African Urban Fiction

Carl Weber is the New York Times best-selling author of such fan favorites as So You Call Yourself a Man. The First Lady is the tale of a preacher's wife who learns she's dying and vows to find her husband another woman. There is no shortage of ladies who want her man, but will she be able to find a suitable replacement among the conniving church women?

Life is supposed to be easy and carefree when you are young, but if you live in Washington, DC, that's not always the case. Flashing back to the 1990s, listeners enter the lives of four black men looking to gain money, power, and respect. These four brothas come from different walks of life, but they have one thing in common: They are trying to make fast money in the harsh inner city. However, when the money comes too easily, there's usually a price attached...the ultimate price.

This raw and passionate novel from national best-selling author Tracy Price-Thompson is a provocative story of love across racial boundaries. Juanita and her best friend Scooter are both frustrated in life and love, Juanita because her light skin makes it tough to fit in, and Scooter because he is gay. When they meet two fine-looking Puerto Rican men, their lives head down paths they never anticipated.

Entertainment journalist and biographer Aliya S. King has composed a fascinating satirical work about celebrities. Although fictional, the characters in Platinum bear striking resemblance to actual celebrities alive today. Freelance journalist Alex Maxwell plans to marry a famous rapper. But Alex’s situation gets complicated as she starts writing a story that highlights some of the many ways that fame can cripple or destroy a relationship.

Who shot Kendreeis? That's what everyone is trying to figure out. The brothers' minds are racing with thoughts of who the potential assassin could be. That is until a mind-blowing family secret is revealed, leaving them to have to adjust to an otherwise uncomfortable situation. To make matters worse, their relationships are put to the ultimate test, when secret indulgences, lies, infidelity, and neglect rear their ugly heads. Will they last, or will some of the brothers realize they're not dealing with good girls at all?

They say if you don't have trust, you don't have a marriage. In the fifth and final installment of Good Girls Love Thugs: Nic and Kendrick, the couple learns just how important trusting one another is. When an incident occurs, putting Kendrick in the middle of a scandal, Nic has to figure out whether she should trust her man or move on to greener pastures. Kendrick loves his wife more than anything, but sometimes love just isn't enough; especially when there is another man who is willing to stick by Nic through thick and thin.

Paris Italy Hall has had enough of street life and wants no part of it or the men in her complex that dwell in it, living off of the pain and suffering of everyday people. Paris works hard and goes to school so that she can say bye to her surroundings and move on to something better. But Demetrius “Meek” Lewis has other plans. He sees her and pursues her relentlessly until she gives in and gives him a chance. Paris soon realizes that she is trapped and unable to escape his clutches.

Now that Tasmin Pettiford and Elisa Hunte have discovered they are witches, one would think life would be smoother for them. Unfortunately, it’s never that easy. After nearly perishing at the hands of Archangel Michael and his equally powerful wife, they soon realize that an even bigger threat is in Salix Pointe…one that seeks to destroy them by any means necessary. The witches also have to grapple with the realization that Octavian’s parents killed so many people close to them. Not to mention that Aunt Noreen was betrayed by one of their own coven members.

Tyson is every girl’s dream: cute, cocky, and charming. Veronica has made it known exactly what she wanted but has waited patiently. Tyson's old girlfriend is still lurking around, and rumors about who Tyson is with and not haven't dissuade Veronica in the least. She just didn’t believe she could catch his eye, but now that she has him almost trapped where she wants, the college freshman will do whatever it takes.

It was supposed to be a normal day at the library but...Nia Jackson is in a rush to finish her term paper. Her mind is on getting through her last year of school and definitely not the players whom seem to only want her for her goodies. However, Nia has urges and right now, the vibrator is a woman's best friend until Mr. Right comes along. Armando Rodriguez, her next door neighbor, frequents the local library and is working on something which surely isn't a term paper. When Nia sees her neighbor that day, she couldn't help to ask him what he was writing.

