Dmitry’s Redemption: Book One is now LIVE on Amazon

Dmitry’s Redemption: Book One by Latrivia Welch

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”
William Shakespeare

After killing a fellow Vor on the international council, who sought to hurt his family, billionaire Russian crime boss Dmitry Medlov becomes the target of his old mentor’s final death wish. A special hit team is tapped to carry out the assassination, but a simple mistake only leaves him wounded.

“You should have killed me when you had the chance. Now, I’m coming for you and there is not a damn thing anyone can do to save you.”

With a second chance to protect his family, the Medlov family crisis plan is activated, causing them to upend their lives completely. The women of the Medlov family are carted off to an undisclosed location, while the men head to declare war on one of their own.

While trying to protect his family and appeal to his brotherhood, Dmitry is forced to deal with past demons, his own insecurities and his greatest fear – to lose control. However, his vulnerability might lead to making him an even stronger adversary, especially when his family and friends step up to protect the man who has always protected them.

Read Book One of Dmitry’s Redemption, from the first family of Bratva Romance in the final installation of the Medlov Men Series by USA Today bestselling author Latrivia Welch.

http://www.latriviawelchbooks.com

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FYJXG77/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532702875&sr=8-1&keywords=Dmitry%27s+Redemption

Dmitry’s Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen (Book Two of the Medlov Crime Family Series)

Dmitrys Royal Flush

From the popular multicultural author, Latrivia S. Nelson, comes the highly anticipated second installment of the Medlov Crime Family Series, Dmitry’s Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen. For Dmitry and Royal Medlov, money doesn’t equal happiness. Forced to leave Memphis, TN and flee to Prague after a brutal mafia war, the couple nestled into the countryside to raise their daughter, Anya, and lead a safe, quiet life. But when Dmitry’s son, Anatoly, shows up with an offer he can’t refuse, Dmitry is forced to go back to the life he left as boss of the most feared criminal organization in world. Consequently, the deal could not only destroy the Medlov Crime Family but also Dmitry and Royal. Royal hasn’t been the same since she was attacked three years ago. Where she used to be a sweet, innocent girl, she’s now the jaded, bitter mistress of the Medlov Chateau. However, a reality check is in store for the pre-Madonna when Anya’s new teacher shows up with her sights set on stealing Dmitry, and Ivan’s old ally shows up with his sights on killing him. Can Royal save them all? Will she? With a family in such turmoil, the only way to survive is to stick together. Read the gripping tale of a marriage strong enough to stand the test of time as Dmitry realizes that he has the best cards in the house as long as he has a Royal Flush.

 

Print Length: 338 pages

Publisher: RiverHouse Publishing, LLC; 3 edition (July 1, 2010)

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Dmitrys-Royal-Flush-Medlov-Family-ebook/dp/B003UNK090/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=01VNW6EBAM6DGCQA04Q0

Interview with CBS Affiliate, WREG-TV (LIVE @ 9) with Marybeth Conley and Alex Coleman

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WREG-TV Live@9 with Marybeth Conley and Alex Coleman

At 8:00 this morning, I wondered if I was going to be late.  I had to drop the kids off, traffic was heavy and all things Monday were happening.  But sure enough at 8:40 a.m., I pulled up on time to Channel 3 Drive, checked my lipstick and hair and ran into the building.

Once called back, I was greeted by the warm handshakes and hugs and sat down with Marybeth Conley and Alex Coleman, two of the city’s best reporters to talk about my book, The World in Reverse.

Countdown…action…

They start off by saying this…

Author Latriva Nelson has topped several of Amazon’s Best Seller lists with her new novel “World in Reverse”.

She spins a nail-biting tale set right here in Memphis. As her hero, a Memphis cop, has to go against everything he stands for to solve a grisly murder case.

Wow. Okay, I’m officially flattered.

I can’t help but smile.  I love Memphis, love the idea that Memphians love the book and I’m ready to talk.

You can see the rest by simply clicking the link and checking it out.

