Monday, August 27, 2012

Don't try this on your friends!!!


NUMBER 127

My church, Northwood Assembly, was rebuilt due to a fire a few years ago.  It’s bigger and more beautiful now.  It does not have as much room as it use to, but we expanded to include more rooms for functions, ministry group meetings and day care during services.  I even signed up for the Dave Ramsey class next month.  Got to keep on track since I plan on being debt free and happy and joined a Bible Book Club.  We read mostly fiction, but I'm enjoying it.
I also joined the singles group.  They meet on Mondays for a mini service and Friday’s for dinner, bowling, etc.  Not many African Americans in the church, but I was not introduced to the church by a black person.  When I started working here in Charleston there was a white woman I started working with who was also a single parent and introduced me to the church.  I did visit one African American church and they appeared to be really involved in helping seniors and kids, which I’m always interested in doing.  After my first visit at this church, I was approached, not to join the church or meet people, but if I wanted to create my own business.  “Sure,” I said, “why not.”  Didn’t know they wanted to add me to their Mary Kay and Amway Cults.  Pissed me off, and I know that was just a few of the women, but it just gave me a creepy feeling and I never went back.  I won’t get into how some black churches are more show than giving, that’s another blog for another day. 

One of the leaders of this single group at my church, Jim, is always introducing me to single men.  One was his brother.  Oh, I forgot to tell you, Jim is white.  I said OK and figure no harm in talking on the phone first.  We were having a great conversation, but then the real stuff came forward.   He didn’t have a car.  You need a car in South Carolina.  The bus service runs sporadically and I don’t how the “Part Time Job at the Asylum” people do it?  That should have been the first strike and my first clue that something was wrong.  My dumb ass self offered to drive to his house and meet him, yeah, I said “dumb ass.”  I hadn’t lived in Charleston long, so it took me a while to find his “house.”  I found it and when I saw it and the neighborhood, I should have run my ass away.  His “trailer” was sitting next to his brother’s (who’s place I had never been to before either).  It was not necessarily a bad neighborhood, but his trailer was not quite complete.  He saw me and waved me to come around the back, like I said: I should have run my ass away.  No, I had never met him, just talked on the phone with him and that should have been the clue to run away fast, but no, my "dumb ass," ran right into.
Once around the back, I took the wood and run down steps entrance into the trailer and once inside, I saw no living room, just a room filled with paint cans, brushes, drop cloths and a small kitchen to the side which had not been used or cleaned. At least I think it was a kitchen, I saw a stove, not connected, but a stove, dirty sink, half stabled cabinets and it really looked like part of the floor was missing.  A few steps to the right and we were in his bedroom, which was used as the living/TV room and I sat on a mattress and box spring which also was not the cleanest either.  What the hell was I thinking?  I sat on that bed for two minutes and asked that we go outside and talk.  He talked alright, but the wrong words.  He said he just got the trailer and was working on.  Sure, he was!!!  He talked about other things, but hell, I was half paying attention by this time.  A half hour later, it took me that long to gather my thoughts because I was not feeling good and having some serious, serious PMS issues, the kind where you change into a werewolf.  Also, not in the mood for bullshit and this was bullshit.
This man was about 5 feet tall, (I’m 6 feet tall), big eyes and dirty white.  Not trailer park trash or a bubba, just messy. You know those Hawaiian bobble dolls that bobble back and forth on your dashboard inside your car?  He looked like that doll, just jittery and bobbing back and forth with those wanna be blue eyes.  Not a serial killer look, I could kick his ass if he was, just a doll going back and forth shaking and taking smack.  He talked about how his ex-wife did him wrong and he can’t see his kids and due to a DUI, he can’t get a car nor drivers license.  I finally listened to the rest of his story for a hot minute, made an excuse and got the hell out of there and never called him again.  Was that the end of Jim’s match making try outs?  Oh hell no, he tried again.  This one was another damn loony.
Will continue this story later.  Now on to books. I volunteered at the John Island Friends of the Library Book sale on July 20. Below are some of the books I brought for me, neighbor kids and to fill my “Bring Your Child to Work” day book bags for next year.  Like McDonald’s says, “I’m Lovin’ it!”
KATHERINE PATERSON - THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS - $5.99 
GARTH NIX - THE FALL (SEVENTH TOWER #1) - PAPERBACK $7.99
KAREN ENGLISH - FRANCIE - $7.99
Francie

