Category Archives: triple crown publications

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Book Review: Torn by Keisha Ervin for Triple Crown Publications

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Torn follows the bittersweet relationship between lovestruck Mo and eternal-playboy Quan. The line between right and wrong in their relationship is hazy because Mo and Quan have invested nearly a decade of love, time and money in each other. Although the fruits of Quan’s hustling is visible in the expensive house, cars and clothes, Mo would trade it all for a true bond of love from his heart to hers.

Mo’s father and her friends, Quan’s mother, and even Mo’s own intuition tell her to move on, but her desire for Quan controls her actions. Quan, on the other hand, knows he isn’t right, yet explodes at the very thought of Mo possibly being unfaithful. Their relationship is simultaneously passionate and pathetic, keeping you absorbed page after page. While they are saying “Yes, yes, yes!”, you will be cringing and saying, “No, no, no!” When you add baby-momma-drama, shady friends and other love interests, Mo and Quan are forced to make life-changing decisions that will test whether or not they are soul mates.

Keisha Ervin’s latest spin on love, life and lies is nothing less than incredible. Torn is street literature in its finest form. Keisha Ervin has written a story transcends its environment. Gunshots, crackheads and drug lords have been replaced with the sleepless nights, the phone calls that need to be taken in private and heart-to-heart advice that may hit home for some of the readers. There is even guest appearances by sisters Mina and Meesa, from Keisha Ervins’s National Best Selling Novels Mina’s Joint and Me & My Boyfriend respectively.

Keisha Ervin’s Torn has added on to her remarkable repertoire and is a yet another Best Seller in the making, following Chyna Black, Me & My Boyfriend, Mina’s Joint and Hold U Down. If you came across “After The Storm” in Triple Crown’s second anthology Street Love, Torn is the breathtaking expansion on that short story. This is not book for quick consumption like an item off the dollar menu. Instead, this book is full of substance, a tale that you will not mind taking time to read and digest.

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Book Review: Queen by Cynthia White for Triple Crown Publications

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Queen is the debut novel from one of Triple Crown Publications’ newest authors, Cynthia White. The namesake of this alluring novel is daddy’s little girl. Queen’s daddy just happens to be Hershey Aaron, the Boss of St. Louis’ most powerful organization, the Black Mafia.

The murder of her unfaithful mother sends Hershey to death row and Queen’s life on a tailspin full of lovers, killers and high-priced shopping sprees. Her striking beauty and intelligence are matched by her determination to keep alive the empire her father founded. But Queen is a teenager, exploring both her sexuality and her desire to love and be loved. The fine line that separates right from wrong is definitely blurred. What’s a teenage daughter of a boss to do?

Queen must deal with cops trying to shut down her father’s operation, various men vying for the opportunity to be her king, rival organizations on the come up, and her not wanting to turn into the deceased mother she despised. One thing is definitely true about this book. If you have to put it down for whatever reason, rest assured that something new and unexpected will develop when you start reading again.

Murder, sex and lies…these are the things that Queen must navigate through in order to survive. Love, life and liberty…these are the things that Queen slowly begins to realize are much more valuable. From manslaughter to motherhood, Queen struggles to make sense of the unyielding pace of her life.

Cynthia White has set the bar high for her future endeavors. This quality piece of street literature has aligned this new recruit with some of Triple Crown Publications’ veteran squad in terms of talent. Full of high fashion, expensive jewelry, unorthodox plot twists, arousing sexual encounters and quality characters, Queen may be seen as a street lit classic in the future.

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Happy Mother’s Day To The Mothers of Urban Fiction

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One thing that rings true with Urban Lit, Street Lit or Urban Fiction (whatever you like to call it) is the fact that there is a strong female aspect to the movement. African American females are well represented in Urban Fiction‘s readership and authorship. I would even go so far as to say that most of the readers of this genre are African American females.

Why is that important? Because it is Mother’s Day, of course.

I’d like to take the time to do something special, and unique, and give a Happy Mother’s Day shout-out to three easily identifiable mother’s of urban lit as we know it today.

Sister Souljah, author of The Coldest Winter Ever

Sister Souljah is the perfect example of a person that was meant to be somebody. Look her up on wikipedia to see what I mean. The Coldest Winter Ever is often cited as the novel which inspired many of the established authors of the Urban Fiction genre. Sold out of the trunk of Sister Souljah’s car, this novel went on to be a bestselling classic and street certified.

A sequel to The Coldest Winter Ever is supposed to be released October 18, 2008 entitled Midnight: A Gangster Love Story. Sister Souljah and Jada Pinkett-Smith are in the process of producing a movie version of The Coldest Winter Ever.

Teri Woods, author of True to the Game

Can you believe that True to the Game was turned down? Yes, and it sat in her closet for two years before Teri decided to pump it out the trunk of her car. The realism of this Urban Fiction classic showed future urban fiction authors that they could also put their stories out there and make things happen. Teri Woods is not only a respected author but also a respected publisher releasing quality urban fiction titles on a regular basis.

Vickie Stringer, author of Let That Be the Reason (Triple Crown Publications Presents)

Her publishing company is locally known and internationally respected! Vickie Stringer jumped into the book publishing industry with her debut novel Let That Be The Reason. She later started her own publishing house, Triple Crown Publications, and has literally taken control of Urban Literature.

Turned down by 26 publishers, Vickie has been offered as much as $3 million to sale the flagship of Hip Hop Lit, Triple Crown Publications.