Saturday, November 26, 2011

How can anyone hate the library (You drugged, you!!)

NUMBER 98
Well, I’m finally back on track and getting my “Book Buffer” on.  Reading, buying and borrowing from book stores, book sales, book conferences, libraries, books, books and more books.  I have to admit that I do have an “obsessenation” and the other day, someone wrote a complaint about me and the Charleston County Library.  That I am pushy, becoming irritating and too totally aggressive with buying books and such and putting them on the spot to do the same, (You know, I looked up the word Pushing in the Urban Dictionary and it dawned on me that I need to find another dictionary.  Some of the words on that website is un-be-live able!!! - “Pushin it,” “Pushing a Palin,” “Pushing diarrhoea uphill with a rake,” and so many crazy ass words meaning so much sex, drugs and rock and roll.  Un-Be-Live able!!!)  Its not that they don’t appreciate libraries, but I guess my hobbyhorse book craze self was driving them insane, even though some of them are as dumb as sticks, I do understand.  Many people and I mean many people do not read as much as I do, but I also note that these same people are living the same “country ass slave mentality with collards greens for brains life in a slow moving Cadillac.”  No one can make you happy but you, no one can promote or give you a job if you don’t apply yourself and apply for the job.  No one is giving any handouts.  I’m not referring to people who are out there struggling every single day to look for a job, keep their faith, raise there kids right and willing to take any job to get someplace better than they are at, I’m talking about those same people who complain ever day or every life that “life sucks and I cannot get ahead because no one will take on my problems and solve them for me.”  The same people who fuss, fight, poo poo anything positive.  Whether it’s reading a book or reading to a child or taking care of their own children and help others.  The same damn people who make me sick. 
Stop the fighting and complaining about little crap and leave the “positive” people alone.  We are getting damn tired of YOU!!!
OK, I feeling better, let’s get on with books-my world, my life, my heart, my soul and my being on earth!!
ROCHELLE ALERS – SECRETS NEVER TOLD - $9.99 - - - Married to one of Washington, D.C.'s, most powerful African American attorneys, mother of two wonderful grown children, and owner of an elegant bridal gift shop, Morgana Johnson-Wells seems to have it all until her mother suddenly passes away and she learns that her husband has been unfaithful. Desperate to escape, Morgana returns to her mother's home in Salvation, Georgia, where she visits with her kind Uncle Julian and discovers her mother's journals. Soon Morgana learns that her mother also suffered deeply, and harbored destructive secrets of her own. She also meets sexy photographer and painter Erick Wilson and is instantly attracted to his zest for life and art. The two share a passionate affair that begins to heal Morgana's damaged spirit and to give her hope again. But eventually Morgana must choose between her husband of 20-plus years and the man who reawakened her heart. Alers' engaging tale is rich in family secrets, lost love, and women who never forget their strength, or their roots.  I don’t ever remember having to make a decision like that before, ever!
TRACI BEE – TWO TEARS IN A BUCKET - $2.99 - - - A review from “Leona, APOOO BookClub - - - Okay, so I have to admit that it took me entirely too long to finish reviewing this novel by Ms. Bee. Admittedly I had a number of obligations that sidetracked me for months, but Hurricane Irene forced me to sit down and finish my journey. Let me just say, I was not one bit disappointed by the ending. Fantastic, well-written, and a can't-put-this-down page turner, Ms. Bee knocks this story out of the park! I think there's a saying that says if something is really meant for you, set it free, and if it comes back to you, it's yours. That is definitely an underlying theme of Two Tears In a Bucket, which details the kind of on-again, off-again relationship between Kevin and Simone. After life and misunderstandings tear them apart, can a twist of circumstance bring them back together after years of separation? I've always kind of assumed, based on other reviews, that this was an Urban Lit novel, but after reading it in its entirety, I'm not sure I would classify it as such. To me, it's more of a contemporary drama with urban elements and without question a a few cuts above its competitors. As a matter of fact, if this is an Urban Lit novel then Traci has set a HIGH bar for similar authors to reach in terms of story structure, editing, and professionalism--I hope they take notice! Traci Bee is an author to watch and I look forward to reading the sequel to this page-turner! The cliffhanger on this book is a DOOZIE!! --K.L. Brady, Author of The Bum Magnet.
Blip! Bam! Whomp! KaNakia R. Laushaul, Author of Running from Solace - Running from Solace
TRACI BEE – ANOTHER TEAR - $3.99 - - - Kevin Kennard gazed into the precious face of his newborn son, the offspring of the intoxicating love he shared with his wife, Simone. Closing his eyes, Kevin whispered a prayer of thanks. Life had given him a second chance at happiness far greater than anything he'd fathomed from inside the concrete walls of his prison cell.

