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Need new book club reads? Here are some new titles by Cincinnati Black authors.
Multiplying day by day, Cincinnati Black authors are telling their fictional love stories, life testimonies, in-the-moment poetry and detailed research into the strenuous lives and roles in the Black community. It only makes sense to add these to your bookshelf! The information in this article is as current as of the publication date. Readers are encouraged to confirm the information prior to purchasing.
Movies and TV shows with Black actors you’ll enjoy.
Biblical Role Models: A Guide to a Deeper Marriage (2019)
Antria Goss
Each of these ten lessons focuses on a different biblical couple and applies that couple’s story to today’s marriages. This book will help you understand God’s purpose for our lives and is designed for use by couples, marriage classes, and group studies.
I’m No Different Than You (2019)
Jaime Mahaffey & Kristy High
To purchase, email khigh81@gmail.com
Available on Amazon
Kayla, a girl who has a positive outlook on life despite the challenges of managing a chronic medical condition is attending a new school. Kayla is worried about how others will react to learning that she has sickle cell disease. Her friendships quickly change by the lack of understanding and fears of the other children.
When Love Rises (2019)
Michelle G. Stradford
Love is at the center of our world. It is often the first emotion we experience and sometimes the last. It binds us to others like nothing else and provides us with the motivation to succeed and the willingness to carry on in the face of adversity. In this beautiful collection of contemporary poetry and reflections, When Love Rises, you will discover the many sides to love that exists, from the pain of heartbreak to the unrestrained joy of the first flutter of a new romance.
Woman to Woman: 10 Ways Women Sabotage Relationships (2019)
Juli Long-Brooks
Juli Long-Brooks, CEO of iCandi Productions, shares her own experiences with love and heartbreak and shows you how you, too, can overcome the valleys and stand on top of your mountain, or even say to the mountain, “be moved!” There are ten solid reasons why things may go south, and it all starts and ends with you. She gives her insight on how you can avoid wallowing in misery and find your true you so the world can see you shine. Have a laugh, shed a tear, and find some common ground by talking “Woman to Woman.”
Against All Odds, Persevere! Finding Peace Through the Pain (2018)
Veronica McCall
This is an interactive book that will encourage and empower you to Persevere no matter what detours, curveballs, obstacles, heartache or pain comes your way. This is a book of several short stories of real women who are sharing their testimony of how they persevered when life happened to them. Topics discussed in this book include matters related to loss and grieving, domestic violence, divorce, suicide, feelings of hopelessness, being a teenage mother, a single parent and more. Life happens to ALL of us, but how we respond when “Life” happens makes all the difference. Remember, Against All Odds, Persevere!
Doppelganger: Part 1 (2018)
Sasha Deux Fois
Elena Kendall’s return to the Bloody Hell Convention to reprise her killer role as Terryn Myles takes an unexpected and treacherous turn. A free Kindle version is also available.
Exfoliate Doubt to Hydrate Your Purpose (2018)
Nora Jay
This self-help book will teach you to recognize self-debilitating thoughts, correct bad habits that cripple your purpose, contour your specific life to manifest your desires and access your authentic powers.
Finding My Sparkle (2018)
Morgan Angelique Owens
A story of finding self-love… through low self-esteem, weight issues, and self-hate. I hope my story will help inspire someone to find their inner sparkle.
Forever My Brother (2018)
Isaiah Bealer
Read through the lives of four Black male youths growing up in Cincinnati that bond on the court and off the court. As the challenges and pressures that come from sports, the street and politics occur, will they be able to stay loyal to each other while pursuing their own best personal interests?
King (2018)
Qiantria McNear
King and The Family have created a legacy in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, but the choices they’ve made along the way have hurt the one person who’s sacrificed the most. As they all come to terms with their fate, the hard part is dealing with what they’ve caused. Living by the motto that every choice made has deadly repercussions, the men are ready to take on whatever the world throws at them under the leadership of Tristen King. But the ultimate decision will be whether King will make it out the underworld, or drag the person he cares about the most into the darkness with him.
Life… Before and After Cerebral Palsy (2018)
Tammy Floyd-Westmoreland
In this story, the author, Tammy, takes us on a whirlwind of events and one heck of a roller-coaster ride. She allows us in her life to show us what it was like being a young, teen mother of a child with a disability. She talks about the trials and tribulations of being a young mother and dealing with diversity and disappointment. She speaks about how what she went through made her into the woman she is today. She shows us that despite all the challenges in life that you can still live life and not allow the turmoil of life to keep you down.
