Looking for a good book? Here’s a round-up of a few books you should check out:

30-Day Notice – Kai Mann

Kori Maitland leaves behind everything that matters to find herself. In her search she travels from the east coast to the Midwest to find the love of her life. At least, that’s what she believes. After moving across the country and a five year relationship with Layla Bradford, Kori is given a 30 day notice. Although Kori didn’t believe that Layla would leave, she does and Kori is left with the challenges of dealing with a broken heart, being left on the west coast, and permanent employment. As Kori struggles to get her life back together she realizes that Layla’s 30 day notice was not the first one she had ever received. Kori deals with all the notices as she looks back over the past five years of the relationship. As she tries to mend her broken heart she travels back to the Midwest to find a job and to hopefully start a business. It isn’t until Kori gets back to the Midwest that the betrayal from old friends turns her world upside down. Kori finds herself faced with eviction, an accident, a cheating lover, and her past.

Can Kori find who she is without losing herself along the way? Or will she succumb to the trials in life without reaching her intended goal?

Bi-Curious – Natalie Weber

Young, sexually curious Serenity has always desired both men and women, so when she heads to college in Washington, D.C., she’s excited to explore her own carnal limits when she hooks up with Sadie Smith. But soon her life will change forever. Brand new is this dangerous and exciting underworld Sadie initiates Serenity into, with all its sex and secrets, and Serenity can’t help but become further entangled in Sadie’s seductive web. But eventually, Sadie’s obsession begins to fully envelop Serenity…and it looks like she’ll never find a way to escape her lover’s clutches. Well, there might be one way out. And as

Serenity gets further pulled into Sadie’s world of deceit, lies and danger, it may just be her only way out….

Dilemma –K. Elliot

Tremaine is good for Natalie—well at least on paper—but Natalie has a secret. She craves women and it’s become a feeling she can’t resist.

Natalie meets Jaharie, a beautiful biracial woman, who wants a relationship with a man or a woman. Love is the only thing that matters to her. Natalie is thoroughly intrigued with Jaharie. She wants her, but being with a woman full-time isn’t what Natalie has in her plans and she knows her mother will never approve. She wants a husband, children—a ‘normal’ life—and is on track to acquiring this.

She plans to keep Jaharie a secret until she meets Tamala, a powerful, successful attorney and very attractive lesbian who wants to take Natalie away from both Jaharie and Tremaine. Tamala has the savvy and financial power to woo Natalie right into her arms. Their relationship works for a while, until a past lover of Tamala’s vows to kill Natalie if she doesn’t stop seeing her. Natalie fears Tamala’s deranged lover but doesn’t leave until she learns a huge secret of hers.

Dilemma is a fast paced novel that will keep you intrigued and surprised.

Jazzy Ladies Productions: Nothing is as Sweet as it Looks – Ericka K. F. Simpson

Jazzy Ladies Productions is the premiere lesbian organization that has entertained the LGBT community with events, parties and holiday celebrations for five years in middle Georgia.

The founders Jazmyne and Karen Galloway, pride themselves in providing fun nightlife entertainment for the grown and sexy into their motto ‘Good friends and good business makes for a great life’.However; when the past they thought was dead and gone unexpectedly resurrects itself and threatens the empire they have built, they will do anything to lay it to rest for good…or bury themselves trying.

Letting Go…Almost A Trilogy of Alternative Short Stories – D Monica Cooper

D Monica Cooper’s novel depicts three stories of lesbian life. In Letting Go, Dylan’s life has never been what some would call “a good life.” With no family, she depended on her girlfriend Skylar to fill that void she’d been carrying around for so long. The only problem with that was Sky was controlling, a cheat, and abusive. In Till Death do Us Part, Martel is that woman that never thinks about how she’s going to get the woman she wants. She has more than enough charming ways to get her. Martel’s only problem is she’s never falling for a woman and let her live. And in Almost, life for Asilia Robinson was simple…until she met Kai Williams. A nice body, charming smile, and a mesmerizing pair of eyes, Kai was definitely a 20 on any girl’s scale of 10, and Asilia instantly finds herself infatuated. Asilia has never fallen for a woman before and finds all the extra emotions rather overwhelming at times especially when Kai acts nonchalant towards their intimate moments. The second problem is Asilia’s boyfriend, Bilal.

