Since I was sixteen I've always known the kind of life I wanted for myself. I wanted the love. The peace. The happiness. The marriage. The family. The home. But sometimes life doesn't always go as planned. Instead of getting what I wanted, I got what I needed. I got lessons. I got heartbreaks that forced me to grow. I got silence that taught me how to listen to myself. I got endings that pushed me toward new beginnings. And even though it wasn't easy, every detour shaped me into the person I am today. Stronger. Wiser. More passionate about the life I'm still building. And despite all of that, I still want the love. The peace. The happiness. The marriage. The family. The home. I still want it all. Because no matter how many times life has tested me, the desire for those things has never left. It's only grown stronger. ~ Crystal

[EDITING] 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡... xolani and two have been best friends for a long, long time. well over a decade of inside jokes, and silences that never bothered anybody and being everything the other needed. they've survived losing each other in every way, except for one. she buried her feelings to protect what they had and he hid his for longer, quieter. and one night, he finally rips the bandaid they've been holding on to for years: 𝒊'𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈...𝒊 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒙𝒐. loving each other was never the hard part. saying it out loud and going forward, though, is up to nobody but themselves.

"Lately she on her own, and she having dreams about dying. Rather bleed before crying. She can leave but it's timin'." Sequel to The Price Of Peace

Sometimes you have to go through hell to discover the true Price of Peace. "She say she hurt. She just want love to stay, told her I love her, that's the last thing that she heard me say."

sequel to R U S S O. Anastasia Bailey is in love, but not everyone is equipped to push through the downs of their relationship. Watching her boyfriend, Mateo Russo, make a lifelong dream of his come true while scoring a spot as a Raiders cheerleader herself, their lives were supposed to be easy. But it wasn't. *black female lead and latino male lead*

Anastasia Bailey and Mateo Russo share a passion, and while he spends his nights running and catching tosses down a football field, Anastasia is on the sidelines cheering for Cambridge University sports team. The two may have caught each other's attention since they stepped foot onto campus, but it isn't until junior year approaches that the sexual tension finally gets unleashed. *black female lead and latino male lead*

Recently moving to the west coast, Daniela Parker expected a shift when moving with her mother and brother to Los Angeles. Daniela didn't think she had anything to worry about since her brother is an A+ student, and she stayed out of people's business. But when a known gangster, Enrique González, put his eyes on her, she had trouble avoiding the charming brown-eyed man with a background of violence. *black female lead and latino male lead* #1 in the U.S 4/25/25

When Ryan transfers to a new school, the last thing on her mind is connection. Especially not with someone like Kairo Porter, a star athlete with a name bigger than his reputation. But fate (and a media arts professor) pair them together for a semester-long film project. What unfolds behind the camera is a slow unraveling of secrets, pressure, and attraction. The story they're telling? About finding identity in a world that demands perfection. The story they're living? Something neither of them were prepared to write. -Book 3 of the My Slime series

Entropy: a scientific concept that is most commonly associated with a state of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. in which she must confront her fear of vulnerability and the love she's afraid to embrace. in which he must face the chaos within himself and the chance to be loved despite it. where two people learn that even as everything falls apart, love might be the only thing worth holding on to.

"Solè, why'd you stay?" "Because, Zaire... you the first thing that ever felt worth staying for." ❀ 🝳 ❀ Harlem held the noise. Solè gave Zaire the quiet. Zaire Knox, Harlem's quiet storm, known for his ties to the streets and a gaze that read people faster than they could lie to him. Respected. Feared. Loved. With scars buried deeper than his tattoos, he never planned to love soft. Until a Harlem vinyl shop left behind by his late grandfather forces him to slow down, to breathe, to find his real purpose in the world beyond the streets. Solè Sinclair, soft but unbreakable, raised by her father after loss. By day, she serves warmth behind the counter of a café. By night, she disappears into her art, trying to paint the parts of herself no one ever sees. When their worlds cross, the city shifts. What starts off tense and unexpected turns tender. Together, they learn love can hold you just as fierce as the streets ever did, and softer, too. But love in Harlem always asks one question: what are you willing to risk when the heart wants more than the streets ever offered? A Harlem story. A hood love. A soft place to land. ❀ 🝳 ❀