Four Degrees of Heat

The mercury is soaring, and it's the perfect time to dive into a pool of uninhibited sensuality. Take a break from the heat with this collection of steamy summertime encounters featuring four of today's most popular African-American women writers.Going south for her summer break, a high school math teacher puts her assets to work as an exotic dancer inMaxed OutbyBrenda L. Thomas.But when her secret double life follows her home to Philadelphia, things swing wildly out of control as she tries to walk the line between sexy woman and sex object.Worlds collide when a street-smart beauty scores with a multimillionaire during a summer that climaxes with the New York City blackout.Crystal Lacey Winslowcaptures the edgy thrills -- and the dark side -- of carnal pleasures inSex, Sin & Brooklyn.InRochelle Alers'Summer Madness,a sexy brother with a mysterious past turns a pretty librarian's play-it-safe Hamptons vacation into a torrent of sensual delights. But can she trust him without knowing his whole story?A jilted bride is on theReboundinReShonda Tate Billingsley'stale of passion in unexpected places. A Houston attorney goes solo on the Belize honeymoon she was supposed to share with her husband -- and makes a sizzling connection with a handsome stranger in paradise.

ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s #1 nationally bestselling novels include Let the Church Say Amen, I Know I’ve Been Changed, and Say Amen, Again, winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work. Her collaboration with Victoria Christopher Murray has produced four hit novels, Sinners & Saints, Friends & Foes, A Blessing & a Curse, and Fortune & Fame. BET released a movie in 2013 based on ReShonda’s book Let the Church Say Amen in which she had a minor role. She also had a role in the made-for-TV movie The Secret She Kept based on her book of the same title. Visit ReShondaTateBillingsley.com, meet the author on Facebook at ReShondaTateBillingsley, or follow her on Twitter @ReShondaT.

Crystal Lacey Winslow is the author of the Essence bestsellers The Criss Cross and Life, Love & Loneliness, as well as a book of poetry, Up Close & Personal. Her upcoming novel, Sex, Sin & Brooklyn II, is the sequel to her short story in the Essence bestselling anthology Four Degrees of Heat. The founder of Melodrama Publishing, Crystal operates her bookstore, Melodrama Books & Things, in Queens, New York. Visit her website at www.MelodramaPublishing.com.

Brenda L. Thomas is the national bestselling author of Threesome, Fourplay, The Velvet Rope, Every Woman's Got a Secret, Woman On Top, Secret Service, and the deeply moving memoir of her 15-year struggle with domestic violence and drug addiction, Laying Down My Burdens. She has contributed short stories to the anthologies Four Degrees of Heat and Kiss the Year Goodbye. Brenda, a native of Philadelphia, is currently serving as Executive Producer of the movie adaptation of Laying Down My Burdens.

Hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of the most popular African American authors of women's fiction, Ms. Alers is a regular on bestsellers list, and has been a recipient of numerous awards, including the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing and a Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.