Black Hearts White Minds: A Novel by Mitch Margo

The year is 1964 and Carl Gordon is an ill-prepared New York Assistant U.S. Attorney who has lied his way into a transfer to Stockville, Alabama, where he is supposed to monitor and enforce the Civil Rights Act.

In a matter of days, the Ku Klux Klan takes aim at him, the outside agitator. Carl has agreed to represent Oleatha Geary, a black family matriarch who has inherited a mansion in an all-white, race-restricted neighborhood. Carl and Oleatha are engulfed in litigation that turns deadly. It’s anyone’s guess who will survive multiple assassination attempts, let alone whose integrity will remain intact.

Carl’s 12-year-old son, John, is unwelcome on Stockville’s white basketball team because of who his father is, and it seems there’s nowhere else for him to play. But ever-resourceful and impulsive Carl makes other plans for John, unwittingly putting John’s life, and the life of his new teammates, at risk. Ultimately, the young players don’t care as much about color lines as they do the lines on the basketball floor.

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Praise for Black Hearts White Minds and Mitch Margo

“As I read Black Hearts White Minds, I was reminded by turns of Harper Lee, Willie Morris, and John Grisham. Like Grisham, Mitch Margo is an attorney; like Morris, he’s a former journalist, and like Lee, his writing is evocative with a moral center straight and true.”
-Richard H. Weiss, Former Daily Features Editor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

“The early sixties are often thought of as a time of lost innocence. Margo reminds us that the era was anything but innocent in the American south. His novel rings with authenticity and his characters’ struggles in the fictional town of Stockville, Alabama foretell the problems we still face today. Stockville is not really so far from Ferguson.”
-Bill McClellan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

Dangerous Consequences by Lisa Renee Johnson

Dangerous Consequences by Lisa Renee Johnson

Lisa Renee Johnson

“Hold on for the ride of your life…with unimaginable consequences.” ‑‑Mary B. Morrison

 

Debut author Lisa Renee Johnson delivers an edgy, sexy novel about a man who has it all—until one night changes everything…

Dubbed the “  Sex Doctor”   on his local radio show, psychologist Donathan James advises callers on their sexual issues. With his gorgeous and brilliant neurosurgeon wife, Sydney, at home and women flirting with the hot doctor everywhere he goes, Donathan is living the high life. But when he wakes up naked and drugged in a hotel room, with no memory of the evening before, the doctor suddenly has problems of his own.

Soon, Donathan’s sexy stalker is sending him photographic evidence of what they did that night, turning up in his office to rant about her unstable past, and demanding they meet again and again. All Donathan wants is his life back—and for his wife not to find out. But when the relentless stranger goes too far, it leads him to discover his beloved wife has secrets of her own. Now, to save their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. James will have to hold on tight to survive the bumpiest ride of their lives.

 

Praise for Dangerous Consequences

“Dangerous Consequences by Lisa Renee Johnson, Waiting to Exhale meets Fatal Attraction!  Johnson makes a stunning debut with a well-written, fast-paced, suspenseful novel full of engaging, realistic characters and dramatic twists at every turn.  Readers will be engaged until the shocking end, but not to worry – book two is in the works.” —RTBookReviews, 4 Stars

 

“Hold on for the ride of your life . . . with unimaginable consequences.” —Mary B. Morrison

 

“An edgy tale eager to be told. The pace is blazing hot!” —Victor McGlothin

 

“A fast-paced, suspense-filled, dramatic curve ball that will keep you turning the pages.” —Sistah Friend Book Club

 

Purchase Dangerous Consequences by Lisa Renee Johnson
https://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Consequences-Lisa-Renee-Johnson/dp/149670794X

 

 

Charge of an Angel by Linda Diane Wattley

Charge of an Angel by Linda Diane Wattley

LOVE AND REDEMPTION SERIES – The truth will set you free beginning with “Charge of an Angel.”  Because you are silent does not mean the world does not hear you screaming.  “Charge of an Angel” the first book of the “Love and Redemption Series” is about getting to understand God, love, sex and spirituality. Children grow up eventually and we they pack their clothes to leave home; the world has no clue what they are carrying in their suitcases. 

 

Charge of an Angel  (Love and Redemption Series Book 1) by Linda Diane Wattley

My name is Leona Tillard and I need your help. You see, I have been spending my whole life trying to know who I am. I was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, and a product of a temporary single-parent home, I was left without some pertinent information that could have possibly told me who I am. Eventually, still a child, my family structure evolved into a blended family situation. In silence, I cried far more than I laughed.

Don’t get me wrong, there was much love for me. I learned early in life that I was a very special little girl. People loved being in my presence, but more than anything, my body was always desired. I didn’t want for anything, life was good to me, I just didn’t understand love and what is considered being a normal human being. This is where I need your help. Will you listen to me as I tell you my story about my life? Tell me who really loved me. Am I really an angel or a freak of nature? Your help will be highly appreciated. In return, I promise to entertain you from beginning to end. Below find one of my thought processing moments. It came during a time I needed understanding. Until we meet, enjoy!

My body was betraying me in the worst way. “Oh, God, help me! I face you now in my naked and weakened state and beg you to save me.” I prayed silently.”

