Bernice L. McFadden is the author of the national bestsellers This Bitter Earth, The Warmest December (shortlisted for the Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Award), and Sugar, a Black Caucus of the American Library Association Fiction Honor Book.  Bernice L. McFadden also writes racy, humorous fiction under the pseudonym, Geneva Holliday.

McFadden was born, raised and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. She is the eldest of four children and the mother of one daughter, R'yane Azsa.  Ms. McFadden attended grade school at P.S. 161 in Brooklyn and Middle School at Holy Spirit, also in Brooklyn. She attended high school at St. Cyril Academy an all-girls boarding school in Danville, PA.

McFadden describes how, her novel, Glorious was published after more the 40 rejection letters.

In the Fall of 1983 she enrolled in the noted NYC fashion college: Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, with dreams of becoming an international clothing buyer.  She attended LIM for two semesters and then took a position at Bloomingdale's and later with Itokin, a Japanese owned retail company.

Disillusioned and frustrated with her job, she signed up for a Travel & Tourism course at Marymount College where she received a certificate of completion. After the birth of her daughter in 1988, Bernice McFadden obtained a job with Rockresorts a company then owned by the Rockefeller family.

The company was later sold and Ms. McFadden was laid off and unemployed for one year. She sights that year as the turning point in her life because during those twelve months Ms. McFadden began to dedicate herself to the art of writing. During the next nine years she held three jobs, always looking for something exciting and satisfying. Forever frustrated with corporate America and the requirements they put on their employees, Ms. McFadden enrolled at Fordham University. Her intention was to obtain a degree that would enable her to move up another rung on the corporate ladder.

She signed up for courses that concentrated on Afro-American history and literature, as well as creative writing, poetry and journalism. She credits the two years spent under the guidance of her professors as well as the years spent lost in the words of her favorite author's, to the caliber of writer she has become.

During those years, Ms. McFadden made a conscious effort to write as much as possible and began to send out hundreds of query letters to agents and publisher's attempting to sell one of her short stories or the novel she was working on.

In 1997, Ms. McFadden quit her job and dedicated seven months to re-writing the novel that would become, "SUGAR." In May of 1998, after depleting her savings, she took her last and final position within corporate America.

On Feb 9th, 1999, her daughter's eleventh birthday (and Alice Walker's birthday - one of Ms. McFadden's favorite author's) she sent a query letter to an agent who signed her two weeks later and the rest is literary history! 

Gathering of Waters
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Hardcover: 250 pages
Publisher: Akashic Books (January 31, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1617750328
ISBN-13: 978-1617750328

From the Back Cover
"As strange as this may sound, Bernice L. McFadden has created a magical, fantastic novel centered around the notorious tragedy of Emmett Till's murder. This is a startling, beautifully written piece of work."
--Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River

"In her new novel, Gathering of Waters, Bernice L. McFadden brings her own special vision to the unfortunate story of Emmett Till and his murder in Money, Mississippi. This moving and magical novel, which traces the generations leading up to and away from that horrible night in 1955, drew me in immediately and swept me along through its richly imagined world. I couldn’t stop reading, caught up as I was in that enticing place between truth and fantasy, the here-and-now and the what-was, the living and the dead, the ugliness and the beauty, the hatred and the love. What a rich chorus of voices Bernice L. McFadden has fashioned from this place called Money."
--Lee Martin, author of Break the Skin and The Bright Forever

 

Lover Man
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by Geneva Holliday

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Broadway (June 9, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0767929659
ISBN-13: 978-0767929653

LOVER MAN finds two of our girls lusting for Mr. Right... but the trouble comes when there's more than enough of him to go around.

After two years in Antigua, Crystal has had enough. Neville is her son's father, her best friend, and her sometime lover, but Crystal realizes she wants more. And that "more" struts into her life at just the right moment. Claude Justine, widowed with a three-year-old daughter, has movie-star good looks, an athlete's body, and cash to spare. After a short and steamy long-distance courtship, Claude lures Crystal to his lavish New Jersey mansion and introduces her to a jet-setting world where no pleasure is spared and every desire is met.

Karma Jackson, newly made over and back in New York after a scandalous affair in Europe, secures a position as an assistant to the president of a hedge fund. On the prowl for someone who can give her what she wants, the way she wants it, Karma falls for the cocky and irresistible C.J., and the two begin a secret fling.

Geneva, now living in Brooklyn, listens to both women's tales of impromptu helicopter rides and lingerie sprees, failing to make the connection between the two men. But when Claude's web of lies starts to unravel, the truth is even more outrageous than any of them could have imagined.