The Lover’s Game (2018)
Brandon C. Brown
The Lover’s Game is an intriguing tale of love; betrayal, anger, secrets, possibility, and redemption are all pieces to the puzzle of one man’s search for love. A series of events unfold that alters the lives of each individual as they play their parts in the vicious Lover’s Game. In the end, the question remains…Who will win at The Lover’s Game?
The Story of Marissa Ray (2018)
Chara Bee
The Story of Marissa Ray is a fictional story about lust, deceit, and betrayal. a Black woman in her mid-thirties who is struggling with relationships with her family and friends. Marissa has a misunderstanding of where she lies in society as a Black businesswoman who is trying to make it big in a top number one fashion magazine.
Too Beautiful for the Earth (2018)
Cara Shelton
In this heart-wrenching narrative, Cara shares her story of the tragic loss of her twin daughters and how she and her husband fought to overcome their grief and hold on to their hope. Each chapter ends with an inspiring message of encouragement and advice for both the bereaved and their support group.
Wise Up Challenge: Keys to Living a Wealthy, Successful, and Fulfilling Life (2018)
Are you up for the challenge? The Wise Up Challenge was created to impact people of all ages and backgrounds and serve as a devotional that motivates and inspires God’s people. This challenge holds words of wisdom to help others make life changes that will lead to success, peace of mind and a sense of fulfillment. This challenge is not just a devotional, but can also be used as a biblical motivational tool to help others understand how to apply to the word of God to our lives.
Worth the Wait (2018)
Lesley Blunt
This is a novel dealing with a young lady Layla Morris who whom has trouble finding love, and when she felt she found the one, she was wrong, After confronting her cheating lover he does something to her tragic to change her life around forever, in the midst of her tragic situation a gentlemen stranger comes to her rescue saving her life.
Love Carousel (2017)
Marissa Staples
Here is a woman who is in love, with love. A woman whose heart has been broken, put back together, revived and broken again. With every relationship comes a lesson. Some easy. Some difficult. Some funny. Some sexy. This assortment of poems tells them all. Leaning on faith, the search continues for true, genuine love. A modern-day fairy tale kind of love. Another soul with love, for love. A love that truly cares for her.
As Sure As Tomorrow Comes (2017)
Danielle and Christopher Jones
Danielle and Christopher Jones were married for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. They just never imagined they would experience all of those things in their first few years of marriage! Unemployment. A car accident. A terrifying medical diagnosis. The loss of a loved one. The death of their 10-day-old son, Junior. Through it all, Danielle and Christopher held tightly to their faith, and to each other, taking each day and each step as it came and remaining committed not only to their marriage, but to turning their pain into a positive for other families.
Beautifully Graced, Broken Beginnings (2017)
Precious Carter
Broken Beginnings, Beautifully Graced is the first novel in the Precious in His Sight series. Author Precious Carter has a passion for seeing people live life to its fullest and hopes this book will help people realize that troubled family history, poor choices, sexual, physical and mental abuse can be overcome. This is a story of life, its ups and downs and ultimately love. Love is a powerful thing, it motivates, builds up, encourages and causes triumph. May all who read be blessed and encouraged.
Embracing a New Normal (2017)
Rhonie McBerry
Take a glimpse into her struggle to forge a new path when faced with a sudden health crisis that threatens to throw her off course. Her story is one of courage and strength gained by faith in God who has stitched her life into a beautiful tapestry interwoven with new trails and passageways as she adjusts to the changes. Rhonie has used her new normal in a variety of ways to encourage others to see past their darkest days to a brighter horizon.
Money Seeds: 30 Financial Principles (2017)
Lawrence Cain
Money management is not always the easiest. Let this book assist you with attaining clarity around their finances, and strategies to get to financial success.
Rebel: Resist Every Bias on Every Level (2017)
Robert Collins
REBEL is a book about the journey of a Black male in American whose life depended on defying the odds to attain success. It captures the process of maturation of a young boy raised by a single father to a seasoned father and husband all before 30 years of age. It is meant to serve as an inspiration to the masses of young men who strive to reach higher heights yet struggle to unlock their potential.
The Nonfiction Outline Book: How to Write a Book Includes 50 Outlines (2017)
Frankie Johnnie
This is a step-by-step guide that walks you through how to write a book. The first step to writing is creating the book outline which leads to a first draft and then a revised, and after that, you pull it all together into a finished manuscript. This book is perfect for nonfiction authors as it shares strategies to streamline your argument, and then outline which keeps you from repetitions or tangents which is essentially book fluff. Creating an outline keeps you from getting sidetracked with your writing.
