GEMS Book of the Month: October 2012

My True Essence by Shawneda Marks 
Selected by: Gwen

Overview

Rebecca has everything she ever prayed for and more, and is living like she doesn't care if she loses it all. Dani's business is thriving and her faith is strong. Her diagnosis will expose her own insecurities and life's truth. Jenessa epitomizes the definition of a strong woman. A routine doctor's visit forces her to confront the genetic cloud that has hovered over her since childhood.

Meet the Author

Shawneda Marks has loved reading and writing since she can remember. Some of her favorite books and authors include Shel Silverstein (Where the Sidewalk Ends), Sister Souljah (Coldest Winter Ever yes there is profanity/sex scenes and yes it is a good read), Stormie Omartian (Power of a Praying Wife, Power of a Praying Woman, Power of a Praying Parent), Jacquelin Thomas (Singsation and Soul Journey to name a few) and Booker T. Mattison (Unsigned Hype, Snitch). After years of entertaining her colleagues at Bank of America and Comcast with stories about colorful customer interactions she started penning her own stories. Her novels and devotionals are crafted to raise awareness, explore wellness and empower readers. Shawneda Marks enjoys being an independent author utilizing Print on Demand and Ebook technology to share her stories with readers. Marks considers the Chicago/Milwaukee area her home but since flying down south to attend Spelman College has grown quite fond of metropolitan Atlanta where she resides with her husband and daughter.

Content: Courtesy BN.com

GEMS Book of the Month: September 2012

The Road Home by Tommy Tenney & Andrew Olsen
Selected by: Sharon

Overview

For Las Vegas widow Naomi, memories of a Pennsylvania Dutch childhood are an ache from the distant past, a painful memory of abandoned roots and lost connections. She has long since reconciled herself to the shattered dreams that had enticed her from her heritage and now simply lives in a tiny apartment, thick with loneliness and regret. Her sole consolation is her daughter-in-law Ruth.

But when hard living claims both of her boys, the two women turn Naomi's creaky Impala eastward in a desperate, last-chance bid for hope and meaning. Thus begins a cross-country odyssey that brings her home to her old farm in Lancaster County--and to the values and rhythms of a life once spurned. Although the East is foreign territory, Ruth also finds a home here among the slow and authentic cadences of Pennsylvania farm country. And she finds love...

GEMS Book of the Month: August 2012

Last Temptation by Michelle Stimpson
Selected by: Marguerite 

Overview

Will a dream come true push one woman to her limits?

Sensible single mother Patricia "Peaches" Miller isn't about to follow in her mama's footsteps and become dependent on a man—no, that would be too easy. But when she doesn't see eye to eye with the man she wants to marry, she knows that returning to a life of girls' nights out, retail therapy, and chocolate peanut clusters just won't do for her. Then Raphael, her son's father, steps back into the picture—and makes it clear that his attraction to Peaches is stronger than ever. There's just one problem. Raphael has already pledged his heart to another woman.

Peaches has been praying for a perfect family for a long time. Deep down she knows this can't be God's idea of an answer—but can you blame a girl for hoping? Now, as she battles with temptation, and with her faith, she's not sure which will win...

GEMS Book of the Month: June 2012

Sinners & Saints 

by 

Victoria Christopher Murray and 

Reshonda Tate Billingsley

Selected by:

Cathy

 

 

 

 

 

Overview

TEAM JASMINE or TEAM RACHEL? 

Bestselling and award-winning novelists Victoria Christopher Murray and ReShonda Tate Billingsley bring their favorite heroines together in a novel that will delight their legions of fans.

Jasmine Larson Bush and Rachel Jackson Adams are not your typical first ladies. But they’ve overcome their scandalous and drama-filled pasts to stand firmly by their husbands’ sides.

When a coveted position opens up—president of the American Baptist Coalition— both women think their husbands are perfect for the job. And winning the position may require both women to get down and dirty and revert to their old tricks. Just when Jasmine and Rachel think they’re going to have to fight to the finish, the current first lady of the coalition steps in . . . a woman bigger, badder, and more devious than either of them.

