Chicki Brown's Blog, page 12

New Release Spotlight!

Today the spotlight is shining on author Sheryl Lister. She has a brand new Kimani romance that I hope you will buy. Here are all of the details.  Sorry about the spacing. This was an HTML document, and I didn't know how to fix it...

Please join author Sheryl Lister as she tours the blogosphere with Write Now Literary Book Tours and her new release Places In My Heart, Pre Order Blitz and Contest on September 15, 2016. CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS In celebration of Sheryl’s upcoming release, Places In My Heart, she’s giving away (5) five prizes: (4) four mini-swag packs and (1) one Grand Prize of a Reader Lovers Basket, including a Kindle Fire and $25 Amazon gift card. Pre-order your copy: Amazon: http://amzn.to/1OSFA3hOnce you've ordered, enter the contest here: http://sheryllister.com/contestB&N: http://bit.ly/2ae25BQiTunes: http://apple.co/2bcYF5qKobo: http://bit.ly/2aYeslGThis contest is open to US only through September 30, 2016. Publication Date:  Oct 1, 2016Genre: Contemporary RomanceISBN-10: 0373864701ISBN-13: 978-0373864706 About The Book Omar Drummond is a pro football superstar with a body that’s a pure work of art. But Morgan Gray is forbidden to act on their chemistry, or repeat their impulsive kiss. Proving her worth as a sports agent means securing the notorious celebrity as a client, not a lover. Yet between flowers, sweet notes and heady hotel interludes, Omar is shamelessly seducing her...Other agents—and exes—have tried using Omar as a meal ticket, and he’s closed himself off from emotional entanglements. With Morgan, it’s a whole new playbook. Smart and tough, she can negotiate a contract and turn him on all in one go, and he craves more. But in matters of trust, he’s just fumbled badly. To win her he has to show her the man he can be away from the field and the limelight, and hope that this time they’re both playing for keeps. About The Author Sheryl Lister has enjoyed reading and writing for as long as she can remember. She writes contemporary and inspirational romance and romantic suspense. She been nominated for an Emma Award and RT Reviewer’s Choice Award and named BRAB’s 2015 Best New Author. When she’s not reading, writing or playing chauffeur, Sheryl can be found on a date with her husband or in the kitchen creating appetizers and bite-sized desserts. Sheryl resides in California and is a wife, mother of three daughters and a son-in-love, and grandmother to two very special little boys. Excerpt Omar knew he had taken a risk showing up at Morgan’s office, but he was desperate. It had taken a lot to persuade Malcolm to share his sister’s information, especially since Omar had declined to say what had happened between them. He toyed with calling first, but changed his mind because he didn’t want to chance her refusing to see him. The woman seated outside Morgan’s office, whom he assumed was the assistant, greeted him with a wide smile and an exaggerated sway of her hips as she led him to the office. Omar ignored the not-so-subtle brush of her breasts against his arm when she turned to leave. In his peripheral vision, he noticed the slight rise in Morgan’s eyebrow and knew she’d seen it, too. He waited until the woman closed the door before turning to face Morgan.Morgan folded her arms. “What are you doing here?”“Hello to you, too,” he said.An embarrassed expression crossed her face. “Sorry. Have a seat.”Omar took the chair opposite her desk. “I apologize for stopping by without calling, but I figured you wouldn’t see me otherwise.”“You were probably right. How do you know I won’t call security to throw you out now?”“I don’t, but I’m counting on your love of football to work in my favor.” They engaged in a stare-down for several seconds until she looked away first.“How did you know where I worked?”“Malcolm.” She frowned and he added, “If it’s any consolation, he adamantly refused to divulge your home address.”“Well, maybe I won’t kill him, after all.”He chuckled.“Since you went through all this trouble, I guess I can spare you five minutes.”Omar knew the mention of football would rouse her curiosity. “I’d like to talk to you about a business proposition.”“What does that have to do with football?”“My contract is up for renewal in six weeks and—”“Don’t you have an agent? If memory serves me correctly, you have one of the best agents around.”“Things aren’t always as they seem.”She sat up straight. “What are you saying?”“I’m saying it’s time for a change, and I’d like you to negotiate my upcoming contract. You’re an attorney and, according to your brother, you know football like you’ve played it all your life.”Her eyes lit up and her mouth fell open. “Are you serious? Wait a minute.” She sat back again and angled her head. “What about your current agent? Did he dump you or something?”Omar sighed. “No.” There was more to it, but he would only tell her if she agreed to represent him.Morgan narrowed her eyes. “There are dozens of sports agents out there, and I’m certain any one of them would be happy to take you on, especially with your numbers from last year. Yet you’re in my office.”He smiled. “You checked my stats? So, you’re admitting I’ve got game?”A rush of color darkened her face. “Why me?” she asked, ignoring his questions.“You want to be an agent, and I need one.” He leaned forward and whispered, “And I know you passed the sport’s agent certification test. It’s a win-win situation for both of us.”“On second thought, I am going to kill Malcolm,” she muttered.“I need your help, Morgan. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”“I have to think about this.” She turned slightly in her chair and stared out the window, and then back at him. “You realize I already have a job. And I’m working on a case.”Omar nodded. “I understand, and I have no problems working around your schedule.”“Even on weekends or late evenings.”“Anytime.”“I see.” She went back to staring out the window.He could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. She bit down on her lip, drawing his attention and reminding him how much he enjoyed kissing her.Finally she angled her head his direction. “I’ll agree on one condition.”“What’s that?”“You keep your hands and lips to yourself. No more kisses.”Omar groaned inwardly. There was no way he could go without kissing her. In fact, it had been the first thing on his mind from the moment he saw her today. “Morgan—”“No. More. Kisses,” she repeated.Trailer: https://youtu.be/DqdxKL-YkMo Connect Socially Website: http://sheryllister.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/sheryllisterauthorTwitter: https://twitter.com/1SlynneGoodread: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7855222.Sheryl_Lister Tour hosted by WNL Book Tours Today the spotlight is shining on author Sheryl Lister. She has a brand new release that I hope you read. Check out the details... Follow Sheryl on Tour

