'Damn the Ponytail!' is an open, revealing look at coping with premature babies, and the joys and delights and the dramas they bring.

“A hero’s tale of what’s possible when we unlock our potential, continue the search for knowledge, and draw on our lived experiences to guide us through the darkest moments.”—Stacey Abrams From a Black, gay woman who broke into the boys’ club of Silicon Valley comes an empowering guide to finding your voice, working your way into any room you want to be in, and achieving your own dreams. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY FORTUNE In 2015, Arlan Hamilton was on food stamps and sleeping on the floor of the San Francisco airport, with nothing but an old laptop and a dream of breaking into the venture capital business. She couldn’t understand why people starting companies all looked the same (White and male), and she wanted the chance to invest in the ideas and people who didn’t conform to this image of how a founder is supposed to look. Hamilton had no contacts or network in Silicon Valley, no background in finance—not even a college degree. What she did have was fierce determination and the will to succeed. As much as we wish it weren’t so, we still live in a world where being underrepresented often means being underestimated. But as someone who makes her living investing in high-potential founders who also happen to be female, LGBTQ, or people of color, Hamilton understands that being undervalued simply means that a big upside exists. Because even if you have to work twice as hard to get to the starting line, she says, once you are on a level playing field, you will sprint ahead. Despite what society would have you believe, Hamilton argues, a privileged background, an influential network, and a fancy college degree are not prerequisites for success. Here she shares the hard-won wisdom she’s picked up on her remarkable journey from food-stamp recipient to venture capitalist, with lessons like “The Best Music Comes from the Worst Breakups,” “Let Someone Shorter Stand in Front of You,” “The Dangers of Hustle Porn,” and “Don’t Let Anyone Drink Your Diet Coke.” Along the way, she inspires us all to defy other people’s expectations and to become the role models we’ve been looking for. Praise for It’s About Damn Time “Reading Arlan Hamilton’s It’s About Damn Time is like having a conversation with that frank, bawdy friend who somehow always manages to make you laugh, get a little emo, and, ultimately, think about ­­the world in a different way. . . . The book is warm, witty, and unflinching in its critique of the fake meritocracy that permeates Silicon Valley.”—Shondaland

A dazzling collection of crime and mystery stories by Black authors. Bringing together today's brightest talent from the field—from Walter Mosley, “one of America's best mystery writers” (The New York Times), to the late Hugh Holton, whose “gift for retaining suspense is golden” (Chicago Sun-Times)—it is the first anthology of African-American mystery writers. Shades of Black is not only a tribute to the art of storytelling, it's a fascinating foray into the rich and widely varied Black experience. Includes stories by: Frankie Y. Bailey • Jacqueline Turner Banks • Chris Benson • Eleanor Taylor Bland and Anthony Bland • Patricia E. Canterbury • Christopher Chambers • Tracy Clark • Evelyn Coleman • Grace F. Edwards • Robert Greer • Terris MacMahan Grimes • Gar Anthony Haywood • Hugh Holton • Geri Spencer Hunter • Dicey Scroggins Jackson • Glenville Lovell • Lee E. Meadows • Penny Mickelbury • Walter Mosley • Percy Spurlark Parker • Gary Phillips • Charles Shipps

De’Shane Hartford thought that life was finally pulling together. He has the girl, the family, the money, and the power. However, there are always many bumps in the road before reaching the destination that every person strives to get to. Gearing up to take on his father’s hustle, things couldn’t happen at a worse time. Shane has always tried his best to stay away from darkness that is depression and failure, and constantly reached for happiness. Every time it seems as though he has finally made it to a great place, it’s snatched away. Shane is faced with two options now. He can either be the monster everyone expects him to be, or he could fight for what it is that he desires most in the midst of bodies dropping like flies around him. With Cherie away in California, it’s hard for Shane to cope, yet he tries to by replacing her with Jessica— the curvy diva who knows him inside and out. But is it a mistake? Cherie, herself, comes face to face with heartbreaking news about Shane and Jessica that no one bothered to tell her. She just so happened to stumble upon it. She’s forced to stay away from him, even when her heart is crying out for him to choose her all over again. Because of this decision, she’s lost. She doesn’t know if she wants to be the villain who will tear apart a happy home and claim who is hers, or if she wants to accept defeat and let Shane live somewhat of a happy life as he’s putting on. That will be hard to do with her ex-fiancé on her trail. He sternly warned her to stay away from Richmond, Virginia, and that’s exactly what he meant. Not a man who is accustomed to losing, he sets out to make her pay for disobeying in the first place, and will set a string of events in motion to prove to Shane that he— Terry— is the alpha and the omega. Will love conquer all? Or is it too late for Shane and Cherie to finally wise up and reconcile like reasonable adults, even if it means saving both their lives

