Visions of a Cryptic Mystery: Volume One by Eternity Philops (June 2008 Pick of the Month)

Publisher/Date:  Black Tygre Publications, Apr. 2008
Genre(s):  Poetry, Short-Story
Pages:  126
Website:  http://www.eternity-philops.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

A sweet feeling washes over you when reading VISIONS OF A CRYPTIC MYSTERY: VOLUME ONE, a vibe of spiritual and sexual serenity.

Author Eternity Philops’ Visions is a beautiful view from which readers won’t be able to tear their eyes away. Excellent in its form, approach and creativity, Visions captures your senses. Both poetry and prose encompass this brilliant array of work that speaks to black lesbians everywhere. Its unique charm lies in Philops’ poems that clinch the mind with a metaphysical theme and her short stories that engage the heart.

Visions is categorized by three fragments titled Love, Loss and Life. The first, Love, captures the emotion and physical aspects of affection, with stories concerning unrequited love in “Almost First Kiss” and love beyond time in “Black Lace.” The poems in this section compliment these stories with an air of “Cosmic Intimacy.”

“Come soar with me
Be my love
We will stroll across a plateau of clouds,
Bathed in iridescent rays of sunlight
We shall picnic on the billowed hills of heaven,
As the soft rustle of God’s whispers blows gently
in our ears.”

The next section deals with the facet of Loss, as evidenced by the stories “Other Side of the Moon,” a tale of two women in love who never quite become one, and in “A Luncheon Scorned,” where a woman finally gives a former lover her just desserts. In this section, the poems underscore the feeling losing the most important thing in your life, as evidenced in “A Slight Wind.”

“Her whispered nothings are sweet
their smog a pollution
of my atmosphere
I’ve inhaled to deeply
the toxins of her tongue
Lungs full of a lover’s lies
I asphyxiate
for lack of pure clean truth”

In the final part of Visions, Philops writes about Life in its candor. In “Bait and Switch,” a con-woman finally meets her match and a workaholic learns there’s more to life than business in “An Affirmative Action.” The remainder of her poems in this section vary in themes from creation to dreams.

“Can I be your poet?
Can I write your journey
upon the eclipse of your soul
along the shadow of your benighted thoughts”

Philops’ Visions is a delight to read. It swiftly grabs you from page one, enveloping the reader in colorful and sensuous expressions that you won’t find in most Black lesbian novels. The poems are concise, inspired works of art that Philops has clearly mastered. The prose is mired in its every-woman appeal, making the reader both laugh and long for love. Philops, who wrote the first volume of over an extensive period and has plans for more, compares writing to opening the soul’s window, inviting you to see the view.

From reading Visions, the sight is quite exquisite.

Reviewed June 2008

Hungry For It by Fiona Zedde

Publisher/Date:  Kensington, June 2008
Genre:  Romance
Pages:  288
Website:  http://www.fionazedde.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Yes, Fiona’s back.

Or Ms. Zedde, if you’re nasty. And boy, HUNGRY FOR IT is plenty scandalous.

Her fourth solo novel, Hungry begins where a Taste of Sin leaves off, the sweltering novel set in Miami where Dez and best friend Rémi used to run wild through scores of women, always in search of a new delicacy. When Dez finally settles down and marries Victoria, it leaves Rémi to comb the balmy city in search of new fun without her running buddy.

And that she does. From têtê-à-têtês in her popular nightclub to entertaining sexy triplets, Rémi could never deny her decadent sexual appetite – until she finally gets the chance to sample a dish she’s been craving her whole life: Claudia, Dez’s mother.

Forbidden, yes. Off limits, yes. Yet feels so right, yes.

In all actuality, Rémi’s heart has belonged to Claudia since the day she eyed the maternal beautiful outside her school, marveling the enigmatic woman. It later works in Remi’s favor that she and Dez become close friends and she’s introduced to her dream woman. In time, Rémi grew into a member of Dez’s family, but she doesn’t outgrow her crush on Claudia, despite the many women she encounters.

When it happens one night that the two are left to their own devices after Dez’s wedding, they find their attraction palpable but try to fight it. Rémi’s reserved because of her friendship with Dez, and Claudia struggles with the age and sexual differences between them.

One thing they can’t deny, though, is the heat simmering when they touch. The only thing that impedes their passion is the one person that means the most to them.

Zedde is one of the black lesbian community’s most dependable writers, her vivid storytelling brought to life in her characters. Hungry is no different. It’s just the kind of fast-paced, meaty read one needs for the summer. While the novel’s side plots move quickly, the main course is Rémi and Claudia, two women discovering that love is dish best served hot.

