Been Loving You Too Long

Ophelia Broulliard’s life has always been linked to the wealthy and powerful DuChamps family. The granddaughter of the family’s housekeeper, she’s worshipped Vincent DuChamps from afar--the ever unattainable prince in her fairy tale dreams. Little does she know that Vincent harbors his own secret feelings for her, but other darker secrets that he sees as an insurmountable obstacle to ever being the man she deserves, have prompted him to avoid her altogether. When Thomas, the family patriarch dies, his will bears some unpleasant surprises for them both. Thomas wants nothing more than for Vincent and his siblings to be happy, and in his final act as the only father figure they’ve ever had, engineers a series of contingencies in his will that require them each to face their demons. Only too aware of what Vincent really feels for Ophelia, Thomas creates a situation that will force Vincent to confront his feelings. Unless, Vincent and Ophelia marry, Vincent and his siblings will lose everything, including the family business. Forced into such close proximity, denying their attraction for one another becomes impossible. But even as they grow closer, other threats to the future of DuChamps Hotels and all that Vincent holds dear threaten to destroy their burgeoning relationship. Ophelia has played it safe her whole life. Taking a risk on Vincent is a frightening prospect. Will it be worth it, or will his secrets break both their hearts?

"Five Stars." - TimeOut.com Here are six enthusiastically received plays by Charles Mee inspired by Greek tragedies: Iphigenia 2.0, Trojan Women, Orestes 2.0, Agamemnon 2.0, Night and Day, and The Bacchae 2.1. "How fresh can a play based on a 2,400-year-old story possibly be? . . . Iphigenia 2.0 proves to be more timely than any drama in the city today." - nj.com "Playwright Charles Mee is a master at mining ancient myths for the truths that transcend memory-torturing details and reimagining those truths for contemporary theatergoers." - Hyperallergic.com

"... Butler's recollections of the racially segregated 'chitlin circuit, ' the early days of the civil rights movement and fellow performers like Dinah Washington, Little Willie John and Dionne Warwick are fascinating and insightful.... Only the Strong Survive makes one wish it came with a soundtrack." --The New York Times Book Review " Only the Strong Survive] presents a portrait of a remarkable performer, as well as an up-close and personal look at the world of rhythm and blues from the perspective of an insider.... A moving chronicle of one of America's music pioneers." --Chicago Tribune "More than an autobiography, Only the Strong Survive is also a glimpse at the political and social climate of the times which shaped the life of one man." --Ebony

The long-awaited, definitive biography of The King of Soul, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Redding's iconic performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. Otis Redding remains an immortal presence in the canon of American music on the strength of such classic hits as “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” “Try a Little Tenderness,” and “Respect,” a song he wrote and recorded before Aretha Franklin made it her own. As the architect of the distinctly southern, gospel-inflected style of rhythm & blues associated with Stax Records in Memphis, Redding made music that has long served as the gold standard of 1960s soul. Yet an aura of myth and mystery has always surrounded his life, which was tragically cut short at the height of his career by a plane crash in December 1967. In Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life, Jonathan Gould finally does justice to Redding’s incomparable musical artistry, drawing on exhaustive research, the cooperation of the Redding family, and previously unavailable sources of information to present the first comprehensive portrait of the singer’s background, his upbringing, and his professional career. In chronicling the story of Redding’s life and music, Gould also presents a social history of the time and place from which they emerged. His book never lets us forget that the boundaries between black and white in popular music were becoming porous during the years when racial tensions were reaching a height throughout the United States. His indelible portrait of Redding and the mass acceptance of soul music in the 1960s is both a revealing look at a brilliant artist and a provocative exploration of the tangled history of race and music in America that resonates strongly with the present day.

The Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings, Volumes 1 and 2 covers the full range of popular music recordings with virtually unprecedented breadth and depth. In this 2-volume encyclopedia, Sullivan explores approximately 1,000 song recordings from 1889 to the present, telling the stories behind the songs, recordings, performers, and songwriters. From the Victorian parlor ballad and ragtime hit at the end of the 19th century to today’s rock classics, the Encyclopedia progresses through a parade popular music styles, from jazz to blues to country Western, as well as the important but too often neglected genres of ethnic and world music, gospel, and traditional folk. This book is the ideal research tool for lovers of popular music in all its glorious variety.

Believe it or not, you can use your favorite Rock-‘n’-Roll song titles to show you, clearly and concisely, how English grammar and style work—and it’s fun! Inspired by a lifelong love of music and language, this book captures the brilliant bond between music and language, using song titles as an innovative and memorable way to teach grammar and style. The book does not critique grammar and style use in Rock-‘n’-Roll song titles. Instead, it celebrates this use and demonstrates different kinds of sentences, parts of speech, verb tenses, stylistic figures of speech, and more. The book starts with short but complete sentences—song title subject/verb combinations of songs you know such as “Love hurts” and “Voices carry.” The patterns of English grammar and style then become strikingly visible when you see them in the titles of Rock-‘n’-Roll songs you love, all the way from the 1950s to today.

When Mary discovered the pain she was experiencing doing every-day things at school and at home was due to a disease called lupus, she was determined not to let it affect her life. What she didnt know at the time was that the physical challenges of lupus would pale in comparison to the emotional challenges she would face when she fell in love with two very different menand found that neither of them felt quite the same way about her. Never one to give up in the face of any obstacle, Mary began her long-term endeavor to change their minds. Life, Love, and Lupus is the story of Marys battle to overcome unrequited love and go after what she most desires, whatever the consequences and regardless of the limitations. Through narrative description, journal entries and email exchanges, the reader is taken along on an intimate journey with the sharp-witted Mary as she follows her hopes and dreams and finds out that sometimes you have to learn to love yourself first.