Brenda Stallone and Kayla Worthington were the best of friends and roomies. Two peas in a proverbial pod. Well, that's at least what it looked like. Kayla was all girl and Brenda was the plain Jane of the two. Things were going well for these two opposites. Kayla was seeing a new guy and Brenda spent her evenings in front of the television having a glass of wine. They seemed content until that stupid tube of crimson lipstick found its way into their lives. Some say, "Don't judge a book by ...

Leaving was the only thing Mavis Butler could do after speaking words she refused to recant. The need to find a haven away from the soul-shattering poverty which threatened to destroy the very fabrication of her spirited disposition was uppermost on her mind. Despite her desire to stay in a place of familiarity, she finds the strength to escape, pack her bags and never look back.Ed Proctor spent his life running away from his abusive father until one-afternoon shifts the very found...

Short Story Maven presents a collection of short, eerie stories that will leave you with a sense of unease. The year is 1858, and Sary and Bet Duncan, two mulatto slave girls on Willow Valley plantation, struggle with the concept of freedom. One hundred sixty-one years later, Kayla Shire discovers that she doesn't know her roommate, Brenda Stallone, like she thinks she does. Two years later, Genevieve Graves, a burnt-out third-grade teacher, wishes her students would just bury the hatchet ...

Coco June and Melanin: Poems from a Black Woman's Diaspora is a compilation of social justice poetry and short stories that give life to Black women's narrative. You will find yourself lifting your fist in solidarity when you explore the experiences of Black women who are living in marginalized communities, but not living marginalized lives. They are powerful, they have a voice, they are political, and move like no others do. These are the stories from and about Black women.Endorse...

Nezzie Fergerson came to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania looking for solace from her life of deprivation and poverty in the south. Arriving in Pittsburgh was an eye-opening experience. There she found that pushing through her painful past wasn't going to be as easy as she suspected. Nezzie was drawn to the nightlife and found comfort in slinging drinks in a local nightclub. A life of obscurity was the life she was looking for, at least that's what she thought.Mathias Whaley was good-looki...

It's 1968, and Nezzie Fergerson, a lonely cocktail waitress at Copper Pipe Lounge, finds herself in a new city with a new job and lofty aspirations to find peace and contentment. Nezzie meets the man of her dreams, Mathias Whaley, a hard-working steelworker; even though he seems to be perfect, her feelings of pain and self-doubt hold her back. The young independent loner moves from the past and into Mathias' waiting arms, only to find the road to love and healing is going to be a bumpy one...

I have always considered Hamilton, Ohio home. It is were I was born, raised and been through a struggle, yet I still consider it home. I was that one child. That one child who, despite circumstances, pain and sorrow, have preservered and triumphed. While they may not be what you would call triumphs, they are still mine and that through it all - I stand tall and confident in who I am and I LOVE ME and all that I am. This is my story. And for all the time that a story was told about myself, ...

“Amazing…I was completely surprised by the ending of this beautifully told and written book.” —Reese Witherspoon“A triumph of historical fiction” (The Washington Post), an instant New York Times bestseller, and a Reese’s Book Club pick, set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.1950s Philadelphi...

Everyone has that moment—the realization that adulthood has arrived, like a runaway train, and there's no getting out of its way. From the hit Tumblr blog of the same name, F*ck! I'm in My Twenties perfectly captures the new generation currently testing the waters of post-college reality. Quick-witted and self-deprecating, the author pens irreverent missives, DIY diagrams, illustrations, and tongue-in-cheek checklists that chronicle her experience as a twenty-something living in t...

In Old School, book 10 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney, life was better in the old days. Or was it?That’s the question Greg Heffley is asking as his town voluntarily unplugs and goes electronics-free. But modern life has its conveniences, and Greg isn’t cut out for an old-fashioned world.With tension building inside and outside the Heffley home, will Greg find a way to survive...

The beautiful cover art, "Shared Knowledge" by Charles Bibbs, frames the anthology These Black Bodies Are.... This collection provides snapshots of the human condition in melanated skin and kinky hair from established and emerging writers and artists in the Inland Empire and Los Angeles area, reaching throughout the diaspora. It is an exploration of eight movements: hopeful, mindful (mental health), mystical, enlightened (education), bodacious, bearing witness, eclectic, and trans...

1941, Mulberry Lane, London. War rages but new arrivals bring new hope. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Cathy Sharp.Life is hard for all on Mulberry Lane as the war rages into yet another year. Desperate times push people into dangerous situations.Menacing shadows lurk on dark street corners, threatening the safety of those who are alone and vulnerable.When Peggy's twins are born early, Maureen and Nellie are there to lend a helping hand. The mo...