From USA Today bestselling author K.C. Mills comes a scorching romance about a ruthless crime boss who discovers his greatest weakness may be the woman he vowed to protect—a gripping tale of power, protection, and the kind of love that breaks all the rules.

“You Could Do Damage Too weaves a delicious tale of romance, arranged marriage, and family secrets. The character development, storytelling, and romance showcase K.C. Mills’s talent and the power of her stories. This is a must read!” —DANIELLE ALLEN, USA Today bestselling author of Curvy Girl Summer

In a world where power and survival intertwine, Nari—a resilient former foster child—finds herself unexpectedly married to Kincaid Akel, a ruthless businessman with a complicated past.

What begins as a calculated arrangement transforms into a passionate and dangerous journey of love, loyalty, and survival. Kincaid’s fierce devotion to Nari is matched only by his willingness to eliminate anyone threatening her safety. But when the shadows of their past—including Nari’s criminal father, Eli Manchester—begin to close in, their marriage is tested in ways neither could have imagined.

Pregnant and caught between her husband’s dark world and her own search for identity, Nari must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to protect the life they’re building together. With enemies lurking and secrets threatening to destroy everything, Kincaid and Nari must trust each other completely . . . or risk losing everything they’ve fought so hard to create.

On the verge of summer before his senior year, Jay is a soft soul in a world of concrete. While his older brother is everything people expect a man to be—tough, athletic, and in charge—Jay simply blends into the background to everyone, except when it comes to Leroy.

Unsure of what he could have possibly done to catch the eye of the boy who could easily have anyone he wants, Jay isn’t about to ignore the surprising but welcome attention. But as everything in his world begins to heat up, especially with Leroy, whispered rumors over the murder of a young Black journalist and long-brewing territory tensions hang like a dark cloud over his neighborhood. And when Jay and Leroy find themselves caught in the crossfire, Leroy isn’t willing to be the reason Jay’s life is at risk.

Dragged into the world of the Black Diamonds—whose work to protect the Black neighborhoods of Savannah began with his father and now falls to his older brother—Leroy knows that finding out who attacked his brother is not only the key to protecting everyone he loves but also the only way he can ever be with Jay. Wading through a murky history of family mistakes, Leroy soon discovers that there’s no keeping Jay safe when Jay’s own family is in just as deep and fighting the undertow of danger just as hard.

Now Jay and Leroy must puzzle through secrets hiding in plain sight and scramble to uncover who is determined to eliminate the Black Diamonds before someone else gets hurt—even if the cost might be their own electric connection.

When a wife becomes the prime suspect in her husband’s murder, this criminal psychologist must forget everything she thought she knew in order to clear her name in this debut psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Shanora Williams’ The Wife Before.

Cassidy Evans is the blueprint. As a Criminal Psychologist, Cassidy is a savant. She spent years solving groundbreaking cases by shifting through the minds and behaviors of those driven by the darkness that controls them. After years of dedicated field work, Cassidy decides to retire and share her expertise of killers’ mentalities as a novelist.

As a published author, she’s now happily married and spends most of her time traveling the world and sharing with others how to understand the twisted minds that drive bad behaviors. Unfortunately, with all of the knowledge that Cassidy is armed with, she somehow overlooks the lies of the person closest to her. When she tags along to a crime scene with and old colleague, Cassidy is shocked to discover that the victim is her husband. If that’s not enough to send her world spiraling, she also finds out that the identity of the murdered victim, doesn’t match the name on their marriage license.

Things quickly escalate when Cassidy becomes the main suspect. Not knowing the man she is married to is the least of Cassidy’s problems. Everyone believes she is a murderer, and none more than the lead detective on the case¾Nathanial Davis. He is determined to find the truth while proving to the world that Cassidy isn’t who she claims to be. In doing so, he decides to keep Cassidy close while digging through her past to uncover all of her untold truths.

While she’s hiding secrets that could totally destroy the world she spent years building, Cassidy learns that things are never what they seem. With such an intricate familiarity of seeing through lies, how is it that Cassidy is happily married to a man who she loves and adores, but doesn’t truly know? Suddenly, losing her career is far less important than maintaining her freedom. In the end, she may lose both.

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This picture book will delight every Spider-Man fan with its vibrant illustrations and heartfelt story about self-discovery.

New York Times bestselling author Denene Millner’s picture book follows Miles Morales as he explores what it means to be an artist, to be Spider-Man, and to be himself.

Miles Morales is captivated by the murals in his neighborhood, bursting with color and life. Each one tells a story about the artist who created it, and as an aspiring artist himself, Miles dreams of making his own one day. 

But Miles isn’t just an artist—he’s Spider-Man! When he makes friends with fellow artist Mr. Arty, Miles learns even more about his passions, his Puerto Rican heritage, and the importance of his neighborhood.

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For readers of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie and The Turner House, an intimately told story about a woman living by her own rules and the rural community that struggles to understand her.

Azalea “Knot” Centre is determined to live life as she pleases. Let the people of West Mills say what they will; the neighbors’ gossip won’t keep Knot from what she loves best: cheap moonshine, nineteenth-century literature, and the company of men. And yet, Knot is starting to learn that her freedom comes at a high price. Alone in her one-room shack, ostracized from her relatives and cut off from her hometown, Knot turns to her neighbor, Otis Lee Loving, in search of some semblance of family and home.

