Simone, a shockingly beautiful teen, is on the downward spiral of destruction as she battles incest and self-hatred; she finds cutting to be the only way to relieve her pain. Jessica lives the upscale lifestyle of a refined society matron. She strives to be the perfect wife, but without her husband, Ross, she would be nothing more than the abused stripper he rescued 16 years ago. Ryan, a fiery thirty-something, is quickly slipping into depression and prescription drug-addiction as her boyfriend, Anthony, artfully dangles the empty promise of marriage. As the shattered lives of three very different women collide, they find that they have one thing in common: they are all in a desperate fight to hang on to love. But when love involves incest, self-mutilation, drug-addiction and murder, will they continue to fight or will they find the strength to escape before it's too late? Experience their emotional journey through to the shocking end where these women will experience injury, imprisonment and even death while crafting new lives from the ashes of their ruination.
Native Detroiter, Monique D. Mensah, is a two-time award winning novelist with an innate love for the written word. Monique's talent for writing was first discovered by her third grade teacher, who regularly asked the young student to share her short stories with the class and sometimes the principal and other school administration during assemblies and PTO meetings. At that time, she declared her dream to become a published author, as she believed it to be her purpose. She continued to receive praise for her writing throughout middle and high school.
After graduating from the University of Michigan, with a bachelor's degree in business management, Monique was prompted by her best friend to, "just write a book" and fulfill her life-long dream. She started her first novel,WHO IS HE TO YOU, a drama that she independently published through her publishing company, Kisa Publishing, in 2009. Monique's debut received critical acclaim by readers and prominent book clubs across the country. In June 2010 she was awarded the title of "Author of the Year" by the African-Americans on the Move Book Club (AAMBC) a national book club organization, promoting African-American authors and literature. In August 2010, Mensah released her second novel, INSIDE RAIN, a psychological thriller that is celebrated as the winner of the 2010 Best Books Awards for African-American Fiction. The Best Books Awards, sponsored by USA Book News, also named WHO IS HE TO YOU as a finalist in the same category.
Monique now resides in Southfield, MI where she is raising her daughter and working full-time as a counselor for a private university. She is also the principal and founder of Make Your Mark Editing Services, a boutique copyediting business that assists authors in turning their manuscripts into masterpieces. Monique is currently working on her third novel, SMOKE SCREEN, due for release late summer 2011.