 PATRICK CARMAN - THE LAND OF ELYON #2: BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THORNS
The Land of Elyon #2: Beyond the Valley of Thorns




ELVIRA WOODRUFF - THE SUMMER I SHRUNK MY GRANDMOTHER - PAPERBACK - The price is, to me, too high, so look for it at your local library or your Friends of the Library Book Sales 

 The Summer I Shrunk My Grandmother

PATRICK CARMAN - THE 39 CLUES BOOK 5: THE BLACK CIRCLE - $7.40

The 39 Clues Book 5: The Black Circle



Got to get one in for Black History Year
JILL NELSON - FINDING MARTHA'S VINEYARD AFRICAN AMERICANS AT HOME ON THE ISLAND - HARDCOVER 19.99 - 

Now I saw this book on face book and could not believe it.  It's actually selling on Amazon for a new one, $999.99.  Maybe it's worth it, but I doubt it!!  The used price is $29.78

CATHY MIDDLETON - GIRL, GET THAT CHILD SUPPORT -
 Girl, Get that Child Support



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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Damn good looking men at the PGA


NUMBER 126

Another volunteer job, this time at the PGA Championship at the Ocean Course, Kiawah Island, South Carolina the week of August 5.  I went to training on Saturday and it was the first time I have been to Kiawah Island.  It also took me about an hour to drive there. I went down a long two lane road with beautiful Moss-covered trees.  

Various homes sitting back from the road, some nice, some farms and others 
looking empty.  I enjoyed the drive, but when I arrived at the Island, I could not believe how beautiful it really is with villas, beaches and one of the most extreme golf courses in the world.  Large and beautifully designed homes; with landscaping that’s out of this world and awesome beaches.  It was an amazingly charming drive and I loved it. 

Got to the Golf shop where I would be working and there were people everywhere doing everything to get ready for Sunday.  The cashier training was short and afterwards, I met a few of the Library board members also volunteering and we had lunch.  Got my hat, shirt and passes and was ready to go.  Started on Tuesday and noticed on my drive that traffic was getting heavy.  Not too much, just heavy.  My first day was calm and I got a chance to see some of the golfers practice.  Tiger looked good with his cute self.  As you can tell, he was the only golfer I really knew, but the others, at least to me, practiced well.   Some of the pictures are from the PGA website, I couldn't get that close to Tiger, he was surrounded by millions of people.

In order to get there, first after the start of the PGA, no one was allowed on the island, except homeowners or workers.  So you had to park at the next Island, Seabrook, which was really a short hop and skip.  Once there, you parked your car on the largest field next to Fresh Fields Village.  Fresh Fields is a shopping center between Kiawah and Seabrook Islands with expensive stores and a organic grocery store.  Reminds me of the Tyson Corner mall in Tyson, Virginia; expensive and chic.  There were at least 300 greyhound size buses to take you from the parking lot to the Kiawah Ocean Resort, which was about a 25 minute ride, but driving through that island was magnificent to look at.  

Once you arrived, you had your badge scanned and entered in the front. There was the Golf shop and other big tents of the Mercedes dealer, concessions, VIP tents, about three of them (to get in there cost $500, damn!!), and a practice area for the golfers.  The first three days it was hot as hell and a day or two it rained like cats and dogs and some playing was delayed.  I would leave my house at 11am to get to my shift by 3pm.  Why, because each day that went by, the traffic got heavier and heavier and it was already taking me an hour and half, now it was going up.  So I got smart and left at 11am, knowing I would not get off until 8pm and by that time,  the parking lot was close to empty and my drive was just under an hour.


Talk about BIG Money, where I worked at, in the Golf Shop, people were buying $55.00 baby golf shirts, $92.00 golf shirts and etc, while pulling out $1,000 and $100 dollar bills.  Mitten’s (Mitt Romney) people, or close enough.  And the men.  There were single, married, young and old men everywhere.  I kept posting on face book for my single friends to come down and pay the entrance price (ranging from $50.00 to $150.00) and get you a rich man.  The elder woman who was my baggier in the shop was drooling over these men and she was married. 
I just love the PGA!!!



