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CONTACT: Adiya Mobley
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(212) 698-7090Adiya.mobley@simonandschuster.com
Hidden Secrets,Hidden Lives
By J. Leon Pridgen II
After years of acting on both the stage and screen, J. Leon Pridgen II launches his debut novel, HIDDEN SECRETS, HIDDEN LIVES, a tale that examines the drug dealing past and the quickly unraveling future of a self-made corporate executive. Appearing opposite Halle Berry and Omar Epps in The Program (1993,) Pridgen steps away from the big screen and dives into the world of literature to tackle the importance of making wise life decisions and taking responsibility for one’s actions. HIDDEN SECRETS, HIDDEN LIVES takes a look at the same crime game we often read about with a different set of eyes and a different purpose. The game is always played for fast money, fast women and a fast high. This is the story of a young man who has reluctantly entered the game and carefully crafts an exit strategy before the game plans his exit for him. It is not just survival of the fittest; it is survival of the smartest.
In HIDDEN SECRETS, HIDDEN LIVES, Travis Moore has found that every decision has a consequence.
As a teenager, Travis decides to enter a life of drugs and crime only to keep his mother from prostituting herself for a $5 high. As a result, Travis and his long-time friend Kwame commit a crime together which resultantly landed Kwame in juvenile detention. However, Travis managed to dodge the same fate, skipping town and going on to graduate from college, magna cum laude.
Kwame, revengeful of Travis for leaving him to take the fall for a crime they both committed, has taken it upon himself to seek vengeance.
Meanwhile, Travis has successfully become the ultimate American dream: Husband and father with a corporate career, Travis’ life couldn’t be better. And because he realizes his life could have made a drastic turn early on, Travis becomes a mentor at a local drug and rehab center for young men. He bonds with a young sixteen year old boy, Baby Jar, and makes it his mission to keep him from making the same mistakes he made as a youngster. However, Baby Jar finds himself dealing with the one person Travis cannot afford to run into: Kwame “Bone” Brown.
HIDDEN SECRETS, HIDDEN LIVES is about preservation of family, survival and using any means to guarantee a future. The best-laid plans have a past and this past will not let go. Using bad money to fund a college education and escape the life that made it possible has a larger cost than tuition. The consequences of harming people in the game, whether directly or indirectly, have a way of turning up and reminding you that they will eventually be dealt with.
After coercing Baby Jar into luring Travis into his wicked game of revenge, Travis finds himself unwillingly submitting to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison. Kwame’s plan is to expose Travis of the crime he assisted in that landed Kwame behind bars and use Baby Jar to take his life. Travis Moore is on a collision course with the hidden secrets of his past life and tries desperately to hold on.
HIDDEN SECRETS, HIDDEN LIVES is about preservation of family, survival and using any means to guarantee a future. The best-laid plans have a past and this past will not let go. Using bad money to fund a college education and escape the life that made it possible has a larger cost than tuition. The consequences of harming people in the game, whether directly or indirectly, have a way of turning up and reminding you that they will eventually be dealt with.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
J. Leon Pridgen II was born in Aberdeen, MD, but makes his home in North Carolina, with his wife and two children. He has performed in a number of film, television and stage productions, including starring opposite Halle Berry and Omar Epps in the college football film The Program. He is also a veteran of the US Army and was stationed at Ft Bragg with the 82nd Airborne Division.
HIDDEN SECRETS, HIDDEN LIVES By J. Leon Pridgen II
Atria/Strebor Books
Publication Date: February 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59309-323-5
$12.00/$14.00 (Can.)
Atria/Strebor Books
Publication Date: February 22, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59309-323-5
$12.00/$14.00 (Can.)
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