35 results for “by tia williams”

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  • Life is a K Drama: A Heartfelt Slow-Burn Contemporary RomCom from a Duo of Bestselling Authors cover image
    $29.00

    A heartfelt, interracial, contemporary romance debut--and a love letter to K dramas--featuring a single mom whose chance to turn her neighborhood restaurant into a household name is upended by an unexpected spark with a swoon-worthy Korean business magnate, for fans of Kennedy Ryan, Tia Williams, and Susan Lee.

    Keisha Thomson loves K-Dramas, but she never thought her life would turn into one. Keisha is a 37-year-old, divorced mom of her beloved autistic son, Kai, and the ambitious owner of True Soul, a Harlem soul-food restaurant. Set between Harlem and Seoul, the novel follows bold and pragmatic Keisha, charming yet duty-bound Han Seojun, and the viral red velvet cake that brings them together. What begins as a cultural and culinary clash becomes a whirlwind romance that upends everything they thought they knew about love, ambition, and what it means to put yourself first.

    Life is a K Drama brings together Sherri Shepherd and Jayci Lee's complementary voices to create something truly fresh. Part escapism and part self-discovery, it’s for anyone who’s ever rebuilt themselves from scratch and for readers who crave joy that feels earned and real. With shades of Tia William’s Seven Days in June and Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game, it’s a sweeping, cinematic love story that glows with humor, heart, and hard-won hope. Importantly, it’s not just a romance between Keisha and Seojun, it’s also a love story about family, food, and culture.

  • Place of All Games (Places and Games, 1) cover image
    $18.99

    Three children become involved in a world-altering game in the first book of an epic middle grade duology following in the tradition of The Giver and Ender’s Game—by celebrated Newbery Honor Author and National Book Award finalist Rita Williams-Garcia.

    In the idyllic childhood place of Kumbla, Lows grow up with no wants, no danger, no parents, only endless games. But there comes a time in every Low's life when they yearn to test their skill and leave Kumbla for the Place of All Games—where there lies a challenge most are doomed to fail.

    Kili is one among these many failed Lows. But unlike those before him, he’s returning to Kumbla, and with something remarkable: a second chance.

    Kuwan is unlike the other Lows, content to never leave Kumbla. But Kili’s fate, and the fate of their world, rests in his ability to play his best game ever.

    In an epic tale of innocence lost and family gained, and a gripping meditation on the futility of war, Newbery Honor author Rita Williams-Garcia reminds us that while children may become pawns in the great games of adults, they should never be underestimated.

  • Houston Reads Alice Walker! Presented by Project Row Houses, Kindred Stories, and Chanecka Williams
    $0.00

    A message from Chanecka Williams:

    "Alice Walker has been a force in the world for over forty years. As a writer, poet and activist, she is relentless in her pursuit of a free(er) world for all. In this social, political, time-space reality, Walker’s work feels essential to be explored with new eyes. Join us as we read her novels, short story collections, and a few of her nonfiction works. It would be remiss to not mention that this journey is as spiritual as literary being that Alice Walker has always given credit to the spirits that accompany her. "
    This gathering will be held on the online video conferencing platform Zoom. Please join us by registering for this month only or the entire meet-up series here.

    Kindred Stories is proud to partner with Project Row Houses and Chanecka to present Houston Reads Alice Walker.

    Alice Walker Meeting Schedule:

    September 18 - The Temple of My Familiar
    October 16 - Possessing the Secret of Joy
    November 20 - The Third Life of Grange Copeland
    December 18 - In Love & Trouble
    January 15 - Meridian
    February 19 - You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down
    March 19 - By the Light of My Father's Smile
    April 16 - The Way Forward With a Broken Heart: Stories
    May 21 - Now is the Time to Open Your Heart
    June 11 - In Search of Our Mother's Garden Pt. I & Pt. II
    July 16 - In Search of Our Mother's Garden Pt. III & Pt. IV
    August 20 - Alike Walker Poetry Reading
    September 17 - Gathering Blossoms Under Fire
    About Alice Walker

    Alice Walker is an internationally celebrated writer, poet and activist whose books include seven novels, four collections of short stories, four children’s books, and volumes of essays and poetry.  She won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction in 1983 and the National Book Award.

