Urban Reviews - Your Source for the Best in AA Fiction!

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY - PATRICIA HALEY DISCUSSES 'DESTINED' - Patricia Haley is the award-winning, #1 Essence bestselling author of Nobody’s Perfect, Blind Faith, Still Waters, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, No Regrets, and Chosen. Originally from Rockford, IL, Patricia now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Jeffrey and their daughter. With an engineering degree from Stanford Univ. and an M.B.A. in marketing and finance from the Univ. of Chicago, readers are often surprised to hear that Patricia is writing novels, given her technical and business background.  She welcomes readers to visit her online at http://www.patriciahaley.com/ or  join her Facebook fan page. Urban Reviews:  Can you tell us about Destined? Patricia Haley:   Destined picks up where Chosen left off, in the lobby of the family’s business which baby boy, Joel, has pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. The oldest brother, Don, returns from his exile in South Africa at the pleading of his mothe...

The Story Behind The Story -  Alaya Johnson - Author of 'Moonshine' - Alaya (rhymes with “papaya”) lives, writes, cooks and (perhaps most importantly) eats in New York City. Her literary loves are all forms of speculative fiction, historical fiction, and the occasional highbrow novel. Her culinary loves are all kinds of ethnic food, particularly South Indian, which she feels must be close to ambrosia. She graduated from Columbia University in 2004 with a BA in East Asian Languages and Cultures, and has lived and traveled extensively in Japan. Urban Reviews:  Can you tell us what Moonshine is all about? Alaya Johnson:  Moonshine follows the story of Zephyr Hollis, a demon hunter turned social activist in the Lower East Side of 1920s New York City. She teaches night school to immigrants and Others (including vampires) and generally tries to repent for her past as the daughter of Montana's most famous demon hunter. However, things turn sticky when one of her student...

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Author Allison Hobbs discusses 'Stealing Candy' Riveting! Graphic! Edgy! Just a few words that describe the responses to Allison Hobbs´ writing style. Known for writing provocative and controversial novels, Allison burst on the literary scene with her highly successful debut novel, Pandora´s Box in 2003. In her latest release, Stealing Candy, Allison departs from erotic fiction, and has taken on the serious and disturbing topic of teenage sex trafficking in the United States.  A prolific writer, she is the national bestselling author of fourteen novels and novellas of multiple genres, including paranormal and fantasy. Urban Reviews:  Can you tell us a little about Stealing Candy? Allison Hobbs:   Three teen-age girls from very different backgrounds have been kidnapped by a pimp and forced into the sex trade. Saleema Sparks, a woman who runs a sanctuary for troubled teens risks her life to save the girls. Urban Reviews:  What mad...

INSIDE OUT with Jennifer Coissiere - Author of Crossing Over - Jennifer Coissiere is creatively driven in everything she does. She began writing poetry many years ago as a pre-teen, in an attempt to get away from her unhappy home life. Currently, she is a full-time student, mother of three, wife to one, sister to two, and daughter. The stories she write are not necessarily a reflection of her life, but you can find a piece of her in each character she develops. Urban Reviews:  Tell our readers about Crossing Over. Jennifer Coissiere:   Well, Crossing Over is about Rachelle Martin, who lost her mother when she was 15 years old. Over the years she never really gets over the lost and becomes very protective of her twin brother, Raheem, and her father, Dwight. Rachelle dislikes change. However, when her father asks her for the ultimate Christmas present, she finds herself transforming while overcoming grief. Urban Reviews:  Where did the inspiration for th...

INSIDE OUT with Dolen Perkins-Valdez Dolen Perkins-Valdez was born and raised in Memphis, TN. She is a graduate of Harvard and George Washington University. She has published fiction in The Kenyon Review and elsewhere. Wench is her first novel. Urban Reviews:  Tell our readers about Wench. Dolen Perkins-Valdez:   WENCH tells the story of four women who are the enslaved mistresses of their masters. They meet at a summer resort in 1850s Ohio and begin to contemplate escape when the spirited Mawu arrives. She pushes them to think about running and leaving behind their plantations. Yet the decision is a difficult one, especially for my protagonist Lizzie who believes she loves her master and that he loves her. The novel examines the complicated dynamic between a female slave and her white male master. Urban Reviews:  How did you come up with the idea for this book? Dolen Perkins-Valdez:   I was reading a biography of W.E.B. Du Bois and, during a section abo...

INSIDE OUT WITH CHRISTOPHER HERZ - Author of The Last Block In Harlem - Available July 13, 2010 on Amazon Encore

INSIDE OUT WITH SHAY NOLON - Author of 'Everything You Owe Me' - Shay Nolon is the author of Everything You Owe Me (December 2009), and Greedy (August 2010). She is also the author of self-published title Tell Me No Lies (October 2006). Shay Nolon currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri. You can find out more info about this author at http://www.hollygrovepublishing.com/ , Author's Den, or Facebook. 1. Tell our readers about Everything You Owe Me. A. Well, Everything You Owe Me is about two cousins, Tosha and Dannay, whose lives and marriages couldn't be more different - at least that's how things appear on the surface. Tosha struggles to hold on to her crumbling marriage despite signs that her husband is cheating. Dannay's marriage is the picture of perfection, and she is the only person Tosha can turn to. Who will Dannay have to turn to when the perfect image of her marriage shatters? 2. How did the idea for this book come about? A. The idea ...

ROLAND S. JEFFERSON - Born in Washington DC, Roland Jefferson was raised in Los Angeles. In 1976 he tried his hand at writing fiction. His first novel, The School On 103rd Street was published to critical success, taking its place along side the works of acclaimed authors Sam Greenlee and John Williams. It has been published three different times in the US and simultaneously published in Germany, while garnishing numerous awards and accolades including its selection by the Los Angeles Times Book Review for inclusion in its 'Guide to Literary Los Angeles 2001.' Urban Reviews:  Tell our readers about White Coat Fever. Roland S. Jefferson:  Well, White Coat Fever is a romantic melodrama that takes place in the 1960's on a HBCU campus during the explosive civil rights era. It centers on distorted values during a time in African American society when college-age girls were socially mandated by their families to maintain their middle-class status by marrying doctors......