Monday, March 28, 2011

A Piece of Revenge by Rhonda McKnight (E- book)

I've joined the ranks of authors published in e-book format. Yay! I'm so excited.

Last summer "A Woman's Revenge" (a collection of novellas by Tiffany L. Warren, Sherri Lewis and myself) was published through our independent publishing company 3 Sisters Books. We have decided to independently publish our stories as e-book titles.


Short Description


A newlywed discovers she's married the wrong man when the funds for her non-profit organization are missing and so is he. She employs a private detective to help. Will he save all including her heart?

Extended Description

Where do broken hearts go? If you’re Tamera Watson…to the pawn shop to buy a gun. Tamera Watson’s husband is gone and so is her life savings and all the corporate grant funds for a non-profit program for underprivileged kids. With the last of her pennies she pays a private detective to hunt him down, so she can gun him down. When she finds him will she be able to pull the trigger? Or will the God of her heart stop her before she lets her desire for revenge take her too far.

A Piece of Revenge is availabe at Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles and Smashwords. The price is $2.99

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

AN INCONVENIENT FRIEND - Have you read this book?

It may be 2011, but it's not too late to read the best of 2010!

AN INCONVENIENT FRIEND by yours truly, Rhonda McKnight was voted the best of the best for 2010!


It's always nice for your work to be acknowledged as the best. An Inconvenient Friend is #14 on the list of best Christian/Faith Based Books by the Sankoka Literary Society. Click the link Black Pearls Magazine.  to see the entire list.

Here's what others are saving about the book (content below is an excerpt from the original review. Please click on the website for the review to read the full review):

AALBC - Reviewed by Idrissa Uqdah
Is This What Friends Are For?

This novel is a great follow-up to McKnight's debut novel, Secrets and Lies. The protagonist, Samaria Jacobs returns as a nurse set on seducing still another rich but married doctor. But this time, she's the star of the show and the author has completely developed this character as more than a heathen and a home-wrecker. Drama, Drama, Drama; this story is full of it and I loved it!

APOOO BookClub - Reviewed by Jennifer Coissiere


I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. For a moment, I had a look into the mind and life of “the other woman.” Even though I do not condone another person coming between a husband and wife, I understood the reason Samaria did what she was doing. I recommend An Inconvenient Friend to readers of Christian fiction or inspirational fiction.


Amazon.com - Reviewed by Cheryl Francis

I loved this book!! Rhonda McKnight is a great author and I look forward to reading more books by her! I found this book at the Black Expressions website. I looked at the cover and thought it looked like a great book. The woman on the front looked to me like a nice church going woman--boy was I ever wrong!


Samaria Jacobs has a married lover named Gregory Preston who is a doctor. She said she understood how the cheating thing worked and there were two categories (P.7) "The first was what I called "something different." .... "The second category, and the one I preferred to be, was the new model". She met Gregory at a sports bar. She didn't think he would be interested but she pushed him because he was upset over a patient. She got him and had him for six months. She wanted to be more than just the woman on the side. (p.25). He did help her with her bills, but of course she wanted more.


Gregory's wife Angelina had a feeling that something was up. He was getting a lot of phone calls at odd times and worked more hours. She would also find lipstick stains on his collar and smell fresh woman's perfume on him. Samaria got to be good friends with Gregory's wife because she joined a church group and got involved in a big project. She even made up a fake name-Rae Burns.


No good can come out of getting so close to your lover's wife. She wanted to find out more about her so she could do everything she could to get Gregory closer to her, but then she started to really like Angelina. Samaria is a cold hearted woman. I can't believe the lengths she went to in order to try to tear Gregory and his wife apart.

You need to read this book to see how it ends.

And so do you! Please get your copy today. You won't regret it. Visit me at my website to read an excerpt and for links to order the book. http://www.rhondamcknight.net/

Sunday, March 20, 2011

The Retreat by Dijorn Moss

Exciting new read... The Retreat by Dijorn Moss



Dijorn, introduce yourself to my readers. I am a proud husband and father. My wife Trinea and I are going on our sixth year in marriage and my son Caleb is 7 months old. My life has changed dramatically since becomin g a father. I use to spend my days off writing for anywhere between 12-14 hours. Now I have to work within a reasonable time frame so that I do not shortchange my family. I love to read, I love to write and I love to spend time with my family and friends. I know that I plenty of material to draw from with my family.