    About Chanecka Williams

    In May 2020, after realizing books were talking over her personal Instagram account, Chanecka started a new account with the handle @headwrpreader centering literature. As a book influencer, she is extremely passionate about book discovery. She is always ahead of the curve on new and lesser known book releases. Currently, she works as a team member at Kindred Stories in addition to pursuing a Master of Library and Information Science. She hopes to work as a research librarian and archivist.

    About Project Row Houses

    Project Row Houses is a community platform that enriches lives through art with an emphasis on cultural identity and its impact on the urban landscape. We engage neighbors, artists, and enterprises in collective creative action to help materialize sustainable opportunities in marginalized communities.

    Project Row Houses occupies a significant footprint in Houston’s Historic Third Ward, one of the city’s oldest African-American neighborhoods. The site encompasses five city blocks and houses 39 structures that serve as home base to a variety of community-enriching initiatives, art programs, and neighborhood development activities. PRH programs touch the lives of under-resourced neighbors, young single mothers with the ambition of a better life for themselves and their children, small enterprises with the drive to take their businesses to the next level, and artists interested in using their talents to understand and enrich the lives of others. Although PRH’s African-American roots are planted deeply in Third Ward, the work of PRH extends far beyond the borders of a neighborhood in transition. The Project Row Houses model for art and social engagement applies not only to Houston, but also to diverse communities around the world.

    ABOUT KINDRED STORIES

    Kindred Stories was born of a love for reading and a passion for community.

    Kindred Stories is here to give kids and adults alike a space to explore the wide open world of literary content and creative works fashioned by black and brown hands. We are a bookstore committed to amplifying Black voices and bringing diverse stories from throughout the African diaspora to our local community in Houston, TX. We will be located in the Third Ward neighborhood, where we'll provide a well curated offering to edify the swelling appetites for authentic stories as told by those who have lived them.

    We are beyond thrilled to serve Houston and the world at large through our website offerings. Stay tuned for what’s in store with the opening of our physical space later this year.  Thank you for being a part of our tribe!

  • IN PERSON AUTHOR TALK: We are a Haunting with Tyriek White & Kiese Laymon-June 1 @7PM CST
    from $0.00
    Come swoon over We are a Haunting with us! 
    EVENT DEETS
    WHEN: June 1 at 7PM CST
    WHERE: Kindred Stories Reading Garden (2304 Stuart Street, HTX 77004)
    HOW: RSVP to reserve your free ticket or RSVP with book to support our store and programming. 
    ABOUT THE BOOK
    A poignant debut for readers of Jesmyn Ward and Jamel Brinkley, We Are a Haunting follows three generations of a working class family and their inherited ghosts: a story of hope and transformation. 

    In 1980’s Brooklyn, Key is enchanted with her world, glowing with her dreams. A charming and tender doula serving the Black women of her East New York neighborhood, she lives, like her mother, among the departed and learns to speak to and for them. Her untimely death leaves behind her mother Audrey, who is on the verge of losing the public housing apartment they once shared. Colly, Key’s grieving son, soon learns that he too has inherited this sacred gift and begins to slip into the liminal space between the living and the dead on his journey to self-realization.

    In the present, an expulsion from school forces Colly across town where, feeling increasingly detached and disenchanted with the condition of his community, he begins to realize that he must, ultimately, be accountable to the place he is from. After college, having forged an understanding of friendship, kinship, community, and how to foster love in places where it seems impossible, Colly returns to East New York to work toward addressing structural neglect and the crumbling blocks of New York City public housing he was born to; discovering a collective path forward from the wreckages of the past. A supernatural family saga, a searing social critique, and a lyrical and potent account of displaced lives, We Are a Haunting unravels the threads connecting the past, present, and future, and depicts the palpable, breathing essence of the neglected corridors of a pulsing city with pathos and poise.
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR 
    Tyriek Rashawn White is a writer, musician, and educator from Brooklyn, where he served at-risk and marginalized youth, artists, and scholars in the classroom. He is currently the media director of Lampblack Lit, a literary foundation which seeks to provide mutual aid and various resources to Black writers across the diaspora. He has received fellowships from Callaloo Writing Workshop, New York State Writers Institute, and Key West Writers’ Workshop, among other honors. He holds a degree in Creative Writing and Africana Studies from Pitzer College, and most recently earned an MFA from the University of Mississippi. He is the author of the forthcoming novel, WE ARE A HAUNTING (Astra House, 2023).
    ABOUT THE MODERATOR

    Kiese Laymon is a Black southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. Laymon is the Libby Shearn Moody Professor of English and Creative Writing at Rice University. He is also the  author of Long Division, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, and  Heavy: An American Memoir.  Kiese Laymon was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2022.

