 After ending a relationship that left her emotionally and physically scarred, Ivy is ready to start fresh by taking a break from relationships and focusing on herself. While avoiding love and relationships she finds comfort in an unlikely place. Her new work assignment may put a wrench in her plans to avoid love. Career driven and workaholic Grant has been under his dad wings since high school preparing to take over the family business. Now that he has become CEO he is determined to expand the company to every major city. His new contract has him focusing less on work and more on love. Never one to shy away from a challenge Grant is instantly attracted to Ivy and will stop at nothing to be with her. Will Ivy open her heart and take a chance on love again or will she continue to keep her heart closed off? CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE EXCERPT
-Prologue- I looked at my phone. Another missed call from my mother. I was racing home from a hotel I reserved for the weekend. I needed a getaway from my life. It was spiraling out of control. I was becoming a prisoner of love. I couldn’t take it anymore. I parked I front of my apartment building and exhaled. I needed to take a hot shower and relax before answering the in answers calls from my parents. I have been keeping this secret from them long enough. Now was the right time to expose the lie I was living. I opened my front door and dropped my keys on my kitchen counter. I turned on the light in my living room and there sat Kingston. I quickly tried to make a break for the front door but I wasn’t fast enough. He grabbed me by my arm and threw me over to my couch. “Where were you?” He asked. I could tell he was upset. His nostrils flared as we waited for my answer. The longer I took the more upset he got. He balled his fists up and punched the wall behind me. “ANSWER ME!” He yelled. “I needed to get away and clear my head. A lot has been going on with us lately.” I struggled to get my sentence out before he started to choke me. He was choking me so hard I turned purple in the face. “Get away? Clear your head? You aren’t going anywhere. You will never find another man to love you the way I have! You hear me Ivy?! No one!” his voice bounced off the walls of my one bedroom apartment. I felt his bare hand come across my face and I couldn’t help but ask why I allowed this to go on for so long. It has been six years of mental and physical abuse. I loved Kingston with all my heart. He was my first love. Since I was 18 he was the only consistent thing going in my life. At first he was my knight in shining armor then he changed. I always kept hope that he would one day become the man I originally fell in love with but I now see that isn’t going to happen. He just recently graduated from college and felt it was time to take our relationship to the next level and move in together. I was slowly coming to terms that our relationship would soon come to an end. I decided to leave for the weekend only telling my best friend, Autumn where I would be. He blew up my phone and my parents causing them to worry and question my whereabouts. “Don’t you ever threaten or try to leave me again. Now get up we are going to my house.” He ordered as he threw my jacket towards me. “No” I said holding my neck. “I am not going anywhere with you. We are done. Leave before I call the police.” I yelled. I had reached my breaking point. No man should ever put his hands on a woman that isn’t love at all. I had to cover bruises causing me to miss work and ghost on my family. I was constantly looking over my shoulder whenever I was out because Kingston would pop up on me whenever he pleased. I was tired of living like a prisoner. I am young and I have so much life to live. Kingston snatched me by my neck and slammed me against the wall. “You aren’t going anywhere.” He said through gritted teeth. Tears began to fall from my eyes. He threw me on the floor and began to kick me in my stomach repeatedly. All I did was lay there and cry until I couldn’t feel or think anymore. I kept telling myself this will be all over soon…
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 Life has a way of going awry when you least expect it, and Khalila Skyers learns this lesson the hard way. In one devastating blow after another, she loses her cosy existence. Then Douglas Blythe overtakes her life like a flood, and she's not equipped to deal with an attraction that seems forbidden and overwhelming. But her body and heart want what they want, and leave her wondering if she ever knew herself at all. Douglas is determined to help Khalila move beyond her obsession with the past and reach for love a second time. No matter how long it takes. No matter the distance. He’s going to prove he's worth the risk. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE EXCERPT
Douglas stared me down until I wanted to look away from his gaze that seemed to cut to the deepest part of me. When he lifted my hand off the table, I relaxed despite the tremor snaking up my arm. Using his thumb, he stroked my skin while he spoke. “Look, we know next to nothing about each other, but don’t presume to tell me what I want. I’m capable of making up my mind on my own.” I was a little of everything—embarrassed, confused, speechless. How could he be so sure I was what he wanted? No matter what he thought, I had too much going on to be adding a relationship to the list. “What are you afraid of, Khalila?” My name on his tongue was a caress that scattered my thoughts. “It’s not that I’m afraid of anything.” I pulled my hand out of his and drank the rest of the water while gathering my thoughts. “My divorce isn’t final yet and…” My mind settled on Amir, who I didn’t want to think about now. Softly, I sighed. “It’s too early to be thinking about a relationship with anybody.” “We’ve gone way past the point of thinking about what’s happening between us. I’m not asking you to marry me, but I’m interested in you.” His voice softened and I had to concentrate to hear his words. “Give me the chance to show you that what we did wasn’t only about sex.” I didn’t know what to say, so I held my silence. His gaze was analytical and he didn’t seem to expect a