TOP 10 Bestsellers!
1. When Love Comes Around by Victoria Wells
2. Reflections of a Quiet Storm by Patricia A. Bridewell
3. A Special Summer by Victoria Wells
4. The Reunion by John R. Williams
5. Loving Simone by Jessica Tilles
6. The Food Temptress by Rekaya Gibson
7. The Hive by Chris Berman
8. Somebody Prayed For Me by Allyson M. Deese, Linda R. Herman & Tinisha Nicole Johnson
9. Temptation.com by S.B. Redd
10. Anything Goes by Jessica Tilles
Xpress Yourself Publishing is the African American Literary Awards Show 2008 Independent Publisher of the Year, and an English-language publisher headquartered in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. The house of ESSENCE® best-selling authors, Xpress Yourself Publishing is a minority- and woman-owned company publishing ficton, non-fiction and self-help books. Visit us online at www.XpressYourselfPublishing.com, where dreams are turned into reality!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
What happens once the affair is discovered?
As he walked hurriedly up the stairs, I ran behind him, begging and pleading, trying to explain my actions. Unaffected by my deafening cries, Antoine continued his plight up the stairs. Once inside our bedroom, he opened the closet door and threw luggage on our bed before snatching several work uniforms from their hangers. He packed his bags, refusing to look at me, speak to me, or even acknowledge my presence. I fell down to my knees, my stomach in knots. “Antoine, please! Please don’t leave! Please, baby! I’m so sorry!” I cried hysterically.
“I’m sorry too, India. I’m sorry for wasting six years of my life with you,” he snarled. The pain he felt was audible in his voice and his eyes glistened with tears. The storm raged; booming thunder and sharp lightning, as sheets of tears threatened to rain from his eyes.
Suitcase filled with toiletries, most of his casual belongings, and work clothes, he stormed downstairs, out the carport door, and out of my life. When I heard the engine of his Caprice come to life, I died a thousand deaths on our bedroom floor, heartbroken with no one to blame but me.
Ready to read more from this novel and find out what’s the cost of India’s affair?
COST OF OUR AFFAIRS releases
June 2, 2009
from Xpress Yourself Publishing!
www.XpressYourselfPublishing.org
Want to reserve an autographed copy?
Visit www.LindaRHerman.webs.com
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Hazel's HOTmail: Dude Acts Like A Lady
Dear Hazel,
I hope you can offer me some advice about my current situation. I am a thirty-eight year old professional woman who has fallen in love with my twenty-six year old hair stylist.
When I first started going to my hair stylist, I, along with many others, thought he was gay. He wore bright colored shirts with matching shoes, his mannerisms were flamboyant and feminine and he walked with a twist. But the man could do some hair and I made sure that I had a standing appointment with him every week.
During my appointments, he would often ask me out to lunch, dinner or to various plays that came to town. Usually, I declined. Last year, he offered to take me to lunch to celebrate my birthday and this time, I accepted. I had the best time with him. He made me laugh and was a perfect gentleman. His behavior was still a little feminine but not as over the top as it was when he was in the salon. We went out several times after that and I began to think that maybe he wasn’t gay at all but instead just a very sensitive man. The careful attention he paid to his personal appearance made me think that maybe he was metro-sexual. There was absolutely nothing gay about the way he kissed me or the way he threw down when we were in the bedroom. He was the most attentive lover I had ever had.
When I felt our relationship was moving in a more serious direction, I decided it was time to introduce him to my family. I invited him to our family’s annual New Year’s Day reunion dinner. When he arrived, my brothers and sisters took one look at the way he dressed and the way he walked and immediately labeled him a “fag”. It didn’t seem to bother him at all but I was infuriated. I insisted that they apologize to him and to me for being so disrespectful. I told them that he was NOT gay. My mother and my sisters keep telling me that if it walks like a fag, talks like a fag, then it is a fag. My family are not the only people who look at us strangely when we go out. Whenever we’re walking together holding hands or if we share a kiss in public, folks stare.
When I asked him how he feels when people label him as a gay man, he says that as long as he knows who and what he is, it doesn’t matter to him what other people say. He said that when women think he is gay, they open up and tell him a world of sercrets and that their men aren’t threatened by him at all. He says it is good for business and as long as they are paying $100 to $300 to sit in his chair, they can think what they want.
I truly care about this man but I can’t help but be a little bothered by how others view him. Does this make me shallow?
