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Benilde Little is the bestselling author of the novels Good Hair (selected as one of the ten best books of 1996 by the Los Angeles Times), Who Does She Think She Is, The Itch and Acting Out. A former reporter for People and senior editor at Essence, she lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with her husband and two children. Benilde reveals how to remain true to yourself while reaching for your dreams and goals. For more information, visit www.benildelittle.com.

Good Hair
When a Newark girl meets an upper-crust Boston boy, sparks fly, backgrounds clash, and readers enter the rarely observed world of the Black elite -- a.k.a. the "Talented Tenth" -- in this glamourous, poignant, funny debut novel by Benilde Little, the former arts and entertainment editor at Essence. Alice Andrews is living in Manhattan, working as a reporter in Newark, and spending her free time desperately trying to forget her most recent relationship, with Miles, the smooth-talking investment banker she had mistakenly anointed Mr. Right. Then, on an airplane, she meets handsome Jack Russworm, a third-generation Harvard-educated doctor. With his perfect teeth and good luggage, he shows all the potential for being the real thing. The new romance seems to be going well, but the issue of their different backgrounds keeps popping up. Clair, Jack's mother, seems frosty to Alice. Jack's ex-girlfriend, Sherry Steptoe, the poster girl for Black American Princess-dom, is a constant reminder of all that Alice is not. Amid the bougie clubbiness it is difficult for Alice to reveal who she really is, while Jack appears oblivious to it all. Or is he? Benilde Little offers us a delicious, closely observed, eye-opening look at the world of upper-class Black Manhattan in this novel that is alternately humorous and touching, sexy and bold.

Who Does She Think She Is?
Aisha Branch is engaged to Will Fitzhugh, and plans for their elaborate society wedding are in the works, when the unthinkable happens -- she falls for another man, hard. All the drama stirs up old feelings in her mother and grandmother, and as Aisha confronts a painful dilemma, the three Branch women take turns telling their own stories, reflecting separately on their lives, losses, and relationships.

The Itch
From the author of the smashing-debut bestseller Good Hair comes The Itch, the stirring story of a crisis-torn woman who discovers a depth of character and a sense of self she never knew she possessed. With this novel, Benilde Little has created a stunning drama about the African American upper class. These thirtysomething urban sophisticates -- urbane men and elegantly hip women -- lead lives of immense privilege in which each possession and every investment is blue chip. Abra Lewis Dixon is the envy of the fashionable, professional women of her well-heeled social circle. She leads a charmed life -- she has attended all the right schools, married very well, and enjoys every material comfort granted by her bourgeois existence. An executive in her own film production company, along with her best friend, Natasha Coleman, Abra is an ambassador from the world of perfection. It is only when her impeccable marriage turns suddenly shaky that Abra's insular utopia is left in pieces. Like Good Hair's Alice Andrews, Abra and Natasha are as endearing as they are genuine, and their stories are familiar to all who have known the desolation of heartbreak and the redemption and joy of self-discovery. Benilde Little has again written a novel that will earn a claim on readers' hearts and a place in their memories for years to come.

Acting Out
From the bestselling author of Good Hair and The Itch comes a novel about a modern woman living in -- and acting out -- her role as an upper-class African-American suburban wife.Ina West is caught between the life she thought she was supposed to lead and the dreams she gave up long ago. Raised by loving but imperfect parents, Ina grew up a free spirit, getting a fine education and spending her twenty-something years as a photographer in Manhattan. But when family crisis and financial burdens came her way, Ina sought comfort in the arms of Jay Robinson, a hardworking businessman who occupied the safe, privileged world of the African-American upper middle class. As Jay's wife, Ina has it all: the lavish home, the SUV, the soccer games...until one day Jay walks out of their marriage, leaving Ina with no one left to trust but herself. How she manages to raise three children, take up her old career, rekindle an old flame, and celebrate her newfound independence is what Acting Out is all about. By turns heartbreaking, uplifting, and wry, this novel will resonate for any woman who has struggled to find her path in life!