Strait, Raymond (1992). Here They Are Jayne Mansfield. New York: S.P.I. Books. ISBN 978-1-56171-146-8. Mo’Nique, a teenage runaway, raped by her stepfather, is in the world pretty much alone after her mother’s death and father’s abandonment. She’s a good girl doing what she can to navigate the world while being homeless. A chance encounter with her cousin, Nikki, lands her in the fast-paced and often toxic world of being a stripper. Then enters Tommy. The fine dope-boy that sees past her thong and right into the heart of a woman-child. After vowing to never give her heart to man, she finds herself in love. But things aren’t as they seem and sometimes the beauty she has can be a curse when ill-meaning men try to exploit her for their personal gain. Jill met the crisis head on . . . She held the hands of so many men. She lost them, and remembered them, and somehow kept going’ RUSSELL T DAVIES

Mo'Nique and Tommy meet and there is more than an instant attraction. But something is not quite right between them. Mo'Nique and Tommy are not emotionally available due to their pasts, and with a major drug deal about to go down with his boss King; Tommy has to be on point not only to make sure hot head Damien doesn't blow things, but also to make sure his true intentions won't be revealed! King leads the drug empire. He has it all: money, businesses to launder his money, a beautiful woman on his arm and all the extra women he can handle. He’s all about his money, but greed makes him cheat the very ones who are on the front lines running things for him. The deal going down will take him into a stratosphere he has only been able to imagine. All he needs is just a little more time, but will things blow up in his face before he can line everything up? As it happens, I was also a Jill in the eighties - but not half as good a Jill as real Jill' DAWN FRENCH

Although no one seems to remember who designed the buildings, they are rare Canadian examples of New Sensualism, a “Miami Beach” strand of modernism that emphasized leisure and exoticism over more serious designs, architectural historianJeffrey Thorsteinson told the North Shore News in 2019. She lived in a flat in Hampstead, north London, with some friends. They christened it the Pink Palace, just as Ritchie, Jill, Ash, Roscoe and Colin do in It’s A Sin. When Jill Nalder arrived at drama school in London in the early 1980s, she was ready for her life to begin. With her band of best friends - of which many were young, talented gay men with big dreams of their own - she grabbed London by the horns: partying with drag queens at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, hosting cabarets at her glamorous flat, flitting across town to any jobs she could get. As well as this, the whole world has fallen in love with Jill; her mum Jill Nalder; sweet baby Colin and Callum Scott Howells who plays him; Olly Alexander who plays Ritchie; and basically just every single other character in the whole show. Related stories recommended by this writer:

Janelle aka Mo'Nique she ran away from home after her what her step dad did to her. That lead her into her cousin Nikki's arms and Nikki took her end showing her the ropes of being a stripper at the Pink Palace.

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Marlon has the ability to tell a story that keeps a reader on the edge of her seat wanting more. Written in a way where each person is telling their own experiences, it really impressed me how in tuned to the thoughts, feelings and inner workings he was able to zero in on for the female characters. Giving a well-rounded view of urban dope boy living, he has nailed this story and managed to lace real messages of truth throughout. The characters were well-developed, multi-dimensional, and showed a range of human experiences and emotions. This reader felt as if she were as a fly on the wall living out each scene. Although this book has been out for quite some time, I’ve only recently discovered his writings. I am eager to read the next book in the series. As a side note: it’s quite refreshing to read a book that is part of a series that is a complete work, not just issued out in increments. Tommy is a thug by day coming through the ranks and an undercover cop by night. The world of law enforcement has almost destroyed his life, as the assignments take up time in his life almost like a selfish lover. His wife, unable to handle the pressures of his job, divorced him. Then he meets Mo’Nique, the super fine stripper who is every guy’s fantasy. But dating her is dangerous for them both. He is forced to decide if what he has found in her is worth putting their lives in danger or if he needs to allow the demands of his job to cause him to give up a chance to rebuild his life and to be happy. That is, if he makes it out of this undercover assignment alive.