I can’t thank WREG-TV enough for their hospitality and highlighting my newest work.  15 books down and 150 to go.

Xoxo and all that jazz.

 

Latrivia S. Nelson

The Order to Read The Medlov Organized Crime Family Series:

I’ve heard your requests.  You just heard about the books or you’ve just decided to read them, only you don’t know which order.  Here’s a guide to help you keep it all together.

The Order to Read The Medlov Organized Crime Family Series:

  1. Dmitry’s Closet
  2. Dmitry’s Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen
  3. Anatoly Medlov: Complete Reign
  4. Saving Anya

If you like Dmitry Medlov’s character and want to learn more about how he became the Czar of the Underworld, then you should read The Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov: Volume 1-5.  This series can be read at any time before, after or during the process of reading the larger books.

Dmitry’s Closet:

True Cover

From author Latrivia S. Nelson, author of the epic romance Ivy’s Twisted Vine, comes a story about Memphis, TN, a deadly faction of the Russian mafia and an innocent woman who dismantles an empire.

Orphaned virgin Royal Stone is looking for employment in one of the country’s toughest recessions. What she finds is the seven-foot, blonde millionaire Dmitry Medlov, who offers her a job as the manager of his new boutique, Dmitry’s Closet. After she accepts his job offer, she soon accepts his gifts, his bed and his lifestyle. What she does not know is that her knight in shining armor is also the head of the Medlov Organized Crime Family, a faction of the elite Russian mafia organization, Vory v Zakone.

Falling in love with the clueless Royal makes Dmitry want to break his coveted code, leave his self-made empire and start a life far away from the perils of the Thieves-in-Law. Only, his brother, Ivan, comes to the Memphis from New York City bent on a murderous revenge.

With the FBI and Memphis Police Department working hard to build a case against Dmitry and his brother trying to kill him, he is forced to tell Royal of his true identity, but Royal also is keeping a secret – one that changes everything.

Who will win? Who will lose? Who will die? Watch all the skeletons as they tumble out of the urban literature sensation Dmitry’s Closet.

Warning: This book contains graphic language, sex, and various forms of violence. However, it will also melt your heart!

Revised Version: March 2010

This book is the first of The Medlov Crime Family Series.

Final Front Cover

Dmitry’s Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen:

From the popular multicultural author, Latrivia S. Nelson, comes the highly anticipated second installment of the Medlov Crime Family Series, Dmitry’s Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen.

For Dmitry and Royal Medlov, money doesn’t equal happiness. Forced to leave Memphis, TN and flee to Prague after a brutal mafia war, the couple nestled into the countryside to raise their daughter, Anya, and lead a safe, quiet life. But when Dmitry’s son, Anatoly, shows up with an offer he can’t refuse, Dmitry is forced to go back to the life he left as boss of the most feared criminal organization in world. Consequently, the deal could not only destroy the Medlov Crime Family but also Dmitry and Royal.

Royal hasn’t been the same since she was attacked three years ago. Where she used to be a sweet, innocent girl, she’s now the jaded, bitter mistress of the Medlov Chateau. However, a reality check is in store for the pre-Madonna when Anya’s new teacher shows up with her sights set on stealing Dmitry, and Ivan’s old ally shows up with his sights on killing him. Can Royal save them all? Will she?

With a family in such turmoil, the only way to survive is to stick together. Read the gripping tale of a marriage strong enough to stand the test of time as Dmitry realizes that he has the best cards in the house as long as he has a Royal Flush.

Anatoly Medlov: Complete Reign:

From the bestselling series, the Medlov Crime Family, comes the highly-anticipated story about America‘s favorite bad boy…

AMCR Big

Anatoly Medlov is the youngest crime boss in the Medlov Organized Crime Family’s history. Now, he has to prove himself to a council who thinks his legacy has not been well-earned, amidst a grueling investigation by Lt. Nicola Agosto of the Memphis Police Department and during plot to destroy him by his ex-lover, Victoria. In his loneliness, the only one he can confide in is the shop girl, Renee, an old friend who knows more than anyone about his personal journey. However, his friendship soon turns to love for a woman he knows that he cannot have because of the feared code his is bound to by the Vory v Zakone.

