Who Asked You

Since Terry McMillan’s breakout novel Waiting to Exhale surged onto the bestseller lists, critics and readers alike have been captivated by her irreverent, hilarious, pitch-perfect tales of women’s lives and contemporary issues. With The Interruption of Everything, her sixth novel, McMillan takes on the fault lines of midlife and family life, reminds us once again of the redeeming power of friendship, and turns her eye toward the dilemma of how a woman starts to put her own needs higher on the to-do list while not shortchanging everyone else.

Marilyn Grimes, wife and mother of three, has made a career of deferring her dreams to build a suburban California home and lifestyle with her husband, Leon. She troubleshoots for her grown kids, cares for her live-in mother-in-law, Arthurine (and elderly poodle, Snuffy); keeps tabs on her girlfriends Paulette and Bunny and her own aging mother and foster sister—all the while holding down a part-time job. But at forty-four, Marilyn’s got too much on her plate and nothing to feed her passion. She feels like she’s about ready to jump. She’s just not sure where.

Highly entertaining, deeply human, a page-turner full of heart and soul, The Interruption of Everything is vintage Terry McMillan—and a triumphant testament to the fact that the detour is the path, and living life "by the numbers" never quite adds up.

"McMillan has the uncanny ability to render family conflict with both humor and compassion...a life-affirming read...a triumph." —The Los Angeles Times

"Touching and funny." —People

"[McMillan] in top form." —The New York Times Book Review

"Contains someting increasingly rare in books or films today: a full-blown, sophisticated love affair between two African-American adults." —Denver Post

"A funny, earthy novel...ribaldly realistic. [Speaks] across class and color lines." —New York Newsday

"A down-to-earth portrayal of love, yearning, and self-preservation...brimming with energy and the hard facts of life." —Kansas City Star

"Gripping and moving...intensely realistic." —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“VINTAGE MCMILLAN...a very human story with large doses of friendship, humor, family, and imperfect relationships.”—The Dallas Morning News

“FUNNY, SAD, AND…FEISTY. [A] frank, no-holds-barred, humorous look at African-American midlife.”—The Seattle Times

“[MCMILLAN] HAS…A CUTTING WIT, a knack for capturing the way real people think and speak, a fearless willingness to engage complex, painful issues, and an unerring instinct for fashioning characters that enchant readers’ imaginations.”—The Washington Post

“WITH HUMOR AND HEART AND HUMANITY, MCMILLAN SPEAKS TO WOMEN ON THE VERGE.” —The Hartford Courant

—Chicago Sun-Times

"A riotous, sexy book ... told in the inimitable voice of Stella, who will charm the reader from the first page. ... Fans and first-time readers will be hooked."

—Richmond Times Dispatch

"A confessional, sister-can-you-understand-this open diary ... I laughed out loud."

—Boston Globe

"Terry McMillan is the only novelist I have ever read ... who makes me glad to be a woman."

—Liesl Schillinger, Washington Post Book World

"A sexy handbook of self-realization."

—The New Yorker

“McMillan writes jauntily and with customary good humor. . . .  Her story affirms the value of love and family, to say nothing of the strength of resolute women in the absence of much strength on the part of those few men who happen to be in the vicinity. . . . A solid, well-told story.”

—Kirkus Reviews

"There's a cinematic vibe here with James Bond fantastic excapes mixed with Game of Thrones Red Wedding."

— Library Journal on A Wanted Woman

"Another fine performance...Not your typical thriller about a hired killer, but an immensely readable hard to put down tale." 

— Booklist on A Wanted Woman

“Dickeys fans flock to his readings. . . . Hes perfected an addictive fictional formula.”

—The New York Times

“Dickey has a rare ability. . . . Right away the reader is forewarned: You are in for a hard-boiled, fast ride.”

—Seattle Post-Intelligencer on An Accidental Affair

“Eric Jerome Dickey brings to life the heartache of betrayal with the skill of a master crafter. . . . Dickeys imagery, the word choices, the rhythm of the sentences, his ability to create a vibrant, tormented sea in which Nia and her support cast bob along make this book one for the keeper shelf.”

—USAToday.coms Happy Ever After on Decadence

“Its hard to top his earlier works, but Dickey doesnt disappoint.”