They were tall, short, beer belly, black, white, Hispanic.  Built like one of the Expendables actors, like Arnold, Sylvester, Bruce, only younger.  I even tried to talk to Tiger even though I know he only likes them young, blue eyed and blond.  Couldn’t get a word in about maybe being introduced to my daughter?  Hey, she is young, black and beautiful, But oh, well, I can least look at him, the other golfers and all of those men.  All of those gorgeous men!! 

Isn't he so handsome, didn't win, but he won my heart!!!



I cannot provide you with specifics on how the game was played, because I’m not a fan nor do I know the game well.  After this juncture volunteering at the PGA, I’m beginning to like golf.  If only to look at the men

So much walking to see them play!!!
I really enjoyed myself.  I loved the view, the people I met, the golfers, the paid and non-paid volunteers.  Yes, many people paid the $250.00 to volunteer.  They received a whole tent to gather, rest from the heat, free food provided during their assigned shift, entrance into the tournament every day with two guest passes, a backpack filled with free items, bottle water, coffee each morning and a pretty stripped blue shirt with white cap.  Us non-profit volunteers, got a white PGA shirt, white PGA cap, free food at the concession stands only (hamburgers, hot dogs, ham and cheese sandwich with cheap chips or pretzels and a bottle of soda or water) only on days we were assigned.  Both of us got a $10.00 discount, which was not a big dent, but better than nothing.  The paid volunteers were also drivers of the golfers and their families from the Sanctuary hotel, massively expensive, to and from the course. They would stand outside to hush talkers, take cell phones, which were not allowed, nor cameras allowed, while the gofers were playing and other fun things. Me, the non-paid volunteer, I was working the golf shop. 

It rained a lot!!!
Hey, it was also good because I still got a chance to meet and talk to the gofers and their families, caddies and more men than I could stand.  I’m going to take up golfing.  Why the hell not, more men, more men and more men to look at.  Probably can’t doing anything with them because they are probably looking for a young, brainless child/woman and that ain’t me.




On to books:  

RHONDA JACKSON JOSEPH - Ms. Joseph contacted me via e-mail.  I met her last year at the National Black Book Festival in Houston.  I’m still upset that I missed it, but damn sure going to try for next year.  In 2013, it’s October 24-26 at Fallbrook Church, not the Doubletree Hotell in downtown Houston last year.  I’m thinking too many complaints about parking which caused too many authors to show up and not enough customers. 


It was so nice of her to contact me and of course, I’m going to promote her books from now on until I get her so many customers, she won’t know what to do.  I brought them all and I think you should too.  

CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT - $4.95 - - - Cishawn and Tonzell both know what they want from life. Cishawn wants to be able to maintain her independence while pursuing the career of her heart. Tonzell wants to be able to grow his fledgling business without the distraction of a relationship. When the time is right, each wishes to find the perfect mate: for Cishawn, that would be a man who appreciates and supports her independence. Tonzell wants an old fashioned woman like his Granny to build his life with. The problem is, Cishawn’s quest for independence serves as a blockade between her and potential mates. She cannot be what Tonzell needs her to be, and that is the needy, damsel in distress who is looking to be rescued. Can Tonzell accept not being the noble rescuer?



THE ACT - $1.95 - - - Melanie Durst just about has her nest empty. However, the widowed mother of three grown up daughters soon finds herself the object of the girls' matchmaking schemes. In an effort to waylay these actions,   Melanie joins forces with a handsome regular customer in her store, Tyson Brown. What begins as a farce to get her daughters off her back ends up being the beginning of a beautiful relationship.  Sounds like a Lifetime movie, but those are good too!!



A DOG OR SOMETHING - 99 CENTS - 

A Dog or Something

Tisha Randall wants a boyfriend. When a likely specimen walks into her pet store to purchase “a dog or something”, Tisha nearly turns him away with her disdain for would be animal owners who neglected their charges. Upon further review, Tisha realizes the man had a different type of void in his life, very possibly the same one that afflicts her.

My Best Friend's Girlfriend

Aliyah and Andre have been best friends since childhood. Will they be able to build on that foundation and make a go of a proper romantic relationship?


