Speak
Fifteen-year-old Kobe Means has zero desire to follow in the footsteps of his famous father. Now, thanks to the pandemic, they’ve been stuck at home together for months, and Kobe has had enough. It seems the only way he’ll get any peace is to find a way to speak up for himself. What starts out as a simple idea to get away from his dad and show some independence turns into his life changing in ways he could never imagine. This summer, Kobe will find his voice.
Read an excerpt.
Purchase the paperback.
Purchase the ebook.
Get It Together
Alexis Jefferson doesn’t want much for her sixteenth birthday—just an amazing party and a luxury car. With an unlimited budget and the help of her best friend, Lucky Lewis, Alexis is ready to make her wildest dreams come true. After making a series of bad choices, Alexis finds her party plans in jeopardy—unless she volunteers at a place she never imagined. It might not be so bad since it means seeing cutie Carter Summerville… To her surprise, the more time she spends helping others, the more Alexis starts to question the person she’s become and the people around her. With her birthday approaching fast, Alexis starts to wonder if maybe the best gift she can give herself is to get her life together.
Purchase the paperback on Amazon.
Purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Home for the Holidays: A Short Story
An Amazon bestseller
About the Story:
There’s no place like home for the holidays—unless you’re fifteen-year-old London Bridges and your parents are going through a divorce. Annoyed that her plans to visit her dad in Atlanta have gotten canceled, London begs to tag along with her brother, Landon, to the mall. At least it will get her out of her apartment, and she’ll get to spend time with fine Zachary, her brother’s best friend. Before the day is over, London finds herself valuing those she holds dear and rethinking how she defines home, which just might be the greatest gift of all.
Read an excerpt.
Purchase the paperback on Amazon.
Purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Shine
Summer can’t come fast enough for seventeen-year-old tomboy Nia Mitchell who is dealing with the fallout of making her most embarrassing mistake ever, all for love. Desperate to put junior year behind her, Nia reluctantly accepts what seems like the opportunity of a lifetime, but is it? As she gets drawn into her new life, Nia fears she’s about to make another huge mistake, this time with the world watching. When her past comes back to haunt her, Nia wonders if it’s possible to turn her biggest mistake into her biggest blessing. Can life teach her that even when you mess up, sometimes the best thing to do is take a deep breath, paste on your biggest smile and find the strength to shine?
Read an excerpt.
Purchase the paperback on Amazon.
Purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Black Girl Dreaming: Poems About Love, Loss and Life
As a child growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, author and blogger Chandra Sparks Splond spent many days in her room dreaming of forever and writing about someday. In Lessons in Life: Poems about Love, Laughter and Loss, Splond shares some of her most cherished and personal work on her journey to learning to love herself and others.
Purchase the paperback on Amazon.
Purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Make It Work
Named Alabama’s Great Read 2017
Sixteen-year-old Reagan Davis has landed her dream job, an internship at FIRE 107.1, the hottest radio station in town. It doesn’t take Reagan long to realize that between competitive coworkers and trying to ignore her growing feelings for her oh-so-cute coworker Jayden, there’s more drama at FIRE than she’s ever experienced at school. That might be okay if she could go home and relax, but her mother is acting weird and her father is keeping secrets. Even with all the madness at home, Reagan can’t deny that radio is in her blood, and whatever it takes, this summer she’s determined to…make it work.
Read an excerpt.
Purchase the paperback on Amazon.
Purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Purchase an autographed copy and have it shipped to you.
He’s Got Game
Sixteen-year-old Noah Benjamin has dreams of being the first in his family to graduate college. All that changes when he becomes the breakout star of his high school’s basketball team. Despite his girlfriend Megan Agee trying to keep him on track, girls are showing interest, and people are in his ear telling him he should take his talents straight to the NBA. It doesn’t sound like such a bad idea since it will give him the money to support his little sister, Natalie, and his grandparents. It would be so easy to forget about his game plan, but is that the way to go when the people around him have their own agendas?
Read an excerpt.
Purchase the paperback on Amazon.
Purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Purchase an autographed copy and have it shipped to you.
The Promise
Since she broke up with the hottest basketball player in school, seventeen-year-old Courtland Murphy has been the subject of a million rumors. The fallout from her relationship with Allen Benson has made Courtland surer than ever that waiting to have sex is the right decision. But the drama’s not over, especially with her own father acting strangely and Allen out to make her life hell — with his teammates’ help. All except Aidan Calhoun, the new star player who’s just moved from Atlanta. Aidan supports her involvement in the Worth-the-Wait club and the upcoming purity ball, and despite vowing never to date another baller, Courtland’s falling fast. But can she trust her feelings for someone new when the people she’s closest to may not be what they seem?
Read an excerpt.
Purchase the paperback on Amazon.
Purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Purchase an autographed copy and have it shipped to you.
The Pledge
Named YALSA 2010 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers
Raised in a strict household, sixteen-year-old Courtland Murphy never had a date. But that was before the guy of her every dream—basketball star Allen Benson—asked her out. She’s gone from never-been-kissed to dating the hottest guy in school. And now her new boyfriend is pressuring her to prove she loves him—by having sex. But as a member of her community’s Worth-the-Wait club, Courtland made a vow to stay a virgin.
Now everyone—from friends to family to fellow club members—gives her different advice, from “do it!” to “you made a pledge, girl!” It would be so easy for Courtland to go all the way with Allen, but sometimes his charming personality leaves her wondering. Who knew being in love could be so confusing?
Read an excerpt.
Purchase the paperback on Amazon.
Purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Purchase an autographed copy and have it shipped to you.
Worth the Wait boxed ebook set
For the first time, The Pledge and The Promise are available as an ebook set. Get your copy today.
Purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Spin It Like That
YALSA 2009 Popular Paperback for Young Adults
Sixteen-year-old Jasmine Richardson has a love for music. When she gets on the turntables, her gift for spinning and rhyming earn her admiration and respect. She’s also talented academically, but her parents disapprove of their daughter’s hobby, hoping it’s a phase she’s going through. Still, Jasmine finds it hard to deny the joy and freedom she feels when she’s playing music that makes people smile and dance.
After a local contest, Jasmine attracts the interest of some music-industry honchos. Then the attitudes of the people around her seem to change and she’s forced to face some tough situations. Suddenly it becomes harder for her to tell who’s really happy for her and who’s totally a fake. But when the music is in your heart, and your talent shines bright, sometimes all you can do is…spin it like that.
Read an excerpt.
Purchase the audiobook.
Purchase the paperback on Amazon.
Purchase the ebook on Amazon.
Purchase an autographed copy and have it shipped to you.
