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JoeyPinkney.com Book Review: Not Quite What It Seems by Mari Walker

JoeyPinkney.com Book Review
Not Quite What It Seems
By Mari Walker
(St. Martin’s Press)
3 of 5 Stars

Not Quite What It Seems, by Essence Best Selling Author Mari Walker, is a knotted tale of the life of Jadyn Collins that slowly unravels one chapter at a time. Jadyn Collins’ world pulls her in many directions. She struggles to resolve the emotional scars caused by childhood experiences. She is relentless in her pursuit to become a professional dancer. She has found love, yet her life goals do neatly align with her boyfriend’s future plans for both him and Jadyn. On top of all of that, she yearns to find and reunite with her biological father separated from her and her two younger brothers by her mother when she was in her early teens.

Jadyn is the daughter of Samai Collins, the main character of Mari Walker’s debut novel Never As Good As The First Time. A little older and on her own, Jadyn’s character is Continue reading JoeyPinkney.com Book Review: Not Quite What It Seems by Mari Walker

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Elissa Gabrielle, author of A Whisper to a Scream

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Elissa Gabrielle, author of A Whisper to a Scream
(Peace In The Storm Publishing, LLC)

A Whisper to a Scream is essentially a love story; acceptance of true love. The book covers themes of racism, interracial relationships, mental health issues and the justice system to name a few.

The colors of love come in several shades for Queen Thomas, and has been prevalent on her canvas of life as she continues to paint by the numbers. Successful beyond measure, but flawed to a degree where bright hues tend to fade a bit, happiness should be much more than an illusion.

Queen is a young African-American defense attorney passionately advocating justice for her brown-skinned clients, despite being subjected by black and blue bruises from her ex-boyfriend. Then there are the shades of gray that matters most when trying to balance the memorable scales of a loving relationship with a father that raised her as a single parent.

Along with that are the dark clouds of uncertainty accentuating the need to suppress the void of missing the touches that only a mother can manifest. Is a successful but committed relationship so hard to fathom where integrity and faithfulness is not compromised? The whispers get louder with promises of primal screams as the colors take on a different tint as the plot thickens.

Enter Quincy Hughes, a handsome doctor easy on the eyes but with an underlying intrigue that allows curiosity to kill much more than the cat. Quincy is on a mission. He relentlessly pursues her despite his mystique and forces Queen to question the taboo concept of accepted love vs. forbidden fruit; and whether there’s a future in it for her.

Is she ready to tackle the relevancy of this different persuasion? And what about her ex-lover — will he settle for second best and allow Queen to pursue matters of the heart, albeit with someone else?

Sensual and brimming with sexuality, this heart-wrenching drama is groundbreaking fiction. A Whisper To a Scream is a sexy, moving and riveting tale that will pull you deep into an unforgettable erotic, socially conscious, and emotionally-charged ride.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write A Whisper to a Scream?

Elissa Gabrielle: Inspiration came from a few sources. One was I wanted to write a story that I hadn’t read. Another source of inspiration was to write an African-American Continue reading 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Elissa Gabrielle, author of A Whisper to a Scream

5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Corey Barnes, author of Single For The Night

JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Corey J. Barnes, author of Single For The Night
(CJ Publishing)

A lot can change in two years….or can it?

It’s taken two years, but Rick Jenkins is finally ready to live again. His professional life continues to blossom, but his personal life is more fractured than a jigsaw puzzle. At the urging of his boys, he decides to try the dating thing again, but isn’t sure he can trust again…

The more things change, the more they stay the same. In Corey J. Barnes’ sequel to the sizzling debut novel What Is This Love Thing All About, he examines if time really does cure all. Can you ever really stop loving someone once you have done so? Can you move on from hurt and love again? All of these questions and more will be answered in the next installment from Author Corey J. Barnes, Single For The Night.

Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Single For The Night?

Corey J. Barnes: The inspiration to write this book was to finish the story that I started last year with my first book, What Is This Love Thing All About? It is a sequel. I wanted Continue reading 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… Corey Barnes, author of Single For The Night