GEMS Book of the Month: May 2012

Nappily Ever After 


by: Trisha R. Thomas 


Selected by:


Rondica 

OVERVIEW: 

(via BN.com)

Venus Johnston has a great job, a beautiful home, and a loving live-in boyfriend named Clint, who happens to be a drop-dead gorgeous doctor. She has a weekly beauty-parlor date with Tina, who keeps Venus's long, processed hair slick and straight. Ever since childhood, the tedious hours in the salon and the harsh, burning chemicals have grated on Venus, and increasingly she dreams of cutting off her beautiful "good" hair. When her boyfriend keeps balking at commitment, and the thought of another hour at the salon is just too much, Venus decides to give it up - all of it. She trades in the long hair for a dramatically short, natural cut and sends Clint packing. It's a bold declaration of independence - and one that has effects she never could have imagined. Reactions from friends and coworkers range from concern to contempt to outright condemnation. When Clint moves on and starts dating a voluptuous, long-haired beauty, Venus is forced to question what she really wants out of life. With wit, resilience, and a lot of determination, she finally learns what true happiness is...on her own terms.

GEMS Book of the Month: April 2012

THE RED TENT

by Anita Diamant



Selected by:
Ty

Overview

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood—the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of her mothers—Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah—the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through a hard-working youth, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past. Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women's society.

GEMS Book of the Month: February/March 2012

Samson
by Jacquelin Thomas



Selected by:
Amy

Overview

Samson Taylor has just been installed as assistant pastor at a thriving North Carolina church. He’s a man of God—and most definitely no saint. Handsome and charismatic, Samson is controlled by his lust for beautiful women, a weakness that stirs up trouble, heartache, betrayal, and damaging rumors—and soon costs him his marriage, his best friendship, and even his new job. Samson loves God and tries harder than ever to keep his temptations in check. Then he meets Delinda. . . . Beautiful, irresistibly sexy, and married to a famous NBA star, Delinda has Samson head-over-heels in love . . . in a dangerous affair that leads to a physical confrontation with Delinda’s husband. Now, the disgraced pastor begins a journey he could never have anticipated, where his heart is now his guide—not a heart of lust, but of new wisdom and a new kind of seeing. God will forgive Samson’s past—but will Samson himself be able to let go of bitterness and regret, and find a new light in his life?Inspired by the Biblical tale of Samson and Delilah, Jacquelin Thomas powerfully portrays a modern-day pastor’s dance with earthly desires . . . and the faith that made him whole.

Meet the Author

Jacquelin Thomas is the national bestselling and award-winning author whose many adult novels include Defining Moments, Saved in the City, Soul Journey, A Change Is Gonna Come, The Prodigal Husband, and Singsation. Her short fiction is featured in the Pocket Books anthology Have a Little Faith. A driving force in the world of Christian fiction, she is the founder and producer of the annual Faith-Based Arts Conference, an event showcasing authors in the field.

GEMS Book of the Month: January 2012

An Inconvenient Friend

by Rhonda McKnight

Selected by:

Camilya Daniels

Synopsis:

Samaria Jacobs joins New Mercies Christian Church in order to get close to Angelina Preston, her lover's wife. She's got her heart set on successful surgeon Gregory Preston. He has just the bankroll she needs to keep her in the lifestyle that her credit card debt has helped her grow accustomed to. If she gets to know Angelina, she can become like her in more than looks, and really work her way into Greg's heart.

Just when Samaria thinks she's got it all figured out, she finds herself drawn to Angelina's kindness. Will she be able to carry out her plan after she finds herself yearning for the one thing she's never had . . . the friendship of a woman?

Angelina Preston's life is filled with a successful career and busy ministry work, but something's just not right with her marriage. Late nights and early meetings, coupled with lipstick-stained shirts have her suspicious that her husband is doing a little more operating than she'd like. But does she have the strength to confront the only man she's ever loved and risk losing him to the other woman?