Got to get one in for Black History Year
You know I volunteer at all kinds of book fairs and I will mention the John Island Book fair next wee, but here’s a book by an African American author I never heard of, until now.
JOHN RIDLEY - LOVE IS A RACKET - Paperback $2.87 (don’t forget about the shipping which is usually $3.99)
Review from Publishers Weekly (It’s not regular that you see African American authors in their pages) and I did not know he wrote so many.  I guess it’s time to start looking for his other books, I love this part of my job!!! 
Ridley's second novel (after Stray Dogs, 1997) brings panache and a kooky premise to a familiar setting. Jeffty is an African American L.A. grifter whose hustles inevitably fail, whose screenplay everyone deems ""beautiful"" and whose plot to wring money from old-time movie mogul Moe Steinberg is as quintessentially Hollywood-gothic as a mansion on Mulholland Drive. Jeffty concocts the scam of a lifetime to enact revenge on his bookie, Dumas, whose goon breaks Jeffty's finger. 


Sadly for him and for us, Dumas proceeds to bump off Jeffty's best chance of making the payback money (and the story's most interesting character): Nellis, a wife-killing junkie who wins fortunes by applying Zen techniques to poker games. Jeffty is left to run his scam using a beautiful street girl, Mona, who bears an uncanny resemblance to James Dean's dead, sometime girlfriend, the real-life movie star Pier Angeli. It seems Steinberg may have orchestrated Dean's death in order to get close to Angeli. Jeffty's sure that when he sees this perfect replica, dressed up in 1950s clothes, Steinberg will refuse her nothing. While the swindle plays out, a cop called Dentphy pressures Jeffty to inform on Dumas. By the time the scam and story reach their climax, the characters don't know whom to trust and neither do readers. The preposterous plot is less important than Jeffty's voice, saturated with classic noir self-mockery and convincingly compromised morals. Even if Ridley ignores such glaring questions as why he keeps a gun he never uses, or why Dumas leaves Jeffty alone long enough to carry out his plan, die-hard fans of neo-pulp will forgive these slips with hardly a second thought.



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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

What a month and a half!!!