response. The longer he looked at me, the more my heart rate accelerated. It was ridiculous that at my age any man could get this kind of response from me. “I hope that wasn’t all it was for you,” he said. It took me a few seconds to catch up with him, but I didn’t answer. I was too busy trying not to squirm at the image of him on top of me in his bed. After reading his watch, Douglas smiled. Why, I didn’t know, but it was a genuine gesture that made me want to respond in the same way. “Are you ready?” he asked. Nodding, I got out of my seat. Douglas didn’t crowd me, but let me walk ahead of him. As I wove through the tables, I greeted a few members of the working team, who would also be leaving the hotel today. Once we were out of the restaurant, Douglas touched my arm and directed me toward the elevator. “Aren’t you leaving today?” I asked. “Yes, I’m just making sure you get to where you’re going.” Putting a smile in my voice, I said, “I’m not likely to get lost on my way upstairs.” “I didn’t think so.” He laughed and eased both hands into the pockets of his shorts. “I’m simply doing what any decent man would do.” My cheeky grin conveyed gratefulness and understanding. “Carry on, then.” He nodded and in silence, we walked to the elevator. When it was a few floors away, he faced me. “I want to ask one favor of you.” “What’s that?” “Answer your phone when I call, okay?” He stepped in close, kissed my cheek and then brushed his lips across mine. I sucked in my breath and opened my mouth, wanting more of him, but he stepped back. The elevator opened and he urged me forward with a gentle hand to my back. I walked inside, asking myself what kind of game Douglas was playing. Why would he start something he couldn’t finish, not to mention leave me hot and bothered? As the doors closed, our gazes locked and I swore that man knew exactly what he was doing and the state he’d left me in.  A British composer turns outlaw in Los Angeles in Turn On, Tune Out. Angelica Morgan flouts a computer law that cripples creativity. In L.A., Angelica finds an audience, love, and a passion to stop the insidious law from taking hold in Britain. In the near future of California, artists, who steal time off-line, are considered suspect, criminal, and dangerous. Angelica’s friend, Rosetta, an outspoken painter, cautions the musician about the Stop, Look and Listen law. But Angelica dismisses the warning. . . . CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE EXCERPT
PROLOGUE They say my music makes dogs howl, that it wakes the dead and hates the living. But I don’t hear it that way, and neither do my cohorts. My music resonates the times. It echoes the world: today’s and tomorrow’s. It’s the year 2033. I don’t shut out reality with the gentle plucking of strings or the harmonic rhapsody of an orchestra. No pastoral symphony for me. The city floods into my art: the tripping of car alarms, the whooshing of cars, the wailing of fire engine sirens, the screeching of trucks, the whirring of police helicopters, and the booming of car stereos. These sounds grow the shell into which I drop those of the hearth: the ringing of the telephone, the droning of the television, the clicking of computer keys. These are my instruments along with the piano, the violin, and the rest of the orchestra. Like a musical alchemist, I take ugly sounds and transmute them into art. I restore balance into a life from which it had escaped so long ago that there was no realization of its loss, much less desire for its return. Listeners find a way to make artistic sense out of our discordant lives. I stand guilty of loving humanity, of caring enough for people that I will risk my freedom, of believing that we are the reflection of the Supreme Being so that the risk will not be so great. We have a short time on this earth, the wink of an eye, but life here is not all. We are likely to return again and again before we get it right. Yet, the laws which threw me here into this cold, steel cell were not faith, hope and charity. They were bizarre codes of a skewed society, rules linked to electronic control of people. I didn’t follow them, not out of a spirit of rebellion, but because I led an alternative way of life. I didn’t fit in. I didn’t turn on and tune out. Sometimes I listened to the quiet, which is never that. I’d lie on the carpeted floor of my beach town studio apartment, a bedsit, and listen to the seagulls. Or I’d gaze out the window, over the tops of trees. I lived in the penthouse of a two-story wooden shack, two apartments on each floor. Looking out swelled my heart with elation. I pretended to live in the country. Sometimes I read books, nineteenth- and twentieth-century novels, biographies of artists and composers who lived during a time when artists were not prohibitive, and I read travel tales about faraway places. And always, each morning from four until eight, I wrote music. I arranged my waking and dreaming hours around music, the heart of my life. I couldn’t squeeze in the daily four hours of screen-watching – television or computer – required by the state, not with the job I needed to pay rent and buy food, and the commuting from Long Beach to Century City on clogged Los Angeles freeways. It’s my job that landed me here without music, except in my head, and without a view, except in my memory. Perhaps it’s unfair to blame my job. I could just as well blame people for allowing society to become what it has become, or music for seducing me, or my parents for conceiving me in April and giving birth to a free-thinking Aquarian. I could just as well blame myself. What do you think? You be the judge.  Chance Washington only has a few things on his mind when he embarks on a trip back to his hometown. Completing the assignment for work that’s sending him there in the first place, helping his mom make progress on her fixer-upper home, and catching up with some of his best friends who he doesn’t get to see often enough. What is not a part of those plans is hooking up with one of his best friend’s little sister. But it doesn’t take long for him to realize that just because you walk into a game with a strategy, doesn’t always mean things are going to go as planned.