Tell us about The Retreat and the inspiration behind it. The retreat was inspired by my first men's retreat. I was blown away by how real Christian men get when there are no women around and it is just God and your brother next to you. So my story focuses on four men from different walks of life who attend a weekend Men's retreat and what they discover about themselves and about each other. Better yet, i like to summarize the Retreat like a movie: A vengeful business man, a single father, a religious nut and a car thief all met at a weekend retreat.

What message would you like readers to take away from the story? I want for men to be inspired and for them to reexamine their relationship with God. I want for them to start living their lives according to the principles of the Bible and strive to be a Man of God and not a Man of the world. I also want for women to have a better understanding of what Christian men struggle with and how they can help the men of their lives become all that God wants them to be!

What came first the characters or the story? Share a little about your writing process. The story came first, but I consider the Retreat to be a character driven story. I think in the end great stories have memorable characters. People may not be able to tell you what the Color Purple was about, but they do remember the characters and their famous lines. Also when I begin the process of rewriting I start first with a character draft. I devote a whole draft to the main characters of the story. i make sure that their journey makes sense and that their motivations for their actions are logical.

Advice for aspiring writers? Overcome rejection. A lot of times the different from the aspiring and the achieved is that one took rejection as a milstone tied around their neck while the other saw rejection as a stepping stone to where they want to be!

What’s next for Dijorn Moss? I am blessed to be apart of the Home Again anthology so right now I am promoting both Home Again and The Retreat while finishing my next novel. I am also working on my next play as well as my first real screenplay. I am all about growth and expansion. God willing you will see another novel from me in 2012.

How can my readers find you on the Internet? http://www.dijornmoss.webs.com/ and if facebook had a refrigerator stocked with food, Facebook would be my second home.


About the Book

For those who have ever wondered what goes on at a men's retreat, The Retreat is an in-depth look into the lives of four men who have looked for answers in all the wrong places . . . until now.


Quincy is in the final stages of his divorce, but he still wants to know which church member had an affair with his wife. Jamal is on the verge of the promotion of a lifetime, but unresolved issues with his son, Jamir, threaten everything. Chauncey is a man who will go to great lengths for his church, but not for his terminally ill brother. Will is a young hustler who has been given a rare opportunity to make a choice that will change his life forever.

These four men are all at a crossroads in their lives. Will they lay their burdens down at the cross, or will they choose paths that will cause more harm than good? It will all be revealed at the men's retreat, where they learn that they need God and his wisdom more than ever.

Available wherever fine books are sold and in online bookstores such as Amazon.com

Thursday, March 17, 2011

A CHAPTER A MONTH - Great stories all the time!

Donna Hill Online: A CHAPTER A MONTH: "Authors you love...all the time. Introducing A Chapter a Month. The first of its kind website where a team of today's top-selling au..."

I'm excited about this venture. I look forward to joining the site with a story this summer.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Never Without Hope by Michelle Sutton

I had the pleasure of reading this novel prior to publication, when the author, Michelle Sutton, was patiently waiting for it to find a home with a publisher. It was one of the best books I had ever read and dare I say a super-edgy departure from the stories that had been published in Christian Fiction. (Hence, the issue with it finding a home.) This story is not about African-American characters and I know that's the focus for this blog, but it's much to relevant for me not to share with my readers. Trust me, you will not be disappointed with this awesome book!





About the Book

Hope believes she is above sexual temptation; that she would never break that commandment like her husband's previous wives had done. After all, she is a good Christian and a loving mother. She has no reason to stray . . . until her husband starts neglecting her needs and things begin to look hopeless. Though she clearly communicates her pain to her husband, he refuses to get help. She starts to wonder...Will she never have sex with her husband again? She soon learns that she, too, is capable of such betrayal when she succumbs to the unthinkable. But things that first seemed sweet and reasonable given her painful situation soon produce a bitter taste when combined with the overwhelming guilt. No substitute will ever replace her love and desire for her husband. If only he would touch her like he used to. If only they could make love again. She misses him so much and wants to tell him the truth hoping it will propel him to do something to fix their problem, but she fears his rejection. Yet, she can't continue living such a hypocritical life. She knows it's wrong even though she continues to crave physical intimacy. Steeped in the quagmire of adultery, Hope must find her way back to solid ground to save her marriage. But will she lose everyone she loves in the process?