  • Kindred Stories - Lapel Enamel Pin
    $12.00

    Now you can support your favorite independent bookstore everywhere you go!

    Wear our little bookshop with Love and Pride.

  • The Perfect Find

    by Tia Williams

    Sold out

    Will a forty-year-old woman with everything on the line – her high-stakes career, ticking biological clock, bank account – risk it all for a secret romance with the one person who could destroy her comeback, for good?

    Jenna Jones, former It-girl fashion editor, is forty, broke and desperate for a second chance. When she’s dumped by her longtime fiancé and fired from Darling magazine, she begs for a job from her arch nemesis, Darcy Vale. Darcy, the beyond-bitchy publisher of StyleZine.com, agrees to hire her rival – only because her fashion site needs a jolt from Jenna’s old school cred. But Jenna soon realizes she’s in over her head. 

    Jenna’s working with digital-savvy millennials half her age, has never even “Twittered,” and pretends to still be a Fashion Somebody while living a style lie (she sold her designer wardrobe to afford her sketched-out studio, and now quietly wears Walmart’s finest). What’s worse is that the twenty-two-year-old videographer assigned to shoot her web series is driving her crazy. Wildly sexy with a smile Jenna feels in her thighs, Eric Combs is way off-limits – but almost too delicious to resist.

  • IRL Author Talk: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde with Tia Williams - February 20 @7 PM
    Sold out

    Join us to celebrate Tia Williams' newest release, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde!

    EVENT DEETS

    When: Tuesday, February 20 @7PM

    Where: STAGES (800 Rosine Street, HTX, 77019)

    How: Grab your tickets! Each ticket will come with a signed copy of A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. No refunds. 

    ABOUT THE BOOK

    In this enchanting love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June, a free-spirited florist and an enigmatic musician are irreversibly linked through the history, art, and magic of Harlem.

    Leap years are a strange, enchanted time. And for some, even a single February can be life-changing.

    Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn’t one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she’s the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. Where they’re long-stemmed roses, she’s a dandelion: an adorable bloom that’s actually a weed, born to float wherever the wind blows. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her.

    When regal nonagenarian, Ms. Della, invites her to rent the bottom floor of her Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumps at the chance for a fresh beginning. She leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighborhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmers.

    One evening in February as the heady, curiously off-season scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.  

    Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked. 

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    Tia Williams had a fifteen-year career as a beauty editor for magazines including Elle, Glamour, Lucky, Teen People, and Essence. In 2004, she pioneered the beauty-blog industry with her award-winning site, Shake Your Beauty. She wrote the bestselling debut novel The Accidental Diva and penned two young adult novels, It Chicks and Sixteen Candles. Her award-winning novel The Perfect Find is a Netflix movie starring Gabrielle Union. Her latest novel is New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Bookclub pick, Seven Days in June, published by Grand Central.
     
    Tia currently lives with her daughter and her husband in Brooklyn
  • Virtual Author Panel: Black & In Love with Tia Williams, Kianna Alexander, Chenicia Higgins, Synithia Williams, A.E. Valdez, Kosoko Jackson, Charish - August 17 at 6:30PM
    Sold out

    In honor of Bookstore Romance Day, we have gathered some of our favorite Black contemporary Romance authors, traditionally and indie published.

    EVENT DEETS

    WHEN: August 17 at 6:30PM

    WHERE: Virtual Via Zoom

    HOW: Be sure to purchase your $5 ticket or choose one of the bundles to gain entry to this virtual event. 