When his estranged mother dies suddenly, Anatoly flies to Russia to pay his last respects and discovers a jolting secret. The late Ivan Medlov’s own brutal legacy still lives through his son, Gabriel, and his New York crime family. Anatoly’s father and former Czar of the underworld, Dmitry, sees this as an opportunity to unite the two major families and blesses both men. However, Anatoly sees Gabriel as a threat to his empire and competition for the affection of his father. Will cousins kill because of the sins of their fathers?

Gabriel Medlov has always resented his existence. Now as an undercover DEA agent, he plans destroy the Medlov Crime Family once and for all. Only in order to get close enough to destroy the organization, he must also get close enough to love his estranged family. Will blood prove thicker than water or will one man’s revenge end the Family for good?

Follow the story of one young man who fights to be king in a room full of royalty and suffers the pain of his position in the romantic suspense guaranteed to make you want more.

Saving Anya Big

Saving Anya:

What will a man do for his family? If you’re a Medlov, the answer is anything.

Dmitry Medlov, former boss of the Medlov Crime Family, is finally happy with his life. His legacy has been passed on to his heir, Anatoly, and his family is flourishing with birth of his new twin sons. However, everything is shattered when his little girl is abducted from her school only days after his sons’ births.

The question with Dmitry having so many enemies is who has her? A supporter of Dorian, a follower of Ivan or family of the council members he slaughtered? No one knows.

A ransom is put on the young girl in the amount of $500 million – a price Dmitry is more than ready to pay – but the fear in everyone’s heart is even if he pays, will she live?

Everyone comes together and puts aside their differences to save her. Dmitry returns to the council, Anatoly steps aside and Gabriel takes his rightful place as a Vor.

Anya is the key to the very foundation of the family and her father’s fleeting sanity. With her missing, Dmitry’s rage is unleashed unlike anyone has ever seen before.

Gabriel used to serve the very government that he is about to defy as he learns what it means to be a true Medlov.

And Anatoly is forced to grow up when he not only finds out that the little girl he’s loved her entire life has been stolen but also that he’s about to be a father himself.

Read the last book of the Medlov Crime Family Series, guaranteed to top all others, as the men discover that the only thing more important than money and power is family.

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The Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov

Volume 1:

There just isn’t enough time for Dmitry.

America’s favorite fictional crime boss, Dmitry Medlov, had a very macabre start to his larger-than-life existence. In the short story series, The Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov, volume one explores the inner-struggles of a rogue teen and his rocky rise in the feared organized crime group, the Vory v Zakone, before he became a billionaire underworld Czar.

Accidentally released from prison at the age of 18, Dmitry Medlov has 48 hours to assassinate a Ukrainian drug lord and get both he and his brother, Ivan, on a plane to London, before the authorities realize that the teenage hit-man is on the loose.

With the clock ticking, he hikes back to Moscow through a snow storm to discover that life has gone on without him. When he left, he was a feared earner for his underboss, Kirill. But as he returns, he finds that many things have changed including the lives of the people he cared for the most.

Baby brother Ivan isn’t a little boy anymore, and he’s showing signs of being a heartless sociopath. Following in his big brother’s footsteps, this bad boy can’t be trusted around his two most favorite toys – automatic machine guns and hunting knives. Trying to keep Ivan in line proves to be an on-going nightmare for Dmitry as he realizes that his brother might eventually be the end of him.

And while love was never on the agenda for Dmitry, the woman he cared deeply for has recently gotten engaged to a common wife beater. When Dmitry finds out, there might be one murder in Moscow for free.

While most kids are learning how to drive and going off to college at his age, Dmitry Medlov is cutting his teeth on murder, sex and mayhem.

This coming of age story is not like any other. Understand why the Medlov men became global threats through their feared brotherhood in the twelve-volume series that will take you jet setting around the world.