Reviewed June 2008

Choices by Skyy (Feb. 2008 Pick of the Month)

Publisher/Date:  Kings Crossing Publishing, Aug. 2007
Genre(s):  Romance, College Life
Pages:  255
Website:  http://www.simplyskyy.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

It truly is a “different world” from where you come from – nothing is more evident than in author Skyy’s debut novel, CHOICES, a spellbinding story of four friends at a HBCU navigating lesbian life.

Hearts are broken, friendships are tested, and lessons are learned by the richly-drawn characters who come to life from the very first chapter. More like family, Denise, Cooley and Carmen are out lesbians on campus and best friends aiding each other through love and life; adding Lena, the sexy new roommate of Denise, only enhances their friendships.

Lena is the new girl on campus. Her heart belongs to Brandon, the star of the men’s basketball team. That, combined with her wealthy background, makes her the most envied girl on campus, especially since she’s set to be the wife of a future NBA superstar. Despite that, Lena finds something intriguing about the tomboy she shares a room with – and her curiosity about Denise begins to get the better of her.

Denise is the unattainable stud athlete, with mad skills on and off the court. Her heart has been closed since her last failed relationship – until she walks into her dorm room the first day of school and discovers Lena unpacking. While noticing her curvaceous form, Denise soon realizes Lena is a remarkable woman with a good heart, and can’t help but fall hard for the beauty. It’s a move she’s not sure she wants to make.

Completely opposite of Denise is Cooley, the smooth player of the bunch, the stud who’s managed to have any woman – gay or straight – that she sets her sights on. Christened as “Killa Cap” for her sexual prowess, Cooley has played more games with females than Milton Bradley. One woman, however, doesn’t seem to take no for an answer and makes her life a living hell, possibly ruining Cooley’s one chance at a real relationship.

Tired of the “big girl” blues, Carmen takes hold of her life and drops enough dress sizes to be a dime. Carmen figures losing the weight will help her ex see her in a new light, but she still can’t shed the self-esteem issues that plague her. Will Carmen finally find someone to accept her for whom she is, and even better, learn to love herself?

Skyy’s Choices amounts to a story with heart. The author has taken the black college experience and made it her own – lesbian style. Classes, parties, sororities…all of it creates a fresh story that hasn’t been done this well in black lesbian novels. Bravo, Skyy!

Now where’s the sequel – cause you can’t leave me hangin’.

Reviewed February 2008

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun by Jacqueline Woodson (Aug-Sept. 2006 Pick of the Month)

Publisher/Date:  Puffin, July 2010
Genre(s):  Young Adult, Family, Lesbian Parents
Pages:  160
Website:  http://www.jacquelinewoodson.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Black lesbians with children take note: FROM THE NOTEBOOKS OF MELANIN SUN is a must-read book. The compelling novel follows Melanin Sun, a 13-year-old dealing with the complexities of adolescence and his mother’s newfound sexuality.

It’s summertime, and Melanin is looking forward to the finer things in life: hanging with friends Ralphael and Sean, pursuing his crush on Angie, and writing his innermost thoughts in his treasured notebooks.

But what he looks forward to and treasures most is spending time with his mother Encanta, a single mother working hard to make a living for her child. The two are inseparable, leaning on each other through the best and worst of times and having a mother-son bond so deep they know each other’s moods and the simplest of facial expressions.

Melanin’s perfect relationship is demolished, though, when day at the beach ends with Encanta revealing she’s gay—and in love with a white woman. This piece of earth-shattering news devastates Melanin to no end. He can’t imagine that his mother could ever fall in love with a woman, and a white woman at that.

The one thing that helps him is his notebook. There Melanin pours out his heart, recording every emotion he’s feeling: from anger to shame, from frustration to understanding. It helps him slowly work out the issues with his Encanta, the shyness he feels over approaching Angie, and the ruined friendship with Sean once he finds out his mother’s a lesbian. As the story concludes, Melanin realizes that life doesn’t get easier as you grow up, only more complicated as the days go by.

Woodson approaches From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun with a great understanding of what it’s like to be a young black male and the sentiments of dealing with a gay parent. She makes you see the issues a child can have with your coming out, and how to survive it. As always with Woodson, the writing is superb, and the novel is heartwarming and real, a story with even a small page number manages to have an impact. Children and parents alike should read this with open eyes and an open heart – they both could learn more than they realize.

Reviewed Aug-Sept 2006

I Am Your Sister by Ericka K. F. Simpson

Publisher/Date:  Xlibris Corporation, May 2003
Genre(s):  College Life, Religious, Romance
Pages:  276
Website:  http://www.publishedauthors.net/e_factor

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Symone shook her head and stated, “Black lesbian love has just has no place anywhere.”