Londyn Miller isn’t looking for a relationship; a casual fling more her thing after blowing through the limited dating options in her hometown. But when a handsome – familiar - face returns to town for an extended stay, the decision to pursue him for a little fun is an easy one; as long as she’s sure not to let that fun turn into real feelings while also managing to keep it all from her overprotective big brother. Just like Chance, Londyn quickly learns that plans and strategy can only get you so far before you’re forced to make in-game adjustments. And when those in-game adjustments evolve into something neither expected, it becomes a race for the finish line that Chance nor Londyn saw coming… CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE  Train. Fight. Repeat.
That's been Princeton "The Prince" Lattimore's life for as long as he can remember. But when an interruption to his heavyweight champion world comes in the form of an alluring journalist who sees well beyond his undefeated stature, he quickly learns there’s a lot more to life outside of the boxing ring. Write. Submit. Repeat. As a budding journalist, Bella Stevenson is determined to solidify her place as one of the best writers in the game. But when she’s assigned to cover a boxing match – a sport she knows nothing about – she realizes that it’s going to take a lot more than just a good write-up to do so. And once chasing a good story turns into meeting the man of her wildest imagination, her world is quickly turned upside down in more ways than one. Falling for each other proves to be an easy feat. But going the distance becomes the biggest challenge either of them has faced, especially as Princeton discovers who’s really in his corner… CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE  Ambiance – Loving her husband, building her brand, and being there for her girls are the only things that matter to her. But she’s quickly learning that her love is not enough to build a strong, stable marriage. Surrounded by family, friends and business constituents should be enough; yet, she’s all alone. When her love isn’t enough to suffice her husband’s needs, Ambiance considers stepping beyond the vows and taking matters into her own hands. The tragic results will have her running into the arms of the Lord. Naomi – As a teen she made the decision to be a single mother. Choosing to build her life around her daughter has molded and shaped all the decisions she has made until now. Her relationship with her daughter is highly valued and nothing can shake it, not even her daughter’s attempts to grow up. But when her daughter’s so-called “deceased” father comes back, Naomi’s carefully constructed world may begin to crumble. Her efforts to protect her child may be the one thing that pushes her away, and she must decide if she will open herself up to love again. Paige- running from her inner demons she struggles to build a life vastly different than her mother and aunt’s. With a mindset of use or be used, she takes the concept of “love ‘em and leave ‘em” to a new level, and her promiscuous lifestyle is a cause of concern for all those who love her. She doesn’t care whose heart she’s breaking or whose life she’s ruining, it’s all about her. Until it no longer is. Three women are on a journey of self-discovery, as they deal with the fallout from choices made from emotion rather than self-awareness. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE EXCERPT
Married, mother of none. Diva of the fashion consulting world! Personal shopper at Vanilla Rose Boutique and owner of Bleu Diamante Fashions, guaranteed to put your style on top. One hundred seventy pounds of mocha chocolate rolled into five feet and eight inches of woman. Wife of Eric Caldwell, daughter to Alexis (my step-mom) and my father, Jerry Richardson, best friend of Naomi Blankenship and Paige Dougherty. Those were the words most people would use to describe me. But if I were to take out a personal ad, the description would sound more like: emotional, lonely, unloved, desperate thirty-two-year-old woman seeking, no, scratch that…maybe not seeking, but craving, yeah, that was more like it, craving personal attention. Yep, that’s me, Ambiance Lorraine Caldwell. And this is my story… **** I stepped out of Naomi’s car and went to the trunk to remove my bags. While waiting for our friends, Jon and Sharon, to return to the vehicle, I decided to show Naomi what I had purchased in the market earlier. It was taking Jon and Sharon a while to come back with their lunch. Naomi was sitting in her new, navy blue Mustang trying out the Pandora radio feature. She was proud of the features and the horses it sported underneath the engine. We were parked close to a nice, charcoal sports car. Just as I tried to open the back door and swing my big behind in, I accidentally bumped Naomi’s car door against the sports car. Oops. I looked to make sure I hadn’t