 

Glorious
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by Bernice L. McFadden

Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: Akashic Books (May 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1936070111
ISBN-13: 978-1936070114
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches

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Read an AALBC.com Book Review written by Thumper

"The seeming inevitability of cruel fate juxtaposes the triumph of the spirit in this remarkably rich and powerful novel, Glorious. Bernice McFadden's fully realized characters are complicated, imperfect beings, but if ever a character were worthy of love and honor, it is her Easter Bartlett. This very American story is fascinating; it is also heartbreaking, thought-provoking, and beautifully written."--Binnie Kirshenbaum, author of The Scenic Route

Bernice L. McFadden at 42nd NAACP Image Awards Nominees' Luncheon

Glorious is set against the backdrops of the Jim Crow South, the Harlem Renaissance, and the civil rights era. Blending the truth of American history with the fruits of Bernice L. McFadden's rich imagination, this is the story of Easter Venetta Bartlett, a fictional Harlem Renaissance writer whose tumultuous path to success, ruin, and revival offers a candid portrait of the American experience in all its beauty and cruelty.

Glorious is ultimately an audacious exploration into the nature of self-hatred, love, possession, ego, betrayal, and, finally, redemption. 

Bernice reads from her novel Glorious, at home, in her Brooklyn brownstone.

 

Keeper of Keys (Kindle Edition)
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by Bernice L. McFadden

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 42 KB
Publisher: NAKI (August 29, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English

A young woman finds out that she has AIDS and considers ending her life.  

 

 

Nowhere is a Place
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by Bernice L. McFadden

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (February 2, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525948759
ISBN-13: 978-0525948759

McFadden weaves together a terrific multigenerational family tale that, like Alex Hailey's Roots, will inspire readers to research their family history. Writing in a mystical style similar to that of Gloria Naylor's Bailey's Cafe, McFadden is an imaginative storyteller who mesmerizes readers with her words."

- Library Journal

From Bernice L. McFadden, whom the novelist Adriana Trigiani calls 'a master story teller,' comes a touching new novel about a young woman uncovering a surprising family history filled in measure with dark secrets and life-affirming wisdom

Her spectacular debut novel Sugar established Bernice L. McFadden as a writer to watch in African-American literary fiction. In Nowhere is a Place, she limns a fully realized and memorable portrait of a young woman on a journey of self-discovery.

Sherry has struggled all her life to understand who she is, where she comes from, and, most importantly, why her mother slapped her cheek one summer afternoon. The incident has haunted Sherry and it causes her to dig into her family's past. Like many family histories, it is fractured and stubbornly reluctant to reveal its secrets, but Sherry is determined to know the full story. In just a few days' time her extended family will gather for a reunion and Sherry sets off across the country with her mother, Dumpling to join them. What Sherry and Dumpling find on their trip is far more important than a scenic site here and there'it is the assorted pieces of their family's past. Pulled together, they reveal a history of amazing survival and abundant joy.

Nowhere is a Place is a graceful, richly imagined work by McFadden; it promises to bring a new audience of admirers.

 

Seduction
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by Geneva Holliday

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Broadway (June 10, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 076792746X
ISBN-13: 978-0767927468

In Geneva Holliday's latest novel of lust and revenge, Seduction works both ways.

Mildred Johnson is the last woman on earth that gorgeous Tony Landry would dare to be seen with. That is, until Tony wants to pull a scam on the company where she works. In order to keep Mildred signing phony documents, Tony gives Mildred a taste of romance and keeps raising the stakes until he's eventually forced to propose. But when the big day arrives he skips town with the money he's stolen.

Heartbroken, Mildred takes a trip to Barbados where her 'vacation' turns out to be a boot-camp style weight loss clinic! Soon she discovers a goddess that had been hiding beneath her homely exterior. And when she runs into Tony on the island, he doesn't even recognize the sexy fox standing before him. Little does he know that this fox has a plan for revenge that will leave him whimpering with his tail between his legs for a good, long time.

 

Heat
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by Geneva Holliday

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (June 26, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 076792116X
ISBN-13: 978-0767921169

Mildred Johnson is the last woman on earth that gorgeous Tony Landry would dare to be seen with. That is, until Tony wants to pull a scam on the company where she works. In order to keep Mildred signing phony documents, Tony gives Mildred a taste of romance and keeps raising the stakes until he's eventually forced to propose. But when the big day arrives he skips town with the money he's stolen.

Mildred takes a trip to Barbados to mend her heartbreak but her 'vacation' turns out to be a boot camp'style weight loss clinic! Soon she discovers a goddess that had been hiding beneath her homely exterior. And when she runs into Tony on the island, he doesn't even recognize the sexy fox standing before him. Little does he know that this fox has a plan for revenge that will leave him whimpering with his tail between his legs for a good, long time.

