Thanks to her black mother and her Irish father, Ruth "Penny" Borum is the color of a new penny. Big-boned and notoriously sassy, Ruth is nonetheless the organist and a member in good standing of Antioch, Virginia's most prominent black church--or at least she was until she dragged the popular Reverend Jonas Borum into an ugly divorce.

Having lost everything in the divorce, Ruth scrapes by on what she can make as a hairdresser at Diana's, a tiny two-seat salon. Alone at night, in her basement apartment, she indulges in ice cream and argues with the Almighty. Did He have to take everything away? And when is He going to give something back? The Good Lord must have a sense of humor. That's the only conclusion Ruth can reach when He makes her fall head over heels in love...with a white man. Her friends are appalled, and Antioch, her spiritual home since birth, is ready to throw her out on her ear. Still, with the help of jump rope rhymes, a homeless man who hears God's voice in a mason jar, and two children who want a Mama as much as she wants them, Ruth's determined to prove anything is possible--even love between two people who couldn't be more mismatched......

Peter Underhill was smitten by Ebony Mills the moment she joined his street hockey team a coal-eyed, tomboy goddess, as dark and dazzling as he was pale and awkward. That she returned his affection was a boy's dream come true. But despite a bond that grew into their teens, Peter's intolerant father and Ebony's meddling family finally forced them apart. That was twenty years ago and Peter has been trying to find his way back to his first and true love ever since... When she was a kid, Ebony feared no one, not even Peter's violent, bigoted father. Back then, Ebony said she'd love Peter forever, and she meant it. It didn't matter that they couldn't share milestones like the high school prom together what they had was the real thing, and nobody could take it away... or could they? Even now, Ebony doesn't quite understand how she and Peter disappeared from each other's lives. Has the hatred that surrounded them finally won? Ebony doesn't want to believe that, but she knows one thing: if she ever has the chance to reunite with Peter, she'll never let him go. Because you don't throw away something that only comes along once in a lifetime. You don't mess with original love......

Sometimes A Girl Likes To Keep Her Options Open

In her search for Mr. Right, Erlana Joy Cole has met lots of prospects, but she's never been able to narrow it down to just one. And why should she? After all, you can't ask a woman to have only one pair of shoes, right? So why settle for just one man?

Instead, she's got herself her own "Earth, Wind, and Fire" of men. There's her "Earth," Roger, a white soul brother with a sweet mind and a wicked touch. There's "Wind," Karl, a tattooed entrepreneur who's straight out of Erlana's roots. And as for Juan, well, he's pure "Fire," fierce and passionate and hot as they come. Put them all together and a sister's got everything she could ever want--not that she would ever put them all together. Huh-uh, no way. That can NOT happen.

But now, Erlana's juggling act is getting too hot to handle. And sooner or later, a girl's gotta make a choice while she's still got a choice to make...

Praise for Original Love

"Full of interesting characters ... a true standout." --Booklist

"Engaging ... a warm and interesting story...not the same old, same old." --Romantic Times

"Thoughtful and well-done" --Library Journal...

From the acclaimed author of Something Real and Original Love comes a tender, witty, and sexy tale of two very different souls whose prayers are answered in surprising ways. . .

When recently widowed Joe Murphy "meets" Shawna Mitchell in an online forum, all he's seeking is advice on keeping his home and his family together. Shawna's compassionate e-mails become his lifeline, and as months pass their correspondence grows deep and warm. Discovering that Shawna lives only blocks away. . .well, it feels like more than luck. It feels a lot like hope.

With three children to raise, Shawna has no interest in getting close to another man, let alone one who s got three kids of his own. And the fact that Joe's white can only complicate matters more. But now, as they navigate family dates and vacations and their own doubts and fears, Joe and Shawna find themselves moving toward a future that's bright, new, and totally unexpected. Because the only thing more difficult than uniting two stubborn families would be walking away from something that feels so right. . ....