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Volume 2:

It has been one year since their escape from Moscow, and Dmitry and Ivan Medlov are struggling to keep their small organized crime family together in London. Used to a communist culture, the boys are exposed to the new opportunities of a capitalistic society while trying to compete for business in the gun-trafficking industry.

Ivan wants more recognition and girls. As his behavior becomes more erratic and his temper becomes more dangerous, the sixteen-year-old bad boy experiences firsthand what it is like to live in another person’s shadow.

Dmitry wants more knowledge and power. When he’s not reading, strategizing or selling illegal guns, he’s working towards bigger and better relationships to get the Medlov name in the right circles. And the perfect storm is brewing at his doorstep. His contact with The Free Right, a women’s rights group, needs a large shipment of guns for their clandestine operations. However, she is also interested in what the blonde assassin is like in bed.

Drawn in by his beauty and charm, Emma introduces him to the head of her organization on the eve that the USSR falls. Only, the head is also the billionaire business mogul, Lady Catherine Hutton. Now with more access to munitions and more opportunities to get rich, Dmitry has an awful decision to make which will lead him one step closer to losing his brother and one step closer to becoming the world’s most notorious underworld boss.

Read the second volume in the Medlov Crime Family short story series that tells the intimate story of how one man built an empire that became untouchable.

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Volume 3:

No crime boss has ever been as brilliant, beautiful and deadly as young Dmitry Medlov, and this Red Fella proves his affirmation in Volume 3 of The Chronicles, the longest of the short-story series.

Two years after meeting Lady Catherine Hutton and after fleeing Moscow to London, Dmitry has found the secret weapon to securing riches beyond his wildest dreams through a false marriage with British royalty.

Their quid pro quo arrangement was supposed to be a short-lived farce designed to give Lady Hutton one last thrilling sexual escapade before she met her untimely demise. However, in the process of teaching Dmitry how to be a real gentleman and making Catherine feel like a young woman again, the curious couple accidentally develops deep feelings for each other.

When Catherine realizes that Dmitry is in it for more than just the money, she leaves him a gift that rocks the foundations of the Medlov Crime Family – her entire estate worth over one billion pounds.

Dmitry’s new fortune, however, comes with a high price. The board of directors of the company he now owns wants him dead; one of the Vory elite “gifts” him the daughter of an Angolan war lord, and his brother, Ivan, falls for a woman who is as much of a sociopath as he is. There is also the matter of the media who declares him London’s most eligible bachelor.

While trying to steer away from the attention he’s getting country-wide with his new fortune, he finds himself drawn to the beautiful African scholar, Elsa, a student at Oxford who might just be able to help him stay in control of his multi-national corporation and remember what it’s like to actually “like a girl.” Passion strikes when the two are forced to live together while she reorganizes his business, but Dmitry wants more than sex from Elsa. He wants her home-country contacts.

Read the eleven-chapter, page-turning novelette that tops its two predecessors (Volume 1 & 2) with more action, romance, sex, murder and mafia.

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Volume 4:

Now a widower, Dmitry Medlov’s life has completely changed. Wealthy beyond his wildest dreams, his aspirations quickly move from more money to more power. Only the power he seeks is held by the commanding and elusive Czar of the underworld, Boss Smirnov.
When Dmitry successfully talks the underboss and the all-knowing eye of the underworld, Khalid, into arranging a meeting between he and Boss Smirnov, he has no idea what troubles he is about to face. There are secrets that will be exposed in Prague that will forever change his young life again, leading to a decision that will rock the underworld for good.

Meanwhile, back in London, the city is buzzing about the deaths of the entire board of directors of Dmitry’s newly acquired business, Hutton Industries, minus the company’s former front man, who was involved in a gruesome home invasion that left him blind, deaf, mute and paralyzed.

With no witnesses, leads or proof combined with the botched attempt on his own life during the horrid chain of events, Dmitry is looked over as a person of interest by Scotland Yard and is given carde blache to turn his new private company into his personal money laundering hub right under the public’s nose with the help of his Africa girlfriend, Oxford University senior and business genius, Elsa. And it’s just in time for his new secret alliance with the leaders of a powerful paramilitary sect led by Elsa’s father in Angola, Africa.