C.C. in Alabama
Dear C.C.,
The fact that you are “bothered” by what other people think of your man doesn’t necessarily mean that you are shallow. I don’t believe that it is what the other people are saying or thinking about him that bothers you. I believe that deep down inside, you are still unsure about his sexuality.
Now, you said in your letter that you asked him how he felt about being labeled as gay but you didn’t say whether or not you have asked him if he is or has been gay or bi-sexual. Just because he can “throw down” in the bedroom is not a sure sign that he is not gay. Remember, gay people have good sex, too.
Intuition can be a wonderful tool, if used correctly. If you have a feeling that something isn’t right about a situation, embrace that feeling and listen to it. Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions or have the uncomforatable conversations. Both of you need to have peace of mind in this relationship.
Peace,
Hazel
www.hazelmillsstories.com
Have a question about love, sex or relationships? Send them to Hazel’s HOTmail at hazelmillsstories@hotmail.com Be sure to put “HOTmail” in the subject line. To insure anonymity, only your initials and your state will be printed.
I hope you can offer me some advice about my current situation. I am a thirty-eight year old professional woman who has fallen in love with my twenty-six year old hair stylist.
When I first started going to my hair stylist, I, along with many others, thought he was gay. He wore bright colored shirts with matching shoes, his mannerisms were flamboyant and feminine and he walked with a twist. But the man could do some hair and I made sure that I had a standing appointment with him every week.
During my appointments, he would often ask me out to lunch, dinner or to various plays that came to town. Usually, I declined. Last year, he offered to take me to lunch to celebrate my birthday and this time, I accepted. I had the best time with him. He made me laugh and was a perfect gentleman. His behavior was still a little feminine but not as over the top as it was when he was in the salon. We went out several times after that and I began to think that maybe he wasn’t gay at all but instead just a very sensitive man. The careful attention he paid to his personal appearance made me think that maybe he was metro-sexual. There was absolutely nothing gay about the way he kissed me or the way he threw down when we were in the bedroom. He was the most attentive lover I had ever had.
When I felt our relationship was moving in a more serious direction, I decided it was time to introduce him to my family. I invited him to our family’s annual New Year’s Day reunion dinner. When he arrived, my brothers and sisters took one look at the way he dressed and the way he walked and immediately labeled him a “fag”. It didn’t seem to bother him at all but I was infuriated. I insisted that they apologize to him and to me for being so disrespectful. I told them that he was NOT gay. My mother and my sisters keep telling me that if it walks like a fag, talks like a fag, then it is a fag. My family are not the only people who look at us strangely when we go out. Whenever we’re walking together holding hands or if we share a kiss in public, folks stare.
When I asked him how he feels when people label him as a gay man, he says that as long as he knows who and what he is, it doesn’t matter to him what other people say. He said that when women think he is gay, they open up and tell him a world of sercrets and that their men aren’t threatened by him at all. He says it is good for business and as long as they are paying $100 to $300 to sit in his chair, they can think what they want.
I truly care about this man but I can’t help but be a little bothered by how others view him. Does this make me shallow?
C.C. in Alabama
Dear C.C.,
The fact that you are “bothered” by what other people think of your man doesn’t necessarily mean that you are shallow. I don’t believe that it is what the other people are saying or thinking about him that bothers you. I believe that deep down inside, you are still unsure about his sexuality.
Now, you said in your letter that you asked him how he felt about being labeled as gay but you didn’t say whether or not you have asked him if he is or has been gay or bi-sexual. Just because he can “throw down” in the bedroom is not a sure sign that he is not gay. Remember, gay people have good sex, too.
Intuition can be a wonderful tool, if used correctly. If you have a feeling that something isn’t right about a situation, embrace that feeling and listen to it. Don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions or have the uncomforatable conversations. Both of you need to have peace of mind in this relationship.
Peace,
Hazel
www.hazelmillsstories.com
Have a question about love, sex or relationships? Send them to Hazel’s HOTmail at hazelmillsstories@hotmail.com Be sure to put “HOTmail” in the subject line. To insure anonymity, only your initials and your state will be printed.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Hazel's HOTmail: WWHD? (What Would Hazel Do?)
Dear Hazel,
I feel as though I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. My sister is married to a wonderful man whom she loves dearly. They have been married for eleven years and have four children together.