While Kevin and Simone bask in their familial bliss, those scorned by their union collect the pieces to their shattered hearts and plot the couple's demise. Darkness covered the Kennards when their newborn baby becomes the target for revenge. A tidal wave of fatal events stifles the sanctity Kevin and Simone have come to cherish.

Kevin had promised those he loved that his gun-toting days were a thing of the past. But with nothing else to live for, he journeys to find the person responsible for the devastation reeked in his world. Someone will pay for what they've done to his family, even if it cost Kevin his own life.
Another Tear

PAT SIMMONS – IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE - $99 cents - - - It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassion's fail not. They are new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23  God’s mercies are sure; His promises are fulfilled; but a dawn of a new morning is God’ grace.  If you need a testimony about God’s grace, then If I Should Die Before I Wake will encourage your soul. Nothing happens in our lives by chance. If you need a miracle, God’s got that too. Trust Him.  Has it been a while since you’ve had a testimony? Increase your prayer life, build your faith and walk in victory because without a test, there is no testimony.
BRIAN W. SMITH - MAMA’S LIES-DADDY’S PAIN - $14.95 Paperbackk - - -  Review from Keesha Berry - Whew www. This book had me on an emotional roller coaster. It made me laugh, cry, and mad. Tracy and Jamal are teenage parents. Jamal decides that he doesn't want to be the kind of father that his father was so he made the decision to be the best father he could be for his daughter, Jada. For seventeen years he provided emotional and financial support for her all while dealing with the typical baby mama drama. So many dead beat fathers are walking around not taking any responsibilities for their kids and we find one that is a true father through and through. You have to read the book to understand his pain and any other good father's pain.
MARCUS MAJOR - FOUR GUYS AND TROUBLE - $6.99 - - - When four young men make a pledge to their dying fraternity brother to take care of his little sister, Bunches, a delightful story unfolds. Each of these successful African American men takes his responsibility as a brother seriously, giving gifts and advice as well as compliments and scolding. As Bunches matures from their friend's little sister into a young woman, the men find it increasingly difficult to accept her independence. Ibin, the consummate lady's man, learns the hard way that the old double standard is only true for those who choose to believe it. Colin, the henpecked boyfriend, is dating a woman who uses negative energy to keep him in line. Michael, the romantic nice guy, rekindles a relationship with a college friend. Dexter, the man with the plan, is stopped in his tracks when his girlfriend becomes pregnant. But most central to all their lives is Bunches, the little sister that each of them loves. But, of course, she has to make her own love choices--even if all the "boys" do not agree. 
MARCUS MAJOR - A FAMILY AFFAIR - $13.99 - - - This sequel to Major's first novel, Good Peoples - $7.84 Hardcover Good Peoples, Myles and Marisa Moore are recently and very happily married. Meanwhile, Myles' attractive, intelligent, and strong-willed teenage cousin, Jasmine, has moved in with his parents. She is very enamored of Marisa, although her circumstances have made her angry and bitter. Myles' brother, Amir, and his wife, Kenya, share in the family's concern for Jasmine, especially when Darius, a resident of the halfway house that Kenya runs, is released at 18 and begins to date Jasmine. Marisa convinces Jasmine that if she is determined to date Darius, then she must introduce him to the family and not sneak behind her aunt's back. The family's woes are compounded when Myles' and Amir's father is caught cheating. Now the brothers and their wives must show tough love for the rebellious Jasmine and also provide unconditional support for their mom as she rebuilds her life without her husband of 40 years. A loving portrait of a family sharing good and bad times. 


