Showing results by narrator "Susan Spain" in All Categories

Nia Simone Bijou is a woman who has it all - and is driven by the desire for more. Born in Trinidad, reared in Los Angeles, living in Atlanta, Nia is a writer, a thinker, and a woman in conflict. She's dealing with two sides of her Gemini self, feeling as if there are two women living inside her, both struggling for domination.

The recipe for forgiveness begins with an open heart and a full belly. Sisters Rose Tillman and her sister Marvina Nash haven't spoken in decades—not since Rose sent Marvina $40 to register their business and Marvina used that money for her own personal purposes. Now retired, Rose wants to open the restaurant they'd once dreamed of. But, to her horror, Rose realizes she's forgotten their mother's secret spice mix recipe, known to only one other person in the world.

Critics have compared her work to that of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, but J. California Cooper has a warm, witty style that’s definitely her own. Each of her short stories is a gem of downhome wisdom, polished with a bit of gossip, some heartbreak, and lots of humor.

Depressed from the complications of a head injury, Serena Manchester seeks solitude in the hometown she left almost 25 years before. Unknown to Serena, her hometown's landscape has changed and unseemly elements have seeped into the quaint Southern seaport town.

Mayme and Katie have become friends, which is unusual given that their friendship has spouted at the end of the Civil War and that Mayme is a former slave, while Katie is the daughter of a plantation owner. Both girls have been orphaned by the war, left alone on Katie's family plantation. The land is the one thing they still share, and they don't want to leave it. But if anyone finds out the two of them live there alone, they will be forced to move.

Edited by two-time National Book Award winner and Women’s Prize shortlisted-author Jesmyn Ward, a timely and groundbreaking collection of essays and poems about race in America. In this best-selling collection of essays and poems, Jesmyn Ward gathers a new generation of writers and thinkers to speak on race. From Claudia Rankine to Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, Kiese Laymon to Carol Anderson, these voices shine a light on the darkest corners of American history, wrestle with the struggles the country faces today and imagine a better future.  

With her besties in the Big Easy, Nydia Santiago is second-guessing staying behind in New York City. So when Jasmine Washington calls with the exciting news that she's getting married, Nydia happily rushes to New Orleans to be her maid of honor. Once she visits the lovely Garden District estate her friends are transforming into a luxury inn, she's wistful to join them in their venture. Then she meets the sexy engineer in charge of the renovation. With his seductive Southern drawl, Lamar Pierce could make her believe in love again.

Sylvia Blackwell has it all, or so she thinks. She and her handsome husband, Garrett, are the epitome of success: an immaculate house of their dreams, a beautiful and talented 17-year-old daughter, flourishing careers, and nearly 20 years of perfectly wedded bliss. Just as they are making plans for their vow renewal celebration, a call in the middle of the night interrupts their picture-perfect lives. Now Sylvia has to deal with the reality of Garrett's dead mistress and a love child she never knew about.

The Power Playbook is the empowering guide to forging professional success, establishing financial independence, and finding balance for a truly satisfying life. The author of the number one New York Times best seller The Love Playbook, La La Anthony is again opening up her playbook to share her no-nonsense advice. La La is a self-made entrepreneur with a successful fashion line, a cosmetics company, a reality show, and a budding acting career to her credit.

The small town of Belle Haven, Louisiana, is still struggling with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill, and its residents will do whatever it takes to get it back on its feet. So when local English teacher Carissa Melody Wayne is asked to appear on the weight-loss reality show Losing to Win, she agrees. She doesn't realize that others from her past will be joining her, including her high school nemesis, an acquaintance who's been nursing a long-time crush on her - and most shocking of all, Carissa's ex-fiancé...

Security expert Ryan West’s worst fears come to life when hotel CEO Nadia Shelton is pushed in front of a taxi and nearly killed. Someone will do whatever it takes to find the brother Nadia thought was dead, and the only way Ryan can protect her as they uncover the truth is to stay strictly professional. But the sparks igniting between them are nearly impossible to ignore.

With a string of successful novels, Sherryle Kiser Jackson has won a reputation as a fresh voice in Christian urban fiction. In Land of Promiscuity, her mother’s death prompts Rebi Lewis to return to her hometown after years away. It’s not long before all the insecurities of her youth begin to resurface and Rebi finds herself slipping back into her old pattern of promiscuity. But then she reconnects with her former friend Will, and together they discover a long-buried secret - one that will test their capacity for forgiveness.

Venus has the chance of a lifetime to take a trip alone. No children, no husband. The women's retreat promises daily massages, meditation, and divine meals prepared by a top chef. What she doesn't see in the ad are locked gates, militia-style security guards, and a mysterious driver who isn't who he appears. The trip she deserves turns into a dangerous, heart-pounding, sexy adventure she will never forget.

Joy, a work of both romance and tragedy, is bound together by the unshakable faith of its protagonist. Anya Mitchell seems to have it all - a profitable financial services business, a handsome fiance, and an expensive diamond ring. But there are unwelcome doubts lingering in her mind. Danger also looms on the horizon, as a stalker lurking at the edge of her life draws closer.

While singing hymns in church back home in Georgia, Deborah Anne Peterson was confident about the role God played in her life. Performing her way to stardom, she is now having a tough time finding time for prayer and meditation. In the world of glitz and glamour, Deborah Anne attends the hottest parties, wears the latest fashions, and makes more money than she ever dreamed of. So why is she feeling so lonely?

She's generous, kind, and compassionate - yet Delilah Grey will forever be an outcast in the small seaside town of Camden Beach, Maryland. She takes in women shattered by abuse, poverty, illness, or events beyond their control. But no matter how far she's come or how many she's helped find their way back, there is no safe place for Delilah. Acquitted of her rich husband's mysterious death decades ago, she lives in her beautiful mansion consumed by secrets - and mistakes she feels she can never atone for...until she takes in desperate mother Tracey Walters and her two young children.

Award-winning author of the national best-seller Tumbling, Diane McKinney-Whetstone is an immensely talented author of African American fiction. It is 1965 in Philadelphia and Clarise, Finch, and their three adolescent daughters are living a financially privileged life. But when Finch’s business falls on hard times and Clarise suffers a mental breakdown, their idyllic world is shattered and their daughters are endangered.

Winner of multiple literary prizes, Laura Castoro pens novels in genres as diverse as contemporary fiction, Westerns, and period romance. Love on the Line stars unforgettable mother and daughter Thea and Jesse Morgan. Recently widowed, Thea has become a successful business woman and is now rekindling a love affair with a former star athlete-turned pastor. Meanwhile, Jesse struggles with her mixed race heritage as she tries to fit in at college.

Three siblings, Sydney, Gina, and Rick, each have full lives, complex relationships, and serious personal problems. But when their mother suffers a debilitating stroke, her need for extensive care forces them to examine the strength of the bonds between them. A Blackboard best-selling author, Roby tackles several contemporary issues in this moving novel, including marital violence and childhood abuse.

After losing her grandmother, her home, and all her worldly possessions in the storm, Monique Deveraux has all but given up on life. Then at an evacuee shelter, a wealthy woman takes her in and introduces her to a billionaire businessman, starting Monique on a whirlwind of success. But something is lurking in the shadows that could take everything away again. In the chaos after the storm, a convict walked out of jail and blended in with the dishevelled evacuees - and she was looking for revenge when she met Monique.