The problem is that I am in love with her husband and have been since the first time I met him. It was obvious that he felt something for me as well by the way he looked at me and the way he always hugged me. It wasn’t a brotherly hug because sometimes his hand would “just happen” to rub my behind. But neither of us acted on this attraction out of love and respect for my sister. That is, until about a month ago.
My sister was away at a women’s church retreat for the weekend and because her husband had to work, she left her children in my care. Her husband came by late one night to check on the kids but they had already gone to bed. We were talking when one thing led to another. Needless to say, we ended up in bed together.
I’ve been feeling guilty ever since that night and I feel that I need to clear my conscious and come clean about what happened. Her husband says that we should just keep our mouths shut and forget about it.
What would you do if you were in this same situation?
C.D. in Atlanta
Dear C.D.
What would I do? Glad you asked. Well, I would not be in your situation because the “love and respect” I have for my sister strictly prohibits betrayal, in any form.
Now that you have done what you obviously have wanted to do from the beginning, your conscious is bothering you? Please.
You and your sister’s husband are selfish. You both put your needs and desires above everything else and quite frankly, if or when she does find out, you deserve whatever happens.
Peace (if you can find any),
Hazel
www.hazelmillsstories.com
I feel as though I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. My sister is married to a wonderful man whom she loves dearly. They have been married for eleven years and have four children together.
The problem is that I am in love with her husband and have been since the first time I met him. It was obvious that he felt something for me as well by the way he looked at me and the way he always hugged me. It wasn’t a brotherly hug because sometimes his hand would “just happen” to rub my behind. But neither of us acted on this attraction out of love and respect for my sister. That is, until about a month ago.
My sister was away at a women’s church retreat for the weekend and because her husband had to work, she left her children in my care. Her husband came by late one night to check on the kids but they had already gone to bed. We were talking when one thing led to another. Needless to say, we ended up in bed together.
I’ve been feeling guilty ever since that night and I feel that I need to clear my conscious and come clean about what happened. Her husband says that we should just keep our mouths shut and forget about it.
What would you do if you were in this same situation?
C.D. in Atlanta
Dear C.D.
What would I do? Glad you asked. Well, I would not be in your situation because the “love and respect” I have for my sister strictly prohibits betrayal, in any form.
Now that you have done what you obviously have wanted to do from the beginning, your conscious is bothering you? Please.
You and your sister’s husband are selfish. You both put your needs and desires above everything else and quite frankly, if or when she does find out, you deserve whatever happens.
Peace (if you can find any),
Hazel
www.hazelmillsstories.com
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
S.B. Redd Speaks Candidly...
S.B. Redd speaks candidly with the Literary Vixen Book Club. Read his thoughts on his debut novel, Temptation.com!
1) What can you tell your readers about your novel and about you? My formal background is a newspaper reporter. I worked primarily as a sports reporter and on a free-lance basis for various publications and websites for 15 years. I’m also a co-host with The Author Dark~N~Delicious on Real Talk, Real People; it’s a popular Blog Talk Radio show on Thursday nights (11 p.m., eastern). I’m also offer book editing for authors, and that’s been rather successful so far in terms of reader feedback from the books that I’ve helped make better.
As for my novel, I consider Temptation.com a scintillating work of erotica that will push one's literary envelope. The book delves into online dating and sexual and online porn addiction through the lives of two main characters: Royale Cole, a forty-something divorcee; and Ulyssa Howard, a thirty-something single mother of three at the time that they met. I’ve often put out there if you like your erotica nasty, scorching, freaky and did I mention nasty again this is the book for that grown and sexy reader.
2) What do you want people to come away with after reading your book? I want individuals that may be heavily into viewing porn to possibly see themselves and perhaps consider any necessary changes for the good as a result of reading my book. This is not some self-help book, but the characters were developed as means by which the reader might be able to identify himself, herself, or someone they know.
3) What has been the most gratifying part of being an author? So far, I’ve had the opportunity to regain my identity as a writer. That had been missing for almost 10 years. The other thing is when I write, particularly in my frequent blogs, it’s yet another opportunity for me to perhaps inform, educate, and to some extent entertain people.
4) Where do you see yourself as a writer ten years from now? I try not to look that far down the road. But I do see myself becoming more diverse. I hope within the next five years to have earned my master’s degree (probably in Creative Writing) because I would like to teach at the college level. Hopefully, I might have the same impact on someone in the next generation of writers as a couple of my instructors had on me.