Lick – Shonda

Lick:
-to pass the tongue over the surface of, as to moisten, stroke, taste, or eat;
-a sudden hard blow;
-to get the better of; to defeat; to conquer;
-slang: to commit robbery.

Jazmine Rice is overweight and she has an abusive boyfriend.

Angel Black just got out of prison. She’s tired of her former lifestyle and just wants to start from scratch.

Jazmine and Angel are from different walks of life, but their paths are very similar. When their worlds collide, Jazmine and Angel must decide whether they want to continue walking alone or if they’d rather have someone walking by her side.

Life, Love & Lust 2011 – LM Inc.

The newest Anthology from LM Inc. Life, Love & Lust 2011! Lesbian coming out, staying in and living the life stories…find yours inside. Featuring 24 authors, some new, some old, all sharing their tales of life, love and lust.

Love Magic – Katrina Arango

Love spells? Dancing nude under the moon? Seductive secrets passed down through the generations? Wild orgies on the Bayou? Erotic mind control? Were all of the rumors true? Margene Lacroix is a modern day psychic, the descendent of one of the great, legendary Creole women of New Orleans. Blessed with natural, magnetizing beauty, Margene is the object of desire of many. She’s nicknamed “the good witch” by the locals, who seek her advice for on everything from love and finances to good luck and healing. Margene’s fan base of adoring women finds her irresistible. But with her sights set on a new love, she falls hard and fast. At first she’s happy. Soon she finds herself deeply entrenched in a world where uninhibited passions run wild, and she can have anybody she wants. Margene Lacroix discovers a new power within her, and uses it in ways she’d never dreamed of! A cross between “Charmed” and “Big Love” this novel promises to keep you spellbound…

Also check out Spellbound: Sexy Secrets Of A Creole Seductress, the companion handbook to Love Magic filled with authentic New Orleans secrets passed down for attraction, beauty and charm. You’ll want to keep this book on your bedroom dresser for quick references to recipes to make your own oils, perfumes and powders to make yourself as alluring as possible! Be the bewitching beauty no one can resist by learning the tricks and rarely shared knowledge known to Creole beauties for over a century! Exotic secrets, love & glamour spells, sensually inspired baths and other beauty enhancing hidden truths can now be yours with Spellbound!

The Pussycats – Lexy Harper (E-book)

This is a compilation of girl-on-girl stories. They are not strictly lesbian erotica – they are more stories of women making love to each other.

Still Strapped – Sharon D. Smith

Still Strapped takes a much more intimate look at stud-on-stud, or S4S, relationships in the Black GLBT community. In addition to a fast-paced storyline that picks up from the first novel, Still Strapped includes an interview with an S4S lesbian who spoke very candidly about her experiences and the challenges she has faced simply by being herself and living in truth.

Strapped, which is told from the perspective of one of the main characters, Taz, discusses S4S relationships from a “newbie’s” perspective. Still Strapped, on the other hand, is told from Silk’s point of view. Silk, who is Taz’s boifriend, has been entrenched in the world of S4S relationships for many years and continues to find herself caught up in lesbian drama as things from her past are rekindled.

Sweeter Than the Honey – LaShanda Michelle

Kamilah Wright has a lot on her shoulders for someone entering their senior year of high school. Not only does her mom expect her to raise the other seven children in their home, but she’s also required to turn a blind eye to her father’s infidelity, as well as maintain a perfect 4.0 GPA in order to get the academic scholarship she desperately needs to attend college. To complicate matters even more, she’s also a rape victim. The only person she’s told is her best friend, Eric, whom she’s secretly in love with. Through all of this Kamilah convinces herself that she has everything under control.

