From Sister Wives and Big Love to The Book of Mormon on Broadway, Mormons and Mormonism are pervasive throughout American popular media. In Latter-day Screens, Brenda R. Weber argues that mediated Mormonism contests and reconfigures collective notions of gender, sexuality, race, spirituality, capitalism, justice, and individualism. Focusing on Mormonism as both a meme and an analytic, Weber analyzes a wide range of contemporary media produced by those wi...

Age is just a number, and whoever said that full-figured women don’t know how to bring fire to a relationship was sadly mistaken.Carl Weber brings together two popular Urban Books divas to give readers what they’ve been asking for: passionate, empowering stories about the lives and loves of big, beautiful women. Newly divorced forty-year-old Desa Rae finds herself alone now that her son has gone away to college. She’s taken to her bed, watching life pass her by—until Roc, a twenty-...

In 2004, roughly 25 makeover-themed reality shows aired on U.S. television. By 2009, there were more than 250, from What Not to Wear and The Biggest Loser to Dog Whisperer and Pimp My Ride. In Makeover TV, Brenda R. Weber argues that whether depicting transformations of bodies, trucks, finances, relationships, kids, or homes, makeover shows posit a self achievable only in the transition from the “Before-body”—the overweight figure, the decrepit ...

Dr. Kasen Phillips has the magic touch when it comes to helping his patients who are in dire need of counseling services, but when the love of his life winds up missing in action, Kasen’s life takes a horrific turn for the worse. His office manager, Voncile Harper, is there to lend a helping hand. She’s on a mission to shake Kasen from his misery, by offering him her sweet heat that he can’t resist. It’s not long before Kasen finds himself caught up in a web of Voncile’s lies, and when he ...

In this delightful collection of short stories, embark on a journey of new beginnings and heartwarming adventures. From the charming tale of a young woman finding her voice to the heartwarming story of a family reunited, each page offers a fresh start and a touch of inspiration. With authors like Abbie Farwell Brown, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, and more, this anthology is a perfect companion for a cozy afternoon or a refreshing break from the everyday.

Urban Books publisher Carl Weber brings together two popular literary divas to give readers what they’ve been asking for: empowering stories about big, beautiful women.Desa Rae Jenkins and her twenty-something-year-old playmate are back with drama only the two of them can bring. Roc has been released from prison and he’s trying to show Desa Rae that his past life is well behind him, but his baby mama and his playa-hating uncle want Desa Rae out of the picture. This forty-two-year-o...

Dr. Kasen Phillips has the magic touch when it comes to helping his patients who are in dire need of counseling services, but when the love of his life winds up missing in action, Kasen's life takes a horrific turn for the worse. His office manager, Voncile Harper, is there to lend a helping hand. She's on a mission to shake Kasen from his misery, by offering him her sweet heat that he can't resist. It's not long before Kasen finds himself caught up in a web of Voncile's lies, and when he ...

Spend the 12 nights of Christmas with some seriously sexy men!You could – 1. Run away with Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome to ParisFall for your first love all over againBecome the mistress of an Arabian royalFind a new life and a new love in the PyreneesBe whisked Cinderella-style from penniless single mum to pampered wifeBefriend a moody stranger...

This essay collection focuses on the gendered dimensions of reality television in both the United States and Great Britain. Through close readings of a wide range of reality programming, from Finding Sarah and Sister Wives to Ghost Adventures and Deadliest Warrior, the contributors think through questions of femininity and masculinity, as they relate to the intersections of gender, race, class, and sexuality. They connect the genre's combination of real ...

With his Full Figured series, Carl Weber brings together some of Urban Books’ hottest authors to entertain readers with their stories about the lives and loves of beautiful full-figured women.When Desa Rae Jenkins ended her tumultuous relationship with Roc, it seemed like the appropriate thing to do; but now she’s second-guessing her decision. Roc moved away to Kansas City, leaving street life back in St. Louis up to the brothas who can handle it. He continues to live his life on t...

Focusing on representations of women's literary celebrity in nineteenth-century biographies, autobiographical accounts, periodicals, and fiction, Brenda R. Weber examines the transatlantic cultural politics of visibility in relation to gender, sex, and the body. Looking both at discursive patterns and specific Anglo-American texts that foreground the figure of the successful woman writer, Weber argues that authors such as Elizabeth Gaskell, Fanny Fern, Mary Cholmondeley, Margaret Oliphant,...

Ryan Murphy is a self-described "gay boy from Indiana," who has grown up to forge a media empire. With an extraordinary list of credits and successful television shows, movies, and documentaries to his name, Murphy can now boast one of the broadest and most successful careers in Hollywood. Serving as writer, producer, and director, his creative output includes limited-run dramas (such as Feud, Ratched, and Halston), procedural dramas (such as 9-1-1 and