    ROMANCE BOOK BUNDLES

    Forbidden Love: The Perfect Find, Forbidden Promises - $26

    Second Chance Romance: All I've Ever Want All I've Ever Needed , Seven Days in June - $31

    Opposite Attract: Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up, The Secret to a Southern Wedding - $36

    Meet Queer: D'Vaughn & Kris Plan A Wedding, Can't Let Her Go , A Dash of Salt & Pepper- $45

    ABOUT THE AUTHORS

    Tia Williams had a fifteen-year career as a beauty editor for magazines including Elle, Glamour, Lucky, Teen People, and Essence. In 2004, she pioneered the beauty-blog industry with her award-winning site, Shake Your Beauty. She wrote the bestselling debut novel The Accidental Diva and penned two young adult novels, It Chicks and Sixteen Candles. Her award-winning novel The Perfect Find is a Netflix movie starring Gabrielle Union. Her latest novel is New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, Seven Days in June, published by Grand Central. Tia currently lives with her daughter and her husband in Brooklyn.

    Like any good Southern belle, Kianna Alexander wears many hats: doting mama, advice-dispensing sister, fun aunt and gabbing girlfriend. She's a voracious reader, an amateur seamstress and occasional painter in oils.She has a passion for history and an endless curiosity. Kianna is proud to tell stories where Black women are loved, valued, and thriving. A native of the TarHeel state, Kianna still lives there while maintaining her collection of well-loved vintage 80's Barbie dolls.

    Chencia Higgins hails from the big city of Houston in the greatest state of Texas. Writing has been her my passion since she was a young girl, when her subject matter were visions of middle school drama with her group of girlfriends. She entered the world of publishing in May 2016 with an erotic novella that set the stage for a career in which she would craft engaging tales of Black women being loved up on. She continues to write for women who love to read but are tired of never seeing themselves in the story. Higgins proud to be a part of an indie and self-published author community. When she's not writing, you can find her reading a book (or two, or three), saving recipes that she'll never make on Pinterest, and traveling as much as possible with her family.

    A.E. Valdez published her first book, All I’ve Wanted, All I’ve Needed, in 2021. She has continued to write stories with endearing and relatable characters centered firmly around Black love. Readers have described her work as sweet and spicy, deeply emotional, and healing.

    She currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with the love of her life and their two sons. When she’s not typing away on a keyboard, she enjoys spending time with her family, going on hiking trips, gaming, or curling up with a good book.

    Kosoko Jackson is a digital-media specialist, who lives in the New York Metro Area and spends too much time listening to Halsey and Taylor Swift.

    Charish Reid is a fan of sexy books and disaster films. When she's not grading papers or prepping lessons for college freshmen, she enjoys writing romances that celebrate quirky black women who deserve HEAs. Charish currently lives in Sweden, with her husband, avoiding most forms of exercise.

    ABOUT THE MODERATOR

    Dr. Shaquinta Richardson is a lover of books in the realm of fantasy and filth written by and for Black women. She rediscovered her love for fiction after years of reading non-fiction for school and career and has been loving the experience of re-immersing herself in the all the beautiful stories of bad-ass powerful Black girls and women being loved fiercely. When she is not reading, she helps Black women build lives and careers with balance, ease, and daily joy as a life coach and consultant. She lives in Houston, TX with her wife and two dogs and can be found in any corner of Houston with her book or her Kindle and her caramel macchiato. 
  • July 2025: Romance Book Club - July 10 @ 7PM
    Sold out

    We're meeting to discuss Audre and Bash Are Just Friends by Tia Williams!

    BOOK CLUB MEETING DEETS

    When: Thursday, July 10 @ 7PM CST

    Where: Kindred Stories (2310 Elgin St, Houston, TX 77004)

    How: RSVP ONLY to let us know you plan to attend! Support the Romance Book Club by purchasing a copy of the book from Kindred Stories here. !

    ABOUT AUDRE AND BASH ARE JUST FRIENDS

    Scorching-hot summer. Scorching-hot chemistry. Two teens can’t forget they’re just friends in this sweet, funny, electrifying romance from New York Times bestselling author Tia Williams. Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Nicola Yoon.
     
    MEET AUDRE. Junior class president. Debate team captain. Unofficial student therapist. Desperately in need of a good time.
     
    MEET BASH. Mysterious new senior. Everybody’s crush. Tall, floppy, great taste in jewelry. King of having a good time.
     
    It’s the last day of school at Cheshire Prep, Brooklyn’s elite academy—and Audre Mercy-Moore’s life is a mess. Her dad cancelled her annual summer visit to his Malibu beach house. Now? She’s stuck in a claustrophobic apartment with her mom, stepdad, and one-year-old sister (aka the Goblin Baby).
     