NELSON GEORGE - HIP HOP AMERICA - $12.99  - - - Although it's been part of the cultural sound scape for over 25 years, hip-hop has been the focus of very few books. And when those books do pop up, they tend to be either overtly scholarly, as if the writer in question has just landed on some alien planet, or a bit too much like a fanzine. If there's anyone qualified to write a solid, informative, and entertaining tome on the culture, politics, and business of hip-hop, it's Nelson George. A veteran journalist, George is one of the smartest and most observant chroniclers of African American pop culture. Much as he broke down and illuminated R&B with his acclaimed book The Death of Rhythm and Blues - $12.99, George now tackles hip-hop with the clarity of a reporter and the enthusiasm of a fan, which is fitting, because George is both. A Brooklyn native, he began writing about rap back in the late 1970s, when the beats and the lifestyle were not only foreign to most white folks, they were still underground in the black communities. Hip Hop America is filled with George's memories of the scene's nascent years, and it tells the story of rap both as an art form and a cultural and economic force, from the old Bronx nightclub the Fever to the age of Puffy. Highlighting both the major players and some of the forces behind the scenes, George gives rap a historical perspective without coming off as too intellectual. All of which makes Hip Hop America a worthwhile addition to any fan's collection. 
Got to stick on one for Black History Year.  
OCTAVIA BUTLER - KINDRED - $4.95 - - - It has been years since I read this book and now I need to go back and read it again. I kinda miss it.  
Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Slowly I'm coming back on track!! I miss my blog!!