NUMBER 125

Yes, yes, yes, I am aware that it has been three weeks since my last blog and for those who take the time to really read my blog, tell their friends about it and buy some of the books I promote: “I love yah, earnestly and fully!!!  Without you, I would not have a blog… Stop talking VaLinda and get to the blog.
Part Time Job at the Asylum
It’s 14 months and so far, no drama, I mean, no drama.  It has been quiet since my last update on my favorite “blogger people.”  Gail is still fussing and cussing, not in front of the store as she has in the past, but to friends and her sister who works with me on the weekends.  She will eventually find a job as soon as she gives up the hate and moves forward.  It would leave her sister without transportation.  So either I or someone else would drive her home (a two bedroom apartment in a very run down neighbor).  She has been living with her sister and their four kids in tow, receiving food stamps, and Medicare.  I can understand that though since this job pays very little for any human being to live on.  I don’t mind giving her a ride when I can.  She is very pleasant and always happy.  I’m not too sure about her selection of men, but I made a few mistakes in my life too, so I cannot judge. 
I don’t know if I ever told you about three people who left a few months ago after only a few weeks.  Three young, black men who I thought had it together.  One just barely graduated from high school and his mother found this job for him.  He wasn’t happy working there and wanted more for his life, as he stated to me repeatedly, so he quit.  Didn’t call, just never showed up again.  The other young man was good looking, intelligent and had a beautiful smile.  He was in tech school and working real hard as well as looking for another part time job.  What I did not know, until he finally found a full time job in maintenance, was that he dropped out after one semester and he has five, 5 kids by two different women!!!  What the hell was he thinking?  He left three weeks after he started, but he at least told the manager.  The third started working on a Saturday and the following Saturday when I returned, he was gone.  Didn’t call or show up to say he was leaving, he just disappeared and he was also living with his mother, his girlfriend and their baby.  It’s me isn’t it!! I asked to be surrounded by so many crazies!
Another woman, a 45 or 50 year old black woman, Cynthia, was working pretty well and I gave up my Friday’s in order for her to have the full 40 hour week.  I didn’t mind, I have a full time job with great benefits so I know how hard it is and I know how much she could have used it.  So what’s the story, she lived near Gail and her sister.  Since Gail was the only one with a car, (A car she got from the “jacked up on the road dealer with mob interest rates) and since Cynthia did not have a driver’s license, she just road along with them.  Cynthia lived with her boyfriend who did not work, but received social security.  Don’t know what and didn’t ask.  The fourth week she worked, she did not show up for two days.  Everyone tried to reach her by phone as well as her apartment to no avail.  Finally, Cynthia called after three days and said she was not able to get a ride.  They did ask why didn’t she call the manager three days ago and someone would have helped, but no real answer.  Later they found that when she was not able to get a ride, her boyfriend would give her a ride on his bike (not motorcycle), his bike.  She would sit on the handle bars and ride the 8 miles on it to work.  It’s me isn’t it?  I started calling her “bicycle babe.”  She didn’t come back and we were told weeks later that she found a job at a nearby hotel in maintenance.  If I mentioned these people before, sorry, but I happen to see one of them at the store and nothing had changed, not a damn thing.
You see, it’s me isn’t it?  Here are some more books from the SC Book Festival in May that I forgot to mentioned. 
YOUNG FOLKS
OLIVE PEART – THE INTRUDERS - $4.31 - - - Six teenagers from the Bronx set out to explore a cave in their neighborhood and end up three centuries into the future. After saving the life of one member of a tribe, the Bronx teens are accepted. Within weeks, however, they find themselves in the middle of a fight for survival. Another tribe living in Manhattan is bent on wiping out the tribe in the Bronx. These teenagers have a unique advantage in this war they know the land. For the six, this becomes a true adventure. However, all too soon their adventure becomes very real. Their dog dies, and now both friends and enemies are getting killed. This was no longer fun this was war!
OLIVE PEART – LINKED - $5.95 - - - After witnessing a violent quarrel between his parents, Greg feels confused, resentful, and angry. His father accused his mother of having an affair fifteen years ago. If it's true, this man may not be Greg's father. Into this mix comes the link. Steve hates his stepfather. He has struggled for years to find out why his mother would choose to remain with a man who physically abuses her. His fear is that his stepfather is actually his real father. Frustrated and angry, Steve goes for his stepfather's gun. 