Dmitry’s new found power creates a checkmate for his ambitions to be boss but puts a target squarely on his back by not only organized crime heads around the world but also by his own brother, Ivan. Secret alliances are formed. Money is exchanged, and a definite war is looming. Only no one is willing to give up as much as Dmitry is to be king.

Read the last volume of the first book, The Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov and witness the heart stopping rise of a giant and everything that he’s willing to do to become the world’s most powerful and deadly boss.

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Volume 5:

After the explosive blow up in Prague, the Medlov men are burdened with the task of returning to business as usual. Dmitry heads to Angola, Africa to help fuel a civil war, and Ivan heads to London to murder the Irish gang, The Sulfux Boys. Only nothing can return back to the way it was before the boys faced Boss Smirnov. Dmitry accidentally unveils Elsa’s plot; Ivan and Arie do the unspeakable, and an old enemy becomes a new ally.

Plots thicken and alliances form in the latest installation of The Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov: Volume 5 by national bestselling author Latrivia S. Nelson.

This is by far one of my largest short stories at 245 pages.  But it was fun to write.  Dmitry is a man who knows how to take charge of his organization and he’s proven that, but this story is about the shifting in the atmosphere.  There are alliances that are being formed because of personal interests.  The scum is going to cling to other scum and the good guys (if you can use that terminology with these books) find each other and work on strategy.  We see how depraved our dear Ivan can be and we see Dmitry teetering on some serious affection for Elsa.  This is the transitional story that puts V6-12 in gear.

Book One (Compilation of Volumes 1-4 in one book)

f you’ve been waiting to buy all the volumes of Book One of The Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov: Volumes 1-4, the time has now arrived.

By popular demand, Latrivia S. Nelson is proud to announce a compilation of the first four of the twelve volumes from the Medlov Crime Family Short Stories Series.

Dmitry Medlov wasn’t always a billionaire crime boss. His rise to the top was a painstaking process that took many years and many trials and tribulations. From breaking out of prison on a twenty-year bid in Russia to trafficking guns in the back alleys of London and finally toppling a dynasty run by a blood-thirsty Czar, this seven-foot tall, bad boy had to earn every penny.

Along the way, however, he also learned about a woman’s heart, the pain of losing a sick wife, the drain of taking care of a psychotic kid brother, the knowledge of finding out that he was a father and pride of building an empire all before his 25th birthday.

Read about American’s favorite mob boss in four short tales that will have you flipping through the pages and begging for more.

The Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov: Book One by national bestselling author Latrivia S. Nelson.

Quick Facts:  Did you know that you can buy The Chronicles of Young Dmitry Medlov: Volumes 1-4 as a compilation on eBook or as a paperback?

Interracial romance writer gains fans

Nelson makes race a ‘secondary concern’

Suburban mom Latrivia S. Nelson spends time in a fictional place where the Russian Mafia has a Memphis branch.

Nelson’s world has given her a growing fan base as a romance novel writer. She says she has sold more than 7,000 copies of her latest book, “Dmitry’s Closet,” released in early 2010.

Nelson’s novels are books of interracial suspense and romance, involving black women and white men. They’re books she wrote when she couldn’t find interracial romance novels that made race a secondary concern.

“All the interracial romance novels were so based on race,” she said. “Once they got past that one (character) was black and the other was white, it was over.”

While a student at LeMoyne-Owen College, Nelson wrote stories for her friends.

After a short, unsuccessful marriage to her college sweetheart, Nelson met her husband, Adam Nelson, a retired U.S. Marine. The Cordova couple have two children, Jordan, 7, from her first marriage, and Tierra, 4.

The Nelsons married in 2005, and he encouraged her to write. Her first novel, the self-published “Ivy’s Twisted Vine,” came out in 2008.