NUMBER 97
Hey, I’m just 3 blogs short of 100.  The magic number of 100.  I cannot believe you have hung in there with me and I truly and godly hope I have made your day and your reading life, it has for me.  I will never, ever give up this blog, I’m having too much fun and enjoying the hell out of it.  I could not believe some of the comments I have received.  It was, “Yes, you have lots of fans of your blog,” “Girl, keep going!!! I”m loving it!! and a kid who I met in DC last year asked his mom to get him a kindle and subscribe to my blog.  Hey, it’s only $1.00 a month, even that chump change can handled most budgets.  She did and she did not know that many books by African American were out there.  It takes time to go thru each page on any web site and look and look, so I’m saving you time and money with the best deals.  Get ready for Black Friday, I will bring the 99 cents deal and don’t forget, you can now borrow books from the library if your money is too, too short.
I saw my man, my love, my honey-pot-oh-romagical man, Idris Elba on the cover of Essence.  He plays in the detective series, “Luther” on BBC and played in Takers, Legacy, Obsessed (where I think Beyonce` did not act well), Daddy’s Little Girls, The Gospel, and of course “The Wire,”  Got damn it!! I just love that man and love British mysteries.  Am I in heaven Ga Ga Land or what!!! I’m in heaven.  Melody Lopez “BookBuff” says about the TV show Luther, “EX. CELL. ENT!!!!” With Idris in it, yeah, I like it too!!!
Which brings me back to books because on page 72 of Essence, there is an article entitled, “Our Smart Guys” with Toure`, Colson Whitehead and Nelson George.  The last time I saw such a group of Black men writers was in the 1993 article in Ebony called, “Wordsmiths - Contemporary Black Male Writers. I still have my copy.  On a side note, I’m listening and watching on Amazon, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, The Adventure of Clapham Cook.”  I told you I love British mysteries.  Back to my "unrambling." In both articles, even though the articles are 18 years apart, the newest article mentions how the mid-1990s were over taken by the Waiting to Exhale books and the street lit.  In other words, books by blacks have become one urban, drugged induced, slap the bitch/whore, or fall into the arms of the perfect man of your dreams in romance trilogy or the church is on fire and still sisters cannot find a man with family drama continually surrounding our lives.   Both articles spoke the same language, not enough black men writers.  Still.  Toure`, Colin and Nelson are writing a new way, about our lives but from a new window, where we see President Obama, the lost of Black middle class, values, compassion and, once again, the media really portraying us, badly!  
It’s amazing, the 1993 article does mention Nelson George.  The same article mentions the same thing, black men finally getting their groove on in a sea of black women writers.  The 2011 article shows these guys as long overdue writers, but the 1993 articles show black male writers not just trying to squeeze in with the women, but how to get the black men in the groove and saving the young men.  Here it is 2011 and an article 18 years ago on black male writers is still saying the same thing, black woman rule the publishing arena and black men don’t.  I’m glad I kept that article because over the next two weeks, I’m going to try to get you to buy their books and bring them back to life. 
I’ve said a mouth full and still eating!
TOURE` - WHO’S AFRAID OF POST-BLACKNESS - $11.99 - - - I just got the book, but Jarrod Jenkins’s review gave me a heads up as someone who is light skinned and not running for President or married to a white guy, how this book relates and do not relate to being who you want to be and and not just “black.”  Here’s his comment, “This is a great book. I don't think Toure broke any new ground in this book. Rather, he provided comfort to those who think like him. A coming-out party if you will. All too often, Blacks who do not think or act "Black" (whatever that means) find themselves persecuted by their own race.
The biggest issue that I have is the chapter on how to have more Pres. Obama. Toure sets the book up to say that it's okay to be post-Black. Indeed, he encourages people to be who they are not conform to any type of societal expectation. However, he says -- and I agree -- that President Obama's complexion helped him get elected. This, of course, begs the question how are we supposed to raise more President Obama if skin complexion is immutable? Also, he says -- and again I agree -- that President Obama would not have been elected if he had a White wife. This flies in the face of his it's-okay-to-be-post-Black theory because if it truly were okay, one would not have to choose between marrying someone and running for President. This is the type of confined thinking that the book was intended to thwart.”
NELSON GEORGE -THE PLOT AGAINST HIP HOP: A NOVEL - $9.99 - - - The stabbing murder of esteemed music critic Dwayne Robinson in a Soho office building is dismissed by the NYPDKanye West, and Russell Simmons.  D Hunter has his own secrets, his own vulnerabilities, which he fights to overcome as he becomes a reluctant private eye. After reading The Plot Against Hip Hop, you'll never hear the music the same way.
COLSON WHITEHEAD - ZONE ONE: A NOVEL - $12.99 - - - I have been a fan of his since THE INTUITIONIST: A NOVEL - $6.95 paperback. I thought it was the strangest thing to write about the first African American female elevator inspector as well as a graduate of Institute for Vertical Transport (Elevators!! that got me), then I got into it and my mind went crazy.  An elevator crashes and it’s blamed on Lila Mae.  She has a quirkiness about her in that she can “senses” the condition of an elevator and has a drawn battle with the so call “Empiricist” who uses mob connections to win an election.  Don’t ask me, it was a trip and a long voyage which to this day I’m still trying to figure out and can’t get it out of my mind.  The unusual characters are the ones who will get you, that’s some world they live in and it’s funny and scary.
Got to stick on one for Black History Year.  