Sample Sunday

I'm much closer to The End of Inner City Blues,  the final book in the Stafford Brothers series, than I was the last time I posted an excerpt here. Right now it looks like the book will have a November release date, and I'll put up one more excerpt on the first Sunday in October.

This clip opens Chapter Two where the family is together for Christmas and Mama Stafford takes the daughter-in-law out for the day.
**************
Jesse watched his brothers in amazement. The moment the limo pulled off with the ladies, something peculiar kicked in. None of them would’ve admitted it, but the men actually looked forward to this assignment. They all cared for their own kids at home, but this was different. All six of the brothers and their father along with all nine of their children only happened once a year. The amazing thing was how competitive each of them became. They were all educated professional men, but today it became of utmost importance to prove they knew how to be Mr. Mom.
Of course, his father walked around as though he were the ultimate authority on child rearing sent from On High to oversee them. After he’d offered his unsolicited opinion on everything from what to feed the kids for lunch to how to get Jax to stop crying, Jesse called his brothers into a huddle. “We need to shut him up. What can we do to keep him occupied for the next couple of hours?”
“Let him make the sandwiches for lunch,” Vic suggested.
Charles groaned. “That’ll only take fifteen minutes tops.”
“I have an idea,” Marc said with a sly grin. “I need some lunch. I could send him on a food run. That should get him out of here for at least ninety-minutes.”
“And while he’s gone, we have to think of something else.” Nick finished putting the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher and cleared his throat when he saw their father coming into the family room.
Marc jumped right into their plan. “Daddy, can you do me a huge favor?”
The older man nodded his gray head. “What do you need, son?”
“You guys have leftovers from yesterday’s dinner to eat for lunch, but I don’t have anything. Could you make a restaurant run for me? I want something from Tassili’s Raw Reality over on Abernathy. I know it’s a little out of the way, but I’ve been there before, and they have what I want.”
“If you ate normal food like the rest of the world, that wouldn’t be necessary,” their father grumbled with a touch of laughter behind his word. “All right, call it in and give me the address so I can plug it into the GPS.”
Marc sent his brothers a furtive smile. “Thanks, Daddy. I’ll call them now.”
Jesse added onto the plot by saying, “It looks like Cyd didn’t send enough diapers for Aniyah, and I’m afraid I might run out. She can only wear a certain brand because her skin is extremely sensitive and the other brands give her contact dermatitis. If that happens, Cyd’ll kill me.
The old man gazed toward the ceiling as though he felt they were taking advantage of him and then stuck his upraised palm out for some cash. “Fine.”
Twenty minutes later, he left and the six remaining men broke into a fit of laughter. “If he hadn’t left, I might’ve tried to kill him,” Jesse said.
“You’d think nobody in this world ever changed a diaper before he showed them how,” Nick fussed as he carried Jax over to the play yard filled with toys and placed him inside with Jelani and Lili.
Charles chuckled. “The worst part is he isn’t even a pediatrician.”
“He thinks because he had six sons, he knows everything there is to know,” Greg agreed. 
“But when you hear Mama tell it, he left all of that up to her when we were little.”
“You know how it was back in the day, childcare was considered woman’s work,” Vic chimed in.”
“Hmph! I’d hate to see what would happen if I told Cher that.”
“They’d probably the last words you uttered before your lights went out, man!” A howl came in reply to Greg’s words.
The brothers spent the time while their father did the restaurant pick-up and diaper run refilling their coffee mugs and playing with the children.