“Yes, it does,” corrected Regina. “With one another.”

And it also has an excellent place in I AM YOUR SISTER, the first novel by Ericka K. F. Simpson. The author has created a brave and genuine protagonist in Symone Holmes, the 18-year-old student athlete and entrepreneur.

A basketball phenom, Symone is graduating high school at the novel’s onset and has the world at her fingertips. The top b-ball player in the country, her accomplishments allow the star to have her pick of colleges to choose from. Symone ultimately chooses an athletic scholarship Marian University, not exactly the most notable school in the country, but a small school that will allow her to shine and leave her hometown in Virginia, where she has had more than of her share of trials.

Not one to hide her sexuality, Symone came out to her parents to disastrous results. Her mother practically disowned her, and she moved out on her own at 16. During her crisis, she turned to the Lord, hoping He would guide her through the pain and could help her understand her sexuality. He, along with girlfriend Kidera, has been her rock, whom she turned to in times of need. Through him, she truly believes that “being in love, regardless of who it was, was not wrong.” And she has no problem explaining that to the world.

Especially at Marian. When Symone arrives at the school, she quickly makes friends a few of her teammates, including fellow sistahs Jasmine, Christina and Deborah. Their color forms a kinship of sorts — until Symone’s teammates find out she’s a lesbian. Some of the once-friendly women shun her. Others pick fights. Her car is vandalized. Through these actions, Symone realizes she only has herself and shuts anyone down who gets too close. Except for Regina.

Regina finds a way to befriend Symone, despite what others have done. She allows Regina into her family life and love life, especially after her romance with Kidera goes sour. The attraction is there between them, but Symone doesn’t want to let Regina have the one thing that has been broken time and time again: her heart.

Marian University is a new start for Symone, but can she handle the pressure of everything that comes with growing up?

Simpson’s I Am Your Sister is outstanding, a great piece of work that combines love and basketball, sexuality and religion. The author really knows her stuff on and off the court, as the b-ball scenes kept my attention (and I am not the sports type at all). What made it so superb was that you really connected with Symone on a more personal level, and got to know her triumphs and struggles with every page. Her connection with the Lord was one every lesbian questioning her sexuality has had, and it allowed you to endear Symone as a great character. I couldn’t put it down.

I now have a new favorite book–and new favorite author, as well.

Reviewed June 2006

Callaloo and Other Lesbian Love Tales by LaShonda K. Barnett

Publisher/Date:  New Victoria Publishers, Oct. 1999
Genre(s):  Short Story, Romance
Pages:  123
Website:  http://www.lashondabarnett.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Stories of love, loss and affection are finely written in CALLALOO &OTHER LESBIAN LOVE TALES. LaShonda K. Barnett book consists of 17 tasty morsels, each one portraying a distinct flavor of black lesbian love.

All of the tales are written realistically and with passion and soul, and cross various eras, locations and cultural variations for their inspiration. From the late 1950s to the present, Barnett presents these sensuous journeys that travel straight to the heart.

In the first story, “The Homecoming of Narda Boggs,” it’s 1959 Texas, and Jeannie Mae has fallen for the boss’ daughter, discovering that being with Narda is much more exciting than being with her beau, Booker. “Rituals” finds Nella and Muriel more settled with each other in their old age, while Lilah finds her cinematic muse with Kelsea, a white woman she tries hard not to love.

“Miss Hannah’s Lesson” is one of the highlights of Callaloo, and it beautifully portrays the love between a house slave named Sarah and her mistress, Miss Hannah. Hannah cares so much for Sarah she helps the girl learn to read in spite of the trouble it could cause. Through Sarah’s teachings, their love develops so effortlessly despite the differences in their skin color and stations in life.

Every sound has Lily “Remembering Hortense,” and food takes on a passionate meaning in “Breakfast with Dinah.” Shawn can’t play the fool anymore in “The Telephone Call,” while Dorie’s fascination with gay symbols in “Black Triangles, Rainbows and Dykes” helps her figure out whom she is.

Another highlight of Callaloo is the story “Meatloaf,” a woman who agonizes over her lover’s death, but realizes that life with Carmen wasn’t a walk in the park. She relives the pain of living with an alcoholic lover, and decides that she’s been grieving over Carmen far before her tragic death.

A girlfriend’s illness brings a couple closer together in “New Kid on the Block,” and “It Happened One Sunday Afternoon: A True Story” that a young girl falls for a much older woman despite what the world thinks. And Lynn gets a sensuous surprise when her girlfriend unexpectedly shows up in “Tennessee.”