I have Colson’s other book, SAG HARBOR - $11.99, but have not read it yet, but I do know some guys who lived it.  The year is 1985 and 15-year-old Benji Cooper, one of the only black students at his elite Manhattan private school, leaves the city to spend three largely unsupervised months living with his younger brother Reggie in an enclave of Long Island's Sag Harbor, the summer home to many African American urban professionals. Benji's a Converse-wearing, Smiths-loving, Dungeons & Dragons-playing nerd whose favorite Star Wars character is the hapless bounty hunter Greedo (rather than the double-crossing Lando Calrissian). But Sag Harbor is a coming-of-age novel whose plot side-steps life-changing events.  The book's leisurely eight chapters mostly concern Benji's first kiss, the removal of braces, BB gun battles, slinging insults (largely unprintable "grammatical acrobatics") with his friends, and working his first summer job. And Whitehead crafts a wonderful set piece describing Benji's days at Jonni Waffle Ice Cream, where he is shrouded in "waffle musk" and a dirty T-shirt that's "soiled, covered with batter and befudged from a sundae mishap."
Whitehead pushes his love of pop culture into hyper-drive. Nearly every page is swimming with references to the 1980s--from New Coke and The Cosby Show to late nights trying to decipher flickering glimpses of naked women on scrambled Cinemax. And music courses through the book, capturing that period when early hip hop mixed with New Wave. Lisa Lisa and U.T.F.O make a memorable cameo at Jonni Waffle, and McFadden Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," heard throughout the book in passing cars and boom boxes, gets tagged as "the black national anthem." Like that ubiquitous song, the soulful, celebratory, and painfully funny Sag Harbor and its chronicle of those lazy, sun-soaked days sandwiched between Memorial Day and Labor Day, will stick with you long after closing its covers. 

Saturday, November 12, 2011

More just Books!!! I just love it!!

NUMBER 96
I do have a Kindle, (Duh!! I wouldn’t be promoting these books on the kindle if I did not have one, but someone actually thought I didn't, duh!!).  I want the new one, the $79.00 one.  I also want to buy about 25 of them to give to the kids who come to the “Bring your child to work day," in April 2012.   I do have a reputation to keep up (These kids think I’m crazy and they have told their brothers and sisters to try to come each year).  The ages are nine to 13, and that's an age to really get kids into reading or before.  Did you know that I made a deal with these kids.  I give a big bag of goodies filled with candy, toys and books, lots of books.  For every book that they read and bring a book report to me, I will give them $5.00 for each book report.  Out of 25 kids, three did it and a year later, the same three.  I was willing to get a second job to keep up, but my hopes were dashed.  Will try again next year.  I also sent an e-mail to Mr. Bezos, owner of Amazon, and ask for a discount if I ordered 25.  Have not heard yet, but nothing beats a failure but a try.  So I may still have to get that part time job and take a little each week to pay for them.
In the meantime, I will buy the new Kindle and sell my old one for some chump change.  Still buy hard and paper back books because I love the smell of new and old books and will continue with this blog.  I got nothing to lose and a million times to gain.  Living in this world during these times is harder than a crack addict looking for a score and since I have to live in this world, I’m going to push, promote, bite, and shove every single book I find into someone’s hand.  That’s my world!!!
I met RICKEY TEEMS in Houston and Atlanta with his friend MOSES MILLER.  You know how you hear and see on the cover of magazines or on TV, good, handsome and smart Black men?  Well, as the Lord says, "here are two of them."  I call Moses my “Coke Cola Smile Man” from the commercial and I call Rickey, “The type of man I want my daughter to marry.”  They are happily married, good, intelligent men with the biggest heart around.  Please Face book them, you will see.  Here are Rickey’s books and I told you about Moses’s books, but it would not hurt to repeat it.
RICKEY TEEMS II
REGRESSION - $2.99 - - - You will find that this story is one you are living in and not just reading along, the ride is something else.  What if you woke up one morning to find Hip Hop banned throughout the country? African-American athletes boycotting U.S Olympic teams? Welfare abruptly cut-off to the public? School classrooms assigned by ethnicity? Black students kicked out of colleges? Secret Hispanic plans to regain control of Southern California? Presidential plans to lock up all members of one culture? Racial restructuring of the entire United States?  

