Beverly Jenkins is an African-American, historical romance writer. She and her family live in southeastern Michigan. She is married, and the mother of two children. Born in Detroit, she graduated from Cass Technical High School and attended Michigan State University, where she majored in Journalism and English Literature.
Ms. Jenkins has been featured in many national publications, including the Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, Dallas Morning News and Vibe Magazine. She has lectured at such prestigious universities as Oberlin University; the University of Illinois; and the University of Michigan. She speaks widely on both romance and 19th century African-American history. She is active in both her church and community, and in November 2001, Ms Jenkins was named a winner of the YWCA Woman of Achievement Award.
Beverly Jenkins
beverly@beverlyjenkins.net
Post Office Box 1893
Belleville, MI 48112
Some of Ms. Jenkins' titles include
Something
Old, Something New: A Blessings Novel
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Amazon
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Original edition (June 7, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061990795
ISBN-13: 978-0061990793
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
The citizens of Henry Adams are starting to take bets'will Lily Fontaine and
Trent July finally tie the knot?
All they want is a nice, simple wedding, but their well-meaning neighbors
are turning the no-fuss affair into the event of the decade. Bernadine, the
town's fairy godmother, wants Lily to have a storybook wedding fit for a
princess, and Lily's nine-year-old foster son is campaigning to be town
preacher so he can officiate at the ceremony. Trouble multiplies when Trent
is called on to help a new family move to town, not to mention Lily and
Trent's task of blending their families together.
With the bustle of the tight-knit, and often tightly wound, friends and
family pushing them to the breaking point, the couple begins to wish they'd
eloped. But, as they'll soon be reminded, happiness in Henry Adams is meant
to be shared.
A
Second Helping: A Blessings Novel
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Amazon
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Avon A; Original edition (January 5, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061547816
ISBN-13: 978-0061547812
With the millions she received after divorcing her faithless tycoon husband, Bernadine Brown saved the historic town of Henry Adams, Kansas, from financial ruin and found loving homes for five needy children. Now there are other "projects" crying out for rescue.
If ever a town institution needed rescuing, it's the beloved Dog and Cow diner. Once it was Henry Adams's social center or gossip central! now it's in danger of becoming duct-tape central. But there are other distractions pulling Bernadine from the task at hand: a plethora of romantic entanglements, including her own with a disturbingly attractive Malachi July; a bitter young boy newly arrived in town with his widowed father; and a fugitive on the run with a six-hundred-pound pet pig that's wanted for murder (the pig, that is). And when Bernadine's philandering, troublemaking ex-husband rolls into town looking for a second chance, life in Henry Adams gets very interesting indeed.
Jewel
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 0061161357
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: May 01, 2008
Though Eli Grayson is one of the most handsome, charming, and
intelligent men in Grayson Grove, no one will take a chance on a
confirmed bachelor. Unwilling to give up his dreams, Eli convinces his
friend Jewel to pose as his wife. Their masquerade is to last just one
night . . . but when word gets out, Eli and Jewel must tie the knot to
save his career'and her reputation.
Became a love she never expected . . .
Angry at being forced to turn her life upside down, Jewel never imagined
that a white-hot passion would consume her once she and Eli became
husband and wife. Sharing a bed has turned their prim friendship into a
sensuous love affair . . . but when a woman from Eli's past returns to
stir up trouble, he and Jewel will learn just how far they'll go to
protect the precious gem of their newfound passion.
Deadly
Sexy
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 0061246395
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: November 01, 2007
Jenkins' Deadly Sexy won the 2008 Emma Award for Romanic Suspense, Favorite Hero, Book Cover, and Book of the Year. Beverly also earned Author of the Year honors during the May 3rd gala at the 2008 Romance Slam Jam.
Though her Lexus may be broken down on the California freeway, Jessi Teresa Blake is no damsel in distress. Rich, smart, and beautiful, JT, or "Lady Blake," as she is called, is one of the toughest sports agents around. She's negotiated megabucks contracts for every superstar in the business, and only the most confident of men can match wits with her. Men like Reese Anthony, the impossibly sexy trucker who gives her a lift back to Oakland.
Cuffed by Candlelight: An Erotic Romance Anthology
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with Beverly Jenkins with Gwyneth Bolton, and Katherine D. Jones
ISBN: 1600430074
Pub. Date: January 28, 2007
Format: Paperback, 250pp
Publisher: Parker Publishing LLC
What do a farmer in the past and a correction and police officer in the present have in common? A desire that won't abide by the rules of engagement. Cuffed by Candlelight is three erotic tales of women bound to uphold the law and obey the rules. But when desire and the rules clash, love and passion ignite with some handcuffs and a little candlelight.
Sexy/Dangerous
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ISBN: 0060818999
Pub. Date: October 2006
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 352pp
Publisher: HarperTorch
Wearing her shades, a black Stetson, and snakeskin cowboy boots, security agent Maxine "Max" Blake is the baddest thing walking. Ex-marine, ex-cop, and a whole lotta 'tude, Max doesn't have time for anything but her job. Her latest assignment: to protect Dr. Adam Gary. Her problem: he doesn't want her there.