“Losing Sight of Lavender” is a poignant tale about Sael, a lesbian in a HIV-positive support group coming to terms with her mortality. Going to her meetings helps her to reminisce on her life and hope for a better tomorrow despite the prognosis she’s been given.

“Bitter Wine” finds Leta rekindling a friendship with a childhood friend, while an anonymous couple recalls how they met in a “Conversation at Lucy’s.” Death takes its toll “When Sunny Gets Blue,” and a Linda brings a taste of home to her lover with a pot of “Callaloo,” the title story.

Barnett does an excellent job with Callaloo and these adoring tales. It shows the many forms love can take, and just how we all can’t live without a taste.

Reviewed February 2006

Ain’t Gonna Be the Same Fool Twice by April Sinclair

Publisher/Date:  Harper, Feb. 1997
Genre(s):  Coming of Age, College Life
Pages:  324
Website:  http://www.aprilsinclair.net

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Everything feels fresh and exciting much like Stevie in AIN’T GONNA BE THE SAME FOOL TWICE, this colorful sequel to Coffee Will Make You Black.

By the novel’s start, Stevie has graduated high school and is leaving and is leaving to attend college in a small Illinois town not too far from her native Chicago. Although the school is predominately white, Stevie manages to hang with Black folk, making fast friends with Sharlinda and Today. But it’s her relationship with French girl Celeste that proves to be her life-changing moment: that’s when Stevie discovers the delicious taste of a woman.

It’s also confirmed when she, Today and Sharlinda travel to San Francisco for a getaway after graduating college. After her buddies ditch her dates, Stevie decides to explore the city on her own by going to a women-only dance. There she meets Traci, one of the few sistahs in the place. The two hit it off, and pretty soon Stevie decides to stay in San Francisco to carve out a life of her own.

Stevie moves in with Traci, taking over the room and rent for one of the roommates who’s traveling abroad. Although the romantic relationship is great with Traci, it’s hard for Stevie to adjust to the city a first; trying to find a job is pure hell and San Francisco has its share of far-out folk. But you can never keep a Black woman down, and Stevie’s willing to explore new experiences. It’s 1975, and the world is changing; Stevie wants to change along with it.

In time Stevie finds out the more things change, the more things stay the same. Racism might to be as blatant in the City by the Bay as it is in the Windy City, but people are still hung up on color. And after her affair with Traci goes sour, she discovers love is a bitch, too. But she takes everything in stride, and learns that you can be a fool, but you won’t ever be the same fool twice.

Sinclair’s Ain’t Gonna Be is dynamite. Stevie’s spunky character is a hoot, complete with the 70’s lingo and all. The story is fulfilling and leaves you wanting more. Although not as sweet as its predecessor, it’s still a funky good time.

Reviewed January 2006

What Becomes of the Brokenhearted: A Memoir by E. Lynn Harris (Oh Brotha! Feature)

Publisher/Date:  Doubleday, July 2003
Genre(s):  Autobiography, Oh Brotha! Feature
Pages:  288
Website:  http://www.elynnharris.com

Rating: ★★★★★ 

Bestselling author E. Lynn Harris speaks to the weary in WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKENHEARTED, a story tailored to the heart.

Harris’ memoir recounts both horrid and triumphant moments in his life, through the eyes of a man who never grew comfortable in his own skin. He was always looking for acceptance through others, instead of himself.

Harris grew up a poor, Little Rock, Ark. boy, dreaming of one day becoming a success. Although he did become a well-known author, his journey was paved with pain. His father physically and emotionally abused him because he wasn’t like other boys. Lynn, as he was known, was a tad more effeminate and caught hell for it almost daily. It was only when his mother divorced her abusive husband that Lynn got any peace in the house.

Searching for the love he never received from his father, Lynn began looking for approval through being the class clown. When that got him nowhere, he then used his intelligence for good and became an upright student. However Lynn was still confused about his sexuality. He knew loving men was wrong and set about acting straight despite his true feelings.

After a successful college experience where he met “men like him,” he landed a great job at IBM but couldn’t find success in love. In the course of 15 years, he moved to five different cities, each time after some love of his life broke his heart. And each time he sank deeper into depression, so deep that at times he wanted to take his own life.

The two things that saved him was his faith in God and his writing. Harris new he was here for a reason, and that purpose was to write. His first novel, Invisible Life, saved him from himself.

Brokenhearted is a motivating book not only for black gays and lesbians, but for everyone who never felt worthy. Reading it gives you the armor to fight your battles and to keep your head and your heart up.