And then there is the link. Neither boy is able to deal with their family problems. And suddenly, help is available, they switched. Greg is now faced with Steve's family problems and Steve has Greg's. But that's not the least of it, Greg is black and Steve is white. Fearful that no one will believe the switch they struggle to survive.
OLIVE PEART – LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL: TRAITS THAT HELP & TRAITS THAT HURT - $2.99 - - - This no-nonsense text offers strategies for dealing with life after high school. The guide explains positive and negative traits that can help or hinder teens in their post high school life and gives readers tips to identify the path to success and avoid the route that often leads to failure.
TIFFANY A. FLOWERS & JAMES EUGENE - THE ROOFTOP CLUB - $4.00 - - - This is the first adventure of a series that will follow The Rooftop Club. The members have to deal with the bullies of their school. What will happen to the members of the rooftop club?
URBAN FICTION
PAT TUCKER – PARTY GIRL: A NOVEL - $9.99 - - - Twenty-nine-year-old Hope Donovan never pulled the trigger, but a simple choice landed her behind bars and on Texas’ Death Row. Hope accepted a ride from two neighborhood thugs. She was stunned when they were pulled over and all were arrested for a deadly convenience store robbery. Her case was quickly catapulted to an international platform and became a symbol in the heated debate over capital punishment. Everyone weighed in, but when mistakes from her past were dug up, the world was suddenly riveted and confused by two conflicting images of the young mother.
THA GENARALL – FROM THE DIRTY SOUTH TO SAINT LOUIE - $8.95 used paperback - - - I never heard of this author and it appears no one else either.  There are no reviews, so if you get it, please submit a review.  This is what they do show on Amazon, “Is an action packed three part drama with mystery, love and a lesson in morality. “From the Dirty South to Saint Louie” will make you laugh and cry as you are transported through this tale of hard times, good times and the triumph of good over evil, especially the trials of racism. This is a MUST read, once you pick it up you won’t be able to put it down.”  We will see, won’t we?
OMEGIA KEEYS – SINGLE, BLACK, AND GOVERNMENT OWNED - $4.99 - - - Single, Black, and Government Owned is the explosive follow up to O. Keeys's critically acclaimed memoir, Rise and Fall of a Track Star - Rise and Fall of a Track Star - $4.99. After walking away from a rising track career Omegia joins the military and leaves her son at home with her family. For nearly thirteen years she balances being a single parent, dating, and her commitment to Uncle Sam. Single, Black, and Government Owned is an up close and personal view into the life of a woman overcoming the challenges of being a victim of sexual assault. This memoir takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride and will leave you feeling liberated.
OMEGIA KEEYS – KEEPING SECRETS - $99 cents - - - From the reviews I read, it’s a military romance story. 
OMEGIA KEEYS – CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET - $3.99 - - -  Monica has it all, a handsome entrepreneur for a husband, two adorable children, a big house in the suburbs, and a career as the Human Resources Manager at one of the largest insurance firms. Even in a tough economy, Monica lives the American dream. Then, one day, she comes home early from a business trip and finds out her husband is sleeping with another woman. After years of standing in her husband’s shadow, Monica uses his betrayal to jump start the life she always yearned for. In the hunt to find herself, Monica starts dating men on adult dating websites and working as an online cam girl. The excitement and allure of her new-found freedom has her living a double life. She is a career woman by day and vixen in her nightlife. Will Monica be able to keep her secret? Or, will her two worlds collide to bring her secret to life?  Sounds like a Lifetime soap opera movie.
SHAMARA RAY – RECIPE FOR LOVE (ZANE PRESENTS) - $9.99 - - - Some times, I’m a fan of anything by ZANE and others, I can go without.  Will give this one a try.  
All the ingredients for the quintessential guilty pleasure: one part culinary delight, with a dash of romance, and a pinch of suspense, mixed up into a deliciously sexy novel.
Wouldn’t love be easy if it could be followed like a recipe? Jade, a sassy restaurateur has mastered her share of recipes except for one: she can’t figure out the essential ingredients when it comes to love. There is one too many men in the mix. Jade is struggling to come to terms with being dumped by Bryce after four years. She surprises herself by agreeing to a date with Cain, a mere three weeks after their painful break-up. But right as she moves on, Bryce decides that he wants her back. Jade can only hope that his obsessive pursuit of reconciliation doesn’t ruin her own pursuit of happiness.
Jade loves her new relationship with Cain, but her friends aren’t always supportive and she resorts to lies and deception. But just as Jade settles into life with Cain, her lies come back to haunt her and she has no one to blame but herself. She discovers that she must face the error of her own ways before it’s too late to salvage what matters to her most.