—Ebony on An Accidental Affair

Marilyn Grimes is a wife, a mother, a sister, and a daughter. Today, she’s decided to make changes in her life, to do something different. Today, Marilyn Grimes has finally decided to be herself. First, she has to find out who that is.

It's 20 years later-but worth the wait: the eagerly-anticipated sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling sensation, Waiting to Exhale.

The remarkable heroines of Terry McMillan's unforgettable novel are back-and at a crossroads that will define their future. All four are learning to heal past hurts, and are more determined than ever to reclaim their lives and dreams. They've exhaled: now they are learning to breathe.

The Prices are introduced by Viola, the family's outspoken matriarch: Her husband, Cecil, has shut the door behind him for the last time; and their four adult kids, scattered across the country, seem determined to send her to her grave, or at least to the hospital with worrying. Paris is divorced, mother to a nearly seventeen-year-old son and the one who always comes to everybody's rescue—although she doesn't have a clue as to how to save herself. Lewis is the scapegoat, and his troubles keep landing him in jail, which only seems to confirm what his family thinks he is. Out in Chicago, Charlotte knows she's gotten the short end of the stick for years, has "nothing in common except blood" with her parents and siblings and would just as soon divorce them all. Janelle, the baby of the family, is not only on the defensive about the course of her own life but she's facing a new crisis, a fast-brewing storm with her teenage daughter that threatens more than she's willing to admit. And don't even ask Viola about Cecil: "He's a bad habit I've had for thirty-eight years which would make him my husband." But Cecil has some ideas for taking his hardworking life into his own hands, regardless of what his wife and kids think about it.

With her hallmark exuberance and a cast of characters so sassy, resilient, and full of life that they breathe, dream, and shout right off the page, Terry McMillan has given us a tour-de-force novel of family, healing and redemption. A Day Late and a Dollar Short takes us deep into the hearts, minds, and souls of America—and gives us six more friends we never want to leave.

In this funny, gritty urban love story, Franklin and Zora join the ranks of fiction's most compelling couples, as they move from Scrabble to sex, from layoffs to the limits of faith and trust. Disappearing Acts is about the mystery of desire and the burdens of the past. It's about respect, what it can and can't survive. And it's about the safe and secret places that only love can find.

Marilyn Grimes is a wife, a mother, a sister, and a daughter. Today, she’s decided to make changes in her life, to do something different. Today, Marilyn Grimes has finally decided to be herself. First, she has to find out who that is.

But when Stella takes a spur-of-the-moment vacation to Jamaica, her world gets rocked to the core—not just by the relaxing effects of the sun and sea and an island full of attractive men, but by one man in particular. He's tall, lean, soft-spoken, Jamaican, smells of citrus and the ocean—and is half her age. The tropics have cast their spell and Stella soon realizes she has come to a cataclysmic juncture: not only must she confront her hopes and fears about love, she must question all of her expectations, passions, and ideas about life and the way she has lived it.

Told in Stella's own exuberant, dead-on, dead honest voice, How Stella Got Her Groove Back is full of Terry McMillan's signature humor, heart, and insight. More than a love story, it is ultimately a novel about how a woman saves her own life—and what she must risk to do it.

From the critically-acclaimed author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back comes this wise, down-to-earth story of a friendship between four African American women who lean on each other while "waiting to exhale"-waiting for that man who will take their breath away.

Best friends Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin have had their share of broken marriages, concessions, and the lessons learned from taking happiness for granted. Now, with each at a crossroads that will define their future, it’s time for these women to get their act together. They’re on their way to healing past hurts and to reclaiming the joy and the dreams they deserve. And they’re doing it with spirit, sass, and hard-earned faith in one another. It’s been fifteen years since they exhaled: now they’re finally learning to breathe. 

The explosive novel that introduced #1 New York Times bestselling author Terry McMillan-now in a new trade edition.

An exuberant return to the four unforgettable heroines of Waiting to Exhale—the novel that changed African American fiction forever.

Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale was more than just a bestselling novel—its publication was a watershed moment in literary history. McMillan's sassy and vibrant story about four African American women struggling to find love and their place in the world touched a cultural nerve, inspired a blockbuster film, and generated a devoted audience.

