SECRET In a small, southern town, there is a scorned secret that has ripped through homes. Accursed is the whore that it came from, people around town say, but to a sassy, country girl named Secret, that’s not all to it. She asks herself, what curse, and what does it have to do with me? That’s when Secret takes matters into her own hands and attempts to solve the terrifying mystery of her family that roots from her own mother! Will she ever uncover the curse that lives behind her name, or will Secret discover that all the hatred aimed her direction is truly deserved? Next, read the second book, a prequel to the novel Secret titled Colored Lily: Poppa Took My Innocence which is the story of the character Jocelyn! In 2014 is the release of PATON, the third book in this family saga! Secret editorial review -- "a heart-wrenching story...the author cleverly speaks to the "taboo" issues of child abuse and incest through the eyes of an innocent child...gives great presence to the main character..." - Anna Bowman of Florence Morning News In a small Southern town, a little African-American child grows up without knowledge of her parentage, neither her father nor her mother. Raised by her great-great-aunt May, her grandmother's sister, Secret is loved and cared for. But the deep and ever-present void in her life continually impels her to learn more about her past. From a young age she has felt set off from others in the community, as if they knew her truths that she never has known. Every thread of knowledge on which she tries to pull to lead to a greater truth seems to tangle, or snap back in her face. Every door that partially opens slams shut. But Secret is stronger than that, and she won't give up, no matter how many folks there her to leave well enough alone. She persists in discovering the idenity of her mother, and finding out why her mother isn't raising her. Secret is irrepressible, and the drive to know her mother forces her on until she uncovers the last few rocks and turns over the truth about her life, and her mother's. Secret is a compelling story which will linger in any reader's mind long, long, after fiinally closing the book, and many readers will be moved to take it up later and read it again. The plot twists and turns like a winding river: sometimes Secret's progress seems as slow as molasses dripping, and at other times events unfold as fast as white-water rapids. By the end of the book te reader has been presented a number of characters in great depth, and comes away with a true emotional understanding of each of them. Author Mirika Mayo Corneliushas a wonderful imaginative capacity, and a gift for plot, character, and descriptive setting, which is finely demonstrated in both Secret and its prequel, Colored Lily. ----Annie Haws of Euro-Reviews 1/2007 - 5 STAR EXCELLENT --Annie Haws of Euro-Reviews The novel of emotions...Mirika Cornelius has successfully simmered the emotions of life into one insiteful and beautiful work of art in SECRET. When a young girl named Secret who is growing up in the southern town of Louisville, Georgia discovers that the town she was raised in is covering up a gruesome secret, she wonders why she is the only one who has never heard of it, and why no one will allow the secret to seep from their mouths. From there, Secret goes on to uncover the tragic mystery of one death, one life and one past that plans to suck the life from her soul and reincarnate the tragedy that runs through her veins. Mirika Mayo Cornelius (Mirika C) is author of novels Secret, Colored Lily: Poppa Took My Innocence, Ain't Quite What I Thought, book of poetry Sunny Sides of My Shade, and the urban series Murders at Gabriel's Trails. Follow Mirika on her twitter account - @MirikaCOfficial and on Facebook. Visit Mirika's website for updates on upcoming books - www.mirikacornelius.com The next night, they start getting ready to leave. I wonder how my Aunt Rubie does that thing with her hips. When she walks, my uncle has a nice time looking at her. I catch him all the time. And when he looks, he always leans back and says That s my wife . While she s packing, I go into my room where they went to sleep last night. "Yes?" she says with her back turned to the door. "How did you know it was me?" "You have tiny footsteps." She still doesn t turn around, so I go sit on the bed. "Aunt Rubie?" "Um hum." "Why does U.J. love you so much?" She stands up straight, puts her hand on her hip and grins. "Why? You don t think he should love me like he does?" "Noooo!" I didn t mean it like that. "Well?" "Every time you walk by, he gets so happy." She busts out laughing. "He s supposed to, Secret. I m his wife." I just stare at her. She kneels down. "If you ever meet a man when you grow up that you think you can be happy and fall in love with and that loves you back, he ll look at you like that, too. There is no trick to it. But right now, you don t worry about the way your uncle looks at me. . . i