Available for purchase at Amazon.com and wherever fine books are sold. Also available in e-book for all readers at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and Smashwords.com

Visit Michelle's blog for the novel to learn more about the characters and story.
http://neverwithouthopethenovel.blogspot.com/

Learn more about Michelle and her novels at http://www.michellesutton.net/

Monday, March 14, 2011

Man Enough For Me - Blog Tour

About the Author

Rhonda Bowen is a writer and event planner living in Toronto. When not stressing over her job, she can be found at church stressing over the kids she teaches in youth class. She enjoys spending time with her family, trying on shoes she can’t afford, and enjoying life’s unexpected twists and turns.

Visit her online at http://www.rhondabowen.com/

List your published books.

Man Enough For Me is my first published novel. It was released February 22, 2011 from Kensington Books.

Which book did you find the hardest to birth?

I am finding my second novel harder to write. With the first novel, I had all the time in the world to lovingly craft it into what I wanted it to be. With the second novel, I am under the time constraints of a contract and have to be more disciplined and deliberate in meeting my own personal writing deadlines and those of my editor!

How would you describe your writing style?

I think my writing style is still evolving. Probably unlike most writers and most likely to the horror of my editor I never outline a story before I write it. In fact, I tried that once and the story never got finished. I usually mull an idea around in my head until I have a first chapter. Only then do I start writing, and from there, I let the story write itself.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind?

I love listening to music while I write! I feel like the music sets my mood and helps me feel what I want my characters to feel in a particular scene. I listen to some 90s R&B but mostly gospel. Fred Hammond and Kirk Franklin are favorites.

Tell us anything about you as a writer that you think might be interesting or unusual.

I’m an undercover writer. When I told my family and friends that I had a novel that was being published most of them went into shock. Very few people know how much I write. In fact outside of my immediate family and a few writer friends, not many people know.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

I feel like I’m still too new to be giving advice, but I do encourage aspiring writers to just write. Write everyday and write about things that interest you. Don’t worry too much about being published at first. Just make sure you’re having fun. I think when you are enjoying yourself writing, the sentiment will be transferred into your work.

Writers are often encouraged to write what they know. Have you found that to be the case with your writing?

It is definitely easier to write what you know and I think your story ends up being more credible when you do. I have read stories by other fiction writers where they write about the industry that I am a part of and I can tell almost immediately when they have no firsthand experience. I am not saying that you should never write about unfamiliar topics, but if you do you should definitely do your research and, if possible, have someone who knows look over your story for you.

About the Book


Twenty-something public relations gem Jules Jackson has everything in her life under control, and that’s exactly the way she likes it. She’s got no problem handling two jobs, her crazy friends, and her difficult mother. But she’s just about given up on men—until she meets fine Germaine Williams …

Straight-up catch Germaine is eager to prove his worth to Jules, and she falls hard. But it’s soon clear Germaine’s keeping at least one big secret. And the deeper Jules digs, the more her balancing act, and her romance, begins to crumble. Now Jules can either turn to her faith and open her heart to love—or risk getting it broken…

Purchase the Book Online at:

Amazon.com , BooksaMillion.com, BarnesandNoble.com




For More Information


Visit the author online at http://www.rhondabowen.com/

View the blog tour schedule at http://bit.ly/ManEnoughForMe

Book Review
by
Janette Malcolm

Man Enough for Me written by Rhonda Bowen is an awe inspiring book that shows that no matter what you do if you trust in God He will take care of you.


Jules Jackson has a good job, good friends, a burgeoning career that she loves but she hasn't met that one person she connects with who she could truly love. Jules is just a little jaded by the prospects of men out there. She constantly finds flaws with every man she meets and does not expect to give her heart away anytime soon.

Germaine Williams is an entrepreneur and a man of faith who also harbors a secret. When the two meet, sparks fly. You know that they are perfect together but wonder if they can trust each other enough to be the person that they need each other to be.

Rhonda Bowen is a talented writer and a great story teller. She showed all aspects of the Christian experience from those deeply rooted in their faith to those who are new to the faith.

I really enjoyed this book. Although it started out slow, it soon picked up the momentum as it makes you wonder what secret is Germaine hiding, how would Jules handle it all, could she, would she trust God in all aspects of her life. I was drawn into all the twists and turns of the relationships within this story. I found myself turning several pages ahead just to see what was coming up next.

This was a very good book and I can’t wait for Rhonda Bowen's next one.