Other books followed and while he was in Iraq, Adam Nelson’s fellow Marines were curious.

“They said, ‘Is this really about you and her?’ I said, ‘No, it’s not. We don’t have any Russian Mafia friends,'” he said laughing.

Nelson said she tried and failed to find an agent for her first novel. “It just wasn’t happening for me,” she said.

So she started RiverHouse Publishing, defined on its website as a place for “male and female, Caucasian and African-American, affluent and starving writers.”

“Our diversity allows us to explore new frontiers in writing and focus on cutting-edge situational relationships that speak to the inner desires of many fiction readers,” the RiverHouse description says.

“I wanted to be able to give people a voice to be able to get what they feel is important to them out there,” she said.

La-Tessa Montgomery, vice president of the River City Romance Writers Association, knows Nelson’s frustrations.

A publisher Montgomery met with liked the storyline in her interracial romance novel, but passed on the book because she didn’t know how to sell it.

“Meaning she didn’t know how to sell a book by an African-American or with African-American characters,” Montgomery said. “And to further segment that, she didn’t know how to sell a book with an African-American heroine and a Caucasian (male) lead.”

Interracial contemporary romance is a sub-genre in the romance novel world, and big publishers shy away from sub-genres, said Debra Dixon, head of publisher Belle Books, dedicated to “Southern Fried Fiction,” and a co-founder of River City Romance Writers.

Publishers look for broad markets, limiting the opportunities for the “cowboy interracial Christmas time-travel romance,” she joked. But those books still will have fans.

“We have companies that publish black romance, Latino romance, Asian romance,” said Dixon. “So there’s something out there for everybody. You need to find a publisher who can sell that.”

— Linda A. Moore: 529-2702

© 2010 Memphis Commercial Appeal. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

Drop Date Pushed Back to July 15th Due to Printer

It’s a sad state of affairs for me ladies and gentlemen.  The book is complete, but the hard copy format will not be ready until July 15th.  Please world, do not be angry with me.  I’m working around the clock to provide some benefits in lieu of this horrid blunder.  Last time, the drop date was off by a month and half.  So, I’m happy to report that it’s just ten days later.  For many, it’s ten days too long.  So, I’m offering this:

However, you can still pre-order on my site (www.latrivianelson.com) starting tonight or on www.dmitrysroyalflush.com

Pre-order and you will receive a free PDF copy of the book for you to read until your book arrives.  I made the announcement tonight and have received great feedback from the readers.  Thanks so much for you all who have understood.  And I’m so blessed to have so many supporters. 

The good news is that the book will still be available on Kindle on the 5th!  You can also purchase the PDF format without the hard copy for $5 on www.dmitrysroyalflush.com.  So, if you don’t have a Kindle, like to read at work or home or prefer to laptop or desktop to pick up books, you won’t miss a beat.  For my hardcopy readers, the printer says that it could very well be back next week, but they’ve given me that date to be safe.  So, I’ll keep you updated. 

For all of those who receive the PDF, please send me your thoughts through the blog, facebook and email to let me know what you think (Latrivia@LatriviaNelson.com). 

And please Pray for me that I don’t jump off a cliffJ

Xoxo and all that jazz,

Latrivia

Republic Coffee’s Reading, Writing and Republic Writer’s Forum to Feature Latrivia S. Nelson

Presented by Republic Coffee

 

June 17-August 19, 2010

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Reading, Writing and Republic Republic Coffee kicks off series of writers forums June 17 Republic Coffee will kick off “Reading, Writing and Republic,” a series of forums beginning this Thursday evening. First up is Memphian Cal Bray, author of If Those Shoes Could Talk, Thursday, June 17 from 7:30 pm until 8:30 pm. Other writers in the series include Rebecca Skloot, New York Times best-selling author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and Memphis music legend George Klein, writer of Elvis: My Best Man.

The forums are open to the public and attendees are encouraged to come with questions for the authors. The full slate of authors is below. Each forum will be held at Republic Coffee and will begin at 7:30 pm.

