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"Want hundreds of tips to kick start, rekindle or preserve your relationship? Then get your hands on LOVE AND MARRIAGE: THE GAY AND LESBIAN GUIDE TO DATING AND ROMANCE by beloved novelist Cheril N. Clarke." – Sistahs on the Shelf

This title is $4.99 and available for Amazon Kindle, which can be viewed on the Kindle, iPhone (using the free Kindle app), your PC (using Kindle for PC) and other e-readers such as Sony via www.smashwords.com.

(Review continued)…Not only is Clarke the author of lesbian contemporary romance novels, she’s also a happily wedded woman of three years. That helps when perusing these helpful suggestions that list everything from scrapbooking to playing hide-and-go-seek to lap-dancing – all in an effort to keep the romance brewing.

The e-book is broken up conveniently into three sections: Getting to Know Each Other, Commitment and Marriage. Each pointer is marked with a symbol indicating the cost and activity type. As a word of advice, she states that you should make this book your own and not try to do everything at once.

If you’re on a first date or starting a new relationship, Clarke offers out-of-the-box plans for first dates. Things like taking a hot air balloon, having dinner in a castle, or walking under the stars on moonlight night will surely set a very good first impression.

For those in monogamous relationships, she doesn’t forget about you. To strengthen your bond, why don’t you take your girlfriend to a bed and breakfast or write her an old fashioned love letter?

And to cherish your union and combat the long-term itch of marriage, among Clarke’s hints are commissioning an artist to paint a couple’s portrait, having personalized china made, and attending a hedonism retreat.

By reading Love and Marriage, all couples should find something to fit their fancy – from the simplest declaration to the most elaborate arrangement. Clarke has your relationship in mind.

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Brianna Anderson knows love and politics oftentimes lead to scandal, so she's covering her bases in LOSING CONTROL, the latest from revered author Cheril N. Clarke. The author of best-sellers Intimate Chaos and Tainted Destiny has delivered another captivating novel, this time following Brianna and her bid for City Council. In case you forgot, Brianna is the go-getter in Tainted Destiny who left Sadira to pursue a career in the public sector. Brianna is now running for office in Rockville, New Jersey, a depressed city marked by unemployment, homelessness and political corruption. Brianna’s intentions, while she doesn’t have much experience, are pure and motivated by lifting the fog of hopelessness blanketing the city’s poorest residents. Her opponent, however, is a woman led by pure greed. Three-term incumbent Colleen Smith, the councilwoman elected for three consecutive terms, wants to defeat the green candidate at any cost. Colleen could care less about her impoverished community, but rather reaping the wealth her position has afforded her on the backs of the people she serves. With the stones Colleen’s throwing, Brianna cannot allow her deepest secret to be uncovered and therefore denies her sexuality – even as her attraction is growing for city treasurer Pam Thompson. The pair meet somewhere along Brianna’s campaign trail, and are instantly drawn together. Brianna can’t help but feel something toward Pam, an intelligent, gorgeous woman, but indulging their feelings would mean Pam would have to deny something, also: her husband. And imagine the scandal that would erupt if Brianna’s opponent were to find out. She’s worked too hard, and there’s too much at stake for both her and Pam to lose. Clarke's Losing Control combines an involved love story with the behind-the-scenes action of a campaign. The romance between Brianna and Pam builds slowly, and takes a while to reach its peak – figuratively and sexually – but is worth reading to see how it ends. Clarke is proficient when it comes to the agony of love, and Losing Control shows what happens when the sacrifice is worth it.

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The following review is from Genia Stevens of www.SistersTalk.net. Author Cheril N. Clarke examines love, self-loathing and dirty politics in her novel Losing Control. Toss in a closeted lesbian, a closeted gay man, a confused married woman, an angry husband and an ambitious backstabbing campaign volunteer and you’ll be glued to the pages of Losing Control for hours and hours. Clarke does an excellent job of examining the coming out process: from denial and self-loathing to the moment every gay person finally experiences full acceptance of who s/he really is. Every emotion her characters feel, you feel: angst, intense sexual arousal, anger, frustration and joy. Losing Control is a touching, dramatic and tumultuous lesbian love story. Readers will want to skip ahead to learn the outcome of Brianna and Pamela’s relationship because the sexual tension will drive any warm-blooded person insane. The last page of this novel will leave readers asking, “What? Is that it?” and anxiously waiting for a sequel.

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From the opening paragraph of Cheril N. Clarke's new novel “Losing Control,” it's clear that something is amiss when Brianna Anderson is racked with guilt and shame lying beside the handsome and intelligent man in her bed. Brianna, a closeted lesbian and candidate in a close race for city councilwoman, is externally and internally in the fight of her life. It has been said that the hallmark of a gifted novelist is the ability to take the scandals of everyday life and make them humorous, thought-provoking and an opportunity for introspection. By that standard and several others, author Cheril N. Clarke is just hitting her stride. Clarke’s fluid voice guides the reader through the near destruction of Brianna’s campaign and her determination to bring help to the streets of Rockville, NJ. Brianna’s opponent is Colleen Smith, an older politician who has held a seat on the city council for many years. Seriously challenged for the first time, Smith is not about to lose without a fight, and to her, the dirtier the better. Brianna creates plenty of dirt when she dumps her pseudo boyfriend Frank, irks a young volunteer in her campaign office, and falls in lust with Pamela Thompson, the City Treasurer. Clarke does a wonderful job of creating characters who reach down deep to examine their feelings. My only real qualm with this tawdry tale is the fact that the two lesbians in the novel don’t consummate their relationship until the last pages of the novel. I mean let’s just be real about it. If I am going to spend two nights reading a book about lesbian drama, to get the full effect, I would like to immerse myself in a juicy sex scene – preferably by page 3. In Cheril’s defense, when the lesbians finally saw some action, it was worth the wait. But will they live happily ever after? Well, you’ll have to dive in to this tale to see for yourself. All in all, very entertaining and engaging. Kudos on another fabulous novel Cheril!

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