After forming a task force to assist local law enforcement agencies regarding concerns over escalating drug activity within the region, Agent Wagoner and his team discover that one of the regional sheriff departments, which also requested federal assistance, was at the core of the problem. The sheriff and some of his deputies were actively involved in much of the manufacturing and distribution of the illegal drugs flowing through the area. As it turned outthey were nothing more than pawnsmere puppets with a powerful crime boss pulling their strings. The team soon learns that the crime boss has ties with other criminal operations throughout the United States, as well as one of the Mexican drug cartels, establishing an extensive pipeline to better funnel their products. In an explosive climax, the team finds themselves tracking a truckload of military grade weapons headed to rendezvous with a Mexican cartel in exchange for a shipment of drugs. The team must try to shut down this lucrative criminal enterprise, but will money, power and political corruption be too much of an overwhelming force to overcome?

This is the story of a girl name Nicky who’s growing up in the streets of our inner cities. That forces her take her own life in her own hands and raise her self. Coming from an upper-middle-class family with a lot of love and values, she is dropped in the abyss of the ghetto, where the strong will survive and the weak will perish. The untold story of little girls all over America when force in the belly of the beast of the streets of the materialistic profiles, also upholding a reputation while slowly dieing within themselves. Which take place in the streets of Elizabeth NJ and all over Irvington,Newark,and all over Essex county.

Trust and loyalty are two key factors that Boss, the king of the mean Detroit streets, live by. When the only woman to ever steal his heart goes against him, leaving him to become a single father, Boss puts all his emotions, time, and focus on his daughter and his empire. That was until he just so happens to run across the young, sexy, and ambitious Choyce. Sharing a similar story, Choyce was also forced to become a single mother at a young age when the father of her child switched up on her. She had no interest in finding love and just wanted to accomplish the goals she had set for herself. Falling for the sexy, dominant, and sometimes callous Boss, was nowhere in her plans, but you can't help who you fall for. Will these two broken and guarded people be able to put their pasts behind them and form a love that no one will be able to penetrate? Or will the pain from previous betrayal cause them to push one another away? Take a journey through the streets of Detroit as Boss and Choyce show us that dealing with love is not as easy as some may think.

Tracy Ellison, the star of Omar Tyree’s Flyy Girl and For the Love of Money, returns in this bestselling novel, Boss Lady. Everybody’s favorite flyy girl is a little bit older, a whole lot wiser, and just as sassy as ever. After a series of triumphs in the world of letters and acting, Tracy takes on the dazzling world of Hollywood’s A-list players to film a project close to her heart. Told from the point of view of Tracy’s cousin and personal assistant, Vanessa, Boss Lady chronicles the trials and tribulations of adapting the story of Tracy Ellison’s life. In this novel, Flyy Girl is becoming a major motion picture and Tracy is prepared to do anything and everything to tell her story and to make sure it's done right, from screenwriting to producing to designing. In the meantime, she’s also juggling the highs and lows of her famously turbulent love life. Is it better to remain single and committed to her career? Or is she ready to take the plunge and embrace the married-with-children life? Written with Omar Tyree’s irresistible urban style, Boss Lady finds the author’s best-loved character at the top of her game, thoroughly in charge, and taking life strictly on her own terms.

There's always one case… The moment police captain Colin McAllister sees her on TV he knows. She may call herself Nell Smith, but she is Maddie Dubeau—the girl who went missing from Angel Butte, Oregon, years ago. She's haunted Colin, and now the adult version of her is so captivating, he can't stay away. He wants to help her recover her memories—even solve her case—without crossing a professional line. But distance becomes impossible when the threats against her escalate. It's clear someone is determined that Nell never remembers what happened to Maddie. Colin must keep her safe so that he can finally bring her home…to his home.

Retribution A Novel of Murder and Revenge George LaVigne's first novel is an irresistable page turner. Love or hate what's happening, you won;t be able to put it down. By all measures, Jack Latham was a lucky man. His loving wife and two young sons were the centerpiece of his American Dream. Then one night, his luck runs out. The senseless murder of his wife and sons leaves Jack a shattered man with just two feelings. One was rage that would drive him to do what had previously been unthinkable. The other was a certainty that the evil that destroyed his family would not go unpunished. Left to others, justice would be far too kind and far too slow. Left to jack, that would change. His journey begins with a woman who shares a common agony. Together they encounter people and places they never imagined, bound by a quest for justice at any cost- even their own lives. Whether you cheer for Jack or condemn him, Retribution will leave no doubt: There's nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing left to lose.