“When are you going to learn that it never ends? You take one of theirs, they take one of yours and the mess just keeps going.” When two people from the opposite sides of the track come together, is it fate or would you call it just a chance encounter that should’ve been left at just that, an encounter? Philly is known for its infamous gangs, but no gang is as deadly or lethal as the Notorious Hitta’ gang. With the untimely death of NHG leader Sco, LA, next in line is forced into a position that he at one point wanted nothing to do with. LA is a hot head who graduated from the school of hard knocks and bleeds NHG. Now with LA leading the crew, he vows to avenge his brother’s death, but his tunnel vision is thrown off when Mocha Hart comes into his life. Mocha, a promising Pediatric nurse, and a boss chick wants nothing more than to put her heart ache from previous relationships aside to focus on her career. Mocha and LA couldn’t be more different and while Mocha has a M.S. at the end of her name, LA has NHG before his and in his eyes, nothing comes before the gang. A chance encounter connects the two, but Mocha soon learns that she is connected to NHG’s rival gang, The Natural Born Killers, more than she knows. When Mocha’s loyalty is tested, she must decide if it’s worth being a banger’s girl or if fate made a mistake. Ashlyn is just trying to piece her life back together after losing her child’s father and having to ultimately raise her child alone. After licking her wounds and being over men who toy with her heart, Ashlyn sets her sights on an old friend, who runs with NHG. When Ashlyn’s new found relationship ends more quickly than it began, she questions her worth and if she even deserves to be loved. Peaches and Pisces both want things that they cannot have, but they can’t see past their own selfish wants to realize that we seldomly win when playing dirty. The women both long after NHG’s infamous LA but must rethink their thirst trap plans when Mocha comes into the picture. Both envious of Mocha and willing to stop at nothing to get to LA, someone will win, and someone could end up getting burned. In this tale of feuding rivals, love burns, and scandals, what will be more important; protecting the ones you love or claiming king of the streets?

Jenny Jones was an orphan. There were painfully few safety nets in our society for young, orphaned females, Jenny married not a man of choice but for desperate need. When the alcoholic husband died in the bootleg war, leaving her with an infant son she was drawn into a private war- one of survival in a hostile world. Her son grown to manhood entered that world too. If there was one thing that both sought out of life, it was true love. Circumstances drew mother and son close together. The neighborhood would frown if they had openly showed their affection for each other. Long before Tom Brokaw, A.J. Ciulla knew that his generation was the greatest in the history of our republic. The three decades that encompass the duration of Dark Passions are those that molded the character of the nation. The book is by no means meant to glorify the past. The warts and beauty marks are evenly distributed. This is not A.J. Ciulla the short story writer. Dark Passions is a hard-hitting with no holds barred novel.

The story of the celebrated rapper and the iconic Wu-Tang Clan, told by one of its founding members Dennis Coles—aka Ghostface Killah—is a co-founder of the Wu-Tang Clan, a legendary hip hop group who established themselves by breaking all the rules, taking their music to the streets during hip hop’s golden era on a decade-long wave of releasing anthem after classic anthem, and serving as the foundation of modern hip hop. An all-star cast who formed like Voltron to establish the pillars that serve as the foundation of modern hip hop and released seminal albums that have stood the test of time. Rise of a Killah is Ghost’s autobiography, focusing on the people, places and events that mean the most to him as he enters his fourth decade writing and performing. It’s a beautiful and intense book, going back to the creative ferment that led to Ghost’s first handwritten rhymes. Dive into Ghost’s defining personal moments, his battles with his personal demons, his journey to Africa, his religious viewpoints, his childhood in Staten Island, and his commitment to his family (including his two brothers with muscular dystrophy), from the Clan’s early successes to the pinnacle of Ghost’s career touring and spreading his wings as a solo artist, fashion icon, and trendsetter. Exclusive photos and memorabilia, as well as graphic art commissioned for this book, make Rise of a Killah both a memoir and a unique visual record, a “real feel” narrative of Ghost’s life as he sees it, a one of a kind holy grail for Wu-Tang and Ghost fans alike.

ONE FAMILY'S 30 YEAR ODYSSEY! A FATHER'S OBSESSION! A MOTHER'S NIGHTMARE! A SON'S HELL! MOLES Sam. . . A tortured soul, fighting demons from his past. Unwilling or unable to come to grips with an uncertain future. Marilyn. . . Still water runs deep as the saying goes. A woman willing to sacrifice almost everything to please the man she loves. Finally displaying hidden strength even she didn't know she possessed. Thomas. . . Deprived pf all the experiences a boy needs to transition into manhood. No playmates. . .No high school sweetheart. Saddest of all no dreams or aspirations for the future. A future wrought with fear and apprehension.

Poetry. LGBT Studies. Politics. Ecopoetics. Covers letterpressed by the author. Mycelium is the largest organism on the planet. It is the collective root structure from which all mushrooms emerge. It lives three inches under the ground and can span for thousands of acres. Any of its threads can connect to the collective body at any point. ALMOST ANY SHIT WILL DO pulls language from mycelium studies to investigate the underground of political unrest, from its emergence as riots to the single moment of impact: a body in protest thrown to the ground by the cop. How can we mark the shifting boundary between the individual and the movement in the midst of a riot? It is in the continuous attempt to define these terms that we begin to articulate the utopia that is always already happening, three inches below the surface. "This is the space of the underground, where the intersection evidences the site of violence as a weight that pulls our attention via contours in the grid. Here, the lines bend around the individual and extend that body into the multitude: the movement, ALMOST ANY SHIT WILL DO is a statement of rage, where, when pushed to the edge, we might learn the most from a silent source the ultimate Other." JH Phrydas"

Pop artist Milo Sonas was a New York City art world star in the 80s and 90s. After 9/11, a nervous breakdown and years of obscurity, Milo now finds himself sheltered in a government subsidized motel room in the Midwest, wandering in the streets, coffee shops and shopping malls in the afternoons, and experiencing frequent supernatural visitations from famous dead artists.When Milo is suddenly rediscovered by a former collector, his fortunes start to shift. His reemergence from obscurity is underway. However, first he must deal with his eccentric family members, plan his dying mother's funeral (that she intends to attend) and his own wedding to a University coed, all in the same afternoon. Will Milo escape the drone of suburbia, and stop fearing that art history would rather see him dead, before he is allowed to feel, touch and taste success?Jenson's tour de force written with a unique new voice, will also please those familiar with Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and Philip Jose Farmer. Readers will be taken on a hilarious, sensual, heartfelt ride. Dead Artist features riotous stream-of-consciousness and time shifting literary riffs. In this high energy novel Pop art icon, poet and author Ivan Jenson creates a vivid portrait of an artist as a post-modern man.