There's more to 24-year-old Sdia Mitchell than looks. This native Washingtonian has brains and brawn to match, but not without baggage. She was sexually abused as a child, which is more than a load for this beauty to carry. Just when Sdia begins to find peace and self-acceptance, along comes Mel Simmons, a handsome, fast-talking, womanizing barbershop owner from South Jersey. He not only takes pride in the control he has over his career, but, also in the control he has over his women. Soon Sdia finds herself struggling to escape Mel's demands, obsession, and narcissistic rage.

When Desiree Johnson receives an unexpected call from her brother, Ernest, Jr., about their father, she and her 16-year-old son, Tyree, pack up and rush to her family's summer home in Idlewild. Desiree hasn't been to Michigan in over 17 years, but when her family calls, she feels she has no choice but to answer. As the summer heats up, Desiree struggles to balance the joy of returning to the community that shaped her childhood with the overwhelming memories of the love and pain she suffered the last summer she spent there,

Her billionaire family's scandalous secrets are as big as their fortune. But consummate con-mami Mink LaRue plans to play them all for the ultimate high stakes.... As a newly minted Dominion family heiress, Mink has new golden moves to snag even more of the family fortune. Trouble is, her hidden love games with seductive uncle-by-marriage-only Suge have them at bad-news odds - and more than her heart is in dirty sexy trouble.

KoKo is back with a thirst for revenge. Treachery looms thick in her midst as she plants the brutal Kiss of Death on whoever is in her way. The plot thickens while KoKo is on her quest to find everyone involved in Kayson's murder. A guilty confession. Past family secrets that set a chain of events into play may cause her whole world to come crumbling down. Will KoKo maintain the empire that Kayson left behind or will the secrets and deception ultimately destroy her?

What can go wrong when con-mami Mink LaRue joins forces with her slick-tongued look-alike Dy-Nasty Jenkins to run a three hundred grand hustle on the super-rich Dominion oil family? With the conniving Philadelphia stripper Dy-Nasty seeking to dip her fingers into the same pot of gold, Mink knows she has to play her hand right and hustle at the very top of her grind. But when Mink is suddenly called back home to be at the bedside of her sick mother, she is forced to leave Dy-Nasty alone at the mansion...

Who can Kiam trust when friends behave as ruthlessly as enemies and the person that he is most loyal to is the very one that has a gun aimed at his back? Reeling in a bloodthirsty rage, he takes to the streets with only one mission on his mind - vengeance. Blood-stained hands and deceitful hearts have destroyed an undying allegiance. As Kiam unleashes his vicious murder game on known adversaries, he overlooks the true enemy which is nearest. However, spilled blood will lead him to the truth.

The story is told primarily through Andre's voice, but we also see things through the voices and points of view of his mother Ruby, a hard-working medical secretary, his older sister Nina, his mostly not-there-usually-drunk-and-high father Eddie, a halfhearted reggae musician, and Reggie and Smoke, the kingpins of competing drug crews.

They say loyalty is everything, but beneath the surface of a promise lies betrayal and deceit. Taught by the best and given the keys to an empire, Kiam's loyalty is tested at every turn, as he strives to enforce his rule over those who ultimately can't be trusted. A deadly warning directs his course as he strives to carry out his orders. Complications set in when his mentor's beautiful, sexy, and rebellious daughter Lissha - who is as comfortable carrying a gun as she is carrying a Gucci bag - forces Kiam to decide between his sizzling desire for her and his immense loyalty to big Zo.

The past few months have been a living hell for Persia. Seemingly overnight, she has fallen from grace and found herself scraping rock bottom, all in the name of two lovers - Chucky and cocaine. One was supposed to love her and the other take away the pain, but they've both fallen short on their promises. The last time she saw either one of them was the night she almost lost her life.

Trinidad-born Justin Peters is a Harvard-educated literature professor, whose focus on the works of "Dead White Men" receives little professional respect at the public Brooklyn college where he teaches. But whatever troubles he might have at work are eclipsed when he realizes his wife, Sally, is no longer certain about their life together.