Simply Cheris. . .

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 ...

Kenya turned around and face Maurice. "You can't be sure that I'm going to be the only girl you're ever going to love." "Yeah, I can," he said. "No one else is ever going to make me feel the way you do. No one else is ever going to make my heart beat the way you make mine thump." Kenya leaned in and kissed Maurice softly on the lips. "And we're going to be forever?" "Yes. It's like we should've just stayed together when we were nine." "Please, you were such a jerk when you were nine. Kissing me for money." He stroked Kenya's thigh, "Well, I'm not kissing you for money now." Their lips touched slightly. Kenya took the lead in the kiss this time, hungrily pressing her lips against his and slipping her tongue inside his mouth. Her bold move caught him off guard for only a second. Then Maurice followed her lead, kissing her with a fiery passion that underscored everything he felt for her...

Maurice Goings and Kenya Taylor have loved each other since they shared a childhood kiss. As their senior prom rolls around, Maurice, star of their high school football team, tells Kenya his true feelings. PART ONE: Gold seemed to be the color for prom that year. All of the dresses that showed up in the store windows were golden. Form fitting and not at all what Kenya Taylor wanted for her senior prom. Kenya wanted to feel like a princess, even if she wasn't going to prom with prince charming. As she walked into the Buckhead boutique, she thought about the invitation that she'd gotten to the prom from her classmate, Shaun Hawkins. He was a nice enough guy, but they were just friends. And though she'd been fighting her feelings since she was eight years old, the one guy she wanted to go to prom with was Maurice Goings. Unfortunately, Maurice wanted nothing more from Kenya than friendship. They'd grown up together, played hide and seek in her grandmother's yard...

Sharon C. Cooper has been writing for years. And believe it or not, her first book wasn't a romance. She was reaching out to a different demographic —kids. But romance won out and we are thankful because since 2012, she's been penning hot novels. And I had the pleasure of meeting Sharon at Romance Slam Jam in New Orleans. She is as nice as she is talented.  Sharon spoke with me about her debut Kimani Press novel, Legal Seduction  —which is a RT Book Reviews Top Pick  — and writing. Sharon C. Cooper 1. Your debut Kimani novel is a RT top pick, what did you feel when you saw that review? I was TOTALLY shocked and flattered at the same time! As an author, you just never know how your work will be received, especially since books are so subjective. Also, I had never heard of RT "Top Picks" before (sad to say). I first found out about the review from author Wayne Jordan. After that, I started getting FB inbox messages and emails regarding being a "Top P...

She’s got something to talk about… RUMOR HAS IT CHERIS HODGES Liz 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 Liz discovers Robert in a compromising position—with another woman… Liz 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 Liz’s great surprise, Jackson won’t play dirty—and Liz finds him irresistible. As sparks fly, personally and politically, Liz and Jac...