Contemporary African American Fiction

Loving hard doesn’t do anyone any good when the love isn’t reciprocated. If Rondo Simpson could have a do-over in his love life, he would jump at the opportunity. The woman he’s loved for over ten years has committed the ultimate betrayal and has convinced him that love just isn’t in the cards for him. Even attempts at love before her seemed to be one-sided and left him heartbroken. However, unexpectedly, the type of woman he’s been longing for walks into his life when everything is in disarray, stealing his attention from the word go.

Kachelle Lewis is tired of waiting for love. As a successful pediatric orthodontist, she has everything else going for herself, but the one thing she desires most seems to be just out of reach. Coming home to an empty home has gotten old, and Kachelle longs for companionship. After dating every wrong man, she’s decided to put the fate of her love into the hands of Arranged Hearts, a professional matchmaking service, but there is a catch. While she’ll be paired with what she hopes is the man of her dreams, she will know nothing about him until she meets him at the altar.

All Devyn wants - besides a tall, fine husband and eventually a few babies to fulfill her "about to turn thirty, running out of time, cute black family" dreams - is to finish her yearlong internship at University Hospital. She's excited about the experience, eager to learn, glad to help wherever she can...it should be easy, right? Well, it would be...if it weren't for arrogant, know-it-all, always-got-something-to-say Dr. Joseph Wright. Devyn can't stand him, and if his attitude is any indication, the feeling is mutual...or is it?

The Freedom Brothers are first cousins who built a brotherly bond while growing up in their grandmother's home in Terror Town. Epic, Angel, and Bishop Freedom eventually matured from little boys to men who run the blocks of the East Side of Chicago neighborhood. Women love them, and men want to be them. Yet, this story about the Freedom Brothers is far from your typical hood tale.

Solomon takes care of his people. All he expects in return is for everyone on his team to remain solid. Anyone who refuses to show loyalty no longer earns his favor, and family is not exempt. Kaori Randall embraces one concept: love and be loved. She is raised by parents and grandparents, who are examples of happy, healthy relationships. Kaori has high expectations when it comes to her own happiness, which makes the failure of her own love life a huge disappointment.

Kelaya Harper knows two things when it comes to Hezekiah Perez. One, she loves him. Two, they can never be together. They are from two different worlds and blending them will be a tragic misstep. Hezekiah knows his heart belongs only to Kelaya and will do anything to prove that they are meant to be. Just when he thinks they are finally locked in, everything implodes and he fears his life will never exist with the love and balance he craves.

Devin Walker, drummer for The Prototype, has one priority: turning his alt-soul band into the superstar act it's destined to become. Singularly focused on his music, his creative passion is all-consuming - that is, until he crosses paths with his best friend's college roommate, Willow Harden. Willow was drawn to Devin from the moment she first saw him. And when Devin does, finally look Willow's way, she's easily seduced from her protective bubble into the lure of his fast-paced ambitions, though at times, she wonders if she can handle it.

Hearts are broken and healed. Scars, both physical and emotional, are formed. Happiness is found, then lost, then found again. Over the course of a year, these sisters face shattering blows and remarkable triumphs as they embark on a journey, figuring out that pesky little thing called love.

Elias Omari exists in the darkness that clouds his mind. Cress Devereaux exists in the light that inspires her soul. Together, they create beautiful shades of gray. An arranged marriage forces two families to smooth the edges of their jagged past with the hopes of a new beginning. But can a union tainted with secrets and uncertainty promise an unbreakable alliance? The one thing that Elias and Cress share in common is family over everything, but should they continue to fight for family when that same family has never truly fought for them?

Being a natural-born leader comes with a certain type of responsibility. The streets will never respect a man who is not rightfully holding down the position he was born to uphold. Some are created to lead while others were created to follow. Money will always keep stacking as long as everyone plays their position. The weight of the world rests on those that are born to be great... Haze Ellis has no idea just how true that is until the moment he realizes that he is the descendent of a King... A "Street" King!

Something’s always been off with Eva Moss, but in the African-American community, everything is prayed away, including "crazy." What happens when the answer to prayer is therapy and medication? According to Eva’s mother, that’s taboo. All it takes is a little more Jesus, and Eva will be normal. Normal never lasts long. After Eva’s brother, Michael, is killed in a car accident, she is finally admitted to the psych ward for help.

If there is one thing Constance Hawkins is good at, it's working hard. Her dad was in a car accident that paralyzed his legs, and her sister Charley is in her sophomore year of college. With her mother not in the picture, Constance started working to help her family at a young age. Now, at twenty-six years old, she has a good job working at a bank. Until her awful boss, Sandy, decides to let Constance go because of cutbacks.

Fall in love with these four stories of Christmas in Crescent Falls.

Cheyanne Taylor has seen and experienced the evil that comes from the love of money. She was born to parents who chased wealth and status more than they prioritized nurturing and loving her. Thankfully, her billionaire grandfather adopted her and provided the stable home she needed. After years of toxic relationships with men of wealth or who used her because of hers, Cheyanne decides to keep her identity hidden.

Following a chilling winter of revelations and newfound relationships, sunshine breaks through, and Koya Priest finds herself basking in its rays. Before truly enjoying them, dark clouds warn her of a brewing storm. Coming to terms with what she didn't want to accept, the fearless beauty despises that she may be more like her father, Duke, than she realized. Having been referred to as intimidating and downright ruthless, Parish Sneaux doesn't let the opinion of others worry him. Parish makes no exceptions regarding his respect, family, and the gang. That's until he gets a rude awakening.

Through the darkest tunnel comes the light, but for Caesar King, there is nothing but more darkness on the other side. After the failed attempt on his life, he is afraid that the Pact of the Five Families is no more. He can trust nobody. Whoever murdered Barry is now aiming for Caesar's crown, and the only way to flush them out and figure out who's responsible is to go to war...with everybody.

Rachel knew trying to stop the devil she once loved and called her husband would cost her life. But a mother's love is one of a kind, an unbreakable bond, and there is nothing they wouldn’t do for their children. Revenge for her son's murder was the only option, but she learned the hard way you can’t trust everyone that's part of your team. Even Jesus’ disciples crossed him. Find out what happens in the eighth episode of A Child of a Crackhead.

Contentment is a luxury, and for the first time in Amon Black’s life, all the pieces have fallen into place. His role in the Powers family is solid, and he has the woman he can’t live without. Brie Barnes has what most would perceive as the perfect life. Things have always been family first—but this time, she’s the one who’s living the dream. Not only is everyone she cares about happy and healthy, but she’s madly in love. Amon and Brie are meant to be. However, life has a way of challenging even the strongest bonds.

I’m coming for the children. Minister Jude Morgan has a strong relationship with the Lord but doesn’t know what the latest message means. He is determined to intercede for his young mentee, Carlton Oliver, and children worldwide. Nine-year-old Carlton wants to get to know his estranged dad, but at what cost? He’s about to discover many things he doesn’t know about the man who fathered him, and he’s on a mission to worship the Lord. Sinclaire Oliver regrets getting her ex, Harrison Wakefield, involved in her life and that of his son Carlton.

Ashley Ryan never doubted that her husband, Devon, was the love of her life. Even now, three years after Devon died in a car wreck while on a business trip, Ashley can’t bring herself to move on. But when her girlfriends surprise her with a getaway to beautiful Catalina Cove, Louisiana, she gets the shock of her life when she encounters a man - bearded, more rugged than before, but unmistakably her Devon. “Ray Sullivan” moved to this quiet coastal town after waking up in a hospital with amnesia.