That is until she meets Summer Freeman. The beautiful new girl at school, Summer introduces Kamilah to a lifestyle that she’s never known, including fashion, luxury, and alternative viewpoints that conflict with her Christian upbringing. Pretty soon the love she has for her new friend evolves into something more, and Kamilah has to prove which love she will devoteherself to. Will she stay in the same sex relationship that feels so right, or will she embrace the faith she didn’t know meant so much to her?

Taka II – Tyberia Blaqk

Foxy Brown plus Cleopatra Jones equals Taka Denisho, a New Jersey Special Operations Detective. She’s still holding her crown and reigning over her city, Mudd City! Her juggling act consists of marrying her lesbian lover Mikki, the former girlfriend of drug lord Dyshun and parenting an orphan, Miles. Things continue to heat up in the second installment of this urban tale.

This an open call for submissions for “coming out” stories that will form part of an anthology on Gay LGBT African Coming out Stories. This anthology, entitled, “Africa coming out” will capture stories from across the continent. We hope that these stories will not only entertain us but also provide encouragement to us all, that we are not alone in the process.

We want our voices to be heard and our empowering presence to be felt.

We encourage all members of the community from all walks of life, to send in a submission and encourage all types of stories (happy, sad, painful, inspiring, or celebratory).

Submissions are accepted from LGBT individuals or family members of LGBT individuals.

Submission Guidelines:

-All submission must be in English.
-Stories should be between 1500-5000 words
-Reprints are ok as long as all rights remain with the author.
-Please make sure to complete the submission form and to answer all of the questions listed. The submission form can be found at www.Africacomingout.com

If you have any questions, you may email us at Africacomingout@gmail.com or visit www.africacomingout.com.

Submissions should be sent via email to Africacomingout@gmail.com. All submissions must be received on or before 15th January 2012 at noon.

Letters to My Bully is a collection of letters, short stories (fiction or non-fiction), poetry and essays from authors across the world that speaks to the traumatic and sometimes fatal impact of bullying.

Letters to My Bully is also an educational and preventative tool for parents, educators, teens and youth, as well as a channel for healing and empowerment for bullying victims and survivors.

Letters to My Bully is currently seeking submissions of:

Essays: 1000 Words or Less
Personal Commentary (Letters): 1000 Words or Less
Poetry: 2-3 Single Spaced Pages
Short Stories (Fiction or Non-Fiction): 2500-3000 words or less

Submissions should speak to:

• Your personal experiences with being bullied
• How being bullied changed or altered your life
• How you overcame being victimized by a bully
• Essays discussing possible solutions to bullying
• What you would say to your bully if you could confront them today

Deadline:  December 1, 2011 at 5pm.  Please send submissions to letterstomybullymail@gmail.com.

Payment made in copies!

All submissions must include full contact information including Name, Address, Email, Phone Number and Website (if you have one). Please use only, Times Roman, 12 Point Font with One Inch Margins (DO NOT INCLUDE SPECIAL GRAPHICS, FONTS, COLORED TEXT ETC)

For more information visit Glover Lane Press website at http://gloverlanepress.webs.com/ or http://azaankamau.webs.com/ or call 1-424-703-3277 or write to letterstomybullymail@gmail.com

Read the Sistahs on the Shelf reviews of Choices and her follow-up novel, Consequences.Her newest in the series, Crossroads, is available for pre-order on amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, booksamillion.com, and target.com. Stay tuned for details.

Co-Editor of Tapestries of Faith, Ifalade Ta’Shia Asanti, says, “This will be one of the most important anthologies in the history of SGLBT. Jeffrey King gave us the vision for this book during a community gathering and charged me with the task of birthing this book into the world. I am honored to be among the gatekeepers for this project.”

Azaan Kamau, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of Glover Lane Press says, “This book is an important contribution to African-American history. Glover Lane Press is honored to be the publishing house to bring these stories to the world.”

