Monday, November 28, 2016

#MondayMotivation - #Quote

"Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no greater investment."
 --Stephen Covey

Monday, November 14, 2016

#Book Spotlight - Inner City Blues by Chicki Brown

Release date: November 6, 2016


Blurb:

Dr. Jesse Stafford, successful surgeon, husband and father of three lives in an exclusive enclave in Atlanta. He volunteers his time at a neighborhood free clinic in one of the roughest parts of Atlanta where his wife, Cydney's family still lives. When an unarmed thirteen-year-old boy is shot and killed by the police in this neighborhood, Jesse finds himself in an ethical dilemma and at odds with some family members. His involvement puts everything he’s achieved on the line.


Excerpt:

“No kidding. That’s major.” Jesse paused for a moment. “Mama and Daddy taught us well. That’s why I can’t wrap my head around why he wants me to separate myself from what’s going on in the Hollowell area.”

“It’s because you’re personally involved. He’d be happy if you were just sending a check.”

“This is a different situation, though. Money isn’t going to bring that kid back. Only visible, vocal protests will keep the media focused on the case. Black men have to be seen and heard speaking out against what’s happening with the police in our neighborhoods.”

“Just be careful, man.” Marc slapped him on the back. “Bullets don’t discriminate.”

A few nights later, Jesse’s skin prickled with trepidation as his brother, Marc’s words echoed in his head. Even though he had performed hundreds of surgeries in the past ten years, the prospect of this one scared the hell out of him. He took pride in the work he’d done as an oncology surgeon helping patients battle the most dreaded disease on earth. These two patients were another story. He’d never found himself in this situation.

For the past four decades Atlanta had been known as the Mecca of the South. The city and its surrounding suburbs had seen an unprecedented pilgrimage of African-Americans from other parts of the country seeking their part of the area’s employment and minority business prosperity. Black millionaires like entertainers Tyler Perry, Ludacris, and Usher, entrepreneurs like Herman Russell and the Bronner Brothers along with many others in business, entertainment and sports had made their city home.

But the presidency of Barack Obama had spawned a rise in hate groups that had once ruled the South. Young white men and women alike were proudly donning confederate gear and white robes and hoods in a backlash over the black pride for which Atlanta was known. Several small crosses had been planted and burned in conspicuous locations, supposedly as a warning to residents. A church which had been in the area for nearly one hundred years, mysteriously caught fire in the middle of the night and burned to the ground. The boldest of these domestic terrorists had the audacity to ride through the neighborhood with huge flags flying from the back of their pickup trucks doing the rebel yell, the battle cry used by confederate soldiers during the American Civil War. Historically, the soldiers used the yell during charges to intimidate the enemy and boost their own morale. Little did they know they weren’t dealing with the terrified blacks of the early 1900s. A new breed of young African-Americans¾both educated and unlearned¾refused to cower in fear against these threats. And as a result of the rabid redneck support of gun rights, these young blacks were also well armed.

It had seemed at one point that things had calmed down until confederate flags suddenly showed up around the damaged urban landscape. 


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Buy links:

Coming soon in paperback on CreateSpace.com



About the Author

Contemporary women’s fiction/romance author Chicki Brown has been featured twice in USAToday. She was the 2014 B.R.A.B. (Building Relationships Around Books) Inspirational Fiction Author and also the 2011 SORMAG (Shades of Romance Magazine) Author of the Year. Chicki was also a contributing author to the Gumbo for the Soul: Men of Honor (Special Cancer Awareness Edition).

A transplanted New Jersey native who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, Brown still misses the Jersey shore, the pizza and the hot dogs.

Nia Forrester, Beverly Jenkins, Iris Bolling, Lisa Kleypas, and J.R. Ward are among her favorite authors.


Online contacts:

Amazon Central Author Page: http://amzn.to/l2kjXQ