 

 

Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars By Cold Coffee

Charge Of An Angel is book one in Linda Diane Wattley’s series titled Love and Redemption.

This is an important quote directly from the book: “Charge of an Angel will reveal why the urgent questioning of sexuality from the home to the pulpit. The children in this story have a lot to show us, let’s get started. They are anxious to share their stories even their parents are going to be in awe when they see who they really are.”

Character Leona Tillard will touch your heart as you read her childhood account. I am certain that as you read this book, you will either relate to some of the family dynamics from your own life or you might know a family with similar dynamics.  Sadly, families usually look wholesome and intact when viewed by an outsider. However, when you pull back the layers like an onion, the raw truth can burn your soul. In Leona’s story, her family has many layers and although she felt loved as child, her perceptions were from a child’s point of view.

Right from birth (like you and me) Leona was set on a path and her encounters wrote on the pages of her life’s story and deep in her heart and soul. The most telling thing that you will discover as you read, is Leona’s perception of herself, her deep questions and even conflicting messages that cause her to even question God. For children who grown up in a dysfunctional home, this is how they think. I quote not to spoil the story, but to enlighten you so you will want to read further.

“We didn’t hear any more words after that. Sarah and I were just as quiet as Daddy and Priscilla. In fact, Sarah was already asleep. I could hear snoring from across the room, which was something she normally didn’t do. I couldn’t believe what I had seen between her and Daddy. I closed my eyes and tried to will myself somewhere other than where I was. I couldn’t help but wonder where my brother and my mother were. This new family thing just did not make me happy at all. I mean, trying to know myself was hard enough without this family mix. One minute I had a mother and then I had no mother. I had a big brother, then no big brother. Now I have two sisters and a brother to go with the one I already had. We were all lost and confused. We just wanted to know where we belonged.

After that night, we did what we had to do to keep Priscilla and Daddy happy. Nobody cared how we felt. This life was about them. None of us should have been born. We had no parents. All of us were victims of circumstance. We were just sheep—sleeping, eating, and doing what we were told. If Daddy and Priscilla hadn’t gotten married, maybe Momma and Mark might have come back. We could forget about ever seeing them now.”

While reading I was faced with the core truths written on the pages and maybe more importantly between the lines. I wait for Book Two to be published, as I will need to find out where it goes from here. I invite you to read and open your heart and eyes to children around you in your life. This book has adult content.

 

Persuasion (Sisters-in-Love Book 3) by J.L. Campbell

Persuasion (Sisters-in-Love Book 3) by J.L. Campbell

J.L Campbell

Do you remember being young and in love? Relive the memories with Gary and Yolanda in Persuasion.

School. Music. Blogging. These are Yolanda Charles’ priorities. She likes life simple and is content to hang around her step-sisters. That’s until she admits she’s attracted to Gary Cheung-See, a web developer who exemplifies the strong, silent, and surly type.

Each time a bug hits her website and social media accounts, Gary helps to solve her issues. Despite his good looks and brilliance, Yolanda is undecided about her feelings for him and suspects he might be the culprit trying to ruin her life and reputation—no matter what her heart says.

Gary is from a dysfunctional family and refuses Yolanda’s help with bridging the gap between himself and his father. When a life-threatening illness hits the person he cares about most, he is forced to reassess his stance on forgiveness, while Yolanda has to decide whether Gary is friend or foe and if she can trust him with her heart.

 

Chapter Excerpt: Persuasion

When it came to people, I didn’t give a rat’s behind what they thought about me. Well, everybody except my mother and Joshua, my business partner and housemate.

I switched on the laptop, knowing if Joshua caught me smiling at nothing, he’d think a few of my brain cells had short-circuited or died.

I’d left Yolanda’s house a half-hour ago after sorting out her laptop and installing a virus protection program. It wasn’t the normal thing for me to do, but she was so upset about her machine being invaded that I couldn’t leave without doing something to help her.

Her father had come home after we had dinner, but we were still at the table, and he sat down to eat. After he did a low-key examination while we talked, I got the feeling he knew I liked his daughter. He didn’t say anything I could take as any kind of warning not to mess with Yolanda, but his size alone would intimidate anybody up to no good.

It wasn’t until later, when he was joking around with Yolanda, that I realized he was her step-dad. At the time, I couldn’t help comparing the non-relationship with my father to what Yolanda had with the man she called Uncle Xavier.

“You went out today?”

I twisted sideways when Joshua’s voice came to me from the doorway. He frowned, pushing his glasses up on his nose. Joshua was short and dark-skinned, which made us total opposites, but I couldn’t ask for a better friend.

“Yeah, I was over at Yolanda’s house,” I said.

His eyebrows did an is-that-so thing and a wide smile greeted me. “Boy, I miss all the good stuff. You two don’t talk in months and then suddenly, you’re over there … doing what, by the way?”

“She called me up. Something was wrong with her computer.”

He gave me a sly look. “And in your brilliance, you couldn’t solve her problem from here?”

“Not even I’m that good. I had to go to her since she didn’t have a ride.”

“I guess you fixed whatever the problem was, right?”

“Yeah, some sort of malware on her site and something with her laptop.”

He leaned against the doorway, hands shoved in his pockets. “So did you make a move?”

“Come on. I was over there to fix something, not to try and get inside her panties.”

 

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