Jesse put Aniyah in the swing Mama had bought in from the garage. He pushed the button hoping she’d also remembered to put new batteries in it. When the seat started to move, and she giggled, he settled back into the sofa pillows and watched Marc as he brushed ChiChi’s hair. “It’ll really be good to have you back in the A, man.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” Marc awkwardly twisted her thick, curly hair into two ponytails and fastened them with an elastic tie with little plastic animal faces on them. When he finished, they were lopsided but neat. “My years in Vegas served their purpose. I proved to myself that I could build a business, and it gave Daddy and me time to work out our stuff.”
“Thanks for having my back about the arrest.” Jesse sent his brother a lingering, heartfelt glance.
“Hey, not too long ago I was his target, so you know I understand. Seems like you really enjoy volunteering at the clinic.”
“I do, man. My work at the practice is fulfilling but in a different way. Saving lives is always rewarding, but I feel like my patients at the clinic need me in a different way. What I do there is actually more like family practice, and it’s for people who might not get the care they need anywhere else. I don’t even think about the money.”
Charles leaned over the plastic barricade keeping the babies confined and ended a tug of war between the two girls by taking away the doll they were fighting over. “Pro bono work is the most gratifying, in my opinion. I’m proud of the work I do at the children’s hospital, but what I did in Nigeria will stay with me forever. I honestly can’t wait until Adanna and I go back for our next tour.”
“When will that be?” Vic asked, then said, “Wait a minute, I hear some arguing downstairs.” 
He jogged over to the open door leading to the theater. “Hey! What’s all that noise about?” his booming voice asked.
Jesse couldn’t hear the kids’ response, but Vic ended it quickly by telling the quarreling children, “If I have to come down there, nobody’s going to see anything. Settle it. Now!” A sudden silence drifted up the stairs. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“We’re going again in April for three weeks,” Charles said when Vic returned to the sofa. 
“Mama said she’d keep Lani for us.”
“Sweet. You know Mona didn’t support my doing pro bono work, but she came to me a while back and said, ‘I never understood how you and your brothers could work all those hours for free. Now I get it.’ It seems that one of the women who runs the business incubator that helped her get the company off the ground told her about a charity that provides clothing for women getting their first job after being homeless or in a shelter for domestic abuse. She started giving pieces from her collection to them. They asked her to come to a luncheon where she met a few of the recipients and heard their personal stories. She even took a carload of her clothes and shoes to them. I’m proud of the way she’s grown since she’s been in business for herself.”
“No kidding. That’s major.” Jesse paused for a moment. “Mama and Daddy taught us well. That’s why I can’t wrap my head around why he wants me to separate myself from what’s going on in the Hollowell area.”
“It’s because you’re personallyinvolved. He’d be happy if you were just sending a check.”
“This is a different situation, though. Money isn’t going to bring that kid back. Only visible, vocal protests will keep the media focused on the case. Black men have to be seen and heard speaking out against what’s happening with the police in our neighborhoods.”
“Just be careful, man.” Marc slapped him on the back. Bullets don’t discriminate.”
Coming to Kindle, Nook and paperback November 2016

New Release Spotlight!

Today I am proud to share with you a new release from inspirational author Kristen Marquardt entitled Releasing Jesus from the Weeds . More about this interesting title in a minute. First, I'd like to tell you a little about Kristen.

Kristen has been serving the church and God both volunteer and professionally for over 30 years, starting as a Sunday School teacher, CE Director, and Licensed Pastor. She holds a dual B..A. from Connecticut College in English Literature and Environmental Science and an M.S. In Theology and the Arts from Andover Newton Theological Seminary. She lives in Connecticut in a multigenerational home with her husband and many pets. She enjoys her family, writing, gardening and so much more...