Otis Lee is eager to help. A lifelong fixer, Otis Lee is determined to steer his friends and family away from decisions that will cause them heartache and ridicule. After his failed attempt as a teenager to help his older sister, Otis Lee discovers a possible path to redemption in the chaos Knot brings to his doorstep. But while he’s busy trying to fix Knot’s life, Otis Lee finds himself powerless to repair the many troubles within his own family, as the long-buried secrets of his troubled past begin to come to light.
Set in an African American community in rural North Carolina from 1941 to 1987, In West Mills is a magnificent, big-hearted small-town story about family, friendship, storytelling, and the redemptive power of love.

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Zuri's hair has a mind of its own. It kinks, coils, and curls every which way. Zuri knows it's beautiful. When Daddy steps in to style it for an extra special occasion, he has a lot to learn. But he LOVES his Zuri, and he'll do anything to make her -- and her hair -- happy.

Tender and empowering, Hair Love is an ode to loving your natural hair -- and a celebration of daddies and daughters everywhere.

Acclaimed artist Erika Lynne Jones's author-illustrator debut picture book! A young girl named Zara would rather say she doesn't know what she wants than choose between her two grandmothers' ideas.

Zara loves living next door to her Grandma Jane and Granny Gladys, but sometimes it’s tough being stuck in the middle of them! Both her grandmas think they know what’s best for her, and Zara is worried she might upset them if she says what she really wants.

Find out what it will take for Zara to speak up for herself in this multigenerational story about finding your voice and the strength of family.

Typical of most communities after the Civil War, Nacogdoches's African Americans had to repurpose their lives by building their own communities while they carved a life of survival first and progress second. The images in this book will tell the stories of the first churches and how they became the center of the community. Other images will share information about the early leaders in the community who helped establish educational facilities for "Negroes." Additional images focus on black businesses, and a final set of images will discuss the emerging black middle class and others who played significant roles in Nacogdoches history. Readers of this book will go on a journey, through images, that highlights residents' pains of struggles and gains of triumph.

A dangerous dance of passion and power unfolds when two wounded souls collide in this sizzling unconventional romance by national bestselling author K.C. Mills.

Nari Collette finds herself on the brink of homelessness after a crushing betrayal. Desperate for stability, she reluctantly agrees to an unconventional proposal from the attractive and enigmatic Kincaid Akel.

Determined to reclaim his seat as heir of a dangerous criminal enterprise, Kincaid needs a wife to solidify his position, but he never expected his carefully selected bride to ignite such fierce desire. As Nari awakens feelings he long thought dead, Kincaid struggles to maintain control.

Their entangled marriage of convenience quickly becomes a battleground of wills as Nari fights to protect her heart, even as she's irresistibly drawn to her dangerous new husband.

As enemies close in from all sides, and with both their hearts and lives on the line, Nari and Kincaid must decide if they can trust each other with their deepest secrets . . . or if the very passion that binds them will ultimately be their downfall.

Eighth grader Drew Ellis is no stranger to the saying, “You have to work twice as hard to be just as good.” His grandmother has told him that his entire life. But lately he’s been thinking: Even if he works ten times as hard, he may never get the same opportunities that his privileged classmates at the prestigious Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted. Then, after a visit to his friend Liam’s house, Drew realizes that Liam is one of those privileged kids. He wants to pretend like everything is okay, but even his best friend, Jordan, can tell that something is up.

As the pressures build, and he starts to feel more isolated than ever, will Drew find a way to bridge the divide so he and his friends can truly accept each other? And more importantly, will he finally be able to accept himself?

Pay homage to We Will Rest: The Art of Escape with Tricia Hersey!

EVENT DEETS

When: Sunday, January 19 @ 4PM

Where: Eldorado Ballroom (2310 Elgin Street, HTX, 77004) 

How: GET TICKETS HERE! All tickets will come with a copy of the book. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

A beautifully illustrated “modern sacred object” of a book—inspired by vintage hymnals, prayer books, and abolitionist pamphlets—helping readers escape from grind culture and dehumanizing systems, by the New York Times bestselling author of Rest Is Resistance
 
Give the gift of rest and escape with this exquisitely designed volume of inspiring writings by Tricia Hersey, powerfully illustrated by award-winning designer George McCalman and featuring a silk ribbon marker.

We don’t believe we are worthy of rest unless we burn ourselves out to accomplish it. Our thinking has been limited by disconnection, sleep deprivation, and the unattainable call for perfection. The systems will never give us rest. It is something we must create for ourselves and each other. 
 
Just as the North Star guided the enslaved on their journeys to freedom, visionary artist and founder of The Nap Ministry Tricia Hersey leads us to imagine a new world: one in which we subvert the narrative of productivity at all costs and embrace rest as a healing spiritual practice. 
 
We Will Rest! is a modern sacred object, medicine for a sick and exhausted world. Weaving together meditations and poetry with storytelling and art, Hersey provokes liberation through refusal and trickster rebellion in the face of capitalism and white supremacy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tricia Hersey is a multidisciplinary artist, theologian, escape artist and founder of The Nap Ministry. She is the global pioneer and originator of the “rest as resistance” and “rest as reparations” frameworks, and collaborates with communities all over the world to create sacred spaces where the liberatory, restorative, and disruptive power of rest can take hold. Tricia’s work is seeded within the soils of Black radical thought, somatics, Afrofuturism, womanism, and liberation theology. She is a Chicago native who believes in daydreaming, porch sitting, and poetry.

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