Aeneas Mayes just wants to move on from the troubled streets he was raised on and get his life together to be a better example for his son, Naashon. But when he wakes up late for his African-American History mid-term one morning, he quickly learns that his troubles are just beginning. One by one, racially charged decisions by the U.S. government are seemingly turning back the hands of time on civil rights, and Aeneas and the Black community are soon slapped with a first-hand history lesson of discrimination and injustice. The action is non-stop as Aeneas is now forced to rely on his street savvy and some of the unlikeliest of allies to get his son and loved ones back to freedom. But when local law enforcement receives assistance from the military to handle the riotous uprisings throughout urban America, the stakes rise beyond control. And when his best friend is apprehended and thrown in confinement camp for African-Americans, Aeneas will have to make a decision that will impact every life around him.   Sounds like the Civil War era? The turbulent 60’s? No, it’s 2008, and this is: Regression
KEEP IT 100: REAL TALK ON BEING A REAL MAN with CHARLES COOPER - $3.99 - - - We need our young men to grow up and be strong, but they need YOU!!! Please mentor them!

THE HEALING OF LOVE & LAUGHTER - $2.99 - - - Some smiles reflect more than just good times, occasionally they are a mask for pain. Comedian Isaac Golden learns the bright lights of Hollywood may shine for triumph, but in the shadows, drugs, wild women, and the fast life are waiting to take their toll on his soul. With the health of his children's' mother on the brink, a sex-crazed mistress on the side, the criminal woes of his inept younger brother, and increasing stage opportunities, trying to balance ambitions of stardom with reality is no laughing matter. When his faith and obligations are challenged beyond his control, Isaac realizes that overnight success can be tomorrow's biggest failure. He soon finds himself in a deep and dark hole, clueless how it all happened so fast. Will he have any friends and prayer left to help him overcome the guilt and remorse of his ways, or will time run out before he can truly discover: The Healing of Love and Laughter.
MOSES MILLER
THE TRIFLING TIMES OF NATHAN JONES - $9.99
NAN: THE GAME OF TRIFE - 9.99
NAN: THE TRIFECTA - $9.99
LEONARD PITTS JR - BEFORE I FORGET - $7.69 - - - This powerful novel of three generations of black men bound by blood — and by histories of mutual love, fear, and frustration, gives author Leonard Pitts the opportunity to explore the painful truths of black men's lives, especially as they play out in the fraught relations of fathers and sons. As 50-year-old Mo tries to reach out to his increasingly tuned-out son Trey (who himself has become an unwed teen aged father), he realizes that the burden of grief and anger he carries over his own estranged father has everything to do with the struggles he encounters with his son. Part road novel, part character study, and part social critique, and written in compulsively readable prose, Before I Forget is the work of a major new voice in American fiction. Pitts knows inside and out the difficulties facing black men as they grapple with the complexities of their roles as fathers.
ANDREA CLINTON - LIFE KNOWS NO BOUNDS: ONE WHO LOVES YOU MORE - $99 CENTS - - - From Khaleelah, “Very good love story, I'm a sucker for a love story especially a good hood one. Alisa and Omar are your typical urban characters with a uniqueness about them. Andrea (the author) could have done a better job with explaining the Arabic phrases I'm sure most of the readers aren't Muslim. Another flaw with the read were the usage of the different fonts , I wasn't understanding the need for font or typesetting change throughout the entire book. Andrea has great storytelling skills maybe the font changes was part of the characters mental mess, but for readers sake stick to one font next go around. The author is truly having a conversation with her readers, I found myself talking to the characters. I'm looking forward to more of Alisa and Omar Mental Mess!!!”  I guess she knows, because I brought it. 
APRIL SINCLAIR - I LEFT MY BACK DOOR OPEN - $4.81 Paperback  - - - Sometimes, reviewers are honest and I like that, but I will still give the book a try.  Here’s S. Thompson “casual reader” review - I thought this book was so overwhelmingly predictable I just couldn't enjoy it at all. I've read Sinclair's other books, (Coffee will make you black & ain't gonna be the same fool twice - Coffee Will Make You Black: A Novel - $5.25 Paperback) so I really thought I'd enjoy this one. But I found the characters uninteresting and utterly contrived so that the author could just spout her agenda. She moralizes everything, from spanking to teenage pregnancy. Afterwards, I felt as though I'd been cheated out of a good story because the author just wanted to rant about what she didn't like about society today.  If you're a April Sinclair fan, don't expect much. If you're new to this author, read Coffee Will Make You Black. Sooooo! much better.
MARISSA MONTEILH - HOT BOYZ - $6.99 - - - It is not what you are thinking. There are no siblings more charmed than the Wilson brothers of Ladera Heights, California. Fine and famous pro golfer Mason has money, respect, a beautiful, loving wife and two wonderful teenage children. Claude's the most successful realtor in the "Black Beverly Hills." And handsome, carefree "baby boy" Torino, who runs big brother Mason's club, Foreplay, can pick and choose the honeys he wants to share his time and his bed with. But beneath the surface of ideal lives are secrets that could shatter three perfect dreams and shake a family to its core. Legacies of loss and obligation, of tragedy and madness, threaten everything the Wilsons have worked so hard to achieve, exposing deep, raw, and devastating wounds that an outside world cannot see -- wounds that can be healed only through honesty and love. 


