Books published by Black Rose Writing

Maxy Awards - Best Literary/HumorPenCraft Award Winner - Humor"Undoubtedly entertaining and frequently funny." -IndieReaderThe only problem with getting everything you ever wanted is that it forces you to reassess everything you ever wanted in the first place.Thirty-two-year-old Dan Johnson has it all; a nine-digit net worth, a gorgeous fiancé and a luxury riverside brownstone. The only problem is, he doesn't want any of it. And the endless distractions of digitized society give him no head space to figure out what he does want.So, Dan unplugs. He abandons all things digital technology, effectively retreating from society to live an analog lifestyle geared at perfecting the art of avoidance. When a case of mistaken identity launches Dan into a series of bizarro relationships and absurd events, it represents an unexpected path to reconnect him with a world he never knew existed.Dark, offbeat and laugh-out-loud funny, Unplugged is a coming of middle-age story about finding authentic connections and meaning in today's hyper-digitized society.

"A reflective tale of growing up creative in a stifling environment and finding true love." -Kirkus ReviewsGrowing up in a strict Utah farm family during the Great Depression, Irene Larsen copes with her family's hardship by playing piano. Even after an unthinkable tragedy strikes, Irene clings to her dream of becoming a musician. When a neighbor's farm is foreclosed, Irene's brother marries the neighbor's daughter, who moves in with the Larsens and coaches Irene into winning leading roles in musicals. Clashing with her mother, who dismisses her ambition as a waste of time and urges her to become a farmer's wife, Irene leaves home.During a summer gig at Zion National Park, where Irene sings in a variety show for Depression-weary tourists, she meets professional dancer Spike, a maverick who might be her ticket to a musical career. But ultimately she must decide whether pursuing her dream justifies its steep price: losing her home and family.Alternating between Irene's ninetieth year in 2006 at an assisted living home and her coming-of-age in the thirties, Waltz in Swing Time is a poignant tale of mother-daughter relationships, finding hope amidst loss, and forging an independent path, against all odds.

2020 American Fiction Awards Finalist - Women''s Fiction"This witty Roman-à-clef makes for can''t put it down reading. Melhado''s fully formed characters bring to mind a more modern contemporary version of ''The Women.''" -Jeffrey Banks, Author and Coty-Award Winning Fashion DesignerFrom her elegant atelier office, Nadia Demidova discreetly monitors the arrival of her latest guests. Legendary doyenne of the fabled Palm Springs getaway, she can always tell from the moment the women arrive, which ones will be problems.This group will not disappoint: a burned-out Fifth Avenue retail executive...a striking former model and Chicago socialite... an overweight Texas housewife on the brink of her second divorce and her beautiful, teenage daughter...and a CEO who, unhappy with recent plastic surgery, is secluded in her room.Fortunately, Madame Demidova can rely on her Assistant Director to help manage the herd, not knowing that this valued employee is poised to make an audacious move.Old secrets, new friends, second chances - and a chance to snag the divine man who unexpectedly arrives on the scene - are all on the menu at The Spa At Lavender Lane.

2020 Discovery Awards Winner - Politics/Current Events"A well-written memoir chronicling the intriguing life and influences of a post-war Jewish child who becomes an American lawyer and activist." -Sublime Book ReviewBecoming American is the inspiring story of the author's transformation from a child of Holocaust survivors in post-war Europe to an American lawyer, academic, and activist associated with such famed political leaders as Robert Kennedy, George McGovern, Jerry Brown, and Tom Hayden.Searching for his great-grandparents' graves in a hidden cemetery outside Prague makes him recall his experiences of becoming American: listening to Army Counterintelligence agents gathered at his home in Austria; a tense encounter with Russian soldiers; seeing Jim Crow racism in the South during his first visit to the United States; becoming an American citizen in his teens; having his citizenship challenged by border guards; fearing for his new country upon witnessing the Watts riots; exhilaration at rising to leadership positions in organizations shaping government policies; and advancing the American dream as a real estate lawyer, helping develop entire new communities.*Second edition (December 15, 2023), expanded with additional material and updated for an improved reading experience.

"An epic new take on serial killer fiction that is reminiscent of Stephen King's best work." -Best ThrillersFourteen-year-old Daniel and his friends enjoyed the best that childhood could offer during the summer of 1975 in a northern mining town until someone started brutally killing family pets. Daniel, who wants nothing more than be the hero from his books, convinces his friends to help search for the 'sicko', but this only brings him to the attention of the killer. When evidence surfaces that points at Daniel as the killer and his two friends turn against him, he soon realizes that there is much more to being a hero than what he has read. Running away from home, he enlists two seniors and a neighborhood bully to help trap the real killer.

This book is designed to help young children who have experienced homelessness and poverty with an empathetic view of the journey an 8-year-old girl.

No one knew it at the time, but April 19, 2011, was the most important day in the history of the world.After his only friend and colleague, John Manta, disappears without a word, Dave Randall further entrenches himself in the humdrum life of an unenthusiastic lawyer. But once he begins to understand what happened, he embarks on a journey to uncover the deeper meanings and implications of John's fate.Accompanied by Peaches the cat, Dave uproots his life and reinvents himself in the midst of his search. Along the way, he is haunted by his piecemeal understanding of John's fate and what it means for his existence. Little does Dave know, his journey of self-discovery will have ramifications that extend far beyond the borders of his own little life.

"Beautiful, intriguing, and slightly haunting. I found myself not wanting the book to end." -Joe Siple, award-winning author of The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride"A beautifully written story of love, loss, relationships, and pain, described with powerful imagery and hidden meanings." -Sublime Book ReviewThe green house is more than a greenhouse.Seven flowers, seven colors, seven meanings, and one 37-year-old secret-the green house is the keeper of it all. Its creator, Girard Remington, is a fragile elderly man whose life was shattered by a tragedy nearly four decades ago. And when tragedy strikes again-this time to his beloved wife, Miriam -he struggles to cope.The pain of the two interwoven tragedies drives Girard to places of his psyche he desperately tries but is unable to escape. As the only place that offers him solace and tranquility, he turns to the green house as his savior from the regret and the agony and the heartache-and with it, he discovers the power behind it not even he knew existed. And if he listens closely enough, he may be offered the greatest miracle of all-hope for a second chance.

Years after the sex trafficking disaster involving Sean Wolfe, Scottsdale has calmed down. But now it has its own ghost story, its own legacy. Sean works for law enforcement, and his best friend Mitchell Davidson is getting ready for a running marathon this coming weekend. Despite being in a closed relationship with his girlfriend though, gay hookup app He4Him has a new profile, MitchDav, and he wants some kinky, bloody fun before the big race. However, things are not as they seem…

2020 PenCraft Award Winner - Medical Thriller"Heart-pounding tales of a surgical intern that are both terrifying and profound. This medical thriller will stay with you long past the final chapter." -Best ThrillersJackson Cooper, MD will never forget that first day, its stunning conclusion forever etched in his mind. His year as a surgical intern is a story of medical suspense, tragedy, and occasional terror, as a young physician deals with the world of surgery.The surgeon's knot is a surgical tie used in the operating room which the intern practices ceaselessly. The knot refers, as well, to the tangled world of the protagonist.Jackson's life soon becomes burned-out, resulting from events beyond his control as well as destructive behavior. Physicians, patients, and cases ranging from humorous to tragic are present. A Surgeon's Knot is a story of the dignity of medicine, the overwhelming duty to man, failure and recovery.