 

Fever
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by Geneva Holliday

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Broadway (April 18, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0767921151
ISBN-13: 978-0767921152
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches

It's almost summer in New York City, and the heat is breaking records on the street and between the sheets in Geneva Holliday's beyond-sexy follow-up to Groove. When Geneva, Crystal, Chevy, and Noah get hot and bothered, they get way more than they ever bargained for'

Geneva is busy caring for her daughter'and robbing the cradle with her son's business manager. Chevy is working for a diva who requires assistance that's way too personal for Chevy's liking. Crystal is in for the surprise of her life when her mom (!) conspires to get Crystal's engine purring like a kitten again. And Noah hears everyone's secrets, miles away in London, but with these friends, secrets don't stay secret for long! After all, what are friends for?

So slip into something slinky and get ready to catch the Fever!

 

Groove
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by Geneva Holliday

ISBN: 0767921143
Format: Paperback, 336pp
Pub. Date: June 28, 2005
Publisher: Broadway Books

Groove is the story of Geneva Holliday and her closest friends. Geneva is struggling to raise her fifteen-year-old son, Eric, in the projects in Harlem with a low-paying job and no romantic prospects other than booty calls with her ex-husband, even though he's remarried. She's even being stalked by the head of her weight-loss program. She feels like she's down and out, but if she only knew what her friends were up to. ..Girl, she'd be patting herself on the back!

Noah is gay and out and has a wonderful man waiting for him in London, but he's recently gone on the down low'secretly dating women since Beyonc' Knowles videos started getting him hot. Chevy spends her limited funds on weaves, colored contacts, and silk-wrapped nails, hoping to snag a rich man. She just borrowed $5,000 from their friend Crystal for "emergency surgery." Crystal doesn't know it was for breast augmentation'and she's got no idea that her wealthy, together-seeming boyfriend, Kendrick, agreed to move in with her only because his drug habit left him unable to pay his own rent. And is she the only one who thinks Chevy looks pregnant?

By the end of the summer the truth comes out and each of these friends has to face the music. ..and the DEA officers surrounding them in a hospital emergency room in Brooklyn.

 

Camilla's Roses
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by Bernice L. McFadden

ISBN: 0525947965
Format: Hardcover, 272pp
Pub. Date: April 2004
Publisher: Dutton Adult

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The poignant tale of a woman who discovers the fragility of life and the strength of a family's love, from an author praised by Toni Morrison for 'searing, expertly imagined scenes'

Known for bringing to life a host of endearing characters who reveal tender truths about humanity, Bernice L. McFadden now turns her storytelling talents to an unforgettable and deeply troubled woman named Camilla.

Unfolding in a progression of stirring and powerful chapters, Camilla's Roses presents a life haunted by the past. Camilla's childhood was immersed in chaos and love, and steeped in the myth of perfection. As an adult, she never looked back, refusing to acknowledge the people and places that had scarred her so many years ago. But a legacy of cancer proves inescapable, forcing Camilla to embrace the past'no matter how painful it may be'and to salvage what is left of her love in order to save her daughter. As Camilla discovers the bittersweet limitations of motherhood and reconciliation, she also awakens an inspiring message about the mortality issues we all must face.

Loving Donovan
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by Bernice L. McFadden

ISBN: 052594706X
Format: Hardcover, 256pp
Pub. Date: January 2003
Publisher: Dutton/Plume

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The first section of this unconventional love story belongs to Campbell. Despite being born to a broken-hearted mother and a faithless father, Campbell still believes in the power of love...if she can ever find it. Living in the same neighborhood, but unknown to Campbell until a chance meeting brings them together, is Donovan, the "little man" of a shattered home-a family torn apart by anger and bitterness. In the face of these daunting obstacles, Donovan dreams of someday marrying, raising a family, and playing for the NBA. But, deep inside, Campbell and Donovan live with the histories that have shaped their lives. What they discover-together and apart-forms the basis of this compelling, sensual, and surprising novel.

A deeply thoughtful novel about hope, forgiveness, and the cost of loving Donovan, this is certain to be another bestseller from a supremely gifted author.

 

This Bitter Earth
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by Bernice L. McFadden

Format: Hardcover, 288pp.
ISBN: 0525946365
Publisher: Dutton/Plume
Pub. Date: January 2002

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This Bitter Earth picks up where Sugar left off: on the dirt road leading to Sugar's childhood home in Short Junction, Arkansas. Here, Sugar hears a shocking revelation about unrequited love, and about one man's hatred--and the black magic that has cursed generations. Her travels take Sugar to St. Louis, where the bonds of an old friendship test the limits of her courage and compassion--and the sacrifices she will make for another young woman in desperate need of a caring friend.

