Simply Cheris. . .

I recall attending a wedding many years ago and the mother of the bride told the groom: "If you ever feel like you have to hit her, send her home. She's been raised and she doesn't need you to hit her." At a wedding, why would a mother feel the need to say this to a groom? And let's be clear, that couple didn't have an abusive relationship. But that mother laid a foundation that day. Years later, that couple raised a son. He's a really good man and has a bright future. He fell in love with a girl and they moved in together. The young couple got into an argument one day in May. She hit him. He called the police. She went to jail. So, I'm always puzzled when people say a man can't walk away or do something other than hit a woman back when she hits him. And I'm perturbed by the fact that people say women "provoke" domestic violence. And by people I mean ESPN's Steven A. Smith and all the Steven A. apologists running around ...

I used to walk around with a smile on my face all the time. I didn't want to be labeled as an angry black woman. I did that for a year. That shit was painful. My day job has me working in a male dominated industry and for some of the people I work with think a smile is a sign of weakness. A smile means you're laying out the welcome mat for people to step on you. And I've been stepped on a few times. I thought about Paul Lawrence Dunbar's epic poem, We All Wear the Mask , when mine slipped one day. W E  wear the mask that grins and lies,     It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—     This debt we pay to human guile;     With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,     And mouth with myriad subtleties.     Why should the world be over-wise,     In counting all our tears and sighs?     Nay, let them only see us, while             We wear the mask.     We smile, but, O grea...

The prolific and hilarious ReShonda Tate Billingsley will be signing copies of her latest novel, What's Done In The Dark  this Thursday at Barnes and Noble, located at 11055 Carolina Place Parkway, Pineville . #1 national bestselling author ReShonda Tate Billingsley gets to the heart of loss, love, and betrayal in her latest novel that is sure to delight her legions of fans. Felise is not the kind of woman to cheat on her husband—especially with her best friend’s man. But after one perfect storm of a night, it happened…and she can hardly believe it herself. To top it off, when she woke up in the morning, she found that the man to whom she guiltily made passionate love died of a heart attack overnight. Felise, who is a nurse and a good citizen at that, leaves the hotel room without reporting his death. When her best friend, Paula, finds out about her husband’s sudden death a day later, Felise is overcome with guilt and grief. She must be there for her friend and her family, bu...

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She’s got something to talk about… RUMOR HAS IT CHERIS HODGES Liza Palmer couldn’t be happier when her best friend and sorority sister, Chante Britt, and her closest guy friend, Robert Montgomery, hit it off. And she’s beyond thrilled when they announce their engagement. Robert is an up-and-comer running for the North Carolina senate. Chante is a partner at a prestigious law firm. They’re a power couple made in heaven—until Liza discovers Robert in a compromising position—with another woman… Liza can’t possibly continue to support Robert’s campaign, much less let him marry Chante. But when she tries to reveal the truth, Robert pulls out every corrupt trick in the book—including turning Chante against her. Her only choice is to seek out his opponent, Jackson Franklin, and help him take Robert down. But to Liza’s great surprise, Jackson won’t play dirty—and Liza finds him irresistible. As sparks fly, personally  and  politically, Liza and Jackson may become a...

When I first heard Thicke  singing When I get You Alone, I was hooked. I didn't think Robin Thicke would eat Jon B's career, but it seems as if these days you can only have one white boy with soul in R&B. But I digress. So, Babyface couldn't duplicate the success of Jon B with Robin. I'm thinking it may have had more to do with long hair and bike riding video. Then the Neptunes took over and The Evolution of Robin Thicke was born. My favorite song from that CD was Wanna Love You Girl.  Pharrell is a damned genius. So, I was drinking the Robin Thicke Kool-Aid and pretending that he wasn't corny Alan Thicke's son. Then I saw he was married to Paula Patton. I'm a sucker for a love story. They were high school sweethearts, she was the inspiration for his music. She was on the cover of his first album and the star of many of his videos. Aww, the romance writer in me was pleased. Then, Robin started tripping. It started with some off handed comments ...

I'm a woman of a certain age. If you ask me, I'll lie. But I digress. I grew up in the 1980s watching some of the greatest cartoons ever. I'm talking Jem and The Holograms, She-Ra: Princess of Power, He-Man and The Masters of The Universe, Thundercats, GI Joe  and  Transformers. These days, TV sucks. Reality shows about characters who are more cartoonish than anything I saw as a kid. So, I watch my childhood favorites a lot. It's a little quirk of mine, I need white noise when I write. But I hate to hear people talking while I'm writing. Weird, I know. Anyway. As I was watching the first season of She-Ra the other day, I realized something. Most of my favorite cartoons were all based on a lie. A secret identity that no one could know about. She Ra, like He Man, couldn't even tell their parents that they are the most powerful people in the universe. Who can keep that secret? Why would you want to? Then there was Jem. Everything about Jem was a lie. Her ...