Thursday, July 15—Latrivia Nelson, Dmitry’s Closet. Urban Fiction and Interracial Romance readers nationwide immediately flocked to the bestselling multicultural phenomenon released in January of 2010, Dmitry’s Closet, a racy action-adventure about a Russian mobster and an African-American virginal heroine battling for their love in the Southern city of Memphis, Tennessee. Author Latrivia S. Nelson sat on internet bestseller lists across the country for over 4 weeks as people talked about the fusion of two popular but distinct genres. Now Nelson is dropping the second book in the Medlov Crime Family Series, Dmitry’s Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen on July 5, 2010 and fans nationwide are excited.

Thursday, June 17—Cal Bray, If Those Shoes Could Talk. If Those Shoes Could Talk is a toe-twitching story of a man who discovers a smelly truth; his shoes are talking to him. Slip on your favorite slippers and jump feet-first into this hilarious tale of wacky shoes and a man’s quest to discover why on earth he can communicate with footwear. You will laugh, cry, scream, and gasp in fear as you discover what your shoes might be saying about you. One thing is for certain; you will never look at your shoes the same way again.

Author Cal Bray has been a teacher, songwriter, and worship leader and is the writer of Growing with God Together as well as the inspirational song, ‘Follow Me, I heard Jesus Say.’ Cal presently lives in Tennessee with his wife and continues to travel and share more experiences for all to enjoy.

Thursday, June 24—Rebecca Skloot, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Rebecca Skloot is a science writer whose articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, Discover, Prevention, Glamour, and others. Ten years in the making, her first book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (forthcoming Feb. 2, 2010), is a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. A starred Publishers Weekly review called it, “A remarkable debut … recalls Adrian Nicole LeBlanc’s Random Family … A rich, resonant tale of modern science, the wonders it can perform and how easily it can exploit society’s most vulnerable people.” Thursday, July 1—Off for holiday weekend.

Thursday, July 8—Dennis McDougal, Five Easy Decades. With the publication of the Jack Nicholson biography Five Easy Decades, Dennis McDougal has authored a total of nine books and hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles in a career that has spanned over 40 years. Currently, he is working on The Acid Chronicles, a documentary film about the history and renaissance of LSD as a powerful tool in the treatment of mental illness. Before he began covering movies and media for the Los Angeles Times in 1983 and, more recently, the New York Times, McDougal was a staff writer at the Riverside Press-Enterprise (1973-1977) and the Long Beach Press-Telegram (1977-1981). A UCLA graduate, McDougal holds a Bachelor’s in English and a Master’s in Journalism.