Unwavering Perseverance (2017)
Mary Wineberg
The story of Mary Wineberg is one of extraordinary perseverance. She overcame astronomical odds and monumental challenges to grace the top step of the Olympic Podium. Her path to Olympic Gold is unlike any the sport has ever seen. She was not a high school standout. She was not a star in college, and she came up short five years in a row trying to run post-collegiately. How could a young girl, abandoned by her mother, and from a disadvantaged background take what seemed to be an average talent all the way to Olympic Gold? She is truly an inspiration to all!
Bold Love: A Letter to My Young Sisters (2016)
LPC, Terri M. Bolds MS
This is a love letter full of personal experiences, science and deliberate encouragement to help one move through the challenges related to self-esteem, absent relationships and racial challenges. This body of work is written through the eyes of the writer as if she was her younger self. Bold Love speaks to young ladies and women that may not understand the pathology of their behaviors. Bold Love uses poetry and anonymous testimony to normalize any reader that may feel like their problem is one that only they have faced. This book is also available at the main library downtown.
The Uncommon Millionaire: Financial Success Begins With Behavior (2016)
Al Riddick
Do you dream about creating a better financial life? Stop dreaming and start acting. The Uncommon Millionaire reveals a small-town boy’s journey from the North Carolina tobacco fields to achieving millionaire status in his late 30’s. Al’s common sense approach is mixed with humor accompanied by personal stories of financial challenge and triumph. His story captures your attention and prompts you to maximize your financial potential. Reading this book will help you understand how simple it is to take control of your financial life and create the outcomes you desire.
Vision. Future. Reality: How to Budget Like a Boss (2016)
Emerald Sparks
Take back control of your pocketbook and live the life you want to live. Falling in love with your money is so much better than trying to keep with those traditional old, boring ways of the dreaded “B” word…BUDGET. Instead, I like VISION. Because how else do you manage life without one?
Degree of Murder (2015)
Sasha LaShae
Arkhaven University is on the cutting edge of technology, allowing lesson downloads directly to students’ brains, allowing for shorter class times and degree completion in a quarter of the time as traditional colleges. Vivian, a freshman who has vivid psychic visions assists a local detective in uncovering Arkhaven’s true intent.
Everyone Plays Chess (2015)
Felipe Morris
We constantly ask, “Where are all the good black men and women?” We are all searching for good inside of a 12” by 12” box. If we stop limiting ourselves to our specific social settings, we will begin to learn that good and bad lies in ALL people. Love, lust, and happiness have nothing to do with income status and educational background. Inside, you will find a tale of African American men and women, who through extreme circumstances, were forced to look outside of that box. Turn the page and peek into a world where there are no boundaries, and friendships, lovers, haters, and enemies emerge from all walks of life.
Loyal to Love (2014)
Tori D.
Oblivious to knowing what life is like transitioning from the suburbs to the ghetto, the ambitious, beautiful, young Desiree longs for the life and love she once knew. She becomes intrigued by the fast life and elegant lifestyle that hustler’s girlfriends and wives flaunted. She fails to realize the streets came with an entirely different meaning of stability. She captures the attention of Cee, a handsome, chocolate, hustler, and begins to live out her dreams.
The Capacity to Succeed (2014)
Melvin J. Gravely II, Ph.D
In The Capacity to Succeed, Dr. Mel Gravely unpacks a well-researched approach for minority firms to build an ongoing capacity to succeed. In his most aggressive book to date, Gravely makes the case for why minority spend rules must give way to building capacity as the only solution for sustainability. This fast-paced, easy-to-read book articulates the activities, thinking, and measures that work.
The Most High’s Natural Health Plan (2014)
Ishyah Yisrael
The Most High’s Natural Health Plan is a book designed to be a simple guide to eat according to the ways of YAHWEH; the only Creator and God of the World! Many books have been written about why, what, when, where and how we should eat, but never has anyone just explained what the Creator of the Earth has spoken about how he wants us to eat. The Most High’s Natural Health Plan is revolutionary because it only deals with the Most High’s ways of eating.
What Men Desire: And Women Need to Know (2013)
Jason Slaughter
This book was written to give some practical as well as spiritual insight regarding the rise and fall of many of our relationships and how to regain its once former glory. Gen. 2:23-24, “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” We are in trouble! We have over the years ravaged each other almost to the point of no return.
Kelly’s Whisper (2012)
Whitley Silance
In Kelly’s Whisper, secrets were gold. You might as well lay down and bare all if you considered telling one detail. Kelly believed that even the walls had ears, so she got in the habit of speaking in a whisper. Loud enough for her to hear. For a long time, Kelly’s whisper was silenced, until she stumbled upon a wounded bone in her closet and realized she had covered all her tracks. She realized someone heard her whisper. A whisper so powerful she was willing to do whatever she could to protect it. What will she sacrifice this time?
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Marissa Staples, Writer
The Voice of Black Cincinnati