Denny S. Bryce Wild Women and the Blues

Ordinary People meets Chicago the musical as played out in the city's Black Belt, Wild Women and the Blues is a mainstream historical fiction novel that weaves the stories of a grieving film student in 2015 and an ambitious chorus girl in 1925 in a tale of history, love, and secrets that only family can define. Goodreads Debut Novel to Discover & Biggest Upcoming Historical Fiction Books Oprah Magazine , Parade , Ms . Magazine , SheReads , Bustle , BookBub , & Frolic Most Anticipated Books Black Business Guide 's 21 Books By Black Writers to Read TODAY & Buzzfeed Books for Bridgerton Fans "The music practically pours out of the pages of Denny S. Bryce's historical novel, set among the artists and dreamers of the 1920s." - OprahMag.com Vibrant...A highly entertaining read "--Ellen Marie Wiseman New York Times Bestselling author of THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR "Ambitious and stunning." - Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author In a stirring and impeccably researched novel of Jazz-age Chicago in all its vibrant life, two stories intertwine nearly a hundred years apart, as a chorus girl and a film student deal with loss, forgiveness, and love...in all its joy, sadness, and imperfections. "Why would I talk to you about my life? I don't know you, and even if I did, I don't tell my story to just any boy with long hair, who probably smokes weed.You wanna hear about me. You gotta tell me something about you. To make this worth my while ." 1925: Chicago is the jazz capital of the world, and the Dreamland Caf is the ritziest black-and-tan club in town. Honoree Dalcour is a sharecropper's daughter, willing to work hard and dance every night on her way to the top. Dreamland offers a path to the good life, socializing with celebrities like Louis Armstrong and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. But Chicago is also awash in bootleg whiskey, gambling, and gangsters. And a young woman driven by ambition might risk more than she can stand to lose. 2015: Film student Sawyer Hayes arrives at the bedside of 110-year-old Honoree Dalcour, still reeling from a devastating loss that has taken him right to the brink. Sawyer has rested all his hope on this frail but formidable woman, the only living link to the legendary Oscar Micheaux. If he's right--if she can fill in the blanks in his research, perhaps he can complete his thesis and begin a new chapter in his life. But the links Honoree makes are not ones he's expecting . . . Piece by piece, Honoree reveals her past and her secrets, while Sawyer fights tooth and nail to keep his. It's a story of courage and ambition, hot jazz and illicit passions. And as past meets present, for Honoree, it's a final chance to be truly heard and seen before it's too late. No matter the cost . . . "Immersive, mysterious and evocative; factual in its history and nuanced in its creativity."-- Ms. Magazine "Evocative and entertaining " - Laura Kamoie, New York Times bestselling author "Wild Women and the Blues deftly delivers what historical fiction has been missing." - Farrah Rochon USA Today bestselling author