Reviewed January 2006

Am I My Sister’s Keeper? by S. Stephens (Dec. 2005 Pick of the Month)

Publisher/Date:  iUniverse, Sept. 2005
Genre(s):  Romance, Coming Out
Pages: 164

Website:  http://www.sstephens.info

Rating: ★★★★★ 

When your head is torn between your sexuality and the expectations your parents, where does that leave your heart? That is the struggle starkly captured in S. Stephens’ debut novel, AM I MY SISTER’S KEEPER? Stephens brings the protagonist Elise James to life, along with her grueling inner struggle to both stay true to herself while pleasing her family.

Elise has acknowledged her attraction to women since she was 15 years old. With that knowledge, she delved into the world of same sex relationships only to have it blow up in her face when her parents learn of her “lesbian episodes.” It plants a wedge between Elise and her parents, and ruins the relationship with her younger sister, Lynn. It’s then Elise realizes the world does not accept her kind of love, and after a four-year respite at a college far from home, she leaves women behind to live a “normal” life. She doesn’t want to put her family through any more pain and yearns to be the daughter her parents could be proud of.

After settling at home in Miami, Elise begins dating Grayson, a high school classmate. They become serious very quickly, and are engaged within weeks – to the pleasure of her parents, but to the chagrin of her other “family” – best friends Carmen, Iran and Donna. They know Elise is simply fooling herself being with Gray. In spite of disagreeing with her decision, the friends take Elise out to celebrate, and that’s where Elise meets Symphony.

Symphony is the type of woman Elise has always desired – smart, sexy and self-confident. Despite being engaged to Gray and, she begins seeing Symphony on the sly, carrying on a wicked tryst. Elise is torn between the perfection of Symphony and the perfect life she has mapped out for herself with Gray.

Meanwhile, baby sister Lynn is falling through the cracks. Lynn always looked to Elise, but because of Elise couldn’t be true to herself, she fails Lynn. Their parents spent so much time trying to keep Elise “straight” that Lynn acts out to receive any attention at all. When Lynn’s so far gone that the worse happens, it takes the whole family by shock, but finally brings them together.

Am I My Sister’s Keeper? is a heart-wrenching tale of a woman who sacrifices her heart and soul to please her family. It takes her a while but Elise figures out that being herself, without qualms, takes true courage. S. Stephens writes a true story with intensity and a great ring of truth. The plot is carried out smoothly, to a climax that will keep the reader hanging on for dear life. Make room on your bookshelf for Stephens as she is an author worth reading every single time.

Reviewed December 2005

Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair

Publisher/Date:  Harper, Feb. 1995
Genre(s):  Young Adult, Coming Out
Pages: 256
Website:  http://www.aprilsinclair.net

Rating: ★★★★★ 

I can remember reading COFFEE WILL MAKE YOU BLACK as a teenager. It was the first novel that truly moved me. Rereading it years later, it still touches me.

Coffee Will Make You Black, the classic coming-of-age novel by acclaimed author April Sinclair, follows Jean “Stevie” Stevenson as a teen growing up late 1960s Chicago. Back then, times were truly a-changing: black folks were still known as colored, but were slowly beginning to embrace the mantra “Black is beautiful.” It was an era where parents wouldn’t let their children drink coffee for fear it would darken their skin color. Social unrest and the civil rights movement were in full force. Born to working poor parents—her mother a bank teller, her father a janitor—Stevie, as she’s affectionately known, is just a black girl is trying to make her way through adolescence in one piece.

At the novel’s beginning, Stevie is 11 and a half and in the sixth grade. She’s in that awkward stage, flat-chested and taller than most of her male classmates. Her skin is the color of Cracker Jacks, but “most Negroes didn’t get excited over folks who were darker than a paper bag.

Stevie’s only desire is to be popular, to hang with Carla, the girl everyone adores. She finally gets her wish when, after an altercation, the two become fast friends. Carla’s a lot faster than Stevie and teaches her a lot about life.

The novel traces Stevie’s five years of her life, from first crushes to first kisses to first love. She learns a lot about herself through her friendships and her family, all while trying to pave her way in a racially-conscious time. But Stevie does make a white friend in Nurse Horne, one of the few Caucasian faculty members at her predominately black school. Nurse Horne believes in her and tells her she can become anything she puts her mind to. She also lets Stevie know it’s ok to be “funny,” to embrace her blossoming sexuality.

Written with great heart and down-home humor, Sinclair’s debut novel sizzles and makes a bold statement about being black and being yourself. Coffee has a fresh voice and takes you back to being young and trying find your way in this world. Sinclair has crafted a novel that 10 years later, still resonates with the little black girl in all of us.

Reviewed December 2005