Hot Girlz: Hot Boyz Sequel
Got to stick on one for Black History Year.  

JESSICA McCANN – ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF FREE - $8.99 - - -  A historical novel, well executed, emotionally engaging, illuminating an important Supreme Court case and the heart of a heroic woman." A free woman of color in the 1830s, Margaret Morgan lived a life full of promise. One frigid night in Pennsylvania, that changed forever. They tore her family apart. They put her in chains. They never expected her to fight back.  In 1837, Margaret Morgan was kidnapped from her home in Pennsylvania and sold into slavery. The state of Pennsylvania charged her kidnapper with the crime, but the conviction was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. It was the first time a major branch of the federal government had made a pro-slavery stand, and the ruling in Prigg v. Pennsylvania sewed the bitter seeds of the states' rights battle that eventually would lead to the Civil War.
Yet, the heart of this story is not a historic Supreme Court ruling. It is the remarkable, unforgettable Margaret Morgan. Show More Her life would never be the same. Her family had been torn apart. Uncaring forces abused her body and her heart. But she refused to give up, refused to stop fighting, refused to allow her soul to be enslaved.

NOTE:  When you have the time, would you please do me a favor and go to blog on Amazon and write  a comment.  I don't care if it's bad or good, but tell me if you want more or too much, or not funny enough.  Just want to know what you want.  Thank You - - Black Kindle 

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Just Books!!!

NUMBER 95
Just books today.  Now is the time for all good woman (me) to just shut up and talk about books!!!