Thursday, July 22—Jennifer Chandler, Simply Salads. Author and Chef Jennifer Chandler, delivers over 100 creative recipes you can make in minutes-showing that anyone can create a gourmet salad by simply picking up salad mix and adding your favorite ingredients. Chandler’s salad masterpieces also include dressing recommendations, recipes, menu ideas and nutritional information. All the recipes are accompanied by stunning photos of each salad. From the Classic Caesar Salad with Herb Croutons to the Mandarin Chicken Salad with Toasted Sesame Vinaigrette, these recipes are guidelines to getting you started on creating your own satisfying salads with your favorite ingredients. Chandler’s new book, Simply Suppers, will be available September, 2010. A contributing writer to several magazines such as MidSouth Magazine, Nashville Home & Garden, Memphis Magazine, Edible Memphis, Real Food, Pilates Style and Delta Magazine, Jennifer has also been a contributing food columnist for The Commercial Appeal (Memphis’ newspaper). In addition, Jennifer has been featured on the Food Network in two episodes of Dinner Impossible as well as on Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food XM/Sirius Radio Program. Thursday, July 29—Taylor Grey, A Wig for Ally. When Ally is diagnosed with leukemia, her entire world changes. She is forced to deal with mature issues at a young age- being stuck in a hospital, chemotherapy and the psychological effects of hair loss. With the help of her parents, a new friend, and a wig shop owner named Miss Harriet, Ally begins to fight back. She begins visualizing new, creative ways to fight the rogue cells causing her harm. When Ally goes into remission, she knows she is very different from the girl she was before cancer. She has become someone completely different, something even better. By keeping her promises to Harriet, Ally learns to believe in her own strength and the gift of giving back. Memphis’s own Taylor Grey earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. In addition to psychoanalyzing her friends and writing children’s books, Taylor is also an accomplished pilot, avid runner and occasional triathlete. Thursday, August 5—George Klein, Elvis: My Best Man. When George Klein was an eighth grader at Humes High, he couldn’t have known how important the new kid with the guitar—the boy named Elvis—would later become in his life. But from the first time GK (as he was nicknamed by Elvis) heard this kid sing, he knew that Elvis Presley was someone extraordinary. During Elvis’s rise to fame and throughout the wild swirl of his remarkable life, Klein was a steady presence and one of Elvis’s closest and most loyal friends until his untimely death in 1977. In Elvis: My Best Man, a heartfelt, entertaining, and long-awaited contribution to our understanding of Elvis Presley and the early days of rock ’n’ roll, George Klein writes with great affection for the friend he knew—about who the King of Rock ’n’ Roll really was and how he acted when the stage lights were off. This fascinating chronicle of boundary-breaking and music-making through one of the most intriguing and dynamic stretches of American history overflows with insights and anecdotes from someone who was in the middle of it all. From the good times at Graceland to hanging out with Hollywood stars to butting heads with Elvis’s iron-handed manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to making sure that Elvis’s legacy is fittingly honored, GK was a true friend of the King and a trailblazer in the music industry in his own right. Thursday, August 12—G. Wayne Dowdy, Hidden History of Memphis. Step inside the fascinating annals of the Bluff City’s history and discover the Memphis that only few know. G. Wayne Dowdy, longtime archivist for the Memphis Public Library, examines the history and culture of the Mid-South during its most important decades. Well-known faces like Clarence Saunders, Elvis Presley and W.C. Handy are joined by some of the more obscure characters from the past, like the Memphis gangster who inspired one of William Faulkner’s most famous novels, the local Boy Scout who captured German spies during World War I, the Memphis radio station that pioneered wireless broadcasting and so many more. Also included are the previously unpublished private papers and correspondence of former mayor E.H. Crump, giving us new insight and a front-row seat to the machine that shaped Tennessee politics in the twentieth century. Founded in Midtown Memphis in 1993, Republic Coffee is a privately owned and operated café whose main goal is to bring to market world class coffees and exceptional food. We are purveyors of the world coffee markets and roast bean varieties locally. Republic Coffee is dedicated to the community, striving to support charities and organizations through service in our spaces. Among the numerous organizations Republic Coffee has supported are The Memphis/Mid-South Affiliate of Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, BRIDGES Inc., Shelby Farms’ Down to Earth Day, The Memphis Farmers Market and The Neighborhood School.

Lots of Irons in the Fire for Latrivia Nelson

You can’t keep a good writer down. You also can’t keep her off the computer. I have been stuck to a keyboard for the last three weeks, typing away like a fiend. My poor husband thought that after Dmitry’s Closet, I would take a break. However, I surprised the whole family with one word: sequel!

So, here’s the deal. I’m working on Dmitry’s Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen (http://dmitrysroyalfush.wordpress.com), The Guitarist (a paranormal romance with a friend of mine and lead guitarist for the multi-platinum band Saving Abel), The Pitcher’s Last Curve Ball (an interracial romance novel), The Agosto Family (an interracial romance novel and sequel to Ivy’s Twisted Vine) and working a real job.

Is it a lot? Hell yes! But I feel complete having something to do late nights when everyone is sleep. And my motivation is endless. So, for my readers who have begging for new work, I hear you guys. I’m working hard and I can’t wait for you all to weigh in.

I’ve also committed to get my lazy but back on this blog and share with you guys as much as possible about the entire process. After all , it is all for you.

Also, you can always

Xoxo and all that jazz, Latrivia