Tapestries of Faith speaks to the often invisible contributions of African-American same gender loving bisexual and trans people to the Black power movement and the Black community at large and the richness of their cultural experiences and presence as a whole. A transformative tool for academic study and educational presentations, Tapestries of Faith will have four sections rarely explored in mainstream “gay” life.

Tapestries of Faith is filled with poetry, essays and prose that intends to sooth the heart and reawaken the spirit. Anthology contributors represent a wide range of artists ranging from journalists, photographers, performance artists, playwrights and more. Among them are the distinguished C. Jerome Woods, DRED, Claudia Moss, Queen Hollins, KAUTION, Ennis Jackson, Katrina Arango, Bey Celeste and many others.

Tapestries of Faith: Black SGLBT Stories of Triumph, Family, Love & Healing (Edited by Jeffrey King, Ifalade ta’Shia Asanti, Azaan Kamau) is available through Glover Lane Press website and on amazon.com and through the co-editor’s web sites. Please visit http://gloverlanepress.webs.com/ for more information.

Paperback: 194 pages

Publisher: Glover Lane Press (June 21, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0615497632

ISBN-13: 978-0615497631

Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches

Accept the Unexpected  by L. Cherelle – Keleya Smith thought she had the ultimate catch with Kris, but their four-year relationship is destroyed with one night of deceit. Their breakup forces Keleya to come to a discomforting realization: she is unfulfilled, often seeking refuge in her hobby, family, and friends. Despite the emotional damage, Keleya remains loyal to love. So when fate drops someone new at her doorstep, she transfers the yearning for intimacy, respect, and friendship to Jordan an attractive native of Philadelphia. This newfound relationship with Jordan catches Keleya by surprise and tests her looming desire for Kris. But when her feelings for Jordan transform into more than casual dating, her faith in authentic relationships is challenged by an unforeseen circumstance. In the struggle to manage trust and vulnerability, Keleya finds herself caught in a whirlwind of old loves and new possibilities.

On top of romantic woes, Keleya has to navigate relationships with her best friend, JaCola, and immediate family members. Now, more than ever, she is at odds with her gossiping sister, Nkosazana, and pained by the broken relationship with her father. Over the course of a year, Keleya has to face some shocking truths. But in the end, she finds solace in her love life and herself.

Dreaming in Color by Fiona Zedde Lewis – Carlene (Cee-Cee) has come to the U.S. from Jamaica to join her mother, who has been working for two years to bring her daughter to join her. But excited as Carlene is to be reunited with her beloved mother, she finds life in her new country daunting. She misses her island home and the father she left behind.

High school is a difficult territory to navigate for many teens – bullying, mean girls, jock/thug boys, and just the normal daily stresses of trying to succeed in classes can present awesome challenges. When a group of mean girls led by one of the most popular girls in the school targets Carlene, taunting her for her accent and her skin color, she turns to art as a refuge. Problems with her mother, who reveals a secret Cee-Cee is not prepared for, just adds to her feelings of isolation.

Then Carlene meets Greg, another teen from Jamaica. They bond over their shared feelings of dislocation and their inability to fit in. But a big party where the popular kids get extreme, plus a series of conflicts lead to tragic consequences. Carlene must decide what to do next.

From Where We Sit edited by Victoria Brownworth – In this innovative collection, 13 established and emerging African-American writers present a range of compelling and provocative stories. One of America’s best-known African-American writers, Jewelle Gomez, acclaimed author of The Gilda Stories, offers a new episode in her historic series. Harlem native and award-winning writer Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, romance writer Anne Shade, short-story stylist Craig L. Gidney, actress and playwright Ifalade Ta’Shia Asanti, noted children’s author Becky Birtha, and award-winning novelist Fiona Lewis each explore what it means to be black in America today as well as in America’s historic past, addressing issues not only of race, but also of class, gender, sexual orientation, and religion. Filmmaker Lowell Boston details the multi-faceted complexities of racism in America for young black men, while emerging writers Lisa R. Nelson, Guillaume Stewart, Misty Sol, kahlil almustafa, and Quincy Scott Jones take on different aspects of urban life: Nelson presents a young girl who wants to escape her middle-class neighborhood, Stewart writes provocatively about missing fathers in black America, Sol explores the impact of gun violence and no-snitch rules, almustafa details the day-to-day suspicion young black men face, and Jones places a young black man in white academe in a dazzling display of wordplay. This exciting collection combines a wide range of dynamic characters, divergent styles, and compelling issues that will appeal to all ages and which belongs in every American library.

