Contemporary African American Fiction

Twenty-three dollars and 11 cents - that’s all that 35-year-old Chloe Davis Michaels has to her name after she is driven from her home and career as a jet-setting Hollywood publicist, desperate to protect her unborn child from her crazed newlywed husband. She thought she had it all. Now Chloe seeks refuge in her Midwestern hometown to “get prayed up” by the women in her family. Chloe’s impromptu homecoming takes us into the world of eight African-American women who make up the Davis clan - three mothers and five daughters, including Chloe.

Fortysomething and still single, music-video exec Pia Jamison has given up her grandiose ideas on men and marriage - but not motherhood. Her biological clock is on red alert, but after years of self-imposed celibacy she has no clue how to attract the man she needs to get the baby she wants. Help comes in the form of Pia's savvy assistant, who tricks her boss into attending, under the guise of a business conference, a flirting workshop called Weapons of Mass Seduction.

Dr. Cade Mathis learned early that he was not the son of the man who raised him. His adoptive father, a cruel, bitter man, had always been quick to tell him that he was a bastard and an embarrassment to the rich society family whose daughter got pregnant with him. So when Cade received a full scholarship to college, he was only too happy to leave the only home he had ever known behind and never looked back. Now a successful doctor and one of the best neurosurgeons in the state, the only thing he still wants are answers about where he came from.

Jordan Gatewood's life is falling apart. Murder, sex, betrayal, suicide--the women in his world are paying him back for all the terrible things he's done, and they're bringing on the drama in spades. And now, with Desi Green bringing Jordan to the attention of the detective investigating his lover's murder, his tenuous grip on control threatens to unravel completely.

There was a secret to Dillon Westmoreland's heritage—and Pamela Novak had the key. Though the raven-haired beauty was ensnared by her shifty fiancé, Dillon—eldest of the Denver Westmoreland clan—couldn't resist a mind-blowing night in her arms. And after that incredible passion… Well, once a Westmoreland claimed the woman he wanted, he wouldn't let anything tear them apart!

Several years have passed, but Sylvia McMillan still can’t run and hide from the truth that continues to tear at her soul. Her love for Jonathan Taylor, her ex-friend’s husband, remains. Jonathan has moved on, though. In less than six months, he plans to watch his new bride cascade down the aisle as they join hands in holy matrimony. He’s not about to let Sylvia’s slickness derail him again - but then again, how can he resist the one woman who is willing to honor every single one of his wishes?

Marigold Johnson can’t wait to attend a special program at her family’s business, Flexx Unlimited, for teens who love fashion. But Mari quickly realizes that she’s out of place compared to the three other trainees—and one girl, Kara, seems to hate her on sight. As tension builds and the stakes at the program get higher, Mari uncovers exactly why Kara’s been so spiteful. She also discovers some hard truths about herself and her family.

Lance Montgomery, renowned relationship expert, has perfected the art of being a playa. His acclaimed workshops and bestselling books prove it. His most popular title, The Playa’s Handbook, caused a major uproar among black women and men, and shot to the top of the bestseller list.

Leila is crushed when Dev, her boyfriend of four years, breaks up with her right before graduation. Just when she’s thinking she wasted her entire high school experience on a dead-end relationship, her best friend Bree reminds her that Last Chance Dance is just around the corner. A high school tradition, the Last Chance Dance gives all the students one last opportunity to find love before they graduate. All Leila has to do is submit three unrequited crushes to the dance committee and if any of her crushes list her too, they’ll get matched. Presto: new relationship, just like that.

I fell in love with you at a wedding. There were days when I did not like you at all, but you were the man standing at the end of the aisle with the snow falling around us whenever I dared to dream. Now we are here, at our wedding in Connecticut, on Christmas Day. The setting is perfect, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you.

Sexy high-school teacher Matthew Lassiter has found the woman of his dreams. She loves and understands his desire for the simple life of mentoring teens. The larger-than-life siblings who surround him excel in just about everything they do. While that is financially beneficial for them, his choice to teach is not as profitable. When the opportunity for a different career is put on the table, planning a life with Leah has Matt questioning his decision.

From Joya Goffney of Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry comes a stirring YA coming-of-age, best-friends-to-lovers romance about a girl named Nikki who plans to run away from small-town Texas but ultimately finds that her oldest friend, Mal, just might be the one who’s been there for her all along. Filled with heart and humor, this novel captures complex family drama, friendship, and love. For fans of I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest and Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan.

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.

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.

After the demise of her relationship with longtime boyfriend DonTravious, Nicole thought God had truly blessed her the day Kendrick Taylor walked into her life; her prayers for a lasting love had been answered. Life with him was bliss - until he walked out of her life without a second thought, leaving her more broken and alone than she'd ever felt. Nicole resigned herself to the fact she was going to be alone. She was tired of looking for love and only being left out in the cold. She was content to mourn the love she'd lost...or rather never had with a now happily married Kendrick.

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.

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.

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.

Tineya has experienced a lot of trauma in her short life. Losing both parents has left a broken, weak soul. As if that's not enough, she's left with physical wounds with which no woman should have to deal. More than just bad memories, Tineya's wound runs deeper. In walks Marsell, a self-centered hustler. He's the type of slick-talking man who can sell water to a fish and dope to the pope. Marsell can convince any woman to jump as high as he needs her to. He typically wants the type of woman who looks like a centerfold, damn near perfect, until he is humbled.

She cheated with one of her best friends' husbands - and turned scathing publicity into cash-money celebrity. But Jessa Bell has reformed. She's trying to make amends to those she did wrong, and she's started a successful business catching rich unfaithful spouses. Her agents are beautiful lost girls who get a shot at the good life. And when Jessa's sizzling affair with private detective Hammer turns into love and marriage, she's sure she's finally doing things right, until she catches Hammer sleeping with one of her agents just months after their wedding.