Contemporary African American Fiction

Essence best-selling authors Kiki Swinson and Noire have attracted huge audiences for their sexy, anything-goes fiction. Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless features a novella from each author. Swinson’s electric “Shamelessly Rich” showcases a spoiled bad girl facing a life-changing choice. And in Noire’s “Puttin’ Shame in the Game,” three gorgeous ladies set their sights on a wealthy cop.

Kazimir, the head of the Bratva, has come to New York to find the person who murdered his loyal washer. Nicknamed The Russian Lion because he's credited with over 200 kills, the death of his washer is enough to start a dark and deadly war. Unfortunately, Emily falls on Kazimir's radar. Her brother is suspected of being involved in the murder, and she's determined to do everything she can to save him.

Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. As Morrison follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the place of his family’s origins, she introduces an entire cast of strivers and seeresses, liars and assassins, the inhabitants of a fully realized Black world.

Sportswriter Nina Richardson had the perfect life away from her family's famous shadow. But a social media blowup and rejection by her boyfriend brought her back to their peaceful Charleston, South Carolina B&B to figure out what went wrong. So there's no way she's going to trust the crazy-hot sparks flying between her and handsome new employee Clinton Jefferson. It's just reckless, rip-his-clothes-off, one-night-and-forget-it lust - right?

Arriving in Washington, DC, to start his own company, with the help of his friends Jada and Wellington, 22-year-old Darius Jones hires a woman from his past, Fancy Taylor, to oversee his West Coast offices, which leads to trouble. Still harboring the wounds of his mother's deception and a childhood without his biological father, caught between an all-consuming pride and the call of his own untrusting heart, Darius has a lot to learn: about life, women, and what it takes to find and nurture real love. And if he's not careful, he might just end up on the bottom of everything.

Heir to the infamous DeLuca drug cartel fortune, Angel DeLuca walked away from it all for a normal life - until a wrenching betrayal shattered his belief in anything but saving his family's hard-won legacy. He's come back to lead the DeLuca empire - no matter the cost. But his most dangerous rival is the one woman whose fierce determination he can't resist....

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.

After a complicated love triangle found Ne'Vaeh involved with her best friend's man, she thought she had found happiness. Unfortunately, heartbreak continues for her, and now she is struggling to deal with feelings of love lost. Charlene says she is pregnant by Aaron, the man they both loved, and Ne'Vaeh is devastated. Charlene refuses to set the record straight. She doesn't want Aaron, but she's determined to keep him away from her backstabbing former friend. Old feelings resurface, and Ne'Vaeh finds herself falling in love again; however, Charlene's jealousy is about to consume her.

Maven Edwards was raised on the ruthless streets of Detroit but makes it out in one piece. An executive in the music industry, he has fortune, fame, and good looks, but an ice cold heart from time spent in various orphanages. Maven isn't looking for love, or even one female to share his wealth and success with. He is a bona fide ladies' man. The more arm candy he has to flaunt at celebrity parties, buy high-priced gifts for, and take on luxurious trips, the better. He's all about building his brand, making money, and collecting beautiful women who can coexist as sister wives.

To keep their family ties strong, the five Reeves sisters meet regularly to give each other a reality check. But explosive family secrets begin to pour out like molten lava and forever change all they treasure most.

Atlanta's mayor, The Honorable Josiah J. Bishop, has an addiction to his wife, Mink, that is just as powerful as her toxic love affair with heroin. As her life spirals out of control due to her obsession with the needle, his love and devotion to her is slowly shredding his soul into tiny pieces. But he just can't let her go. The brotha's loyalty to the love of his life and the mother of his two young, adorable daughters is deeper than any ocean.

Gaza was born and raised in McGregor Gully, one of Jamaica's grittiest housing projects in the slums of East Kingston. Growing up in poverty, he was exposed to robbery and murder at a tender age. In order to stay alive, he quickly adapted to a life of crime. Now he is one of the coldest killers and richest kingpins to ever walk the streets of Kingston. Whoever comes into contact with him and his crew either loves them, fears them, or wants to see them dead. The entrance of Catherine into his life just might change everything.

Considered an unlikely pair, Marcus, the reformed dope boy, and Nikki, the pampered princess, have undeniable chemistry. Problems arise when only one of them is willing to be honest and acknowledge the obvious attraction. Because she doesn't feel that he fits into her world or the plan she has mapped out for her life, Nikki curves Marcus without hesitation from their first encounter. Unable to see past her fears, she doesn't realize that rejecting him just may cost her the man she was meant to spend her life with.

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.

Blu thinks she knows all there is to know about the dope game. She's watched her momma serve out of the same place they lay their heads since she was a little girl. Then her brother's best friend, Budz, shows her that there is more to the game than just selling drugs. With love, loyalty, and wealth on her side, what more could she want? Blu finds out when she is introduced to Black, and Blu is determined to make him her reality. Torn between two men who have secrets and motives of their own, Blu has no idea what she's gotten herself into, but she knows there is only one way out.

At 72, Johnny Ribkins shouldn't have such problems: he's got one week to come up with the money he stole from his mobster boss or it's curtains. What may or may not be useful to Johnny as he flees is that he comes from an African American family that has been gifted with superpowers that are a bit, well, odd. Okay, very odd. For example, Johnny's father could see colors no one else could see. His brother could scale perfectly flat walls. His cousin belches fire. And Johnny himself can make precise maps of any space you name, whether he's been there or not.

Sometimes you go in search of a new beginning. Other times, it finds you. Tonya Martin enjoys her job as a professional chef for a Wall Street bank, her East Harlem walk-up, and the freedom to live and love by her own rules - right up until the day she finds herself suddenly downsized. But a spontaneous trip to New Orleans opens up a new opportunity. With time on her hands and her daughter soon graduating college, Tonya has the chance to reach for her own long-cherished dream - opening a restaurant on her friend Hannah's beautiful Garden District estate.

Young, beautiful, and in love with the wrong man, Leah is distraught after her boyfriend, Kenny, sets her up to take the fall in yet another of his schemes. Forced to make a deal with the police, she struggles to maintain her composure while gathering information. Then she meets Nasir, an ambitious and hardworking man who wants only to make his family proud.

Celebrated author Cheris Hodges pens romantic tales that hit all the right notes. In Recipe for Desire, Marie Charles’ party-girl days come to a screeching halt with a DWI arrest and a totaled Jaguar. Sentenced to 500 hours of community service at a local women’s shelter, her only bright spot is a fellow volunteer, TV star Devon Harris. But Devon wants nothing to do with Marie and her selfish ways - until her work at the shelter has her turning over a new leaf.

Meet Keisha Montez: a gorgeous college student on the brink of stardom. All she has to do is put her assets to work.... Blessed with a body that won't quit, Keisha is also one very smart, tough woman with big hopes for her future - a future where she'll do whatever it takes to make enough money to get through school and see her dreams become reality....