If You Love Me, Come by Claudia Moss – Frenonia “Free” Roberts leads an idyllic life, if you ask her baby sister Rhonda, her best friend Sharmayne and others looking in on her glamorous, Buppie existence in Atlanta, where she high-steps it through her days as a young entrepreneur, the owner of TheWeAreFamily Bookstore and Coffeeshop. She is the apple of her mother’s eye, a heavy hitter for the city’s National Black Arts Festival, founder of the esteemed Daughters of Isis Book Club and the flame in J.T.’s heart.

Then one evening Free closes the bookstore and bows to the whim of a supernatural breeze guiding her Mercedes towards Techwood Homes, a throwaway neighborhood off her normal route back to the suburbs. She has no warning that a simple turn in the road will catapult her into a devastating, downward spiral to a place she’s never known….until now.

In turmoil, Free watches as worlds collide and hearts weep. Used to being the epitome of control, she learns to surrender to an unseen power moving for her good, even when she craves little more than an endless night. Meanwhile, the people closest to Free can’t stay her inevitable plunge; they’re too busy handling their own dilemmas: treading water, battling demons and stumbling through their own mazes. How is Free to know a stranger with the South in her mouth will be the saving grace she and the others (Rhonda, Sharmayne, Pinky, Pastoria and J.T.) will need to lead them back to love?

Sappho International by Max.Amillion – Sappho International is a worldwide entertainment company that caters to the women-who-love-women-only secret society, the Sapphic Trust. The Sapphic Trust was originated by Sappho in 600 BC. And due to its high profile and secretive nature, it has contracted Sappho International to arrange parties and pleasure for the jet-setting femmes and studs of the organization in exchange for riches, glitz and glamour. The Trust invites us to take a peak behind its veil and explore its organization, as we view it through the eyes of its newly-inducted androgynous lesbian, Max Silk, and we experience the uninhibited thrill ride of her mind-blowing ascension within Sappho International.

Scorpio Rising: A Poetic Taste of Erotica and Lesbian Sex by Ms. Scorpio”N” – Scorpio Rising is an erotic poetry book, about love, fantasies, desires & some unusual behaviors in the world of Black Lesbian Sexuality & Sensuality.

Ms. Scorpio”N” has been writing poetry, since 1989. Before becoming Ms. Scorpio”N” she began doing spoken word in the early 90′s as the poet they called, “Verbal Kiss” Then in 2001 she took a hiatus for a number of years until she resurfaced in 2005 performing in Baltimore, MD as “Go-Go Ma” With her ever changing her style of poetry from “neo-soul” to “rebel with a cause” and now to being the lesbian poet with the magical tongue, Ms. Scorpio”N” has proven she is truly a “free spirit” Now Ms. Scorpio”N” has turned the page in poetry, literally, by writing her first book, Scorpio Rising, which is sure to make the readers squeezed those thighs tight just to conceal their arousal.

Stiletto by Katrina Arango and Azaan Kamau – From the authors of the national bestselling books Got Homophobia, In The Midst of My Blackness, STUD: Dispelling The Myths, The Femme Guide to Loving a Stud, The Lesbian Bad Girl: Why We Always Fall For Her and Endless Longings: 5 Short Stories To Intrigue You, brings us Stiletto! As a staunch teacher and revolutionary, Azaan Kamau’s writing has never been called erotic or romantic! For the first time ever, Azaan has written and published pieces that are not only erotic, they are downright sweltering, dangerous, volatile, and explosive. Once Azaan’s pal, business partner, and The Queen Lesbian Erotica, Katrina Arango, added her smoldering touch to the project with pieces like “Bad Boi”, “Femme to Femme”, “You Know”, “How Do I Want It”, and “Panties on the Wall”, Stiletto took a new sexual excitement!

