ORANGE MINT AND HONEY by Carleen Brice has been produced into a Lifetime movie titled "Sins of the Mother" starring Jill Scott.

Broke and burned-out from grad school, Shay Dixon does the unthinkable after receiving a "vision" from her de facto spiritual adviser, blues singer Nina Simone. She phones Nona, the mother she had all but written off, asking if she can come home for a while.

When Shay was growing up, Nona was either drunk, hungover, or out with her latest low-life guy. So Shay barely recognizes the new Nona, now sober and with a positive outlook on life, a love of gardening, and a toddler named Sunny. Though reconciliation seems a hard proposition for Shay, something unmistakable is taking root inside her, waiting to blossom like the morning glories opening up in Nona's garden sanctuary.

Soon Shay finds herself facing exciting possibilities and even her first real romantic relationship. But when an unexpected crisis hits, even the wise words and soulful melodies of Nina Simone may not be enough for solace. Shay begins to realize that, like orange mint and honey, sometimes life tastes better when bitter is followed by sweet.

Carleen Brice won the Breakout Author of the Year Award from the African American Literary Awards Show in 2008. And in 2009, she received the First Novel Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. She is a finalist for the 2009 Colorado Book Award in literary fiction, and is a two-time finalist for the Colorado Book Award in nonfiction. She lives in Colorado with her husband where she gardens and is working on her third novel. .

Back to Book Selections