ALLISON HOBBS – BIG JUICY LIPS: DOUBLE DIPPIN' 2 (ZANE PRESENTS) - $11.99 - - - Pretty and petite, Misty is always plotting ways to get paid. It’s time to step up her game, and the bossy little diva comes up with an innovative plan to showcase Brick’s attributes to an affluent and freaky clientele. Big, muscular, and thuggish, Brick is so weak for Misty, he’s unable to refuse any of her outlandish get-money schemes.  The money’s rolling in like crazy and life couldn’t be better until Misty falls hard for a man who looks exactly like her ex-lover, Shane. It’s bad enough that his name is Dane, but even more remarkable, he has Shane’s pantie-dropping good looks and his deliciously kissable, big juicy lips.  So, what’s Misty going to do about her money-maker, Brick? Can she juggle two men? Or will she have to make the ultimate choice between money and love?  I don't know, I really don't know about this one, but I will promote my authors.
SUZETTA PERKINS – AT THE END OF THE DAY (ZANE PRESENTS) - $9.99 - - - Beautiful Denise Thomas is going to finally marry the love of her life, the man she should have married in the first place. Harold is the cousin of her ex-husband, Marvin Thomas, and he’s also her baby’s daddy.
Sylvia and Kenny Richmond, Mona and Michael Broussard, Claudette and Tyrone Beasley, Trina and Cecil Coleman, and Rachel and Marvin Thomas—the ex-husband, come to New York to witness the beautiful wedding ceremony of Denise and Harold. They aren’t the only witnesses; Michael Broussard runs into an old friend, Dr. Madeline Brooks, at the reception. Michael and Madeline were classmates in medical school, but it appears that they have been more than book buddies. It doesn’t take Mona, Michael’s wife, long to break up the happy reunion.
The Thomases’ wedding day is one to remember, but what no one knows is that Denise has discovered a lump in her remaining breast and the happy couple’s new life together may be short-lived. At the end of the day, all that matters is the love and support of family and friends.
SUZETTA PERKINS – BETRAYED: A NOVEL (ZANE PRESENTS) - $9.99 - - - Nineteen years after she was raped, Mimi Bailey makes a desperate attempt to protect her secret when she returns to the scene of the crime.
Setrina “Mimi” Bailey is carrying a nineteen-year-old secret that she’d like to remain hidden forever. However, a move to Durham, North Carolina, threatens to expose her secret and forever disrupt the lives of those she’s protected from the truth all those years.
Mimi Bailey was raped by Victor Christianson, her best friend Brenda’s fiance, while they were in college. Now, Mimi’s daughter, Afrika, who is eighteen years old and college bound, wants to further her education at the same college where her mother still bears the scars of the crime. Mimi is unsuccessful in changing Afrika’s mind. And when Victor gets wind that Mimi is back in the area and has a daughter who looks very much like his own, he stops at nothing to chase them out of town and eliminate the reminder of his infidelity.  A complex tale of mystery and suspense, Betrayed explores the fine line between passion and power and what we’ll do to protect the ones we love
CHRISTIAN FICTION
WANDA B. CAMPBELL AND OTHER AUTHORS – HOME AGAIN: STORIES OF RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS - $1.99 - - - Home Again is a compelling journey into the relationships that matter most: family, friends and self. Each story is founded on natural love, but will require the Father s love to heal the brokenness. Travel with husbands and wives, brothers, sisters, friends and families as they maneuver through life's hurts and betrayals while leaning on a power greater than themselves.
WANDA B. CAMPBELL - ILLUSIONS - $6.99 paperback - - - After three years of marriage, Denise Hightower discovers that her husband, Pastor Bryce Hightower, has an addiction; one that has plagued him for 17 years. Pastor Hightower’s subsequent denial and casual attitude toward his addiction jeopardizes not only his marriage, but impairs his ability to effectively preach the gospel. Following the biased advice of her mother and yielding to pressure from her husband, Denise agrees to keep his addiction a secret, although her self-esteem plummets. Denise’s life as the perfect First Lady unravels at the seams following the revealing of a family secret and betrayal at the hands of her best friend. Self-centered and determined to uphold his pastoral image, Bryce is oblivious to his wife’s emotional state. Convinced that he can overcome his little problem on his own, he rejects the spiritual help God sends him. When confronted with the addiction by a parishioner, will he be able to come clean with himself, God, and his congregation?
TYORA M. MOODY – WHEN RAIN FALLS - $8.49 - - - First her mother, then her detective husband Frank and now her best friend Pamela Coleman: Murder keeps striking down those who Candace Johnson loves most, and now she faces a terrible crisis of faith. Enter Detective Darnell Jackson. He’s determined to track down Pamela’s killer, but he’s going to need Candace’s help. In Darnell, she sees a chance for justice in Candace, he sees a beautiful, dynamic woman who desperately needs God in her life. As Candace reluctantly opens up about some unsavory aspects of her friend’s life, Darnell starts to see disturbing connections between Pamela’s killing and Frank’s. But the culprit is still out there, and if Candace and Darnell can’t put the pieces together soon, they may be the next victims!
DWAYNE RENAL SIMS - Founder of the Negro League Legends Hall Of Fame.  Check out his website Legends@nllhof.org and tell me what history you know about the Negro League.
Got to get one in for Black History Year
RALPH RICHARD BANKS – IS MARRIAGE FOR WHITE PEOPLE: HOW THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MARRIAGE DECLINE AFFECTS EVERYONE - $12.99 - - - I got to repeat this since there's been so much talk lately of why woman can't find a man and that relationships are not lasting as they should.  What do you think?
A quote from the author. “I hope through this book to extend and elevate the conversation about the decline in marriage among African Americans. While the book takes the reader inside the lives of college-educated black women, it also brings into view the broader economic and cultural shifts that have transformed the terrain of intimate relationships for everyone.

I highlight one development in particular in which black women not participated: interracial marriage. Even as they have the fewest viable potential partners within their group, black women lead the most segregated intimate lives in the nation. That's the issue at the heart of this book: Why haven't more black women found love across the color line? I explain why black women would benefit themselves and their race if they did so.”
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