5) How do you define success? Success has always been to me an expectation fulfilled. I recently noted in a blog that there is much hope in the pursuit of excellence.
6) How do you deal with adversity and failure? Some times you just have to keep on moving. I’ve also come to acknowledge that even in “failure” there’s often an opportunity at making application of lessons learned or achieving redemption for the good.
7) What do you do to stay grounded and maintain a sense of balance in your life? Easy. My wife of nearly 14 years and my daughter have a lot to do with that. I’m also mindful of my shortcomings and past failures. I realize that I can’t take a familiar path that leads me to futility and expect something good might come from it.
8) Which character in your novel did you connect with most and why? I write with a theme in mind so that’s where I make any connection. The characters are merely what brings these themes to light for me.
9) What should your readers expect next from you? My publisher (Jessica Tilles of Xpress Yourself Publishing) has already indicated that she’s exercising an option to publish my next book that’s titled The Shades of Passion. It should be released in 2010.
10) How can readers get in contact with you? I’m all over the Internet. My primary website is www.maverick-books.com. I can be found on MySpace (search: maverickbooks). I’ve created a Temptation.com social network; its web address is www.temptationdotcom.ning.com. You can also catch me on Thursday nights with our BTR show. Its web address is www.blogtalkradio.com/realtalk-realpeople and it’s call-in number is 347.996.5198.
1) What can you tell your readers about your novel and about you? My formal background is a newspaper reporter. I worked primarily as a sports reporter and on a free-lance basis for various publications and websites for 15 years. I’m also a co-host with The Author Dark~N~Delicious on Real Talk, Real People; it’s a popular Blog Talk Radio show on Thursday nights (11 p.m., eastern). I’m also offer book editing for authors, and that’s been rather successful so far in terms of reader feedback from the books that I’ve helped make better.
As for my novel, I consider Temptation.com a scintillating work of erotica that will push one's literary envelope. The book delves into online dating and sexual and online porn addiction through the lives of two main characters: Royale Cole, a forty-something divorcee; and Ulyssa Howard, a thirty-something single mother of three at the time that they met. I’ve often put out there if you like your erotica nasty, scorching, freaky and did I mention nasty again this is the book for that grown and sexy reader.
2) What do you want people to come away with after reading your book? I want individuals that may be heavily into viewing porn to possibly see themselves and perhaps consider any necessary changes for the good as a result of reading my book. This is not some self-help book, but the characters were developed as means by which the reader might be able to identify himself, herself, or someone they know.
3) What has been the most gratifying part of being an author? So far, I’ve had the opportunity to regain my identity as a writer. That had been missing for almost 10 years. The other thing is when I write, particularly in my frequent blogs, it’s yet another opportunity for me to perhaps inform, educate, and to some extent entertain people.
4) Where do you see yourself as a writer ten years from now? I try not to look that far down the road. But I do see myself becoming more diverse. I hope within the next five years to have earned my master’s degree (probably in Creative Writing) because I would like to teach at the college level. Hopefully, I might have the same impact on someone in the next generation of writers as a couple of my instructors had on me.
5) How do you define success? Success has always been to me an expectation fulfilled. I recently noted in a blog that there is much hope in the pursuit of excellence.
6) How do you deal with adversity and failure? Some times you just have to keep on moving. I’ve also come to acknowledge that even in “failure” there’s often an opportunity at making application of lessons learned or achieving redemption for the good.
7) What do you do to stay grounded and maintain a sense of balance in your life? Easy. My wife of nearly 14 years and my daughter have a lot to do with that. I’m also mindful of my shortcomings and past failures. I realize that I can’t take a familiar path that leads me to futility and expect something good might come from it.
8) Which character in your novel did you connect with most and why? I write with a theme in mind so that’s where I make any connection. The characters are merely what brings these themes to light for me.
9) What should your readers expect next from you? My publisher (Jessica Tilles of Xpress Yourself Publishing) has already indicated that she’s exercising an option to publish my next book that’s titled The Shades of Passion. It should be released in 2010.
10) How can readers get in contact with you? I’m all over the Internet. My primary website is www.maverick-books.com. I can be found on MySpace (search: maverickbooks). I’ve created a Temptation.com social network; its web address is www.temptationdotcom.ning.com. You can also catch me on Thursday nights with our BTR show. Its web address is www.blogtalkradio.com/realtalk-realpeople and it’s call-in number is 347.996.5198.
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