Filled with the lyrical language, haunting imagery, and compelling voice that imbued Sugar with its power and grace, This Bitter Earth is a novel about the inexorable power that the past exerts over us and about our ability to triumph over adversity and sorrow. Earthy and richly evocative, it is a testament to the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

 

The Warmest December
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by Bernice L. McFadden

Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Dutton Adult (January 11, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0525945644
ISBN-13: 978-0525945642

"Riveting. . . . I am as impressed by its structural strength as by the searing and expertly imagined scenes." 'Toni Morrison

Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in fiction, shortlisted for the Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Award and 2001 Golden Pen Award - Best Mainstream Fiction

In her second novel, THE WARMEST DECEMBER, published by Dutton in January 2001, Bernice L. McFadden establishes herself as a writer whose lyrical prose and ability to tackle difficult topics will move even the most stoic of readers.

Set in Brooklyn, NY, McFadden's birthplace and current residence, narrator Kenzie Lowe tells an intensely moving story that begins with her childhood in the 1970's growing up with her abusive, alcoholic father, Hy-Lo. Everyday young Kenzie lives in fear that her too loud footsteps, her too high voice, will unleash the animal that lurks within her father. With every sip of liquor, with every hurtful word and stinging slap, Kenzie's fear and hatred of her father grows. To get through each painful day, Kenzie dreams of escaping Hy-Lo's prison and fleeing from apartment A5 forever.

Eventually, Kenzie does grow up and leaves A5. She goes to school, she holds odd jobs and develops her own craving for the bottle. Twenty years have passed- it is now the 1990's- but not everything has changed for Kenzie. She is still haunted by her childhood. Learning that her father is in the hospital, Kenzie is shocked at her desire to be with him during his final hours. She returns day after day to her father's bedside in search of a way to quell her pain.

These trips to the hospital teach Kenzie that some of us, like Hy-Lo, have stories that "started out bad, curdled andsouredin the middle and ended up worse." Kenzie learns that some of us can't help what we do but for many, there is still hope for change. Understanding this, Kenzie begins toreclaim her own life, allowing her scars to heal and her heart to forgive.

Bernice L. McFadden explains that she wrote THE WARMEST DECEMBER, "because children of addictive and/or abusiveparents walk the thinnest line between love and hate, sanity and madness, life and death." Shechose this topic because she "wanted more' to help someone choose love, sanity and life." In a bleak and chaotic world where violence is all too rampant, THE WARMEST DECEMBER

teaches us that nothing is beyond our control.

 

Sugar
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by Bernice L. McFadden

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Plume (January 2, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0452282209
ISBN-13: 978-0452282209

Black Caucus of the American Library Association Fiction Honor Book

"McFadden's debut novel is an earthy slice of life in a small Southern town. When Sugar, a prostitute who never had a chance for love or a normal life, moves into the house next door to Pearl, a matron who lost her spirit after the murder of her daughter 15 years before, the two women form a bond strong enough to withstand even the most vicious gossip. But secrets from both of their pasts may prove too much even for these two compelling women, and Sugar must choose between her dreams for something better and the people she has learned to love. McFadden captures the full character of small-town life and the strengths and weaknesses of its people. This novel of friendship and loss is an excellent addition to the growing body of work by young African American writers". - Ellen Flexman, Indianapolis-Marion Cty. P.L. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

"Driven mightily by engaging characters, Sugar is written with a wonderful combination of wit and heart." - Yolanda Joe, author of He Say, She Say and Bebe's By Golly Wow!

 

From The Publisher
An exceptional debut novel that explores a most unlikely friendship between a churchgoing Southern woman and the bewitching young prostitute who moves in next door.

Set in the fictionalized town of Bigelow, Arkansas, circa 1950, Sugar is a rich and moving story that traces the lives of two unforgettable women and the small community they change. After the horrible death of her young daughter, Jude, Pearl Taylor turns to the church for support, suppressing her own desires. But when Sugar, a beautiful, uninhibited spirit (who resembles Jude with eerie similarity) moves into the neighboring home at 10 Grove Street, Pearl's life is irrevocably and dramatically changed. Over sweet potato pie the two woman learn to trust and confide in each other, but when the local gossips discover that Sugar is a prostitute, Pearl shocks the once quiet town-and herself-by remaining loyal to her new friend.

Filled with lyrical prose, McFadden reveals her talent for using language with an almost spiritual grace to describe the vivid and mysterious details found in everyday life. Sugar is a timeless story of what it means to accept and to forgive.

 

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