dented either one. Assured that I hadn’t, I closed the door back and decided to get into the front seat instead. When we first arrived, Naomi had pulled in forward. The car next to us was parked in reverse. The sports car’s passenger side mirror and Naomi’s car door were making it complicated for me to squeeze my booty in. Just as I prepared to slip inside the front passenger door, the driver’s side door of the other car opened and a gentleman stepped out. Uh-oh. My heart began thudding, I knew he was coming to check the damage to his car. I was ready with attitude to check him and let him know there was nothing scratched on his precious vehicle. One day I would have a new, beautiful car to be protective over the way Naomi was about hers and the way I was sure this gentleman was about to be. Not that I shouldn’t have had a newer model car to be proud of, but finances didn’t allow it at the moment. But that was another story. “Excuse me, ma’am.” “Yes?” I questioned, turning around. He was dark-skinned and appeared to be six-foot-three. He smiled a crooked, beautiful white smile at me. I looked at the patio situated just above where we were parked. There was a group of young college students sitting up there who were about to witness me getting checked. I decided to forgo the attitude I planned to toss his way and come humbly, not wanting to create a scene. I was too grown for all this attitude mess anyway, and I definitely didn’t want anyone to witness my impending humiliation. I peeped down into the car, and Naomi was still consumed with her new sound system. “I noticed you when you were standing at the back of the trunk. You’re a beautiful woman, and I just wanted to see if you would be interested in exchanging names and numbers.” Huh? That wasn’t what I was expecting. Was he for real? I was not looking my best today. My long, thick hair was a bit frizzy from the July heat. My waves were not popping. “Well, I don’t think so.” “Why not?” “I’m not looking to get involved with anyone.” “We can just be friends. I really would like to get to know you. I mean, I’ve been sitting in my car for a moment checking you out. It was something about you that captured my attention when you were at the trunk. And no, it wasn’t when you hit my car,” he mentioned with a laugh, after noticing my eyes growing wide. “Sorry about that,” I mumbled in embarrassment. “No worries. Here, just take down my number, think about it, and if you feel cool, give me a call. Just friends, nothing more. I promise.” I looked down at my phone and contemplated. Friends? Uh-uh, I couldn’t do it. “No, I don’t think so. But I’m really complimented by the attention,” I replied. “Well, can you just take my business card? My name’s Nick, by the way. Can I at least know yours?” he asked, handing me his card, which I promptly slipped into my pocket. I would toss it in the trash can later. I didn’t want to be rude. “I’m Ambiance.” “Hmm, Ambiance, I like that. It fits a beautiful, mocha woman such as yourself. I hope you change your mind,” he said in a rich, deep bass voice. Looking into his slanted, dark-colored eyes was like looking into a pool of sin. I could tell with his one gaze what he wanted to do to me. Yes, I knew I needed to end this conversation quickly. He looked like the devil in a suit. I wasn’t interested in getting involved, but I wasn’t blind, either. I would be foolish if I tried to deny that I found him very attractive. His sexy voice and fine body, and just the way he looked at me, let me know it wouldn’t be nothing like a friendship. No, he definitely wanted more. “Have a great day, beautiful,” he said by way of goodbye. He touched my wrist lightly, and I felt my heart flutter. It made me think of all the things I had been desiring but could not find in my life. Any man who had the power to awaken every sensual nature of my innermost being at just the touch of my wrist was no good for me. I waved goodbye to him and turned back to the car. Jon and Sharon chose that moment to walk up with their bags in hand. We were headed back to the office park they worked in. Jon and Sharon worked in the Imperial building with Naomi. I worked in a little boutique across the street from the office park. Because it was such a beautiful day for a luncheon, we had decided to eat at a little park near our workplace. They were chit-chatting a hundred miles a minute. We had all shared lunch time whenever we could for the last three years. Jon and Sharon worked together at the same consulting firm. They had met Naomi when their office building had an after-hours soiree for the Christmas holiday one year. Naomi and I? We went way back, like high school way back. And she had introduced me to the two of them. They hopped into the car, and I took over the front seat where Jon had previously been sitting. “Ambiance, who was that fine chocolate specimen you were talking to?” Jon asked, turning to stare out the car as it peeled out of the parking lot. “Some guy talking about a business deal. He was giving me information from his business card about an upcoming seminar in real estate. Nothing much, nothing I’m interested in,” I lied. “Hmph, looks like he was definitely interested the way he was eyeing you and kept looking back over his shoulder after he walked off,” Sharon stated. “Whatever. Come on, Naomi. You ready to roll?” “Yeah, girl,” she stated, putting her car in reverse. “It’s cool, girl, you can keep it real with us, you know,” Jon stated. “Yeah, Ambiance. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with having male friends. After all, Jon’s our friend,” Sharon stated. “That’s different, and y’all know it. Jon is gay, and he isn’t interested in getting with any of us intimately. Sharon and Jon, you two are the devil. Don’t be encouraging her to get mixed up in foolishness. Plus, Ambiance is married, and I’m sure the man isn’t interested in being friends with you and your husband,” Naomi chided, looking at me. My stomach turned at the mention of my marriage. I had no business being attracted to him, or did I?  School may be out, but class is still in session…
After a hectic school year with her classroom of first graders, Nova Grant is desperate for a break. So when her best friend invites her to spend the summer down in Miami, taking the vacation is a no-brainer. The only thing is, her best friend’s husband had the same idea, inviting his friend Guy Thompson to stay in the condo Nova was already guaranteed. Set up or accidental… Fate or coincidental… the attraction between the two is undeniable from day one. But with their days under the sun numbered and plenty of lessons to learn between them, Guy and Nova still find themselves teetering the line of lust and love, even if it’s only for the summer… CLICK HERE TO READ AN EXCERPT CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE  What happens to a marriage when an 80s metal band moves in? Winner of the 2016 Human Relations Indie Book Award, Beside the Music answers the question: can you be one man's wife and another man's muse? Brenda and Tim are dealing with enough chaos in their marriage: a run for public office, threat of getting fired at work, and a snooty meddling mother in law. Things get even more complicated when 80s metal sensation Hydra moves into their home to record their comeback album--and soon they also have screaming fans on the front lawn to contend with. Will Brenda and Tim's marriage survive?
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE  The music industry has always been her world, but it almost crushed his…
International superstar Zalayah is desperate to break out of her popstar box with a completely new image, a new look, and most importantly, a new sound. But after years of working with some of the biggest producers in the land, she knows she must go beyond the usual to get exactly what she’s looking for. Gabriel has sworn off being in the music industry regardless of how talented he is as a musician. But when one of the biggest popstars in the world comes knocking at his door with a proposition he can’t refuse, his initial disdain quickly becomes a battle of the head and the heart as he finds himself not only falling under the guise of the industry but also falling for her. Creating the perfect harmony in the studio is an easy feat. But when outside influences find their way inside, it’s only a matter of time before things become too hot to handle… CLICK HERE TO READ A SAMPLE CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE  Knox Riley is at the top of his game when it comes to the world of professional choreography. In fact, there’s only one other person in the field who even comes close to matching his stature.
Amerie Lambert. Knox’s eye has been on Amerie since the day she first auditioned for one of his tours. And while the arrangement that developed between them soon after might’ve ended in disaster, Knox feels he’s being given a chance to redeem himself – and his personal life, in general - when he and Amerie are casted for the reality show, Choreographer Lane. Too bad Amerie doesn’t see it the same way. After avoiding Knox Riley for years, she’s completely apprehensive to anything that involves even being in the same room as him. But when he shows up to her office with an offer she can’t refuse, she quickly finds herself in a predicament that involves old desires being exposed, unresolved feelings resurfacing, and new boundaries being tested. Once the line is crossed, there’s no turning back. But just because an encore is called for doesn’t guarantee it will be pretty… (Note: This book is a spinoff of, A Rehearsal for Love. While it can be read as a standalone, it does contain major spoilers for that title.) CLICK HERE TO READ A SAMPLE CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE |
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