    Under these conditions, she’ll never finish writing her self-help book—ie, the key to winning over Stanford’s admissions board.
     
    Cut to Bash Henry! Audre hires him to be her “fun consultant.” His job? To help her complete the Experience Challenge—her list of five wild dares designed to give her juicy book material. She’ll get inspo; he’ll get paid. Everybody wins.
     
    He isn’t boyfriend material. And she’s not looking for one. Can they stay professional despite their obvious connection?
     
    Fun fact: Audre Mercy-Moore first appeared in the New York Times bestseller Seven Days in June and now stars in her own story!

  • JULY 2026: Romance Book Club - July 8 @ 7PM
    Sold out

    We're meeting to discuss The Missed Connection!

    BOOK CLUB MEETING DEETS

    When: Wednesday, July 8 @ 7PM CST

    Where: Kindred Stories (2310 Elgin St, Houston, TX 77004)

    How: RSVP ONLY to let us know you plan to attend! Support the Romance Book Club by purchasing a copy of the book from Kindred Stories here!

    *This book is currently on PRE-ORDER and has an on sale date for June 9th. You can purchase now for your book to be picked up or shipped on June 9th. 

    ABOUT THE MISSED CONNECTION

    New York Times bestselling author Tia Williams returns with an intensely romantic, deliciously sexy tale about a woman searching for her handsome seatmate on a European flight--and the unexpected places her hunt for love leads her.

    Sasha Cruz knows types. As a booked-and-busy casting agent, she's always casting -- at happy hour, the post office, the grocery store, everywhere. She's all about finding the perfect person to slot into the perfect role. What she doesn't do, however, are relationships. Too much energy, not enough time. Men find her intimidating, and she likes it that way.

    But when Sasha's seated next to a mysterious, broodingly handsome Italian man on the way to a work trip in Paris, sparks fly - but they miss the chance to exchange contact information. Now, convinced that she's lost out on her soulmate, Sasha is on a manhunt to find Seat F.

    Sasha enlists her work friend for help in the search, but when she accidentally emails the entire global company, colleagues around the world begin looking for Seat F, too - with some finding love along the way. Meanwhile, Sasha takes matters into her own hands, hiring a smoldering detective who complicates matters in unforeseen ways

  • The Uncles cover image
    Sold out

    A young boy calls on his loving uncles for a much-needed boys’ day in the wake of his father’s death in this touching debut picture book about grief and healing that’s a heartfelt homage to strong men who step in as loving role models for the children who need them.

    Lil’ Kev is the only boy in the house now that Daddy is gone. Momma and his sisters try to fill the void as best as they can, playing video games, racing cars, and even shooting hoops sometimes. But it’s not the same. Then Lil’ Kev gets an idea to ease his longing—he calls...the Uncles! The foursome scoops up Lil’ Kev and they spend the day capturing memories that’ll keep Daddy close at home and heart.

  • The Art of Scandal

    by Regina Black

    Sold out
    A “wildly steamy, utterly heartwarming” (Tia Williams) debut filled with romance, artistic ambitions, political scandal, and finding love where you least expect it. 

    "Love would be so much easier if it were perfect..." 

    On the night of her husband Matt’s fortieth birthday, Rachel Abbott receives a sexy, explicit text from her husband that she quickly realizes was meant for another woman. Divorce is inevitable, and Rachel is determined not to leave her thirteen-year marriage empty handed. Meanwhile, Matt, a rising star mayor with his eye on the White House, can’t afford a messy split in the middle of his reelection campaign. They strike a deal: Rachel gets one million dollars and their lavish house in the wealthy DC suburb of Oasis Springs, as long as she keeps playing the ideal Black trophy wife until the election.

    Then Rachel meets Nathan Vasquez, a very handsome, very lost twenty-six-year-old artist, and their connection makes Rachel forget about being the perfect politician’s wife. As Rachel reawakens Nathan’s long-dormant artistic aspirations, their attraction becomes impossible to resist. But secrets are hard to keep in a town like Oasis Springs, and Nathan has a few of his own. With the risk of scandal looming and their hearts on the line, they’ll have to decide whether the possibility of losing everything is worth taking a chance on love. 

    The Art of Scandal is a sizzling, conversation-starting debut about rekindling passion, the transformative power of art, and finding love in unexpected places. 

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