Adam wants to focus on his work, not to be distracted by this tall, sexy woman. A foiled kidnapping attempt may have forced him to take an undercover agent into his household, but no one said anything about the agent being a woman, or that she'd be beautiful, or that she came with two monster rottweilers. How is he supposed to concentrate on his top-secret project that could revolutionize the world when all he can think about is her smooth, coffee-colored skin and those long, lean legs?
But as danger nips at their heels, love may be a distraction neither of them
will live to enjoy . . .
 Josephine
and the SoldierClick to order via Amazon
ISBN: 006001220X The Soldier
ISBN: 0312982194 Beverly Jenkins spins a soul-touching tale of a soldier reunited with the woman who deserted him as they discover that love isn't just sweeter the second time around, it's downright decadent in Homecoming.
Mass Market Paperback: 384
pages an AALBC Bestselling Book May/Jun 2007 The Marrying Kind... Strong, sensible Jake was hoping for a wife to help him raise his girls, but Loreli may be more than he can handle. He can't stop wondering what it would be like to hold the fiery enchantress close and kiss her deeply. Surely he could never compete with the sophisticated gents she has known, yet he intends to try. But will his honest passion be enough to take a chance on a long-shot called love?
Format:
Paperback, 391pp. An AALBC Best Selling Book April 2001 It's 1786 and Dr. Viveca Lancaster is frustrated by the limits placed upon female physicians of color. When she is offered the chance to set up a practice in the small all Black community of Grayson Grove, Michigan she leaves her California home and heads east. The very determined Viveca is one of the few nineteenth century Black women to graduate from the prestigious Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania but she needs more than determination to facedown handsome Nate Grayson, the Grove's bull-headed mayor. Nate Grayson goes to the train station expecting Dr. V. Lancaster to be a man. When the lovely dark-skinned Viveca introduces herself he is speechless, then wants her back on the train and out of his town. It's 1876 and women aren't supposed to be doctors, men are. However he isn't prepared for her stubbornness and fire, nor for the vivid way she heals, then steals his heart.
 TopazClick to order via Amazon
Publisher: Avon Books Reporter Kate Love will do anything to expose a stock swindler, including getting engaged to the cad. However, her plans go awry and she is nearly killed when Deputy Marshall Dix Wild Horse, a Black Seminole, rescues her. Her plan has put her at risk, so Dix suggests marriage in order to get Kate away from her Philadelphia enemies. With no alternative, Kate accepts. Soon the city girl and the country boy are locking horns as man and wife.
Publisher: Avon Books First-time author Beverly Jenkins pens an intriguing, sensual historical romance set in an all-black post-Civil War Kansas town. After watching Union soldiers lynch her grandfather, Cora can't abide men in blue. But when the celebrated Tenth Colored Cavalry comes to town, she is captivated by a dashing sargeant. Original.
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Excerpt from Beverly
Jenkins'
Topaz
Chicago
May 1884
Under the cover of the darkness, Katherine Love stood with her back pressed closely against the outside wall of the warehouse, hoping she couldn't be seen. The night watchman was on the far side of the yard, and she was waiting for him to pass. She could see him walking and swinging his lantern in and out of the shadows. He was whistling cheerily as he checked a few doors to make certain they hadn't been tampered with, but he gave no more than a cursory look to most of the sheds and buildings along the route.
This was the third night Katherine had come here hoping to rendezvous with a man hired to assist her in her plan, but for reasons unknown, he'd never shown. She hoped this third night would be the charm.
As the watchman came closer to her, she hunkered down behind a large trash bin filled with lumber and discarded crates. Her five-feet seven-inch frame made it difficult for her to appear small, but the black axle grease she'd smeared over her brown skin, coupled with her black shirt and men's trousers, made it easier for her to blend into the shadows, as did the black knitted fisherman's cap hiding her short curls.
The watchman approached, then passed by her so closely, that she could have reached out, grabbed his pant leg, and probably frightened him half to death. But she wasn't her to pull silly pranks.
He moved on. She waited for the sounds of his whistling and footsteps to fade into the distance before releasing her pent-up breath; she'd hurdled the first obstacle. Once her contact appeared, they would have a little under an hour to complete the night's work before the watchman returned to this portion of the warehouse yard. Plenty of time--if the contact showed.
Silence resettled, and a cautious Katherine waited without moving. The distance bark of a dog floated in on the May night air. She stood silently and watched. Minutes passed; then, from out of the darkness, cam the faint flickering light of a match. It disappeared so quickly that she thought she might have imagined it. She peered closely, tensely waiting to see if it would appear again. When it did, she offered up a silent hallelujah. The light was the agreed upon signal. Katherine peeled her tall body away from the shadows of her hiding place. Keeping herself low, she quickly crossed the open yard and headed for the person who'd struck the match.
She didn't know his name; she had no reason to. They would probably never meet again once that night's job ended, yet he greeted her with a smile from behind the burnt cork covering his light brown face. "You're the Globe reporter?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"They didn't tell me you were a woman."