About the book:

From the pew to the pulpit to prayer, Kristen Marquardt’s writing has been serving God’s People in Connecticut for over thirty years. Her unique style in prose, poetry, and short story reminds us of our shared humanity and how our faith and faith struggles are no different than those of both biblical characters and the people we see everyday in our daily walk. With rare insight, Marquardt looks deeply into faith and strips away the boundaries that we all assume exist, reminding us that our hope is not ours alone, we all share a common path as God’s children.

"Kristen is a gifted writer, a writer that stirs the soul and causes us to think more openly the existence of God in ordinary life. I call Kristen a wisdom writer." ~ Rev. Dr. Sharon Ledbetter

You can find out more at any of her online homes:

Website: http://kpoiriermarquardt.wixsite.com/authorFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/kpoiriermarquardt GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/kpoiriermarquardt
                                                       You can buy the book from:
WestBowPress--http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU-001034223/Releasing-Jesus-from-the-Weeds.aspxAmazon--https://amzn.com/B01IW7W758Barnes & Noble--http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/releasing-jesus-from-the-weeds-kristen-poirier-marquardt/1124111944?ean=9781512747669 GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31238213-releasing-jesus-from-the-weeds

Heading home...

We had a wonderful stay in Panama City Beach this week. I didn't get as much writing done as I'd hoped, but it was still productive.

We stayed overnight in Eufaula, Alabama and had two hours to waste before we could check into the hotel, so we decided to tour the town and do research for my next series. First I went to the Old Fairview Cemetery. I want to use this as a spot where my heroine goes when she wants to be alone or read.

Next we drove around the old downtown where I want my heroine's quaint bookstore to be. 

Lastly, we went to the Shorter Mansion where Sweet Home Alabama was filmed. It's an incredible house built in 1870 which is now owned by the Eufaula Heritage Association, serves as a museum and a rental facility for weddings, etc.

The tour guide was an avid reader and had her Kindle with her, because she reads in between giving tours of the house. She said they will sell books featuring Eufaula at the mansion, so of course I'm thinking about that!










When we arrived in Panama City Beach, Florida, it looked like this... 


But within 24 hours, it deteriorated...

Strong thunderstorms kept waking me up one night, but every time I woke up and remembered where I was, I just smiled and went back to sleep. The rain arrived on Monday, so I went to Office Depot and printed out a hard copy of the chapter I finished. Personally, I think I jinxed the city by hoping it would keep on raining, so I wouldn't want to go out and do anything. It's been raining ever since. It was great writing weather, though because I was working with this view...

The rain turned into a monsoon, and they posted flash flooding and possible evacuation warning in outlying areas. I didn't matter to me, but I felt sorry for the folks who just checked in with their little kids. I can't imagine being cooped up in a condo with 3-4 children.
We went to Pier Park, the huge outdoor mall and did some souvenir shopping. Mostly we ate, and ate, and ate. One of the best breakfasts was at Another Broken Egg.
                  
We're headed home this afternoon, and I'm trying not to get emotional over having to leave the ocean. Oh well, back to reality...

Working Day and Night

I know, I know. I've been a bad, bad blogger, but I have a really good excuse. For the past two weeks, I was dealing with family business which took me away from the computer for a couple of days. Also, I was focused on trying to get the house in order and prepare for vacation.

The other day when I mentioned I was going to the beach for a week, my favorite manager in Atlanta Bread Company asked me, "You're not taking your laptop, are you?"

"Of course I am," I responded. "The main reason I'm going is to be able to write by the ocean!" Thus, the reason for the video below:

I love writing! And writing during my vacation is the best of both worlds. This is a picture I took last year from our hotel balcony.



 And this is what I expect this year...

                      

At least I'm not this bad... I'll be posting daily on my progress on Inner City Blues . On the way down, we're stopping in Eufaula, Alabama so I can do some research on the town where my next series will be set. That should be fun. The story collage below isn't finished yet. I need to find pics for the other charaters, and I want to fill in the blank spaces with pictures I take while we're there.




I'm just not crazy about the idea of our house sitters bringing their dog. Most of you know I'm not an animal person. The idea of having to vacuum up dog hair when we get back gives me the creeps. Talk to you during the week!

When writing is a puzzle

I don't post often about my writing process, because I don't consider it very interesting. Every now and then, something comes up during the creation of a manuscript that just baffles me, though.

So...I sent Chapters Seven and Eight of Inner City Blues to my beta readers, and they pointed out that the timeline of the story had gone off the rails and was confusing. 



