to become irrevocably entangled.

When Miriam's fireman husband, Chauncey, dies while rescuing students from a school fire, Miriam feels like her life is over. How is she going to raise her three children all by herself? How will she survive without the love of her life? Luckily, Miriam's sister-friend Emily and Emily's husband, Jamal, are there to comfort her. But all the time that Miriam and Jamal spend together - grieving, sharing, and reminiscing - brings the two closer in ways they never planned...

Solomon Stein has dreams of success in the music industry. At the breakout of his music career, he is bought into the fold of Detroit-based, One By One Records (IXI), the hottest hip-hop label in the country. But the deeper Sal gets into the world of IXI, he realizes everything that glitters isn't gold. Pushy corporate reps who want to steal his house, his growing feelings for a mysterious industry executive, and obscure messages hidden in plain sight are making it impossible to know what to believe.

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.

Layover is the story of a young, attractive real estate broker stuck in a loveless marriage who falls for her brother-in-law after experiencing a layover in his home city. Nya is a stunning go-getter who refused to be a jumpoff to an NBA mega-star. She cashed in his lavish gifts and started her own real estate company. Soon, she met the man of her dreams - or so she thought. Her handsome husband Kenny turned out to be a selfish bully who cared more about appearances than people. Nya sets off on a business trip that would breathe new life into her struggling company.

Vanessa Colton-Kirk is a divorce court judge who's seen it all, but nothing prepares her for her own husband Thomas asking for a divorce. Vanessa's career has driven him to a woman who can satisfy his needs - and give him a child. Now a mandatory spiritual retreat is the last chance to save their marriage - but can Vanessa and Thomas mend their broken bonds?

When Dwight Wilson is offered a big promotion, the wrinkle is he must move from Florida to Maryland. Although Dwight accepts the job, his wife Tracey decides to remain in their new Florida home. Try as they might, their relationship ends in divorce, and Dwight eventually marries co-worker Alicia Dixon. And that’s when Tracey comes back into the picture—with some rather surprising news.

How was Locksie supposed to tell her boyfriend that she had gone off to church and fallen in love with another man? Locksie grew up in the church - against her will - thanks to her holier than thou mother. But now that she's all grown-up, she's her own woman and church is the last thing on her mind; her live-in boyfriend, Dawson, is the first. When Locksie finally decides to go back to church, she ends up finding more than she could have ever expected.