She dearly hoped her gender would not be a problem because she did not have the time to educate a man on the fine points of what a woman of the nineteenth century could achieve. "Does my gender matter?" she asked.
He took a moment to scan her clothing and face, then shrugged, "Not to me."
Katherine was glad. "Are you ready?"
He nodded yes.
"Then let's go rob us a safe."
Katherine and her accomplice rapidly covered the short distance to the main building. The safe she'd alluded to belonged to Mr. Rupert Samuels, a wealthy Chicago businessman and a pillar of the city's Black community. He had many storehouses on this large plot of land on the far edge of the city, but only one held his business office.
When they reached the door, her companion whispered, "They said you had a way in?"
It was her turn to nod yes as she reached into her trouser pocket and withdrew a small thin box. Inside were a set of lock picks given to her for her twenty-fifth birthday by a wily old gentleman burglar she'd met during her stint as a newspaperwoman back in Virginia. Katherine inserted one of the gap-toothed picks into the door's padlock, and it opened. She sensed the surprise emanating from the man at her side, but she didn't pause to acknowledge it. Men were surprised by her unconventional ways all the time.
They tiptoed inside cautiously. Katherine was fairly certain no one would be about, but she knew better than to take that for granted. The solid silence made her breathing sound like a train engine, and her heart beat as loud as a drum. She reached back and softly closed the door. "The safe's hidden behind that Bannister painting on the far wall," she told her accomplice quietly.
The man replied, "I'll need a bit of light."
She heard the scratch of a match and then saw the lit wick of a candle stub. He cupped his hand around the dancing finger of flame to prevent the light from casting too well. He looked around, spied the copy of the prize-winning Bannister painting Under the Oaks, and told Katherine, "Keep watch."
Katherine slid back into the darkness, by the door. She was glad for his help because she couldn't've gotten into the safe alone. Thanks to her old burglar friend, she could easily spring the locks on doors of some strongboxes, but her abilities did not extend to wall safes. It had taken her editor, Geoff Pratt, weeks to find a man who could be trusted to discretely carry out this endeavor. The long search had cut so deeply into the time frame she and Geoff had allotted for this investigation that if tonight's burglary proved unsuccessful, her six long months of hard work would go for naught.
Her companion called out softly, "It's open and we've struck gold."
The announcement filled Katherine with excitement, but she kept her wits about her. She opened the door a crack to make certain no one was approaching from outside before going over to see what the safe held.
The candle provided just enough light to illuminate the area around Samuel's large oak desk. The inside of the safe was filled with shadows, but they weren't thick enough to hid the three printers plates stacked against the back wall. With a satisfied smile, Katherine reached inside and lifted them out. Rupert Samuels had printed hundreds, maybe thousands, of counterfeit railroad stock certificates using the plates Katherine now passed over to her companion. At first glance, the Samuels scheme appeared to be very beneficial: How better to circumvent the jim crow laws than to have a rail line that would cater only to members of the race? The hoodwinked investors, mostly pensioners and widows, had willingly let themselves be led to the slaughter by the well-dressed and seemingly sincere young men selling the stocks. After the bank drafts of the victims cleared, the salesmen vanished, and the investors were left holding worthless pieces of paper.
Katherine reached back inside the safe and pulled out a stack of fraudulent stock certificates and a large ledger. She held the ledger toward the light and hastily scanned the entries. There were pages and pages of names, each one adjacent to addresses and dollar amounts. She came across the name of Sally Dotson, an old friend of her Aunt Ceil's and Katherine's landlady. Sally and many of the members of her church had been fleeced by the stock sharps. When Sally told Katherine what had happened, Katherine wrote her editor, Geoff Pratt, in New York hoping he had an idea as to how they could recoup their savings. Geoff could off no immediate solution but wired back that he had been approached by a man in New York claiming to be a disgruntled ex-employee of a similar scan being run there. The man was angry because he hadn't been paid what he'd been promised and wanted to expose the leader of the ring, Rupert Samuels of Chicago. Katherine and Geoff set this plan in motion to get at the truth. Katherine assumed the other names chronicled in the ledgers were also victims. With this ledger in hand, the authorities could indict Samuels and his cronies for fraud as soon as luncheon tomorrow. she wondered if he would enjoy languishing n a prison cell? Knowing Rupert Samuels the way she did, she was quite certain he would not.
Katherine gave the ledger and the phony stocks to her accomplice, who slipped them into a canvas bag along with the plates. He would be taking the evidence to her editor, Geoff, in New York. Geoff in turn would hand them over to the federal authorities. Katherine's job then would be to disappear. When the authorities swooped down on Rupert, she planned to be on a train to Boston for a much needed holiday. Left behind would be the woman she'd posed as for the past six months: Katherine Lane, a meek seamstress' assistant. Also left behind would be Katherine Lane, Rupert Samuels's fianc'e. She and Rupert were slated to be wed tomorrow in what the society papers were calling the "wedding of the year."......
Related Links
Beverly Jenkins Website
http://www.beverlyjenkins.net/
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