Now, McMillan revisits Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin fifteen years later. Each is at her own midlife crossroads: Savannah has awakened to the fact that she's made too many concessions in her marriage, and decides to face life single again—at fifty-one. Bernadine has watched her megadivorce settlement dwindle, been swindled by her husband number two, and conned herself into thinking that a few pills will help distract her from her pain. Robin has an all-American case of shopaholism, while the big dream of her life—to wear a wedding dress— has gone unrealized. And for years, Gloria has taken happiness and security for granted. But being at the wrong place at the wrong time can change everything. All four are learning to heal past hurts and to reclaim their joy and their dreams; but they return to us full of spirit, sass, and faith in one another. They've exhaled: now they are learning to breathe.

From the critically acclaimed author of A Day Late and a Dollar Short and The Interruption of Everything, a wise, earthy story of a friendship between four African American women who lean on each other while "waiting to exhale": waiting for that man who will take their breath away.

With her wise, wry, and poignant novels of families and friendships—Waiting to Exhale, Getting to Happy, and A Day Late and a Dollar Short among them— Terry McMillan has touched millions of readers. Now, in her eighth novel, McMillan gives exuberant voice to characters who reveal how we live now—at least as lived in a racially diverse Los Angeles neighborhood.

Kaleidoscopic, fast-paced, and filled with McMillans inimitable humor, Who Asked You? opens as Trinetta leaves her two young sons with her mother, Betty Jean, and promptly disappears. BJ, a trademark McMillan heroine, already has her hands full dealing with her other adult children, two opinionated sisters, an ill husband, and her own postponed dreams—all while holding down a job as a hotel maid. Her son Dexter is about to be paroled from prison; Quentin, the family success, cant be bothered to lend a hand; and taking care of two lively grandsons is the last thing BJ thinks she needs. The drama unfolds through the perspectives of a rotating cast of characters, pitch-perfect, each playing a part, and full of surprises.

Who Asked You? casts an intimate look at the burdens and blessings of family and speaks to trusting your own judgment even when others dont agree. McMillans signature voice and unforgettable characters bring universal issues to brilliant, vivid life.

With her wise, wry, and poignant novels of families and friendships—Waiting to Exhale, Getting to Happy, and A Day Late and a Dollar Short among them—Terry McMillan has touched millions of readers. Now, in her eighth novel, McMillan gives exuberant voice to characters who reveal how we live now—at least as lived in a racially diverse Los Angeles neighborhood.

Kaleidoscopic, fast-paced, and filled with McMillans inimitable humor, Who Asked You? opens as Trinetta leaves her two young sons with her mother, Betty Jean, and promptly disappears. BJ, a trademark McMillan heroine, already has her hands full dealing with her other adult children, two opinionated sisters, an ill husband, and her own postponed dreams—all while holding down a job as a hotel maid. Her son Dexter is about to be paroled from prison; Quentin, the family success, cant be bothered to lend a hand; and taking care of two lively grandsons is the last thing BJ thinks she needs. The drama unfolds through the perspectives of a rotating cast of characters, pitch-perfect, each playing a part, and full of surprises.

Who Asked You? casts an intimate look at the burdens and blessings of family and speaks to trusting your own judgment even when others dont agree. McMillans signature voice and unforgettable characters bring universal issues to brilliant, vivid life.

For one night, a couple checks in to an upscale hotel. The pair seem unlikely companions, from opposing strata of society, but their attraction is palpable to all who observe them—or overhear their cries of passion. In the course of twelve hours, con games, erotic interludes, jealousy, violence, and murder swirl around them. Will they part ways in bliss, in sorrow, or in death?

Filled with all the hallmarks of an Eric Jerome Dickey bestseller—erotic situations, edge-of-your-seat twists and turns, and fun, believable relationships—One Night will delight Dickeys existing fans and lure countless new ones.

When Who Asked You? begins, Trinetta leaves her two young sons with her mother, Betty Jean, and promptly disappears. BJ already has her hands full dealing with her other adult children, two opinionated sisters, an ill husband, and her own postponed dreams—all the while holding down a job delivering room service at a hotel.

Her son Dexter is about to be paroled from prison; Quentin, the family success, cant be bothered to lend a hand; and taking care of two lively grandsons is the last thing BJ thinks she needs. But who asked her?