We Love as You Do: Capturing the Strength of a Marginalized Community by Kim Rosenberry of SHEdriven Photography – 25 African-American Lesbians and couples share their heart-felt stories, poetry, loving words to their partner and discussion to about concerns in the gay community. Single mothers, interracial couples, young and middle-aged, all reveal through their lives they are no different, simply here to make a difference and Love as You Do.

Ericka K. F. Simpson, author of I Am Your Sister and Making Our Difference, has a new novel in the works, the exciting Jazzy Ladies Productions.

Jazzy Ladies Productions is the premiere lesbian organization that has entertained the GLBT community with events, parties and holiday celebrations for five years. The founders, Jazmyne and Karen, pride themselves in providing fun nightlife entertainment for the grown and sexy and their motto has become ‘Good friends and good business makes for a great life’. However, when the past they thought was dead and gone unexpectedly resurrects itself and threatens the empire they have built, they will do anything to lay it to rest for good…or bury themselves trying.

As the MC for the hottest lesbian organization in Middle Georgia, Logan is living the life she’s always dreamed about. Her networking and connections helped her to prove to her employers that she is well worth the investment. When offered an opportunity to move up in the organization, is Logan’s chance at making her own marks just a mirage in a dry desert? Will her inexperience allow an unknown competitor to come in and take away her one shot at being on top of the industry she help build?

Don’t forget to participate in the book review contest where you can win a $50 Amazon.com gift card. Full details at http://www.ekfsimpson.com/bookcontest-guidelines.html.

“Is there a difference between overdosing and trying to commit suicide? Some think so…I know I do.”

Simon and Schuster/Strebor Books national best-selling author and playwright Laurinda D. Brown’s fourth theatrical production, “Sometimes It Snows in Atlanta,” addresses mental illness in both the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) and African-American communities. While society stigmatizes mental illness, these communities often suffer multiple stigmas inclusive of race, gender, and socioeconomic pressures. Homosexuality, in and of itself, is considered a taboo topic in the African-American community; however, mental illness is often given the same treatment.

In “Sometimes It Snows in Atlanta,” three couples – one lesbian, one gay and one transgender – confront issues associated with depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety. Once each of the couples arrives for therapy, it is discovered that there is more at issue than just mental illness.

Check out the dynamic performances in “Sometimes It Snows in Atlanta,” Friday, September 2, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in The Rialto Center for the Arts. Red Carpet and VIP Reception begin at 6:30 p.m.

black girl love

Here’s the synopsis:

black girl love is a collection of well-crafted contemporary stories told from a black girl’s perspective on life and loving other “grown” black girls. Full of highs, lows and sex thrown in the middle of, black girl love contains twenty-five stories covering life, love and sex, featuring characters you will love, hate and want to fuck all at the same time.

Kat writes with a sparseness that offers the reader the chance to imagine themselves as the main character in each story. She touches on everyday situations that all can relate to along with the added bonus of erotica because life just wouldn’t be the same without it….

To pre-order the paperback now for only $7.99, visit www.anondrawilliams.com. Also, check out Kat’s other lesbian venture, www.lmwrites.com.

Congratulations to author D. Alexandria, whose debut was recently announced as a 2011 Lambda Literary Finalist. Her collection of hot stories, This is How We Do It, was nominated in the Lesbian Erotica category. Read the Sistahs on the Shelf review of her book here.

Winners will be announced May 26, 2011 in New York City. Please visit http://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards/2011-finalists/ for the complete list of Lammy Finalists.

Let’s wish D. Alexandria the best of luck.