I love the Westmoreland men (Brenda Jackson’s series) and now I find a new set of glorious men to ogle at, The Wolf Men!!
MAUREEN SMITH - TREACHEROUS (THE WOLF PACK SERIES) - $2.99 - - - Sterling and Celeste Wolf have been married for sixteen years. Although Sterling is the ideal husband and father, he can’t give Celeste the material trappings she secretly craves. And then she meets Grant Rutherford—a sexy, brilliant surgeon at the hospital where she works. Grant is everything Celeste has ever wanted in a man, and the sizzling chemistry between them takes her breath away. But she loves her husband and children, and the last thing she wants to do is hurt them. But when she and Grant succumb to their mutual attraction one night, Celeste is forced to make a heartbreaking choice between the life she and Sterling have built—and the life she has always yearned for.
MAUREEN SMITH - TAMING THE WOLF (THE WOLF PACK SERIES) - $3.99 - - - Can a Wolf be Tamed?  (I hope not!!!).  With Samara Layton’s community outreach organization facing bankruptcy, she turns to wealthy attorney Marcus Wolf for a bailout. The only problem is that Marcus is the same sexy, gorgeous man she turned down at a fashion show in New York. Little did she know that she would soon need his help to rescue her business. As she sets out to seduce him, she quickly discovers just how pleasurable it can be to tame a wolf.  From the moment Samara steps onto the runway in a breathtakingly sheer gown, Marcus is captivated. When their eyes meet, the electricity between them is enough to light up all of Manhattan. But while Marcus would like nothing more than to bed the exotic beauty, he has no interest in pursuing a serious relationship with her. But when Samara comes to him for help, she makes him an offer he can’t possibly refuse.
MAUREEN SMITH - RECIPE FOR TEMPTATION  - $4.35 - - - A two-month sabbatical from her high-powered career is just what the doctor ordered, especially when Reese St. James eyes the hunk of her secret fantasies on the menu. From the moment she walks into Michael Wolf's world-famous restaurant, she's given the VIP treatment. And the sexy celebrity chef's mouth-watering kisses have her eating right out of his hand and hungry for more.  Furious at discovering Reese isn't the food critic he expected, Michael vows to teach the delectable deceiver a lesson. Seduction is the first course as he turns the tables on the sensual doctor. But once he tastes her passion, he goes straight from the frying pan into the fire. He wants to trust her, but what if he gets burned? As their sizzling affair flames into a culinary feast for all the senses, will love be the final course?
PATRICIA HALEY - BROKEN - $9.99 - - - Don Mitchell is certain the Lord has a plan for him to reconcile his family, when his younger half brother, Joel, suddenly resigns as CEO of their father’s company. The gesture comes after Joel has nearly sent the enterprise into bankruptcy. Don’s first order of business as newly appointed head of DMI is to bring his estranged older sister home. It isn’t easy. Tamara has been running from the past for years. But once she is home, she plans to claim her rightful place in the multimillion-dollar family ministry—no matter what it takes or who gets hurt. Joel, meanwhile, is regretting his decision to step down and is doing everything in his power to resume his path to greatness. As Don finds himself waist-deep in the corporate mess Joel left behind, his love life is also in flux. He must balance a complicated friendship with Abigail, his right-hand woman at DMI, with a budding romance involving his beautiful business partner in South Africa. Just as Don begins to realize that forgiving and forgetting may be his greatest weapon, a terrifying ordeal rocks the family to its core, and they must turn to God and to one another for the answers.
Xavier Knight – THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE - $9.99 - - - Ten years ago, Jesse Law were a twenty-year-old with the world at his feet. After surviving a painful, often lonely childhood as the youngest child in a music dynasty, he forged a high-profile career, blazing a path on the charts later followed by the likes of Usher and Justin Timberlake. Those heady times are far in the past now, and Jesse's life is far richer thanks to his emerging values, the love of his wife, Dionne, and a lower-key but fulfilling career as lead singer of the gospel group. As far as he has come, though, Jesse's days are burdened by a shameful reality.
Got to stick on one for Black History Year.  
PEARL CLEAGE - JUST WANNA TESTIFY: A NOVEL - $12.99 - - - Another one of my “old” favorite writers.  The sister is bad.  Here’s a comment from Publishers Weekly, “In her return to the West End, that fictional Afro-urban paradise in Atlanta, Ga., Cleage (Till You Hear from Me) has the ever lovin' mysterious Blue Hamilton, "godfather" of the neighborhood where crime is unknown, pitted against the Too Fine Five, Amazonian African-American supermodels whose arrival in town spells trouble. Serena Mayflower manages the girls, or "vamps" (vampires, get it?), who are all part of a group that has moved its headquarters from New Orleans to an island near the West End. The good thing is they drink tomato juice instead of blood, the bad is that they are looking for some appropriate stud muffins for breeding purposes. They've hired five Morehouse College men for generous compensation, but the men neglected to read the fine print in their contract and have come to Blue for help. Seems that when the vamps are done with the men, the men will be done... for good. There's moments of kick butt fun, and although the plot veers toward hackneyed and the "Say what?" ending is a groaner, fans will be pleased.