The format I use is to devote the first half of each chapter to the hero's point of view and the second half of each chapter to the heroine's POV. The problem I ran into is that I wanted to show their thoughts on the same situations, but doing it that way ends up feeling as though I'm repeating myself.

By the time I got their critiques back, I was already working on Chapter Nine, and by then it was three chapters into screwed up timeline! I don't want to continue writing until I fix the issue. So today is dedicated to trying to fix this mess. 

I tried going back to Chapter Seven and moving things around on-screen, but that DID NOT work! Scrolling back and forth was making me nuts, and I came to the conclusion that I needed to print out a hard copy of all three chapters in order to have it all in front of me. What I believe I need to do is spread everything out and mark up the paragraphs/sections that should be moved in order to make the timeline flow correctly.



The problem with working this way is that it's much like doing a jigsaw puzzle. 

                                                    

Tomorrow I'm babysitting, and no work will be accomplished. We're taking the baby grandson to see the Angry Birds movie and wherever he wants to go for lunch. This task needs to be accomplished today. Pray for me, I'm going in... 

                                                   

Sample Sunday

On June 21st I shared the opening of Inner City Blues . Here's another unedited excerpt from Chapter One...
* * * * * * * * 
Two days later, the family gathered at his parents’ house for their annual July Fourth breakfast. Before they needed to start setting up the tables and chairs under the tent their mother rented every year for the barbecue, the brothers met in the kitchen early to share a rare cup of coffee and conversation.“How long are you staying?” Jesse asked, directing his question to Marc and Greg who’d arrived with their families the night before.“Well, Gianne is out of school for the summer, so we’re taking the week off. When we leave here, we’re going down to Miami for a couple of days,” Marc replied. “Lance is handling the studio while I’m gone, so I can take my time.”“Lucky you. Between the practice and the clinic, I haven’t had a week off in ages.”Nick wore a confused frown. “And Cyd doesn’t get upset?”“You know, Cyd. She doesn’t complain about much.”“Neither does Cher, but she’s made it plain that we need our time away together. We haven’t been away for a whole week, but she makes sure we take weekend trips.”“You have to get it in,” Vic agreed. “Mona and I both are crazy busy now since she’s started her business, but we make it a point to get away with and without the boys. And you have three kids. Cyd needs a break sometime, man.”Jesse nodded his agreement but said, “Do you know Cyd told me she never had a vacation until we started seeing each other? She said to her a vacation was just days she didn’t have to go to work. Her first real vacations were when I took her down to Miami for the weekend when we were dating and when went to Vegas for Marc and Gianne’s wedding.”“All the more reason to show her what it’s supposed to be like,” Greg chimed in. “And you two need to go someplace where you can get loose and get loud, if you know what I mean.”Jesse gave him the side eye. “We always know what you mean.” They all laughed, but their smiles faded as their father entered the kitchen waving a newspaper in the air and wearing an expression like a storm brewing over an angry sea.“Jesse, do you want to tell me what the hell this is all about?” He threw the folded paper into Jesse’s lap.He swallowed hard, gave Vic a fleeting glance and then gazed down at the article his father had so helpfully circled with a bold marker. The headline read, Dozens of arrests at Hollowell Parkway protests. He cleared his throat and answered. “I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”“Why the hell not? Your name is in that list. What were you thinking? First it was Gregory; now you. What is wrong with you boys?”Greg snatched the paper from his lap and the brothers huddled around him to read it.“First of all, we’re not boys. Second, it’s only considered news because of the recognizable people who participated. I’m the least well-known of the bunch.”“But you’re a prominent physician in this city, son, and people talk.”“That’s fine with me. I don’t mind them talking about me for something like this.”“So you’re proud of getting locked up?  Jesse raised his chin. “Yes, sir, I am. Darren Givens was killed in cold blood. The police involved all got off. If we don’t stand against police brutality, it will just accelerate.”“It’s bad enough you were Twittering about it. You have a career and reputation to protect!” The elder man bellowed. “It’s tweeting, Daddy, “Jesse replied equally as loud. “You were very proud of yourself for participating in demonstrations back in the day. Wasn’t it you who used to tell us if we didn’t stand for something, we’d fall for anything? Why is it different for me?”“It was different back then. Nowadays everything you say and do is plastered all over the Internet. Do you think your patients want a jailbird for a doctor?”“For God’s sake, Daddy! Nobody cares. If they do, they can find another doctor! You don’t understand how out of touch we are.” “Who?” His father asked.“All of us. Our major concerns are which private school we’re going to send our kids to, or whether we’re going to put in a pool or tennis court in the backyard.”“You think that’s something we should be ashamed of? We all worked hard to earn that right. Nothing was handed to us.”“I know that, Daddy, but look at us. We’re here getting ready for a holiday banquet, and haven’t given a single thought to the people in our community who are literally trying to figure out how they’re going to feed their kids today?” “Are you saying we don’t care because we aren’t sitting around agonizing over their plight? I resent you getting so high and mighty. All of us donate our time and money to a variety of causes that benefit our people.”Their argument came to a screeching halt when they saw his mother standing in the kitchen doorway with her hands on her hips looking as though she were about to explode. “It’s Christmas morning. I can’t believe you two are acting this way!” Her flashing gaze bounced from his face to his father’s. “If you continue carrying on, you can both find somewhere else to eat. Now get out of my kitchen so the girls and I can cook!”“We’re not done talking about this,” his father groused as the male procession moved into the family room.  
Coming to Kindle, Nook and Createspace in late Fall 2016

