February is Black History Month in the United States and Canada and will be celebrated in October in the U.K. While there will be many events scheduled across the country, another way to celebrate is with a book.
I picked THE BLUEST EYE, by Toni Morrison to read over the last several weeks. The subject manner of the novel is hard to digest, yet so unfortunately real for many. The plot follows the narrative of two sisters, Claudia and Frieda and their foster-sister, Pecola as they navigate through domestic violence, racism, incest, poverty and relationships beyond understanding for their age.
When Pecola is raped by her father and becomes pregnant, the complex feelings of love, beauty, rejection and hatred are all explored thoroughly. Subject matters that are usually kept behind closed doors quickly become public business in the characters’ small community. The descriptions Morrison uses to portray her character’s feelings and observations make THE BLUEST EYE truly a literary gift.
BQB and WriteLife Publishing are proud to publish these books to share with you in hopes that you’ll pick one up as you celebrate Black History Month. Representing a wide variety of genres:
ISBN 978-1-937084-95-0 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-937084-96-7 (eBook)
Fiction/Coming of Age/African American Contemporary Women
Author: Tamika Christy
About the Book
Frenzied. Overburdened. Stressed. Overwhelmed. These are just a few ways to describe college senior Anaya Goode’s life. Add to this no career prospects following a looming graduation, and Anaya quickly finds herself drowning in the chaos of her own life. Her family and friends demand much of Anaya, and she’s struggling to balance herself in the mire. Facing an onslaught of grief, complex relationships, and a life that is full of deafening noise, Anaya must find herself, and maybe even true love and redemption, amid old traditions and new beginnings.
ISBN 978-0-9831699-7-0 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-937084-35-6 (eBook)
Contemporary Fiction/Romance
Author: Lori Beard-Daily
About the Book
A broken promise from their school days at Spelman College takes three successful friends in Atlanta to an unexpected destination of discord, duplicity, and denial. Their personal demons drastically alter their friendship and their life’s destiny.
ISBN 978-1-939371-07-1 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-939371-32-4 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-939371-08-9 (eBook)
Juvenile Fiction/Christian/Emotions & Concepts
Author: Vanessa Fortenberry
About the Book
Do I look like God? Where can I see Him? Wanting to connect more with God, a child asks his mother these questions and more in this rhyming verse book. In answer, Mother’s tender and patient responses model God’s love.
ISBN 978-1-937084-10-3 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-939371-27-0 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-937084-11-0 (eBook)
Juvenile Fiction/Insects and the Natural World
Authors: Michelle Burns and Dr. Anissa Freeman
About the Book
Stanley the Stinkbug is upset: he isn’t invited to the Ugly Bug Ball because of his stench! Garden meanie Prissy Pray refuses to let Stanley attend the party, and that makes Stanley feel really bad about himself. Will his friends help him see how important every part of him is? Will he let Prissy Pray bully him into not going to the ball? Or will he gather his courage and overcome his fears?
ISBN 978-1-60808-104-2 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-60808-107-3 (eBook)
Dysfunctional Families/Motivational & Inspirational
Authors: Tunette Powell and Tulane Holder
About the Book
These are just some of the negative, stereotypical things said about Daddyless Daughters and Sons—those millions of young American women and men who grow up in homes with no father figure. Whether their fathers are jailed, deceased, addicted to drugs or just absent from their everyday lives, these women and men often deal with issues others know little about—everything from low self-esteem to unplanned pregnancies to their own drug abuse.
Tunette Powell could have been one of those statistics, growing up with a father addicted to drugs. Instead she used his weakness to discover her destiny. Tunette beat the odds, went to college and became an award-winning public speaker and nationally-known author.
Now, Tunette, with the help of her mother and co-founder of The Truth Heals, Tulane Holder, are helping Daddyless Daughters and Sons, and the mothers who love them, beat the statistics by empowering them to rewrite their stories in order to go from Daddyless to Destiny!
ISBN 978-1-60808-074-8 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-60808-076-2 (eBook)
Substance Abuse/Family Relationships
Author: Tunette Powell
About the Book
The Other Woman is a bold and emotional memoir based on a sixteen-line rap written by the daughter of an addict. In this honest portrayal of addiction, Nette loses herself in the stories of her father’s struggles. She vividly recounts his memories of the crack houses and prison cells he once frequented, and openly recalls how that other world stole so many years from Bruce Callis and his family.
Bruce, who began selling drugs when he was fourteen years old, first smoked crack cocaine while selling the drug to an attractive woman in a crack house. In the decades that followed, he traded everything – household goods, the money meant to feed his children – to finance his habit. While Bruce wasn’t watching, Nette grew up. She faced challenges of her own – being molested as a young child and searching for her father’s love in every man she met. But in the process, Nette searches for a way to not only forgive her father, but to understand him.
ISBN 978-1-60808-091-5 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-60808-108-0 (eBook)
Philosophy/Social Aspects/Personal Growth
Author: Ferial Pearson
About the Book
Sometimes the small things make all the difference. Moved by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, Ferial Pearson wondered if a simple act of kindness could change a life. She thought of the school where she taught and the students she guided every day and wondered, what would happen if we started secretly carrying out small acts of kindness in school? Could a modest act of compassion really change the course of a life? She posed the question to her students. They didn’t have the answers but they were willing to find out.
And so they became the Secret Kindness Agents. They not only changed the lives of those they met, they changed their own. Their hope, their hearts, and their hunger for happiness will inspire you to change your small corner of the world, in your own way, for the better. Let them show you how they did it, and how you can do the same.
ISBN 978-1-60808-084-7 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-60808-086-1 (eBook)
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Author: Maria Watson
About the Book
The Kin live in a peaceful covering, far from the evil of plotting elves. That all changes when a fireball streaks across the sky and slams into the forest. Somewhere in the burnt trees, between Kin territory and the enemy stronghold, lies a broken and distressed ship. The Kin need to decide – is this an elf trick, staged to lure them out for capture, or is someone really in need of help? What they find changes everything.
And coming soon in May 26, 2015 (Now available for pre-order)
About the Book
Adrian Ramirez has finally landed his first job, and it’s the opportunity of a lifetime: teaching at the elite Finley Academy in his hometown of Newnan, Georgia. Life is on the upswing, and Adrian returns home with girlfriend Lea and high hopes—but the Academy is not the idyll he imagined. Along with the new pressures of adulthood, and a rising anxiety disorder he’s having trouble hiding, Adrian discovers there’s been a string of unexplained dropouts at the school.
He suspects something is amiss with two of his students, identical twins Raven and Robin. One outgoing, one withdrawn, both keeping a secret. When Adrian is accused of being at the center of a student’s breakdown, he is forced to dig deeper to unravel the mystery, finding influences of the paranormal along the way. Will Adrian be able to unlock the dark secrets of Finley Academy—and his own past—in time?
About the Author
Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and now a resident of Newnan, Georgia, Chase Jackson developed an interest for writing suspense and mystery at an early age after reading all of R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” books. As a teenager, Chase began writing short stories and poetry based on his experiences. After winning a local poetry slam, Chase decided to bring his writing to life through the art of film. During his collegiate career at the University of West Georgia, Chase studied literature, cinematography, and film editing, ultimately graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English.
After college, Chase dedicated his time to writing his first novel, Whispers in the Dark. In addition to writing, Chase is the creator of Chase-N-Dreamz Productions, which has filmed projects ranging from an awareness film for The Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation to a short film about human trafficking in Haiti.
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