Cover reveal!

I just hit the halfway mark on Inner City Blues , and I figured I'd acknowledge that accomplishment by revealing the cover! It was created by Cover Me Book Covers, and I think it relays the feeling of the story.


Here's the blurb: Successful surgeon, husband and father of three, Dr. Jesse Stafford, lives in an exclusive enclave in Atlanta. He volunteers his time at a neighborhood free clinic in one of the roughest parts of Atlanta where his wife, Cydney's family still lives. When an unarmed thirteen-year-old boy is shot and killed by the police in this neighborhood, Jesse finds himself in an ethical dilemma and at odds with some family members. His involvement puts everything he’s achieved on the line.
So, what do you think of the cover?

Coming late Fall 2016

Anniversary Sale!!!!

Today marks my sixth year as a published author!   #Sale

Kindle - http://amzn.to/l2kjXQ   Nook - http://bit.ly/28X9vyv

Teaser Tuesday

Since I'm almost halfway into Inner City Blues , the final book in my Stafford Brothers series, it's time to start sharing teasers. This is an unedited excerpt from the first chapter. I don't know why the line spacing is screwed up, because I copied and pasted from Word...

* * * * * *
Chapter OneJesse Stafford sat on a bench in a communal holding cell in the Atlanta City Detention Center waiting for his brother to bail him out.  He’d been arrested for participating in what began as a peaceful demonstration in the neighborhood where his wife, Cydney had grown up and where he volunteered at the free medical clinic. For the past three hours, he and the others went through the painfully slow booking process and waited to make their phone calls. Calling Vic at close to midnight was the last thing he wanted to do, but he had no choice. Vic would be able to put up the money for his bail, and, unlike like Nick and Charles, he didn’t have sleeping toddlers who might be disturbed by the phone ringing late at night. Thankfully, doctors were used to being interrupted in the middle of the night. His older brother said he would be there as soon as he got dressed. Jesse asked him to call Cydney and let her know where he was and that he was okay. Of all the things to happen to him just days before the entire family got together for Christmas at his parents’ house. He shook his head and uttered a pitiful laugh.


Tonight had been the largest demonstration since Darren Givens; an unarmed thirteen-year-old boy had been shot by police on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway back in June. Ironically, the street was named for a famed civil rights attorney who’d lived near the area and was better known by its former name, Bankhead Highway. The Bankhead area was one of the poorest areas of Atlanta. Even with some recent improvements to the vicinity, it still left a lot to be desired.
                                         
For weeks after the shooting, the infamous street teemed with chanting, sign-carrying activists.Television trucks with their satellite dishes reaching into the chilly air like sunflowers were a constant presence. Anger flared among residents sending young people into the streets. Hollowell Parkway had burned for two nights. Once the police and National Guard restored order, demonstrators from all over the country representing the Black Lives Matter movement came to show their support to the boy’s family. Eventually, their presence vanished, and the media turned their attention to more recent events. Well, until today, when the verdict was announced that the officers involved in the shooting had been exonerated. Now the heavy armored police vehicles and officers armed with high-powered rifles had returned to maintain the large numbers of demonstrators in the streets.
Jesse still didn’t know what had sparked the clash between some of the demonstrators and the police, but shouting and shoving erupted among the crowd. The next thing he knew, he was being handcuffed and herded into a police transport vehicle along with two dozen others. COMING LATE FALL 2016 to Kindle, Nook and paperback